April 2002
Disclaimer: The character's aren't mine (big surprise) I'm just borrowing them.
The story, however, is mine.
Chapter 5
Selenity murmured in her sleep as she turned, rolling into the body of
her sleeping companion. Her eyes flew wide as she froze. Her betrothed had
taken advantage of her on more than one occasion, and in more than one place,
she found her heart beginning to race as she feared another attack. Her
surroundings suddenly seemed to penetrate her mind and she relaxed.
"Good morning,"
She glanced over her shoulder and smiled, "Good morning."
Darien slid an arm around her waist and pulled be back against him,
gently nuzzling her neck. He felt her body stiffen slightly and then relax, as
if it took conscious effort for her to submit to his caress. His lips thinned
with suppressed anger as he hugged her gently and then rolled away. That
bastard. Her betrothed. The man who had stolen her virginity when it should
have been hers to give freely. He dropped his feet over the side of the bed
and sank his fingers into his hair, leaning his elbows on his knees.
"Darien?" He glanced at her as she sat next to him, looking at him with
a confused expression on her face, "Did I do something wrong?"
"So, Selene, not you. Never you. I just wish I'd been able to get to
you before anything with your betrothed happened." he slid his arm around her
shoulders and laid his head against hers, planting a soft kiss on the crown of
her head, "I want to kill him for what he did to you."
She shuddered and pressed closer to him, almost unconsciously, seeking
the protection of his body, "I wish I could just forget him."
"You will," he promised softly, "together we'll erase his memory and
build new ones."
A loud, insistent meow sounded from a couple of doors over, just beyond
the bathroom. He sighed, "Damn cat. There are times I wish I'd never gotten
her."
Selenity grinned, "Think it's time I met her?"
Darien pushed himself off the bed and looked down at her, grinning,
"Later maybe, but not right now."
She watched him carefully as he fingered one lock of her hair, starting
just above her ear and then walking back. It finally dropped from his fingers
near his bedroom door. He shook his head, "Cut your hair, beautiful woman, and
I'll take you home."
She smiled at his loosely used compliment, wrapping her arms around
herself. The ring on her finger pressed coolly against her upper arm and she
looked down at it. Charles would know right away what it was, regardless of
what she did with it. She glanced at the clock and leapt to her feet,
"Darien?"
He'd entered his room, but heard her and answered, his voice slightly
muffled through the door, "Something you need?"
"Can I borrow your phone? I've got to call Charles before he send the
squad after me!"
His laugh was low, "Go ahead, it's in the living room next to the couch.
You can't miss it."
She nearly tripped over her hair as she started to walk and picked it
up, draping it over her arm like a towel as she walked into the living room.
She spied the phone and scooped up the cordless, quickly punching in the
number.
"Charles, it is Selenity."
"Miss! I was starting to worry," she winced at his tone. He had been
worried and she hated it when she did that to him.
"I am fine, but I will not be coming home just yet. Are the reporters
still outside the house?"
"Of course not," he almost sounded insulted, "I got rid of them
yesterday evening. Shall I come and get you?"
She sighed, "I want some more time to myself, is there anything on the
itinerary daddy set up that I can skip out of?"
She heard pages flip as Charles red through the activities she was
supposed to be doing for the day. Yesterday she'd had none, but today was
another matter entirely. "There's a luncheon with the mayor in an hour and a
half, but I don't think you can get out of that one. I already called the two
this morning and rescheduled them for tomorrow. They were most understanding.
An art gallery opening after the luncheon. Meeting the various artists. I'm
sorry miss, but this is all stuff that needs your personal attention. I can't
fill in for you anymore today."
"I will be home in an hour, Charles. Just keep the media away,
alright?"
"Very well, miss. Shall I have something ready for you to change into
when you get here?"
"Yes. Se you when I get home." She hung up the phone and closed her
eyes, feeling her throat close. One day. She would be here for a long long
time, and she'd gotten one day of freedom! It wasn't fair!
