Hi All!

Thank you sooo much for your reactions! I didn't mean to sound too harsh or actually demand reviews (which I think I did – kind of)… It's just that I love to get reviews, and no one reviewed the new part of True Colors and there wasn't anyone who bothered to review for this fic, so I thought that my writing sucked… :(

So, I'm really glad that all of you guys reviewed…

Thnx!

Well, onto the story…

A Rose Of Cinders

Chapter 5

Liza slowed down, diminishing her speed when the DeLuca residence came into view. Crossing the main garden, she leapt over the small brook that surrounded the little front yard, and jumped the stairs that led to a little porch. Impatiently, she knocked the front door, hard, but she didn't pay any attention to the hurt it inflicted to her knuckles, being too occupied with seeking refugee.

Somewhere behind her, over the sound of her own irregular breathing and gasps for air, she could hear Alex's yells, and every now and then – when he knocked his big toe at a rock or stepped into the dirt – she heard him cry out obscenities and rather indecent words.

She knocked again, louder this time, quietly begging for Maria, Amelia, anyone to open the door. She shuddered involuntary at the thought what would happen when they wouldn't be in time to let her in…

Alex would grasp her, and tickle her to death…

'C'mon Maria,' she thought persistently, and she threw a glance over her right shoulder, seeing Alex closing in on her.

'Hurry up…' she silently added, as she watched Alex jump over the brook.

Alex ran hard, not even bothering to diminish his speed as he came closer and closer, and he neared her with every second that passed. He looked very funny, running that fast, Liza suddenly thought. His arms were flinging back and forth, and his mouth was half-opened in order to get as much gallons of air as possible.

Her attention once again shifted to the door, and she impatiently knocked again. A muffled "Yeah, yeah," could be heard, and when she heard someone – probably Maria – fumbling with the lock, she allowed the breath she'd been holding for the last few seconds to escape her throat.

She prepared herself for another run, and as soon as the door opened even the slightest bit, she threw herself against it, enlarging the opening far enough to leap through it. She flew into the hall, and gently pushed a very astonished Maria out of her way.

Alex followed suit, and after almost running into Maria, he called a loud "Sorry!" over his shoulder, and continued his chase.

Liza barged into the kitchen and hid behind Amelia, who had a flabbergasted expression plastered on her face.

"Help me," Liza begged her, "please, Amelia, please, you gotta help me…"

Amelia worriedly watched her – a tad confused – and she stroked Liza's hair, her fingers hooking themselves under the dirty shawl that was wrapped around her head, and carefully untying it.

"Are you alright?" she asked Liza, concerned, and her fingers gingerly caressed her cheeks.

Liza opened her mouth, and was about to reassure Amelia when Alex ran into the kitchen, panting like a madman. She shrieked and ducked behind the kitchen table, partially covering herself with the checked tablecloth.

Alex, who pretended that he had neither seen nor heard her, came to an abrupt halt, and tried to catch his breath.

"Where is she?" he quasi ominously asked Amelia, and, urgently, he added: "Where did she go?"

Even though he sounded serious, it was obvious to Amelia that he didn't mean to sound so harsh, and that he was just teasing Liz. To make sure that Amelia wouldn't take him wrong, Alex winked at her, and an amused, contagious smile was spreading itself on his face.

Amelia decided to play along with him, and when Maria appeared, she laid her finger on her lips, indicating Maria to be quiet. Maria raised her eyebrow, but obeyed her mother without uttering her questions, and watched with growing interest.

"I don't know," she answered Alex, but while she gave him her answer, she pointed at the kitchen table and mouthed 'there' to him.

A stifled giggle reached their ears, its previous destination being the kitchen table, or rather: the space under the kitchen table, and Alex smiled warmly at Amelia, showing her his gratitude. He quickly tiptoed to the table, his arms stretched out, ready to grab Liza.

Turning around the corner of the table, he suddenly growled, pretty much resembling a predator and leaped forward in a canine-like-way.

Amelia watched the scene unfold itself, the amused smile still playing on her lips. Her facial expressions changed quickly, though, when Alex shrieked and stumbled backwards, his face wan, and about ten shades paler than it had been before.

She hurried herself towards the table, fearing that something might have happened to Liza, but found her sitting happily on the floor, a large spider crossing the palm of her hand.

Alex's neck hairs were standing upwards, and a fear that he couldn't veil was visible in his eyes. He extended his index finger and pointed at the spider.

"P-p-p…put… that – that away…" he stuttered and Liza smiled gently at him.

"What do you mean, Alex?" she sweetly asked him, the teasing tone that had abandoned Alex's voice now audible in hers.

