Coal Part 12: 1st Draft

Ciara spent the whole night trying to figure out what she should do or say to get the Prince's attention. "If I do anything outrageous, he'll just iqnore me." She remembered Royal Messenger Murphy. Maybe there was a way to use him to send the prince a message.

"Happy birthday Ciara!" yelled Adrian and Zene, ruining her train of thought.

"It's morning already?" she moved her curtain asside to see the sun. "Yes! I'm eighteen! I can smoke legally!" Zene and Adrian frowned. "Just joking you guys!" said Ciara, punching them in the arm.

"So what do you want to do today, birthday girl?" asked Adrian.

"I've never had a party before. Would you mind if I threw one?"

"Sure! But how will you get invitations out on such short notice, not to mention decorations, music-" said Zene.

"All I need is my birthday money a little early, and I should be okay with putting everything together myself." She had done enough shopping for her stepsister's for their birthday parties to know what to do.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't mind helping you if need anything-" offered Zene.

"Okay, well here's your cash, honey." said Adrian, getting out his checkbook and giving her a blank check. He kissed her on the cheek. "Don't go too overboard." he warned, leaving the room.

"I won't Dad." Ciara called after him.

"Another party? Is this going to be a costume party?" asked Zene.

"No. Just a normal girl turning eighteen party, minus the drunk guys on the lawn throwing up. Hopefully."

"You don't want to use any magic?"

"Nope. I can take care of everything." Ciara said confidently.

Zene eyed her niece warily. "You've got a plan for something don't you?"

"I'm just following your advice to keep things real. And I think it's time I had a coming out party, don't you think?" Ciara replied.

"What are you going to do about Debra? About the prince?" Zene wanted to know.

"I'll take care of each of those problems when the time comes. For now, I just want to have fun today." grinned Ciara. She hugged her aunt. "Thank you for everything. I know things wouldn't have turned out this good without you being here."

Zene held her out at arms length. "It's the least I could do." She wrinkled her brow in curiousity. "Are you sure there isn't anything I can do to help?"

"No. But I want you at my party at 9 o'clock sharp. No excuses." said Ciara sternly.

"Now I know you're planning something. How do you expect to pull all of this off?" quizzed her aunt.

Ciara grinned. "Don't worry. I've met a lot of people over the past couple of days who'll be willing to give me a hand." Zene frowned, but she knew she wasn't going to get any information out of her niece, so she left her alone. Ciara was already starting to formulate a plan.

Ciara started by going straight to the R.D.I.(Royal Department Of Information), which was in charge of regulating Wachovia's postal and messenging services. Ciara didn't know how hard it would be to get in contact with Murphy, so she unbuttoned her shirt a little too low, and hiked up her skirt a little too high, and wore a pair of shades to conceal her identity. She walked into the R.D.I. head high, and hips swaying, attracting the attention of every male in every cubicle. "Excuse me." she said with a smile to the balding fat man at the front desk.

He cleared his throat, nervously. "Yes, ma'am?"

"I need to speak to messenger Murphy." she told him, playing with her hair.

"Murphy is on assignment. And I can't give out his cell phone code to just anyone." He said, snidely. "How do I know you're not a terrorist trying to sabatage a message?"

Ciara leaned over, giving him a perfect view of her breasts. "Not that it's any of your business, but this is a matter of life and death. And porn."

The man's mouth dropped open like a trap door. "P-p-porn? You're making porn with Murphy?"

"Maybe. He made one earlier with Debra Vick- everyone's heard of that slut-and he loaned me some pics." She bit her lip and twirled her hair around her finger, and let her voice get low and husky. "You could say it was kind of an audition. But I have to see him in person before making up my mind."

The man fumbled his phone, dropping it twice before he hurriedly punched in the code. "Murphy! There's a girl here at the front desk...Well I don't know her name, but she's exotic and hot as hell...Just get down here man. And I want a copy of that tape you made with Twinkie." The man hung up. "He'll be right up front. He's in the back getting his assignments."

