Author's Note:
In this part of the story I've just decided to give up and put "later" on my time jumps because my techniques aren't working and it just looks weird. Also, there are some more poems in this chapter donated by my friend Shawn. (Sometimes even an evil mastermind needs help, though we'll never admit it) All the credit for the poems go to him. I don't clam them as my own in any way. Though I did change and add some words. All right. Now back to your story already in progress.
Shadow lay in the bed, Dew curled against his side, her breathing deep with sleep. He looked down at her now blonde hair and wrinkled his nose. Though Dew looked good in any color he preferred her blue hair. It was more Her. He ran has finger up her arm slowly, feeling the soft fine hairs. Sure, most of the time she was blue but he liked her skin better. Though she looked the same as far as facial and body features went, she was different. More mortal looking. He liked it, but didn't prefer it.
He liked it when she was his Dew. With her blue skin, and water hair that had the little fishes in its long tresses. He liked her natural. He smiled, elemental. Dew shifted and scratched her arm where his fingers had been and his smile widened. She sighed with sleepy irritation as his fingers started again. Dew opened her eyes and blinked owlishly at him, her crystal blue eyes reminding him of the Caribbean waters. Dear sweet Lord, he loved her.
She was his. Shadow had never had much of anything that was his and his alone. And Dew would never be "His". He would have to share her with her friends. But in all the ways that mattered, she was his and his alone. The one thing he could call his own. His one thing of true value. His heart swelled as she smiled sleepily and snuggled closer into his side.
She had always been slow to wake, and he shook her a little to get her moving. The others were already up and about. "Time to get up," he said softly, settling a kiss on her brow. She grunted her protest and snuggled more deeply into the covers and his side. He shook her again. Dew sighed in defeat and sat up.
"Okay. Okay. I'm up. Can't we stay in bed today?" she yawned. Shadow grinned and pinned her back down onto the mattress, giving her a purely predatory smile of satisfaction.
"Can you give me a good reason to?" She smiled.
"I think I can give you one or two very good reasons," she said and kissed him lightly.
"You'll have to do better than that," he murmured against her lips. She kissed him again, deeply and twined her fingers into his ebony hair, wrapping her long legs around him, fitting her lithe body to his. Someone knocked on the door. "No one's home," Shadow said and resumed his kiss.
"Come on. Flame wants us all down stairs," Kiki said through the door.
"Later."
"Now."
"Fuck that."
"Fine, you deal with her." There was silence on the other side and Shadow slid his hands under her tank top. Another knock sounded at the door.
"Get up." Tinco said.
"Go away."
"Now, Shadow."
"No."
"Maybe we should go," Dew said softly, in-between kisses.
"No. Make that a hell no."
"Shadow, don't make me come in there after you two," Tinco said, her voice turning hard.
"Try," he said and snapped his fingers. Shadows immediately swarmed the door, forming a dark barrier around the door.
"Damn it, Shadow! Get your asses out here NOW! This is an important meeting." A long shadow detached itself from the door and formed into a copy of Shadow.
"Maybe you don't understand. I am going to spend this time with Dew, whether you like it or not," the copy said coldly, taking a menacing step toward Tinco. "I haven't even seen Dew for years, much less touched her, and I'm long over due. Leave. Now. Go have your meeting. I'll keep one ear to the ground and fill Dew in later." The shadow dissolved and joined its brothers back around the door.
"Jackass," she muttered under her breath.
Later that day……….
Shadow sat up in bed and looked down at Dew as she slept on, exhausted. Her control on he appearance had slipped during the throws of passion and her blue hair and skin shimmered as sunlight poured in from the window. 'A goddess,' he thought. The words instantly popping into his head and formed into shadows in front of him.
A goddess is someone of beauty
Someone of humor
Someone who lights up your life and puts the sun to shame
The sun could not shine as bright as her smile
Even the most delicate of roses could not match her beauty
A goddess is intelligent
Not just body and beauty
To look upon her is to see heaven in her eyes
She is perfection
She is you
Shadow smiled and carefully shifted out of bed making sure not to disturb Dew. He quickly showered and dressed and walked back out of her bathroom. Dew was dressing and walked over and kissed him. "Good afternoon," she said softly.
"Hello."
"Breakfast?"
"Lunch."
"Okay." They left the room hand in hand and walked down the stairs, into the kitchen.
"So the love birds are awake," Kiki said with a laugh.
"I think they've been awake for a long time," Chill said with a devilish light in his eyes. "Good to see that you two are so enthusiastic about getting reacquainted."
"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm," Shadow said, a ghost of a smile playing on his mouth. Dew giggled and Chill groaned.
"Dear sweet lord, please don't start with the fortune cookie shit again."
"Now that the two of you have wasted the day away…" Tinco said letting her voice trail away expectantly.
"The most wasted of all days is that in which we have not laughed." Kiki stifled a giggle.
"Very funny."
"He laughs best who laughs last."
"I think he's laughing at you, Tinco." Chill said, covering a smile with his hand.
"Laugh and the world laughs with you."
"You are so stupid," Chill said shaking his head.
"Before God we are al equally wise – and equally foolish."
"Are you calling me stupid?"
"No I called you foolish." Tinco smiled.
"Oh, shut up."
"Bach gave us God's Word. Mozart gave us God's laughter. Beethoven gave us God's fire. God gave us Music that we might pray without words."