Alex pointed at the spider again, and tried to creep further into the wall.

"Th-th-that," he elucidated, stumbling over the four-letter word.

Liza extended her hand with the spider on it, bringing it closer to Alex.

"You mean this?"

She stooped forward, intending to let the spider walk away.

"As you wish, dear brother," she quasi submissively told him.

"N-no!" Alex screamed, trying to make himself as small as possible. "No! No! Outside, outside!" he urged her on. He closed his eyes, murmuring reassuring words to himself, and Liza stood up, deciding that Alex had had enough punishment and walked to the kitchen door.

She smiled and thanked the spider, allowing it to escape into the night, its destination unknown.

Alex let out a relieved sigh when Liza returned without the spider, and shakily stood up. Amelia and Maria had watched the interaction between brother and sister with amusement, and it wasn't until then that Liza and Alex noticed Maria's dress.

Liza gasped, while Alex whistled approvingly.

Maria smiled proudly at their reactions, and when Alex motioned for her to turn, she twirled around her axis, showing the marvelous dress off.

It was the most beautiful dress Liza had ever seen. It was made of velvet, and the sky-blue color of it brought out the bright blue color of Maria's eyes. A few pearls were embroidered on the front of the dress, surrounding a little blue, stitched lily, and the sleeves widened at the ends. The fringes of the dress were made from a darker shade of blue, and Maria looked – in one word – stunning.

"Isn't it pretty?" Maria asked them, and Liza smiled at her, nodding her agreement.

"Yeah," she breathed. "It's amazing…"

A sudden pang of jealousy hit her, and she tried to ignore it. She really was happy for her best friend, but how she wished that she could have such a dress… It was bound to attract the attention of the Prince… She tried to get rid of her envious thoughts and, after making sure that none of her jealousy would shimmer through, she spoke up.

"Where did you buy it? It looks so expensive…"

Maria's proud expression didn't change, and she beamed up at her mother.

"Mom made it for me, you know, with her powers," she explained.

Alex whistled again, and clapped his hands. "Great work," he complimented Amelia. "It looks really real to me."

Amelia gratefully smiled at him. "Thank you, Alex," she softly thanked him. "It isn't that hard to make it look real, it's just the carrying on of it that tires me."

She nodded her head in the direction of the shed that adjoined their house. "I've also changed the coach into a more royal version," she continued, "would you go and check the horses?"

Alex nodded enthusiastically; he loved Ebony and Amber, Amelia's horses. A surprise awaited him: there weren't two horses in the stables, but six. When he came closer, he realized that the four new horses belonged to Mr. Stephens, the very old and kind neighbor of the DeLuca's.

He gently stroked the nose of Snow, the white mare, and softly patted Crystal's nose. Raven, the black stallion, snorted impatiently, and Ginger followed its lead. Alex calmed them down by whispering soothing words and started to prepare them for the journey to the palace.

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Meanwhile, Amelia and Maria were occupied with designing the perfect dress for Liza.

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Amelia circled around her, inspecting the old dress she was wearing. "Color?" she asked.

Liza looked helplessly at Maria, not really knowing what to do or what to say.

"Red," Maria decided for Liza, "wine red."

Amelia waved over Liza's dress, and the stains and tears disappeared, vanishing under her hand. Miraculously, the filthy white color of the sundress turned into a much deeper, richer shade of red.

Liza's gasp was answered by a warm smile from Amelia, who just continued her work.

Maria propped her hand under her chin, and looked inscrutably at Liza.

"I'd go for a long dress, mom," she declared, "long would be more elegant."

Amelia nodded, agreeing with her daughter, and the material of the dress stretched itself. To Liza, with her scientific mind, it almost looked as if the dress was growing, like a cell that grew by osmosis.

Amelia took a step back and looked at the result.

"Hmm… That looks more like it…" she murmured to herself. She walked around Liza again and got rid of the spots and patches she'd forgotten.

She proudly inspected her work before she started contemplating – out loud – about the material of the dress.

"Silk, maybe?" Maria suggested, and Amelia looked questioningly at Liza, who eagerly nodded at Maria's proposal.

"Yes, please," she happily agreed, already imagining the feeling of the soft fabric against her skin. Amelia waved once more over the dress, and added some lace fringes to the dress, following Maria's advices.

When Amelia twirled Liza around, she noticed how deep-cut the back of the dress was, and hesitated, lifting her hand, intending to get the bare patch of skin covered up, but she was stopped in mid-air by Maria's loud protests.

