"And so she is, she is trembling with and power."

- Douglas Steward, "Lady Feeding the Cats"

*****

Soundtrack of the chapter: For the Win by Two Steps From Hell

Media: Cady's Celestial ring (ignore the jewel, just imagine it as a ring with the frills)

*****

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Identity

Eli cogitated about in the library. He had sent a Feorh to deliver a message to Cady to meet him. Guilt and disgust at himself gnawed its way from his stomach to his heart. She must have waited until she exhausted herself and went to bed. When he went outside a few hours later, she was nowhere to be seen.

It wasn't your fault, his inner self reasoned. Grandfather and Amueh kept you.

Yeah, he snapped back. But that doesn't beat the fact she was outside for hours.

His consciousness shrank back, having ran out of resolutions. Eli slammed a fist against a bookrack with so much force the vases perching on the top almost keeled over. A raccoon Feorh arranging books by the side scuttled off, dropping his entire stack of books at Eli's feet.

A soft pattering of feet caught his attention. Trained Oracle intuition turned this gaze toward the library entrance. Cady emerged, her hair smoothed back into a messy bun and dressed in a simple white robe. Her cheeks were flushed, as though she had just ran a marathon. She bustled into the library, greeting him with a breathless 'hi'.

He stared at her when his consciousness screamed at him not to. It made him look weird, and weird is bad for communicating with others, especially with the opposite gender. He wished he still had his staff with him. It was the source of his comfort, something he could lean on to whenever he was anxious. But now his leg was almost healed, he needed it no more.

Eli drew in a sharp breath. "Cady, about the Beltane Ball, I—I wish to apologize. Raphine and Amueh were talking about things concerning me and the Hall, I couldn't leave."

Cady grabbed his arm, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Hey, don't worry about it. What were you guys talking about?"

His mind flickered back to their conversation. Raphine had requested him to keep it a secret, but this was Cady. He trusted her.

"He's going to make me the High Priest in the fall."

She squealed so loud that Gourda turned and gave her one of his signature frowns where his thick eyebrows merged into one straight bushy line.

"Oh my God, this is amazing! I knew you'll—" Eli cut her off by clamping a hand over her mouth, making a gesture of silence with his other hand. "Shh...I'm not supposed to tell you that. She nodded, giving him a thumbs up. He retracted his hand.

"What did you do outside when I was away?" Cady didn't seem the slightest bit mad, and it puzzled him, especially when he left her outside for hours.

Her eyes widened, and she chewed her lip, a bad habit of Cady's whenever she was thinking. "I—went back to sleep," she said brightly. "I was getting tired, and it was chilly outside."

"You're not mad?" he asked, prodding her. She seemed to be hiding something. When a person was trying to hold back a thought, it would reflect though their body language. For Cady, it was the incessant tap of her right foot against the floor.

"No, it's okay," she said. "You said you wanted to tell me something last night, what was it?"

At that, he couldn't suppress an excited grin tugging at his lips. "Technically, I wanted to show you something. Come with me."

He beckoned Cady to follow him. His feet led him down the ever familiar stone passageways of the Hall and outside to a squat-looking shed by a patch of trees. The roof was thatched many times over, the zinc pieces looking as if they were about to fall apart. Thick cement held together chunks of rough rocks, forming the walls. A man stood under a makeshift awning, swinging a massive hammer onto a piece of glowing hot steel, sending sparks flying. Eli shielded his eyes as the hammer came down one last time before the man dipped it into a barrel of water. The blade sizzled angrily against the cold water, but it soon faded into a whine when it emerged, glittering.

"Hello, Baeyard," he smiled, giving the man a firm handshake. Eli liked Baeyard, even when his thick mustache and beard intimidated everyone. His bald and heavily tattooed head didn't help much either—he looked more of a Warrior than a Tinker. Eli watched those muscular arms drop the hammer to the side and wiped his big hands on a dirty piece of cloth.

"Eli!" He broke into a huge smile. "There you are, you missed your last appointment! I was so worried about you."

He laughed. "You know, family business. Top secret."

Baeyard dropped himself onto a stool which creaked unhappily under his immense weight. "You Oracles are so secretive." He winked. "Now, who is this lovely lady?"

