~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'Fair and foul are near of kin,
And fair needs foul,' I cried.
'My friends are gone, but that's a truth
Nor grave nor bed denied,
Learned in bodily lowliness
And in the heart's pride.'
--W. B. Yeats, "Crazy Jane Talks with the Bishop"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Ten: Attempted Seductions
Serena sipped her drink cautiously, worried about its alcohol content. It was only punch, but then, she wouldn't be surprised if it was spiked. She made a face as it burned down her throat. Definitely alcoholic. She dumped it in a nearby plant when no one was looking.
Darien was still talking to Andrew. Something about carburetors. Men, honestly. Who cares about engine parts at a party? she thought, disgusted at the fact that he was ignoring her. Pretending not to care, she scanned the crowd below the balcony stairway where they stood, picking out the people that Darien had pointed out to her.
The D.J. behind the table piled with stacks of CD's was Rubeus Darmoon, the youngest of the brothers and the one throwing the party. His wild red hair was flattened slightly under the thick band of the enormous headphones that covered his ears, and he was grinning suggestively at a large group of girls who were leaning against the gigantean speakers.
She shifted her eyes to the next eldest of the Darmoon children, Emerald, who was sighing with boredom next to her friend, Bitchy Beryl. The redhead was watching Darien intently, obviously hoping that he would glance down and take advantage of the extensive view of her cleavage that the height allowed. Serena looked away quickly before the woman caught her gaze.
She spotted two blue heads next to each other with no trouble at all. One was Ami, Darien's chatty friend who had opened the door; the other, Sapphire, the second eldest of the Darmoons. But while Ami's hair was a bright, obviously fake, royal blue, Sapphire's was dark, almost navy, so that Serena wondered if maybe it was really black with bluish highlights. Darien knew him, and had introduced her. She had liked him a lot; he had a gentle, kind sort of nature that made him naturally charismatic.
Next to him, a head of longish, white-blond hair signified the presence of the eldest Darmoon brother, Diamond. Darien had introduced her to him, as well, and Serena shivered a little at the memory. Something about him was so cold…and she hadn't liked the way his eyes had traveled over her body.
Darien shifted next to her, drawing her attention back to his presence. And then, suddenly, his hand was on her waist and there were absolutely no other thoughts in her head other than the little shockwaves of heat that were radiating from the spot.
He kept talking, oblivious to her desperate struggle to keep from melting into him then and there.
What is wrong with me? It's just a hand, a casually placed hand! she thought, angry with herself for her lack of control. Oh, but it was a nice hand, a big hand, with a little callus on the pads of the fingers and it fit into the curve of her hip so perfectly and she could feel its warmth through the thin fabric of her dress and she didn't want it to ever ever be taken away…
And then it was, and she was immediately jerked to full awareness of her surroundings. She looked up at Darien, unable to mask surprise at the speed with which he withdrew his hand. He didn't meet her eyes.
"Uh…you want another drink, Serena?"
She looked down at her empty cup. No, she didn't, but…well, hell, if he wanted to get her one, let him.
"Sure." Stupid Darien with his stupid hand, turning her to mush like that and then wanting to get her a drink.
He took the paper cup and left her alone with Andrew and a cold spot on her skin where his hand had been.
~----------~
Darien caught the smirk that Andrew gave him as he fled and suppressed the urge to growl.
Very funny, Swartz. Okay, so obviously his friend wasn't stupid, and obviously Darien wasn't very good at acting like Serena was merely his cousin, in from out of town. It was just that she was so beautiful, and that dress, and her hair was loose, and she had been so close, and he had just wanted to touch her so much…
And it was just a little touch, really…it wasn't his fault that his body started going haywire and shockwaves of heat made it impossible to concentrate on what Andrew was saying because it was all he could do to keep from pulling her against him right then. Anyway, he had to get out of there while he still had enough control to take his hand off her waist and walk away.
He threw her empty cup in a trash can that he passed, trying hard to pretend that he hadn't noticed the shiny mark of her lip-gloss on its rim.
