by Jones, L. A.
"And truth to be told," Dax added softly. "I am still a bit intimidated by you, and now that others know about you I bet they are too."
Aradia just gaped at him for she was too stunned to speak. Although, she wanted to deny it furiously she supposed it did make sense. Most especially, it explained Tristan's interest in her. It was bad enough that Aradia had found out only recently that she was the last of her kind, but now knowing that because she was the last of her kind others were now scared of her; it was like adding salt to an already open festering wound. However, as distraught as Aradia was she could not afford to think about it right now. She was throwing a party to promote amelioration, and if it was going to work, she was going to have to act like she was happy. Dax hugged her slightly to give her some extra comfort, and she hugged him back.
"This is something I need to think about in the future though," Aradia muttered.
"Without a doubt," agreed Dax.
"But now," Aradia said raising her head to look at Dax and then turning to look at the partygoers.
It was after scoping out the crowd when she finished her sentence. "It’s party time!"
Chapter Ten
"This isn't going well," Dax said to Aradia as they observed the crowd.
All of the faes sat together on a picnic table, the werewolves hung around where the food was, and the vampires sat together in the shade. As for the the humans, they were too busy setting up the barbecue equipment to notice the hiddens occasionally looking over their shoulders and throwing dirty looks.
"It seems promoting amelioration is going to be harder than you thought Aradia," Dax noted.
Aradia sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah well nothing in life is ever easy Dax. Look what the civil rights people went through trying to introduce change in the human world. I never doubted for one second that it wouldn't be just as hard in the hidden world."
"Didn't all the civil rights leaders get shot?" Dax remarked.
Aradia ignored him, and looked around frantically to find something to change the atmosphere of the party.
Suddenly she spotted it and then said to him, "Yeah most of the leaders of the civil rights in general got shot in addition to our own, but hey it's not like the civil rights people did not achieve their goal in the end."
"To introduce the concept of gun control?" Dax quipped.
Aradia restrained her urge to laugh and shook her head. "No, changing the way people treated each other and if they can do it I know we can."
"And how do you plan to do that?" Dax asked.
"Easy," Aradia smiled as she dashed towards the solution. "By playing a sport!"
Once Aradia had spotted the volleyball net down near the sand dunes, she determined that this was going to be the icebreaker for the party. When she got there, however, she was a bit disappointed. It was ragged with holes in the net, and was held up by rusty poles. However, Aradia decided as long as she was subtle about it she could use her powers to fix it up.
It is interesting, Aradia thought as she placed her hand on one of the poles, how everyone else makes such a big deal of my powers, and I do not. Maybe, Aradia added to her own train thought that is because I am the one who has them. I have been this way with my powers since the beginning, but it’s still new to everyone that I even exist.
In the beginning, Aradia had wanted to deny Dax and Tristan's reasoning, but slowly she began to see the logic behind it.
However, she shook her head firmly reminding herself that that was an issue to be addressed later and using the summoning power as quickly and as efficiently as possible so nobody would notice. Aradia made the volleyball net brand new, and standing tall ready for action. She used the power one last time to summon a volleyball into her hands, and then turned back to the crowd. She paced herself, but she still managed to get to the three separated crowds smiling and looking good. Aradia looked at all of them who just regarded her in uneasy anticipation.
"What is she going to do now?" a fae whispered in Tristan's ear.
He shrugged. "Who can ever tell?"
Aradia suddenly thrust the volleyball up for all to see. "Who wants to play volleyball?"
If there was any reaction at all it was a few people who chuckled, amazed at Aradia’s latest crazy scheme.
She, however, groaned in frustration. "C’mon guys, this is the beach. Everyone knows when you go to the beach you play volleyball!"
"Says who?" Brenna (one of Roy's many cousins) asked.
Aradia shrugged and said, "It’s an honored tradition to play volleyball at the beach. Hell it is more than a tradition it is a law!"
