A/N: Alright, in this chapter the story really starts to pick up. Anubis party, some Neddie fluff. And an event that I really hated writing. BUT I got to write a lot of things I'm really excited about! Be warned Fabina shippers! This chapter is also almost DOUBLE the length of my earlier chapters. Enjoy! Some warnings for the next chapter will be bellow.
"Goddamn it, people. There will be a huge party here in fifteen minutes! Pull yourself together!" Amber shrieked. She was trying to put out all the food that she had Trudy cooking all day, while pulling her hair out of curlers. She was a mess. Mara and Jerome were nowhere to be found, Lacie was hiding from Mick, and Eddie was moving everything she put down slightly, just to mess with her.
She put Nina in charge of decorating, so her and Fabian were trying to hang all the banners. Alfie was helping them, but he only managed to rip things, so Amber put him in the "time out chair." He took to tripping her when she got too close.
Somehow, Amber was able to get everything in order, including her hair. When the first people arrived there was no way for them to tell the hell that it took to get them there.
Amber looked stunning in her tiny pink dress and turned heads, like always. Alfie got a lot of congratulations. Lacie was a topic of interest, being the new girl and the only girl at the school from France. For the first time that day, she was happy that Mick was following her around. He scared off most of the boys who tried to flirt with her.
Nina and Fabian had a bast together. A much as Nina enjoyed having him as just her boyfriend, Sibuna wasn't the same without him. Eddie would just have to get over it. Fabian was happy to feel included again, too. They even danced together to a slow song, which won them an approving look from Amber who then started forcing everyone else in the house to dance. Joy managed to escape her, so she wasn't paired up, but Lacie and Mick couldn't and they both sent dirty looks towards Nina and Fabian whom everyone blamed.
"Can I cut in?" Eddie asked, dancing towards them with Patricia. Nina nodded and traded partners. She expected to be scolded, but instead he leaned down and whispered, "I had to dance with you at least once, Paragon." Nina prayed her blush wasn't visible.
"I'm sorry about Fabian," she whispered back, because she didn't think she would get another chance to.
"I get it. He's been there the whole time." Eddie was back to his normal self, which made Nina happy. He wasn't the best dancer ever, but he had a natural talent for it so the two swayed easily. They didn't get much time together, because Jerome and Mara swept in.
"Need Nina. Take Mara," he commanded. The music changed to a slightly faster song. He grabbed Nina's waist and pulled her away from Eddie.
"What do you want, Jerome?" She asked, taking his outstretched hand as they danced ballroom style. Jerome could really dance. For some reason she wasn't surprised.
"Never got the chance to talk to you. Mara wont leave me alone. It's about Rufus." He said, Nina was expecting this.
"He was pulled into hell. He's not coming back." This was the first thing her and Eddie researched. They needed to be sure he was gone.
"And what about Eddie? He wasn't even a part of your club..."
"He's the Osirian," Nina started her familiar speech. She had given it so many times before. "He was chosen by Osiris to protect the Paragon, from what and how, we aren't sure."
Jerome seemed satisfied. "Any more mysteries this term?" He said. It almost sounded like a joke, but she wasn't sure.
"Nina!" Amber yelled. "Why aren't you dancing with Fabian!?" Nina went to reply, but she cut her off. "Never mind. I need your help." She pulled Nina away from Jerome and commanded Alfie and him to dance.
She wrapped her arms around her American friend's waist. "Oh calm down. We can't stop dancing. And I don't actually need your help. I just wanted to tell you something."
"Why can't we stop dancing?"
"Image, duh," Amber replied. "Anyway, I need to tell you that... well... Alfie and I... slept together last night!" So that was what Amber wanted to talk about all day. Nina couldn't lie. She was shocked.
"That's big, Amber." Was all she could say. Did that mean that Amber would expect her to sleep with Fabian soon too?
"I know, but it really felt right. I love him." She seemed to be looking for approval.
"I'm happy for you! Just be careful." Nina warned. She was going to agree, but Jerome and Alfie caught up with them.
"Can we stop? He's literally the worst dancer ever. He's already stepped on my feet three times." Jerome complained. Amber rolled her eyes.
"No, you can stop dancing, but I need to talk to you. Alfie, I'll be back soon. Promise." Amber blew him a kiss. Out of the corner of her eye she must have seen someone stop, because she took Jerome and shouted, "Get back here! You will dance until I tell you to stop!"
"She's a menace," Nina laughed.
Alfie looked over his shoulder before responding. "Yes. She sure is."
Nina enjoyed talking to Alfie. He didn't bring up Sibuna or the Osirian... It was a nice change. She figured Mara would be another good person to talk to, maybe Lacie too, but something about that girl made Nina a little... nervous. Like she wasn't telling the truth about something. Luckily, mysterious people had become her staple. She'd get to the bottom of it, eventually.
Eventually Fabian and Mara danced their way over to her and Alfie. Mara agreed to dance with Alfie so Nina and Fabian could get back together. They laughed as the song changed and Alfie tried to convince Mara to grind. Fabian was far too respectful to do that, but Patricia and Eddie really got into it.
"Maybe we'll have to postpone our Sibuna meeting," she joked, noticing the way Patricia was looking at Eddie. Fabian seemed confused.
"You think they would..." He whispered awkwardly.
"Have you met Eddie? And it seems like everyone else is. Mara and Jerome, Amber and Alfie..." Nina replied nonchalantly. Not long ago she would have felt as awkward as Fabian looked, but she matured a lot over the Christmas holiday.
"Really?" He asked, astonished. Nina laughed at his baffled, innocent, expression. Amber danced her way back to Alfie and the two found their way over to the couple.
"So, having fun? There's beer in the kitchen, if you want it!" She shouted over the pounding bass. She was holding said beer.
"I think we're good, Am." Fabian said, looking at the bottle with distaste. The girls made eye contact and rolled their eyes at the same time. Fabian noticed. "What?"
"Secret girl language," Alfie explained. "It's a series of complicated movements and eye rolls. Right now they said Wow, Nina. Your boyfriend is such a geek he wont even drink one beer. And Nina replied, I know. He can never have a good time." He mimicked their voices perfectly. Fabian looked horrified.
