OKAY! EVERYONE MUST READ THIS! Right. Now that I have your attention, I just want to let you know ahead of time that many things in this chapter are going to be out of character, inaccurate, and kinda random. I hope you don't mind if things in this aren't correct, like how they dance, music, clothing, the fact that there is a club in Corus… lol. If you have any complaints, you're welcome to say so in your reviews…but I personally won't care. This is my fic, so I can do whatever I want. And I have a feeling you guys will like it a lot. It kinda one of those filler chapter where nothing that important happens. Just so ya know.
Song for this Chapter: Like This → Kelly Rowland - I listened to this song CONSTANTLY while writing this chapter. Wouldn't have been able to even write this without that song.
Chapter 26: Girl Time
Romeli woke up early the next morning. She had had the oddest dream the night before that involved a shovel, a particularly fat hippo, and a muffin. Deciding that perhaps her Guardians had been playing with her, she shrugged off her dream and rose to get dressed.
Romeli dove into her closet daringly in search of things to wear. She would hold this outfit and that in front of her in a mirror, but nothing pleased her.
"Why is there nothing stylish in my closet?" she asked herself furiously. All of her clothes were torn and faded, overused and out of style. I need clothes now!
An evil thought hit her. Ryoku…that girl was a walking closet. She had everything and anything that anyone would ever want to wear. If she could just sneak in and borrow (steal violently) some clothes, she would be fine. And, well if Ryoku caught her, (poor thing) she would be threatened (thrown in the closet savagely and attacked by a bloodthirsty fleet of moths while hanging upside down by her toes) until she could get something decent to wear. This just might work, Romeli thought as a grin peeled across her lips. Gods she was having a good day, and she woke up only about three minutes ago.
The green haired girl walked briskly towards the pages' floor with a gleam in her eyes. The weather was rivaling her attitude, she thought as she passed by a window. Not a cloud was in sight. Romeli rolled her eyes, damn weather.
She had made it to the pages' floor and was now utterly lost. No matter, she thought as she looked around. Even if James insists I don't come here, I can take care of myself. Just aim low...
"Romeli!" Ryoku said enthusiastically and for some strange reason, horrified as she came up to her. "Don't be speaking of the boys that way! They rather like their anatomy where it is…"
Romeli looked at her confused. "Did I say that out loud?"
Ryoku gave her an amused look. "Yup. Rather loudly actually." She motioned for Romeli to turn around. Romeli did so puzzled. There, clinging to the wall for dear life was a horrified boy who looked to be only twelve. His eyes were wide with fear as he began to whimper.
"Pl—please. Don't hurt me! I didn't do anything I swear! Just don't mess with me!" he ran away with tears in his eyes.
Romeli turned back to Ryoku with wide, disturbed eyes. "Er…whoops?"
Ryoku laughed as she shook her head. She grabbed Romeli's wrist and tugged her down the hallway to her room.
While they were on their way, a tall young man with some of the most finest toned muscles Romeli had ever seen in her life walked by. He had honey colored skin and what looked like blue eyes. His hair was a medium colored brown that was swept to the side. When he walked by, he flashed a pearly white smile that could have cooked an egg had it coincidentally dropped on Romeli's head. Romeli could feel her blood warm as she smiled back.
Ryoku tugged at Romeli's arm hardly, shocking her out of her gaze. Ryoku gave her an amused look as they walked on. "His name is Quinn of Seacrest. He's voted 'court heart throb' by nearly everybody. It's said he has a different girlfriend just about every week. It takes a lot to impress him the way you did, Romy. He's seen just about every court girl known two man and then some. He would know if a girls a good piece of work or not. Apparently you're eye candy."
Romeli blushed. "I don't know what he saw in me…I was just walking…"
Ryoku looked at her dryly. "Many guys see a lot of stuff in you. The first day you came here at that ball, half of the pages were talking about you for weeks. You wouldn't believe how many of them wanted to bed you. Don't give me that look. You are so ignorant, I thought you would have noticed all of those guys stalking you after a while."
