As always, please comment & vote. a special shout out to Elisabeth for the kind words of encouragement. Thanks!
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Recap chap 4:
"Goodnight MY... " Here it came, the reverence again. "Prince Xavier." I shut the door behind me. What was that? Had she been nice to me?
Now I felt guilty!
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Chapter 5: Cat Fight, Meow
Arianna POV
Sunlight spilled across my face when I slowly roused from sleep. I remembered last night's close call and felt a little bad about it. The thought that Xavier was just outside my door seconds after his brother straddled me... yeah, that was guilt alright. The thought of what may have happened made me shudder. Guilt oozed off my body like sweat. It was time to get my mind on something else.
I jumped out of bed and made my way to the enormous bathroom. The room was white from floor to ceiling. Marble tiles adorned the walls and floor. I stepped out of my clothes and into the shower. I perched on the shower seat and waited for the water to turn steamy.
I remembered how it felt to have cool hands on my body, the tingling feeling, the rush of blood to all surfaces of my body, the way his lips felt against mine... Stop it! You have to stay away from Ronan for a while. That was ... too close. I let the water wash away the shame. It took quite a long time, but finally all traces of it were gone.
I stepped out and took off to the closet. After I deliberated, I decided on a soft brown sweater dress, black leggings and black Mary Janes. I let my crazy waves of hair fall where they were. It was better when they dried naturally. I set out from my room, and looked for something to occupy my time that was unrelated to the Prince, his brother, or my current situation.
I started walking, and then happened upon Selene. Super... just super! This was not what I had in mind.
"Good morning Selene." I acknowledged her nicely. I glanced in her direction while I attempted to walk by without making eye contact.
She was beautiful as ever. She wore a corset top with a plunging neckline, no doubt to draw attention to her well endowed bosom, and a very tight pair of leather pants. She really enjoyed running around flaunting the gifts that the good Lord had given her. It was no wonder she had guys falling all over her. I hadn't seen what Ronan saw in her, although she was not the type I would have chosen for a bride. She was a little too... friendly for someone like him to have been with. Be that as it may, it wasn't my place to have said anything. It didn't help my situation to be concerned with his affairs so close to his wedding day.
"Good morning Arianna," She replied. I thought I escaped any sort of confrontation with her. Suddenly, an arm shot out in front of me and impeded my path. I tried to go around her but my efforts were fruitless. I guess I hadn't escaped her after all.
"Did you need something Selene?" I tried to sound casual, although I didn't think I had pulled it off.
"I had a little ... discussion with Xavier last night." Why am I not surprised? Oh, right, I had quite a 'discussion' of my own with Ronan. I sighed, and tried not to goad her. I thought of how I could come up with a peaceful exit. The last thing I needed was Selene as an enemy.
"You know," she started "maybe if you looked like me, he may actually turn an eye in your direction." She smiled slyly.
"It's not that you're grotesque, you just have no prospects. You don't have the ... appeal to hold a man like Xavier." Okay, that wasn't nice at all. I hadn't thought she was that bad a person. Guess I was wrong. I sighed again, and let the breath remove the traces of fury that showed on my face. She continued.
"He will only use you, for your blood and your body. It's his duty! After your wedding day, he will NEVER touch you again, that I can guarantee." She spat her words at me.
"Selene," I felt the anger rise in me like a tidal wave was about to overtake me. I was a little hurt by her words, but I was a fighter and I wasn't about to let it go so easily.
"Not every girl in the palace runs around spreading her legs for every male that walks by. Some of us have dignity!" I shot back at her. Not me of course, I had no dignity, since I was in love with her fiancé, but I'm sure some girls had. I saw the anger in her eyes.
"You Bitch!" She shouted then I saw her hand come hard and fast. The sting was instantaneous and much worse than I had expected. In that moment, I was glad she wasn't a vampire, or the force of her hand on my cheek would have sent me flying halfway down the hall.
I stood there, trapped and stunned, and wished I had immortal powers of my own. If I could only move objects with my mind, I can assure you, every sharp object in this place would have impaled her where she stood. I felt a cold rush of air and heard a voice I never expected.
"What's going on here?" He looked to me but I couldn't look my fiancé in the eyes. I hadn't wanted him to know how hurt and angered I was by her words.
It wasn't that her words were untrue, it was just that I had known about this since I was thirteen and for some reason, I thought that there was a chance I could have been happy. I was naïve. There was no happiness to be found here. I felt the tears well up in my eyes, but I refused to let them overflow.
"It's nothing, just a ...misunderstanding." I declared calmly while biting back my tears.
"Selene?" He looked to her for a response. "Are you two fighting?" I shifted uneasily at his question.
"No, it's like she said, just a misunderstanding." She smiled sweetly. What a fucking joke!
