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5__A night in Geminor

The warm vintage room was silent as all eyes focused on Maia. She stood stiffly against the wall, barely daring to breathe as the women studied her.

“Well, at least her clothes cover the no-no parts. That’s your type, Rogue?” said a sultry voice, thick with laughter and interest.

“Shut up, Claudia,” muttered Rogan, glancing at the woman.

Claudia laughed, twirling one of her short golden ringlets around a finger. “She’s beautiful. What’s your name, darling?”

Maia’s gaze rose to meet the golden-haired woman’s. Nervously, she glanced around at all three of the other woman. She didn’t know who they were. Why would he bring her here? Did he live here?

“Her name’s Maia,” said Cecile when Maia didn’t respond.

The words made Maia look at Cecile in surprise. “Do… do you know me?”

“Yeah, do you know her?” asked Cassie, studying Maia with interest. “I can’t believe she flipped Rogan in the air. With those tiny hands!”

Rogan’s head reared up. “She…?! She didn’t flip me in the air!” he denied furiously.

Clover leaned over toward Cleo, who sat as silently as she always did, her short black hair a sleek, straight bob around her head. “She did, Cleo,” whispered Clover. “She really flipped him, Cassie said he saw stars.”

Rogan stood, hooking a finger at Clover. “Come here.”

“Cassie!”

“Leave the kid alone,” Cassidy scolded. “That’s not important right now.” She glanced back at Maia who was watching them like they were all creatures from another world. Maia herself was the one who looked outlandish. Cassie studied her skimpy outfit, a short pointy-hemmed skirt paired with a cloth tied over her chest and around her neck. Her body was shapely, feminine, but still properly covered by the scrap of clothes. She had a head of untamed black curls and an innocent face, dominated by large grey eyes that stared at them with caution.

“What’s important,” said Cassie. “Is why she’s here.”

Rogan nodded. “Right. Make her a bed, she’s staying here.”

The women blinked at him.

Cecile glanced at Maia. “I don’t think she wants to.”

Rogan waved it away. “That doesn’t matter. She asked me to take her with me, so I’ve decided she’s going to stay here.”

You’ve decided?” Cassie demanded. “Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem helping her, but you can’t just make decisions for our Hostel without asking us.”

“Yeah!” agreed Clover, chewing on a long sour gummy stick.

Cleo rubbed her temples. “Calm down, guys.”

“It was short notice, Cassidy,” said Rogan. He looked at her with injury in his eyes. “What? You won’t do me this favour? After all the years I spent keeping Aiden out of The Hostel? You know how many times he wanted to tear this house down to kill the rumours of this being a brothel? You owe me.”

Claudia clicked her tongue. “Look at you, playing dirty, Rogue. Vampires sure are crafty.”

Rogan flashed her a sharp-fanged smile. “And I’m only half.”

Claudia looked at Maia. “Darling, this place is known to be a Brothel, the most immoral place in all of Geminor and all of us here are called whores, with me being the chief whore. Will you be okay with that?”

“Don’t tell her that!” Cassidy snapped, giving Claudia a look.

“It’s the truth,” muttered Cleo, her green eyes bright with anger. “That’s what they think of us.”

Unfazed by the tension around her, Clover hopped forward, her rainbow pigtails bouncing as she did so. “Hi!” she greeted Maia. “I’m Clover. I’m a hundred-and-seventeen! How old are you?”

Maia took in the girl before her with slight puzzlement. She was very bizarre with her hair a stream of multiple colours, her bright orange onesie and the unicorn horn headband over her head. Maia had never seen someone who looked like her.

She was indeed a strange one, but Maia looked into Clover’s eyes and saw nothing but warm friendliness there.

Clover raised her brows and leaned forward. “Well? How old are you?”

Maia thought to herself for a moment. “Uh… I lived in the forest for ten winters without my Nana. I lived there for fifteen winters with her when she was alive.”

Cassie blinked. “No way.”

“She’s only twenty-five?” Cecile said.

Rogan eyed Maia. “Impossible. Her strength indicates an age well over two-hundred. It could be that she doesn’t know how to count.”

“I do!” denied Maia. “Nana taught me! I can count and read and write as a young lady should.”

Rogan gave her a look. “Young lady? I think your outfit and tendency of skulking around forests with bow and arrow eliminates you from the category of ladies, Rag-skins.”

Clover crossed her arms defensively. “Why do you call her that?”

“Because I can,” said Rogan, striding past them, having had enough for one day. He glanced at Maia. “Behave and do everything they tell you, understand?”