Seeing Cady take a step backwards, he gave her a small push to the front. "This is Cady Gates, the girl I told you about."

"Merry Meet," he said, taking Cady's hand and giving it a shake. "Any friend of Eli Sanguinis is a friend of mine as well."

"Hi!" Cady said, her voice a notch higher than usual. Eli chuckled. Baeyeard must have scared the daylights out of her, especially how his lip piercings waggled when he spoke.

Baeyard clapped his hands together. "Now that she is here, let's get to work."

Cady grabbed Eli, stealing an urgent whisper. "What work?"

"I'm getting you a coming of age gift, Cady. Heard that you had your Celestial Ceremony a few months ago."

"You don't have to." Color was already starting to seep into her cheeks. "I'm serious."

He placed a firm and demanding look on his face, something he had mastered for the past few years from his grandfather. "You do, it's a tradition. You don't even have your own Celestial ring, blasphemous."

Their conversation was cut short when Baeyard plonked a stool in front of Cady, telling her to sit and stretch out her left hand. With trained fingers, he slid a piece of black thread around Cady's ring finger, winding the thread around the finger several times before he was satisfied and eased it out.

He then took out a paper clipped to a small board and a pen. Poised to write, he gave Cady a little nudge. "Who is your patron Star?"

"Libra," she answered. Eli was intrigued. Their Patron Stars were a few months apart, his was Aries. His pen wove across the paper, pressing dark, delicate swirls on the centre, forming a beautiful design of a set of scales. Baeyard took Cady's hand again, and gazed into her eyes. Eli knew what Baeyard was doing, it was one of his Affinities—to read a someone's personalities and deepest secrets.

Cady froze, like a deer sensing the presence of a predator. Baeyard frowned, eyes still locked with hers. His hand ran around the paper, tracing in more lines and motifs. The pen sung songs of both happiness and pain—the more sinister patterns sent chills shooting up his spine. He didn't know such darkness resided within Cady, she never told him anything about her background, he realized. Emotions poured from the Tinker and into the paper which sucked greedily, like a baby demanding more milk.

The pen finally came to a rest. Cady slumped backwards, pressing her forehead with her hands. "What did you do?" she gasped.

Baeyard stood up, his gaze still intent on Cady. "Curious," he muttered. "Very curious."

Eli swung around. "What's curious?"

Baeyard's fingers drummed his drawing pad, not answering. Instead, he rose, pinching together the ringed thread with two fingers. Cady didn't move, but her eyes followed the Tinker to his workplace.

The Tinker vanished into his hut and reappeared a few moments later, holding a small lump of gold in his hands. "This." He rolled the piece of shiny metal in his palm. "Is real gold. I'm going to mix it with molten Celestite and fashion you your ring with the patterns I drew. The patterns speak your history and your life, your thinking and your soul. This is why a Celestial ring is important for every Starlet. It is their identity."

Cady watched Baeyard work with avid fascination. Even Eli, who had witnessed his work for more than a decade, still felt that twinge of jealousy and awe at how easily he melted the gold with a few magic words and dripped them into a piece of Celestite. The molten gold did not corrode the smooth rock, but rather coalesced into a blob. Baeyard dropped the thread coiled with Cady's finger size onto the gold.

Inexplicably, the gold gathered around the string, swallowing it and taking the shape of the perfect circle. Baeyard then took his drawing and shook it over the forming ring. The dark lines glowed before they peeled off, drifting down onto the ring. The patterns etched themselves around the ring, breathing life to the empty surface.

When the last of the swirls had tucked into the ring, Baeyard scrunched up the paper and tossed it aside. He bent over and whispered something in the Old Tongue to the ring. The heated metal glowed like the setting sun. Eli shivered; the Old Tongue was an ancient language, used only by the trained and the wise. Baeyard was raised by Stelliums who taught him to converse in the Old Tongue. Appearances were deceiving. Anyone who was unfortunate enough to anger Baeyard would face his full wrath as a descendant of the old.

The light died down, little by little, creeping into the gold band. Baeyard picked it up and strode over to Cady. She stretched out her hand and Baeyard slid the ring into her finger. It fit perfect.

"Thank you," she said, admiring the beautiful ring. "This...this is amazing."

The Tinker grunted, twisting the end of his mustache. "Don't thank me, thank this young man. He was the one who thought of asking me to make one for you."

