Chapter 27

Sian's First Date

SIAN

When Sian woke up on that Saturday morning, she was filled with a nervous, tingling excitement that ran al the way from her head to her toes, which made her heart flutter and her stomach explode with the flapping of many butterflies, for this was the day of her first ever date. With Kopa. A boy. A boy who actually liked her. She was so excited that she couldn't lie in bed, she had to be active. So she immediately jumped out of bed and ran to her trunk, looking for an outfit to wear. After looking carefully through her clothes, she decided on a pair of black jeans, a lilac top and a woollen blue V-neck jumper and her black ankle boots, the non-high-heeled kind. She didn't need high heeled shoes. She decided against make-up, which she thought was a tool for women who wanted to cover up their insecurities and blemishes. What's the point in that, she thought, when men will see women without make-up anyway at some point? Besides, Sian wasn't a vain person, and Kopa had seen her without make-up many times before, so she let it go (and that's why Sian doesn't wear make-up apart from special occasions and parties). Once she had dressed, she made her way down to the Great Hall with her sisters and Kiara in tow, making sure to keep a cool composure and not scream the school down in her excitement as she went.

Somehow, Sian managed to keep calm and talk to Chris, Kiara and Chrissie normally during breakfast, whilst her mind was screaming for the clock to hurry up. But good things come to those who wait, as they say, and as soon as Sian saw Kopa waiting for her by the gates, her heart beat faster, her palms were sweating and she felt her face blush as everything and everyone around her vanished, and all she saw was him. It was living proof that this was actually happening, that she was going on a date. She was so excited, yet slightly nervous at the prospect of spending the entire day with Kopa in Dragsmede alone together, but was looking forward to it all the same; this was his first time seeing the village after all, and Sian wanted the day to be a special one for both of them, and that they would look back on it in years to come, happily, she hoped. Yes, the thought did scare her slightly, but she was ready for the commitment. So, she quickly said goodbye to Chris, Kiara and Chrissie for the time being, and without saying another word, ran eagerly to meet Kopa.

When she was near enough to him, Sian saw Kopa looking at her with a smile in his eyes that made them sparkle, and it made her heart flutter. As she approached him, she blushed nervously as Kopa's eyes looked over her, and Sian blushed even harder as his eyes sparkled even more.

Once Sian was stood before him, Kopa said to her, "Hi. Shall we go?"

Sian nodded eagerly, and together, she and Kopa walked through the gates in a comfortable silence, both happy to be in each others company to say much. It had been like that between them over the past few months, that when they didn't have anything to say, Sian and Kopa would just sit there in a comfortable silence, just content to be with each other - especially in the library.

After a while though, Sian asked, "So, Kopa, why did you not come here last time?"

"Oh ... well, to be honest, I just didn't feel like going," he said. "I didn't think that there would be anything that would be of any interest to me there. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason," Sian said quickly. "It's just that I would have really liked you to be there last time."

Kopa seemed surprised by this, she saw. "Really?" he asked.

"Well, yeah." Sian brushed her hair back absentmindedly, and said, "I know we had only know each other a short time, and I know we had had that stupid little argument ..." they both looked quickly away from each other, both embarrassed, but Sian quickly recovered and said, "but things between Kiara and Chrissie were ... difficult, let's say."

"You didn't like it, did you, those two falling out?"

Sian looked at him, surprised at how well he read her. She quickly got over it, though, for she shook her head. "No, I didn't. They're both family, and to see them fight made me feel awful. I wanted to get involved, of course, but I knew that the only way the situation was going to resolve itself was if they sorted it out themselves. It was a foolish argument, of course, because Kiara was telling the truth, but still ..."

"Kiara can't have done anything foolish before then, surely?" said Kopa.

"Oh, yeah?" Sian scoffed. "Well, let's see what you say when I tell you this ..." And so, Sian told Kopa all about what happened that fateful Hallowe'en night when she was eleven, and how Chris, Kiara and Chrissie had come to her rescue. She even told him what happened both during and after the Charms class that day. She noticed that as she talked, Kopa was attentive to every word she said, and wasn't just pretending to listen like some guys did.

