by Jones, L. A.
Titania angrily started towards her only to be blocked by Roy who had leapt from his place in the crowd.
Regardless, she still pointed at Aradia and said, "She is what they after. If we just give them what they want then..."
"There is no certainty that if we do that he will keep his word and return the unicorn's horn," Dax said.
"Why would he..." Titania started again.
"Because both are extremely powerful," Dax explained, "And why would he give up one powerful object when he can have both?"
"Nice to know you consider Aradia an 'object,'" Roy grumbled.
Dax scowled. "You know what I mean."
Roy merely grunted.
Aradia interrupted before their fight got out of hand. "But is he telling the truth? If he gives back the unicorn's horn everything will go back to normal?"
The leader's all looked at each other before reluctantly agreeing that this was probably true.
Aradia calculated. "What if we fake them out? I pretend to turn myself over and once we get the horn back..."
"Wow Rai! Nice to know you are fast learner when it comes to back-stabbing," Tristan chuckled.
Aradia scowled, but Tristan cut her off before she could retort. "The thing is, Jack or whoever this guy is, will probably be expecting us to do something like that. So the moment you give yourself up to them they would probably hurry up and do the ceremony."
"So?" Aradia stated.
"Look, Aradia there is a difference between being a Vampire's bride and being a Vampire's wife," Tristan explained in a sarcastic tone. "You see a bride is basically a woman whom a vampire has turned and mated with. No ceremony involved."
Some members of the crowd blushed or looked away.
Tristan, however, continued without missing a beat. "A wife is more than that. Wherever the vampire that has turned her goes, she goes as well. If he is weakened, she is weakened. If he dies, she dies. Furthermore, if she tries to leave her vampire husband, the inevitable consequence is that they both die."
"Or," Tristan reluctantly admitted, shrugging. "So the stories and legends go."
"Should the fact that you know all this and you are not a vampire concern me a bit?" Dax asked.
Tristan rolled his eyes. "Any good ruler makes it his business to learn things, not just about his people, but others as well."
He caught his father's gaze who stared at him proudly.
"But what does that have to do with me?" Aradia asked.
Tristan rolled his eyes. "Whether or not he turns you into a vampire or not, it doesn't matter. If you become a Vampire's wife, the laws still apply. You belong to him completely. You cannot leave his side. Should you do so, you both die!"
"You do not know if that applies to witches," Aradia argued.
Reluctantly, Tristan agreed. "True, but do you really want to take that big of chance?"
To this, Aradia had nothing to say.
Eventually, she had to ask, "But what if we don't give into his demands?"
It was one of the other alphas who exhaled deeply and said, "Then it's a good thing that we are already considered damned creatures because by the time we reach hell we'll be happy to have the opportunity to finally warm up."
Chapter Twenty-One
"We are screwed!" Tobias, the vampire leader of the council, cried to Keon when he met up with him later that night.
He was pacing erratically at their lair while Keon lounged on a chair with his fingers threaded together.
"All our planning to get Aradia elected Witch Queen in order to provoke the Sovereign into killing her for naught! It's infuriating, it's unbearable...it's...it's."
"It's perfect," Keon interrupted smiling.
Tobias turned around slowly to face him. "What?"
"You heard me, it's perfect," said Keon.
It seemed to take him a great effort, but eventually Tobias was able to ask, "Why?"
"Because," Keon explained, "By making her a clan leader's wife she is obligated to go where ever her husband and his clan go. So if he decides to leave Salem than she will be out of our hair forever. Furthermore, if we kill her husband then she dies as well!"
Keon's smile grew even wider. "And we will be off scot-free! So one way or another we will be free of the witch at last!"
Tobias's once fearful face turned now into a blissful look of ease.
"Perfect," he murmured, "Perfect."
Aradia knew she shouldn't have been talking to Roy because she had made a promise to Dax. However, ever since the council meeting Dax had become cold, and somewhat irritable towards her. At a time when Aradia was in need for someone to strategize with so needless to say, she was annoyed with him.
"I am beginning to think Tristan had a point when he said I should have picked someone who's more politically inclined," Aradia muttered.
"What?" Roy asked.
Aradia shook her head. "Nothing."
"Anyway," she added quickly before he could say anything further. "The point of the matter is what should we do Roy?"
He shrugged.
The two of them were alone in the cafeteria and sitting at one of the tables. It was after school hours and Roy had met up with Aradia after she had finished with her tutoring.
"It's funny," she muttered, "That in addition to dealing with an apocalyptic winter that could destroy us all, a hostage situation where it is either me or the lives of everyone in Salem, I still have to worry about passing my junior year."
"Yeah well," Roy said, "Nothing in life is ever easy Rai-Rai, whether you are a human or hidden."
Aradia chuckled. "Nice to know something's don't change."
"Hmm," was his reply?
They both laughed softly for a few seconds later before being caught once again in their own gaze.
Is it just me or does Roy get more handsome by the hour? Aradia thought to herself.
"You know," Roy said as he reached out to take her hand. "I really have missed you."
"I have too," Aradia reluctantly admitted.
