Mara awakens to rain pounding the roof of her mansion. She yawns and jumps
out of her canopy bed. The woman sleepily gets into the shower, letting the
hot water spray her face and soaks her thick, long auburn hair.
She gets out ten minutes later and gets dressed. Today she finally owned
the estate, it was hers, every acre, every tree and last bit of dust in the
house. Today of course is her eighteenth birthday, the warrant has been
fulfilled and she is ready to take up the Deaubille fortune. She grins at
her reflection.
Mara wondered how old he was. His birthday was last week. He would now be
twenty. Why hadn't he come forth yet? "Whatever." She thinks, frowning at
her mirror. "His loss and my gain. I just hope he's not dead or something."
She dries her hair and leaves.
"Miss ma'am?" One of her servants asks. "Will you be having breakfast?"
Mara shakes her head. "Uh, no. I have an appointment. Thank you though,
Jones. I won't be back till morning, so just erm-"
"Watch over the house?" Jones offers. "Sure. Good day." She leaves the
mansion and walks into the city.
Mara has been living in the Deaubille Manor all her life, a wealthy
estate in the country that covered over 50 acres of rolling plains, dense
woods, streams, and even some old ruins of a burnt down home. In fact the
Deaubille family is second richest next to Mikado. The mansion itself has
83 rooms with 2 indoor and outdoor in-ground pools, three Jacuzzis and a
whole staff of servants whom had raised her upon instruction by her
deceased father.
The rich woman had grown up an only child, but she had one brother whom
she had never met or even seen a picture of. She only knew his first name,
and that he is unmarried and alive. Yes she had so much to go on. One day
she hoped to run into him.
She walks down a busy street, pushing her roan hair behind her ears. It's
hot out, only 11:00 and she was perspiring. "Oh my god, its Mara
Deaubille." Mara whirls around. She saw no one, and for now was happy she
left everything of value in a safe at the manor.
Her heart in her throat she continues down the road. "Yes it is Mara
Deaubille! What'd I tell you, Brian?" Mara's hair is viscously pulled back
so hard her neck strains, and her attacker puts her in a choke hold. She
fights the stranger's grip. "How much you got on ya, hon? 500? 1000?" Mara
fights harder. The man laughs. She smelt whiskey on his rancid breath.
"Let her go." She looks up. She couldn't see him clearly, but she saw his
reddish hair and a large silver necklace. "Let her go, Ricky. You'll get
your ass kicked by this kid." Her captor takes one look at him and snorts.
"Dude, I'm serious! He's a bouncer, at this bar down the street, the kid is
strong!" Brian persists, and the deathtrap is released on her neck. Mara
bends over, astonished to see her savior had actually walked away.
"Hey!" She yells, bolting down the street. "Wait up!" Mara runs as fast
as she can, pursuing the stranger. Finally she catches up to him. "Hey,
wait a second! You could have just saved my life!" She heaves. He turns
around. Mara nearly passes out. His face, his hair, his eyes.
"S-Sion?" She asks in disbelief. "Look lady, I don't know how-" Mara
shakes her head and grips his shoulders. "Don't you recognize me? It's me!
Me! Mara?" She pants desperately. Staring at her oddly, knowing he'd never
seen the girl in his life, he gently pushes her hands off of his shoulders.
"Nope. Never saw you before in my life." He turns around and continues walking. "Would you remember me if I said that you had a fortune to claim?" He turns around. This woman, standing there is clutching her side from running, panting heavily, her face flushed and auburn hair in disarray- could it be? No way in hell. He shakes his head. "Are you stoned or drunk or both lady?" He walks into a bar. "Wait! I'm not done talking with you yet!" She yells, chasing after him. "Hey easy, he's not going anywhere." Mara looks to the left. A brunette man with tattoos stands by the door. "You are positive?" She asks. He nods. "Um, thank you I suppose. Is he usually so-so um." She asks. He stares at her. "Yeah. Hey, you're pretty dressed up for people living in these parts." "At least I can dress up without looking like a fool." She snaps, but guiltily looks down at her expensive navy skirt suit. The skirt is a little too short, but she is wearing a slip. She notices the stranger is staring at her legs. She was wearing thigh-length stockings but they were made of nylon and had slipped down to her knees. "Ahem." She coughs, bringing his attention back up. "Sorry. You have very nice legs." He compliments. "I beg your pardon!" Mara says angrily. He shrugs. "Why are you after Sion? He's taken you know." Mara bites her lip. "You wouldn't understand." She says bitterly and enters the bar fuming. No one has ever been so rude to her. "Excuse me, is there a Sion working here, sir?" She asks the bartender politely. "Yeah, he's upstairs. Hey, you look a lot like Mara Deaubille." He compliments. Mara holds her head up high. "Um, thank you I suppose." The man studies her. "You are, aren't you?" Mara blushes, smiles and nods, heading upstairs. "What are you doing up here?" A tough-looking blond man with many facial piercings asks. "Erm. I would like to see Sion please?" The blond shrugs. Sion is sitting down on a chair with his legs on