I feel like I have been typing forever, I stayed up pretty late finishing this..at 2:30 am and a bad head cold typing 2 pages is like 20 pages to me. This has got to be a masterpiece, well sort of. Everything in this chapter is original, no game script, no copying the game stuff, and its pretty juicy and could do with a ratings change but I didn't. You have been warned! One of my kids destroyed my outline for this chapter so I had to use my head (scary thought) and throw together what I wanted to do here. To the 3 ladies who recently sent me nice reviews and asked for more - this is for you :) hope you like it. Serin.

Chapter 5

The room was grand and simply elegant. The floors were rich reds and faded mauve. The windows beautiful stained glass. Plants and bird cages were placed throughout the room and a few floor standing candelabra. There was only a few items of furniture in the room - a bed, a chaise lounge chair and a dresser. The bed was like a long half circle with head rests on either end. A young girl was standing by the bed folding linens and putting fresh ones on the bed. She was in her late teens, beautiful face that looked a bit older and wiser than it was, and big blue eyes. She wore a short pink dress with fringed hems and her boots looked like ballerina slippers; pink and laced up. On her head, her curly blonde hair was held up by a pink silky wrap with an orange desert flower stuck in it. Although she occasionally came to work in this house, curiously, she did not dress like one of the maids. She carefully laid out clean white sheets unto the bed, smoothing them out thoroughly with her soft, slender fingers. She took the pillow cases and stuffed the goose feather pillows into them and placed them on the bed. The room was dim and lit by candles, it was evening now. The sun was beginning to set. The open window let in a gentle breeze and a hint of the villager's events outside. Also in the room, sitting on the chaise lounge, was a man. Tall, strong and well built, he was slouched low in the chair with his bare feet on the floor. He wore grey striped pants. His night shirt was white linen and it was loose fitting and wrinkled, the buttons were un done which exposed a hint of his bare, hairless chest. His hair was long and grey, it flowed around his neck and shoulders, the dents in the middle showed that he had it tied up during the day. His elbow rested on the arm of the chair and in his hand he dangled a pendent. It spun around before his already tired eyes. The girl finished up and turned around to speak to him.

"Is there anything else you want me to do for you master Devius?" She asked in a high pitched, gentle voice.

Devius looked up at her, his eyes opened wide as he shot her an amorous glance. He cracked a little smile but never sat up in his chair.

"Silly human girl.....you're all the same you know...you say one thing but you mean another."

He spoke slowly in a low voice as he put the pendent in his pocket. The girl was speachless, she simply stood like a statue unsure what to do.

"So tell me Amanda....." Devius continued. "Who is this boy you rescued? My elixir worked on him I presume?"

"Yes it did, He and I were once prisoners in Granz castle, we fought together, but he escaped." she explained.

"I reckon you have a bit of a crush on the lad don't you now?" he chuckled as he looked at her with one eye.

"I never told him about you" she said.

"Told him what? That I paid for your freedom? That you pretend to work here? That your life is in my hands now? Well...no matter. You are not my prisoner you know, you are here by choice and by choice you keep coming back here. My only regret is...that you are human."

Devius meant to bring her some form of comfort or flattery but he was not very good at it tonight. He felt guilty because he knew this was wrong. He was a Mavole. Humans and Mavoles were still not quite in harmony with each other and most certainly a romantic relationship between the two species was not acceptable by any means to the public eye. But he cared about Amanda. Cared about her enough to pity her when he first saw her at Granz castle. Cared enough to rebuke his own brother for locking up a helpless girl, and he cared enough that he payed a hefty price from his own pocket to bribe him to free her. He brought Amanda to his manor and hired her as a servant. But the Mavole maidservants were ruthless to her because she was human, so he freed her. He paid her way to Menos and simply told her that there were "other" ways she could repay him for his philanthropy. She knew what he meant. But over time her "repaying" him became an addiction. He was so charming to her, and even though they did not love each other they could both temporarily fill up the emptiness in both of their hearts.

"So..........getting back to your initial question...what else can you do for me this lovely evening?" He sighed with his hands folded in front of him under his chin. He never took his eyes from her.

"I think,..." he paused. "I think I would like to see you, stand before me and take off your top so I can admire you."

With no expression on her face, Amanda slowly walked forward and stood over him. She untied her front and gingerly took off her dress, letting it fall halfway, exposing her breasts. Devius smiled at her and narrowed his eyes. Amanda approached him and he leaned forward to kiss her ever so passionately. With their lips locked together she leaned into him and put one knee on the sofa as he slipped one hand up her dress to tease her. She broke off their kiss and he held unto her, looking up into her beautiful, glazed eyes. Amanda trembled as she looked down into his bright, hazel eyes, she swallowed hard and brushed a few stray hairs from his forehead. Knowing what he wanted just by looking at his expression, she got down on her knees. She parted his legs and began to undo his belt. Devius' eyes closed in ecstacy, but then his large, slender pointy ears perked up.

"Stop" he whispered.

Amanda kept going.

"No really....stop. Someone is coming." he pleaded again. He leaned forward and pulled her dress up and let his shirt drop down to cover himself. A voice came from the corridor outside.