Murphy showed up a few minutes later. He looked confused. "Um...what do you want?" She beckoned to him with her finger for him to come closer. When he came closer, she grabbed his ruffle and dragged him outside. "I'm taking the day off!" Murphy called out. Most of the office cheered him.

As soon as she got him outside, Ciara let him go. "I need your help again. And it's not what you think."

Murphy looked disappointed. "Do you want to get into another party? That old Prime Minister who tried to save all the Butterfield Flies and Velvet Oak trees is supposed to be knighted in another week. What was his name? Carter?"

"Actually, I'm throwing a party of my own tonight. I need the names of some nobles to invite who are around my age."

Murphy laughed. "You're joking right? No one's even heard of you! Sneaking into a party, that's easy. Lots of people do it. But throwing your own? Come on."

"If I remember correctly, you didn't even think I could even get into the party, so why should I follow your advice now?" said an irritated Ciara. He did have a point. How was she going to get them to come to her party? Then, an idea came to her. "Just give me the names, and I'll take care of the rest myself, except for one invitation I need you to hand deliver." Murphy groaned. "Why don't you shut the fuck up! I got you the rest of the day off and probably a couple of dates when you get back. This is the least you can do." Ciara told him.

Luckily, Ciara knew enough about the people who associated with The Vicks to screen her guests herself. No one was coming who had any connections to them, giving her a bit of annonymity, and, giving her little bit of defense. The Vicks wouldn't dare pull anything with enemies and strangers as witnesses. When she had all the names written down, she was quite happy with the list.

"Not bad. You won't have to worry about looking over your shoulder. Everyone here is socially dead." Murphy told her. He squinted at the last name on the list. "Wow! That's-"

"I really don't need your comments. Parties are for having fun, I shouldn't have to look over my shoulder. Just see that the last name on the list gets an invitation, with the title, and my full name, 'Ciara Carlotta Avedis, daughter of Marquis Adrian Avedis, and Princess Amara of Swaziland'."

"What's going on? I thought you were Lady Mutumba!"

"I was trying to be 'on the low' remember? Just see that he gets that."

"I wouldn't hold my breath." muttered Murphy. "He never accepts party invitations."

"Well, he'll accept this one." Ciara left him and went to the mall to ask Mrs. Didora for help getting a party organizer and caterer.

"There are a few people I can call, but I have to warn you, they are out of practice." offered Mrs. Didora. "What do you have in mind?" Ciara told her what she wanted, and Mrs. Didora called up her contacts and told them how much it would cost. After grimacing, Ciara filled out the amount on the check and hoped her dad wouldn't be too mad with her. Then she went home and invited everyone to her party who was on the list.

The party oraganizer showed up about an hour after Ciara got there, and started setting up shop. In a few hours, the place was studded with lights, and a DJ was setting up his equipment. Of course, The Vicks weren't at all happy when they got home from an all day shopping spree.

"What the hell is going on in here?!" Debra exclaimed when she saw everything.

"It's my birthday, and this is my first birthday party. No thanks to you." said Ciara, looking up from the selection of songs she was choosing for the DJ.

"You little bitch! Who gave you permission to do all this?"

"My dad. If you have a problem with it, you can take it up with him." Ciara told her, and walked away.

"You can't talk to her like that!" yelled Ashford.

Ciara rolled her eyes. "Whatever." she had better things to do. The designer now was using thin, sheer sheets of silver silk to seperate each room, creating the impression of a desert harem. Ciara went to check on the cake and the food, which was all being prepared in the mansion's kitchen. Ciara thought that would be easier on the cooks if they made everything on site. The Red Velvet Cake was being taken out of the oven, and chicken fingers in the deep fryer were just about ready. "Everything looks great guys!" she told the cooks.

The rest of the day went on like that, Ciara checking with the designers and caterers to make sure everything was running smoothly, while Debra and the twins fumed jealously in the background.

"Why didn't we ever think of this?" muttered Ashford when everything was done at around 8:30. The place looked like something out of a picturebook, with the furniture covered in arabic coverings, and the silvery material everywhere. The DJ was just beginning to warm up when the first guest arrived.

