I'm on a roll this week! :D This story has just become so exciting to write about, I can't wait to write the rest! The next two chapters were meant to be just one, but it became so long that I just split them... Clare owns her own characters, and Queen of Pinkie's Cupcakes owns Luna and her Royal Highness Raven :) Keep the comments coming, guys, they're really appreciated :D... Enjoy!
Simon woke, his head throbbing in pain.
Curled up on his side, his hands were tied tightly behind him. He didn't know where he was- the tiny, featureless room he was kept in lacked windows, and the loud, insistent thrum underneath the floor meant he was in some kind of vehicle.
The room gave a massive jolt as it rode over something. Simon was thrown in the air, landing with a breath-robbing slam. This happened numerous times, each one bringing a new wave of pain to his throbbing head. Not to mention the growing motion sickness. He tried to listen around him for any clues about where he was and who had managed to capture him, but he could hear nothing except the rush of wind under the floor of his cage.
Thankfully, the vehicle seemed to stop moving after what felt like an eternity.
The dull sound of a closing door left Simon aware that the worst was not over.
The door was wrenched open, the sunlight scorching his eyes. For a second, he couldn't see anything but the rays of sun dancing around a silhouette. He heard the smug, narcissistic female voice before the silhouette became a person. A quick glance at the girl told Simon that she was just about his own height, but the simple carelessness of her stance emanated raw, self-gained power.
She giggled.
The sound could have been a sound effect in a horror film, Simon thought.
Her blue dress shimmered, out of place against her tannish skin and brown hair that made the roughest lion mane look like kitten fur.
"Nice to see you again," she said with a toothy smile dominating her face. It made Simon feel very vulnerable lying on the floor, unable to move.
Her eyes took on a sickly sweet chocolate as they caught a hold of him.
"My name is Luna. No guesses why."
At first, this confused him. That was before the wind caught her scent and shoved it in his face. It had a hint which he couldn't place, but the scent screamed werewolf. Simon connected this revelation with the state of her hair and the ripped edges of her dress, suggesting the girl must love her wolf side a bit more than his roommate.
His voice came out shaking, which was quite the stumble from the confident anger he'd pictured in his head.
"What do you want? Where..."
"Uh-uh-uh," Luna whispered sweetly. "Question time comes later. Right now we need to get you dressed for dinner. Come."She gestured to someone outside the vehicle while still keeping her gaze on him.
The figure that came around the corner Simon recognized instantly.
" I thought it would be better if you got ready with someone you already know..." Luna said, her smile widening.
Simon tried to get away from the hands reaching towards him.
Unsuccessful, they grabbed him by the shirt and hauled him effortlessly to the ground.
Raphael was extremely careful not to even scratch the boy. He knew that would end with him as dust particles in the air.
"I suggest you don't try anything. Cain's Mark will not do a thing against Royalty," Raphael whispered close to Simon's ear.
Luna was getting visibly bored.
"Raphy, this isn't a gossip session... Raven wants him there on time. It's your neck if it doesn't happen. Get going." Luna nodded toward the massive building behind her, a massive door to match. Raphael was in a hurry all of a sudden, guiding Simon past Luna. She folded her arms with a bored frown as she followed behind them.
The interior was right out of a medieval castle. Adorned on the stone walls were portraits of past inhabitants, every inch of their subjects gazing at him with superiority. Each of them had faces as pale as the dead, intricate skull designs painted into the impressive-looking crowns. Small Taxidermied creatures in various stages of transforming lined the wooden cabinets along the corridors.
They passed many doors, every one black as pitch, and the polished steel face of several creatures.
Raphael stopped him outside one of them, the handle a rat.
Rat. What irony, Simon thought as he walked into the open room, Raphael behind him. Luna's voice rung in both their heads as the door closed by itself.
"Have fun." She said, the grin back on her face.