Beloved - NC-17 - Complete

[scifichick774]

This one is already pretty far along, but I got a request to start posting it here as well. :)

Title: Beloved
Author: scifichick774
Rating: NC-17
Category: Drama/Romance/Angst/Supernatural
Spoilers: Anything through the end of the second season is fair game - but since it’s all pretty much AU, don’t expect too many spoilers.
Summary: Someone comes through an alternate reality portal to kidnap Chloe. Will she be able to adjust to her new life, or will she find a way back home? Chloe/Lucas Chloe/Lex much later on
Disclaimer: Not mine, no infringement intended, please don’t sue.
Feedback: YES!! REVIEW!! Geez, that sounded incredibly needy.
Archival: Sure – just let me know where.
Author’s Note: I’m writing this because my muse wouldn’t let it be. You should be warned: if you can’t stand to see Chloe with anyone other than Lex, then you shouldn’t read this. Seriously. Also, the alternate reality version of Lex in this story is kind of a dark character, so don’t expect a lot of mushy behavior coming from him. This first chapter scene jumps a little, but hopefully it won’t be too confusing.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The hooded figure stood over the young blonde woman’s body and held his fingers out to touch her neck. His head turned slightly to look at the other man in the room and he shook it despairingly.

“She has died, Carrado. What are we to do now?”

Carrado frowned. The princess had been through so much, and although her apparent suicide didn’t surprise him, he was still disappointed. Quickly after the disappointment came the realization that the kingdom she was from and the one they were in would probably go to war with each other now.

The two kingdoms had long been at odds, but the rulers of each nation thought they had come to a reasonable compromise when they agreed to arrange a marriage between the eldest prince of the house of Luthor and the only daughter of the house of Sullivan. The princess had been sent to their kingdom to fulfill the agreement, even though she had been completely against it. Her death would not be well received, and there was a very real possibility that suspicion would arise to whether it was actually a suicide or not.

Carrado got a determined look on his face and gave the younger man a steely expression.

“No one is to know of this,” he said in a gravely voice. The younger man looked surprised.

“Surely we cannot hide her passing for long,” he said.

“No one is to know of this, Nudd,” Carrado repeated in an authoritative tone. “No one.”

“But ---”

“There is a way,” Carrado said, getting a thoughtful look in his eyes. “We will replace her with another.”

Nudd looked at the older man in disbelief. He certainly couldn’t be suggesting what he thought he was suggesting.

“Her other self will never agree to it,” he argued. “And the people here will know it is not she.” He motioned to the body on the bed with his head and Carrado gave him a solemn look.

“They will not. In the two days since her arrival here, she has not ventured beyond the walls of this room. Very few people here know her face, and fewer still with her manner,” Carrado said. Nudd let his eyes fall back upon the lifeless body and Carrado could sense his apprehension. “We have the ability to save so many. We must take our opportunity.” Nudd nodded his head sadly.

“I’ll prepare what must be done.”

~*~*~*~*~

Chloe stretched out her arms and yawned before climbing into her bed and slipping under the covers. It had been such a long last couple of days. Clark had basically used her as his own personal search engine again, Lana had been swamped at the Talon and had begged Chloe to help (which she only ended up agreeing to because her dad was in the room), and then one of the few reporters she actually had on the staff for the Torch had mysteriously disappeared. Chloe had spent the remainder of her time tracking down leads in hopes that they might lead her to a possible freak of the week article, but it turned out that the girl had just run off with her older boyfriend. And although she had managed to get through the last couple of days with a great deal of caffeine, her body was certainly feeling the after effects now. She snuggled her head into her pillow and let her heavy eyelids drift closed with no way of knowing what was to come.

~*~*~*~*~

Carrado held the old book in his outstretched arms and read from it. His deep voice echoed in the princess’s bedroom and a large blue swirling circle of light appeared in front of them. Nudd took a deep breath and then released it as he picked the dead body off the bed. Carrado watched Nudd step through the portal first and he followed quickly behind him, only having a limited amount of time before the circle of light disappeared.

~*~*~*~*~

Nudd’s breath hitched when he saw Chloe’s moonlit face. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was steady, and she looked identical to the deceased princess that he held in his arms. The portal closed after Carrado stepped through it. He was inwardly pleased that the spell worked and the girl in front of them looked so similar in appearance to the princess. The only thing that concerned him was the length of her hair. They could easily lie and say that the princess kindly cooperated with them by lending some hair for a ceremony or something, but the family and friends that this girl had would know that the corpse they were replacing her with wasn’t her.

He took out a sharp blade from his sheath and took a few steps toward Nudd. The younger man’s eyes grew large until he realized what Carrado planned to do. Carrado looked back at Chloe and quickly judged the length of her hair before cutting into the princess’s longer locks. It took a good hour for them to alter the identities of the two young women. Although Nudd felt uncomfortable, they switched the clothing on Chloe and the princess and laid the princess’s body in the bed, covering her with the blankets that had been wrapped around Chloe when they first came in. Carrado thanked the gods that the princess’s double seemed to be a fairly sound sleeper.

Nudd held Chloe’s sleeping form in his arms and Carrado began to read the chant from the book in a hushed voice so as not to wake her. The portal opened again, allowing them return passage to their own world.

Nudd stepped into the circle of light first. Carrado took one last look at the lifeless female body lying on the bed. He had no doubt that her family and friends would be upset when they believed it was their own Chloe who was deceased, but he truly believed that they were doing what was necessary to maintain the very shaky peace between the Luthor and Sullivan kingdoms. With that one last thought, he turned and stepped through the portal.

~*~*~*~*~

Nudd lay Chloe down on the princess’s bed and covered her with the blankets. She twisted and turned her body as she unconsciously sought to get comfortable again. Nudd turned to Carrado when the portal in the room closed and the only light that shone upon them was from the moonlight shining through the small slits between the stones that made up the window.

“This was not right,” Nudd whispered wearily. “Her family ---”

“Will grieve as any other when they have lost a child,” Carrado whispered back in an almost scornful voice, still trying to convince himself that they had done the right thing as well. “They will not start a war as the princess’s family would have.” Nudd bowed his head in defeat and let his eyes fall upon Chloe, who had finally gotten comfortable and had her legs curled up against her.

“And what of her?” He asked quietly. Carrado came over to him and placed his hand on the younger man’s shoulder.

“We will give her some herbs to help her forget her former life,” he responded, matching Nudd’s hushed tone. “And in time, she will adjust to this one.” He grabbed a satchel filled with a fine powder and pinched a little bit of it between his fingers. Carrado opened Chloe’s mouth ever so slightly and dropped the powder onto her tongue. Chloe yawned and then made a humming sound as she drifted further into her slumber. “Come. It will be morning soon and we will need rest ourselves if we are to help her adjust to her new life tomorrow.”

Morning came and Chloe rubbed her eyes as she woke up. She swung her feet over the side of the bed before complete waking up, and was startled when she felt the cold stone floor beneath her. Chloe eyes shot wide open and she took in the scene around her with confusion. Confusion quickly turned to fear and her features contorted as she noticed the long night dress she was clothed in.

“What the ---?”

[scifichick774]

Chapter 2

“Chloe?” Lana knocked lightly on Chloe’s door. “Chl-oe,” she said as her voice took on a teasing lilt, “I know you’re in there because your car’s outside.” There was still no answer from the other side of the door and Lana blew a puff of air upward in frustration. “Okay, I’m coming in,” she threatened. Still no response. Lana furrowed her brow and turned the knob. She saw Chloe lying on the bed under her covers, facing the other direction and she rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe you’re not up yet.” Lana walked over to the bed to shake her shoulder. “Chloe! Come on! You’re going to be late for ---” Lana’s lower lip quivered when she saw the color of the body’s lips and felt the cold skin under her hand. “Oh my God,” she whispered.

Lana’s hands started shaking and she barely summoned the confidence to check for a pulse. There wasn’t one. Every nerve in her body seemed to go numb and she absently walked out into the hallway in a state of total shock. Gabe saw her on the stairs and smiled at her.

“Good morning, Lana.”

He frowned when she made no effort at giving a response, but just kept staring straight ahead.

“Lana? Are you feeling alright?”

She just barely shook her head.

“Do you need me to call in for you?”

She shook her head lightly again.

“C-Chloe,” she rasped out before turning her head to throw up all over the second floor’s hallway carpet. Gabe winced and then went to get something to clean up the mess. When he got back, Lana was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall and her knees tucked up to her chest. Gabe looked at her sympathetically and knelt down to start cleaning up.

“It’s okay, we’ll just call the school and tell them that you won’t be in today,” he said. Lana’s face slowly turned toward him and he saw the almost vacant look of shock in her eyes. He leaned his head to the side. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“C-Chloe,” she half-whispered. Gabe turned his head and glanced at her quickly before returning to the task of cleaning up the stain.

“Did you two get in another fight over the bathroom this morning?” He joked, trying to lighten her mood. Tears started to well up in her eyes and Gabe furrowed his brow in concern when he heard the first whimper come from her mouth. “Lana? What is it?” Lana started crying uncontrollably and Gabe figured he better see what was wrong. He got up and walked to Chloe’s room. “Chloe? You want to tell me why ---”

Gabe stopped in his tracks when he saw the young woman he thought was his daughter on the bed, and from the lifeless appearance of the body, Gabe knew immediately why Lana had been in shock.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Chloe’s gaze was drawn to the sound of the door opening and she saw a bowed head of red hair step in. Her demeanor changed into relief when she saw the woman’s face.

“Mrs. Kent!”

Martha looked up at the sound of Chloe’s voice, startled that the princess knew her name. Chloe padded over to her quickly, slightly hopping from foot to foot because of the cold floor.

“You have no idea how glad I am to see you,” she said. Martha looked confused and shook her head.

“Pardon, but h-how did you know my name?”

Chloe gave her a strange look.

“Mrs. Kent? It’s me, *Chloe*,” she said. Martha blinked a couple of times. “Sullivan?” Chloe quipped. Martha shook her head lightly.

“I know who you are, majesty, but I ---”

Chloe held up her hand and waved it back and forth.

“Never mind,” she said. ‘I’m obviously having a really vivid dream or my body is lying in a coma in a meteor rock ravine,’ she thought. ‘Either way, I may as well play along.’ Chloe smiled brightly at Martha. “So, what are you doing in my room?”

“I – I was sent to see if you were feeling well enough to join the court for meal this morn,” Martha said, returning Chloe’s broad smile with a shy and hesitant one of her own.

“Yeah,” Chloe said with a shrug. Her feet were growing used to the temperature of the floor now and she wasn’t bouncing up and down anymore. “I feel fine.” Martha’s smile grew with Chloe’s friendly behavior.

“Oh, that is indeed wonderful news,” she said.

“Yeah, it’s pretty fantastic,” Chloe mumbled sarcastically.

“May I inquire into something personal?” Martha asked. Chloe arched her eyebrow, but didn’t say no. “Why did you cut off all of your lovely hair?”

“I ---”

“She allowed us to take it,” Carrado said as he stepped into the room. Martha paled and looked down so she wouldn’t have to make eye contact with him. “Even in her weakness, Princess Chloe has demonstrated the peaceful will of her kingdom by allowing us to use her hair for an important ceremony.” Chloe narrowed her eyes at the man as he spoke down to Martha.

‘Okay, he’s the bad guy,’ Chloe thought to herself. ‘And if, by some fluke, this isn’t a dream – and I have a bad feeling that it isn’t – then he knows what’s going on. And I’m going to find out what it is.’ Chloe smiled reassuringly at Martha as the woman stole a glance at her. Martha looked back at Carrado.

“Of course,” she said and gave him a politely forced grin. “Her highness said she is feeling well enough for breakfast today. Is that not good news?”

“Very good,” Carrado agreed, but Chloe could tell it was only because Martha put him on the spot for the answer. Martha looked at the man expectantly and Carrado cleared his throat. “I will let you attend to her then,” he said to Martha. Carrado grinned at Chloe, although she thought that seemed forced as well. “If you will permit me some time later today? There are a number of things that we must discuss in the month’s time before the wedding.”

“Wedding?” Chloe asked. Martha gave her a compassionate look and signaled Carrado to leave. Carrado frowned, but gave Chloe a small bow before leaving the room. Martha shut the door behind him and turned back around to face Chloe.

“I know you were hoping that the arrangement between your parents and the prince’s would be broken, but they seem determined,” Martha said while she fetched some clothes out of a long wooden chest. “Now then, you would look lovely in this green dress,” she said as she held up an ornate dark green silk dress that Chloe could only estimate weighed entirely more than a dress should.

Martha started to help Chloe get dressed, and was very pleased that the princess now seemed so friendly and, for the most part, in good spirits. Chloe’s parents had sent servants to attend to her since she had arrived, so Martha had been puzzled as to why she requested to only have one person from the Luthors’ own staff see to her, but she had complied. When she first saw her, she was terribly upset and within a short period of time she had fallen weak. There were even rumors that she would kill herself before the wedding, so Martha was happy to see the incredible change in her behavior.

“Tell me about the prince,” Chloe said as Martha laced up the back of her dress. Martha’s face darkened.

“I should not say,” she said quietly. Chloe turned her head slightly and raised her eyebrows.

“What? Is he some sort of meteor mutant or something?” Chloe joked, but inwardly thought, “Well, of course he is.” She heard Martha suck in a deep breath.

“All of the king’s sons are very handsome and very intelligent. I am sure that you will produce lovely offspring,” Martha said, dodging the question. Chloe snorted.

“Yeah, cuz’ that’s gonna happen,” she said under her breath. She turned around and looked Martha in the eye. “Just tell me the truth.” Martha frowned.

“The truth is that your husband to be has been considered nothing less than a monster by most,” she said quietly. “I thought you had already heard this. Is that not why you object to the union?”

“I would have a problem marrying *any* guy I didn’t know,” Chloe said honestly. She took a deep breath and then released it. “Will he be at breakfast?”

Martha shook her head and Chloe found herself inwardly cheering in relief.

“He is away for the month, securing the lands on the other side of the kingdom, but he will be back for the wedding – the king will make sure of it.”

“Goody,” Chloe said sarcastically. Martha gave her a questioning look, but Chloe misinterpreted it and smiled apologetically at her. “Sorry. Let’s just get this over with.”

[scifichick774]

Chapter 3

“Carrado,” Nudd said in a hushed voice, taking the man by the elbow to get his attention. “We may have a problem.” Carrado nodded in agreement, knowing exactly what the younger man was speaking of.

“She still remembers her old life,” he said. Nudd looked surprised.

“You knew?”

“I went to see her earlier, but the matron who has been assigned to her was already there. She seemed ---” he paused while thinking of the right words, “somewhat unconcerned for someone who should have lost her memory. The only thing I can think of is that she believes she is in some sort of waking dream.”

“Perhaps her world already knows of ours,” Nudd suggested. Carrado shook his head and had a stubborn look on his face.

“Impossible,” he argued. Nudd fidgeted with his hands nervously.

“What do we do? If the herbs didn’t work to erase her memory, she will tell the king and queen the truth, and we shall be slain.”

Carrado shook his head lightly.

“If she tells them, they will merely think she has lost her mind due to illness,” he said.

“And we will return to the beginning,” Nudd said. “There will be no chance that King Lionel would allow his son to marry someone of mental incompacity.” Carrado frowned. Nudd had a point.

“I need to look over my tablets. Perhaps I can find something.” Carrado drew in a sharp breath. “If not, then the kingdoms will war and we will die regardless.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Gabe was pale and shaking by the time the police and coroner came to the house and the new sheriff couldn’t help but feel bad for him. She gave him a sympathetic look and reached over to touch his hand.

“I know this is hard,” she said, “but can you think of any reason this might have happened? Did she have any enemies? Had she gotten in any fights with her friends lately? Was she on any anti-depressant medication?” Gabe barely shook his head to all of her questions, but looked over at her from the spot on the wall where his gaze had been fixed with the last one.

“N-no. Of course not. You think she did this to herself? She would never ---”

“I’m just trying to do my job, and I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t explore all the options,” Sheriff Adams said. Gabe looked at her wearily and she ran a hand around the back of her neck. “And no, I don’t think she did this to herself. The preliminary forensics suggest that she was stabbed once through the heart and died somewhere else before the killer brought her body back here.” Gabe shuddered and Sheriff Adams frowned. “There would be blood all over her bed, or at least some in her room, if she was killed here.” She watched Gabe’s eyes close as he tried to make sense of the situation.

“Who would do this?” He finally asked in a choked voice. “Who would do this to her?” Tears started to fall from his eyes and the sheriff felt her heart going out to him. She had seen some strange things since taking over Sheriff Ethan Miller’s position in the community, but this one made her sick to her stomach. There was a real psycho out loose in Smallville, and if it didn’t turn out to be a personal attack against Chloe, then she couldn’t rule out that it might happen again.

“I don’t know,” she answered. “But we’re going to find out.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Chloe followed one of the guards down the winding corridor, while another followed behind her. The castle was cold, dark, and damp, and Chloe was starting to feel more and more uneasy. At first she had tried to go along with what she still thought might be a dream, but it was becoming more apparent that it was turning into a nightmare.

‘I really, *really* need to stop listening to Lana when she starts talking about how wonderful it would be to be a princess,’ she thought. She could see a better lit room at the end of the hallway, and there was chatter that she couldn’t quite make out coming from inside. Chloe’s gut twisted and she rubbed it absently with her hand. ‘Okay, time to wake up Chloe. Wake up, wake up, wake up!’ She even pinched herself on the off chance that it would work.

‘Fine. It’s not a dream,’ she thought and took a deep breath to try and calm herself. ‘It’s okay. Calm down. I was probably just taken by some meteor freak who has the power to put people in a hallucinogenic state. Yeah. That’s it. Ooh! That monk guy! I bet it’s him. Well, that’s the key then. He’s obviously put all these people into a weird state and he’s making them play out some sort of weird fantasy. But, then why wouldn’t he make himself king or something? Ugh! I need some coffee,’ she inwardly rambled.

A man standing at the entryway to the dining room announced her presence and the few people seated around the table stood to face her. The wrenching feeling in her gut came back as she took in who they were. At the center of the table stood Lionel Luthor.

‘This is bad. This is very bad.’

Next to him stood the woman who had insisted that Clark was her son and kidnapped Lex.

‘What was her name? Rachel something, right?’ She asked herself.

She recognized Lex’s brother from when she had seen him at the Talon, and Lana was there as well. There were only a few other people around the table and she didn’t recognize them.

‘Maybe they’re from one of the other little towns nearby,’ Chloe thought.

Lucas let his eyes drift leeringly over the young woman who was sent to be his oldest brother’s wife. It was the first time he had seen her since she had arrived at the castle, and although they had been informed that she had graciously lent her hair to Carrado for an important ceremony, he hadn’t expected her to look so good with shorter locks. He didn’t try to keep the smile from his lips and Chloe grinned nervously back at him.

“Princess,” Lionel said and held his hand out for her to join them at the table. Chloe faked a smile, but it quickly fell once she sat down and her worries about how to get things back to normal returned. There were so many unanswered questions. For instance, why was she the only one who seemed to remember who she really was? Had the others had a stronger dose of whatever mojo the freak of the week had unleashed on them? And where the hell was Clark when she needed him?

Chloe had chosen to sit down in the empty chair next to Lucas at the far end of the table for a couple of reasons. Primarily because he had actually smiled at her, and she thought maybe the glint in his eye meant that he remembered who he really was as well; but also because she wasn’t sure she could handle sitting next to Lana if Lana was supposed to actually be playing the role of a princess. It was enough to have to hear her talk about it, let alone watch her live it out. As if the girl didn’t get everything she wanted anyway.

The food was served and Chloe stared down at it with a modicum of disgust lining her facial features. Lucas had to hold back his laughter, but he did lean toward her. The rest of the people at the table were engaged in some sort of discussion that Lucas really didn’t care about, and they were sitting a good distance away from him and Chloe, so he felt comfortable saying something to her in a hushed voice.

“It’s not poisoned,” he said quietly. Chloe snickered and picked up a piece of ham off her plate.

“I didn’t think it was,” she said, shaking her head a little. “It’s just – I’m not used to eating such a heavy meal for breakfast.”

“What do you usually have?” Lucas asked, knowing that his father would send for whatever Chloe requested since the Sullivan throne and kingdom had more wealth and a mightier army than their own. Peace benefited both kingdoms, but the advantage clearly went to his father’s kingdom. Chloe shrugged.

“Cereal or a bagel and coffee,” Chloe answered. Lucas looked at her questioningly.

“Coffee?” He asked. He had never heard of such a thing, but figured it must be something that only grew in the Sullivans’ kingdom. Chloe’s eyes grew wide and her face took on a horrified look.

“You don’t have coffee?” She watched him shake his head.

“I have never heard of such a food,” he admitted.

“Drink,” she clarified. “Hot, black, bitter, lots of people add cream and sugar ---” A distressed whimper came from her throat when she could see that he didn’t know what she was talking about and she turned her back to looking at her food. “This had better be a bad dream, or I am *so* screwed,” she mumbled under her breath.

Lucas arched an eyebrow, but said nothing, turning his attention back to the rest of the family. He leaned back in his chair and observed them almost scathingly – especially Lana. Chloe grinned when she followed his glare.

“You don’t like her?” Chloe asked. Lucas turned his head slightly to look at her.

“Julian’s *betrothed*?” He asked in a nauseated tone and then scoffed. “The horses are smarter than she is.” Chloe choked on some of her food as the laughter started to overtake her body. She smiled at him after regaining her composure, and was thankful that no one else at the table seemed to be paying any attention to her or Lucas. He was pleased by her reaction. Most of the people around him usually either scolded him or had gotten to the point where they just ignored him. It was nice to finally meet someone who actually seemed to have a sense of humor, and the fact that she was pretty too didn’t hurt. Lucas’s smile fell when he remembered that she had been promised to his brother.

“Something wrong?” Chloe asked. Talking to Lucas had been oddly comforting and she wasn’t sure she could handle the situation if it really wasn’t a dream, and Lucas didn’t remember anything either. Lucas pursed his lips as he thought about how to answer her question and then he leaned back in his chair and shook his head a little.

“I was wondering how you felt,” he lied. “You were so ill from your trip that this is the first time I have seen you.” He watched Chloe frown and then bite her lip.

