Because Fan-Girls Come in All Shapes and Sizes
By the time Lilla caught sight of the high roof and many awnings of the Morris Inn her stomach had already started to twist in nervousness. She knew that she had no need to feel intimidated; Silversin was kind enough to give her a protection charm and a letter of credit to use. Thinking of the credit alone had made her giddy enough to skip most of the way to her destination. But by now the quick clicks of her knee high leather boots on the cobblestone had morphed into a low grating noise as her feet dragged slowly on the road.
Why did Sam's favorite place to stay in town have to be in its shadiest district? Sure, the place was rumored to have the world's best barbeque, but it also had a bad reputation for other less savory things.
In fact, no proper lady would go within three blocks of the place. Not that Lilla considered herself a proper lady by any standards. She was merely a mountain elf and one of the apprentices to Silversin. But she was not accustomed to getting into sticky situations unless she was allowed to gut someone with her trusty dagger. This however, was an action that Silversin was adamantly opposed to.
Before she knew it, Lilla was standing in front of the enormous intimidating door to the Morris Inn. Ok, so maybe it was just a standard sized door, with a welcome mat, and a crooked "Open" sign hanging on it. But that didn't make it any less intimidating. Besides, there was a lot of yelling and chanting noises coming from the inside. Who knew what could be going on in there?
Lilla suddenly felt a wave of concern towards the girl who was with Dru when they came to the house. She was probably in there right now, having to deal first hand with the riotous behavior. Her previous fears now converted into a surge of confidence at the prospect of helping someone in need. Lilla gulped and reached for the door handle.
The cheering stopped. Lilla froze. Silence loomed.
The door quickly (and quite suddenly) flew open and smacked right into the maroon haired elf's face, knocking her down. Then a figure leaped over her body while cackling, "Ha! They're all mine now. That will teach you to not eat all of the marshmallows while I'm still asleep."
A glowing figure shortly followed after the first. "But Myra-darling, we were going to save some for you! I swear!"
"Riiiight," said the first voice in an unbelieving tone.
"Lilla? It is you. Are you alright?" A very dazed Lilla stared up into a pair of beautiful crimson eyes.
"M-Meris?" her voice was gruff and her head was swimming.
"Oh Lil, Dru probably ran you over, didn't he? He's so insensitive. Would you like me to help you up?"
To Lilla, his words seemed quick and strung together. All she could focus on was his mesmerizing eyes and a wispy tuft of midnight colored hair that kept falling into his face. It would drift down gently covering his right eye, resting on a porcelain cheek. Then his perfect lips would prick to the side and blow the tuft away where it would once again start its descent.
A breathy "yeah" was all she managed to say before passing out.
⌘⌘⌘
"I still cannot believe that I let a pathetic human wench drag me around town looking for a dress," Sam sneered while flipping through fabric samples.
Myra groaned loudly, "first of all: despite being a female I am not a huge fan of shopping, so you'll get no sympathy from me. And second: it's not a dress, it's a kimono, and you're going to have to get one as well."
Sam made a sound of disapproval just as Dru came strutting out of a dressing room in a pinstriped, light purple kimono with pink flowers along the bottom. "Does it really look that bad?" Dru pouted. "I thought the color brought out my eyes."
"Certainly brings out something," Sam mumbled under his breath.
"It looks great, Dru," Myra assured him. "Now all we have to do is get one for Sam"
"Me?" Sam asked in a heated tone. "What about you? And Meris?"
"I already got one," she said, "back when you were complaining about the smell of molding silk. And since Meris is back at the inn taking care of that smiley girl -whatever her name is- it only makes sense that he go with her once she has recovered."
"Fine then," he moaned, "I'll get that green one. Now let's go."
As Myra, Sam, and Dru exited the shop and turned a corner; Lilla pulled Meris toward the shop from the opposite direction. She had miraculously woken up about five minutes after the others left, and since then, had been dragging Meris to various shops all over town.
"Alright," she announced while standing in the doorway. "I think we have gathered enough information on the current styles and fashions. We can now begin our search for the perfect kimono!"
"help me..." Meris squeaked as Lilla tugged him in by his arm.
⌘⌘⌘
That evening as the sunlight faded, five kimono clad individuals approached the gates to Silversin's estate.
"If no one else is wearing these bathrobes I will seriously start killing people," Sam growled, tugging at his sleeves.
"Are you missing your tight shirt and combat boots?" Myra giggled beside him.
"Let's just get this over with." He huffed, and led them through the gates.
The moment they saw the game booths and crowds of people, girly screams began to erupt, but not from their group. Young women started emerging from amongst the hoards of demons and humans. The girls seemed extremely excited as they raced toward them.
At first they headed toward Sam, but when he gave them a glare that could freeze molten lava, they quickly diverted their path. They then turned to Dru, but once they saw the lecherous grin spread across his face, they turned away. And that is where they found their victim. The screams increased tenfold as the shrill voices called out the name of one very unfortunate half-demon vampire.
Meris, meanwhile, was attempting to run away, but Lilla had a death-grip on his arm as she casually spoke to Myra.
"Bettcha didn't know you were in the company of celebrities did ya?" she asked her with a knowing grin on her face.
The fan-girls were leering closer, and Meris was practically clawing at Lilla's hand; trying to get her to let go. She let out a sigh and said a few words that set up a barrier to keep the girls out.
Myra had to admit, Lilla's statement about not knowing the boys were popular was true, "I'm surprised that the fan-girls could still remember them after being gone for so long," she commented.
Unfortunately for Dru, the barrier not only kept the girls out, but also kept the rest of them in. He was presently pounding on it with his fists and begging the retreating girls to come back.
"Well," Lilla said, completely ignoring the fox-eared demon, "you can still buy posters of them and stuff. Plus, their sudden disappearance only increased their popularity."
This confused Myra a bit, "If they are so popular then why did no one approach them when we were shopping? And why did they run away from Dru right now?"
Lilla gave her a confused look, "They were wearing disguise charms this afternoon. Didn't you notice that they looked different?"
"Our spells don't always work on her," Meris said. "Can I go now, Lilla? The girls are gone."
"Sure." Lilla released her hold, and Meris rubbed his bruised arm. He and Dru followed Sam -who had managed to break down the barrier- as he stalked off towards some game booths.
"Are you coming with us, Myra-darling?" Dru asked while turning around.
"We'll catch up in a few seconds," she replied. "I just need to ask Lilla one more thing."
"What is it you need?" Lilla asked politely.
Myra waited until the boys were out of earshot. "I was just wondering why the girls reacted that way to Dru."
A sympathetic look shown on Lilla's features. "It's a couple of reasons. One of them is because he's a complete lecher. But even so, he has a rather large fan base. Unfortunately, because of his... heritage, most of his fans steer clear of him in public. In fact, I bet the only reason he hasn't been completely shunned at this party is because he's with Sam."
Once again Sam saves the day simply by showing up. Myra thought sourly. I really wonder how he won the respect of so many people though.
Making a mental note to find out about Sam's past, Myra walked with Lilla over to where the boys were waiting for her. Just as she approached them, there was a sudden explosion from the center of the courtyard.