Crescentia's Story
I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the characters from the Mange Series or anime…but I do own this storyline, any other characters outside of the original works of the Sailor Moon franchise, and any other fictional environment outside of the original Sailor Moon.
Here you go. PLEASE REVIEW!
Got tired of editing so take it as it is. I will edit properly another time. Done with chapter 19, I just have to edit it.
Thanks you all, for taking time to read and review this and last chapter! I really appreciate it. I hope you are all staying safe in this Pandemic.
I work at the hospital and we've been short so I've had to put in more hours since the last time I posted. I am half asleep posting this one but I thought I get it out to cheer some of you up through this crises. Keep you chin up, things will get better. Use this time to write your own stories, rest, de-stress, build your goals and dreams, and learn new skills. Watch TV and exercise at home. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!
Think positive thoughts! God has you and me and the whole world in his hands! His powerful, mighty hands! oh and WASH YOUR HANDS! DON'T TOUCH YOUR FACE! COVER YOUR MOUTH WHEN YOU COUGH! AND STAY AT HOME IF NOT WORKING!
~ Happy reading ~
Chapter 18 - Kisses and Sketches
It was dark. Not the kind of pitch blackness of nights with no moon. No, it was darkness of a deeper shade. A cold darkness that blinded the senses entirely. She walked in this darkness, seeking something.
Something was amiss, something had gone wrong. Somewhere, somehow the darkness echoed a madness that made her bones brittle. She was used to darkness, born of it in fact. Darkness had never scared her, until now that is. As she continued to meander through the blackened world, she heard cackles like that of an aged witch. Glees of broken laughter that shriveled her already frayed nerves.
She called her glaive into her hands.
"What madness is this?" the soldier of silence asked, her eerie purple eyes alight to pierce through the darkness. She raised her glaive to give light but the light was immediately snuffed out into the blackness.
"We will no longer be tamed." a dark voice echoed through the blackness, followed by gleeful untamed laughter of madness.
"Who are you?" Sailor Saturn demanded, turning whichever way. She could not locate a single source for the voice for it seemed to come from every location.
"We shall have our revenge. It is time we awakened." the voice hissed the words out like a snake readying itself to strike.
"We come sister. We come."
Sailor Saturn shivered at the intentions behind the worlds. Seeing in the shadows an unfolding darkness with intelligence filled with cold unresolved rage.
"Silence, Glaive Surprise!" Saturn chanted, letting loose her power.
She had no hope of hitting whatever was in the darkness but she needed to know what was hidden within. Her power reverberated through the darkness and unexpectedly, it redirected back to herself, smashing into her.
She screamed.
Hatoru Tomoe jumped awake in bed, nerves screaming in pain from her own power. She gasped out loud as if she surfaced out from drowning in water. Tears pooled at her eyes from the pain.
The door burst open.
"Hotaru?" a sandy blonde woman stood at the door with an aqua hair lady. The blonde could easily have passed for a man except for the softness that somehow showed through her tough exterior. Both the blonde and aqua haired women looked worried as they approached the teenage girl on the bed breathing hard.
They saw smoke coming off her skin as if she'd been scorched.
"What happened?" The blonde asked, her eyes wide as she got on the bed. They waited for the young woman to get her bearings before she looked at them with frightened eyes. That gave them a pause.
That look couldn't be good.
The Sailor Soldier of death wasn't the type to show fear flippantly.
"Something is here." she said, her voice hoarse, her purple eyes still aglow.
The two older women looked at each other briefly, worry marring their features. The aqua haired woman approached Hotaru, resting her hand over the younger girl's shoulder.
"Why don't you tell us everything." she cooed gently at the girl even as her own stomach churned. Hotaru was not the hysteria type so her news could not be good news. The soldier of Saturn had an uncanny ability to perceive things others could not. And her powers of death and darkness meant that she could pick up on malevolent intent long before anyone became aware.
"I've been having this premonition for a while now. Before, it felt distant so I wasn't sure its connection to us, to the earth, but the last three visions I have had are different. Whatever is going to happen is here. Something is here. The weird thing though…" She said, looking puzzled. The two ladies gave her encouraging looks.
"There is a lot of rage. But the rage is unfocused."
"What do you mean the rage is unfocused?" Michelle, the aqua haired woman asked.
"I don't know how to explain it. The rage is not focused on the earth. The intelligence behind the darkness...I feel like it has no real interest in the earth itself. But it wants revenge."
The blonde looked alarmed.
"Revenge for what?" she asked.
"I don't know. But something is here. We need to find Pluto." Hotaru said.
"We've been trying Hotaru." Michelle said, truly worried about the events unfolding.
"I've been looking through the mirror trying to trace her but it's like she's disappeared completely. No trace. Usually I have a sense of her even when she's in the time stream but not this time around."
