Chapter 4: The Meeting

Anise breaks the big news to all her monster roommates.

Oh man, I was starting to get dizzy. All of this was insane! I was supposed to fall in love with one of them?! Grandmother Rosemary Devane couldn't be serious, right? I pinched my cheek to see if I was dreaming. I yelped in pain and rubbed the skin I just hurt. No, this was real. All of this was real. My purple eyes scanned the paper again, trying to make sense of it all. Footsteps from down the hall got closer and louder. All of a sudden, Zamuel was standing through the doorway.

"Ms. Devane! Are you okay? I heard a yell like you were in pain." He inquired, breathing a bit heavily like he sprinted his way here. I held the book to my chest and nodded, laughing nervously as I answered his question.

"Y-Yeah! I'm fine. Just. . . hit my hip on the table?"

Why was I such a terrible liar? Why couldn't I be the most fantastic liar in the world? Zamuel noticed how oddly I worded my answer but let it go. He shook his head and sighed.

"Okay then. I was just making sure you were safe. Anyways, Ms. Devane, have you found anything about our curses yet? Perhaps you need assistance? The movers have finally finished and all of your things are settled throughout the rooms where I thought they would be most appropriate."

I gulped at his question, growing even more nervous than before. I had to tell these guys what was up. It was be terrible for me to hide something as big as this. The answer was right here and they have been waiting on it for who knows just how long. After a deep breath, I nodded and help up the journal. I trusted Zamuel to help me break the news since he seemed like the logical and level-headed type. "Yes. I have the answer but I need assistance."

This seemed to shock Zamuel despite asking the question in the first place. His one silver eye went wide. "Oh? I will mostly certainly provide any assistance I can if it means breaking the curse. Please, what shall you have me do, Ms. Devane?"

I set the book down on the table and sighed. "I need to hold a meeting with everyone. The way to break the curse is rather. . . unconventional in my opinion. It will be a shocker for everyone and I'm not particularly good with keeping things calm and under control. So. . . I'll give you a heads up so you can help me explain the situation. Is that okay?"

"Of course. Whatever you need. I am your butler afterall." He added, giving a polite bow in the middle of his reassuring words. While I found his suavity and gentleman behavior incredibly charming, I didn't know how much longer I would be able to stand being referred to with my last name and a Ms. attached to the front of that.

"Just Anise is fine, Zamuel. Getting back to the main point, This journal holds notes on you guys, my family and other notes that Grandmother Rosemary deemed important. Along with it is a note addressed to me, claiming that I hold the key to uplifting the curse. However. . . I can only save one of you because according to my grandma. . . they only way to lift the curse is to get me to fall in love with one of you. . . " I explained, my heart racing and my head spinning just by saying this all out loud.

I watched Zam's face, waiting for some sort of reaction. His face was completely neutral. Stoic. He then suddenly gave a warm smile and bowed. "You have nothing to worry about, Ms- I mean, Anise. I do not wish to gain your affections by such circumstances. Not to mention how this all must be stressful for you. I can help break the news and protect you from unwanted advances as much as I can."

Those words made me feel significantly better than before. I gave a sigh of relief and smiled. "Thank you. This news was completely unexpected and even now I still don't know if what I read was real or not. This all seems pretty surreal to me."

"I completely understand. Just give me a moment to round everyone up and we can begin the meeting. In the meantime, I would suggest trying to figure out what you personally wish to say. The more you know what you want to say, the easier it will be to say it." He suggested as he turned and began to head out the door.

I nodded and sat down at the table, thinking about how I should approach and explain the situation. Writing things down usually helped me organize my thoughts, so I grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper to do just that. Within a few minutes, I managed to write a paragraph on what I wanted to say. I began to memorize the little speech and read out loud so I sounded more natural.

A knock on the door interrupted my train of thought. It was Zam. He probably came back to notify me that everyone was ready for the meeting to start. "We are ready when you are, Anise."

I took a deep breath and set my paper down on the table. The speech was memorize for the most part. All I needed was the journal as proof and my own courage. I headed out of the room and Zamuel followed close behind me.

Everyone was sitting around in the living room area that we met in last time. This seemed to be our usual meeting spot. Zamuel went to stand behind one of the couches, his eye on me to begin along with everyone else. I gulped, now starting to feel nervous.

"Hi, everyone. Um. . . I have found the solution to the curse left behind by my grandmother. I-"

I was interrupted by Beo that sprung up from the couch, his tail going a mile a minute. "R-Really! That's fantastic news! What do we do? What needs to happen?"

"Sit down, Wulf. How about you let her finish talking first so we can all get this over with quicker." Endrian snapped. He folded his arms over his chest and turned his face away from everyone.

Beo sunk back into the couch and sheepishly grinned, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry, sorry. I got a bit excited is all. Anyways, continue on!"

I cleared my throat and got everyone back on track in the meeting. This part was going to be the tough part. "According to this journal that my grandmother has left behind for me to read, she claims that there is only one solution to lifting the curse. Unfortunately, I believe that only one of you can be saved."

Everyone's attention was amplified. Eyes went wide all except for Zam's who already heard the news. Panicked, confused expressions filled everyone's faces. Some even seemed angry. I continued anyways. It was best to get this over with like ripping off a bandaid. "My grandmother wrote that in order for the curse to be lifted for one of you. . . I have to fall in love with one of you."

