The sun was just setting when the Twins and Antoine stepped onto the cool tiles of the lit pool deck. It was quite a pretty image, the orange and purples reflected in the gently waving pool, the lights beneath the water giving it and eerie, mystical look. There were no other people in sight, but there was a small bar set up, some tables, and umbrellas. The bottles behind the bar were lit with the same magical tranquility as the rest of the deck. Antoine sighed, softly, at the natural beauty laid out before her, the beauty of her world. She appreciated it more than ever, now. She constantly compared it to the drab, dreary Zion she had been exposed to. She considered herself lucky, no matter how she might complain or fret. She stepped across the moist tiles to the bar, her dress trailing behind her. The world was silent, one thing she appreciated about how far the Merovingian's holdings were from the city. Overtaken by the moment, she rushed over to Aidenn, and began to dance. His Twin sat in one of the chairs, bemused, as they spun in each other's arms. They danced on, the moon beginning to rise, bathing everything in an opalescent glow. Antoine froze in mid stride. She gently pulled away from Aidenn, and spun in a slow circle, taking in the glory of the evening.
The majesty was shattered by a scream from inside. The Three jumped, startled. Antoine realized that it was only the guests arriving, and glowered from beneath her curtain of silvery hair. She stalked behind the bar, and scooped up a magazine that was sitting there. The Twins smiled at each other, pulling their towels off as they moved to the edge of the pool. They sat, throwing the towels aside, and dipped their legs into the crystaline water. Women began to trickle in, led by Persephone. She looked very pleased with herself, but ignored the Twins for the moment....
The cat was unhappy. She had gone into hiding when the noises of people had approached, frightening her. Cowering beneath a table, she had listened to the slow, deep mewing of the pale ones. She recognized the voice of the one who had brought her to this place, but she was not yet trusting enough to reveal herself to him. He and a strange companion brought in bag after bag of rustling material, which attracted her attention, but she was too wary to give in to this playfulness. She crouched until all the noises had gone away before she allowed herself to creep out and investigate. She played with the rustling containers for a while, before she smelled something that gained her entire attention - food.
After the initial pleasure of being fawned and drooled over by Persephone and Co., which lasted about five minutes, the Twins had had quite enough of the whole gathering. Still, they hadn't worked for the Merovingian for this long without learning some degree of patience. This allowed them to continue smiling and swishing their hair prettily from time to time. They glanced over at Antoine to see how she was faring. To their surprise, she not only did not appear bored, she actually looked like she was enjoying herself. She had a large book set on the counter in front of her, and as she took orders she kept one hand on it. This allowed her to absorb the information included in its code without the bother of reading it. After a few minutes, she pulled her hand away. As she was returning the book to its place below the bar, the Twins caught sight of the title '101 Popular Mixed Drinks'. Within no time at all, the ladies at the party were all gushing over Persephone's young protege and her fabulous drinks. It was all Antoine could do to maintain a modest little smile, instead of the huge grin she felt creeping over her.
*ding* 'Hey, Aidenn...' 'Mmmm?' 'Maybe Antoine chose the wrong profession in being a bodyguard, looks like we would have made a great barmaid!' Antoine joined in, 'Hey! We heard that! We're, uh, just PRETENDING to enjoy ourselves....' 'Suuuuuure... We believe us.' Snickering, the Twins closed the connection, settling back down into the party around them.
"Fancy a swim?"
"Certainly!" They dove in, impressing the guests with their speed and grace.
A few hours later, the party began to break up. Persephone escorted her guests to the door, practically herding some of them away from the Twins. Antoine began packing up the little bar (which was foldable), mopping up spilled drinks, polishing the counter, gathering the empty glasses and bottles and generally being bartenderish. The Twins hopped out of the pool, dripping. They retrieved their dropped towels, drying vigorously. They shook their heads, causing their long dreadlocks to throw water in all directions. Antoine ducked the barrage of water, glowering at them when she saw that 'her' bar was sopping wet. She soon set this to rights. The peace of before had returned with the departure of the others, so our heroes were quite cheerful as they made their way back to the Chateau. As much as they had enjoyed the peace and beauty of outside, they were glad to reenter the warmth and carpeting of the building. All three of their feet were quite cold, and the Twins were soon shivering from their wetness. They resented the small wait that approached in the form of Vlad. He was on his way out to hunt, but stopped to talk to Antoine. She sighed, and told him that yes, this was a bad time, she would talk to him tomorrow. Adrian was now shivering at the image of what Vlad was about to do, as well as coldness. The Twins half ran down 'their' hall in order to get to the suite faster, and the hot showers that were waiting there. Antoine pulled the key out of her dress (the Twins were shivering so badly now that even IF they had been able to somehow carry keys with them, they wouldn't have been able to manage them) and shoved the door open. She stepped forward into the room, but tripped on something. This in itself was odd, and made her wary. Stepping sideways, her back to the wall, she reached for the light. The sight that met her eyes as the lamps ignited was like stepping into a war zone, a disaster. The Twins, hearing her shriek, leapt past her, coldness forgotten. They prepared to encounter the intruder and protect their Antoine... The mess was so startling that they actually stopped and stared at the chaos....