‘Okay, so he doesn’t remember. Crap. What am I going to do now?’ She thought to herself. “For not having my morning coffee, I feel fine,” she replied honestly. Lucas didn’t seem to look convinced, so she continued. “Healthy as a horse,” she said with a large and forced smile. Lucas beamed back at her.

“And no doubt more intelligent,” he complimented. Chloe laughed loudly, drawing looks from the rest of the people at the table. The concern she felt over being there started to take the priority place in her mind again, and Chloe lost whatever little appetite she had.

‘I’ve got to find a way out of here.’

[scifichick774]

Chapter 4

“Oh, Gabe,” Martha said as she pulled the man into a tearful embrace, “I’m so sorry. We came over as soon as we heard.” She let him go and Jonathan gave him a quick hug as well.

“How are you holding up?” Jonathan asked. Gabe lightly shook his head back and forth and then turned to walk back toward the living room.

“Not good,” Gabe admitted. “I think I’m still in shock.” He took a chair and Martha and Jonathan sat across from him on the couch.

“Is there anything we can do for you?” Martha asked.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “But thank you anyway.”

“How is Lana doing?” Martha asked, leaning forward in her seat. Gabe opened his mouth to speak when the doorbell rang again. He started to rise from his chair but Jonathan motioned for him to stay there.

“It’s okay, I’ll get it,” Jonathan said. He glanced at his wife as he stood up. “It’s probably Clark anyway.” She nodded and Jonathan went to answer the door.

He opened the door and wrapped his arms around his son. Clark got a confused expression on his face and he pulled back.

“What’s going on, Dad?”

“Your mother didn’t tell you?” Jonathan asked in surprise. Clark shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked into the Sullivan house.

“She left a message with the school telling me that I needed to come over here right away,” he said.

“Hmm,” Jonathan said thoughtfully and then let out a sigh. “She probably thought you’d take the news better if it came directly from us.”

“What is it?” Clark asked with a new level of concern lining his voice.

“I’m not sure how to tell you this, Clark,” Jonathan said hesitantly. He placed his hands on Clark’s shoulders and looked into his eyes. “Chloe is dead, son.”

The color drained from Clark’s face and he stumbled backward a couple of steps as his knees suddenly felt weak.

“What?” He asked in little more than a whisper.

“I’m sorry,” Jonathan said empathetically, trying not to let his own emotions come bursting forward. Someone had to be the strong one and he had a feeling it had to be him.

“How – I mean ---” Clark trailed off. Incapable of forming a coherent statement, he just shook his head. Jonathan looked toward the living room for a second before turning back around and lowering his voice to speak to Clark.

“I know she was your friend Clark ---” he paused when a choked up sound came from Clark’s throat. “But I think you need to let the police handle this one. You’re too close to it and your judgment might be clouded because of that.” Clark gave his dad a look that was pleading and distraught at the same time.

“Just --- just tell me what happened?” He asked; matching Jonathan’s quieted voice. His father closed his eyes for a second and then nodded.

“Maybe you should sit down.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

After finally introducing himself, Lucas offered to give Chloe a tour of the grounds. His parents were less than thrilled with the prospect of Princess Chloe being shown around by the self-appointed black sheep of the family, but they gave in after Lucas agreed to let the guards follow them around for Chloe’s protection.

They walked through the halls of the castle for at least an hour before they finally got outside and now Chloe’s feet were starting to hurt. She peeked back at the two large guards who were following them and then she let out a small sigh. Lucas raised a questioning eyebrow at her.

“How discourteous of me, you must need a rest. I had completely forgotten that you have been ill. Please sit,” he said and motioned toward a stone bench that was pressed up against the wall. Chloe nodded and smiled gratefully, taking a seat on the bench. Lucas saw her glance in the guards’ direction again and he grinned at her as mischief lit up in his eyes. He leaned toward her ever so slightly; enough for her to hear him whisper, but not too much for the guards to think he was being improper. “Are you planning some grand escape?” Chloe couldn’t stop the half-chuckle that bubbled up from her throat.

“Why? Are you going to help me?” She asked jokingly. His grin broadened into a smile.

“Would you like me to?”

“Yes,” she admitted. “But even if you help me leave, there’s no guarantee that I could get back home.” Lucas nodded understandingly.

“War would most certainly be waged,” he said in what he thought was agreement. Chloe bit her lip nervously.

‘To tell him or not to tell him,’ she thought to herself. After a brief minute of deliberation, she decided to do it. ‘What’s the worst thing that could happen?’ She asked herself. Unfortunately, her mind provided an answer. ‘He could call you crazy and turn you over to the meteor mutant, who will, in all likelihood, *kill* you.’ She forcefully shoved the thought out of her head. She wasn’t about to go along with this charade one more minute than she had to, especially if it entailed marrying one of Lucas’s older brothers – who as far as she could tell included Julian, Tor, and Alexander. From what she knew of Lex’s family tree, Julian had died when he was a child and Tor hadn’t even existed; so she wondered why Carrado had gone to such lengths to include them in his little play. “Lucas, I’m not who you think I am,” she said carefully.

“Who do I think you are?”

“You think I’m a princess – you think you’re a prince – but you’re wrong.” She shook her head in frustration as he furrowed his brow at her. “I don’t know how to explain it, but I have a feeling this is all some elaborate fantasy cooked up by some freak of the week.” She inwardly cringed when she saw the concerned look on Lucas’s face. “And now you think I’m crazy,” she said observantly. He shook his head lightly.

“I believe you have attempted to do too much before you have completely recovered from your illness,” he responded.

“Great,” she sarcastically mumbled.

“Come,” he said. “I will escort you back to your room and call upon Carrado to see to you.”

“Carrado?”

“He is a monk,” Lucas explained. “He has many ‘concoctions’ that should help you rest.” Chloe bit the inside of her cheek as she thought about it.

“Monk, huh? Does he wear one of those hooded robes?”

“Yes. Why?”

‘So that’s my freak’s name,’ Chloe mused to herself. “One of them came by my room this morning, but I didn’t get a chance to talk to him. I was just wondering if it was him.”

“It is possible. He is in charge of most of the healing remedies and I know he has been seeing after you since your arrival here,” Lucas said. Chloe noticed that he was suddenly very proper and not at all like the impish, joking boy she had been speaking with earlier that day.

‘You probably scared him off and he thinks you’re a wack-job now,’ she thought.

“I will send one of the guards to fetch him while I take you back to your room,” Lucas said. Chloe nodded and put on a weak grin.

‘Time to play this for all it’s worth,’ she thought. ‘If he wants to think I’m sick – I can play sick.’ “That would be nice of you. Thank you.” She swallowed and closed her eyes as she pretended to start to swoon. Lucas frowned and looked at her with worry. He stretched out his arm as it looked like she was going to faint.

“Princess?”

She placed a hand on his chest and another on his arm as she played the part of struggling to regain her balance.

“I – I don’t feel so well,” she said. Lucas motioned to one of the guards who had been following them.

“Bring Carrado here now!”

Chloe closed her eyes again and had to fight down the grin that was curling up the corners of her mouth.

“I’m sorry,” she said in a light voice.

“It will be alright,” Lucas said, not even realizing that he had wrapped his arms completely around her now. He inwardly cursed his selfishness. If he had not encouraged her to go for a walk, then she would have been resting as she should have been.

Chloe felt a little uncomfortable at how close she was to Lucas, especially since it was under false pretences, but it had to be done. Carrado came scurrying down the walkway with a couple of other monks and his face fell into an expression of deep displeasure when he saw the alternate world’s Chloe apparently falling ill.

“We will escort her back to her room, my Prince,” Carrado said, giving Lucas a small bow.

“I will come with you,” he said.

“I assure you that it is not necessary,” Carrado said somewhat nervously. Lucas narrowed his eyes at him. Something was going on with him, he could tell that much.

“I insist,” Lucas said. Chloe’s lips thinned in frustration. She was never going to get any answers from this Carrado guy with Lucas hanging around. Still, it wasn’t like she could throw a fit about it without giving away the fact that she wasn’t really sick.

“I just need some rest,” Chloe said and flashed an unsettled grin at Lucas. “No need to fuss over me.” Carrado seemed satisfied with her answer, but Lucas wasn’t. First the princess started talking nonsense and implicating Carrado in something and now Carrado was indeed acting strangely --- Lucas squared his jaw, now determined to find out what was going on. He swiftly leaned down to pick Chloe up. He swept her legs out from under her, earning a squeak of surprise from her lips, and he couldn’t help but grin at her response.

“As I said; I insist.”

[scifichick774]

Chapter 5

Alexander looked out at the outstretched land in front of him. It would have been a beautiful sight had it not been marred with the blood and bodies of soldiers from both kingdoms. A small regency had tried to take the upper corner of the Luthor kingdom and he had gone there to defend it. He was successful, as usual, but the knights from the other kingdom had been well trained and the battle had unexpectedly cost him the lives of several of his men. Alexander gritted his teeth and his nostrils flared at the smell of death hanging in the air.

He had fallen into a deep depression when his mother died and despite all efforts, he had been unable to pull out of it. He refused to wallow in self-pity though and had just hardened his demeanor to the point where he was sure nothing could penetrate his heart again. That’s why he didn’t mind going out to battle. He was perfectly happy playing the warrior and not the politician. At least being a warrior brought some hope that death might come and relieve him of his inner misery. Being a politician and having to spend time with people only added to it.

“The area has been secured, your highness,” he heard a slightly out-of-breath man say. Alexander nodded his head once without looking over at the soldier. “We triumphed earlier than expected. All of the men will be happy to return to their families.”

“Mmm,” Alexander responded noncommittally. The man gave him a half-smile, determined to make small talk with the prince so he could try and ignore the horrors that their battle had left behind.

“Do you think your wedding will be moved up?” he asked. Alexander looked over and gave the man a warning glare.

He didn’t want to marry the Sullivans’ daughter. Truth be told, he didn’t want to marry anyone. He inwardly sighed. It had to be done. He would have to take the role of politician so their kingdom would not be destroyed by his betrothed’s family. A sudden thought came to his mind. There was an added bonus to the arrangement, because the Sullivan family had no male heir. The throne would most likely be promised to his future wife’s cousin, but Alexander had no doubt that he could convince them otherwise if he and Chloe had a son soon after their marriage. When King Gabriel stepped down, Alexander could take over the throne until his son came of age. Alexander noticed the man in front of him squirming under his harsh gaze.

“Shall I inform our troops to begin the journey home?” he asked. Alexander gave him a curt nod in affirmation, no longer dreading his upcoming nuptials as much as he had been.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Lex sped all the way to Gabe’s house, still in shock and disbelief that his plant manager’s daughter, not to mention one of Clark’s best friends, could be dead. He hadn’t gotten any details from his secretary, who had been the one to inform him of the reason that Gabe wasn’t coming into work that day, and his mind was running rampant with the possibilities. He knew Chloe had a tendency to get in bad situations while she was ‘in the line of duty’ with a story, but he couldn’t imagine anyone actually wanting to kill the girl. And although she could be emotional, he would never believe that she would kill herself, so that ruled out suicide.

His heart sank when he realized how bad Gabe must be feeling. The man had been through enough in the past couple of years just with the different times Chloe had been hospitalized, and then Lionel’s attempted take-over of the plant. Lex groaned. He hadn’t even thought about that possibility. He had overheard his father complaining that Chloe was getting entirely too close for comfort, and if she knew what was good for her that she should back off. He even heard him say something about giving her a warning. Lex shook his head as he pulled his car to a stop along the sidewalk outside of Gabe’s house.

‘What am I supposed to say to him? I’m sorry you lost your daughter? And even sorrier that her death probably had something to do with my dad? Great, just great,’ he thought.

He walked up to the house and rang the doorbell. Clark answered the door and a silent exchange of facial expressions was all that was necessary to convey what was going on. He doubted it would be that simple with Gabe. Clark stepped aside and let Lex pass by him into the house.

“I’m sorry,” Lex said. Clark nodded.

“Yeah.”

“How is her dad doing?”

“Not good,” Clark answered. Lex nodded. He was expecting that.

“And Lana?”

Clark shook his head and gave Lex a strange look that Lex couldn’t quite interpret.

“She found her,” Clark said quietly and then swallowed, trying to choke down the emotions that were coming up with his words. “She went to wake her up and --- I can’t believe she’s really gone.” Clark’s eyes watered up and he turned his face away from Lex to hide it. Lex gave him a second to calm himself before speaking again.

“Do they know what happened?”

Clark sniffed and tilted his head to the side to speak in a whispered voice.

“She was – stabbed – once through the heart.”

Lex felt the color drain from his face with Clark’s words.

“The sheriff thinks she was killed somewhere else and then brought back here and redressed.” A small cry came out in Clark’s voice. “They – um – they think that it might be a crime of passion because of how she was killed. But I don’t know anyone who could do this, Lex. Who would do this?”

Lex turned his gaze toward the entrance to the living room, not used to seeing Clark so emotional over anything. He wasn’t used to seeing *anyone* so emotional over anything. That’s how he had been raised after his mother died. Emotion equals weakness. But now he had friends and was in a house encompassed in grief, and the knowledge that his own father may have had something to do with it made the situation almost unbearable. Lex felt a tug at his own heart and then cleared his throat.

“Is Gabe in the living room?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Clark answered. Lex nodded once and then started walking slowly in that direction.

Even if he wasn’t responsible for Chloe’s death, he now felt like he was, and a part of him was in no hurry to face his jury.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“This *really* isn’t necessary,” Chloe said through gritted teeth as Lucas carried her back to her room. “I’m perfectly capable of walking.”

“You were hardly capable of *standing* just moments ago,” Carrado reminded her as he walked ahead of them. Chloe wanted so desperately to roll her eyes, but she refrained. Instead, she looked pleadingly at Lucas.

“Come on, I’ve got to be getting pretty heavy by now. Right?”

Lucas let out a low chuckle and then smirked down at her.

“No,” he answered. This time Chloe did roll her eyes and squirmed around a little bit in his arms. The truth was that even through the layers of clothing between them, she could feel his hard muscles flexing beneath and beside her as he carried her down the hallway.

They reached her room and Martha was there waiting for them, apparently in distress over what was happening.

“Set her on the bed,” Martha ordered, temporarily forgetting proper etiquette when addressing Lucas. He walked over, and much to Chloe’s relief, finally put her down by laying her on the bed.

Chloe eyed Carrado warily as he pulled a pouch off of his hip and dug into it with his fingers.

“It will help bring down your fever,” he explained.

“I don’t have a fever,” Chloe protested. Martha reached her hand out to feel Chloe’s forehead and when Chloe saw her frown she repeated the action herself. She felt warmer than normal, and a little clammy. “Okay, so I’m a little warm,” she conceded, “but it’s probably just because I’m wearing this huge dress.”

“I can help you remove it,” Lucas said with a smirk. Martha and Carrado shot him looks of disbelief and disapproval, but Chloe laughed.

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” she said.

“It certainly isn’t,” Martha said under her breath. Carrado walked over to Chloe and motioned for her to open her mouth, but she wouldn’t.

“I’m not letting you put – whatever that is - in my mouth. What if it’s poison?”

Lucas snickered and Carrado squared his jaw. Chloe could see that he was getting angry and desperately wanted to rant at her about something, but she knew he wouldn’t while the others were in the room. Carrado took a deep breath to calm himself and then turned to Martha.

“You and his highness should leave, allow the princess to get some rest,” he said. Martha nodded in agreement and scurried out the door, but Lucas stood firm and folded his arms across his chest.

“And leave you *alone* in a room with Alexander’s future wife?” he asked with false concern. “I think not.” Carrado opened his mouth to argue, but Lucas cut him off. “What if it really is poison? Then would my parents not have my head as well for leaving her?” Lucas knew that Carrado would never make a move toward Chloe, and he doubted that the concoction in the pouch was poison, but he still wanted to know what was going on and he wasn’t going to leave until he did.

Chloe’s thoughts took a completely different turn when she heard the name ‘Alexander’. Her eyes grew wide and she stared at Carrado.

“*Alexander*? You want me to marry *Lex*?! Have you lost your mind?!” she yelled. “What am I saying? Of course you have! Otherwise you wouldn’t have set up this bizarre fantasy world. Speaking of which, how did you get all of these people to forget their real lives? I ---” she trailed off from her irate rambling when she noticed that both Lucas and Carrado were looking at her strangely. “What?”

“How did you know the nickname that Alexander’s deceased mother bestowed him with?” Lucas asked. Chloe’s eyes turned to Carrado.

“Tell him,” she said. Carrado frowned. Her rant just moments ago led him to believe that she thought this world was all some elaborate hoax and that she didn’t know the truth. Lucas arched an eyebrow at Carrado’s reaction.

“Yes,” he said, “*tell* me.”

“Your majesty, I assure you – I would never ---” Carrado was frightened by the danger lurking in Lucas’s glare. It was generally a look that he associated with the king and his eldest son, but knowing Lucas’s propensity to act without caring about consequences, it made the situation seem all the worse for him. He had a feeling that if he didn’t say something – anything - then he wouldn’t be making it out of Chloe’s room alive. “My prince, I implore you; she needs her rest if she is to recover.”

Lucas pursed his lips, but finally acquiesced and gave the older man a nod of his head. He gave Chloe a small bow and exited the room, closing the door almost all the way behind him. Lucas signaled to the guards outside the door that they should be quiet as he leaned his body up against the door so he could listen to what was going on in the room. Carrado closed his eyes and let out a small sigh in relief when the young prince left. He looked warningly at Chloe.

“You must not bring this up again,” he said in a quiet voice that Lucas could barely make out. “You are here now, and you will be here forever. I suggest you accept your role with the knowledge that you will never be going back.” Chloe paled. ‘Back’ implied that she was somewhere else entirely.

“W-where am I?” she asked in almost a whisper.

“Your new home,” Carrado answered cryptically. “Now, do you want some of this?” He held up a pinch of the ground herb between his fingers and Chloe shook her head. “Are you certain? It will help you sleep.” Chloe shook her head again and Carrado nodded and put the green and brown grainy substance back into the pouch.

Lucas furrowed his brow. The conversation he eavesdropped on didn’t tell him anything other than the fact that Chloe was homesick and wanted to go home rather than marry his brother – which he basically already knew. He walked away from the room and the guards without saying a word. The guards knew better than to betray him, even if it was to a monk. He charged down the hallway as he thought about what had happened. Regardless of the words that had been spoken, there was still something wrong with the way Carrado was acting – and Lucas was going to find out what it was.


Chapter 6

Lex gave Jonathan a curt nod as he walked into the living room and then he looked at Gabe sympathetically.

“I’m sorry,” Lex said. Gabe nodded almost absently, but said nothing. “Is there anything I can do?”

“No, but thank you,” Gabe said quietly. Lex nodded. “I – um – I won’t be into work for a while.”

“Of course. Take as long as you need.”

Lex watched as Gabe buried his face in his hands, willing himself not to sob outright in front of his friends and his boss. The doorbell rang and Lex turned his head in the direction of the front door to see who Clark let in. He furrowed his brow slightly when he saw that it was the new sheriff. Hadn’t the police already been there that morning? He couldn’t make out what Clark and Sheriff Adams were saying, but from the expression on Clark’s face, it couldn’t be good. He rose from his chair and walked over to the foyer.

“She’s really upset. Can’t you give her a little time to calm down before you talk to her?” Clark asked the sheriff.

“Clark, I understand that you’re grieving; and that Lana’s grieving too, but she wasn’t very forthcoming with my deputy earlier, and I need to ask her some questions. She could remember something that could be incredibly valuable to our investigation,” Adams said. Then she pulled the extra guilt strings by asking, “Don’t you want to find out who did this to your friend? Who killed Chloe?”

‘She’s good,’ Lex thought to himself. “I’m sure a day or so wouldn’t make that much of a difference, Sheriff.”

The woman looked over and tilted her head warningly at Lex.

“I could very well be looking at the beginnings of a serial killer in this county, Mr. Luthor. Every *second* makes a difference.”

“Go get her,” Lex said quietly, yet authoritatively to his friend. Clark frowned, but nodded. Lex and the sheriff watched Clark ascend the stairs quickly and then Lex turned back to look at the sheriff. The tone of the woman’s voice when she was speaking to Clark was gnawing at him. “You think she had something to do with this, don’t you?” The sheriff sighed.

“I don’t know what to think,” she admitted. “But I can’t disregard the fact that Miss Lang had motive, means, and opportunity just because she’s the town sweetheart.”

“Lana would never do something like this. From what I understand, she and Chloe had gotten to thinking of each other as sisters.”

“Do you know how high the percentage of murders between family members is?” the sheriff reminded him. Lex frowned.

“You have this wrong,” he said.

“I hope I do. But I still need to talk to her to rule out the possibility.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Carrado left Chloe’s room and headed toward his sanctuary – a large room filled with books, tablets, herbs, and potions. His thoughts were weighing on him heavily. He hadn’t expected Chloe to put up such a fight about being there, because he hadn’t expected her to remember anything of her former life. Instead, she was apparently immune to the herbs he had given her to erase her memory and she was fighting being here every step of the way.

He couldn’t blame her for not wanting to marry Prince Alexander. In truth, the man seemed to have lost any sort of humanity when his mother died. Carrado shook his head in despair over the situation. The princess had killed herself to get out of marrying Alexander, and now he himself had gone so far as to kidnap her double from another world just so the Luthor and Sullivan kingdoms wouldn’t go to war. He was putting this Chloe in the same position the other Chloe had been in, and who was to say that she wouldn’t try to kill herself as well.

A thought nagged at the back of his mind. This Chloe, she wasn’t like the other one, and it wasn’t just the haircut. This one seemed so full of life, so unwilling to accept authority, so --- Carrado let out a grunt with his next thought. So like Prince Lucas. The two seemed to be hitting it off as well, and that was saying quite a bit considering that very few people got along with the prince. He was brash and outwardly uncaring about people’s feelings; he made constant remarks berating the intelligence of the people in the court; and he had the intelligence of a ruler mixed with the physique of a warrior. Carrado shook his head again. King Lionel was fortunate that Lucas hadn’t been born as the first son, or he would have overthrown him by now.

Carrado stopped at the door to his sanctuary and was surprised to see it a little bit open. It was usually kept under strict lock and key.

‘No matter,’ he thought to himself. ‘One of the others must have forgotten.’