“Yes, okay.”

“Stay hidden and don’t cause trouble.”

Maia nodded, her eyes full of uncertainty. Was he leaving her? “Yes, o-okay.”

Rogan turned to head out just as Claudia hopped off her high chair. “Come, Maia! Let me dress you up and teach you how to get a man!”

“Yes, oka—”

“Hey!” Rogan spun around, pulling Maia back as he glared at Claudia. “Claudia, no! Do you have to corrupt everything that breathes? And you!” He looked at Maia. “Why’re you saying ‘yes, okay’ to every damn thing? Don’t you have a brain?”

Maia frowned, pouting in annoyance. “Y-you told me to do everyth—”

“Not that!” snapped Rogan.

Clover barged in-between them, shielding Maia and glaring up at Rogan with as much menace as a baby unicorn could muster. “Hey, leave her alone, you big bully!”

Releasing a heavy breath in exasperation, Rogan only mildly touched his glasses and Clover dove for cover, frightened just by the thought of seeing his eyes.

“Don’t provoke him, Clove,” Cassie warned, wearily resting her chin in her hand.

“It’s a damn crèche,” muttered Cleo to herself as she watched their antics.

Maia looked at Rogan, the situation confusing her. “Wait… you’re staying here too, right?”

“No,” he informed her firmly. “I have a house. You’re staying here.”

Maia looked stunned. “Th-that wasn’t the deal! You’re supposed to take me with you!”

“That’s what I did. Took you with me to bring you here, now you can stay here until you get my damn plant. Those Avatars should forget about you by then so you can return to wandering through your forest.”

“No!” Maia shook her head. “I can’t stay where you aren’t! I need you!”

Rogan blinked, taken aback. “Hey! Watch your words. Did your Nana teach you to say such things to a grown man?”

“Not bad, good strategy,” Claudia praised.

Cecile sighed, waving away all their fuss. “Okay, wait…” she said, standing with hands on hips. “You said Maia would help you acquire the ingredients for the spell to break the strange curse upon you, right?”

Rogan cautiously nodded. “Right.” Where was Cecile going with this?

She looked at him, raising a brow. “Breaking the curse, which is something, you told us, Aiden does not want you to do.”

Rogan tensed.

Cassie clicked her tongue, once again disgusted by something their king had done. “Aiden’s really heartless, he claims to be your closest friend and yet he disapproves of your attempts to break a curse that imprisons you! Why’s he so selfish?!”

Clover and Cleo both winced at her raised voice.

Rogan shook his head. “Look, Aiden has his reasons for feeling that way.” He looked at them as they judged Aiden and remembered once more that these women didn’t know the full effects of Rogan’s curse.

The reason why Aiden hated Rogan going about the Kingdom looking for ways to break the curse Ursula had placed on him was because Aiden knew.

Once Ursula’s spell was broken Rogan would most likely die. He was practically dead inside, Ursula’s spell was all that kept him alive. If he freed himself from it, he freed himself from living.

“Well, fact remains,” continued Cecile. “That King Aiden doesn’t know that you have brought Maia into our Kingdom, neither does he know what she’s doing here. If he comes in here… if he finds her...”

Rogan pondered for a moment, the women silently watching him.

“No…” Rogan shook his head. “Aiden would never come here. He’d never step into the Hostel, it’s not up to his standard.”

“Hey!” Cassie growled, offended.

“You never know,” said Cecile. “He very well could and if he found her, he’d know you were still trying to break that curse that he, for some reason, is adamant to not let you break.”

He thought her words over, but Rogan found no loop-hole. Aiden really was obsessive about Rogan not dying. It made Rogan wonder if the man really did love him that much or if he was just a control freak.

Either way, Rogan couldn’t take a chance. He’d been waiting for the person Aiden said would help him find all those plants for the past ten years now. It was obvious Aiden had no intention of actually letting Rogan get into contact with that mystery person. If he heard about Maia…

Rogan bit his bottom lip, bothered by it.

“Take her with you,” came the sudden suggestion.

Rogan’s gaze turned on Claudia. “You insane?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Insane enough to suggest to a man I want for myself to take such a sexy creature into his home. I’m right off my head.”

Rogan gave her a look and then gave Maia a look before turning back to Claudia. “You’re seriously out of your mind if you think any part of that sentence makes sense.”

Cecile sighed. “What are you gonna do?”

Rogan hissed in annoyance, storming past them and grabbing Maia by the wrist as he left. “Do I have any fucking choice?”

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