"Selene?"
She spun around, seeing Darien standing in the doorway. "I didn't mean
to eavesdrop, but I take it you've got to go?"
She nodded, "Duty calls," she told him lightly, trying to keep the
atmosphere bright.
"Will I see you again tonight?"
"No."
He approached her, "Tomorrow?"
She shook her head, "I cannot."
"On my birthday then?"
She winced, dropping her eyes, "You know I have responsibilities I have
to discharge, Darien. I cannot simply please myself all of the time I am
here."
"Don't pull that with me, Princess. Don't try and shut me out by hiding
behind your royal mask."
She looked at him, seeing the hurt reflected on his face, "I am sorry,
Darien. I do no- don't want to hurt you. I want more than anything to bring
you with me to these functions, but I can't."
"Why not? I'm your fiancée, surely once we're married I'll be
accompanying you."
"Then, perhaps, but for me to show up with a strange man on my arm one
night after I returned to Tokyo would cause rumors."
"And getting married 3 days after you get here won't?" he asked, his
lips quirking into an amused half-smile, "You sure have strange reasoning
Selene."
"I don't expect you to understand, Darien. You know better than anyone
that I'm more like two people living inside the same body than the single
person intended for that place. It's what's kept me alive and free for so
long. Don't rock the boat when I'm the Princess and relax in those few, stolen
moments when I can be myself."
"Is that all I am?" he asked her, searching her eyes, "Stolen moments?"
She shook her head, "No, never. Do you really want to see me tonight?"
He nodded, "I need to see you tonight."
She let out the breath she'd been holding, "I can have Charles pick you
up after our last appointment if you like. Just pick a location."
He looked at her, gently cupping her cheek before planting a soft kiss
on her forehead, "The corner of 10th street. Call me, let me know what time,
alright?"
She nodded, "I won't forget. You're sure you want to come back to my
house tonight? It's Friday after all."
He chuckled and pulled away, gently caressing her cheek with his thumb.
"Go change while I go make breakfast. And make it quick, I have to drop you
off before I have to get to class."
She nodded, her eyes drinking in the sight of him as he walked towards
the kitchen. The man was well build, muscular but not overly. His lean, wiry,
built for speed and power. She noticed his black slacks curved lovingly around
his posterior and heat suffused her cheeks. She darted away to the guest room
and closed the door behind her.
Darien was humming a soft tune when Selenity walked into the kitchen.
She was dressed in the same jeans and t-shirt she'd worn the day before. "No
princess trappings?" he asked, noting her hair was shoulder length again. On
some level, he felt her hair growing at an alarming speed should have shocked
him. On another, it only seemed natural. His Selenity had to be able to make
her trademark hairstyle.
"I don't want to be 'The Princess' with you, Darien," she admitted,
sliding into a seat at his small kitchen table as he was scrambling eggs in the
pan on the stove. "I mean, I don't mind when you call me Princess, I just want
to be myself whenever we're alone. You do realize that if I meet you in a
social situation I won't be able to speak with you this casually, right?"
He was scraping the eggs onto two plates as she spoke and finally turned
to her, sliding one plate in front of her as he sat. "I don't like it, but I
don't think I have much of a choice."
She grabbed his hand, looking into his eyes, "I'm trying to protect us.
The media can be cruel, uncaring. I don't want to see anything about you and
I splashed across the tabloids before I get the chance to talk to my father.
The King wouldn't like it."
He ran his thumb over her knuckles and then gently kissed the back of
her hand, "I know, Princess. Treat me as you need to when you're in Princess
mode in public, but I want nothing but the real you when we're alone, deal?"
She nodded, smiling. "Deal."
He pushed a fork across the table at her and picked up his own, "Eat."
Without further comment she picked up her fork and dug into her
breakfast. She couldn't help but smile as she worked her way through the eggs,
two pieces of toast, four strips of bacon and a couple of breakfast sausages.
