It was done, and we arrived back at the mansion in the breath of an instant and Kane and Storm came to the truck to greet us. I could tell by looking at Kane that he was concerned as was Storm.
"I'm really tired right now guys, do you think I could just go up to bed and worry about unpacking this stuff later?"
"Lashana, we will have your truck unloaded and your stuff brought to your room for you. You go and get some rest."
Taker reached in the back of the truck and grabbed Thumper's cage and box of toys and supplies. I looked at him curiously and he smiled.
"Thought you might like to put the little fella in his cage in your room before you crashed. I'll walk up with you and help you get it set up."
"Oh, ok. Thanks. I hadn't even thought about it."
I grabbed Thumper and headed inside. I could feel Kane trying to read my thoughts and I closed up my mind tight. I had things I needed to deal with and although I knew it hurt him for me to shut him out like that, I had to deal with them alone.
"Lashana, remember I am here for you if you need me." was the last thing he said to me before he headed off to tell the staff to unload my truck and move the stuff inside for me.
************
I crawled into the bed and lay there looking at thumper. My hand wandered up around my throat where the emerald green pendant that Scotty had given me for my Birthday still hung. I had only taken it off long enough to shower. The longer I lay there, the more I felt the urge to cry welling up inside of me. I fought it as long as I could, then I gave up and curled up with one of the huge pillows on the bed and let it all out.
I don't know how long I was there, sobbing my heart out, but it must have been quite a while. I heard a light tapping on my door and I got myself together enough to tell who ever it was to come in. When the door opened, I saw Storm, Angel, Kanike, Athena and a few women I had not yet met. They were carrying a tray of food and something to drink and all had very concerned looks on their faces.
I'll admit, that my initial reaction was "great, just what I needed, the welcoming party!". But they all looked so concerned and I felt so comfortable with them, that I decided to see what they wanted.
Storm was the first to speak. "Lashana, you doing o.k.?"
I actually smiled a little at that, because when I cry it is pretty obvious to anyone that my eyes get all red and glassy and I end up looking like I haven't slept in days. The question was so absurd it really was kind of funny.
"Yeah, I'm doing alright. Just feeling a little alone at the moment. Its kind of hard to leave your entire family and your life behind all in one day."
All of the girls came in and I was introduced to the ones I had not yet met. Gabrielle, had the most beautiful long white hair. She seemed to be kind of shy and stayed off to the side slightly. Arianna stood next to her, also kind of quiet. Her hair, in contrast to Gabrielle's was a curly jet black that hung to just below her shoulders, the most prominent feature was her beautiful ice-blue eyes that seemed to peer straight through me. Behind them all, stood the tallest woman I had ever seen, she was introduced to me as Sharra. She was stunning, with a tattoo running along her left cheek and others in silver running down her arms.
The all came over and sat around the bed. Sharra looked at me and smiled. "Lashana, trust me, in a couple of days, you will be wishing you could feel alone. There are so many of us around here all the time that its nearly impossible to have any privacy at all, as you might have guessed given our intrusion on your privacy now."
The other girls laughed and amazingly enough, so did I. It was strange to me that I was so comfortable with these women, until I remembered what Storm had said about all of the Brides being a part each other. I did feel more complete in this room than I ever remembered feeling. We all sat around giggling and laughing, sharing lunch in the middle of my bed. I felt like I was at a slumber party, and I hadn't been to one of those since I was a young child.
The time got away from us and before we realized it, it was dark outside the mansion. While we were giggling away, I heard another knock at the door and when I hollered "come in", the door opened and Kane poked his head in.
"Hi Kane. Come on in."
I could tell he was surprised that I was awake, and only a little less surprise that I was sitting on my bed giggling and laughing with the other brides. He tilted his head to one side and I saw a distinct smile, even under the mask he perpetually wore. As he came into the room, I noticed that Taker was right behind him, and realized that they were probably both still concerned about my earlier emotional state.
