Beyond Reflections (In Writing)

Awesome! I wanna know what she has to saaaaaaaay!

XP You'll find out in the next chapter!

*whines* But I wanna know now!

Haha, I so don't get Gydan. xD I just realized how confusing he is, lawl. Awesome new part! x3 I loved it like always.

XP I'm almost done Chapter 11, Ratty. My internet sucks though, so I dunno.

XP Thanks, Shadow! He's explained a bit more in the next chappie.

Yay!

Maturity: Just kissing. I swear that if you think there's anything suggestive in there, it's all in your head. O.o So nyah!

Fantasy: Shapeshifters.

Chapter 11 - Butterflies

“You did see the way he transformed back there, correct?”

"Um, yes, I did. What was up with that, anyway?” Penny wondered.

Mrs. Rocus sighed, shaking her head. “I’m going to tell you Gydan’s story. Are you ready?”

Penny nodded, slightly puzzled.

“Long ago, I must have been around your age, I had no idea about the shapeshifter world,” she began, “Until my mirror seemed to have frozen. My reflections just stopped moving… And let me tell you, it scared the jeepers out of me. It’s not like I could tell anyone though, because who would believe it?”

Penny gasped inwardly when she said these words, for the very same thing happened to her. She would have to wait until Mrs. Rocus was finished the story before mentioning anything.

“I thought I had gone crazy… Until one day, Gydan popped out of the mirror. Okay, when that happened, I thought I was even crazier, but he explained things to me. He told me that he was my socius and that he was exiled from his world,” she continued on, seeing the look of curiosity on Penny’s face. “You’re probably wondering why he was exiled, no? Well he wouldn’t even tell me that, I’m sorry to say. But Gydan was the one who educated me about shapeshifters; he even gave me that book that I was reading to you the other day.”

“So he’s a shapeshifter,” Penny muttered to herself, smiling. “That explains a lot. But I have a few questions.”

Mrs. Rocus nodded to her, urging for her to ask.

“Well, how come one day he spoke Latin, the next day he spoke perfect English? And what about that animal-thing he turns into all of the time? Why does he appear to be so much weaker when he’s in that form? Also…” she was cut off.

“Whoa, one question at a time!” Mrs. Rocus chuckled before answering the questions she already stated, “He speaks perfect English now because he’s been practicing. He didn’t have the need to use it when it was just us, but now that Bane and you will be frequent visitors, he needed to work on it. He’s also weaker in his “animal-like” form because that is what’s called the true form. You will learn about that in the book, but basically, he listens to his animal instincts more when in that form. When you think about it, when a dog’s yelled at, it will just whimper guiltily, right? Whereas a human would find something nasty to say back in return. Thus, the attitude change.”

Penny understood almost all of it now. It was a relief to have everything piece together like this. “I have another question, though… What’s up with Valyra? And why did Gydan chase us like that in the first place?”

Shaking her head, Mrs. Rocus smiled. “That was two questions again, but I will still explain. You see… Valyra, she’s a female shapeshifter. Their appearance betrays their intentions. As you probably figured out, Valyra’s outward, demon-like look means that she has terrible intentions, that she’s a mean person. Gydan has this whole theory that we can cure her of her evil…” she paused, rolling her eyes, “But I’m not so sure. He thinks he knew her when he lived on the other side of The Line and that she was some beautiful woman, but I highly doubt it. That’s the thing about Gydan… He has a very strange personality. He’ll get these outrageous ideas in his head and sometimes he’ll just see no sense. That’s why he chased after you when you ran. He thought you two would tell people about him, even though he knew you wouldn’t. The child doesn’t even trust his own telepathy and precognition abilities!”

Gaping, Penny tried to take in all of this information. It did make perfect sense, of course, but it wasn’t at all what she expected. If she wasn’t a real demon, that must have been why she could pass through the salt.

“Why did she bite Bane and I, then?” she asked.

“Funny you should ask. Actually, she was trying to turn you into shapeshifters... Probably to keep her company,” She told her, “ They can do that by just mixing their saliva with your blood, because since every aspect of them is always changing, it would shift your blood and… It’s a rather simple process, but if I explain, it may make you a bit queasy.” She winked.

Penny’s eyes were wide as she stared with disbelief at Mrs. Rocus. “So… I’m a shapeshifter?”

Mrs. Rocus laughed. “No, no. Valyra’s been too far away from the land of mirrors for too long. When they’re out of their element for so long, they can barely shapeshift. Gydan steps in and out of the mirror on a daily basis to keep his powers flowing. Luckily enough, no one has caught him. If he does it quickly, he can avoid guards swarming around The Line.”

Relief flooded over her. “Um… So do you have a reflection?”

Mrs. Rocus nodded patiently, “Yes, I do. Gydan was replaced with another shapeshifter the second he was exiled. He, on the other hand, does not have a reflection. I think that’s where the whole vampire myth comes from… Because shapeshifters do bite people and they don’t have a reflection. But who knows? Maybe there is some sort of shapeshifter hybrid out there called a vampire.” She shrugged.

“Why are you keeping Valyra here?”