the table. "I don't know if I thanked you or not." Mara says slowly. He opens one eye. "What are you doing here?" The auburn-haired woman sighs deeply. "Have you not heard of the Deaubille family?" She asks. "Yeah I've heard of them. What does that have to do with anything?" Mara sighs. "Look at me, Sion. See my eyes? See my hair, my overall facial features and body structure, the skin tone? Now look at yourself." Sion opens his other eye. Mara has reddish-brown hair, just past her shoulders. Her skin tone is medium, not completely light or dark, and her eyes are a shock of ice blue. She is medium-height, about 5-5, but not small-built. He had to admit she looked a lot like him. "Where are you going with this?" Mara is about to respond when the brunette from outside walks up. "Sion, it's your shift." Sion gets up and walks down the stairs. "Oh, excuse me, but what time is it?" Mara asks the man. "It's 1:45." He responds. Mara nearly leaps off the ledge. "I'll be late for my appointment with Master Mikado!" She jumps up and runs down the stairs. "Master Mikado?!" She looks up. "Yes, why?" The man runs down the stairs after her. "Isn't he dead?" Mara turns around. "Master Dauragon?" She asks, and he nods. She shakes her head. "No. He asked me to come a week ago. I must leave now." She leaves the bar and runs in the direction of the mansion. It starts to rain as she bolts in the direction of it, finally making it to the estate. Feeling blessed that her clothes and hair did not get soaked Mara waits at the threshold.
"Are you sure she said 'Dauragon'?" Sion asks. Kou nods. "I'm pretty damn sure of it. What the hell would he want with a little girl like that?" He asks. "Hey back off, I'm starting to think that that 'little girl' might be my sister." Sion snaps. Kou defensively holds up his arms. "Hey, sorry. But if she's your sister-" "Might be." He corrects. "Then why are we just standing here? We should go and bring her back. Somehow I doubt he wants her for tea and scones." He warns. "You're probably right. Even if she isn't my sister." Kou nods. "I understand."
Mara straightens her hair. She taps her foot nervously and raps on one of the double doors. "Enter." Someone says, but far off in the house. She barely heard the invitation. It takes almost all of her strength to open just one of the double doors. The mansion is dark. Shadows lurk at every corner. "Master Mikado?" She calls nervously. There is no answer. Alone, in a strange house? She would think the man had servants or maids or something. The woman uneasily turns a corridor. There are no doors, just a blown-up, framed photograph at the other end of the hall. It is of man, a woman, and two teenagers, a boy and a girl. The girl has her face averted and her arms crossed; she looks off to the side as if she didn't want to be in the picture. The boy is taller than her, blond and eyes on the camera, but looking as if he wanted it to be over with. The woman is the only one smiling. She looks a lot like the girl. They both have emerald-green eyes and thick, long red hair. Mara recognizes the man as the past master. "My foster parents and stepsister. They are all long dead now." Mara nearly jumps out of her skin and turns around. "Y-you frightened me!" She breathes. "It was unintentional." He turns around. "I'm sorry. Were you close?" She asks slowly. He does not respond for a moment, and she wondered if he had heard her. "Rhiannon's mother Cecil died shortly after I came into the family. After that, Rhiannon was so bitter, and eventually she just disappeared one night. Five years later Master Mikado passed on." He explains. Mara suddenly ached with pity for the man. "I'm so sorry. How terribly sad." She breathes, feeling for him. Her parents died when she was only four. There is an awkward silence. "Come." He leads her to a den with a fireplace. Mara notes the blackened stones in the hearth. It has been used frequently. She could imagine him sitting for hours, feeding the flames. "Sit, please." Mara is jolted out of her thoughts. She sits. "You have inherited the Deaubille estate today?" He asks. She nods. "Yes, I have." She says slowly. He looked so, so, delicate, like she could hurt him just by speaking. The solitude has been eating away at him. A year's time has wrecked his figure considerably, he definitely is much more slender than he was, and she notices dark patches under his eyes. From what, loss of sleep? "You are more beautiful than I imagined. You have.a mature charm." She blushes. "T-thank you." Was that a compliment? She couldn't decide. What is it he wanted to see her for? "Miss Deaubille, you have a high place in society, do you not?" Mara crosses her legs. "Yes. But so do you, higher than mine. And please, call me Mara." She didn't like titles; she never has and never will. "Yes that is true, but you can tell that the Mikado family is finished. I am the last one and when I am gone." Mara looks up. He had a point. Somehow she knew where this was going. It was the same case with her family unless Sion admitted who he is. "Is this going where I believe this is going?" She asks. "Where do you believe this is going?" He asks. Mara chooses her words carefully. "If I were to marry you, it would unite the Deaubilles with the Mikados and create a greater, more powerful family. If we were to have