Title: True to Yourself
Author- Starr Ryder
Genre: AU/Romance
Rating- PG-PG-13
**This chapter is PG.**
"He did WHAT?"
I groaned as I watched the large pile of laundry I'd just washed fall messily into the stream, at Mina's loud outburst. Mina and I had been down by the stream since before dawn, washing clothes and finishing my chores that had been long forgotten last night. I had been telling Mina the story of my night, or at least, as much as I could remember. I wasn't even sure how I managed to get home in one piece, considering the dream-like state I was in. I keep telling myself it was just a silly kiss on the cheek and that it most likely meant nothing to him, but I still can't keep the silly smile off my face.
"Mina!" I scolded. "I just washed those!"
Mina didn't seem to hear me, though. She was too busy giggling and frolicking about the banks, kicking over piles of wet clothes.
"He kissed you!?" She asked again, clapping her hands together in delight.
"I told you before!" I said, rolling my eyes. "It was just a peck on the cheek!"
"He KISSED you!" She repeated, jumping up and down.
"It meant nothing!" I remarked. At this point, I wasn't sure whether I was trying to get Mina to believe it, or myself. Mina rolled her eyes as she placed her hands on her hips.
"If it meant nothing, then why can't you stop smiling?"
"I-I'm not smiling!" I sputtered, glaring at her, though I'm pretty sure the smile was still intacted on my face.
"Oh, really?" Mina contradicted.
"Yes," I muttered.
"Humph!" Mina said crossing her arms over her chest. She paused for but a second, and then continued kicking down piles of clothes, teasing me happily.
"You're helping me clean these again!" I grumbled as she kicked down another pile of clean clothes.
"Who needs clean clothes when your sister's going to be the next Queen?" Mina replied mischievously.
"Mina!" I groaned, as I watched her get on her knees and bow down before me.
"Oh, Your Majesty!" She teased. I retaliated by pushing her into the flowing stream, laughing as she surfaced with a shriek.
"Serena!" She cried swimming shoulder-deep in the water.
"Serves you right!" I said laughing. Mina stuck her tongue out at me and splashed a bit of water my way. "Hey!"
"Humph!" Mina replied as she extended her hand out to me. "Now help me up!" I reached for Mina's hand, but only succeeded in being pulled into the water along with her.
"Mina!" I shrieked.
"Serves YOU right!" she giggled and I couldn't help, but laugh along with her. Suddenly, I was being pushed down under the cold water. I resurfaced to see Mina laughing, again, thrashing water everywhere.
"Why you!" I started as I rushed to dunk her under as well. All chores were forgotten as we continued dunking and splashing each other, mercilessly.
"Serenity?" a voice asked from on top banks of the stream. Mina and I instantly stopped our dunking wars to face the intruders, though I was most certain who it was. Who else calls me, Serenity?
Both, Darien and Raye sat on top of large brown horses, wearing simple clothes, and looking at us curiously. I felt my face turn a deep crimson as I sank lower into the stream.
"Having fun?" Raye asked smiling, as she got down from her horse. I saw her eyes scan around at the large piles of dirty and wet clothes. My face burned more. I knew some of the contents of those piles. Beryl and Susan's undergarments to name only a few.
"I s'ppse you can call it that," I answered, wincing a bit. I watched as Darien also dismounted his horse glancing around at the scene. How could I've been so stupid! The stream isn't all that far from the palace! Anyone could have come! Of course, I got stuck with the two people who mattered most. I watched as Darien looked over the piles of clothes before moving closer to the bank. Surprisingly, he extended his hand to me, attempting to help me out. If my mind had been working correctly, and if he hadn't have looked so adorable looking down on me like that, I probably wouldn't have pulled him in like I had. It was an act on impulse, and totally and completely stupid. I heard Raye giggle and Mina was looking at me with complete awe, her mouth hanging open. Darien resurfaced quickly, and I was getting ready for him to start ranting and screaming at me... but it never came.
He was laughing.
