81 When in Vegas (2/2)
Jamila ran to them immediately, ”Is everything alright? Nothing happened did it?!” She quickly examined Shelly then Rin before standing back to await their explanation.
Rin laughed, ”Everything is fine mom.” He took both Shelly's hands in his and smiled brightly as he gazed down into her content blue eyes. ”She said yes and wants you to help her prepare for the occasion in our traditional ways.”
Jamila nearly burst with excitement as she launched herself at Shelly and Rin, pulling them into a huge bear hug. ”Yes! Yes! Yes!” She held Shelly at arm's length, ”I would be honored, my new daughter!” She pulled her into a tight huge bouncing, giggling and chattering on happily.
Before long Rin's large bedroom was teaming with servants and other giggling, gushing girls. Jamila sat on the tiny stool from the bathroom vanity in front of Shelly. She was skillfully painting intricate designs onto Shelly's hands. When she had finally finished she rubbed her chin as she examined her work. ”Hummm... Something is still missing.” She carefully turned Shelly's hands from one side to the other. ”Ah! I have it!” With a snap of her fingers, tiny diamonds adorned various areas of the designs.
Shelly looked from her hands to Jamila in confusion. ”How in the world? If it was that simple then why didn't you use magic to do the patterns in the first place?”
Jamila smiled as she cupped Shelly's cheek with her tiny hand, ”Then I would have missed out on the chance to be here with you and talk to you for so long.” Jamila bounced up and headed for the pile of clothing on the other side of the room that the girls had been working on. ”Alright ladies, let's get this bride dressed, shall we!” She clapped her hands over her head to get their attention. As spunky and energetic as the woman was, being a mistress of a palace was not in her nature though she tried hard to hide that fact.
”Wait! How am I supposed to change with all this on me?” She nodded toward the intricate patterns painted on the front and back of her hands and feet.
Jamila smiled, ”It's tradition, dear child. The bride isn't to lift a finger in any of her preparations. So sit back and let us pamper you.” She clapped her hands and the girls moved forward with various clothing items and surrounded Shelly. When they were finished Jamila examined Shelly. ”Almost perfect, not a single smudge... but something is still missing.” She smiled then snapped her fingers again. A tiny tiara appeared on Shelly's excessively styled head, and Jamila tilted her head with a pleased smile. ”Now that is better.”
Shelly glanced over at the mirror the servants had set up earlier by the bed. Her hand shook slightly as she reached up to touch the tiara. ”I... I... shouldn't be wearing anything like this... It's too much.”
Jamila peered around Shelly's shoulder into the mirror. ”And why not? You look beautiful and...” She smiled at Shelly through the mirror. ”A princess nonetheless.”
***
”Knock, knock anyone here?” Russ yelled as he stepped into the apartment he'd called home for the last five years. There were boxes stacked against nearly every wall of the living room and, as he moved through the hallway, most of the other rooms were packed or empty as well.
”I thought you said you talked to her when we landed?” Orion groaned from the door. He moved slowly toward the sofa, slightly slumped still holding his stomach.
Russ glanced over his shoulder and chuckled, ”How is it that someone like you could be such a lil bitch about flying?” He ducked to miss the flying remote that was aimed at his head. ”Just saying, man.” He threw his hands up in a questioning shrug.
”Simple, creatures of the sea prefer to say grounded. In fact, we prefer to stay as close to the sea as possible.” Orion grumbled.
”Aren't you like a bear or something when you shift? Never seen a bear-fish.” He said sarcastically as he pushed open the door to Shelly's room. Nearly everything was packed into boxes and stacked against one wall. Her bed had been taken apart and her closet doors were open to reveal an empty closet.
”As a son of Poseidon and Gia, I am of both land and sea so I can travel across the land with little issue but most creatures of the sea must stay close to the sea... flight... isn't my thing.” He leaned over the sofa and peered down the hallway. ”Anything interesting?”
Russ closed Shelly's door and turned back to Orion. ”Nah, not really. It looks like Ray's been busy. Nearly everything is packed in here.” He turned and walked toward his room but stopped and turned to face Jos's door. {Let's be real this is the room I've wanted to check from the start... from the second I opened that front door. I wanted to run down the hall and throw open the door and discover her curled up in her tight little ball under the covers like always.} He pushed the door open and just like Shelly's room hers was nearly completely packed with boxes stacked along the walls and the open closet empty. Russ let out a heavy sigh.
”She's not here kid.” Orion said from closer this time.
Russ turned away from the room. Orion was now in the doorway of the kitchen, a bottle of water in his hand. ”I know... I just... I...” His words trailed off as he rubbed the back of his neck and leaned his head against the door frame. ”I wanted so bad to open this door and she would be here... Like it's always been...”
Orion arched a brow. ”Well I was talking about Raven but-” He stopped himself. Seeing the honest hurt and sadness in the pup's face. Orion couldn't bring himself to tease the boy farther. ”She'll be back soon. Her and Arei are headed this way as we speak, though I think he said they had a few stops first.”
Russ's ears perked up. ”Stops? Like where?” He asked forgetting about searching the room or checking on his own. Instead, he walked quickly down the hallway to where Orion stood sipping the water.
Orion shrugged as he took a longer drink after realizing the liquid wasn't going to make his stomach hurt worse. ”That vampire's house for one. She left a lot of her shit there apparently, but don't worry Arei will be there with her.”
Russ gritted his teeth. ”That bastard! I wish she would have just come home first and left that arrogant son of a bitch and his worthless brother to me.”
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Orion shrugged, ”Arei seems pretty sure things will be fine, but we can meet them there if you'd like as long as you promise to stay in the truck.”