Adriana Aura's Story

Adriana stared absent mindedly at the door of her grandparents shop, playing with a lock of her golden hair. Tables covered in dainty white table cloths were pushed against two of the wall parallel to each other while at the back was a counter and a shelf that was stuffed with fabric. Beneath the counter were several pouches to keep money that they earned from the jewels located in a glass case that, like her, was behind the counter. Off to the side was a small room that held a few cleaning supplies and the cramped stairs that looked as if they had been added as an afterthought.

Overall the place was pretty shabby and boring. Adriana hated the job of shop keeper mainly because of the lack of fun but also because she couldn't bare to see things in the shop be traded away. It wasn't that she was emotionally attached to any of the objects, but that,as an elf, she loved to keep everything for her own. Still she was good at the job, being very persuasive.

The door suddenly opened revealing a young woman with long blue hair. The girl was extremely attractive and Adriana recognized her immediately as a recurring customer and her best friend. "Ella!" Adriana cried in her slightly Elvish accent. Her friend blinked waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dim light in the shop before speaking. Many customers had to do this when they stepped into the room since the sun was much brighter than the light source in the shop.

"Aww your behind the counter today? I thought we'd be able to get together. Ah, well I suppose I can stay with you and look after this place." She complained in a playful voice her small, yet full, lips curling down. Then her delicate face broke into a grin and she shoved a handful of coins onto the counter. "The usual?" Adriana was already reaching for the silk in the shelf above. "Yes, in blue." Was the ringing answer. With a flourish Adriana brought the fabric down into the waiting hands of Ella. Being a siren, Ella was a frequent customer for cloths and the only one who was allowed to pay in coins. Everyone else had to trade things which was a strange policy indeed.

After collecting the money Adriana drew a seat for Ella to sit. "Guess your stuck with me," she joked. Then her eyes flew to the motion of Ella's hand fluttering a over her chest and below her collar bone. The thin fingers were messing with a broken crystal attached to a silver chain. The smile vanished from Adriana's face. If it was broken that signified her friend had killed another. "Who was it?" She asked in a horrified whisper.

Ella clearly cringed when she heard the tone of Adriana's voice. She had hoped her friend wouldn't notice the broken necklace that was slowly growing back and reforming into a whole crystal. Her voice was small and meek when she spoke. "He was insignificant. A lower being. His family won't miss him." "Family!" Adriana's voice cracked on the second syllable. At the rising of her voice Ella's hands clenched tight around the silk she had just purchased. "He had FAMILY and you drowned him?" Tears pricked in the corner of Ella's eyes. Usually she welcomed water. This form, however, was shut out.

Forcing the tears back she straightened her back. "It was only an accident." She braced waiting for the disapproving voice to hit her. It didn't come as the conversation was interrupted by the opening of a door. A young boy had rushed in, paused for a bit, and darted under a mahogany table. Speechless both girls stared at the table cloth that was still fluttering from the boys entrance.

<( * . * )> ------------------------------------------------> (0. 0) Meanwhile............

Idon watched silently from the sidelines as the young man was brought to the king. His pleads echoed through the room interrupting the thoughts Idon currently stored in his mind. The king of course dismissed the man with a wave of his hand and the guards dragged the new prisoner into the dungeon. Idon hoped Cain would let him torched the later. The screaming had been entertaining but not enough. He needed more. So much screaming that it would haunt him well into the night. And the visuals. The visuals would need to be gruesome and bloody. Yes lots of blood would be needed. A shudder of pleasure went through him. To get the stain of red on the floor he would need lots of rule breakers to kill. Plastering an innocent smile of a child on his face he set out into town.

Zapper tried to hide perfectly still under the table, hoping the cloth would hide him from sight. However, he knew that two girls were in the store, and they might turn him in, Please don't, please don't, please don't. He thought to himself, and then making a mental comment about how he thoughts girls were gross, so they probably would. He didn't realize it, but he was too young to 'feel' anything for girls yet, so as far as he knew, most girls were gross, except for the ones that played with him.

When he didn't hear anything for around a minute, he knew the ghost must have been clear, since no soldier came in and asked for him. This wasn't the first time he hid in the store, but the older elves were usually the ones inside, not the younger girl. He poked his head out the cloth to the door, and saw that it was infact clear. 'Haha, Zapper lives to zap another day! he thought triumphantly before getting back underneath the table and took his hood off.

