Feeling stiffuled in the tux he'd donned for the occassion, Ash descreetly pulled at the collar of his shirt. He'd been here an hour already and Red hadn't taken notice of him in the slightest, he half considered leaving. If it hadn't been important for Circle Daybreak he'd have left by now.
''You look a little bored, Ash isn't it?'' turning with Ash realised with a rush the speaker was Scarlett Redfern, in the flesh. Smiling charmingly he curtiously answered her.
''Just slightly lonely, but you could change that.'' he leered jokingly. To his almost amusement she gave a small laugh that in less deadly looking girls he would have taken for a giggle.
Stepping closer Scarlett brushed off her skin tight, midriff bearing black dress looked lazily around the room, her shiny black hair slipped over her face slighltly from where it was pinned back. Looking back at Ash she replied. ''I have been warned about you, Ash,'' saying his name as an almost whisper. ''But Red asked that I look after you, he's...otherwise occupied at the moment.''
Her flirtatious smile reminded him that she had a soulmate of her own. He wondered vaguely how she could bear to seduce others like this, it nearly killed him the once or twice he'd done so.
Playing his part like a pro he held out his hand and asked, ''Would you like to dance then?'' Taking his hand she pressed herself to him and they danced while they continued to converse.
''So tell me...Ash, what keeps you so occupied you arn't chasing a seat on the Coucil already?'' he shrugged non-chalantly. So she's been sent to check him out. Which was bad, it ment they were suspicious of his loyalties.
''To high a risk of being stabbed in the back I guess.'' her eyes showed an interest in that topic, slyly she replied.
''Stabbed by whom, though? Nightworlders...or Daybreakers?'' He wasn't fooling her! He almost let his surprise show, he'd fooled the best of them, Hunter and Lily Redfern included.
Keeping his composure he replied in amused tone, ''Why both of course. The Council see it as if your not against their enemies your against them while their all trying to get the jump on each other. And the Daybreakers...well the less said about them the better.'' he gave a small laugh to which Scarlett smiled in reply to, however it didn't reach her eyes which remained cold and searching.
For the next hour Scarlett kept him company and mentioned nothing further about Circle Daybreak. In fact by all counts she acted as if she'd never asked the question at all. Then suddenly as a song finnished she pulled him toward one of the many doors to the room, this one both small and undecorated looked like a staff one.
Producing a bunch of keys Scarlett opened a door of to the left Ash followed, knowing with a certainty what would follow. A point to which he was proven right as a second later she grabbed the front of his shirt and pressed her lips to his. Forcing down his first reaction of pushing her away, he instead imagined himself as one of the many vampires he's seen eyeing her up all night and returned her kiss.
Her arms went around his neck and his to her waist as he pulled her even closer to him their kiss deepening.
However barely a second later the door opened and the light was flicked on, a snarl was followed by Ash being pulled back from Scarlett. At first he thought it was this guy Damien whom he'd noticed grimacing at them earlier. Scarlett had explained he was very protective of her.
But to his great surprise he was niether hurt nor attacked in any way. Instead the figure moved to grab Scarletts wrists, so surprised Scarlett let her wrist be captured.
Scarlett glared at the guy now holding her wrists and attempted to pull away, but Ash didn't miss the naked panic in her eyes.
However his grip was firm and she only struggled more.
''Charlotte!'' snarled the figure whom Ash now realised was Merric Falleron - her soulmate.
''Get off me traitor!'' Charlotte screamed. Merric couldn't help but wince, she'd always had a healthy pair of lungs on her. Closing his eyes he lent in to kiss her pushing the image of Ash kissing her out of his mind.
The instant their lips met she stopped struggling as the pink haze enveloped them, then barely a milisecond later images began flashing in both their minds.
A little girl with impossibly long black hair being scolded for bad spellwork...the same girl a little older, her face shining as she spun in a witches circle...two plump women both with lavender eyes, witch eyes something about the image saying aunt...again the same girl running and laughing with some friends, one of them calling her name, ''Charlotte!'' and laughing some more...finding a birth certificate and seeing a name - not her own - and crying herself to sleep...then months of wild parties and getting drunk... drinking blood for the first time...meeting a guy she didn't know the name of who made her feel alive again and happy...losing him, the grief, the pain, the loss...then love, family who actually cared for her came...the power, the rush, the forfilment...gradually she forgot pain and hurt and loss finding love of a new kind in the twilight...a warehouse! a guy she didn't recognise but whom felt so good...HER SOULMATE!