"That was... actually pretty spot on." Nina said. Amber began leaning on Alfie for support. The beer was taking its toll on her. Nina gave Fabian an apologetic look. "Sorry, Fabes."
"You know what, I can have a good time. Fancy a beer, Nina?" Without waiting for a reply, he dragged Nina towards the kitchen. Alfie winked at her when Fabian wasn't looking. She mouthed thank you.
"I'm surprised Amber let us stop dancing," Fabian joked. In the living room Mara and Jerome glared at them with envy. Nina pointed to the bottle she grabbed and Mara immediately shook her head. Her and Fabian were so alike. Nina wondered if they had a history. Probably not, though. She was pretty obsessed with Mick when Nina started.
Normally, she would have opened her bottle by herself, but Fabian insisted on doing it, so she waited while he tied to twist off the pop-off cap. Across the room she noticed a boy she recognized but didn't know well laughing at him. Bored, she walked over to the boy
"He's not used to the party scene," Nina explained.
"I know. I'm Cory." He said with a smirk. Cory... didn't ring a bell.
"I'm Nina." She offered her hand, but he didn't shake it.
"Yeah. I know you. Until recently you were the only foreigner here. Stunningly beautiful, from Anubis House and always seems to get in trouble." Nina blushed at his complements. Was he flirting with her? "We have Algebra together, 3rd period."
Now she recognized him. "Oh yeah! Cory Colette, right? You sit behind my friend Patricia. Ra House."
"That's me." he answered. He's so charming, Nina thought. He had slightly shaggy dark hair and bright blue eyes. Something about him reminded her of Fabian.
"What do you think of the party?" Nina asked, not wanting to go back to Fabian just yet. "My best friend, Amber planned it."
"It's great! Your housemother must be fantastic. Mine would never let us have a party like this." Nina enjoyed talking to him. He caught her looking longingly at his beer. "Want one?"
"Yeah. My boyfriend is working on it over there." Fabian got no where with it.
"Boyfriend? Fabian Rutter?"He asked, then started laughing.
"Yeah... Almost a month, actually. We got together at the last party we held here. It was a long time coming." Maybe Fabian wasn't the type of guy most girls would go for, but she really cared for him. And it really was a long time coming. Up until Eddie came to Anubis, she hadn't noticed anyone else. Not even Jerome, and even made a few passes at her.
Cory silently offered her his beer anyway and she took a big swig of it. "Woah! Slow down, Miss Rutter." He said. Nina was already feeling fuzzy since she hadn't eaten since breakfast.
Fabian gave up on opening the beers and went over to her. "Can you get this?" He asked. Nina gave him a reassuring smile, then hit the caps off on the counter.
"Don't drink too fast," she instructed, handing him one. The last things she needed was a drunk Fabian to take care of. Next to her, Cory was rolling his eyes.
"How do you know Cory?" Fabian asked.
"Oh. I don't. Not really." She admitted. "Do you?"
"Yeah." Cory answered. "He knows me." Neither boy looked happy.
"We were friends in secondary school." They didn't offer any more information.
"Cory!" Joy yelled from across the room. She ran over and hugged him.
"I haven't seen you since we were twelve!" Cory embraced her back. Nina and Fabian quickly retreated. She could tell he wasn't happy. She wished that he would tell her more about Cory, but he started chugging his beer and didn't want to talk about it. They made their way to the couch where they attempted to have a conversation. Fabian was struggling with that.
"Nina, I don't like this. I feel... bubbly." She tried her very best to not laugh at him. Across the room Eddie had entered some beer drinking competition. Patricia was no where to be seen. For some reason, that really pissed Nina off. His girlfriend should be there with him to take care of him if he gets too wild like she suspected he would. She made sure to keep one eye on him as she talked to Fabian.
Three beers in, Eddie was looking green. She didn't know how many he drank before he started, but it must have been a lot to get him to even start in the first place.
"So much for protecting you." Fabian joked. He must have seen her looking at Eddie.
"I think he's off duty." Nina said. Fabian put a hand on her leg and suddenly became serious.
"If I were him, I'd never be off duty. I would always be there to protect you... I guess Patricia and I are in the way of him doing that," Fabian slurred. Nina was alarmed at his words, but he was too far gone to understand exactly what he had said. Of course, he was spot on. That's what scarred her most. If drunk Fabian understood, how long would it be until sober Fabian did too. Not long enough. She took another swig of beer, wishing the world would swallow her up.
It was starting to get late and most of the party was gone. Eddie was on his fifth beer and was obviously winning. The other competitor, a really trashy girl from Isis House, was half-way through her fourth and couldn't stand anymore without the help of her friend who was behind her. Amber was yelling at the boy controlling the music because she didn't like what he was playing. Joy and Cory were talking on another couch and Fabian was falling asleep on her shoulder.
Everyone else must have gone to their dorm. Nina continued to watch Eddie and he was just about done. Even so, he started his sixth just as the girl finished her fourth. When she reached for another, the nausea must have hit because she dropped and ran for the trash can. Eddie did a fist pump and looked pretty proud of himself.
Nina, tired of sitting, got up and went to help Eddie. He was leaning against the wall for support and needed to go to bed. Putter her arm around his shoulders, she began to lead him out of the room.
"Wha-What are you doooing?" He asked, stopping and refusing to move.
"Taking you to bed." She tried pulling him, but couldn't. He crossed his arms like a stubborn child.
"I- hic- don't wanna."
"Eddie, you just chugged five beers."
"No."
"Eddi-"
"No."
"But-"
"I'll go to bed if you dance with me again. The last one hardly counted." He said. Nina felt her blush on her cheeks.
"I thought you don't dance with anyone but Patricia." She teased. He grabbed her waist a little lower than she liked as "A Thousand Years," by Christina Perri started.
"You're the exception." He was serious. As much as Nina wanted to, she couldn't. They were both too intoxicated. She told herself to break away, to slip out of his grip, but couldn't find it in her to stop.
Across the room, Amber, self-proclaimed love expert, watched the couple.
The song was almost too perfect. Nina felt like the words were her own feelings. She wished she could freeze time right there with Eddie's strong arms wrapped around her while the world disappeared. There was something about the way he spun so naturally around the hard wood floor that made Nina feel so at ease.