Taker informed everyone that it was time to get dressed for dinner, and after a great big round of hugs between all of the Brides, they headed out the door to their respective rooms. Kane and Taker stayed however, and I could tell that Kane wanted to talk to me.
"I wanted to apologize Lashana. I never wanted you to feel the sort of pain that you have felt in the past few hours. If there were anything I could do to prevent it, I would. You do believe that, don't you?"
"Yes, Kane. I know that you care for me and that you only want to help me. I'm sorry that I shut you out the way I did earlier, but there are just some things that I needed to deal with myself and there were some feelings that I just didn't know what to do with."
" I can't bear it when one of my brides hurts, it tears me apart. If I thought it would help, I would go find that SOB that walked out on you this afternoon and make him pay, but I know that won't do you any good at all. Just remember something, when you find the man you were truly meant to be with, then you will know it as will he, and he will understand your new life, accept it, and love you in spite of it. I know that Scotty almost hit you today, and I heard what you thought when he raised his hand to you! Understand me when I say this…Nothing you have ever done or could ever do would cause you to 'deserve' to be hit by a man that supposedly loves you."
"It was the pain and the anger in his heart because he thought that I had betrayed him that caused that, how can you say it was not my fault and that I didn't deserve it?"
"He can say it because it's the truth. I heard what you said and what you were thinking. I was there Lashana, I saw what happened. He never let you get a word in to explain what was going on. He made and assumption and then took it out on you because he didn't like what he believed to be true. It wasn't your fault, and you didn't deserve to be hit for it. If he had actually connected, I would have torn him limb from limb."
"I guess your right. I never in a million years thought Scotty was capable of doing me physical harm. He knew how I felt about that and I guess that I couldn't let myself believe that it was him and not me that brought it about."
I looked at Taker, and smiled. "I'm very glad that you were there to help me today, I don't know what I would have done if Scotty had actually hit me."
"My dear, you needn't ever worry about that. If anyone ever lays a hand on any of my brides, they will pay and pay dearly."
"Ok, Big Red, calm down will ya. The other brides did a wonderful job of cheering me up, and if you get all worked up, well, then I just might too! I don't think that the brides would appreciate you messing up their handy work."
He and Taker both laughed at that and they stood to go get ready for dinner. Kane headed out the door and Taker told me that dinner was a formal event around the mansion, and that I should be able to find a suitable dress in the closet in the corner.
I hopped up and went to the closet he had motioned to looking for the perfect dress to wear to dinner. As I was flipping through the dresses I found the most beautiful emerald green velvet dress. When I pulled it out and looked at it, I knew that this was the one. It was the same stunning green as Takers eyes and my pendant that I just could not bring myself to remove.
I hurried to dress and pulled my hair into a french twist, leaving small tendrils of hair that I curled into spiral waves to frame my face. I opened the jewelry chest and found a pair if emerald earrings that were of the same shape as my pendant. I thought this was a little odd, but put them on, touched up my make up and headed to the dining room.
Most of the brides were already in the dining room when I arrived, and they were all stunning. Each wearing a gorgeous dress of their own. Some in velvet, some satin and a few even in silk. They were grouped of in threes and fours chatting about their days. Angel saw me first, and her eyes were wide when she walked over.
"Wow, you look great in that dress."
"Thanks, Angel, I feel like a queen wearing this. I never had anything like this before."
"Kane takes really good care of us. Makes sure we have everything we could ever want. It's amazing to me that he manages to know our styles to a T."
"It is kind of amazing isn't it? When I was looking through the stuff in my room last night, I thought the same thing. Everything there was something I would have bought for myself had I the money for an extended shopping spree."
We laughed, and then everyone turned as Kane and Taker entered the room. The brides were all complimented and told that we were the most stunning women they had ever seen. As we headed to the table, I noticed the unbelievable array of food. There was a rose on across the plate of each of the Brides place settings and a huge vase of roses as a centerpiece on the table. Between the food and the conversation, I had never had such a wonderful evening. We chatted around the table over dinner, and then later over dessert and drinks well into the night. I began to understand the connection that Storm had alluded to previously. These women obviously loved one another as well as Kane and Taker, and it was apparent that the feeling was mutual coming from Kane and Taker toward the Brides.