"Yeah, and she's been gone for over two months now." Amara, the blonde woman, put in. they sat in silence, absorbing the news that there's a potential new enemy to contend with. What they were afraid to let their minds consider is why their friend, the Sailor Soldier of Time, was missing. Last time something like this had happened, when Darien, their prince, had disappeared, they'd found out a couple of months later that he was dead.
"What do we do now?" Michelle asked, looking upset. They'd hope to have at least ten years of peace. But it seems their vacation would be very short lived.
"We have to go back." Hotaru said, looking up with a determined demeanor. They all knew what 'going back meant.' they had to go back to their Prince and Princess.
"Do the Inners need help right now? Wouldn't it be better for us to focus on finding Pluto?" Amara asked, truly concerned. It wasn't abnormal for the Time Guardian friend to go away for months. But she usually checked in to ease their worries. But it's been two months with no contact.
"No we have to go back now." Hotaru said, her eyes narrowed.
"Why?" Michelle asked. She saw the determined look in Hotaru's eyes and instinctively knew there was more to her insistence than just concern for their younger soldier partners.
"When I released the 'silence glaive' attack in my dreams, for a split second, I saw the white moon surrounded by a miasma of dark energy." She explained.
Amara sighed.
"Why is it always her? Seriously! She's like a magnet for trouble!" The wind soldier exclaimed, causing a little smile to appear on Michelle's lips.
"But…" Hotaru said, cutting through their thoughts, her face and eyes still focused as if she was trying to see or penetrate something just beyond her reach. She paused, trying to put to words what was bothering her.
"But what Hotaru?" Amara asked.
"Haven't you guys felt it?" she asked, rubbing her forehead as if whatever she's been concentrating on had given her a headache. Once again, Amara and Michelle shared a look.
"Felt what dear?" Michelle asked.
"The tension. For months now there's been tension between the earth and the moon." She said. The two blinked.
"What does that mean?" Amara asked. Hotaru shook her head, sighing.
"I don't know but I can't ignore it."
"Do you think something has happened to the Prince and Princess?" Amara asked, feeling a headache coming on. To that question nobody answered but it was clear they were going back to Japan. What Hotaru chose not to share was that the tension she felt between the moon and the earth smelled faintly of death.
Sunday
The two overly grand staircases led to a foyer the size of a master bedroom. But the whole front area of the first floor was obviously the family living quarters. It was divided into three distinctive areas. The wide base of the right grand staircase opened to face both the foyer and the kitchen which was on the right side. The left grand staircase also similarly led straight into the foyer but the left side of it led to an informal sitting room turned game room. The foyer stretched forward sixteen feet in front of the grand staircase to the door that led outside and twenty feet below and behind the staircase to connect the front side of the house to the back side. The kitchen, the foyer, and the informal sitting room were divided only by the staircase.
The kitchen was a huge cream colored kitchen with pops of pastel coral reef colors. It was beautiful and luxurious with custom made dark sea-like counter tops and custom made high end appliances. It also included an informal family living space towards the backside. Although the backside of the first floor was completely open visually, two sets of clear glass doors divided the kitchen/informal family living room from the other side which housed a rectangular pool and connected with the informal sitting space.
The front half of the first floor exterior was covered with excellent Mediterranean masonry both on the inside and outside. The back of the first floor starting from halfway of the informal living room all the way around to halfway through the informal sitting room was made entirely out of clear glass like material that was obviously not easily breakable and bullet proof.
Sitting at the base of the right side of the right grand staircase facing the kitchen, Serena and Raizen watched his sisters busy themselves with breakfast and telling bad jokes. The disgust on some of their faces when someone told a particularly terrible joke was priceless and Raizen found himself laughing at their facial expressions more than the bad jokes whose inventors should be shot.
Serena on the other hand was slipping in and out of amazement and amusement. The first time she'd been at the house, it had been dark and she hadn't really had time to look around. Then when she was brought here on Friday, she'd mostly spent her time in Raizen's room. Now, in the morning sunlight, she finally had the opportunity to see the space for what it was and it was amazing. The closest thing she's seen outside of magazines of luxury was Darien's apartment building. Compared to this though, Darien's apartment building suddenly looks very shabby.
'Which means our own homes look even worse.' she mused internally. The light spilling in from the large window above the massive kitchen sinks and the living room was bright and cheerful, highlighting all the beautiful natural sea colors of the kitchen. There were three different TVs mounted in different areas so that wherever you turned, you could see what was showing if you wanted to. But the TVs were off which was ok because Serena found the sisters entertaining enough.
Sitting there watching them, she'd heard enough bad jokes to last her a lifetime. But the most memorable jokes she retained in her brain were the ones that elicited the most disgusted faces she'd ever seen.