When Eddie looked in her eyes like that she could forget that she had a destiny to fill. She could just be Nina dancing with Eddie. She also thought she understood the Osirian a little better. Her Osirian.
As the song began to pick up, so did their movement. Eddie released her and spun her back in, to him. They were so close that Nina could feel his breath tickling her face. She looked up at him and for the first time, allowed herself to really look at him.
She was drunk and that made his features fuzzy, but he was still perfect. A bad boy with a sweet heart...
"All along I believed I would find you," he sung into her ear. "Time has brought your heart to me, I have loved you for a thousand years, I'll love you for a thousand more." And Nina knew he meant it. As the song ended Eddie slowly- reluctantly- let go of her, but their faces never got farther away from each others. He brushed a lock of hair from her face gently. She closed her eyes, expecting him to kiss her, but he didn't.
"I'll go to bed now." He whispered. He left without looking at her again, leaving her standing alone in the center of the room, feeling rejected and like her heart was cheating.
Amber could feel her own heart breaking for the two of them. No one could miss the chemistry they had together in that moment. She couldn't even find it in her to be upset for Fabian and Patricia.
True love was rare and they found it, even if they didn't know it yet.
"Come on, Neens," she said, crossing the room to her best friend who obviously needed her right then. She led the American out of the living room and up the stairs to their shared room. She wouldn't pry, but would let Nina say whatever she had to.
And when all she did was cry, Amber was content to just hug her and promise that everything would be okay, even without knowing the problem.
"Amber, repeat after me." Patricia commanded. "I will never plan a party for a school night again."
"I will never plan a party for a school night again," she reluctantly repeated. She looked the best out of everyone in the house. Most of the girls had their messy hair pulled back because they didn't want to get out of bed early enough to do it. She at least straightened it and put some makeup on. Everyone but Fabian and Eddie were sitting around the table in various states of exhaustion. Eddie refused to get out of bed no matter what so Trudy and Victor were trying to drag him out, and Fabian was so hung over from the night before, he wouldn't leave the living room, where he slept, and wouldn't talk to anyone, even Nina. She was the worst looking one of all. Her hair was pulled into a bun and her face was makeup free.
"You have to admit, she threw a good party." Nina said. Everyone sounded in agreement.
"I know. I'm fantastic. Aaaaand, it seems my get together sparked some new love. Joy, was that Cory Colette? Secondary school heart-throb?" Amber pried.
"Old friend, you know that." Joy explained. " We grew apart and since he takes all of those high level classes, I haven't talked to him in almost three years." Amber rolled her eyes.
"Puh-leese. I know sparks when I see them." No one but Nina saw Amber quickly glance over at her American friend. She hadn't been sure what to think about Amber knowing that something was going on. She didn't think she would say anything, but having someone else know made things a little too real.
She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't notice when Jerome was talking to her until-
"Earth to Nina!" He shouted, waving a toast filled hand in front of her face. Amber quickly covered for her.
"Leave her alone. She's tired and hungover." Even though Amber could be annoying, she was a true friend.
"Probably tired from shagging her boyfriend." He joked, laughing loudly. Mara slapped his arm.
"Jerome" She scolded.
"Whipped," Alfie muttered under his breath. Mara had to stop Jerome from doing something. The annoyance on his face was obvious. She noticed.
"Fine. Go ahead. You can murder each other." Alfie and Jerome looked at each other and the food fight began.
"I'll show you whipped!" Jerome yelled, tossing a whole stick of half melted butter at him.
Nina shrieked when she was hit in the face with a big spoonful of jam from Mick then quickly retaliated. Everyone but Amber was having fun throwing food around, while she was yelling "If I get hit with one morsel I swear to go we are done, Alfie!"
"Stop!" Victor roared from the hallway. All movement stopped at once. He started pacing around the room, trying to be menacing. Eddie trudged in behind him and took the seat meant for Fabian next to Nina possessively, too tired to notice Patricia's murderous glare. He had an ice pack held to his forehead. "Who started this?"
Patricia was the first to speak. "You don't scare us anymore, Victor." Outwardly, Nina acted as frustrated with her as everyone else, but secretly, she admired her boldness.
"Well well well. You'll see how scary I am when I get you expelled, Ms. Williamson. But for now, you've earned everyone here one day of house arrest." Everyone groaned. "Stop your wining. I think it is only fair that you all clean up from your little party last night. Yes yes. You will be scrubbing this house from top to bottom instead of going to your classes today." He did one more sweep around the room then dramatically left.
"Drama queen," Amber said in a sing-song voice. No one was looking at her, though. Everyone was focused on Patricia.
"What?"
"Fabian?" Mick said. They were in the kitchen, their assigned room to clean. While the whole house was upset they had to clean all day, they were grateful they didn't have to sit through a day of school.
"What's up, mate." Fabian said. Him and Mick had grown apart lately, so he was happy to get to work with him today, until they spent two hours in silence. Before Nina, Mick was his best mate. He hated growing apart from friends and the list was growing longer and longer.
"What do you think I should do, you know, 'bout Mara?" Love issues... not Fabian's forte. Obviously. Otherwise he would know what to do about Nina.
"Wish I could tell ya, mate. I've got my own girl problems."
"You and Nina?" He asked, shocked. "What problems could you possibly have?"
Fabian desperately wished he could tell Mick everything. "Her and Eddie.. they've gotten close."
Mick gave him a look of understanding. "Sounds familiar. At least you have the girl..."
"Hey! I'll end up like you soon if I can't fix it!" Mick rolled his eyes pulled Fabian into a headlock, just like before.
"Oi!" Fabian yelled, struggling against him. Mick was stronger, so he only got out when he let him go.
"Maybe you need to come to the gym with me sometime." He teased.
"Maybe you should come to the library with me sometime." He muttered under his breath. Mick tossed his sponge at him.
"Heard that. But honestly, what can I do to get her back.. I knew I ever should have left.." It hurt Fabian to see Mick so upset and to not be able to do anything about it.
"Why do you want to get her back, anyway. What about Lacie? You spent the whole day with her yesterday." He asked, admittedly a little jealous. Any boy in the school would love to spend some time with her. She only seemed interested in Joy, though, and Joy didn't even like girls.
"Yeah, but she hated every second of it. Besides, I only did it to get to Mara and she didn't even notice." Mick grumbled.