He was totally and completely lost in a large fit of laughter. I fought the urge for my own mouth to not drop open, but it stayed in a small smirk upon my face. I watched has he through his head back and howled with laughter. His hair stuck wet upon his forehead and resisted the urge to go and wipe it away. His eyes shined a deep blue as his laughter died down a bit, and he looked at me, a huge smile upon his face. We kept eye contact for a few precious moments. Gods, I loved his eyes.
"Ehm," Raye coughed, breaking my out of my current trance. I looked towards Raye, the only dry, and possibly sane, one out of us all.
"Coming in?" Darien asked after a moment of silence. I looked at him with a smile on my face.
"What?" Raye sputtered.
"Are you coming in?" He asked. "Or does Serenity have to pull you in?" I burned red, and looked down at the water.
"You're kidding me, right?" Raye asked eyes wide, her arms crossed across her chest.
"Is that a no?" Darien replied. To my utter surprise, Raye laughed before jumping in along with us with a small shriek. She resurfaced with a giggle.
"Gods, it's cold!" She laughed.
"You'll get use to it," Mina smiled. It then occurred to me that she must have been a lot more uncomfortable then I was.
"Uh, Mina, this is Darien, and you already know Raye, Darien this is my sister, Mina," I said nodding to each person.
"Please to make your acquaintance, Your Highness," Mina said bowing her head, respectively.
"Call me, Darien," He replied. "A pleasure to meet you also,"
"Thank you, Your- Darien,"
There was a long pause as everyone watched each other, but once again I was seized by two hands and pushed under the water. I came up sputtering, rubbing the water out of my eyes, as I heard Darien laughing again.
"That's not fair!" I cried, when I finally gained composure. I distantly heard Raye and Mina giggling along, but was too busy glaring at Darien to notice much.
"You deserved it," He answered, still laughing.
"Did not!"
"You pushed me in!"
"You fell in," I said simply, as he snorted. "I simply helped the falling process."
"Is that so?" He asked swimming closer to me. I held my breath as he reached with a few inches of me.
"It- Ow!" I was cut off by a burning pain in my foot as something sharp sank into it. I squeezed my eyes shut as I saw the clear water gain a slight red tint.
"What happened?" Darien asked closing the small gap between us.
"Are you alright?" Mina asked swimming over with Raye in tow.
"My...my foot." I groaned. "Something hit it... something sharp." I instantly I felt Darien's strong arms wrap around my waist, as his strong arms swam us to the banks. We climbed out, him climbing and pulling, me shimmying and trying desperately not to look at my now red foot. Mina and Raye soon followed, both dripping wet. Darien gently picked up my bleeding foot trying to examine it.
"It's bleeding too heavily, I can't see the cut," he said, after a moment. He grabbed one of Susan's cotton shirts off the ground and wrapped it tightly around my foot. I whimpered pathetically as he wrapped, but the pain was too intense for me too care. He glanced up at me with a comforting smile. I tried to return it, but it only came out as a wince. He then turned to Mina and Raye. "Let's get her to the palace healers. They're closest."
"How? We've only got two horses," Raye asked, nodding her head towards the two large horses. Darien sighed, as he looked towards the horses, but he didn't waste any time in answering.
"I'll take Serenity on my horse. You two could ride on, Gruther,"
"Raye will go," Mina said. "I'll clean up this mess, and then meet you there." Darien nodded his head as he once again took me into his arms, but this time cradling me under my knees and around my back. I could see the cotton shirt had already turned a deep maroon as I fought the urge to burst into tears or throw up. Darien must have noticed also, for he quickened his pace.
"We have to hurry," Darien urged, climbing on to his horse with me with great ease, as he placed my in front of him, wrapping his arms tightly around me, not even bothering with the reins. "She's loosing a lot of blood," He didn't even wait for Raye to climb upon her horse before galloping off through the trees. I felt dizzy and my head became fuzzy, not to mention the blazing burn in my foot. This had all happened so fast. Hadn't only been an hour before that Mina and I had been doing laundry? Had it only been minutes since I was recklessly pulled into the stream? But, here I was with a blooded foot, a fuzzy head, wrapped in the arms of one of the most wanted men in all of history. And I'd always though my life was normal.
