We walk for hours, joking and laughing. We stop occasionally to rest or eat; walking until the sun sets.
He stands up and looks down to stare down at the newly lit fire. Content with it, he turns around. "Okay, fire is going and shelter is set." I sit by the fire, warming my hands. "Sounds good to me." He sits down by the fire and drags one of our bags towards us. "You hungry?" He glances over to me. I widen my eyes as my stomach growls. He bursts into laughter as my face turns to fire. "I think your stomach answered my question for you."
I grab the bag from him and search through. "What did Mikayla pack for us?" He leans back on his hands and watches me search. "It's not in this bag." I shrug. He reaches over and grabs the other bag and opens it up. He stops before a big smile spreads across his face. He looks up to me before reaching up and handing me a slice of pizza. "Your favourite, no?" I stare at the pizza slice as I flashback to the time I almost confessed my love to the man in front of me but instead confessed it to pizza. I'm starting to think he caught my metaphor.
"T-thanks..." I choke out.
"We traveled pretty far today." He changes the subject. "Is this what you and Jace used to do?" I take a monster bite of my pizza. He scowls at me. "I don't want you to ever say that name again." Suddenly very serious making me stop mid chew. "But yes... pretty much." he leans back. "I like travelling like this though. It took me awhile to convince Cain to let me go." I smile at the thought. "That's cute, he was worried about you?" He shrugs. "I am his little brother and the third prince. People know what I look like." I take the last few bites of my pizza. "What changed his mind?" "He wouldn't let me go until I was older. Gain 'maturity and responsibility' he would say." He pauses. "He's the one who raised me. Even before my parents died." I tilt my head in confusion. "What about your mother?" He nods, "She was there, but my father kept her away from us; thought she was too soft on us."
"He is very responsible." I note. "He gave up his childhood for me." He looks into the fire, cold, expressionless. I speak up. "I feel Cain has done the same for me. He didn't question it, he just took care of me." He turns his head to me. "Hey, I did my part too okay?" He grins. "No, no thats not what I meant..." He rolls his eyes. "You should probably stop talking now." He chuckles.
"Are you jealous?" I grin, amused. He glances at me and grins. "Alright princess, let's get some sleep." Not admitting nor denying it.
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I open my eyes to the morning sun beaming down on me. I squint and roll over on my side to see Damien sitting, looking out from our makeshift shelter. He turns his head to me and smiles. "I actually slept surprisingly well last night" I say as I push myself up into a seated position. "I've been doing this for a long time. I know how to do it right!" He nods happily. I giggle, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. "I can see that."
He hands me a breakfast sandwich and some tea and we sit and enjoy the morning sun. "We should probably get going. I want to arrive in the first zone by tomorrow morning." He says as he takes his last bite. "Tomorrow morning!?" I say surprised. "It takes two days to get to the first zone!?" He chuckles at my laziness. "We are still in our territory. It takes awhile to get to the first zone. The rest of the zones are pretty close together." I lean back on my hands. "What? wait..." I come to the sudden realization that I have no idea what our country is or how it's laid out. "W-where are we?" Damien tilts his head. "The forest?" "No, no I mean what country are we in?" He leans back completely surprised by my question. "You don't know what country you're in?" He repeats my question as if he didn't hear me properly. I shake my head slowly. He looks at me dumbfounded for a couple of minutes.
"You're on the island of Exobris." He looks at me like I should be familiar with the name. I shake my head again. "Uh, kay well..." He starts giving me a mini history lesson. "The name means 'Dark, outsider' needless to say my family history isn't a pleasant one. The island has always been known to have a dark aura. Appropriate really. But that story is for another day." I shake my head frowning at the grim name. "The island has been divided into six zones, the sixth zone being the royal quarter and the fifth is now known as rebel territory, where we live. The rest have their own uses. Think of it as a donut. The border you almost crossed on your little adventure in the forest, was the border to zone six, the royal quarter. Where all of Kai's army is. The zones connect in a circle as the capital is in the center." He gets up and stretches in the sunlight. "Enough of the history and geography lesson for now princess. We have to make it to zone one today." I shake my head and push myself up.
