Chapter 7
"Ivy! Lucifer! Oh how I've missed you both. Come give your old father a hug." He said, smiling brightly. I hesitated and looked at my father. He looked exactly the same as when I was last here, 12 years ago. He still had his black hair and moustache, his same grey-blue eyes and same scratchy voice.
"Hello, papa." I said, hugging him. He hugged me tightly and kissed my cheek.
"It's been too long, my dear. You've taken good care of her, Lucifer." My father said, looking to Luc and walking over to him.
"She is my younger sister." Luc said as he smiled softly at our father.
"You have grown to be a capable, strong young man, Lucifer. I have missed you as well." he said, hugging Luc the way only a father would hug his son.
"Lord Winchester, I have the latest news from Gabriel…" Cassie said, bowing. My father let Luc go and nodded.
"My superior has recently informed me that His Majesty wishes for Ivy and Luc to stay at his palace. It will only be for the duration of their stay and His Majesty said that it would be safer for the out coming." Cassie said in her guardian voice. I looked to my father with wide, fearful eyes. Surely he would not agree to this. What would Morning Star need us to stay at his palace for? And what was this 'out coming'?
"As His Majesty wishes. Ivy, Lucifer. Have the maids dress you both in something proper. And have them get rid of your earth bound, human clothes. And Guardian Cassandra, I trust that you will be accompanying them as well?" he said. Cassie nodded.
"Yes, Sir. I was also requested to stay with them, for help with the preparations." she said. My father smiled and whistled, two servants walking through the door. One male, one female. I saw that the female of the two was Skye and smiled.
"Skye, Ren. You will be accompanying Ivy and Lucifer to His Majesty's palace. Please see to it that they dress in proper clothes. I'm counting on you two." He said, smiling lightly. Skye and the male, Ren, nodded and murmured 'yes sir' in unison. Luc started to protest but Cassie's look silenced him.
"Come now, Miss Ivy. Let's get you into something more suitable, shall we?" Skye said, taking my hand and leading me out of my fathers' office. I glanced at Luc to see him being led out of the room by Ren, before following Skye as she led me to a heavily decorated room. I looked around and saw a vanity, bathroom, and a big dressing chest.
"Ivy, dear. You would look lovely in this gown." Skye said, opening the chest and pulling out a purple and silver ball gown. It had a corseted bodice with silver vines around it and vines at the hem.
"It is pretty…but I haven't worn a dress like this since I was little. So I'm afraid that I'll trip on the hem or something…" I said. Skye smiled and motioned for me to undress.
"You'll be fine, dear. Trust me." she said. I sighed and turned around, undressing. Skye placed the gown in my hands and I pulled it on.
"Okay, now this might hurt a teensy bit…" she said as she pulled at the strings in the back of the dress, making the corset tighter and pushing my chest up and my stomach in. I gasped for breath and she quickly tied the corset strings.
"There we go…see, you look beautiful, Ivy." Skye said. I turned around to stand in front of the big, full body mirror to examine myself. I reveled in shock. It made me look like I had a thin waist, curvy hips and a full, luminous chest. I smiled brightly and looked to Skye.
"I told you that you'd look beautiful. Now…what shall I do with your hair? Perhaps we should put it up?" she said, leading me over to the vanity. I sat down and she took out a brush, stroking my hair into a tight bun, keeping all of my hair from my neck. She pinned the bun in place with a jeweled clip and let a few strands from my bangs fall over my face.
"Almost done…" she said and began using mascara for my lashes, putting kohl (eye liner) around on my eyes and blush on my cheeks. Skye stepped back and smiled brightly.
"There, it's perfect." she said. I looked at my face in the mirror and smiled, I looked like a beautiful princess.
"Thank you Skye…" I said as I hugged her. I heard a knock at the door and I stiffened.
"I believe it's time to go, Ivy." Skye said, tying a black cloak around my neck and pulling the hood up. She put on her own cloak and opened the door for me. As I walked out of the room into the hallway, I saw four guards.
