Caddie's POV:
The party was in full swing when Alix and I arrived. A group of people stood off to the side of the large, dancing crowds, playing various instruments ranging from the fiddle to the drum. The melody they played was foreign to my ears but instilled a sense of happiness within me immediately. I had a strange urge to dance and have fun. Alix stood beside me, both of our dresses looked very different from the princess ball gowns we had sported earlier. The material was very light, and flowed with our every movement. There was still one too many petticoats for my liking but it wasn't horrible. Several slurred cheers came from the crowd as they tossed around glass bottles, spilling more than of the caramel colored liquid onto the ground.
It didn't take more than a couple seconds for one of the bottles to find its way to Alix's hand. A tension had settled in her shoulders when we got to the party. Her face had gone sickly pale and regret seeped its way into her emotions. I had to keep bringing up her mother, to stop her from dragging me back to the castle. But once the sweet poison of alcohol slithered down her throat she quickly began to sing another tune. Grabbing my hand, I expected her to pull me away from the party but instead she plunged right into the middle of the rowdy crowd. Laughter bubbled within me as Alix tried to shimmy and sway to the folk music, the same way she would if Dubstep was playing.
"I don't think you should dance like that," I told her, "Some of these people are looking at you as if you're having a seizure."
Alix's emerald eyes widened, a rare blush tainted her cheeks as she met the stares of a few very concerned bystanders. She came to a stand still, her hips stopped shaking as she stood in the middle of the crowd with a lost look on her face. Her trashy dance moves, though impressive in low lighted New York clubs, didn't really fit in at the bonfire. Glancing at the other groups of dancing teens, I grabbed her hand, placed it high in the air and lined our fingers accordingly. She quirked her brow, and fought the urge to laugh at me. Smiling indignantly, I began to spin her around and duck under her arm just like the other dancers were doing. It was like we were playing the grown up version of London bridge.
"What are doing?" Alix laughed. It was oddly refreshing to hear her laugh around me, she hadn't done it in a very long time.
"Dancing- in a way that won't give anyone a heart attack."
"I know that," Alix retracted, "But you're dancing! You hate dancing."
I laughed and shook my head, "But you don't."
Alix's eyes softened. A shy smile sat on her face as she twirled me around. We weren't the only girls dancing together, but most of the people dancing were male and female couples. Perhaps if everyone wasn't so intoxicated we would have ran into a few problems by dancing together but the other partygoers were too focused in their own little worlds. We continued to smile and laugh as we twirled around the crackling fire. Unfortunately, the song we were dancing to came to a close. I let out short pants- trying to recapture my breath. It had been a very long time, since I had done any sort of physical activity. In fact, I think the last time I worked out was during my final year of school in Virginia- three years ago.
The band picked up their instruments, again, while I was doubled over in pain. Alix stood over me, her breath was also coming out in short pants but that was because she was laughing at me too hard. A gentle melody drifted across the clearing, slowing the pace of all of the dancers. Several people, who weren't romantically involved decided to hang out by the treeline and observe as others slow dance. Alix and I stood awkwardly by the fire, not exactly sure if we should join those by the trees or not. I didn't really think slow dancing was the best option to keep our friendship running without any conflicts.
"Caddie listen-" before Alix could finish speaking, someone cleared their voice behind us.
Turning my head, my face visibly paled as my eyes met a pair of coal black ones. Roberto stood at the edge of the fire, the golden flames illuminated the sharp planes of his face. His unruly raven locks, were free from the bonds of his hair tie, and cascaded down his shoulders. His signature smirk sat dutifully on his lips. Somehow, he looked even more sinister in the dark. I was reminded of my restless nights as a child, hiding under my covers, because I was fully convinced that the monsters only came out at night. I knew differently now, but seeing Roberto ignited those feelings of fear inside of me again.
"Good evening ladies," he purred and took a threatening step towards me.
Alix stiffened. As if a switch had been flipped on, she went into attack mode. Crouching in front of me, a threatening hiss escaped her lips as white sparks of light erupted from her palms. Roberto merely laughed at her obvious threat and continued to walk forward. Alix made an attempt to lunge at him but he quickly stepped out of her way.
"Caddie, please call off your attack dog. I am simply here to ask if you would do me the honor of joining me in a dance?" He gave me his wide eye, innocent look that probably fooled many girls but not me.
It's hard to think of someone as innocent when they've thrown a flaming ball of black fire at your head. Behind Roberto, Alix groaned and picked herself up from the ground. She spat out a piece of grass and sent Roberto a scathing glare. As I expected, the glare didn't phase him in the least.
"Actually, we were just leaving," Alix interjected.
"Nonsense," Roberto waved her off, "You just got here."
My jaw dropped. "H-how did y-"
Roberto responded with a sweet smile, telling me exactly how he knew. What a creep, I thought as my skin crawled. He had probably been watching Alix and I make a fool out of ourselves as we danced together. The whole time, he was just watching and waiting for a chance to get me alone.
"So how about that dance," Roberto asked again, and held out his hand like a gentleman.