Eli stopped her before she could utter another round of thanks. "Thank you, Baeyard. I'll pass you your payment later. I want to have a few words with Cady."

The Tinker bowed and went back to his tools. Eli slid his hand around Cady. She shot up as though electrocuted, her eyes going wide. He didn't release it, and led her to the bushes leading to the Hall.

Time seemed to slow down, taking small, lethargic steps forward. Eli closed his eyes, composing himself. He had spoken those words over and over again in the mirror, practicing them so he wouldn't stumble when the day came. He must not fail, not now.

He faced Cady. Her hair was wild, curling at the ends. There was a pinched look to her face, as though she was torn between something. Eli swallowed and spoke.

"Cady, there's something I need to tell you."

Oh, you suck. His inner voice sniggered. Eli batted it away. "Ever since you came to the Hall of Spirits, I've been noticing you. There's this spark about you, a spark that I can't explain. It's like I know you somehow, or seen you somewhere. I've thought about this for a long time. And now I've come to realize that...I love you."

Cady shook her head. "No, I don't think..."

He held up a finger. "Let me finish." It was too late to take back his words. There was nothing he could do to stop the boulder from rolling once it had been pushed off the cliff. "I know this is sudden, but believe me, I mean it when I say I love you. You're the only person who actually cared about me. You didn't push me away when the others did because of the curse. You lifted it."

"I didn't do anything," she protested. "Jasper did."

At the mention of Jasper's name, his blood boiled. This was his moment, where he confessed his feelings to Cady. Yet, she brought up his name. Although Cady had a point, in which Jasper was really the person who purged the curse from his body, he developed a disgust for him. He couldn't stand the way Jasper looked at Cady, or how he managed to make Cady laugh effortlessly. He stood there, watching from the shadows. But today, he would change everything.

Eli shook his head. "If it weren't for you, Jasper wouldn't even come to the Hall. You convinced him to cure me."

He took a step forward, running a hand over her forehead and slid it down her curls. "I really love you." Eli didn't know whether it was sheer courage or stupidity. He leaned forward and kissed Cady.

It was a full kiss. He found himself closing in, his arms going around her waist, drawing her to him. Cady squirmed under him, but Eli didn't want to let go. He wanted her so badly—his beacon of light in shadows, his source of happiness.

Cady suddenly shoved him in the chest. He staggered backwards, dazed.

She held up her hands before her. "Eli, please...this is just...wrong."

A bitter taste wormed up Eli's mouth. "What's wrong?" he said, his hands clenching at the sides. "I love you, Cady. There's nothing wrong with that."

Tears sprang to her eyes. "No," she said, her voice cracking. "I—I don't know! You're scaring me, Eli."

It then dawned on him. Cady's edginess, her refusal to his touch, it all pointed to only one possibility. "This is about Jasper isn't it?" he spat, unable to stop the bitterness in his voice. "You love him, don't you?"

Cady buried her face in her hands and ran off, dashing toward the dormitories. Eli sat back onto the grass, reeling in his temper. Fire roared inside him, threatening to lash out. He had never expected today to go so wrong...he had miscalculated everything. Judging from Cady's reaction, there must probably be something going on between her and Jasper.

But the decision lies with Cady. There was nothing he could do to make her change her mind.

Eli gashed his teeth together. Throwing back his head, he made a silent vow to the skies.

Jasper Silverbird, you and I will have a fair fight to win Cady's heart. This time, I won't fail, you'll see. 

*****

A/N

Before you guys go on a full blown civil war on me, I wish to clarify something. This is Cadence's story. She determines who she wants to be with and I respect her for it. I can't just force her to be with either Eli or Jasper. She chose Jasper, and I let her have her own way and hence, her story continues to unravel. I hope you can understand. 

Sorry, I had seriously rude comments about this story and I was too tired to respond to all of them.

That aside, Eli kissed Cady and she pushed him away. But Eli won't stop there, he would continue to try to win her heart! So which team are you on, Team Casper or Team Cali? ( I went to watch Civil War today, Team Cap FTW ;))

Btw, I might put next chapter on private as it gets a little mature. It really depends if I edit out the sensitive parts or not. *sinister smile*

Udons,

Stef