children, it would start a new generation." A smile forms at the corners of his lips. "You are wise beyond your years." "But." Mara trails off. "People marry for many reasons. Some for power some for money, some for convenience or whatever else it may be. I do not wish to marry for power or money, I already have that. If I am going to marry, it will be for love." She tells him, her heart breaking just saying it. Did he want more than her status? Mara could easily imagine herself with him, holding his hand, sealing the gashes on is heart, but would he do the same for her? Could he love her as much as she felt she could love him? There is only one way to find this out, but what she sometimes did in the gut of the night. "I can learn to love you. But that is not the object of what I am trying to say. What my point is, can you love me, like deeply enough to want to marry me for more than power?" She confronts. He looks up, startled. "You are intrepid. Exactly what I want in a woman." She smiles broadly. Perhaps it would work out, but there are a few holes. He is at least twenty-eight, and she is only eighteen, a ten-year difference in age. But he obviously considers her a woman, and love has no age. What of her brother? He was the next, but he has no idea. And that Rhiannon, she might be alive to claim the legacy after they die, and the marriage could stir up things with the two. And there were her nightmares. She is on medication, but it barely helps. She at times wakes up screaming. How would he react to that? Would he console her if she jolted awake screaming and crying like a child? Mara crosses the room to where he is. She takes his hand in hers and nods. "Yes. I will." She tells him, hoping to God that she can heal his loneliness. Already she felt a great pity for him; it gnawed down to her soul and was steadily growing to love already. He averts his gaze. Mara hesitantly reaches up and strokes his face with a trembling hand. "Mara, you're making a mistake!" She turns around, to see her brother and the other bouncers from the bar. "No, I'm not! I know exactly what I'm doing, and it is the right decision." She says defiantly. "All he wants is your money and maybe your body." Sion tells her. She shakes her head. "You think I don't know that?" Her words strike them all. "So you've met." Mara nods. "Yes. This is my brother and his friends." She says scornfully. "It's so easy to see, she's just as alone as he is." Volt says coldly. "The nightmares, Mara? Do you still have them?" She looks up. He was her brother, she was certain now. Who else could possibly know this?" "Did he tell you about how he ordered the assassination of his own father? Or how he impregnated his own stepsister Rhiannon and caused her to leave in shame? Or what about how he stole the youth of countless women, including Kaldea Orchid, whom he killed in cold blood because she pitied him? Why? To make his dead robot sister look human!" Volt tells her. "Kal.de.a." Mara says slowly. "She was my best friend! I thought she died in an accident! You killed her?" She gasps, and faints from the shock of it all. "That's how I remember her. She was like a sister to Kaldea." Sion says with scorn. "We should avenge her, and your sister." Volt says. It doesn't take long for the five of them to polish off the now much weaker Dauragon. Kou approaches Mara, still unconscious. Mara suddenly jolts up, screaming at the top of her lungs. She pants heavily and starts to cry. Kou shrugs and pulls her against him. "Hey Sion, your sister's pretty hot." He says, soothing her back to sleep. Smoothly he lifts her up. Sion shakes his head. "Take her home, Kou. Make sure nothing happens to her." He nods and gives a thumbs-up. "Consider it done, my man." He shifts her weight so her legs are over his left arm and her head rests on his shoulder. Volt gives him a glance through red contacts that would send him six feet under if looks could kill. "And don't try anything with her." He adds, his voice low and even. He shrugs casually. "Yeah, yeah." Mara's blue eyes suddenly flutter open. Once realizing she is in Kou's arms she nearly screams again. "I can walk thank you very much!" She says almost angrily, jumping down. "Well you can now." He retaliates. "Love is in the air." Echidna mutters. "Dauragon?" Mara says, walking over to his body. "You're better off without him, believe me." Kou tells her, lightly pulling her back. She sighs. "I.suppose you're right." She murmurs. Sadly she turns around. "There'll be others." Kou offers. Mara glares at him. "And I suppose you're one of those others?" She asks contemptuously. "Your choice, babe." Mara gives him another icy glare as the six leave the mansion and walk down the street. "Don't be so hostile, Mara. He just likes you. Better get used to it cause your staying with him tonight." Echidna tells her. Mara takes a deep breath. "I have an entire staff of servants and a Grade A security system. Nothing can get in now why can't I go home?" She asks with false sweetness. "It's not what's outside, it's what's inside. Some of your servants could be plotting against you. They'll be able to figure out that you found Sion and if you stay with him-" Mara nods at Volt's explanation. "I understand. Thank you for your concern. Kou, I apologize for my bitterness." He shrugs. "What bitterness?"