"Oh... I'm sure she noticed." Fabian said halfheartedly. He knew full well that she hadn't noticed one bit.
"Shut it. You're a terrible liar." He said.
"I know..."
"Doesn't she know what a jerk he is?" Fabian wasn't sure what to say. Of course she knew, but Jerome let her see a side of him no one else could. "Don't answer that... you know what! I've got a plan."
"Is it better than the Lacie plan?" He said quietly.
"Someone's sarcastic today," Mick said back. "And yes, it's better than the Lacie plan." He started violently scrubbing the dishes.
"Wha-What is it?" Fabian wasn't sure he wanted to know. Being an accessory to a crime probably looked bad on a Uni application.
"I'm going to expose him for who he really is."
"It's days like this that I really hate your big mouth, Trixie." Jerome grumbled.
The two of them, being the worst behaved, according to Victor, were in charge of scrubbing all of the floors in the entire house, and they had only just finished the one in Mara and Lacie's room. While they were both tired, at least Jerome wasn't hung over. He and Mara were the only ones who didn't drink the night before. He would have if it weren't for her, though. She was so against drinking, it wasn't worth fighting.
"Oh shut it, Slimeball," she said, rolling her eyes. "Do you want to do the hallway first, or... what are you doing?" He had begun messing around with Mara's dresser.
"Looking for something," he said, not looking up.
"Figured that out. Why?" She asked. He was pissing her off. He shouldn't be going through her stuff.
"Found it!" He shouted, pulling out a small pill-box. IT was hidden at the bottom of her sock drawer, so she knew it was something she wanted hidden.
"What do you think you're doing?!" She demanded again. She put down her cleaning supplies and walked over to him. She tried to take the box from him, but he pulled it from her reach.
"Relax, Williamson. I just needed to be sure that these-" He motioned towards the box, "-exist."
"What are they?" He popped open the case to reveal a wheel with seven small compartments all but one of which held a tiny white pill. "Oh." She said in understanding.
"All good," he said, and snapped the lid shut and put it back in her sock drawer.
"Have you and Mara... you know?" Patricia asked as they retrieved the cleaning supplies and started cleaning the hallway.
"Yes." He answered, chuckling. She was pissed that he found her innocence amusing. "What about you and Eddie?"
"No!" She answered immediately. "I'm not... do I seem... would you think..."
"Trixie! Shut. Up." He commanded. "No, you don't seem like you would. You seem like the kind of girl that would make you work for it." Was he saying she was prude? He must have been making fun of her...
"Oh?" Was all she could think to say. He was right, she guessed, but as if Jerome needed something else on her.
"Less talking, more working," Victor barked, walking through the hallway.
When he was gone, she spoke again. "Why did you need to check her birth control pills?" She hated that he went through her stuff and wanted to see if he had a real reason. If not, she'd have to tell Mara.
"I told you. I needed to be sure they existed." Jerome said.
"What does that mean?" She whined. He could be so obnoxious sometimes.
"It means, Patricia, my dear, that we slept together and she told me not to use a condom because she was on the pill." She was stunned. That was so unlike the Mara she knew. Patricia wasn't sure if she really didn't know Mara at all or if Jerome changed her so much in the three short weeks they had been together.
"Why couldn't you just trust her?" She asked.
"Do you know me? I don't trust anyone."
They didn't say anything else for a while. She wasn't sure how to respond. What was there to say anymore?
"Don't bring this up to her, will you?" He sounded casual, but Patricia saw through it. That relationship wouldn't last long if he couldn't even trust her to not be trying to get pregnant. "You know, I miss hanging out with you. We were close when we were younger. Used to do all kinds of pranks together before you and Joy became friends."
She didn't understand why he said that. It seemed like he was trying to get her to keep his secret, but nothing on his face made it look like he was lying. "That was years ago. When we were 10."
"Sorry. Being nostalgic." He apologized. "Being with Mara is making me act so grown up. We oughta do something together. Blow up the science lab, maybe."
"What do you want, Jerome?" She asked.
"Just an old friend back."
Nina felt her phone buzz in her pocket. It was a text from Eddie.
Sibuna. Now. Bring your boyfriend. It read. She could almost hear his arrogant voice.
Alright. Your room? She replied.
Sounds good. Don't let Victor catch you slacking off ;).
What did he mean? He couldn't possibly know that she was in her room right then. She had finished her chore of cleaning the bathrooms ages ago and chose to sleep, or try to rather, instead of helping someone else, like they were instructed to. She needed the break after last night. She wasn't able to fall asleep for a long time. Her and Eddie's dance kept playing over and over in her mind.
She stopped in the kitchen to grab Fabian on her way to Eddie's room. Him and Mick were just about done so Mick said it would be okay for them to go (giving Fabian a wink. Nina was sure that he thought they were about to do something together).
"I apologize for anything he says to you." Nina said, kissing her boyfriend on the cheek. She hesitated before opening the door. Eddie was laying on top of his bed overs inside. He had Osirian and a few translating books out, but he didn't look like he was doing too much actual work with them. Fabian and Nina sat on Fabian's bed.
When they got settled, Eddie went into a detailed explanation of all their research that they did. Nina didn't pay much attention though. She enjoyed just listening to him talk. His voice was magical. Intoxicating. She remembered their dance the night before and wondered if he did too. While he was talking about the after life, where exactly Rufus was, the Egyptian gods and more, Nina was day dreaming about talking to him, kissing him... touching him.
"Right, Nina?" Eddie said, bringing her back to her senses.
"What?"
"I said, we found this book in a secret compartment, right Nina?" He said giving her a funny look.
"Oh yeah. We did."
"Are you feeling alright? You look flushed." Eddie said. He got up and crossed the room to feel her forehead.
She rolled her eyes. "Your Osirian is show in." He stuck his tounge out and removed his hand. She felt that energy again, but this time it was stronger than usual. Probably because her boyfriend was sitting right there. She felt like such a tramp.
"Could I see that book, Eddie?" Fabian asked.
"Sure." He tossed the book to Fabian who barely caught it. He flipped open to the first page and looked up at Nina and Eddie, confused.
"You said this was written in hieroglyphics." He said.
Eddie and Nina exchanged a look. "Ummm... yeah." Nina said.
