Amalgamation *Sequel to Tsuldoolb and Tohsdoolb* *Complete*

3. Date

© Kelly Faulk 2013

Chapter 3:  Date

I had the strangest dream that night.  It was about a man with red hair and green eyes.  He had both of his ears pierced with hoops, and he was covered in furs.  From the way everything looked, it seemed like he was back in ancient times.

He was in pain, looking a lot of bodies around a village he must have lived in.  Then, he ran over to a hut with a hole in the roof to find a woman who had just given birth…dead.  They were both dead.  She must have been his wife.

The eerie thing about all of it was that I looked like that woman.  Our hair was similar, though her hair was straight.  Her cold stare was the same shade as mine, as well as her facial features.  Was she my ancestor?

I had no idea what my dream meant, and I didn’t like it at all.  While I waited for six thirty to roll around, I thought about my dream, what I would do on my date, and checked in with my team to see when the next competition was.  We had a week to prepare, so we went ahead and learned a new song.  But, they wanted to know how things went with Reagan.  I just told them that we were going out again tonight.

The best thing about being a Rage was that I didn’t need to do anything with my hair.  It was naturally curly, like Ryne’s, only it was in thick little ringlets while his were looser. And it looked better that way than straight.  So all I had to worry about was what to wear as I got ready for my date.

I didn’t know where we were going, so I tried to dress better than I had last night.  A rave outfit would not be acceptable for the heiress to wear at a restaurant.  There weren’t many pictures taken of me and Fabio since I had been in school when I was with him.  But now that I was of age, who knows what would happen.  I hope nothing did.

I finally settled for a black, off the shoulder number that looked good no matter the situation.  I also had to go with black, strappy stilettos.  I had to be presentable after all.

Ryne wasn’t very happy with me when I showed up to the Chamber to wait for Reagan.

“Why in the world are you wearing something like that, Vanessa?” he asked me.

“She’s clearly going out on a date, Ryne,” Tríka said.  She could be protective and motherly, but she understood me so much better than he did.

“Did you ever get onto Shema for wearing something like this?” I asked.

“She knew better than to do that.”

“Leave her alone, Ryne.  What’s his name, Vanessa?”

“Reagan and he’ll be here any minute.  And, he knows who you two are, and he thinks that you’re in your eighties.”

“Okay.  We’re good at staying out of the public eye.”

“Yeah, and all people have to take pictures of is the heiress.  I’ll see you later.” I just wanted to let them know where I was going to be in case he wanted to do another war update and I didn’t show up.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw Reagan opening the passenger door of his car.  He was somewhat dressed up too, in a black shirt and slacks.  If his hair were black, his eyes would pop out at you.  His piercings really stood out.

“And why is the heiress so stunning this evening?” he asked before he kissed my hand.

“I don’t know.  I just felt like dressing up.”

“Well, you look very beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

As he closed my door and got in on his side, I saw Tríka looking down on us from my old bedroom window.  I knew that she’d tell Ryne to leave me alone.  But, I could understand where he was coming from.  Though he helped raise Shema, I was the daughter he should have had but never did.