"What did the fish say when he swam into a wall?"
"Dam" this was asked and answered by Rhea, the younger of the twins. Her sister, Thea, looked at her as if to say, 'we can't be cut from the same cloth.'
"What do you call a can opener that doesn't work?" This was asked by Xander.
"A can't opener!" Laverna enthusiastically answered. The two fist bumped, earning a vomiting impersonation from Maeve.
"Did you hear about the Italian chef who died?" Alethea asked with a sly smile.
"He pasta-way!" Xander laughed maniacally as she answered. Cassandra groaned.
"Did you hear about the fire in the shoe factory?" Rhea asked.
"10,000 soles were lost. The police said some heels started it." Rhea answered to the continued bemusement of her sister.
"What do you call a fake noodle?" Alethea asked.
"Please stop." Cassandra beseeched as Laverna hollered, "an impasta!"
And so breakfast took longer to set the table than was planned. They all gathered around the kitchen S shaped island and passed around food. As everyone's plate filled out, Serena found it amazing that they could look as they do and eat so much. She'd always been the bigger eater in her acquaintances. But over the past two years, her appetite had decreased drastically.
Watching the sisters and Raizen enjoy their food, she was able to eat a lot more than she had in a long while. Raizen winked at her and she blushed, loving his attention. He'd been beside her since she rose around 6 am.
She woke up to find him sound asleep besides her, breathing softly. She was lying facing him and loved that the first sight she saw was this incredible man. Then as if sensing her gaze, he opened his eyes to hers. They stared, transfixed with each other. Then slowly he moved over her to hug her. They stayed like that for a long while.
Eventually though, he moved and she missed his warmth immediately. He got off the bed, came to her side and helped her sit up.
"Are you hungry?" he asked softly, taking her hands into his big ones.
She nodded because her throat was dry.
He'd taken her arm into the crock of his and walked her down to the kitchen to find Maeve and Cassandra chit chatting. The moment the two saw them down, they went and embraced Serena. Cassandra was the first to hug her and when she was done, Maeve folded her into her bosom much to Serena's happy embarrassment.
"How are you feeling?" Maeve asked when she pulled away. It took a minute or two to work out her voice after being greeted so warmly.
"I am ok." she said hoarsely. Cassandra poured her a cup of orange juice and toasted bread. When the bread was done toasting, she cut up a banana and scoped up some peanut butter onto a plate and handed it over to her. Raizen sat on the stairs and she sat beside him.
"Eat this for now. We'll be done with breakfast in about half an hour." Cassandra instructed. She nodded mutely and took a bite of the bread. She blinked as she chewed. She didn't realize she had a rapt audience. When she was done chewing, she turned to speak to Raizen and paused. He was gazing at her so fondly, she blushed.
"Um…" she said, and he chuckled.
"Yes?"
"This um...the bread, it's really good." she stammered.
"Thank you. Homemade breads are always better than store bought." Maeve said graciously.
"You made this?" Serena asked in awe. Maeve just winked at her.
Sometime during the exchange, Cassandra pressed a button and soon she heard the descending echoes of footsteps. She looked up the stairs in time to watch the rest of the sisters descend.
Upon seeing her, Laverna and Alethea waved, running to give her a hug. When Xander tried to hug her too, Raizen caught her and lifted her much to Serena's shock. He set the woman down away from Serena.
"You don't get a hug until you apologize." He said to Xander. She threw a fit and sulked. Behind her, Serena heard giggles.
She turned and paled.
Standing in front of her were obviously twins. But what caused Serena's panic was their striking resemblance to a little pink haired monster she knew. Everyone noticed the change in her demeanor. From awe to cold in a split second.
The twins blinked, backing up a step.
Raizen was about to ask her what was wrong when he saw the twins as Serena would. He remembered how shocked he'd been when he first got a glimpse of Rini, Serena's tormentor. The girl had pink cotton candy colored hair and reddish pink eyes. When he first saw her, from a distance of course, he'd thought that one of his sisters had shrunk to the size of an eight year old. It was the little girl's eyes that had helped him establish that she wasn't his shrunk sister.
Understanding this, he moved behind Serena and wrapped his arms around her. He rested his head on the top of her head.
"They are not the little brat who caused you so much pain. These are my sisters. When we found you at the grave site, you were too tired so I don't think we were able to introduce them to you. Look at their eyes love.'' The last part was said with a bit of a command because she seemed to be immobile with shock. His tone woke her from wherever her mind had taken her and she directed her gaze into theirs eyes. The eyes staring back at her were not reddish pink eyes but rather lightning lavender.
They had the same hair color as Rini, the same bone structure and prominent jawline but their eyes were different. She gulped, realizing the scene she'd just made.
