AN: Hello and welcome to Chapter Ten! I'm not sure if it's safe for me to come out of hiding yet, so I'm still hidden away. We'll be starting in Starlene's head this time. Hope you all enjoy! Be sure to drop some comments as you read! Now onward and forward to Chapter Ten!
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*Starlene*
I was in the library with Calder. We were reading by the fireplace. Malcolm had been trying to find Genevieve for a while now, and while I appreciated his efforts, I wished that she wasn't so hard to find. I desperately needed to find my Mother.
The doors of the library opened with a loud bang and Calder and I looked up to find Damien standing there. He strode over to us and poured himself a glass of wine. He took a long sip and slumped into the chair across from us. I sighed, knowing that whatever had brought Damien here wasn't good.
"What happened?" I asked.
"I just spoke to Gabe," Damien told me.
"And?" I asked.
"And it seems our little brother has not only slept with Melisande, but he also rejected Raine," Damien told me, "Raine is his soul mate. He's fallen for her, but he's too consumed by the terms of this contract."
"God he is so stupid," I sighed as I pinched the bridge of my nose.
Damien's phone rang and the three of us glanced at it. Leon's name flashed on the screen and Damien looked at it curiously. He answered it and placed the call on speaker.
"You're on speaker with me, the Queen of Shadows, and the King of Midnight, Leon," Damien told him.
"Good," Leon told us, "Maybe one of you can talk some sense into your brother."
"What did he do now?" I asked.
"He's decided to get married to Crown Princess Melisande," Leon stated, "He's asked Queen Tatiana to make arrangements for the wedding."
Damien, Calder, and I gasped.
"Raine and I are going to stall the wedding plans for as long as we can," Leon told us, "But we can really only guarantee you two days. Please. You need to get him out of this. Raine is his soul mate. He needs to be with her."
"We'll do everything we can," Damien assured Leon, "Thanks for the update, Leon."
Damien hung up and turned to me and Calder.
"Where are we with finding a way out of that contract?" he asked.
I sighed.
"Damien...the thing is...we may have a way out," I told him, "But you might not like me very much if I tell you."
Damien raised an eyebrow at that.
"Now you have me a bit concerned," he told me, "Star, what's going on?"
"Okay," I conceded, "Mamă is alive."
"I'm sorry, what?" Damien asked, not sure if he'd heard me correctly.
"Mamă is alive," I repeated.
"And what could possibly make you think that?" Damien asked. I showed him the letters and he read them. The more he read, the more shocked he became. As he read the last letter, a gasp escaped his lips.
"But how?" he asked.
"She was saved by Genevieve Stanton," I told my older brother, "Malcolm's trying to locate her."
"Okay, but do you want to explain to me why you didn't tell the rest of us?!" Damien demanded. I winced. I knew he'd be angry.
"I didn't want to get your hopes up, Damien," I told him, "I didn't want to shatter your hearts if I turned out to be wrong."
Damien's anger dissipated and he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a hug.
"Star, you didn't have to go through this alone," Damien told me.
"I wasn't," I replied, "Calder was helping me."
Damien rolled his eyes.
"That's not what I meant and you know it," he told me.
I sighed.
"I know," I replied, "And I'm sorry."
"You're forgiven," Damien assured me, "Now what the hell does all of this have to do with Gabriel and the contract?"
"Cal and I believe that Mamă will be able to get Gabe out of the contract," I told my older brother.
"How?" Damien asked.
"Because she's your Dad's soul mate," Calder replied, "She can speak for him and get Gabriel out of this. I'm sure that they didn't do this to hurt Gabriel."
"Mamă might be the only one who can actually put a stop to this," I told Damien.
"I understand," Damien told us.
The library door opened and Malcolm entered. He closed the door behind him and walked over to us.
"My Kings, My Queen," he greeted us.
"What did you find Malcolm?" I asked.
"I found Genevieve Stanton," Malcolm told us.
"Where is she?" I asked.
"She's in Romania," Malcolm told me, "In a small village. Balaur."
"Thank you Malcolm," I told him.
Malcolm nodded. He bowed and then left the library, closing the door behind him.
I turned to my older brother.
"Damien...I have to go," I told him, "I have to find Mamă."
"I know, Star," Damien told me, "And I'm not going to stand in your way. I want our Mamă to come home just as much as you do. Take the jet and go find her."
"Thank you, frate," I told him.
"I won't tell the others," Damien assured me, "Just promise me that you'll do everything you can to bring her home."
"I will," I promised.
I hugged my brother tightly. I was going to to embark on an emotional journey and while I wanted Damien to come with me, I knew that I couldn't ask him to leave Selena and Julian.
"Safe journey, surioară," Damien told me.
"Thank you, frate," I told him.
"Look after her, Cal," Damien told my husband.
"I will," Calder vowed.
"I'll get someone to bring one of the cars around front for you," Damien told us.
I nodded.
Calder and I left the library and went to our room. We packed our things and slipped out of Cygnus Keep.
I slid into the passenger's seat of the car that Damien had arranged for us.
Calder got into the driver's seat and we drove away. The wrought iron gates opened and we drove through them. Calder grasped my hand as we passed through the gates, trying to comfort me. He could sense my uneasiness.
