Cassia dusted her face with a pink blush. Combing back her long dark hair, her ladies in waiting came in her room to style it. She smiled a little bit in her mirror, thinking of the face that prompted this new desire to look her best at all times. She hadn't seen him since that fateful night when he saved her from Cato, but he had infiltrated her mind, and now she was always on the lookout for him in the vast halls of the castle. Her dress today was simple, but beautiful, nonetheless. A lavender sleeveless look with a drop waist corset in the same color, and pale pink embroidery on the hem and corset edges. Her jewelry was simple, gold bands around her wrists, and a gold matching necklace. She finally decided on a hairstyle, putting it up into a high bun, letting some strands and pieces fall just so. Still no shoes though, comfort was still one of her top concerns.

She walked out, forgetting that she still had yet another essay from her father to complete, but that didn't matter right now. Walking outside, into the warm sunlight of the late afternoon, she searched for Maryn. Not finding her at the arena, she walked around the outdoors areas her sister frequented, losing track of where she was at one point and beginning to wander. And that was when she stumbled upon the guards training area. Punching bags, sword fighting, and equipment were all there for them to work with and she figured she couldn't be seen from where she was, behind a tall oak tree. She scanned the area, wondering if maybe Damian was there. And to her surprise, (and delight), he was. She watched, dreamily as he worked out. Lost in thought, until a sharp tap on her shoulder scared her. "Checking out the guards?" Maryn teased her, pushing her gently. "Thats not funny." Cassias face was suddenly red, hoping Damian didn't see her. Maryn's face was suddenly softer. "What's up with you? You've been all weird and shy ever since the Valentines left." Cassia wordlessly grabbed her sister's hand, face aflame and ran down towards the back of the castle. Sitting by the pillars she sunk down onto the marble flooring, looking out over the mountains. Maryn spoke first. "Will you please tell me what's going on? Is everything okay?" Tears welled up in Cassias eyes, thinking of the whole story, and it didn't take long for it all to come spilling out, a teary rendition of all of the events that had taken place. "In conclusion, everything is more of a mess than it was before, because now I think I have the tiniest crush on one of the guards." Maryn wordlessly hugged her sister, something soft and accepting in her embrace. "First off, you should have told me about Cato. I would have killed him for you. And second off, I won't tell anyone about your crush on.. Damian, is it?" Cassia sniffled. "Yeah, his name is Damian." "Well, you're secrets safe with me. Although you will be in so much trouble if any of this ever comes to light. Father has always had a plan for our love lives, and I don't think handsome, dashing guards are a part of it." Cassia let out another sob. "I'm well aware." "Listen, I'm not saying I agree with it, I'm just saying that it is the life we were given, and for everyone's sake we should try and follow it as best we can. The advice I would give you is don't pursue him romantically, if you two are every caught he could be executed. Just, respectfully admire from afar." She winked then. "At least, that's what I do." Cassia laughed then, feeling better. The two went back to Maryn's room, where Maryn let Cassia braid her hair and tell her more about her guard.

Damian sat on his bed in the guards' quarters, sore after his training. He still couldn't shake what he had seen earlier out of his mind. Cassia Caldwell, watching the guards from behind a tree. He wondered if maybe she was watching him, and the thought made him feel all warm and strange. The princess was slowly infecting his mind with her pretty smile and soft hair and bright eyes, and he possibly had a crush on her. Hell, it might even be reciprocated, and the thought made him smile before shaking it out of his mind. Of course it wasn't reciprocated, she was going to have an arranged marriage and probably gave Damian little to no thought. He sat on his cot, thinking, when a pillow hit him in the face. "Sinclair!" One of the other guards, Marcus Black ran over to him, holding out a paper. "You've got a letter." Damian grabbed it, excitedly opening it and reading it over.

It was from his mother, telling him about the house and market where she worked. He missed her more than anything else, the royal guards were only allowed to go home once a year, around the holidays. He knew his mother was lonely, his father had died when he was very young, and he had no other siblings. He had only taken this job to help out with the money situation, as the cost of living in the East had gone up dramatically and she wasn't earning enough for the two of them to live on her income alone. Marcus startled him once again. "Who's it from? A girl?" Damian smacked him with the same pillow. "It's from my mother you pervert; she was just updating me on what it's like back home." "Oh. Thats way more boring than a letter from a girl." "I don't have a girlfriend, who would be sending me letters?" "You don't? What happened to Jane?" Damian put his head in his hands, Jane was his past girlfriend, and an unpleasant memory to say the least. "I was told that she was seeing one of the stablemen in my town behind my back, so I broke it off with her." Marcus's eyes went wide. "Oh, man, I'm sorry, I didn't know." "It's alright, she was awful even when we were together. I don't miss her." The two laughed, but it was solemn. "So, tell me, is there anyone who's caught your eye after Jane?" Damian swallowed, nervous to tell Marcus about Cassia, but eventually decided to. "Well, I did have a moment with someone. We talked a bit, and now I can't get her out of my head." Marcus fake gasped, "Let me guess, Cassia Caldwell?" "How'd you know?" Marcus smirked, "I overheard a few of the guys talking about your valiant rescue. But really Damian? It's a pretty big risk just speaking to one of the princesses, let alone having feelings for one." "I'm well aware." "But I support you and her, as long as you don't get yourself killed. Personally, I've always had a little thing for Aurora." Damian laughed then, "She would kill you in a second." "That's what makes her so attractive." They laughed, but the sound was solemn at its heart. Marcus spoke up once more, "Listen, I get it if you think you really have feelings for her, but there are more dangers to her than any other girl in Elaris." Damian put his head in his hands. "That's my problem. I'm sure I'll get over it though." "That's the spirit!" Marcus clapped his friend on the back. "Alright, I'm heading to the showers." "You didn't shower?!? I let you sit on my cot!"