The wind rushed quickly past us, as we took a mysterious route that I'd never been on. Well, at least I thought I'd never been on it. The scene was rushing by too fast and I honestly didn't trust my eyes too much at the moment. My head once again began to throb as I buried myself deeper into Darien shirt. I felt his arms tighten around my waist as tears threatened to break form my eyes. I looked once again to my foot, which was now completely red. The cotton shirt was now dripping with blood. Gods, I hate blood!
After a few minutes of hard riding the palace finally came in view. Darien took a narrow road that led to a large building off to the side of the castle. It was large and tan and held the sign of the healers. My heart was thumping in my chest as my eye sight started to blacken. I dived in and out of consciousness as I we started to slow down. I could hear Darien yelling for help in a commanding prince-like tone as we came to a halt. The last thing I remembered was his soft lips on my forehead as I drifted into blackness.
()()()()
Cold.
I was really really cold.
I couldn't remember where I was, or what I was doing, all I could comprehend was that I was freezing. A small throb from my left foot reminded me of previous events. My eyes remained closed for as long as I could manage, but I could hear soft voices from somewhere near by.
"Is she going to be okay?" whispered one voice, which I recognized as Raye's.
"I believe so," whispered a second voice that Serena didn't know. "Although she lost a lot of blood, I'm not positive when she'll recover," She heard Raye snort.
"Darien's not going to like that answer," Raye said, still whispering.
"I could only imagine," the other voice replied. "I've never seen him like he was when he brought her in. What happened?"
"He likes her," Raye answered simply. I fought off the urge to wince. First Mina, now Raye, when will the world just exit my love life?
"That much is apparent," the voice whispered again. "but what about her?" I heard Raye sigh.
"I think she likes him too, Amy,"
"She does?" whispered the voice, or Amy, excitedly. "Well, that's wonderful then!"
"No, Ames," Raye sighed.
"What?" Amy asked.
"There's a...erm... slight problem," Raye mumbled.
"Problem?" Amy replied. "What is it?"
"I...well...you see... I'd tell you, but-"
"Tell her," I said hoarsely opening my eyes for the first time. I was in a dimly lit room. It was rather spacious and was filled with a light creme color. Beyond my bed I saw Raye standing with another girl who looked to be about our age. She was about Raye's height, and had short blue hair and pale skin. Her eyes were a light shade of blue and shone in surprise as both she and Raye looked my way. This must be Amy.
"Serena!" Raye cried in a whisper as she rushed over to give me a hug.
"Serena?" Amy asked walking closer to my bed. "I thought her name was- "
"It's a long story," I told her, my voice still hoarse.
"Thank the Gods you're okay!" Raye said as she hugged me again. "Gods, you're frozen!" she cried as she pulled away. I nodded my head, my mouth too dry to say anything more. Amy seemed to catch this as she brought over a glass of water from my bedside table. I took a long sip from the glass, letting the water fill my mouth. I let it linger in my mouth a bit longer before swallowing, my mouth moisten already.
"Do you want some more blankets?" Amy asked, holding up a blanket that was also cream colored.
"Please," I responded with a nod. Amy draped the blanket around me, wrapping it securely. I snuggled in deeper to the warm, soft fabric.
"Thank you, Amy, is it?" I said after I was all settled in. Amy nodded.
"Your welcome, Serenity, or is it Serena?" she asked. Raye looked towards me, obviously asking if it was okay to share my tale. I nodded. It seemed as if she was friends with Amy, and the girl seemed nice enough. Raye moved to close the large wooden door, separating my room from a long empty corridor.
"Serena," I answered after the door was firmly closed. Amy looked skeptically at me. "Get comfortable," I added. "This may take awhile,"
() () () ()
"Well," Amy sputtered after I'd finished my rather long tale. She looked from me to Raye and then back to me. "This certainly puts you in a strange predicament," she added with a long breath.
"I s'ppse it does," I answered, leaning back into my bed. There was a long moment of silence, in which I was sure Amy used to digest all the information she'd juts received.
"Are you going to tell him?" Amy asked softly after a few minutes.
"Who?" I asked in an equal soft tone. I knew exactly who she was talking about, though. I felt my heart scrunch tightly in my chest.