He stepped inside, only to be greeted by the distinct smell of blood hovering in the room. He stepped inside the room and almost gagged on the sight in front of him. The guard who had been at the door as well as Nudd had both been slain and Nudd’s head had been removed from his body. The door shut behind him and Carrado whipped around to see who was there.

Prince Lucas held the slain druid’s head by the hair and tossed it at Carrado. His face held no emotion except anger and contempt and Carrado took a few steps back as Lucas drew his sword again.

“Your assistant was not as helpful as I would have liked,” Lucas said coldly, slowly stalking toward Carrado. “Tell me, what happened to the princess?”

“Sire, I – I do not know of what you speak. The princess is in her bed, resting,” Carrado said. Lucas gave him an icy glare.

“The *real* princess,” he clarified. Carrado said nothing and Lucas’s demeanor changed to relaxed, yet still threatening. “Perhaps it would help if I told you what Nudd was kind enough to tell me?”

Carrado got a sinking feeling in his gut. Nudd had obviously spilled what he had known about the kidnapping to Prince Lucas under threat of death, and Lucas had killed him anyway. Carrado held no delusions that the young man would have any qualms in doing the same to him. He gave Lucas a slow nod of his head and Lucas continued speaking.

“The daughter of King Gabriel killed herself so she would not have to marry my brother,” Lucas said. Carrado stayed silent. “You did not want to risk war between our two kingdoms, so you decided to *steal* another princess from an alternate reality. Did I understand what he told me correctly?” Carrado barely nodded his head in affirmation and Lucas let a tiny smirk grace his lips. “You do not need to worry yourself, Carrado. I have no intention of telling anyone – I highly doubt they would believe me anyway.”

Carrado let out a small sigh of relief and then looked questioningly at Lucas.

“Why?” he asked.

“Why what?” Lucas responded.

“Why are you willing to aid me in this deception?” Carrado asked. Lucas shrugged.

“I have no desire for our kingdoms to go to war,” he answered. “And this princess is identical in every way to the last – well, not every way,” he mused with an almost leering smile that made the knots in Carrado’s stomach grow tighter. “I like her. She is intelligent and she does not care that I insult those around me, regardless of their rank. She laughed at some of the things I said for my own amusement.”

“Highness,” Carrado said carefully, “you cannot be suggesting ---” he trailed off when he saw Lucas’s lopsided grin and the look in the prince’s eyes that seemed to be boring right through him. “She is promised to your brother,” he said in barely a whisper.

“No,” Lucas said. “The other princess was promised to my brother.”

“My prince, please,” Carrado pleaded, “you cannot do this. It will bring chaos.”

“Why should it matter which son she marries? As long as our two kingdoms are united, is that not what matters?”

“She was promised to Alexander because he is the heir to the throne and she will take her rightful position as queen,” Carrado said. “King Gabriel would not allow her to marry a man who was not in direct ascent to a throne.”

Lucas shrugged again and shot a small, unsympathetic grin at Carrado.

“Then may I recommend that you come up with a plan to convince him? Because I have already decided that she will be mine, not Alexander’s; and I would dislike having to slaughter my elder brothers just so I can be the next heir to the throne.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chloe paced around the bedroom as she put the facts together in her head. Carrado definitely knew something and he had even gone so far as to threaten her. He wasn’t a meteor freak, but he had basically kidnapped her away from home and brought her to this place – wherever the hell this place was.

‘Maybe I’m in a coma or something,’ she thought briefly. ‘I mean, that would explain a lot, right? The realism, the familiar characters, the ---’ her thoughts trailed off when there was a knock on the door. “Yes?” The door opened slightly, but not enough so anyone could see in.

“Your highness, Prince Lucas is here,” one of the guards said. “He wishes to speak with you.” Chloe rolled her eyes. Everything was so formal around here, and granted she hadn’t been there for long, but she wondered why her subconscious would drag up such an unfriendly environment for her.

“Yeah, fine – whatever,” Chloe mumbled the last part and the door opened further as Lucas stepped into the room. He smiled at her and despite the guards’ objections; he closed the door behind him. “Wow. Coming into my room alone – it’s scandalous,” she said with a modicum of sarcasm. Lucas’s smile grew wider and he chuckled.

“I have information for you, my princess,” he said, gracing her with a small bow.

“It’s Chloe,” she corrected. “And knock off that bowing thing, it gives me the creeps.” That earned a bellow of laughter from the young prince’s throat. “So – information?”

“You are not ill.”

“You don’t say.”

“And you are not dreaming,” he said, taking a couple of steps closer to her. Chloe lifted an eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest. The action pushed up her bosom and Lucas’s gaze was drawn there.

“Up here chief,” she said in a teasing manner. He smiled at her as his eyes reached hers again. “So, I’m not dreaming. I suppose that means I’m not in a coma either?” Lucas shook his head.

“I am not sure ---”

“Um, kind of like being asleep for a long time,” she explained. Lucas shook his head again. “What then? This has something to do with that Carrado guy, doesn’t it?”

“Indeed,” Lucas affirmed. He got close enough so Chloe could see the spatters of blood on his clothing and hands. Her mouth fell open slightly, but she quickly shut it. “Perhaps you should sit down.”

Chapter 7

Sheriff Adams sat across from Lana in Lana’s bedroom. Clark had told her that Lana didn’t look physically capable of leaving the room, so the policewoman came to her instead. She had been listening to Lana cry her way through her questions, without giving her any substantial answers, for the last twenty minutes. Lana held the Kleenex up to her face and lightly blew her nose before turning her wet eyes upon the sheriff again.

“I – I don’t know what else I can tell you,” Lana said in a choked voice. “I knocked on her door when I realized that she hadn’t used the bathroom yet – it was her turn for first shower – and ---” Lana trailed off into a sob again and Sheriff Adams leaned forward in her chair. If the girl in front of her did it, then she was putting on one hell of an act to convince people otherwise.

“And?” Adams prodded. Lana sniffled and her lower lip trembled as she started to speak again.

“And she didn’t answer the door. I told her that I was coming in and then – then I saw her – and she was – just lying there.” Lana’s body started to shake as she openly wept for the loss of her friend. Adams sighed. She understood that Lana had to mourn, but if she was indeed the killer, she wasn’t going to let her get away just because she put on a good act.

“Was there any animosity between the two of you?”

Lana stopped crying and stared at Adams with confusion.

“What?” she squeaked in disbelief.

“We’ll find out, you know? We have her computer and the journals she kept on paper as well.”

Lana’s eyes grew wide.

“You – you think *I* did this?” she asked in barely a whisper.

“I’m not pointing fingers,” Adams said consolingly, “but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t ask everyone close to her these questions – especially the people who live with her and would have had access to her.”

Lana’s face paled and she suddenly felt ill. She just barely managed to shake her head.

“I would never – she was my friend,” Lana said quietly before breaking into tears again. Sheriff Adams gave a tight, yet not completely unsympathetic grin.

“You’re obviously upset. Why don’t you get some rest and I’ll talk to you tomorrow?”

With that, the sheriff stood up and started to walk out of the room, throwing one last look at the sorrowful girl before leaving. She couldn’t help but wonder why Lana was having such a breakdown when all of Chloe’s other closest friends and family seemed to handling the situation like most normal people would. There were tears, and a great deal of grief encased the house, but they weren’t losing whatever hold they had on their sanity. Sheriff Adams couldn’t help but wonder if Lana was reacting the way she was because she was the one who found the body, and therefore more emotional – or because she was trying to overcompensate to cover up her guilt in Chloe Sullivan’s murder.

Either way, it was clear that Lana wasn’t going to talk and Adams would have to wait until the forensics reports came back before she could possibly have any evidence to confront her with. It was time to have some ‘conversations’ with some of Chloe’s other friends.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chloe shook her head vehemently in denial.

“This can’t be true! I mean, alternate realities are completely sci-fi, there’s no proof that they actually exist.”

“It is what they told me,” Lucas responded.

“And you believe them?” Chloe asked, searching his face for any sign that he might not trust what Carrado and Nudd had told him. She saw none.

“Yes,” he said. A tiny smirk etched itself upon his lips before his next words came out. “It has been my experience that most people will not lie when they are threatened with death.” Lucas braced himself for what he believed would be Chloe’s horrified reaction. He liked her, but he didn’t want to be dishonest with her; and he also wanted to know whether or not there might be a possibility for her to truly accept him for how he was. Jokes were one thing, murder was another – and most of the people he was surrounded with feared him for both.

Chloe didn’t look horrified though, she looked amused.

“And I suppose those blood splatters all over you are from chopping off Carrado’s head?”

“Nudd’s actually,” Lucas said, intrigued by her reaction.

“Who is Nudd?”

“Carrado’s apprentice.”

“Oh. Well, did you at least get the information on how to send me home before you killed him?” Chloe asked, still thinking that Lucas was joking about actually killing someone. Lucas looked surprised and he shook his head.

“It did not occur to me to ask,” he admitted. Chloe glared at him and placed her hands on her hips.

“So, let me get this straight. You threatened a guy with death to get information for me, but you didn’t ask him how I could get home? And then you killed him before *I* could ask him?!” The situation hit Chloe’s brain with full force after she yelled at him. Lucas had blood all over him. He openly admitted to killing Carrado’s apprentice – possibly one of the only people who might know how to send her home – and he looked completely serious about it. ‘Oh, crap! He’s serious!’ Her gut twisted into a knot and she didn’t know whether to try and run screaming from the room out of fear for her life, or to try and strangle him herself for offing the other guy without getting the information she needed first.

Lucas felt a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth in amusement when he saw the different emotions play on Chloe’s face, but he took a few steps back when he saw the fire spark up in Chloe’s eyes. He knew that look well from the few times he had been forced to go into battle with his brothers and from the various competitions that the kingdoms held – she was angry enough to draw blood, perhaps even kill if necessary. He couldn’t help it and he let out a light chuckle at the situation. If he had any doubts before, he didn’t now. He had found the woman he felt he was meant to be with.

“I’m failing to see the humor in this, Lucas,” she bit and then started throwing her hands in the air, motioning wildly with them. “God! I’m stuck in a parallel universe with a *sociopath* who doesn’t even get the information I need to go home before he kills ---” Lucas started laughing loudly and she calmed down to the point where she was just staring blankly at him. Lucas flashed her a bright smile and held his hands up in mock surrender.

“Carrado can still give you the information you require,” he said.

“Oh. Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go ask him,” Chloe said and started walking quickly toward the door. She stopped when Lucas caught her arm.

“It may not do you any good to speak with him.”

“Why not?” Chloe asked suspiciously, glancing down at where his hand still gripped her arm and then looking up pointedly at him. He took the hint and removed his hand.

“I was told that the princess took your place in your world, as you took her place here.”

“I thought you said she killed herself?”

“And what better location to hide her body?” Lucas countered. Chloe’s eyes grew large and the color drained from her cheeks.

“They’re going to think I’m dead,” she thought aloud.

“Unless they have a way to revive someone who has had a dagger plunged into her heart,” Lucas said, looking at her questioningly. Chloe shook her head. He watched her face change from surprise to disbelief to stubbornness in a matter of seconds.

“All the more reason to talk to him now then,” she said, moving to the door again.

“I do not ---”

“If I can get back there right away, then I can explain what happened and ---”

“They will not think you have lost your mind?” Lucas interrupted. Chloe sloughed off the question with a wave of her hand. Most of the people who knew about her meteor rock theory thought she was crazy anyway. She opened the door and Lucas followed her into the hallway, past the guards who looked hesitant to let her leave her room only accompanied by Lucas. The prince shot them a warning glare and they stiffened their spines, turning their faces to look straight ahead again.

“Probably,” Chloe finally answered, “but they have tests they can run to prove it’s me. After all, I’m sure I must have some kind of radiation in my blood from being around all those meteor rocks.” She turned her face toward Lucas as she continued down the hallway. “Do you guys have meteor rocks here?” Lucas arched an eyebrow and Chloe continued. “Um – it would have happened about thirteen or fourteen years ago – meteors came crashing down to earth, leaving behind fragments of themselves.” Lucas stared blankly at her and Chloe started to get frustrated. “They’re green or red stones?” she offered. Lucas shook his head.

“Apparently the course of events here has not been the same as where you come from,” he said. Chloe frowned.

“Apparently,” she mumbled under her breath. ‘That’s probably a good thing though; because they’ll run tests back home for the autopsy and they’ll see it isn’t me. Maybe they’ll even come looking for me. Yeah, right. Who am I kidding? It’s Smallville! They’ll probably see the stab wound through the heart and assume I killed myself over never being able to have Clark. Idiots.'

“Princess?” Lucas asked to get her attention. Chloe snapped out of her thoughts and glanced over at him. He gave her a hint of a smile and she realized that she must have been inwardly rambling for some time.

“Sorry. I get caught up in my thoughts sometimes,” she said. Lucas nodded once and seemed to approve of her answer.

“At least you have thoughts to get swept up in,” he responded. “I do not think the same can be said for many in the court here.” Chloe smiled, remembering his earlier comments about Lana and the others who had been seated around the table.

‘No, no, no,’ she mentally chided herself. ‘He’s not nice – he’s evil – he’s a murderer. A cute murderer though.’ She almost cringed when the second thought tacked itself on to the rest of her line of thinking. She bit her lip as she looked at him through the corner of her eye. ‘Okay, a cute murderer – so kind of like a meteor freak without the Lana obsession. I can handle that – as long as he doesn’t try to kill me. And he seems to like me at least as a friend, so he probably won’t.’ Chloe sucked in a breath and smiled at him. ‘It doesn’t matter. I’ll be out of here soon and it won’t matter anyway.’

She abruptly stopped walking when they reached an intersection between their hall and another. She turned around and when she realized that they had actually walked quite a distance, she turned around again to look at Lucas with an embarrassed expression on her face.

“I have no idea where I’m going.”

[scifichick774]

Chapter 8

Alexander’s army was making their way back to the central part of the kingdom. Some were walking and some were riding horses. Alexander frowned from atop his steed. They had fought well, and his mind should be on their victory, but it wasn’t.

“You seem deep in thought, my prince,” Gareth, the man riding beside him and one of Alexander’s finest soldiers, said observantly. Alexander nodded once, but kept looking straight ahead at the countryside they were crossing. “What troubles you?” He knew better than to ask, since the prince was a very reserved man and rarely shared any details of his life or his thoughts with anyone, but he felt compelled to try.

Alexander would marry soon, and if he couldn’t come out of his shell at least a little bit, then it would make for a disappointing wedding night and marriage for the princess – leading to a possible war when she informed her father that her husband could not perform his husbandly duties.

Alexander glanced at Gareth through the corner of his eye and furrowed his brow.

“It is of little importance,” he replied. Gareth shook his head.

“If it is worrying you ---”

“I am not troubled nor worried, Gareth. I was simply wondering what my bride to be looks like,” he said in a curt tone. Gareth smiled. So the prince had some humanity in him after all.

“She is beautiful,” Gareth responded, the smile still on his lips. His eyes took on an almost dream-like quality as he remembered her from the last time he had seen her. “Hair of gold and eyes the color of emeralds.” Alexander turned his head to look at him questioningly. “I was assigned to your father’s circle for one of his negotiation visits to the Sullivans’ kingdom; I caught sight of her there,” he quickly explained. Alexander raised one eyebrow and turned his eyes back to the land in front of them.

“Beautiful, you say?”

Gareth’s smile turned into a smirk. Alexander was interested. This was definitely a good sign, especially since he had shown no apparent interest in the fairer sex, or in anything rather than military strategy and war, before. Alexander had become so withdrawn after his mother’s death and his father marrying his mistress only days after, that he did not socialize with anyone. To anyone’s knowledge, he had never engaged in polite conversation with anyone, let alone had a lover. He was so disconnected from the world around him, that war and strategy for war, were all he concentrated on. Most of his siblings were the opposite.

Tor, Alexander’s younger brother by only ten months, was lively, outgoing, and had slept his way through many of the available women in the court and the kingdom. He had never been close to Queen Lillian, so her passing didn’t impact him as it did Alexander. Julian, the next youngest son, was very intelligent and loved his mother, but didn’t let her loss hamper his social abilities. He was not known for being a warrior though, and many thought it for the best that he marry his betrothed and settle in one of the corners of the kingdom to act as its regent there.

Lucinda was the last full-blooded sibling that Alexander had. Lillian died soon after her birth and so the girl had never gotten to know her mother. She was pretty, flirtatious, and spurred Queen Rachel’s jealousy to no end as Lucinda was King Lionel’s only daughter and he doted on her more than his sons or even his wife.

Lucas was the first child out of Rachel’s womb. Gareth felt it was interesting how the eldest sons of both queens should end up being so similar. He shook off the thought. They were not similar when they were observed with finer detail. Where Alexander was anti-social because he had been so emotionally scarred from the events in his life, Lucas was anti-social seemingly out of choice or mere personality. He even seemed to revel in the fact that he was the outcast of the family and didn’t care what anyone’s opinion of him was. He was arrogant, although many conceded that he had every right to be so since he was handsome, intelligent, physically adept, *and* a prince. But there was also something wrong in his mind, Gareth thought.

From an early age, Lucas had been different. Where some children might do something bad because they didn’t know the difference between right and wrong, Lucas knew the difference well and just didn’t care. The thought made Gareth shudder. If Lucas ever chose to fight for the crown, Gareth had no doubt that he would get it – and woe to them all if that day ever came.

James was Alexander’s youngest sibling, and the only other child that Rachel had given birth to. When Carrado had informed Lionel that he believed Lillian’s death to be brought on, in part, by her having four children in such a short period of time, Lionel insisted that he and Rachel wait before trying again. And when the time came to try again, they were unable to conceive.

For the most part, James was usually locked away in his room or in one area of the castle. From birth, he had been cursed with hallucinations and spouted prophecies that made most people fear him. Most, but not all. The monks saw him on a regular basis and even seemed to believe some of the things he said. And there were others – occasional commoners would straggle to the gates and beg to know what the future had in store for them. Gareth wondered if the reason Rachel had not been able to become pregnant again was because Lionel had made a conscious decision for it not to happen. There were concoctions that the monks derived that could destroy her fertility, and Gareth wouldn’t blame his king at all for not wanting to sire another child for her when the two he had weren’t mentally stable.

“Tell me what you know of her,” Alexander said, pulling Gareth out of his thoughts.

“I know very little other than what I have already told you,” he said. “She is thin in the waist, but not to the point of appearing sickly as Julian’s betrothed, Lady Lana.” Gareth paused before speaking again. “She did not seem to like the idea of being forced to marry,” he said hesitantly. Alexander kept a neutral expression on his face.

“I would imagine not.”

“Perhaps you can change her mind,” Gareth said suggestively. One corner of Alexander’s mouth curled upward ever so slightly.

“Perhaps.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Lucas’s mouth spread into a wide smile as he laughed.

“Princess!” a woman’s voice yelled from behind them. Chloe and Lucas’s heads snapped toward the woman’s voice to see Martha Kent rushing toward them. As Lucas and Chloe turned their bodies completely to face her, he noticed the startled look Martha tried to hide at seeing him with Chloe. She gave them a curtsey as she arrived and focused her attention on Chloe. “I thought you were resting, but when I went by your room to check on you ---”

Chloe gave her a forced smile as she interrupted. She loved Mrs. Kent like a mother, but she reminded herself that this wasn’t *her* Mrs. Kent, and she really needed to see Carrado immediately so she could get home.

“I’m feeling better, but thank you for your concern, Mrs. Kent,” Chloe said politely.

“Yes,” Lucas chimed in, his voice full of a surprisingly convincing fake kindness. “In fact, I was just escorting her to see Carrado.” Martha’s face contorted into a panicked expression.

“Oh, no! You must not,” she said. “A terrible thing has happened. Nudd and Johfrit have fallen victim to an experiment gone awry in the sanctuary and both have ---,” she paused while she glanced at Chloe, unsure of whether it would be proper to say such things in her presence, “--- both have died because of it,” she finished in a hushed voice directed at Lucas. Chloe arched an eyebrow at Lucas and it took a great deal of effort for him to push back the smile he felt rising to his lips. “I implore you, highness; you must not take the princess anywhere near the sanctuary. Carrado believes a contagion may still be in the air. It is a miracle that the poor man has managed to escape death himself.”

‘Indeed,’ thought Lucas. Martha turned to look at Chloe with concern.

“And you have been in such poor health already,” Martha said to her.

“Worry not,” Lucas said to the older woman in a reassuring voice and then grinned at Chloe. “Perhaps a walk in the garden then? We can speak with Carrado after it has been confirmed that he has not fallen ill as well.”

Chloe crossed her arms and scowled at him, but Martha didn’t catch it because she was nodding her head vigorously in agreement with Lucas’s statement.

“Yes,” Martha said. “Fresh air will be wonderful for her. If you will permit me a moment, I will ---”

“You do not trust me to be alone with her majesty?” Lucas questioned with mock hurt.

Martha frowned. Prince Lucas was handsome, but was not known for being a womanizer like his older brother, Tor – although most people attributed that to the fact that few people besides the guards could stand to be in a room alone with the young man. She thought more about it. The truth was, Lucas seemed to keep to himself when not forced to interact with others, and had not shown interest in anyone until he met Chloe. And that was the problem.

The feeling in her gut was yelling at her to say no to him. She and several of the other servants had noticed how Lucas looked at Chloe; the way his demeanor changed when he was around her. If he became truly attached to her, then the kingdom might very well be facing unrest within its own royal family – as well as a war with Chloe’s kingdom in which they would be defeated. Martha knew that King Gabriel would never allow his only daughter to marry anyone but a King’s eldest son, as he would be in direct ascension to the throne. It had taken many long arduous talks and communications to even reach the agreement that Chloe would marry Alexander to steady the peace between their kingdoms.

Unfortunately, Martha knew from rumors and personal experience that Lucas rarely acted with concern to other people’s well-being. He was ruthless and he wouldn’t hesitate to slaughter every one of his older brothers and even his father if they stood in the way of him securing something he really wanted. Everyone had been very fortunate that Lucas had never really wanted for anything – until now.

“I – of course,” Martha finally replied, giving Lucas a small bow of her head. She paused when she saw the smug look on Lucas’s face, having a bad feeling that he would be definitely be willing to take the princess, not caring that she was betrothed to his brother or that it would be against her will. Martha’s lips curled in the tiniest grin as she raised her head. “I’ll summon the guards for you.”