Cassia flopped down on her bed next to her textbook and scrolls. Her tutor was making her write yet another history essay as punishment for not doing her schoolwork. She hadn't gotten much onto the page though; the topic bored her to death. She wanted to paint or draw or sculpt something, but her art supplies had been taken as another form of punishment from her parents. She had only written about a paragraph summarizing everything and knew that at this rate nothing was going to get done. Her parents would be angry, but it was rare that they weren't these days.

"Victor Caldwell was the first king of Elaris. After conquering everyone else in the Great War, he established himself as founder and king of the great country Elaris. It was small and weak in the beginning but over time was expanded and built up to be one of the strongest in the land. Now, the Caldwell's are the reigning royal family of Elaris, with King Xavier and Queen Elenor being the current rulers."

She read it over and decided to go and find her older sister, Maryn instead of working more. Maryn was her favorite sister, being the middle child she had the most freedom out of the three of them, and she was resilient and tough, someone Cassia both looked up to and resented because of those qualities. She was usually found outside, either practicing her horse riding or javelin throwing, and didn't have to wear dresses all the time like Cassia and Aurora.

Cassia quietly ran through the castle, glad that her dress wasn't made from some loud crinkly fabric. She slipped out one of the back windows on the first floor, and loved the dress even more with how effortless it made sneaking out. It was a dark green velvet, with an empire waistline and gold detailing alongside the waist and bottom, which grazed her ankles. Her hair was free and down, falling to the middle of her back in soft dark waves. Stepping outside, unaware that she was barefoot, she trekked along the path up the field to find her sister who, as she guessed, was practicing sword fighting in the small arena built just for her. Maryn was her father's favorite, her masculine interests being the closest thing he could get to having a son of his own. Her hair was braided into a tight auburn tail flying behind her as she fought one of the guards. She had a loose shirt and pants on, and a helmet covering her face. No body armor in sight, she didn't need it anymore.

"Maryn!" Her sister blocked a jab from the guard, before signaling for him to go. She pulled off her helmet and waved at Cassia. Jogging over, Cassia noticed a bit of blood trickling out of her sister's nose.
"Uh, Mare, I think your nose is bleeding." Maryn, unbothered just wiped at it and held her sleeve up to the injury. "Yeah, it is. It's probably from when my helmet knocked into my face earlier. What do you want?" "I was bored with school." "So, you decided to come and bother me?" "Uh huh. Do you mind?" "Nah, not today."

The two sat in the grass behind the castle, looking out at the mountains. So much green, Cassia thought. She wished she could explore them at some point but knew that it wasn't possible. Not for girls like her. She watched as the new guards trained, and wondered how they could have such perfect formation, she wondered if how much they trained for that a day, and she wondered how many hours they had to train to have such perfect muscles and- "Cass?" Her head snapped up. "What?" Maryn smirked, eyes flickering towards the guards. "Did Father tell you about the family supper tonight?" Cassias heart sunk. Family supper was one of her most dreaded things. It usually involved her parents reprimanding her about school or coming up with new rules and restrictions for the girls. "You know Father doesn't talk to me much." Maryn's smirk left. "Sorry. But you really didn't know? I was told this morning; they want us to all be there tonight." "Wonderful, another night of being berated by Mother and Father." "Maybe it won't be that bad this time." "Well, you wouldn't know Maryn. You're the favorite and you have it easier than me and Aurora. You never have to deal with them or anything for that matter." Maryn's eyes darkened, gaze growing heavy. "You don't know what I have to deal with, so I suggest you stop talking about it as if you do. You don't know what I've been through and what I still go through." She stood up "I'm going to go train now, and I would prefer to be alone."

Cassia sat for a moment, before getting up and going back inside. She started running back to her room, wanting to be alone before the dinner. Through the library and entrance, and up the stairs, going down the hallway the girls' bedrooms were in at a rampant speed. So rampant, that she didn't notice the guard moving to his station. BAM! "Oh, my goodness I am so sorry I shouldn't have been running I didn't see you dearest apologies I-" "I should be the one apologizing Princess, are you alright?" He was blushing, standing awkwardly looking down at her with soft blue-gray eyes. Then she noticed her hands were on his chest. Flushing red and pulling back quickly, she nodded. "Yeah, uh, I mean yes." Walking to her room she wanted to cry. The other guards stationed in the hall were chuckling and smirking, and she glared at them, remembering her title.

