Bound, An Arelia LaRue Novel #1 YA Paranormal Romance (4 page)

“
Feels lovely, doesn’t it?”
Whispered a delicate voice.

I frantically looked around the
bathroom. “Who’s there?” I knew it had to be a spirit. I felt
it.

“
We met a long time ago, but
you don’t seem to remember me, do you?” The voice sounded slightly
insulted. “Let me refresh your memory.”

“
Erzulie!” I gasped as a
voluptuous, caramel skinned woman appeared before me. Her long,
dark hair was wrapped around a flowered headdress, and her pink
gown was adorned with fine jewels. Around her neck, there hung
strands of colorful beads varying in length and both her arms were
covered in thick, gold bracelets. I know that I should have been
scared, but I was rather fascinated. It’s not every day that the
voodoo spirit of love interrupts your bath, so I was willing to
listen to what she had to say.

“
So you do remember me?” Her
hazel eyes filled with childish delight.

“
Well yeah, grand-mere Bea
has pictures of you at home.” I slid deeper into the bubbles.
Despite the fact that she was a spirit and probably already saw me
naked on several occasions, I was still utterly
self-conscious.

“
Such a pretty girl and yet
always hiding,” she reached out to touch my cheek. “You’re always
hiding from yourself and others. You haven’t been using the gifts I
blessed you with, have you?” Her soft voice questioned with
authority.

“
I’m too afraid,” I
admitted. “I’m afraid of a lot of things.” I never opened up to
people I just met especially when I was naked, but spirits
technically didn’t count as people, did they?

“
I know you are.” Erzulie’s
voice took on a sympathetic tone, “but you are needed here. You are
the only one who can help. You are the only one who is strong
enough. There must always be balance in nature, but it seems that
sadness has reigned here for far too longer. I blessed you because
you are so strong yet so fragile; you have the balance needed to be
a great voodoo queen. But, you need to start using what I have
given you. Don’t worry, it will come naturally, the spirits will
guide you. I will always guide you. Whenever you are in trouble
call upon me, and I will always be willing to help. Remember, you
always have my blessing. Every part of you is blessed.”

I unexpectedly opened my eyes. Had I
been asleep? What did Erzulie expect me to do with her advice? I
wasn’t sure who I was supposed to help when I was struggling just
to keep my own head above water.

How long had I been out? The clock on
the wall told me that I had been in the bathroom for over an hour.
I needed to start getting ready for the ball because being late on
my first day wasn’t an option. I leapt out of the deep bathtub,
grabbed a towel and wrapped it tightly around me. After gathering
my jeans and tank top, I opened the door and looked both ways.
Thankfully, the coast was clear. I sprinted down the hall and
rushed into my room. “Sabrina, why didn’t you come get me!” I
demanded as I slammed the door behind me.

“
Maybe because I’m not
Sabrina,” politely informed a shirtless guy who appeared to be
around my age. His intense, dark eyes looked at me in amusement, as
I glanced over his slender yet muscular build. It looked as if
Sabrina had found her summer toy.

“
Okay, so where’s Sabrina?”
I confusedly questioned. “And why are you in our room?”

“
Your room?” His full lips
broke out in a seductive smile, as he ran his fingers through his
shiny, dark hair. “The last time I checked this was my room,” he
coolly advised me.

I scanned the area and realized that it
was completely different from my room. For one thing, it was much
more elaborate and was filled with books and antiques. I felt
myself blushing as it became painfully obvious that I was standing
in a stranger’s room in a towel, accusing him of invading my
bedroom. “I’m sorry,” I stuttered as I backed up towards the
door.

“
It’s okay.” He swiftly came
up behind me and opened the door. “I wish you luck in finding
Sabrina.” His eyes danced obviously taking delight in my
discomfort.

“
Yeah, okay,” I muttered. By
the time, I found my room, my face was burning from
embarrassment.

“
Looks like someone spent
too much time in a steamy tub,” Sabrina joked when she saw me. You
look like a lobster. What happened?”

I looked at myself in the mirror and
ran my hands over my fiery face. “Nothing, I kept getting the hot
and cold taps on the tub mixed up. My bath ended up being too hot,”
I lied. I didn’t want to tell her what had really happened because
that would prompt her to go in search for the shirtless guy and we
really had to start getting ready.

“
You have to check out these
costumes!” Sabina exclaimed as she dramatically swirled around the
room with a nineteenth century ball gown. Yes, she really did swirl
like Mary Poppins would have, or Eliza Doolittle from that play
grand-mere loved so much.

I had to admit the costumes were
gorgeous. There had to be at least twenty gowns in total. Although
each one varied in color, they were all intricately decorated, cut
off the shoulder, and had plunging necklines.

“
I’ve always wanted to wear
a corset,” Sabrina dreamily gushed. “My future husband doesn’t have
a chance tonight.”

I rolled my eyes yet again. I didn’t
want to interrupt her fairytale, but we had a job to do. “You
remember that we are working at this thing don’t you?” I reminded
her.

“
Oh, don’t be so silly
Arelia, of course, I remember. So which one are you going to wear
and what are you going to do with that hair?” She asked as she
pointed to my wet hair which was already settling into a pattern of
frizzy waves.

I examined the dresses and finally
settled on a red and black silk one that was trimmed in lace and
embroidered with pearls.

“
That’s cute,” Sabrina
decided has she eyed the dress I had chosen. “What do you think
about this one?” She held up a puffy, pink dress that looked like
it weighed more than she did.

“
It is so you.” I had to
agree that the dress did have her name written all over
it.

“
Thought so,” Sabrina looked
pleased. She held it against her body and starting swirling again.
“You’re going to let me do your hair and makeup right?” She
asked.

“
Sure, go for it.” I might
as well let her do the hard work.

