by Bianca D’Arc
A tall, gorgeous blonde named Adela Ariano was playing the role of a girl who worked at the tavern and was even in a couple of the fight scenes alongside the men. She was fit and pretty and looked like she could hold her own in a real barroom brawl, despite the flawless nature of her beauty. Her voice, when she spoke, was slightly accented and a bit husky. She told Katrina that she was originally from the mountains of Chile but had moved to California when she’d decided to try her hand at acting. She’d been in two films since moving to the States, but this was her first time working with Sonia and the others. She had no old friends in the cast, but she had already met a few of the crew, including the makeup artist, Francesca, and fight choreographer, Greg Mendez.
Adela called Francesca over, and as Sonia drifted away to talk to someone else, the three women struck up a conversation. Francesca had lustrous auburn hair, and Katrina remarked on how lovely it was, which brought up the topic of how Sonia wanted both Katrina and Adela to look for the shoot. Sonia, it seemed, wanted a more realistic-looking portrayal of the Robin Hood legend. There would be little make-up used. Only enough to create the illusion of natural beauty.
Katrina wasn’t at all sure what Francesca meant, but she was sure she’d find out when they started work over the next few days. They were running on a very tight schedule, and Franny, as she asked to be called, was happy to discuss what would be expected of Katrina and Adela as far as the amount of time spent in the make-up chair and how early they would start each day. Franny even had a file folder with schedules she had worked up for each of the women and was happy to hand them their personalized versions of the make-up schedule.
Katrina was glad to have it. That piece of paper was just one more piece to a puzzle of how she’d be spending the next few weeks. She’d even created a special planner just for this project, which was tucked into her luggage. Tonight, she would dig it out and insert the information from Franny’s schedule into her master plan. Piece by piece, it was beginning to come together.
The last thing she wanted to do was forget where she was supposed to be or what she was supposed to be doing. All of these people were veteran actors, and it was important to Katrina not to let her inexperience show. She’d vowed to be on-time, prepared and ready to work whenever called upon to do so, which meant being certain she was using every hour efficiently. She was here to work, and she meant to put her best foot forward.
That thought firmly in mind, she accepted Deirdre and Franny’s invitation to get dinner together. The rest of the crew was arriving tomorrow, and there would be a group dinner event tomorrow night, but the arrangements tonight were casual, and everyone was fending for themselves. Some were opting for room service after the long day of travel, but the two women were planning to try a little bistro down the block, and it sounded like just the ticket to Katrina, who was starting to feel peckish after the eventful day.
Chapter Three
They left together when the group started to break up and headed outside and down the street to the little café. There was outside seating, so they got a table in the courtyard and ordered drinks while perusing the menu. Katrina was impressed by the offerings and opted for a light meal of salad and soup. The other girls ordered appetizers and a whole lot more. Katrina almost envied them the fact that they worked behind the camera and didn’t have to worry too much about gaining weight. Of course, they were both gorgeous enough to be on-camera, but she guessed maybe they didn’t have the desire to be in the spotlight. Some people didn’t, Katrina supposed.
“We got lunch here yesterday,” Franny said as she put her menu aside. “Their sandwiches are awesome. I can’t wait to see what they do with the dinner menu.”
“Have you been in town long?” Katrina asked out of curiosity. She had never been on a film set before and was curious how it all worked.
“About a week, in my case,” Deidre answered, pouring water for them all out of the large bottle at the center of the table. “I’ve been working on making sure all the sound equipment is here and is in working order. Plus, there are some technical aspects on one of the nearby locations that I wanted to check out. We’re using one of the local buildings that used to be a church for some of the indoor castle scenes. The acoustics in there are a bit of a nightmare with all those big, flat stone surfaces.”
“I got here the day before yesterday,” Franny added. “I claimed a space in the prop suite and have been setting up everything. I had photos of you to go off of, but I’d like to try some of the makeup I got for you tomorrow, if you have a free hour. Your complexion is near perfect, and you won’t need much coverage, but I want to be sure I’ve got the skin tone exactly right, so it looks natural.”
Pleased by the compliment about her complexion, Katrina sipped her water to hide the little blush she thought might be coloring her cheeks. She’d never had someone like Franny examining her face so minutely before.
“Oh, that’s perfect!” Franny clapped her hands together as she grinned. “You’ve got a perfect rosy blush. I know Sonia isn’t going to want me to hide that in the close-ups.” The comment only made Katrina blush hotter as Franny chuckled.
“Give her a break, Fran,” Deidre said, smiling. “We don’t want to scare off our leading lady before filming even starts.”
“It’s okay, really,” Katrina protested.
“Sorry, hon,” Franny said, still smiling, her words kind. “When you’re in the makeup biz, you tend to notice the minutest things. I have to, because you can bet the camera will catch every little thing I miss.”
After that, the talk turned to scheduling, and as they ate, Katrina was able to ask some questions of her own about how things worked on set. The girls were friendly and willing to answer her newbie questions. Katrina took mental notes that she would input into her master plan once she got back to her hotel room.
