Chapter 6
Steve took off his glasses and wiped them before putting them back on. Rose anxiously looked at him wondering whether she should tell him about the secret she held dear to herself for years. It killed her even more that she would never confess it to Whitney but Steve felt right.
Whitney sat on Rose's bed reading a pink book labeled MY POEMS. Rose froze in her steps and her mouth fell agape. Whitney smiled at a page and Rose snatched the book away from her. She quickly shoved it into a drawer and kept her stiff back turned to Whitney.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know that it was private. It's just that I didn't know that you write poetry." Whitney uneasily expressed her regret.
"Never mind," Rose quickly dismissed and tucked her lips.
"They are really good and they all appeared to be about a girl."
Rose nervously turned to face Whitney. She quickly dropped her gaze and locked her fingers together. "Yes they were."
"Rose, are you a lesbian?" Whitney's question was like a thousand bricks dropping on Rose's head.
Rose vigorously shook her head. "I like boys." She said and uncomfortably tucked her hair behind her ear. At least it was half the truth. She was bisexual.
"Who is this girl you were writing about?" Whitney probed, concerned.
"Forget about it Whitney. I only write about random things. That girl doesn't exist." Rose waved her hand dismissively. That was a total and complete lie. The girl was real, and she was staring back at her with the cutest furrow.
"I should be heading back to my office now." Steve said and got up.
He left his mug on the table and Rose frowned at it. She was feeling both relieved and disappointed that she didn't get to open up to him. Rose stood up and went out after Steve. She joined him and the others staring at a shabby cowboy.
He was none other than Danny.
Danny walked in pompously like he owned the building. His rude tone towards Mr Martin's secretary appalled Rose. She nervously got up and led him into his office. Rose crossed her arms puzzled and dropped her brows.
"Who do you think that is?" Rose asked Steve.
"I have no idea." Steve quickly answered but Rose studied the distant look on his face.
She averted her eyes away suspicious and kept them fixed on Mr Martin's glass office. Moments later, Steve and Rose watched Mr Martin get out of his office with Danny. They shook hands professionally and parted ways.
Danny sprayed daggers at everyone who dared to lock eyes with him. His stern eyes met Steve's and the two locked eyes. Steve and Danny glared coldly at each other. Rose couldn't believe the suffocating tension the two were emanating.
She stretched her eyes at Danny who suddenly relaxed his face into a smirk. He faced away and made his way out.
Do they know each other and if so, why did Steve say that he didn't know him? Rose wondered to herself as she eyed Steve confused.
****
In a huge room laid a Whitney. She was sleeping soundly in a crystal bed. Covering her body was a cream white sparkly soft fabric. She slowly opened her eyes to the chandelier twinkling above.
Whitney held her pounding head and swallowed at her dry throat. She slowly sat up with a moan and was immediately surprised with the room.
It was tiled in white and had big windows enveloped in lavender curtains dancing in the wind. A pleasant fresh rose smell filled the air. She spotted a closed door at the far end to the left and beside it was a dressing table. There was a two sitter couch near a window.
She set her naked foot onto the cold floor and shuddered slightly at it. Fixing her other foot to the floor, she made her way to the window. She pulled the curtains open only to be horrified by the sight of numerous dragons flying around outside.
Whitney immediately closed the curtains and backed away from the window in fright. She always heard folk stories about dragons but never in her life had she actually seen one. Now she had just seen more than a couple dozen in different types and colors.
After a long debate in her head, she gathered the courage to go back to the window. The sky was blue with lavender clouds. The land was green with beautiful flowers gracing the well-kept lawn. Weird looking birds sat on the trees and chirped happily.
"I can see that you are finally awake." a voice suddenly sounded in the shadows of the room and startled her.
Walking out of the shadows was Sharaina. She wore a diamond encrusted crown on her head. Hugging her curvy body was a long dark green dress that had a long slit exposing her leg. Hanging loose on her shoulders was a purple cape. Her golden hair flowed all the way down to her waist.
"Welcome to Dark Star, Whitney." Sharaina said with a grin.
Whitney slowly turned her gaze back to the window again and the memory of the deal came back to her. "How long have I been asleep?" she asked without taking her eyes off the window.
Whitney saw little children grooming the dragons that weren't flying. They were laughing and giggling at the beasts as they stroked their fins. Whitney likened the scene to little children playing with dogs. Looking at them gave her the impression that the dragons in Dark Star were friendly.
Sharaina sat on the crystal bed and crossed her legs with a coy smile. "For three weeks." she answered and Whitney abruptly turned to her surprised. "You seem taken aback, why so?"
"Three weeks is a long time to sleep you know." Whitney stressed to which Sharaina chuckled at.
"I suppose you are right." Sharaina remarked. "You must be hungry."
Whitney rubbed on her stomach, "In deed I am."
Sharaina got off the bed, "You shall join me for lunch but you will have to change your clothes first."
Whitney looked down at herself and realized for the first time that she was only in a see through nightdress and a pantie.
"I had servants prepare clothes for you." Sharaina assured with a warm smile, "Wadose, come in here at once!" she suddenly raised her voice.
"I am in, my queen." a frail voice replied.
Whitney threw her hands back in surprise at the odd looking creature bowing down to Sharaina. His scaly body was dark green and on his head stood two orange pointy horns. His fingers had claws and sticking out behind him were his three long tails. He wore a tiny black jacket and top hat. The oddest thing about him were his glasses because he possessed no eyes.
Seeing the creature bowing down to Sharaina, Whitney realized that Sharaina was indeed a queen. She wasn't wearing the crown just for show. Whitney watched on agape as she wondered how much more she didn't know about the beautiful woman before her.
"Be a dear and help Whitney get into... " Sharaina's eyes trailed Whitney from head to toe. "more appropriate clothing. Thereafter, bring her downstairs for lunch."