"I….I'm sorry." she said, embarrassed. The twins nodded but they still kept their distance, unsure of their reception.
"I didn't mean to…" she said, unable to finish her words. Shame filled her. She just wanted to disappear. Even when not present, Rini still had the power to make a fool out of her.
"Serena has a very painful history with someone that resembles you guys. When I first saw the little girl, I thought someone had shrunk one of you. Your eyes are the only things that are not similar." Raizen said lightly. Serena just looked down. The sisters came down to stand by her.
"We'll never hurt you Serena." Thea said. Serena looked up into their sincere face and tears came to her eyes but she held it back.
"I'm sorry." She whispered again.
"We understand. We don't know who this girl is but you can be sure that we are not her nor do we wish you harm. Perhaps in time as you get to know us, our appearance won't burden your heart as much as it does now." Rhea said graciously. Serena just nodded, unable to escape the feeling of shame rising through her.
"And besides…" Before anyone knew what was happening, Xander was standing behind the twins, both hands scoping up one breast of each twin.
"Does that girl have boobs like these!?" Serena's jaw hit the floor. Rhea giggled but Thea rolled her eyes and knocked Xander's hands from her and her sister's breasts.
"Don't use this as an excuse to fondle us you pervert!" Thea yelled. Out of nowhere, her legs went flying towards Xander who easily dodged by jumping backwards, a wide grin on her face.
"Breast is the best way to tell the difference between people!" Xander argued, not at all repentant.
"How!?" Raizen demanded, coming to stand protectively in front of Serena.
"Trying touching their breasts! You will know it's different from Serena's." Xander shot back.
"I can't do that! They are my sisters!" he said, glaring at Xander. Xander just held her hands up in a shrug.
"You're missing out buddy." was her mocking reply.
"Xander, I think you are scaring our guest." Maeve said. Everyone turned to see an entirely red Serena.
"She's not scared! She is enlightened!" Xander explained.
"Well right now she's more like a tomato." Alethea observed.
"Mmm...I'd say more strawberry colored." Laverna added in her observation.
"I don't know….tomato and strawberry aren't quite right." Rhea added.
Serena groaned loudly, causing Rhea to giggle. The rest just grinned.
"Don't show what you're feeling and they won't tease you so much." the voice came from higher up the staircase. Serena looked up to see a young woman, perhaps thirteen or fourteen descending the stairs. She had massively long hair, wavy and almost to the floor. Her eyes were dark. The twins and Xander moved for her to stop in front of Serena with a hand outstretched.
"Hera. It is very nice to meet you princess." she said, her voice soft with a purr-like hoarseness, completely at odds with the sweet angelic face. But her eyes held all the wisdom of one who has lived a very long time and had seen things beyond human capacity. Like the others, she was beautiful.
"Hi." Serena breathed. She felt a sense of familiarity with this girl. An ancient calling of sort, like they've met somewhere in time. She also felt somewhat shy. Although she seemed to be the youngest one in the group, there was an air of authority around her that broke no nonsense. She carried herself with a sense of purpose and confidence that made her seem so much older than her face indicated.
"Oh my name is Serena." she added quickly.
"Let's be good friends." Hera smiled and Serena felt a very strange sense of belonging. She smiled back. She continued her way to the kitchen with the others following her. As they began to work in the kitchen to prepare breakfast, Serena nibbled on the treat she was given and studied the sisters and the beautiful kitchen.
Now as they ate breakfast, she had the opportunity to observe them more. They did not eat in silence. They conversed, asking what each person's plans were for the day.
"Why don't we tour the town? We haven't really done that." Laverna suggested. Thea nodded.
"That's a good idea. We need to get a little more familiar with our new home." she concurred.
"Not today guys." Cassandra intervened. "Today we have to go get the store and cafe ready."
"That's probably a good idea. It will get cold soon. It's already mid-November. If we can get it ready, we can set up shop before the snow falls." Alethea agreed. Laverna groaned.
"If we work hard, we can get out early so we can see the town." Maeve compromised.
They agreed.
"What about you?" Hera asked, turning dark eyes on the unsuspecting Serena. She blinked at the dark haired girl.
"What about me?" She asked.
"What do you plan to do?"
"Nothing...I just…." then she paused and thought.
"I need to get in contact with Ms. Haruna. I've missed a whole week of classes. That's going to hurt." she said.
"Oh don't worry about that. We took notes and got the assignments from the teachers. I can work with you while they do the heavy lifting." Alethea offered with a wink. Serena was very touched.
"Oh no, I don't want to inconv..."
"If you finish that sentence, she will cry." Thea said, pointing to Alethea who had on the cutest puppy dog face Serena had ever seen. She turned wide eyes to Raizen who sighed dramatically.