Her shock snapped them both out of it, and she regarded him as though with new eyes seeing for the first time and lips hardly moving she whispered, ''Merric?''. A conflict on her face stopped him kissing her again, but she still held her wrists nodding his head.
''Yes it's me! Charlotte do you remember?'' she frowned, but not angryly more as if she were thinking and her thought process wasn't fast enough.
Behind him Merric heard someone give a reluctant attention seeking cough, he ignored it but Charlottes eyes snapped to them. One look and she seem to clarify her thoughts.
''Merric,'' though her tone was business like Merric relished at hearing it spoken once again by that voice from those lips, though he was soon snapped out of it by her next words. ''Red knows Ash is a traitor.''
All at once Merric remmebered where they were and what was going on not two minutes before. Charlotte however cut across him talking hurridly, but in a way that suggested she'd rather not being saying it. ''There are some Nightworld spies inside Circle Daybreak, they told Red that Ash had a human soulmate. Red wanted me to find out if it was true tonight. Because if it was then if he hadn't killed her he would have joined Circle Daybreak to protect her, which is exactly what they told him.''
Ash, whom, Merric realised had his mind still on his mission despite Charlottes revelations asked the obvious question before Merric had even thought it. ''Who's the spy.'' at that however Charlotte returned to looking more like she had previously in the evening, shooting Ash a scornful look.
''I'm telling you this so the pair of you will get the fuck out of here.'' but she shifted her gaze breifly to him and Merric knew she was trying to protect him.
Telepathically he spoke privately to Ash, ''We can't leave, we have to save Quinn.'' to which Ash replied coldly, ''I know!
Losing her cool Charlotte said strongly, ''No, forget about him and go. Now! Or you will be worse of than him I can promise you that.''
Seeing an opening Merric ignored the fact that somehow she'd overheard a private telepathic communication and litrally ordered Ash. ''Go back to the party, she'll see you in a minute.'' Eyebrows raised, Ash left.
''Merric!'' Now that Ash had left he noticed a tone of appeal that was in voice now that wasn't before. ''Please, just go.''
Goading her he said, ''Why so you can run away and hide, pretend you don't feel ashamed? Well sorry Charlotte, but there are more important things than your guilt and remorse and hiding your emotions. You can't hide forever Charlotte!''
''I'm not hiding and don't call me that! Don't say anything, just go, leave. That's what you've always been so good at!'' Merrics heart squeezed as he saw the vague glistening of tears in her eyes. The tears surprised him more than her not remembering him, she never cried. Not once throughout her awful homelife, not when he left, never. In fact the only timehe could eber recall her crying was when she'd found out that her mother hadn't died in an accident as she'd always been told but had been murdered by her own soulmate, Hunter Redfern.
''Why didn't you realise it was me the other day?'' he asked in a different tone of voice, letting his own pain seep into it.
Still furiously fighting back the tears she merely looked at him, then not answering his question instead asking her own said. ''Why aren't you dead?'' He thought she ment he should just go away and die at first but the continued presence of barely restrained tears made him answer her non-sarcastically.
''Dead? What are you talking about?''
When she didn't reply he spoke again. ''Charlotte, who told you I was dead?'' again she gave no answer, but the half hidden confusion in her eyes answered for her. Turning her left arm to face the other way he traced his finger along a vein. Within it was a special power, the Essence.
Aradia had told them about it, although it was powerful and only certain people could bear it, the other flaw being that to gain it there was a very differcult blooding ritual involved and you had to trust the person absoloutly as they could manipulate you during the ritual for their own purposes. Had Red Fern done that to Charlotte?
''I came back, a month after you left. Your aunts said you had run away with another guy.''
Looking exsasperated now Charlotte commented, ''Yeah I bet.'' then seeming serious again asked, ''So why bother to rescue them? You didn't even know who I was then?''
''I...'' but Merric trailed off, ''Look we can't talk now. And Ash can't just leave, he's already had a tracker planted on him.'' Charlottes eyebrows rose. Merric went on, ''Well Red Fern isn't a risk taker is he?''
Nodding Charlotte fidgeted uncomfortably in the dress and Merric for the first time appreciated that although she looked good in it she wouldn't have been seen dead wearing it had she been herself.
''Cover for him please,'' as Charlotte opened her mouth to object doubt flashed through her face, then clenching her jaw she nodded.
Without a further glance at Merric she headed out of the door, but before she closed the door behind her Merric couldn't help but say, ''and I love you...Charlotte.
Merric knew that as the door clicked shut, a single lone tear escaped and ran silently down her cheek. Then their connection broke and she headed back to the party.