Redeemed (Sequel)

Chapter 6

Artemis P.O.V.

The days passed slowly for me. Raven, Storm, and I together just felt so right. Days were wasted away with picnics and lying in bed talking about everything, yet nothing at all. Time didn't seem to exist with them around, only happiness. I was so lost in the days that it surprised me when Grandpa called me Friday morning to tell me a car would be at my house later that night to take me to the ball. "Um, I have a bit of an issue," I said, turning to Storm. "What is it?" he asked. "I have to go to a formal event tonight, and I don't have a date." Raven nudged me playfully. "You dork, we'll be your dates!" he laughed, wrapping his arms around me. "That's all good and well," I sighed, "but the real problem is that I don't have anything to wear, and the car will be here to pick us up at 8 o'clock." Both Storm and Raven's faces went blank. "That's alright," Storm smiled, patting my leg reassuringly. "We'll just have to get you a dress."

"You two, go shopping with me?" I gulped. "Yeah, what's the big deal, Little Red?" Raven asked, stretching out on the bed. "I-I don't shop," I mumbled, embarrassed. "That's not a problem'," Storm began. "Yeah, that's why they have people in the stores to help you," Raven finished. I stared back and forth between the two of them. Was I really letting them talk me into going? "C-can't we just st-stay at home?" I stammered, looking up at them imploringly. "Nope," Raven sighed as he and Storm dragged me out of bed. "We're going to that ball tonight," Storm demanded as they both led me out the front door.

Raven P.O.V.

Artemis wouldn't let us go into the dress shop with her, so Storm and I had kept walking until we reached a small tailor's shop. We went in and were greeted by a small old man and woman. "We need two suits for tonight," Storm said, smiling kindly at the woman. She nodded and came around the counter with a large roll of measuring tape and took our body measurements. She wrote them down and handed the paper to her husband, who took one look at the slip of paper and retreated to a back room. The man came back with two suits, one with a silver vest and tie, and the other a gold vest and tie. "You, I have the perfect suit for," he said, handing one to Storm. "But you," he turned to me. "I need more measurements to fit those wings of yours. Some major alterations need to be made."

"Well how soon can you have it done?" I asked. The man looked up at me with a smirk. "How soon do you need it?" he retorted. "Can you have it done by 6 o'clock tonight?" Storm asked, hands on hips. The sight was almost laughable. "Yeah, I can do that. You act like that's difficult," he huffed as he grabbed my arm and drug me in front of a mirror. He ran the measuring tape up my back and around my wings. "Stop twitching now, I'm almost done," he mumbled, swatting at my wings. "There, all done," he grinned. "I'll make the alterations and you boys can come pick them up at 5:30. We close at six," he said as he shuffled to the back room. "We'll see you then, thank you," Storm mumbled quietly as we headed for the door. "Have a nice day, ma'am," I waved at the woman behind the counter before we walked out.

Artemis P.O.V.

I let my feet soak in the tub as I carefully pinned my hair up. The boys had gone to pick up their suits, the car would be here in a while, everything was on schedule. I glanced back at the wardrobe bag hanging on the bathroom door and bit my lip. 'I can't do this. I can't do this,' I sighed mentally. Dresses, a formal event, suits, chauffers...it was all overrated and pointless if you asked me. "Uggghhh," I groaned as I stepped out of the tub and dried my feet. "Time for makeup." I had a feeling it was going to be a long night. Forty-five minutes and several arguments with myself later, I was sliding into the soft, silky dress. As I was wriggling around, trying to pull the zipper up, I heard Storm's muffled voice through the bathroom door. "Artemis?" I gave myself one last look in the mirror and sighed, "Yeah? What is it hun?" I stepped into my high heels and wobbled around, trying to get used to them. "The car is here," he said. "Okay, I'll be out in a sec," I replied, wanting so badly to just change back into my sweat pants and forget about this whole thing.