Chrisom Roses

Chapter 13

This was the hardest chapter ever for me. I never had my couples fight before and man it was hard…

I'm sorry they seem a bit out of character, I just wanted to show that even soulmates fight, mates aren't immune to that. Please go easy on me, okay?

The song is 'Only Us' from the musical, Dear Evan Hanson. I thought it'd cool to see how Willa coped before she came home and had her do it to at least say sorry.

Once again, guys, thank you for all the reviewers, favorites, and followers! You rock so much, lovelies! Please give me more, I write faster with reviews~

Disclaimer:

I do not claim the original fairy tale, but CR's plot and characters belong to me. Any famous songs, TV show/movies/books and manga names, and brands that are mentioned in this work belong to their rightful owners.

Willa Field

-.-.-.-.-

Eleven:

Dancing with Danger

-.-.-.-.-

The sun disappeared slowly into the sparkling Zacific Sea; the sky was painted with happy reds and purples as the day faded into night. As the day bled into a peaceful night, Willa practiced her shooting, trying to calm the raising worries in her chest, on the rooftop of the school. The ginger wanted to just be alone for the moment, because at the moment her nerves were standing on edge and she would bite anyone's head off.

Weeks passed since Lilia told them the truth, things were finally going back to normal. However, four days ago while the girls were out shopping for new outfits for the annual masquerade, the feeling of being watched begun to crawl over her skin. She thought at first, she was being silly and went on with her business, but when it kept coming over her, Willa knew the feeling warranted her worrying:

The ginger didn't want to say anything to anyone about it yet, knowing anyone that she knows would go crazy and lock her away until they knew for sure the danger was done and she wanted to be free a bit more going into lockdown for her mate's sake.

So, for three days, the teen kept her silence about the stinging feeling which grew with every passing day. Soon, the feeling got so strong that Willa feared the new kidnapper was already there for her and was watching her, waiting for the right time to take her. She knew she should tell someone, but she remembered how protective Adnet was of her and shuddered when the thought of him locking the ginger away once again entered her mind.

So, there she was, shooting arrows to help her try to figure out what to do as she furiously fought off the feeling of building fear in her chest when she heard a small sound, something like someone's silent attempts at sneaking failed when their footstep skated against the cement floor of the school's large roof, sending her body into a tense stance as her lips twisted into a scowl.

"Who's there?! If you don't show yourself in three seconds, I'll shoot your f*****g head off! Don't mess with me right now, you do not want to see me pissed off!" She growled out through clenched teeth, pointing her bow towards the sound as her breath quickened with a mixture of fear and anger.

A startled yelp followed her shout before Lili came out slowly, her hands out in front of her in a peace gesture and a wide-eyed expression at her friend's uncharacteristic anger. Willa sighed deeply, dropping her arm's aim, rubbing her head.

Well crap, she thought, knowing that her secret was out now. She had no way to explain her anger away.

"Dang, sis, I was coming to get you, calm down. I come in peace. Adnet's lesson is done and he wanted to hang out. Are you okay, Willie?" Lilia questioned softly, c*****g her head as she dropped her hands back to her side. The ginger sighed once more, shaking her head steadily as she lifted her fingers to the bridge of her nose to hold back a raging headache:

"I'm sorry, Lili, I'm just on edge about something. Let's go and I'll tell you, okay?"

The ravenette nodded slowly, frowning before moving to the back of the chair and pushed the ginger through the door leading to the ground floor where their friends were waiting with smiles on their faces. But when they saw the expression playing across her face, her friends looked at each other worryingly, but simply asked if everything was okay:

Willa sighed, stating she was fine when her mate asked if she was okay, before the group went to a local hangout in Saza Gae, Sweet Dreams, for a treat.

While on the way, Willa was happy that no one tried to talk her while they were in the car, so she could have time to find a way to explain to her friends what was going on with her, because she knew everyone noticed the change in her mood by now. She sighed deeply as she moved her gray orbs forward where Adnet was sat in front of the steering wheel of his new Zaza*, feeling that he would be the one to freak the most.

And that meant she would be in so much trouble for not voicing her suspensions as soon as they started. She knew she was stupid to do that, she knew that; especially when her life is in danger.

Willa just was scared that Adnet would have gone too far to protect her from dangers. The thought of her being locked up in her room, again, even if it was for her own good, was the first reason that she didn't say a word of her fears. She didn't want to be reminded of her time back at the farmhouse, when her sisters locked the ginger into the dirty room she had to live in when their father had to leave for business. She shuddered at that thought:

Willa knew that Adnet's reason behind locking her up was so much different from her sisters' and he just wants to protect her because she's his entire world, but she was worried that he would cause her to have a panic attack, ruining her progress.

