Written by **EYRAM**
In the house, oh so huge Serena found herself with no-one but this little girl who probably had inner demons -in a literal sense- and Serena was just lonely, she had not been in school for a while and did not know what the reaction would be if she actually went but that was when she received a call from Lance
"hello" he said upon pick up
"Hi", she lazily said back to him, a bit tired which was fair, considering everything she'd been through
"When are you coming back to school, or this has something to do with the Jamien case, if you need any help at all, emotionally or financially I'll be there"
"It has nothing to do with that, well on second thought in a certain way it does have something to do with that, I decided to drop out of school"
"You can't tell me you're scared of him, if you are, then I'm certainly more than capable of protecting you"
"We both know that's not the case, I just wanted to start my own business, feeling school was a waste of time, and the whole drama with Jamien was the last straw, this thought slipped my mind since, the day, my mom died…" she felt a pang in her chest once again, unable to get over the loss.
"Okay, so you're at home" he said after a while of awkward silence.
"Yeah, and it's a long story but I'm alone with a little girl who won't wake up, I am freaking out and I'm very lonely"
"Chill out, do you want me there"
"You don't have to ditch school for me"
"Who doesn't want to ditch school I just need an excuse for my mom"
"The same one who kidnapped me"
"Yes, and she wants me to get close to you, enough to bring you in to her, but we both know I won't do that"
"I'm not at a position to trust anyone, but come either way, you do biomedical science, right?"
"So, it's a strictly professional encounter, come here and examine the girl, fast"
"Okay, which car do you loke better, a Bugatti or a Ferrari"
"Just get her with the one closest to you, and there is no staff in the building so don't expect to be given a tour, food, or even water, you'll have to bring that along or take one yourself, I am not a hospitality agent nor your wife"
"You say that like I am suggesting it, do you want to be my wife"
"Don't overestimate yourself dude, I'm way out of your league"
"Oh really"
"I hate the direction this conversation is going just come here fast, and all we have is a first aid kit, and there is also an indoor hospital room, probably with everything you might need but bring materials, in case we're out of stuff but for tools, I'm sure we have everything"
Not too long after a blue Bugatti parked outside their home, and Lance walked out of it, his hair hand combed, and a bit messy like usual, his shirt only tucked in on one side and his upper button opened, but this time he looked completely alluring, much more matured and his smart casual aesthetic was winning her over.
Soon he was in the hall, then like it was an emergency they both very quickly made their way to the room that resembled a hospital room, Serena lay the girl on the stretcher and when Lance opened the little girls eyes they were an unusual shade of purple, just like her tail and scales, soon he found out she was fine and just over exerted, but put her on a vitamin drip and gave her a diet because there were many vitamins she lacked, and was not eating a balance diet. After he gave her this information Serena responded
"This is obvious, like what else did you think I was expecting from this girl I picked up in the forest there aren't many healthy options out there."
Then he was silent, just staring at her and she found herself lost in his enchanting green eyes but being first to get out of her daze Serena said
"Um, lance don't you have to go back to school"
"No, even if I don't attend that class, I'd easily pass not only my SAT but many other qualification exams" he said inching closer to her.
"Lance, don't get any ideas or you're out of my life"
"Ideas like what, I was just picking up the bandages" then she moved out of the way and behind her were bandages but she knew he did that on purpose, next she said to him
"Don't you ever get tired of teasing me"
"No, your shocked and angry expressions are hilarious" she just gasped and said,
"If this is how you treat the person you allegedly "love" then I feel sorry for your enemies"
"Well lucky them, I don't have enemies"
"Oh, including Caspian"
"He's an exception since, he hurt you he's your enemy, and your enemies are my enemies" he said so courageously
"Okay I have made my decision and you're much better off in school Sophia needs you more than me and I don't need a jealous sister throwing her claws at me this early in the morning, I'll rater be lonely thank you"
"Okay, I'll go just let me…" without finishing his sentence he placed his hands in her hair and ruffled it up
"Lance!" she screamed, then a loud sound entered their ears, it was coming from the basement and the fear from the mirror image, what it did to her father's hand fresh in her memory, but on the other side of the mirror Seraphina in her animal hide fit from the other night walked out the house like she was a boss, not even sparing Lance a second glace but for Serena on the other hand her hoodie was lit, literally.
While Seraphina left the premises Serena had to take off her hoodie and try to put the fire out, but the fine Gucci sweater was ruined and all she wore underneath them was a sports bra that revealed a nice cleave and a good portion of her stomach.
While she lamented over the actions of her sister, beet red, Lance was shyly looking at her, intensely not shaking off his gaze, and as soon as she realized it, she ushered Lance straight to the door, like seriously there was no guy who would just be comfortable in the friend zone around her.
But after he left, she could only dwell on how coldly Seraphina had become, how things ended up like this and wondered if maybe, she had been clearer with Lance, rejected Caspian, among other things, they would not be so far apart but soon the little girl woke up, and the first thing she did was wail as loud as she could, the sound reverberating across the halls.
She stood up and made her way to the room, and the little girl had removed the IV, she was bleeding profusely, Seraphina took out the first aid kit and this time she properly disinfected the wound and bandaged it rather professionally, and soon the little girl settled down. She asked as lucidly as possible
"Hi little girl, what's your name?" Then the girl began to eye her critically, and asked
"Is there something wrong with your brain, do you have amnesia?" she asked so bluntly and at that moment Serena wanted to retaliate, but considering she was just a little girl Seraphina decided to let the matter rest, for now at least.
"I'm sorry, but I don't have either condition, now I'm going to aske you again, what is your name?"
"I'm Princess Heather Peyton, the Manticore of the wind, the Princess of Peyton" she said, like it was a matter-of-fact, and common knowledge everyone should know. Exactly what she needed, a delusional little girl probably living in her imagination.
"Heather, that is such a nice name, who are your parents?"
"OMG, mom and dad, with all of Peyton would declare war on your kingdom, as kidnapping a princess is a clear act of war, or something like that, I'm not really good at royal duties, I'm eighth in line for the throne, so I might not really need it.
"Act of war, that is the last thing I need right now…" before she could finish her statement loud knocking on the door interrupted her.
"I'll go check it out" she said, her voice overshadowed by the knocks, but before she could even get to the door it was broken and police officers walked in and said, the very same cliché.
"You are under arrest for breaking out of jail, assault and violence, you reserve the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law, you have right to a lawyer and if you do not have one, one would be provided to you by the state" while cuffing her, and handling her like she was some national, no international threat, and all that ran through her mind was
*I'd go to war ten times over to avoid this*
…
In the mansion, Jack was expecting the sound to stop but then realized it was recorded, over hundreds of years of diss comments in there even if it was set to repeat it would take a while for him to be able to predict what's next and moreover Elaine was on the watch and since she was a dhampir she could decide to sleep at day or night or none, meaning she was on surveillance 24/7 and was probably adding more diss comments to her collection every time she saw his face.
Long story short he'd have wait a little longer, because his first plan for a quick easy escape was totally ruined, and he did not know, out there somewhere his daughter was going to be sent to an unfair court and had no-one to help her, except for Lance.