Sita
The holding cell I was stuck in couldn't be called a prison. It was so luxurious; it was nicer than some places I had stayed at over those last few months. Our old house sold quickly, and it didn't leave me with much money. I couldn't really afford to live like I would have wanted to. Marcus had me tied to a chair for two weeks and another two in that cell. How did I end up there?
It was all because I had left my grandfather to go out on my own. I had to sleep in my car. I wasn't afraid; regardless, I wouldn't have been able to take on armed men or a group if they found me. So, I sat up most nights, checking to see if my CV I sent out to schools had any replies. I had become desperate. At around two o'clock—one morning, a white figure landed outside my window; well, a guy with all-white clothes on. I had heard about them. My logic told me he would be friendly, so I opened the door. He introduced himself rather nicely, keeping his distance, "Hi. My name is Brendon. I've been your watcher since you were born. I want to offer you a place to stay for the foreseeable future… They got me in a hotel room where I can monitor you, and there is a room vacant next door." Brendon got in my car, and I got a decent place to stay. After a month of seeing each other daily, he showed me a plan he had been working on. Brendon could see I wasn't getting back on my feet. It wasn't as easy in the big city as I had thought. I could have made it if I had never married Chris. The regret of losing my life after living so long in our small town fueled me. Juliet, being the reason, made me say yes immediately.
I felt terrible thinking about Brendon and his head with a massive hole right through it, the blood behind him on the wall. Brendon was too emotionally involved; it was written all over his face outside my car, and every day, he looked at me and thought I didn't notice. And even I was surprised by Chris's acting skills, so I couldn't really blame Brendon. I was compensated handsomely to 'get the job done.' The stupid idiot would have caved eventually when Chris pretended for the second time or if I was tied to that chair for only five minutes.
Regardless, Brendon's plan worked; I was noticed by the powers to be. If all worked out, I could get off Earth… where I meant nothing... was nothing—on my way to Palmyra, where they valued women more than men. Only the idea made me say yes, and I would've done anything if I could to go. I had lied to Chris about my summons. It was more a hope; if Chris and I were connected in any way, Palmyra would welcome us. What we didn't plan on was Marcus. I knew he was behind everything Chris had done. It made me livid; they worked together and treated me like I meant nothing. Unfortunately for them, they didn't kill me. So, for a month, I had nothing but time, planning, and ready to launch another attack, destroying their little world. Brendon had given me so much information—I felt powerful. All he had to say and show me was how happy they were living in France. In a massive mansion, and… yes, jealousy overwhelmed me.
The cell was made of glass all around, affording me no privacy. The bathroom had that Korean thing where the glass frosted when you pressed a button. I was monitored by young vampire boys rotating shifts of three. A knock behind me on the glass made me sit up. Was it food time already? I stared at the tiny woman standing behind the glass. She took off a white jacket with beige pinstripes and asked for a chair. The boy jumped up and brought her one, "Glass of Champaign, please," he nodded, "Wait!" she looked at me, "Do you want one?" I nodded. She shooed him away. Her hair was blond, dreaded into thick, long, flawless strands hanging down her back, pinned up beautifully on top of her head. Jewels were strategically placed and fastened around some of the edges of the twisted strands. She had green tattoos on her left upper arm, running from shoulder to elbow, almost tribal. Her clothes were so beautiful. I had never seen anyone look so good, stylish, yet unique in their own way. She wore a top, a triangle of material over her breasts, cream colored with laced patterns and hand embroidery tied around her neck, and one thin strip around her back. With it, she wore a long handkerchief skirt with high-heeled lace-ups. "Sorry for the way I am dressed. I have to be able to blend in here in some capacity. This is almost the lowest level I can accept," she said, sitting down, one leg crossed over the other, "Si…ta… You've been a bad girl… Colluding with a watcher… Your watcher. Going into business with the enemy for… financial gain. And let's not forget you sold yourself for it… Now, the vampires won't have a problem getting rid of you or care what happens to you. They will probably applaud Marcus for putting you down like a dog… No Woman on Palmyra would ever have stooped so low than what you have done… You are a disgrace to the very name werewolf, or that's what we are called here; I wouldn't say I like the name… Anyway, they are waiting for me. I want to know what you have to say for yourself?"
"I want to crush that little vamp. I don't care if I get put down in the process."
"Humph! I'll give you six months, then you have to return."
"What is the penalty of killing our own kind?"