Darien collected her plate as she finished and slid them into the
dishwasher, wiping his mouth with a napkin. He nodded to her untouched orange
juice, "Are you going to drink that?"
She grinned and up-ended the glass, drinking it down in a few large
swallows. "Ahhhh. Ready?"
He smiled a half smile, brushing his bangs out of his eyes with one
hand, "Whenever you are, Selene."
They talked about the upcoming night as they put on their shoes and
Selene collected her bags. Darien took them from her after he closed and
locked his apartment door behind them. "So you're sure you don't want to come
back here then?"
She rolled her eyes, swinging the one bag she'd been allowed to keep in
front of her, "And risk Charles having a coronary? Thanks, but the guy is
practically my father. He was pretty worried when I didn't call this morning."
Darien chuckled as she pressed the button for the elevator, "What would
have happened if I'd stolen you away for the day?"
She laughed. "Well, you would have missed your classes for one. On my
end, Charles would have put in motion his very quiet, very effective, team of
searches. They're all ex-intelligence officers of some country or another.
Nothing but the best for the sole surviving heir of one of the oldest
bloodlines in the world." She sighed, "It's not fun when you want your
privacy."
The elevator doors opened and they stepped inside, keying the button for
the parkade. Darien was quiet, turning her words over in his head. They were
more than halfway to the main floor when he finally spoke. "Have you ever been
kidnapped and taken out of the country?"
She shook her head, her sunshine hair brushing her shoulders, "Hardly.
I tried to leave a country on my own under an assumed name once. Wow, that
was almost 3 years ago. I was caught picking up my tickets at the airport.
Charles works fast, he knew where I was within a half hour of me being late."
"How long does he usually give you for leeway time on a check in?"
The doors opened and she stepped into dark parking lot beneath the
apartment building, Darien behind her. "Five minutes. Sometimes ten depending
on where I'm supposed to be. If it's something he knows I'm likely to be late
for he might give me a little longer but for the most part, if I don't check in
on time he starts the network in motion."
Darien walked beside her to his car and held the door as she placed her
bags on the floor, closing it for her before going around to climb in himself.
"Well, tonight he won't have to worry. What'd you have in mind for tonight?"
"Ever watch American movies?"
He glanced at her, raising one eyebrow, "My English is alright, but
hardly stellar. I suppose I could find an American movie for tonight."
She grinned, buckling up as he pulled out of the parking space, "Really?
I've never seen one. I tried to convince my dad to let me to out to a theatre
to see one when I was living in Ft. Worth, Texas, but he wasn't going for it.
I hear they really are something else."
Darien shrugged, "Depends on your taste I guess."
Selenity watched the scenery pass in silence as they drove back towards
her place. She was lost in thought when the sound of squealing brakes snapped
her back to reality as the car started to slide. Her head was thrown against
the side window, causing a spider web of cracks to appear and giving her one
heck of a headache. She heard someone scream, heard Darien curse, saw the
dashboard rising up to meet her before her head snapped back. Dark spots
floated in her vision as the sound of crunching metal and hot fuel permeated
her senses.
"Selenity?"
She tried to turn her head to look at him, his voice sounded hoarse,
rough like sandpaper, but her head wouldn't move. "Darien?"
She thought she heard his breath catch, "Are you alright?"
She tried to nod, but couldn't, her eyesight slowly turning black, "I
can't feel my legs," she admitted, "I can't feel anything and my head won't
turn." Her voice was calm, but panic was starting to set in, "Darien?"
"I'm here." she felt his hand gently brushing her hair out of her eyes.
Had her ponytail holder snapped? Well, it wouldn't be the first time. What
was she thinking? She couldn't feel her legs and she was thinking about her
hair tie?
"I can't see anything."
"Shh... help is coming Princess, help is on the way, you can't sleep
though, alright. No matter what you do, hold onto the sound of my voice."
She smiled weakly, "As if I could forget it."
