Yay! I finished the chapter! A few things to keep in mind:
1. We still don't own Gundam Wing or Night World
2. We're still broke.
3. If you're reading the Night World series, be advised that this contains some spoilers.
Enjoy! Also, PLEASE REVIEW!!!!
Thanks.
Chapter 3
Huliana woke up with a headache and bleary eyes. Groaning, she turned to her clock radio, which read 7:45 and was playing some horrifyingly cheerful tune from the 1960's. She smacked the button to shut it up, then rolled back over in bed. Why did Talia insist on running off at ungodly hours of the night? At least church seemed to have calmed her down, though. Head spinning, Huliana stood up and resolutely began going through the motions of getting ready for the day.
She finally emerged from her sumptuous guest room and found her way down the hall. Her feet sank into the lush carpet. Still half asleep, she drifted down a curving staircase, clinging to the elegant mahogany railing for dear life. Blinking the restless night from her eyes, she walked under the daunting arched ceiling of a banquet hall, fighting the smeared rainbows her eyes stuck to the crystal chandelier. Its intricate structure dazzled her barely conscious mind, and she vaguely remembered hearing about the protective spells it contained. She kept walking, finally entering a smaller dining room. Its marble floor and carved oak furnishings seemed tastefully understated when compared with the rest of the mansion. A few servants flitted about the room, refilling pitchers and platters of breakfast. The assembled diners were quite a sight. At one end of the table, Talia absentmindedly pushed some scrambled eggs around her plate, eyes focused on but not really watching Ash cajole Mary-Lynette into eating faster. Next to her sat the three most important people in the room, the Wild Powers, who nervously sampled each dish only after everyone else had tasted it and not become ill. Across from them were three vampires and a shape-shifter who had been assigned to guard them for the day. These ate with gusto, cracking jokes about being overqualified food tasters. They were egging on Keller, who had just quipped that their carefree behavior made her miss being expendable. At the far end of the table sat Lady Hannah and Aradia, both of whom were trying to engage Lady Relena in conversation. She only sat regally upright in her chair, sipping her tea and giving terse, one- or two-word answers. As Huliana took the seat next to Talia, Hannah gave up and turned to her other adopted daughter, who was sitting in a high chair behind her. Huliana was transfixed by her complicated efforts to get her to take a bite of egg yolk baby food. Talia, obviously preoccupied, didn't seem to have noticed her. Huliana didn't mind, and simply ate her breakfast in silence. She hardly noticed when Relena and Aradia dropped their voices below the happy noises of Hannah's adopted toddler. When Relena pushed her chair back to rise, the whole room went silent, and everyone tried to discretely turn and look. Relena put down her teacup with a clink and turned to Aradia.
"I understand the risk. But I will not ignore my duty to my people!"
With that, she turned and left in a dignified huff. Huliana looked up sleepily.
"What happened to her?" Talia looked up, scandalized at the disrespectful question about Lord Thierry's adopted daughter. Ash just shook his head. Mary-Lynette was still looking at the door. The Wild Powers and their bodyguards made hasty excuses and left the room, carefully using exits that would not take them too close to Relena. The toddler screamed, and Hannah busied herself in attempts to clean the squirming face and bib. She looked worried, and kept glancing at the door. Huliana was just about to ask Talia what was going on when two more bodyguards burst through the doors, followed closely by Lord Thierry. Scooping up the toddler, Hannah ran to his side and put her hand on his shoulder, looking at him with concern. He took a deep breath, taking in the faces as though totaling their thoughts.
"Ash, Talia, Huliana…" He nodded to each person in turn, then to Aradia, "my Lady. I will need to see you in the library. Elrick," he nodded to a servant, who snapped to attention. "Please bring the others to the library as well." Elrick bowed slightly and strode purposefully away. Thierry softened slightly, turning to his soulmate. "Hannah, could you put Mindy down for her nap? You need to hear this, too." He considered. "Mary-Lynette, please watch Mindy for me. She shouldn't be too much trouble." She looked up at Ash, upset at being left out of the meeting. He gave her a look of mock pity and patted her head before running off. She stuck out her tongue at his back. I heard that! Thierry strode back out of the room, bodyguards in tow. Mary-Lynette watched him go, shaking her head at the injustice of it all. Sighing, she took the squirming toddler from Lady Hannah and walked out of the room. Talia and Huliana seemed to notice each other for the first time. They hadn't even noticed when Aradia left.
A/N: Thank you so much. Told you we would update if you reviewed. Yes we know it's cruel, but we live for reviews….Ahhhh!
Review Responses:
Cough: Thank you for reviewing. We are very sorry if it is confusing. If you have any specific questions, we will endeavor to answer them.
Symee-sama: As to the confusion, like I said do you have any specific questions? As for the short chapters, they will hopefully get longer as we become better used to writing together. To date this is the only the second joint work, the first being a very short one-act play for school. Thank you.