She exhaled, shaking her head to free herself before she unbuckled her seatbelt; smiling at Adnet when he came to place her chair. A few minutes later, the large group sat at a table by a bay window, treats and food were placed all over it as her friends all laughed at some joke while Willa stared out the window, still feeling the eerie sparks over her skin. The feeling finally disappeared, for only a moment, when a large landed on her shoulder, and she jumped before she turned her head to see Adnet frowning worriedly down at the ginger.

"Love, are you okay? You have seemed off lately." He questioned tenderly, c*****g his head to the side. Lilia, when she heard this, came over with a nod and a frown placed on her lips as well:

"Yeah, sissy, you almost took my head off when I came to get you. It isn't like you. What's worrying you so much?"

The teenager bit her lip hard, not sure how to begin, but then blew out a shaky breath before she wheeled away from the many pairs of eyes on her and crossed her arms over her chest. Time's up, she accepted as she closed her cloudy eyes.

"I think the Deadly White Raven is watching me, guys. I can't shake the feeling of being watched…" As soon as the name left her mouth, gasps sounded through their corner of the shop.

The large group went to a horrified frenzy, but the worst reaction, understandably, was Adnet. Forgetting his food, Adnet roared low in his throat as he ripped the petite ginger around, screaming angrily:

"Why didn't you tell me, Willa?!" He shook her before the blonde whimpered, hugging her body to his, shuddering at the thought of that. The thought of the son of the Rebels' general stalking his mate was horrifying, especially when he heard the rumors about him.

The Deadly Raven wasn't evil, he knew that, but the rumors are saying that, to protect his mate, he had to become what his father wanted him to be and what he hated the most; a merciless warrior who followed every single order the Rebel Queen spat out.

Otherwise, the punishment will be deadly for not only him, but the one he loves the most. Adnet could sympathize with the nameless warrior, knowing if he were him he would kill to protect Willa, but if the guy comes anywhere near her; Adnet will do just that. He will regret the day he will meet the Beast.

While the angry Elf planned the Deadly Twit's—what he is dubbed as in his mind now—death, the young ravenette stood there just staring at the couple, the burning feeling of a mixture of dread and passion sitting in her chest.

A feeling she thought she left back in the Rebels' county because they caused her even more than her birth parents did before her adoptive mom and dad took in when Lilia was eight she hid the feelings deep inside her heart as soon as she finally left and put her horrible past behind her, but then the name reawakened the good memories she had there.

Even though she loved them to death, the memories were something she wanted to remember. She didn't want anything to stand in the way of her future, no matter how much she missed her Raven. And no matter what his reasons are, they were enemies now and she would do anything to protect her new family.

She cracked a small smile at the thought that they were like a modern version of Romeo and Juliet, meant to be but destined to fight, before Adnet's voice cut through her thoughts:

"Okay, Willa Rose, you are going to be homeschooled from now. I will not let you out of my sight." Adnet growled angrily, his ambers glowing in anger, but Willa matched him with an even more louder growl as she pushed him away from her.

Everyone was shocked as they watched her evenly met his eyes, her hands on her hips as an angry flush danced its way across her lovely face. They never saw the warm ginger angry with her beloved mate before:

"Adnet, don't be ridiculous. I won't be alone at school and you or Alec is always with me every day. Besides, I know how to take care of myself." This earned her another deep growl, his curled fists were shaking at his sides.

Their friends' eyes widen as the argument grew more intense as the ginger's expression became twisted with fury. It was rare to see mates fight, and even rarer when they were as close as Adnet and Willa were. Not even Russel and Maddie fought, but when it's about their mate's safety; the bonder would take matters into their own hands, no matter how much the bondee would protest it. But, Willa didn't back down:

"Willa, you don't have your powers yet, there's no way you will stand a chance against him! Are you insane?! That's it, when we get home, you are to stay in the castle and you are not allowed to leave without me. You aren't in your mind if you think you're ready to fight a magical being."

Lilia and Maria gasped, covering their mouths in shock. Adnet went too far and he'll hate himself when the anger faded and realized it. They moved their eyes to Willa, whimpering when they saw tears well up in her beautiful cloudy orbs. Oh Adnet, the girls echoed in their minds, you need to shut your mouth:

"So, I'm just a weak, little girl to you? Someone to lock away?" Willa whispered in a breath, looking up at his beautiful ambers, trying to make him realize that he was going too far, but his anger made him blind and right now, the Beast was digging himself a bigger hole and it would be difficult to climb out of it.

"Right now, yes! I'm doing this for your own good. Someday, you will realize that. You'll be able to leave once your powers reawakens."

"Well, you don't have to worry about me now." She growled out through her clenched teeth, stepping back even further from him with her hands clenching the wheels tightly, the group knew what was coming next and Adnet will hate it. Her eyes shifted to the wide-eyed Lilia, her face going blank:

"Lili, I'm sorry, but can I stay with you for a while? I'll ask Fayra too when we get there. I promise to not to be a bother."