That night………
The clock down stairs struck twelve and Shadow looked up into the night sky. Dew sighed behind him and stretched out on the bed, falling back into a deep sleep. She slept a lot lately, he thought. 'Midnight star' he thought and again the words formed out of shadows in front of him.
As I stand under the midnight sky
I see a twinkle in the darkness
That twinkle is a star
That star is a reminder
Of you
In your eyes twinkles a star
Much like the star that shines in the sky
You are the sun that brightens my day
The moon that lights up my nights
The light that chases away the shadows that shroud my soul
London, England 1720
The stuccoed town house in the southern end of Park Lane was a Palladian masterpiece. Although not the largest home in London it was undoubtedly one of the most elegant with its wide marble foyer and double staircase that led to a long picture gallery. There was a clever balcony that overlooked the park that had been transformed into a conservatory and a formal drawing room with a great deal of masterpieces from Flemish artists. As the crowning glory the ballroom held a hint of Versailles with surrounding mirrors, heavy chandeliers and French furnishings. And it was all hers.
Dew surveyed the people dancing and mingling in the ballroom. She smiled and flirted as she made her way through them, accepting dance offers for later in the evening. She stopped to gossip and to talk with various ladies and gentlemen, keeping an aloof and nonchalant air around her. She tensed as she felt an odd prickling race over her skin. A chill inched down her spine as she realized that someone from across the room was watching her. Watching her with such intensity that she could physically feel the relentless gaze as it made a lazy survey of her slender form.
Thrusting aside the strange sense of unease, Dew forced herself to turn and discover the tall gentleman standing alone in a distant corner, but when she at last caught sight of him, her heart stuttered to a halt. Although he was properly attired in a black coat, pantaloons and a crisply tied cravat, he bore no resemblance to the other gentlemen that lounged about the room. Well over six feet there was a raw, elegant power in his lean form that Dew could sense even at a distance. It was in the manner he leaned negligently against a marble column and in the arrogant tilt of his head.
She inclined her head at him, a slight smile touching her lips. She glanced at the doors leading to the small balcony over the garden, then turned her attention to the gentlemen at her side and continued to engage in flirtation with him. After a few minutes she started to slowly edge her way to the garden's balcony doors. Once out in the warm May air she made her way slowly down the stone steps and into the garden. The poem she had received that morning suddenly popped into her head.
Rose
A flower of love
A flower of color
A flower of meaning
Yellow for our friendship at the start
White for remembrance of our time together
Pink for how sweet my feelings are for you
And red for the passion my heart holds for you
'The rose garden,' she thought with a smile. She made her way quickly through the winding pathways until she arrived at the arches, covered in the roses that were tamed to wind upward around them. The sweet smell of flowers filled the air as she sat down on a bench and smoothed the folds of her gown. "Hello," a soft male voice said from her side. She looked up to see Shadow leaning against one of the stone arches, his arms and ankles crossed.
"Hello," she said standing up to face him. He stepped close enough so that she had to crane her neck to look into his ebony eyes. "Shadow," she said, her voice sounding breathless even to her own ears. Unable to resist the temptation that swirled through him, Shadow leaned forward to gently kiss her. His arms wrapped around her slender frame, bringing her against the taut lines of his own body. He yearned to taste deeply of her, to allow the desires of the night and silver moon to sweep them into oblivion.
"Shadow," a voice said snapping him out of memories. "What do you think we should get Flow for her birthday. And think happy thoughts, okay?" Chill said.
"The secret of happiness is to make others believe they are the cause of it."
"Oh, God, not this again." Shadow smiled.
"I still love you," Dew said as she walked into the room.
"Love is like a mountain, hard to climb, but once you get to the top the view is beautiful." Shadow said. He looked over at Dew and grabbed her hand, pulling her down into his lap. "My love for you is fathomless. A thing of darkness," he whispered so that only she could hear.
"Do you have any more of these fortunes?" Chill asked. "If you do, please get them out now."
"Watch your thoughts, they become your words. Watch your words, they your actions. Watch your actions, they become your habits. Watch your habits, they become your character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny. The most important thing you can give some one is a chance; grief teaches the steadiest minds to waver; we hate some persons because we do not know them, and we will not know them because we hate them; no passion so effectively robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear; a real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out; call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family, whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one; a real friend is someone you call to come get you out of jail but a true friend is the person sitting beside you in the jail cell saying 'Woo that was fun!'."
"What the hell is your deal? What is it with the fortune crap? Seriously. Do you have nothing else to do with your time? Is it a cry for attention or what? I mean come on. Do you look this stuff up or do you just spend your days thinking of sayings like that?" Shadow blinked, his face showing mild surprise, then the laughter died in his eyes and he looked away. He stood and walked to the door. Chill winced, immediately noticing his mistake. Shadow stopped at the door and turned slightly back into the room so that his profile could be seen.
"Everyone bleeds secret wounds," he said softly, his voice impassive. "Some just hide the blood better than others." He walked out. Dew gave Chill such a look of loathing that he flinched.
"Jack ass," she said and followed Shadow out. Kiki slapped him on the back of his head.
"Good job, ass hole," she said sharply.
"I didn't mean it the way it sounded!" he protested, rubbing his head.
"Yeah, well, the damage's done now. Chill, how could you say that to him? You know Shadow doesn't make friends easily. The guy is death for cryin out loud. It's a bitch for him to just get through the day. He doesn't need us criticizing him for what he says. He barely says anything at all!"
"I know. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to him." She paused and looked out the window. "Never mind. He just left."