Two nights later. 8:57 PM
Mara combs through her roan hair while gazing into her reflection. She really liked Dominique, she was a sweet girl. Dominique was so nice, a rare type these days. She liked everyone at the bar, had even gotten used to Kou's cheap sarcasm. Some of his comments are funny but most aren't. She felt bad for being so hostile to him. It was only because someone she felt she could care about had betrayed her. A soft click interrupts her thoughts. She whirls around and slinks into the living room. One thing Mara has that most don't is stealth. She sees it, the shadow of someone jumping down past the window. Fearfully she darts to Kou's bedroom. "Kou! Wake up!" She whispers loudly. "Huh?" He asks and sits up. "Mara! What's up?" She gestures down the hall. "I think there's someone outside and in the apartment." He stretches. "Did you lose your teddy bear? Are you having a nightmare or something?" She punches him in the arm. "Be serious for once in your life!" "Yeah yeah. Women." He mutters, getting dressed. "Men!" Mara throws back. "You know, sometimes I think you're-" Something heavy drops from the ceiling on top of him. "Dammit! Guess you were right!" He yells, throwing the man off of his back and into a wall. A light flips up. Kou knocks another out cold. "Mara, get back!" Mara gratefully backs off. "Huh?" She yells as another one puts her in a chokehold, strangling her with twine, then finally drugging her unconscious. He throws her over his shoulder and jumps out a window with the others. "God dammit!" Kou curses, slamming his fist into a wall.
"Here's the girl, unharmed, as you wanted." Jones says, dropping Mara on the ground. She is still groggy from the drug, but is vaguely aware of the pain coursing through her skull from the not-so-light fall. Dauragon gently caresses her face. "Good. You're dismissed." He says, gently lifting Mara and carrying her to an upstairs bedroom. Mara awakes with a clear head some hour later. She is still wearing her flimsy black shift, but her undergarments are removed. She attempts to stand up but nearly falls over, and notices there is much blood trailing down her thighs. On closer inspection, she realizes that it is not an early period but her virginity spilling onto the sheets. She only can stare at shock, then cry, cry great heaving sobs that she can't believe come from her own throat and chest, cry sobs that shake her entire body. She felt violated and unclean. Finally she takes deep breaths and dries her face. "You have awakened I see." Mara opens her eyes. Dauragon sits by the bed. "Did you do this to me?" She whimpers. He strokes her face. "I couldn't possibly cause you pain consciously." Mara wanted to spit in his face but instead lay back. "Why?" She asks. He gets in bed next to her, and pulls her against him. She felt him growing hot and hard. "So you can enjoy this." He tells her, undressing and moving on top of her, pulling her shift off and kissing her neck and chest, playing with her nipples and pushing in slowly. It was hot, too hot. She had a few orgasms but she felt it not enough. If it were a different person perhaps she would not be so stiff, so she tried closing her eyes and breathing shallowly. No differences so she just waited it out. Finally he seemed satisfied and lay down next to her, actually holding her, a sensation she enjoyed much more than the climaxes. She thought she slept, but when she woke up he had gone. This time she found all of her clothes and dressed, thinking that it might just be probable that she dreamt the whole thing, but the strong scent of embryo on her body and chemise made her think differently. He had defiled her twice and that is what made her blood boil over, that she allowed it to happen, she had even enjoyed it somewhat. Mara frowns and combs through her hair, wanting nothing but to go home and sleep till noon.
"Sion." She half-whispers. "Kou." She says, a little louder. "Volt, Echidna, Dominique, Sion, Kou." She murmurs and nearly collapses but instead straightens the ankle-length skirt of her shift. She looks so morbid in the mirror. Not really knowing what she is doing, she opens the door and ambles down the corridor. "Mara?" She turns around. Kou grips her arm gently. She can't find words, only tears. The strong, musky cologne around her and her state of mind tells all. "It's all right, it's over, I'm getting you out of here." He soothes, holding her close and rubbing her back, stroking her hair. She clings to him as shamelessly as a baby, sobbing hysterically against his chest, still unable to speak, dubious if she ever will again. "A heartwarming scene. But she is unfaithful." Kou gently pushes Mara back. "You sick freak, do you have any idea how old she is?" He shrugs. "Or who she's related to?" Sion asks, stepping out from another room. "Or who her allies are?" Echidna throws in. Once again, the five beats him to pulp and this time throw him off the railing and don't leave until they hear his neck snap. No one can live through that. Kou pulls Mara close to him and covers her with his jacket. She lets him carry her out of the mansion.
"You're sure you're all right?" Kou asks her for the tenth time, tucking her into is bed and stroking her hair as if she's a child. "Yes." Mara tells him for the tenth time. "You need anything just wake me up, okay?" He tells her, kissing her forehead and getting up. "Wait." She says, taking his hand. "Yeah?" She sits up. "Stay with me, until I fall asleep. Please?" He shrugs and lies down. He must have nodded off because he remembers looking at the clock, seeing that it read 12:45. He blinked, and it was 3:32. Mara is asleep on his arm. Not wanting to move and wake her, he just decides to stay here for the night. It wouldn't be bad, helluva lot better than rolling off the couch and splitting your head open on the coffee table tomorrow morning. He watches Mara sleep for awhile, not particularly tired. She barely moves in her slumber, only to breathe. Her entire body is covered in a thin film of cold sweat. Finally sensing she is being observed she opens her eyes and stretches. "Is it morning yet? I'm not that tired." She asks groggily. "No." He responds. He looks at her for awhile. "Mara?" She looks up at him expectantly. "You're kind of like a daughter to me." He tells her, stroking her hair out of her eyes. "And you're like the father I never had." She responds sleepily and closes her eyes. It never went farther, but the two were happy just where they were right then.