Lucas squared his jaw, realizing what Martha was doing. If he refused the guards for his and Chloe’s protection – not to mention her health in case she had a ‘dizzy spell’ again – then it would look too suspicious. He gritted his teeth as he squared his jaw and gave her a curt nod.

“Go on then.”


Chapter 9

Sheriff Adams paced impatiently outside of the pathologist’s office door. She had gotten over to the lab as quickly as she could after receiving the phone call, but no one was there to meet her yet.

“Sheriff Adams,” a man’s voice came from behind her. The woman whipped her head around to see James Kirchin, the local coroner and pathologist. He was her elder by only ten years, though it seemed much more than that. She figured that being locked up in a lab with dead bodies all day would do that to a person – especially in Smallville where things were never as simple as they seemed.

“Dr. Kirchin,” she greeted formally. “You said you had something?” He nodded, but didn’t look up from the paperwork in his hands. He opened his door and proceeded to walk directly to his desk.

“Please – have a seat,” he said, taking the chair behind his desk and motioning to the two chairs on the other side. She sat down in one of the chairs and looked at him expectantly. When his bloodshot grey eyes finally looked up at her, they were accompanied by a neutral expression that set her nerves on end. He scooted some papers across the desk at her and pointed to the areas that had been highlighted. “I didn’t find enough to tell you who killed her, but I found enough to help narrow it down if you already have suspects.”

“It’s definitely not a suicide then?” Adams asked, furrowing her brow at the complicated jargon that filled the papers she was looking at.

“It’s highly unlikely. She died almost instantly and she wouldn’t have had time to dress in different clothes and dispose of the weapon.”

“I had a feeling.”

“The body was obviously moved from the scene where she was actually killed, although I’m sure you already realized that,” he continued. “What you might not know, is that we found traces of a toxin in her body,” he said. Adams looked up at him with surprise.

“But she was stabbed,” she protested. Kirchin barely nodded.

“And the toxin was far more concentrated in and around the wound than anywhere else in her body,” he said.

“So, the killer dipped the knife into the poison and *then* killed her?”

“That’s certainly what it looks like,” the man agreed and then rubbed his sore eyes. “And it’s the toxin that actually killed her. The knife directed it right into her blood stream by puncturing her heart. If she had just been stabbed ---”

“Then she might have had time to call out for help,” the sheriff finished for him. He nodded again.

“The interesting part is that the plant that this toxin is derived from has been extinct for centuries,” Kirchin said.

“And you know this, *how*?”

Dr. Kirchin got up from his chair and retrieved an old dog-eared book off of one of the bookshelves. He skimmed through the pages until he found the one he was looking for, and then placed it in front of her.

‘A drawing of a plant – woo hoo,’ Adams thought sarcastically.

“It was fairly common throughout Europe until around seven hundred years ago when it was completely wiped out by ---”

“Okay,” Adams said, holding her hand to stop the man from continuing on his monotone voice. “But if it’s extinct, then how did they get the poison?”

“There’s the question,” Kirchin answered. “My guess is that some lab stumbled across something synthetic that can mimic the plant’s toxin, but I really have no idea how they could have done it without an original sample to begin with.”

“Hmm.”

“And ---” the doctor paused and folded his hands in front of him on the desk. Adams looked at him questioningly and the look he gave her made her instinctively want to pull her gun on him. The man gave her the creeps, and although she told herself that she was probably overreacting and that she was probably just freaked out because of his choice of profession, there was still something to be said for intuition.

“And?”

“And,” he continued, “There’s a possibility that the young woman lying in the morgue isn’t Chloe Sullivan at all.”

“What? That’s not possible! I had her father and one of her best friends identify the body. Plus, I’ve met her and that was her.”

“Not according the medical records I was given,” he said and leaned forward in his chair.

“Why? What did her records say?”

“According to her medical history, Miss Sullivan has a birth control implant in her arm,” he said.

“So?”

“The young lady on my table doesn’t.”

“Maybe she had it removed,” Adams suggested. Kirchin shook his head.

“She doesn’t even have any sort of a scar to indicate that one had ever been there.”

“Well, maybe ---”

“*And* her dental records don’t match up.”

“What?”

“Chloe Sullivan had regular check-ups, a few fillings, and she had her wisdom teeth taken out. The body on the table doesn’t look like she’s ever been to the dentist and her teeth are a little crowded from her wisdom teeth coming in and pushing the others out of place.”

Sheriff Adams was quiet while she digested the information. Eventually she just shook her head lightly and stared at the man in front of her.

“I thought you said it was just a *possibility*, but the more you tell me, the more it sounds like it’s a *probability* that the victim wasn’t Miss Sullivan,” she said. Kirchin shrugged.

“There’s always a possibility,” he said and then gave her a wince of a grin. “This *is* Smallville.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“I get the distinct feeling that you don’t want me to go see Carrado. Why *is* that, Lucas?” Chloe asked in a hushed, yet irritated voice.

“I would never wish for illness to fall upon you, highness, and you heard as well as I that his sanctuary is not safe,” Lucas said with a teasing lilt to his voice. Chloe narrowed her eyes at him and unconsciously started walking a little faster.

“Jackass,” she said only partially under her breath. Lucas laughed and matched the speed of her stride. He leaned closer to her while they walked so he could speak without the guards following them hearing their conversation.

“Would it be so horrible for you to stay here?” he asked. Chloe shot him a look of disbelief, but kept walking.

“Uh – ye-ah,” she strung out. “Hello! I’m supposed to marry Lex in this world. And granted, he’s a good looking guy, but ---” Chloe stopped talking and tilted her head at Lucas, who simply seemed amused by her rambling. “Since you guys never had the meteor shower here, does he have hair?” Lucas arched an eyebrow.

“When he does not shave his head for battle,” he replied.

“Huh – interesting,” Chloe mused aloud. They started walking again and Lucas looked at her questioningly.

“Have you changed your mind about the marriage?” he asked. Chloe’s eyes grew wide in what could only be described as horror.

“No!” Chloe yelled. “And I’m going home before then anyway,” she said in a quiet voice to make up for her outburst.

“And if Carrado is unable to send you home? What then?” Lucas asked. Chloe shook her head. She really didn’t want to think about that.

“I don’t know,” she replied. “I guess I’m just hoping that doesn’t happen.”

“It is a possibility, you realize?”

“Yeah, I know,” Chloe said in a disheartened tone. “I don’t think I’ll be able to go through with it though. I mean, even if I never go home – I could never marry someone who cheat on me.”

“Cheat on you?”

“You know – sleeps with other women while we’re married,” Chloe explained. “I just couldn’t. I wouldn’t be able to live like that.”

Lucas was about to tell her that she wouldn’t have to fear that from Alexander when he thought better of it. Apparently the man who was his brother in her world was more like Tor – and he could certainly understand her not wanting to marry someone who would be so ill-suited for her. An evil grin came upon his lips. All he had to do was let her believe that Alexander was like ‘Lex’ and she would refuse to marry him, letting him step in to take his brother’s place as her betrothed.

He felt the chemistry between them, but he couldn’t be sure if she did; and strangely enough, her opinion of him actually mattered for some reason. He had never cared what people thought of him before, so it was a strange and discomforting sensation to care what someone besides himself thought.

“Chloe?”

“Yeah?” she asked, but kept her eyes on the path and its surrounding gardens. “Ooh! Berries!”

She rushed off the path over to the patch of wild strawberries growing by the edge of the forest. Lucas grinned and started to follow her at a leisurely pace, holding a hand up to motion the guards not to follow them off the path. When he reached her, Chloe had squatted down and was picking the sweet red fruit off of the plants and gathering a few into her free hand. He smiled down at her and she returned it, rising to her feet as she did so.

She plucked one out of her hand and held the moist strawberry up to her mouth. Her teeth clamped around it and as the first of the berry’s liquid dribbled into her mouth, she closed her eyes and let out an audible moan of delight. Lucas watched her with widened eyes and felt himself start to grow hard with the sound she made. Chloe swallowed the fruit, tossed the leafy stem to the ground, and opened her eyes; immediately changing her expression from utter pleasure to guilt.

“Oh, Lucas. I’m so sorry. Geez, I’m rude. Do you want one?” she asked and took one of the berries out of her hand for him. Out of habit, she held the berry by the fruit instead of by the stem and Lucas, instead of taking the strawberry from her as intended, decided to take full advantage of the situation.

His fingers delicately encircled her wrist and he brought her hand with the berry to his mouth. His lips wrapped around the fruit and the fingers holding it, keeping his eye contact steady with Chloe the entire time. Chloe’s breath hitched and her mouth dropped open ever so slightly at the intimacy of the action, let alone the care with which it was done.

“I – um ---” she stammered as he released his hold on her wrist and grinned at her reaction.

“Chloe?”

“Yeah?”

“I may have a way for you not to marry Alexander.”


Chapter 10

Sheriff Adams groaned and buried her head in her hands against her desk. Two weeks had now gone by from the time the body, whom they were now referring to as Jane Doe, had been found in Chloe’s room. In that time, every new revelation that came to light only brought up a whole new series of questions that they couldn’t find answers to. It was frustrating, infuriating, and completely exhausting.

Lex had informed her that his father had been involved with human cloning a while ago, and given that Lionel and Chloe had a bit of a history with her investigating him and him making not so veiled threats toward her, it was entirely possible that he was behind her abduction. Unfortunately, Lionel wasn’t making himself available for any kind of questioning. In fact, Adams had started to suspect that he was intentionally spending extra time abroad so he wouldn’t have to speak with her; which., of course, only made him look all the more guilty.

Adams had contacted several agencies, including the FBI and Interpol, but none of them seemed especially anxious or even willing to help her track Lionel down and ask him questions about Chloe Sullivan’s disappearance. She was sick of people with money living like the law didn’t apply to them. With every day that passed, she became more and more convinced that Chloe was still alive and Lionel was keeping her somewhere for his own sick motives. The thought made her shudder and ran her hand over her face before answering the phone that had been ringing for an unknown amount of time.

“Sheriff Adams,” she greeted in a somber and tired tone.

“Sheriff, this is Detective Tom Burke with Interpol,” the male voice said through the receiver. Adams immediately sat up straight in her seat in full attention. “It’s come to my understanding that you’re investigating Lionel Luthor for the murder of one woman and the abduction of another. Is that correct?”

“Yes, sir. Well, actually, I just need to ask him some questions. He’s looking more and more like my lead suspect, but I haven’t been able to pin him down yet.”

“I understand,” Burke said. “I think we may be able to help each other out.”

~*~*~*~*~

“I do not believe you should go unattended,” Lucas said, pacing back and forth as he argued with Chloe.

“Well, what do you want me to do, Lucas? Invite anyone who happens to be nearby to come watch me take a bath?” Chloe asked in irritation. “Besides, I’m not going by myself. Mrs. Kent is going with me to carry my bathing sheets and a change of clothes.” Chloe made a face. “I feel kind of bad using her like a pack mule like that.”

“Mrs. Kent cannot provide adequate protection for you,” Lucas practically growled.

“I’m going to a take a bath in the warm springs, it’s not like somebody’s going to track me there and try to steal me away while I’m naked!”

“I would,” Lucas argued. Chloe snickered and Lucas’s face warmed from angry to moderately upset. He sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair. “Take a guard or two. Mrs. Kent will ensure that they do not watch you while you bathe.” Chloe shook her head.

“I’m sick of these stupid guards following me around everywhere; and from what Carrado said, it’s going to be another six months before the gate to my world can be reopened. I’m going to take my moments of peace and quiet as often as I can get them.”

“Let me come with you then,” Lucas said suggestively. Chloe rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, because *that’s* gonna happen,” she said. “I had a major crush on Clark for years, and there’s no way that I ever would have let him ---”

“Clark?”

“Mrs. Kent’s son – or her son back in my world anyway,” Chloe said and then frowned. “I hate saying that. It makes me sound like an alien or something.” Lucas looked at her questioningly and she smiled. “You know – someone from outer space – where the stars in the sky are?” Lucas took a couple of steps toward her.

“Only the Gods and Goddesses live among the stars, my princess,” he said huskily, reaching out to sweep some hair behind her ear and letting his fingers linger on her jaw. “And you, most certainly, would feel at home there.” Chloe’s smile beamed, but not for the reason Lucas thought, and when she turned to the side he was forced to drop his hand from her skin.

“Remind me to make you watch Stargate when the portal is reopened,” she said. Lucas arched an inquisitive eyebrow.

“You are still considering taking me with you?” he asked with some surprise. “In spite of Carrado informing us that you may not return home for several months?”

“Yeah, well,” Chloe started, “it was a good plan, even if it didn’t work out the way we wanted. And you’re pretty much the only person who’s tried to be friends with me here, so I kind of owe you.”

Chloe was apprehensive about bringing Lucas back to her own world, because she had a feeling that he wouldn’t fit in, but her own words reflected the truth behind them. He had been a true friend to her. He had befriended her on her first morning there, he had taken it upon himself to find out more information about her situation for her – granted, he had killed people in the process, but for some reason, that bothered her less and less every day she was there; and despite his flirty behavior with her, she had never seen him act that way with any other girl. In fact, when he was around her, he seemed completely focused on her. It was really nice to have a friend’s full attention for once and she wasn’t sure she wanted to relinquish that by going back to her world without him.

“You owe me nothing,” Lucas said, jarring her out of her thoughts. “But I will take your offer. The more you speak of your world, the more curious I am. I would be shamed to let the opportunity pass me by so I could remain here without you.”

~*~*~*~*~

Many of the men straggled off in different directions, heading home to their families as they reached the outskirts of the center of the Luthor kingdom. Alexander continued forward thoughtfully. Another hour and he would be home. He would be met with the same reception that his father always threw when he came back from battle, except this time the woman who he had been arranged to marry would also be there.

“Thinking about her again?” Gareth asked. Alexander turned his eyes to look at him and Gareth gave him a knowing smile. “I would be lying if I were to tell you that this development does not please me.”

“My upcoming marriage pleases you?”

“Your *interest* in your future bride pleases me,” Gareth corrected. “If you find her to be good company, and she you, then we may never war with the Sullivan house again.”

“You were afraid that we would lose,” Alexander said in a sure tone.

“It was not so much a fear as a menacing promise,” Gareth said.

Alexander grunted in agreement. His own family’s kingdom was incredibly large and prosperous, but even with their wealth and his knack for military strategy, they could never have won if they went to battle with the Sullivan’s kingdom as their opposition. No land had better armies, more gold, more land, and more power than the Sullivan kingdom. One of the reasons he had agreed to the arrangement was because he knew that he would be facing inevitable slaughter if he didn’t. He wouldn’t go down without a fight, but he would go down.

Alexander let out a pensive breath. He couldn’t help but wonder how much of a challenge Chloe would be. She was King Gabriel’s only child, and no doubt spoiled beyond exception. Adding that to the fact that she was not in favor of the union and Alexander knew he would have his hands full.

Gareth squinted his eyes as he saw some horsemen approaching from the direction they were headed. A slow grin appeared on his lips when he recognized the riders.

“It seems your brother has seen fit to come ahead to welcome you home,” he said.

Alexander’s face remained neutral and unaffected. His brother Tor was by far his father’s favorite son, and although Alexander didn’t care about such things, Tor would make a point to remind him every chance he got.

“Brother!” Tor greeted loudly as he and his guards charged up toward Alexander and the men that were still making their way to the city.

“Tor,” Alexander replied with no hint of any emotion on his face at all. Tor turned his horse around and began to ride next to his brother, smirking at him as he did so. His black hair, dark eyes, and chiseled features all seemed to be enhanced by the action.

“I bring you news,” he said.

“Do you?” Alexander asked in a not quite interested tone. “And here I thought you were coming to welcome me home.” Tor gave a half-snort before his face fell into disbelief. His older brother had just made a joke – or at least a pass at sarcasm. He had never heard him do it before and it startled him.

“Do not tell me that you have gone and got a soul while you were away at battle,” Tor said. “The princess will be most displeased.” Alexander’s eyes flitted over to Tor’s face for just a moment and Tor took it as a sign to continue. “Our brother Lucas has taken a liking to her.” Alexander scoffed.

“Lucas likes no one,” he rebutted, but then inwardly frowned as Tor’s earlier words sunk in. “How has she responded to his attentions?”

“Somewhat favorably,” Tor answered. “Although not as much as Lucas would like. She has befriended him, but it has not gone any further than that – I suspect that is due to her being betrothed to you.”

“Just as Lucas likes no one, no one likes him,” Alexander said, trying to keep the extent of his displeasure with the development from leaking into his words. “What kind of a person would tolerate a relationship of any kind with him? Especially one who has been so pampered throughout her life?”

“I would not know, brother. In truth, Lucas has been very protective of her and has not allowed most of the family or court to visit with her. There seems to be the beginning of a friendship with Lucinda, and she tolerates Lana as well as the servants, but Lucas has not allowed me, Julian, or James to speak with her in any more than a passing context.”

“I can understand his concern with you,” Alexander replied in a degrading tone. “He probably fears that you will try to bed the woman he wants for himself.” Tor threw his head back as a low, thundering laughter boomed from his throat. Alexander let a hint of a grin lift one corner of his mouth. “And James ---” he paused and shook his head slightly, “--- perhaps he does not want her to think more poorly of our family than she already does.”

“Perhaps,” Tor agreed. “But then, how would you explain him keeping her away from Julian? He poses no threat of trying to woo her attentions away from him or of dishonoring our family.”

“Lucas does not care for Julian.”

“Lucas does not care for anyone,” Tor reminded him.

“Except the princess it would seem.”

“Except the princess,” Tor agreed. There was silence between them for a few minutes, only the sounds of the horses and the men as they made their way across the land. “You have never met her. Perhaps it is not so late as to back out of the arrangement.”

“We would be defeated if we went to battle with her father’s kingdom,” Alexander reminded him.

“He may agree to let our brother marry her instead,” Tor mused. “Why should she need to marry you when she and her husband would not stay to rule this kingdom in time anyway?” Alexander clenched his teeth. Tor had obviously been thinking along the same lines he had been a couple of weeks earlier, but was replacing King Gabriel’s position with Lucas as his successor instead of him.

“I would not think that a viable possibility,” Alexander finally answered.

“We shall see, brother. We shall see.”


Chapter 11

A/N: The song is ‘Stay’ by Michelle Featherstone, and amazingly enough, I don’t own the rights to it either. Bummer. Sorry that this chapter is a little shorter, but it needed to be done.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“I need to know that I’ll have your cooperation here,” Sheriff Adams said, looking pointedly at Lex.

“Of course,” he answered. “You forget that I want Chloe back home safely just as much as you do.” Adams narrowed her eyes and folded her arms across her chest.

“Yeah, you do. Why is that?”

“Gabe is my plant manager *and* my best employee,” he said.

“And that’s it? There’s nothing more to it?”

“What are you implying?”

“Just that it’s been my experience that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” she answered.

“Why ask me for my cooperation if you suspect me?”

“I didn’t say I suspected you, Mr. Luthor. I just want to know that I can trust everyone who’s involved. And everyone else seems to have a valid relationship with Miss Sullivan.”

“Chloe was my friend.”

“Was?”

“Is,” Lex corrected. “And I’m going to do everything in my power to bring her back – with or without your trust.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Alexander turned his horse to the right when the castle could be seen in the distance. Tor looked at him questioningly.

“Where are you going? Do you not wish to return home to a hero’s welcome?” he asked. Alexander stopped his horse and turned him around to face Tor.

“If what you say is true, then I would need to make a better impression on the princess. Do you not think it would be suitable if I was to bathe before meeting her for the first time?” Alexander asked. Tor nodded and smiled, showing off the dimples in his cheeks.

“Indeed. You are willing to fight for her then? For a woman you have not ever seen?”

“Hair of gold, eyes like emeralds ---” Alexander chuckled lightly at the confused expression on his brother’s face. “Gareth has seen her when he visited her father’s kingdom.”

“Ah,” Tor said understandingly. He gave his brother a serious look. “You should know that she is beautiful. The only reason I have not gone after her is because of your arrangement to marry her.”

“And because Lucas would kill you in a second’s time,” Alexander said with a smirk.

“That also,” Tor agreed. He motioned with his head toward the part of the forest where the natural warm springs lay. “Go on. I’ll inform father as to the reason for your delay.” Alexander gave him a curt nod and turned his horse back around to head toward the bathing pools.

On his ride there, his head filled with the comments Tor had made. He would have gone after her if he didn’t fear death by Lucas’s hand. Where did that leave him then? Chloe was *his* betrothed, not Lucas’s. He had every right to marry her regardless of what Lucas felt toward her. Alexander frowned. Somehow he doubted it would be so simple.

When he neared one of the springs, he heard a woman’s beautiful voice singing. And although it was not a melody that he recognized, the sound coming from her lips seemed to twist around every tree and be carried away with the wind. Alexander stopped his horse and tied him up against a tree as he unconsciously followed the music to its source. Through the thick cover of the forest that surrounded the pool, he saw a woman’s back raised in the water. Her hair, unlike anything he had seen before on a woman, was somewhat short and wet; and when she brought her hands up to sweep through it, it brought the gentle curve of her hips partially out of the water.

Alexander’s breath hitched in his throat at the site of her. He hadn’t even seen her face yet, but the combination of the view of her back mixed with the soft lilt of her voice was enough to endear him to her. He leaned against a tree as he listened to her sing, hoping that she might turn around and he would get a glimpse of what she looked like. The soft hum of her words drifted into his ears.

If I build a wall
A hundred feet tall
Would that keep you in?
If I shackled your feet
So you couldn’t leave
Would you try and run?

He mentally kicked himself. Alexander had never acted like this before, had never shown any kind of interest in pursuing women as Tor did, and yet in the space of a couple of weeks, he had daydreamed about what his fiancée would look like and now he found himself attracted to a completely different woman altogether. He let out a small sigh and considered that maybe Tor was right – maybe he should just let Lucas marry Princess Chloe.

If I promised not to fight
At least not tonight
Would you stay the night?

‘She sounds heartbroken,’ Alexander thought to himself. Her sad lyrics clamped around his heart and made him want to comfort her, made him want to make up for whoever the man was who had destroyed her love.

If I wore that little dress
That one you like the best
Would you pass my test?