Cassia sat at the dinner table, the first to arrive for dinner. Typical of her family members to always be late. She had her hair put into an updo and a small gold hairpiece that matched her dress stuck into it. Her face had been made up by her maids, the makeup accentuating her big dark eyes and covering her dusting of freckles. Maryn was the second to arrive, her boys' clothes switched out for a light grey form fitting dress. Her hair was loose and flowing, with a silver headband that held some back. Maryn sat, looking straight ahead even as Cassia tried make faces, she knew could regularly get her to laugh. Her mother was next, smiling politely at her daughters as she sat. She was the blueprint for Aurora, the two could pass for sisters if it were not for her mother's graying hair and weathered skin. Next, Aurora herself entered the room, looking as stoic as ever. With her inky black hair and fair skin, her sister was beautiful. High set cheekbones set off dark eyes and she was tall and thin, the ideal look for the next queen. Yes, Aurora was the eldest daughter, meaning that she was the next ruler. Her days were spent studying and working to become the next queen, her entire life was devoted to that purpose. As she grew up, she lost all of her playfulness and sweetness, instead becoming a calculated, and frigid woman. She was only 19 yet looked 25. "Evening." Maryn and Cassia stared at their sister. "Uh, hello?" Cassia tried to crack a smile; Aurora never spoke to her. Maryn stayed silent, her eyes downcast.

The four women, three young and one old all sat silently, more strangers than family by now. Their father finally entered, a tall man with dark eyes and gray hair, looking just enough like Cassia that she could claim her features were taken from him. He smiled, the same way their mother had and took his seat. "Well, I'm sure you're all wondering why I wanted a family supper. I know we all usually eat separately but tonight I have some news. The family of Aquaria is coming to visit, I'm sure you all remember the Valentines?" Cassias jaw almost hit the floor. The Valentines were the girls only childhood friends, who they eventually stopped seeing due to my parents becoming increasingly paranoid about their safety. There were three of them as well, their oldest son Maxmillion, the middle daughter, Paris, and their youngest, Cato. Cassia sat up, "Wait really? Thats great I'm so excited!" Her family stared at her quietly as she leaned back again. Her Father cleared his throat. "Well, they aren't coming for fun, it will be a commerce discussion for the parents, and an academic discussion for you children. That means you will all have to step up your studies." Cassia's expression must have fallen, because her father eyed before saying, "And Cassia, I expect to hear better reports from your tutor. Maybe I should read your next essay on our family's history." She wanted to cry.

The next week flew by, as her excitement for the Valentines arrival grew by the day. Even though it was supposed to be for school, she was still happy to see people her own age. Only one notable thing happened, while she was walking down her bedroom hall attempting to sneak back in the castle late one night. She had been stargazing on the field near Maryn's arena, and lost track of the time. Creeping through the creaky hallway, she stumbled and almost tripped in front of the guard she had bumped into earlier that week. His eyes were soft as he watched her, whispering a little, "Be careful". Guards were not supposed to speak to the royals if it wasn't an emergency, but she wished they would talk to her more. It was lonely in the castle. She smiled at him, and when he smiled back, she just about melted. Something about him intrigued her, but she shoved the thought down. Princesses were only ever allowed to be with other royals.

When the Valentines arrived, Cassia ran out to greet them, not caring about what her family would think. She caught Paris in a tight hug, the two girls immediately complimenting each other's dresses. Cassia was wearing a long deep blue gown, tiny flowers dotting it, with a matching corset painted in florals. Her hair was down, with two small braids meeting in the back of her head, a large rose covering where the braids were tied. Paris was wearing a soft pink dress, all tulle and pastels. Her blonde hair was put up, and she looked effortlessly regal. Cassia hugged the boys, marveling silently at much taller they were now, all of the girls, with the exception of Aurora, were much smaller in comparison. Cato hugged her a moment longer than what she was used to, his arms gripping her waist, but she brushed it off. Her friends were finally here!

The day went quickly, even though they were focusing on school, the kids all found time to laugh and get off track, even Maxmillion and Aurora, who were the most serious. Cato always looked Cassia in the eye when she spoke and complimented her dress multiple times. It seemed to her like he had feelings for her, but she didn't reciprocate them. He was too much like family to her to be a potential lover. Once, his hand slipped onto her waist, and while moved away, she could tell how he viewed her from then on. Nothing came of it though, until the third night they were visiting.