After we pack everything up and get ourselves ready, we continue on through the forest. We walk for a few hours until we come up to a familiar dirt road. I slow down until I come to a full stop. I look down to my feet and continue on to a large bush. I bend down and gently touch the dirt. Damien turns around and looks at me skeptically. "What's wrong?" He questions. "This road..." I stare at the strange markings in the dirt. It was where Davon dragged me out onto the road. "It's where you saved me..." You could still see dried blood splatter. Damien tenses. "I... hadn't thought of that..." You could hear the guilt in his voice. I stare at the ground, flashing back to that day and how I would not be alive right now if Damien hadn't found me. I stand up slowly. "I don't know if I could ever thank you enough..." I hesitantly look up to him. "Aryah..." His face falls as he slowly approaches me. I look to the ground avoiding his gaze but he quickly lifts my chin. He stares into my eyes intently. "There was no way, I would have witnessed what they were going to do with you and let them live." He says seriously. "Did you do it because you knew I was an essence?" I whisper. He quickly shakes his head no. "I would never let anyone, ever, do that to any woman. I didn't do it because you're special. I did it because what they were doing was an injustive and they deserved to die." I grin at him. "That was blunt." I chuckle. He drops his hands and shrugs. "But true, no?" I nod at him. I sigh and look around. "You know, this is where I woke up." My eyes connect to the top of the cliff several feet above us; my chin lifts. "Where was I coming from?" I whisper. "Anything triggering memories?" He looks up to the cliff with me. I shake my head. "Something about the cliff, but nothing specific." I sigh. I look back down to him. "Let's go." I link my arm with his and continue walking.
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We walk until sunset. Damien takes us off the path a bit until the ground turns into soft sand, the smell of salty ocean water hits my nose and I inhale deeply. We walk out from the forest and a large beach surrounded by mountains, fills my vision. Palm trees edge the beach. Damien chooses one and we throw our bags down. We both stop and stand, staring out into the distance. "This is beautiful, can we stay here tonight!?" I ask excitedly. He glances over to me and grins. "Of course." He nods. I nudge his shoulder with mine. "Are you bringing me to these beautiful places on purpose?" He throws his arm over my shoulder and pulls me in. "Maybe? I've done a ton of exploring in this territory. What kind of guide would I be if I didn't show you the best spots?" The sun beams off the side of his face, lighting up his blue eyes and white smile.
"You're amazing." I whisper. He leans in and kisses me on the temple. "Want to go for a swim?" His smile grows. My eyes widen and I shrug. "I don't even know if I can swim. I don't think I packed a bathing suit!?" he turns to me and places his hands on his hips. "You think I would bring you here and not make sure you were prepared? I told Mikayla to pack you one." I raise my eye brows and smack his arm. "You're a little cheeseball. You totally planned this trip!" I giggle ecstatically. "Stop making me feel like a softy, I'm supposed to be rough and intimidating." He jokes. I think for a moment. "Maybe you are a softy who masks it with intimidation?" I grin. He points to me sternly. "Don't start with me." We both chuckle. "Alright, alright, I'm changing." I admit my defeat.
I walk behind a tree and drag my bag along with me. Let's see what Mikayla packed me. I rummage through until finally I feel swimsuit like material, I grab onto it and pull it out. My eyes widen and my face flushes as I see a tiny piece of string come out from my bag. I hold it in my hands completely confused. I lift it up, switching the angles, trying to figure out exactly how this goes on or is it just underwear. It must be underwear. I turn over my bag and completely dump out all of it's contents.
I'm going to kill her.
This was indeed my bathing suit. Thankfully there was a towel in my bag because there is no way in hell I am going out there, wearing this. I quickly slip on the bathing suit that completely exposes my butt cheeks. Thankfully the top held in my girls pretty well and it wasn't overly revealing in the cleavage department. I look down at myself.
Yep, bra and panties. That's basically what I'm wearing. I'm actually going to kill her.
I scoop up my towel and wrap it around me. This girl definitely wanted me to show a lot of skin.
I walk out to see Damien had already changed into his swim shorts and was patiently waiting as he stared out into the sunset. I take a moment to take in his god like body. It didn't help that he was standing directly in front of the sun, causing a glowing aura around him. You could see every muscle in his back and arms. I wanted to run my fingers along every one of them. He runs his hand through his hair. It was almost like he was posing for a photoshoot right now.
Sigh. Lord help me.