Would you stay?
Would you stay with me?

‘God, yes,’ he thought. ‘What fool would run from her?’ He watched as her song stopped and she seemed to sink beneath the water’s surface. He bristled against the branches of his hiding spot when she didn’t come up right away. Surely she wouldn’t drown herself over some simpleton who wasn’t good enough for her in the first place? He stilled as he saw the water ripple and her head bob out from underneath. She was facing him now, but her eyes were closed as her hands went over her head once again.

Alexander’s mouth hung open as he took in the beauty before him. The lines of her face, the swell of her breasts, the curves of her body – he felt his chest constrict and his breathing become ragged. When she opened her eyes, the sun filtering in from above lit her up and his friend’s words whispered in his mind.

‘She is beautiful…Hair of gold, eyes the color of emeralds…’

His eyes grew wide in disbelief. This couldn’t be her. This couldn’t be the woman he was to marry. If so, her parents could have married her to a king immediately rather than a prince.

“Princess,” Martha called out. “There has been word that Prince Alexander’s army has returned from war. You should rise from your bath and prepare yourself to meet him now.”

Alexander watched as Chloe’s face contorted in displeasure with the situation.

“Fine,” Chloe grumbled. Martha held out a bath sheet to wrap her in and Chloe half-swam over to the side of the pool and walked up the rocks to the sheet.

Alexander turned away as Martha covered up Chloe’s form, his heart beating hard and rapid in his chest. This beautiful siren was the princess, the one he was intended for. His soul rejoiced and died at the same time. She did not love him. She did not want to marry him. She was in love with another – a man who was quite possibly his younger brother. But then, why was she so forlorn about it? Alexander’s head spun, and after he overcame the physical illness of the conflicting emotions, only one thing remained. He would do what he always did. He would win.

[scifichick774]

Chapter 12

“If I may, your highness,” Martha said, bringing a dress over to Chloe that was draped on her arms. “This rose one would make a lovely first impression.” Chloe stared at the dress and then up at Martha, her expression full of disgust and disbelief.

“It’s pink.”

“It is ---”

“Not gonna happen,” Chloe interrupted. She glanced over at the dresses that Martha had selected and frowned. “I don’t suppose they packed a nice black one?” she grumbled under her breath.

“Black?” Martha repeated, completely aghast by the very suggestion of the princess wearing a black dress to meet her future husband as black was a color strictly reserved for grief and mourning. Chloe snickered at her response.

“Calm down. It was just a joke --- sort of.”

“Princess, I ---” Martha trailed off with a confused frown when Chloe started digging through one of the many trunks that hadn’t been unpacked yet.

“How about this one?” she asked, plucking an ornate, deep crimson red dress out of its storage.

“It is lovely, but perhaps a bit…intimidating for your first meeting with Prince Alexander.”

“Ooh – and look,” Chloe said, completely ignoring what Martha just told her, “a tiara.” She dug the dainty diamond encrusted crown out and dangled it on her finger. “I can see it now – ‘The Miss Medieval Pageant’,” Chloe snarked. “Well, you know, without the whole pageant thing.” She smiled brightly as she shimmied into the first layer of the dress. “I guess I win by default.”

“Your majesty,” Martha started with hesitation and then shook her head as she thought better of it.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Martha lied, moving to help Chloe with the dress.

“Wow, you’re a bad liar,” Chloe said with a teasing grin. “So, what is it?”

“Please forgive me. As absurd as it sounds, at times I forget that you were not raised in our kingdom. Your speech and mannerisms just served to remind me,” the older woman answered, ducking her head slightly to hide the color that was rising to her cheeks.

“You didn’t understand what I was talking about,” Chloe said knowingly. Martha nodded. “Yeah, I get that a lot,” she mumbled to herself and then looked at Martha with discomfort lining her features. For a while now, she had been debating whether or not to tell Martha the truth, but had decided against it when she realized that the woman would probably just think she was crazy.

Martha smoothed out the dress and took a step back to look at Chloe as if nothing had been said. Chloe jokingly lifted the tiara to her head and placed it there, earning a small gasp from Martha’s lips. Martha’s breath caught in her throat at the sight of the princess who now looked like she was willing to fulfill her royal duties.

“You have made a fine choice,” she finally said quietly. “The prince will not dare deny your union when he catches sight of you.” Chloe’s eyebrows rose.

“That’s a possibility?” she asked, surprise and a hint of pleasure tweaking her voice. Martha shook her head.

“As inhuman as many claim him to be, he would never put our kingdom in such peril as to refuse King Gabriel’s only daughter,” she answered.

“Oh, yeah – some peril,” Chloe said sarcastically and added a roll of her eyes for emphasis.

“Your father’s kingdom is greater in size, number, and wealth than any other,” Martha said in astonishment. “Surely you know this as you are his only child.” Chloe forced herself to give the woman a fake smile.

“Well, they don’t let me get out a lot,” she said. Martha nodded.

“I can imagine. Your parents care for you dearly and wish no harm to come to you. It is understandable.”

“I guess,” Chloe said. ‘No wonder the other me wanted to die. Locked up in her own house – castle – whatever; and then sent here to marry a guy she doesn’t even know. If I didn’t have Lucas to keep me company ---’ Her head shook ever so slightly as she ripped herself out of her thoughts. Lucas was a friend, and even though he had expressed an interest in her, she couldn’t afford to let it go past friendship. It would make things even more complicated than they already were.

“Princess?” Martha asked worriedly, noticing that Chloe had been wrapped up in her own thoughts and then seemed to shiver. “Are you feeling ill again?”

“Uh – no. No,” Chloe said quickly. “Tell me more about this ‘denying our union’ thing. How would I get him to do that exactly? I mean, I don’t want to take any chances in offending him,” she added, hoping that it would cover for her previous question.

“You do not need to fear,” Martha said with a kind smile. “He will not refuse you. Even if he were to disregard the arrangement set forth by your fathers, your beauty shall make him desire the marriage on its own merits.” Martha’s smile faltered when she remembered that the princess didn’t want the union with Alexander to take place, only pronounced by the disgruntled look on Chloe’s face. She sighed. “You must resign yourself to the fact that Alexander is the man your parents chose for you.” She paused and bit the inside of her cheek before continuing, uncertain of whether she should say anything about what she had observed in the past couple of weeks. “He will not allow your relationship with his brother to continue.”

Chloe’s head whipped around to look at her.

“Lucas is my friend – the only friend I have here – and even if he wasn’t, nobody tells me who I can and can’t be friends with,” she said irritably. This conversation was taking on the distinctive undertones of every conversation she had with Clark about who she was apparently allowed not to hang out with. Granted, most of them had turned out to be meteor freaks, so technically Clark had been in the right there, but she still didn’t like being lectured to. Martha’s face paled and for a moment, Chloe felt bad for her. That is, until the woman spoke.

“If you value his life as you claim to, you will not continue to see him; regardless of what your relationship with him is.”

“What are you saying? That Lex would kill his own brother?” Chloe asked in a disbelieving tone. The look on Martha’s face didn’t change and Chloe suddenly felt very worried. “Oh.” Martha cleared her throat.

“You should leave for the main hall now. It would not do to arrive late,” Martha said. A knock came at the door, causing both of the women to turn and look toward it expectantly. Martha scurried over to open it and she bit back the feeling of dread that swept through her when she saw Lucas, dressed in a manner befitting the welcome of his returning brother. He too, wore a rarely used crown, though his was platinum with large stones strategically circling it. “Y-your highness,” Martha greeted and gave a small curtsey to him.

Lucas paid her no attention as his eyes leeringly fell directly upon Chloe. He smiled a half-smirk at her when he reached her own eyes and Chloe just shook her head.

“I have come to escort you to my brother’s homecoming,” he said, ignoring the frightened look that Martha was giving him. Chloe took the steps needed to cross the room and he offered his arm out to her.

“You’re going to have to knock that off,” she said. He looked at her questioningly. “Mrs. Kent was just telling me that she doesn’t think your brother will approve of our friendship.”

“This matters to you?” he asked as he led her into the hallway. Chloe scoffed.

“No,” she answered. “But if he’s really the devil incarnate as everyone around here seems to think he is, then ---” Lucas grinned down at her.

“You are worried for me,” he said almost teasingly, yet still touched by the fact that she would have such an emotion for him.

“So?” Chloe said to brush off the comment. Lucas leaned closer as they were walking and bent his head down to speak into her ear.

“You need not fear, Chloe,” he said in a hushed, yet husky voice that sent shivers down her spine. “I am an excellent warrior, and more than capable of defending myself against any attacks that he may wage against me.”

“An excellent warrior, huh? Then how come you weren’t off at war like he was?” Chloe asked.

“It was merely a battle, not a war,” Lucas corrected. “And you may have noticed that our other brothers, Tor, Julian, and James, did not fight by his side either.”

“Why haven’t I met James?” she asked, changing the topic away from the uncomfortable one it was sure to become. Lucas grumbled and straightened to his full height as he walked with her.

“He is…unwell.”

“He’s sick?” Chloe asked with concern.

“Not physically, but mentally ---”

“Oh. I didn’t know. I’m sorry,” she said.

“It is alright. Father has confined him to the palace grounds, and usually to one particular section of our home, so he will not bother you.”

“Bother me?” Chloe asked, picturing a whole host of things that she hadn’t even considered before when Lucas said his brother was ill.

“With his visions – he *sees* things,” Lucas said disdainfully. “Many of the monks actually believe him to be a prophet of some sort.” Chloe stopped walking and let go of his arm.

“He’s a psychic?! That’s what you meant by meant by mentally unwell?!” she half-yelled. “Lucas! Why didn’t you tell me this before?!”

“I did not want you to void our…friendship…because of the shame he has brought to our family,” he answered. Chloe shook her head.

“I can’t believe this,” she said more to herself than to him. “Did you ever think that he might be able to tell us how to get home faster?” she asked and then poked a finger at his chest. “You are taking me to see him as soon as this stupid ‘welcome home’ party is over.” Lucas was stunned by her words and barely managed to nod before he heard his sister’s voice call out to Chloe.

“Princess!” Lucinda greeted loudly, pulling Chloe and Lucas’s attention in the direction they had just stopped going. The auburn-haired girl seemed almost to float toward them and she shot a glare at Lucas before smiling brightly at Chloe. “My, you look enchanting.” Chloe smiled.

“Thanks,” she said. Lucinda nodded and took her arm as if they were old friends.

“I have news for you,” she said. Chloe turned her head and looked at Lucas expectantly, be he just arched an eyebrow, surprised by what Lucinda had said as well. “Alexander saw you earlier and he has already informed my father that he will not object to your union.” Chloe made a face.

“Why does *he* get to have the option of not marrying me, but *I* don’t have the option of not marrying *him*?” she asked in frustration lined with anger.

“You did not hear me,” Lucinda said. “He has said that he will marry you. Is this not wonderful news?” Lucas took a couple of steps and tore his sister away from Chloe’s arm.

“You did not hear *her*,” he told her menacingly, backing her up against a wall as he spoke. Lucinda looked scared, but she held her head high; knowing that Lucas would not hesitate to dispose of her if he felt it was necessary. “Chloe said that she does not want to marry him.”

“But ---”

Lucas let a feral growl escape his throat and Chloe placed her hand on his arm before he did something that both of them would regret. He stilled and turned his head to look at her.

“Come on,” Chloe said, tugging on his arm a little. “Let’s just get this over with.” Lucas nodded and stepped away from his sister, causing Lucinda to flash a look of pure gratitude at Chloe. Lucas and Chloe only made it a few steps before Lucas stopped again and turned back to look at Lucinda.

“You said he saw her?”

Lucinda bit her lip, knowing that she shouldn’t have let that fact slip in front of her brother.

“Where?” he demanded. “I have been with her for --- the bathing pools?!” Lucinda’s eyes grew wide when she realized that Lucas was right. It was the only place that Alexander could have seen her without commenting on seeing Lucas in her company.

“What?!” Chloe yelled. “He was --- oh, God.” She clutched at her stomach as it twisted, making her feel sick at the thought of someone watching her bathe without her knowing about it.

“Lucinda!” Alexander’s bellowing voice came out of a room down the corridor. Chloe and Lucas both turned to look at him as he stopped in his tracks at the sight of Chloe standing there looking at him.

He swallowed hard as he took in her appearance. Her hair was pulled back, graced with a crown as loose tendrils of blonde cupped her face. Her dress, the color of blood; a color he had learned to grow fond of. Perhaps she had asked around to find out, but no – no one knew of his preference for the color except him. In his mind, it was yet another sign that destiny had spoken.

Chloe clenched her hands into little fists and swiftly covered the space between them. Lucas and Lucinda looked on, startled when Chloe brought her hand back and slapped Alexander hard across the face. Lucas’s mouth quickly spread with a smile full of mirth and he threw his head back in laughter.

“That’s for spying on me while I was taking a bath!” Chloe yelled at Alexander and then turned on her heel to head back toward Lucas. “Jackass.”


Chapter 13

Alexander growled and swiftly moved forward to catch her arm, swinging her back around to face him. Instead of a frightened look as he would have presumed to have seen, Chloe’s face showed nothing but pure rage.

“Let go of me!” she yelled, trying to yank her arm away from him, but Alexander kept a firm grip on her. Lucas poised himself, readying his sword to attack, but stopped when Alexander spoke.

“Perhaps I need to rethink my position on our upcoming union,” he said, intending it as a threat as he temporarily forgot that the princess had no desire to marry him. Chloe’s face lit up and she couldn’t hide the smile that swept across her lips.

“Really?” she asked excitedly. Alexander frowned and confused, let go of her arm. She closed the small space between them and wrapped her arms around him in a jubilant embrace. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said and then pulled back, flashing him a bright smile that nearly took his breath away. Chloe turned around to face Lucas, the same smile still on her mouth. Lucas slid his sword back into its hilt and grinned at her as he stepped closer.

He bundled her up in his arms and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead, making Alexander curl his hands into fists. How could he have forgotten, even momentarily, that Chloe was opposed to the very idea of marrying him? An unexpected voice rose to be Alexander’s ally.

“No!” Lucinda protested, setting aside her own fear of Lucas when the scene unfolded in front of her. Chloe, Lucas, and Alexander all looked over at her.

“No?” Lucas questioned snidely. Lucinda frowned and turned her attention to Alexander.

“I do not want to die simply because you and Princess Chloe did not fall in love with each other at first sight,” she said. “Many arranged marriages, especially among royals, have…troublesome…beginnings. I am certain that you will find common ground in time.” She gave a pleading look to Alexander and then to Chloe, choosing to try and ignore Lucas’s glare altogether before she turned on her heel and headed back down the hall.

Chloe let out a small sigh and patted Lucas on the chest as she pulled away from him.

“I think Lex and I need to have a little talk,” she said, causing Lucas to frown and Alexander to blink in surprise at the use of his long abandoned nickname. Lucas leaned down closer to her.

“I do not feel right leaving you alone with him,” Lucas said in a hushed voice. Chloe gave him a reassuring grin.

“I’ll be fine,” she insisted. “And if I’m not, then I’ll scream for you.” Lucas glanced over at his brother and shot him a warning look before nodding once at Chloe.

“If he ---”

“I’m a loud screamer, Lucas,” she assured him, immediately regretting her choice of words when he arched a somewhat leering eyebrow at her. “Mind out of the gutter – that’s not what I meant.” He grinned playfully at her and kissed her forehead again before turning and walking in the direction his sister had gone, giving Alexander a threatening glare along the way. Chloe closed her eyes and took a deep breath before looking over at Alexander and beaming a fake smile at him. “Okay, let’s get this over with. You don’t really want to get married, *I* don’t really want to get married – so, let’s not get married.”

Alexander took a couple of steps closer to her and Chloe suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to yell for Lucas to come and rescue her, but she didn’t. Instead, she held her head high and looked directly into his blue eyes as he stared down at her.

‘Personal bubble,’ she thought, but didn’t say it because she knew the reference would be lost on him. Alexander opened his mouth to speak, but Chloe cut him off. “Look, I know that everyone’s afraid that my dad will order your kingdom burned to the ground or something, but I’m pretty sure I can talk him out of it. What we’re talking about here has nothing to do with them. It’s just you and me. Can you honestly say that you want to marry someone you don’t even know?” she nervously rambled.

Before she had a chance to protest, Alexander’s mouth was on hers; one hand on her hip and the other tangled in the hair at the back of her head to keep her from pulling away from him. Chloe gasped in shock and Alexander’s tongue plunged into her mouth. She whimpered as she tried to push away from him and his hold on her only seemed to tighten.

She finally gave in and began to return his kiss, part of her figuring that he might let her go if she reciprocated; the other part, the one she was trying to ignore, telling her that it might not be so bad to have to marry him when he was such a good kisser. Alexander finally trailed away from her mouth and peppered her jaw with small, wet kisses until he reached her ear. Chloe closed her eyes as she panted for breath against him and a shiver went through her body when she felt his words in her ear.

“You have been promised to me, not to him,” he said in a low, husky tone that carried a menacing threat with it. “It would serve you well to remember it.” Chloe narrowed her eyes at him as he pulled back to look at her.

“Oh, really?” she asked, straightening her spine and folding her arms across her chest. Alexander’s gaze brought down to her breasts with the action and Chloe rolled her eyes. “Well, I hate to break it to you, but I’m not the one who made that promise.” Alexander looked back up at her, trying to push down the feelings of lust that swam through his body at the fire in her eyes. “And I have no intention of keeping it.”

They stared at each other, unblinking for what seemed like forever before Alexander’s expression softened and he spoke again.

“What have I done to offend you so, your highness?”

Chloe arched an eyebrow.

“Well, gee. I don’t know,” she said sarcastically. “But I’m pretty sure it had something to do with you watching me take a bath without me knowing you were there.”

“You are my betrothed,” he responded with some confusion. His hand reached out and tucked some hair behind her ear, leaving his fingers to graze against her skin. Chloe pushed aside the warmth of arousal that swept through her body with such an innocent touch and shook her head.

“But seeing as how you just got back from war, there’s no way you could have known that,” she pointed out. Alexander gave her a strange look.

“I do not understand.”

“Yeah, I’m getting a lot of that here,” she mumbled under her breath and then sighed. “Look, it’s not you. I’m sure you’re a really nice guy ---” ‘As far as demons go,’ she inwardly added. “But I don’t want to get married to *anyone*. I just want to go home.” Alexander frowned.

“Have you been treated unwell here?”

“No, I ---”

“Lucas,” he interrupted with a growl. “Your love for him causes you to betray your parents’ wishes?”

“I don’t *love* him,” she argued. “He’s my friend. That’s it.”

“I ---”

“Like I said, I just want to go home. It doesn’t have anything to do with you or any member of your family.”

Alexander seemed surprised by her statement, but he nodded as if he came to some kind of inner understanding.

“You miss your family.”

“Yes,” she answered. Alexander nodded again.

“We shall return to your home soon after we are wed,” he said definitively, leaving no room for objection.

“But ---”

Both of their heads turned at the sound of someone clearing their throat. Half-expecting to see Lucas, Chloe’s eyes widened a little when she saw Lionel standing in the hallway, only five or so feet away from them.

“Is everything alright?” he asked. Chloe managed a forced grin.

“Fine.”

“We were just getting acquainted,” Alexander responded. Lionel looked back and forth between them with some suspicion as the tension in the air was almost palpable.

“I see,” he said.

“The princess wishes for us to return to the Sullivan kingdom after we marry,” Alexander informed him, as if the decision had already been made. Lionel appeared pensive, but he finally gave them a curt nod, not agreeing or disagreeing with his son’s statement.

“Our guests are expecting the both of you. Come along,” he said and turned around to head back to the room he came from.

Chloe and Alexander shared a look and he offered his arm out to her. Chloe opened her mouth to argue, but Alexander motioned to where his father stood walking ahead of them. She gave him a small frown and took his arm, leaning closer to him as she did so.

“I’m not marrying you,” she whispered.

“Yes you are,” he replied in a hushed voice.

The trumpets started to sound when Lionel stepped into the room and Chloe cringed. She had no doubt that Lucas would be waiting near the door for her and she was being forced to come in on his brother’s arm.

It was going to be an interesting evening.


Chapter 14

“What do you mean you’re closing the investigation?!” Gabe yelled. Sheriff Adams cringed ever so slightly and motioned with her hands for him to calm down.

“I didn’t say ‘close’, I said ‘put aside’,” she said.

“What’s the difference?” he asked in exasperation.

“Mr. Sullivan, I know how you must feel, but we just don’t have the amount of staff we would need to keep this investigation on active status. It will still be open, but we have other cases to investigate. I can’t devote my entire department to one case, especially when we don’t have any leads whatsoever.” She frowned and gave him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry – I just can’t.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

“I doubt you could run fast enough,” Julian said teasingly into Chloe’s ear from behind, almost causing her to spill the goblet of mead that she had clutched in one of her hands. He had been watching her as she kept glancing back and forth between where Alexander stood talking to his father and the large door that would be her only means of escape. Chloe turned her head to see him smirking at her as he took a couple of steps, turning to face her.

“I don’t know, I can run pretty fast when I want to,” she said with half-slurred speech. Despite originally turning down the drink, she had eventually given in, justifying it to herself by saying that she wouldn’t be able to put up with any more well-wishers without it. Julian chuckled and Chloe gave him a small grin. She hadn’t gotten to know him very well – or at all, really. She had only been introduced to him and said hello a couple of times in passing, but he seemed friendly enough, and at least she knew she didn’t have to worry about him making unwanted advances toward her like Tor, because he was engaged. “Where’s Lana?”

Julian motioned with his head and Chloe saw Lana jabbering away to Lucinda, who looked positively bored by the conversation, and Queen Rachel, who looked like she was almost ready to strangle the poor girl.

“You could join them,” Julian suggested. Chloe snorted.

“Ye-ah. I don’t think so.”

“If you did, it would only serve to prolong the life of my future bride,” Julian said with a not quite pleading tone. Chloe furrowed her brow.

“I don’t see how me going over there is going to help,” she said.

“My father’s wife likes you,” he replied.

“She does?”

“Of course. Her eldest son is in love with you,” Julian started.

“Lucas and I are friends,” Chloe protested. Julian gave her a glimpse of a smile.

