I woke up early the next morning, when everyone was still asleep. I was still trapped here at Ana's though. Like a prisoner. I was always being watched constently like a newborn baby that could hurt itself easily. It was annoying. But Mat seemed to be curbing my attitude. He had to be using magic on me. No one could or ever had the ability to do that to me other then Lelouch. But with Lelouch it was at my will. Mat was doing it against my will. Or was he just making me soft with him around? I thought about Lelouch, and how Mat had wonded him. I hoped he was all right. I may of been captured, and had lingering feelings for Mat, but I belonged with Lelouch. I sat up and streched. I still had my tail. No legs for me today apparently. I had to get out of here. I was getting soft in this cursed world of light. Didn't want that. I belonged in the world of shadows...with Lelouch. I got up quitly and swam into the living room. Mat was proped up on the couch asleep. I didn't see Aoi though. Mat looked a little bit like a baby when he was sleeping. Just give him wings and a angel halo and you'd have a baby angel. I wondered, if Mat was gaining the ability to read peoples thought, if he could read them while he or his target was sleeping. It didn't matter. He'd never get to read mine if he could. I was going back to my Lulu. I turned and swam away from Ana's grotto. I emerged at the surface and went up to the sand, and sat. I'd probably be here for a while waiting for my tail to dry, so I'd revert back to a human. I layed back on the sand to wait. I had always been an impatient child, and as I grew I still stayed that way. The coll October breeze was blowing so it helped dry my tail faster. Once my legs were back, and I was human again, I started walking away from teh beach (in the same oufit as yesterday, as that was what I was wearing when I became a mermaid yesterday). I knew where the abandoned Opera House was so I knew wher to go. The streets were empty. Everyone still in bed. I walked up the stairs and into the Opera House. I'm coming Lulu. Was the only thought in my mind. I realied then I didn't know my way or where any of the secret passage ways were. I was stuck. I did my best not to cut myself or hurt myself on the glass of the broken chandeler as I walked up to the stage. I walked onto the aged stage where the Opera's of the past were once perfomred. There was a piano there, though I wasn't sure how it got there. I guess Lelouch placed it there. This Opera House, unlike Jareth's, was abandoned and it was Lelouch's home, so he did what he pleased with it. I did my best, again, not to hurt myself on the glass from the chandaler, as I walked torwards the piano. It was a little dusty, but otherwise fine. I could feel no signs of Lelouch anywhere near by. "I wonder.."I said. I sat at the piano, and placed my fingers on the keys to play Bella's Lullaby from twilight. Lelouch was bound to hear the piano without a doubt. If he was anywhere near or in a passage he would hear the tune, and know it was me (he could always tell when it was me). I went through the tune in my mind before I actually played it. I hit the first key and the note echoed beautifuly though the dark black and gray lit room. I started through the little peaceful lullaby. I had never actually played the piano so I really had no idea what I was doing, but somehow I was sitting here playing this tune.
I felt a presence behind me at the door to the no longer Musical home. I didn't really pay attention to it though. If they had come here to hear music then they were in the right place in some ways. But Lelouch didn't like people entering his home. It took me a minute to recognize who the person at the entrense to the door behind me was though. It was Mat! He'd found me. I guess he woke up and was looking for me. Must of heard the tune playing. I didn't make any sudden moves. He'd run after me the second I did. I sat still and acted like I hadn't even noticed him there. He was listening to my little lullaby. Maybe he was just watching me and was ready to grab me if Lelouch should show up. Very softly I heard a voice speak to me. One that was almost tearful. Lelouch's voice. He was the only person it could of been. It sounded so much like him. "Sing with me once again our strange duet. My power over you grows stronger yet, and though you'd turn from me the Phantom of the Opera is there...inside your mind." He said. I smiled, and Mat had noticed it. Right then I think he caught on to what I was trying to do: get back to my Lelouch. He ran forward and at the sound of his feet running I jerked around acting like I'd finally noticed him though I'd seen him the whole time. What frightened me was that he gave a giant leap and jumped over the broken chandalear and onto the stage. I fell back of the seat of the piano and onto the stage. Lelouch jumped down from the banesters. Mat grabbed me up right then as I tried to reach out for Lelouch, and bolted. Jumping over the chandaler pices, with me in his arms, and ran out the door. As we ran I noticed Lelouch had bandaged his wound, and he still seemed weak from the wound. "NO, LULU!" I cried. "LET ME GO! LET ME GO! LULU!" I yelled trying to beat the s**t out of Mat.