"Here on Earth?" she laughed sardonically, "Nothing. No one cares about any of you lot here. Just! Don't kill a vampire! Unless it's in self-defense, or you can make it look like you had no choice."
"Okay… so, why do I get to go back?"
"Because your watcher understood the werewolves well. The only way you climb the ladder is by getting noticed, and… you are now in the diplomatic limelight. And we always give a girl with… excuse my wording, 'balls' a second chance. You might be a warrior in the making. We will have to see what you come up with," she stood, putting her jacket back on and taking the last sip of champagne. "Use these months to start training combat; you don't want to get to Palmyra and be absolutely useless."
"Like in boxing?"
She laughed lightly, putting her hand elegantly in front of her mouth, "No, not like boxing, with gloves." She tried to think of how to explain it. "With a gun, a bat, a knife, a sword, a spear, and, of course, the most dangerous of all," she lifted up her soft, manicured hands and tapped at her head.
"So that is what our world is like? Fighting for survival… How many women get raped when you end up in these fights?"
Liv chuckled, "No honey… we don't fight… our men fight for us. We send them out to conquer, plunder, and take over. We are one of the richest planets in the galaxy. The only time we ever have to fight is if the men are off-planet, and we are left to guard the queen and children… then we fight. Although Palmyra has not been attacked in… a very long time."
"Then why now?"
Liv looked at me, contemplating something, "You should do your homework with what is really going on. Palmyra has their own issues with Juliet and would like to see you succeed. The problem is Juliet fights… and you're still thinking about life in a human way. She's strong and only getting stronger. Why do you think she is?" It was true; I was stuck in a system, ready to move to another I knew nothing about. "Up your game if you're going to go up against them. Be smarter… You were afraid of living in a car, afraid of humans… I was offended when I had to watch your feed," Liv took a deep breath, "And… she has Marcus. Your enemy is not that girl. It's the wall around her."
***
Chris
"Samuel, you are allowed to present the evidence to Silvanus," Asher began negotiations.
Samuel gave a lengthy speech about what had happened, how many violations had been committed, what the threats were, and what the outcome was. Silvanus was still watching me the whole time, which was weird. My mind was more focused on what he was doing there and why I was on Earth. The door to our side bursts open. "Oh, for heaven's sake!" Marcus slammed his fist down on the table, "Are we ever going to get out of here?" Silvanus chuckled and shook his head; he didn't seem to have a care in the world.
Asher jumped up and bowed to Marcus, "Don't worry, Marcus. This is the werewolf ambassador."
The look Marcus gave Asher made him sit down, "Really? You think." The woman crossed the floor, shuffling her feet, and stopped at the table, regarding us in turn. She had a stack of papers with her. She plopped it down on the table, "No! Not again!" Marcus bellowed.
She held out her hand, "Liv Soria." We all greeted her. "This is not for you… I'm sorry, I'm late Marcus, I had to speak to Sita." Liv sat down next to me, choosing that seat out of ten others. "Seeing that we are not going to fall for the vampire stalling tactics, let's get to the root of the problem," Liv said sarcastically.
Asher's manifested gaze was directed at her; I hated the disrespect of it. No one could discern the emotion registered on his features; his eyes were pitch black.
"Samuel?" Liv kept her top lip between her teeth; she felt the same way.
"Asher," Samuel warned. He immediately returned his features to his human face. Little Liv knew what she was doing.
Liv. "Qadir used one of our complaints on Earth to do some of his dirty work. That in itself is a breach of the agreements."
Asher. "She approached him with the information and plan. You can hardly credit this little ploy to him."
Liv. "Not only that! One of the Watchers made advances on a complaint and gave her the information. That leads me to believe the watcher system isn't monitored diplomatically but instead manipulated by Qadir and whoever he has in his pockets."
Asher. "No! We cannot monitor every watcher for the thousands of children here on Earth."
Liv. "That is not my problem. It's yours. You promised us a service, and don't you think it's time you took some of those vampire kids back to En-gannim... Or is Qadir still not allowed back yet?"
Asher jumped up onto the table, manifested, and pounced. Nimbly, he slid over the table towards her. Agile, fast, and aggressive. Nothing like the way he had acted. Sitting next to Liv, I saw a guy coming towards a woman, ready to attack her. Kinda made me feel iffy, thinking if it had been Juliet with her smart mouth, he would have wanted to kill her. I manifested, put my paw out, and grabbed his face as he slid right into it; closing my grip, I extended my claws, edging around his skull—I squeezed.