He must have sensed my stare, because he turns around to see me gawking at him. He gives me a bright smile as he raises an eyebrow. "Like what you see?" He chuckles. I shake my head into reality. "Uh, what? What did you say?" He chuckles. "Come on, let's go in the water." He reaches his hand out but I don't move. He tilts his head and waves for me to come over, but I am frozen to my spot. He furrows his brows. "What's wrong?" He asks confused. I clear my throat. "Um... Mikayla um... my swim suit... it's..." I finish my sentence so quietly he can't hear me. "It's what?" He asks as he scans over me, but the towel hid me well. "It's um, it's uh... more like..." I clear my throat again. "I-it's underwear." My face turns a dark shade of red. He stills as a devilish grin grows. He takes a few steps towards me. "There is no need to be shy." He whispers. I give him a crooked smile as my confidence shoots out the window. He tilts his head into the crook of my neck and kisses me lightly. A flame ignites in my body as he continues up to my ear. I groan in response. He wraps his hand around the back of my head and places the other on my hip as he pulls me into a passionate kiss. Our tongues collide into each other and I moan over his mouth. All thoughts erase from my mind. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer to me. He disconnects our kiss and continues back down my neck and along my shoulder before he stills. His hands glide down my sides, over every curve, until he reaches my hips. Only then do I realize I had wrapped my hands around his neck and let my towel drop to the ground. I freeze knowing that my body is almost completely exposed and our bodies are only inches apart.
"Damn." He whispers seductively, complete satisfaction in his voice.
I quickly shove him away and reach for my towel but he's quicker; he bends down and grabs the towel, holding it up in a ball in the air. My eyes widen and I blush further. I stand there in complete awkwardness as there is no way to cover my body. He grins at me as he eyes me from head to toe making me feel completely exposed and self conscious. He takes a moment before throwing the towel to the side.
"You are perfect." The tone in his voice instantly made me feel more confident. He was looking at me with pure satisfaction and it made me feel beautiful.
I move my gaze to his and give him a small smile. Slowly regaining my composure.
"It's not the nakedest I've ever seen you, but it's pretty damn close!" He jokes. My eyes widen as I pick up my shoe from beside me and whip it at him; he dodges it and laughs. "That is not funny!" I chase after him as he takes off towards the water. He slows down as he emerges into the water. I catch up to him and leap onto his back. He catches me gracefully into a piggy back, as if I weighed nothing. He scoops his arms around my legs and continues walking into the water. I wrap my arms around his neck and lay my head on his shoulder. He slowly emerges us into the water until we are waist deep. The sounds of nature surround us and we are left in complete peace as we both watch the sun for a few perfect minutes in silence.
Finally I wriggle away from his grasp and stand on my own. I walk beside him and he turns his head towards me. The sun once again beams off of him. There is no such thing as bad lighting for this man. I smile before plugging my nose and taking a dive. I swim for a few seconds and re-emerge a few feet away. I gasp for air and use both my hands to push my hair back. "It's cold!" A shiver runs through my body. He chuckles. "It is the ocean."
We swim for quite some time. It was one of the best days of my life, despite me not remember many of those days. We swam until we got tired and pruny and once again enjoyed the little amount of sunlight we had left.
"I used to come and swim here as a teenager with my friends." Damien begins to tell me. I look over to him, "You've been coming here for years?" He nods, "It's one of my favourite spots." I think for a moment about Damien as a child, here with his friends. "Where are your friends now?" I question. He shrugs. "Some have died in the war, some grew apart, some I still talk to." I smile softly at him. "I would like to meet them one day." He grins at me. "You've already met Morgan and Madilyn." I swim around to face him. "You've known them for that long!?" He nods, chuckling. "We grew up together." I tilt my head. "That's odd isn't it? None of you ever grew more feelings for each other?" Damien shifts uncomfortably. "Well, Cain and Morgan had a thing for awhile but nothing too serious, just flirting." He pauses, I stare at him like he's going to say something, but he doesn't. "What about you?" He runs his hand through his wet hair. "Well... I had a girlfriend for most of my teenage years." He shrugs and a tinge of jealousy runs through me. "So I only saw them as friends." He finishes. "A girlfriend?" I say flatly. "Yeah, uh, I actually wanted to talk to you about that..." I shift around, causing the water around me to ripple. "Okay..." He takes a second to start. "The head of the first zone, Vince, his sister is my ex."