"Darien," she said softer looked at me with pity. I looked down at my hands, unable to look her in the eyes.
"I-"
Luckily, I was cut off by a soft knock at the door. I looked up, to see Amy moving towards the door, sliding it open slowly.
"Is she awake?" whispered a voice from outside the door. I clamped my eyes shut and took a deep breath. This was all too much right now. I'd know that voice anywhere.
Darien.
"I'm awake," I said in a soft voice, though it echoed through the room, appearing to be louder then intended. Darien's head popped in from outside the door, smiling brightly.
"Good," he responded, the relief apparent in his voice. My stomach churned. After retelling that story, it occurred to be how horrid I was being; lying to Darien wasn't fair at all, and it certainly wasn't fun. He stepped further into the room, clutching what seemed to be a bouquet of red roses, as Amy closed the door behind him. "For you," he said holding the bouquet out to me.
"Thank you, Darien. They're lovely!" I said taking them into my hands and smelling they're sweet scent.
"I'm glad you like them," Darien said softly, as he sat down on the bed beside me. I felt his hand gently brush my bangs off my forehead and out of my face as I slowly looked up at him. My stomach churned, again and suddenly I wasn't so cold anymore.
"What on earth is going on here?!"
() () () ()
Hey Minna-chan! Yes, after all of this time and all your LOVELY reviews and emails, I FINALLY updated! I even got Amy in here too! I told you she was on her way! I know it isn't much, but I did get the chapter out! I really hoped you all enjoyed it!
I might not be updating as often as I'd like, but considering how many people seem to like this story, I'm determined to finish it.
I do have a favor to ask of you, however. I'm in need of a BETA to check over this story. I lost contact with my other one, and haven't gotten a new one yet. You may see some mistakes in this chapter, due to that problem, so if you spot any, please inform me so I can change them! If any of you are interested, please email me with your name, age, and any experience you've had in the BETA/writing area. Thanks!
Anyhow, thanks again for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I hope to get the next one out soon, but we'll have to see! Remember to review! I write faster when encouraged!
Send all questions/comments/suggestions/ect. to starrryder@email.com.
THANKS!
-Starr-
Author- Starr Ryder
Genre: AU/Romance
Rating- PG-PG-13
**This chapter is PG.**
"He did WHAT?"
I groaned as I watched the large pile of laundry I'd just washed fall messily into the stream, at Mina's loud outburst. Mina and I had been down by the stream since before dawn, washing clothes and finishing my chores that had been long forgotten last night. I had been telling Mina the story of my night, or at least, as much as I could remember. I wasn't even sure how I managed to get home in one piece, considering the dream-like state I was in. I keep telling myself it was just a silly kiss on the cheek and that it most likely meant nothing to him, but I still can't keep the silly smile off my face.
"Mina!" I scolded. "I just washed those!"
Mina didn't seem to hear me, though. She was too busy giggling and frolicking about the banks, kicking over piles of wet clothes.
"He kissed you!?" She asked again, clapping her hands together in delight.
"I told you before!" I said, rolling my eyes. "It was just a peck on the cheek!"
"He KISSED you!" She repeated, jumping up and down.
"It meant nothing!" I remarked. At this point, I wasn't sure whether I was trying to get Mina to believe it, or myself. Mina rolled her eyes as she placed her hands on her hips.
"If it meant nothing, then why can't you stop smiling?"
"I-I'm not smiling!" I sputtered, glaring at her, though I'm pretty sure the smile was still intacted on my face.
"Oh, really?" Mina contradicted.
"Yes," I muttered.
"Humph!" Mina said crossing her arms over her chest. She paused for but a second, and then continued kicking down piles of clothes, teasing me happily.
"You're helping me clean these again!" I grumbled as she kicked down another pile of clean clothes.
"Who needs clean clothes when your sister's going to be the next Queen?" Mina replied mischievously.
"Mina!" I groaned, as I watched her get on her knees and bow down before me.
"Oh, Your Majesty!" She teased. I retaliated by pushing her into the flowing stream, laughing as she surfaced with a shriek.
"Serena!" She cried swimming shoulder-deep in the water.
"Serves you right!" I said laughing. Mina stuck her tongue out at me and splashed a bit of water my way. "Hey!"
