5 Tempest

Tendrils of wind and light twisted and turned over the bed of Thea Queen, a crackling sound emanating from it. What was this? Suddenly two beings appeared and flopped upon the bed. It was none other than Thea Queen herself and the one known as Caden Price, a Dragon Lord.

They had landed with a heavy thud upon the mattress, causing it to squeak. It could have been heard through the house, but it could be easily ignored or dismissed. That is if the house wasn't empty of Thea only mere moments ago.

The sound of the mattress attracted the attention of one person.

"Wooo..." Thea said as she laid flat out on the bed, she looked to Caden laying beside her on his side. "That felt really weird, but let's do that again sometime." She felt dizzy, as if she was high, it felt like a placebo of sorts.

Caden shrugged slightly as he dug himself into the bed and snickered taking off his glasses. He tossed them aside, as they snapped in half and returned to the form of sticks. He then removed his blazer which dissipated to nothingness, along with his shoes. "Sounds like something I can do," he announced proudly before looking towards her bedroom door.

He could hear, smell and feel someone coming closer. The size, build and scent of the person was already in his mind. The only person this could possibly be was Steele, Walter Steele. Her mother was currently downstairs in the common room.

"Oh..." Caden uttered quietly as he watched the door knob unlock and turn.

As her bedroom door swung open, there was a tall man dressed in business attire. He had dark brown skin, chocolate eyes and a stern yet soft demeanor.

Walter Steele cleared his throat looking at the two of them on the bed. Thea was fully dressed and even still had her shoes on. In contrast, he could see that the one he could only assume was her boyfriend, was without his shoes.

He looked around and saw none, where was this boy's shoes? He wasn't going to fully investigate that mental note, as he tilted his head slightly. "You must be Caden? What was that loud sound?" He flexed his eyelids, wanting a clear answer.

"Caden Price, Sir, pleasure to meet you." Caden would graciously brush a hand through Thea's newly cut hair before stepping off the bed and walking over to the man. Offering his hand to shake.

"Walter Steele, Likewise," Steele raised a brow with a small smile curving over his lips, he shook the boy's hand. He took in the fact that he was wearing formal wear. It was common for eccentric teens to wear it. Though usually they're hipsters of sorts. It seemed this young man was no acception.

"And the noise?" Walter questioned once more as he'd feel the heavy grip Caden granted him during their shake.

"We kinda jumped onto the bed," Caden said which caused Steele to look over at Thea who nodded calmly. It was generally no reason to think otherwise, how else would the bed make so much noise?

Walter pointed to Thea, "Nice cut."

Thea moved to rest on her side, propping her elbow upon the bed to hold her head up on her hand. "Thanks," she wore a face of smiling lowkey disdain, she wanted him out of the room.

Walter laughed inwardly through his nose, "Caden. Thea's mother would like to meet you. Mind coming along?" He gestured towards the door.

Caden simply stared at him for a few moments before glancing over at Thea. Seeing her sigh in annoyance, he shrugged as if it couldn't be helped. Though he expected this as soon as they returned. If they knew he was here, they'd want to meet this mystery boy that suddenly appeared in her life.

Walter stepped back and lead Caden out of the room. Letting the door hang open as they walked away and down the steps.

They made it to the common room within moments.

Caden and Moira immediately locked eyes the moment they turned the corner from the foyer. "Pleasure to meet you Ms.Queen." He almost immediately spat out as they came closer. He held out a hand to shake as she stood up.

It felt like a business meeting where they were meeting for the first time. "You must be Caden," Moira said as she moved her head slightly to observe him. She then gestured for him to sit on the couch opposite of herself.

"Price. Caden Price," He sat down without complaint, his hands folded in his lap.

"How old are you Caden?" Moira asked as she folded her hands in her lap.

"Fifteen years old, early September baby, Virgo." He squinted his eyes at her, this was a typical question from a parent such as this. "My parents were murdered when I was five," he said as he clasped his hands a bit tighter, knowing she would ask about them.

Moira frowned a bit when he said that he was an orphan. Though he was nicely dressed, could he have some sort of trust fund? Was he adopted into a rich family? She had many different things in her mind. "Where are you from?"

Caden leaned his back deeply into the couch as he was asked this question. "Lancaster, Pennsylvania." He yawned involuntarily, covering his mouth as he did so since he was unable to stop it.

So far she didn't hear anything she disliked about him, though why was a boy from Lancaster all the way out here? He obviously wasn't Amish from what she could see. "Where are you staying now?"