Slowly, one by one, the brides started drifting off to their rooms to turn in for the night, eventually leaving myself, Athena, Sharra, Storm, Kane and Taker. We left the dining room and headed to the library. I d curled up on a pillow covered couch next to Athena, Storm and Sharra sat on a similar couch next to us. Kane and Taker took their chairs opposite us to chat. Inevitably, conversation turned to my current situation, and problems. I realized quickly that I was not the only bride that Kane could converse with mentally. I came to understand that, although he could speak, it was very hard on his vocal chords and rather painful, so it was just easier for him to use his mental abilities and his connection with the brides for conversation.
I wasn't really sure how much the other brides knew of my history and my 'talents', so I was a little unsure of what I should and should not say. Athena and Sharra knew enough to realize that I was in danger at the moment, and that I was still adjusting to my new life. They did not know the extent or the nature of my talents as far as I could tell, and Kane, Taker and Storm seemed content to leave it that way for now.
Athena looked at me a smiled, "Well, Lashana, I'm sorry that your having problems right now, but I'll tell you what, its been so quiet around here lately, that I'm kind of looking forward to a little trouble right now."
Sharra looked at her and smiled. "That's our Athena, always looking for a War to strategize."
"Well, I'll tell you both, I use to think that I lived my life in constant turmoil, until I met these two." I glanced in their direction and noticed them both looking a little sheepish at being drug into this conversation. "Now, however, I don't think I really knew what turmoil was. I have had stranger things happen to me in the last few days than I've had happen in the past 28 years."
Storm chuckled at that, and when I looked at her quizzically, she said "Well, Lashana, get used to it. Trouble seems to follow these two. I think that they thrive on it!"
The four of us laughed at that, and Kane and Taker were squirming visibly in their seats. "You know, I don't think they like this line of conversation girls, what do you think?"
"I'm just glad to see that my newest bride is feeling better! You had me worried for a while there this afternoon."
Taker piped in at that point, and said "Kane, you know if you put a group of those women in the same room for any length of time that eventually the little girl comes out in all of them and they have no choice but to giggle and play."
"Is that right? We all become little girls….? Well, then how's this for giggle and play?" I reached behind me and grabbed the pillow that I was leaning on and threw it at Taker. It hit him clean in the face and the other girls in the room, taking my lead proceeded to hurl pillows at both Kane and Taker.
"Why you insolent little…." While blocking the pillows and throwing them back at us they each headed for a couch. Taker grabbed Athena and I around the waist and somehow managed to sit himself down between us and pin our hands at the same time, Kane had done the same with Storm and Sharra. We were all laughing so hard that we were nearly in tears by the time everyone had settled down.
"Lashana seems to be returning to her feisty little self." Taker laughed
"You know, I've not felt this at home in a long time. I never really felt like part of the family back home. Always knew that I was different somehow. Here, though, I finally feel like I belong. It's a nice feeling.""You are home, Lashana, and you do belong! Never forget that you are loved by all who reside in this house."
"Oh, enough mush tonight. We out number them 2 to 1 girls, lets get 'em" Athena issued a challenge, and the rest of us took her up on it. The wrestling match that ensued left everyone breathless and laughing.
I decided that I needed to get some rest, and excused myself to head to my room. My new sisters hugged me good night as did Kane and Taker. It was nice to have family and I was comfortable with. I walked into my room and took down my hair. I put the earrings in the jewelry box, slipped out of the dress, into my nightshirt and went to wash my face.
When I stood up, I looked in the mirror and noticed that my pendant had started to glow and reflected over my shoulder, I saw the image of a man that I did not recognize. I screamed and turned around and but no one was there. Kane and Taker must have heard me scream, because they were barreling through the door, nearly tearing it off it's hinges moments later.
