Previously on "The Otherworlders": So, Sebastian finally got assigned the mission he'd so desperately wanted. But on his way to start preparing for it, he stumbles across Eloise "Ella" Pierce again, Headmaster Pierce's daughter. And he just can't let an opportunity like that pass by. ;-)
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Sitting at the outdoor patio table studying, Ella arches a brow and tilts her head playfully. "Oh, I see," she says. "And I take it you always prefer to present your most authentic self to people, is that what you're implying?"
"Well..." Sebastian says with a shrug and a laugh.
"Mm-hmm...." Ella nods. Then she leans forward and props her chin in the palm of her hand. "I can tell there's a story somewhere in the midst of that very vague reply of yours." She gestures to the empty chair next to her. "Please, continue."
Sebastian cracks a big smile as he takes a seat.
Oh, he likes this girl!
He leans back in the chair, laces his hands behind his head, and kicks his legs out beneath the table. Now he's determined to get to know Ella much better... Headmaster Pierce be damned!
"Not exactly. You see..." Still leaning back in the chair, Sebastian rests his hand lightly on his chest. "I'm still searching for my most authentic self. But you can be absolutely certain, the moment I find it, I will put it on full display for all who care to witness it!"
This makes Ella laugh — hard — and uncharacteristically, she snorts.
Embarrassed, she covers her mouth and nose with her hands, but Sebastian is totally charmed by this point. An inelegant snort from a girl like her — so prim and so proper — well, it's downright delightful!
Realizing that he's been staring at Ella for far too long, Sebastian begins to pick at the twigs and leaves littering the patio table, tossing them aside one by one as if he'd been assigned yard duty for breaking the rules again.
This is all very new territory for him.
The kinds of girls he's liked in the past — that he's been with in the past — weren't the kind you talked to, so much as seduced. They were the rich, bored Vampyr girls from his private school.
You'd throw out the standard pickup lines, drop that you were a First Son from the McFadden clan and boom! The girl was in your bed by midnight.
This one, though, she was different and not just because she was an Enchanted.
"So, how long are you here for?" Sebastian asks her.
"Oh, just a few days," Ella says. "I'm trying to convince my father to let me stay longer, but I have a training scheduled, and he doesn't want me to miss any sessions."
"Training for what?"
"I'm studying to be a Healer," Ella says proudly.
"Oh, I see." Sebastian nods slowly. "Is that a tough course of study?"
"For me it is..." Ella pauses, debating whether or not to come clean to Sebastian, who for all intents and purposes, is a total stranger to her.
It's odd, but for some reason, she has this strong desire to confide in him; and while she can't explain it, she's intent on doing it, so she girds herself with a long hearty breath and says, "It's particularly challenging for me because I'm half human."
Sebastian's eyebrows arch in surprise as he blurts out, "I'm so sorry!"
Immediately, his face scrunches up as he mentally kicks himself for being so insensitive, but relaxes when he hears Ella chuckle.
Otherworlders have historically kept their distance from humans and have looked down on them for centuries, so his outburst was essentially an insult.
Sebastian clears his throat. "That came out all wrong. I didn't mean to say that I'm sorry you're half-human. What I meant to say was that I've heard that for Enchanteds, in particular, being mixed-race with a human can cause... um... complications."
"It does." Ella nods sagely. She pushes her book aside, crooks her arm, and rests her cheek in the palm of her hand. Drawing little figure eights on the table with her finger, she says, "Because I'm mixed-race, my magic is rather weak, so if I want to be a great Healer someday, I have to learn all of the spells an Enchanted would, and I also have to have an encyclopedic knowledge of essential elements and homeopathy, AND," Her eyes go wide. "I also have to have a thorough understanding of the mechanics of the body!"
Sebastian frowns. "Oh, geez Louise! Does that mean you'll be in school for, for like, forever then?"
Ella lets out a laugh then a slow sigh. "Yes, most likely." She smiles at Sebastian. "What about you?"
"Well..." Sebastian stalls as he looks around to make sure no one can hear him. "I don't know how much I can say." He slides her a conspiratorial glance. "Or how much detail I can get into since what we do here is highly confidential, but I'll be—"
"You're going on a mission!" Ella interrupts, clapping enthusiastically.
Sebastian stops cold. "Wait, what?"
"The Masters send you all out on secret missions to retrieve important artifacts. Isn't that why you're here?"
Sebastian slumps in his chair. "Well, we don't actually retrieve the artifacts so much as capture an image of them," he mutters deflated, bummed that he'd been robbed of the opportunity to make his missions sound as mysterious and exciting as possible.
"Well, it all sounds really cool!" Ella offers. "I'm totally jealous!"
"Wait." Sebastian shakes his head, confused. "How do you know about all of this? Did your father tell you exactly what we do here?"
"Oh, gods no!" Ella lays an innocent hand on her chest. "Well, not exactly," she admits after another moment passes. She leans in and lowers her voice. "You see, I came across some of my father's papers before he started up the school."
"So," Sebastian tilts his head. "We're a snoop, are we?"
"Nooooo... not at all!" Ella dons a look of utter innocence. "I was merely helping my father organize his office one day, and I just happened to glance at some papers that just happened to fall off of his desk when I was—"
Sebastian throws his head back and laughs. "Oh, you're good! You're really good!"
Damn! He likes this girl!
"It was an accident!" Ella proclaims, batting her eyelashes playfully. "Anyhow later, I managed to wrangle additional information out of my father after he'd had a fair bit of Scotch and was feeling rather chatty." Her smile widens as she shrugs. "And between the two events, I was able to piece it all together!"
Sebastian shakes his head slowly and beams. Oh, yeah... he really, really likes this girl!
"Well, well, well..." he says, his voice low and seductive, "aren't we the detective?" His brow arches. "I'm impressed."
Ella just smiles back in return.
Sebastian sits there with a goofy grin on his face, staring at Ella for a long moment, taking in this beguiling creature before him and wondering what his next move should be, when suddenly, his phone buzzes.
He checks it and frowns. Damn! He's supposed to meet with Jake and Cameron to start briefing them on Royal Vampyric protocol.
He pops up from his seat. "I'm so sorry, but I've got to go. I have a—" Out of habit, he stops himself short.
"A mission to prepare for?" Ella finishes for him.
Sebastian laughs, then shakes his head again in wonder. "Something like that." He says with a smirk.
"Well, then," Ella says, standing as well. She reaches out and plucks his phone out of his hand then types in her number. "I'm not sure when I'll be back at the Academy again, but when I am, we should continue our conversation, don't you think?" She hands his phone back to him with a head tilt and a sly smile.
"Most definitely," Sebastian replies as he slips his phone back into his pocket.
This mission can't last more than a day or two — at most, right? After all, it's a wedding! There'll be so much going on, he and his team will be able to find the artifact easily, get the photos they need, and be in and out so fast they'll still have time to party before they have to leave. Easy-peasy! No problem!
At least that's what he hopes, so he can get back here, as quickly as possible to reunite with Ella before this delightfully gorgeous, smart, funny girl disappears from his life forever.
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A/N - Again, sorry so short, but we've got more to come.
See you next week!
~ Paula ❤️