Disclaimer in Chapter 1

Chapter 6

"Are you going to attempt contact with her, Sir?" Alfred asked.

Reece glanced over to his driver, "I just want to see if she's alright." He climbed out of his car, which was parked across the street. Meg had just come out of the house to fetch the day's mail, when he noticed her, "Megan, how wonderful to see you!"

Meg froze the moment she heard him call out to her. She gazed at him coldly, "What do you want?"

Reece gasped sarcastically, "What a rude little girl you are!"

"I'm not a little girl." She replied through gritted teeth. She made a motion towards the mail box, but he suddenly blocked her path.

"Come now. I thought we were friends."

Neither of them had known that Andrew had peeked out the window and spotted Reece. "You are either damned cocky or utterly foolish." Andrew announced his presence.

Reece glared over Meg to Andrew, "Relax, old man! I'm only here peacefully."

"Meg, get inside." Andrew sternly commanded.

"But the mail!" She protested.

"I'll get it." He countered. "Just go inside!" She instantly obeyed. "So…you're here peacefully?" Andrew gave a snort of laughter.

Reece nodded, controlling the urge to shove this pestering priest aside and run to Angel. "I just want to know if she's ok. She wasn't on set today."

Andrew eyed him warily, "And how would you know she wasn't on set?"

"Damn." Reece swore under his breath at giving himself away in his moment of panic. He sighed, "Alright…fine…so I had her on watch—or would've had someone there as an observer."

"Obviously foolish." Andrew shook his head at Reece.

"What?"

"Give it up, Atkins. You won't have her." Andrew warned Reece.

"We'll see about that." Reece's smugness quickly dissipated into seriousness, "But she's ok right?"

Andrew was taken aback by Reece's sudden sincere concern, "She's fine." He waved Reece off before the real reason was revealed.

A wave of relief flowed through Reece, "But what happened?"

"Go home before I throw you out on your ass, boy!" Andrew threatened. After a moment of tenseness, Reece walked away.

Governors, mayors and other political riffraff gathered noisily within the convention hall. With the assembly about to begin, they eagerly filled the seats. Chancellor Araphim Cheyvon sat waiting on the stage. Seated next to him was Angel—nine years old at the time—in a temperament that denied her age. Araphim insisted that they test her. She had only been with them a little over a year and they were eager to see her in action.

Finally, the unsuspecting guests were seated and quiet. As Araphim stepped up to the podium, he noted many of the guests had taken notice of Angel and weren't shy to silently express their displeasure for having a child in an adult function. He grinned in knowing that the reason for her presence would be revealed in a matter of moments.

Araphim quickly tapped the microphone to test it and then began his introductory speech. The words came easily to him now—as he spent the entire previous week mercilessly rehearsing. After he finished, a few politicians approached the podium to give their spheal. Before the third speaker was finished, Angel interrupted him right on cue.

She was pre-instructed by Araphim to intrude on the 'meeting' upon the breakout of the first heated debate. Up until this moment, she sat off to the side of the stage with a grace that was beyond her apparent years. "Ladies and Gentlemen…cease this foolishness." Before the group attempted to verbally brush her aside, Angel launched right into her tirade. In a matter of minutes, she had the crowd under her control.

Araphim proceeded to touch her shoulder—a signal for her to release her hold on the crowd. But the power overwhelmed the child. In an instant, she had turned on Araphim, drawing him under the same hold the others were under.

A voice then boomed over hers—and it sounded angry. Angel recognized the voice to be HIS—her father. With but a stern word from him, she obediently released her hold over the room. It didn't stop there, however. He obviously was still angry—and approached her to…in all essences…give her a spanking, such as a naughty child would receive.

In the same moment that her dream self was touched, she awoke to gentle hands shaking her. Immediately she thought it was her father, and fought uselessly to get away.

"Angel! NO!" Erik's voice failed at first to penetrate her sleepiness. "It's me, Erik!"

All at once, Angel grew still as her sight was filled with that of her lover—not her father. She crumpled instantly into his strong embrace and let a few tears decorate her face. "Erik!" Her silent cry morphed into a heartbreaking sob.

"Shh, it's alright now." Erik gently tousled the back of her head as he rocked her. He heard her sobs subside. "Tell me, my love, what had gotten you so upset." When she failed to reply, he pulled back to look at her. "Please don't bottle it up."

Softly she closed her eyes, to reopen them in the same motion. "Just a high point of my past, love." He caught the subliminal message that she didn't want to talk about it.

"Well, my dear. You slept through lunch…and almost through dinner." He alerted her.

The mention of lunch and dinner made her realize she was starving. "I missed dinner?!"

"No. We're just now sitting down to it." He rose up from the bed and helped her to her feet. Only then did he nurture the thought that his playing her to sleep didn't fill her with sweet dreams. Somehow he connected that happenstance to the fact that—figuratively speaking—she was leaning more towards her father. Erik shook off that thought for now, intent to focus on leading Angel downstairs to the others.

Claire could easily hear the ruckus Reece created in his room. She stood outside his door, pondering to abandon the task of delivering his late evening tea. But then she thought better, knowing that if she didn't, he would reprimand her later. She held the best record here as his servant, and wasn't about to let a temper tantrum ruin it.

Tentatively, she knocked on his door, "Your tea, Sir!?" Infinity must have passed before the door was opened and she was allowed into the room.

"Did I ever mention how honored I am to have you?" He questioned at the sight of her.

"Quite often, Sir." She replied as she handed him his tea.

"Not often enough." He rebuffed.

"If I may be so bold, Sir…" She waited for his permission.