He then started his way out from under the table, which wasn't hard, it was a big table, and he was a small person. He got on all fours and dog walked his way out, and after he was all the way out, jumped to his feet, and flashed a big smile at the girls, his eyes closed. "Hehe, guess I outsmart the soldiers once again." He said happily to them before opening his eyes.

The first girl he had seen at the store a few times, when he wasn't hiding, and she was alright, although he didn't really see her outside as much, if any times at all. His eyes then drifted to the second girl, the one with blue hair, and then something happened within him. He felt his hand drop from the back of his head, his mouth opened a bit, and he felt his heart start racing. 'She's not gross at all...' He found himself thinking. He realized he was staring for a moment befor who's brain kicked back in.

"H-Hey, I'm Zapper." He said nervously as he got closer to her. He got around four feet away from her, but found he wanted to get closer for some reason, all the while looking up at her face. "Would you like to play with me? I know a couple of really cool place." He then chuckled nervously, this being the closest thing he could do that feel within 'date' territory.

Ellanor Frill
Ella wondered what the boy was doing. He crawled out from under the wide table on all fours with a triumphant smile on his face, directed at the door. Then he turned towards the two girls with an even bigger smile, before actually seeing them. His eyes quickly cast over Adriana who still didn’t seem to be able to relieve herself of shock. Then his gaze turned to Ella. The prism on the necklace glowed ever so faintly and Ella noticed it had now grown back to its original size. Great! Now she could restrain herself from seducing anyone else. Even as she thought this the boy stuttered out and introduction and then requested her as a play mate, while flushing.
Ella smiled sweetly at him and then, she couldn’t help it, tilted her head slightly, a move which entranced most that viewed her. “I’m Ella.” She almost sang it out. This was natural for a siren when she encountered one of the opposite gender. “I’d love to play with you,” She continued. A clearing of the throat stopped her from going any further. A hand grabbed her arm. “WE’D love to play with you,” Adriana said coldly. Ella frowned at her friend. She knew that she shouldn’t be messing with this boy. It could end horribly wrong, with a child’s corpse at the bottom of the ocean. But then again, Adriana knew that Ella wouldn’t kill him on the first day. It took three to four days in a row. Still, she supposed it was good to take precautions.
“Yes,” she said “We’d be happy to play with you, as long as,” she paused to glance at Adriana “As long as it doesn’t involve water.” Ella hoped that would make up for killing the other man. If she could sho restraint with this boy then perhaps her friend would relax.
Idon Metel
Idon watched the strange new comer. He looked like a bruised homeless man and, were it his past life, Idon would have reached out and helped him in any way he could. But there was something strange about him. Did his skin really move in that strange way? The man was talking to a red head in the market. She had a kindly face. It was a possibility that one of them could slip up and he’d be able to lead them away to the dungeons. He was currently disappointed since fellow soldiers had informed him that just moments before he arrived there had been a strange occurrence. The zap kid had played one of his stupid pranks. He had managed to trick an elderly familiar into admitting that she hated the king. He had charged her for treason, although that was a bit high.
The red head and the bruised man had started walking towards a bear in the distance. That probably meant at least one of them was a familiar. Pushing himself off the wall he was about to follow when a small women hovered in air, right in his face. Great, a Fay had to bother him now. He put on his childish mask before the fairy asked how the king was doing. Obviously he knew she was a Soldier. She also knew his name was Idon. The innocent smile dropped off his face. He didn’t need it if she knew what he was. Instead of answering her question, however, he wondered aloud. “Would you be a good meal for my birds? Perhaps a chickadee would like you. Or a raven.” He ran his fingers through his black hair as if he was seriously thinking about calling a bird to eat her.

Zapper let out a mental jump of joy when the girl, Elise, said she would play with him. This joy was only tempered when the elf girl put herself into their business. He didn't show any signs of sadness, but some wind had gone from his sails. He wouldn't let this stop him however, so he smiled widely instead, this being how he showed most emotion. He did look at her a bit funnily when she said they couldn't play near water, which made him wonder why.

"That's fine," He said to the elf girl, "I can't swim anyways." He then returned him gaze onto Elise. "And besides, water doesn't mix well with electricity, had to find that out the hard way." He chuckled softly. It was true, whenever he bathed, it had to be quick, because the amount of time in water made him store up electricity, which when realsed while still wet would cause him a nasty shock. He was sure that when he got access to his family's library, their would be a way to stop the overcharge, but until then he avoided baths and had never learned to swim.

