Chapter 24.

“My guardian angel

I only seen you in your halo

I was hoping we could stay close

But we no longer sing the same notеs…” Lost in the citadel - Lil Nas X

March, 2137

Eveline

After I finished dressing in that tiny bathroom and saw the outfit that my chaperones had chosen, I couldn't be happier when there was a wig among the pile of accessories.

In the end I ended up dressed in a black dress with long sleeves, high collar with several straps and ties and which had a horizontal neckline and was open in the back, I also wore high boots that went up to my thighs and some accessories such as rings, earrings and gold necklaces that matched the dress. For my makeup they chose lilac fluorescent shades and contact lenses of the same color that glow in the dark, so after putting them into place I put my makeup on and snapped the wig that hit my shoulder into place and smiled when I saw the result, no one ever would recognize me.

Or they would?

So when I came out of the bathroom I noticed Roman was fiddling with his Cerberum but when he heard the door rattle he turned towards me and smirked as he saw me standing there, his eyes burning into my skin.

“They have good taste I admit, you look stunning,” I heard him say and smiled as I walked over to him while he tucked the device into his pocket and stood up to watch me.

He then held out his hand and I held mine out so he could spin me around, and when he stopped we were facing each other, my hands rested on his strong chest and our rhythmic breaths were almost mingling, our faces just inches apart from each other, and I felt when his gaze landed on my mouth.

I felt his hands travel from my waist down to my back in a slow pace that left a trail of fire wherever his hands touched me.

I would need to have a lot of strength today.

"What can I expect from this party?" I asked really curious as I played with the buttons on his shirt trying to distract myself from the heavy tension in the air and felt the warmth of his skin against my hands and the sweet, slightly woody scent of vanilla he had.

This scent is going to kill me someday I swear.

When I looked up his green eyes had dilated pupils and his hands caressed my bare back very slowly which made a welcome warmth go through my whole body again, I saw that some buttons on his shirt were open and a pendant with a small sword was swinging against his chest but he didn't seem to notice it was there, and I didn't touch it either, but took the opportunity to outline a huge warrior tattooed on his chest.

"Everything about Vortex can be true or false, but I'm sure you'll love it," He said and ran his thumb across my cheek and I smiled and startled when he kissed my forehead and took my hand to pull me along through the greenhouse as I hastily turned off the lights.

“Wow, what a hurry," I said between giggles as I made sure everything was in place before we left.

When we reached the front door I pushed him out, turned off the lights and locked the greenhouse by putting the key in the pot next to the door where a bougainvillea bonsai tree stood. I then put on a leather jacket which he handed me and I let him guide me through the courtyard of the palace until I saw a car parked near the side gate and my mouth hinge open in a “O” shape.

“What the fuck, are you kidding me? Is that what I'm thinking?" I said delighted to see the vintage red Mustang in front of me, Roman chuckled as I walked around the car and ran my hand over the hood.

"Yes it is, do you want to drive, Sunflower?" He asked as he shook the key and I started to laugh in awe.

“I shouldn't, but it's always good to take advantage of opportunities, you never know what could happen tomorrow right, Handsome?" I say and he smiles and throws me the car keys and I run to the driver's side excitedly "Where did you get this car by the way?” I ask as I sit up and close the door and watch as he does the same.

“A friend of mine lent it to me, he works with cars like that in the city,” He said and I nodded as I started the engine and heard the sound of the motor, so I put my seat belt on and he did the same, so I slammed my foot on the gas pedal to get us out of there soon.

When we reached the gate it opened on its own and Roman pointed the way as we watched the city lights that had been blended into shades of blue and pink as Spring Ball advertisements passed along with the rest of the endless billboards and holograms that colored the sky night to assist in the traffic of Space Cars in the upper transit network.

As I sped through the streets I saw a lot of people running around, real patrol cars checking the streets of Glory's as many people were out of curfew, but as it was spring equinox the guards were letting through, I even saw one of them with a flower tiara and it makes me smile.

Roman chuckled when I pointed out the guard in question.

“This is just the beginning princess, I hope this doesn't destroy our image for you,” He said and I chuckled turning onto a street near the Harald River, which was decorated with various flower holograms and shaped twisted iron frames of Iris flowers, the lights projected on the river gave an almost ethereal air to the decor as we got closer to the Vortex district.

“We all have fun Rom, your secret is safe with me,” I said and turned to him for a brief moment and blinked at him as I laughed and sped up.