"Chapter one: History." Fabian read, "The Osirian is one of two of the guardian's of the Paragon."
"What the hell!" Eddie said, snatching the book back.
"It's written in plain English." Fabian said strangely. He didn't understand why Nina and Eddie were looking at him like he was crazy.
"No. It's not. I'm looking at it!" Eddie yelled.
"I just read it to you. Want me to keep going?"
"Why would you be able to read it if I can't. I'm the Osirian!"
"Boys!" Both of them stopped shouting and looked at her. "We don't know why, but Fabian can read something we can't."
"But why?" Eddie asked sharply.
"I think we should be more concerned with what he read. One of two guardians!" Eddie looked at her like she had two heads before he understood.
"The third... Those voices- Nina! You're a genius!" And before Nina knew what was happening, Eddie picked her up and spun her around the room. She was sure that if Fabian wasn't there he would have kissed her. Part of her wished Fabian wasn't there. She wanted Eddie more than ever in that moment.
"I'm not a genius... We still don't know who, or why those voices were so insistent." She said when he finally put her down, mostly to ease the tension in the room. "Fabian, would you read us more?"
"Of course, Nina." He said, but it was obvious that he was affected by their display. How much longer would she hurt him before she got over this petty crush she had on Eddie. It wasn't fair to any one of them, especially Eddie. She convinced him that she cared about him more than she did and now he thought he was in love with her.
Nina curled up on Fabian's bed against his chest while he read. Eddie pulled over a chair and watched them carefully. "Him and the Paragon date back to the first Chosen One, Amneris and her consort. The consort was chosen for her by Osris meant to protect the high priestess so that she could live a long, fruitful life, in which, she would share her secrets. He is meant to be her opposite in every way. Someone who will tell her when he thinks she is making a mistake. Someone who she most likely wouldn't be friends with, under different circumstances. While every Paragon is descended from Amneris, the Osirian could be anyone.
"When the first Osirian was chosen, Amneris refused him. She felt that as a High Priestess of Isis, her consort should be chosen by her. That is why when the Paragon first meets her Osirian, he will seem like someone untrustworthy, and she will immediately dislike him.
"Isis decided that she too would chose a consort for her High Priestess, also disliking her husband's choice, being herself, much like the first Paragon. This man, the Isiasus was almost exactly like Amneris. He was a close friend of hers and they instantly fell in love. The Osirian, still bound to her, was incredibly jealous. In his rage he married a peasant girl, Femi, who knew nothing of his stature.
"Osris, angered by the Osirian's actions, cursed his wife so that she would never be able to love anyone but him. While the Osirian sought after Amneris, even after his joining with his wife, she patiently followed him, hoping he would be able to love her the way she loved him.
"As time passed, Amneris grew bored of the Isiasus. She longed for someone to disagree with and for someone to challenge her. It was then she discovered the Osris was right in his choice all along. She called upon her Osirian in secret and seduced him away from his wife. Each of their many affairs were held hidden far away, where Isis herself couldn't find out about the act. Osris blessed their union and helped them keep it from his wife. Amneris's conflicting emotions and her love for each of her consorts caused her to grow weak, and careless. The Isiasus caught Amneris and the Osirian, and he prayed to Isis for guidance.
"Isis felt pity on the boy, and decided to gift him and label him as the Paragon's protector, rather than her consort. Osris also decided to gift his chosen one, who now joined Amneris in marriage. The Isiasus became her closest adviser. He was there to guide her to the best path, while the Osirian was there to help her better herself. The two always had a rivalry that often caused great grief to Amneris. She prayed to Isis for some way to calm their hatred.
"Her wish was granted in a form that is only know to the Paragon. Using it, they lived in harmony, fighting the creatures that walked the earth and threatened Egypt. They lived long happy lives and the Osirian and Amneris had one child. A girl born on the first hour of the first day of the first month of the year. When Amneris passed, her powers were passed on to her child. Horus, seeing how difficult the transition was for both of them, gave a physical form to the High Priestess's powers. A locket, holding a picture of the previous Chosen One.
"Once the new Paragon received the locket, the powers of the Osirian and the Isiasus were taken away, to be given to the next, once their powers are activated. Thus, the cycle continues." He concluded. Nina's head was reeling. He closed the book quietly and no one spoke.
Eddie broke the silence, "Amneris really got around, eh?" There was one beat before both Fabian and Nina started scolding him. "Alright alright. Sorry!"
"I guess this means we know the name of what we're looking for. Isiasus." Nina said. Fabian felt the word resonate in his chest. He wrote it off, but it lingered in the back of his mind.
"What does this mean for us, Nina?" Fabian asked. He was thinking of how the story ended and she ended up with her Osirian.
"Come on, Fabes. I love you." She said. The look he gave her told her he didn't fully believe her.
"I knew there was something going on between you two!" He stood up and started pacing around the room.
"Dude," Eddie said, "There is nothing going on between us. I have some standards." He laughed at his joke and winked at Nina.
"Not funny."
"Just give it a rest, both of you." Fabian said harshly. His words hit her like a slap to the face. Eddie took a few steps back, to give them their space. This wasn't his fight.
"Fabian..." she said, reaching out to put a hand on his arm. He pulled away from her.
"No, Nina," he said. "I love you so much. And you don't know how much it hurts knowing there is nothing I can do, because you and Eddie will end up together happy." He spat out the last word. She could feel her eyes start to moisten and tried to stop herself from crying.
"We don't know that! Just because Amneris felt that way, doesn't mean I do!" She raised her voice, not because she was angry, but because her emotions were running too high. Eddie recognized it, but Fabian didn't.
"Take a deep breath," Eddie commanded. She did as he said, but turned on him.
"Don't tell me what to do." He put his hands in his pocket and backed away from her.
"Eddie, can I talk to Nina? Alone!" Fabian said. Eddie was reluctant to leave, but did anyway. Rationally he knew Fabian wasn't a threat to Nina, but he still lingered close to the door so he could come back in at any time, just in case.
"What is going on between you and Eddie?" He heard Fabian ask, praying Nina wouldn't tell him about the incident.
"Nothing is going on. We're friends and hardly even that! He's always there to make sure I don't trip and fall to my death or something. He did save my life."
"That used to be my job, Nina"
"It can be both of your jobs!"