Cato and Cassia were in her fathers office, laughing at old photos of all of the royals as children. They had some mead, and while she didn't enjoy it and stopped at half a glass, he kept drinking, even taking the bottle into the library with them. He leaned in, while she giggled at one of him with chocolate all over her face. "You look so different." Cassia looked at him then. "What do you mean?" He sat up straight. "You're just so beautiful now." "Well, thank you." She smiled; a bit uncomfortable. Then, he got closer. "I think I'm in love with you. Your looks are so incredible I just want to-" And before she could process what he had just said, he grabbed her and tried to kiss her. "EW WHAT GET OFF ME!!!!" She tried to push him away, but he was insistent. Kissing her face and jawline and pulling her closer he whispered, "You've been flirting with me all this time, I know you want me." "No, I do not you're like a brother just GET OFF ME!!." He was then trying to unlace her corset as she kicked and screamed, suddenly more scared than she'd ever been. She realized, as she cried that no one could hear her. The families had gone outside for dessert and there were no guards in her fathers office when it was unoccupied. "Let go of her." A swift kick to Cato's back and he fell, cursing. Strong arms lifted her up as she sobbed, carrying her like she weighed nothing in his arms. The guard carried her up the stairs and into her quarters, setting her on her plush chair she regularly took her meals on. "Did he...?" She looked up through teary eyes. "No. He would have though, if you weren't there." "You're safe now." She looked at him then, realizing that it was the guard from before. The one with the pretty eyes and honey colored hair. "Thank you." He looked a little embarrassed. "It's my job Princess. I should probably go now; I could lose my job if I'm caught in here." "I understand. But one question." She smiled up at him. He was taken aback. "Yes?" "What's your name?" "My name?" "You do have a name, right?" She was calmer already just talking to him. Something about his presence was warm and gentle, she felt safe with him. He laughed then, and all she could about was how pretty his smile was. "I do have a name. Damian. Damian Sinclair." "Well, hello there Damian, I'm Cassia. Cassia Caldwell. But I'm sure you knew that." "I did know that."

He left, smiling that beautiful smile at her once again, and she felt warm and fuzzy despite the horrors that had occurred earlier. Although he was just a guard and her a princess, she thought maybe she was in love.

AHHH THIS WAS SO FUNNN i want to continue with this story so bad ive been cooking it up for like a year now

I like to people watch. Ever since retirement it's become a pastime. I sit on the bench at the train station, watching everyone board in the morning.

A woman walks by, clacking as she goes. Black heels, a gold detail. She was walking quite fast in them too. The shoes looked well-polished, but I could tell that they had had their fair share of use. She must try to keep them nice. They seemed uncomfortable, because while waiting for the train she kept adjusting and switching the pressure from one foot to the other. The gold detail looked mock designer, and it was a little faded, but she stood tall in them. Although they were beat down and didn't seem to come from anywhere special, the shoes were taken care of and worn with a sort of pride that made you look at her with respect.

A teenage boy stood near her, his Converse looking like the sole might fall off any minute now. There were drawings all over them, little cartoon characters on the toe and a girl's name were crossed out on the rim of the shoe. His laces weren't tied, and I wondered if he noticed and left it like that on purpose, or if he just didn't care or have enough time to tie them. They were covered in mud and dirt, with the back of the right shoe duct taped haphazardly together. The rest of his clothing was neat and clean, not bad quality either. You could tell that those shoes were something he could replace but chose not to. Teenage angst maybe. Kids now always had so much angst. He was probably heading to school and looked around as if he was waiting for someone.

A few other people walked by, but they weren't wearing anything interesting. Then, the train came and everyone began boarding. I was just getting up to leave when I spotted someone running. She was at the back of the crowd and seemed desperate to get on the train. She had a pair of light pink ballet flats on, with little bows on the toe. Clean and perfect, the bow not yet falling off. She was about the same age as the boy, and tapped her foot anxiously, revealing a designer symbol on the bottom of the shoe. The boy glanced over and then looked at her for a moment, something strange in his gaze. She didn't appear to notice him; her eyes were locked onto a seat in the train. The woman in the heels was already sitting down, watching the interaction with a reminiscent look on her face. Then looking down at her hands.

The train took off, all three of the people I had been observing on board. I wondered how their stories would go, before getting my cane and standing up, ready to walk home myself. I wondered if anyone had ever observed me and wondered about my story. I almost laughed out loud at the thought. My own shoes made no sound on the pavement, a pair of loafers and compression socks, my cane clacked unevenly with each step though.

Nobody ever paid any mind to the little old lady always sitting on the bench at the train station, but she always paid attention to them. She watched some of them, as their stories continued and intertwined.

"Come on Pip!"

The dog obediently followed his owner as she stepped out into the fading daylight. It was that odd time in-between the late afternoon and early evening, right before the sun set. The world had a soft glow to it that made Jess smile as the warm air hit her skin.

She had recently discovered that she enjoyed taking walks, especially during this hour. Her dog, Pip followed wherever she went, and while walking him had used to be a chore, now it was her favorite part of the day. The switch from taking him in the later hours of the day opposed to the early mornings made all of the difference. She lived in a small beach town, where grass and sand mixed together, the salty smell of the ocean was a constant presence, almost everyone knew each other, and she found herself waving to neighbors sitting out on their porches. She would be lying if she didn't say she loved it.

She walked down to the water, where the tide was low, and the waves were small. She could see out for miles. The water had an almost golden hue, as the sun began to fall, and streaks of color began to cross the sky. It was almost too perfect. She was staring at the water and the sky, when Pip growled. He was an old, mellow dog, and rarely barked or growled. Startled, Jess looked down at him, and then let her gaze follow his. A set of footprints were heading into the ocean. She looked out, at the empty beach, and then to the seemingly empty ocean. Pip continued growling. "What do you see buddy?" Then, a loud splash. Pip barked, and Jess's head swiveled. But, alas, there was nothing there. The water glimmered, looking the same as it always had. But something felt off. Suddenly she felt a feeling she had learned to become all too familiar with. Her head whipped around, as she wildly searched for where it was. Scared, she cut her beach walk short, turning around and calling for her dog before walking home.