I pause, not sure what to think or how to react. His facial expression twists, not sure what emotion I'm going to throw at him. "Why am I just hearing about this now?" I say calmly. He shrugs. "It never really came up...I actually forgot about it until Cain pointed it out yesterday."
I take a deep inhale. "I think I'm done swimming for today." I swim past him and his body turns as I continue on.
I reach the beach and begin walking up to our camp. "Aryah wait." I hear close behind me. I turn around and say nothing. "Listen, I'm sorry this is last minute but it honestly didn't occur to me." He shrugs. "We broke up years ago." I cross my arms. "Why did you break up?" I question. He shrugs again. "I lost interest. She was more for fun. I never pictured a future with her." "So you used her?" I scowl at him. He rubs his neck as he looks around nervously. "I guess in a sense. She was my dad's idea. He was always on my ass and she just happened to be a good distraction from all the bullshit." I let out a loud sigh as he searches my face. "Well there isn't anything we can do about it now. How does she feel about you now?" I say with a straight face. He shifts uncomfortably again. "Actually ever since I broke up with her four years ago, she's been sometimes overwhelmingly pushy to get back together. Hence why I avoid her a lot." I throw my hands up in the air and drop them by my sides. "Lovely. Anything else?"
"Actually there's one more thing..." His face twists. "And what would that be?" I say completely annoyed. "Her sister, uh, has always had a thing for me too. Kind of like a weird sibling rivalry thing." I cross my arms. "So theres two of them." He takes a step towards me and brings his arms up, pleading to me. "They are nothing to me Aryah and they sure as hell are nothing compared to you." He eyes me up and down and I once again realize that I am basically naked. I reach down to grab my towel and wrap it around me tightly. "I wish you told me earlier but it is what it is and I really don't want to ruin this beautiful night. I'll figure it out tomorrow I guess." I roll my eyes and sigh. He smiles brightly and grabs my hand, lifting it up to his lips and kissing my knuckles gently. "How did I get so lucky." He whispers.
We finish the rest of the night with dinner by a fire. I look out to the ocean again; this time the moon light shines down on the waves. I push myself up from the ground and take a few steps. I stand breathing in the salty air. Damien joins me, standing beside me. "This is gorgeous. I can't imagine I've ever seen anything so serene, angelic." I say peacefully. I can see Damien in my peripheral vision. He's looking at me. I turn my head in his direction. No words need to be said. The moonlight bounces off the sides of our faces.
He reaches his right hand over my heart, sliding his hand across my collarbone, past my shoulder and up to my neck, his fingers glide slightly underneath the rim of my v-neck t-shirt. He rests his hand on the back of my neck. "No Aryah. You are the most angelic thing, I have ever seen."
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I wake up listening to the soft waves. I look to my right to see Damien stretching and yawning before dropping his arms and slumping over. He glances over to me and smiles. "Morning." I push myself up and sit cross legged. "Why so tired?" I question him. He shrugs, "Just did a little scouting while you were asleep. I wanted to make sure we weren't being followed." I raised my eyebrows. I had been in my own paradise, I hadn't thought about any dangers surrounding us.
"Are you ready for today?" He questions me skeptically. I shrug and sigh, "As ready as I can be I guess." He nods and gives me a sympathetic look.
After breakfast we go our separate ways and do our own morning routines. Mikayla, the angel she is, bought me a ton of new clothes and packed them for me. I happily search through the pieces and throw something together. I smile to myself and pop out from my spot to see Damien waiting patiently for me. "Ready to go?" He smiles, eyeing me up and down. I notice his stare, knowing he is more than pleased with my appearance. "I had to look extra cute today." I wink at him and he chuckles.
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We walk for some time until finally we see a large mansion in the distance surrounded by iron gates. I take a gulp and raise my eyebrows. I stare at the mansion until finally it towers over us. It was massive. Victorian style, large windows and dark exterior, surrounded by beautiful gardens and a long walkway leading up to the enormous double doors.
"Wow. This is overwhelming." I state matter of factly. He nudges me and smiles, "Don't worry we won't be here longer than a day." My head whips towards him as my eyes widen, "A day!?" He says nothing but smiles and grabs my hand, leading me towards the door.