Everyone shuddered at the painful howl from Adnet as soon as the words fell from Willa's lips, but they also knew that he had it coming with his behavior, even if he just didn't want to admit it yet and he just was trying to protect her. With that thought echoing through her mind, Lilia sighed deeply as she put on a small smile and walked to soothingly touch her friend's arm to calm her:

"Don't worry, honey. I'm sure mom won't mind at all. You can stay as long as you need to." That statement gained her a watery smile as Willa placed her hand on hers.

"Thank you." The ginger whispered sweetly before her face returned to her mate, the anger returning to it, but you could see the pain in her eyes; "I won't talk to you until you realize how ridiculous you are being. I'm just returning to the castle to pack and then I'm leaving."

With that, Willa left before Adnet had the chance to protest, Lilia raced behind her, but she said one more thing before walking where her friend was waiting for her:

"I'm so sorry, bro."

Then, after Lili walked out, a silence came over the group, no one knew what to say as Adnet slammed a fist against a wall, tears falling to the colorful ground. After a few moments of silence has passed, Maddie—being the leader she was needed to be in that moment—let a deep breath out and wheeled slowly to her sad friend, placing her hand on his back for comfort.

"Well, that should've gone better." The blonde joked lightly, trying to lighten up the mood, but the male blonde wasn't in a mood to joke as a growl slipped out his mouth.

"Maddie, I am not in the mood right now. I was just trying to protect her. I'm sure Russel would've done the same thing."

"Oh no, dude, don't bring me into this. I won't be that stupid." He stated, frowning deeply when he realized his friend didn't see that he handled the situation in the wrong way:

"Oh, now I'm stupid? I was protecting my mate, for Goddesses' sake! How does that make me the bad guy?"

"You're right, you were trying to. But you let your anger take over. You handled this very wrong, A." She sounded like a mother talking her unruly child, one who refused to listen. At that moment, he thought he was doing the right thing, and he can't hear anything to otherwise.

He growled once again, shaking her hand off and went to the bay window, not knowing why he was being treated as a villain when he was doing his duty as Willa's mate. And he was angry that she didn't say anything before. He was thought they were at the point that they trusted each other completely, but then today happened. What does he have to do to make his Beauty trust him?

"All I want is for her to trust me and let me protect her. Is that so wrong?" Adnet whispered softly, sounding so lost even to his ears.

Maddie sighed, staring at her friend for a few heartbeats before she pushed to his side and hugged him motherly, whispering into his ear:

"Of course not, honey, but threatening to lock her away isn't the way. Think about it from her view. She was locked up for days on end, she doesn't want to be reminded of that time."

"But Mads, I—"

"I know, you're doing it for a whole other reason altogether, but you don't see what she heard. You basically said Beauty was unable to do anything on her own. That she was just as weak as her sisters always implied. If Russy said that to me, I probably would have reacted the same way. Even maybe worse."

His eyes widened at that statement, his anger slowly started to fade to realization, he pushed his rose way too far when he was trying to protect her. At that moment, he would fight anyone that tried to argue he was in the wrong. He was so blind by his anger and want to keep her safe that the thought sounded so odd to him, after all, all he was doing is protecting his mate, future bride, and the mother of his future children. Was that so wrong?

But he knew that she was right; he was acting like a complete ass, no matter what his reasons were, he was. He breathed out a sigh, closing his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly hating himself in that moment:

"Well, I feel like a douche." He whispered the statement, opening his eyes, biting his lip, again curling his hand into a fist. Maddie chuckled lowly in her throat, rubbing her friend's back as she leaned forward so they were eye to eye:

"And what are you going to do about it, Mr. Douche?"

"I..."

The female blonde raised a brow, patiently waiting for a response, a smile danced across her figures. But when no reply came, the older growled and slapped upside of his head, looking like a mother more than ever:

"Don't be an i***t, Adnet. I know you have a plan somewhere in that mind of yours, after all, this is your flower we are talking about, we all know you won't be able to stay away from her for very long. But you must remember that you are the one who need to have to take the first. Honey, just because you guys are mates, it doesn't mean your relationship isn't immune to fights, silly or not, and it takes work. This is a reminder of that.

What I'm trying to say is, no matter what you meant to do, you messed up and you need to fix it, then it's up to Willa to own up to her part, because I know that little missy isn't blameless here, she should've told you the moment she felt wrong. But first, you need to admit that you handled it wrong. You compromise with her, not force her, or she might bolt. You were always gentle with your girl, don't stop now, honey. We will help you, if you need it, but I know you can fix it, it's you, after all." She finished with a smile, holding his hands.

