My Way To You

Before she could get an answer she heard a familiar voice yell out her name "Ariana!". Within seconds she was swooped up into Rin"s arm and the cloaked person was attacked with a barrage of throwing stars. The cloaked person quickly jumped left then right then did a backward into the air causing the back of his cloak to turn to shreds as the mini spinning blades hurled by.

He landed gracefully on the top of the park"s gates. Ariana tried her best to keep Rin"s arms occupied as she scrambled in explaining the situation and trying to stop her from throw anything else. "It"s Cayden, he"s a friend please don"t hurt him, he saved me earlier." she cried out. Rin turned her green eyes towards her murder was etched into her face as she spat out "Cayden is dead! Wake up already!".

Ariana didn"t want know what to do anymore. Rin"s rage was beyond words so she did what she thought considered her last resort. She stopped struggling against Rin"s grasp instead she went completely limp. Her head dropped down, her eyes started to well up and let out an earth-shattering cry. Rin immediately froze, she was perplexed as she hadn"t heard Ariana cry since the day they met and in that moment her hostility vanished.

Soon enough a crowd started to form around the two, Seeley and Clawdean were near by and by chance saw the crowd. As they moved closer to inspect the situation they saw who caused the commotion. They pushed through the crowd and scooped up both Rin and Ariana.

Ariana stop crying the moment that Seeley wrapped his arms around her. She peeked up from underneath her eyelashes to see if Cayden was still there. To her disappointment he had already vanished. The crowd started to murmur and convinced themselves that it was just a child throwing a tantrum and slowly started to dispersed.

"Where were you?!" Clawdean asked as she quickly looked her over. Ariana turned to face them and with a sigh she licked her dry lips. "Can we just go home please? I want to go home." she said with pitiful eyes. "Of course." Seeley gently as he put her down and held out his claw. Ariana immediately grabbed it and grabbed Clawdean"s paw. She felt safe in between the two as Rin lead them away from the park and back to the brothel.

Lady Zula was pacing the hall when the four of them walked in. The moment she laid eyes on her she grabbed Sammie by the collar and hauled him to her. She dropped down her knees and grabbed her face. Ariana just blinked a few times before she gave Lady Zula a rea.s.suring smile. "Mom I"m home."

Lady Zula"s eyes started to water as she planted kisses all over her face. Sammie coughed and Lady held up one index finger right before his face as she finished up the last of her kisses. Ariana couldn"t help but giggle as her mother prioritized her affection over a check up.

Sammie gave a light chuckle as he walked Ariana over to the counter and sat her up on top of it. As he was wiping her face clean he started asking questions. "Who took you? Did they touch you? Are you in any pain?" but Ariana stayed quiet until he finished looking her over. "Alright." he announced "She seems perfectly ok." Lady Zula rushed to Ariana to continue her machine gun kiss attack.

Ariana raised her hands in front of her, signalling Lady Zula to stop. She moved her hands over and looked up to her mother with an unnerving gaze. "I need to get dinner ready." was all she said before spun herself around, jumped off the counter and was made her way towards the double doors.

She pivoted on the b.a.l.l.s of her feet and gracefully turned to the audience. "Roy and Rin, we have a feast to prepare so move it along to the kitchen tout suite." she said as she raised her head in the air. Rin and Roy looked at each other and shrugged. Ariana face palmed herself as her body sagged. "It mean make haste, come on move, move, move! We have a feast to make." She said as she clapped her hands.

Rin and Roy quickly rushed pa.s.sed her as she smiled at their haste. Ariana turned and bowed. "Please talk amongst yourselves dinner will be out in about an hour." and with that she disappeared behind the doors. Seeley and Clawdean turned to each other and started to laugh. "This child never stops to amaze does she?" Clawdean asked Lady Zula as she wiped away a tear.

"Apparently not.... attempted kidnappings seem like a hiccup in her everyday life." Lady Zula responded with a shrug. She kept staring at the doors wondering if Ariana was truly ok or just putting on a brave face.

Soon enough Becca and Brian came to the brothel just as Ariana stepped out from behind the double doors. "I hope everyone has washed their hands as dinner will be served momentarily." She said in a loud clear voice before she turned around and headed back into the kitchen.

Some people had completely forgotten to wash up and raced to the bathrooms. "Why the rush?" Becca asked as she walked up to Lady Zula. "Apparently the food is delicious but the chef is fickle about cleanliness." Sammie said with mischievous eyes. Lady Zula smacked his forehead with her closed fan and gave him a stern look. "You have better not hold up dinner because you feel like being testy."

Sammie coughed as he turned his head to the side. "Nonsense Lady Zula... I am merely waiting for the crowd to disperse before I make my way over...." he said with an awkward smile. Lady Zula moved her gaze to the siblings. "You better wash up too before the food comes out!" she said seriously as she waved her fan.

After everyone washed up Rin and Roy strolled out with two giant trays of salad while Ariana followed close by with a single tray holding a plate of salad and a jar holding a magenta coloured liquid. They placed the salads on the counter and Ariana stood on a foot stool as she placed her tray along side the others.

"We are starting today"s meal with a fresh green salad made of baby spinach and arugula. It is topped off with goat cheese, apples, dried cranberries and pecans. I have her a raspberry vinaigrette made specifically to dress this salad. You are more then welcome to try it with or without it. Can you please come, single file for your servings." she announced courtly.