I let out my breath but could no longer have held the tears back. I took off in a sprint down the stairs and bounded toward the garden. The reality hit me hard. I had to marry a man who hadn't loved me, couldn't have loved me. I was trapped, lonely forever. Not even Ronan was my solace. Once she'd gotten her claws into him, he would never have come back to me. Her words were true, and they hurt like hell. When I reached the door, I thought I heard someone call after me.
"Arianna, wait!" but I never stopped running.
Xavier POV
When I pulled my dark gray, v-neck shirt over my head, I heard a ruckus in the hall, then shouting, then silence. This was not part of my Princely duties. I figured I'd check it out since it appeared no one else could have been bothered.
My gut told me it was Selene starting trouble again, as she always had. I felt bad for whoever she was mad at, she had a mean streak. That was what first attracted me to her. She was just so passionate. She tended to take it a little too far and her actions sometimes tired me.
I'd better break up the argument before someone got hurt. I shot out of my room and ran like lightning to the figures involved on the scuffle. I was surprised when I noticed Selene stood in front of a girl, arm outstretched, and obstructed her path. Her other hand raised high like she'd just struck someone. She had fire in her eyes and I knew this was bad, very bad.
"What's going on?" I looked at the girl, it was Arianna. She looked shocked and hurt, but refused to meet my gaze.
"It's nothing, just a ...misunderstanding." Aria responded.
"Selene?" I looked to her and frowned at the sly grin that was on her face. "Are you two fighting?"
"No, it's like she said, just a misunderstanding." Selene smiled innocently.
Arianna turned and ran, but before she had, I saw tears welled up in her eyes. She bounded for the door and I called after her.
"Arianna, wait!" I caled out to her, but she was gone.
"Leave her alone Selene." She grabbed my arm. I had to admit, she was hot, so passionate and unrestrained. But what had Arianna done to her to have deserved to be treated like this?
"You defend her? That Bitch." She seemed a little offended. I chuckled a little. Okay, play nice, I thought.
"She called me a Whore!" She shouted angrily. I chuckled again.
"If the shoe fits..." I replied without thinking. Okay, that wasn't so nice after all. Her hand flew in an instant, but I wasn't about to let her land two hits in one day. I caught her wrist inches from my face and squeezed to the point of near fracture.
"Hey X, what's up?" Ronan sounded exasperated, probably by Selene's behavior. I was glad I wasn't marrying her, but I thought I loved her. I wasn't so sure. What was I doing? Right, I need to defend the meek and the understated. I glared at Selene.
"You should teach your fiancée some manners," I smirked and threw her wrist back to her. He sighed. He knew full well how she acted at times. There was no denying the fact that Selene was an unrestrained bitch. Just how a woman like her called herself a lady was beyond me.
"And you should teach her to keep her hands OFF my fiancée." I grimaced, ran down the stairs and out the door after Arianna.
Ronan POV
Shouts awakened me from my dreamlike state. I was remembering how it felt to have had Arianna's hot skin so close to mine, when I heard Selene and X get into an argument. It was time to bail her out again. She was vicious and enjoyed praying on the weak. It was so hot! She'd make a sexy vamp. I headed toward the commotion and found that Selene attempted to strike X. His hand was wrapped around her arm forcefully. She must have been really pissed.
"Hey X, what's up?" I was exasperated. He glared at her. He must have been really pissed too. She should really have learned not to piss off vampires.
"You should teach your fiancée some manners... and you should teach her to keep her hands OFF my fiancée." He took off as I stared her down. She looked to the floor. She had obviously not wanted to admit what transpired.
"What did you do?" I was met with silence.
"What did you do to Arianna?" I was sure whatever it was, it wasn't good. I hoped she hadn't found out about the two of us. She was rather spiteful after all. Again, there was nothing but silence.
I felt my fury show itself. I grabbed her dark locks and dragged her to my room. I pressed my hand harshly against her jaw, and forced her to look into my eyes. I studied her pale blue eyes. They seemed curious, yet filled with fear.
"What did you do to Arianna? Did you strike her?" I questioned and grew impatient with her silence.
"She called me a whore." She spoke apprehensively. That sounded about right to me. If she acted like a whore, then she shouldn't have gotten upset about being called out on it. it was one thing that turned me on about Selene, her complete hold on her sexuality. But that opinion had nothing to do with the present situation. My hand tightened on her jaw, I could have crushed it if I wanted to. I thought better about it and released her. I threw her to the floor. Aria was probably pretty upset. I could have imagined that Selene had been so cruel, as per usual.
"I love you Selene," I stated flatly.
"But stay away from Arianna. If you touch her again, I won't be so kind next time." I left her on the floor in my room sobbing, and searched for Arianna.
She was nowhere to have been found.
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Okay, so 3 POV in this chapter, hope it wasn't confusing or repetitive. From now on, the POV will be only of those really crucial to the plot, sometimes only one, but others up to 3 or 4...
hope you Enjoy. The chapters will start to get longer too, so don't worry, they won't all be 1 page :)