Romeli looked at her horrified…and frankly appalled to the point of gagging. "That's disgusting," she said looking at Ryoku distastefully. "Arg…nasty thoughts." She brought a hand up to her head.
Ryoku shrugged and stopped her shortly as they arrived at her room. She opened the door and quite literally dragged Romeli in with her.
"So what do you want?" Ryoku asked as she sat at her bed. Her room was full of Tortallan and Yamani objects alike. Romeli stared at them in wonder.
"What? …Oh. I came here to borrow some clothes."
Ryoku smiled at Romeli wickedly. Romeli stared back fearfully, apparently her plan had dramatically backfired. Ah…that was not a good thing.
"Clothes huh? Oh don't worry, I'll give you clothes. And on the side, I'll throw in a free makeover. Romeli, you need to get yourself a boyfriend, and that look isn't helping."
Romeli stared at her. At first she was the essence of horrified, but as she thought, she realized it might be fun. Maybe dressing up just for a day wouldn't be such a bad thing. And if she got a boyfriend? Kudos to her. She smiled at Ryoku and nodded. There was a gleam in her eye.
"And you my dear, will be getting a makeover from me in return." Ryoku nodded. Eager to get started.
Ryoku ushered Romeli to sit in a chair while she went into her exploding closet to find something for her friend to wear. Romeli tapped her finger on her knee patiently. A minute later, Ryoku came back holding a garment of clothing victoriously.
Romeli stared at the article of clothing in horror. "You want me to wear that! That—that's a piece of tissue paper!"
Ryoku stared at her. "That was an exaggeration. Now put it on or I will be forced to strip you myself."
Romeli quickly took the clothing reluctantly and slipped into the dressing room muttering about evil Yamani girls threatening her to wear odd articles of clothing. Ryoku laughed as she went to her vanity to pick out some things for her victim.
OOO
"I refuse to come out!" Romeli said loudly through the closed door of Ryoku's dressing room.
Ryoku sighed exasperated. Oh yes you are, she thought evilly. She brought out her light green Gift to fling the door open. Ryoku sighed disappointed when it didn't work. Romeli had countered Ryoku's Gift with her own.
"Romeli stop using your powers and come out here right now!" Ryoku ordered sternly.
Silence.
"No!"
Ryoku rolled her eyes and grinned evilly. "Romeli if you don't come out here right now, I'm going to grab that boy Quinn and tell him you're throwing a show!"
The door flung open quickly and Romeli came out red faced. To put it nicely, the outfit she was wearing wasn't something that you would wear to Grandma's house. The neckline was so low it went to Carthak. Well…that was an exaggeration. The neckline stooped down low, showing more of the green haired girl's cleavage than she preferred. The neckline was laced up with a dark green ribbon until is reached the straps, making the dress look like a halter-top. The skirt was relatively modest compared to the upper half. The left hem of the dress went up to her mid thigh and then slanted down to a couple inches above her right knee. The whole dress was a shining black save for the single green ribbon.
Ryoku looked at every inch of her body from head to toe, deeply satisfied. "Turn around," Ryoku ordered. Romeli glared with a red face. Slowly she turned around.
Ryoku's eyes widened. "Wow…you have a very muscular back."
Romeli turned around to look at her. "I look like a prostitute, Romeli. There is no way I am wearing this…"
Ryoku looked at her exasperated. "You can't back out now. You agreed to the makeover." She walked over to the closet again and produced a pair of boots. "Put these on," she said smiling.
Romeli took the boots, sat down, and put them on. They went up to her ankles and were tied up with more green ribbon.
Ryoku pulled Romeli up and sat her back down in front of her vanity. Romeli looked at Ryoku nervously through her reflection.
"You'll be fine, Romy," Ryoku insisted confidently. "I'm just going to touch you up a bit." Romeli nodded. Ryoku put a blindfold over Romeli's eyes and under her hair. "It's going to be a surprise."
Ryoku picked up a brush and a pair of clean scissors. She began to comb and snip away at the girl's hair.