Sighing, he stopped, leaned against the wall, and pushed a hand into his hair in frustration. But he had. He had noticed something as stupid as a little shiny spot on a paper rim, and why? Because it was a little shiny spot that had touched *her* lips. Dammit, Chiba, he thought angrily, what the hell is wrong with you? She's just a girl. You've had girls before. You've never let one get to you like this! What is it about her?
"Got a headache, Darien?" a sultry voice in his ear. He groaned and opened one eye.
"Beryl. Yeah, I have a headache, and you're making it worse. You wanna leave me alone?" he asked, trying to make his voice as dangerous as possible.
"Poor baby," she pouted her full red lips, ignoring his threatening attitude. "I could make it better," she whispered, pressing herself against him. The roundness of her breasts pressed into his arm, and her hand curled up behind him to the nape of his neck, playing with the hair there. He tried to move away, but the wall blocked his escape route.
"Let go of me, Beryl," he warned, in a soft tone that he didn't have to work to make dangerous. She pressed herself harder against him, moving so that her breasts slid against his arm.
"Admit it," she whispered, in a hot breath on his ear. "You want me as much as I want you."
With surprising strength, the hand at the back of his neck pulled his head down and her lips were on his before he could react. Shock ran through his brain, then immediately anger. He pulled her hands off and roughly pushed her away. He held her wrists in a painful grip and forced her to look him in the eye.
"No, I don't," he enunciated slowly, in the coldest tone he could manage. "I want you to leave me alone. It's over between us, Beryl, and it will never start again. Do you understand?"
He held the woman's wrists tightly, and for about one second of time, shock and hurt flared vividly in her red eyes. Then, it was abruptly gone, and the wrists were wrenched from his grasp. She slapped him, hard, and stood in righteous indignation before him, chest heaving in her skimpy purple dress.
"Stay the hell away from me, Darien," she growled, projecting her voice to the people around, "and don't ever touch me again!" She whirled, and was gone, leaving him with a stinging cheek and a lot of people glaring at him.
He sighed deeply and went to get Serena's drink, thinking, Please, God, let that be the last I see of her.
~----------~
Serena shifted nervously, trying to think of what she should say to an older man, a friend of Darien's. Andrew was smiling to himself about something, though what it could be she couldn't fathom.
He turned to her with a little chuckle. "So," he said, conversationally, "where are you staying?"
Serena felt a little flare of panic. She couldn't say she was staying at Darien's, he would think… "Er, a hotel. Not far from here," she improvised quickly.
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "What's the name of it?" he asked casually, taking a sip of the beer he was holding.
"Oh, uh…I…don't remember." She giggled airily, imitating the cheerleaders at her high school. "I'm such a ditz sometimes!"
Andrew grinned at her, but didn't say anything about her sudden act of air headed-ness. She cast desperately about for something to direct the line of discussion away from herself.
"Um, so how does Darien know Beryl?" she asked the first thing that popped into her head. She immediately kicked herself as she realized the transparency of the question.
Andrew's grin widened, and Serena groaned to herself, Oh, great, now he thinks I want to know because I'm jealous or something. Well, I'm not! Not at all!
"Oh, they go waaay back, Beryl and Darien. He went out with her for a while, not too long ago. They were a real cute couple, if you ask me, but he broke it off pretty recently. Don't ask me why, I mean *look* at her." Andrew whistled low in appreciation of the silicone masterpiece that was Beryl. "Anyway, it's obvious to anyone that she still wants him, and I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted her, too. I wouldn't blame him if he did. What straight guy wouldn't want reserved seating with her, if you know what I mean?" He winked and jabbed Serena in the side with his elbow.
She stared at him, open-mouthed in shock at what he was implying. Darien had dated Beryl…he had slept with her…he still wanted her… She shut her mouth with a snap and recovered her hold on herself quickly before she embarrassed herself further. Get a grip, Serena, of course he slept with her. He's twenty-one years old, he can sleep with whoever he wants. It's not like you care, anyway, she convinced herself. And of course he still wants her, like Andrew said, what straight guy wouldn't?
She took a deep breath and turned to Andrew, hoping he hadn't noticed that she had to collect herself. He wasn't looking at her. His mouth was hanging open, and he was staring at a spot across the open space between the sides of the stairway balcony. She turned to see what held his attention.
Darien was kissing Beryl.