“You guys were right. The food here is excellent,” Katrina commented, keeping to herself her amazement at the mass quantities of meat and side dishes the two women were putting away. Her brother didn’t even eat that much. She wondered if this was their only meal of the day or something. Maybe they were both on some crazy fad diet where they only ate once every twenty-four—make that forty-eight—hours?
“Yeah, the chef here really knows what she’s doing,” Franny commented in between bites of pot roast. “I met her the other day. She also owns the place.”
Katrina looked around the courtyard and could see the feminine influence in the décor. There were potted flowers everywhere, including some night-blooming varieties that came into precedence as the evening deepened. Strings of Edison bulbs hung overhead in a scalloped canopy that gave the whole place a fairytale feel.
Katrina lingered over her dinner salad and vegetable soup, enjoying the warm night air and the ambiance of a place that was new and enchanting. Being waited on, instead of waiting on others, for a change, was nice. Of course, Katrina knew from long experience how hard the staff worked to create this effortless feeling and make every guest feel welcome and well-served. She resolved to leave a nice tip, now that she was earning good money.
“Do you want to get dessert?” Franny asked with a gleam in her eye as she saw a frothy confection delivered to the next table.
“Yes,” Deidre replied immediately, her gaze also on the heavily whip-creamed cheesecake slice a table over.
As much as Katrina might have enjoyed something sweet and decadent, she settled for a cappuccino, which was sort of decadent in its own way. She sipped from her soup-bowl-sized cup while the other two women gobbled down their sweet stuff. Apple pie a la mode for Franny and cherry cobbler for Deidre. The portions were large, but that didn’t stop them a bit, and Katrina was entertained by how much the others enjoyed what they ate and the comments they made about everything.
Irreverent didn’t even begin to cover Franny’s sense of humor. She declared her dessert better than sex at one point, then amended it to very specific terms. It was “better than sex with my ex,” she said
, clarifying that there might be a man out there, somewhere, that would prove to be better than the crispy, hot apple pie with homemade vanilla bean ice cream, but she hadn’t found him yet.
Katrina just chuckled and sipped her cappuccino, which really was one of the best she’d ever had. The thought felt a little traitorous because the barista at her family’s restaurant was really top notch, but Katrina figured it was okay to be a tiny bit disloyal, this once, as long as Katrina didn’t mention it when she got home.
After dinner, the trio strolled back to the hotel and parted ways in the lobby. Katrina had a lot of information to put into her planner and lines to study before she went to bed, so she picked up a bottle of chilled water and an apple from the supply in the lobby on her way to her room.
Katrina changed into comfy yoga pants and a loose T-shirt and padded around barefoot as she unpacked her bags so she could find things quickly. She had just spread her planner stuff out on the desk in the room when there was a knock on the door. It was Stella, one of Sonia’s assistants. She handed over a sheaf of paper with a smile.
“Here’s the amended schedule. There were some minor changes since the last edition,” Stella said, her smile bright. “Nowadays, scheduling is usually done electronically, but Sonia is a bit old-fashioned. I’ll probably be coming by every night with addendums.”
Stella was very young and had a bubbly personality. Katrina had liked her immediately, sensing a mischievous spirit that appealed to her. Katrina leaned against the open door and folded her arms, one hand hanging onto the papers.
“There’s something to be said for pen and paper, you know,” Katrina countered with a grin.
“Oh, don’t tell me. You’re a technophobe, too?” Stella rolled her eyes, playing along.
Katrina shrugged. “Not really. I just like to see things, visually, on paper.” She gestured toward the desk that was visible from the doorway, where all her planner stuff was spread out.
“You’re an artist?” Stella asked, her eyes wide, taking in the array of colored pens, washi tape and other items visible on the desk.
“Not really, but I am drawn to the visual. I like to create and doodle, so a paper planner is really my thing. It helps me think and get organized.” She raised the schedule papers in her hand. “This is right up my alley.”
Stella chuckled. “You and all the other dinosaurs in this cast.” She shook her head, clearly amused. “There are digital updates from time to time, so keep your phone or tablet on you, just be sure to shut any alarms or ringers off when you’re on set. The instructions are on the second page of what I just gave you.”
“Will do,” Katrina assured the younger woman, who was clearly preparing to get on with her task. “Have a good night, Stella.”
“You, too, Kat.” Stella grinned and offered a jaunty salute as she went on her way to deliver the schedule to her next stop.
Katrina shut the door and locked it, already reading the schedule addendum. She went back to the desk and had fun adjusting her planner notes for the next day and the rest of the shoot. Katrina’s days had always been busy, but in recent years, they hadn’t ever filled up to this extent, where almost every minute of the day was accounted for by one task or appointment or another.
It was fun, in a way. Though, to be honest, it looked exhausting. Katrina knew she was going to earn the generous salary she’d been offered for this work, but she also sensed she would enjoy every moment of it. This film could—and would—change the course of her life. It had already done so. She’d told her parents she didn’t want to work for them anymore. That was already a huge change.