"Honey, I think you need to lay off the law and order reruns," Titania muttered causing Tristan to laugh aloud.
Aradia was frustrated and angry, but determined to accomplish her goal. "I guess it is easy for you to laugh about playing volleyball Tristan."
"Huh?" he said raising an eyebrow.
Aradia sensed an opportunity. "Well everybody knows how much fae..."
She stopped as soon as she noticed Rhonda cracking open a soda.
"I mean," Aradia corrected herself, "Everybody knows how much...rich guys really suck at volleyball compared to Latinos and Brit's."
Roy looked up and smiled at Aradia while Dax just groaned, embarrassed.
Tristan, shocked at first, shrugged off Aradia's comments. "That is a load of crap Aradia, and you know it."
"Actually," Aradia replied instantaneously, "I don't."
Tristan stared at her, completely stunned. He then got up from the picnic table, and began to saunter over to Aradia. Dax and Roy showed up on both of her sides to glare at him.
"What is this? A secret meeting of the Twilight fan club?” Tristan muttered.
Roy just glared at Tristan while Dax took his cue from Aradia. "Actually I agree with Aradia, Tristan. It is obvious how much you suck at volleyball."
Tristan scoffed. "You have never seen me play!"
"Of course, I haven't because you have never played it, and if you have never played volleyball then it is obvious that you suck at it." Dax smiled at Tristan's shocked expression.
"You know if you keep doing that your face is going to stick," Roy quipped.
Tristan then glared at them both.
After a few tense seconds, he grabbed the ball, and asked, "Name the stakes?"
"Stakes?" Aradia repeated.
"If I am going to play a game, I would like to know I am winning something," said Tristan.
"Ever heard of sportsmanship?" Roy argued.
"Ever heard shut the hell up!" Tristan snapped.
Aradia immediately recognized the rising anger in Roy's eyes, and stepped in between them.
She then said quickly, "I got it! I know what to play for!"
"Yeah?" Tristan said as he looked down at her disdainfully.
Aradia gulped and said, "Whoever wins gets a kiss!"
"From who?" Tristan asked, sounding eager for the first time.
"Me," Aradia whispered staring at the ground, feeling too ashamed to look up.
Tristan grinned wickedly while Roy and Dax stared at her in horror.
"I'm in," Tristan said.
Roy and Dax glanced at each other, but only for a second until Dax said, "Deal."
Roy sighed, looked at Aradia one last time, and said, "Fine."
"Alright then," said Tristan. "Let's do this!"
The boys determined that it was going to be hard to play a volleyball game with only three people so they decided for all their kind to play against one another. The humans, however, were not allowed to play, but according to Calvin it was all right because none of them actually liked playing volleyball anyway. After flipping a coin, they decided that all the fae would play against the werewolves first. Whoever won that round would play the remaining team and whose team won that game won everything. Including a kiss from me, Aradia thought with a shudder. Since there were more werewolves than fae, they narrowed down the teams. Roy and his brothers Al and D were then st
arted to play against Tristan and two members of his crew.
Anxious to distract the rest of them and herself at the same time, Aradia asked the ones not playing in the volleyball game to help her cook. Soon the air was thick with grunts, and heaves from the volleyball game and the scents of the barbecue being prepared. Calvin flipped the burgers, and one of Roy's cousins grilled the meat for the tacos. Felix was reading another comic book at the picnic table while Rhonda and Aradia happily chattered away setting it. However, Rhonda would often look away to stare dreamily at D.
"Isn't he hot?" Rhonda asked practically drooling as she watched the sun shine down his D's sweaty tan back.
As if he could sense her watching him, D turned his head to look at Rhonda and smiled.
"Is that a trick question?" Aradia teased.
Rhonda was too busy sighing to even hear her and so Aradia walked over to see Everrett, laughing softly to herself.
"What are you doing?" she asked him as he fiddled around with a bunch of electronic equipment.
"Rigging up a sound system," he replied instantaneously.
