Sorry I didn't get this up earlier, I was spending the last day of school with my best friend, and didn't have time to type up the remainder of this chapter. Like I always say, your reviews/subscriptions mean the world to me! Seriously, they make me feel so much better about my writing!
Rosabelle chewed on her lip thoughtfully, sitting with her ankles crossed on the counter. Charles didn't have feelings for Marianne, right? He couldn't possibly…the age gap is much too large. Besides, Marianne seemed quite cozy with Hank. As she pondered this, Charles entered the room and she controlled her thoughts, instead thinking about snowball fights and sledding.
"Charles," she said, and he looked up at her for a quick second.
"Yes, my love?" he asked absently, glancing back down at the paper.
"Do you fancy Marianne?" He sputtered on the sip of tea he was drinking, coughing for a second before looking at her in disbelief.
"Heaven's no! Why…why on Earth would you think that?"
"It's just that…" she trailed, glancing down at her hands. "Never mind, it's ridiculous. I don't even know why I asked." He walked over and stood in front of her, studying her face.
"Rosabelle," he said, "why do you think that I fancy Marianne? Don't make me go digging around in there." He poked her forehead and she rolled her eyes.
"I just…saw her kiss you and I assumed that…" Her cheeks warmed considerably and her eyes went back down to her hands. A chuckle grabbed her attention and she looked up at Charles, who was smiling. He took her face in his hands and rubbed her cheekbones with his thumbs.
"Oh Rose, my dear, I could never fancy Marianne."
"Then why did she kiss you?" Rosabelle blurted, already regretting asking.
"I answered a question that was very important to her. Trust me Rose, I do not fancy Marianne. I already have eyes for someone else." Rosabelle's breath caught in her throat and she crooked an eyebrow.
"Who?" she asked, her voice hoarse. Something flashed in his eyes, she couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, and he released her face, backing away with a small smile.
"Well, if you hadn't figured it out by now then I suppose it doesn't matter anyway." Her eyebrows scrunched.
"What are you talking about? I was supposed to have figured it out by now? I'm not a mind reader, Charles; you need to talk to me."
"Sometimes I wish you were a mind reader," he murmured and she looked at him oddly.
"Charles, I don't understand what you're saying." He pursed his lips and shook his head.
"Just forget I even said anything," he replied, walking out of the kitchen. Rosabelle groaned in frustration and ran a hand over her face, shaking her head.
"Men."
xxxxOxxxx
Lucy hummed quietly to herself as she strolled down the corridors. Since it was a snow day, she was determined to explore every part of the mansion she could find. The area she was currently in was very isolated, but then again the whole freaking mansion was isolated. There were only eight people staying in it, and they usually kept themselves on the first and second floors.
Not Lucy.
Ever since she was young she's been an explorer. Her mother would constantly lose her in grocery stores or while camping because Lucy was unable to resist the itch to find places that probably no one else has discovered. It was an exhilarating feeling, discovering nooks and crannies and secret doorways seen by her eyes only. And this was a mansion for God sakes! There had to be at least one secret doorway.
"Alright mansion," she whispered under her breath, running her fingers along the wall, "let's see what you're hiding." She peeked into all of the rooms, not finding anything very interesting, until she opened one door and found that it was very dark, even though all of the other rooms' lamps were on.
"What in the world?" she whispered, walking slowly inside. She flicked on a lamp and her eyes widened. Someone had obviously been staying in this room, but it looked as if the occupant hadn't been in there in a very long time. A terry cloth robe was draped over one of the arm chairs, and the vanity still had makeup sitting on it, although she could see a thin white layer of dust covering the polished wood and containers of makeup. Lucy walked farther into the room and ran her hand over the robe. It was still soft, even with the cloud of dust that lifted from it when her hand touched it.
Then, she noticed a container sitting on the table by the chairs, still open. The impressions in the velvet told her it was meant for two needles, but there was only one sitting there, covered in dust like everything else. Inside of the needle was a green liquid, and she got a funny feeling in her stomach. A voice in her mind told her that she should leave it alone and leave the room but a larger, much louder voice told her that an investigation was in order. Slowly, Lucy reached down and gingerly picked up the lone needle, holding it close to her face. She blew off the dust and flicked the part with the green liquid in it.
"What is this?" she asked aloud, studying it carefully. It didn't look harmless, maybe a drug to help sleep or something. But then again, the other needle was gone, as was the occupant of this room, so she decided not to take any chances.
She set it back in the box just as a voice said, "You really shouldn't be in here." She spun around to face Sean leaning against the doorway, a forlorn look on his handsome Irish face.
