"I hope you like it."
Selene opened the door to Ives' room. The two stepped into literal paradise.
A Ceiling so high up that even a hundred of them stacked on eachother wouldn't reach it, decorated with the most beautiful pre modern upholstery imaginable.
The cool scent of mountain air wafted in from the windows.
A fireplace.
A large bed.
And a wardrobe that looked like a gateway to another world.
Ives had only one word for it.
"Perfect." He showed Selene his deep appreciation.
"I would think that such a wealthy young man such as yourself would prefer modern settings." Selene chuckled.
"A common mistake many make. Did you pick this place out for me?" Ives conversed with her as he unpacked. Selene sat beside his suitcase and answered.
"No. If I am being honest, it was Rhea who did all the work."
"And what were you doing?" Ives questioned without much thought.
"Are you assuming that I was being Lazy?" Selene feigned being upset, folding her arms around her chest and turning her head away like a wronged child.
Ives couldn't stop the silent eye roll that came from seeing her actions, he knew that this would definitely transition into something sensual. Every bit of her voluptuous figure quaked with a silent invisible heat that somehow Ives could perceive, it felt sticky and raw.
'Well, she was kind enough to host me.' Ives agreed within himself to humor her before she does something uncalled for to get his attention.
"Fine. Then were you preparing the house for my arrival with the servants?"
Selene sighed and admitted, "No."
"Was Silva helping out too?"
"She was doing something else." Saying particular words caused Selene to blush a bit.
Ives put away his belongings, stepped in front of Selene in an imposing manner.
Her tone immediately shifted and she stared up at Ives who leaned forward and forced her to lie on her back while he crouched over her.
In this position, Ives immediately took a more dominant role and demnaded information from Selene.
"What were you doing?" He whispered into her ear.
Selene shifted uncomfortably contemplating whether to tell the truth or lie. Ives sensed her internal struggle but left her to respond on her own accord, he knew that whatever she was doing was probably something that made her feel guilty to admit.
"I was…" The door opened before she could finish, in came Rhea who stopped the second she saw the scene before her.
She overcame the shock almost immediately and bowed in apology, "I'm sorry. I came in without permission."
Selene laughed and teased her,
"Don't I warn you constantly to knock before you enter a room. This silly girl."
She wrapped her arms around Ives' neck and continued.
"Mommy is playing right now."
Rhea nodded about to leave when Ives called her back.
"It's okay. Come in."
He removed himself from Selene's hold and walked up to Rhea.
"Ummm….. I knew you came here to have fun so we were going sledding. Do you know want to come?"
Rhea shifted uncomfortably as she said this, her voice uncertain and careful not to offend.
Ives accepted the offer, "Of course."
Selene complained, "You just arrived. Don't you want to rest?"
She held Ives' shoulder trying to pull him back but Ives was certain.
"I slept for most of the trip here. Do you still want me to sleep so more?"
Selene huffed and folded her arms again, looking to the side with feigned anger.
Ives moved to her, wrapped his arms around her waist and whispered into her ears.
"We have all week to play."
Ives comforted her with these words and she immediately cheered up.
"Fine." She huffed out.
Ives followed Rhea down the hallway, alone away from the ears of her mother she could speak freely.
"Ives?"
"Rhea?" Ives responded.
"What do you see in my mom?"
"Love. Warmth. Care and Purpose. At this point I can't even imagine the world without her in it." Ives replied without showing any visible emotion.
Rhea folded her arms and continued,
"I'm glad you like her…." She said then paused before adding, "...Ives does Mom seem different to you?"
"Yes. She is more expressive and confident than before."
"No. I mean does she do that thing to you?"
Ives stopped in his tracks. He studied Rhea. Her hair was knotted into a large bun. She wore glasses. A white long sweater and black sweat pants. Her eyes turned away from his.
Shame. Guilt And Fear.
Ives saw all this in her eyes and wondered what could be going through her mind.
"What does your Mother do with you?" Ives asked quietly.