Romeli froze. "Are you cutting my hair! Ryoku, you're cutting my hair!"
"Shut up Romeli," Ryoku growled. "Wouldn't want me to cut off an ear."
Romeli paled. There were no more retorts the whole makeover.
OOO
About half and hour later, Ryoku had finished and took off Romeli's blindfold. Romeli gasped at her reflection as she touched her cheek. Her hair had changed the most. She had acquired long, sweeping, light bangs that complimented her black eyebrows and green eyes. Her hair was layered softly so it fell off her shoulders like a waterfall. Her face also looked different. Her eyes blazed with black eyeliner and mascara that brought out her dress. There was a sprinkle of green eye shadow that made her eyes seem to glow. Her lips were painted with a damp, red gloss.
Romeli smiled and hugged Ryoku. Ryoku giggled. "I knew you would thank me in the long run," the Yamani said happily.
Romeli grinned. "Your turn my dear," Romeli said wickedly as she walked towards the closet in search of something daring. Ryoku sat down patiently
A couple minutes later, Romeli picked out a dress with an evil grin.
Ryoku smiled. "Ah…that one. Good choice." She stood up and took the dress from Romeli and walked into the dressing room.
A couple minutes later, Ryoku came out dramatically and twirled on one foot. "So? What do you think?"
Romeli gaped at her. Ryoku was wearing a strapless dress that had a Yamani tinge to it. Both the neckline and the dangerously high skirt hem were rimmed with a blazing red. There was also a red line down the of her dress. The line cut sideways until it reached her middle a couple inches down, and then sliced straight down her middle. The outfit was a glowing white. Ryoku went to the closet and picked out a pair of boots. She slipped them on carefully. They were red ribbon-laced boots that went all the way up to her thighs. The boots had tall, thin heels. Romeli eyed Ryoku's new shoes like they were deathtraps.
Ryoku collapsed in the makeover chair. "Make me beautiful, pretty-girl."
Romeli shook her head as she smiled. She put the bandana on Ryoku and started to comb her silky hair.
When she was done, Romeli took off the bandana, highly pleased with herself. Ryoku gasped. Her hair had already had long bangs, but Romeli managed to make them light and sweep to the side. Her ebony curtain of hair glistened. Ryoku had dark eyes with eyeliner and mascara, accompanies with a brown eyeshadow. Her lips were a dark crimson that matched her dress.
"Romy, I love it," Ryoku said giving her a hug.
"I knew you would," Romeli said pleased with herself. "So now what?"
Ryoku grinned making Romeli panic. "We are going to the lower city to dance the night away."
Romeli froze. "We're going to be wearing this in public?"
Ryoku nodded. "Yup. And in the palace."
"What if my parents catch me?" Romeli hissed. "Everyone will think we're sluts!"
Ryoku shrugged. "We're not sluts. We're just two girls going out on the town having fun. It's not like we have a guy for everyday of the week. See, you're the girl who has that look that says 'I—Know—You—Like—What—You—See—But—If—You—Touch—Me—I'll—Kick—Your—Sorry—Little—Arse'." Romeli grinned. "And I'm the girl whose looks say 'I—Know—You—Think—I'm—Fine—But—I'm—Already—Taken—By—A—Hot—Guy'. And if anyone begs to differ, we will beat them up.
Romeli grinned. "But of course. So when are we leaving?" She liked the sound of this adventure.
"Right now," Ryoku said grabbing a bag full of coins that matched her outfit. "Let's go."
They opened the door and walked out. They briskly walked down the hallway and towards the exit of the palace.
On their way there, they passed quickly by a couple boys. One boy who looked to be thirteen stopped right in his tracks and stared at them with bulging eyes. His jaw dropped. They walked past him quickly, trying to cover their laughter with their hands. Another boy while he was staring at them ran into a wide-open doorway and fell on the ground.
When they were out of the boy's sight, both of them burst out in laughter. Romeli had to lean against the wall to keep from collapsing. Ryoku had nearly doubled over; tears had sprung to her eyes.
