Title: Who Believes in Happy Endings Anyway?
Author: Ducky
Rating: PG – 13 for some of Aileen's choice words.
Summary: Lily, a senior in high school, knew her mother was going to arrange for her to have a housemate or two over the summer but the two grows into a larger number. Can Lily handle it? Aileen's job is no dream. She hates it but it pays well and her best friend Thom is there. Thom has an interesting past and it still haunts him. Can Aileen help him face it before everything falls apart for both of them?
Disclaimer: I own the characters and general plot but there are elements blatantly stolen from other fairytales. I don't own those elements.
Author's note: Well, I hope you can guess which fairytale Lily's story will turn into. Here's the next bit. I wonder if anyone is actually reading this or if all my readers are cursing me for writing this instead of Melena. I'll be interested to find out. No Aileen this chapter. Be happy this chapter is considerably longer than any of the Melena ones and the first of this story.
~
Can I help you?
~
Lily made her way up the spiraling stairs to her tower room in the old castle her family lived in. Actually only Lily and her mother lived there. Her father had divorced her mother a long time ago.
Her room was nice as rooms go. Completely round, the walls were painted a flat olive green and the furniture had curved backs to fit better in the room. A desk sat under the only window and a small chair with no back sat under it. There was no bed but across from the desk was a humongous pile of soft plush pillows and blankets that could be turned into a bed. Atop the pile sat a small white stuffed rabbit. A short chest of drawers that could triple as a nightstand or as a chair in a pinch sat next to the bed. Kitty-corner from the bed was a small space heater which at the moment was quite redundant as it was over one hundred degrees outside during the day.
Lily crashed into her room and dropped her bag next to the door and stomped over to her desk. Her mother had just informed her that she was having guests over. Lily was required to appear at dinner and then make herself scarce for the rest of the night.
Getting up she went to her bureau and dug around for her party dress. Her mother had bought it for her a few months earlier for a gala her mother had been invited to. Her boss had asked her to bring her family.
The dress was of a creamy white satin. It was tight in the bodice and to the waist where it flared out slightly over her hips to gracefully cover her legs stopping mid calf. White faux fur trimmed the 'neck line' (the dress was strapless) and the hem. The dress captured the light in every way and accented her fairly tanned skin nicely. Her mother had never really bothered to look at the dress so there was no way she could object.
Lily couldn't deny that she was pretty and she never said she wanted to. She didn't like all the attention she got from it but did have its advantages. Her mother would be very jealous if she even bothered to look at Lily.
Lily brushed her long tawny hair and pulled it into a high pony tail. Looking in the small mirror that hung on her wall she noticed some red streaks had highlighted themselves. The look actually complimented her light orange-brown eyes well.
She put on the white satin high heels that matched the dress and put a white fur scrunchy around her pony tail. Making no effort to muffle the sound she descended the five hundred – she had counted one day shortly after they had moved in – stairs, clomping down to the main hall.
The guests had not arrived yet so Lily went into the study off the front hall and picked up a book of her father's. It was one of his favorites and though she found it slightly dull and boring she had been reading it on and off for the last year. Sitting behind the desk her father would have loved she put her feet up on it one ankle crossed over the other and began reading.
The door bell rang just as she was slipping into her reading trance. The sound echoed through out the castle and grumbling she got to her feet. Walking into the hall she noticed that her mother had not answered the door. Shrugging she went to do it for her.
Pulling open one of the large doors was not hard for Lily. She was strong from years of walking up endless stairs and scaling walls. When the door was open she was greeted with the smiling faces of an older man and a woman, clearly his wife. "Hello, I'm sorry my mother could not come to the door. Please come in. I can take you to the dining room." She said giving the rehearsed speech she was required to give when she answered the door.
"Well thank you dear. You look lovely," the woman paused, "Lily is it?"
"Yes ma'am. This way please." She led the two to the dining room at the end of the hall.
"Our son is with us but he was still in the car-" Lily cut the man off.
"I'll just go fetch him. You wait right here and my mother will be right with you." Lily politely interrupted and left the hall.
When she got back to the door there was a young man looking at the paintings her mother had hung on the walls. "Excuse me, please don't touch those." He had reached out to touch the large plants that stood next to the doors.
"Oh, I'm sorry miss. I was looking for my parents." He answered her. He was taller than she was and handsome. He looked down at her as though she was a servant.
"Please follow me. They are in the dining room." She shrugged it off and walked back to the dining room.
"Ahh, Seamus! You're here." The older man cried.
"My mother has not been to see you yet?" She asked the woman.
"No, I'm sorry darling she hasn't," the woman smiled.
"I will go see what is keeping her. Please excuse me."
"The help here sure dress nice. That girl who brought me here was cute too." Lily heard Seamus say as she left the room.
She smiled smugly to herself.
