Masquerade Lovers

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Musings

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Sam let the water run in her bathroom, and let the white dress, no longer pristine and clean, but crumpled and dirty, slip off her shoulders. She examined herself in the mirror. Although a little sore, her body looked none the worse, and it seemed that her only problem was aching muscles, but after the exertion of the last few hours, it could only be natural. There was something different about her, though, and she realized her eyes weren't sparkling. It must have been the exhaustion. She pulled her hair back, and saw a mark that had never been there before. It wasn't that obvious, but to those who knew her well, like Alex and Clover.

She remembered how she got that mark last night –

Sam stopped the water and poured in some sea salt and bath soaps, forming lots of bubbles. The water was warm to her touch, and relaxed her senses. She stepped inside, slowly, and one by one, felt all her troubles slipped away. She felt her exhaustion gradually lessen, and she felt calm.

It seemed forever, before she had relaxed enough to rinse her body and get out. She wore a robe and wrapped her long red hair with a towel, turban-style, and entered her room.

She frowned immediately, as she entered. Something was wrong. Someone had been in her room recently. There was something different –

The balcony door was opened. That was the first thing she noticed. She knew she'd left it closed, because she had not been anywhere near the balcony when she entered her room, being too exhausted to do anything more than slip off her dress and take a bath. Quickly, Sam closed it, and upon turning around, noticed a red rose on the study table, with a card. It was beautiful, but when she picked it up without a thought, she did not realize it had thorns, and it pricked her, drawing blood from her thumb and middle fingers. With a small yelp of pain, she dropped the flower onto the floor, and bent down, to pick it up. She took out one of those little vases she had, and filled it with water, before placing the red rose in it. She picked up the card, which was scented with jasmine (her favorite flower), and read it, hesitantly:

The red rose symbolizes you. Beautiful, but thorny, and painful.

Expect me soon.

The words were printed out in dark black ink on the pale card. Instinctively, she knew who the rose and card were from. She took the card, wanting to throw it into the rubbish bin, but for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to do that, and instead, she opened one of her empty drawers and threw it in there.

Had she known that a pair of fascinating eyes was watching her, she would undoubtedly have chosen a different course of action.

As it was, she had not a clue. She quickly changed, and dried her hair with the towel, before pulling it up in a ponytail, which she had begun to do recently, making sure the mark on her neck was covered, as a means to control her unruly long hair. She opened one of her books and began to study, losing herself in her work. She knew it was for this reason that Alex and Clover had accused her of growing distant, but she always felt more in control when she was studying and working. It was as if she could actually do something about it –

The door opened with a bang, interrupting Sam's trail of thoughts. She spun around, her emerald eyes ready to murder. It was only Clover, but she could make do and murder her.

Although she didn't really want to get into Blaine's bad side. Rumor had it (meaning, from Britney) that he was much stronger than before, and was a formidable opponent when it came to fighting.

"Sammie! Guess what?" Clover said, plopping onto her bed.

Sam sighed. "I'm a little busy at the moment, Clover. Why don't you cut to the chase and tell me what's going on?"

Clover pouted. "Come on, Sammie. Humor me a little! I'm going to get married!"

"Sorry, Clover." Sam shook her head. "Time and tide waits for no man – or girl, in our case. Make it snappy!"

"You're mean, Sam!" Clover stuck her tongue out.

"Oh yeah, that's realmatureof you, Clover," Sam rolled her eyes, but began to grin, in spite of herself. "I really can't guess! Ever since you started announcing that you were engaged and about to be married, well, crazy stuff has been happening."

"Britney's come to visit!" Clover yelled, as Alex and Britney entered the room.

"Oh my God! Britney!" For the first time since she reached home, Sam felt her mouth form a genuine smile. "How's married life? With a civilian, no less?"