"Well, I don't trust him."
"Well he doesn't trust you!" She paused. "This sounds like something you need to work out."
Fabian said nothing. Finally he replied, "I wish you understood what it's like to watch the person you love fall for someone else."
His voice was timid, but she had no mercy. Her voice sounded hysterical. "I don't?!" She roared. "All last term, watching you fall for Joy!? Going on dates with her! Eddie and I are bound together by fate! I didn't chose that!"
"Joy and I have been friends since we were eleven. Was I supposed to drop her because you didn't like her?!"
Low blow, Eddie thought. That's not what she said at all...
"She had a lot more than friendship on her mind." A pause. "Can we stay on topic please? Or I'm going to bring Eddie back in here and let him fight you because I really don't want to do it."
Eddie would have loved nothing more than for Nina to let him go in and bash Fabian's head in.
"No... I mean... yes- I mean... I think we should- we should break up." Eddie couldn't believe what he heard.
"What?" She sounded as heart broken as she sounded pissed just a few seconds ago.
"We were so much better off as friends... we never would have fought like this..."
She didn't answer for a long time. "Best friends?"
"Best friends," he responded happily.
"I'll go get Eddie," she said. He moved away from the door so it didn't look like he was listening to them.
"Are you okay?" He asked gently. She nodded. He gave her an are-you-kidding-me look and opened his arms for her. She gladly accepted his hug, and buried her face in the crook of his neck.
"I just got dumped, didn't I?" She said quietly. He took her face in his hands and made her look up.
"Smile. You're going to be okay." She gave a sad attempt at a smile, but at least she wasn't crying. He kissed her on the forehead and led her back in.
Eddie was terribly sorry for both of them. He continued from where he left off in his rant about Sibuna, "The last thing we need to talk about is the mysterious reappearance of Mr. Andrews. Nina and I were talking, and we think that their secret society is reforming. Which means my dad is back to his evil schemes."
"It also means they will be looking for a new member, to replace Mr. Winkler." Nina explained. Sometime during the holiday all the students received a letter that said he passed away from his condition that prevented him from teaching the past term. Amber was particularly devastated, but got over it when they met the new new history teacher, an attractive boy right out of college.
"Why would they reform? It's over for them, right? The elixir is mostly gone and they believe the cup is destroyed." Fabian asked.
Nina couldn't meet his eyes while she responded. "Something I didn't want to tell you. Remember when I was trapped under the board game?" He nodded yes, thinking of the unkind memory. "Well, while I was there, Victor's father's ghost visited me and asked me to give something to Victor. A ring."
"What's that got to do with anything?"
"When we went into the cellar last week, we saw a whole bunch of elixir. We think that there might have been some of the missing ingredients, the tears of gold, hidden inside the ring. Its the only explanation we could think of." Eddie said.
"You really think so?" Fabian questioned, not buying it.
"Wouldn't have said it if I didn't." Eddie said, easing back into his normal jerky self.
"Boys," Nina scolded, knowing she wouldn't be able to handle it if they fought. She was hardly able to handle it now.
"Cool it, Paragon. Just because you got-"
"Eddie!" Fabian cut him off. It made her feel bad that he was defending her. She wasn't sure why Eddie was being so mean when he was supportive five minutes ago.
"I don't need you to defend me." Nina said to Fabian, then turned to Eddie. "And I shouldn't need defending from you. We're a team! Sibuna." She put her right hand over her right eye.
"Sibuna," they echoed, mimicking her movement. Eddie still found it strange, but to Fabian and Nina, it was second nature. It had been over a year since Amber made it up.
"Do you mind if I keep the book?" Fabian asked. "I'll copy it out into English so you two can read it." Eddie rolled his eyes. Nina gave him a knock-it-the-fuck-off look, then turned to Fabian.
"That would be great." She said. The tension in the room was too high for Nina's liking. "I should go before I get caught."
"Go, Nina," Eddie urged, his voice was kind. She nodded and left the room, finally allowing herself to cry. She leaned on the wall in the hallway and tried to feel nothing as the tears streamed down her cheeks, then composed herself long enough to go look for Amber.
"Amber," she called throughout the house. Amber was nowhere to be found, just her luck.
"Woah, Nina. Are you alright?" Lacie walked when they almost crashed into each other in the kitchen.
"No. I really need to talk to Amber." She said through her sobs.
"I think she sneaked out with Alfie to see that movie. Weren't you and Fabian going to- what's wrong?" At the mention of his name, Nina started crying even more. "Well you can always talk to me. God knows I could use a friend."
Nina started feeling a little bad for Lacie. It wasn't that people were unwelcoming of her, just that everyone at Anubis was very couply. Mara and Jerome, Amber and Alfie, Eddie and Patricia... her and Fabian. Then Mick was so busy obsessing over Mara to be a good friend, which only left Joy who was annoying at the best of times. Lacie and her seemed to be getting along well, but Nina could tell Lacie wasn't happy.
"Would you mind listening?" She asked. Lacie was nice enough to her.
"Why don't we head up to my room. We can talk there." She offered Nina a tissue before leading her upstairs. "Alright. Spill it, girl." She said trying, and failing, to correctly use American slang. It sounded awkward coming out with her French accent. "Okay, even I know that sounded silly." They both giggled, but Nina's laugh was halfhearted.
"Fabian and I... broke up today." She choked out. Lacie wasn't all that shocked.
"I'm so sorry... Do you want to tell me what happened? I'll listen."
This is where Nina had to be really careful. She couldn't say anything about being the Paragon and she couldn't say anything about her and Eddie, just in case it got back to Patricia. Amber would have been so much easier to talk to. "He thought Eddie and my friendship was too close... I just love him so much, Lacie... I don't want to go back to being just best friends with him." There. Not the truth, but not a lie.
Lacie had it all figured out, though. Obviously it had something to do with the Paragon and the Osirian. Maybe Fabian had no clue why they would become friends all of a sudden, or maybe he found out that they are destined to be lovers. The only way to find out would be to ask, but that didn't seem like the best idea. How much should Nina know she knows? If only Set would give her any guidance at all.
"Trust her," a voice breathed into the room. They both looked up.