She loved them, but she couldn’t live the life they envisioned for her. She had to find her own way. She had realized, only after she’d told them, that they’d known it all along. Her mother had given her a big hug and told her to pursue her dreams.
“Do what you love,” her mother had said. Katrina had been taken aback by their easy acceptance of the radical change in her plans, but she was so grateful for their love and support.
They’d seen her off at the airport with happy faces and truly good wishes that this gig might be the break she needed to really launch her career. She was blessed to have such understanding parents. She’d expected pushback. She’d expected them to at least question her sanity in throwing away a steady income for something that was so uncertain, but she’d been wrong. She should have known better. Her mother had explained their position and that they’d noticed her unhappiness, working in the restaurant, day after day, year after year.
Her mother and father knew her better than she knew herself, at times. They’d given her the job when she’d given up on acting and had nowhere else to turn. Now, they were setting her free to fly again, to see if she could reach that faraway dream. The one sure thing in her life—the thing that gave her the strength to try—was knowing that they would be there to catch her, should she fall again.
A tear in her eye as she thought of her mother, Katrina picked up the phone. It wasn’t too late. Her mother would probably be free to chat as the evening crowd started to depart. She called the restaurant, and her mother answered the phone.
“Kitty, sweetheart! How was your first day?” Her mother’s warm voice brought more tears to her eye, but she didn’t let them fall.
Katrina had called her parents from the airport after her plane landed, just to let them know she’d made it to her destination safely, but now that she’d met the others, she had more to report. They spoke for a half-hour, Katrina filling her mother in on the people she’d met and her impressions of everyone. She glossed over her meeting with Ren. Somehow, she wasn’t really ready to share her impressions of her co-star, yet. Instead, she talked about the dinner out with the girls and the food they’d eaten.
Her mother was at work, so she didn’t pry too much, and Katrina hung up with a promise to call again in a day or two. Her parents wanted frequent reports on how things were going, but they also wanted to give her room to spread her wings and really fly this time. It was really touching how much their love and support meant to Katrina, sitting in her little hotel room, almost a thousand miles away.
She went back to her planning with a much lighter heart and worked quietly for another hour before she caught herself yawning. She had an early call the next morning, so she set the alarm to wake her in good time, laid out her clothes and toiletries so they’d be ready, and went to bed.
Ren felt restless after dinner with some of his Clanmates. He’d heard through the grapevine that Franny and Deidre had taken Kat out to dinner, to get to know her a bit better. The women of the Clan were checking out the newcomer. Making friends but also assessing any possible threat.
Surprisingly, both Franny and little Dee had been charmed by the human. They’d learned a bit about her background, and they genuinely liked her quiet demeanor. Franny and Dee had joined the rest of the shifters for an after-hours meeting in Ren’s suite when they returned from dinner and had given their report.
Then, talk had turned more general. Each of them had made assessments of the other previously unknown members of the crew that they’d met, and everyone seemed content that the shifters would be okay on this particular film set, as long as they were circumspect. Ren was relieved to hear it, though, of course, with a fey in charge, he’d expected no less. Sonia had been very particular with her casting. It was one of the requirements for Ren and his Clanmates’ participation in this project.
The crowd left by dribs and drabs until, finally, Ren was alone in his hotel suite. He should sleep. He had an early call in the morning, when his work on the film would begin in earnest. He went to bed, but he was troubled by a brown-haired, brown-eyed woman who haunted his dreams. He wasn’t sure if she was warning him or teasing him, but either way, he woke troubled in the middle of the night.
There was only one thing that would settle him enough to sleep. Ren padded barefoot and naked to the balcony of his suite. It was only on the second floor of the hotel. An ea
sy distance for him to leap in either of his forms. He shifted form as soon as he closed the sliding glass door behind himself and leapt off the balcony, landing lightly on the grass below.
He would go for a run in the nearby woods. Maybe he’d stalk something. That would settle his cat and let him sleep. He hoped.
Chapter Four
Something woke Katrina in the middle of the night. She got up and went into the bathroom, then came back out and, thinking ahead, opened the curtains so that, in a few hours, the morning sun would help her wake up. The night was black as pitch outside her window, but for the softly glowing lamps dotted here and there in the landscaping that illuminated small patches around the base of the building.
She was about to turn back to her bed when she saw something moving out there, in the darkness. It seemed to turn, and she gasped when she caught sight of two eerie, glowing eyes. They blinked slowly then turned away again. It was definitely something like a cat. A really big cat.
Her neighbor’s tabby had that same way of slow-blinking, and its eyes were just as luminescent. The creature—whatever it was—moved, and she saw the gleam of dull gold here and there in the darkness, spotted with irregular black dots. Like a leopard? A jaguar? Some kind of exotic cat that didn’t belong in this part of the world?
She blinked hard, scrunching her eyes up and then reopened them. Whatever it had been was gone in the shadows of the woodland that bordered this back side of the hotel. If there had actually been something there. For all she knew, she was seeing things. A mirage conjured up by the late hour, the dark night and the strange environment.