"This is too fun," laughed Romeli as she stood up straight and brushed the dust off of her clothing. Ryoku nodded as she wiped her eyes.
All of a sudden the echo of footsteps came towards them. "It's Quinn," whispered Ryoku as the boy walked over to them. "Let's see what he thinks." Romeli nodded.
"Hello ladies," said Quinn in a smooth tenor voice. He stopped a foot in front of them and looked them over. "I like what I see," he whispered to them. The soft voice wanted to make Romeli shiver. Ryoku just stared at him with arched brows. He spoke again. "Especially you, Mystic Garden," He walked past them, purposely brushing against Romeli's shoulder as he past. Her stomach turned hot, but only from the unexpected touch.
Romeli and Ryoku both snorted. "Mystic Garden!" Romeli repeated as she snorted. "Did he just call me Mystic Garden?"
Ryoku laughed as she nodded. "I think he has the hots for you, Romy."
Romeli rolled her eyes. "In his dreams. Nobody owns the almighty 'Mystic Garden'." They both snorted and laughed again as they walked on.
OOO
"That's the Dancing Dove," pointed out Ryoku as they passed by the bar. "We don't want to be going in there looking like this. Lot's of drunk men in there."
Romeli shuddered. "That's okay, thanks. Where are we going anyway?"
"We are going to The Red Orchid," informed Ryoku with a grin. "It's like a bar for younger people. Nobody over nineteen or under thirteen can go in there. It's where people like us can just hang out and dance. There isn't any alcohol allowed, so that keeps it pretty safe."
Romeli laughed. "Thanks the Gods."
Ryoku nodded. "Yeah. And they don't always play that boring music that you hear at those formal balls. There are some pretty fast songs that sound really cool on the violin."
"Cool."
"Oh look, we're here," Ryoku observed as they stood in front of an old building. Above a closed door was a sign that read The Red Orchid. The windows were painted black so that you couldn't see inside or out.
"That was quick," pointed out Romeli. They barely walked a block from the Dancing Dove to get there.
Ryoku shrugged and opened the door. They both went in quickly. The room was small. It had no chairs, only a desk where a young man stood with a moneybox in his hands.
"Two bronze coins a person please…holy smokes," the young man whispered so quietly they couldn't hear him after he addressed the amount of pay. The young man had never seen a pair of finer girls in his life. He smiled at them weakly.
The Yamani girl took out her purse and went through her bag for the asked amount of coins. The green haired girl looked around the room and them at him. She smiled, showing pearly white teeth. The young man found that he could not look willingly away from her strange eyes that seemed to change color. He didn't mind, she was…just…damn.
The green haired girl looked away, realizing that he himself couldn't. The young man instead let his eyes fall to her outfit. She looked like an angel gone bad.
"Helllooo…" Ryoku said waving the coins in front of his face. "As entertaining as it is for us to watch you stare, we really want to go inside."
The young man blushed as the girls gave him amused looks. He took the coins and motioned them towards the door to the actual dance floor. Romeli and Ryoku went inside briskly.
The Red Orchid Room was one of the most elegantly modern places Romeli had ever seen. The floor was a black painted wood that made the red furniture seem to glow. There was a long red sofa that was in the strange shape of a C. In the center of the sofa was a round table. There were also other sofas, chairs, and tables scattered on the sides of the room. In the front of the room was a black platform that had musicians playing a piano, double bass, violin, guitar, and a Carthakian drum. They played fast music that was smooth to dance to and had a catchy beat. The center of the room had groups of people dancing and having fun. None of them bothered in looking up to see who the newcomers were.
Romeli and Ryoku looked at each other with a grin. Both of them began to walk towards the center of the floor.
Most of the heads turned to them when they went to the center of the dance floor and began to dance together. They rolled their hips and swiveled them with ease, giving in to the beat from the musicians on the stage.
Romeli had to admit that Ryoku could dance. She had no idea how the crazy little Yamani had learned such moves, but they surely dropped a couple jaws. As for her, well let's just say that more then a few guys were staring.
