(Sam's POV)
Waking up, I felt a weight on my body and shoulder. Looking over, I see Claire's head on my shoulder and a blanket over each of our own bodies. Moving her head off to a pillow so she could be more comfortable, I slowly got up so as to not wake her. Damn, she made those drinks strong. I barely remember anything last night thanks to the headache I currently had.
Heading to the shower, I got this weird sense of dejavu. Like I KNEW something was going to happen today, but for the life of me I could not remember. Turning on the hot water, I was greeted with a note on the bathroom counter with what I assumed was advil.
"Hope this helps. We will be back soon. - Rose"
I guess they have work this morning. Oh wait! They have a work meeting today, duh! I remembered. I wondered what part Darius played on this council that Hell had. I had never thought to ask. Stepping into the shower, I did what needed to be done and then let my thoughts wonder. I always loved the way the hot water felt on my skin and made it red. Rose usually gets mad at me for it, but in all honesty? It's like getting a hug when you are not able to get one from the one it is needed from. A strange form of comfort I guess.
Stepping out and getting dressed, I saw the tattoo I had gotten when Darius touched me the day Rose introduced, well re-introduced, him to me. Why do I have this? Rose has one too, but I understand why she does. However, as I looked to my other shoulder, there was another one that was slowly disappearing from sight. What the fuck?! I thought as it completely disappeared. Thinking that it was nothing, I finished getting ready for the day. After all, today was the Renaissance fair.
Walking to the kitchen, I could hear Claire getting up and the shower turning back on. Thinking she might have a headache too, I decided to make coffee for the both of us. While the coffee was going, I heard Claire's phone going off. Not wanting to be nosy, I let it be. I suppose she heard her phone because she came out of the bathroom to grab it and came into the kitchen with a big smile on her face while answering.
"I love you too. I'll see you soon!" As she hung up, she turned towards me, grinning like she won the lottery. "Blaze is going to meet us at the fair though I'm not sure if he is going in cosplay or not."
"Oh…ok." I answered. I was not sure what to think. But as long as she was happy, then that was fine. I do whatever it takes to make the people I care about happy. I wish Rose was here though, but work comes first. Again my thoughts wondered until Claire pulled on my wrist.
"C'mon! We have to go get ready!" Nodding my head in agreement, we grabbed our coffees and went to the cosplay room. After about an hour or so of getting into the outfits preplanned along with liquid latex and prosthetics on our faces, we were finally ready. As we grabbed our things, Rose teleported into the living room right as we walked in.
"Dammit Rose! Don't DO that!"
Laughing at my face, she took a good look at how we were dressed and gave a nod of approval. "Very nice. Darius is going to be late and I heard from a little birdie we have another that is going to join us?" She pointed that question over to Claire. She sheepishly nodded as if she was embarrassed. It was kinda funny actually because it looked as if Darius was the one being embarrassed. Hearing my thoughts cause Rose to giggle even more.
"Why are you in such a good mood Rose? You are hardly ever like this?" I queried.
Turning to me, it looked as if she went a deeper shade of red than she actually was out of dare I say, embarrassment? "I have another date tonight. So Darius will be watching over you two ok?"
"You have a date?! What does she look like? Is she a born demon too?" Questions rattled off from both me and Claire. Putting up her hands, Rose told us to calm down and that we actually needed to leave. She was going to stay in her demon form but then we had another idea.
"Rose, can we do half and half? No offense, but I would feel abundantly better if we did….." I hated being around too many people. Heaving a sigh, with a nod of her head, she grabbed me in an embrace causing a reddish gold glow to cover us. When it dissipated, you could not tell that is what we had done, minus my eyes. Sorry, our eyes. They went from a hazel gold color to a dark brown with gold flecks.
"Alright gamers, let's get going!" Claire enthusiastically announced. She really wanted to see Blaze I guess. Getting into her car this time, we made small talk until we got to the grounds where the fair was. It was not too much out of the way but the longer we were in the car, the more my anxiety spiked. Coming to a stop in the parking lot, we walked to the gate, and were greeted by a boy also in cosplay. As soon as Claire saw him, she bolted leaving me and Rose behind, startled.