Ciara answered the door to see an overweight Baroness Lottie of Dasha at her door. "Am I at the right place?" asked the Baroness.

"Yes. I'm Ciara. Nice to meet you." said Ciara, flashing her a smile. "I'm glad you could make it. I know it was short notice and all."

"You seem like a nice person. There aren't too many of those around."

"She invited a whale to the party?" giggled Ashton, just loud enough so Lottie could hear.

"Maybe all the blubber is going to be the main course!" snickered Ashford.

The baroness turned bright red. Ciara strode over to the twins. "She's my guest, and this is my party. If you say something like that again, I'll slap both of you and kick you out of here so fast, you'd think this was whorehouse!" hissed Ciara. The twins gasped and ran to their mother.

"Wow! I've never seen anyone stand up to them like that! I mean, eveyone talks about them behind their back, but never to their face!" She walked in and gave Ciara her present. "I know this is going to be a great party!"

Within the next few minutes, Ciara welcomed in a total of about fifty people, all early. None of them were exactly fashion models, but they all were nice, and Ciara felt she didn't have to worry about anyone getting anything illegal into her house. However, her mystery guest who had recieved a formal invitation had yet to show his face. Within the next hour, the cake was served, and Adrian and Zene were there to wish her a happy birthday as she blew out all eighteen candles on her double tiered, red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. She wished her mystery guest would show up, but as the night rolled on, she doubted that would happen, even though she had on The Love Shoes.

At around eleven, when the party was just getting warmed up, Ciara thought she heard a knocking sound above all the music. She slowly squeezed her way through the writhing bodies of party goers and opened the door. No one was there. "Must have been my imagination." Ciara told herself. She started to squeeze back through the crowd when she heard it again. Again, no one was there. She turned away, and distinctly heard the knocking again. This time, she opened a crack and screamed, "Whoever it is, stop playing games!".

"Like you play games?" answered Dom.

Ciara went outside and closed the door behind her. "Hey."

"Hey." They didn't say anything for a while.

"Look, I didn't want to lie to you. But I didn't know what else to do. I mean, if I had told you that The Vicks were my stepfamily, would you have even wanted to talk to me? And I was their servant. I didn't have a choice until my dad stopped drinking. They could have thrown me out on the street, and no one would have done anything to help me." She rubbed her arms. "Look, it's pretty cold out here. Do you want to come in?"

"How many people are here?" he asked.

"Around fifty."

"Then I don't think that's a good idea. I'll be mobbed for sure."

"Well, maybe we could go somewhere where we can talk." After Dom agreed, Ciara led him in and upstairs. Since the stairs were right by the door, no one saw them. She took him straight to her room and closed the door. "Thanks for coming. I need to explain what's happened in the past few days." She proceded to tell him about Debra's plot, and her attempts to stop her. She told him about her aunt showing up to help her and her father, why she came as Lady Mutumba. She left out the part about meeting Marcus The Jeweler and finding the shoes, of course. "So that's everything."

"Wow. I can see why you lied. It's like something out of a pixie tale." he said.

"It is pretty out there." she admitted. Did he believe her?

"So where does this leave us?"

"I don't know. Maybe us being friends." Ciara hoped.

Dom laughed. "Friends? I don't think you would have really gone through all this trouble if thought of me as just a friend. You could have just asked at your aunt to keep tabs on me."

Ciara cleared her throat. "Well...you don't give up, do you?"

He smiled. "Part of the reason I don't give up, is because you didn't. I'm here, still single, ring-free-" he wiggled his fingers, making them both laugh. "-because you did what you thought was right. No matter what anyone else thought. I like that in a girlfriend."

Ciara felt her cheeks heat up. "Really?"

"Yeah." Now that their feelings were out in the open, they didn't know exactly what else to say.

They stared at each other for a while. "Oh fuck it!" said Ciara, and she kissed him, kissed him like she had wanted to kiss him since she met him. They got really into it, sucking tounge, biting lips, everything. Of course, one thing led to another and-

"Damn! I can see why some people smoke after sex. You need something to take the edge off!" said Ciara, fanning herself under the covers.

