Ravenna awoke the next morning with a headache the size of the Atlantic Ocean. It felt as if all the animals in Barnum and Bailey's circus had decided to do a tap dancing finale upon her skull, elephants and all. Groaning as she turned her head the slightest bit, she heard the rustle of someone moving from a chair to her bed side.
"Here, I brought you something."
Opening her caramel hues slightly, she took in the appearance of Race. Her features became contorted as she tried to understand why he would be here in the middle of the afternoon, for she assumed that was the time by the rude sunlight glaring into the room. She couldn't remember much of anything last night, only bits and pieces. The few memories she did have of last night all involved Racetrack Higgins insisting that she finish any drink she held in her hands. Another groan left her mouth. So this is what happened when one consumed too much alcohol. She would kill that boy, he would definitely pay. Last night had been the most she had ever drunk in her entire life. Sure she was not unfamiliar with alcohol, but usually it involved a glass of wine at dinner, and if she truly felt like splurging, a glass of sherry before bed, or perhaps two glasses of champagne at New Years. Never any more than two drinks in a night, and definitely not as many as she had had the night before.
Narrowing her golden hues at Race, partially due to the fact that she planned to fully ream him for his taking advantage of her naïveté last night, and also partially because of the God forsaken sun, she opened her mouth to let forth a slew of angry, hangover influenced words. However, before she could do or say anything, the contents of what she had consumed in the last twenty-four hour period decided to come up and land all over the person who her anger was geared towards. This unfortunate incident did not only happen once, but rather three times before Ravenna's stomach deemed it time to stop heaving.
Eyes widened in horror at what had just happened to him, Race glanced at newly coated pants and shoes, along with the floor before placing the bowl of chicken broth he had been holding on a chair and silently left the room.
Ravenna simply starred in shock at the ajar door, unable to comprehend what she had just done. A lady would never have too much to drink, let alone get a hangover from it that she would suffer through the next day with, and a lady would never, ever throw up upon the person who woke them the next morning, even if it happened to be the person who influenced their garish behavior the night before.
Uncharacteristic tears started to well up in Ravenna's eyes as she realized how truly helpless she was; here she was lying in bed, practically an invalid due to the massive headache she was suffering from, unable to clean up her own vomit which peppered the floor, and of which the smell was beginning to cause her stomach to rethink its earlier decision to stop heaving.
At that moment Elena entered her room causing Ravenna's tears to trickle down her cheeks. Only now, the tears that had only a few seconds ago been because of self-pity were now for joy. Ravenna knew that Elena would make things better; she just had a knack for that.
"I threw up on Race"
Elena laughed at her statement and she couldn't help but give a weak smile of her own to her newly entered angel.
"I can tell that preziosa. But I can't say he didn't deserve that for what he did to you last night. It is his just desserts no?"
Shaking her head from side to side she carefully went around to the other side of Ravenna's bed and slowly helped her to stand. "I am going to send Race to look after your two patients. Originally I was going to, but then Mama wanted me to help her in the kitchen today and so I sent Anthony to look after Mush and Les and Race was to look after you. However, I think Race has seen the errors in his ways and won't be doing any welcoming anymore, especially after I have him clean up this mess."
Glancing at her handy work on the floor Ravenna grimaced.
"I think I should apologize to him."
"Oh don't worry about that right now preziosa. There will be plenty of time to do so after we get you cleaned up and some food in that empty stomach. You might not be hungry at the moment, but broth is the best thing for the pains of a morning after celebration."
Leading her down the hall Elena took her to the water closet and proceeded to help clean her up. After she was bathed and her mouth had been rinsed out, Ravenna was lead to a new room, one adjacent from her old room, and settled into a soft welcoming bed. All she wanted to do was close her eyes and gain a few more hours of sleep, however Elena had another plan. Packing pillows behind her for cushion, Elena propped Ravenna up and forced her to drink at least half a bowl of chicken broth.
"I told you before; this is the best thing for a hang over. I know it doesn't seem very appetizing in light of what happened this morning, but if you have at least half a bowl now, by the time you wake up, I promise you, you will feel better than you would if you had nothing."
Sighing in defeat, Ravenna complied with Elena's wishes and half a bowl of broth was gone before Ravenna's eyes closed and stayed shut for a few hours.
Slowly opening her eyes, Ravenna surmised by the lack of substantial sunlight filtering in through her window, that it must be around five o'clock in the afternoon. Blinking a few times in an attempt to wake herself, she noticed that while her head did not feel as if it had been trampled upon anymore, she was still not feeling up to par. She found that she could sit up and even stand without feeling nauseous, but her head still felt a bit out of sorts. A soft knock upon the door disrupted her from her thoughts and Ravenna slowly padded over and opened it.
