Vol. 09

Chapter 35

Selina Chase-Moon

Birth: June 30th

Age: 18

Colour(s): White

Metal: Silver

God/dess: Diana

Hermione Driscoll-Mercury

Birth: September 10th

Age: 18

Colour(s): Royal Blue/Yellow

Metal: Quicksilver

God/dess: Mercury

Marcella Guerra-Mars

Birth: April 17th

Age: 18

Colour(s): Red

Metal: Iron

God/dess: Mars

In the dark cool cave, Paris stands before Lady Pandora looking very confident. "Paris, how are things going with the Guardians?"

"I believe you had entrusted that matter to me." He then was interrupted by a annoying giggle. Through a tornado of pedals, Admete appeared sitting so elegantly in the air.

"It seems you are having quite a hard time. I would be more than happy to help you. The operations are bound to go better with two of us rather than one. Don't you think so, Lady Pandora?"

"That is a good idea. Paris, work with Admete and..." The Lady herself couldn't finish her orders.

"I refuse." He interrupted.

"Oh, dear. Do you intend to defy Lady Pandora?" Admete was starting to push his buttons.

"I'm not doing this for Lady Pandora! I'm doing this for myself! Excuse me!" Paris vanished without being dismissed by the Lady. Pandora was furious.

"Paris..." She growled.

Everything went just as planned. Now, Lady Pandora will have lost confidence in Paris. Admete thought to herself.

Bright and early in the morning at the apartments, the group were having breakfast together in Luna's apartment. "Oh, Selina. You're early today." Luna was surprise to see her eating her breakfast on the table.

"Yes I am." She said feeling good about herself.

"This is what normal people do, Selina!" Hermione mentioned while sipping her tea.

"Selina, it seems that girl Ayla won the French doll contest." Said Luna from reading on the newspaper.

"Really?!" Selina was happy to hear the news.

"It says here that Ayla's mother is a famous doll maker. Like mother, like daughter but I don't think it really works in this case since she was recently adopted." Luna added. Hermione took out the spoon from her cup and put it in front of Selina's face.

"Well, Ms. Selina Chase, how do you feel about having a celebrity from the same orphanage as you?" Hermione was playing reporter with Selina.

"Caught it out!" Selina got up from her chair and went to the door.

"This was brought to you live from the Crystal Tokyo residence." Hermione continued.

"Hermione! You're gonna be the one that is late if you don't get up from that chair! I'm leaving you!" Selina Warn her.

"I got up very early this morning, there is absolutely no way..." Hermione checked her watched. "Bloody Hell! Look at the time! I'm going to be late if I don't move my behind from this chair!" Hermione ran out the door. At the college, Selina was sitting at her desk proud of herself but Hermione found herself standing in the hallway. After classes, Selina and Ellie were walking home.

"It's amazing how Hermione became late like that. It's not like her." Said Ellie.

"She was just being very silly this morning." Selina explained. Two twelve year old girls walked in front of the two ladies.

"Excuse me, are you Buddy's older sister?" One of them asked.

"Yes, I am." Selina answered back.

"Buddy is so mean!" Said the girl.

"Did Buddy do something wrong?" Selina asked.

"Today, at school..."

Buddy was sitting at his desk reading a book quietly. "Buddy. Buddy." Ayla stood beside him. Buddy turned to her.

"Oh, Ayla. Congratulations on winning the contest!" He said.

"Buddy, here." Ayla held out a neatly wrapped gift to him.

"What is it?"

"This is the French doll that won in the contest."

"Is it okay? It must mean a lot to you."

"Yeah, because you were always there when I needed to talk." When Buddy took the gift, a group of boys started to crowd around him.

"Oooo. They're soo in love!" "So, when's the wedding?!" After the boys comments, Buddy grew embarrassed and snapped out of control.

"I don't want it!" Buddy pushed the gift back to Ayla but she wasn't able to grabbed it and let it drop to the floor. Buddy was in instant shock and the same with Ayla. One of the boys from the group shouted out in laughter. "It not my fault." And he walked away. Ayla opened the gift and saw the doll in pieces. She cried in pain for just seeing her doll like that, she then looked up to Buddy in tears. He was about to cry also but he held it and looked away. Ayla hoped he would at least say something but he didn't say a word.

"And Buddy didn't apologize to her!" explain the girl. "I felt so bad for Ayla." said the other. "Please talk to Buddy about this."

"Buddy is definitely in the wrong today!" Selina gone from happy to dead serious. The two girls were happy that she might try to fix the problem.

"As his older sister, you should have a word with him." Ellie mentioned.

"Right. Anyway, just let this wise and not so happy older sister handle this! I'll make sure that Buddy apologizes to Ayla!" Selina swore to the girls.

In the house of her new home, Ayla sits in her room making another doll not feeling too good, she then heard a knock on the door. "Come in." The door opened and walks in her mother.