I saw several people coming and going from food stalls, shops and cybercafés, not counting the bars that were crowded that night across the city. Roman showed me the last turn and when I saw a darker and much more decorated street came up.

The stores here had older signs, from before the war, but they worked as well as the more modern ones, the bars and restaurants were also in the older mold, and people walked around among the cars and motorcycles that they accelerated through the streets and I found it curious that there was no Space Car traffic in this part of the city and the billboards were even lower.

Roman noticed my curiosity and smiled.

“The residents don't have the best access to the latest technologies in this district as you well know, and because of the division of the city's districts this part has been cut off from the crown's heavier patrol and marketing, they run this part of the city like a city of their own and separate from the original, they have their own laws and ways of dealing with the crimes and misunderstandings that happen around here, so the patrol doesn't mess with it,” He explained and I nodded and continued to steer the huge red Mustang between the people.

There were from young people to older people, but everyone was excited and headed to the main avenue called Compression, Roman explained to me as we looked for a place to park the car that this avenue was where all the strongest commerce and the party’s happens and the Equinox Party was held at the most famous nightclub of the district's, The Hurricane.

We found a spot across from what I assumed was a tattoo parlor and where a girl and two guys came out completely painted with various geometric patterns and fluorescent ink designs and it definitely caught my eye.

“Are these tattoos or is she fully naked?” I said amazed and he smiles.

“It's body painting, it comes off after a few days, but it can be done all over the body, I've done it once a long time ago and since then I haven't stopped to go get a new tattoo when I have the chance,” He said and I chuckled and nodded as I turned off the engine and weighed the consequences of what I was about to ask of him.

“I want to do one, on my back,” I say and when I turn to him I see the astonishment splashed on his face, even I am a little amazed by my request but today I don't want to think about anything or what people can think of me, I just want to enjoy the few hours of joy that I'll have here and do what I want.

To be able to free myself for a few hours from the weight of the crown and shield.

“Are you sure?" He asks and I nod and hold his hand and look deep into his damn beautiful green eyes that I loved so much.

“Yes, please Rom!" I plead and he finally agrees, so we get out of the car and after we lock it we walk through the crowd so we can get into the tattoo parlor.

Inside we saw only a middle-aged man with his whole body covered in tattoos, even his metal prosthesis in his hand had some drawings, he had blue eyes and dark hair, when he saw us he smiled at us and I gave him a small smile.

Roman approached him and while he’s talking to him I observed my surroundings and noticed several rooms that were distributed on both sides of the establishment and the sound of tattoo guns and conversations were coming towards us and as strange as it seemed I was loving every minute of the experience.

The rooms had colored neon signs glued to their respectives doors and each one had a different shape and the one that caught my attention the most was the one that had a huge red and orange dragon in it, but there was one with a green snake, another with a butterfly and so many others I couldn't make out until I heard my name called and turned my attention to my guard.

“You talked to me?” I asked as I approached the counter.

“Yeah, he said while we wait for one of the rooms to empty you can choose your design or do it by yourself,” He said and I nodded as the man behind the counter handed me a huge portfolio filled with drawings.

I picked it up and sat down on one of the black reception sofas and started flipping through the binding and saw Roman flipping through another one on the counter as he talked to the man on the other side and given the intimacy between the two I assume he came there a lot.

I then continued to flip through the leaves until I stopped at one with an intricate cluster of blue flowers, and I thought it was funny to recognize the Iris flowers so quickly, but the design was very old and the edges of the leaf were frayed, but automatically without thinking twice I took it out of the case and got up to go to the counter and handed the drawing to the owner that looked at me with surprise in his features.

“I haven't seen anyone choose this for a long time, but it's a good choice kid, where would you like to paint him?" He asked gently and I ran my fingers through the wig to straighten it before answering.

“On my back, I want the blues well lit,” I said and he nodded and typed something into the computer in front of him.

A few minutes later the door with the butterfly opened and a man came out of there with a bandage on his left bicep and waved at us before leaving the store and then a girl about my age appeared, she seemed to be Asian descent like Eileen, but she had orange hair, caramel eyes and lots of piercings in her ears and face, but that didn't make her any less pretty, on the contrary, she wore black military style pants, an orange bodysuit and a black bomber jacket and platform shoes that made her beauty shines.