Kill me now.
He rings on the door bell and it's modulated ring booms through the front hallway. A sweet brown haired, blue eyed woman dressed in a servants dress, answers the door with a bright smile. Her eyes widen as she immediately curtsey's "Your grace, what a surprise. It is lovely to see you again." I cringe at her words, knowing he's been here many times for the duration of the woman's relationship. She moves to the side and invites us in. As we walk in, it is increasingly obvious to me how rich these people actually are. A large crystal chandelier hangs from the 30 foot ceiling, large windows allowing the sun to sparkle off of the chandelier onto the white and grey tile. Damien gives her a sweet smile, "Hey Sable. Would you mind telling Vince that I've arrived please." She nods and quickly makes her way out of the room.
"It's odd to see how people react to you." I say aloud. He looks over to me and shrugs. I always forget that he's royalty. As I am lost in thought, I notice movement out of the corner of my eye. I look over to see a beautiful woman walking down the tile staircase, her heels click as she steps. Her long brown perfectly curled hair, flows over her shoulders and her deep brown eyes pierce through me to Damien. She finally takes her last step from the stairs and finished with her feet together. She raises an eyebrow and places a hand on her hip, pushing her hip into her hand. She looked weird to me. Like she was posing for a lingerie shoot, if she hadn't been wearing a perfectly pressed above the knee dark blue dress, pushing her breasts up and out. "It's about time you've come." She says this as if she expected him to crawl back to her. Damien rolls his eyes and squeezes my hand. A younger, just as beautiful white blonde girl pushes past her making her stumbled forward. "Is it true D's back!?" She jumps a few times, clapping. The brunette scowls at her as she adjusts her hair.
"I came to see Vince, Ember." Damien crosses his arms, letting go of my hand, making me feel insecure. The blonde runs up to us and throws her arms around Damien. "It's so good to see you! We've really missed you."
Well isn't this fun.
Damien lightly pushes her away from him. "Hey Skye..."
Brunette, Ember. Blondie, Skye. Check.
"Now now." Ember begins, her heels click as she walks towards us, finally stopping in front of him. "You simply cannot come in here expecting straight business." She reaches over to fix the collar on his shirt, that did not need fixing. I roll my eyes. She glides her hand down his chest and her eyes follow. "You must stay for dinner." He smacks her hand away and she smirks at him. She places her hand back on her hips. "I'm sure you've had a long journey. Go take a shower, I'll join you." She whispers the second half of the sentence. I almost burst out laughing at how hard she's trying.
"You have to be kidding me." I blurt out, causing everyone to look at me. "Oh, I didn't notice your dog behind you." She turns around, yelling down the corridor. "Sable! Take Damien's pet to the servants quarters." Sable comes running down to the front hall, leaning down to pick up my bag. "No." The loud and authoritative tone of Damien's voice echoes. Sable freezes and stands up awkwardly. Damien shifts his eyes to Ember. "She is not my servant, you moron." Embers face twists in repulsion. "Excuse me?" she asks confused. Damien throws his arm around my shoulder and pulls me into him. "She's my girlfriend and she will stay with me." Ember and Skye both glance at me stunned as Sable looks down trying to hide her smile. Ember takes her time to eye me up and down. "I see." She switches her gaze to him. "What are you trying to do Damien? Make me jealous?"
Damien sighs loudly and rolls his eyes. "Not everything is about you, Ember." She waves her hands in the air, shooing at me. "This does not appeal to me. You can give up the act." Damien shrugs, "There is no act." Skye huffs and storms out of the room.
Sigh. I should try to fix this.
"Hello Ember, my names Ar-" She shoots me a look, narrowing her eyes. "I didn't ask your name. Speak when spoken to."
Damien tilts his head to match her gaze. "Do I need to remind you, who you are talking to?" She jumps slightly, like a child getting caught in the act. "Damien?" She asks confused. He waves her off, "Get out of here, tell Vince I'm here." She hesitates for a moment before quickly exiting the room like a scolded puppy.