"So, Kiara actually jumped up on the mountain troll's back, stuck her wand up its nose accidentally" (Sian laughed) "before getting saved by Chrissie, because the troll was trying to whack her with its club?"

Sian giggled, and said, "Yep. Kiara and I have been best friends ever since that moment. And none of us were punished for it, either."

As Sian suspected, Kopa looked shocked at this remark (she could see it in his eyes, after all). "Really? Why?"

"Because I stepped in and told the teachers that were there that I went looking for the troll." Sian was blushing furiously as she said this.

Kopa laughed a little at this, and said, "Well, I never thought I'd see the day when you would lie to a teacher, after everything I know about you."

Sian giggled nervously and said, "I know, me neither. But after all, being punished when you did a good deed, isn't exactly fair, is it?"

Kopa thought about it, bowed his head in recognition, then looked back up at Sian and said, "All right, you've got me there." Sian grinned, knowing that she did, and she and Kopa laughed as they entered Dragsmede.

As they walked, Sian asked, "Kopa, why are you asking about Kiara so much? Why are you so interested in her?"

Kopa looked at Sian, his eyes narrowed in confusion. "Why? Are you jealous?"

"No!" Sian said quickly - too quickly. Kopa looked at her disbelievingly. Sian sighed and said, "All right, maybe I am a little. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad that you're getting to know my friends ... it just strikes me as odd that you want to know so much about Kiara when you're spending time with me, that's all. I mean, can you blame me for asking why you want to know so much about Kiara?"

Kopa hesitated, and Sian saw the cogs in his mind turning in his eyes. She waited patiently, wanting to know the answer. At last, Kopa said, "Look, I will tell you, but not right now. It's not that I don't trust you," he said quickly, at the hurt look on Sian's face, "it's just that it's a long story that I don't feel comfortable sharing with you right now, and this is meant to be a good day for us, so let's not ruin it now, OK?" Sian looked into his earnest eyes, and understanding his need for privacy, she nodded. She saw a relieved look in his eyes as they walked down the high Street.

In every shop they entered, Sian loved the look of awe and wonder in his eyes as she showed him all the shops that she normally visited with Chris, Kiara and Chrissie, particularly the Sugarshack. His eyes brightened considerably, and Sian, just to appease him, bought some sweets of his choosing, which they ate together. Sian also saw the way his eyes widened in wonder at the variety of owls in the Post Office "I don't believe I've ever seen so many owls in one place in my life!"). They didn't stay too long in Whacko's Joke Shop, though; Kopa told her that he wasn't really interested in practical jokes, but was interested to see it. Sian then decided that they should go to the Flying Owls for a drink. To her delight, Kopa agreed. They spent most of the afternoon in there, talking and laughing merrily as they sipped their Butterbeers. Then Sian took Kopa to see the Howling House, before they made their way back to Dragon Mort.

As they walked back, Sian decided to ask Kopa a question that had been bugging her for quite some time, but wasn't sure how Kopa would react to it. Well, there's no harm in asking, she reasoned with herself. so Sian took a deep breath for courage, and said, "Kopa, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What's on your mind?" was all he said.

Sian took another deep, calming breath and said, "Well ... I've noticed the scar that's across your brother's left eye, and - " she stopped suddenly as Kopa winced and pain flashed quickly across his eyes. "I'm sorry," Sian apologised, avoiding his gaze. "I'm just curious about how he got it, that's all. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to ..."

"No, no, it's OK," Kopa said. Sian raised her eyes and looked back at him, seeing the pain still in his eyes that made her heart squeeze painfully, and waited for him to speak. At last, Kopa took a deep breath and said, "This actually began when I was a child, and had just been adopted into the Outsider family. Kovu took a great liking to me immediately, as did his sister, Vitani, who's around your age, I think. But it was the eldest brother, Nuka, who seemed to have a problem with me."