"Oh yes, of course, what is it, Claire?" He was busily sipping the warm honey liquid.

"I assume from the current state of the office and its' master, that the masters lady isn't fairing well?"

Reece set the cup down and seemed to be in thought. "We don't know, Claire." He mortally revealed. "Keirnan reported that she is fine, but that could've been a lie."

While she listened, she set herself to clean up some. "I don't mean to sound prude, Sir, but perhaps Father Keirnan was truthful with his words."

He softly shook his head at her, "Maybe." Reece groaned in annoyance and ran a hand through his hair, "But it still doesn't put me at ease."

"If it's any consolation, then there isn't a doubt within me that she will be ready for you on opening night." Claire scooped up a pile of broken glass and proceeded to leave the room. "Sir, what shall I have the Chef prepare for your dinner?"

"Something light, Claire. I'm afraid I don't have much of an appetite." Quickly he touched her shoulder, "But thank you for your hopefulness."

The chairs around her at the table were filled with livid bodies, but Angel felt the complete opposite. Conversation flowed freely between her lover, her friends and her guardians—yet she felt unworthy of participating. From the edges of her vision, she noticed how each of them caste worried glances her way.

"Child, eat something before you waste away." Marie motherly urged her. Angel's response was to poke at the small piece of chicken on her plate.

"Maybe she's not totally awake yet." Meg had suggested.

Erik looked pointedly at Andrew before quickly glancing away, feigning interest in his glass of wine. "Pierre rescheduled your shoot today for tomorrow." He mentioned as he tried again to draw her into a conversation.

Angel glanced up then, "Ok." She took a sip of her drink before turning to Marie, "May I be excused?"

Marie quickly glanced to Andrew, who nodded assent. "Of course, child."

As Angel rose to her feet, she intentionally locked eyes with Andrew. He caught her subtle message that she wished to talk to him privately. "I need to use the restroom. Be right back." He purposely went the opposite way of Angel, but still managed to meet up with her in one of the back rooms. "Angel?"

When he walked into the room, she was resting against the window. For a split second, with the streetlight pouring over her, to him she was a real angel. Slowly she turned to him and frowned. "Don't look at me that way." Her words shook him from his unwanted reverie. When he looked at her again, she was facing him fully.

"Sorry." He sheepishly replied and then coughed to shift himself into seriousness.

"What happened this morning was a mistake." She began.

"I shouldn't have forced you to…"

She cut him off with a forceful shake of her head, "No. The training WAS needed, Father. I meant the kiss."

"Oh." He couldn't think of anything to say, and decided to let her lead the conversation for now.

"But that's not why I called you in here privately." She revealed as she stepped closer to him, lowering her voice. "I only feel safe enough to share this with you…"

"What is it, Angel?" He was eager to know.

"Well…" She hesitated, wondering how to put her words together. "…even though it was barely enough to be considered one session…I know how to sense him now."

Andrew's eyes went wide. "WHAT?"

"He was here earlier, wasn't he?" She continued. "While I was asleep, I felt his presence."

"It was odd." Andrew revealed. "He made no obvious move to get to you."

She scrunched her face up in thought, "Why?"

"He just seemed to want news of your condition."

"You didn't tell him I kissed you?!" Angel was suddenly worried. And in her worry, she began to fidget.

"No, heaven's no!" He gasped. "I just said you were fine and sent him off."

Angel sunk into an arm chair then. "Does Erik know about this?"

"As far as I know, only Meg and I know."

"Meg?" Her eyes shot up to him.

"She had gone out to get the mail and he approached her." He explained. "But don't worry; he didn't make any moves for her." Angel nodded and took a deep breath. With a little added convincing from Andrew, Angel rejoined them all at the table.

As Reece dug into his small dinner, he thought over the last assertive thing Claire said to him: "There isn't a doubt within me that she will be ready for you on opening night."

That brought elation to him. No my dear Claire…you are only half right. She is ready for me now…but I'm making us both wait. Again he recalled the phone conversation with her. It seemed like it took place ages ago, but in actuality, it was only yesterday morning that he used his voice to bring her begging for him. Reece laughed to himself with pleasure of the thought.

"Enough about thinking about what I've already done to her…I need to plan opening night!" He reached over to his intercom and switched it to speakerphone. He dialed to Claire's office.

"Yes, Sir?" She answered.

"Claire, yes...have you found yet what seats my dearest has gotten?"

She knew he meant about Angel and about opening night for Skywalker. Claire had to ruffle through a few documents scattered on her desk before finding the folder. "Yes, I have, Sir." She opened the folder and pulled out the venue seating map. "The first three rows on the main floor have been reserved to VIPs. A few seats within the second row on the right of the stage have been reserved under an Erik Duran."

Ah, the monster she is engaged to. He then tapped his desk in thought. "Claire, arrange for me to have the balcony…first row…so that I may watch her from above."

Claire quickly pulled up the screen on her computer. After typing a few keystrokes, she had the needed web page. "We're in luck, those seats are still available."

"Excellent, Claire." He shifted in his seat. "Now, about the party afterward…"

Claire beat him to the punch, showing just why she was top rated servant, "Your costume will be ready in two days. I have seen over it already and it is just as you ordered, Sir."

"Claire, I would like to say that you are a Godsend…but we all know that right belongs to someone else."

"I understand, Sir." Claire responded. "I'm quite looking forward to working for her as well."

"I just know she's gonna love you just as much as I do." Reece put his hand over the disconnect button. "Thank you for everything, Claire. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Sir."

Reece hung up and prepared for bed. Tomorrow was going to be a very hectic day.

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