Her mind emptied, all thoughts of betrayal swept away by swift numbness. She turned and ran, not thinking, not knowing why she did. Blood pounded in her brain, music pounded against her ears, and sweaty bodies gyrated around her as she fled down the stairs to disappear in the mass of dancers below.
She ran smack into something firm and warm. She would have pushed past and kept going, but strong hands came up under her elbows, preventing her escape.
"Are you all right?" a voice asked. The tone was tender, but the voice was cold. It gave Serena the odd impression of warm fuzz laid deceptively over ice.
She looked up into the clearest, pale blue eyes she had ever seen, framed by long strands of white-blond hair. The face was a hawk nose and a thin mouth, strong cheekbones and pale eyebrows, but an overall handsomeness despite the sharp features. She pulled together the scattered pieces of her mind to formulate a reply.
"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you," she smiled at the man, trying to pull herself away from him. His hands remained on her elbows.
"I…don't believe we've met. I am Diamond Darmoon." He smiled down at her, sending chills down her spine. "This is my brother, Sapphire," he said smoothly, gesturing at the blue-haired man that Serena had not noticed standing beside him.
"Sapphire! I didn't see you there," she exclaimed, with a rush of warmth, giving Sapphire a grateful look for being there, for existing and for being a friendly face.
"Serena," he responded warmly, smiling at her in a much less frightening way than his brother. "Why are you racing down the stairs? You could have knocked someone down, had you run into anyone less solid than Diamond here," he admonished, gently removing her from his brother's grip, which hadn't lessened. She let herself be transferred to his side with no protest, grateful for the support of his arm to cling to.
"You know her, brother?" Diamond asked, his cold voice surprised.
"Yes, this is Serena…Hino, was it?" Sapphire gave the name she had told him was her own. "She's a friend of Darien Chiba's." He frowned slightly in concern at her. "Speaking of him, where is Darien?"
Immediately she was hit by the painful image of her last sight of him, lips locked with Beryl.
"I…I…seem to have lost him in the crowd," she said quickly. "But I'm a big girl. I can look after myself." She forced a small laugh.
Diamond's ice blue eyes pierced her. "Can you?" he asked, with a half- smile.
She shifted uncomfortably under his scrutinizing gaze, and drew a little closer to Sapphire. The voice of D.J. Rubeus over his enormous speakers saved her from having to come up with a reply.
"Hey, I hope everyone's having a wild time! Now, here's a golden oldie for all the established and soon-to-be couples here!"
The din of shouting people quieted a little, and the first strains of "Crazy For You," by Madonna, floated from the massive speakers. The wild dancing slowed, and single bodies quickly formulated into couples, swaying as they clung to each other.
Diamond took her arm from Sapphire. "Dance with me." It wasn't a question. She threw a glance back at Sapphire as his brother pulled her into the dancing, and he shrugged helplessly at her. Diamond pulled her against him, placing her hands on his shoulders and his own on her waist. Their bodies were closer than she would have liked, but his strong hands kept her from increasing the distance.
He loosened one hand to tilt her face up to his. Ice blue eyes bore into her own, and something pricked at the back of her mind.
"You are beautiful, do you know that?" he asked, holding her gaze as his fingers stroked across her cheek. She shivered uncomfortably. "Yes, very beautiful. Like a goddess," he whispered, close to her ear.
A strange sensation filled her. Black. Like. . . black, she thought, not knowing why. Heat started to rise in her chest. A force was pushing, forcing its way into her mind.
Diamond's voice whispered seductively in her ear, "So beautiful. So desirable. I desire you. I will love you, I will love your body. Melt into me, goddess. Melt into desire."
The force pushed harder, and the heat flared in response. A black voice was whispering, you desire, yes, you desire, and the force pressed against her mind.
No, a stronger voice said. No, I don't want to. Serena gasped as the heat flared silver across her vision. Get out of my mind!
Her vision cleared, and she stumbled away from a shocked Diamond, who stood staring at her and rubbing his forehead. His face contorted in anger.
"Who…" his voice began, colder than ice.
She turned to run, and was stopped against something firm and warm for the second time that night. She looked up into concerned, midnight blue eyes as strong, comforting arms encircled her.
