Dark Paradise

Chapter 12: Spades of the South~

Chapter 12: Spades of the South~

The first to rise was Lydia. She walked over to me and helped me up from my perch. We stood there in silence as we watched the the sun come up from over the mountains beyond the four-parted kingdom known as Blackpool.

It's times like these I knew I was going to remember the most after I left this place. The golden sunrises, the rosy sunsets, the people I met while I was here, the whole nine yards. Lydia sighed. I looked at her. "What's wrong?" I asked her. She shook her head and swatted away the question, walking back to the still bodies to wake them up.

I decided to leave it alone for now. Whatever it was, though, it was bugging her. Once everyone was awake, we set out to the south, hoping to reach the Spades Kingdom by noon. Celeste and Leah ran in front of Lydia and I, laughing and having a wonderful time being free.

"Lydia, what was with you thins morning?" I asked. She looked at me. "What are you talking about?" I sighed and stopped walking. Lydia did too, but the others didn't seem to notice. "You evaded my question. Something is obviously bugging you, and I want to know what it is."

"I don't feel like-" she began, but then stopped.

"What?" I urged. "You'll have to get it out sooner or later. Why not tell me now?"

"It's not important." she brushed it off, yet again. "Let's just worry about getting to Spades."

We ended up getting ther by noon, like we were planning to. Leah wanted to go sightseeing, and nobody but Celeste opposed, saying she wanted to sit in a tree and wait until nightfall to see the town. We left her in a tree while we went to go find a shop to buy some tea at.

I shivered at the cold. Fitz's jacket was removed while I was unconscious, so i was once again in the cold in a strapless dress. "Are you cold?" Leah asked me. I nodded, and the girl went bounding down the street.

"This place looks good." Lydia said, pointing to a shop with a sign that said, 'Greenleaf Tea Shoppe'. We walked in, and I instantly got hit by the scent to tea leaves. I lamost gagged at the smell, but I managed to keep it choked down.

Lydia ordered her Green Leaf tea, and I ordered Jasmine tea. We sat down at a small wicker table and drank our tea. Leah came bounding in minutes later with a white jacket with a black fuzzy hood. "Here." she grinned, holding out the jacket to me. "I found it at a trading post. I could have sworn I recognized the dude working there."

I put down my tea and stood up. If it was what i thought, there's another one of my friends here. "Lydia, did you pay?" I asked. She nodded.

"Yes." she responded, standing next to me. "Why?"

"Let's go." I said, walking out. The assassins followed me out, Lydia jumping in front of me. "SO, I was thinking," she said. "What if we traveled to the opera house tonight? I think it would be a fun experience-"

Just then, Lydia rammed into a guy, making her fall flat on her butt. "Hey, what the hell was that for?" Lydia spat, brushing off her skirt as she stood up.

"You were in my way." the guy said. "Watch it." He had a thick Irish accent.

Lydia stared daggers through the boy. He had brown hair and bright blue eyes. He was wearing all black and had a small grey cloak on. "Watch what?"

"Watch where you're going." he seethed. They stared at each other, and I ran my han in between them and gripped the air.

"Wow." I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "You can really feel the awkward." They both stared at me. If glares could kill, I would've been in a coffin. "Okay, let's kiss and make up here."

"The name's Lydia." Lydia said, sticking out her hand. The boy took her hand and shook it. "Finnegan. Finn for short." he said.

"Ireland?"

"Yeah. Britain?"

"Yeah." Lydia said. "Born and raised in Diamonds. Going on a little visiting spree."

"That seems cool." Finnegan said, smiling a white-ish smile. I grimaced. Lydia was looking at this Irish dude like she's known the dude her whole life, and he just threw a spork at her in the lunchroom. I brushed it off and looked around the small village.

"To that shoppe?" Leah asked, whispering in my ear. I nodded and told Lydia to meet us at sundown by the tree. She nodded and ran off with Finnegan.

The shopkeeper looked almost identical to Levi, with only a few different traits. His name was Jacob, and instead of Levi's light hair, it was a dimmer golden color. His blue eyes were green, and there were only a few freckles on his face.

We sat there for what seemed liek forever, just talking to this young man. Jacob was a street smart guy. He knew how to get along with only a little bit of pocket money. Soon, sunset apporached us, and we set off to meet Lydia by the tree. "Oh, girls." Jacob called after us. "Here are some free tickets to the opera house tonight."

We thanked the man and walked on. "What if that Finnegan dude is with her?" Leah asked. I shrugged. "Well, we'll tell him to get lost then." Leah laughed.

We reached the tree, and celeste dropped out of it, giving me the look Selene gave me. I walked over to her as Leah waited for Lydia to show up, hopefully alone.

"Hey, so... what's up?" Celeste asked me. I looked at her. "You pulled me over to ask me what's up? What's on your mind?"

"Hey, Chase, Celeste!" Leah called. "Lydia is here with Finnegan. What do you guys want to do?"

We walked over to them and debated for a while. We ended up just deciding to leave. We all headed for the south-west border. "Hey, go on without us. We'll be there shortly." Celeste said, waving the group along.

"What'd you do that for?" I asked her. She looked at me and sat in the snow, patting the snow next to her. I sat and asked the question again. "I just wanted to talk."

"What about?"

"Whatever." she smiled at me.

"Celeste, if this is about what you told me last night-" I started.

"Well, it's partially about that." she admitted.

"What is it you want to talk about?" I asked. "I mean, for God's sake, I'm open to anything you want to get off your chest, so-"

Celeste grabbed my hands right then and looked into my eyes. I stared back into hers, suddenly feeling like I was looking back at Selene again.

I don't even know how I'm supposed to do this, but... Selene's voice said. I sat there and did exactly what I did the first time it happened between Selene and I. I leaned in just enough so that I was perched right in front of Celeste.

Oh my gosh. I remembered. This isn't Selene. I sighed and I slowly drew back.

"I'm... I'm sorry." Celeste sighed, trying to apologize. I stood up and stared at her.

"No," I said, turning away as a tear escaped my eye. "I'm sorry."

Sorry it's so late, but MERRY CHRISTMAS. x) I love you all.

Love Always!