| Chapter 14 Stavros rounded the couch, grabbed Xenia around the waist and pulled her back. He was rather calm trying to control a very out of control Xenia. Nikolas tried to catch his breath. Alexis stood in the doorway for a moment before slamming the door behind her. She smiled at Nikolas. "I see you have met your cousin. Charming, isn't she? What did you do to rate an attack? She only kidnapped me." "YOU WERE NOT KIDNAPPED!" Xenia continued to fight and squirm, which in an evening gown, seemed rather absurd. "I asked for help, blah, blah, blah." Alexis calmly took a seat on the couch. "I suppose Sonny ASKED for you to shoot him." Xenia stopped struggling long enough to taunt Alexis. �If I�D shot him�..he�d be DEAD now!� She continued struggling. Nikolas tilted his head, she really had lost all control. �Doesn�t she know Sonny NEVER dies? It�s one of the basic natural laws or something.� Alexis pursed her lips and shook her head. �I think what they did today was down right barbaric.� �He shouldn�t have been on MY island.� Xenia spat. �It�s MY island, and while I agree they were trespassing, a fox hunt? Very poor taste.� �Actually, it�s my island.� Stavros clamped a hand over Xenia�s mouth before she could say another word. Nikolas opened his mouth to counter but Alexis stopped him. �Nikolas, we�re Cassadines, not Quartermaines, aren�t we above this argument?� Nikolas sighed, �Point taken.� She smiled, �Thank you. We may be barbaric, gothic, twisted, Euro-trash�..but Quartermaine? Never!� �Thank heavens for semis.� Nik winked. �Well I never planned on changing my name anyway.� Xenia stopped struggling and Stavros let her go. �Well aren�t you two glib?� She snarked. �When one finds himself..� Alexis cleared her throat. �..or herself,� Nikolas corrected, �in a situation such as this, it is best to keep ones sense of humor.� �It�s a new Cassadine philosophy. We are trying it as an alternative to poison.� Alexis added. Stavros poured a drink and handed it to Xenia. �Why don�t you pour one for yourself FATHER. I�ve heard you enjoy a nice cocktail, or two, or twelve.� �Yes, but I prefer to get�Euro-trashed after dinner. I find being drunk in front of the guests causes me to tell them what I really think of them.� �And�..� �I would rather save my truth telling for my son, later tonight.� Nikolas stood and offered his hand to Alexis who stood as well. �Save it. We won�t be staying. Where is the phone?� �I�m afraid it is out of order.� Xenia smiled for the first time, feeling like she actually had the upper hand. �You should be afraid of what I will do to you if someone does not produce a working phone in the next ten seconds!� �My son seems to have lost sight of his new Cassadine philosophy.� Nikolas frowned at him, �Don�t make me resort to the old one.� �You mean to poison me? Do you know the punishment for threatening the Prince?� �Will I be hunted down by the dobermans and shot?� �Oh no, we�re bored with that game.� �I have an advantage here Father. You�d never harm me, but I�ll do whatever it takes to get off this island. WHERE is Gregor?� �He will be joining us for dinner.� Stavros moved toward the door. �Come, or we will be late.� He offered his hand to Xenia who immediately moved to take it. Nikolas began to follow but Alexis stopped him. �Give us a minute.� Stavros bowed, �We do have guests Alexis, don�t keep them waiting long.� He and Xenia exited and closed the door behind them. Nikolas gave her a puzzled look, �Alexis, what is it?� �Nikolas, I�m not certain Gregor will help us.� �Don�t be ridiculous, the man works for me. He has my entire life.� �And before that, he worked for your Father.� �I am the Prince. I AM in charge Alexis. I am the one with the power.� �And exactly how have you been using that power?� Adonia closed the pantry door firmly. Alexis found herself surrounded by canned goods and preserves. She�d spent many a good cry in this pantry. It was her only refuge when the weather was too bad to escape to the cove. She would hide from Helena and Adonia would bring her cookies or pastries and soothe her broken heart. It was a wonder she didn�t weigh 300 pounds. �What has Nikolas ever done to you?� Alexis asked again. Adonia shook her head, �Sit down child.� Alexis reluctantly took a seat on the step stool. As a child, it had been a perfect fit, now she felt like an idiot. Adonia towered over her. �I have known that boy since the day he was born. I know him as well as I know you which is to say that once he left this island, I ceased to know him at all!� Alexis�s mouth fell open, �How can you say that?� Adonia sighed, �How can I not? Take a look around you Alexis, look at what we have become.� Alexis shook her head. �I see a bunch of canned goods and preserves.� Adonia laughed, �Not what I meant but actually�.it is an apt description. We are preserved, but now it appears there is no intention to ever use us.