"He was jealous of you?" Sian asked.

Kopa nodded his head sadly. "It appeared as much. Nuka, the brother in question, was five years older than Kovu and I. He was tall, but very scrawny-looking, with sharp little eyes and dishevelled black hair. He wasn't that good-looking, from what I can remember of him. As I recall, from what Kovu told me, Nuka was nice all the time before I came; sharing things, playing nicely with Kovu and Vitani. He was the perfect role model. When I came, though, he changed. He started ignoring us, and only came out of his room at meal times. When school started, Mum got reports that Nuka was hanging round a bad crowd, and was getting into a lot of fights. Mum had hope for him that he would come back to the right side, though, but Dad and the rest of us knew that he wasn't coming back.

"When Kovu and I started school, Nuka and his gang would pick on us often - me more than Kovu, anyway. Kovu always stood up for me, and I was grateful. It was hell for us when Nuka was there, and we were grateful when he left, which wasn't that long ago, now that I think about it.

"That same summer when Nuka had left school, though, we were at home for the holidays, enjoying ourselves, when Nuka went too far. He started tormenting me, and in then end, I lost it. I jumped on him and attacked him. Nuka quickly pushed me off him, stood up and took out his wand. I think he was going to kill me. As I lay there, thinking that I was going to die, Kovu intervened and Nuka swiped him with his wand, leaving a scar across his left eye."

"Oh, my," Sian breathed, shocked at such a story. She knew her life hadn't been a walk in the park, but she never had imagined that Kopa's could have been just as bumpy. "Then what happened?" she said, after a few moments.

"Fortunately enough, Vitani had run to get Mum and Dad, and they saw everything. I think that that was what convinced Mum that Nuka wasn't coming back from the Dark side. She patched Kovu and me up as best she could, then told nuka to get out and never come back. Nuka laughed manically before he went to his room, packed his bags and left. We've never seen him since. Last we heard of him, he married this high security prisoner in Azkaban, which the Ministry was strongly against, but they went through with it, for the prisoner in question had no wand, so she couldn't do that much damage, but they did have Aurors at the ceremony. Apart from that, we know nothing of him. We're all better off without him. you won't tell anyone about this, will you?" he added, looking at Sian with anxious eyes.

"No, of course not," said Sian quickly. "You can put your trust in me to keep this secret for you."

"Good," said Kopa. "I trust you, too, you know." Sian looked at him, surprised that he had said that. She smiled at him in gratitude as they kept walking.

"So," Kopa said, after some time in silence, "what's with the gloves? Why do you never take them off?"

It was Sian's turn to flinch now. She should have known that Kopa was going to ask her that, but she wasn't ready to tell him just yet. She was scared that he would be repulsed by her, and it would break Sian's heart if that happened. She thought to herself of what to tell him - and then she remembered his words from that morning. So she looked at Kopa, who was looking at her, concerned that he had gone too far, and she said, "Tell you what ... you tell me about why you're so interested in Kiara, and why you wear those cloths around your face, and I'll let you know why I have to wear these gloves. Is that OK?" she added nervously, wondering how he'd take this compromise.

Sian saw him thinking once again, and after a while he answered, "OK." Sian nodded and looked at him gratefully, as they carried on walking back to the castle in comfortable silence. After a few minutes, Kopa sighed and said, "You know, I'm really going to miss this place when we leave."

"Leave?" Sian said suddenly, stopping in her tracks, as her heart twinged slightly at the thought of him leaving.

Kopa stopped too and looked at her, confusion evident in his eyes again as he said, "Yes. Once this Tournament is over, Kovu, myself and the rest of our fellow Uagadou students are heading back to Africa. Why is this such news to you? I thought you knew that?"

Sian mentally shook her head and said, "Nothing. I just forgot, that's all. Let's keep moving." She smiled at him as they moved. Sian couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw some disappointment in his eyes, as though he wanted her to reveal something.

