Ariana did her best to be as cheerful as humanly possible as she helped Roy and Rin in preparing the party food. She didn't want anyone to worry about her but every once in a while she would get a side look from Rin and Roy. Rahul laid on her head and would always tap her forehead with his tiny paw to let he know she was being watched but Ariana just turned and smiled at the two.
No one dared to ask her anything, fearing they would set off another round of water works but Lady Zula couldn't take the charade any longer. "Sweet pea, why don't you go help Cayden set the tables up in the backyard. It's such a beautiful day so we are moving the party outside." Ariana stopped what she was doing and wiped her hands on her apron. "Sure mom, no problem."
Ariana undid her apron and handed it to Davita, who happily carried it towards the laundry basket. As she walked by her loved ones she smiled brightly at them but the moment she walked out of the kitchen and was on the other side of the door she could hear their frantic whispering. "Mom is there anyway you can get her in early too? I mean she looks like she's ready to break from just a gentle breeze!"
"You don't think I can see that! Besides there is nothing I can really do. The only reason Cayden got accepted in so early was because I put pressure on his father! The thought of your grandmother and her troops marching towards his doors just to make him grovel for forgiveness at his son's feet sent him running to the headmaster's door!"
"Lady Zula..." Rin started to say but Ariana had enough. She needed to move away from them or she really would fall apart. She watched as everyone was running around like busy bees trying to get the party and themselves ready, no one really noticed her walking towards the backyard. "What the hell happened to you!" Ariel yelled as she grabbed Ariana's wrist and made her face her. "Nothing..." Ariana mumbled and then she remembered she needed to smile. "Nope! Nope! Nope! Hell no! Monica I need your help now!" Ariel yelled as she dragged Ariana towards and up the stairs.
A light chocolate skinned girl with bright orange eyes and light blond hair that was slightly curled chased after them. "Monica we need to fix 'this' in your room." Ariel said as she held Ariana's arm up in the air. "Ewww... what happened to you?" Monica asked in an airy voice as she placed a delicate finger on her own chin and leaned forward. Ariana averted her gaze and tried to hide her eyes with her bangs. "Ariel I think a full body makeover is needed." Monica said with her puppy dog eyes. Ariel nodded and followed Monica into her room.
Ariel released Ariana and crossed arms around her waist as she stared her down. "Ariana, come her I will make Cayden kick himself for leaving you behind." Monica whispered into Ariana's ear as she hugged her from behind. "I... I am happy he wants to leave t-to go to school. E-education is i-important." Ariana said with a shaky voice but the woman just stood there quietly. "I mean it's a good opportunity for him to become a better person without me always tagging along." She continued but she couldn't stop the tears from spilling out of her eyes. The Lumas tried to comfort her but Ariel pushed them all away.
She took one deep breath, raised her hand and slapped Ariana across the face. Ariana's stunned face looked at Ariel as tears welled up. "You think it's only you who's sad he's leaving!" Ariel started shouting and her body trembled. "We are all sad he's going! The way the two of you made this place so lively... our family is separating but we all have to put on a happy face! You know all of us have bought our freedom back last week but none of us want to leave! We love being together and now... now... hic... sniff... you look like he died!" Ariel shouted as she hugged herself as her own tears spilled forth.
"It hurts he's leaving us but it hurts us more seeing you like this. No one wanted you to know because we didn't want our hearts to break seeing a ghost version of you." Monica said as she released Ariana, walked over to Ariel and started to pet her hair. "Hun, we need to make you presentable so you don't make everyone else cry." Ariana bit her lower lip and nodded her head in agreement. "Good." Monica said as she clapped her hands together. "First we need to get Ariel to lay down, cover her eyes with a warm clothe soaked in tea and oils to reduce the swelling. Then you are going into the bath."
It was finally time for the party to start and Ariana was feeling nervous. She took a deep breath in and out before she stepped out of Monica's room and headed towards the stairs. 'Master you are sparkling!' Lorelei said as she flapped her fins. Ariana let out a small laugh but couldn't let go of the butterflies in her stomach. 'Head up! Chest out! You are a child with... with a...' Aroha started to say but Davita curled herself around her body and looked at Ariana. 'Master is special' Vasu said as he floated infront of Ariana's view. 'That's right!' Rahul roared. Ariana started to giggle and she brought her hand up to pet her Lumas.