Britney smiled happily, as Sam inspected the perfectly cut diamond ring on Britney's ring finger. "Charles is the most romantic person in the world! I admit, I had a moment of hesitation when I said Yes, because of getting married so young and all, but – when I saw him, looking at me with such love in his eyes (Sam froze at this) – I knew I wanted him to look at me that same way forever and ever! And it's been perfect ever since!"

"Does Charles know you're a WOOHP agent?" Alex asked, curious. Britney's face fell.

"No, he just knows that I work in the government," she sighed. "Which is true. But it aches me when he makes impromptu dinner reservations for the two of us and I'm not around, or any romantic dinner plan, for that matter. He is the sweetest person in the world."

"And loaded too, from what I can see," Clover's eyes twinkled in mischief.

"He is well-off," Britney admitted.

"You're way off!" Alex said. "He's loaded. Kind of convenient, huh?"

"He's a stockbroker," Britney smiled. "And when he's good at his job, we reap the benefits."

"It helps that WOOHP pays well too," Sam smiled. "Will we get to meet him?"

"Of course! We're staying at a nearby hotel. Beautiful room, overlooking the sea. I got switched with several agents, who have been relocated to Australia during your wedding."

"We wished we could have come to see yours," Clover said, mournfully. "We only got to see it via WOOHP's live TV, courtesy of Jerry."

"The old softie," Alex snickered fondly.

"How old is he, anyway?" Clover asked Britney her husband's age.

"Thirty-one."

"Seven years older than you? Isn't he going to want children, anytime soon?"

Britney's face turned pink. "We tried."

"Oh," Clover's hand flew to her mouth. "And –?"

Britney winked at Clover, but her face fell soon after. "I can't have a baby right now."

"Why not?" Alex's face fell as well.

"Because of WOOHP," Sam said, understanding.

"That's horrible!" Clover cried.

"WOOHP isn't taking any chances. Charles is a civilian and he needs to be as not associated with WOOHP as possible. They don't want any risk to the organization."

"That's pretty darned selfish, if you ask me!" Alex's face was contorted with anger. "It's your right to lead your life the way you want!"

"I don't want to endanger Charles!" Britney said, softly but firmly. "And I'm still young – it's not as if we'll never have another chance."

"Britney," Sam said softly.

Britney shook her head. Her eyes were filled with tears that would never fall. She was done crying about it, and had accepted her fate. Sam could read the expression on her face. As long as Charles was safe – that was all that mattered to Britney at that moment.

Clover left. "Does Blaine know about this?" She asked softly, but with a steely edge to her voice.

Britney shook her head. "I doubt it. I only knew about it after I married Charles."

Clover stalked out of the room.

"Poor Clover," Alex said. "I'll check on her. Sam, you stay with Britney."

Sam, who'd swept her hair back, as Alex's back was turned, nodded as Alex went out, but Britney was staring, transfixed at Sam. It was only for a short while, but Sam soon was conscious of Britney staring at her direction.

"Britney, are you all right?" Sam asked her friend. Britney nodded her head.

"I should be asking you that question, Sam. Alex and Clover told me they were worried about you last night, that you weren't acting yourself this morning. Are you sure you're all right?" Britney asked Sam.

Sam felt nervous and tried not to tremble (what was with all the trembling?). "I'm fine, Britney. Why?"

"Good. Then you wouldn't mind telling me this: how the hell did you get that mark on your neck?"

Sam's hand instinctively went up to her neck, the exact spot where Scam had branded her his, that night.

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Author's Note

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Britney is too smart for Sam's good, right?

Will Sam reveal to Britney what happened? And when will Sam be able to expect to see You-Know-Who (Tim Scam, not Lord Voldemort)?

Review and make me happy, and you'll be happy too!

lianneharmony

P.S.: So sorry for the late post. I'm in Iran, and it's darned difficult to get Internet connection. I got lucky. :)

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References

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It's never said that jasmines are Sam's favorite flowers, but they are white, fragrant flowers, and simple as well. Very Sam, I should think. Understated and classic.

Red roses are supposedly a symbol of love, aren't they, Tim? (snickers)

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Shoutouts

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