That night, she laid in bed, still unable to shake that feeling. It had been a good few years since the last time, but she knew it immediately. She was being watched. She fell into a restless sleep, and even then, had dreams of aquamarine lights, bright, oh so bright and the feeling of floating, submerged in the depths of the ocean she loved so much. She sat up, rubbing at her face. Stepping out of bed and into the bathroom, she splashed cold water onto her face and stared into the mirror. A pair of big brown eyes stared back. Her hair was wet and sticking to her face, pale strands still managing to look bright in the dark lighting. There were dark circles under her eyes.

The next week continued as normal, well, mostly normal. Every night the dreams came back, each more vivid then the last. She avoided the beach as best as she could, only going once with her friends. They asked her what was going on, what happened, and why was she acting like this around her favorite place? The trip was fine, but she still couldn't shake the thought that someone was watching her, even when all of her friends were engaged in an animated conversation and everyone else seemed to not take any notice of her.  She went back to where she had seen the footprints, and as she suspected they were gone. Probably washed away. It was odd, how something so seemingly minor had caused such a huge reaction in her. It was almost visceral how acutely she had felt on that day, but she tried with all her might to move on from it. It was nothing after all, right?

Slowly, but surely her mind began to go back to normal, letting go of the strange fear that followed her almost as faithfully as Pip. Her beach walks returned, and the once deafening anxiety dulled into a quiet buzz. Until the night it happened again. She was walking, a bit later than usual, but as she always did, the darkness becoming to envelop the beach in its cool embrace. But, almost like clockwork, Pip growled. Oh no. Her stomach dropped and she turned. Sure enough, footprints. A seemingly fresh set of then heading right back into the ocean. Oh no. Not again. The splash, louder this time, almost as if it was closer. Oh no. Everything in her was screaming at her to turn around, leave, run home and take Pip with you, but she stood fast. "Go home buddy." The dog looked up at her, and through a moment of communication that needed no words, ran off back in the direction they had come from. Jess stood tall and stared at the ocean. She felt a little silly, but she wanted to put an end to this madness. Whatever was watching her was still doing it, and she stared, looking for whatever it could be. She stood for five minutes, watching, searching the waters for anyone, anything, slowly getting angrier and angrier. She could never have anything nice, anything she enjoyed without it getting ruined. Her old best friendship? Ruined by her fears the first time this happened. Being popular in school? Ruined by the old friend telling everyone that Jess was scared of the water and some other things were entirely untrue, reputation ruining things.

Rage built up, louder and louder as all of the memories flooded back. Opening her locker and finding it full of soaked tissue paper in middle school, having a bucket of water dumped on her head when she went out for recess once, finding her art final cut up and thrown into the sink once. All because of her stupid old friend and this stupid old fear. Thank goodness high school had been different, her friend moving away Jess having a chance to restart. She didn't want to lose everything again. "Just come out already I know you're there." She spoke loud and clear, hoping that nobody saw her. And nothing, for a moment or two.

Until slowly, the waves began to grow larger, taller, and more violent. Jess backed up, knowing that the crash could easily injure her. An 8-foot wave crashed down, swallowing her in salt water. She fell, coughing as it receded. She was fully soaked. She stood up, ready to bolt out of the beach when her eyes landed on a woman. A naked woman who was standing in the water, seemingly unshaken by the waves.

She smiled. "You finally found out."

Mariettes life consisted of two things. Waiting to perform and performing. It was always so dark, waiting, always oh so dark. She would sit, twiddle her thumbs and fidget with her pale pink tutu. Sometimes she would stand up and try to peek outside through the little keyhole in her box. She never saw much though. She liked to listen instead. She stretched, practiced, and waited for her human to come and watch her perform. While she waited, she liked to think about the past.

She adored her human. She had known her since she was a grubby toddler who's jam covered hands would press the button that made Mariette perform and would dance alongside her in a sparkly tutu of her own. When her human was small, she would talk to Mariette. "When I grow up, I'm going to be a ballerina too!" If she could have smiled, she would have. She remembered when her human had given her her name. "You're names Mariette! My name is Lily! We're both ballerinas!" The toddler giggled and then pressed the button to make Mariette perform again. She performed almost all day back then.

As Lily grew older, Mariette performed less and less. She heard more and more though. Lily arguing with her mother, Lily playing pretend with her friends, Lily blasting music from a radio, Lily crying about a bad grade, and Lily excitedly talking about some boy to her friends. Mariette knew everything about Lily, she watched her grow up and she loved her like a sister. Lily had seemed to forget about Mariette though.

Now, Lily was a senior in high school. Mariette hadn't performed in over a year or so. She only knew because she counted the times the keyhole went dark, then light. 405 since the last time she performed. She thought about her last performance. Lilys friend had opened the box and pressed the button. Mariette jumped up, and danced with so much energy she thought she might fall over once it was over. She was proud of that performance. Lilys friend had just laughed, and said something like, "I used to have one of these. I don't know what happened to it." Lily just smiled.