Epilogue A woman with dark red hair gazes out the window of her apartment. "Ma?" She turns around. A girl who looks about fifteen, but in reality is only twelve stands at the door. Her light brown hair falls in disarray to her waist and she blinks her differently colored eyes sleepily. The girl possesses a unique quality, her left eye is blue and her right is green. "What is it Charisma?" The woman asks her daughter. The girl places he hands on her hips. "Mom, its 4:00 in the morning. You've been staring out a window for four hours. Go to bed!" The redhead laughs. She should be saying this to her, the child not the mother. "I will, I promise. I just have to finish this page, okay. Don't worry about me, honey. Goodnight." She says. The mother turns back to her laptop and finishes her story. She signs it. Meko Ashleigh Richardson It is a phony name created from the letters of her real name backwards. 'Meko' hoped that someone would buy her new book Predicament. It is her first novel that is not horror or fantasy, about a fourteen year-old girl who finds herself unwillingly impregnated by her stepbrother raping her. Meko smiles sadly and turns of her computer after kissing her daughter goodnight.
To be continued.
"Nope. Never saw you before in my life." He turns around and continues walking. "Would you remember me if I said that you had a fortune to claim?" He turns around. This woman, standing there is clutching her side from running, panting heavily, her face flushed and auburn hair in disarray- could it be? No way in hell. He shakes his head. "Are you stoned or drunk or both lady?" He walks into a bar. "Wait! I'm not done talking with you yet!" She yells, chasing after him. "Hey easy, he's not going anywhere." Mara looks to the left. A brunette man with tattoos stands by the door. "You are positive?" She asks. He nods. "Um, thank you I suppose. Is he usually so-so um." She asks. He stares at her. "Yeah. Hey, you're pretty dressed up for people living in these parts." "At least I can dress up without looking like a fool." She snaps, but guiltily looks down at her expensive navy skirt suit. The skirt is a little too short, but she is wearing a slip. She notices the stranger is staring at her legs. She was wearing thigh-length stockings but they were made of nylon and had slipped down to her knees. "Ahem." She coughs, bringing his attention back up. "Sorry. You have very nice legs." He compliments. "I beg your pardon!" Mara says angrily. He shrugs. "Why are you after Sion? He's taken you know." Mara bites her lip. "You wouldn't understand." She says bitterly and enters the bar fuming. No one has ever been so rude to her. "Excuse me, is there a Sion working here, sir?" She asks the bartender politely. "Yeah, he's upstairs. Hey, you look a lot like Mara Deaubille." He compliments. Mara holds her head up high. "Um, thank you I suppose." The man studies her. "You are, aren't you?" Mara blushes, smiles and nods, heading upstairs. "What are you doing up here?" A tough-looking blond man with many facial piercings asks. "Erm. I would like to see Sion please?" The blond shrugs. Sion is sitting down on a chair with his legs on the table. "I don't know if I thanked you or not." Mara says slowly. He opens one eye. "What are you doing here?" The auburn-haired woman sighs deeply. "Have you not heard of the Deaubille family?" She asks. "Yeah I've heard of them. What does that have to do with anything?" Mara sighs. "Look at me, Sion. See my eyes? See my hair, my overall facial features and body structure, the skin tone? Now look at yourself." Sion opens his other eye. Mara has reddish-brown hair, just past her shoulders. Her skin tone is medium, not completely light or dark, and her eyes are a shock of ice blue. She is medium-height, about 5-5, but not small-built. He had to admit she looked a lot like him. "Where are you going with this?" Mara is about to respond when the brunette from outside walks up. "Sion, it's your shift." Sion gets up and walks down the stairs. "Oh, excuse me, but what time is it?" Mara asks the man. "It's 1:45." He responds. Mara nearly leaps off the ledge. "I'll be late for my appointment with Master Mikado!" She jumps up and runs down the stairs. "Master Mikado?!" She looks up. "Yes, why?" The man runs down the stairs after her. "Isn't he dead?" Mara turns around. "Master Dauragon?" She asks, and he nods. She shakes her head. "No. He asked me to come a week ago. I must leave now." She leaves the bar and runs in the direction of the mansion. It starts to rain as she bolts in the direction of it, finally making it to the estate. Feeling blessed that her clothes and hair did not get soaked Mara waits at the threshold.