“I think she’s an exile, like Gydan. If not, she’s a runaway. It’s pretty much our responsibility to look out for her. Though she may appear to be evil right now, I guess like Gydan, I can see that she’s a nice girl underneath all that. We can’t allow her falling into the wrong hands.”

Penny understood that, though no matter what, Valyra still gave her the creeps. Now that the conversation died down, she wondered if she should tell Mrs. Rocus about the voice and what happened to her reflection…

Nah, she decided, I’ll leave that for another time…

Instead, she asked, “One last question,” Mrs. Rocus smiled at Penny’s words, “When I first saw you, you had this fancy outfit on… And all you had for us to wear were robes and dresses. What’s with all the casual wear now?”

Mrs. Rocus’ hazel eyes shimmered, a big grin on her face. “I only wear that headdress that you saw me in for rituals. I was just in the middle of one when you and Bane appeared for the first time. And as for the robes and dresses…” A mischievous look spread across her face, “I thought it would be funny to see Bane dressed in a traditional robe. That’s all Gydan will ever wear, so I had plenty.”

Penny giggled. It was quite funny to see Bane wear something like that. She smiled at Mrs. Rocus, looking at the clock. Their discussion was pretty much over and it was already 5:00. “I better go home now to have supper. Thanks for everything!”

“You can stay to eat, if you wish,” she offered.

“Oh, no thanks, it’s fine. Bye!” She waved before leaving the house.

Penny made her way towards the university, enjoying the cool breeze that brushed through the cherry ribbons of hair flowing behind her. She breathed in the soothing scent of fresh air, thinking how in a way, she was lucky to live in a smaller town. Unlike the city, the air wasn’t poisoned with the smell of car exhaust. As boring as it could be in Orchard Town, she was grateful to be in such a nice environment.

She suddenly heard the sound of gravel crunching beneath car wheels beside her. She whipped her head to the left, seeing Bane’s sparkling black car at her side. “Need a ride?” he offered with a smug grin.

“You mean for the entire half of a block to the university? No thank you.”

“Aw, come on, Penny. What’s wrong?” he asked her, eyebrows furrowed.

“Nothing,” she grumbled, “I just don’t want a ride!”

He opened the door, pulling her in by her dress. She cried out in protest before folding her arms, glaring at him as he buckled her in.

“You’re so darn stubborn!” He rolled his eyes, driving in the opposite direction that she had expected him to.

“Where are we going? I haven’t even showered or changed yet!” she groaned.

Bane crinkled his nose. “Ew. Okay, we can stop at my house on the way.”

“So that I can wear guy clothes?”

“Actually, you left your clothes there from the other night and I washed them,” he explained.

She sighed, “’kay, fine. But where are we going after that?”

“You’ll see.” He grinned secretively as they pulled up to his apartment and entered. It appeared to be pretty cleaned up already, despite the riot that went on the night before. Razz’s decorations were all put away and the only things that betrayed the fact that there was a party before were stray beer cans scattered on the floor.

Bane made short work of cleaning up the place as Penny went for a quick shower. Once she was dried off, she slipped on her tank top and capris, still wringing the water out of her hair when she stepped out of the bathroom. She flopped down on the couch beside Bane, who was immersed in a novel.

Seeing her sit down, he snapped out of his book and gently pulled her on top of him, pressing his lips to her forehead. Her heart stuttering, she went for his lips, but Bane swerved away and kissed her ear instead.

“Let’s save it for tonight,” he purred, taking her hand and leading her back to the car. She wondered what he could possible have planned.



The car ride to the big city was awkward. They sat in silence, not speaking to one another. Penny didn’t know what to say to him. It was all so easy when they were just friends, but now that they broke that barrier, she had no idea what to do.

Once they reached the blinding lights of the city at last, Bane pulled up to a restaurant. Outside the restaurant, there was a man clad in a tuxedo waiting to escort them inside. Everyone else in the perimeter was dressed up as well, the ladies in fancy dresses and the men in a tuxedo or a dress shirt. Penny cast a glance at Bane, noticing that he was wearing a rather fancy, black, long-sleeved collared shirt. She gaped. “I can’t go in there!”

Bane smiled, “Relax. That’s why I brought you this,” he pulled out a shimmering, royal blue, strapless dress from the back seat. It looked as if it were constructed of tiny, glistening gems. He also had sleek, silver high heels to match.

She chuckled in surprise, excitement flooding over her. This is going to be awesome! It’s totally the last thing I’d expect from Bane.

“Wow, thanks!” she said, not bothering to question how he could afford this place, let alone the dress. She crawled into the back seat, changing into her new outfit swiftly. She then checked her makeup and combed through her hair quickly. Penny vaguely wondered if this was a daydream.

Bane looked her up and down once they exited the car. “You look beautiful,” he murmured.

Penny flushed, pretending she didn’t hear him. She didn’t take compliments very well.

She gazed with wonder at the restaurant before her. It wasn’t very big, of course, but sometimes the fanciest of restaurants were small. It had a lovely terrace clad with cobblestone along with dark walnut chairs and tables. Surrounding it were deep red roses, poking their lush petals through the vibrant green leaves of the shrubs. The building itself was a humble, small building painted cocoa with cherry wood accents. Through the shiny glass of the windows, Penny could see formally dressed waiters and waitresses bustling around trying to give the guests their orders.