He talked to her then, soothingly soft words that let her focus. She
blinked, but continued to see nothing but black. Her neck ached. Well, at
least she could feel it. The sound of an ambulance drifted to her ears. "Is
that for us?"
"Yes, Selene, it's for us."
"Why?" she was having a hard time focusing on why exactly she couldn't
move. There had been something happening. Where was she going?
His finger caressed her cheek as she heard another siren coming closer,
"You're hurt, Princess. They're going to try and make sure you're alright."
"Is that why I can't feel anything?"
"Yes."
Darien looked at her. The passenger door was smashed in, her side of
the car folded up and over her body, pinning her in place. He couldn't tell if
she was bleeding, but there was something pressing firmly against her abdomen
and the hand he could feel was cool to the touch. He'd tried to pull the metal
from her right after the accident. He'd felt around her and knew that her legs
were pinned, probably broken; her right arm was completely beyond his reach.
He felt guilty. His worst injury would be some bruises and a gash on
the head. She was in serious trouble. She had blood on her lips, but didn't
seem to taste it; the right side of her face was covered in blood from when
she'd hit the window. The headrests on his seats weren't far enough up and her
head had connected pretty powerfully with the top of it. Probably why she
couldn't see. Her hair was matted to her head, the golden strands muted and
sticky with blood.
The ambulance screeched to a halt outside the car and the paramedics
quickly poured out. Behind them a fire truck also pulled up, the firemen
looking at his smashed Porsche with grim faces. Darien brushed her hair off
her cheek and gently kissed it, "I'll be right back. Hang on, Selene."
He backed out of the car and stood, waving at them, "Over here, please,
you have to help her," oh really smooth Dare, he found himself thinking as he
begged them to come quickly, of course they'll help, it's their damn job!
The firemen pulled a large object from the back of their fire truck and
came over quickly, the Paramedics going to see how they could help from the
driver's side. Darien stood back, "Can I help?" he asked, his mouth dry. He
could smell the blood and too much of it was hers. One of the two paramedics
came over to him, "Sir, if you'll just let us have a look at you, you need
medical care for that cut."
He waved her away as her partner, a man who looked vaguely familiar, was
working on Selenity in the car, "Help her, I'm fine. Princess, please, you've
got to be alright."
Selenity smiled with difficult, a pressure on her chest stopping her
from taking in much of a breath to respond, "I'm fine, Dare."
The paramedic working on her slipped back into the driver's seat.
Another ambulance pulled up with two more paramedics. Darien paid them, or the
vehicle that had hit him, little head. His eyes were focused on the too pale
Selenity pinned in his front seat. A loud noise startled him as the firemen
started up with metal piece and began to carefully cut away the pieces of the
car. They pulled the passenger door off first, Darien unable to watch as her
arm dropped limply in that space, the flesh slightly purple from lack of
circulation. The firefighters worked continuously and with great care and
speed, quickly dismantling his Porsche as they tried to free the young woman
trapped inside. Finally they pulled the last of the pieces off and Selenity
slumped in the seat, unconscious.
With great care the paramedics extracted her from the car and lay her on
a stretcher. Darien walked over as they were preparing to load her into the
ambulance. One paramedic made to remove the chain around her neck and Darien
stayed his hand. Gently he removed the pendant and pocketed it. He swallowed
hard, seeing her injuries. One of her legs was obviously broken, her right arm
looked disjointed, huge bruises marred her porcelain skin. They immobilized
her neck in a brace and wrapped her head with gauze to stem the bleeding.
"Can I come with you?" he asked softly as they loaded her into the back of the
vehicle.
One of the paramedics looked at him, "Family?"
"Fiancée."
He jerked his head, "Get in."
Darien slid into the Ambulance behind the stretcher holding Selenity and
submitted to the paramedics as the ambulance raced away towards the Hospital.
Author's Note: End Chapter 5, 6 is up, go read it and then e-mail me!
Jademax@hotmail.com
Thanks for reading!
