Things change in the blink of an eye....

[PJ Ramirez]

Loiselle really was pretty amazing, serene, and beautiful and inspiring, yet there was the undeniable feeling that PJ simply didn’t belong there. She was a street kid, a thief, a master in the art of breaking and entering and a down and out bar brawler. She was nowhere near nobility; and Loiselle definitely screamed of wealth, power, grace, elegance and refinement. On that particular checklist, there wasn’t a one PJ could mark off.

Amal would certainly fit in there, that Queen Tele lady or Topaz might too, but PJ? She couldn’t really figure out why Arithon would want her there at all. Why not someone more on his level?

Ari definitely had an affect on PJ. Around him she felt the urge to behave, not brawl, not cuss, and not brawl. Belching? That was right out the window.

The trip to Loiselle had been nice though, despite PJ’s nervousness. A short time after being on the road and PJ was starting to relax, she had even dozed off at some point, resting comfortably against Ari.

By the second night however, all the effort of behaving was getting to her and the stress level was high. She stole out and headed back for the Arena. She’d be able to get a couple of bottles of booze and stash them in her room at Loiselle, thereby ensuring the ability to sneak in a couple unwinding drinks before bed without letting Ari find out.

Nothing ever went as planned for PJ though. No sooner had she strolled in the doors with a Desi Arnez style “Lucy… I’m hooooome!” than the turmoil of the night began. So much of what had been going on with the wraiths and Jenia was over PJ’s head, but the fact that Lily, Hell spawn of Shakira had at least some role in it wasn’t. PJ was petrified by the girl, had been since they had met and wanted nothing more than for her to just disappear. PJ even went so far as to tell her such.

Lily’s reaction scared and spurned PJ into action, as frightened as she was, PJ thought perhaps if she could at least distract Lily, Rory, Amal and the others might at least catch a break and be okay for a while.

How was PJ to know Lily would take it to heart? By the end of the night, PJ was headed back to Arithon and Loiselle, her new “step daughter” in her lap and a numbing fear in her stomach.