"Did you hear that?" Nina asked. Lacie nodded her head without thinking. It wasn't a human voice, and it wasn't the voice of a god she recognize. Nina didn't seem to recognize it either. "Wait... why can you hear it?"
Dammit. Cover blown. She was giving Lacie a really scared look. She would have to make up something quick. Or maybe not. Who was the voice talking to? Her or Nina?
Perhaps the best solution could be the most simple. Show her.
She formed a ball shape with her hand and willed a ball of flame to rest there.
"Holy Shit!" Nina cursed, jumping up and stumbling away from her. Well, at least she wasn't crying anymore. Lacie never was good with tears. She looked terrified yet intrigued at the same time.
"You and Eddie aren't the only chosen ones here." Lacie said. Nina started breaking out into a huge smile.
"Are you the Isiasus?" Nina asked. Lacie put more energy into maintaining her ball of fire.
"No, sorry. How much do you know about the Isiasus?" Lacie asked, trying to gauge how much Nina understood.
"Not much," She admitted. "Just what we read in a book." All tears were gone, in their place excitement.
"I might be able to tell you some more... if you want." Lacie said. She was so excited that she got this sign to trust Nina because now she had someone to talk to about everything.
"How do you know all of this? And how are you doing that?" She asked, gesturing to Lacie's hand.
"Chosen one magic, similar to, but slightly more destructive than, what your Isiasus can do. And many many years of learning." Lacie explained. She sent her fireball to the center of the room and made a tiny controlled explosion that sent harmless sparks flying everywhere. Nina watched with morbid fascination.
"What else can you do?" She was practically begging to see more. So Lacie showed her more. She conjured a ball of smoke and shaped it into and ankh symbol, allowing it to dissipate into the air. "That is so cool. Can I do that?"
"Sorry. No. The Paragon is a High Priestess, not a witch. You can call on gods, something no one else can do."
This was a bit much for Nina to take in. The new French girl knew more about her than she knew about herself. "That's so... Interesting." Her eyes lit up with curiosity.
"Isn't it! I've been studying for years and it never fails to surprise me. If you want, I can help teach you... maybe me, you and your Osirian can hang out sometime. I can train him, if he doesn't have a trainer already." Lacie suggested, shyly. Of course, it was her destiny to do just that, train him and the Isiasus (at least as far as she knew. That was all she had been told so far), so it would have to be done somehow.
"It would have to be with all four of us. Fabian too. We have this... group. Really there should be seven of us, but I haven't been telling them everything to protect them..."
"Are they all chosen?" It didn't seem likely, but weirder things happened when it came to this stuff.
"No. Just Eddie and I. But Amber, Patricia, Alfie, and Fabian have always been there, ever since the first mystery we solved here." Lacie had no idea so many people knew about the Paragon in such a small place. It seemed so reckless. What if one of the enemy found out? Like Victor. His use of the Elixir of Life was so obvious that even Nina had to know about it. She put that on her list of things to ask her about later.
"Mysteries?" Lacie asked.
"Things the Frobisher-Smythes left behind in the house for the Paragon to find one day. It's how we figured out I was the Chosen One in the first place." She explained, "I'm not sure what to do now, though. Without a mystery to solve, the only thing I have left to do is wait until I learn more."
"The gods can be confusing sometimes... They expect so much from you but don't tell you what to do..." Lacie lamented. "Do you have any idea what your specific destiny is?"
"No," she confessed. "All I know is it is dangerous and I never would have let any else get involved if I knew what this meant at the beginning."
"So, do you want to tell them or not?" Lacie asked. They would make their own choice when they were told so she didn't see an issue with it.
"No. Yes. No..." She said indecisively.
Lacie laughed. She wondered if Nina would have trusted her if it wasn't for that voice. Probably not. "Why don't we start with just Eddie and Fabian and we can work up from there, if you want."
Nina smiled, "that sounds perfect."
"Can I offer one piece of advice? This will be a lonely life if you don't let people in." Lacie warned. "The company of one, maybe two if the powers of the Isiasus are activated, boys will not be enough. Lots of Paragons have had teams of five or six other people backing them. Once, in Vietnam, there was a Paragon who built up a team of forty men to back her up... they did some amazing things together."
"Forty men doesn't sound like my style," Nina joked. "Thank you... for telling me, for cheering me up... everything. Do you want to meet up in Eddie's room tonight? After lights out?"
Yes! Perfect! Sneaking around was one of Lacie's talents. "Sounds great."
"I'll text you later, but now I think I need to get downstairs before Victor finds me."
"See you tonight." Lacie said. Nina left the room.
She felt a huge weight lift off her chest. What could make Nina trust her more than telling her the truth?Getting on the inside would be the best way to get information...
She was lying to herself. The only reason she wanted to become a part of their silly group was because she genuinely like them and wanted to help."
"Remember who you belong to!" A voice reminded her. Set.
"Would you mind, maybe not telling Patricia about the whole... Amneris thing?" Eddie asked Fabian much later. They didn't speak for almost a full hour and when they did, it was simple stuff. This was the first full sentence.
"There's a lot of stuff you don't want to tell Patricia lately." Fabian grumbled. He had began typing out the book but it was tedious and painful. He got to learn all about the lovely adventures Eddie and Nina would be going on. Mostly, though, it was just boring.
"Look, I'm just trying to protect her. And I really think we should try to be nice to each other, for Nina's sake. It's not my fault what that book says and it's not hers either." Eddie said. Fabian knew he was right, but hated that he had been the one to suggest it.
"What are you trying to protect her from?" He asked, ignoring all of the last part of what he said.
"From feeling obligated to stay with Nina an I her whole life, because I know she will. I care about her too much for that. If we all pretend there's nothing going on, everyone if free to live their life the way they want to. If we advertise what's happening, the whole cult mindset you've got going on, will kick in and they wont be free to chose what they want to do anymore." He said coldly. He paused before he continued. "All I want is the best for both girls, because they're the most important things in my life. And if not telling her is that, then so be it."
"So you'll just be screwing Nina while you're dating Patricia? Is that best for both of them?" Fabian said, raising his voice.
"Calm the fuck down." Eddie said also raising his voice. "I'm not screwing anybody."
"No. You're just lying to them. You're lying to everyone!"
"I'm not lying to anybody! You're acting crazy because you stupidly broke up with Nina for no reason!"