Her gaze fell on the sign before her. It read “Le Rivage” and beneath it were two doors. She began to make her way towards them, but Bane stopped her. “We’ll be eating outside instead, it has a better view,” he told her.

For a moment, the woman wondered what he could possibly mean by the words “better view”. What could there be to view?

When they were seated, Bane ordered them a bottle of Rosé Champagne. When he was ordering, Penny took the time to observe her surroundings past the floral patterned wrought iron fence that enclosed them. She gasped in awe. Before them was a vast lake of blue that rolled and swayed, reflecting back flickering diamonds in the deepening sunlight. It sprayed light foam onto the edges of the soft, sandy shore. Every grain of sand beneath the spray was highlighted with the red rays of sunset, looking like small garnets beneath the liquid sapphire. She tried to take in the mesmerizing scene of jewels, closing her eyes and breathing in the scent of the salty waves… It wasn’t perfect, for there was still the smell of the city traffic surrounding them, but it was as close as perfect gets. She didn’t know the city was built around a lake but, of course, she had only been there once when she was very young. She never found the need to leave Orchard Town until now.

She fluttered open her eyes, finding Bane smiling back at her.

“Like it?” he asked, take her soft, delicate hands and intertwining them with his, “It’s the only restaurant in town with such a beautiful view of the lake.”

She nodded, grinning widely. “It’s gorgeous, Bane. It really is.”

A smile tapped his lips at her words. Still waiting for the champagne to come, he traced her palm with the tips of his fingers as they gazed at each other in hush. She loved the way his delicate touch made her feel. The same old Bane that she used to be a goof with was now giving her butterflies, who knew?

It wasn’t long after that their champagne finally arrived. Penny took a sip from her glass, letting the bubbly mixture seep down her throat. It was delicious, though she didn’t quite like the aftertaste of alcohol. Once she was finished her glass, their order of escargot was served. She hadn’t tried it before but Bane thought it was really good so they agreed on sharing a platter for their dinner. It was quite good; though Penny didn’t normally like seafood, the garlicky seasoning made it much better.

Over dinner, they didn’t talk much. Maybe if they weren’t at a table sprinkled with scarlet rose petals and lighted tea candles that gave off the relaxing scent of cinnamon, it would have been easier for them to communicate as friends. Instead, they just enjoyed the view and murmured the occasional comment to each other.

Once they were finished, Bane paid the bill and Penny followed him out the door. As he took her hand and guided her away from his vehicle, Penny asked, “Where are we going now?”

“You’ll see,” he whispered, leading her through the dark.

She smirked inwardly. Penny was liking this new, mysterious Bane.

Awesome. More? *hopeful look*

Thanks!

XP I only have like a sentence written so far. Sowwy.

XP Thanks! Lol, just because that's what Gydan and Mrs. Rocus have been calling her. I'll explain that later.

OMG. xD You're so setting us up with that maturity, aren't you? Lawl.

Well, I loved the chapter like always!! x3 Haha, you so need to publish this some day. It'd be an awesome book.

No! It's not at all like that... Yet. XP I sweaarrr.

Aw, thank you so much!

xD Sure, sure.

XP I would jump into that so soon when they haven't even kissed. Believe me.

Besides, all the kissingness is awkward enough...

xP Aww.

Haha, I'm really messed up . . . I was writing some stuff that came really close, and I wasn't even awkward about it. o.0 And I was in the car with the rest of my family there, and my mom watching me write. (She couldn't see the words, thank God. xD)

Haha.

Really? Omg. I could NOT do that. I can't even write replies to people when my mom's standing like 5 feet away from me! And it'll be just something like, "Haha, I know, right?"

I can't even write the next part when I'm alone either, when I don't even know if they'll kiss yet... It's just so awkward for me. I have no idea why... Maybe it's because Bane and Penny are such good friends... And it's weird. I didn't really have a problem with Kayda and Josh, though. It was a little hard, but still.

Lol, I just have an utterly sick mind. I proved that by having this disgusting dream last night. It was just embarrassing. xD Like, it wasn't graphic or anything, but it was basically about how my dad was having an affair, so my mom made us all leave, and every time we came back home he was alone with that lady. Usually they were just having dinner, but still. o.0 Later I found out the lady was pregnant.
(Btw, they weren't my real parents. xD They were some other people that were my parents in the dream.)

Haha, omg. That's kinda funny. I had a dream that my dad was having an affair too, but he was just kinda sitting in a room with some lady... Omg, I'm not even going to say what they were wearing, 'cause that might make me cry.

Don't worry, you don't have a sick mind. Believe me...

Oh, I think I do. xP Believe me. (Lawl, like I've said before, I just do a good job of hiding it.)

Whoa, okay then. If you say so. XP

I think you'd get along with my friends and I, if that's the case. XP Especially at lunch...
*shudders*

I probably would! xD

Lol! XP Matt would like you very much. We were talking about Americains, I think. I mentioned that I had a few online friends who lived there (including you) then he was like, "Oooh, is she hot?" XP