� Alexis frowned, she didn�t understand. �You take the fruit, when in season, and cook it down, treat it to last�.because when winter comes and it is out of season you can enjoy it still. When Stefan took the Prince to America, we all assumed they would return shortly. We went about our business, little changed. But then months turned into a year and then several years. Several of our guests left. Once they realized there was nothing to be gained here, they looked elsewhere. The younger servants grew bored, they left as well. We made do without them, it was easy. There were so few people to serve. No parties, no intrigue. No one to work for�.I was sad�� �Adonia, I�m sorry.� Adonia shrugged, �I could not leave, I am an old woman. The island is the only life I have ever known. All of my memories are here, I have no family left�.except I thought you�your family�was my family.� Alexis stood up and hugged her. Adonia dotted at her eyes with her apron, �Oh, look at me, don�t feel sorry for me. I know very well that I am not one of you, nor would I want to be, but I love what I do, I loved to cook for you, to serve you. The mania of the parties, planning for the balls, anticipating the important guests that used to come. All of that gone now. Now I feed vultures. The last of the guests who have no where else to go. Not because of what Nikolas did�but because of what he didn�t do. He didn�t come home.� �Adonia, I don�t know what to say.� �All of this hurt but�.last year�last year was the final insult.� �Insult?� �Why do you think all the guests are here Alexis, in the main house I mean?� Alexis looked puzzled. �All of them? What about the cottages?� �We had to close the cottages, move everyone here to save money.� �Save money�..Adonia don�t be ridiculous!� �The budget for the island�.he cut it in half!� �What on earth�.there must be some mistake! Did you speak with him?� �We had a meeting after the accountant called. We discussed it. But�we do have SOME pride left Alexis. We may be old and the Prince may have decided we are worthless but we won�t BEG him�.� Nikolas groaned and fell back on the couch. He�d heard enough of her story. �So THAT�S what is going on.� Alexis sat beside him. �Nikolas, why would you��..� �I DIDN�T!� �Adonia doesn�t lie.� Nikolas shook his head, �I�m not saying that, it is�.well it is entirely possible that I approved a budget cut but I�.do you have any idea how many papers I sign a day? Why didn�t they just call me?� �She said it was a matter of pride.� �Well that is just foolish! It was a mistake, these things happen all the time, if they had just called�� �It wasn�t a business mistake in their eyes Nikolas. They don�t think in those terms.� Nikolas smiled a little, �I can just see Williams now. Stiff upper lip�we will make do�..� �And then Stavros shows up and�.� �He has them all believing he can make the island wonderful again. Good King Stavros has returned from the Crusades and evil Prince Nikolas is about to get kicked out of Sherwood Forest.� ��for stealing the peasant�s gold. You�re screwed.� �Ya�.I�m screwed.� ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* �Brenda�stay back and let me check it out!� Brenda ignored him and pointed in the window. �Look, there are sheets over the furniture.� �So�� �So that is the international symbol for EMPTY!� Brenda walked through the front door. �They didn�t even lock it?� Jason mumbled. �Why bother? You think crime is a big problem here? They probably behead people for stuff.� Jason made a quick sweep of the room. Lots of windows. He headed toward the back, there were two other exits. French doors in the living room, a back door in the kitchen, all were unlocked. �There�s not much dust, it hasn�t been empty long.� He flipped a light switch, �No electricity though.� �But there is water!� Brenda shouted from the hall bathroom. She turned off the tap and bolted for the stairs. �What are you doing?� �I call dibs on the shower!� �Fine, but hurry, we aren�t staying long.� �I don�t know where you are going but I�m sleeping here!� �We can�t��.� She ignored him and continued up the stairs. He still felt a little sick. A shower sounded great. Brenda let out a shriek and Jason raced up the stairs. He KNEW he shouldn�t have let her go up without checking first. �Brenda!� He banged on the first door he came to. �There is water, but it�s COLD!� She yelled over the spray. Jason sighed. He felt his pulse return to normal. �I�ll be out in a minute.� �Fine!