“You needn’t be concerned of my opinion on your taking him as a lover,” he said quietly. “If anything, it has been a welcome change to see my younger brother acting almost human. At any rate, we were speaking of my step-mother. If you are able to convince your parents to allow you to marry Lucas instead of Alexander, then she will be mother to a future king.” Chloe frowned.

“I think she’s overestimating my persuasive abilities,” she said and then paused for a second, frowning again as she shook her head lightly. “And I don’t want to marry *anyone*.”

“You *are* of marrying age,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, but – I just never pictured myself getting married – at least not so early. I wanted to do stuff first, you know?” she asked. Julian gave her a knowing look and took a sip from his own glass.

“You wished for your life to be something other than what your parents wished for,” he said. Chloe blinked her eyes a couple of times.

“You sound like you know what I’m talking about,” she said. Julian nodded, but chose not to answer her unspoken question.

“What would you wish for yourself if not to marry a future king?” he asked. Chloe shook her head dejectedly and took another drink from the goblet in her hands.

“I don’t even know what you would call them here, but I want to be a reporter,” she said. Julian creased his brow as he tried to think of a word that would compare to what she said. “Someone who investigates stories and then spreads the news about what they find,” she said, noticing his confusion and trying to help him. Julian’s eyebrows rose high in surprise, but his expression quickly fell into one of displeasure.

“I have never heard of such a position before, but it sounds…dangerous. Surely your parents would never allow it, even if you were not of noble birth,” he said. Chloe shrugged.

“Being buried alive was the worst,” she said, her eyes on the door again instead of on the man she was speaking to. “Not that being pushed out a window didn’t suck - because it did - but I had nightmares for a long time after the coffin thing,” she rambled, now feeling the full affects of the alcohol rushing through her. Julian looked absolutely horrified by what Chloe was saying. She was speaking as if the incidents had actually occurred and her slurred speech only seemed to indicate that she wasn’t lying all the more.

“I – I – did not think that King Gabriel would have ever allowed his only child to be put in such peril,” Julian replied. Chloe’s attention was drawn back to him with his statement and her face slightly paled as she realized that she had just told someone other than Lucas something about her life back home.

A distinct, feral-like growl came from behind her and she watched as Julian’s features were overcome with fear.

‘Oh, thank God,’ she thought. She turned her head slightly and smiled at Lucas. “Hey,” she greeted, “Enjoying yourself?”

“No,” he replied, his fierce stare fixed on his brother.

“Good. Me either,” Chloe said. “Think we can get out of here now?” Lucas looked down at her, seeing her smile and raised one corner of his mouth in a semi-smirk. He nodded and took the cup from her hands, shoving it toward Julian, who simply frowned at him.

“Not to put a damper on your ---” he stopped and cleared his throat, “---*love*, but I sincerely doubt that you will be allowed to leave together.”

“Well, I’m not letting *Lex* escort me back to my room,” Chloe said and absently patted Lucas’s chest. Lucas looked down at the motion and then up to her face, a bemused and somewhat leering smile placing itself on his lips. “Asshole,” she muttered to herself as she glared in Alexander’s direction. “Did I tell you that he kissed me?” she asked indignantly. Fire seemed to flare up in Lucas’s eyes and Chloe winced. ‘Wrong thing to say,’ she thought.

“He *is* your intended,” Julian hesitantly pointed out, earning him hard glares from both Chloe and Lucas, but accepting them as his intention to draw Lucas’s fury away from Chloe seemed to work. “And there is talk of moving your wedding date up.”

“What?!” Chloe yelled. “No, no, no, no, no.”

“Perhaps I misheard,” Julian offered.

“You did not,” Lucas said with a scowl. “I heard the same myself. I believe it was father’s idea to have the wedding prepared for when King Gabriel and Queen Rebecca arrive.” Chloe groaned.

“Well, that’s great – just great,” she said sarcastically and shook her head. “I’m never gonna get out of here – at least not before I’m married.” Julian looked confused but Lucas put his hand on the small of her back sympathetically.

“We have not spoken to James yet,” he reminded her quietly. “Perhaps ---” he trailed off as he watched her face light up.

“Yes! You’re right. Let’s go do that now,” she said excitedly, pulling away from him only to run into a solid wall of flesh and muscle in the direction she turned. Her eyes darted up to the man she ran into and she cursed under her breath.

“Princess,” Alexander greeted, glancing at both of his brothers as recognition of their presence before looking back down at her. “As the festivities have worn down, I am to see you back to your room.” Chloe scowled at him and held up a finger.

“Hold that thought,” she said and turned back around to look at Lucas, who was balling his hands into fists. She gave him a knowing look and his eyes went from her to Alexander with a tiny smirk.

“I’ll walk with you,” Lucas said. “It is in the direction of James’s room and I promised him that I would stop by for a visit.” Alexander frowned, but gave his brother a curt nod, and then extended his arm for Chloe. She didn’t even fake a smile at him as she placed her hand on his arm and Lucas smirked to himself.

Alexander had gone so far as to taste her lips and she still denied him any sort of emotion other than anger and displeasure; whereas he had won her as a friend and quite possibly as the beginning of something more. She would convince the other Chloe’s parents to allow her to marry him instead, James would come up with something, or she would marry Alexander and, in time, he would convince her to share his bed rather than her husband’s. The thoughts flitting through his mind pleased Lucas greatly – until he saw that Alexander had stopped and was glaring at him. Lucas arched a questioning eyebrow and Alexander motioned toward the connecting hallway.

“You *were* going to see James, correct?” he asked, his tone revealing that he knew Lucas’s true intentions of just not wanting to leave him alone with Chloe. Lucas gave him a tight grin and then reached for Chloe’s free hand.

“I will speak with you tomorrow, my princess,” he said, placing a kiss on the back of her hand. Chloe snickered and he smiled at her before giving her a small bow. “Goodnight.”

Chloe sighed as she watched him walk away and Alexander clenched his jaw.

“I wanted to meet James,” she said with a tiny, somewhat drunken pout. They started walking again and Alexander’s body immediately relaxed, startled by her words. That was the reason she sighed? Could it be that she really *was* just friends with his brother?

“I can take you tomorrow if you’d like,” he said. Chloe laughed.

“Yeah, right,” she said sarcastically. “Thanks anyway, but I’ll just wait until Lucas can take me.” Alexander’s body stiffened again.

“You and I are to spend our next few days together,” he informed her.

“What? Why?”

“It is common practice in arranged marriages for the couple to spend the days before their wedding together.”

“But, but --- I thought we weren’t supposed to get married for another couple of weeks?”

“Our nuptials have been moved up to five days hence,” Alexander said. Chloe’s eyes grew wide and Alexander couldn’t help the grin that took over his mouth. “I am surprised that you were not informed of the change at the feast.”

“I was,” she grumbled. “I was just hoping it was wrong.” She frowned to herself and started to walk away from him, only to sway and trip because of her somewhat intoxicated state. Alexander reached out and caught her. Luckily they were near her bedroom, so she wouldn’t need to walk far.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah - thanks,” she mumbled as Alexander held her upright. She ran a hand around the back of her neck. “I don’t usually drink – and I shouldn’t have tonight,” she said as she focused on the stone floor beneath her. Alexander steadied her with one arm, using the fingers from his other hand to tilt her chin up to look at him. Chloe’s heart started beating faster, pounding against her chest as they looked at each other. ‘No! No! Don’t do it!’ a little voice inside her head yelled at her. ‘You don’t belong here; you don’t even like him, you ---’

Their heads leaned toward each other; their lips brushing lightly before Chloe felt both of Alexander’s hands grip her waist and pull her closer to him. The kiss deepened, but was still hesitant and unsure. Chloe felt like she was melting into his touch, but tried to reason that it was just the alcohol’s effects on her body. Her lips parted and she darted her tongue out to trace along the crease in his mouth. He pulled back just enough to take a breath before capturing her mouth with his own again. Their tongues slid passionately against each other and Chloe let out a small whimper.

When they finally pulled apart to breathe, Chloe touched her fingers up to her lips in disbelief, but they were still swollen from their embrace.

“I – um,” she said and then paused. “I should go.” She took a couple of steps away from him before stopping and looking back at him. “Goodnight.”


Chapter 15

Alexander walked swiftly through the maze of dark corridors, lit only by sporadically placed small torches on the walls. Although he didn’t visit that part of his home that often, he knew his way around from when he was a child and his mother used to take him on small walks through the halls of the castle. It had been their special time together, just the two of them. He shook away his thoughts as he came upon the guards who stood outside the door and they bowed to him.

“Is he awake?” Alexander asked curtly. One of the guards nodded.

“Yes, highness,” he answered.

“And Lucas?” Alexander asked.

“He only stayed but a few minutes,” the other guard replied. Alexander grunted and motioned to the guards to open the door for him.

“James,” Alexander greeted after the door closed quickly behind him.

His brother had his back to him as he stared out at the night sky through the tiny slit of a window.

“Alexander,” he said, not needing to turn around to know who it was. There was a moment of silence as Alexander waited for further recognition. “She was not brought here for you,” James said cryptically and then turned around, the moonlight casting an eerie glow behind his closely cropped golden hair. His eyes were pools of black as he looked at the man on the other side of the room.

“You are mistaken,” Alexander argued. “She is my intended.”

James’s face remained neutral as he crossed the room and motioned for Alexander to sit on a bench against the wall. When he did, James stood a few feet in front of him.

“The two are not the same,” he finally said. Alexander furrowed his brow and James looked to the floor for a second before looking back up at him. “It was the only way I could have the other one brought here, Alexander.”

“I do not understand.”

James turned away from him again and crossed the room to the window, keeping his back to his brother as he began to speak.

“Long ago, when the princess was first born, a prophet foretold of danger to her life; of someone close enough to do her harm, by administering poison as she grew, so that she would eventually be overcome with agony from the pain and take her life,” James started.

“Impossible.”

“Not wanting their daughter to suffer such a fate, King Gabriel and Queen Rebecca turned to the monks in their land,” James continued, ignoring Alexander’s protest. “For her safety, their daughter was taken to another realm and, to arouse no suspicion, her other was taken from the Sullivan family of that land.”

“James,” Alexander said in a warning tone. James slowly turned around and met Lex’s stare with his own.

“The Chloe who was raised here, but not born of the king and queen, grew increasingly ill with every day that passed. Knowing that her death would soon come and fulfill the prophecy, they wished for their true daughter to be brought back to them,” James said with a small frown. “During this alignment,” he said, motioning out the window to the stars, “the only land in which the doorway between our two worlds could be opened, is here.”

“What you speak of, it is fantasy,” Alexander said; his eyes pleading on his brother’s to tell him otherwise.

“It is not required for you to believe in something to make it so,” James said simply. Alexander shook his head lightly and James started talking again. “I have been in contact with them through couriers, monks or guards who are willing to believe more readily than you. It was agreed that the only way the young woman they raised could be brought over here without concern to motives would be to form an allegiance, an agreement; and so in, her hand in marriage was promised to you.”

Alexander stared at James in shock and complete disbelief, shaking his head once again and rising to his feet as he spoke.

“Where is the other then?” he asked.

“She begged for a merciful end and it was granted to her,” James said, a hint of sadness lining his voice. “Carrado and Nudd found her body, but told no one, as they did not wish to start a war with the Sullivan Kingdom. Instead, without their knowledge, they followed the plan that was in place and returned her to the world in which she was born, and brought back the princess who was born of the queen’s womb here.”

“Impossible,” Alexander said again, this time hushed and under his breath.

“Is it?” James asked. “Does she not seem different than any other woman you have met? Is her manner of speech not strange to you and to others in this court? Has she not accepted our brother Lucas into her confidence?” Alexander growled at him and James looked at him pointedly. “I have only seen glimpses of visions of the world in which she was raised, but it is far different than our own. I fear that she has become accustomed to that life, as she will come to ask me tomorrow for a way to return there sooner than the months that Carrado told her she would need to wait.”

“And what will you tell her?”

“She was brought here to be reunited with her true parents, Alexander; not to be your wife – and you came here tonight to ask me to lie to her.”

“It is not a lie,” Alexander protested. “I was meant to be with her. Do not ask me to explain, for I cannot. But, I can feel it.” James nodded once.

“As Lucas can feel it for him,” he said, earning him a threatening glare from his brother. “And yet she loves neither of you – not in the way that you want her to.”

“But ---”

“You kissed,” James acknowledged and Alexander nodded. “Physical attraction is only one connection that you must make out of many and Lucas has her friendship, which is certainly the basis for a stronger relationship.” Alexander clenched his jaw.

“You are going to recommend that she marry him,” he said as a statement and not a question. James shook his head.

“No.”

“Then…?”

“She needs to know the truth about who she is and where she is from before she makes any decision about whom to marry, Alexander.”

“We wed on Sunday.”

“And her parents will arrive on Thursday,” James said surely. “She will need time with them before they can come to an agreement about whom she shall marry, or if she shall even marry at all.”

Alexander narrowed his eyes at James, a suspicion creeping its way into his head.

“You would not be lying to me and to Lucas to gain her favor for yourself, would you?” Alexander asked. “You seem terribly knowledgeable about a woman who has never lived in our kingdom.” A tiny grin curled up one side of James’s lips.

“I am not Tor,” he replied. Alexander frowned and nodded in acceptance of the statement. “And how I wish that I could tell you the extent of my knowledge and everything else that makes up the truth, but the timing is not right. Chloe needs to be informed first.”

“How am I to become her friend if you will not tell me all you know of her?” Alexander asked in frustration, causing James to grin again.

“I am not the one you need to be addressing that question to.”

Alexander let out a sour chuckle.

“You are suggesting that I ask Lucas?”

“No.”

“Who then?” Alexander asked. James kept eye contact, but said nothing. “Her?! Even with our physical attraction, she does not care to be in my company.”

“Nor have you given her much of a reason to,” James pointed out. “If you truly believe yourself to be in love with her, then you will do her the honor of wooing her.” Alexander’s eyes grew wide. “It would be expected of you were you not a royal.”

Alexander shook his head, his face showing only how baffled he was at where to begin such an undertaking. James chuckled and then let out a light sigh.

“You might start with an apology,” he suggested. Alexander arched an eyebrow. “You *did* watch her bathe without her knowledge and have yet to apologize for your behavior.”

“She is my betrothed,” Alexander said in a tone that clearly indicated that he believed it to excuse his behavior.

“But you did not know that until you saw her face and Gareth’s words echoed in your head, correct?”

Alexander squirmed. He had forgotten how unnerving it could be to pay a visit to his youngest brother, how much he seemed to know with no one telling him.

“There is a possibility that I am incorrect, but I believe she was offended that you were ogling some random woman instead of her,” James said.

“But she was the only ---”

“But you did not know her,” James said again, in a voice like he was explaining it to a child.

“And I suppose she would have been *less* offended if I *had* known it was her?” Alexander asked sarcastically. James raised an eyebrow, waiting for the truth of Alexander’s own statement to hit him. Alexander blinked a couple of times, stunned when he finally realized what James had been trying to tell him. He held up a hand and turned toward the door. “I – need to leave. Goodnight.”

James nodded and grinned as Alexander rushed out the door. Tomorrow would bring the beginning of the truth.


Chapter 16

A/N: The song is “Hello” by Evanescence and I don’t own any of the rights to it either. Damn.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Lex sped along through the night on the highway from Metropolis to Smallville, his headlights barely making a dent in the darkness that surrounded him. He couldn’t help but how it seemed fitting. He had been so sure that his father was responsible for Chloe’s death, but now…

Chloe was dead. He grew more and more certain of that fact with every minute that passed and she didn’t return home. The problem was that everyone’s main suspect had just had several federal charges brought against him, ranging from the most minor of infractions to the most severe, all of which threatened to take away Lionel’s much loved freedom; and he still denied knowing anything about Chloe’s disappearance when a deal was offered to him.

Lex clutched the wheel a little tighter, the blood draining from his knuckles as he pushed down harder on the gas pedal. He had no way of explaining to Gabe how they now had nothing to go on in terms of where his daughter might be or how to get her back. No leads whatsoever. No one had even called or come forward with any information in order to claim the reward money that had been offered. The real Chloe Sullivan had vanished into thin air, leaving a dead copy of herself in her place.

Even if there were other companies doing illegal cloning research, what were the chances that they would pick a teenaged girl from Smallville to be their test subject? And why bother to risk exposing themselves by leaving the body in the Sullivan’s house? Why not just dispose of the body and keep Chloe anyway? The only thing Lex could think of was that they didn’t want anyone to come looking for her, but had obviously arranged for the possibility anyway, as no one could find out where she had been taken or who had taken her.

Lex leaned over slightly and pushed a button to switch the CD in the car’s audio system. As soon as the haunting melody started to drift through the air, Lex’s mind went in a million different directions. It had been one of Chloe’s mix CDs, the one in the deck of her home computer, which meant it was probably the one she was listening to before she disappeared. He hadn’t heard most of the songs on it before he borrowed it from Gabe, but now he knew them all by heart, having listened to it over and over again in a strange and desperate attempt to bring him closer to any clues that it might hold about her and where she had gone.

Playground school bell rings again
Rain clouds come to play again
Has no one told you she’s not breathing?
Hello I’m your mind giving you
Someone to talk to
Hello

All of the songs on the CD were like this. Themes of death and depression, warped with a meaning that he could only hope to decipher. Lex had never pictured Chloe as the kind of person who ever had those kinds of feelings. Typical teenage angst – of course. Depression so deep that she spoke of it to no one – never.

Though with her mother abandoning her and Gabe when she was five, the ongoing Clark and Lana saga, and Lionel’s recent threats against her, Lex certainly couldn’t blame her for feeling that way. She was just more like him than she was like Lana. She held the feelings that could kill her inside while making sure everyone else saw something completely different, someone that they wanted her to be instead of who she was.

If I smile and don’t believe
Soon I know I’ll wake from this dream
Don’t try to fix me I’m not broken
Hello I’m the lie living for you so you can hide
Don’t cry

He would be lying if he hadn’t considered the possibility that Chloe had left of her own free will, but he had no explanation for how she would have gotten a woman who looked just like her, who shared her DNA, and left her lying dead in her place so people wouldn’t know that she was really gone. No logical explanation anyway. He did briefly consider what he considered to be a far-fetched theory about alternate realities after catching the tail-end of a series on the sci-fi channel after he realized that he had fallen asleep on the couch with the TV still on.

Suddenly I know I’m not sleeping
Hello I’m still here
All that’s left of yesterday

Lex was exhausted and frustrated. Weeks of research, of following every lead he had on his dad and his business associates, all for naught. He hadn’t been sleeping well, and when he did sleep, his dreams were filled with bizarre images of a man he had never seen looking out at the night sky and then turning around and telling him that she was never his and that he needed to let her go.

He would wake up immediately after the words were spoken, thinking he had only been asleep for a few minutes, only to find out that he had been asleep for hours. It was unnerving and tiring, but he wasn’t about to let go of his search for Chloe. He had made a promise to Gabe and to Chloe’s friends to do everything in his power to find her, and Lex Luthor didn’t make promises that he didn’t intend to keep - even if it killed him in the process.

~*~*~*~*~*~

James sighed and sat down, bringing his knees up to his chest and then resting his head on them. He heard the sound of the door open and, as always, the guards simply let his visitors in without announcing them like they would with any other member of the family. No introductions were needed and they knew that. James didn’t look up from where his gaze was fixed on the floor.

“He is not listening to me,” he said almost sadly. “He is destroying himself and I can only reach him across the boundaries for so long.” He raised his eyes, still large and black, and looked straight at Chloe, ignoring Alexander’s quizzical look. “He is stubborn in every world.”

Chloe’s mouth dropped open slightly as a gasp released from her throat at the sight of him. Her hand quickly flew to cover her mouth, but her eyes were still wide in shock. James gave her a small, knowing grin and rose to his feet. He slowly crossed the room to her and nodded once at what she apparently suspected just by looking at him.

“Princess,” he said quietly, reaching out a hand to cup her cheek. Alexander’s jaw squared and his hand crept down to his sword, but James let his hand drop in time. “I wanted to be there to greet you when you were brought back to our world, but it would have brought too many questions upon me.” Chloe frowned.

“I’m still not sure I believe that this is my ‘home world’,” she said.

“It is not necessary for you to believe something to make it so,” Alexander said, repeating James’s words from the night before. Chloe shook her head.

“Even if it’s true – hell, *especially* if it’s true – I want to go home. Why should I have to stay here with people who basically gave me over to someone else to raise and sentenced those people’s daughter to death?”

“Your father took the only path he believed would save you from death, and it did,” James stated simply.

“And my ‘mother’?” Chloe asked, the last word not sliding well of her tongue. James kept a neutral, yet foreboding expression on his face and Chloe’s stomach tied into a knot.

“There was a reason that your father sired no more children for her,” he said.

“For *her*,” Chloe repeated, staring James straight in the eye.

“James,” Alexander said warningly. The monks might think him to be a prophet, and he knew that his brother had some range of abilities that most people weren’t gifted with, but he couldn’t stand it when James spoke in cryptic sentences that he couldn’t decipher. James turned his head and Alexander couldn’t repress the involuntary shiver that went through his body with the look.

“Our blood is not the same, you and I.”

“We were born of different mothers,” Alexander replied.

“And seeded by different fathers,” James said.

“I do not understand.”

“If he’s right about me being born here, then I think he might be my brother – or half brother anyway,” Chloe said. Alexander’s eyebrows rose, but Chloe and James were only looking at each other so they didn’t notice. “God, I don’t believe this is happening,” she said as she shook her head. “You look so much like my cousins, it’s scary. Are you sure I’m not just in a coma?” James nodded once and offered out a hand for her to take, but she didn’t reach out for it. Instead, she gave him an uneasy look. “Even if you are my brother, you can’t make me stay here.”

“He is the heir to your family’s throne,” Alexander told her firmly, but still in disbelief that it was happening. If James was indeed Chloe’s brother, or half-brother as she had pointed out, he would still be entitled to inherit the throne when King Gabriel eventually died. Alexander wondered if the king even knew that James was his son; after all, their correspondence had been strictly through intermediaries. If he didn’t know yet, then Alexander knew that he would soon find out, as he and his wife were set to arrive late the next day.

Alexander was surprised that the thought of not taking over the Sullivan kingdom didn’t bother him as much as it would have before he met Chloe; but now he just wanted her. He could inherit his own father’s throne and they could remain there for all he cared. He just wanted her with him.