"What the He**! Lashana, are you OK?"
"Yeah, I just…."
"You just what?" Taker was looking at me intently, and noticed that the pendant around my neck was still glowing, although it was not quite as bright as it had been when I saw the image in the mirror.
"What did you see, Lashana?"
"How did you know I saw something?" I was a little surprised that he had picked that up, because I knew I had locked my thoughts pretty tightly.
"That pendant doesn't glow to work as a flashlight, Lashana. There is more to that piece of jewelry than you realize."
"It was a man, he was fairly large and evil looking. His eyes seemed to look right into my soul. You guys have really got to give me more information about what is going on. I can't handle all these surprises."
"We'll give you as much information as we can. Some things are even unknown to us completely. We just have to keep our eyes and minds open to make sure that we catch the underling that is stalking you."
I looked down at the pendant hanging around my neck and watched it's light slowly start to fade. "So, how can this pendant be something magical, considering that Scotty bought it for me? It's not like he went shopping for this particular pendant or anything."
"Scotty's choice in purchasing your gift was guided by Grendlin and Purr'Sha, he was unaware of their push while he was looking, but the end result is the same. Your Pendant was designed by your mother to warn you of impending danger from Kordac'Nol and his underlings."
"Hmmm. So when do I get to meet my elusive parents? I keep hearing about them, and they apparently keep a fairly close eye on my life, I would like to find out who they are."
Taker smiled, "All you need to do is ask for them and they will appear to you. They need your invitation to cross over from Mid-World. We, however are going to head to bed. If you need anything, just holler and we will be here with you."
They both hugged me good night and headed out to their rooms. I pondered the idea of being able to summon my mother and/or my father to me when the need or desire arose. I lit a candle in the room, sat on the bed and went into a meditaive state and tried to reach her, and when I opened my eyes, there was a woman sitting on the chair in the corner of my room. She was very beautiful, with long black hair and green eyes. She smiled at me and spoke in the softest sweetest voice.
"Hello, daughter. I am so glad you called me finally."
"Mother?"
"Yes, Lashana, I am your mother, Purr'Sha. I have watched you for years, and you have grown to be a beautiful and bright young woman. There is still much for you to learn, but you must remember that Kane, Taker and the Brides are here to protect you, as you are here to watch over all of them. They are your family now and you must learn to trust in and rely on them."
"I am starting to come to that realization. Kane and Taker remind me of protective older brothers, and the Brides, well I fell connected to them like I never did to the sisters that I grew up with. I really feel like family here."
We sat and talked, and she told me of the history of the Cithra, gave me more information on my transformation abilities and talked a little of my Father. She had been there for about an hour, when I started yawning.
"My darling daughter, you must rest. Tomorrow will bring new and exciting changes for you and you will need all of your energy to deal with them." She walked to the side of my bed and wrapped her arms around me and kissed me on the forehead.
"When will I see you again?"
"All you need ever do is call my name and I will be here for you. I love you, my daughter."
"I love you too, mother."
And in the blink of an eye, she was gone. I sat in my bed for a few more moments, wondering how I had spent most of my life, not realizing how empty I had been. My heart was full, and I was nearly content. The only thing I found lacking in my life was a true love of my own. I thought I had found that with Scotty. Butt, after the scene in my apartment, and the fact that he had refuse to listen to me and worse than that, had nearly hit me, gave me significant enough evidence that he was not, as Kane had warned me, the man that I believed him to be.
I lay back with my head on the pillow and fell into a deep sleep, and for the first time in my life I slept the night without a single nightmare. My mind was at peace.
*********
I rolled out of the bed when I heard the phone ringing, feeling well rested and ready to tackle whatever the day might bring. I jumped in the shower, threw on jeans and a T-shirt and then headed downstairs in search of breakfast. I found a fresh pot of coffee on the counter and started into the dining room, when I heard an obviously unhappy Taker on the phone.