"My lord.." a maidservant called to him.

Amanda never heard anyone, but to both of their favour was his Mavole super sensitive hearing. It seemed like he knew everything that went on in the entire house just by listening. He used to tell her stories about how when he was a child, another little boy - who was human - would torment him by sneaking up behind him and blow a dog training whistle. She felt sorry for him but he would laugh it off, and ask her what she thought might happen if she blew in those pointy ears of his.

Devius buckled his pants and answered the door, careful not to show who his room mate was. Genoa the head maid informed him that there were guests in the house.

"The minstrels, yes I know. It was pretty much an open invitation to anyone who could sing" Devius rolled his eyes as pulled his shirt closed.

"No master, Dark Lord and Miss Isabella are here." Genoa stated.

Devius made a funny face as he tried to calculate the news.

"Dark Lord with Isabella?......" he shrugged and shook his head in disapproval. "I'll be downstairs shortly."

"What is it?" Amanda asked.

"Oh nothing my sweet, Dark Lord is here.....with trouble in tow as usual" he patted Amanda gently on the cheek.

"I noticed you always seem to have an upper hand with Dark Lord, you admonish him and he does nothing. Why is that?" she inquired.

"Because.................I am allowed to. That's all you need to know right now." he said as he placed his hands on her shoulders and stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. "I am so sorry to have to cut this short, make yourself scarce for a bit, I will come back later."

"Shall I wait for you here?" she asked.

"If you like." he kissed her forehead and left the room.

He finished dressing himself as he walked down the hallway, putting on his matching grey shirt and then his green and red coat over it. Down in the main great hall of his house he saw no one. The room was silent except for the sound of water flowing in a fountain near by and the chatter of a bird in its cage. Devius thought for a moment about where Dark Lord would have gone to and then it came to him. Devius turned around and headed toward the back of the manor.

If you have never been to Devius Manor you would never would have guessed the room was there. In the very east side of the house hidden under a mezzanine was the doorway to a spectacular three season room that ran along the entire side of the house that faced the ocean. If you look out the window downwards you see the side of the smooth, rocky cliffs that the city of Jadd rests on. A huge stair way carved into the stone leads you down to the water and to the docks where Devius keeps his boats.

The three season room was the most casual and relaxed room in the house, you didn't feel afraid to break anything in here. The first section of the room was more for entertainment purposes. It had a bar and a few tables for playing games or just for socializing. The middle section contained a dining table that seated 8 people. The third section was the most comfortable looking. Brown wicker couches with huge fluffy pillows and a coffee table with books and card games on it. There were medium size palm tree plants and quaint decor on all the walls and end tables. Dark Lord was sitting on one of the couches as Isabella looked out the window at the view. Devius entered the room, catching their attention.

"Well, well, well. Normally they say look what the cat dragged in but it looks like you are the one dragging the cat, Stroud." Devius tried hard not to laugh.

"Very funny. In that case, I presume you two have met." Stroud said.

"Sure we have." Devius tilted his head and looked at Isabella through the corner of one eye.

Isabella turned around and bowed. "Good evening Prince Gurnda"

"Oh how polite of you to address me so formally, what changed?"

He asked as he reached out his hand to her with a big grin on his face. He could see she was getting nervous and he was going to love every minute of this. Devius normally carried himself as a proper gentleman and aristocrat but he was not without a sense of humour - especially around his brother. Stroud stood up as if he was ready to break up a fight. But then a woman walked in, Presio the maid asked the group if they would like a late tea time.

"Not for me, but I think out house guests have come a long way, prepare the meal anyway we will eat on the patio here." Devius instructed her.

"Yes master Devius" Presio nodded at left. Within a few minutes maids set the dining table for 3 and they all sat down. The maidservants brought out rich tea and honey. Cold and fresh fruit salsa with cinnamon chips to dip it with and fresh baked fish fillets with delightful seasonings. Devius poured himself a glass of water and watched the other two fill up their plates.

"So what happened?" Devius asked.

"Father's airship crashed, engine malfuntion. The wreck, or should I say, what's left of it, is in Menos outskirts and we walked here from it." Stroud explained.

"That's quite a hike on foot" Devius said raising one eyebrow.

Isabella thought to herself as she listened to the two men. Putting two and two together. They are brothers? The evidence was their all along right under her nose, she just never thought of them that way before. She remembered what Lee said. As she examined the men, they both had the exact same face, same hair style, same height and build. But Devius was definitely more "Mavole", the ears are the give away. They most certainly shared at least one parent.

"Still hiding your face Stroud? Why so?" Devius asked sympathetically.

"Please don't start that now." Stroud replied.

"And what of your partner here, how did you too meet? Isabella did you run out of meal tickets in the underworld so you had to come to this world in search of one?" Devius looked at Isabella waiting for her reaction. Devius meant well, he just had a funny way of getting people to question themselves for the better.

Both were to tired to play into his games. Devius could see this so he let it go. But Isabella burned inside with all kinds of sarcastic retorts for him but she held on as hard as she could. The dinner conversation could get ugly real quick if she got going. Stroud said nothing. His brother's behaviour was normal to him and did not phase him one bit. Isabella rose from the table and excused herself for the evening.