"Humph!" Mina replied as she extended her hand out to me. "Now help me up!" I reached for Mina's hand, but only succeeded in being pulled into the water along with her.
"Mina!" I shrieked.
"Serves YOU right!" she giggled and I couldn't help, but laugh along with her. Suddenly, I was being pushed down under the cold water. I resurfaced to see Mina laughing, again, thrashing water everywhere.
"Why you!" I started as I rushed to dunk her under as well. All chores were forgotten as we continued dunking and splashing each other, mercilessly.
"Serenity?" a voice asked from on top banks of the stream. Mina and I instantly stopped our dunking wars to face the intruders, though I was most certain who it was. Who else calls me, Serenity?
Both, Darien and Raye sat on top of large brown horses, wearing simple clothes, and looking at us curiously. I felt my face turn a deep crimson as I sank lower into the stream.
"Having fun?" Raye asked smiling, as she got down from her horse. I saw her eyes scan around at the large piles of dirty and wet clothes. My face burned more. I knew some of the contents of those piles. Beryl and Susan's undergarments to name only a few.
"I s'ppse you can call it that," I answered, wincing a bit. I watched as Darien also dismounted his horse glancing around at the scene. How could I've been so stupid! The stream isn't all that far from the palace! Anyone could have come! Of course, I got stuck with the two people who mattered most. I watched as Darien looked over the piles of clothes before moving closer to the bank. Surprisingly, he extended his hand to me, attempting to help me out. If my mind had been working correctly, and if he hadn't have looked so adorable looking down on me like that, I probably wouldn't have pulled him in like I had. It was an act on impulse, and totally and completely stupid. I heard Raye giggle and Mina was looking at me with complete awe, her mouth hanging open. Darien resurfaced quickly, and I was getting ready for him to start ranting and screaming at me... but it never came.
He was laughing.
He was totally and completely lost in a large fit of laughter. I fought the urge for my own mouth to not drop open, but it stayed in a small smirk upon my face. I watched has he through his head back and howled with laughter. His hair stuck wet upon his forehead and resisted the urge to go and wipe it away. His eyes shined a deep blue as his laughter died down a bit, and he looked at me, a huge smile upon his face. We kept eye contact for a few precious moments. Gods, I loved his eyes.
"Ehm," Raye coughed, breaking my out of my current trance. I looked towards Raye, the only dry, and possibly sane, one out of us all.
"Coming in?" Darien asked after a moment of silence. I looked at him with a smile on my face.
"What?" Raye sputtered.
"Are you coming in?" He asked. "Or does Serenity have to pull you in?" I burned red, and looked down at the water.
"You're kidding me, right?" Raye asked eyes wide, her arms crossed across her chest.
"Is that a no?" Darien replied. To my utter surprise, Raye laughed before jumping in along with us with a small shriek. She resurfaced with a giggle.
"Gods, it's cold!" She laughed.
"You'll get use to it," Mina smiled. It then occurred to me that she must have been a lot more uncomfortable then I was.
"Uh, Mina, this is Darien, and you already know Raye, Darien this is my sister, Mina," I said nodding to each person.
"Please to make your acquaintance, Your Highness," Mina said bowing her head, respectively.
"Call me, Darien," He replied. "A pleasure to meet you also,"
"Thank you, Your- Darien,"
There was a long pause as everyone watched each other, but once again I was seized by two hands and pushed under the water. I came up sputtering, rubbing the water out of my eyes, as I heard Darien laughing again.
"That's not fair!" I cried, when I finally gained composure. I distantly heard Raye and Mina giggling along, but was too busy glaring at Darien to notice much.
"You deserved it," He answered, still laughing.
"Did not!"
"You pushed me in!"
"You fell in," I said simply, as he snorted. "I simply helped the falling process."
"Is that so?" He asked swimming closer to me. I held my breath as he reached with a few inches of me.
"It- Ow!" I was cut off by a burning pain in my foot as something sharp sank into it. I squeezed my eyes shut as I saw the clear water gain a slight red tint.
"What happened?" Darien asked closing the small gap between us.