When the song had ended, both of them smiled at each other. "Where in the world did you get those moves and how can I get them?" Romeli asked in mock jealousy as she grinned.
Ryoku laughed in disbelief. "Me? What about you? Did you see some of those guys' stares!" Romeli shook her head as they both laughed.
A tap on Romeli's shoulder made her freeze and turn around. Quinn was staring down at her with a mischievous smile.
"Stalker," whispered Ryoku in Romeli's ear so only she could hear.
Romeli looked up at Quinn with a bored look. "Are you following me, Quinn?" she asked knowingly.
Quinn grinned. "Only because I can't escape your beauty," he whispered heatedly. He put his hand on her shoulder.
It took some power to stop from snorting. Of all the pickup lines…that one was the stupidest. No wonder he's the palace sex god, she thought sarcastically. She brushed off his hand from her shoulder giving him a look that said It—May—Be—Hard—To—Resist—But—Keep—Your—Hands—Of—Me—Or—I'll—Whoop—Your—Butt. Quinn took the hint, but didn't dampen his teases.
"I always loved the dangerous girls," he said keeping his hands to himself. Romeli rose one brow while crossing her arms over her chest. The look on his face was serious. "Care to dance? I promise I'll keep my dirty hands off of you until I have permission."
Romeli smirked at him as she took her time to think. She wanted him to suffer over her decision. Eventually she nodded. It would be quite fun to dance with a boy. Just for tonight. She turned to look for Ryoku to tell her she was going to leave with Quinn, to find that the Yamani was dancing with a handsome blonde with blazing blue eyes.
"Ryoku," Romeli told her as she looked at the pair dancing. "You have a boyfriend."
Ryoku grinned. "Forget about boyfriends right now, Romy. This is a girl's night. What happens at The Red Orchid stays at The Red Orchid. I promise I would never cheat on him," she reassured at Romeli's doubtful look. "He's the only one I love. I'm just having fun with my friend Jeremy here. Go on, you and Quinn have fun."
Romeli grinned and nodded. She turned back to Quinn and they started to dance by Ryoku and Jeremy. The place was starting to get packed. It was hard to dance without running into someone else.
They danced facing each other about a foot apart. Romeli shook her hips seductively as she danced with her arms over her head. Every curve of her body was accented well. Quinn wasn't an eye sore either. He had some pretty fancy moves that made even Romeli's crimson lips part in slight surprise.
"Like what you see, Mystic Garden?" asked Quinn mischievously.
"The name is Romeli," she replied sternly. If he said that blasted name one more time…
Quinn laughed. "I guess the little mage doesn't like a tease," he said grinning. "You didn't answer my question…Romeli."
Romeli rolled her eyes and smiled. It wasn't going to be easy for him to win her over. Not if she had anything to say about it. "It's okay. I've seen better."
"I like challenges," he said in her ear. He increased his moves to a more rhythmic level that would have her mother blushing. She didn't care… But for some reason it only tempted her to increase her moves as well. She too deepened her dancing, producing whistles from watching crowds. She looked over at Ryoku who met her gaze. The Yamani raised once brow questioningly. Romeli grinned.
"Getting close Romy?" asked Ryoku sneakily.
Romeli laughed. "This is only the beginning Roku."
Before she knew it, her back was pressed to Quinn's chiseled chest as they danced together. His hands were on her hips as he pressed her back. Romeli rolled her hips as she caressed his body. Her moves had made even Ryoku gape. The Yamani girl still kept a respectable distance between her partner. Many of the people had stopped their own dancing to see the 'Corus Heart Throb' and the 'Green Angel' move.
Quinn slowly brought one of his hands off of her hip and towards her stomach where he held her and stroked her. Romeli didn't care. All that she cared about was that she was having fun, which was all that was important. She didn't care how; she didn't care where, all that mattered…
"Holy crap your abs are, amazing," Quinn said as he looked at her surprised. "Do you have a six pack?"
Romeli couldn't help but laugh as she turned around to face him. "Kinda. It's hard for a girl to get a six pack. You have to work out a lot."
