10. Sore Ending

Council member Lope stood in front of the assembled Council Members, Veelas and Vampires.

“We have decided as one,” he said in a quaky voice, “that we would be delighted for your clans to be once again united with the People, as we believe your talents and abilities could greatly contribute to our community.” A storm of applause echoed around the room, from veelas, vampires and Council members alike. Artemis felt crazy elation rise up inside him, Gaia and Edward were cheering and then Gaia turned around, positively jumping for joy, found Artemis’ gaze, with her beautiful complexion filled with such jubilance, and she hugged Artemis and kissed his cheek before turning around and cheering again. For Artemis,

T  i  m  e        s  l  o  w  e  d          d  o  w  n     .

He wasn’t part of the crowd anymore. There was no one in the room. He felt the place where Gaia’s lips had touched his cheek, then looked back at her, hand-in-hand with Edward. He frowned. I can’t love her, he thought. I can’t.

It was the celebrations of the reunion. Everyone - fairies, veelas and vampires were at the party, where there was a massive dance floor and free refreshments. Holly had come back, she couldn’t bear the tension above ground, so heard of Artemis’ success and came to have a drink. Though she hadn’t come to Artemis yet. Artemis didn’t quite feel as joyful as the others, this wasn’t quite his kind of celebration, so he tried to amuse himself by finding Holly. He weaved and slalomed between dancing couples, feeling uncomfortable to be alone when everyone else had friends. Finally, after long minutes of fruitless search, he found her under the glimmering disco ball, in the arms of Trouble Kelp. She didn’t even notice Artemis. Why is it, he thought, that all my so-called friends aren’t interested in me? Why is my social life so badly ruined? He cursed himself. You never had a social life, he told himself silently, it was sunken and rotten before you were even conceived. He decided to go talk to Gaia, even if she was enthralled by Edward. After nearly twenty minutes, he caught a glimpse of her and Edward in the corner of the room, Edward taking her hand and leading her away from the noise, away from everybody else. He shrank back so they wouldn’t see him, but he needn’t have bothered. Gaia’s face was so lit up in exultance and flushed from dancing that she didn’t see Artemis in the crowds of people, and she laughed as Edward drew her away from the dancers, to a more secluded area. Artemis followed, keeping his distance so they wouldn’t notice him. He peeked round a corner into a mirrored room, walls, floor and ceiling, and there he saw-

Gaia and Edward entwined in each other’s arms, fastened passionately at the lips.

Artemis let off a little gasp of horror, as the image filled his entire mind, and was reflected back at him by all the mirrors surrounding them. He turned and ran back. He heard Gaia’s voice one last time:

“Artemis! Wait!”

It occurred to Artemis that her speed could have stopped him before he reentered the disco, but she hadn’t. He was far away, past pushing through the dancing and ludicrously intoxicated and convivial crowds, outside the stuffy cave and running for the shuttles. He boarded a deserted shuttle, for everyone was either dancing or sleeping, and sat down, before realising he was gasping and his cheeks were wet. He gingerly picked up a tear on his fingertip, looking at it. I’m crying, he thought. And with that, he began to cry even more.

THE END