She quickly made her way to her mother's room. "Maryanne! Maryanne! Some of the guests are here!" she shouted out side her mother's room.
Her mother yanked open the door. "Did you let them in?" she asked severely.
"Of course I did. I told them you'd be right down."
"Very good. Now go do what ever you like to do." She flitted her hand and went back to fastening her earrings.
The door bell rang again. "I'll get it. You go to the dining room." Lily answered her mother before she could say anything.
Tramping back down stairs she hopped the next family, because it seemed her mother had invited families, would be all together at the door. Opening the door she found that they were. A man, his wife and two young men were standing on the front step. She realize that the young men were twins.
"Hello, good evening. Please come in. I will take you to the dining room." She intoned.
"Thank you my dear. Is Maryanne around? I'd like to speak to her." The man said.
"Oh yes, she's here. She will meet you in the dining room." Lily took their coats and hung them on the long line of coat hooks next to the doors. "Please follow me." She led them to the dining room trying not to stare behind her at the twin young men with the older couple.
Her mother was indeed in the dining room chatting with the other couple. The door bell rang again and Lily was running back to the doors. On the step this time there were three families. Six men and three women, all dressed up.
She opened the door again and greeted the families again. "Come in, come in. Maryanne will meet you in the dining room. I'll take your coats," she said as politely as she could.
The thanked her as she hung their coats and then followed her to the dining room. Her mother welcomed them loudly and then signaled the caterers to put out the food. The place cards put Lily between the twins, Fechín and Fionnlagh as their place cards said, and across from Seamus. He raised an eyebrow when she sat down. She smiled sweetly and held up her place card.
"As you all know, I've invited you here tonight to have dinner and tour this house. Our children will be staying here this summer." Maryanne Linnet addressed her guests.
She was at the other end of the long table and didn't hear the soft exchange her daughter was having with the twins and Seamus. "That's news to me." The dark green haired twin said to Lily. She hadn't noticed his hair color until then.
"Me too. And I live here all the time." She whispered back.
"I'm Fionnlagh by the way." He winked at her.
"Lily." She shook his hand.
Not to be out done the other twin introduced himself as Fechín and kissed her hand. She smiled at him and introduced herself.
"And you," she pointed lightly to the boy across from her, "Are Seamus. Are you not?"
He looked at her suspiciously. "How did you know?"
"It's funny what you miss sometimes isn't it. You're father all but shouted it when I brought you here. And just for your information we don't have any servants aside from the maids that come once a week. Well, and the caterers mother hired for tonight."
He looked slightly sheepish. "You heard that?"
"You weren't that quiet about it, Shay."
"What did you just call me?"
"Shay. Well, if you're to live in my house I get to give you nicknames." She smiled and winked.
"And what about us?" Fechín asked.
"Well, you can be Fey or Fetch. Can you live with that?" She was having a good time with the three boys so far. She hadn't though she would.
"And me?" Fionnlagh asked.
"Fin."
They joked around until dinner was finished and then Lily's mother excused her saying she had homework to do. "I'll be in the study." She whispered to the dismayed boys.
"We'll send the rest to meet you." Seamus whispered as she passed him.
~
Lily picked up her father's book again seating herself in the same manner she had earlier. It wasn't long before she heard someone shuffling around the hall whispering her name. Seconds later Seamus poked his head into the study. "There you are. Why did your mother banish you?"
Lily smiled at him. "I don't know. She doesn't like me very much."
"Well we will be here this summer and Fey and Fin and I like you."
She grinned. "I like you too. You all are very sweet."
"I guess I'll go now so I can tell the others where to go. Your mother has us playing games now."
"That's just like her. Have fun."
A few minutes later, two young men she hadn't met before joined her in the study. They were silent for a few minutes until Lily noticed them. "Can I help you?"
"Seamus sent us." The taller of the two answered.
"Okay. That still doesn't answer my question."
"We are looking for Lily," said the other shorter young man.
"And you are?"
"I am Cian and this is Carbrey," the taller one said.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Lily." She stood up to shake hands with them.
"Nice to meet you as well Lily." They were very polite. Quietly they left and Lily was alone again.
Another two young men stopped in a few minutes later flanked by Fin and Fey. "Lil!" they hugged her instead of shaking hands.
"Fin, Fey!" she hugged them back. "And who are you?" she asked the last young men after releasing the twins.
"Fillin." The first one answered.
Lily shook his hand. "Fil then?" he grinned at her and nodded.
The other young man was much more timid that the rest. Lily smiled at him and asked again what his name was.
"Muireadhach," said the indigo haired young man.
"Do you mind if I call you Red?" Lily asked him shaking his hand. He shook his head. "I will see you all this summer whenever you arrive." She hugged Fin and Fey again, because they seemed like the touchy-feely types, and sent them back to the entertainment.
Lily wondered when her mother would actually have the boys move in. She decided it would be the day after school ended. That would be so typical of her mother.