Orna Puella

- VII -

Arlen finally left the house around three in the afternoon and I was more than thankful for the fact that I brought some cheese into my bedroom last night. If not for that cheese, we would probably starve to death or something. I tried to give Raven a very evil look for what he did this morning, but then I simply gave up after he started laughing like crazy. Yeah, I sighed to myself, who am I kidding? I loved it.

I’ve heard Cerylia taking a very long shower and finally around five or so she knocked on my door.

“You alive?” she asked and I snorted. Sure, now she is being all considerate…
“I am alive,” I answered poisonously and she made a small “huh” sound that actually sounded somewhat guilty. I was impressed.
“Mom’s coming home soon, I think,” she said and I winced.

Crap, I forgot all about Elsie.

“Umm,” Cerylia said uncomfortably. “There is some food in the kitchen… I am going to take a nap.”
“Errr…” was all I could say. Did she just say that she left food for us in the kitchen? Am I hearing things?!

I’ve heard her bedroom door close and I sighed.
“We need to get out of bed,” I said and Raven muttered something softly. I didn’t quite get what it was but I’ve heard the words “Damn,” “Elsie,” and “Hell.”

Cerylia didn’t lie about the food. And it was actually edible, can you believe that? There was some cold chicken, bread, and even a couple of pears. There was no food left in the kitchen whatsoever after Raven and I were done eating. I looked around me. The house seemed clean enough so I just shrugged. If Elsie has problems with it, I could care less.

I had no desire to face Elsie so Raven and I went for a walk. Today was cold and windy. On one hand, it was miserable. But on the other hand, it was great because there was nobody in the little park not too far from my house so we could kiss all we want without fear of being seen. We stayed in that park until it was so dark that we couldn’t see anything.

“I gotta get back home,” I sighed finally.
“I know,” Raven muttered without letting me go.
“Elsie is probably back by now…”
“I know.”
“She is probably wondering where the hell I am this late…”
“I know.”
“Raven…” I pulled away slightly. “You need to go home too and it’s beyond dark right now…”
“Eh,” he shrugged indifferently. “Do I look like someone who is afraid of the dark?”
“No,” I sighed and he pulled me back again. “Oh, Talath… I don’t want to face Elsie again… I don’t want you to leave.”
“I can stay,” he said slyly and I looked up at him with confusion.
“How?”

He laughed.

“Open your window or something.”

I snorted.

“Right… You will climb into my window…”
“I could,” he shrugged and I sighed again.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Someone will see you. Do you have any idea what kind of neighbors we have? They are like Elsie’s twins, I swear… Beyond nosy, always spying on everyone.”
“Ugh,” he said and buried his face in my hair. “Hey, let’s go eat some real stuff tomorrow.”
“Right,” I laughed. “Like I have money!”

He snorted at that.

“Money-schmoney… Don’t worry about the stupid money. Let’s get to the train station tomorrow and we’ll just go somewhere far away from this damn place. Tell Cerylia to make up some story to cover for you.”

Train station… Dragon, the last time I went somewhere on the train was before we moved into this town. Come to think of it, the last time was even before Elsie became the most miserable part of my life. My dad and I used to ride the train every time he came home from his trips. I loved trains. Then my dad married Elsie and that was it. Hmmm, getting on the train with Raven and getting away from this bloody town even for a day, sounded better and better every second. Elsie will probably have a crapload of stuff she wanted me to do tomorrow but… Ah, to hell with Elsie. I knew that Cerylia would cover for me. I mean, the more time I spend with Raven, the less time I get to be around Arlen, right?

He walked me to my house and stopped right before I got onto my sidewalk.

“Go,” he sighed. “Your stepmother will kill you if she sees me. I’ll meet you tomorrow at noon, how’s that?”
“Not soon enough,” I grumbled and he laughed softly.
“Eleven?”
“Ten-thirty,” I sighed and Raven laughed again.
“Okay. Ten-thirty…”

We kissed for the next half an hour or so and finally, he pushed me away.

“Go,” he sighed. “Or Elsie won’t let you out of the house tomorrow… Even with Cerylia’s help…”

He was right. I took a deep breath and walked away without looking back. I knew that if I look back, I’ll just end up in his arms again so I walked into the house and closed the front door.

“Where have you been?” Elsie’s voice could cut glass right now.

Oh, Talath…

“I was…”
“I sent her out,” Cerylia said indifferently. “I needed some quiet time by myself. I got tired of looking at her face all day.”

I winced. Well, as nasty as she made it sound, it worked. Elsie’s posture relaxed somewhat.

“I need you to run some errands for me tomorrow,” she said and I looked at Cerylia, feeling trapped.

Cerylia rolled her eyes with genuine annoyance. I guess she was really annoyed, but I knew she would do anything to keep me somewhat pleased. I mean, come on, if I get pissed off, I just might mess up all her cards with the whole Arlen thing. I was right.

“Mother,” she said shortly. “I need her tomorrow. Can you run your own errands?”

Elsie sighed.

“What do you need her for?” she sounded defeated.
“I need her to go get my dress from the cleaner’s,” Cerylia started bending her fingers. “I need her to go take my shoes to the shop, they seriously need to fix my heel… I need her to go get my hairpiece. I need her…”
“Good Dragon,” Elsie winced. “What for?!”

Cerylia looked at her like it was the dumbest question she ever heard. I was impressed at how good of a liar and an actress she was.

“The Annual Ball, mother,” she said shortly.
“It’s months away!” Elsie looked irritated now.
“You want me to get everything ready a night before?” Cerylia looked almost stricken. “Mother, we are talking about the Annual Ball! At the governor’s house!!”

Those seemed to be the magic words because Elsie immediately stopped arguing.

“What time do you need her to start?” she asked finally. “Because she could do my errands in the morning and then…”
“I have to get the dress no later than ten-thirty,” I said quickly and Cerylia nodded.
“Sorry, mother,” she said. “You can run your own errands. It’ll do you good anyway. I’ve heard they opened the new nail salon in town. I am sure you will want to check it out.”
“Fine,” Elsie raised her hands. “When is she going to be done?”

Cerylia didn’t even flinch. Good Dragon, I was actually admiring her right now, how crazy was that?

“Late,” she said with authority. “Believe me, there are a lot of things that I need!”
“Fine,” Elsie sighed again and got up. “I am going to bed.”
“Good night, mother.”
“Good night, Cerylia.”

She walked upstairs and soon enough I’ve heard her close her bedroom door. I looked at Cerylia with gratitude.

“Thanks,” I muttered and she shrugged.
“Just so you know,” she said quietly. “I might need you to do something for me in return one of those days… And I am not talking laundry.”
“No problem,” I nodded.

She gave a small smile.

“Just out of curiosity… What time are you coming home tomorrow night?”

I laughed at that.

“How late can you keep covering for me without Elsie getting suspicious?”

Cerylia sighed and thought for a minute.

“Eleven,” she said finally. “Any later than that, and even my mother will start getting curious.”
“Fair enough. I’ll be back before that.”
“All right,” she yawned. “I am beat. I am going to bed. See you tomorrow.”
“Night.”

She walked upstairs and I kept wondering how in hell we ended up being almost friendly to each other? Finally, I stopped thinking about and went to bed myself. Don’t mess with the good thing, right?