Elena gave Ravenna a soft smile before making her way into the room with a tray that carried beef stew and warm biscuits. Placing it upon a table that was stationed under the room's solitary window, she turned towards Ravenna and motioned for her to sit. Not realizing how hungry she was until the aroma of the warm meal tickled her nose; she graciously followed Elena's instructions and began to fill her empty stomach.
Taking the seat opposite of her, Elena scrutinized Ravenna's face making her feel as if she had made a terrible faux pa and managed to dribble beef stew down her chin. Wiping the said place daintily with her napkin, Ravenna proceeded to voice her question.
"What's the matter Elena? Do I have something upon my face?"
A quick smile spread itself upon Elena's lips as she gently shook her head.
"No, it is nothing like that, sorry for worrying you, I was simply trying to asses whether or not you seemed to be showing any further signs of a morning after Friday Night Poker." Tilting her head slightly to the side, her cattish eyes bored into Ravenna's golden ones. "How are you feeling? I assume the nausea is gone?"
A blush quickly spread itself upon Ravenna's cheeks. She still could not believe that she had acted in such an unladylike fashion. If word spread around she knew she would never live that down.
As if guessing the worry that had decided to pray upon Ravenna, Elena chuckled and waved her hand in a dismissing fashion.
"Don't worry, I doubt Race will want to spread the word around that he was thrown up upon. If you think about it, the story reflects more poorly upon him than it does you."
A smile flittered across Ravenna's lips as she fought with herself as to whether or not she wanted to approve of her earlier behavior. Deciding that humor would be the only way to deal with such an incident, it was Ravenna's turn to chuckle.
"I do not think I will ever forget Race's face, he was utterly flabbergasted."
"I know! I have never seen Race in such a daze. He came into the kitchen and could not answer the question of what happened for over a minute."
Both girls shared in their laughter at Race's expense for a few more minutes until Ravenna finished her dinner.
"Thank you, that was delicious"
"Era niente preziosa"
Moving towards the door, try in hand, Elena paused before letting herself out.
"Sogni dolci"
"Voi ugualmente Elena"
A few minuets after Elena had left Ravenna went back to sleep, despite the fact she had only woken just recently.
The next day found Ravenna early because of all the time she had spent asleep the day before. Dressing and readying herself at a leisurely pace, Ravenna was still ready with time to spare. She ambled her way down to the kitchen and found Ferocious lapping at a saucer of cream near a stove.
"You really will spoil her Elena."
The Italian woman chuckled as she wiped her hands upon her apron.
"As if she would be consuming something different at your house."
Both smiled at this statement because they knew that what Elena said was true. Ferocious would be just as pampered at Ravenna's house as she was here if not worse. Walking over to pick up her newly acquired friend, Ravenna gently rubbed the kitten's soft fur against her face as she spoke to it.
"I fear you are in for one pampered like Ferocious. I hope you won't miss the streets too much, because it is likely that the only time you will see one is when you are thrown outside for nature's call or mischief, and if that is the case I highly doubt anyone will be able to stay mad at you for long."
As if to say that she fully agreed with the little speech her owner had made, Ferocious let out a tiny 'Meow' before bumping her head against Ravenna's chin and purring.
Much to Ferocious' chagrin, Ravenna placed the kitten back upon the floor and turned her attention to the breakfast that Elena had placed upon the kitchen table. Once she had consumed the excellently prepared meal, Ravenna gratefully thanked her friend and proceeded towards the Newsie Lodging House to take care of her patients.
It was not until she had stepped into the house that she fully remembered the events of Friday afternoon. What had she done? She had kissed him, her patient, a gypsy! What was she to do? She certainly had no plan on repeating Friday's blunder, but what did he think about the entire issue? He wouldn't expect her to be pleasant to him now would he? Civil she could do, but being amiable to a gypsy? Her caramel hues widened, he certainly didn't expect them to duplicate Friday's impairment in judgment, did he? Hundreds of other questions seemed to plague Ravenna's mind as she turned the closed door to the "sick ward" and was greeted with Mush's smile.
Oh no, he definitely has something up his sleeve, look at that smile, how he is showing off his dimples as if he knows the power they hold over me. Wait a minute; no one's dimples have a hold over me and certainly not his. Fixing a rather determined expression upon her face, Ravenna proceeded to head straight over towards Mush when she was interrupted by Les.
"Hi Nettle, how are you today?"
Giving a somewhat frustrated sigh, she briefly closed her eyes before replying.
"I'm fine Les."
"Mush woke up yesterday, isn't that great?"
Trying to retain her patience for she needed to deal with the matter of Friday's lapse in judgment, she managed to bite out, "Yes Les, that's wonderful, now I really need to" before she was interrupted.
"He woke up yesterday around noon and asked how long he had been asleep."