Quinn laughed as he shook his head. "You never cease to amuse me." He cupped her cheek and brought his head down towards hers for a kiss. Right when he was about to kiss her, Romeli put her fingers to his lips to stop him.
"Sorry," she said seriously. "I came here to dance for fun, not to snog and get a boyfriend. I run free."
Right at that moment, Ryoku came up to her. "We better leave," the Yamani said. "It's already twelve o' clock in the morning."
Romeli gaped at her. My, time flies when you're sandwiching guys, she thought with bitter humor. "Okay, let's go."
On their way out, Romeli waved to Quinn. "Catch you later."
When they exited the Red Orchid, the two of them nearly ran to the palace walls.
"Shit," whispered Ryoku as she snapped her fingers. The palace gates were already closed for the night.
"Now how are we supposed to get in? And there is no way I am climbing that wall in this," added Romeli as she pointed to her clothes. If they could, Romeli and Ryoku would have used their Gifts, but the palace walls were coated with ancient warding magic that even Romeli couldn't penetrate.
Ryoku clenched her jaw in thought. "I know for a fact that there is always a guard dozing by the door for latecomers. But they always are strict at admitting late guests. And there is no way he'll let us in. He'll think we're some punk pervs trying to sneak in to steal King Jonathan's clothes or something."
Romeli stared at her horrified. "That naughty mind of yours is going to get you in trouble some day."
"Mine? What about yours, Quinn Squisher!" Ryoku pointed out evilly.
Romeli's blush rivaled the Red Orchids furniture. "Truce," she said. "What happens at the Red Orchid—."
"—Stays at the Red Orchid."
"Damn straight."
Ryoku grinned. "I have a plan."
"I'm all ears."
Ryoku smiled evilly and whispered it into Romeli's ear.
"What! There is no way in hell I'm going to do that! Are you kidding me? I'm not just going to strut up to the door and slut my way back into the palace! Nuh uh!"
Ryoku held up three shiny gold coins in her hand. "Would you rather stay out here in the cold all night?"
Romeli fumed. "All right. But you owe me your life and that money."
Ryoku rolled her eyes and put the coins in Romeli's hand. "Let's just hurry up and get this over with."
Romeli gulped and walked towards the door. Promptly she knocked.
Moments later a man by the rough age of thirty-five opened the door a creak and popped out of it. Romeli sighed with relief. At least he wasn't too old.
Romeli pouted and tried to look as sexy as possible. Apparently it worked. The guard looked at her thoroughly until his eyes lingered on her chest. He tugged at his collar nervously as if it was hot outside.
My face is up here, bozo, Romeli thought angrily. She pushed her emotions aside. "Hello," she greeted heatedly. "Do you think you could admit a young, cold, girl like me into the palace. I'd be happy to give you something in return." She smiled innocently.
The man tugged at his collar again. His face was turning an impressive shade of maroon. "What—what favor did you have in m-mind?"
Romeli walked over to him, making her hips swivel. She was so close to him that she would feel his breath on her face.
She traced his jaw with a delicate finger. "Anything you desire," she whispered. She nearly gagged. His breath smelt of mushrooms. She wasn't sure fourteen year-olds were supposed to be saying such things.
The man smiled weakly. "Come—Come on in."
Romeli smiled. "Do you mind if I bring a friend along with me?" she ushered for Ryoku to appear from behind the tree where she had been hiding.
The young man started to grow sweaty. "Of course not. C-come on i-in."
The two of them came in through the gate. She deliberately brushed by the man with her shoulder. In that second of touching, Romeli sent out her Gift and knocked him out
Romeli sighed with relief. She was so going to kill Ryoku after this. But right now they had more important things to take care of.
"Run," whispered Ryoku as they looked at each other. It wouldn't be long until someone would find out. They both made a break for it.
OOO
Scant minutes later, the pair had made it back inside Ryoku's room.
And to think, all of this started because I needed something to wear, thought Romeli bitterly. The two of them sat down on the edge of her bed.
"Hope you don't mind if I crash here tonight," Romeli said. "If I go to my room now, my parents will murder me."