Now, Mariettes life consisted of waiting. She wondered if she would ever perform again, or if she forgotten about. Lily was using a new word all the time. "college". Somehow, Mariette knew that her end as a ballerina was near. The thought made her want to cry, but she couldn't. She was just plastic after all.

"What's so funny hon?" His wife, Elenor called from the bedroom.

"Nothing, baby." James leaned back, reading the paper. There it was, the story that nobody knew wasn't true. Nobody but-

"Hi." She kissed him once, leaving some lipstick on his face. "Now what's so funny?" He gestured to the television, where the news was playing the latest story. “James Burnham was shot and killed yesterday, by a man who seemed to be out of his mind. The killer has not been found. His family, including wife Elenor Burnham is currently grieving privately. This is the second crime this week, if you haven't heard about the string of robberies, we'll recap the story here."

Elenors mouth made a little O, which dissolved into giggles quickly. "Oh no, you did it again! Well, you know what that means." She took his plate and put it into the sink.

"I was thinking next time, I might call myself Marcus." He leaned back, stretching.

She washed their plates, sunlight hitting her box blonde hair. "Marcus, hm? I like that. I was thinking maybe Renee for me."

"You would make a nice Renee, although that hairstyle is going to have to go. Maybe a brunette for you."

She put her hands on her hips. "No silly, I did brunette when I was Maria in Belmont. I think I'll go with a red, I've always been told I'd look good as a ginger. Anyways I'll go find a black dress and make my mascara run while you go find an apartment. Where are we going next?"

He was back to reading the paper. "Oh. Virginia, there's some pretty nice neighborhoods we can hit up. Plus, I've heard the seaside is nice this time of year."

~A week later~

"Wow, this place is cute!" She stood there in a pink dress, which combined with her new ginger locks, made her blue eyes look amazing. She had on white gloves, and heels to match.

"More like cramped." He had just shaved and changed up his style, slicking back his hair and wearing a suit instead of his flannels from the other town. "We'll make it work darling. With all this money I'll decorate it nicely!" She clapped her hands, looking around. "Don't go spending all my money, we're supposed to save some of that. Although I do have some houses planned for tomorrow night." She stopped. Ran a hand through her hair. "I actually feel a bit under the weather, can we put off this heist for a bit?"

They started working on the apartment, buying some furniture and decorations, and painting the place. Even though they would leave after committing another heist, they enjoyed dressing a place up, and making it feel like home, if only a temporary one. Renee kept putting off the robbery, and it had been a whole two weeks before the two actually talked about it.

"Alright, heres dinner!" She set the plate onto the table before sitting down and putting her head in her hands.

He came into the kitchen they were using as a dining room, sitting down and looking over at her. Something had been off about her, ever since they left Blueville, three weeks ago now. "Are you alright?"

She sat up, looking at him with glassy eyes. "Fine, why?"

"You're acting strange. You don't want to do anything besides cook and clean and you refuse to even talk about this upcoming heist. You're pale and sick and you don't eat as much. I'm worried about you."

She wrung her hands, sighing once, then again. "Maybe I just don't want to be in this business anymore. I mean, we haven't really lived at all, it's always just on to the next heist. We don't have any friends, or anyone who knows who we are for that matter."

"This hasn't bothered you before, you were fine a month ago, what changed?"

"Well," she glanced away, face becoming a bit red, "for one thing, I'm pregnant."

(This is more on my OC's Kieran and Gia, just a bit about their backstory, go read Test Number #8 for their introduction though!)

"That was probably the worst idea you've ever had... how did it work?" "Hah, told you I know what I'm doing!" Gia punched the vending machine one more time, knocking down a Dr. Pepper. "Here you go!" Kieran thanked her, and the two walked around the lab, bored.

Since being here, for almost two years now, neither were allowed to leave, but neither also really minded. For Gia, home was Kieran's house, and for Kieran, he missed his mom but not her jerk boyfriend, so he was pretty happy staying in the clean lab with the doctors that never yelled at them, (except for Gia scaring people with her wings, but even she admitted that then it was a little fair), their own suites, and always good food. And a bonus, enough money for Kieran's mom to quit three of her jobs, so they were very happy.

Although sometimes they were very bored, in between physical therapy and tests. It had taken a while for the two to get used to their new selves, especially Gia. They walked around the lab wing, talking and sipping their sodas. "Man, it's almost been two years." Gia was getting reminiscent now. "Yes, it almost has been. Although do you even remember your first year?" Gias first year there was a sore subject, but she answered nonetheless, "I mean, I remember the hospital, but for the most part I was unconscious. I do remember when I first saw myself after the procedures. I almost cried when I looked at the wings. They were all scabby and gross at the base, remember?" Kieran did remember. His adjustments were only on the inside, except for his eye, but that was damaged, so it was just nice to see again. He sometimes worried about his intellect, feared he knew too much, but other than that he really didn't hate his new life. Gia, on the other hand, had major adjustments, and it was awful her first year, remembering all she had gone through. She used to cry every night, lamenting the body and life she had once had. Wanting to feel human again. Even the benefit of flight still made her feel strange. He thought for a moment, then answered her, "Yeah, I remember. You seem better now though. How are you feeling about everything?" Gia looked to the side. "I don't know. It's weird. I guess maybe I accept it more now, but sometimes I just miss feeling, I don't know, human? Even though my old life really wasn't good, at least I had my humanity." Kieran knew what she meant. He really did think she had it better here, her old house was awful. "I understand that, but at least now you have your super cool flight abilities, and you can totally beat me up and stuff." She giggled, "God, Kie don't talk like that you sound like me." She looked over at him, "But thanks, you're right."