"Are you sure she said 'Dauragon'?" Sion asks. Kou nods. "I'm pretty damn sure of it. What the hell would he want with a little girl like that?" He asks. "Hey back off, I'm starting to think that that 'little girl' might be my sister." Sion snaps. Kou defensively holds up his arms. "Hey, sorry. But if she's your sister-" "Might be." He corrects. "Then why are we just standing here? We should go and bring her back. Somehow I doubt he wants her for tea and scones." He warns. "You're probably right. Even if she isn't my sister." Kou nods. "I understand."
Mara straightens her hair. She taps her foot nervously and raps on one of the double doors. "Enter." Someone says, but far off in the house. She barely heard the invitation. It takes almost all of her strength to open just one of the double doors. The mansion is dark. Shadows lurk at every corner. "Master Mikado?" She calls nervously. There is no answer. Alone, in a strange house? She would think the man had servants or maids or something. The woman uneasily turns a corridor. There are no doors, just a blown-up, framed photograph at the other end of the hall. It is of man, a woman, and two teenagers, a boy and a girl. The girl has her face averted and her arms crossed; she looks off to the side as if she didn't want to be in the picture. The boy is taller than her, blond and eyes on the camera, but looking as if he wanted it to be over with. The woman is the only one smiling. She looks a lot like the girl. They both have emerald-green eyes and thick, long red hair. Mara recognizes the man as the past master. "My foster parents and stepsister. They are all long dead now." Mara nearly jumps out of her skin and turns around. "Y-you frightened me!" She breathes. "It was unintentional." He turns around. "I'm sorry. Were you close?" She asks slowly. He does not respond for a moment, and she wondered if he had heard her. "Rhiannon's mother Cecil died shortly after I came into the family. After that, Rhiannon was so bitter, and eventually she just disappeared one night. Five years later Master Mikado passed on." He explains. Mara suddenly ached with pity for the man. "I'm so sorry. How terribly sad." She breathes, feeling for him. Her parents died when she was only four. There is an awkward silence. "Come." He leads her to a den with a fireplace. Mara notes the blackened stones in the hearth. It has been used frequently. She could imagine him sitting for hours, feeding the flames. "Sit, please." Mara is jolted out of her thoughts. She sits. "You have inherited the Deaubille estate today?" He asks. She nods. "Yes, I have." She says slowly. He looked so, so, delicate, like she could hurt him just by speaking. The solitude has been eating away at him. A year's time has wrecked his figure considerably, he definitely is much more slender than he was, and she notices dark patches under his eyes. From what, loss of sleep? "You are more beautiful than I imagined. You have.a mature charm." She blushes. "T-thank you." Was that a compliment? She couldn't decide. What is it he wanted to see her for? "Miss Deaubille, you have a high place in society, do you not?" Mara crosses her legs. "Yes. But so do you, higher than mine. And please, call me Mara." She didn't like titles; she never has and never will. "Yes that is true, but you can tell that the Mikado family is finished. I am the last one and when I am gone." Mara looks up. He had a point. Somehow she knew where this was going. It was the same case with her family unless Sion admitted who he is. "Is this going where I believe this is going?" She asks. "Where do you believe this is going?" He asks. Mara chooses her words carefully. "If I were to marry you, it would unite the Deaubilles with the Mikados and create a greater, more powerful family. If we were to have children, it would start a new generation." A smile forms at the corners of his lips. "You are wise beyond your years." "But." Mara trails off. "People marry for many reasons. Some for power some for money, some for convenience or whatever else it may be. I do not wish to marry for power or money, I already have that. If I am going to marry, it will be for love." She tells him, her heart breaking just saying it. Did he want more than her status? Mara could easily imagine herself with him, holding his hand, sealing the gashes on is heart, but would he do the same for her? Could he love her as much as she felt she could love him? There is only one way to find this out, but what she sometimes did in the gut of the night. "I can learn to love you. But that is not the object of what I am trying to say. What my point is, can you love me, like deeply enough to want to marry me for more than power?" She confronts. He looks up, startled. "You are intrepid. Exactly what I want in a woman." She smiles broadly. Perhaps it would work out, but there are a few holes. He is at least twenty-eight, and she is only eighteen, a ten-year difference in age. But he obviously considers her a woman, and love has no age. What of her brother? He was the next, but he has no idea. And that Rhiannon, she might be alive to claim the legacy after they die, and the marriage could stir up things with the two. And there were her nightmares. She is on medication, but it barely helps. She at times wakes up screaming. How would he react to that? Would he console her if she jolted