"As you wish, your highness." Wadose respectfully said.
"Oh and Whitney," Queen Sharaina turned to her again, "Only Wadose and I know about you and how you came to be here. Keep it that way." she winked and left.
Wadose rose up to his bare long and wide feet, "Come on now, we need not keep her highness waiting." he said to her in a stern tone.
Wadose and Whitney walked up a flight of stairs for several minutes. The stairs appeared to be endless and it was as though time stood still. To her surprise, however, Whitney did not get tired. Her heart beat was as relaxed as it was when she slept. She didn't even break a sweat.
Wadose stopped at a floor and Whitney silently followed him down a hall until they came to a closed door. Wadose quickly unlocked the door and ushered Whitney into a room of beautiful dresses. Whitney looked at everything in awe. The walls were pink and decorated with beautiful colorful paintings.
Whitney didn't have enough time to view the dresses because Wadose slapped one to her chest. Whitney locked her jaw irritated at the sudden intrusion of personal space. She received a blank look in return, and Wadose turned away to pick up a pair of red high-heeled. Whitney rolled her eyes at him and held the dress high to check it out.
It was a sleeveless long and puffy dress with several layers.
"Do you have a dress with fewer or no layers at all?" Whitney expressed her dislike with a brow up.
Wadose jumped back appalled, "Her highness picked this dress specifically for you. You will wear it." he harshly responded.
Whitney sighed and went behind a cover where she changed her clothes. She stepped out and Wadose helped her fastened the belts behind. Wadose stepped back to examine his work and nodded his head in satisfaction. He picked up a brush and forced Whitney on a chair.
"Um, Wadose, right?" Whitney asked but got no response. The rude silence, however, did not discourage her to go on, "Are you a darkas god too? I mean, you look nothing like what I thought a darkas god was." she asked.
Wadose ignored her question but instead picked up a ruby encrusted box. He pulled out a pair of earrings to which Whitney shook her head.
"I am not pierced." she stated with her hand up.
Wadose put them back and picked up a pearl necklace instead. He gave it to Whitney and she silently wore it.
"Why aren't you answering any of my questions?" Whitney asked him, irritated.
Wadose ignored her and pulled a full length mirror to her. Seeing herself wiped out the frustration that was bubbling up inside. Whitney stroked her long hair in disbelief. No longer was it dark and curly but maroon and straight.
Whitney stared into her eyes that were not light brown but pink. She stroked her hair again and took notice of the huge dragon tattoo on her right hand. It was wrapped around her arm and went all the way down to her wrist.
She then began to assess the whole situation properly. Sharaina really did turn her into a darkas god. She thought back to the night they made the pact. Sharaina's fangs in the moonlight flashed before her eyes, and she opened her mouth to see.
Nothing changed. No fangs. No nothing.
"I guess I really I'm a darkas god now and Sharaina owns my soul." she whispered to herself.
****
Wadose escorted Whitney down to the dining room. It was a white big room with a white ceiling with decorative golden scribbles. At the center was a fourteen seater table filled with food of all sorts.
Most of the food looked no different to Earth's food. Whitney heaved a sigh of relief at that. At least the cuisine of Dark Star wasn't going to be a huge scare like she expected.
Sharaina sat alone at the chair on one end. She was drinking red wine out of a bottle—leaning back dizzily and chuckling to herself. Whitney observed her pink puffy cheeks and mischievous grin. Sharaina set her hazy gaze on Whitney and nodded her head in satisfaction.
"That dress looks lovely on you." she complimented with her bottle up in a toast. "Come on, sit down," she shook her shoulders in a jiggle with a chuckle. "Loosen up a little."
Whitney sat down at the other end and listened to Sharaina singing a drunken tune. Sharaina's eyes were partially closed while a maid served her food. Whitney shifted her gaze back to the food and caught sight of a large roasted bird stuffed with vegetables. To her left were fries and beside them were ribs glazed in a sweet smelling gravy.
"This food is high in calories. I don't think I'll be comfortable eating it." Whitney voiced out her thoughts.
"Watching your figure, sweetheart?" Sharaina replied, the sarcasm in her voice was thick.
"I don't want to get out of shape." Whitney defensively responded to which Sharaina laughed.
"You are a darkas god now. That body you have will never lose or gain weight no matter how much you eat or starve yourself."
Whitney gasped, "You mean to tell me that I can eat all this and not gain weight?"
Sharaina dizzily nodded her head. "Yes and if you are careful, you will not age either. Look at me," she pointed at herself. "I am over 2000 years old."
Sharaina tried to down another long gulp of her wine but only a drop hit her tongue. She frowned at the bottle and grunted in frustration. Sharaina whined and folded her arms with a pout.
Whitney stared at her surprised. Not because she was a drunk but because she was over 2000 years, but she looked not a day older than 30. Being a darkas god wasn't going to be so bad after all.
"Wait, did you say in order not to age I have to be careful?" Whitney asked.
Sharaina lazily twirled her finger around. "Not careful per se. Just make sure you get all you need and by all you need, I mean... feeding on vampires." Sharaina explained and stuffed a fork into her mouth.
Whitney's face darkened at the mention of vampires to which Sharaina took notice. Whitney faced down and gritted her teeth at the memory of Steve's betrayal. She ignored Sharaina staggering at her. Sharaina set her palm on the table and fixed her other hand on Whitney's chair.
She lowered her head, and in the softest of voices she said, "Now, now sweetheart. I know how you feel about vampires." Sharaina straightened her back. "Which is why I am going to do this right now!"
Sharaina pulled Whitney's chair so hard that it smashed it through the window while she was still on it. Whitney screamed at the sound of the glass shattering around her. She fell hard to the ground with a thud.