"Love, it takes a lot to make Alethea cry. To deny her the joy of helping a friend academically is a most horrific offense. Please don't make my sister cry." he said with utmost seriousness. Serena turned wide eyes on Alethea and nodded her head vigorously.
"Please help." she said and they all burst out laughing, including Raizen.
When she realized she'd been duped, she turned glaring eyes on Raizen.
"I'm sorry love. I couldn't ...I couldn't help it." he said between laughter. Hera just smiled at her.
"Welcome to the family."
Serena was familiar with the structure of the building where the sisters would be opening their boutique. It was inside the twilight tower complex but with an outside front door. They weren't stuck in the middle thank good. But with the old clothing store gone, the bones of the inside seemed a lot bigger than she remembered.
Serena learned three things about the sisters before they split up to do different tasks.
One, they were highly competent.
Two, they were creative and would most definitely shake up the sleepy town of Juban Three, they were a hard working happy bunch.
They efficiently divided up the chores the moment they got there, everyone working on something they had knowledge and proficiency in. She and Alethea were allocated to the back to work on the assignments she'd missed over the weeks.
Throughout her lessons with Alethea, she'd get distracted by something one of the sisters was saying or doing, the horseplay that happened too often between Laverna and Xander, and the strangely interesting way Hera seemed to be the most effective person to curb Xander's over-zealousness.
Once in a while, she would catch Maeve looking at Xander with a look of wonder, almost as if she was coming to tears. There was a story there but she didn't want to pry. Alethea would notice her distraction and gently guide her back to their numerous homework.
"We're not going to be able to finish all these today. I mean we can but it will do you no good to try and cram all this information. So we're just going to work on the assignments due tomorrow and work with the teachers on when we can get the other assignments turned in. Is that ok?" Aleathea asked and Serena just nodded, grateful for Alethea gentleness and kindness.
So they worked studiously with occasional interruption from Xander who always got redirected from reaching Serena either by Raizen or by Hera. Every time she was thwarted from her goal, she'd grumble about how people were conspiring against her. Serena giggled a time or two at the woman. She began to understand that Xander truly meant no harm and her perverted nature may just be a cover up for breaking the silence of awkwardness.
They stopped around 1pm for a light lunch break of salad and fruits and returned to working. At 3pm, Alethea ended their studying session.
"I think you've done enough for today. Why don't you walk around a bit to stretch your legs and back." She suggested and Serena smiled shyly.
"Thank you."
"Always." Alethea returned her smile. She got up to do as Alethea suggested.
With a notebook and a pencil in her hand, her backpack that had been recovered by Rune on her shoulder, she walked around the room, looking at what the sisters were attempting to do. They were currently dividing up the spaces to see what would fit where.
Serena stood a ways back to observe them. They disagreed but in a respectful way to one another. They teased and critiqued each person's suggestions without giving offense. It hurt watching them.
For the first time, she had a visual to express the kind of relationship she had always wanted with Amy, Mina, Lita, Ray, Rini, and Darien. Disagreement without lashing out at her, teasing without insulting her.
She felt a yearning in her gut to be part of the sisters but she also feared their rejection. What if at some point down the road, they treat her like the girls had treated her? What if they start to think she was useless? Seeing how competent and confident each of them were, she feared that she had no place among these women.
She turned her gaze to Raizen who had stopped conversing with his sisters to look at her. It was almost as if he could read her thoughts.
She turned away, not wanting to show him any more weakness. She'd been pathetic enough in front of this man.
She stepped out of the store and looked at the door. She then noticed that the sisters had hung up ribbons of colors. She remembered that earlier they had been arguing over what color to paint the store.
The store was deep and the front entirely made of glass. Which meant it would get a good amount of sunlight. At the entrance, there was a large walk way before you stepped into traffic. Walking further backwards, she took in the entire front of the store. Traffic was light so she was able to stand in the middle of the street for a while before a car honked her out of the way. Crossed the street to the other side where a bench sat and without much thought began to sketch.
She sketched the front of the store. Taking out color pencils from her bag, she created a color palette of rose gold and teal for the front of the store. Then from memory she sketched the inside. She knew the sisters wanted to somehow incorporate a cafe in the boutique. She paused to think about where the cafe would best fit. The structure of the store was technically not ideal. She realized she'd have to think outside the box to create a functional space.
People drank tea or coffee at all hours of the day so it was important that the cafe be in an easily accessible location. Not everyone who wants cafe goods wants to shop at the same time. However, putting the cafe by the wall of glass would leave little surface space to display the boutique items. She sketched six different sketches and decided that the sixth one had the best functional locations for the cafe, clothing displays, bathroom location, and changing rooms. She then took out her color pencils and applied the color scheme from the outside into the inside. She imagined what a boutique would look like, what kind of merchandise would be sold and sketched lines and circles for where she imagined dresses, skirts, shirts, hand bags, scarves, etc. would best fit.