At first, Aradia nodded with understanding but then her expression changed to confusion once more. "Why?"
Everrett looked up at her with either shock, sarcasm, or pity.
"Because Aradia," he stated. "What is a party without music?"
Aradia then laughed, and turned on her heel to go back to the picnic table. Suddenly, she turned to whisper something in Everrett's ear who laughed aloud as she walked away. Roy had been watching and grew jealous as he saw how happy Everrett became after Aradia whispered into his ear. God, he thought for what was probably the hundredth time, she is such a flirt! Hell all a guy has to do is smile at her for Aradia to turn it on. I know she can't help it, and is such a nice person, and everyone seems to love her especially my family. The thing is, I rather she be satisfied with just being loved by me and me alone. However, Roy concluded to himself, I get the feeling that that would not be enough for her.
His thoughts were so grim and distracting that he did not even hear his brother Al as he shouted, "Heads up Roy!"
He turned as quickly as he could, but it made no difference. The volleyball careened into his head with such a force that he fell back onto the sand with a loud thud.
"Roy-boy!" Aradia screamed in panic as she ran to him, and pulled his head onto her lap. “Roy, Roy, Roy! Say something!"
Roy had been hit hard, and his head was throbbing something fierce. However, as the spiraling darkness began to break apart he started smelling something intoxicating familiar.
"Rai-Rai,” Roy whispered groggily.
He slowly opened his eyes, and pushed himself up only to find himself staring down Aradia's bathing suit. His heart stopped, and his breath got caught in his throat.
"Roy, what is the matter?" Aradia asked leaning in closer to him.
Roy was amazed and began to wonder if either Aradia was a perfect mistress of seduction or if she was really that naïve. Tristan, however, knew exactly what was going through Roy's mind. He was standing with the others, and had a perfect view of what was making Roy act so strange.
He smiled and said, "You know Aradia, one of the things I find most unattractive about you is your lack of awareness of your feminine charms."
"What do you..." Aradia asked.
After following Tristan's gaze, she realized what he was staring at. She then let out a squeak of embarrassment, covered herself with both her hands, and ran back to the picnic table.
Dax glared, walked over to Tristan, and slapped him upside the head!
He left him and the rest of the crowd looking shocked as he ran after Aradia.
"Hey, hey! Whatever is the matter love?" he asked grabbing Aradia's arms and forcing her to look at him.
Aradia didn't even look him in the eye when she said, "Nothing Dax, c'mon let's go back."
Dax was hesitant but after a few seconds, he shrugged. "Okay."
He then escorted her back to the others.
When the two of them showed up hand in hand, the mood changed dramatically. Roy glared at them, and most of the others did too. Strangely, it was Tristan who kept his smile on but apparently, he had a reason for this.
"By missing that ball," he explained, "it puts my team ahead by one point!"
"What does that mean?" Aradia asked Dax.
"It means he won," he muttered bitterly.
Aradia gulped, and seemed to grasp Dax's hand tighter. Roy noticed this, and began to growl under his breath.
Tristan, however, said, "So Dax I guess you are next huh?"
Dax said nothing. He merely nodded, and reluctantly let go of Aradia's hand. No sooner did they step closer to the volleyball net when they started to hear music blaring.
Everrett then smiled as he cried out, "I knew it. I knew it. I knew I could get it to work!"
"Thank God," Aradia whispered.
"More like thank Everrett," Felix joked, his eyes still not leaving his comic book.
Aradia snickered, grabbed Dax's hand, and said, "C'mon everybody let's dance!"
"What about the game?" Tristan asked.
"We will finish later," Aradia, suggested anxiously.
He glared at both Aradia and Dax with an expression that clearly said, "I am not amused."
Finally, he shrugged. "Okay, but if we do not finish the game I win by default!"
"That’s not fair!" Dax cried out.
"Sure it is! Remember our deal? Winner of two volleyball games win's a shot at Aradia's two lips."
