Thank you Cierce 7 , Me, and mysticvysgiyi for you reviews. They really mean a lot to me. I was starting to think that no one was really reading and that maybe I would just stop. So thanks for taking time for review, it means a lot.

"But I won't cry for yesterday

There's an ordinary world

That some how I have to find

And as I try to make my way

To the ordinary world

I will learn how to survive. "

~ Duran Duran

Chapter Five: Ordinary World

I stare at myself in the mirror.

Past my pale skin, and hollow eyes.

What I'm looking for I have no idea? Some clue to my past that lies buried within my flesh. A way to see the DNA inside me, splitting, and replicating. Its templates a bond to my own parents. A path I could trace if I ever get out of here.

Taking a barrette, I pin my hair into a bun. Smoothing the wisps down, I wonder if my mother or father had brown hair.

Yet even if I knew the answer, I know it wouldn't be enough. There's so much more to life than the ingredients. Life needs its spices. It needs its own stories. Its markers of difference.

I apply a think brown powder to my eye lids. Absentmindedly, I brush a faded scar just above my eye. A scar, a difference, something not inherited, I wonder how I got it?

Tess' reflection appears in the mirror, "You almost ready?"

"Yes." I throw down my brush. "I don't think there's enough make up in the world to make me look any better." 

"All you need is some lipstick, and you'll look really pretty," Tess hands me a silver tube.

I look doubtfully at the little container and back at my reflection.

My skin is a sickly white. Small blood vessels slide back and forth as my eyes move.

According to the healers, my current state is a product of an unknown psychic trauma.

That's doctor code for the King got a little too frisky with the oracle and almost broke her.

Turning around, the room spins. My legs wobble. I grab on to the table to keep from falling.

"You're going back to the healers right now."

 "No, I'm not." A bad taste fills my mouth at the idea of having someone else in my head, "besides they said my mental shielding was too strong for them to get past."

"Then drop it. You're not being reasonable. Khivar could have done something why he was---," her lips droop.

I brace myself for the question. The question Tess' been dancing around for the last week.

"How long has he been mind raping you?"

"Does it really matter?"

"It matters to me. You can't keep this bottled up."

A knock sounds at the door.

Startled, I jump. What if it's Khivar come back to finish or Silas?

Tess places her hand on my shoulder, "it's just my date. I left a note for him to meet me here."

"Oh," I feel stupid. Khivar and Silas have never been one for knocking, "so you have a date?" grasping on to the change in subject.

Tess' face turns a charming red, "please be nice. I really like him."

"Hey, I'm always nice." Green energy begins to spark from my hands, "come in," I call sweetly.

"You're not funny," Tess retorts going to the door.

"But the look on your face was priceless." I lean down to the mirror to apply my lipstick.

"Tess, you look beautiful," a male voice says. Sincerity flows from every syllable.

I like this guy already.

"Thanks," comes the soft, girlish reply.

From the sounds of it, Tess does to, and she never even told me about him.

You can't trust her.

 It's perfectly natural to have secrets.

"Stop primping and come here," Tess orders from behind me.

"Well some people have to work to look beautiful." Finishing my lips, I turn around.

Tess introduces me.

"This is Kyle."

I hold out my hand, "it's nice to meet you." 

He doesn't move. All color drains from his face. His eyes stare at me.

It's extremely unnerving.

"I've been sick lately so I'm not looking so hot at the moment," I try to joke.

He's still staring.

Maybe, I should put more foundation on.

Tess stands up on her toes and places her hands on his forehead. "Kyle are you

 sick?"

Whatever he's experiencing passes, he grabs my hand in a firm grasp, "I'm sorry. You just look a lot like someone I used to know."

 I watch Kyle fasten Tess' coat. "It's really cold outside," he mummers. It's a single insignificant gesture, but yet it isn't. The gentle way he ties the cord around her hood. Silas could careless if I froze to death.  

Tess heads for the door, "We better get going. There will be hell to pay if we're late to the Bitch is Back Ball."

 Kyle lags behind, "the Bitch is Back Ball."

I lower my voice. "There's some bad blood between Tess and Isabel. They didn't like each other on Antar, and they seem to like each other even less here."

"She told me about that, which side are you on."

You need to pick a team.

"I'm neutral." My new approach since dealing with my supposed spiritual advisor.

"A fence sitter," he corrects.

He's a smart ass. I really like this guy. .

"You'll have to choose sooner or later," he says before moving into the hall.

"I'm trying for the later part." Switching off the lights, I close the door. An ominous thought hits me. I'm never going to see these rooms again. Like a cold chill, it passes down my spine then fades away. 

"My lady," Kyle offers his arm to Tess.

She giggles and takes his arm.

"My lady," he repeats to me.

I thread my arm through his.

Kyle turns his head between the two of us. "It's official. After twenty four years, I'm finally a player."

Tess smacks him on the chest.

A sound escapes my lips. It takes me a while to realize it's a laugh.

Faint as gentle breeze, it's definitely not the sound of someone accustomed to laughing, but I'm doing it.

Tess adds her airy laugh to mine. Seconds later Kyle's deep laugh fuses with ours.

It doesn't stop until we get to the car.