Walking up to the pair, I could see just how happy she was. Upon seeing me walk up, Claire introduced us to her boyfriend. "Sam, this is Blaze. He is cosplaying as a demon too."
Looking at Blaze I could tell something was bothering him. He had this look in his eyes but kept his face with a smile, I'm guessing for Claire. I think he felt my eyes on him because he turned his attention from Claire back to me. "Is everything ok, Sam?"
Snapping my eyes back up, I gave a small smile saying that I was ok. Just a bit tired seeing as we stayed up a bit late last night. That did not seem to give him a good impression, causing him to narrow his eyes at me.
"We were playing games and had a few drinks. Nothing too major, I promise." Claire soothingly said. Hearing her voice caused a smile to grow back on his face. Putting an arm around her, he led her with me in tow into the fairgrounds. "Possessive much, ain't he?" Rose asked through our mental link.
"It's fine. I mean, he IS her boyfriend. Although Tayler was never like that with me. I guess they just have a different dynamic than we do."
"Hmmmm, if you say so. Now let's go have some fun. Darius should be here soon."
While I was in conversation with Rose, the couple had disappeared into the crowd, leaving me alone. Well, I wasn't completely alone as I still had Rose. Faint smells of smoke and cinnamon assaulted my senses causing a grin to cross my face. However, I just kept walking around looking at all of the stalls that went from cosplay armors to crystals and actual weapons.
"Figures you would end up here," Darius said, coming up behind us, smirking with his hands yet again in his pockets. "Don't you have enough of these as it is?"
"I was just curious is all." Then a particular dagger set caught my attention. It had black blades with decorative handles. On the handles were a scale type pattern and a rose at the end of the hilt. Upon further inspecting the blades themselves, I noticed the design of a pentagram engraved into them. The sheaths that these daggers went into were plain and simple black leather, nothing too extravagant.
Seeing the set I was currently ogling at, Darius picked one up and inspected it as well. Then a shocked look came onto his face. "These are not human daggers. These belong in Hell. How on earth did they get up here?"
"Maybe someone dropped them?" Came Rose's snarky reply, causing me to snicker.
"Ha ha ha, very funny." he answered back. Aloud he asked, "Where is Claire? I know that she's here but where is she?"
With that Rose pushed forward and answered, with a little venom in her tone. "She ran off with Blaze. I think she kinda forgot we were ALL supposed to hang out here. This was supposed to be an outing for the two girls. At least that was the original plan." I don't know why Rose was being so hostile towards Blaze. I mean, if Tayler showed up, I would have probably acted the same way…..
"It's ok guys. Really. Don't worry about it. Let's just keep looking around until she finds us, k?" Both demons looked at me, shocked.
""Well, if you're sure…."
(Darius' POV)
I swear to anyone that is listening above, these council meetings are going to be the death of me. No one listens or gets along! Thankfully though, Rose had agreed to attend this one so I was not alone. After all, she is always supposed to have been going but always finds a way out due to the attire being formal.
Upon sitting at the head of the council table, I waited until everyone finally calmed down. Rose was late. I did not have to wait for long. A knock was heard on the door and the guard on the right opened the door to reveal a most interesting but relieving sight. Rose has graciously decided to actually show up, and in formal wear at that! She wore a red long sleeved shirt with a dropped v-neck that seemed to be made of a material similar to satin. On top of that she wore a new black leather corset that had straps and buckles running across it. I knew damn well she had hidden daggers in there somewhere. On top of her sleeves, she wore black bracers that covered the area of her forearms. These had red stitchings of dragons on them. For the rest of her attire, she wore black formal type leggings and heeled boots that barely clicked on the stone floor as she walked. Her hair was neatly pulled back into a fishtail braid that draped over her shoulder. To complete her ensemble, sitting elegantly on her chest/neck, was her pendant that I had given her when we became best friends.
That stood out like a beacon to those that were present causing scowls to go across the room. She did not seem to mind, however, as she crossed the room with an air of confidence and grace that I rarely ever see. Coming up to stand on my left, she gave a small bow with a sarcastic grin. "Sorry I'm late."