She'd always hated over crowded clothing stores so she focused on creating enough spaces between the aisles for easy maneuvers. Then at the center of the store, she created a space she called 'Cme', a play on words meant to sound like 'see me', and an abbreviation for Create Me. Both the sound and the full name expressed exactly what she hoped to do with that center space.
While she worked, she was completely unaware of the nine pairs of eyes that watched her with fascination. Although he'd been her teacher for over a month, this was the first time Raizen had ever seen Serena looked so studious and interested. She looked immersed in whatever she was doing, her tongue sticking out to the side at times when her brow creased. Lazy wind ruffled her long hair in the air, lifting her two long ponytails and dropping it as if the hair weighed too much for the wind to maintain it up. She was breathtaking.
'I can't ever let go.' Raizen thought, his chest feeling so tight with emotion it was suffocating. He wanted to run to her, scoop her up in his arms and ravish her. But it was the look in her eyes from earlier that reminded him that she still needed time. She'd looked dejected earlier when she observed him and his sisters, as if she felt unworthy to be among them. He'd wanted to run right over to her and kissed her senseless but he hadn't wanted to draw attention to her in front of his sisters. He didn't think she'd appreciate it at that moment. Instead he'd watched her from the corner of his eyes, noting her every move and action. When she started to do whatever it was that she was doing, her face transforming into one of serious contemplation, his breath had caught and he completely blanked out from whatever his sisters had been discussing. Almost in a trans, he walked away from his sister onto the street, the doors of the store wide open. But he hadn't crossed. He just stood on the sidewalk opposite where she sat, and watched her with various powerful emotions bleeding into his soul.
His sisters had noticed his preoccupation and turned to watch what had captured his attention so thoroughly. They too became frozen with surprise to see the little moon princess sitting across the street from the store, writing or sketching something.
Alethea had a moment of clarity.
While she'd been tutoring Serena, the girl hadn't shown much interest in what they were studying. Her attention had easily been snatched by any and everything. But here she was, her face an expression of concentration and ease and interest. Whatever she was doing interested her and Alethea intended to find out what it was. Perhaps she could incorporate that into their lessons to help her study. Contrary to what she'd heard from the students at Juban High, Serena wasn't dumb. She just wasn't interested and lacked motivation.
'So what interests you princess? What makes you happy?' she wondered. It was time she learned more about the woman she hoped to serve.
The rest of the sisters' thoughts ran along the same thoughts as Alethea, wondering what could produce such a look on the princess's face. And like Alethea, they all made a mental promise to get to know her more. They went around their duties, each still keeping a close eye on their new friend so they bore witness when a golden eagle flew down and dropped what appeared to be a scarf around the princess's shoulders.
Serena looked up when she felt something drop around her shoulders. She looked up in time to see Rune flap up and then dropped himself on the back side of the bench, his claws digging into the grooves in the bench for perches. When he was stable, situated on the bench near Serena's shoulders, he rubbed his cheeks to hers and Serena smiled. Inside her, she felt settled. She noted that feeling. It wasn't the first time the sight of Rune has settled her. It seems whenever the avian prey was around, she felt more at ease, less skittish. He stretched his dead down to look at what she was doing and she showed him.
"What do you think?" she asked, feeling shy but confident. She had this sense of certainty that in the sight of Rune, she would never be lacking. He filled her with confidence and acceptance in a way no one had for a long time. He made a sound that was like a weak scream repeatedly as if he was talking to her. She responded to him as if she understood him perfectly. She didn't notice how odd that was. But then again, she was used to talking to a cat.
As the two converse, Raizen and the sisters watched with amusement. A rueful smile found its way onto Raizen's mouth.
"I am absolutely no match for Rune." he confessed with a chuckle. The others just grinned. After a few minutes, Raizen lifted his head from Serena's pictures to look at them. He called them. Serena looked up when Rune called the others. She looked from the bird to the sisters and Raizen who were walking over. Understanding clarified in her head. She blushed and frantically covered her drawings, hiding them behind her. When shadows fell on her, she looked up and found herself surrounded by eight grinning sisters and their brother.
"Soooo, what are you trying to hide from us." Rhea asked slyly. Serena gulped.
"Nothing!" she squeezed out; the sound of a guilty conscious.
Rune said something in that animal way he talked and Serena shook her head vigorously.
"It's not that good." she protested.
Rune continued talking to her, coaxing her to show her art. She looked at Rune with a worried face, then back to her audience who now sported concerned and curious expression.