He ignored me at first but then he laughed and said. "I'll give you credit. Your persistent, but that's not going to be enough for you without a real stratagy." I pounded my fist into his back as he carried me. Kicking him in the stomach as a bonus. "So I take it you've gone back to your stubborn, and rude self." "Right now I really hate the fact that your really fast." I said. He laughed. "You don't really think I'm letting you go that easily. You don't need darkness. Besides your very fragile and weak so that just makes it easier for me to catch you." He said. I took offense to that. How rude could he get. "You, sir, do not play fair." I said finally giving up on trying to kick his a**. He was to strong. Ok he was right. I was weak and fragile. "I wouldn't have it any other way." He said. I was board so to occupy my time I closed my eyes and tried to picture myself back in Lelouch's arms. When I next opened my eyes it was around noon. I couldn't remember falling asleep though. I was laying on the couch in the living room, and there was a blanket over top of me to keep me warm. The one Mat had on top of him while he was sleeping this morning. I blushed. He was sitting playing the wii. Super Smash Bros. Brawl again. "Finally decide to wake up." He said. Wait! He hadn't even looked at me how did he know I had woken up? Aoi was playing with him. "IS SHE UP!" Ana called from the kitchen and then appearing. She rushed up to me, and Mat turned to look. "I HOPE YOU NOW HOW WORRIED WE WERE WHEN WE WOKE UP AND YOU WERE GONE!" She scolded me. god she was worse then my dad. I just stared at her with a board and straght face. "DON'T YOU DARE THINK IT'S FUNNY! IT'S NOT! WE WERE FRANTIC WITH WORRY!" "Your not my..." I stopped. I never said that one word: mom. I didn't like using it. I didn't have a mom so I avoided using the word. I think they noticed my sudden stop. I had always thought about her. But...I'd never mentioned her verbally to anyone. Mat and Ana had noticed that I was always mentioning my dad...but that my mom had never come up at all. They also noticed my attachment to my music box which had been my moms. I think they knew why I never mentioned her, and they proabably wanted to ask but they never did fearing something about it. Proably not wanting to hurt my feelings mentioning her.
"Your not my dad...or my guardian." I said bitterly. She dropped the subjet I think she knew it was not best to talk about parenting expecially when my mom would of come up, and then I would be hurt. They knew something must of happened to my mom but they didn't know what. I don't think they were willing to ask either. "So who's hungry." Aoi said trying to lighten up the atmosphere. "Yeah I'm a little hungry myself." Mat said going along with what Aoi was saying. Me and Ana kinda just sat there not sure of anything. I layed back down, and pulled the cover over my head, and weeped quitly. "I'm not hungry." I said without trying to give away I was upset. They left me alone. "You shouldn't of done that." Mat said. "Now she's all upset." Damn! Even when I did my best I couldn't hide anything from him. I needed to brush up on my stupid acting skills. The next day when I woke up it was a little strange. Mat was up already, and I was anxious to see him. What was with me these past few days? It was like every time I was around him (mat) I would be violent, or rude, but then I felt bad about it. And I kept getting this warm feeling around him. Kinda like I did with Lelouch, but it felt stronger. And even when I was angry or upset, the minute I saw him, a snesation of peace swept over me. It was like he was making my anger go away. he wasn't ever rude to me, but I was to him. And only because he snatched me away from Lelouch, and he was of the gender I had diffuclety trusting. There might of been another reason though. The phrase "hard to get" and "tough love" came to mind. Maybe I did like him. But my loyalty, and love for Lelouch was greater. Or was it? Maybe I was just playing "hard to get" with Mat, and didn't realize it yet.
