[one week later]
Lysandra slapped her palm across her mouth to avoid giggling out loud as she tip-toed behind Seraphine. It was five in the morning and the corridors of the frosty castle were unruffled. Lysandra's grey eyes were alight with amusement, a feeling of excitement coarsing through her veins after so long. Adventure was what she missed after coming to the castle and thanks to her cousin, she made the stay bearable.
"Shh, I think she's up," Seraphine whispered, pausing in front of Maevis's chamber door. A faint shuffling perked up Lysandra's senses and she nodded, telling her cousin that the plum-eyed was probably up.
Before they could act on it, a swift padding of footsteps echoed and the door was swung open, revealing a drowsy looking Maevis.
"Fuck, did we wake you up, kiddo?" Lysandra joshed, resting her palms over her hips. Seraphine snickered, patting Maevis's shoulder as to console her.
"Should've been ready by now, Mae. Are you alright?" Seraphine asked, diverting the topic after seeing how disheveled Maevis looked.
Maevis offered her a gentle smile, turning to Lysandra with a proud grin. "You care too much for me, Sera. Calm down, I just didn't get enough sleep. Got used to dingy motels and now luxury gives me sleepless nights."
"Oh, the silk sheets gave me the creeps for so long," Lysandra chuckled.
Maevis and her did not properly get along but they had a common goal to work towards and after a while of getting used to each other, they had this strange dynamic they worked with. They had their own share of arguments but they made sure their silly issues did not get in the way of work.
"Make yourself presentable, Miss Maevis," Seraphine said in a posh accent, pushing Maevis towards her dressing room. "We have a vampyre royal to meet."
They quietly got into the room and sat down on the velvet couch placed at the foot of the bed. That day, the royals were rather busy and besides, Micah had to duty of making sure their absence would not be noticed. Raffaela and Gavril were afraid of what would happen to their children if things went wrong but in the end, for the greater good, they had to take a huge risk.
Lysandra sat clicking her fingers and creating spurts of fire, making her eyes glow. Seraphine wooed and rubbed her own fingers creating tiny icicles sprouting through her fingers. The polar nature of their powers amused them and they often found themselves messing around with them.
Maevis came back within a couple of minutes and stalked towards the center of the room, wringing her hands together and smoothing her hair down. "The wards will be let down, no? Otherwise it's gonna drain my power and— "
"Yes, Laur said he'd make all arrangements," Lysandra cut Maevis off.
"Someone is excited to see lover boy," Seraphine sung, nudging her cousin's shoulder playfully. Much to her surprise, Lysandra's cheeks grew crimson and she bit her lip, looking down towards her lap. "I sense there's gonna be some much needed action once we get there. Oh, young love!"
Lysandra stuck her tongue out childishly despite blushing furiously and Maevis smirked, noticing how affected the steel-eyed was.
"We've wasted enough time," Maevis pointed, stretching her arms out for the other two bellators to hold. When the three of them were in a circle, they looked towards each other and with determined grins, they closed their eyes shut, taking in a deep breath. "Buckle up."
Maevis clasped the arms of the two women tighter and with a light whoosh, they vanished into thin air, leaving the room bare and ghosted.
"Sera," Lysandra called and when her cousin turned to her with her hum, she continued, "Why didn't you try to get Celeste out of the dungeons?"
"You underestimate the King and Queen, Lee. Your mother can do wonders with her magus. She herself put up a protective barrier in the cell holding Celeste," Seraphine clarified. "If time came when Celeste crossed that ward, your mother would be the first one to know and we all know how that'd have ended."
"Celeste was tortured rather vigorously by your parents so she would keep her mouth shut. After all of that trauma, she was not really willing to trust us. She was on the brink of going insane because she could not forget the ghastly memories and she had nobody to share them with. Micah stumbled upon her one day while going to fetch some criminal from the cells and she had stopped talking all together, it took us years to make her converse with us. Soon enough we grew the balls to work against the King and Queen, especially after we saw what they put her and the previous rulers through."
Maevis's tone was solemn as she explained, not going deep into the details as she knew it would disturb Lysandra. She was being extra sensitive especially after Seraphine told her what the poor kid had been through. It was very complex, handling one's magus and Lysandra had no guidance at all. She must've been so lost, so freaked out and so scared of her own self. Maevis was empathetic to her feelings, especially after knowing how lonely and lifeless one would feel after losing both of their parents at once. Knowing that it was her fault would have been almost impossible to cope up from.
Maevis somehow grew to admire how strong Lysandra was despite never admitting out loud. She looked up to how the girl pulled through her life and put up with so much of trauma and still stand tall and make a future for herself. She was slightly out of track but, she was hanging there. She liked how effortlessly she seemed to be dealing with being a part of royalty because Maevis bitched about it for years together but then again, she could not deny the helping hands of Seraphine's parents who had taken her under their wing as soon as her parents were killed in the car accident.
"Celeste should have died along with the parents but she escaped and ran to town, alerting people. The truth was diffused with the aid of the rumour that she was a lunatic and your parents cashed in, saying that they were taking care of her like their own child. Reality was far from that. They spared her life because they knew that if she died under their care, suspicions would arise," Seraphine added, rubbing circles on Lysandra's back to comfort her.