Jade_Max
Disclaimer: The character's aren't mine (big surprise) I'm just borrowing them.
The story, however, is mine.
Chapter 5
Selenity murmured in her sleep as she turned, rolling into the body of
her sleeping companion. Her eyes flew wide as she froze. Her betrothed had
taken advantage of her on more than one occasion, and in more than one place,
she found her heart beginning to race as she feared another attack. Her
surroundings suddenly seemed to penetrate her mind and she relaxed.
"Good morning,"
She glanced over her shoulder and smiled, "Good morning."
Darien slid an arm around her waist and pulled be back against him,
gently nuzzling her neck. He felt her body stiffen slightly and then relax, as
if it took conscious effort for her to submit to his caress. His lips thinned
with suppressed anger as he hugged her gently and then rolled away. That
bastard. Her betrothed. The man who had stolen her virginity when it should
have been hers to give freely. He dropped his feet over the side of the bed
and sank his fingers into his hair, leaning his elbows on his knees.
"Darien?" He glanced at her as she sat next to him, looking at him with
a confused expression on her face, "Did I do something wrong?"
"So, Selene, not you. Never you. I just wish I'd been able to get to
you before anything with your betrothed happened." he slid his arm around her
shoulders and laid his head against hers, planting a soft kiss on the crown of
her head, "I want to kill him for what he did to you."
She shuddered and pressed closer to him, almost unconsciously, seeking
the protection of his body, "I wish I could just forget him."
"You will," he promised softly, "together we'll erase his memory and
build new ones."
A loud, insistent meow sounded from a couple of doors over, just beyond
the bathroom. He sighed, "Damn cat. There are times I wish I'd never gotten
her."
Selenity grinned, "Think it's time I met her?"
Darien pushed himself off the bed and looked down at her, grinning,
"Later maybe, but not right now."
She watched him carefully as he fingered one lock of her hair, starting
just above her ear and then walking back. It finally dropped from his fingers
near his bedroom door. He shook his head, "Cut your hair, beautiful woman, and
I'll take you home."
She smiled at his loosely used compliment, wrapping her arms around
herself. The ring on her finger pressed coolly against her upper arm and she
looked down at it. Charles would know right away what it was, regardless of
what she did with it. She glanced at the clock and leapt to her feet,
"Darien?"
He'd entered his room, but heard her and answered, his voice slightly
muffled through the door, "Something you need?"
"Can I borrow your phone? I've got to call Charles before he send the
squad after me!"
His laugh was low, "Go ahead, it's in the living room next to the couch.
You can't miss it."
She nearly tripped over her hair as she started to walk and picked it
up, draping it over her arm like a towel as she walked into the living room.
She spied the phone and scooped up the cordless, quickly punching in the
number.
"Charles, it is Selenity."
"Miss! I was starting to worry," she winced at his tone. He had been
worried and she hated it when she did that to him.
"I am fine, but I will not be coming home just yet. Are the reporters
still outside the house?"
"Of course not," he almost sounded insulted, "I got rid of them
yesterday evening. Shall I come and get you?"
She sighed, "I want some more time to myself, is there anything on the
itinerary daddy set up that I can skip out of?"
She heard pages flip as Charles red through the activities she was
supposed to be doing for the day. Yesterday she'd had none, but today was
another matter entirely. "There's a luncheon with the mayor in an hour and a
half, but I don't think you can get out of that one. I already called the two
this morning and rescheduled them for tomorrow. They were most understanding.
An art gallery opening after the luncheon. Meeting the various artists. I'm
sorry miss, but this is all stuff that needs your personal attention. I can't
fill in for you anymore today."
"I will be home in an hour, Charles. Just keep the media away,
alright?"
"Very well, miss. Shall I have something ready for you to change into
when you get here?"
"Yes. Se you when I get home." She hung up the phone and closed her
eyes, feeling her throat close. One day. She would be here for a long long
time, and she'd gotten one day of freedom! It wasn't fair!