"We don't have all day!" Silva screamed from the front door.
Rhea rushed to meet her twin sister leaving Ives to wonder what could be going on.
The Issue with Selene.
His Mother.
Ives felt crushed by the weight of things he had to attend to, a slight smile appeared at the edge of his lips.
'If I can worry then it means I am in control of what happens.'
Ives met them at front door and together they hiked to the top of the mountain escorted by five bodyguards.
As they walked through the steep snowy earth dodging branches and manuvering around trees, Silva made momentarily glares at Ives who noticed every one but chose not to call it up.
From the way she was acting, this wasn't just as simple as her resenting him for being with her mother.
There was the same shame in her eyes but also fierce possessiveness.
Rhea was bent of uncovering the truth while Silva was trying to protect it and saw Ives as a threat to it.
'Who knows what she could pull off.' Ives was on alert.
"Woah!" Rhea's leg got caught in a root system causing her to fall forward.
"Miss!" The Bodyguards called out with fear. Before her face could meet the earth, Ives caught her hand and pulled her up, she fell into her arms.
No words were exchanged just the silent acknowledgement of eachother's presence.
"Thank you." She said and they continued their journey, this time Ives held her hand throughout the rest making himself her foothold against increasingly treacherous terrain which soon fell even Silva and a good number of the Bodyguards.
Finally at the top several hundred meters above the land, they were ready to begin their journey down this time in a more fun manner than how they came up.
They entered the store and rented the sleds.
"Are you ready?" Silva asked Ives who gave only a nod in response.
They all partnered up in different sled, Silva shared one with another bodyguard. Rhea with Ives and then the rest on others.
"On my mark." Silva was about to count when Rhea kicked forward causing her sled to begin its descent, leaving her sister frothing with rage.
"Asshole!" Silva yelled.
Rhea simply stared forward and laughed childishly as they slid down the slope. The cold air beat against his exposed face in a relentless torrent too fast for anyone to keep up with but Ives having piloted the hollow body at heights high enough to gaze skyscrapers didn't feel overwhelmed. He enjoyed not just the slide but the warm moment he was sharing with Rhea.
"Ives. Do like this." Rhea lifted up her arms and shouted continuously, "..Weee!"
Ives raised his and joined her cacophony with a cold baritone. "Weee!"
Silva soon caught up beside them.
"Rhea!!" She yelled and began using her sled to crash against theirs, the play became intense and soon Rhea began veering theirs to crash against Silva's. This fierce struggle continued till Ives and Silva's bodyguard momentarily took control and steered the sled apart to avoid a rock. Rhea and Silva turned red with embarrassment as the two men had to pull them out of their immature frenzy.
The Bodyguard behind Silva begin Laughing and soon Rhea joined and Ives was made to make a faint smile while Silva still pouted angrily.
The bottom was still a hundred meters away allowing them to enjoy a peaceful cruise.
The peace was broken.
Ives spotted three men hiding in the cover of the trees on the side farther ahead looking menacingly at them, their hands rose slowly clutching a familiar evil.
He could almost swear he heard the snicker of one as he began spraying bullets in their path with a semi-automatic rifle in his hands.
"Duck!!" Ives barked.
They weren't fast enough.
Silva forced herself to stand as the pain of the shots she received in her right arm wrecked her.
Her bodyguard stood too and nodded at her before bringing out his handgun and going forward to engage the shooters.
"Ives!" Rhea's desperate cry echoed through the mountains.
Rhea who now had an open wound on her head was holding onto Ives who was clutching his throat as blood gushed out.
A loud shot from a shot gun echoed and Silva saw her partner bodyguard on the floor.
An imposing man with a shot gun was creeping towards them and the others were firing ahead of them blocking the path of the rest of the bodyguards to reach them on their sled.
Silva's eyes widened in horror as the assassin holding the shotgun was a mere six feet away from her.
"Please." She begged but the man pointed the gun directly at her face.