"Then why have you been avoiding me?" Roy began to ask.
"When you start dating someone you have to make a lot of changes," said Aradia, "hanging out with other guys is one of them."
"Is your boyfriend not being there when you need him also a change you have had to make as well?" Roy pointed out.
Aradia chuckled sarcastically. "I am just glad you don't hate me Roy."
Roy looked taken back as soon as she said this. "I could never hate you Rai-Rai. Never!"
Aradia smiled.
Roy, encouraged by her smile, went on to ask her, "Do you remember the first time I started calling you Rai-Rai?"
Aradia nodded, still smiling.
"It was in our freshman year. I think it was a couple of months after Jayce's party, the weather was still sunny so our gym teachers decided to have us all play baseball. Everyone was separated into teams. You and I were on the same team and we were getting our butts kicked, "Roy began.
"And," Aradia added, "You were up to bat and the guy was about to pull a fast one on you. I wanted to warn you, but I just couldn't shout it out in front of everyone so instead I screamed, 'Watch out Roy-Boy!'"
"You had never called me that before so I knew it was secretly a warning," Roy cut in, "I analyzed the way the guy was standing and throwing the ball and the next thing I knew I hit it right out of the park. It was so cool!"
"Yeah, it was very cool," Aradia, agreed, "So it kind of sucked that we still lost."
Roy's grin melted into a frown.
But his grin returned as soon as he said, "Either way we agreed as a consolation prize to give each other special nicknames."
"You decided to call me Rai-Rai," Aradia explained.
"And I decided to stick with Roy Boy," Roy said, finishing the story.
"I have always wondered if you hated that name because it is kind of childish," Aradia couldn't help but point out.
Roy, however, just grinned even wider. "I think it rings kind of true. My name is Roy
and I am a boy."
"No, you aren't," Aradia interjected, earning her a shocked look from Roy. "I think you are more of a man than a boy."
Roy's grin turned sexy as he said, "Oh really?"
Aradia didn't trust herself to speak so she just nodded.
"That's very nice of you to say Aradia," Roy said as he gripped her hand harder.
He then wove his fingers though hers. "But speaking of manhood...I was wondering...my dad and brothers will be out of town for the weekend and I will have the house all to myself so..."
He trailed off and shrugged, still grinning.
At this point, it was all Aradia could do from yanking her hand back and slapping him hard across the face.
Luckily, she was saved from doing so by a cough that came up from behind her.
Not so luckily, it was Dax who stared at both his girlfriend and Roy with contempt.
A few awkward minutes passed before Dax finally spoke. "You know, thanks to Aradia's interventions I was beginning to think that maybe the werewolves weren't really the horny stupid animals that we, the vampires, believed them to be. However, after seeing the way you throw yourself at a woman who is obviously attached to someone else...well needless to say I am beginning to have my doubts."
Roy shot up from his seat, and walked over to him until he and Dax stood merely inches away from each other.
"Say that again," he growled.
"Alright. You know, thanks to Aradia's interventions I was beginning to think that maybe the werewolves weren't really the horny stupid animals that we, the vampires, believed them to be. However, after seeing the way you throw yourself at a woman who is obviously attached to someone else...well needless to say I am beginning to have my doubts," Dax said without missing a beat.
Roy stood with his mouth open in shock.
Dax, however, took advantage of this. "It's okay Roy, I understand you being at loss for words. In fact, I am extremely thankful for it."
His grin, however, rapidly changed into a serious expression. "But let me explain this to you in a way that even mangy gits like you can understand. If I ever catch you around Aradia again, I will personally rip you in to tiny shreds with my bare hands and scatter what's left of you to the wind."
"Has it ever occurred to you that Aradia would be better off with me?" Roy spat out.
"Oh yes. Just as it has occurred to me that Henry VIII might have been gay," Dax said with a scoff.
"You are a vampire! What the hell can you offer her that I cannot?" Roy thundered.
"Is that what you think love is? Offering a woman something and expecting love in return?" Dax argued.
Roy opened his mouth, but was sharply cut off.
"Hello!" Aradia shouted, "The woman you are currently fighting over is still in the room here and does not appreciate the two of you acting like this."
"Acting like what Aradia?" Dax asked.
"Like I am not even in the room!" Aradia stomped her foot to further elaborate on her words.
Dax hung his head, sheepishly.
Roy, in contrast, tried to argue further. "Why don't you leave the room so we can continue our discussion?"
Aradia glared at him, skeptically. "If I did that, the two of you would kill each other in like five seconds."
Roy shrugged in a "yeah so?" gesture.
She groaned, thanked Roy for listening, grabbed Dax's hand, and took off.
"What did I tell you about hanging out with that guy?" Dax demanded as soon as they were out of earshot.
Aradia spun around and glared at him. "At least he was there for me Dax, which is way more than I can say about you especially in the last few days. We were supposed to meet this morning. Where the hell were you?"
"The weather was bad," Dax began.
Aradia cut him off. "Don't give me that! The weather doesn't bother you and you know it! You could have made it here even if it was raining rats!"