"Selene?"
She spun around, seeing Darien standing in the doorway. "I didn't mean
to eavesdrop, but I take it you've got to go?"
She nodded, "Duty calls," she told him lightly, trying to keep the
atmosphere bright.
"Will I see you again tonight?"
"No."
He approached her, "Tomorrow?"
She shook her head, "I cannot."
"On my birthday then?"
She winced, dropping her eyes, "You know I have responsibilities I have
to discharge, Darien. I cannot simply please myself all of the time I am
here."
"Don't pull that with me, Princess. Don't try and shut me out by hiding
behind your royal mask."
She looked at him, seeing the hurt reflected on his face, "I am sorry,
Darien. I do no- don't want to hurt you. I want more than anything to bring
you with me to these functions, but I can't."
"Why not? I'm your fiancée, surely once we're married I'll be
accompanying you."
"Then, perhaps, but for me to show up with a strange man on my arm one
night after I returned to Tokyo would cause rumors."
"And getting married 3 days after you get here won't?" he asked, his
lips quirking into an amused half-smile, "You sure have strange reasoning
Selene."
"I don't expect you to understand, Darien. You know better than anyone
that I'm more like two people living inside the same body than the single
person intended for that place. It's what's kept me alive and free for so
long. Don't rock the boat when I'm the Princess and relax in those few, stolen
moments when I can be myself."
"Is that all I am?" he asked her, searching her eyes, "Stolen moments?"
She shook her head, "No, never. Do you really want to see me tonight?"
He nodded, "I need to see you tonight."
She let out the breath she'd been holding, "I can have Charles pick you
up after our last appointment if you like. Just pick a location."
He looked at her, gently cupping her cheek before planting a soft kiss
on her forehead, "The corner of 10th street. Call me, let me know what time,
alright?"
She nodded, "I won't forget. You're sure you want to come back to my
house tonight? It's Friday after all."
He chuckled and pulled away, gently caressing her cheek with his thumb.
"Go change while I go make breakfast. And make it quick, I have to drop you
off before I have to get to class."
She nodded, her eyes drinking in the sight of him as he walked towards
the kitchen. The man was well build, muscular but not overly. His lean, wiry,
built for speed and power. She noticed his black slacks curved lovingly around
his posterior and heat suffused her cheeks. She darted away to the guest room
and closed the door behind her.
Darien was humming a soft tune when Selenity walked into the kitchen.
She was dressed in the same jeans and t-shirt she'd worn the day before. "No
princess trappings?" he asked, noting her hair was shoulder length again. On
some level, he felt her hair growing at an alarming speed should have shocked
him. On another, it only seemed natural. His Selenity had to be able to make
her trademark hairstyle.
"I don't want to be 'The Princess' with you, Darien," she admitted,
sliding into a seat at his small kitchen table as he was scrambling eggs in the
pan on the stove. "I mean, I don't mind when you call me Princess, I just want
to be myself whenever we're alone. You do realize that if I meet you in a
social situation I won't be able to speak with you this casually, right?"
He was scraping the eggs onto two plates as she spoke and finally turned
to her, sliding one plate in front of her as he sat. "I don't like it, but I
don't think I have much of a choice."
She grabbed his hand, looking into his eyes, "I'm trying to protect us.
The media can be cruel, uncaring. I don't want to see anything about you and
I splashed across the tabloids before I get the chance to talk to my father.
The King wouldn't like it."
He ran his thumb over her knuckles and then gently kissed the back of
her hand, "I know, Princess. Treat me as you need to when you're in Princess
mode in public, but I want nothing but the real you when we're alone, deal?"
She nodded, smiling. "Deal."
He pushed a fork across the table at her and picked up his own, "Eat."
Without further comment she picked up her fork and dug into her
breakfast. She couldn't help but smile as she worked her way through the eggs,
two pieces of toast, four strips of bacon and a couple of breakfast sausages.