"Are you alright?" Mina asked swimming over with Raye in tow.
"My...my foot." I groaned. "Something hit it... something sharp." I instantly I felt Darien's strong arms wrap around my waist, as his strong arms swam us to the banks. We climbed out, him climbing and pulling, me shimmying and trying desperately not to look at my now red foot. Mina and Raye soon followed, both dripping wet. Darien gently picked up my bleeding foot trying to examine it.
"It's bleeding too heavily, I can't see the cut," he said, after a moment. He grabbed one of Susan's cotton shirts off the ground and wrapped it tightly around my foot. I whimpered pathetically as he wrapped, but the pain was too intense for me too care. He glanced up at me with a comforting smile. I tried to return it, but it only came out as a wince. He then turned to Mina and Raye. "Let's get her to the palace healers. They're closest."
"How? We've only got two horses," Raye asked, nodding her head towards the two large horses. Darien sighed, as he looked towards the horses, but he didn't waste any time in answering.
"I'll take Serenity on my horse. You two could ride on, Gruther,"
"Raye will go," Mina said. "I'll clean up this mess, and then meet you there." Darien nodded his head as he once again took me into his arms, but this time cradling me under my knees and around my back. I could see the cotton shirt had already turned a deep maroon as I fought the urge to burst into tears or throw up. Darien must have noticed also, for he quickened his pace.
"We have to hurry," Darien urged, climbing on to his horse with me with great ease, as he placed my in front of him, wrapping his arms tightly around me, not even bothering with the reins. "She's loosing a lot of blood," He didn't even wait for Raye to climb upon her horse before galloping off through the trees. I felt dizzy and my head became fuzzy, not to mention the blazing burn in my foot. This had all happened so fast. Hadn't only been an hour before that Mina and I had been doing laundry? Had it only been minutes since I was recklessly pulled into the stream? But, here I was with a blooded foot, a fuzzy head, wrapped in the arms of one of the most wanted men in all of history. And I'd always though my life was normal.
The wind rushed quickly past us, as we took a mysterious route that I'd never been on. Well, at least I thought I'd never been on it. The scene was rushing by too fast and I honestly didn't trust my eyes too much at the moment. My head once again began to throb as I buried myself deeper into Darien shirt. I felt his arms tighten around my waist as tears threatened to break form my eyes. I looked once again to my foot, which was now completely red. The cotton shirt was now dripping with blood. Gods, I hate blood!
After a few minutes of hard riding the palace finally came in view. Darien took a narrow road that led to a large building off to the side of the castle. It was large and tan and held the sign of the healers. My heart was thumping in my chest as my eye sight started to blacken. I dived in and out of consciousness as I we started to slow down. I could hear Darien yelling for help in a commanding prince-like tone as we came to a halt. The last thing I remembered was his soft lips on my forehead as I drifted into blackness.
()()()()
Cold.
I was really really cold.
I couldn't remember where I was, or what I was doing, all I could comprehend was that I was freezing. A small throb from my left foot reminded me of previous events. My eyes remained closed for as long as I could manage, but I could hear soft voices from somewhere near by.
"Is she going to be okay?" whispered one voice, which I recognized as Raye's.
"I believe so," whispered a second voice that Serena didn't know. "Although she lost a lot of blood, I'm not positive when she'll recover," She heard Raye snort.
"Darien's not going to like that answer," Raye said, still whispering.
"I could only imagine," the other voice replied. "I've never seen him like he was when he brought her in. What happened?"
"He likes her," Raye answered simply. I fought off the urge to wince. First Mina, now Raye, when will the world just exit my love life?
"That much is apparent," the voice whispered again. "but what about her?" I heard Raye sigh.
"I think she likes him too, Amy,"
"She does?" whispered the voice, or Amy, excitedly. "Well, that's wonderful then!"
"No, Ames," Raye sighed.
"What?" Amy asked.
"There's a...erm... slight problem," Raye mumbled.
"Problem?" Amy replied. "What is it?"