"You gotta be kidding me! Are you serious?!" Endrian now jumped off the couch, looking confused and crossed. Many others followed in his footsteps, getting up from the couch in shock.

"Falling in love? That's something straight out of a fairy tale. . ." Beo added. Danton nodded quietly, seeming to take all the information in.

Cassius was still seated on the couch. He crossed a leg over the other and gave a confident smirk. "Sounds like a piece of cake. As an incubus and an expert in romance, I'm sure that I'll be able to win over her heart in no time. Sucks to be you guys."

"And that's why I am here. I don't intend for any of you to make Anise feel uncomfortable." Zamuel spoke up. Attention was on him now as he took the spotlight.

He circled around the couch and went to stand next to me. Eyes followed him. "I will not have any of you use dirty tricks on the owner of this house nor shall I'll allow any of you to do anything without her consent. If she wished to fall in love then it will be her choice. If I hear that any of you forced her into doing something she did not wish to do, then you will answer to me."

Most gave immediate nods. For some it took a little longer for them to agree. I mentally thanked Zamuel for his help. He managed to seem to calm everyone down.

Mystis from the window raised her hand to speak. "How is this going to work? Do we all simply wait and let things develop naturally?"

"Of course not! She'll have to go out on dates with all of us and all that lame crap. How stupid." Endrian answered.

"D-D-Date. . .?" Danton shyly repeated. He seemed to be getting flustered, his pale cheeks turning a fairly light shade of pink while his hands went to hold them. I honestly felt the same way about the idea of having to go on dates.

"Anise will not being accepting any dates unless she wishes to. If she wishes for her feelings to develop naturally then so be it. This is all her choice and we have to respect it. Be patient. This is just as shocking to her as it is for all of you." Zamuel reeled everyone back in again and speaking on my behalf.

Cassius quirked a brow. He seemed skeptical all of a sudden. "Zam, 'all of you'? Do you not plan on participating? Or are you adamant on playing knight in shining armor? Do you really me just us or all of us?"

Zam didn't miss a beat. "I do not wish for Anise to become uncomfortable or disheartened by this or any future actions regarding this situation. I mean you all excluding me. I don't wish to win Anise's heart by such dishonest or. . . unwonted means. I intend to keep order during this whole ordeal."

That didn't seem to comfort anyone. Cassius scoffed at his answer before looking over to me. His skeptical look morphed into something dangerous and seductive. "Don't worry, My Angel. All of this will be over before you know it. You'll realize that you have fallen in love with me very soon."

My eyes went wide and I felt my cheeks heat up. Why did Cassi have to be so direct? It made me nervous and I didn't know if it was in a good way. Endrian glared at the incubus for a second, staring daggers right through him.

He then turned to me, an irritated frown still on his face. "How is this going to work? Dates or natural? This is all so stupid and inconvenient so you better make this work somehow."

The zombie stepped in front of me, separating me and Endrian. He seemed to be growing disgruntled. "If you keep threatening and speaking to Anise in that sort of way I will have no choice to consider you a threat to her well-being, Mr. Draugh."

"I will try my best to figure something out. We can come up with some sort of schedule so I can spend time with everyone. It'll incorporate dates and natural development? Yeah. That can work." I chimed in, trying to ease the tension between Zam and Endrian.

Endrian's expression seemed to soften just a smidge at the answer. It seemed that he felt more comfortable with direct answers and knowing what will happen in the future as a definite. His brows were still in an angry scrunch however and he sighed. "I'm going out."

With that, the vampire was gone. The door was slammed and the sound of a motorcycle being revved up could be heard. Mystis gave a warm smile towards me as she began to descend back down to the garden. "He's a hot head. You should rest. I'm sure that this is more taxing for you than it it is for all of us, Darling."

The rest of the gang seemed to be leaving as well. Even Beo began to head out towards the front doors. "I think I'll go for a run now. Get some energy out and give you time to think, Anise. Thank you for finding us the answer though!"

Danton simply flew away up through the ceiling, off to whatever he planned on doing. Cassius stretched and groaned as he got off the couch. He shot a flirtatious wink at me. "I will see you later, My Angel. I can't have my Ani fall in love with me with a stressful mind. Get some rest and dream of me, yeah?"

Now, it was only me and Zamuel. He turned towards me and took a deep breath. "That was certainly. . . something. How are you holding up, Anise?"

I shrugged and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, pretending that all of this didn't freak me out as much as it did. "I'm fine. I just need some time to process all of this. I. . . I've never been on a date before. This is all so nerve racking."

Zam took my hand and bowed. "Not to worry. I have promised that I will protect you as much as I can and I intend to keep my promise. You should rest in your room. Take a nap, bathe, anything that will help you feel refreshed and calm. Your safety and well-being is significantly more important than the matters of this curse. Take care of yourself."

He gave the top of my hand a gentle kiss before letting it go. He began to walk away to return to whatever responsibilities that he had as a butler of this mansion. I took everyone's advice and headed to my room to rest. As I lied in bed, my mind spun.

I know that Zamuel said he wasn't participating, but I couldn't help but he accidentally was with how gentlemanly and suave he was acting. The thought was pushed away as I tried to focus on falling asleep.