We reached the airport and got out of the car. A stewardess was there, waiting for us. Her eyes briefly flashed red, revealing her vampiric nature.
"Mr. Drake, Mrs. Drake," she greeted us, "Your jet is waiting for you on the tarmac. Everything's been taken care of."
"Thank you," I told her.
Calder picked up our bags and we went around to board the jet.
As we settled into our seats on the jet, worry began to set in.
What if we couldn't find Genevieve?
What if we couldn't find my Mother?
What if this whole thing was just a wild goose chase?
What if there was no way to get Gabriel out of the contract?
"You have that look in your eyes," Calder told me, "You're worried."
I sighed. Calder knew me all too well.
"Yes," I admitted.
"Talk to me, Star," he told me, "What's going through you're head?"
"What if she's not really out there?" I asked, "What if this whole thing is just a wild goose chase?"
"But what if it isn't?" Calder asked, "What if your Mom is really out there?"
I didn't respond and silence fell over us.
Then I turned to Calder.
"The letters are proof that she's alive, but I still have so many questions for her," I admitted.
"I know," Calder told me as he wrapped an arm around me, "But we'll find her and hopefully you'll get some answers."
"I hope you're right," I told him.
*Leon*
I opened the door to the library with a bang and found Gabriel and Melisande sitting on a couch reading. They both looked up when they saw me.
"Can I talk to you?" I asked.
"Of course," Gabriel replied, not moving from his spot.
"Alone," I hissed, "Now!"
Gabriel raised an eyebrow at me.
"I should go and see if Calypso and her guards have spotted Nysa's forces," Melisande stated as she got up and left the library. She closed the door behind her and I stormed over to Gabriel.
Then I did something no other Fledgling would even think of doing.
I punched Gabriel Drake, my Sire, across the face. Hard.
He turned to look at me and his eyes flashed red.
Now normally I would have backed away or pleaded for my Sire's forgiveness, but not this time.
"Leon, you're probably my favourite Fledging, and I don't like it when I have to punish you," Gabriel told me, "So I'm only going to ask this once. What could have possibly possessed you to attack your Sire?!"
"I attacked my Sire in hopes of knocking some sense into him!" I growled as my eyes turned red with fury, "Because he obviously isn't thinking clearly if he's willing to abandon his soul mate when she is standing before him, pleading with him to love her!"
Gabriel sighed.
"How could you do that, Sire?!" I asked, "How could you do that to Raine?!"
"I had no choice, Leon," Gabriel replied as the red vanished from his eyes, "I need to uphold this contract."
"Screw the contract!" I hissed, "In your righteous attempt to fulfil your Father's promise, people are getting hurt, more specifically, Raine is."
Gabriel was silent, so I continued.
"Do you have any idea how much she cried after you rejected her?" I asked, "She was devastated!"
More silence.
"You're hurting her, Sire," I told Gabriel, "And I know it's hurting you to do so."
He was still quiet.
"You can't keep doing this Sire," I told him.
"Why do you care for her, Leon?" Gabriel asked.
"Because she's your soul mate," I replied, "And as your Fledgling, it's my job to serve not only you, but your soul mate as well. So Raine's interests and wellbeing are important to me."
Gabriel sighed.
"You're a good Fledging, Leon, and a good man," Gabriel told me.
"There's a 'but' coming isn't there?" I asked.
He sighed.
"But I can't be with Raine," he told me, "This contract—"
"Screw the contract Gabriel!" I shouted, cutting him off. He looked at me, shocked that I'd referred to him by his name, something that was considered to be disrespectful for Fledglings to do. "Raine is your destiny!" I told him, "She was born to be your Consort! She is your other half! Your soul mate is in this palace, Gabriel! Why can't you accept that and let yourself be with her?!"
"I need to uphold the terms of this contract, Leon!" Gabriel told me.
"God Gabriel!" I shouted, "Stop being so stupidly righteous!"
He was silent.
"Fine," I conceded, "If you're going to do this then forsake me. Renounce me as your Fledgling. Because I can't stand by idly and watch as the man I currently call Sire throws his life away because of a piece of paper with Lucian Drake's signature into it!"
Gabriel's eyes filled with sadness. My words had cut him to the core. Fledglings were extremely precious to their Sires, in most cases. And I was Gabriel's first Fledgling. He had always told me that I was his favourite.
"So you're choosing Raine over me?" Gabriel asked, "You're breaking your Fledgling vow."
Each Fledgling took a vow to be loyal to their Sire and I had already broken that vow twice now. Once when I'd told Raine about the contract when Gabriel had explicitly told me not to. And again when I'd punched him.
"Yes I am," I replied, "And as long as my Sire continues to cause himself and his soul mate unnecessary pain, I will continue to break my Fledgling vow."
"Then you leave me no choice," Gabriel told me, "Leon Rhodes, I hereby rescind your status as my Fledgling and strip you of your Daylight Talisman."
I took off my ring and tossed it to him.
"Take it," I told him, "A man who is willing to forsake his soul mate and abandon his family all for a piece of paper, is not worthy of being my Sire."
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AN: So how about Leon taking a stand against Gabriel? Sound off with your thoughts in the comments. Thanks for reading! Be sure to drop some comments and vote!
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