Darien collected her plate as she finished and slid them into the
dishwasher, wiping his mouth with a napkin. He nodded to her untouched orange
juice, "Are you going to drink that?"
She grinned and up-ended the glass, drinking it down in a few large
swallows. "Ahhhh. Ready?"
He smiled a half smile, brushing his bangs out of his eyes with one
hand, "Whenever you are, Selene."
They talked about the upcoming night as they put on their shoes and
Selene collected her bags. Darien took them from her after he closed and
locked his apartment door behind them. "So you're sure you don't want to come
back here then?"
She rolled her eyes, swinging the one bag she'd been allowed to keep in
front of her, "And risk Charles having a coronary? Thanks, but the guy is
practically my father. He was pretty worried when I didn't call this morning."
Darien chuckled as she pressed the button for the elevator, "What would
have happened if I'd stolen you away for the day?"
She laughed. "Well, you would have missed your classes for one. On my
end, Charles would have put in motion his very quiet, very effective, team of
searches. They're all ex-intelligence officers of some country or another.
Nothing but the best for the sole surviving heir of one of the oldest
bloodlines in the world." She sighed, "It's not fun when you want your
privacy."
The elevator doors opened and they stepped inside, keying the button for
the parkade. Darien was quiet, turning her words over in his head. They were
more than halfway to the main floor when he finally spoke. "Have you ever been
kidnapped and taken out of the country?"
She shook her head, her sunshine hair brushing her shoulders, "Hardly.
I tried to leave a country on my own under an assumed name once. Wow, that
was almost 3 years ago. I was caught picking up my tickets at the airport.
Charles works fast, he knew where I was within a half hour of me being late."
"How long does he usually give you for leeway time on a check in?"
The doors opened and she stepped into dark parking lot beneath the
apartment building, Darien behind her. "Five minutes. Sometimes ten depending
on where I'm supposed to be. If it's something he knows I'm likely to be late
for he might give me a little longer but for the most part, if I don't check in
on time he starts the network in motion."
Darien walked beside her to his car and held the door as she placed her
bags on the floor, closing it for her before going around to climb in himself.
"Well, tonight he won't have to worry. What'd you have in mind for tonight?"
"Ever watch American movies?"
He glanced at her, raising one eyebrow, "My English is alright, but
hardly stellar. I suppose I could find an American movie for tonight."
She grinned, buckling up as he pulled out of the parking space, "Really?
I've never seen one. I tried to convince my dad to let me to out to a theatre
to see one when I was living in Ft. Worth, Texas, but he wasn't going for it.
I hear they really are something else."
Darien shrugged, "Depends on your taste I guess."
Selenity watched the scenery pass in silence as they drove back towards
her place. She was lost in thought when the sound of squealing brakes snapped
her back to reality as the car started to slide. Her head was thrown against
the side window, causing a spider web of cracks to appear and giving her one
heck of a headache. She heard someone scream, heard Darien curse, saw the
dashboard rising up to meet her before her head snapped back. Dark spots
floated in her vision as the sound of crunching metal and hot fuel permeated
her senses.
"Selenity?"
She tried to turn her head to look at him, his voice sounded hoarse,
rough like sandpaper, but her head wouldn't move. "Darien?"
She thought she heard his breath catch, "Are you alright?"
She tried to nod, but couldn't, her eyesight slowly turning black, "I
can't feel my legs," she admitted, "I can't feel anything and my head won't
turn." Her voice was calm, but panic was starting to set in, "Darien?"
"I'm here." she felt his hand gently brushing her hair out of her eyes.
Had her ponytail holder snapped? Well, it wouldn't be the first time. What
was she thinking? She couldn't feel her legs and she was thinking about her
hair tie?
"I can't see anything."
"Shh... help is coming Princess, help is on the way, you can't sleep
though, alright. No matter what you do, hold onto the sound of my voice."
She smiled weakly, "As if I could forget it."