She felt relieved, she knew she wasn't alone and she didn't need to hate herself for being selfish. She knew what she needed to do next and she half ran down the stairs and rushed to the backyard. People were already there, music was being played by a band, food was out and a dance floor was set up in the middle. Everything looked fantastic, she looked around and found one of her favorite people. "Seeley!" She yelled as she jumped onto his back. He awkwardly turned around, his face blushing a deep red which was quite a sight. Ariana looked in front of Seeley and there was Ariel blushing an even brighter red.
Ariana gave them a cat like smile as she excused herself from them. She then saw Clawdean who was talking to Becca and Beth, one of Zula's girls. She had fair skin, big brown eyes, strawberry blond hair that was cut in pixie style. Ariana waved and greeted them politely. She then saw Sammie with Lady Zula, Jessica, Gloria and Deagan. Jessica was a olive skin beauty, with tight, long, coal black curls, steel blue eyes and a small amount of freckles on her face while Gloria was a petite tanned girl with long, dark brown hair, bangs and red wine eyes. Each clinging to one of Deagan's arms.
She rolled her eyes and turned again. She saw Margaret, Weilu, Nafeza, Caralee, Candy and Barbara laughing together while they sat at a table eating sweets. Margaret, Weilu, Candy and Barbara were also Zula's girls and it looked like some of the male guild members were trying to approach the table to talk to them. Ariana stepped in and quickly brought them over. She made introductions and then quickly left.
She looked around again and saw that the lively bunch of Zula's girls brought some people out to the dance floor. Katarina, Anne and Mariposa were able to drag Brian to the middle of the floor and soon others were joining in. Ariana smiled and walked up to the band, she asked if she could join them and soon enough she was singing. Everyone was having a good time especially when the adult drinks started coming out.
Ariana bowed to the band, thanking them for letting her join and helped them pack their instruments while Epiphany the Enchantress conjured magical music that kept the party going. Ariana went over to the table and reached out for the ladle to get some punch when someone caught her wrist. "I wouldn't drink that." She slowly turned to look at Cayden who looked exhausted. She gulped and didn't say a word. "I'm pretty sure Brian spiked the punch." He said as he released Ariana's wrist. Ariana nodded her head and then there was an awkward silence.
"Listen." They both said at the same time and instantly blushed. "You first." They said again as they looked into each other's eyes. A heart beat passed and they both started to laugh. "I'm sorry you go first." Ariana said as she held her sides. "No it's fine you go first." Cayden said as he rubbed the back of his neck. Ariana took a step closer and looked at Cayden carefully. Cayden could barely hold her gaze and started to blush a brighter red. "I have a special present for you." She said slowly as Cayden stared at her soft pink lips. "Ya..." He whispered and Ariana nodded her head. She reached out her hand and grabbed his. "We need to go somewhere else, where no one can see us."
Cayden absentmindedly nodded his head as he let Ariana lead him away from the party. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her, she looked more beautiful then he had every seen her. Her fair skin was practically glowing as white as freshly fallen snow, her hair was a shimmer ebony as it tumbled down past her shoulders into soft curls. She was wearing a light blue dress with white birds printed onto the fabric and a silver sash tied around her waist.
"Cayden can you show me your left hand please." Ariana said in the most gentlest voice that made him obey her without a second thought. Ariana took a deep breath in, Cayden looked around and saw that they were now inside the cafe. He looked at Ariana and wondered what she wanted with his left hand. The suspense did not last long as Ariana moved quickly and sliced his palm. Cayden was shocked and just stared at his bleeding palm, he then looked up and saw that Ariana placed the knife into her right palm. "No wait!" Cayden shouted but it was too late Ariana closed her hand and pulled on the knife. Once she was done she allowed the knife to fall onto the floor with a loud 'Clank'.