Afraid, of what would happen if I rejected him, I placed my hand in his. Alix casted me a dejected and heartbroken stare, it pained me to see that look on her face, especially after we had had such a good time together. I only hoped, she would give me the time to explain later. We needed to tread carefully with Roberto and if I wanted to stay alive, I needed to play as nice as possible. Squeezing my hand in his, Roberto twirled me around and lowered my body into a dramatic dip. My jaw once again found itself unhinged as he pulled me back into a standing position.
"Close your mouth, mi Amiga. You will catch flies," Roberto instructed me.
Once again, he was smirking at me. His shoulders shook as he tried to refrain from laughing. Shutting my mouth, I glared at him and let him lead me through the dance. His arm wrapped around my waist, causing my stomach to churn violently. I had to bite my lip, to keep myself from throwing up as he twirled me around like a little ballerina in a music box.
"I didn't expect that you could dance so well," I murmured.
"Ah," Roberto said as if he suddenly realized something, "You must think of me as a savage because of my powers. I learned to dance long before my studies began at Nox Haven. My father was the one who taught me all I needed to know about the language of dance, he claimed that was how he was able to capture the attention of my mother. My mother, however never confirmed that story, she doesn't like talking about my father. I think she believes it'll make her look weak."
I furrowed my brows and asked, "How could it make her weak? She didn't actually care for him."
My statement might have sounded rude but Roberto understood that it was simply a fact. As sad as it was, his mother didn't actually conceive him out of love but out of duty. His father's dance moves had no reason to influence her opinion.
"Yes," Roberto nodded, "But he loved her and I think when she thinks of him, she remembers that feeling of love. And of course, love makes people weak."
I scoffed at his comment. Love did not make people weak. Throughout my life, I have been forced to swim through a sea of hate, it has been a constant struggle to keep my head above the water but love continued to propel me forward. There had been plenty of moments when I felt too tired to sleep or the currents were too strong to fight but then someone would come along, with a heart full of love and save me from drowning. Roberto would never get to feel that amazing feeling of love, of being saved. My heart clenched in pain. Diverting my eyes away from his intense stare, I tried to get grip on my emotions. I needed to stop feeling bad for him! He tried to kill me!
"You say that as you know anything about love," I said, keeping my stare on the hard planes on his partially exposed chest.
Grabbing my chin in between his fingers, Roberto lifted my head, and forced me to meet his gaze. His two cold, coal eyes were twinkling with curiosity. That look was becoming more infuriating than his smirk.
"If you were anyone else I would have made your tongue disappear," Roberto said in a soft tone, "But you are you and I find these little talks we have very amusing. You claim one thing but your feelings betray you. I do feel emotions of others, you know, and I have felt love many a times from other people. It is in those moments of love, that those people are easiest to manipulate and hurt."
"And you would know that because?"
He responded with a toothy grin and said, "Just something I learned from my mother and sister."
I pulled away from him slightly, and raised a brow, "Your sister?" I had no idea that Roberto had a sister.
"Yes. I shall remember to introduce you two when she comes up to visit this weekend."
The song ended before I could press him again. He placed a chaste kiss on my knuckles, like the true gentleman he wasn't, and stepped away- leaving me in the middle of the dancing group. I scanned the crowd, hoping to find Alix but she wasn't anywhere to be found. I looked at the tree line, hoping that she had joined the loners. A sigh of relief left my lips as I found her emerald stare emerging from the forest. Walking forward, I gathered the story I planned on telling her.
"Caddie!" A feminine voice called from the other side of the fire as I managed to break free from the crowd of people.
I turned my head around and stared in shock as Alix started jogging towards me. My head whipped between the two emerald eyes. I kept my stare focused on the pair, by the forest and noticed the burning fury within them. Then, I turned my head to the side slightly and saw a pair of electric blue eyes. It was Aleksander and Jaxon, I realized as the cloud of shock began to disappear from my mind. They were here, at the bonfire, and enraged.
"I think we're in trouble," Alix said as she reached my side.
**Thank you all for reading! I hope you're liking the series so far, I can't believe we're almost half through the story. This chapter was actually really hard for me to write, this past week I really haven't been in the proper state of mind. I've kinda been going through the five stages of grief and for some reason I'm just stuck between anger and depression. In America right now there has been a widespread outbreak of hate crimes- it is incredibly disturbing. Every time I turn on the news I find myself getting a little sick, the country has seem to have lost its moral compass. I really hope we get it back before anyone gets seriously hurt and that includes mentally or physically. I just recently read an article that said that the amounts of suicides have spiked. That is insane, people should never have to wake and feel afraid- so afraid where they want to end their lives. Especially children and what has really enraged me about what is happening in America, is how many kids are being affected by this. Kids especially shouldn't wake up and start crying because they're afraid, kids should be painting with their fingers and the playing with dolls. I'm sorry for mixing my reality into my fictional book but today is world kindness day and I think everyone really needs this right now. So please be kind to one another, respect and love each other and please keep in mind that all people are created equal. I hope my books can be an escape from reality for you guys and if you're having a bad day please remember that Caddie single handedly destroyed her entire world in two seconds.
Thanks again so much!
XOXO,
Ro."
(In doing something, do it with love or never do it at all- Gandhi)