"Check with any one of the maids, they will set you up in a room." Devius told her.

Devius looked to Stroud with a smile. Stroud smiled back and shook his head "no". He knew what Devius was thinking and he didn't want to hear about it. They both got up from the table and Stroud poured them both a small glass of liquor from a carafe. They both walked to the window looking out over the cliffs.

"You know Gurnda, I still haven't got around to cleaning up the rest of the house, I get as far as the nursery and I can't go in there. All of our toys are still on the floor right where we left them." Stroud laughed a little to himself.

"You only have one maid for the entire estate. For goodness sake take some of mine to help clean up." Gurnda said as he too laughed a bit.

"I can't do that. The house is dead now, so what's the point? Father's books too, goddess there must be at least a thousand of them. I want to throw all those journals of his away but I can't do it." Stroud said as he swirled the alcohol around in the glass. He was about to drink it when a maid came in the room. It was Priscilla. She said there were travelers in the house and she didn't think they were invited. A big, beastly swordsman with blue hair and a young girl. Stroud raised his head to the news.

"She had long, curly brown hair, did she not?" he asked with interest.

"Yes" the maid answered him.

"Thank you Priscilla, we'll look into it." Devius cut in.

Priscilla left the room. Devius put his glass down on the table behind him. Stroud turned around quickly.

"Let me go see what is going on." Stroud said to him.

"Are you sure? What you know who these people are?" Gurnda said.

"Yes, as a matter a fact I do. Let me handle it please." Stroud insisted.

"Very well, I'll stay here then." Gurnda winked at him.

Stroud made his way down the halls, he didn't see or hear anyone. He made his way up a narrow stair case to the second floor balcony. He followed the confusing layout to a door way. And there she was. Underneath the archway was the shadow of a girl, she was kneeling on the floor inspecting the contents of a small chest. She did not see her admirer coming down the hall. Stroud stepped back and hid in the darkness, waiting for her to leave; she would have to walk past him to get out of the area she was in. Stroud thought to himself that this would be his last chance to woo her, so he better make it good. He took his mask off and brushed his hair back into place with his hand. Purim closed the chest she was rummaging in and got to her feet. She made her way off the balcony and through the doorway. She walked right past where Stroud was concealing himself. She stopped dead in her tracks as the familiar voice called to her.

"Purim"

She turned around and there he was. Her eyes startled and stared at the revelation of his face. She didn't know what to say. He slowly walked towards her. The nearby candle light shined on him and revealed more. Purim was afraid, she raised her staff.

"If you hurt me" she started to say.

"No, I won't harm you. I know that no apology can take back what pain I've caused you, please hear me out." he said.

She lowered the staff.

"The night on the airship I watched you sleep, you were so lovely. Just looking at your face brought so much conviction to my heart for what I had done." He said.

"That is the goddess speaking to you, she wants you to see your sins." Purim said confidently.

"Preaching to me again? Purim, there is NO goddess. The mana goddess is just a myth. Vandole brilliantly made the whole thing up so that simple minded people would be easier to control, that's all it is! The mana religion was just a tool to manipulate people to follow something they would never understand. And YOU Purim know what is in store for you? You don't have to die because of your people's silly beliefs in fairytales." Stroud pursued her.

"I don't know what you are talking about." She said with a puzzled look. "You must be wrong, you are the one being manipulated Stroud."

"Finally calling me by name?" he said as he got closer to her. She backed away from him, forgetting that there was a wall behind her. He had her cornered. He was less than inches from her, maybe a foot taller than she, he looked down on her. She tried not to look at him, she looked to the side. But through the corner of her eye she could see his unbuttoned shirt and could smell a trace scent of some sort of cologne on him. She could feel his warm breath as he lowered his head trying to get her to look up at him. His hands were both at his sides but ready to go where need be if she caught on to his wish. She closed her eyes and let all her breath out, then she looked up at him right into his grey eyes and her lips met his. The endorphin high flooded her body. She felt like she was floating, like she wasn't there or maybe it was a dream. She couldn't believe what she was doing. This man was supposed to be her enemy but she couldn't help but absorb every ounce of this thrill. Stroud sensed that she was excepting him so he leaned closer to her and put his hands on her hips, slowly he slid them around to her back as she put her arms around him. But then suddenly, she snapped. No. She couldn't do this, not with him, not with anyone. She had a destiny to fulfill and she was sure it didn't include romance. She pushed Stroud away.

"What is it?" he asked in confusion.

"I can't, no I can't do this." She whispered.

"Sure you can" he said reassuringly. "You make your own choices, no one tells you otherwise."

"No" She said looking up to him with tears. "I'm sorry"

He reached out to comfort her but she ran away. Disappointed, he watched her go down the stairs as fast as her legs could take her. She left him with nothing and no explanation. He walked to the balcony rail and put both his hands on it, bowing his head. Once again his heart broken. And one more layer of stone cold placed over the wound that was exposed.

To be continued.....