I can sense Damien's anger. It's radiating off of him. "Damien..." I start but he quickly turns towards me and places both his hands on my upper arms. "I'm so sorry Aryah. I didn't think she would be that bad." I give him a smile, "It's alright. I can handle her." Damien nods and relaxes his body. "This may be a problem for me." He looks off into the distance, thinking. "What do you mean?" I ask confused. "I don't think she'll make it to tomorrow if she keeps this up." He says seriously but I chuckle. "Um, your grace?" Damien turns and I tilt my head to the side. Poor Sable had been standing there awkwardly the whole time, unsure of what to do.
She gives us a sweet smile. "Your room is ready, if you would please follow me." Damien smiles at her and we both follow her to our room. "Please let me know if you need anything, your grace." She curtsey's and exits the room after Damien nods to her.
I stand stunned as I glance around the pale green room, white wood furniture with a king bed centred perfectly. "This room is beautiful." Damien shrugs annoyingly. "I just want to get this over with. I nod agreeingly, "You and me both. Should we explore to pass the time?" I look over to him. "If you want to?" He grins.
We make our way through the hallways until we make it into the main living room. Large windows, dark purple walls and white wood furniture. "What a beautiful living room!" I say as I glide my hand across the sofa.
"What a beautiful girl." An unfamiliar voice rings through the room, causing me to look up to the doorway in front of me to see a young man, physically fit, fawn coloured hair and big brown eyes. He grins at me seductively as he approaches me. He bows slightly, "You must be a princess?"
"Cut the shit Vince. Aryah is mine." Damien's voice makes a dominant return. I look behind me to see Damien scowling at him. He grins at Damien, glancing back to me, shrugging. "Shame." Damien walks beside me and Vince pats him on the shoulder. "Good to see you again, prince!" He bows fully to him. Damien, still scowling. "I wish I could say the same." Vince places his hand on his own heart. "Okay, I'm sorry I hit on your girlfriend. How was I supposed to know?" Damien rolls his eyes and I giggle. "I assume you've seen my sisters?" Vince sighs and Damien nods. "Unfortunately." Vince nods agreeingly. "I second that. Thankfully I'm the one you have to deal with, huh?" He laughs. I like him much better than his siblings. "Enjoy your time, I will see you both at dinner." He leaves us with a bright smile and a bow before leaving the room.
We continue our tour of the mansion, making our way outside into a private garden. I take a deep breath, filling my nose with the scent of flowers. "Did you and Ember come here?" I blurt out, not thinking before speaking.
"No, we didn't." An all too familiar grating voice making me shiver. I look behind me to see Ember standing with har hands clasped in front of her. She sighs heavily. "Listen, I want to apologize for my behavior earlier." Damien scoffs, "Since when do you apologize for anything?" She shoots him a death glare. "Well, thank you for apologizing." I say, breaking the awkward tension. Her eyes are fixed on Damien. "You are here on other business and that is the most important right now. I will see you at dinner, my prince." She curtseys and gives him a sweet smile and exits the garden. We stand in silence, the only sound is the fountain flowing in the corner. "Her apology isn't genuine." He finally says, glancing over to me. "How do you know?" I question and he sighs. "I dated her for quite some time. I know her too well and I know she is not one to be apologetic." My face twists in annoyance. "This conversation doesn't interest me. I'm going to shower before dinner." I walk past him and enter the mansion.
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I speed walk through the house and into our room, shutting the door and quickly walk to the bathroom. I turn around and close the door, pausing as I hold the door knob and the back of the door. I take a deep sigh and close my eyes. I slide my hands off and drop them by my sides. "What an exhausting day." I turn around and walk to the sink. I look at my face in the mirror and am surprisingly pleased with my appearance. I still looked cute as hell. Thank god. "I HAVE to look good tonight." I look at myself while I say that, then shake my head. How stupid. I'm trying so hard to up this girl, but why? I was normally a fairly confident person and I was content with my looks. So why was I so insecure around her?
I take my time to shower and get dressed into a knee length, long sleeved, skin tight, black lace dress. I take my time to straighten my hair and apply the perfect amount of makeup. Thank god for Mikayla and her fashionable taste. I smile at myself in the mirror, content with my appearance. I look down to the piece of Damien's shirt that had been wrapped around my wrist. I pick it up and tie it around my left wrist. I swirl around and exit the bathroom.
