EBONY

Our last year of school was about to start and I knew it was going to be more interesting than last year. Kai and I were sitting on a hill overlooking the playground where little kids were blading. Kai was mine but Irene didn't see it that way. Sparks were definitely going to fly when I was with her. I got the distinct feeling Voltaire didn't like me much. He glared at me when I was at the party through a window. I didn't really care and just looked away. I didn't want to know he saw me as an unladylike little slut who wanted Kai for his money. The funny thing was, he saw me as Irene and I wondered if he knew that little cow at all.

'I couldn't see the family honor being upheld with that little slut in the family tree.' I smirked every time I thought about that. I told Kai and much to my surprise he laughed. I thought it would sound creepy but it just sounded like someone who wasn't a stranger to it, even though he is.

Something just didn't feel right. Every part of my being told me that something was wrong. But I wasn't the type to ask what was playing on Kai's mind. There were two likely outcomes if I did. One he would bite my head off for being nosy or just say nothing. Either possibility wouldn't be good so I just stayed silent.

KAI

Why wasn't she talking again? Last time Ebony did this she went nuts and burned her parent's graves. I hoped there were no relatives buried nearby she hated like that. She hardly spoke or looked at me like something was on her mind. But I didn't want to ask.

I managed to resist the urge until I started to miss her voice again. "Is everything alright?" She shrugged and looked as though she was trying very hard not to open her mouth. "Tell me."

"I might ask you the same thing but I don't want to make you mad." She looked away and became silent again. I know what she meant, and now I knew why she stayed silent. I sighed and got up. I overshadowed her and she looked up at me. "Ask me what you want to know." She shook her head. "Not of it's going to make you mad."

"How do you know if I don't know what you're talking about?" She sighed and sat up. Ebony was very troubled trying to find the words; it looked painful for me to watch. "Something tells me that something is wrong. I don't even need dark dragoon on the inside to tell me that. If you don't want to tell me then that's ok, because I don't pry. But if it's really going to effect us then I would like to know. The choice is yours."

Now it was my turn to look away. 'The choice is mine? I don't know where to begin. I know what she wanted me to tell her. I acted badly towards her at the party; she had a right to know why. But how could I tell her?'

"Kai? You really don't have to tell me if you really don't want to." I looked at Ebony to see her laying back on the grass staring at the sky. "What did I do to deserve you?" Saphire smirked. "Search me." We smiled and she laughed, what a wonderful sound. I lay beside her.

"Voltaire wants me to marry Irene." Ebony sat up so fast I thought she sat on a thistle. "WHAT? I'll kill him, and his little slut too!"

"They can't force me to marry her." Ebony smirked but the fury was still in her eyes. "Promise me something Kai. Even if Voltaire threatens me, you won't marry that little bitch ok?" My eye opened wide. "Threatens you?"

"Just promise me!" She looked deadly serious. "What can he do to me? I've handled tougher opponents than him back at my orphanage."

'I highly doubt that.' She sat on my stomach and looked down on me. "Well? You don't and I won't do this anymore." She kissed me and I smiled. "Blackmail?" Ebony nodded with a great big smile on her face. "Ok, I promise." Ebony lay on me and we looked up at the sky. I felt so at peace with her; it was like she set me free when I was with her. She showed me I could be myself, and I think I did the same for her.