I got out of the bed, and got my things to go take a bath. As I undressed I kept thinking about Mat. I felt a slight blush as I did. Sitting in the hot water I thought, he is cute. I only blushed more. He wasn't violent toward me, but Lelouch ahd only him me once, and I did diserve it because I did take his mask, and you should never do that (others would tell me though that it was never ok to hit a girl though). Mat, and Lelouch were both sweet. But Mat didn't fill me with horror. Lelouch did, but yet I didn't hate him. But Mat...he was always running around on some adventure, leaving me alone...and defenselss just like Lelouch said. And he had Aoi with. Were there romantic feelings going on between them? If I left Lelouch for Mat...would Mat hurt me by going to Aoi? What would I do if he did. Would I turn to the dark again, and got to Lelouch again? Or would I go back home to Alantica and be misrable? Or possibly ending the pain (hint here people. Not hard to understand what I meant by that). I wondered if Mat could hear my thoughts (if he could with that supposed mind reading thing). I tried to stop thinking about the subject all together so I wouldn't have to put up with him possibly knowing. When I was finished bathing I dried and then dressed quitly, as not to wake Ana or the twin eels (still can't figure out which is which). I brushed through my wet hair and then went downstairs, to find Mat in the kitchen eatting his breakfast. I think he liked my hair wet too. It had a silky look to it when it was wet (it's still silver). I wasn't really wearing anything to dressy today. Just a blue skirt, and purple blouse, with some knee high boots of silver. Dangaling from my ears were some earrings shaped like the crescent moon. Ok so it was a little dressy (kiss my a**).
I sat at the table and just layed my head down. "Aren't you hungry?" Mat asked. I glared at him. "No." I said. "You look like it." He said. "Oh, what would you know!?" I said sharply. "Still the stubborn mermaid. I thought you had softend up some." He said. "You judge to quick. You should never judge a book by it's covor." I said. "And you should know that I won't stop till the bubbly mermaid emerges again." He said. "What bubbly mermaid?" I still didn't get where he was getting that from. "I know she's still in there," He said with a smile. "She's just to hurt to let herself out again. She thinks if she's that mermaid she'll just keep getting hurt. She's afraid of getting hurt again." I gave him my infamaus board and straght face. He laughed at me. I would of slapt him but as my hands twitched I got that feeling of feeling bad if I did. I layed my head back down and waited for him to finished his food. "Aren't you cold in that skirt." He asked me. It was a little cool. Not to bad though. It felt kinda nice. "No." I said. "Where are you dragging me today?" I asked. I felt like a prisoner for sure. I was now being watched even more heavily now after my stunt of going to the abandoned Opera House to find my Lelouch. This was pure torture. "We're going....well I guess you can call it somewhere magical in ways." He said. "Oh...joy..." I said in a sarcastic voice. "You'll perk up once we get there and you see it." He said. "We'll see." I said. He lead the way and then we came to a small flat path leading into the woods. "More hicking." I moaned. "You'll see." He asured me. I tierd out quickly. Did this idiot (no offense) not realize I wasn't athletic or built to do this kind of thing? I finally fell to the ground, feeling like I was going to barf. As I layed on the ground and moaned he walked up to me. "Tierd." He said. I gave him a death glare. "I swear you have to be the most unathletic person I have ever seen." He said, picking me off my feet. "I'm a princess. We're not built to be athletic. we just sit around and watch our men go off to war and see them die. And you are the most annoying athletic person I've ever seen." I said. "And cute." I added under my breath. "What did you say?" He asked. There was a tone in his voice. Had he heard me? "Nothing!" I snapped.When we got deep enough into the woods I could hear the sound of a waterfall, and I was reminded of the gardens behind the opera house. The magical waterfall. I'd love to take a dip in that water with Lelouch. I forgot that Mat was carrying a basket with food in it, don't know why. He finally sat the basket down and me down as the sound of the waterfall reached it's loudest. "We're here." He said. I looked behind me and there was the waterfall I had heard in the distance. It was summer time here. And I could feel by a magical means that it was always summer here. From the mist at the bottom of the fall it looked like there was a rainbow bursting out from it. How did Mat find all these places that were like something in a fairy tale? "Beautiful..." I mumbled. Mat reached in the basket and got out a blanket. The kind you use for a picnic. So that's what the basket was for. Oh god. He spread the blanket on the ground, and placed the basket on the blanket. "There we go." He said, planting his a** next to me. I acted like I hadn't noticed and acted to look at the glittering water. I think he might of been trying to be a show off or he was just a little warm because he ran to the top of the waterfall in a matter of seconds, after throwing his shirt off, and motioned for me to come with him. I shook my head 'no'. "What are you afraid of hights?!" He called down to me. At that hight I would be, but also I couldn't swim as a human. I guess he was confindent that I would change into a mermaid if I got in the water. "No." I said shacking my head no again. He ran back down and picked me up, then he ran back up the cliff to the top of the waterfall. I looked over the waterfall and down and got a little sick. Nausa filled the pit of my stomach.