"It's not possible right now. Things are just to up in the air. Yes, I know that you need us there. All right, we'll work something out. Bye."
He hung up the phone and slammed his fist on the table. "Dammit, this is the worst possible timing."
"Worst possible timing for what?"
He turned, saw me standing in the doorway and smiled.
"Morning, Lashana, I didn't know anyone else was up."
"Well, if they weren't before, you beating up the dining room furniture will surely wake them. So, what did that poor table do to you this morning?"
He chuckled at that and invited me to sit down. "That was mine and Kane's boss on the phone. He says he needs us back at work this evening."
"OK, so what's the problem?"
"It's going to be very hard for us to protect you and do our jobs at the same time. It involves us traveling quite a bit."
I jumped when I heard Kane, because I didn't realize that he was in the room. He was standing in the doorway between the hallway and the dining room.
"You shouldn't sneak up on me like that this early in the morning."
"Sorry, but I heard the pounding in here and figured Taker was having some sort of problem. He's generally the only one in the house that beats on the furniture."
I felt that vibrational laughter coming from Kane and struggled to suppress a chuckle of my own when Taker shot him a 'you'll pay for that' look.
"Anyway, back to this work issue. I don't think that you two need to baby sit me for the rest of my life. I'm going to have to learn to take care of myself eventually, ya know."
Kane sat down beside me and Taker was on the other side of the table. I looked up as some of the other, sleepy headed brides started wandering into the dining room, all of them giving killer looks at Taker, who was looking pretty sheepish for having waken the entire household with his pounding earlier.
Sherra looked at me and smiled. "So, Lashana, what has the Dark Lord so worked up this morning?"
"His boss wants them to come back to work and they are worried about baby sitting me…I told them that they should go ahead and go. I'll be just fine."
Storm had a fairly disgruntled look on her face when she looked at Taker and Kane. "I can't believe that you all haven't realized the simple solution here. Take her to work with you. I'm sure Vince could find something to keep her busy. He's always looking for someone with the organizational skills that Lashana has, she was an Administrative Secretary, you know."
Taker and Kane perked up at that idea, and I looked between the two. "Whoa, wait a minute you all, I don't even know what you do for a living, what makes you think I'm qualified to work there?"
Prudhoe chuckled at that, and I looked over at her, wondering what was so funny. "Lashana, have you ever heard of Professional Wrestling?"
My eyes got wide and I looked, unbelieving at Taker and Kane. "No way, its not possible that you are The Kane and Taker. I never even considered the possibility. I watch that show avidly and never once did I put two and two together. Now I feel like a COMPLETE moron." I put my head in my hands and lay them on the table.
"You weren't supposed to put two and two together. We had been watching you for years before we made contact, and we knew that you were a fan. We purposely blocked that realization from your mind so that it didn't interfere with what needed to be done."
"You WHAT? Is there anything else you've blocked from my mind?"
Storm reached over and patted my hand. "You'll get used to their constant interference eventually. They tend to do things for "our own good" and then tell us later that they did it."
Both men were looking relatively sheepish, looking as if they had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. "We only do things like that to protect you girls, and we never do anything that will hurt you in the long run."
There was a collective groan coming from all the brides, myself included, that turned to a sigh when the cooks wheeled in the breakfast buffet. Kane was the first one in line, and we all laughed when we heard the "It's about time, I'm starving" thought that he didn't bother to conceal.
********
Kane and Taker had to report to work that afternoon in New York, so immediately after breakfast we went upstairs to do some quick packing. It was decided that Storm and Jakx would accompany us on the trip. I was given a special pass that was given to all of the Brides that would allow me to come and go from back stage at any of the shows.
We threw the luggage in Kane's jeep and headed to the airport to catch our plane to New York. We rented a car and headed to the arena early to meet with Vince. We pulled up in front of the arena with time to spare and headed to Vince's dressing room/office. After knocking on the door, we heard Vince tell us to come in.