She looked to all of us standing there in the reception and when her eyes landed on me she smiled and came over to me, she was the same height as me, and I smiled minimally at her when she stopped beside me.

“You must be Venus, my name is Ivy Kurosawa,” She introduced herself and I smiled, finding it funny the name Roman had chosen for me as a disguise “I'll make your paint today, come with me and let the guys hang out a little bit” She said as she winked at the boys and pulled me by the hand into her work room, and before we closed the door I looked back and saw Roman smiling and waving.

When the door closed she indicated the stretcher for me to settle in while she prepared the equipment, as it wasn't a tattoo she was going to use paintbrushes and while I was scanning the room I noticed that the walls were covered with drawings and writings in a completely different language, and the low lighting made each drawing look ethereal and very beautiful.

“Do you like to paint too?" She asks suddenly and I turn my head to the sound of her voice and see that her eyes are locked on me.

“Yeah, it's like an escape route to my life, I usually paint what I feel in each one, and they're like a secret I like to keep from the others,” I say sincerely and am amazed that I told someone else in addition to Scott and Roman, the girl across from me smiles and pulls a chair over to the side of the gurney.

“You shouldn't hide what you feel or what you paint from the world, people have to see because despite being something personal, sometimes a single painting can give comfort in moments of pain to someone or cheer someone up even if we don’t know them and I bet that you're good at it,” She said and I smiled slightly as I turned to her.

“I may be good, but from where I come from it doesn't matter, it doesn't even attract attention and it's considered a complete waste of time for someone like me,” I say and feel the girl's caramel eyes scanning me as if she knew who I was until she she smiled.

I smiled too.

"And who are you Venus?" She asked laughing and emphasizing my false name as she gestured for me to lie down on the gurney.

“Tonight I’m just a free young girl enjoying yourself and going out with his friend to a party but you already know who I truly am by now, but I don't know who I am anymore, and today I wanted to take some time to think about it and I came here to figure this out,” I said as I unbuttoned the dress at the neck and pulled the sleeves out of my arms and leave the dress only tied around my waist as I held the front against my chest to lie down on my stomach in the gurney.

“It's a pleasure to have you here Venus, although we don't appreciate your patrols sniffing through our alleys, having you here means a lot to us, and I hope the experience is worth it,” She said as she ran a product to sterilize the skin of my back causing goosebumps to run there.

“I appreciate you welcoming me and not making a big deal of it, you gesture means a lot to me, and despite the isolation made against the choice of many I would like to keep in touch with you guys if it’s possible," I said looking over my shoulder to saw the smirk that curved in her red-painted lips.

“It will be a pleasure to have you here again Miss Taylor, count on us when you need it,” She said sincerely and I nodded, laying my head on the gurney and letting her work.

We talked a little about drawings and I asked about the drawings she had on the wall, she explained that they came from where she lived, a small town on the outskirts of De'Ath and as she explained some more things about the drawings something occurred to me and I had to ask her, the curiosity getting the better of me.

"You know him don't you?” I asked and the brush stopped moving on the skin near my waist and I raised myself slightly to look at her, her face frozen in a thoughtful expression.

"Roman?" She asked in a quietly way and I nodded as I watched her dip her brush in a light blue neon tone and go back to work and I wait her to continue to talk “I don't know him as well as Steve, but he's a regular customer, and despite being a guard he's well regarded around here, one of the few we've allowed around here to be honest,” She says and I nodded letting the information be digested by me as she worked.

“I see, he's a very sweet person to me,” I say without thinking and hear her chuckle.

“He's a complicated creature, I've seen several facets of him there but today was one of the first times I saw him smile so openly at someone in the entire time I know him because when I met him he was just a big guy with a closed expression, a mean face mixed with bad behavior but he always had this big heart of him and when I saw the interaction between the two of you at the reception I think it was a really interesting thing to watch, the mere mention of you being away for so much time scare him, he didn’t show this to you but I saw it in his eyes, the internally conflict, he adores being around you and had your attention, I know you had a fiancé but if you don’t see the look he gaves to you every time he looks on your direction you are mad of your head, girl!” She said and I chuckled as I felt the brush slide across my skin and I think that she’s is right.

“He become a constant figure in my life over the last month, and even though I've known him so recently I felt a different connection to him and I see what you are talking about but I really don’t know how to handle this situation, I don’t want to hurt him an hurt myself in the process it’s so difficult and oh god! I don't know why I'm babbling about it to you, I'm sorry for bothering you with this,” I said feeling my face heat up from almost confessing to a complete stranger my feelings for my guard.