As they walked, Sian couldn't believe how stupid she was to forget that Kopa had come from Africa. Truth be told, she had gotten so used to him being at Dragon Mort, that to think of him being away from her was unbelievable. Five and a bit months was all she had with him, and then the parting blow would come. Her heart twinged painfully again just thinking about it.

As Sian was having these thoughts, she and Kopa had arrived back at the castle. When they got back inside, they stood just outside the doors to the Great Hall. Talk and laughter resonated from inside, which meant that dinner was truly underway. Sian and Kopa looked at each other.

"You know, I've really enjoyed today," said Kopa, his eyes shining brightly. "Thank you for such a nice day."

"You're welcome ... and I enjoyed today, too," said Sian, blushing again.

"I'd like to do this again, when the next Dragsmede weekend comes along."

"I'll see what's going on, and ... I'll let you know," Sian said teasingly.

Kopa smiled through his eyes, and Sian knew the goodbye happened when he brushed some of her hair from her face. She was shocked at the burning sensation she felt, but she liked it all the same. She smiled goofily at Kopa, and he seemed to smile back. As he was moving , Sian caught his hand and said, "You know ... the day's not over yet. Do you want to ... sit next to me at dinner?"

Kopa looked a little taken aback, but he nodded and said, "I'd like that." Sian' smile widened as she and Kopa entered the Great Hall together, neither of them noticing the whispers and stares that were following them, or of the realisation that they were holding hands as they walked over to the Lion-Heart table.

KIARA

I sat with Chris, Chrissie, Tanya and Geri at the Lion-Heart table, playing with my food and feeling guilty at lying to Mina. As I was trapped in my gloomy thoughts, I saw Chris and Chrissie glance at the doors to the Great Hall, obviously looking for a sign of Sian.

A few minutes later, Tanya spoke up. "Look who's just come in?" she said teasingly, nodding at the doors. She, Geri, Chris, Chrissie and I looked at the doors, and saw Sian and Kopa coming back from what was evidently a good day in Dragsmede. Before she joined us, we saw Sian talking with Kopa, then he brushed her hair and was about to enter the Great Hall, when Sian caught hold of him and asked him something, which he must have agreed to, because they came walking in together, holding hands, oblivious of the stares and whispers they were getting as they made their way over to us.

"This looks interesting," Geri grinned, as Sian sat down next to me and Kopa sat next to her. They loaded their plates and began eating, sneaking smiles at each other every five seconds or so. Tanya, Geri, Chrissie and I grinned at them - Chris did too. What can I say, their joy was contagious. After a few minutes, they both began to eat one-handed, which meant that they were holding hands under the table.

Once we all had finally finished dinner - Tanya, Geri, Chris, Chrissie and I waited until Sian and Kopa had finished - and we were out in the Entrance Hall, Tanya, Geri, Chris, Chrissie and I watched from the top of the marble staircase as Sian and Kopa said goodnight. They only held hands, but from the way they were looking at each other ... well, let's just say that you could feel the heat from where we were stood. Kopa then slowly let Sian's hands drop and he went out of the front doors and to the Uagadou submarine. Sian watched until her was gone from her sight, and then she started climbing the marble staircase, wearing a silly smile and giggling to herself every so often. Tanya, Geri, Chris, Chrissie and I followed her, leaving her to her thoughts, for we did not want to disturb her when she was so clearly full of happy thoughts.

Once we got to the common room, Tanya and Geri split from us, both sending knowing smiles to Sian, who looked like she was trying to deny what they were telling her, but failed by her mouth twitching slightly. Anyhoo, Tanya and Geri went to see Leah Jones, and Chris, Chrissie and I sat down in our comfy armchairs by the fire.

Before Sian said anything, Chris said, "Sian, I - I'm sorry for all the things I said against you - and Kopa. Can you forgive me?"

Sian looked surprised by Chris' words, but after a few seconds her face broke into a smile as she said, "Of course I forgive you. What brought this on?"

