War of the Queens

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Raiden sat on his lumpy bed and threw knives up into his ceiling making holes in a 2 inch radius in the plaster. He could hear Mallox through the thin wall, humming as he pieced together a sandwich. Raiden settled into the comfortable lumps of his mattress and sent another knife sailing upward. It solidly stuck in the ceiling beside another knife. He sighed and rose to pull them free and begin again. He thought about Dante as he settled down again; she was always on his mind. He thought about how carefree she was and he thought about the beauty he found in her delicate features. He threw another knife as his jealousy of Ches bubbled up again.

"That damn cat." Raiden growled as another knife hit the ceiling, "Why does he have to hold my bunny's heart?"

Ches flicked through his mountainous stacks of paper, lifting each page with a charge of magic from the fingertip of his right index finger. It was the time of year that Ches organized himself and his desk so that he could start fresh. He filed the papers slowly and without a sense of purpose. Ches liked having a tidy desk, but he hated the process necessary to achieve it. He threw out all of the old junk mail that had collected in a leaning pile, sorting through each piece to make sure something important hadn't slipped in. Mallox walked into the room, nibbling the crust of a cheese sandwich. Ches looked at him with longing eyes, begging without words. Mallox adjusted his glasses and looked from the sandwich to Ches and back. Mallox shrugged and turned to walk to his room.

"Make your own sandwich." He called as he went.

Ches let his head droop and went back to the monotony of filing his papers. He started to get faster as he worked into a groove, and as soon as he got to a good speed, the telephone rang. He dropped the page he was filing and lifted the receiver to his ear.

"This is Ches, how may I be of assistance?"

"I need a favor."

"I'm Listening."

***

Dante was skipping back to headquarters, her mask and dress draped over her left arm. She was in a state of bliss hoping that the masquerade might lead to Ches admitting returned feelings for her. She giggled to herself and smiled, skipping a little faster in an effort to be by Ches's side a little sooner.

Upon returning to base, Dante stopped at the window and looked in before she entered. Ches looked serious; he was on the phone and aggressively taking notes. She let herself calm down before she entered.

"I will attend to that shortly, thank you." Ches said as he hung up the receiver.

Dante's smile filled her face once again, she was overjoyed about the ball, and curious about whatever new mission they were going to be given. She gracefully pranced to her room where she hung her dress in her closet and stored the mask carefully on a hidden upper shelf. She was dying to know what information Ches had been given over the phone. She decided if it was as serious as it seemed, then he would be sure to alert them. They were, after all, a team.

Ches abandoned his mess and strolled into the kitchen. He filled a mug with water and used a charge of magic to heat it to a comfortable, steaming temperature. He tossed a tea bag in and stirred in some honey. He took a deep breath, warming his nose and turned around. Mallox had, at some point, reentered the room and was now sitting at the table, nibbling on the same sandwich. Ches smiled hungrily and pointed a magically infused finger at the sandwich. Using his powers, he tore off half of what remained of Mallox's lunch and let it float to him.

"Ches! That is my sandwich! Give it back!" Mallox wailed.

Dante heard the commotion and decided it was a good time to leave the peace of her room and go back to the bustle of the common area. Meanwhile, Raiden was ignoring the sounds and throwing his blades to a new section of ceiling. His radius was slowly getting smaller.