Chapter 6
Kestra and her parents arrived at Club Hel and were greeted by Lord Mero and Lady Persephone. The french man bowed as he took Kestra's hand and kissed it in a very gentlemanly manner.
"Ah Princess Kestra, it is a pleasure to have you here at Club Hel this evening." Lord Mero said.
"Thank you for having us Lord Mero." Kestra said.
"The pleasure is all ours, Princess." Lady Persephone chimed in happily.
The royal family made their way into the club, inside The Twins were spinning tunes and everyone was dancing and having a great time. As they entered, a silence fell over the room as One made the announcement.
"Please welcome the royal family of Zion!" He announced over the sound system.
The crowd looked their way and bowed as they made their way to the stage, where Queen Machina was sitting at her throne. In the matrix she was tall, dark skinned and beautiful and was a dead ringer for super model Tyra Banks. Machina was dressed in the finest red silk gown and her copper red hair was swept up into an updo. She was dripping in jewels and wore a very tall crown. She rose out of her seat and greeted the three of them.
"Welcome to 01 and a very happy birthday to you Kestra." Machina said with a smile.
"Thank you." She answered.
Machina turned to the crowd and spoke.
"In honor of Princess Kestra's birthday I decree that we paaaarrrtyyyy!"
She raised her hands and the crowd cheered, the twins proceeded to spin the tunes as a mass of bodies took to the dance floor. Kestra and Machina went to the bar to order drinks and out of the corner of their eye, they spied the Smith and his body guards walking through the door. All the women in the room, including Kestra and Machina looked in his direction.
"Wow!" Was all Kestra could say.
Jackson, Johnson and Thompson also looked in his direction. They wondered where they had seen him before.
"Who is he?" Kestra asked Machina.
"Girl, I have no idea who he is, but he sure is fine!" Machina said.
"That he is." Kestra said as she looked Smith up and down from a distance.
"Who the hell does Mr. Man think he is?" Thompson asked Johnson as he eyed Smith with envy.
"Yeah, who is he anyway?" Johnson asked.
"I don't know he seems very ... very ... familiar." Jackson said with a suspicious tone in his voice.
Finally Twin Two made the announcement.
"Ladies and gentlemen! This is the part where in honor of Princess Kestra's birthday, we like to do something called Princess choice, so that means every single man in the room must line up in a row."
All the single men in the room formed a line including Jackson, Johnson, and Thompson. Kestra looked as the men formed a line and noticed that Smith was at the very end. She walked up to the line and as she passed, each man smiled at her in hopes of being the one to be picked to dance the first dance with her. Some were short, some were tall, others were brunette, blonde and even redheaded. Some of the men were either too fat or way too skinny for her taste. Finally she reached the agents. Thompson, Johnson and Jackson lowered their sunglasses. She thought for a second and just kept moving, passing them by. It seemed like an eternity until she got to Smith who was at the very end of the line. Once she stepped in front of him, she looked into his deep blue eyes and gave him a smile.
"May I have this dance?" She asked him.
"I would be honored your majesty." Smith answered as he bowed to her.
He took her hand as Thr Cherry Poppin' Daddies came over the speakers. They moved their feet in time to the music as the drum solo started.
Who's that whisperin' in the trees?
It's two sailors and they're on leave
Pipes and chains and swingin' hands
Who's your daddy? Yes I am!
Smith spun Kesta around and lifted her up into the air as she laughed.
Zoot suit riot
throw back a bottle of beer
Zoot suit riot
Pull a comb through your coal black hair
By this time they were side by side and then they faced each other as they shimmied back and forth.
Fat cat came to play
Now he can't run fast enough
You'd best stay away
When the pushers come to shove
Zoot suit riot
throw back a bottle of beer
Zoot suit riot
Pull a comb through your coal black hair
Zoot suit riot
throw back a bottle of beer
Zoot suit riot
Pull a comb through your coal black hair
Blow Daddy!
And then the big finish came where Smith dipped her. The audience applauded but they seemed frozen in time as they looked into each other's eyes. Agents Jackson, Johnson and Thompson just glared at Smith as he continued to dance with the princess as they laughed and had a great time.
"It's getting hot in here." Kestra said. "How about if we step outside for some fresh air." She suggested.
"Sounds good to me." Smith said.
They made their way to the balcony and walked past the agents who were now eyeing him enviously. Meanwhile Smith's body guards were at the hors d'oeuvres table where they spied cheese, just because they were now men didn't mean they still had the usual mouse cravings. Kestra and Smith reached the balcony and looked out into the night. When he was with her, Smith felt like the luckiest program in the world to be in her presence. He had hoped that midnight would never come. But at that moment all that mattered was them.