Caden was tempted to shrug, but that wasn't what he wanted to do. "A family friend's apartment complex. They took me in five years ago," he responded as he was continuing to build his cover. With this little interview, it seemed he was going to be able to build up his backstory.

Moira found this as his family having connections, which meant he wasn't leaving this area anytime soon. He couldn't offer him money to leave, because he had to be eighteen years old in order to manage a household or at least sixteen.

She wasn't going to pay him off, she didn't seem like she was going to attempt and get rid of him. "Where did you and Thea go tonight?"

Caden smiled a bit when she asked this question. "We went to a hair studio, got something to eat and then hung out at the park. We stopped at Tommy's for a good minute to wish him a happy birthday, caught up with Laurel, and then came back here."

Walter was now seated in the armchair between the two couches. Looking over Caden as he was answering these questions. He could tell that these were at least truthful for the most part.

"No drugs? No alcohol?" Moira asked as the fingers of her right hand inquisitively drummed on the back of her left hand.

"None. Just Ramune and Rice Balls," Caden responded before looking over towards Walter for a few moments before looking back over towards Moira.

"Ramune?" Moira asked with a brow raised, she knew what it was, she just wasn't expecting her daughter to drink it. She was more of a partier, she prefered other beverages so to speak.

Caden didn't respond to this question, as it was more so a question to herself. As if she didn't understand why her own daughter drank it. So he had no problem just letting that pass over before glancing to the ceiling then around the room. "It's a shame what happened to Robert," he blurted out which made both of the adults look at him.

"What are you going on about...?" Moira asked as she had no idea what he knew, or how he would know anything regarding his death.

Caden leaned forward, folding his fingers beneath his chin with his hands clasped together. However he didn't say anything right away. He could smell her scent, he could hear her breathing. Thea was behind the wall, right behind him, listening to the conversation.

"What's past is prologue," He quoted the play by William Shakespeare, The Tempest. Hinting towards the fact that someone from within the very organization she was apart of, had something to do with her husband's death.

Walter on the other hand took this quote as saying that what is the past is the past, and that he was going on nothing. That or he knew something that lead up to this point. Many ideas were getting in the way of his deduction.

"Anything else you want to know?" Caden asked as he leaned back again, becoming a bit more relaxed, no longer tense.

"You go to school?" Walter took over the conversation as Moira relented from asking anymore questions.

He seemed to smile at him when he asked this. "I graduated from High School during the summer, since I skipped a few grades in elementary." Caden responded which made them raise their brows, it meant he was extremely smart for someone his age.

"And who is financing you?" Walter asked as he was rather curious, "And what are you looking to do in the future?"

Caden looked over at Walter with a dull expression as they were going down that route. Digging more into his life. He just wanted to get back to hanging out with Thea who was currently spying on the conversation. "My parents left me a sizable fund before they were murdered," he responded with a sigh, "For the time being I'm just looking at the present. Still deciding on a future." His tone was simple, to the point, like an automated computer.

Walter nodded slowly as he stood up, looked at Moira before gazing at Caden once-over. "Then get back to it," he clapped and rubbed his hands together. Officially releasing him, from their hold.

Caden let out a exhale as he got up from the couch, nodded to the two of them before rushing around from the commons area and towards the stairs.

Thea walked over to him and patted him on the shoulder. "And this is why I bring no one home."

Caden nodded slightly before walking over to a nearby bookshelf and snatching a small book. He then turned and smirked at Thea as he followed her up the steps.

"So you have a place to stay?" She asked as she had overheard the conversation.

Shaking his head, "Not yet." He responded with a hushed tone as he probably figured that the guards in the house might relay any information they hear. "Unless you want me to be your pet snake."

Thea didn't seem to question the book that he had grabbed from the shelf at all. Instead she completely dismissed it.

When they entered her room and Thea closed the door behind them, she tilted her head to the side slightly. "So what do you know about my dad and brother's deaths?" She was immediately triggered by the conversation from earlier.

"The Queen's Gambit was located last year, somewhere near Australia. The storm wasn't what caused it to sink," he narrowed his eyes on her with a serious expression. "It was blown apart by plastic explosives."

Thea turned pale hearing this, she looked about on the verge of an anxiety attack, she was about ready to cry. They hadn't been killed by a storm, thy had been deliberately murdered. However, before she could lose her balance, she balled up her fists and tensed as she used her willpower alone to continue standing. "Why... Why would someone do that?"

Caden's expression was blank as his eyes traced a tear which was making its way down her cheek, over her lips and dripping to the ground. "Because he wanted to save this city." He dropped the book that contained the list of names of those involved with the organization known as Tempest onto the bed.