"I'm not crazy, I can understand him." she said, mistaking their concern as a reaction to her talking to a bird.
'They must think I'm bat.' she thought woefully.
"Oh we know. We're used to it. Raizen talks to him all the time. You're both crazy but that's ok." Xander said, grinning. Raizen shot her a dirty look.
Maeve squatted down so she could look up at Serena. Serena looked down at the woman. She had a gentle smile on her face.
"If Rune likes whatever it is he wants you to show us, then be confident that it is for a good reason. He's a strange bird and he's always been very perceptive in a way that is uncanny. He also has no problem showing his displeasure." Maeve said gently.
Laverna snorted.
"Maxine drew a dress for one of our fashion lines. She was so proud of it. She showed it to all of us. We gave her gentle feedback for changes. She showed it to Rune, he ripped it apart and proceeded to tell her what was wrong with her drawing in his bird speech. We didn't know what he was saying but it was hella funny." She laughed. A few giggled but all had a smile upon remembering the event. Serena turned wide eyes on her avian friend. He blinked at her innocently.
"You did that?" she whispered in awe.
He let out a stream of bird speech as if to explain his actions. Serena didn't know if she should laugh or be appalled. She just shook her head and giggled instead.
"He said it was terrible."
Maeve nodded.
"It was but we didn't have the heart to tell her so. She was so proud of that picture. Maxine is a fashion guru but she has no drawing capabilities whatsoever. She's always used computer software to design her clothing line. She, however, has always liked Raven, Rhea, and my sketches for clothing. She often attempts to draw any clothing ideas that come into her head but she's better with digital sketches than she is with pencil and paper. We've always encouraged her but there are some things even she cannot accomplish." Maeve explained with a fond smile.
"So if Rune likes your work, it surely can't be as bad as Maxine's." Thea said encouragingly. Serena thought about it but shook her head with a rueful smile.
"I get the feeling that Rune is a little biased in my case. I think he will like whatever I do." She said, feeling certain of that analysis.
Raizen laughed.
"I agree." he announced. He walked around the bench and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She blushed.
"But I will cry if I don't get to see what you were doing. It's not fair that you like Rune more than me." He said sadly. She turned to look at him wearily.
"I like you both." she said.
"But you only let him see your work. That's foul. Oh my heart is broken." he said, putting one hand to his chest and the other over his eye dramatically. Serena raised a brow, amused at his antics. Raizen lifted his head to see her reaction at the corner of his eyes and went back to his 'woe is me' antics until Serena started giggling.
"Ok fine." she gave in. She removed her hand from behind her back and opened the notebook she'd been sketching in for them to see. She blushed as she did so and held her breath. They all leaned in to see her sketches.
"May I?" Maeve asked and Serena handed it over to her. The woman stood and they faced the storefront to compare it to her sketches. Then they walked through the interior part of her design, a huge grin forming on their faces.
"Ladies, I do believe our work today is done." Cassandra said. She and the others turned to Serena.
"Do you mind if we use your sketches? I think I speak for everyone when I say we love it. You have a great eye for colors and design." She said. Serena's eyes widened, her jaw dropped.
"Year, it's really good. And I like where you've placed the cafe. We were debating about that since the store structure is so odd." Laverna added.
"The colors really go well together. It's chic and glamorous without being too much." Rhea said.
"What does the Cme mean?" Alethea asked, looking curious. Serena visibly swallowed. She hadn't set out to design for the store. She'd just done it because she wanted to. She hadn't intended to give them the design or even put in her two cents. This was their store.
"Just an idea to display some of the clients designs. I was thinking if you make it an interactive store, people who may be interested in fashion can use this as an opportunity to come and put clothes together. Whoever has the best combination wins a week of their design being on display. C means 'Create." she answered, still looking baffled.
"Ahhh it's a play on words. Cme sounds like see me. So the person creates the look for others to see. That's brilliant!" Alethea said, sounding genuinely enlightened.
The sisters oohed and ahhed, pointing out various locations on the sketch where Serena had written the type of clothing that would best fit here and there. Through it all, Serena sat, stunned at the turn of events. Raizen kept silent through the exchange, allowing his sisters to blister the girl's confidence. He saw her shock, her incomprehension that her work was truly good. He was saddened by her lack of faith in her own abilities but was also very proud of her. She truly had a good eye for design and color and she had seemed so interested when she was sketching. Perhaps maybe she had never considered a career in the design world but she would definitely succeed in it. He was also pleasantly stunned by her talent. It wasn't that he didn't believe she had skills. He just believed that it was all buried under her pain. He'd thought it would take a while before they got to see what she could really do. Perhaps he might have underestimated her strength. Obviously she had survived some of the hardest years of her life with her kindness and goodness intact. It was about time he started finding out all her strengths. She was not a wilting flower. She was a flower with a shield, not a rose with thorns to cause pain. She was a protector, a defender.