"Welcome back boys. Hi, Storm, Jakx. Who is that with you?"
I walked forward and introduced myself, shaking Vince's hand. Taker sat down in a chair, and Kane and I sat on the Sofa facing the chair Vince sat in…Storm and Jakx had wandered off to find Kane and Taker's dressing rooms and something to drink.
"So, I take it you didn't just poke your head in to let me know you're back." Vince was looking a little curious as to why we were all seated here.
Taker laid it out pretty quickly and clearly, "Lashana will be traveling with us, and we want you to put her on the payroll."
Vince looked at me, and I just shrugged, gave him a 'this is their idea, not mine' look, and smiled.
He smiled back and then asked what my qualifications might be. I gave him a brief rundown of my experience and work history and saw his eyes light up when he realized that I had extensive administrative and organizational skills. "Well, I do believe I have just the thing. How do you feel about, umm…how shall I say this, rough personalities?"
Kane and Taker both looked at him, trying to figure out who he was talking about. I however didn't bat an eye at the question. "Mr. McMahon, I grew up with a father that had a 'rough personality' as you put it. I assume we are not talking about someone who is likely to try to harm me physically, but rather someone with a sharp tongue and a temper?"
"Well, yes, that's what I meant. So that's not a problem for you?"
"No sir, no problem at all. I worked with some of the most difficult people at some of my jobs and have found that if you meet the problem head on, so to speak, it usually resolves itself."
"Let me warn you, this particular wrestler has gone through god only knows how many coordinators. None of them could handle him, what makes you think you can?"
"For one thing, I live with these two." Kane and Taker both shot me a look at that, "and for another, I grew up with rough men. Always got along with them pretty well, once they realized that they didn't intimidate or impress me with their 'big bad man' attitude."
"All right, we'll give it a shot. I'll let Austin know, as soon as he gets here, that you will be coordinating his schedule from now on."
I started slightly when he said Austin. It had never occurred to me that I would be working with Stone Cold Steve Austin, but the more I thought about it, the more fun it seemed to be.
We stood to leave his office, and I notice that Kane was being relatively quiet, as was Taker. We headed to their dressing room, and once inside I stopped. "OK, guys. What's up? You've been totally quiet almost since we sat down in there."
"You live with these two? What was that supposed to mean?"
I laughed, "Oh for goddess sake, you two are pouting over that? It was a joke, lighten up. I got the job didn't I? Isn't that what you wanted?"
"Well, I don't know if I like the idea of you working closely with Austin, but I guess I don't really have much say in the matter."
"What's wrong with Austin? I mean, I know you two have had your problems in the past, but he seems like a good guy."
Right about that time there was a squeal outside, and we all went to see what the commotion was about. I looked out the door and saw Storm and Jakx hugging another woman in the hallway. They called me over and I was introduced to another bride, Icewolf.
"Hey Lashana, it's nice to meet you." She looked past me at saw Kane and Taker coming out of the dressing room. "Oh look the Dark Lord and Big Red. Did you two have a nice vacation?"
Taker and Kane both smiled at her and she walked over for a hug. "We missed you too Icey! Have you been keeping things in line around here?"
"You know it, between me a Jim, we keep everyone walking the straight and narrow."
I looked at her, kind of puzzled and asked, "Who's Jim?"
Storm smiled, and explained, "Jim would be Jim Dotson, head of security, and according to Icewolf, the most 'to die for' man alive. To be honest, I'm surprised every time I see them apart, it happens so rarely."
Right about that time, Jim walked up behind Icewolf and wrapped his arms around her. "Hey babe, where you been?"
Storm, Jakx and I all doubled over with laughter, and received a dirty look from Icey for it. She stuck her tongue out us and told him that she was visiting with her sisters. I was introduced to Jim and noticed right away that these two were perfect for each other. He whispered something in her ear, and she smiled and told us that she would see us after the show.Return to the Bonfire CONTINUE