Oh ho! There, you thought I had forgotten the cat, didn't you? Well, ok, I did, but still... Now it's all good! Yay.
The majesty was shattered by a scream from inside. The Three jumped, startled. Antoine realized that it was only the guests arriving, and glowered from beneath her curtain of silvery hair. She stalked behind the bar, and scooped up a magazine that was sitting there. The Twins smiled at each other, pulling their towels off as they moved to the edge of the pool. They sat, throwing the towels aside, and dipped their legs into the crystaline water. Women began to trickle in, led by Persephone. She looked very pleased with herself, but ignored the Twins for the moment....
The cat was unhappy. She had gone into hiding when the noises of people had approached, frightening her. Cowering beneath a table, she had listened to the slow, deep mewing of the pale ones. She recognized the voice of the one who had brought her to this place, but she was not yet trusting enough to reveal herself to him. He and a strange companion brought in bag after bag of rustling material, which attracted her attention, but she was too wary to give in to this playfulness. She crouched until all the noises had gone away before she allowed herself to creep out and investigate. She played with the rustling containers for a while, before she smelled something that gained her entire attention - food.
After the initial pleasure of being fawned and drooled over by Persephone and Co., which lasted about five minutes, the Twins had had quite enough of the whole gathering. Still, they hadn't worked for the Merovingian for this long without learning some degree of patience. This allowed them to continue smiling and swishing their hair prettily from time to time. They glanced over at Antoine to see how she was faring. To their surprise, she not only did not appear bored, she actually looked like she was enjoying herself. She had a large book set on the counter in front of her, and as she took orders she kept one hand on it. This allowed her to absorb the information included in its code without the bother of reading it. After a few minutes, she pulled her hand away. As she was returning the book to its place below the bar, the Twins caught sight of the title '101 Popular Mixed Drinks'. Within no time at all, the ladies at the party were all gushing over Persephone's young protege and her fabulous drinks. It was all Antoine could do to maintain a modest little smile, instead of the huge grin she felt creeping over her.
*ding* 'Hey, Aidenn...' 'Mmmm?' 'Maybe Antoine chose the wrong profession in being a bodyguard, looks like we would have made a great barmaid!' Antoine joined in, 'Hey! We heard that! We're, uh, just PRETENDING to enjoy ourselves....' 'Suuuuuure... We believe us.' Snickering, the Twins closed the connection, settling back down into the party around them.
"Fancy a swim?"
"Certainly!" They dove in, impressing the guests with their speed and grace.
A few hours later, the party began to break up. Persephone escorted her guests to the door, practically herding some of them away from the Twins. Antoine began packing up the little bar (which was foldable), mopping up spilled drinks, polishing the counter, gathering the empty glasses and bottles and generally being bartenderish. The Twins hopped out of the pool, dripping. They retrieved their dropped towels, drying vigorously. They shook their heads, causing their long dreadlocks to throw water in all directions. Antoine ducked the barrage of water, glowering at them when she saw that 'her' bar was sopping wet. She soon set this to rights. The peace of before had returned with the departure of the others, so our heroes were quite cheerful as they made their way back to the Chateau. As much as they had enjoyed the peace and beauty of outside, they were glad to reenter the warmth and carpeting of the building. All three of their feet were quite cold, and the Twins were soon shivering from their wetness. They resented the small wait that approached in the form of Vlad. He was on his way out to hunt, but stopped to talk to Antoine. She sighed, and told him that yes, this was a bad time, she would talk to him tomorrow. Adrian was now shivering at the image of what Vlad was about to do, as well as coldness. The Twins half ran down 'their' hall in order to get to the suite faster, and the hot showers that were waiting there. Antoine pulled the key out of her dress (the Twins were shivering so badly now that even IF they had been able to somehow carry keys with them, they wouldn't have been able to manage them) and shoved the door open. She stepped forward into the room, but tripped on something. This in itself was odd, and made her wary. Stepping sideways, her back to the wall, she reached for the light. The sight that met her eyes as the lamps ignited was like stepping into a war zone, a disaster. The Twins, hearing her shriek, leapt past her, coldness forgotten. They prepared to encounter the intruder and protect their Antoine... The mess was so startling that they actually stopped and stared at the chaos....
Oh ho! There, you thought I had forgotten the cat, didn't you? Well, ok, I did, but still... Now it's all good! Yay.