"Are you all right?" Darien asked her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'Fair and foul are near of kin,
And fair needs foul,' I cried.
'My friends are gone, but that's a truth
Nor grave nor bed denied,
Learned in bodily lowliness
And in the heart's pride.'
--W. B. Yeats, "Crazy Jane Talks with the Bishop"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Ten: Attempted Seductions
Serena sipped her drink cautiously, worried about its alcohol content. It was only punch, but then, she wouldn't be surprised if it was spiked. She made a face as it burned down her throat. Definitely alcoholic. She dumped it in a nearby plant when no one was looking.
Darien was still talking to Andrew. Something about carburetors. Men, honestly. Who cares about engine parts at a party? she thought, disgusted at the fact that he was ignoring her. Pretending not to care, she scanned the crowd below the balcony stairway where they stood, picking out the people that Darien had pointed out to her.
The D.J. behind the table piled with stacks of CD's was Rubeus Darmoon, the youngest of the brothers and the one throwing the party. His wild red hair was flattened slightly under the thick band of the enormous headphones that covered his ears, and he was grinning suggestively at a large group of girls who were leaning against the gigantean speakers.
She shifted her eyes to the next eldest of the Darmoon children, Emerald, who was sighing with boredom next to her friend, Bitchy Beryl. The redhead was watching Darien intently, obviously hoping that he would glance down and take advantage of the extensive view of her cleavage that the height allowed. Serena looked away quickly before the woman caught her gaze.
She spotted two blue heads next to each other with no trouble at all. One was Ami, Darien's chatty friend who had opened the door; the other, Sapphire, the second eldest of the Darmoons. But while Ami's hair was a bright, obviously fake, royal blue, Sapphire's was dark, almost navy, so that Serena wondered if maybe it was really black with bluish highlights. Darien knew him, and had introduced her. She had liked him a lot; he had a gentle, kind sort of nature that made him naturally charismatic.
Next to him, a head of longish, white-blond hair signified the presence of the eldest Darmoon brother, Diamond. Darien had introduced her to him, as well, and Serena shivered a little at the memory. Something about him was so cold…and she hadn't liked the way his eyes had traveled over her body.
Darien shifted next to her, drawing her attention back to his presence. And then, suddenly, his hand was on her waist and there were absolutely no other thoughts in her head other than the little shockwaves of heat that were radiating from the spot.
He kept talking, oblivious to her desperate struggle to keep from melting into him then and there.
What is wrong with me? It's just a hand, a casually placed hand! she thought, angry with herself for her lack of control. Oh, but it was a nice hand, a big hand, with a little callus on the pads of the fingers and it fit into the curve of her hip so perfectly and she could feel its warmth through the thin fabric of her dress and she didn't want it to ever ever be taken away…
And then it was, and she was immediately jerked to full awareness of her surroundings. She looked up at Darien, unable to mask surprise at the speed with which he withdrew his hand. He didn't meet her eyes.
"Uh…you want another drink, Serena?"
She looked down at her empty cup. No, she didn't, but…well, hell, if he wanted to get her one, let him.
"Sure." Stupid Darien with his stupid hand, turning her to mush like that and then wanting to get her a drink.
He took the paper cup and left her alone with Andrew and a cold spot on her skin where his hand had been.
~----------~
Darien caught the smirk that Andrew gave him as he fled and suppressed the urge to growl.
Very funny, Swartz. Okay, so obviously his friend wasn't stupid, and obviously Darien wasn't very good at acting like Serena was merely his cousin, in from out of town. It was just that she was so beautiful, and that dress, and her hair was loose, and she had been so close, and he had just wanted to touch her so much…
And it was just a little touch, really…it wasn't his fault that his body started going haywire and shockwaves of heat made it impossible to concentrate on what Andrew was saying because it was all he could do to keep from pulling her against him right then. Anyway, he had to get out of there while he still had enough control to take his hand off her waist and walk away.
He threw her empty cup in a trash can that he passed, trying hard to pretend that he hadn't noticed the shiny mark of her lip-gloss on its rim.