"I...well...you see... I'd tell you, but-"
"Tell her," I said hoarsely opening my eyes for the first time. I was in a dimly lit room. It was rather spacious and was filled with a light creme color. Beyond my bed I saw Raye standing with another girl who looked to be about our age. She was about Raye's height, and had short blue hair and pale skin. Her eyes were a light shade of blue and shone in surprise as both she and Raye looked my way. This must be Amy.
"Serena!" Raye cried in a whisper as she rushed over to give me a hug.
"Serena?" Amy asked walking closer to my bed. "I thought her name was- "
"It's a long story," I told her, my voice still hoarse.
"Thank the Gods you're okay!" Raye said as she hugged me again. "Gods, you're frozen!" she cried as she pulled away. I nodded my head, my mouth too dry to say anything more. Amy seemed to catch this as she brought over a glass of water from my bedside table. I took a long sip from the glass, letting the water fill my mouth. I let it linger in my mouth a bit longer before swallowing, my mouth moisten already.
"Do you want some more blankets?" Amy asked, holding up a blanket that was also cream colored.
"Please," I responded with a nod. Amy draped the blanket around me, wrapping it securely. I snuggled in deeper to the warm, soft fabric.
"Thank you, Amy, is it?" I said after I was all settled in. Amy nodded.
"Your welcome, Serenity, or is it Serena?" she asked. Raye looked towards me, obviously asking if it was okay to share my tale. I nodded. It seemed as if she was friends with Amy, and the girl seemed nice enough. Raye moved to close the large wooden door, separating my room from a long empty corridor.
"Serena," I answered after the door was firmly closed. Amy looked skeptically at me. "Get comfortable," I added. "This may take awhile,"
() () () ()
"Well," Amy sputtered after I'd finished my rather long tale. She looked from me to Raye and then back to me. "This certainly puts you in a strange predicament," she added with a long breath.
"I s'ppse it does," I answered, leaning back into my bed. There was a long moment of silence, in which I was sure Amy used to digest all the information she'd juts received.
"Are you going to tell him?" Amy asked softly after a few minutes.
"Who?" I asked in an equal soft tone. I knew exactly who she was talking about, though. I felt my heart scrunch tightly in my chest.
"Darien," she said softer looked at me with pity. I looked down at my hands, unable to look her in the eyes.
"I-"
Luckily, I was cut off by a soft knock at the door. I looked up, to see Amy moving towards the door, sliding it open slowly.
"Is she awake?" whispered a voice from outside the door. I clamped my eyes shut and took a deep breath. This was all too much right now. I'd know that voice anywhere.
Darien.
"I'm awake," I said in a soft voice, though it echoed through the room, appearing to be louder then intended. Darien's head popped in from outside the door, smiling brightly.
"Good," he responded, the relief apparent in his voice. My stomach churned. After retelling that story, it occurred to be how horrid I was being; lying to Darien wasn't fair at all, and it certainly wasn't fun. He stepped further into the room, clutching what seemed to be a bouquet of red roses, as Amy closed the door behind him. "For you," he said holding the bouquet out to me.
"Thank you, Darien. They're lovely!" I said taking them into my hands and smelling they're sweet scent.
"I'm glad you like them," Darien said softly, as he sat down on the bed beside me. I felt his hand gently brush my bangs off my forehead and out of my face as I slowly looked up at him. My stomach churned, again and suddenly I wasn't so cold anymore.
"What on earth is going on here?!"
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Hey Minna-chan! Yes, after all of this time and all your LOVELY reviews and emails, I FINALLY updated! I even got Amy in here too! I told you she was on her way! I know it isn't much, but I did get the chapter out! I really hoped you all enjoyed it!
I might not be updating as often as I'd like, but considering how many people seem to like this story, I'm determined to finish it.
I do have a favor to ask of you, however. I'm in need of a BETA to check over this story. I lost contact with my other one, and haven't gotten a new one yet. You may see some mistakes in this chapter, due to that problem, so if you spot any, please inform me so I can change them! If any of you are interested, please email me with your name, age, and any experience you've had in the BETA/writing area. Thanks!
Anyhow, thanks again for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I hope to get the next one out soon, but we'll have to see! Remember to review! I write faster when encouraged!
Send all questions/comments/suggestions/ect. to starrryder@email.com.
THANKS!
-Starr-