Ryoku laughed. "No prob. I would love it if you stayed. It's pay back for that noble deed I made you do."
"Noble? Hahaha, don't make me laugh," Romeli said sarcastically as she slipped off her boots. Ryoku slipped off hers as well and put them back in the closet.
"You were smoking out there Romy. Did you see that suckers face?"
Romeli snorted. "Yeah. I've never seen a man sweat so much in my life."
They both laughed.
"Hey Roku?" Romeli started.
"Mmmm?"
"I hate to ask, but do you have anything I can sleep in?"
"Ah. Of course. What are girlfriends for?"
Romeli just prayed that Ryoku didn't wear such dramatic clothes as she did now, to bed.
When Ryoku had surfaced from the closet, she held up a pair of extremely soft breeches and a loose shirt, both the color black.
"Thanks."
"No prob."
When both of them were ready, they slipped into Ryoku's large bed.
"So…," started Ryoku. The lights were out, but neither of them felt like sleeping.
"So…what?" egged on Romeli.
"So…how do you like Quinn?"
Romeli shrugged in the covers. "That boy is fine. But I would never court someone like that."
Ryoku giggled. "I saw him attempt to kiss you. I would've slapped him, but your way was good too."
Romeli laughed. "Like I said to him. I run free."
"Damn straight. And what are we doing tomorrow? We still don't have training…so we should do something."
"I dunno. With a new day comes new ideas and adventures."
Ryoku yawned. "Yeah…whatever…"
They both closed their tired eyes and fell right to sleep.
OOO
Romeli woke up late the next day at around ten o' clock. Her head hurt massively.
Romeli sat up and looked around the room horrified. Holy crap! Did I get drunk last night! This is not my room. If I slept with anyone…
She looked down to see which fool she had spent the night with. Ryoku. Romeli couldn't help but snort as she remembered what happened last night. What she went through doubled the dragon-James rescue any day. Would she do it again? Well that was something to ponder on a rainy day. And since the birds were singing and the sun was seeping into the room, she decided to do something else.
Grabbing her rather hard pillow, she knocked it on Ryoku's head savagely, like a gorilla trying to make mashed potatoes.
"Stop hitting me James you fat lard. Or I'll expose that little secret of yours." Ryoku said sleepily with her eyes still closed. She rolled on her other side and went to sleep again.
Romeli rolled her eyes as she muted her laughter. Desperate times call for desperate measures. She summoned her Gift and produced water that went crashing down on the Yamani.
Ryoku sat up abruptly, gasping as the water saturated her clothes. "Romeli, of all the things evil and torturous to do, that was the lowest!" she gasped as she tried to wring out her clothes.
Romeli snorted. "At least you're awake," she said brightly. "Now spill the secret."
Ryoku groaned. "Did I say something in my sleep again? Shit."
Romeli grinned. "About you? No. You said something about James. A secret or something."
Ryoku laughed. "Oh," she said grinning wickedly with arched brows. "That secret. Of course I'll spill it for you. You see, it happened a couple years ago. James was at a ball when he met this 'lady'. This lady was actually Whave who had just lost a bet and had to dress up as a girl. It just so happened that James lost a bet as well and had to kiss the first girl that talked to him. Of course, Whave talked to him, and James, the ignorant idiot that he is, didn't notice that the girl was actually Whave. James kissed Whave right on the lips. Whave was furious. He pulled off his wig and called him a man-snogger before running off. Luckily enough, no one saw but me, and Whave and James got over it, but if anyone mentions it, James goes metal."
Romeli would have had water spurt out of her nose if she had been drinking any. Instead, she fell off of the bed and rolled around in fits of laughter. When she had gained her composure, her head peeked over the side of the bed as she looked over at Ryoku. "James kissed Whave!"
"Yup. Just don't tell anyone. James swore he would kill me with a skunk, a leather belt, and an apple if I spread it around."
"Ah. Threatening," said Romeli with a grin. "You have my word. Hahaha…man-snogger…hahaha good one."