awake screaming and crying like a child? Mara crosses the room to where he is. She takes his hand in hers and nods. "Yes. I will." She tells him, hoping to God that she can heal his loneliness. Already she felt a great pity for him; it gnawed down to her soul and was steadily growing to love already. He averts his gaze. Mara hesitantly reaches up and strokes his face with a trembling hand. "Mara, you're making a mistake!" She turns around, to see her brother and the other bouncers from the bar. "No, I'm not! I know exactly what I'm doing, and it is the right decision." She says defiantly. "All he wants is your money and maybe your body." Sion tells her. She shakes her head. "You think I don't know that?" Her words strike them all. "So you've met." Mara nods. "Yes. This is my brother and his friends." She says scornfully. "It's so easy to see, she's just as alone as he is." Volt says coldly. "The nightmares, Mara? Do you still have them?" She looks up. He was her brother, she was certain now. Who else could possibly know this?" "Did he tell you about how he ordered the assassination of his own father? Or how he impregnated his own stepsister Rhiannon and caused her to leave in shame? Or what about how he stole the youth of countless women, including Kaldea Orchid, whom he killed in cold blood because she pitied him? Why? To make his dead robot sister look human!" Volt tells her. "Kal.de.a." Mara says slowly. "She was my best friend! I thought she died in an accident! You killed her?" She gasps, and faints from the shock of it all. "That's how I remember her. She was like a sister to Kaldea." Sion says with scorn. "We should avenge her, and your sister." Volt says. It doesn't take long for the five of them to polish off the now much weaker Dauragon. Kou approaches Mara, still unconscious. Mara suddenly jolts up, screaming at the top of her lungs. She pants heavily and starts to cry. Kou shrugs and pulls her against him. "Hey Sion, your sister's pretty hot." He says, soothing her back to sleep. Smoothly he lifts her up. Sion shakes his head. "Take her home, Kou. Make sure nothing happens to her." He nods and gives a thumbs-up. "Consider it done, my man." He shifts her weight so her legs are over his left arm and her head rests on his shoulder. Volt gives him a glance through red contacts that would send him six feet under if looks could kill. "And don't try anything with her." He adds, his voice low and even. He shrugs casually. "Yeah, yeah." Mara's blue eyes suddenly flutter open. Once realizing she is in Kou's arms she nearly screams again. "I can walk thank you very much!" She says almost angrily, jumping down. "Well you can now." He retaliates. "Love is in the air." Echidna mutters. "Dauragon?" Mara says, walking over to his body. "You're better off without him, believe me." Kou tells her, lightly pulling her back. She sighs. "I.suppose you're right." She murmurs. Sadly she turns around. "There'll be others." Kou offers. Mara glares at him. "And I suppose you're one of those others?" She asks contemptuously. "Your choice, babe." Mara gives him another icy glare as the six leave the mansion and walk down the street. "Don't be so hostile, Mara. He just likes you. Better get used to it cause your staying with him tonight." Echidna tells her. Mara takes a deep breath. "I have an entire staff of servants and a Grade A security system. Nothing can get in now why can't I go home?" She asks with false sweetness. "It's not what's outside, it's what's inside. Some of your servants could be plotting against you. They'll be able to figure out that you found Sion and if you stay with him-" Mara nods at Volt's explanation. "I understand. Thank you for your concern. Kou, I apologize for my bitterness." He shrugs. "What bitterness?"
Two nights later. 8:57 PM
Mara combs through her roan hair while gazing into her reflection. She really liked Dominique, she was a sweet girl. Dominique was so nice, a rare type these days. She liked everyone at the bar, had even gotten used to Kou's cheap sarcasm. Some of his comments are funny but most aren't. She felt bad for being so hostile to him. It was only because someone she felt she could care about had betrayed her. A soft click interrupts her thoughts. She whirls around and slinks into the living room. One thing Mara has that most don't is stealth. She sees it, the shadow of someone jumping down past the window. Fearfully she darts to Kou's bedroom. "Kou! Wake up!" She whispers loudly. "Huh?" He asks and sits up. "Mara! What's up?" She gestures down the hall. "I think there's someone outside and in the apartment." He stretches. "Did you lose your teddy bear? Are you having a nightmare or something?" She punches him in the arm. "Be serious for once in your life!" "Yeah yeah. Women." He mutters, getting dressed. "Men!" Mara throws back. "You know, sometimes I think you're-" Something heavy drops from the ceiling on top of him. "Dammit! Guess you were right!" He yells, throwing the man off of his back and into a wall. A light flips up. Kou knocks another out cold. "Mara, get back!" Mara gratefully backs off. "Huh?" She yells as another one puts her in a chokehold, strangling her with twine, then finally drugging her unconscious. He throws her over his shoulder and jumps out a window with the others. "God dammit!" Kou curses, slamming his fist into a wall.