Realizing he still had a goofy grin on, he stepped back and looked at them both. "Cool. So what do you want to do Elise? We could play hide and seek, or maybe go to the forest outside town and play tag." He stooped for a moment before saying, "Oh! I know, no water right? How about we go to the castle and see if King Cain wants to play. He is a busy guy, but you gotta have in ever now and again, right?" The last plan he suggested was something he wanted to try inorder to spend more alone time with Elise. If King Cain did want to play, he could be sent with elf girl, leaving him with Elise.

Looking around the store,buses didn't really catch onto anything, fabric wasn't really something he found very interesting. A couple of shiny things here and there, but mainly just a boring trading post. The only stores he liked we're the candy store, and the store that sold instruments, the sound coming off of them usually made him feel happy.

"So, what do you two want to do?"

Idon Metel
Idon smirked when he saw the Fay get mad, just like he’d expect. “It’d be a shame if one of your birds ended up dead, wouldn’t it now?” She said, fluttering around a bit now instead of hovering in his face. She said her goodbye and darted into the market, quickly disappearing into the vast sea of bodies. Idon’s smile went up again, this time with a hint of triumph at having made the Fay go away.
A strange pang suddenly hit him as he remembered a small fluttering thing talking to him as a child. He blinked and it was gone. The consequences of being altered to a Soldier were vast, so anything could happen. In his case he had lost his memories. For a second he was dazed before he shook it off.
By now he couldn’t see the newcomer or the redhead. The smile was still painted perfectly on his face but it had lost the victory from before. He pushed his way through the mass of bodies looking for them.
Perhaps, he thought, it’s time to return to the castle.
Ellanor Frill
“The King?” Adriana said in a slightly shrill voice. Ella rolled her eyes. Her friend was always one to exaggerate things. But going to the palace to play did seem extreme. After all, the king was royalty. Ella didn’t think they would be allowed inside the castle. She glanced up at the poster with the king’s portrait on it above the door. In her own home she had created a fabric with the king’s face on it. It had taken a while but it was better than a poster that would easily tear. She could already see the worn marks on Adriana’s poster. She glanced over at the girl to find her nervously playing with the lights in the shop. On and off they flickered. Of course they didn’t turn off all the way, Adriana was afraid of the dark. Even if they had, however, there would be light from the windows.
Finally Ella decided to speak. They weren’t going to get anywhere if they just stood in silence. She smiled again at the boy, called Zapper, and spoke, “I’m not sure if we’ll actually be allowed entry but I suppose we could walk to the palace and see what happens.” She tossed a lock of blue hair from her face as Adriana agreed and then bustled around to close up the shop. “I’m ready,” she announced. They both looked at Zapper for his reaction.

Idon Metel
“Idon. I don’t suppose you’ve met Blake?” Alys’ hand waved slightly at the man sitting in the branches of the tree. Idon tilted his head at him and gave what was an outline of a vague smile; barely moving his mouth or changing his expression at all. “…completing a task for the king. You can help hand out this month’s Masquerade invitations.” Ah, that’s right, Idon mused, there’s a ball coming up, isn’t there? He watched as the Alys swung herself up so that she was finally resting next to Blake. She then began picking leaves. “You’re collecting leaves for the king.” It wasn’t really a question, just a simple statement. “I could help with the invites.” He continued. He glanced up at the man in the tree. Perhaps I should smile, Idon thought absently. He usually did upon meeting newcomers but right now he was surprisingly tired.
Adriana Aura
When the boy didn’t reply immediately, Adriana came to her senses. Was she just to waltz out of the store with this random kid and possibly get him killed? It would technically be her fault, knowing of the curse over Ella and yet letting her do whatever she pleased. “On second thought,” She began, clearing her throat and trying to keep a steady and straight forward voice “We change our minds.” “Wha-“ Ella was startled so Adriana took advantaged and grabbed her friend, running out of the shop. Even with the loud protests behind her, she kept running. She had to get far away from the Zapper kid. It was best if Ella was kept away from them.
Besides, going to the palace was dangerous. She knew of Cain’s evil but what was she to do about him? She wouldn’t tell Ella though. Ella already had enough problems on her mind.
(Sorry for the short post and long intervals between posts! I have exam’s coming up. )