"So where were you?" she pressed on further, "for that matter why have you been acting so weird? It's not just lately either; it's been since last year. I know I freak out a lot Dax, but I am trying to change. But you have to agree that honesty is a good way to keep our relationship healthy."
Dax reluctantly shrugged in agreement. "Ironically, Aradia that's why I have been acting so weird. I was debating whether I should tell you something that I promised myself I would tell you a lot sooner. I finally made my decision this morning. Whether or not you hate me or break up with me it does not matter because you deserve to know the truth."
"Huh?" Aradia asked.
"The fact of the matter is my Rai of sunshine," Dax said as he took both her hands in his. "I have something to tell you."
Chapter Twenty-Two
Aradia didn't know how long she sat on her bed, staring blankly into space.
At last, Melina knocked on her door and said, "Hey home wrecker, dinner is ready."
Aradia didn't respond and Melina repeated her announcement.
Once again, Aradia ignored her.
Angered by this, Melina marched into the room and reached out to grab Aradia's hair.
Whether it was by accident or instinct, Aradia spun around and seized Melina by the waist who stood shocked.
Almost immediately, she attempted to pry her off when she realized Aradia was crying. "What's wrong?"
"Oh God Lina!" Aradia managed to cry out between muffled sobs. "Is there no one I can trust? Is there no one who won't lie to me? How is it fair that everyone else in the world knows everything while I do not? It's not my fault that I was raised by humans so I don't know that much about the ways of the hidden world. It's not my fault!"
"Whoa! Whoa! Aradia, what the hell are you talking about?" Melina asked while sitting down on the bed and handed her a box of tissues.
After Aradia was done wiping her face, she told Melina about Dax telling her that he had lied to her. He had been alive before the witches had been slaughtered. Worse, he told her that he suspected all along that the why the witches were hunted down and killed was probably on someone's orders. Furthermore, the race that was most directly involved in the execution was the vampires. Even worse, the one who had probably issued the order was the Sovereign of all vampires. The leader of the entire vampire race was responsible for her people's death. What was truly icing on the cake though was the fact that he felt the charges was probably false as well.
"Talk about sleeping with the enemy," said Melina, chuckling darkly.
Aradia had been tempted to yank back and start screaming obscenities at her but she was too tired to do such a thing.
Melina, in spite of her professing almost daily for the last few months that she hated Aradia, continued stroking Aradia's hair and whispering soothingly in her ear.
Aradia cried and cried in Melina's arms, thankful for the comfort of their once forgotten friendship and sisterhood. She never could have realized that in the back of her mind Melina was already formulating a plot.
The next day Melina managed to corner Roy who was amazingly sitting in the middle of the quad while the snow and wind blew fiercely around him.
"What do you want?" He greeted her while trying to keep his tone gentle.
Regardless, Melina smiled as she joined him on the picnic table.
At first, she tried to speak but she could barely get a word out over the blustery, snowy, and heavy wind.
Thankfully, Roy took her hand and walked her inside.
He was about to go back outside though when Melina placed her hand on his shoulder, leaned in, and whispered something in his ear.
He then spun around and grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Is this true?" he demanded.
Melina was frightened by his grip on her, but nodded.
Roy's face turned into a blissful expression of joy, but then changed into a look of suspicion.
"Why are you telling me this?" He asked.
Melina sighed.
"My father," she began sounding out the word as if she was pronouncing som
ething disgusting. "Always treated me and my sister like we were shit. As if we were nothing more than property that he could use whenever he felt like it. Our mother was no better. Her only concern was to please him so we didn't matter to her at all."
She sighed heavily. "It goes without saying that he abused us both physically and..."
She blushed. "The other way."
Roy respectfully dropped his hands to his side.
"He would yell at us and scream at us and god knows what else. I used to think all men like him were all like him. Yet the moment I became thirteen, I started dressing more provocatively. Maybe it was because after my father telling me I was ugly and useless for so many years I craved approval from another male. So I bounced from one guy to another for many years before I moved to Salem."
She sighed again before staring up at Roy with the most charming smile he had ever seen on a woman. "When I first met you, I thought that you would be like every other guy especially when I found out about you and Aradia. The thing is you weren't. You were and still are the most sincere and sweetest guy I have ever met and I love you deeply."
"But I love Aradia," Roy started to protest.
"I don't care!" Melina interrupted sharply. "I don't care if you love her and not me. All that matters to me is making you happy and if being with her makes you happy then I am willing to do whatever is necessary to achieve that."
"Melina," Roy began again, "You shouldn't wait for me. You should find yourself a good man."
"Newsflash Roy," said Melina, "You are a good man."
He opened his mouth to further his protests, but Melina silenced him with a kiss.
Although he had said many times to anyone who would listen to him that he loved Aradia, Roy had never felt the kind of magic with her that he felt whenever he kissed Melina.
It was as if fire was coursing through his veins as Melina dug her fingernails into his back and he wove his own into her black braided hair. They plunged their tongues into each other's mouths, closing their eyes as they savored the taste.
"Oh Melina mi amour," Roy murmured as he started to trail kisses down her neck.