Chris shrugged and said, "I dunno. I think it was just seeing you so happy with him at dinner ... and the way he was looking at you, so ..."

Sian's smile widened, as she said, "Thank you, Rickers. I hope that you'll meet him and try to get to know him?" Chris said he would, and Chrissie and I agreed to that, too, which made Sian even happier.

"So," Sian then said, "how was your day without me? Did anything exciting happen?"

We told Sian everything: how we looked for Mina in all the shops and the Flying Owls; how Lynn Baxter was having people out searching for Bernard Jenkins, and that she had with fauns looking for Mrs Clutch, for she hadn't been into work and was still ill; how Baxter wanted to help me with the egg; how Peter Meter had turned up, tried to ruin Baxter's life and Mina's, before I went on to say that I defended Mina against Meter's harsh treatment of her, and how Meter wanted to interview me about Mina, and how I denied him. Chris then told Sian how he stood against Meter, and what Meter had told him concerning Baxter, before we marched out of the pub and headed straight for Mina's cabin, where Chris banged on her front door, and were let in by Crighton. We then told Sian that we persuaded Mina to come back to work, which she agreed to after being ashamed of herself and wallowing in self-pity all week, before we finished by telling Sian what Mina said about her mum and about her believing that I could win the Tournament.

Sian listened attentively in silence to Chris, Chrissie and I, and as you can imagine, Sian had a lot to say about this.

"Well, quite frankly I'm not surprised that you didn't see Mina in Dragsmede, after we've seen nor heard a peep from her this past week. And as for Baxter, why she has fauns with her to look for Clutch, I do not know - but I am glad that she has people out looking for Bernard Jenkins. I mean, that took her long enough, didn't it? And I don't know why she's pestering you for help, Kiara, but I am glad that you refused her help. She's one of the judges, for crying out loud! She shouldn't be doing that! And as for Meter, well, I am glad that you defended Mina, Kiara - but Chris, you have to be careful around that man. You have no idea what he could write about you, now. You have no idea, Chris, the power that journalists have over the public eye. I'm afraid that you have made a very powerful enemy there, my friend - "

"Hey, I can take care of myself here!" Chris said indignantly. "He doesn't scare me that easily!"

Sian chuckled grimly, and said, "I know you can take care of yourself, Chris, and I know that he doesn't scare you easily, but in circumstances like these, it is best to take caution where wisdom is needed. Anyhoo, I don't know what Meter meant by cornering Baxter, but I'm sure we'll find out what this means at some point. I'm glad that Ma was there to comfort Mina. I may not be on speaking terms with her at the moment, but I am glad of that - just as I am glad to know that Mina's coming back to work, and I'm glad that you three were there with Ma to persuade her. It's good to hear that Mina's proud of who she is and is heeding her mother's words. After all, we should all be proud of who we are, and accept the way we were made. However, I am rather disgruntled about Mina's enthusiasm about you winning the Tournament, Kiara. Don't get me wrong," she added quickly, catching the looks of confusion and indignation on mine, Chris and Chrissie's faces, "I'm glad that she's supporting you, Kiara, but there are two tasks left, and we shouldn't be getting our hopes up so early. Besides," Sian said, brightening up, "you've pretty much got that egg figured out, haven't you, Kiara?"

"Yeah," I said. "'Course I have."

"Atta girl," Sian said, giving me a cheeky wink. I smiled at her, but inside I felt my insides squirm with guilt. the incomprehensible egg weighed more heavily than ever on my conscience that evening, and by the time I got into bed, I had made up my mind - it was time to shelve my pride, and see if Georgia's hint was worth anything.

AN: So, here's Sian's first date a day earlier than I had originally intended. I'm sorry it's short, but I wanted to focus more on the emotions and on Kovu's story rather than the sights themselves. Plus, I went through those before in book 3 with Kiara, so I felt it pointless to go through that again. I shall be updating again on Sunday.