“If you return to the world you consider to be your home, you will be faced with the same problems that hunt you here,” James said, ignoring Alexander’s comment. Chloe made a disbelieving face.

“Uh - *not*,” she said. “First of all, I’m not a princess back home, and I actually have some privacy for more than just the time when I’m sleeping. Second, nobody’s trying to force me to marry anyone there. And ---”

“As I said, he is not listening to me,” James said.

“What?”

“The Alexander of the reality in which you were raised, he has become obsessive about finding you,” James explained. “Do you not think that he would keep you by his side were you to return?” Chloe let out a hard breath through her nose.

“Yeah, right,” she said sarcastically. “Lex doesn’t even know I’m alive as anyone other than Clark’s little reporter friend. And besides, everyone there thinks I’m dead, remember? This is really just another reason I should go there as soon as possible to clear things up.”

“I have tried to tell him through his dreams that you will not be returning,” James said and turned his back to them.

“What?! How could you ---” she stopped talking as she saw James’s hands raise to the sides of his head and he let out a small whimpering sound in pain.

“Chloe, do not make me do this,” he finally said quietly.

“Make you do what?” she asked.

“You may be angry and disoriented now, but in time it will pass.”

“What are you talking about?”

James turned back around, his face pale and slightly sweaty.

“I have seen that you may try to return there, but I cannot allow this,” he answered. “You would not survive the journey.” Chloe’s mouth opened to speak, but James cut her off by turning and speaking to Alexander. “I will do as you wanted to ask last night if you promise not to let her out of your sight. She cannot go back there.”

Alexander seemed taken aback by all of the information he had been forced to absorb in such a short period of time, but he managed a nod.

“And Lucas?” he asked. James turned his back on them once again and walked over to stare out the window.

“It is unseen.”

[TestingFaith]

This is good...I've been reading it at FF.N
I was wondering when you'd post it up here...

Can't wait for more,
Lily M. :sunny:

[scifichick774]

Chapter 17

“Fucking asshole!” Chloe ranted. “How dare he tell me that I can’t go home just because he had a ‘vision’ about it? And then to say to tell everyone else that I *have* to marry Lex? Who the hell does he think he is?!”

Lucas snickered and Chloe stopped pacing back and forth from their place in the garden to glare at him. He smiled up at her from where he lay sprawled out on the ground, hands resting behind his head.

“Glad to see you find this so amusing,” she said sarcastically and gave him a small nudging kick in the ribs. Lucas laughed and caught her foot, pulling hard so she tripped and fell half on top of him. Chloe raised her head slightly and blew a puff of air upward to move the hair out of her eyes. Lucas tugged at her hips and turned her around so she was facing him, smiling at the disbelieving look on her face.

“You still wish to return to the world you consider to be home, yes?” he asked. Chloe’s expression softened and she started to push herself off of him.

“You know I do. I don’t care what your brother says – I don’t belong here.”

“He is your brother as well.”

“Yeah, thanks for reminding me,” Chloe said somewhat sourly and then sat down next to Lucas. “I always wanted a brother, but ---”

“Not what you were thinking of?”

“Exactly.”

Lucas sat up and softly stroked his fingers against Chloe’s arm.

“You know that I will do everything in my power to help you return home, Chloe,” he said. Chloe looked down and barely nodded her head.

“He said I would die,” she said quietly. “If I went through again. He said I would die.” Lucas tipped her chin upward with his fingers, forcing her to make eye contact with him. She blinked in surprise when she saw the gleam in his eye.

“James has been known to…exaggerate. I do not know what he sees, but I do know that he manipulates what he tells people so some visions will not come to pass,” Lucas said. “It is very possible that he saw something that he did not wish to see pass, and told you something extreme so you would not set the event in motion.” Chloe opened and closed her mouth, gaping like a fish with Lucas’s words. Finally she let out what sounded like a growl and pushed herself up to a standing position.

“Son of a bitch!” she yelled, quickly followed by an apologetic look at Lucas. “Sorry, no offense.” Lucas shrugged and stood up as well.

“None taken,” he responded. “Why should I care what you think of my mother?”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot that you don’t really care about other people,” she said almost to herself. Lucas reached out and took her hand in his, bowing slightly to bring it to his lips.

“Only you, my Chloe,” he said somewhat cheekily. Chloe laughed and shook her head in amusement as his eyes sparkled teasingly.

“The girls back home are gonna love you,” she said. “Your lines are right out of a romance novel – not to mention that you could easily pass for one of the guys on the cover.” Lucas arched an eyebrow. “Not to boost your ego any more than it is already, but you’re a pretty good looking guy. I’ll bet you’ll be able to get modeling work easy.”

“You still intend to take me, then?” he asked, skipping over whatever questions he had about the rest of the things she said.

“I told you I would.”

“I may have to kill your husband to get him to part with you,” Lucas said, his voice carrying a hint of warning.

“You have no idea how good I am at sneaking out,” Chloe countered. “Besides, there’s still a chance that my dad won’t make me marry him; regardless of what James says.”

“And if you do?”

“Then I do,” Chloe said with a shrug of her shoulders as they started walking again. “It’s not like it will be for love – or like it will even count once we get back home.” Lucas tilted his head to the side.

“The gate cannot be opened for some time,” he said and then paused thoughtfully. “You could be carrying his child by then.” Chloe’s eyes grew wide in panic and then she shook it off and smiled back at him.

“Don’t scare me like that.”

“I was not intending to frighten you.”

Chloe stopped walking and tried to pull up her sleeve, but it wouldn’t hike far enough.

“Okay, well you can’t see it now, but I have a birth control implant right about here,” she said and pointed to a spot on the under-side of her upper arm. “Unless someone decides to take it out here – and eww at that mental image – then I’ll be baby free.” Lucas kept his gaze on the part of her arm that she had pointed to.

“Fascinating,” he murmured.

“I guess,” she said. “I never realized how many things I took for granted as a part of every day life.” Lucas offered his arm out to her and she placed her hand on it without even thinking. “I think you’ll like it there – presuming we ever get back.”

“Carrado is particularly fond of following James’s advice, but he is even fonder of staying alive,” Lucas said with a smirk. “He will help us.” Chloe snorted.

“Should I be worried that I don’t even care that you’re dropping death threats anymore?” she asked.

“Perhaps you are merely adjusting to your true home.”

“Fun-ny,” Chloe strung out with heavy sarcasm. Lucas chuckled and moved his arm around her back as he gave her a partial hug.

Unbeknownst to them, a pair of vivid blue eyes had been watching them throughout their entire conversation. It had been all Alexander could do not to allow his rage to control him and kill his brother right then and there. Of course, he knew that Chloe didn’t want to marry him – that much wasn’t news; but to hear that Lucas was still going to help her go home? And that she was going to take him with her? It was unacceptable.

Alexander closed his eyes and took a deep breath before turning and heading back toward the castle. His mind kept flitting to the remark she made about the birth control device in her arm. Could such a thing really exist? He frowned at the thought. Although he knew that once King Gabriel knew that James was his son, that *he* would be heir to the throne; Alexander still hoped that after he and Chloe had married that they would conceive quickly and she would warm up to him because of it. He squared his jaw. Something would need to be done about that.

He cut across the rocks and trails quickly, making his way to the back entrance far before Chloe and Lucas did. The guards barely had a chance to bow as he hurriedly passed by them. By the time he reached Carrado’s sanctuary, he was completely livid. Lucas was *not* going to take Chloe away from him. He growled at the men who guarded the door and they nervously announced his presence to Carrado.

The older man stared up at him after the door shut, his expression neutral as he took in Alexander’s fevered appearance.

“Your highness,” he said with a curt bow of his head. “How may I assist you?”

“You brought her here,” Alexander started, his breathing still slightly labored.

“I ---”

“You need not bother to deny it,” he said. “It was all part of a plan set forth by my brother James.” Carrado looked shocked by the information, but said nothing to show it.

“What is it that you want from me, sire?”

“The world she was in – they put something…*in* her.”

“I do not understand.”

“In her left arm,” Alexander continued. “There is a device underneath her skin to keep her from conceiving.” Before Carrado could speak, Alexander gave him a cold glare and let one hand drift against the base of his sword. “I want it removed before we marry on Sunday.” There was silence for a second as Carrado weighed his words carefully.

“She has agreed to this?”

“No.”

“I see,” Carrado said, darting his eyes away from the intense stare that he was receiving. “She will need to be heavily asleep to remove it with as little pain as possible.” Alexander looked at him expectantly as Carrado moved aside various glass jars. He selected one filled with liquid and made sure to cover his mouth and nose before dabbing a clean cloth into it. “This will put her to rest,” he said, handing the cloth to Alexander. “Take care not to breathe the vapors yourself.” Alexander nodded. “Send for me when she is out and I will do as you have asked.”

Alexander shoved the cloth into a pouch that was resting on his hip and then gave Carrado a curt nod.

“You will need to do it soon,” Carrado said before Alexander had the chance to turn away from him. “I have heard word that King Gabriel and Queen Rebecca are set to arrive tomorrow evening. It will take time for the potion to wear off, and I doubt they would be pleased if their daughter was unable to greet them when they arrived.”


Chapter 18

A/N: This chapter has some material that might be considered sensitive to some readers. Please remember that the fic has a rating for a reason. Thanks.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Lex sighed as he watched Gabe run a hand over his face. He had been back at work for a while now, but Lex knew he shouldn’t have been. The poor man was throwing himself into his work to take his mind off Chloe; so much so that he was going to burn himself out if he kept on like he was. Lex closed his eyes for a second before heading over toward him.

“Gabe.”

Gabe turned his head slightly and gave Lex a nod of his head.

“Lex,” he returned. The two stood there, silent and looking straight ahead rather than at each other for a full minute before Lex spoke again.

“How are you holding up?” The sincerity in Lex’s voice made Gabe give him a wince of a grin.

“As well as can be expected,” he answered.

“Gabe ---” Lex trailed off, taking a deep breath before he could continue. “Let me get you help. I can fly in the best psy---”

“Can they bring back my daughter?” Gabe interrupted, already knowing the answer.

“No, they can’t,” Lex said. “But they can help you try and deal with things – help you get on with your life.”

“Like you?” Gabe asked wryly, shooting a pointed look in Lex’s direction.

“I’m not throwing myself into work twenty-four hours a day,” Lex countered.

“No, you’re not,” Gabe agreed. “But you’re running yourself ragged trying to find her.” Lex blinked once in surprise and Gabe continued. “Clark told me.” Lex nodded and Gabe tilted his head at him. “Why?”

“Why?”

“Why threaten to exhaust yourself over someone you barely know? Especially now that you know for certain that your father had nothing to do with her disappearance. And don’t give me the excuse about her being your plant manager’s daughter, because I have a feeling there’s more to it than that.”

“Knew,” Lex corrected.

“Pardon?”

“You said ‘know’.”

“I refuse to believe that Chloe is ---”

“I don’t think she is either,” Lex interrupted with a slight shake of his head. “I meant – Lana’s given me some of Chloe’s things in hopes of finding her, and after looking through them, I think I have a better idea of who she is.” His gaze fell uncomfortably to the floor. “She’s a remarkable young woman. I wish I had taken the time to get to know her on her own merits rather than simply as Clark’s friend before this happened.” Gabe grinned sympathetically.

“You’re not the only one feeling that way,” he said. Lex looked up and tried to push aside the completely unjustified wave of jealousy that swept through him.

“Did Clark say something?”

“No,” Gabe answered, missing Lex’s meaning. “Chloe’s mom called.”

“Oh.” Lex was stunned. From what he had heard from Clark, Chloe’s mom had abandoned her and her dad when she was around five years old and hadn’t been in contact with them since. He didn’t know the reasons for her departure, but knew that the phone call must have stirred up already painful emotions for Gabe. “How did it go?”

“Not well,” Gabe said, flinching a little as he answered. “I’m ashamed to say that she caught me off guard.” Lex raised a questioning eyebrow and Gabe grumbled under his breath before continuing. “I accused her of having something to do with Chloe’s disappearance.” Lex looked surprised, but didn’t say anything. “We had only gone out a few times when she got pregnant. She didn’t want to have Chloe, but I never would have been able to forgive myself if I let her kill my child, so I asked her to marry me – which she didn’t want to do either, by the way.” Gabe shook his head again sadly. “I don’t regret making her have Chloe because my little girl is the light of my life, but I regret making Rebecca stay when she obviously had no interest in either of us.”

“Why would you think she had something to do with it?”

“I came home from work late one night. Chloe was asleep, but Rebecca was in her room. I heard her telling Chloe that she would never be free as long as she was around,” Gabe answered in choked voice. “She was going to --- if I hadn’t walked in --- God.” Lex felt his gut twist into a knot, not only with the words Gabe was saying, but with the emotion behind them. His father may be a bastard who wanted to ruin his life, but he never physically tried to kill him – at least not yet.

“I’m sorry.”

“I told her to leave,” Gabe said after a moment. “And she did. I’m just lucky that Chloe was fast asleep and doesn’t have to remember her mother that way.” Lex closed his eyes briefly, desperately trying to will away the emotions that were starting to bubble over.

“What did she want – when she called?”

“Something about how she saw the article in the paper and how she had grown up now, how sorry she was that she had missed all those years with Chloe but she needed the time for herself, and how she was sad that she was never going to get to know her,” Gabe replied sourly. “Honestly, I was too angry to pay that much attention. But I guess it’s good that she’s finally acknowledged that she has a daughter; even if it is too late.”

“It’s not,” Lex said quickly. “Chloe’s still alive – somewhere.” Gabe nodded and gave him a small grin.

“Thanks – for everything,” he said. Lex frowned at Gabe’s bloodshot eyes and the wrinkles on his face that weren’t there a month ago.

“You need to go home and get some rest,” he said, placing a hand on Gabe’s shoulder for emphasis. “I’ll get someone else to cover this shift.”

“Lex ---”

“Go,” Lex ordered. “I’m not going to lose my best employee because he falls asleep on the job and gets sucked into the machinery.” Gabe made a face and then gave him a nod of his head.

Lex watched Gabe leave, thinking to himself that sleep wouldn’t be such a bad idea for him as well. Unfortunately, he was still having the dreams of a stranger telling him to let Chloe go and the prospect of facing that when he closed his eyes wasn’t at all tempting. Worse yet, images of himself and Chloe had started drifting into his thoughts. Strange images. They were dressed in medieval clothing and he had stubble for hair. Lex tried to shake off the pictures in his mind. Normally he would have no objection to seeing him and Chloe together, but every image seemed to consist of her being angry at him, and it was more than a little disturbing.

He was sure that any psycho-analyst would say that a part of his subconscious blamed himself for her disappearance, and although he was trying to rectify it by spending time with her, she wouldn’t forgive him for not finding her. Lex groaned wearily and rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. If they ever did find her, he could only hope that she wouldn’t react the same way as she did in his dreams.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“How long is this going to take?” Alexander asked, pacing back and forth in Chloe’s bedroom as Carrado stitched up her arm. Carrado barely spared him a quick glance.

“The device is out of her arm, but her wound needs mending,” he replied. Alexander grunted.

He had come up behind her after she and Lucas parted ways and placed the doused cloth over her nose and mouth. She fell limply into his arms and it was easy to convince the guards by her door that she had simply had a relapse into her illness as he carried her into the bedroom and ordered that they fetch Carrado for him. It had worked so simply – too simply.

He didn’t fear his brother, but he knew that Lucas would hear of what had happened and might come charging through the door at any minute. He would know what was really going on the second his eyes fell upon the bed, where Chloe lay clothed only by a blanket from her chest down. Alexander looked at her again. Her breath was coming in a soft, even rhythm as she slept under the potion’s effects. Her bare arms were out to her sides as Carrado hovered over her, and it was all Alexander could do not to push the man aside and start kissing his way up them.

Alexander pumped his hands in and out of fists nervously as he tried to make up his mind about something. There would be dire consequences if he saw it through, but the possible reward was too great to pass up. He stopped pacing just as Carrado got some long pieces of cloth out to bandage Chloe’s arm.

“Marry us.”

Carrado stilled his actions and turned his head to look at Alexander.

“My prince?”

“Marry us,” Alexander repeated.

“N-now?” Carrado uncharacteristically stammered. “Impossible.” Alexander’s fiery glare made Carrado’s stomach clench. “Sire, her parents will be arriving tomorrow evening. Surely you can delay your nuptials until ---”

“No.”

“But she is not awake,” Carrado argued. A flash of light beamed from the small slit of a window onto Alexander’s sword as he drew it from his side and touched it against Carrado’s neck. Carrado held his hands up, one of them grasping the fabric he was going to wind around Chloe’s arm. “Sire, please. Even if I overlooked the fact that I would be forcing her into the marriage, you would need rings. The ceremony would not be valid without them.”

Alexander reached up with one hand and brought a chain over his head from around his neck. A leather pouch dangled on the end of it as he tossed it to the older man. Carrado hid his frown as he opened the pouch. Inside laid the wedding rings he was sure Alexander had crafted for the wedding soon after his first encounter with Chloe. He took a breath and shot one last pleading look at the prince. In response, Alexander tilted his sword so it scraped the skin of his neck and drew a small amount of blood.

“May I wrap her wound first?”

Alexander nodded and withdrew his sword, watching as Carrado seemed to take his time bandaging Chloe’s arm. Carrado cleared his throat and stood up.

“Take her hand,” he told Alexander. The prince sat down on the bed next to Chloe and did as Carrado told him. The monk began, praying silently that something, *anything* would cause the door to burst open and stop the mockery of a wedding ceremony. The door stayed shut. Carrado murmured some lengthy words in an ancient language and his hands started to shake as he got to the vows.

With great surprise, when he questioned Chloe as to whether she would take Alexander as her husband, she let out a hum and rolled toward Alexander, snuggling up to the arm he was using to hold her hand. Alexander beamed and Carrado frowned. “So be it. By the law of this land, you are pronounced husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”

Alexander lowered his mouth to Chloe’s, giving her a soft, gentle kiss. Chloe hummed again as the potion Lex had used was starting to wear off. His lips pressed harder against hers, his hand traveling up her side over the blanket that covered her. Chloe, in a state where she wasn’t quite awake, thought she was dreaming and began to reciprocate the kiss.

Carrado gathered his things and hurriedly left the room, closing the door behind him as he tried to justify what he had just done. He had married his king’s eldest son to a woman who did not love him, who wasn’t even conscious to have a say in the matter. Carrado frowned as he decided that there was no justification for what he had done and he would need to serve a great deal of penance to make up for his actions. The guards looked at him expectantly and he forced a blank expression onto his face.

“Prince Alexander will be seeing after his beloved. See that they’re not disturbed.”


Chapter 19

Alexander kissed along her jaw to her neck, darting his tongue out to taste her soft skin on top of her vein. His teeth grazed her and his mouth latched on; starting to suck hard as his hand slowly removed the blanket from her body. Chloe’s arms went up around his neck and pressed against the back of his head to keep him from moving.

His hand reached for her breast, his fingers teasing the nipple as he trailed his mouth down to the other one. Alexander’s lips wrapped around her other nipple and Chloe’s hips bucked. A loud groan came from deep in his throat at her responsiveness and Chloe’s eyes started to flutter open. They fixed on the top of Alexander’s head and her eyes grew wide with panic.

She let out a scream and tried to scoot away from him, grabbing and clutching the blanket against her skin to cover herself when she realized she was naked.

“What the hell are you doing in my room?!”

Alexander opened his mouth to answer, but got cut off when a burst of raised voices came from outside the door. Chloe took advantage of the temporary distraction, wrapped the blanket around her. She winced at the twinge of pain that shot through her arm at the movement and looked down to the source. Her arm was bandaged in the exact spot her birth control implant had been.

“Son of a bitch!” she yelled backing off the bed until she was standing in the corner of the room, as far away from Alexander as possible. Alexander eyes flared, but Chloe wasn’t frightened anymore. She was angry. And Alexander was about to be on the receiving end of a full-fledged Chloe rant. “You took out my implant?! What the fuck were you thinking?! Those things are expensive, not to mention that I’m damn sure you don’t have anything like it in this world! Argh! And since you cut into my arm, with what I’m guessing wasn’t sterile equipment, then I’m probably going to get gangrene or something. Great. That’s just great.”

Suddenly, the door swung open to reveal Lucas with his sword drawn and a cold, murderous look in his eyes. There was no sign of the guards and Chloe figured they must have been smart enough to get out of the way.

‘Good,’ she thought. ‘There won’t be any witnesses when he kills his asshole of a brother.’ She blinked in surprise at her own thoughts. Had she really turned into the kind of woman she abhorred? The damsel in distress? The very thought of it disturbed her. Despite the fact that Clark had rescued her several times, the damsel in distress syndrome was really something that she had always associated with Lana. After all, when Clark came to Lana’s rescue, it was because every damn meteor freak in town seemed to want to do her harm. Not that Chloe could blame them, at least not before she became friends with her, but the point was that Lana was helpless. When Clark had to save Chloe, it was because she was in the middle of a story. ‘Or a date,’ Chloe thought sourly.

Still, the situation was different. At least Chloe had put up a fight, kicking and screaming the entire time she was in a bad situation. Whereas, Lana seemed to get knocked out or constantly cry ‘help me’. True, Lana had taken self-defense lessons, but the only time she ever used them was to beat up that jock in the Talon. There had been several instances after that where the girl conveniently forgot everything she had learned and fell into peril almost willingly.

Chloe wasn’t like that. She was a fighter. On the other hand, there was no chance in hell she was going to get between two large, well-built men with sharp swords in order to just shoot her mouth off at them. There was a time to stand up for yourself, and there was a time for being perfectly quiet, huddled in a corner trying to keep the blanket wrapped around you from falling down, and hoping that it wouldn’t be your blood that got sprayed all over you. Seeing the look in Lucas and Alexander’s eyes, Chloe reasoned it was time for the second.

Lucas let out a loud growl at his brother, effectively pulling Chloe out of her inner rambling. Alexander didn’t back down, not that she expected that he would. Instead, he stood poised with his own sword in hand, glaring intensely back at his brother.

“Did you touch her?” Lucas asked through a clenched jaw.

“She is my wife,” Alexander responded confidently. Chloe’s eyes widened.