Ryoku laughed. "So, what are we doing today? Have anything on your mind?"
Romeli shrugged as she smiled weakly. "Not really. I actually need to see my parents so they know I wasn't abducted or something. I also have lessons with my father today."
Ryoku half-smiled. "You're right. Maybe we should keep it on the down low for a while. That was quite an adventure yesterday."
"You can say that again," muttered Romeli thinking about Quinn. She stood up and brushed herself off. "I better go, don't want Da to go ballistic.
Ryoku laughed. "I feel your pain. You know how my dad can get."
Romeli nodded as she giggled. She came over and embraced Ryoku tightly before walking out of the room.
OOO
The door creaked open as Romeli stepped quietly into the room. Daine, who had been sitting on the sofa, stood up with a grin on her face.
Uh oh, Romeli thought. She knows. Her face paled.
"Hi honey," Daine greeted as she stood in front of her. "How was The Red Orchid?"
Romeli gulped. "Um...Fine. It was fun. How did you find out?"
Daine shrugged. "I saw you and Ryoku walk in when I was doing an errand. You might have already known, but you looked hot." Her mother laughed.
Romeli looked at her confused. "Er…thanks? Aren't you going to ground me now?"
"Ground you?" asked Daine shocked. Obviously the thought hadn't entered her mind. "Gods no! I knew you would go in there eventually. You were quite a dancer when you were little. I remember when I was a teenager in Tortall and I went in there. It was the most fun I had in a while back then. And it was a sanctuary away from Numair. You know how protective he can get."
Romeli rolled her eyes knowing exactly what Daine meant.
Daine put her hand on Romeli's shoulder and pat it gently. "Best not tell your father. He thinks he's raising a civilized daughter. Now go in our bedroom. He's waiting for lessons."
Romeli rolled her eyes and trudged into her parents' bedroom.
Wow. Some parts of that chapter were just like 'wtf moose. What were you on when you wrote this'
Replies:
Silver-star-0: Aww really! Ahhh I luv you (not sexually). That's really touching! Lol. Who can resist The I Hate Jonathan and Delia Fan Club? Which I will update soon…sorry I've just been having some hard core writer's block with that one…I can't think of anything funny! I've lost my mojo! I swear…there was a time when crazy ideas would just pop out of my mind like no tomorrow. Lol. Omy gosh. That thought never occurred to me. I didn't even notice that that is where they shoot the fire from. Sorry…lol.
HyperLittleCat: Don't be sorry silly! It's fine…you're only human! …hopefully. Yes I think I need a beta too, but as for now I'm just going to wing it. I am way to busy what with all this stuff going on in my life. Arg. I thought summer was supposed to be a relaxing season. Oh, that's excellent news! The CSI has quite literally been stalking me for the past month. It's okay tho. I always leave them a dead end.
HiGhfLyer28: Ooh…a new reader! Welcome! I'm sorry if it depressed you at some parts…um…yeah. Don't worry I intend to make at least a couple parts funny. Like this chappie. Yeah…teen isn't really a Tortall word. I tried to refrain from using it in this chapter. Thanks for giving me the heads up. Lol. Yeah, that long quest thing that is supposed to be really long is actually chapter 24. I decided to shorten it. It was going to be oober long, but I felt bloody lazy. Yah…
Kuyaga: I'm sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry! I did get ur review for chapter 24…explanation is at the top before the chapter…if you didn't read it.
.: um…(stares)…are you okay there? lol. j/k! Aww you noticed! I did try oober hard that chapter to explain things more poetic and stuff. Lol. Yep…killing your inner evil is always a good thing to do on a rainy day. Lol. I can indeed tell you are in a very odd (outright disturbing) mood today! Nah…I'm just kidding! Toodles to u to!
George Bassy: lol. No prob. I understand how tiring the musical world can be. You must be very dedicated. I respect that. Yay…fun A/Ns.
Alana: Thanks! I thought the plot was horrible at first…I'm glad you like it! I will try to update a little bit more on the quick side…but you can never be too hopeful.
Toodleoo
Heartdamoose