� It was probably good that the water was cold. If it had been hot she would have spent the whole night in the bathroom. Jason looked around. Only two bedrooms upstairs. There was another shower, but he would wait until she finished. Someone had to stand guard. He sniffed at his shirt. Brenda was right, it smelled awful. He pulled it off and headed for one of the bedrooms. He pulled open a drawer, it was full of women�s clothes. He closed it and went to the wardrobe on the far side of the room. Men�s clothes. Not exactly his style but this was no time to be picky. He found a pair of khakis and held them up. They would fit. Maybe a little baggy but�he found a belt. Now a shirt. He pushed a couple of old suits out of the way but there were no shirts, only two sweaters. He shrugged and grabbed one. They would be hot during the day but he could go shirtless and tie it around his waist or something. At least he would be warm if they had to sleep outside. He�d noticed the temperature had dropped considerably since the sun was going down. Brenda stood shivering in the doorway. �All finished.� She was dripping wet in a towel. �That was quick.� �The water is freezing and..� �And what?� �There is shampoo but no conditioner.� �We�ll register a complaint with the concierge when we check out.� �Very funny. Like conditioner would make any difference on that�..never mind, I�m freezing.� Jason ran his hand over his head, �What?� �Just go take your damn shower!� Jason stalked up the hall. What was her problem? There was nothing wrong with his hair. �Brenda.� �What?� �Come here.� She poked her head out in the hall. �I�m trying to find something to wear.� �Fine but come here.� She hopped up the hall. �What!� �I need for you to stay up here.� �Fine!� �No�I need for you to stay up here on THIS floor and listen. If you hear anyone down stairs, you have to let me know.� �Fine!� �I mean it .� �AAAAhhh. I said fine. I�ll stay up here. I�ll listen.� �I�ll leave the door unlocked. If someone comes in you have to be VERY quiet and let me know.� �So then what?� �I don�t know but if we get caught��..I prefer not to be naked when it happens.� �Just get in the shower before I freeze to death.� �You�ll do it? Not like today when you left me there��..� �I�m NOT leaving. Just go, you stink.� Jason shook his head and proceeded to the bathroom. Brenda looked around. She looked in the dresser in the first bedroom Jason had been in. The clothes were too big�.WAY too big. The wardrobe had a few items hanging in it but appeared to belong to a man. Again, WAY too big. She headed across the hall. The room was pretty, very feminine but had that distinctive smell of an older person. Almost like a sick room. She looked around. There were some truly hideous gowns in the dresser, but they were small. The other drawers were empty. A trunk sat at the end of the bed. The beds had been stripped but there was a large quilt hanging over the trunk. Brenda grabbed it and pulled it around her for warmth. She started to sit down but then decided to open the trunk instead. The inside was filled with clothes. Old clothes, special clothes. There was a christening gown on top and Brenda carefully took it out and laid it on the bed. The next one, was a dress. A satin number that had seen better days. Under it, was a soft beige blouse made entirely of lace. Victorian style and in very good shape. Made to last. She pulled it out as well. Not very practical, but she was running out of options. She saw black and reached for it. Her best color, the one that never let her down and smiled when she straightened it out. A little black dress. It was classic. Low cut, knee length. Very simple. It would do for now until her clothes were dry in the morning. She slipped it on. It was a little too big but considering she would have to sleep in it, that was probably a good thing. Problem was, it was sleeveless and she was freezing. She went back to the other bedroom and grabbed the huge sweater she�d seen earlier in the wardrobe. It was a cardigan, she shrugged it on. She found a hairbrush and pulled the knots out of her hair. It was going to curl and frizz and there was nothing she could do about it. She stood in front of the bathroom door like a good little girl. The water wasn�t off for two minutes before Jason emerged. She was about to turn to go down the stairs but froze. Her hand covered her mouth. Jason stared at her, �What?� She started laughing. �You! You�you look like�� �Like what?� �You look like���Jason QUARTERMAINE!� �Huh?� Jason looked down at the clothes he had chosen and stepped back into the bathroom to check his reflection in the mirror. Hair slicked back, preppy, white, v-neck sweater, khakis�..she was right. He looked like every photograph he had ever seen of Jason Quartermaine. �It�s all I could find.� He grumbled. �Oh I love it. You look so�.harmless.� �Well look whose talking. We are on the run Brenda, not going to a cocktail party.� �This is all I could find. I figured you wouldn�t let me wear a gown to bed in case we have to make a run for it. My clothes should be dry by morning.� �You look ridiculous.� �I could go nude if you prefer.� She batted her eye lashes. �Keep the dress.� �I�m starving!� She raced down the stairs and Jason followed her. For once, she had the right idea. |