"Before we get ahead of ourselves, let me ask you formally. Would you please allow us to use your design? We will of course pay you for it. It is really well done and honestly we all love it. We can't imagine our store being anything else. You can say no of course and we will respect your decision." Maeve said kindly, bringing everyone's attention back to Serena. Serena sat, not really sure how to respond. She didn't really know how she felt. Nobody had ever taken her art seriously except her aunt Elise. She'd been good enough to help her aunt with her fashion line but to design a store? Was she that good? Were they just being nice? Not wanting to hurt her feelings? She didn't know what to think and she was afraid to ask. Raizen saw her dilemma and sat down beside her. He took her face in his hands and directed her eyes to his.
"Please believe me Love, your sketches are good. For an awkward space, you've managed to create a design that works with the odds and angles of the space rather than against it. You've utilized its strengths to make up for its weakness. We are not feeding you false words when we say we love it. Believe in your talents, Love. It's a truly good design." she searched his eyes, looking for anything that contradicted what he'd just said and found nothing but truth and faith. She swallowed and nodded.
"Ok." she said, her breath warming his hand and calling on all his primitive needs. He smiled tightly at her but she saw his darkening eyes and understood. She pulled back before she allowed herself to get sucked into his unintended seduction. His sisters didn't need a free show. When she looked at them though, the sly smiles, huge grins, and blushing cheeks told her they'd witnessed it all. She flushed and looked down.
"You can use it if you want. I don't want any payment." She said. Xander opened her mouth to argue about not wanting the payment but Raizen shook his head to stop her. If they forced the issue, Serena would retreat. He was just glad she was coming out of her shell.
"Thank you." Cassandra said graciously.
"Yea thanks!" Laverna added
"We're gonna have the coolest store in town!" Rhea said enthusiastically. Her lavender eyes alight with joy. They slowly migrated back into the store, a subtle way of giving Serena a moment to collect herself.
Raizen sat beside her, watching her face as she processed what just happened.
Disbelief seemed to be her most dominant emotion. He lifted her suddenly, scaring and surprising her. When she looked up to question him, he placed his lips on hers and kissed her. It was a slow languid kiss, the kind that spoke of need and so much more. He took his time, going slow deliberately, pressing inside her mouth, taking her tongue with his own. A shudder rippled through her, forcing her hands around his neck and her body into his own. It was a deep, slow intense kiss that made her aware of every nerve ending in her body as they awakened in lust. He took her moans, pressed her body tightly against himself and derailed every attempt she made to change the kiss into a frenzy of need and grind. He knew if he lost himself into that frenzy, there was no going back for him. And although going slow was torturous and fucking arousing, it preserved a very small, almost imperceptible level of control. He kept his hands from straying over to her breasts. He wanted so badly to hold those globes, so badly to slide his fingers over her bare skin. He groaned out, physically in pain from the chains of restraints. Then he lost that control when Serena took his tongue into hers and pressed her teeth to it.
A roar in his ears deafened him and a powerful need gripped him.
"Yes." a voice whispered in his head.
"Take her. Make her ours."
He didn't want to listen to the voice but he felt powerless against his own lust. Then something hard poked his head and pain crashed through. Another poke jabbed at him. He blindly lifted himself up, Serena secured in his arms. The haze of lust cleared and when he did, he found himself staring at a disgruntled Rune. In his arms held a very heavy breathing Serena.
The bird of prey flapped its wings and took off suddenly, but not before Raizen saw its eyes turn dark. Raizen had never seen Rune fly so gracelessly. The bird seemed to be struggling to fly, his movements stiff and jerky, rather than fluid and smooth. In his chest, Raizen felt pain.
He swallowed. Something was wrong with Rune. He needed to go after it.
"Serena." he breathed her name against her neck. The shaking girl still tightly held in his grip even as he straightened up.
"I…."
"Well well well...what have we got here? If it isn't a teacher molesting his student. Or did the little tramp come onto you?"
Every muscle in his body stiffened. He fought his instincts to turn and confront his enemy but he held a very precious gift in his hand and wasn't about to set her before such a nasty attack. So with a calmness he didn't feel, he stood Serena on her feet and bent to her ear.
"No matter what" he whispered to her fiercely, "I've got you."
Then he turned, placing his body between hers and theirs.
"What the fuck did you call her?"
Here you go. PLEASE REVIEW!
Got tired of editing so take it as it is. Done with chapter 19, I just have to edit it.
Thanks you all, for taking time to read and review this and last chapter!
BE SAFE AND STAY SAFE! WASH YOUR HANDS! At the end of this crises, I want to know that YOU ALL made it!
