Zoey
I drag Rythian through the towering open doors. He keeps grumbling on about this party being a bad idea. I stopped listening to him about ten minutes ago and started talking to Teep, who came with us most of the way.
"Stop worrying Ryth. It'll be fine." I kiss him lightly on the cheek and lead him to the other guests.
"Zoey!" Kim runs towards me in a beautiful dark red dress that comes to just below her knee in a pencil skirt style.
"Kim! You look awesome!" I grin. We haven't had a chance to talk for ages, because of all this "let's make a truce but first let me blow you to pieces" thing that Ryth and Duncan have had going on.
"So do you-oh my gosh your arm!" Kim gasps as she notices my robotic arm. "I'm so sorry about that." I shrug.
"It's fine. It doesn't bother me, it's actually pretty cool, I can shoot lasers and stuff now!" We both laugh.
"Hey Zoey, you didn't happen to see Lewis and Hannah on your way here, did you?" Duncan appears, putting an arm around Kim.
"No. Sorry."
"I bet it was Lewis taking forever to get ready again!" Kim giggles. Those two are apparently always late to everything, and Hannah usually blames it allon Lewis not deciding what tie to wear.
"Why don't you ask Rythian?" I point out. Duncan coughs awkwardly, looking over at Rythian, who is stood in a corner looking his usual grumpy self and watching us as we talk, occasionally glaring at Duncan.
"Well, I still don't think he's quite forgiven me for the nuke," he mumbles. "Sorry about that, by the way."
"It's cool!" I answer quickly, not wanting him to feel bad. "And I told him he has to play nice tonight, so he won't be picking any fights with you."
Hannah
"Lewis we are so late!" I groan as we fly towards the castle.
"Sorry! I didn't think it would take this long to get here!" he replies as we both gracefully land on the stone steps leading in to the castle. I smooth any creases out of my dress and take a deep breath.
"It's fine, I didn't either. Let's just go in, apologise, and forget we ever arrived late. Agreed?"
"Agreed."
I brush a loose strand of hair from my eyes and, gripping Lewis' hand tightly, we stride through to the courtyard.
"Hey guys! We thought you'd ditched us!" Duncan gives us both a welcoming smile and the others come to join us. Looking around, I can see so many people. There's Sips and Sjin, Rythian and Zoey, Martyn, Toby, Minty, Simon, Duncan and Kim, then Lewis and myself. When Duncan gave me the invitation, he said he'd invited ten people. Counting in my head, I sigh.
"We're the last ones here again, aren't we. I am so sorry! This always happens..." I feel my cheeks flush red in embarrasment.
"Hey, it's no problem! Everyone's used to it by now anyway!" Kim appears at Duncan's side along with Zoey and Minty, who is wearing a gorgeous lilac knee length dress with long sleeves.
"Shut up Kim. It's been too long!" we all embrace each other in a group hug.
"Wow, you make it sound like we stop you from seeing eah other!" Lewis jokes. Duncan laughs and the pair walk off over to Simon to talk.
"Hey Zoey, where's Rythian?" I ask her. "Ihaven't seen him around since me and Lewis arrived." Zoey stops talking and looks around frantically, her eyes wide in panic.
"Um, I'll be right back," She rushes ot of the courtyard, scanning the darkness for an trace of the mage.
"Hello Hannah, Kim. Have you seen Zoey?" Rythian says from behind us, looking concerned and nervous. I give him a comforting smile.
"She just stepped outside, she's really worried about you," Kim answers reassuringly. Rythian brethes a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness. I thought something had happened." He is moving towards her before he even finishes talking to us. Kim and I peer outside to see Zoey and Rythian with their arms around one another, eyes locked and whispering to each other.
"Aw, that's so sweet," I say. Kim sighs and nods.
"Yeah. I wish Duncan was more like that."
"Well I would be if you weren't so mean to me!" Duncan must have heard her. Kim raises her eyebrows and he laughs.
"Jerk!" Kim shouts before half the people present start laughing quietly at the exchange between the two partners. Me and Lewis glance at one another. His eyes are glowing a faint blue as he rolls his eyes at me and grins. I shake my head and laugh, motioning for him to come over and join us. He strolls over and puts an arm around me.
"Well, you two clearly love each other," Lewis chuckles. Kim jokingly glares at him. "If anyone else said things like that, Duncan would kick their butts!"
"Yeah, I guess he would. But he's never gotten annoyed with me before," KIm smiles, her eyes following the scientist as he spoke to the other guests. "I'm going to go talk to him. See you guys in a bit!" Kim half skips and half jogs to Duncan and starts talking cheerfully. He says something that makes her blush, at which I hear Lewis laugh quietly. I almost forgot he was next to me.
"You know, I'm really glad they have each other," I say. "With Kim in the state she's in because of the flux, she needs all the support she can get."
"And Duncan has never been able to open up to someonelike that before. He's become a new man since he met Kim," Lewis adds, pulling me closer. "Kind of how I felt after I met you." I blush.
"When you first met me you hardly spoke a word of English and all you could do was smile at me. Look how far you've come since then. A stranger would never know you're from space, except for your eyes maybe." I look up at them, to see they're still glowing as Lewis stares straight back.
"I think you've changed too. You were an adventurer, you were always fighting and could never stay in one place for too long. Now you've stopped travelling and stay with your owls, and you're a lot more peaceful too. But you're still the same Hannah that I fell in love with all those years ago." I can tell that I'm still blushing as Lewis leans in to kiss me.
Kim
"Everyone's enjoying themselves, even Rythian seems more relaxed. You did well Duncan," I say, grinning at the scientist. My scientist. He grins back.
"I couldn't have done it without you Kim," Duncan admits. "If it weren't for your help, I probably would have forgotten to invite anyone!" I take a moment to really look at him. His dark blonde hair is still messy and his hands are laced with scratches and scars from his science, but he made an effort tonight by putting on a white shirt and smart trousers. It makes him look so out of place, like he belongs in a different world, not at a fancy party.
"Duncan, I-" my head starts to pound, and spots of purple and black dance across my vision. My hands start to tingle, like I have pins and needles even though it's different. "Not now, not now..." I mutter, gritting my teeth. My legs give way and Duncan helps me sit. He crouches down and puts a hand on my shoulder.
"Kim?" I close my eyes and ball my hands in to fists.
"Flux," I say in a strained voice as I bit my lip. I see the realisation flash over his face before he stands and calls Rythian over.
"Rythian, do you know a spell to help? It's the flux again, and I don't have anything on me to help her." His words echo in my head as I groan at the pain. Whatever Rythian's response was, I couldn't hear it, but the pain starts to ease as I feel a hand on my forehead. When I open my eyes again, Duncan is inches from me. "Cheers Rythian," he sighs.
"Duncan, I'm sorry," I say in embarrasment. "I couldn't hold it back."
"Don't worry," Duncan smiles, leaning closer to me. "We'll find a cure, then it'll never happen again." His lips brush against mine and my arms are wrapped around him as he helps me to stand on shaky legs. "I promise. Now let's enjoy the rest of the party, ok?" I nod and Duncan leads me over to talk to Simon, not once letting go of my hand.
Slightly less Zoethian, but still. Thanks again for the reads and the votes, you guys are awesome! This was super fun to write!
Midnight