Ariana clenched her hand as she tried to relax her breathing. She opened her hand, quickly closed the distance between her and Cayden. She grabbed his bleeding hand into her and interlocked fingers. She took another step forward and Cayden was dumbstruck as he felt Ariana's lips make contact with his. He didn't know what to do as his whole body started to burn with heat. He wrapped his free arm around Ariana's waist and pulled her in closer. He readjusted his lips and was kissing her back with everything he had.
Ariana could feel the room starting to spin she didn't think that Cayden would have reacted this way and openly accepted her even though he said he was leaving to find her a groom. She could feel her lips starting to part when Cayden slightly licked her bottom lip. She didn't know what was happening any more as a small noise escaped her lips and her body was starting to feel hotter. 'Master...' Adonis started to say and Ariana finally came to her senses. She opened her mouth more and probed Cayden's mouth with her small tongue. Cayden tensed up and started to stroked her tongue with his own.
A light started to shine from beneath them and their bodies were starting to burn with a tingling sensation. 'Now!' Adonis shouted and Ariana pulled back and released Cayden's hand, her blood did not come to life and there was a small puddle in her cupped hand. Drops of blood had dripped onto the floor. She turned and offered it to Adonis. He quickly dipped his tentacle in it and the soft blue light turned into a magic circle. Adonis absorbed the blood and moved to Cayden and placed his tentacle onto his opened wound. "Cayden call out Adonis." She said calmly and Cayden looked at her in confusion.
"Adonis!" She said a little firmer and Cayden swallowed back saliva before opening his mouth. "Adonis." The magic circle changed colour and it was now emitting a golden orange colour. "Cayden, I will protect you." Adonis said in a clear voice that shocked Cayden. The magic circle started to peel off the floor and break apart in the air. Golden orange light started to encircle the two before the light entered into their bodies. The room was now calm, Cayden looked at his hand and it was now completely healed. He looked at Ariana, who had gone pale. "What have you done?!"He asked as he rushed towards her, just in time for her to collapse into his arms.
"Ariana has given me to you." Cayden looked up, shocked that he could understand Adonis as he spoke. "What do you mean?" Adonis started to vibrate his body before shaping it into different objects. "She did something dangerous to make sure you were kept safe." He said as he morphed back into his original body. "Explain!" Adonis morphed into an earring and placed himself onto Cayden's ear. "We need to get her into her bed so she can rest first." Cayden quickly picked Ariana up in a princess carry and rushed up the stairs. He gently placed her in her bed and turned to Adonis.
Ariana sat up with a groan and brought her hand to her head. There was a sharp pain that thundered between her temples and she didn't know what to do. "Here." Ariana turned and saw that Cayden was standing beside her with a glass of water and small pill. She looked up into his eyes and saw the anger swirling inside them. "Adonis told you." She said as she took the glass of water and pill. "Did you think he wouldn't?" Ariana swallowed the pill then shook her head. "I guess... I hoped he wouldn't."
"Did you even think for a second that you could have lost your life if the transfer didn't work? Did you even think maybe I wouldn't accept... what we were doing... what is I rejected you? What if I pushed you away mid transfer? Adonis would have disappeared! You are not a magician, spell caster, Enchantress or even a student in magic yet you thought doing 'this transfer' was so important that you would gamble not only you life but Adonis's?!" Ariana flinched at his words and could feel her eyes starting to sting. "I honestly believed it would have worked because of what happened last night..."
Cayden sat on Ariana's bed with a sigh and dropped his gaze to his hands. "What happened last night was something that could happen between any male and female. I shouldn't have done that to you and I'm sorry but what I said and what I'm saying now is the truth. I need to find you a suitable groom and... and we need to stop spending time with each other. I can't let... we.... I need to finish my mission." Ariana tried to reach out and touch Cayden's hand but he immediately got up and backed away from her. "I can't give Adonis back to you, not without risking your life again. Once I've learned how to do it properly I will but for now I will keep him by my side and keep him safe." Cayden then turned and started to go towards the doorway.
"Your slave markings are gone now.... so stay safe until we meet again." Cayden's body slightly shook, he closed his hands into fists then walked out of the room. Ariana watched as he disappeared and silently cried. She knew what she did was dangerous and was thankful Adonis didn't go into further detail. She laid back down without changing and stared at the wall until she feel back to sleep. She wished with all her heart that morning would not come.