I walk into the room and stop in my tracks. Damien had been buttoning up a dark grey dress shirt, perfectly pressed, of course. "Wow, you look great." I blurt out. He looks up to me with a smile, eyeing me up and down. "I could say the same to you." He finishes buttoning his shirt and grabs a tie. I walk over to the bed and flop down, careful not to mess up my hair. "I'm really dreading this dinner honestly." Damien finishes tying his tie, "You and me both." He adjusts his collar then reaches his hand out to me. "Shall we?" I pout as I reach out my hand for his.
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We walk into a grand dining hall to see Vince, Ember and Skye standing in front of there plates, waiting for us. Vince bows as the women curtsey. Vince smiles as the women scowl at me. "Thank you for joing us. Let us eat!" Vince claps and we all take our seats.
Sable brings out this incredible butternut squash soup and places it in front of each of us. "Please enjoy your dinner." She turns to Damien and curtsey's. "Your grace." Exiting the dining hall.
Vince and Damien immediately begin talking about the reason for our visit. The girls and I sit quietly and sip on our soup, until Sable brings out the next dish of chicken, rice and asparagus, topped with a lovely creamy sauce. I try to hold myself back from monstering the food but it was damn near impossible. I was starving and this was delicious.
Act like a lady, act like a lady.
"We need all of the zone leaders to come to rebel territory to discuss further." Damien finally says. He had barely touched his food. All I can think about is reaching over and grabbing the plate for myself. How could he waste such delicious food!? "I can swing that. I will leave tomorrow morning." Vince nods and takes a sip of his wine. "I'm coming with you." I stop mid bite and look up to Ember, as do the rest of us. Vince turns to face her, "I don't need you there." He looks back at me and grins. "I'm sure Aryah doesn't want you there either." My face burns with embarassment. Ember slams her wine glass on the table and clenches her jaw. "Good thing I don't care what she wants." Her stare burns into Vince as she says that, which only causes Vince to laugh at her. "Will you give it a rest Ember." Damien pipes in. She shoves her chair back and stands up. "I'm not hungry." She storms out of the room, her heels clicking against the tile floor.
Vince turns around to look at me. "I apologize for my sister." He shrugs, "She's a brat." I nod slowly as I look at Skye to match her gaze. We spend the rest of dinner discussing strategies and catching up. After dessert, I wait for a pause in the conversation to pipe in. I was exhausted at this point. "Alright gentlemen, I'm tired. If you will excuse me, I am going to go and rest." Damien immediately moves to stand but I stop him. "Catch up with your friend, I'll be fine." I give him a sweet smile, Vince smiles at my gesture. "Goodnight Vince." He gives me a wink and I walk out the door. They both watch me as I exit. "God damn. You lucky bastard." Damien turns around to Vince and gives him a grin. "I know."
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I walk into the living room, listening as my own heels click along the tile. God how I wanted to take them off, but I won't. If Ember could do it. I could too. Ugh, how I hate how she effects me. I look up from my feet to see Skye staring at me, arms crossed. I jump startled. "Oh, Skye, you scared me." She takes a few quick steps towards me pointing in my face. "How dare you come here." I take a step back, "Excuse me?" She throws up her hands, dropping them down by her side, clapping against her legs. "You must know who we are. Are you trying to rub it in our faces?" I shake my head. "I just found out about you yesterday." She brings her index finger up into my face once more. "You're a liar!" She reaches down and grabs my wrists, pulling me forward. I immediately resist and pull away from her. "Don't touch me!" I scream at her. In the process, her finger gets caught in the piece of Damien's shirt, wrapped around my wrist, ripping it off. We both freeze and look down to her hand, the material lay across her palm. She looks at it quizzically, confused why I would be wearing such a thing. She slowly lifts her eyes to meet mine. Her mouth gapes and she throws her hand up to her mouth and gasps.
"Shh! Skye please!" I begin to panic, she knows. "Y-you're a-" She struggles to get the words out. "Shh, Shh!" I shush her as I fumble around, darting my eyes around the room. "Please, Skye."
"What are you idiots doing?" We both tense and look to our right to see Ember standing in the doorway, scowling at us. Skye and I exchange looks. Ember rolls her eyes. "Stay away from this dog, Skye. She's making you look bad." Quickly exiting the room.
We both stand in silence for a moment, her mouth still gaped open.
"Skye, please."