The male blonde squeezed her hands in thanks, hot tears rolled down to his chin as the low feelings sat in his chest, making his heart hurt. He hated himself for saying those things, for making her feel like she was thought to be weak. Because Adnet knew his Beauty was anything but. Even though she was still a bit fragile, however, she knew how to protect herself when it was needed. He just was blinded by his anger that he forgot that for a moment.

But, he will make it up and they would make a new plan, one that not only will ensure her safety, but show her that he trusted her and their friends with her life. He acted like a major jerk, however, he won't stop apologizing until she was back home and happy again. So, with a firm nod, he looked up to meet her blues.

"I will make sure my plan will remind her that I love her, I promise, Maddie." He vowed, staring down at the female blonde, his eyes sparkling with surety and fight, ready to make up with his lovely mate. When she stared back, Maddie rounded her arms around him tightly, not doubting that for a second as her own smile danced across her beautiful face.

"I don't doubt that, A, and don't ever forget, honey. You'll always have your family backing you up." Upon hearing that, Adnet grinned widely as he crushed her to him one more time before releasing her and going back to the table to talk plans. He would never make this mistake again, Adnet vowed to himself as his smile grew even bigger.

-.-.-.-.-.-

After thanking the Saws and bidding the family a good night, Willa was sitting on the guest bed; retelling what happened to her father through her phone, biting her lip:

"I don't know, daddy, maybe I was too hard on him. He just made me so mad."

"Well, it's true that you overacted, but he did too. Honey, I know you're mates, is that the right term?"

"Yes, dad."

"Ah, yes. Okay, just because you were meant to be, it doesn't mean you won't get angry at each other, and the boy won't be clueless to time to time. That's just a part of love. Just stay at your friend's a couple days, cool off, and then go home and talk it out. But please don't go anywhere alone."

The ginger sighed deep, falling back, knowing she was stupid as the last part came to her ear.

"I promise, daddy. Good night/day." Grant chuckled, finding her adorable.

"It'll be okay, Beauty. I love you."

"I love you too, daddy. I'll call you soon."

After they hung up, she breathed out a soft growl as she rolled to the window, looking up at the pink moon against the purple sky, the beauty of it didn't sooth the feelings in her heart like usual though. Willa hated how childish she acted earlier.

The war is coming and here she was acting like a spoiled child, something that she vowed to never be or act like. But to hear her mate basically called her weak when he always told her she could do anything, just stung. She knew he wanted to keep Willa safe, however, he went too far. She had a feeling Mama Anna will ground for weeks for her foolishness when she returned to the castle—that's why she rushed while packing—but she was just pissed and hurt in the moment to care.

You'd think that Willa would've cooled off by the time she arrived at Lilia's, but she wasn't ready to have that discussion right now, she knew if she went home too early, their anger will come up again and she didn't want to hurt him even more than she already did.

She sighed, moving from the bed, unsure of what to do now. She wanted to tell him that she was missing him, but also knew they both needed time. However, after a few moments, slowly, an idea sprang into life. She smiled small as she moved to her bag, putting her laptop on her lap. She set up her recording program, took in a deep breath, and pushed the start button:

"Hey guys, it's been a while, huh? I haven't recorded because it was my escape, but I'm...well healed. That's because of not only my new family, but my beast. He's my light in the darkness, but we had our first fight today." She chuckled, reaching up to wipe her eyes before continuing.

"We both were idiots, but at the time, we were so mad and hurt that we couldn't see what we're doing, and now I'm sitting in Lili's guest room, missing him but not ready to face him just yet.

So Adnet, I know this won't be enough to make up for my behavior, but it's a start, right? I'm sorry that I hurt you. Can it go back to us?" Willa flashed a smile, the tears falling as she prepared to give him a new piece of her. Something he didn't see before:

"I don't need you to sell me reasons to want you,

I don't need you to search for proof that I should,

You don't have to convince me,

You don't need to be scared that you aren't enough,

'Cause what we've got going is good.

I don't need more reminders of what's broken,

I don't need you to fix what I'd rather forget,

Clear the state and start over,

Try to quiet the voices in your head,

Because we can't compete with all that.

So, what if it's us

What if it's us,

And only us,

And what came before won't count anymore or matter.

Can we try?

Can we try, wolfie?" She whispered softly, c*****g her head with a small smile as her breath slowly returned to its normal rate.

She posted the video and sent Adnet and all their friends a link, hoping they will understand. When her work was done, she heaved a sigh as her smile grew, returning to the beautiful strange moon:

"Goodnight, my beast, I love you." Was the last whisper she spoke before climbing into the bed.

-.-.-.-.-.

*Zaza-It's a type of car that only exists in the world of Da Fae. It's a cross between a SUV and a van