"That's great Les… he what?"
Ravenna's sudden interest in what he had to say fueled Les' desire to share his exciting news with his Nettle.
"Yeah, Mush doesn't remember anything of the last few days. He says that the last thing he remembers is coming to the lodging house and having a brief fight with you and then waking up yesterday."
Unable to comprehend that she might be able to go throughout her life being the only one to know that she had locked lips with a gypsy was too much for her to comprehend at the moment. She had worked herself up for a confrontation, and for it to be ripped away from her was disconcerting. She had to make sure that this joyous news was true. Turning to the person in question, who had a rather amused expression upon his face at being the subject of a conversation while being present, she blurted out "Is he telling the truth?"
The amused smile did not leave his lips as he answered her.
"Yes, what he is saying is true. I have no recollection of the past few days. I only vaguely remember arguing over the fact that I was not sick." His smile turned a bit sheepish, yet he still refused to admit that he was wrong, and for some reason, whether it was because of the sudden good news that fortune had sent her way or something else entirely, she had no desire to force that issue with him today.
A/N: Hides from the blood thirsty reviewers due to the lack of updating. OK, no excuses besides the fact that my muses left me and then came back suddenly *cringes* Je suis très désolé! To make it up for you I am currently writing chapter 14, wont even wait for reviews. I do hope that everyone liked this chapter though. OH! I also wanted to say that if you want to be informed by e-mail when this fic has been updated please let me know in your review and leave your e-mail addy. Thanks. :o)
Era niente preziosa = It was nothing precious
Sogni dolci = Sweet dreams
"Voi ugualmente Elena = You equally Elena
JP: Yes, you were the first reviewer for ch 12 and for 13 as well! Hehe. Thank you so much for always reviewing my chapters and for Beta-ing them for me as well! I'm sure others like that also hehe. I'm glad you liked the chapters; your opinion always means so much to me! *huggles JP*
Lil Rain Angel: Glad you liked the muses idea to have nettle get a bit tipsy *snickers* I hope you liked the newest installment.
Cookechk: But of course I'd get it up for your B'Day! I had to! I'm so glad you liked it, and I hope that you like this chapter as well…hehe sneaky aren't I? You go on vacation and I update muahahaha. Think of it as a welcome home present hehe.
Rumor: Oh I love your reviews! They are so nice and long! Hehe. Thank you so much for your help in the last chapter. It would be no where without you! Hehe. I'm so glad you liked it, I had to add the water part in because even though she was rather tipsy, I doubt she would have continued to drink, this being her first time and all hehe. My experience with cider is at the Ren faire, they have it there and I've tasted it. Mmmmm that stuff is good! Stupid law of being 21! Again thanks for your help and loverly reviews. I hope this chapter meets your expectations.
Hottie5Star: I'm so glad that you are enjoying my story. I couldn't help but add in the Corrupting!Race and Naieve!Rav bit, I thought it added to the story hehe. So many people write their OCs knowing what they are doing that I thought it would be fun to explore one that didn't. :o) Hope you enjoyed this installment.
AaronLohrLover24: Glad you liked chapter 12 and especially 13 hehe. They both were my babies, but chapter 13 is near and dear 'cause my extended family constantly plays poker when we get together. (Lovely family bonding isn't it LoL) I was just hoping that I explained it well enough that the non poker players could understand it. So what you said was a real compliment to me. I'm sorry it took so long to update but I hope you liked it. :o)
Raeghann: *huggles Raeghann* Glad you liked the kiss, I wasn't sure whether or not it would be ok 'cause *mumbles under breath 'I've never been kissed'* So, I was hoping it would be realistic. :o) Don't worry, I will always need to pick your brain, 'cause you just help me so much! I wouldn't have thought of a poker night w/o you or a masquerade either. Hope you liked this chapter. :o)
Mushlovr: Ok, sorry bout that. Glad to have that cleared up. Thank you for your reviews, I'm glad you like my story. I hope you like the latest chapter. :o)
Pixiedust: Glad you liked it, hope you like this one as well.
Mondie: *huggles her* Yeah! You reviewed every chapter that you missed! Oh that made me feel so special! Hehe. Glad you liked the drunk!Nettle part, I had to add it in, the muses wouldn't let me continue until I wrote that chapter. Sorry Aaron Didn't go with you but hey, a signed pic that wished you happy 18th aint too shabby hehe. I can understand why you ran around screaming. :o)
Megabee Athlete: Oooh! Another closet reviewer comes out! Heheh. I'm glad you like my story enough to review simply to get me to write another chapter hehe. Sorry for taking so long, and I'm really glad that you like the story line, I can never hear that enough. :o)
2 Friends: Glad you like my story, and I hope you liked the update. Sorry it too k so long! Gah! Stupid muses!