She gave Maria a reprimanding look, but didn't change the gown. "Anything else?" she gently asked Liza, who just shook her head, being more than content with her new dress.

"Jewelry!" Maria happily squealed, and Liza noticed the little silver cross that hung on a small collier around Maria's neck, the plentitude of bracelets that dangled around her wrists and the large ring around her index finger.

Amelia smiled at the enthusiastic reaction of her daughter, but didn't make Liza any jewelry before she had changed the socks Liza was wearing into a pair of small, glass mules.

A few seconds later, Liza was attired with a silver necklace that carried a little rose and a few bracelets that surrounded her slender wrists.

"There," Amelia said when she had finished, and she looked approvingly at the result of her handiwork.

She moved her hands upwards, letting them hover above Liza's hair for a minute, pondering about the most fitting hair-style for a ball, and quickly swooped Liza's dark tresses up, firmly piling them upon her head. She placed a few glistening hairpins with little diamonds in the brown cascade of hair and allowed a few strands to fall down, while Maria had grabbed a mirror from the closet.

Liza looked at her reflection in the mirror. Was it really hers? She looked so different. Older, somehow, maybe even beautiful. "Are my two favorite girls ready to perform?" Amelia asked Liza and Maria. Liza smiled gratefully at her, and looked one last time in the mirror before turning to her best friend's mother. She loved Amelia; the thought had leaped into her head, and it kept echoing and resounding in her mind. Amelia was a sort of surrogate mother to her, and for a moment, she felt guilty.

Guilty for thinking about someone else than her mom like this. It quickly passed, though, as she realized that her mother had wanted this, that she'd always liked Amelia and Maria, and that she just wanted Liza to be happy.

She diminished the distance between her and Amelia and fiercely hugged her, tears stinging her eyes, a wistful smile adorning her features. "Thank you, Amy," she softly whispered, "thank you so much."

Amelia smiled understanding, loving, and hugged her back. "You're welcome, dear," she replied, "you always are…"

Liza nodded against Amelia's chest and her smile broadened, but a moment later, it faltered, as she realized what was to come.

The ball.

She'd been looking forward to it, and had anticipated it, but now that it really was about to happen, a flicker of fear had been ignited, and she wasn't so sure anymore. What if the Prince didn't like her? What if he thought she was an annoyance, or, even worse, a snob? What was she expected to say, what would they want her to talk about?

The latest fashions, maybe?

She wasn't aware of those…

The war against Ceria?

She only knew what she'd heard of Maria…

Amelia seemed to sense Liza's worries and gently cupped her cheek. "You'll do fine, Liza, believe me," she assured her. Liza nodded hesitantly, smiled shyly and thanked Amelia again.

Amelia pinched her cheek softly and Liza nervously giggled. "You'd better get Alex, sweetie," Amelia told her. "He also needs a make-over if he's to go along."

She turned to Maria. "Maria, could you get me some water?" Amelia tiredly asked her daughter.

'Two done, one to go', she thought. Mindwarping so much molecules into a different structure was draining as hell, and she wasn't sure how long she'd be able to keep it up. Until midnight, perhaps, when everything went well.

Liza gave Amelia and Maria one last smile and went to the shed. It was dark, and she could hear the horses's nervous neighing. She shivered. Not because it was cold; it was a sultry night, and the atmosphere in the shed was suffocating.

It was the lack of light, the darkness. The darkness held secrets, memories, plots that couldn't be foreseen. The darkness held fear. The light of a candle flickered against the walls of the shed, and she heard a person rummaging, the sound of it ominous in the darkness.

She softly wandered further into the shed, nearing the horses, the shuffling of their hoofs getting louder and louder.

She never saw it happen.

The hand was firmly clasped to her mouth, preventing the A of Alex, that had already formed itself on her lips, to escape her throat, and another arm pressed her into a muscular body.

She closed her eyes in distress as her aggressor swiveled her around, not only because she didn't want to see his face, but also with the thought that if she just wished hard enough, her attacker would be gone and it would appear to be only a dark, twisted game the darkness was playing with her, a trick it was playing on her.

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Max slowly closed his eyes and softly sighed as the girl nestled her head on his shoulder, her blonde, curly hair gently touching the crook of his neck. His arms lay on her shoulders, and her arms were possessively wrapped around his waist. He was aware of the envious looks the girl was receiving from the rest of the female population in the room, but he decided that he didn't care what they thought. He sighed again and they danced on and on, the dance seemingly taking an eternity.

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That was part 5! Hope you enjoyed... :)

Pretty please review?

Please?

I'm asking very nicely now… :)

I might even consider to post sooner...

Hugs and kisses,

Katie