Lady Zula quickly zipped to the counter and with sparkling eyes she looked at Ariana. "By chance is this my plate?" she asked hopefully. "Of course mother!" she said with a wide grin. Lady Zula started nibbling on her bottom lip, trying to make a decision. "I do recommend the dressing it will give it a sweet yet tangy flavor that will make you want to finish your whole plate." she said with an air of sophistication.

Lady Zula smiled as she nodded her head. Ariana happily shook the bottle and gently pour a small amount over the salad. She gave it a little toss with the serving utensils and handed the plate to Lady Zula.

Lady Zula couldn"t wait to go back to her table, she took a bite right then and there. Her face showed how delightful the salad was that everyone waited for their turn to get the dressing.

Once everyone sat down, Seeley, Clawdean, Sammie, Brian and Becca looked down at their plate. "Is this it?!" Brian asked in an irritated tone. "If you don"t want it I"ll eat it but no this is not it." Lady Zula said as she eyed Brian"s plate. Brian placed his well toned arm bewteen her and his plate. He looked down again and gulped. "Greens, it just had to be greens." he mumby under his breathe.

"Oh meow!" to Brian"s surprise Clawdean was the first to try it from the newcomers and her tail shot straight up as she happily devoured her salad. Brian gulped and followed her lead he took a small nibble and was instantly surprised. The mild bitterness of the spinach was completely balanced out with the sweetness of the arugula, the apples were crisp and sweet while the cranberries, goat cheese and pecans gave it more of a texture. The dressing just gave it that extra bit of sourness it needed.

Brian"s face gave his thoughts away and everyone else dug into their salads. Ariana happily walked around trying to get some opinions when she noticed that everyone had already finished their salad. She scurried off to the kitchen and soon enough Rin and Roy where helping her collect the dishes.

The three disappeared behind the doors and Roy reappeared with more food on a push cart while Ariana followed behind with another cart. As Roy started placing the plates down, some people started to stand up and sniff the air, Brian included. "Our main course is a wider variety. We have pan fried fish fillet with a lemon suace, chicken stuffed with creamy cheese and asparagus, quick fry stake it is medium rare so if you see pink in the middle it is perfectly fine." Ariana said proudly as she looked at everyone"s faces.

"As for sides we have corn on the cob covered with herb and garlic b.u.t.ter, creamy mashed potatoes with gravy, french fries and if you want to try I can add cheese curds and gravy to make it into a poutine. If you are worried that you will get bloated I also have a lightly sauteed vegetable melody here too. As for drinks we have water, cold apple cider and iced tea. Please come up single file and let us serve you." she said brightly as she waved her hands over the food.

Lady Zula waited for others to go up first and was pleasantly surprised to see Brian being one of the first in line. It looked like people were taking one of everything and even sharing among their neighbors. Lady Zula walked up to Ariana and placed and gently hand on top of the girl"s head. "Apple cider?" Ariana asked as she poured her a cup. "How did you have enough time to do all this?" she asked suspiciously.

Ariana"s eyes sparkled as she looked at Lady Zula. "I taught Roy and Rin the basics of prepinh early this morning. So while I was gone Roy prepared everything in advance so all I had to do was cook it." Lady Zula"s eyes became wide as she looked at her small face. "When?!" she asked in shock. Ariana brought her index finger up to her lips and started tap against them as she looked to the right. "Before dawn, I think." she said thoughtfully.

Lady Zula gave her a light chuckle as she gingerly took the cup out of Ariana"s hands. "Why do I even get surprised anymore?" she said a she brought the cup towards her lips. The moment the cider touched her tongue her body shivered in delight. She slowly savoured the caramel coloured liquid as she looked at her hall once more.

After she finished she looked at Ariana as she plated a small meal together. "Mom don"t eat too much there is still dessert." Lady Zula took the plate and another cup of cider. She gave Ariana a little curtsy before heading back to her seat to find everyone almost done their meals. "I"m ready for seconds!" shouted Brian as Lady Zula took her seat.

"She just told me there is still dessert so do you really want to go back for more?" she said slyly and she stabbed the vegetable melody. "Desserts are for woman!" he shouted as he started to get up from his seat. "Suit yourself." she replied as she continued to eat.

Roy and Ariana started loading the dishes away as everyone rubbed their stomachs in delight. As soon as the left Rin came out with the first tray of goodies, soon after Roy came out with another and Ariana with a medium sized cylinder container.

"For dessert..." she started and everyone turned their heads cursing that they ate too much. "We have apple flavored macarons, fresh fudge brownies and vanilla ice cream. Do not worry if you are full we can put these away they will not go bad and you can have them later with a cup of chamomile tea." she said happily before she grabbed a plate and scooped up a brownie, she then placed the brownie on the plate and topped it with a small scoop of ice cream.

She ducked under the counter, picked up the plate and carried it over to Lady Zula. As she place the plate before her Brian started to drool from the heavenly smell. Lady Zula made a giant show of how delicious it was as she overly did her "Mmhs!".

Everyone started looking at Brian wondering what he was going to do. "Brian would you like a slice?" Ariana asked innocently. "Or are regretting your words from earlier..." she said as she narrowed her eyes, crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a cold stare.

Brian gulped hard causing his Adam"s apple to bobble, he looked at the dessert then at the girl. He brought his big hand to his face and brushed up his fringe. "Well someone go get me a dress?" he said pitifully.