"Hello miss my name is Carter, we have a carriage waiting outside for you. Your brother will be accompanying you later, at the palace." One of the guards said. He had a blonde buzz cut and hazel eyes. I nodded my thanks and they led me and Skye down to the carriage.
As Skye and I stepped outside my fathers' house towards the carriage, I saw a boy a little older than me leaning against the carriages side. He was clothed in a warriors gear, combat boots, loose pants and black t-shirt. I looked at him from far away and saw his clear-blue eyes and medium length black hair with silver streaks. When he saw me and Skye he stood up straight and smiled.
"Hello, Madam Ivy. Miss Skye." He said in the most seductive sounding voice I had ever heard. My body twitched and as Skye got into the carriage, I stopped and looked at him close up. He was beautiful, flawless.
"Madam Ivy, my name is Nathaniel, but most people call me Nate. I am 17 years old and have been selected to guard you on your way to His Majesty's palace." he said, bowing.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Nate." I said as he stood up from his bow. Nate smirked and grabbed my hand.
"The pleasure is all mine…" he said as he brought my hand to his lips and kissed it, his piercing eyes never leaving mine. I blushed as his warm lips left my hand and turned around to step up into the carriage. I almost screamed as his hands wrapped around my waist from behind and lifted me up into the carriage.
"Up you go…..Ivy." he said, letting his hands linger around me a little too long. I wanted to fall back into his arms and melt, but I took a shaky step forward and sat in the carriage next to Skye. Nate closed the door to the carriage and I heard him shout something to the driver. I almost fell forward as the carriage gave a lurch and we began the short ride to Morning Star's palace.
"Remember to never let her out of your sight, Slater. She needs to be protected until I out her. She will know that she is different when she gets here, but make her feel special." the man said to me. I sighed.
"Of course, Sir." I said. He smiled and nodded his head.
"In the meantime, I have assigned someone to be her escort." He said.
"May I ask her escorts' name, Sir…?" I said curiously.
"Nathaniel Shaw. I do believe that he is one of your friends' older brothers…" he said. I nodded, trying to hide my distaste at the mention of Nate.
"Well, she should be here any minute now… Go and check on the preparations." He said, dismissing me. I bowed and walked out of the room, curious to see the girl that Morning Star had assigned me, Cal, Eric, Mike, and Adam to protect.
Stepping out of the carriage with Skye, I looked up at Morning Star's palace. It was big, looming, and strangely beautiful, in a gothic way.
"I am to escort you to where you will be staying…" Nate said, smirking. I stiffened and held my head so that the hood of my cloak still hid my face. I looked around for Skye and saw a group of maids leading her away from me, probably to the maids' quarters, I thought. The driver pulled the carriage away and Nate held out his hand.
"My lady…" he said, grinning. I paid him no attention as I walked towards the palace, my long dress and cloak billowing behind me. I heard the heavy thud of Nate's combat boots as he followed me. I stopped in front of the big double doors and Nate linked his arm in mine.
"Welcome to His Majesty's palace, Ivy." he said, opening the door with his other hand. We walked inside and Nate led me up several flights of stairs to a hallway with several guards lining either side of the walls. As Nate led me past them, I kept my head low, my hood shielding my face.
"Here we are…" Nate said, opening a tall gold-trimmed white door, leading me through. I gasped at the spacious room; it had a big black and crimson canopied bed in the middle with a large, fully stocked walk-in closet, a huge bathroom and a vanity.
"You should be comfortable here. His Majesty will see you at dinner and I will come to escort you…until then." Nate said, running his hand up my arm and reaching up to caress my cheek. My body reacted by leaning into his touch and sighing, but it wasn't enough. My body wanted more, I wanted more; I wanted to be held by those strong arms and feel his soft touch… I jerked away from him and he smirked. What was happening to me? I was thinking like some lovesick idiot.
"What's wrong, Ivy…" he said, wrapping his arms around me and bending down by my cloaked face since he was at least 3 inches taller than me. I reacted quickly, putting my hands against his chest and shoving him away from me.