"Mhmmm sure."
"Sir, why is a woman here at your side? Should you not have a male body guard? What good can she do?" asked a member with an even but rude tone.
"I do not think you want to find out what she can do. It just might be your last night among the living here." Nathaniel, another council member and head of the court guard, had answered.
"Bullshit! I bet she can't do anything without breaking a fingernail," yet another demon shouted aloud. Looking to me, Rose silently asked for permission, and I answered with a subtle nod of my head. She grabs a slim but very deadly dagger from somewhere on her personage and throws it towards the offending person, having it sink almost to the hilt into the heavy chair, barely cutting the edge of their ear.
"I do not believe that you want to anger her, as Nathaniel has said. Out of all of us here, she is one of the three deadliest ones here." Setting a firm yet slightly pissed off look on my face as I tried to continue with the meeting. A few hours later, everything was done and over with. "Now if you would excuse us, we have other matters to attend to. Have a good day everyone." Getting out of my chair and leaving with Rose in tow. Little did we know, someone was watching with a dejected look but firm glare on her face.
"Well, that went well. I'm going to head out to meet the girls. I'll see you in a few." Giving me a side hug, she left leaving me to get called back to yet another meeting. Out of all the things I have to do with having my position, this is the one thing I hate the most.
A few more hours went by and I finally had had enough. Excusing myself from the room with the promise to read over everything later, I changed back into my normal demon form and went to where the girls were supposed to go. Upon getting there, I noticed that Sam and Rose were sharing Sam's body, being half and half. Two souls, one body. I noticed that they were also at a weapons stand looking at some familiar daggers. Looking closely at them, I noticed that these were no ordinary daggers and should not be here.
"Maybe someone dropped them?" I heard Rose tell Sam, causing her to snicker.
"Ha ha ha, very funny."I answered back. Looking around, I noticed my own protector child was nowhere near where we were. 'Odd, where could she be? I know that she's here, I can feel her.'
Rose answered my question out loud, pushing forward, with a little venom in her tone. "She ran off with Blaze. I think she kinda forgot we were ALL supposed to hang out here. This was supposed to be an outing for the two girls. At least that was the original plan…."
Looking at Sam's face, she looked kinda sad. While I could tell Rose was fuming, Sam had answered through the mind link, "It's ok guys. Really. Don't worry about it. Let's just keep looking around until she finds us, k?"
I was shocked. Claire usually kept to whatever plans that got made. I understand about the whole Blaze situation, but then again, why was Rose so venomous towards the kid. I would have to ask her about it later. As we kept pursuing the stalls and vendor stands, Claire finally found us along with a very tired Blaze. My guess is that she dragged him throughout the whole entirety of the fairgrounds. Upon seeing me, I think something registered in her mind because she got a look of remorse or embarrassment on her face.
"Where were you guys? We lost you in the crowds…I thought maybe you left…." she started. I could tell she was feeling bad, but at this point it did not matter. The sun was already going down and we needed to get home soon. Looking towards Sam, I asked if they were ready to go home or if they wanted to continue on. To be fair I was tired, but I did not want to push my thoughts or wants onto them.
"To be honest, I would like to go home." Sam said, tiredly. "Besides, someone has a date tonight, remember?" And with that we all started walking back to the parking lot, getting into our respective cars.
"Finally! Lets get home please?" Rose asked with excitement and something else, I could not place it. It was odd though.
"Are you going to be wearing what you wore earlier or are you going to change," I asked her while getting somewhat comfortable in the car.
"Yes, I am. Don't worry."
Shaking my head, I began to have a private conversation with Claire asking her how her day was and what she did today at the fair. She was answering in kind through our link. She felt bad that she did not spend time with the other girls as planned. I told her not to worry too much about it, that it would all be ok. With that we pulled back up to the house.
Ushering the girls inside, I bade Rose a good night and she ran off. Damn. This Lyric must be quite a catch for her to run off that fast. Soon the girls changed and passed out fast asleep. Making sure the wards and boundaries were set, I too, finally got some shut eye. It had been a very LONG day.