Mat stepped back, then ran forward, and threw himself of the cliff. He let out a cry of delight, and then I heard the splash being heard. I looked over again and saw him resurface. "Come on, it's not that bad. The waters fine, and as a bonus it's a nice way to cut lose!" He cried up to me. I shook my head no. I felt really nauseas. He probably thought I was pathetic. But I was a princess, and princess' werent' built to run and all this. We weren't built to do that sort of stuff. I was going to change that right now. I was a rebellious princess, and I was adventures. I could only take so much though because of my lack of atheletic ability. I got up and took a few steps back. "Melissa..." Mat asked. I ran forward, and threw myself of the waterfall. I screamed as I came peleting towards the water. The wind in my face felt nice though. Then I felt the smack of the water hit me, as it engulfed me. I felt the pain in my legs. Then I no longer felt my legs. I looked down. I had a tail again. I decided then to play a joke on Mat. I was going to act like I wasn't going to resurface, and make it seem like I didn't change into a mermaid. Just then he dived under the water to look for me. I quickly swam behind him and resurfaced behind him as he came up too. He didn't notice me. "Melissa! Oh crap! Melissa!" He said. I reached my arms around his neck and then laughed. "Got ya!" He jeked around and looke at me. "Melissa! How...when...DON'T DO THAT!" He yelled. "GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK!" I laughed at him. "Your so guluble." I said. Just then he pulled me close. Did I really scare the s**t out of him? Suddenly I wanted to wrap my arms around him, and confert him. Then I did, my arms acted on there own. He took notice to it too.
"Sorry." I said, pulling away. "Just gave me a little scare that's all." He said. Seemed more like a big scare to me. "Are you blushing?" He asked. I felt that warmth in my cheeks again. I was! Oh god! He smiled. Mat kept diving off the waterfall for a while. I was stuck as a mermaid so I couldn't get back up there without his help. And I'd have a little trouble jumping off if I was stuck on the ground like I would be. Plus I didn't want to be a burden. When I became a mermaid I weighed a lot more then I did in human form. Actually the weight gain was only because of my tail. The tail weighed a lot more then you would think. But Mat was strong. I think he could handle it. I swam around the bottom of the waterfall. Eventually he got out to eat some of the food in the basket and watched me swim around while he did. It was a little strange with him watching though. I didn't mind though. I swam to the edge of the little water hole and watched him eat. He laughed. "Hungry?" He asked. "Not really." My voice was gentle again. I was getting soft. "Come on." He said. "Even if your denying it I know your hungry." He helped me out of the water, and ran around me like a tornado and dried me off. My legs appeared and I was in my human body and outfit again. He handed me a sandwich as we sat on the blanket. "Thanks." I said. It was peaceful here, and romantic. That word romantic again. Why romantic? Me feeling happy around Mat, smiling around him, and blushing at the thought of him. Everything. It was strange I couldn't explain it. I wanted to rest in this man's arms. Suddenly before I could stop myself or notice what I did I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. I felt his eyes on me. I ignored it though. Suddenly I slipped and rested my head in his lap. I think he was laughing silently. I couldn't tell.
"Melissa, wake up? Melissa? Come on." I heard him say. I opened my eyes. I'd only been asleep for a few minutes. Or so I'd thought. It was late. The sun was setting. I moaned. "Hey, sleeping beauty." He laughed. I still had my head laying in his lap. "Time to go home." He said. I moaned again. "Already." I said. I was definatly softer. I could feel it in my emotions. I didn't feel as angry as I had earlier if I did at all. I sat up and streached. "Yes." He said. "What did you enjoy yourself." I blushed, and looked at him without making direct contact with the eyes. "Yes." I said. "But don't get any big ideas. You won't get to me that easily." "Yes, Ma'm." He said. I helped him pack our things. I picked the basket up and then Mat lifted me into his arms and started running. As he did it finally hit me. As I looked up into his face it hit me. I was always thinking about him now. I was always blushing, or giggling like a girly girl when I saw or thought about him. I gave off a lot of happiness around him. I was happy to see him all the time now. Feeling anxious to like this morning. I was always at peace around him. I'd just finally realized it. I loved Lelouch. But....there was a greater pull. I loved Mat, and I didn't want to admit it. I adored him, and...I loved him.
To be continued in Chapter 51...