Because fuck I want him so bad that it hurts.

"Don't be sorry, sometimes we feel things for other people that we can't explain where it comes from and if they will be reciprocated, we just feel it and when we realize it feels like it's always been there, I clearly see in the jornal and I’m the digital magazine that you don't feel good with the son of the McQuoid president, to be honest that kid never gave me good vibes, I can't say why but I think he's a weird prick,” She says and I sigh deeply with my memories running in a thousand miles in my head before answering.

“It's a completely foreign situation for me and the circumstances I'm involved in, but I need to do this for everyone who needs me, it doesn’t matter anymore for me to found the real love, I lost the chance in the last month, I don’t have time anymore and my people needs me,” I say and she stops again and I turn around leaning on my elbows and seeing a shocked expression on her face and I realize that I said too much.

"Are you saying you're willing to throw your happiness out the window for all of us?" She asked completely amazed and I simply nodded and she shook her head and some orange curls tumbled over her contorted face, her eyebrows arched in confusion, the piercings in the corner of each one pulling at the skin “It’s a strange thing to heard in those days but I appreciate your choice but always remember what are you feeling about this, before the crown in your head you had feelings and a beautiful hearth sweetheart, but you really are a different one, Miss Taylor, ” It was all she said before turning back to her work and we were silent as we analyzed our last words.

Was this my biggest dilemma these past few weeks, whether to be unhappy with Nathan or to throw it all away, stay with Roman and live happily ever after? But even if I took the last option there was still a lot to figure out and my dad would definitely try to get rid of Roman and I couldn't risk losing him, and even though I could never have he the way I wanted just the possibility of being able to see his face every day already soothed my soul in so many ways that I was sure it would be enough for me to handle my fake marriage trough the years of my reign.

But he was Roman, and I could never get enough of him.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when she stopped painting and announced that she was done, so while she straightened everything up I got up and went to the mirror to look to my back so when I reached the mirror and look at the masterpiece that she made on me I was amazed with the sight of it.

The design was an intricate pattern of Iris flowers that filled the entire length of my back, the blue flowers glowed in that ethereal greenish light in Ivy's room and the branches in a dark, bright green curled around each other leaving the flowers in total highlight, it was a beautiful and time-consuming work but it had turned out wonderful.

“It's so beautiful, I’m in awe for this, thank you so much!" I said turning to her and saw the smile break out on her lips again.

“I’m glad you like it, now let's get you back before Roman comes after me,” She said and I smiled and hurriedly to put my dress back on and buttoned the neck of it before we got out of her work room.

When we got back to reception I didn't see him or the older man I found out to be named Steve so we spent a free minutes alone there chatting with each other about random things and laughing and when I was telling her about some brand of oil paintings the room with the dragon in the door opened and Roman walked out looking at his own forearm before pulling down his sleeves of his shirt and looking around to find me staring at him and he hurried his pace to come to me with a beautiful dimpled smile on his pink plumped lips and I smile too.

He really liked tattoos.

I smiled at him and turned around, leaving my back exposed for him to see the design and watching him over my shoulder. He froze in his tracks and stopped to see the design, he then slowly approached and gently touched my back with his fingertips and I noticed that the ink was already dry.

“It looks very…beautiful on you," He said quietly just for me to hear and I smiled at him and turned towards him, our eyes meeting as we forgot about the noise of people and conversations in the street outside, as well as the presence from Ivy and Steve.

"Thanks," I muttered under my breath until someone cleared their throat behind us and I noticed that Ivy was staring at us with a curious look on her face.

“Well I'm going to pretend I didn't notice anything, just like Steve does, but be careful out there, you might be in disguise but if I recognized you anyone can,” The orange haired one said and we nodded.

After that Roman paid for our designs even though Ivy said mine was free, and we said goodbye to them and left the studio and as soon as the door slammed the sounds of the city and their distinctive smells hit my nose hard and among them the food one, which made my stomach growl and Roman chuckled beside me as he took my hand and pulled me toward the crowd.

“Come on, I know a really good place around here, let's eat before we head to the Hurricane,” He said and I nodded as we walked through the crowd hand in hand and I couldn't ask for anything better than this.

For the first time in a while I feel free, and it’s an amazing thing and I just want to enjoy this so I follow him wherever he is leading me.