Lysandra whispered to herself to be strong and bit her lip, trying to keep her emotions at bay. She knew they would cloud her judgement and at that moment, she needed a clear head to comprehend everything they had come to Istanbul for. They were in a huge mansion, seated in the living room, waiting for Laurent's grandfather to come downstairs. She hoped Laurent would come too. Her nerves were jittery since morning and waiting for him was becoming more and more impossible with every passing minute.
The door opened, revealing Laurent, his green eyes sparkling with wonder as he saw Lysandra beaming up at him as if he was the only thing in her world. She had unknowingly stood up from the chair upon his arrival.
"You okay?" he murmured, eyeing her in confusion.
"Hi." She giggled and he gawked at her even more skeptically, pondering if she was drunk. His eyebrow quirked up as she threw herself into his arms and in the heat of the moment, smacked her lips onto his. Caught totally off guard, his eyes widened dramatically before he responded to her unexpected gesture, circling his arms around her bottom and slightly lifting her up from the ground so she was on her tippy toes.
"If this is how you are going to react every time we stay apart," he panted in between placing gentle pecks on her mouth, "I will run away more often."
"Never," Lysandra vouched, confusing Laurent for a moment and then finished what she was about to say. "I don't think I will be staying away again." Lysandra buried her eyes in the crook of his neck and he chuckled, kissing the top of her head.
"Well, you just effectively stroked my ego, baby. Can't take your words back now."
"No," Lysandra whispered, scrunching her nose, "don't call me baby. That sounds very very weird."
"You are weird." Laurent brushed his fingers through her short hair and placed a kiss atop her head.
"I was not aware one of our guests was your girlfriend, Laur." An unfamiliar voice rasped and Lysandra grew red, pulling herself away from him and seeing an older man walk through the doors towards them. She tilted her head to a side to see Maevis smirked, undoubtedly ready to tease her after the show she had put on, carried away by emotions and Seraphine had an amused grin lighting her face up. Lysandra wringed her hands nervously but kept her head straight to see Laurent turn to his grandpa with a chuckle.
"Not my girlfriend, pops," he said in a low voice. "But, getting there soon enough."
He turned to Lysandra to shoot her a wink laced with promise and desire. It sent a shiver down her spine and made her feel things she was sure she should not.
"Ugh, thank God!" Maevis remarked, her foxy eyes glinting with glee. "I was about to pull them apart myself if you hadn't interrupted."
Lysandra opened her mouth to retort when Laurent's grandfather let out a haughty laugh, his whole frame shaking lightly. Laurent turned to her with an apologetic look and she sighed, turning to Seraphine who was silently watching the scene unfold.
"Oh, these bellators are not moody bastards like the ones I had to privilege to meet a couple of years ago, Laur," the old man observed as if they were not there beside him. "These guys, my bad, these girls are too hilarious for their own good. Here I was, thinking they'd be chewing our heads off."
"Pops, that is-- "
"Yeah, your prejudices are outdated, sir," Lysandra declared, her tone challenging.
"So it would seem," the man agreed, nodding his head to himself. "Or perhaps, I will find out if they are still true in a while."
"Pops, knock it off." Laurent's gentle warning had gone unheard as the man gasped, speaking up again.
"How terribly rude of me! Abraham Cirillo," he introduced himself before crossing his arms across his chest.
"Lysandra Mikhael."
Seraphine was partially astounded by how tactfully Lysandra was keeping her temper in check. She would usually use her fists to prove a point but her composed and sly behavior was sort of a newfound twist. Maevis was almost baring her teeth at the old man, at the blatant disrespect he portrayed. It was funny how similar Maevis and Lysandra were and yet, they argued with each other like it was the end of the world.
"That traitorous asshole's kid?" Abraham queried, rubbing his gray stubble thoughtfully. "Interesting."
Lysandra regarded him carefully, not letting any of her emotions to slip past. "Good guess, I am that asshole King's progeny. Blood does not make family though, I am sure you know that."
"I like her, Laur," Abraham chuckles, resting his shaky arm on Laurent's shoulder.
Lysandra huffed, bringing her cousin and the black-haired bellator to stand beside her. "Seraphine Dimitrov and Maevis Zikmund. Now that the pleasantries are done with, let's get on with the actual business, shall we?"
"Now what kind of a person would I be if I did not serve some hot tea to welcome you before we get into official matters!" Abraham questioned rhetorically before summoning a maid to serve them the beverage along with some fresh fruits. "Please, leave your footwear outside."
The three bellators looked at each other and then at Laurent who shrugged in apology, explaining to them that they were to stay barefooted or with socks when inside the residences. They walked out to the main door with a huff and placed their shoes to a side before walking in and wincing at how cold the dark marble felt against their feet. As they stepped in again, cups of steaming tea were placed on the table along with slices of fruit bread.
"So," Abraham started, clasping his hands and resting his elbows on his knees. "How can I help you ladies today?"
It'll be alright
Bad times will end and the sun will come up.
Until then, hold on.
- A small message more to
myself than you guys
P L E A S E V O T E