After a lot of fussing and
complications, we finally managed to help each other lace up our
corsets and get into our dresses. How women had managed to do this
every day was beyond me. I never thought I would ever wear
something called a petticoat. I felt ridiculous and a bit
self-conscious as we stood in front of the mirror. The corset had
slimmed my waist down even further and gave the illusion that I
actually had some sort of chest.

“
I look so hot.” Sabrina
boosted up her large boobs even further. “I wish I was skinny as
you though,” she added as she enviously eyed my waist. Sabrina was
always on some sort of diet that she could never stick to. She was
by no means large, but she wasn’t the mythical size zero she
strived to be either. I was probably skinny because there was never
enough food around the house.

“
Sit,” commanded Sabrina
aggressively. She whipped open her Louis Vuitton makeup case and
started working her magic. What felt like an eternity later my hair
and makeup were complete. “Look.” She directed me to the
mirror.

As I peered into the mirror, even I had
to reluctantly admit that I looked pretty. Sabrina had worked my
olive skin to its fullest advantage so that it looked radiant. All
its imperfections were masked with concealer and foundation. She
had highlighted my cheekbones in a soft, peach blush and played up
my large eyes with layers of mascara and strategically placed
eyeliner. My lipstick matched the color of my ball gown and my wild
waves had been tamed and styled into an elaborate updo. The only
compliant I had was the hideously razor-sharp, butterfly hairpin
Sabrina had thrust into my hair.

“
I know. I know. I’m good.”
Sabrina took delight in her magical makeup skills as she watched my
reaction.

“
You’re more than good. I
don’t think I’ve ever looked better. Thank you so much.” I gave her
a tight hug.

“
No problem, I’ll be ready
in a few minutes,” she lied. I knew that few minutes translated
into a few hours and we would be late.

“
I’m going to head down and
meet with Ms. Mae and Henri, so I can figure out what we are
supposed to be doing.” I silently prayed that she wouldn’t make me
wait until she was done getting ready.

“
Good idea, I’ll meet you
down there,” Sabrina happily agreed as she coated herself with
foundation.

“
Please, don’t take forever,
it’s our first day.”

“
You worry way too much
Arelia.” Sabrina easily shrugged off my warning and started playing
connect the dots with her concealer. She was prone to breaking out
when it was humid outside, and usually spent forty minutes
meticulously camouflaging any offending spots.

I ignored her, as I shut the door
behind me. I did not worry too much. One of us had to be
responsible. To Sabrina, this whole thing may have been a vacation,
but to me it was a fine line between eating Spam all year versus
actually being able to afford the occasional pizza. When you count
pennies and pray that your stinky landlord won’t kick you out of
your crappy apartment, ordering a pizza is like eating caviar. Of
course, Sabrina constantly insisted on helping out, but I never
accepted her help. She was my best friend, not my sugar
mama.

I made my way to the kitchen in hopes
of catching Ms. Mae alone. I wanted to grill her for more answers
about the whole voodoo business. All the chandeliers on the bottom
floor were brightly lit making the house look ethereal. The kitchen
was buzzing with servers and cooks while the smell of seafood gumbo
filled the air. Everyone was so busy that it gave me the perfect
opportunity to approach Ms. Mae.

“
Oh my,” gasped Ms. Mae as
she took a look at me. “You look exactly like your momma did the
last time I saw her.”

“
Except I’m not pregnant,” I
pointed out.

“
Yes, well there is that one
difference,” she laughed as she iced a large, red velvet cake.
“Where is Sabrina?”

“
She’ll be down in a
minute,” I replied knowing that it would be a few hours before she
made her grand entrance.

“
I suppose you want to ask
me more questions, don’t you?”

“
Well, I’m not totally
surprised by the news. I mean, I knew all along that there had to
be something up with me. Do you hear them too?”

“
Yes,” she firmly replied.
“But in order for me to make contact it requires a great deal of
effort. I am not as nearly as powerful as you.”

“
Why didn’t grand-mere Bea
tell me that her whole family used to work here?”

Ms. Mae examined me in silence for a
few seconds before finally deciding to respond. “Not everyone
thinks the same or chooses the same path in life. Your grand-mere
did what she though was best by starting her own life. She’s never
been one for secrets or the LaPlante family.”

“
She told me that they’re
cursed and evil,” I whispered.

Ms. Mae let out a hearty laugh. “One
can argue what they want about the LaPlante family, but everyone
deserves a chance. Don’t you agree Arelia?”

“
What do you mean?” I was
confused by her question.

“
No one deserves to suffer
for eternity.”

“
I guess not,” I said still
a bit unsure of what she was implying.

“
Arelia, aren’t you a sight
for sore eyes,” gasped Henri in exaggeration.

“
Thanks,” I shrugged, as I
tried to brush off the compliment. Getting praise always
embarrassed me.

He went over to Ms. Mae and gave her a
kiss on the cheek. “The guests are starting to arrive.”

“
Well, then you better take
Arelia over, so she can greet them and show them some hospitality.”
She gave him a loving glance.

“
Wait. Are you two?” I
asked.

“
Arelia, Henri is your
great-uncle. Henri, your lovely niece is all grown-up, isn’t
she?”

Henri bowed, “I suppose you don’t
remember me do you?”

“
No, not really,” I
reluctantly admitted.

“
Well, this summer will give
us a perfect opportunity to get reacquainted,” predicted Henri. He
stretched out his arm for me to take, “now, come with me, so we can
greet the guests. “I’ve written their names all down here for you
and Sabrina. That should make things a bit easier.”

“
But, what should I say to
them?” I wasn’t great at making small talk with
strangers.

“
I’m sure you’ll figure it
all out.” Henri gave me a quick wink as he guided me to the front
of the house.

Chapter 4

Drag me to the Ball