Payment

Angel Ana

Note: Rewritten but not triple checked for spelling and grammatical errors. If you see one feel free to comment

My body was still feverish, a sweltering storm brewing deep in my stomach, despite the clutches of frost shooting icy daggers at my eyes. With one look, then two, and a third swift glance of his eyes, I was nearly a puddle of mushy ooze on the ground. It was as if every time his gaze was turned to me, the green pool of his eyes snatched me up and saturated me in this dazzling excitement.

It made me forget where we were headed. And it even made me forget how long we had been walking.

With a harsh wind bustling by, the overhead lights flickered. I was behind Kana and Dominik, not far enough for concern but the fleeting good mood of the night caused me to quicken my pace. I didn't want to be caught in the dark, alone. It wasn't that I was particularly scared, just over couscous with everything that had happened as of recently.

"How much farther?" I called up to them. They stopped, sharing a glance before Dominik fell back to walk with me rather than his sister. "It feels like we've been walking for a long time."

"We have." He snickered. "Are you tired? I can carry you the rest of the way?"

I peered up at him with the expression of someone unimpressed but ultimately hooked my arm around his. It was hot to the touch, like a furnace exuding an immense flame. I sighed in relief and leaned into it, not caring much how it looked.

After that it was just a matter of rounding a corner and we were there. It wasn't as extravagant as I had expected it to be, at least not on the outside. It looked rather plain and lacked the appeal of an appropriate amount of windows. In the darkness I had only been able to count two.

The lanterns hung from the sides of the building led us around the side to a nice lit overhang. It almost looked like the entrance to a theatre, a collection of painted posters hanging just outside the door. And when we stepped inside we were met with a coat check in.

I couldn't see anyone living here. It was more like a place of business than anything. I wondered if Dominik's company would get any publicity out of his appearance to such an event. But when I turned to look at him pulling his coat off his thick shoulders, I swallowed my words rather than let them leave my mouth.

"Ah, how I've missed this place! It's been too long!" Kana squealed, stripping from her mound of fur like it were a strip tease. I watched her bat her thick eyelashes at the coat boy, his face reddening at her advances. She tossed her belongings at him and took the little slip from his hand, sending him a subtle wink before sauntering off without us. "Do take care."

I rolled my eyes at her antics, beyond astounded she could act such a way so effortlessly. Taking my coat off, I handed it to the still velvet faced boy and trotted off after her.

I heard the roaring of the crowd before she even open the door. It trickled through the cracks, drifting right through the wood and into our ears. To say I was stunned was an understatement. But when she threw open the realm of endless faces, I didn't know there were that many people in the world.

I hesitated. The thousands of frilly skirts and large hair pieces defying gravity with their swirling behavior, it was like I was stumbled into an alternate dimension. None of it fit current trends, nor did any of it make sense. At least not to me.

"Be careful." The whisper brushed along my earlobe like a pair of lips. I looked behind me as if I'd find Dominik's body there, nearly pressed up against my back but he wasn't. No one was behind me.

"Come on!"

I was pulled forward, rushed through the throng of bodies squashed all together. I felt limbs and purses hit me, my arm being brutally dragged through the mud of people.

I felt touched by every single thing in the room. It made me feel dirty and drenched in a nervous sweat. I hadn't even noticed I was holding my breath until we emerged at a staircase draped in a velvet rug. It was beautiful, elegantly climbing to a private loft. There was even a man to guard the bottom, to make sure only the right people made their way up.

"Come on! I want you to meet Loraza!" She cheered before pulling me past the guardian set in stone on the bottom step. He didn't so much as look as us as we shot right past him.

Winded and overcome by a sense of incredulous emotion, I wanted to turn back. I wished I were back on the train with a drink in my hand.

"Kana is that you?" Stood an enormous women. She was gorgeous, her dark caramel skin glowing beneath a long pin straight head of stark white hair. Appearing as youthful as a goddess, I had a hard time looking away from her.

"Loraza De Reciveccii!" She squealed letting me go to run into the mysterious woman's big slender arms. She caught her and twirled her around as if she were a child.

"Love, where have you been?" She gasped with a giant smile of pure admiration. "I've been looking for my cherí loup everywhere!"

"I just got here not too long ago!" I could see the sheer excitement radiating from Kana's expression like sunlight. She looked more in her element here, than I had ever seen her before.

Feeling forgotten and extremely uncomfortable, I looked around at the slim twigs lounging atop velvet couches as they shot me hateful glares. I obviously wasn't welcome in the little group they had formed. So, I remained silent, hoping this wasn't where we'd be for very long.

Looking past Kana, Loraza De Reciveccii, finally took in my awkward stance. It was odd because the way she gazed at me wasn't in a normal way. It was as if she had known I was there all along and was simply waiting to savor the moment. There was too much hunger in her eyes. It dripped from her like drool, making me a bit shy in her approach.

"Kana, who is that?" She purred with an open ended tone.

Curiosity painted her handsome face. Slowly walking around Kana she made her way to me.

And like a switch was flipped, she suddenly gave off this relaxing vibe. It seeped into me the closer she got, lulling me into a false sense of security. I think deep down I knew what was happening wasn't normal. I didn't even flinch when she reached out and caressed the side of my face.

Loraza De Reciveccii's touch was not at all like when Dominik touched me. No ones touch was like Dominik's. That special feeling I get when Dominik is near, when he reaches out to hold me or cradle my face ever so gently. I needed to remind myself were I was. I needed to get ahold of myself. But my mind wouldn't connect to my body. Though I wanted to move away, though I knew I shouldn't let the woman touch me, I remained as still as a stone.

"You are one delicious petite fille!" She purred in my face, her fingers sliding down my cheek and to my neck. "A present?"

"No, that is Rozalina, she's my date for tonight." Kana hummed behind her, a bit of uncertainty in her voice.

"Rozalina!" She moaned rather sensually. "What a beautiful name!"

"Loraza, leave the poor girl alone." Came a low and new woman's voice. Looking over I saw her walking towards us, her beautiful white gown hugging her voluptuous body. Her long curly blonde hair tumbled past her shoulders to her waist and swung dutifully with every step. She truly reminded me of an angel. Everything about her was light and angelic. Even the sly shifting of her gaze as she look in all the occupants of the loft.

"Ana, what a pleasure it is for you to finally join us." Loraza hissed sarcastically.