***
Charlene
It wasn't a good day for me. I had to take Miné the whole night every night. It was damn tiring. With Juliet gone, I didn't have much help with her. Cindy and Liam had gone into a funk after Juliet had to leave. On my own, I felt the vacuum she had left. I missed her. Without her there, I was a little lost. The estate had become dull and lonely, with no one to talk to but Carl, and it had only been two months. What if they left for good?
Miné was also sick from the cold setting around the mountains. Going anywhere wasn't really an option anymore. My parents wanted to come, but it was such a difficult time for everybody; I didn't dare ask for more than I should or felt like keeping Miné hidden while they drank wine, and Louis had to indulge them. I immediately made up some excuse about the roads.
"I feel out of place, Carl. Can't you try to understand? Don't you feel like this isn't really your home?"
He took Miné from me, "It's because Juliet isn't here."
There was a knock at the door. I walked through the fantastic house Louis had finished last month. The guilt of bringing absolutely nothing to the table ate at me.
"Hi," Louis said as I opened the door for him.
"Come in it's freezing outside."
"Thank You."
"You heard anything from Michael?" I asked.
"Yeah, that's why I'm here."
"You sure I can't go join her there? It's not like I will disturb her peace or make her angry."
"I know you want to go, but she needs to rest… The more she can, the better for her and the baby… Sorry, Charlene, I know you miss her."
I nodded, "I'm just tired… What did Michael say?"
"He says she is doing really well. She had an episode."
Carl and I looked at each other and back at Louis, "You seem fine?"
"Yeah, didn't feel a thing, kind of happy about it."
"I'm really relieved for you guys. One of the major things freaking Juliet out was hurting you," Louis scratched the back of his head, not saying anything. I went on, "There is something else I would like to say, Louis… I don't really know how to thank you for this," I gestured to the house, "You, Carl, and Liam finished everything by yourselves… How am I supposed to make up for this?"
"You don't. You're family, Charlene. With or without Juliet here… I don't think it matters where we are in the galaxy. We will always have a connection." Louis gazed at Carl for a second, "I'm sorry I haven't been helping with Miné. I feel bad. Michael sent me a message via Juliet to get me off my ass. I forget how many nights she slept with us. Either between Juliet and me or between her and Chris… So, I've come to take her off your hands for a few nights."
"I'll help him, Charlene. You need the rest," Carl came over, giving me a hand hug. I nodded. They didn't even need to pack a bag. There was so much of her stuff still up at the main house, so they just left.
I closed the door behind them, resting back against it. I didn't want more space... I did need help, but not space. The emptiness of the house washed over me. Was this what I wanted for my life? I wished I was still up there, living in my room. I wished Juliet was there.
The vibrations of loud knocking jarred me out of my reverie. I pulled open the door again, thinking it was Louis, "Is she okay?"
Ben was standing on the porch. I took a step forward and smiled, looking up the road; Louis and Carl waved at me as they went into the house.
Ben also greeted them and pushed me inside. He kissed me, putting his hands on my waist, "I'm done studying."
"You are?"
"Yesterday was my last day."
"I'm so happy you came. I was freaking out a bit. "
"I'm sorry it took so long," Ben seemed different. It was like he was there all of a sudden. Absent and now present.
"What's going on?"
He kept kissing me… in my neck, my ear, and my mouth. "I want to move in," Ben whispered. It was like someone had pulled up the needle from a record player and stopped my brain mid-track. I pushed away from him. "Don't say no right now. Let me stay for a month. I'll show you we belong together."
"Ben, we haven't spent any time together for nearly six months. We had a baby. You were here every other weekend, and on those weekends, you helped the guys with the house. Even before we reconnected, all we had were a few dates."
He looked around the house, "It really did come out so beautiful. It screams Charlene."
"How do you even know what that entails?" I retorted.
"You love neutral colors, green being the only exception," he pointed to a wall that brought the room together, "Everything is homey and comfortable." He looked me up and down and smirked. I kinda playfully rolled my eyes. "You are a neat freak and clean. Organized and so clever. You're a fantastic mother at your age. It means you will only become more serious and family-orientated when you're older."
"Okay! I get it. You pay attention."
"You've never seemed the sidekick to Juliet's story. You were always going to be her sister. Blood bonded and close… but—"
"But?" I asked, intrigued.