She noticed he was finished with his soda, so she grabbed it, crushed the can, and threw it out. She then stole his glasses, and flew up so that he couldn't reach them. He read her mind, something he was able to do but never used for respect of her privacy, but he learned that although she still felt strange about her new self, she knew that as long as she had her best friend, she would be fine.

"Well, I guess it happened again." "I guess it did." The room was empty, besides the two people inside, but neither of them seemed concerned. Gia sat down on the floor, while Kieran paced around the room. It was their 8th time being in a room like this in the last month. Gia spoke, "I wonder where we are this time." Kieran glanced over, then sat down as well. "I don't know. I am getting a little sick of these tests though." "You signed us up for this!! You don't get to be sick of it!" Kieran rolled his eyes, or at least attempted to, given that his right one was a machine, "Fine, your right, but it wasn't me that wanted to, it was my mother." "I'm well aware."

The two were supposed to break out of the room, although after the third of these tests, neither of them was motivated to move as quickly as they once did. It had all started in the first grade, when the two became friends. Neither came from the best of homes, and Gia, whose father was prone to drinking and fighting started staying with Kieran and his mother. This worked until high school, when Kieran's mother ran out of money. So, she signed up for a lab test that would, "make anyone who participated wealthier than they can imagine". The two went to the lab together and found that they were now human experiments.

Kieran had become a sort of cyborg, with one eye being replaced (he couldn't see much out of it anyway, after The Fight with Gia's dad), and a few more "advancements" to himself that were supposed to make him a sort of superhuman. He had almost all the knowledge about anything you could think of, and an IQ of 259. Although sometimes his schemes needed someone to execute them. And that was where Gia came in.

She had been given wings and strength, which was a horrifying procedure that took her almost two years to recover from, and made Kieran cry, (he will deny this fact with all his might, but Gia still knows the truth.). She didn't know half the facts he did, but she could fly, and was much stronger, and she thought that was infinitely cooler than his abilities. And also, she thought her wings kind of made her look like an angel, which she did use to her advantage, one time sneaking into one of the nurse's offices, claiming to be an angelic prophet, and telling the poor nurse that she was the "chosen one". After that a meeting had to be held about the two-adolescent creature-humans and scaring people.

"Well, I guess we should break out of here. God these tests are so stupid." Gia stood up, "Got a plan Kie?" Kieran looked around. "There's a slight crack in the middle of the wall across from us, about 5 feet and 6.48 inches off the ground, and I can't break it, but you can. It appears to be weak in that area. Maybe then we'll find a way out?" Gia shrugged, "Sure, my hands can take another beating."

She went up to the wall, tied up her long, dark hair, stared at the crack, sighed, and roundhouse kicked the wall. A foot sized hole was now in the wall. She smirked, and quickly got to work ripping the concrete apart as if it were cotton candy. Soon enough the two were able to climb through the hole only to find another room. Gia groaned and Kieran laughed, looking around. "At least this one has a door?" He smiled as he opened it. Gia stood up, "What's there?" She curiously peeked outside. "Oh." A long hallway greeted the two, and Gia excited ran out, doing an ariel before stopping and waiting for Kieran. "You think we did it?" She asked excitedly. "Maybe! Wait. Do you hear tha-"

A man jumped out and tried to put Gia in a headlock, but she judo flipped him, sat on him, whipped out a knife and put it to his throat. "That was really good Barnaby, but I still beat you!" She smiled and got back up, helping the man up as well. Kieran grinned, "Now we've completed it."

The three walked back to the lab, Kieran and Gia talking excitedly about something that made sense to only the two of him, her saying "What? Explain." frequently and him telling her about some equation or historical figure. She got him back later though when she went into an in-depth explanation of her favorite show, complete with a messy PowerPoint and pictures of the characters.

"I told you to get out of my life 3 years ago!!! OMG nobody ever listens to me!!!" Bri angrily walked around her room, smacking her head with her hands. The other being in the room, an odd-looking creature with dark blue skin, black eyes, horns, wings, and claws, but other than those features, fairly humanoid. Human looking enough for Bri to get it its face and scream, "I SWEAR JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!" She started crying and sat on the floor. The creature went to sit by her, but she looked at it with such a ferociousness, it stopped, turned, and flew out of the window. "Thank God." Even though she knew it would be back. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, maybe next month, it would be back. It had been following her for the past 3 years, not really doing anything but just existing, and occasionally embarrassing her. Her friends never saw it, and she prayed that it would stay that way, as whenever they were around it just disappeared. Sometimes its broke things though, like her fancy new perfume from Victorias Secret that she begged her mom to buy her, and the creature picked it up, and dropped it the very next day. Her room still smelled like vanilla and roses.