"Leave…now!" I said, turning away from him and taking a deep breath. I sensed him linger for a moment more and leave the room. I crumpled to my knees and looked at my hands, they were shaking. I stood up and pulled off my cloak, tossing it onto the edge of the bed to see myself in the full-bodied mirror across from me. I was blushing and panting, trying to catch my breath. I took a deep breath and put my ear to the door, listening for any guards or Nate. I didn't hear anyone, but so nobody saw me at all I put my cloak on and closed my eyes. Murmuring a phrase in Latin, I felt my magic warm my body and opened my eyes. Looking at my hands, I smiled…it had worked. I had made myself invisible. Walking to the door, I listened again and in the blink of an eye, opened and closed the door quietly, leaving me standing in the hallway. I looked around and saw the guards at the end of the hall, standing as stiff as statues. I smiled and kept silent as I made my way down the hall. Exploring the palace on my own, safely because nobody could see me, was exhilarating. Then I came to a pair of majestic, double-doors. My curiosity got the best of me; I quickly and quietly opened the door and walked in, closing them as quick and as silent as I had opened them.
I almost gasped aloud as I surveyed the large room. It was His Majesty's gathering hall. I walked quietly over to the black and red throne chairs and marveled at the designs. It was black wood carved with slashes of red and gold… His Majesty's colors. I felt the urge to sit in one of the beautifully decorated throne chairs, but knew that if I did someone would know I was in here. I didn't hear him coming…well, you don't when you're not on your guard.
"What do we have here? Nobody is allowed here unless His Majesty allows..." an oddly familiar voice said, grabbing my arm. I gasped in shock; this person could see me, even though I had made myself invisible. I bowed my head so that whoever it was, they would not see my face, and tried to pull my arm away.
"I am deeply sorry sir, it won't happen again." I said, and the man let go of my arm.
"Very well… go then." the man said, a hint of stupor in his voice. I wasted no time leaving, walking quickly to the double doors from which I had entered. Running hurriedly to my room, I almost knocked into Skye. She had been standing inside my room, waiting for me. I closed the door behind me and made myself visible.
"Miss Ivy, I thought you'd have snuck out by now to explore." She said, chuckling. I nodded and discarded my cloak.
"Yes. I wanted to gain my bearings. And maybe explore a bit too." I said, smiling. Skye walked over to the big dressing chest and started looking through it.
"What color would you like to wear to the welcoming banquet?" she asked. I kneeled beside her and started going through the chest, looking at all of the brightly colored gowns. I stopped when a darker colored gown caught my eye and, pulling it carefully from the chest, I stood up to examine it. It was a dark red, almost maroon, with black lace and a corseted top. It was beautiful.
"That one, Miss Ivy?" Skye said smiling. I nodded and turned around so that Skye could help me with the ties at the back of the dress that I was currently wearing. After I shook of the current dress, Skye helped me into the dark red one. As she laced up the corseted top, I thought about Luc. I hadn't seen him since this morning and I was kind of worried about him. He was notorious for angering His Majesty, and I didn't want him to get in any more trouble.
"All done, Miss Ivy. Shall I do your hair and perhaps help you with your makeup?" Skye asked when she had finished lacing up my dress.
"I would like that…" I said, smiling and sitting down on the vanity chair. Skye smiled and set to work, pulling my hair this way and that. It was about twenty minutes later that she allowed me to turn around and have a look at what she had done to my hair. When I saw my hair, I gasped. Skye had made my pin straight hair into a beautiful arrangement of corkscrew curls, and even though she had pulled it up and piled it on top of my head, it looked amazing.
"Do you like it?" she asked. I nodded feverously and smiled.
"I love it." I exclaimed, turning to hug her. I embraced her and she chuckled.
"Looks like you don't need any makeup tonight, dearie. You look beautiful enough without it." She said. I sighed.
"Ok, what time is it anyway?" I asked, looking around for a clock. Skye looked at the clock on my bedside table and her brows furrowed.
"It's time to get going to the banquet hall…" she said, picking up yet another of my cloaks. This one was black with a maroon clasp. She put it on me and gently put the hood over my head.
"Now, Ivy. I am only allowed as far as the doors to the banquet hall, so you must be brave and have fun without me." She said, taking my hand and leading me down the hallway.