Alys got her collection of leaves and she hopped down and looked back up a Blake. Idon offered to help hand out the invites and she gave him a light punch to the shoulder "that's the spirit." she said. "we are greatful for your assistance." she told him in an after thought. Officer training had taught her always to be kind and appreciative to her fellow soldiers as they were all working towards a just cause and there was no need for fighting amongst them when there was a far better enemy to be fought. She glanced back up the tree and cupped her hand up and shouted up to Blake "don't pluck the whole bloody tree! We only need a few! Come on down then." she gestured to the ground and looked ver at Idon "we can start on the south side of Home and work our way through. Sound good?" she asked him.

Gideon

Gideon was out and about helping himself to a nice breakfast he had made at home. It consisted of a small slice of bread and some meat he had roasted over the fire. He was munching in his small meal quite happily heading towards work. He was a merchant in a general store just outside of the large market. They sold all kinds of things there like fabrics, everyday food and more. He enjoyed his job, he got to meet all kinds of interesting people. He smiled at a few people on the street and then when he came across a small pond of to the side in the corner and he pulled out a small flower from his pocket that had seen better days and he went up to the water and dropped the flower in. He waited for the mermaid he had been flirting with these past few days to appear but instead he received a large splash of water to the face instead. Clearly his mermaid was still not happy with him for flirting with another.

He shrugged and wiped away the water from his face and checked to make sure his bag was still dry. It held his sketch book and he was relieved to see it was still dry. He glanced up just in time to see two girls plow right into him. He let out a soft grunt as he was knocked back into a pile it took him a moment to come to his senses and when he lifted his head to check to see who had run into him he saw two lovely women and smiled "well hello." he said not sounding angry at all.

Ella Frill

Ella saw the object coming up, although it was unknown to what it was; that is, until they plowed right into it and it grunted. A small gasp escaped her lips as she tried to catch herself. Adriana had no such luck, however, and fell straight down, into a small mud puddle. She was up on her feet though, almost as quickly as she had fallen. Ella looked at the man that had been in our way. She tilted her head in a way that made her hair fall back charmingly to reveal her slender face. But she wasn't trying to attract the man, she was merely confused. She had a strange feeling of recognition when the man, who had regained his wits, said a greeting. He didn't sound angry or confused, in fact it was almost as if he was flirting, but what kind of person didn't get mad about being run over? Instead of returning the greeting Ella looked at him for a moment longer before blurting, " Do I know you?" A flush rose over her face but she forced it down. The feeling of being familiar with this man bugged her.

Idon Metel

The man, no, Blake introduced himself and then asked if they were ready. He was smiling but it wasn't a true friendly smile. Idon looked at him studiously before returning the grin. He was almost always amused when a fellow soldier saw his transformation from a tall skinny man to a young boy, and just with a small upward motion in his mouth. But perhaps Blake was different. Maybe he would take it as a challenge or maybe nothing at all. "Yes," Idon began with the same cold and indifferent tone as always, "Let us start the rounds."

Gideon

Gideon watched her tilt her head this way and that and he thought it incredibly endearing. He offered her a smile and got to his feet and brushed the dust of his arms and then reached over to do the same for Ella but was stopped when she suddenly blurted asking if he knew her. Gideon blinked a few time and he looked over her and thought for a moment and then it came to him suddenly. He broke into an easy grin and said "I remember you now." He bent to brush the dust off his pants taking his time before he told her where he knew her from. Once he was standing straight again he pointed to a little pub down the road "I tried most unsuccessfully to pick you up from that bar." He told her "I was drunk at the time so its understandable why a lovely girl like yourself turned me down but I can promise you I'm not drunk now." He smiled at her and turned to the other woman "Are you alright, sorry I didn't see the both of you there other wise I would have moved out of the way." He told them honestly.

Alys

She watched Idon carefully, he was always one to keep to himself but she knew him to be a good soldier and worthy of the term. She walked with the men to the south side of Home and then began to hand out invitations. She put on her best smile for the unaware citizens but kept her eyes out for any trouble. She was hoping for something to distracted the from the mediocre job but nothing occurred. The citizens were all happy about the ball and she caught some girls eyeing Blake and Idon from afar and giggling. She couldn't help but grin. She walked them through part of he city and they soon drew nearer to the market.