She didn't know where it was from, or if it could even talk for that matter. She didn't even know its gender. It looked like a he, but she refused to acknowledge it as anything other than "it". Bri could be very dehumanizing when he wanted to be. All she knew was for the past 3 years, she had no privacy, no freedom, and wanted it gone. Hell, one time the thing even tried to go into the bathroom with her when she was taking a shower, (It waited outside, and was subjected to a fit of screaming and objects being thrown at it afterwards.) She was scared when it first showed up, but after about a week it was just a nuisance. Sometimes it didn't even let her do things, stopping her from going to the mall on one day, or her friends on another. Like it was her second mother or something.

As she predicted, next week it was back. She noticed it walking behind her as she walked home from school. Rolling her eyes, she walked faster. It had been an amazing week, her friends hung out with her almost every day, and she almost felt what it would be like to be normal. Until now. She turned and it was picking up pace as well. So, she started running, sprinting actually, in an intense fit of rage. She could have done track, if only the creature hadn't hidden her shoes right as she was leaving for tryouts. She begged, cried, screamed, and asked politely, but only after it was too late for her to make it, it unveiled the shoes, hidden in her own vanity drawer. She could have sworn the thing was laughing at her.

Anyways, she was running, faster than she thought she had ever run, and only when she was at the intersection two blocks away from her house, she stopped, caught her breath, and intending on just dashing across it, kept running. She didn't see the truck that had just turned onto the intersection, or the light changing from red to green. The driver didn't see her either. She only noticed when it was right there, and screamed, but it was too late. She shut her eyes and felt something crash into her, and then everything went black.

She woke up in her room. She thought she was dead. But she looked at herself in the mirror, and besides a few bruises, she looked and felt fine. The monster had been sitting there, and it smiled when she got up. Putting the pieces together, she realized what had just happened. She went up to the monster. "Um, I think I owe you an apology. You saved my life."

I took the coat out, and went to go hang it up when something fell out of the pocket. I quickly bent and picked it up, before noticing what it was, I was holding. I had just started my shift, after school, and didn't much of it, things fall out of pockets all the time. But then I processed what was in my hand. "EW EW EW EW AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Jane ran over, "What's wrong? What happened? Can you hear me, Anne?"
I was disgusted, mainly, but also a little scared. "Eww, just go look on the floor by the racks."

She did, and after a little shriek came back and sat next to me. "Is that a.." "Shrunken head? Yeah, I think so." "Gross. Go wash your hands."

I did so, and afterwards the two of us stood over the head, staring at it. "What do we do?" Jane asked, looking at me. "I don't know, maybe just put it back?" "Well, I don't want to touch it." "Neither do I."

So, we drew straws. I lost. I tried to pick it up, (with gloves on this time), by the hair, but it was so brittle that it just popped right off, and the head fell for a third time. Cue more shrieking from me and Jane. "It touched my foot! Oh my God it touched my foot!"
"Shush I'm trying to pick it up!" Me and Jane were both 17 and became friends after we were both hired to work here, so both of us were squeamish and willing to pass the gross jobs to the other one.

Eventually I put the head back, stuffing to mini hair pieces in their as well, and then ran into the bathroom and vomited. You didn't see that thing; it was all red and scabby, and old looking and brittle. That grossed me out more than the fact that it was SOMEONES DECAPITATED HEAD, (although that added to my disturbance).

I found Jane outside, smoking, and she handed me a cigarette. So, we both sat and smoked and talked about the head. She had some wild theories, like what if it was a witch doctors, and he needed it to cure someone. I told her witch doctors didn't exist, and she watched to much television. Her family had been one of the firsts to acquire one in color when they were invented, around the time Jane was 4, so she watched it a lot more than I did, henceforth her saying things about witch doctors and such.

"You know, Mrs. May's going to be back soon." She was our manager, and oftentimes left the place to us while she ran errands. "Yeah? We can't tell her; she'll lose her mind. Especially when she finds out that I dropped it and lost the hair." "Oh, yeah. Well maybe whoever took it out will come pick it up." "Maybe."

We went back inside and returned to our work. It was quite easy, although we were both on edge waiting for whoever had that coat to come pick it up. Everyone who came in caught our attention, as we wondered and hoped to see the owner. After about two hours, around 5:30 PM, a woman came in hurriedly. She had wild black hair and pale skin, and she was short, with large wire frame glasses and piercing gray eyes. The most surprising thing though, was that she was young, only in her 20s or so. The coat itself was odd, it was cut in the fashion of the time, long, with buttons and warm looking, but it was a deep shade of purple, with fur on the neckline and bottom, and it matched the owners looks. And then asked for her coat, and gave us the number of the now infamous, and creatively named, The Head Coat. We both anxiously handed it to her, and she thanked us, paid, and before leaving, turned around and winked.

Strange.