34. Temptation

Brooke thought she would have to teach Meredith how to live, but Meredith is the one who manages to enthrall everybody, even the handsome stranger that has goaded her into a romantic dance.

         The rave was underground and across the street from the inn. They let Athena know where they were going and headed on their way. A small metal door lay beneath a long shell of rock and ground. Ellis led the way. Meredith insisted they go shopping, but Brooke didn’t plan on staying. She just wanted to see what it was like and then scram. Besides, she didn’t know what to wear anyways. Ellis tiptoed to reach the metal slab. She knocked and a pair of droopy, green eyes showed. He looked grumpy, but then he smiled when he recognized the little anymalis. He opened the door and revealed himself. He was a satyr with a sweaty, broad chest. Ellis smiled. “I see you been on the floor.”

          The satyr pulled out a white towel and wiped the sweat off. “The music taunts me.”

          Ellis nudged for Meredith and Brooke to follow along. They entered the dark building of flashing lights spinning against the walls and floor. A bar stretched to the side of them, the chairs packed with anymalis. Brooke heard the strange sound of a techno song making the room and lights pulsate. The crowds made it alive with roars of shouts and ecstasy. Creatures of Eros danced to the song as if breathing with the melody on a lower part of the floor in the middle of the building. Brooke felt the sensation, but resisted the urge to join. She was shy when it came to doing things like that. Brooke saw the DJ on three big screens, a weird gadget on his head that made his eyes appear larger than they were. He raised his hands, spun, and returned to his job.

Brooke and Meredith followed Ellis to an array of dining tables and two leather couches. A dwarf and an anymalis made out on one of them. Two anymalis had sex on the other one. Brooke grimaced and looked away.

They all sat at one table by the dance floor and a kobold creature approached the table. Brooke was stunned to see it. The little, furry creature looked bored, until it saw Ellis. Its eyes widened and it smiled. “The usual, Ellis?” it said. Ellis nodded. “And your friends?”

Ellis turned to Brooke and Meredith. “Do you guys drink?”

Brooke and Meredith exchanged glances. Brooke smirked. “I’d like to try; what’s the drinking age here?” she asked Ellis.

Ellis and the kobold laughed. “No younger than a toddler.”

Meredith placed a hand on Brooke’s shoulder. “I don’t advise you try anything; their drinks are incredibly strong.”

“What do you know?”

Meredith mashed her fingers together and she looked as if she were blushing, but it was too dark to see. “Anymalis raves are my guilty pleasure.”

“You’ve been to one of these before?”

Meredith nodded. Brooke denied any drinks, but the kobold returned with a drink for Ellis and a soft drink for Meredith. She promised it was nothing alcoholic. She signaled for the kobold to come hither and he complied. She whispered something into his ear and he nodded. He pointed somewhere across the dance floor and spoke more in a whisper. The DJ changed the song and Meredith jumped up. Brooke gave her a questioning look. “Oh my gosh, I can take it no longer!” She grabbed Brooke and said excitedly, “The music is calling me!” She laughed and ran off into the crowd. A sweat drop ran down Brooke’s face as stared at the fun-loving princess.

Brooke waited for what seemed like hours before Meredith returned. She breathed heavily as she clung to Ellis like a drunken woman who’d joined after she finished her drink. Sweat sat on her forehead as if drenched in rain. “That was amazing, Ellis!”

“I know!” she chirped.

Brooke felt like a lump on a long in here. She was too shy to dance, talk to anyone, and too scared to drink. Brooke didn’t think she was the one not to enjoy a good time. Meredith smiled and grabbed her hand. “Stop being a lump and have some fun!”

Brooke shook her head and shifted her weight to where Meredith dragged her off the seat. “Dance with me, come on!”

          “I have two left feet, leave me alone!” she snapped.

          “Well, I have two right ones, now get on this floor!” she exclaimed and she dragged Brooke onto her feet.

She led her down to the dance floor. Brooke felt as if Meredith were her older sister encouraging her to swim in a pool for the first time. Meredith began dancing to the new techno song the DJ played. The rhythm took on the sound of a heartbeat and then a female voice sang. Meredith moved, her body flexing along with the beat. She rocked her hips, her feet light and quick as she pranced around the dance floor, boldly, unafraid.

Brooke felt like a stick, stiff, unable to escape her own fear of ridicule. Brooke thought she would teach Meredith how to live, but her princess had to show her how to live. She never felt such a desire to curl beneath a rock.

In a way, she envied Meredith. Not because she was a princess, rich, or anything like that. Meredith was herself, everywhere she went, anytime of day, and cared nothing for what anyone thought about her. There, her princess was, catching the eyes of others, enthralling the people to watch her as she went. She did this constantly. The only thing Brooke had was her fighting. She was starting to think about what would have happened if she chose to hang out with friends, if she ever socialized. She didn’t even do that much. Rogue, Shawn, and Madam Moon were the only ones she ever talked to. She started to wonder what would happened if she acted friendly to that one girl in class during her high school life or said hello to one guy in the hallway. She missed out- no she didn’t miss out. She chose to isolate herself. Now as Brooke looked back, maybe isolation wasn’t the best idea.

Everyone moved out of the way and watched Meredith dance. Brooke disappeared with the crowd and decided simply to watch Meredith. She shuffled and lost herself within the music, her shirt, and pants drenched with sweat, her irises gone to white. Then, Brooke saw Ross and a couple of his people. Ross stepped onto the floor as his people stood behind. He was dressed in tuxedo and had a corsage.

He caught Meredith’s hand and spun her around. Her eyes returned to normal and she came back to reality. She frowned at Ross, but before she had time to object, the song changed. It was a smooth techno song mixed with a French melody of long, romantic beats. He held out his hands and urged Meredith to come to him. She stumbled and wondered if she should. The song was tempting and his handsome face was just as tempting. She mashed her lips together and gave into the moment. She scampered over to him. He stepped to the side, and caught her hand again, spinning her right into his arms. Their noses met and he spun her onto the opposite side. She lightly broke away from him and cart wheeled across from him.

He held his hand out to her. A smirk lay across his face, sly, and tempting. It invited Meredith to take his hand again. She twirled to him and laid her hand gently into his palm. He pulled her to him, strongly demanding, yet softly beckoning. She let a surprised gasp escape her lips and Ross bent his head down, close enough to feel his breath on her lips. Meredith didn’t know the guy. It was only for this moment she allowed him so close. His attempt to kiss her would ruin it, but he surprised her more by jerking back his right foot back. Meredith caught on and moved her left foot forward. Then to the side they danced, moving his right foot to the side and Meredith mirroring him. He brought his right foot together with the left and Meredith crossed with her left foot. They swayed against the French melody to the side of them, twirling around. He spun her out and as he tried to spin her in, she surprised him by wrapping her legs around his waist and quickly back to her feet. The male creatures whistled and shouted. Meredith enjoyed the tease; she didn’t want to behave too inappropriately. The couple returned to swaying to the side.

Ross bent his head close to her head, his lips lingering before her lips. Suddenly, a gunshot fired.

 

Author's Note

Dear Reader,

I hope you identify with the character epiphinies in this chapter. See, I wanted a story where things were a little flipped. Instead of the usual, the peasant teaches the princess how to let go, the princess is the one who is pretty loose and fun loving. I wanted to add that spin to Meredith. This is why she is one of my favorite characters.

Thank you for reading!

Sincerely JazzSoulKeke,

God bless