"Well, in my book, keeping secrets is the same as lying."
"Someone has selective hearing today..."
"What are you two screaming about?" Patricia asked, swinging the door open. Eddie and Fabian both froze, then went back to ignoring each other. "Alright... I just came to warn you. Victor's on a rampage. He found out that Amber and Alfie sneaked out. Thought I would warn you." She was talking mostly to Eddie. He was the one who would get into trouble.
"Thanks." Eddie said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes?
Patricia went to leave, but stopped before she could. "Are you alright?"
"Of course, Yacker. I'm always alright." Eddie lied too easily, especially to Patricia. It scared him some of the things he would be able to get away with. Cheating for instance.
"Okay... I've gotta get back to polishing the floors before Jerome lynches me." She left quickly, wishing she hadn't stayed for those few extra moments. She didn't like the atmosphere in the room.
Eddie couldn't blame her. He didn't like the atmosphere and he was mostly the cause of it.
Fabian, Nina, Eddie and Lacie never did get to have their meeting. Fabian started getting violently sick in the evening. Trudy blamed a lack of rest. Victor blamed a lack of discipline. Either way, he was not fit for a Sibuna meeting, even though he fought through school all week. Nina refused to have the meeting without him and Eddie was horrified to discover that now Fabina was over, she was closer with him than ever. Occasionally someone would hear him mutter "I'm the Osirian. Stupid mortal boy." Patricia was starting to get seriously worried.
Lacie blamed herself somewhat. They began their training sessions the next day and they made Mick's workout routines look like child's play. Besides the fact that she was too pretty for his own good. They did a lot of cardio and hand to hand combat, because that was most likely to be useful. Nina would usually join them in one of their two a day workouts, but couldn't handle it like Eddie could. She had taken to calling him Buffy, because he reminded her of a character from a television show she used to watch. He didn't like it. Being driven to exhaustion wasn't suiting him well and it made him even more irritable than ever.
Nina was actually happier now that she and Fabian broke up. He was right, they were better off as friends. Amber, the biggest Fabina shipper in the world, was much less happy.
"Are you sure it's for good this time?" She whined the next Friday afternoon. Fabian was still sick and Nina was getting ready to go with him to see a doctor.
"Yes. I'm sure. We're done, and really happy." Nina said, thinking of Eddie again. She hadn't been able to think of much but Eddie ever since Fabian read them that book. She couldn't help but hope she followed some of what her ancestor did.
"That's so depressing." Amber lamented. "Does anyone else have your eye?" Nina internally groaned. Amber had been trying to get her to admit her feelings for Eddie ever since the party. So far she hadn't been able to, but she was getting better and better at it. It was only a matter of time before she figured out everything and that couldn't be good.
"No, Amber." She was such a bad liar, but Amber didn't say anything else this time.
"Have fun at the doctor," she said, defeated. Nina smiled at her, grabbed her bag, and left.
"Nina, hey-where are you going?" Eddie asked, running into her in the hall, noticing her coat. He was covered in sweat so she could tell that he just got back from a training session. That was the worst time to run into him.
"Going to the doctor with Fabian," she explained. She went to continue walking, but he stood in her way. "What are you doing?"
"Why?" He asked stubbornly. "I thought you two broke up." She couldn't count the amount of times he used that line in the past week. ("I'm just bringing him some medicine." "Why? I thought you two broke up?" or "I'm helping him to his room because he's sick." "Why? I thought you two broke up?" and her favorite, "I'm calling the ambulance because he fainted and wont wake up." "Why? I thought you two broke up?").
"He's still my best friend." She said, like she usually did. "Can you get out of my way? I'm going to ride in the taxi with him and we need to leave."
"I don't think you should go. What if you get attacked." Normally she thought his over protectiveness was cute, but now it was really pissing her off.
"I"m not a child. Why do you even care?" She asked.
He started laughing the same way he did whenever he started going on a crazy rant. "You think I care about you!? You've got it all wrong. The Osirian in me cares about my Paragon. Eddie thinks you're an annoying, too smart, geek who's beautiful, but so not worth my time." What he said hurt her more than she let show. His words stung because she knew they were somewhat true. Under different circumstances, he wouldn't care about her at all.
But the circumstances weren't different, and he did care about her. Why should it matter what things would have been like. Nina took a tentative stop towards him. "Well, Nina cares about Eddie." And she meant it, because she and the Paragon were the same, as were Eddie and the Osirian. They couldn't be separated, so why try?
Eddie moved out of her way. "I have a bad feeling about this. If you're going, I'm coming with you." It was statement. He spoke so reluctantly, as if he hated the idea of coming with her. She knew he only hated how much her really did care about her.
"You have a bad feeling about everything." She teased. They walked together to meet Lacie and Fabian in the front hall of the house so they could leave. Trudy wasn't thrilled that so many of them were going, but allowed it.
"You clean up well," Fabian noticed when he saw Lacie and Eddie standing next to each other. Even though he was barely conscious the whole week, he had some idea of what was going on and he knew they started training together.
"Yeah..." She said absentmindedly. She was looking at Fabian funny. Nina learned not to question her when she did things like that. It probably meant she was trying to figure something out and that was always good for them. "Come on. We need to get going." She said abruptly. Nina and Eddie exchanged a look before leading Fabian out the door after her.
A/N: Our story really picked up in this chapter! We get to see a lot more into what the Osirian is, and we learned a lot more about the Isiasus who, until recently, was only mentioned a few times in random places! As we get further along in the story, I think I'm going to publish a separate story of each of the books that Nina, Eddie and the gang find (yes there will be more!). Let me know if you think that's a good idea!
Next chapter, expect some hard times if you're attached to any of our current couples! Only one makes it to the end of the story, and they struggle to get there! I've gotten a few of my ideas from gifs of the third season I've seen, and it's changed my perception of romance in Anubis a lot. Some of you can probably guess what couple I'm talking about, but you'll have to wait and be sure.
Also, what do you think of the new character I introduced? Cory Colette? He wasn't there for long, but it seems like him, Joy, and Fabian have a history together! What lovely drama can stir up from that?
Find out next week iiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnn RACE TO IMMORTALITY (you know the title should give you a hint to what this story will be about just saying :D)
See you in the next update my lovely readers!