"I was really good?" asked Dom, propped up on one elbow.

"You were the only the one I've ever had! How am I supposed to know?" teased Ciara. Dom reached over and started tickling her until she was breathless. "No fair!" she cried.

Dom let her go and kissed her. He moved her tousled hair out of her face. "You really are a princess." he murmurred, nuzzling her face. They would have screwed again if there hadn't been a loud knock on the door.

"Under the bed quick!" Ciara whispered to Dom. "Um...give me a second!" she hurriedly threw her clothes back on and answered the door. It was her aunt.

"Ciara, where have you been? Everyone's been waiting for you to open your presents." said her aunt. She looked at her niece's disheveled appearance, and saw she was wearing the Love Shoes. "Oh. I'll give you some time to freshen up." and Zene left.

"Dom, I have to go downstairs." she told him as he crawled out from under her bed.

"And if I stay here any longer, my bodyguards will storm the house. I guess I can't use the stairs again, they'll be looking at the stairs when you come down. How far down the ground from your window?" he asked, pulling on his pants.

"You're joking right?" said Ciara.

"Well, I saw one of those wall lattice things on the side of the house. I'm pretty sure I can climb down." he ran to the window before she could stop him.

"Dom! Don't be an idiot! You'll break your neck! And you haven't even given me your cell phone code!" she told him.

"It's 5617." he told her. He took a step down, and something cracked.

"Dom! Be careful!" said Ciara.

"It's okay. The wood is just a little rottttttttttttttten!" He screamed on the way down to the ground. Ciara rushed to a downstairs window and was relieved see that he landed on his bodyguards. He gave her weak thumbs-up as he and his bodyguards limped to a waiting limo and drove away. Thankfully, no one heard anything.

Everyone who had come had brought a present(except for The Vicks of course), and a birthday hug for such a great party, making Ciara feel like the luckiest eighteen year-old that side of the Lena River. After all of her gifts were open, and everyone told her good night, Zene gave Ciara her present privately.

"Well, honestly, it's not exactly a present as much as it is a partnership." Zene admitted.

"Aunt Zene! You know I'm seeing someone." said Ciara under breath.

"That's obvious. And it's not that kind of partnership. Haven't you ever wondered how I met Marta and Camara?" Zene told Ciara.

"Well, yeah. I bet you had to be naked and hypnotize yourself until they came to you in a vision."

Zene looked at her niece strangely. "That's more like some kind of liquor game." She shook her head and continued. "It takes someone who the animals respect to introduce them to another person to call on them. Since you are old enough, I thought it was fitting to introduce you to the Swaziland national symobol, and the symbol of courage in the Avedis family, a lioness." A loud growl was heard, but Ciara couldn't see anything. "Don't worry. I'm not done yet. Ciara meet Fola."

Suddenly, a gold-brown lioness was in the room sitting on her haunches, eyeing Ciara. "Ah! Where did she come from!" said Ciara, jumping back. Fola sniffed and licked her paw harmlessly.

"She's always been here. You just couldn't see her because she didn't want to be seen." Zene expalained.

Fola began to sniff the air in front of Ciara. "What is she doing now?"

"She checking you out. Making sure you have good intentions, and you aren't going to use her as a weapon."

"But I thought carnivores liked killing things."

"They do. But not if it means they're going up against a gun, or a sword. That increases the chances of them getting hurt."

"Makes sense." When Fola stopped sniffing, she rubbed her massive 300 lb. body against Ciara. "What now?"

"She's putting her scent on you. Predators will be less likely to mess with you if they know you hang out with a lioness." After Fola was satisfied, she lay down on Ciara's bed and dozed off. "They sleep a lot."

"I see." Ciara eyed the large cat warily. "She doesn't bite in her sleep does she?"

Zene laughed. "Good night Ciara." she said walking out the door.

"Uh...thank you?" said Ciara, not sure what to say about this gift of friendship. The cat seemed to be taking up most of the bed, so Ciara had no choice but to curl up next to it and go to sleep.