"Who…who was staying here?" she asked quietly, starting to walk towards him.
"Raven, Charles' little sister. She could shape shift, it was pretty sweet."
"What happened to her?" She was now in front of him and his hand was on her back, slowly leading her out.
"She went with Erik, who went nuts." He twirled his finger next to his head and Lucy nodded slowly. "Hank really liked her, even tried to make a cure for her. That's what's in that needle, from what I understand." She pulled back from Sean as her hand flew up to her throat.
"That's a cure?" she asked, her voice cracking. She turned and started walking back towards Raven's room, but a hand gripped her wrist and she looked back at Sean.
"You know how Hank is all blue and furry?" She nodded. "That's what the so called 'cure' did. It didn't cure him at all. It enhanced his mutation." Her eyes widened as the door to Raven's room swung shut on its own accord, and she winced as it locked. "That was probably Charles. He loves Raven, but doesn't like to talk about her. Never even goes in her room anymore."
"What was she like before she left?" A nostalgic smile appeared on his face.
"She was wonderful," he muttered, turning that smile towards her. "C'mon, let's go explore some other part of the mansion." His hand slid down from her wrist and intertwined their fingers, just like the night before.
"I want to hear more about Raven," she responded, unable to control her curiosity now. He chuckled.
"Okay then, walk with me and I'll tell you all about her. And Erik and Darwin and Angel. You probably would have liked Darwin, he was awesome." She smiled sadly at the tone in his voice, and listened as he began to tell her about all his adventures with the others.
xxxxOxxxx
Elisabeth sighed and tapped her pencil against her lips for a moment before her face lit up with inspiration and she scribbled down a few sentences in the leather bound journal she'd had since she learned how to write.
"Hey beautiful," a voice greeted her and she looked up, smiling as Alex entered the lounge and sat down at her feet.
"Hi handsome," she replied absentmindedly.
"What are you doing?"
"Writing, now hush." He chuckled and she wrote a few more sentences before setting the pencil in there as a bookmark, setting it down on the table before looking at him expectantly. "What did you want?"
"Am I not allowed to sit by my girlfriend every once and a while?"
"No." He laughed and grabbed her hand, tugging it until she let him pull her into his lap, her legs stretching across the couch. She smiled at him, brushing a piece of blond hair out of his face. "I'm taking you to a barber when the snow clears," she muttered and he grinned.
"You can't go outside, remember?"
"Then I'll cut it myself. If I don't, soon it'll cover your face and I won't be able to do this." She leaned over and kissed him sweetly, making it last for a few seconds before pulling back.
"Oh no you don't," he murmured. "That's just being mean." She giggled as he placed a hand on the back of her neck and pulled her into another kiss. She adjusted herself so that she was straddling him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He poked his tongue into her mouth, just like all of the other times they kissed, and ran his hands down her curves, his fingers moving under her shirt and gently brushing her skin. She gasped in the kiss, her eyes opening, and he smiled, moving his hands up her torso at an achingly slow pace.
"Stop teasing me," she whispered breathlessly and he chuckled, the tips of his fingers brushing her bra-line-
"Hello children." The two pulled apart and Elisabeth was off of Alex in record time.
"Hi Charles," she muttered, smiling at him. He gave them both a knowing look before smiling and walking out of the lounge.
"That was close," Alex muttered, and she laughed, nodding in agreement.
"Way too close," she replied, but still leaned over to kiss him for a few moments before pulling back sitting against the arm of the couch, her feet resting on Alex's lap. He smiled and crawled up to where she was. He used his hands to keep himself from falling onto Elisabeth, leaning down and returning the kiss with passion. She kissed him back, placing her hands on his chest to keep him from falling as well. He pulled back and started kissing her neck.
"Alex," she tried to whisper, but it came out as more of a moan. "We're on the couch in the lounge." He lifted his head.
"Right…your room or mine?" She laughed and rolled her eyes, pushing him off of her.
"I'm not sleeping with you…not yet anyway." The wink she sent him caused chills to run up and down his spine.
Alex was willing to wait, as long as it was for Elisabeth.
I don't know about this one, it's kind of rubbish. I suppose I'm just tired from the last day of exams and everything, but I felt like I owed you guys one today for all the amazing reviews. Seriously, it makes me write better. The next one should be better, but I'm still sort of planning it out. So this one, for once, isn't at least 2,000 words (omigawd, it's blasphemy!) but honestly, I just didn't have the energy to write out 2,000 words. But like I said, I felt like I owed y'all a new chapter today.