"Here's the girl, unharmed, as you wanted." Jones says, dropping Mara on the ground. She is still groggy from the drug, but is vaguely aware of the pain coursing through her skull from the not-so-light fall. Dauragon gently caresses her face. "Good. You're dismissed." He says, gently lifting Mara and carrying her to an upstairs bedroom. Mara awakes with a clear head some hour later. She is still wearing her flimsy black shift, but her undergarments are removed. She attempts to stand up but nearly falls over, and notices there is much blood trailing down her thighs. On closer inspection, she realizes that it is not an early period but her virginity spilling onto the sheets. She only can stare at shock, then cry, cry great heaving sobs that she can't believe come from her own throat and chest, cry sobs that shake her entire body. She felt violated and unclean. Finally she takes deep breaths and dries her face. "You have awakened I see." Mara opens her eyes. Dauragon sits by the bed. "Did you do this to me?" She whimpers. He strokes her face. "I couldn't possibly cause you pain consciously." Mara wanted to spit in his face but instead lay back. "Why?" She asks. He gets in bed next to her, and pulls her against him. She felt him growing hot and hard. "So you can enjoy this." He tells her, undressing and moving on top of her, pulling her shift off and kissing her neck and chest, playing with her nipples and pushing in slowly. It was hot, too hot. She had a few orgasms but she felt it not enough. If it were a different person perhaps she would not be so stiff, so she tried closing her eyes and breathing shallowly. No differences so she just waited it out. Finally he seemed satisfied and lay down next to her, actually holding her, a sensation she enjoyed much more than the climaxes. She thought she slept, but when she woke up he had gone. This time she found all of her clothes and dressed, thinking that it might just be probable that she dreamt the whole thing, but the strong scent of embryo on her body and chemise made her think differently. He had defiled her twice and that is what made her blood boil over, that she allowed it to happen, she had even enjoyed it somewhat. Mara frowns and combs through her hair, wanting nothing but to go home and sleep till noon.
"Sion." She half-whispers. "Kou." She says, a little louder. "Volt, Echidna, Dominique, Sion, Kou." She murmurs and nearly collapses but instead straightens the ankle-length skirt of her shift. She looks so morbid in the mirror. Not really knowing what she is doing, she opens the door and ambles down the corridor. "Mara?" She turns around. Kou grips her arm gently. She can't find words, only tears. The strong, musky cologne around her and her state of mind tells all. "It's all right, it's over, I'm getting you out of here." He soothes, holding her close and rubbing her back, stroking her hair. She clings to him as shamelessly as a baby, sobbing hysterically against his chest, still unable to speak, dubious if she ever will again. "A heartwarming scene. But she is unfaithful." Kou gently pushes Mara back. "You sick freak, do you have any idea how old she is?" He shrugs. "Or who she's related to?" Sion asks, stepping out from another room. "Or who her allies are?" Echidna throws in. Once again, the five beats him to pulp and this time throw him off the railing and don't leave until they hear his neck snap. No one can live through that. Kou pulls Mara close to him and covers her with his jacket. She lets him carry her out of the mansion.
"You're sure you're all right?" Kou asks her for the tenth time, tucking her into is bed and stroking her hair as if she's a child. "Yes." Mara tells him for the tenth time. "You need anything just wake me up, okay?" He tells her, kissing her forehead and getting up. "Wait." She says, taking his hand. "Yeah?" She sits up. "Stay with me, until I fall asleep. Please?" He shrugs and lies down. He must have nodded off because he remembers looking at the clock, seeing that it read 12:45. He blinked, and it was 3:32. Mara is asleep on his arm. Not wanting to move and wake her, he just decides to stay here for the night. It wouldn't be bad, helluva lot better than rolling off the couch and splitting your head open on the coffee table tomorrow morning. He watches Mara sleep for awhile, not particularly tired. She barely moves in her slumber, only to breathe. Her entire body is covered in a thin film of cold sweat. Finally sensing she is being observed she opens her eyes and stretches. "Is it morning yet? I'm not that tired." She asks groggily. "No." He responds. He looks at her for awhile. "Mara?" She looks up at him expectantly. "You're kind of like a daughter to me." He tells her, stroking her hair out of her eyes. "And you're like the father I never had." She responds sleepily and closes her eyes. It never went farther, but the two were happy just where they were right then.
Epilogue A woman with dark red hair gazes out the window of her apartment. "Ma?" She turns around. A girl who looks about fifteen, but in reality is only twelve stands at the door. Her light brown hair falls in disarray to her waist and she blinks her differently colored eyes sleepily. The girl possesses a unique quality, her left eye is blue and her right is green. "What is it Charisma?" The woman asks her daughter. The girl places he hands on her hips. "Mom, its 4:00 in the morning. You've been staring out a window for four hours. Go to bed!" The redhead laughs. She should be saying this to her, the child not the mother. "I will, I promise. I just have to finish this page, okay. Don't worry about me, honey. Goodnight." She says. The mother turns back to her laptop and finishes her story. She signs it. Meko Ashleigh Richardson It is a phony name created from the letters of her real name backwards. 'Meko' hoped that someone would buy her new book Predicament. It is her first novel that is not horror or fantasy, about a fourteen year-old girl who finds herself unwillingly impregnated by her stepbrother raping her. Meko smiles sadly and turns of her computer after kissing her daughter goodnight.
To be continued.