Aradia groaned at Tristan's comment and muttered, "Just when I thought you could not be anymore obnoxious."
Nevertheless, Aradia agreed with Tristan and told Dax so. Dax, in response, just grunted angrily and stalked off towards the food.
Aradia sighed while Tristan showed up at her side and took hold of her elbow. "Now what was that about dancing?"
"Yeah it was about me wanting to break both of my own legs before I even think of about dancing with you!" Aradia said angrily and shoved past him.
It was hard, but she managed to make her way through the dancing crowd. It was not a very mixed one though. No fae's were dancing with any werewolves, vampires, or humans and vice versa. Aradia shrugged, mentally admitting defeat and made her way to an empty picnic table. She sat on it, and turned to look at the crowd moving rhythmically to Katy Perry's California Girls.
However, as the minutes ticked by Aradia began to smile. She saw Rhonda and D dancing, and Ginevra dancing with a blonde, blue-eyed fae from Tristan's crew. She also saw Xan dancing very closely with Roy's cousin Brenna who was a short, skinny, lightly tan skinned Latino girl with long black hair. Rhonda, Ginevra, and Xan's dancing partners may not have been much a change, but it was a start.
All of sudden, she clutched her head feeling pain as she received a vision. She saw one of the guys she had talked to at Roy's BBQ at his house storming up with his jeep with four bulky guys following him. As if Aradia's vision had summoned them, the men in the jeep showed up in a mere matter of moments. Roy spotted them first and froze. The music screeched to a stop while the man with his friends approached them all looking as angry as anyone could possibly be.
"Whats going on?" he demanded.
No one answered and the man repeated his question, but once again there was no answer.
He grunted in frustration and snapped, "Well it does not matter anymore seeing as you have trespassed on our territory. You now have about five seconds to get the hell out of here!"
"You can't do that!" Domitilla shrieked.
"Oh yes I can!" he yelled back.
"You can't talk to my sister like that!" shouted Xan.
Aradia gasped. She knew that in spite of there being humans around, when push came to shove the hiddens would attack each other, and they would not hold back. She thought fast, and then raced towards the man. Instantly, she jumped on to his back, and started pulling off his shirt.
"What? What the hell...?" he cried out as Ar
adia gave his shirt one final pull, and ripped it off completely.
“Hey," Aradia remarked, "If you wanted to join in the party you should have just asked."
She grabbed his hand and then started pulling him towards the water. "Hey c'mon on in the water is great!"
She then yanked his arm one final time, and he fell in like a fish being thrown back into the sea.
He came up sputtering while Aradia grabbed a beach ball, turned to the shocked crowd, and said, "C'mon everyone! Let's get into the water and work off those calories!"
"We don't have calories or even body fat you idiot," Titania muttered. Dax, eager to distract everyone from Titania's comment, grabbed his sister Ginerva's hand and raced into the water. Xan took the hint and followed. Oddly so did Brenna, and soon everyone was in the water batting at the beach ball like playful kittens. Titania and Tristan were the only ones who remained on the beach watching and thinking.
"She is so simple and naïve," Titania finally said, "And so full of good nature and sweetness that I think I would be willing to punch out my own teeth to avoid her kind of cavities."
"She is also an annoying, loud, obnoxious, and huge royal pain in the ass," Tristan concurred with his bride.
Titania nodded, but froze once she heard Tristan speak again. "However, she is also clever, inspiring, a natural leader, and draws people in of any race. She is also strong enough to go through with anything."
"So?" Titania pouted.
"So my dearest Titania,” Tristan added while putting his arm around her shoulders. “A woman like that would make one heck of a helpful ally.”
"I doubt she would be willing to help you with anything," Titania said scoffing.
"Maybe not now, but with a little prodding..." Tristan began as he started to grin wickedly.
While most people shivered when he did that, Titania was used to it because she already knew what it meant.
She then said, "So that's all that witch is going to be to you? An ally?"