Sighing, he stopped, leaned against the wall, and pushed a hand into his hair in frustration. But he had. He had noticed something as stupid as a little shiny spot on a paper rim, and why? Because it was a little shiny spot that had touched *her* lips. Dammit, Chiba, he thought angrily, what the hell is wrong with you? She's just a girl. You've had girls before. You've never let one get to you like this! What is it about her?
"Got a headache, Darien?" a sultry voice in his ear. He groaned and opened one eye.
"Beryl. Yeah, I have a headache, and you're making it worse. You wanna leave me alone?" he asked, trying to make his voice as dangerous as possible.
"Poor baby," she pouted her full red lips, ignoring his threatening attitude. "I could make it better," she whispered, pressing herself against him. The roundness of her breasts pressed into his arm, and her hand curled up behind him to the nape of his neck, playing with the hair there. He tried to move away, but the wall blocked his escape route.
"Let go of me, Beryl," he warned, in a soft tone that he didn't have to work to make dangerous. She pressed herself harder against him, moving so that her breasts slid against his arm.
"Admit it," she whispered, in a hot breath on his ear. "You want me as much as I want you."
With surprising strength, the hand at the back of his neck pulled his head down and her lips were on his before he could react. Shock ran through his brain, then immediately anger. He pulled her hands off and roughly pushed her away. He held her wrists in a painful grip and forced her to look him in the eye.
"No, I don't," he enunciated slowly, in the coldest tone he could manage. "I want you to leave me alone. It's over between us, Beryl, and it will never start again. Do you understand?"
He held the woman's wrists tightly, and for about one second of time, shock and hurt flared vividly in her red eyes. Then, it was abruptly gone, and the wrists were wrenched from his grasp. She slapped him, hard, and stood in righteous indignation before him, chest heaving in her skimpy purple dress.
"Stay the hell away from me, Darien," she growled, projecting her voice to the people around, "and don't ever touch me again!" She whirled, and was gone, leaving him with a stinging cheek and a lot of people glaring at him.
He sighed deeply and went to get Serena's drink, thinking, Please, God, let that be the last I see of her.
~----------~
Serena shifted nervously, trying to think of what she should say to an older man, a friend of Darien's. Andrew was smiling to himself about something, though what it could be she couldn't fathom.
He turned to her with a little chuckle. "So," he said, conversationally, "where are you staying?"
Serena felt a little flare of panic. She couldn't say she was staying at Darien's, he would think… "Er, a hotel. Not far from here," she improvised quickly.
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "What's the name of it?" he asked casually, taking a sip of the beer he was holding.
"Oh, uh…I…don't remember." She giggled airily, imitating the cheerleaders at her high school. "I'm such a ditz sometimes!"
Andrew grinned at her, but didn't say anything about her sudden act of air headed-ness. She cast desperately about for something to direct the line of discussion away from herself.
"Um, so how does Darien know Beryl?" she asked the first thing that popped into her head. She immediately kicked herself as she realized the transparency of the question.
Andrew's grin widened, and Serena groaned to herself, Oh, great, now he thinks I want to know because I'm jealous or something. Well, I'm not! Not at all!
"Oh, they go waaay back, Beryl and Darien. He went out with her for a while, not too long ago. They were a real cute couple, if you ask me, but he broke it off pretty recently. Don't ask me why, I mean *look* at her." Andrew whistled low in appreciation of the silicone masterpiece that was Beryl. "Anyway, it's obvious to anyone that she still wants him, and I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted her, too. I wouldn't blame him if he did. What straight guy wouldn't want reserved seating with her, if you know what I mean?" He winked and jabbed Serena in the side with his elbow.
She stared at him, open-mouthed in shock at what he was implying. Darien had dated Beryl…he had slept with her…he still wanted her… She shut her mouth with a snap and recovered her hold on herself quickly before she embarrassed herself further. Get a grip, Serena, of course he slept with her. He's twenty-one years old, he can sleep with whoever he wants. It's not like you care, anyway, she convinced herself. And of course he still wants her, like Andrew said, what straight guy wouldn't?
She took a deep breath and turned to Andrew, hoping he hadn't noticed that she had to collect herself. He wasn't looking at her. His mouth was hanging open, and he was staring at a spot across the open space between the sides of the stairway balcony. She turned to see what held his attention.
Darien was kissing Beryl.