"What's wrong? Why do you have all the curtains closed?" She asked.

"I can concentrate better this way."

"Oh, are you already making the next one?" The mother held up the new doll that Ayla is working on. "She looks like she's about to cry."

"You think so?"

"But I don't think that's a bad thing. Show me the doll that won the contest. Let's compare them!"

"I don't have it. I'm letting someone borrow it for a while."

"Who?"

"Well..." The mother realized she didn't look cheerful.

"Show me when you get it back then." She left the room the way it is.

"Okay." Ayla put on a wig to the doll, she then opened the drawer of her desk and checked on the broken doll. She started to cry again. In the dark woods where the colonial mansion sits and ages by time, Paris was busy reading the stars.

"The stars know everything." A beam of light reached to his feet. "The Lyre's Orpheus is beginning to play his harp of sorrow. The target Orpheus has chosen is Ayla Dressler. I will take your energy.

Later on that day, Buddy was in his room writing out something on a notepad. I'm sorry Ayla. It was my fault. I know you worked so hard to make that doll... Buddy ripped the paper in half in frustration. "Oh, I can't! I can't! I can't! I can't write this letter!" A knock was on his door.

"Buddy! Your sister needs to talk to you!" Buddy was expecting for Selina to come by, so he took all the scraps and pieces of paper he threw around in the trash can and put a reading book on top of the notepad.

"Come in." He responded. Selina slammed the door open wide and stomped inside. She walked casually beside him and smack him across the head hard. Buddy held his head in pain. "Ouch! What was that for?!" he shouted at her.

"That was for Ayla!" She yelled back.

"What did you say?!" He got nervous.

"You broke Ayla's doll today, didn't you? Go apologize to her immediately!" Selina demanded.

"I don't want to hear about that anymore! Get out!" He tried to push her out of his room.

"Okay, then I'll tell one of the den mothers about this! What do you think will happen?"

"Oh, that's not fair?!"

"If you don't want to get in trouble, you'll do exactly as I say, won't you?"

"Okay." He surrendered.

"Then, go to Ayla's house and apologize right away. Got it?!" Selina was being firm with him.

"I got it." Buddy agreed. At Ayla's home, Buddy stands across the street from it and rehearsed for what he's about to say. "I'm sorry! It was my fault! I'll make this up to you, even if it takes me the rest of my life! Okay, I'll go with that!" As he was about to cross the street, screeching sound of tires spook the daylights out of him and he hid behind the telephone poll. Ramming through the street was a red Ferrari and parked spot on in front of the house. "Wow! Awesome car!" Stepping out of the car is Troy Parisi. He rang the doorbell.

"Who is it?" called the other side.

"I am Troy Parisi. I spoke with you on the phone earlier." He responded.

"Wait just a moment, please."

They've got a guest. I guess I'll come back later. Buddy turned and walked back home. Inside the home, the mother, Ayla and Troy were all sitting in the living room.

"I had thought that Pierre Dumoe was the only one who could make such classic dolls, but this has changed my mind." Troy commented. The mother blushed.

"My, you're such a flatterer."

"I see that your daughter is also very talented."

"Her name is Ayla." Her mother mentioned, Ayla nodded to the man.

"The doll you entered in the contest the other day was wonderful. I would love to see that doll." Ayla went sad when he mention of the doll.

"Oh, the doll is...Ayla, why don't you show him the doll you're making right now?" Her mother insisted.

"Okay." Ayla got up and ran to her room and came back quickly with the doll carefully wrapped up in cloth and handed it to the Troy. When he unwrapped the doll he smiled to the girl.

"Oh, this is wonderful! Excuse me. Her sad expression is just so..." He placed his finger on the forehead of the doll and posses it. Monster, Jumeau! Bring Ayla Dressler's energy to its peak level and steal it! The dolls expression changed from sad to beyond down right creepy.

"Isn't that great, Ayla?" The mother smiled to her daughter, and she smiled back.

"Would you make ten more dolls just like this one?" Troy asked. Ayla's eyes went wide open.

"What? Ten?" Ayla was surprise.

"This doll will sell out very quickly." Troy reasoned.

"We are holding a private exhibition starting this Saturday. Of course, my daughter's work will be there as well. Please come see the exhibit." The mother begged as she invited him to the event.

"I will be looking forward to it." Troy took the offer. After the meeting, Ayla was working on her dolls with a new ambition, her mother was with in her room.

"You finished it awfully quickly." her mother commented.

"It's strange, but suddenly I feel so motivated. Now, I have to make the second one." Said Ayla with a smile on her face.

"I understand how you feel, but why don't you go to bed? You have school tomorrow, remember?"

"I'll be fine."

"Now, don't say that. Come on, let's clean up." Her mother reached for the tools but Ayla turned and pushed her mother away from her desk where her tools sit.

"Don't touch!" Her mother sat on the floor from where she fell and just stared at her daughter in confusion and fear.