"But you guys aren't always going to be together." Wow! Get right to the point, why don't you. I was just thinking about my life… The house was probably temporary. Our lives there together were on a day-to-day basis. He came closer and took my hands in his, swinging them softly by our sides, "Charlene, we have a baby together. We have a chance very few people get. Our story also matters. Can we not at least see if it works out?"
I stepped away from him into the kitchen. I took a bottle from a cupboard and put it on the counter. After I poured us a shot, Ben walked over and held up the tiny glass, "Cheers."
"To what," Ben asked.
"New beginnings," he smiled and took his shot. He came around and lifted me up on the counter, "I thought we'd get drunk like we did last time?"
"I can still kiss you in between shots," my head rested on his shoulder, feeling a little better.
***
Carl
Miné was with me on the couch, drinking a bottle. We were watching some comedy I wasn't really following. Louis sat down next to me when he returned from dressing more comfortably. He got up a second later, went out on the porch only to light a cigarette, and stood out in the cold for a long time. Louis was always an entertaining guy and laughed and made jokes; seeing him so…quiet and forlorn… made me nervous. Now, he was always busy with something, avoiding everyone and secluding himself in weird, subtle ways. Miné finished drinking, and I put her on my leg, holding her head up. I gently rubbed her back to get her to burp. Louis came in and sat down again. I kinda felt I shouldn't ask; it was his house, he was a guy; who was I to make him talk? We were good before the branding, and then after… I don't know… he changed. When they entered the house. It was all three of them there together with her.
"Any news from your Father?" he asked.
"Yeah, actually. He calls every day."
Louis's eyebrows raised, "To ask you how you are?" I laugh lightly, kissing Miné on her head. She was sleeping between my thumb and index finger, mouth hanging open.
"No. To convince me to start training. To find out if everything is still fine. To report what you, Marcus, and Chris are up to. Everything… He is keeping Charlene's parents happy, so there's that. They know he's involved in our stay here; means a lot." Louis stared into the fire, "You do know… everything you do for Charlene and me, we appreciate it. And if there was something we could do for you, we would… I know we're only here because of Juliet." Louis got up and stoked the wood. He crouched down to put on more logs. I couldn't take it anymore, "You've been like this since the night at the fights," the poker stopped moving in between the logs.
Louis peeked back at me, "I thought you weren't going to pry?" I smiled. So he was still reading me. He had just become really good at hiding it. I had asked my father to disconnect the tech. We needed to be able to communicate when necessary. It also meant he knew more about me. I sat back, letting Miné rest on my chest. She was so tiny and cute when she changed, fluffy and hairy, and then just normal when she was back to being human.
"She is adorable, isn't she."
I nodded, kissing her some more, "When will you tell Charlene?" Louis asked out of the blue.
"I thought we talked about this… Never… Are you going to tell me what's going on?"
He got up, put the poker on the stand beside the mantle, closed the fire grid, and sat down next to me, "I… I'm scared. Have been for months." Okay, it wasn't what I was expecting. "I know everything going on in everyone. It means I know every aspect and how every detail comes together. I have to focus… and plan… and put it all together. I have to keep everyone happy. I have to dissolve everyone's cares. I have to—"
"Support everyone? Build a house?"
Louis shook his head, "If I tell you that is the last thing bothering me, would you believe me…" He turned to me, putting his arm on the back of the couch, "Carl, I first saw Juliet a month before we met. You and Charlene were with her. I sat across from three kids, laughing, drinking milkshakes, making jokes, and sharing secrets. I read you guys for an hour… Not once was there one bad thought about the other. Charlene didn't know she was pregnant yet. You were all… so happy…. There is a glue between the three of you… I don't understand… If I could bottle it… I'd throw it out on all of us."
"Okay…?"
"I desperately wanted to be a part of the three of you. Can you believe, at my age, I had fewer connections than Juliet had with two humans… I promise you; all of you here in my space is the last thing I'm thinking about. It might seem that I'm distant and avoiding everyone… and you might be here only because of Juliet, but you are a part of her. You were there before me. It means we are family… even… if something does happen to her; I will have your back. Me. Marcus and Chris."
"You don't know how much that means… You saying that. I wish you would tell me what's wrong so I can at least care about you."
He rubbed his forehead with his fingers, too nervous to tell me, "You will find out eventually."