He talked to her then, soothingly soft words that let her focus. She
blinked, but continued to see nothing but black. Her neck ached. Well, at
least she could feel it. The sound of an ambulance drifted to her ears. "Is
that for us?"
"Yes, Selene, it's for us."
"Why?" she was having a hard time focusing on why exactly she couldn't
move. There had been something happening. Where was she going?
His finger caressed her cheek as she heard another siren coming closer,
"You're hurt, Princess. They're going to try and make sure you're alright."
"Is that why I can't feel anything?"
"Yes."
Darien looked at her. The passenger door was smashed in, her side of
the car folded up and over her body, pinning her in place. He couldn't tell if
she was bleeding, but there was something pressing firmly against her abdomen
and the hand he could feel was cool to the touch. He'd tried to pull the metal
from her right after the accident. He'd felt around her and knew that her legs
were pinned, probably broken; her right arm was completely beyond his reach.
He felt guilty. His worst injury would be some bruises and a gash on
the head. She was in serious trouble. She had blood on her lips, but didn't
seem to taste it; the right side of her face was covered in blood from when
she'd hit the window. The headrests on his seats weren't far enough up and her
head had connected pretty powerfully with the top of it. Probably why she
couldn't see. Her hair was matted to her head, the golden strands muted and
sticky with blood.
The ambulance screeched to a halt outside the car and the paramedics
quickly poured out. Behind them a fire truck also pulled up, the firemen
looking at his smashed Porsche with grim faces. Darien brushed her hair off
her cheek and gently kissed it, "I'll be right back. Hang on, Selene."
He backed out of the car and stood, waving at them, "Over here, please,
you have to help her," oh really smooth Dare, he found himself thinking as he
begged them to come quickly, of course they'll help, it's their damn job!
The firemen pulled a large object from the back of their fire truck and
came over quickly, the Paramedics going to see how they could help from the
driver's side. Darien stood back, "Can I help?" he asked, his mouth dry. He
could smell the blood and too much of it was hers. One of the two paramedics
came over to him, "Sir, if you'll just let us have a look at you, you need
medical care for that cut."
He waved her away as her partner, a man who looked vaguely familiar, was
working on Selenity in the car, "Help her, I'm fine. Princess, please, you've
got to be alright."
Selenity smiled with difficult, a pressure on her chest stopping her
from taking in much of a breath to respond, "I'm fine, Dare."
The paramedic working on her slipped back into the driver's seat.
Another ambulance pulled up with two more paramedics. Darien paid them, or the
vehicle that had hit him, little head. His eyes were focused on the too pale
Selenity pinned in his front seat. A loud noise startled him as the firemen
started up with metal piece and began to carefully cut away the pieces of the
car. They pulled the passenger door off first, Darien unable to watch as her
arm dropped limply in that space, the flesh slightly purple from lack of
circulation. The firefighters worked continuously and with great care and
speed, quickly dismantling his Porsche as they tried to free the young woman
trapped inside. Finally they pulled the last of the pieces off and Selenity
slumped in the seat, unconscious.
With great care the paramedics extracted her from the car and lay her on
a stretcher. Darien walked over as they were preparing to load her into the
ambulance. One paramedic made to remove the chain around her neck and Darien
stayed his hand. Gently he removed the pendant and pocketed it. He swallowed
hard, seeing her injuries. One of her legs was obviously broken, her right arm
looked disjointed, huge bruises marred her porcelain skin. They immobilized
her neck in a brace and wrapped her head with gauze to stem the bleeding.
"Can I come with you?" he asked softly as they loaded her into the back of the
vehicle.
One of the paramedics looked at him, "Family?"
"Fiancée."
He jerked his head, "Get in."
Darien slid into the Ambulance behind the stretcher holding Selenity and
submitted to the paramedics as the ambulance raced away towards the Hospital.
Author's Note: End Chapter 5, 6 is up, go read it and then e-mail me!
Jademax@hotmail.com
Thanks for reading!
Jade_Max