Her mind emptied, all thoughts of betrayal swept away by swift numbness. She turned and ran, not thinking, not knowing why she did. Blood pounded in her brain, music pounded against her ears, and sweaty bodies gyrated around her as she fled down the stairs to disappear in the mass of dancers below.
She ran smack into something firm and warm. She would have pushed past and kept going, but strong hands came up under her elbows, preventing her escape.
"Are you all right?" a voice asked. The tone was tender, but the voice was cold. It gave Serena the odd impression of warm fuzz laid deceptively over ice.
She looked up into the clearest, pale blue eyes she had ever seen, framed by long strands of white-blond hair. The face was a hawk nose and a thin mouth, strong cheekbones and pale eyebrows, but an overall handsomeness despite the sharp features. She pulled together the scattered pieces of her mind to formulate a reply.
"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you," she smiled at the man, trying to pull herself away from him. His hands remained on her elbows.
"I…don't believe we've met. I am Diamond Darmoon." He smiled down at her, sending chills down her spine. "This is my brother, Sapphire," he said smoothly, gesturing at the blue-haired man that Serena had not noticed standing beside him.
"Sapphire! I didn't see you there," she exclaimed, with a rush of warmth, giving Sapphire a grateful look for being there, for existing and for being a friendly face.
"Serena," he responded warmly, smiling at her in a much less frightening way than his brother. "Why are you racing down the stairs? You could have knocked someone down, had you run into anyone less solid than Diamond here," he admonished, gently removing her from his brother's grip, which hadn't lessened. She let herself be transferred to his side with no protest, grateful for the support of his arm to cling to.
"You know her, brother?" Diamond asked, his cold voice surprised.
"Yes, this is Serena…Hino, was it?" Sapphire gave the name she had told him was her own. "She's a friend of Darien Chiba's." He frowned slightly in concern at her. "Speaking of him, where is Darien?"
Immediately she was hit by the painful image of her last sight of him, lips locked with Beryl.
"I…I…seem to have lost him in the crowd," she said quickly. "But I'm a big girl. I can look after myself." She forced a small laugh.
Diamond's ice blue eyes pierced her. "Can you?" he asked, with a half- smile.
She shifted uncomfortably under his scrutinizing gaze, and drew a little closer to Sapphire. The voice of D.J. Rubeus over his enormous speakers saved her from having to come up with a reply.
"Hey, I hope everyone's having a wild time! Now, here's a golden oldie for all the established and soon-to-be couples here!"
The din of shouting people quieted a little, and the first strains of "Crazy For You," by Madonna, floated from the massive speakers. The wild dancing slowed, and single bodies quickly formulated into couples, swaying as they clung to each other.
Diamond took her arm from Sapphire. "Dance with me." It wasn't a question. She threw a glance back at Sapphire as his brother pulled her into the dancing, and he shrugged helplessly at her. Diamond pulled her against him, placing her hands on his shoulders and his own on her waist. Their bodies were closer than she would have liked, but his strong hands kept her from increasing the distance.
He loosened one hand to tilt her face up to his. Ice blue eyes bore into her own, and something pricked at the back of her mind.
"You are beautiful, do you know that?" he asked, holding her gaze as his fingers stroked across her cheek. She shivered uncomfortably. "Yes, very beautiful. Like a goddess," he whispered, close to her ear.
A strange sensation filled her. Black. Like. . . black, she thought, not knowing why. Heat started to rise in her chest. A force was pushing, forcing its way into her mind.
Diamond's voice whispered seductively in her ear, "So beautiful. So desirable. I desire you. I will love you, I will love your body. Melt into me, goddess. Melt into desire."
The force pushed harder, and the heat flared in response. A black voice was whispering, you desire, yes, you desire, and the force pressed against her mind.
No, a stronger voice said. No, I don't want to. Serena gasped as the heat flared silver across her vision. Get out of my mind!
Her vision cleared, and she stumbled away from a shocked Diamond, who stood staring at her and rubbing his forehead. His face contorted in anger.
"Who…" his voice began, colder than ice.
She turned to run, and was stopped against something firm and warm for the second time that night. She looked up into concerned, midnight blue eyes as strong, comforting arms encircled her.
"Are you all right?" Darien asked her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