“The hell I am!” she yelled. Her words finally brought Lucas’s attention to her, if only for a second, and his demeanor softened ever so slightly. It wasn’t enough so anyone else would notice, but Chloe had gotten to know him pretty well. His eyes fixed on his brother once again as he spoke to her.

“You are,” Lucas informed her and motioned to the ring that now graced her left ring finger. “Alexander had Carrado marry you without your consent.”

“What?!”

Alexander sneered cockily at his brother.

“Her consent was not required as our parents had already approved the union,” he said. Lucas growled again and Chloe could see him warring with his emotions. She frowned, knowing it was because of her. He knew that she didn’t approve of him killing people and didn’t want to appear poorly in her eyes by having to do it right in front of her.

Chloe set her jaw; damned if she was going to let Alexander have the advantage just because she was too cowardly to say anything. She stalked over to him, still clutching the blanket where it gathered together in front with one hand. She moved to stand in front of him, making sure she had his full attention. It worked. His eyes raked over her body and Chloe had to push down the tingle of arousal that came with his gaze.

“I am *not* your wife!” she yelled. “I don’t care what James says – I’m going home. And you ---” she paused for a second while she poked his chest angrily with her finger. “*You* are *not* going with me!”

Alexander watched her chest heave up and down and her face color with her temper. The very image of her so passionate, even if it was in pure animosity toward him, was incredibly erotic. If nothing else, his years in battle had taught him a number of skills that he would need to fully capture her for his own. Speed and agility being the two he needed now. With his free hand, he reached out and grabbed the back of her head, slamming his lips down to hers in a brutal kiss. It didn’t last long because he sensed his brother coming toward them to attack him. Alexander brought his sword up just in time to clang against Lucas’s sword.

They were about to get into a full-on duel when the sound of someone clearing their throat came from the doorway. All three heads in the room turned to look at who was brave enough to disrupt the thick tension of the moment. Martha Kent stood there, her eyes wide and face paled in panic. She gave them a courtesy and then hesitantly began to speak.

“I --- please forgive me for intruding, but King Gabriel and Queen Rebecca have arrived sooner than expected,” she said. She looked at Chloe and tried to give her a small grin, but it came off looking like she was going to be sick. “I am here to help you dress to meet them.” Alexander, Lucas, and Chloe all remained silent, staring at the woman – Chloe in disbelief, the other two in frustration and anger. Martha took in the two princes’ attire. “Pardon, but perhaps you should change as well, highnesses. Your father has requested that all of the court must dress in formal attire, so King Gabriel will not take offense.”

Lucas grunted and turned to look at Chloe. He reached out and placed his hand on her back, knowing that Alexander wouldn’t dare do anything to him in front of Martha.

“Stay with her,” he half whispered. “If he ---”

“Thanks,” Chloe said, cutting him off and giving him a stoic expression. Lucas nodded once, glaring at his brother warningly as he left the room.

Alexander, however, made no effort to leave. He placed his sword back in its sheath and folded his arms across his chest.

“Sire?” Martha asked questioningly.

“I will change into more formal attire *after* my wife has,” he answered firmly. “We will be expected to enter the hall together.”

Martha’s mouth dropped open a little and she started to stammer.

“W-wife? But you have not married yet. You will not marry until Sunday. It has been arranged,” she argued. Alexander’s nostrils flared.

“We were married not an hour ago,” he said almost scathingly.

“You did not wait for her parents?” Martha asked, still in shock. She looked around the floor of the room in distress. “This is not good. King Gabriel will be most displeased.” Alexander kept a cool, uncaring look on his face and Martha shivered when she finally looked at him again. She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it quickly when she saw that he wasn’t going to waver from his position. She nodded once and turned to shut the door so passers-by wouldn’t be able to see Chloe change.

“What?! Oh, hell no!” Chloe yelled to nobody in particular. She focused her attention on Alexander. “You’re leaving and you’re leaving now. I’m not changing with you in my room,” she said indignantly. He smirked at her and for a brief moment she was reminded of the Lex from her world; although she instantly told herself that Lex would never have put her in that kind of position. Alexander stepped closer to her, placing an unwanted hand on her hip as he leaned down to speak into her ear.

“It is my right as your husband to be around you at all times,” he said, his low, husky voice sending a tremble through her body. Chloe barely resisted closing her eyes and melting into his touch.

“You’re *not* my husband,” she said, her tone weak and unsure, betraying the authority with which she intended them to come out. Alexander pulled away slightly to observe her, his eyes stilling on her lips.

“I am,” he responded, reaching his other hand into her hair, “whether you admit it or not.” He lowered his mouth to hers, licking along the crease in her lips until she opened for him. Her hands rested on his chest and he pulled her body closer, bringing his hand to her back and tugging slightly on the blanket so it would fall. Martha blushed and turned her face away before silently making her way to the door and opening it only slightly to slide out into the hallway.

“Mr. Luthor? Sir?”

Lex shook his head, his body shuddering a little as he was jerked from the strange daydream/vision/fantasy thing he had been having. He didn’t even realize that Tom Yager, the man he had called in to take over the shift Gabe had been working, had been calling his name for the last few minutes to get his attention.

“What?”

“I – no offense, Mr. Luthor, but are you alright?” he asked. “You seemed completely out of it and ---” he trailed off, giving Lex a weird look.

“And what?”

“Your eyes kind of --- turned green,” Yager said. Lex arched an eyebrow.

“I have blue eyes, Mr. Yager.”

“I know. That’s not what I meant,” Yager replied. “I mean, they literally fogged over with that weird meteor rock color – even the white parts.”

Lex opened his mouth to speak, but then snapped it shut as he remembered Chloe’s theory about the meteor rocks and their ability to cause strange mutations. Was it possible that his initial exposure because of the meteor shower, and then additional exposure due to his father’s experiments, had made him material for Chloe’s wall of weird? Lex’s heart started to beat faster. He had only believed his dreams to be extensions of how he was feeling about Chloe’s disappearance, but now…

‘She said this world,’ he thought. ‘And she said she was coming home.’ Lex turned his head to look at Yager for a split second. “Will you excuse me please? I have some research to do.”


Chapter 20

Lex’s car swerved as he took the corner at too high of a speed. One place in all of Metropolis hadn’t laughed at him when he called about alternate dimensions actually existing and how to access them. He felt a little apprehensive that the one place had been an occult bookshop, but he was reaching the point of desperation and pushed aside any concerns that he might have about looking foolish.

His cell phone rang just as he pulled up to the curb in front of the store. He plucked it out of his jacket pocket and answered it, his eyes fixed on the dark red curtains sheltering the shop from the outside world. If he was anyone else, or if he was standing in front of the store under any other circumstances, the skulls and charms decorating the window sill would have sent a shiver up his spine. As it was though, he had developed somewhat of an obsession with finding Chloe, and now that the visions of her being with him in an alternate world had started, he was going to do whatever it took to bring her home.

“Luthor,” he curtly said into the phone, not particularly wanting to be bothered with a phone call when he might be close to finding a way to get to the woman he realized that he was starting to develop more than platonic feelings toward.

“Lex Luthor?”

“Yes?” Lex bit, not recognizing the voice on the other end of the line, and being more than a little disturbed that someone had been able to gain access to his private cell phone number without his permission.

“Mr. Luthor, this is Sergeant Barnes, I’m with the Coast City Police Department.”

‘Crap,’ Lex inwardly muttered. He sucked in a breath and then squared his jaw. “I presume this call has something to do with my brother Lucas then?”

“Yes sir.”

“What did he do?” Lex asked, trying to keep his tone void of any emotion.

“I ---” he heard Barnes sigh and then continue, “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but your brother is dead. His body was found in his apartment a couple of hours ago.”

Lex stood there, stunned at what he had just heard.

“Wh--- how? How did he die?” he managed to ask. He knew that Lucas still liked to gamble – and cheat – so someone killing him over a game of cards was a very real possibility. Of course, he couldn’t rule out the fact that their father had threatened to have Lucas killed when it became more obvious that he would never switch sides and team up with him.

“He was shot,” Barnes answered. “The neighbors heard yelling before the shots – looks like a lover’s quarrel. We’re bringing in his girlfriend for questioning now.”

“I see,” Lex said.

“Not to be insensitive, but you’ll need to get in touch with whatever mortuary you want to handle the funeral arrangements. You don’t have to come and I.D. the body or anything though; his neighbors and driver’s license did that for him.”

“Alright.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you, Sergeant.”

The phone call ended without a proper goodbye; Lex too busy absorbing the information he was given to offer one and Barnes too busy with his caseload to care. Lex stared blankly at the shop that had seemed so foreboding just moments ago. Lucas, the half-brother that he had never really gotten to know - even after he found him - was dead. He knew it was wrong, but he felt bad that he didn’t feel worse. Here he was, three hours from the town in which he now lived, searching for a way to bring a woman, who in all practical terms was virtually a stranger, back to him; but he couldn’t find it in himself to break down for the loss of his own brother.

Life could be incredibly fucked up sometimes.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“This is unacceptable! I came here to solidify our allegiance by attending my daughter’s wedding to your eldest son, only to be informed that he has already forced her to marry him earlier this very day.” Gabriel growled and stared down Lionel, who opened his mouth to protest, but was swiftly cut off. “I *will* have his head for this and your kingdom *will* be destroyed.”

Chloe cringed when she heard her father’s voice come roaring angrily through the open door. She had never heard the dad who raised her use that tone before, and she found herself suddenly grateful for that fact. He was obviously upset that Alexander had forced a marriage upon her while she was unconscious, and although he had every right to be livid over the situation, his tone was so menacing that Chloe couldn’t help but wonder if he had ever really intended for her to go through with the marriage.

After all, James had told Alexander that the arranged marriage had pretty much been a rouse in order for her and her other self to be switched. The thought that everyone back home believed her to be dead still made her sick and she paled.

Alexander leaned down and uncharacteristically placed a sweet kiss on her temple. Chloe turned and looked up at him questioningly, but he was already looking forward again, his posture completely straight as they came up upon the entryway to the room that her dad and presumably her mom and the rest of the Luthor clan were in. She was surprised that she seemed to be more affected by her dad’s yelling than he was, but she supposed that some things must be universal through all alternate dimensions. Alexander had all the cool composure that Lex back home did. Her mind flitted to what she had allowed to happen with him not an hour ago.

‘Okay, maybe not *all* the cool composure,’ she thought to herself. She was still having trouble believing that it had actually happened, though the sore ache between her legs served as a not-so-gentle reminder that it had. She had slept with Alexander. ‘The bane of my existence and I sleep with him. Way to go, Sullivan,’ she inwardly chided herself.

If it had been any other man in any other circumstance, then she might have used the term ‘made love’ or ‘had sex with’, but as it stood, she didn’t love him – at least she didn’t think she did. They had an undeniable physical, chemical reaction to each other though. The spark that went through her skin upon their first official meeting was still there every time he had touched her since then; if anything, it had grown more and more intense each time.

Chloe wondered briefly why she never had that kind of immense attraction to the Lex back home, but her mind quickly provided her with the answer. Clark. She was so blindly in lust with him that any other gorgeous man could have paraded naked in front of her and she would have simply written a story on the sudden influx of streakers in town. No. Lex Luthor never had a chance. Chloe had to cover a snort at her own train of thought by letting out a small cough into her free hand.

‘The Lex Luthor I knew never would have been interested in me,’ she mentally clarified, frowning slightly afterward. She meant what she had told Alexander before; she had every intention of still going home. But now she felt a twinge in her heart at the thought of leaving him behind. ‘It was just sex,’ she told herself firmly. ‘It doesn’t change anything. He’s still an obsessive, possessive jerk and you still don’t like him.’

Lionel’s pleading voice came wafting into the hallway. And although normally, she would have paid to see a man like Lionel Luthor grovel, in this setting it kind of made her feel bad for him.

“Please, your highness, I am certain that Alexander only did so out of the deep love he has developed for your daughter,” Lionel said. “For what more could you ask than for her husband out of an arranged marriage to love her?”

Alexander and Chloe stopped when they reached the open door and Chloe struggled to keep her mouth from falling open when she saw her dad decked out in the same royal attire that everyone else was wearing. It was even more difficult when she saw her mom standing on the sidelines, appearing completely unaffected emotionally by what was going on in front of her.

The man standing next to the guards looked at them, over to where the kings were arguing, and then back again, clearly conflicted as to whether to announce their presence or not. Chloe gave him a small smile and then turned her attention to Gabriel and Lionel as Gabriel started to fume again.

“It does not matter that he ---”

“Wow,” Chloe said a little louder than her normal speaking voice, “he hasn’t seen me in *forever* and he’d rather keep a fight going with your dad instead.” She looked at Alexander and gave him a really forced and nervous smile. “I think I should be offended.”

King Gabriel swung his head around and the threatening scowl that had been on his face just a moment before melted into a broad, warm smile. He knew immediately from the short haircut to the healthy, glowing tint of her skin – this was his daughter; not the one he had raised, and by doing so, had doomed to a life of misery and frailty from a slow death; but the daughter he himself had seeded. He opened his arms for her, hoping that she would have given up some of the anger that James, through a messenger, said that she had upon learning the truth of where she came from.

Chloe stood there for a second, unmoving, and unsure of how to proceed. She missed her dad so much, but the man in front of her wasn’t her dad - at least he wasn’t the man that she had believed to be her dad all her life. Of course, if she ended up never being able to go back…

She returned the smile and let go of Alexander’s arm, making her way over to King Gabriel. His arms wrapped around her when she reached him and she found herself hugging him back. He pulled away slightly and gave her a firm kiss on her forehead before smiling almost giddily down at her. Chloe almost felt bad for feeling so much resentment toward him for sending her away to begin with. Almost being the operative word.

The second Chloe caught Queen Rebecca looking at her in shock and with hatred in her eyes; she knew what James had been referring to. Her own mother had been the one who had been giving the poison to the girl she believed to be her daughter, or at least Chloe suspected that was the case. Her father noticed the look and spoke in a hushed voice, his back now turned on Rebecca so he wouldn’t need to worry about her possibly reading his lips.

“I am sorry,” he said quietly. “I should have known from the start that it was she, but I did not want to believe it.” Chloe nodded absently.

“Love is blind,” she replied somewhat sourly.

“Mmm,” Gabriel hummed in agreement. “Despite this marriage that has been forced upon you in this land, you will not be expected to stay in it.” He palmed her cheek sweetly. “You are my only child, daughter. You are my heir. I would never wish for you to be unhappy.” Chloe frowned.

“Ye-ah,” she strung out, “about the heir thing – I don’t suppose that James ---”

“He refuses to tell me of your future as leader of my kingdom, but I have no doubt that you will be a fine one,” Gabriel interrupted and then smirked proudly. “Who else would dare to speak during a fight between two kings?”

“Look, not that I don’t appreciate you thinking that I’m going to take over your throne, because I think it’s totally cool that you’re all progressive when it comes to the whole female leadership thing, but ---”

“Your mother will cause you no more harm,” he said, cutting her off again. “She will die by my hand before she comes near you.” Chloe grimaced.

“Actually, I was going to say – have you *met* James?”

Gabriel looked at her in puzzlement and then lightly shook his head.

“We have corresponded only through messenger,” he answered. “Why? Does he need to speak to me again?”

“That might be a good idea,” Chloe said carefully, judging her father’s face as she chose her next words, “seeing as how he’s your son.”



TBC...

[TestingFaith]

Yay...I like being listened to....another update really soon would be nice...

^_^

Looking forward to more,
Lily M. :sunny:

[hfce]

Yeah Kris you brought this over as well. I can't wait to read an update.


Hope :blinkkiss:

[tiff]

Okay, just read through the entire thing...and now I DEMAND MORE! who's chloe meant to be with? Lex, Alex, Lucas? Why's Lex's Lucas dead? Is Lucas coming back here with Chloe? Just ignore me...I'm a bit insane.

[bluemoongirl23]

Kris, loving this one. I'm curious to see how Lex or Chloe is going to solve this and get her back where she belongs. I love the dyfunction of the royals, it's ever so much fun.

Blue

[Elviriel]

:chlexsign2: :chlexsign2: I love that fic ! Update as soon as you can !

[Impress]

Ok, since you posted it here, I will once again say "I really like this one." Now hurry up and update. :blinkkiss:

[zwabby]

I like it, but I think its strange that chloe doesn't mind that lucas kills people and that he wants to kill lex, I really think it would be in her character to be mad at him ...

[scifichick774]

A/N: Okay, this is probably the last update you’ll be getting on any of my stories for a couple of weeks since I’m going out of town. Sorry, but I hope you enjoy it. *smile*

~*~*~*~*~*~

Lex walked into the shop, his eyes quickly darting around the area of the shop that wasn’t hidden behind towering shelves that held books and what appeared to be black arts paraphernalia. A skinny man with black wiry hair looked up from his counter at him and pursed his lips ever so slightly before nodding once.

“You’re the one who called about alternate dimensions?”

“Yes,” Lex answered with his eyebrows threatening to close together as he walked toward the counter. “How did you ---”

“You don’t look like our usual clientele,” the man answered, cutting the rest of Lex’s question off. He then turned his back on Lex and retrieved a large, heavy book, still covered with a dusty film, from the shelf behind the counter. He let it drop beside the register, the dust poofing up as it hit the dark wood of the counter, and gave Lex an unreadable expression. “It’s not cheap,” he informed him.

“Nothing worth having is…” Lex replied and then glanced down at the man’s nametag, “Pelleas?”

“My mom’s into the King Arthur stuff,” the clerk offered as an explanation. Lex raised his eyebrows, but then nodded in acceptance.

“How much?”

“To my knowledge, they never published anything other than the first edition,” Pelleas said in a tone that Lex figured was supposed to sound apologetic, but came out sounding almost giddy because of the commission that the man would be getting on the sale.

“It doesn’t matter.”

The man nodded understandingly. He had seen Lex pull up in his expensive car and come in wearing his expensive suit; he had no doubt in his mind that the rich young man in front of him could afford the price that was being asked. Of course, the real question now was why someone who was obviously so well off would be interested in purchasing a book that contained information about alternate realities in the first place, and whether or not he would be able to exploit the situation for profit.

“Not that it’s any of my business,” he started, punching in the price of the book, “but like I said, you don’t look like our usual clientele. Are you a collector or something?”

“No.”

Pelleas looked up from the register and met Lex’s eyes with an unspoken question, but when Lex didn’t elaborate; his attention went back to the terminal in front of him. The fact that Lex wasn’t a collector, which he had already suspected, meant that he probably didn’t know much about magic in general. Pelleas decided to venture a guess.

“A lot of that stuff can be kind of tricky,” he said coolly. “If you tell me what you’re looking for, I might be able to help you find it.” Lex arched an eyebrow at him and the man let one corner of his mouth quirk upward in a creepy, lopsided grin. “For a price, of course.”

“Of course,” Lex said dryly and handed him a credit card to pay for the transaction.

“So?” the clerk asked and swiped the card through the machine.

“How much?”

“What are you looking for?”

“A friend of mine…” Lex started, glossing over the fact that he and Chloe had never actually been anything more than acquaintances – something that the man in front of him didn’t need to know, “…I believe she was taken to another reality or dimension, whatever you want to call it.”

“Taken?” the man repeated, an uneasy look spreading across his face. “Like against her will?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

Well, that certainly changed the situation, didn’t it?

Pelleas had just assumed that Lex was looking for more wealth or power, or possibly even another version of a person he lost; but he hadn’t considered the scenario that Lex just told him. Someone coming through to their world and taking someone meant there were stronger forces at play and he wasn’t sure he wanted to get involved in something like that.

“Can you help me?” Lex asked, snapping Pelleas out of his thoughts.

“Maybe,” he answered and slid a pen with a small piece of paper across the counter for Lex to sign. “What makes you think she was taken to an alternate world?”

“You think I’m crazy,” Lex stated in an observational tone.

“No,” he said, “but lots of people up and disappear, leave their old lives behind them without saying a word.” He gave Lex a pointed look as he silently thought about how determined Lex seemed to be; everything about his appearance told the clerk that Lex wasn’t about to give up looking for the woman he had just referred to, even if he had to think out of the box and grasp at straws like parallel earths.

“Most of them don’t leave an almost identical copy of themselves dead at the scene,” Lex responded. The clerk blinked.

“Ah.” And the situation just went from bad to worse. ‘Definitely stronger forces at work,’ Pelleas thought to himself. ‘Probably darker too. And I had to go and offer him help...’

“So, can you help me?” Lex repeated.

‘Oh, right – the money,’ Pelleas silently reminded himself. He grinned ever so slightly and then turned the book around so he could flip through its pages.

“When was she taken?”

Lex filled him in on all the details he had, down to the evidence that the coroner had come up with, disclaiming the body they had found as Chloe’s.

“And you want --- what?” Pelleas asked. “Proof that she was taken? To open a gate to go and get her? To ---”

“All of the above,” Lex answered curtly. Pelleas sighed and let his eyes run over the yellowed pages of the book on the counter.

“It looks like it will be a lot easier to open a portal up on her side,” he said, more to himself than to Lex. He raised his eyes to look at Lex. “You sure she was taken against her will? Because if she went there on purpose, then the incantation will pretty much be pointless.”

Lex’s mind immediately drifted to the previous vision he had of the two of them together, the passion from their argument transposing itself into an amazing connection while making love…except it hadn’t been him, it had been his double from the world she had gone to. Suddenly, Lex wasn’t so sure that Chloe would want to be brought back after all. She had everything there – a husband who loved her and he knew she would grow to love, not to mention the fact that her mother was apparently still in her life there.

He realized he had a decision to make, but for the life of him, Lex couldn’t come up with a reason to bring her back that wasn’t just selfishness on his part.

‘Gabe,’ he thought, resisting the urge to smile at a valid excuse to bring her back. Then, another thought hit him; words from one of the fevered fights with his other self echoed in his head.

‘I don’t care what James says – I’m going home. And you ---’ she paused for a second while she poked his chest angrily with her finger. ‘*You* are *not* going with me!’

Lex squared his jaw ever so slightly, wondering if she would react to him with that same hostile attitude after she came home. His memory replayed the vision of them making love, her writhing rhythmically beneath him as he thrust into her, their mingled moans of pleasure as they came together, and then he spoke with confidence.

“I’m sure.”

Pelleas gave Lex a look like he didn’t quite believe him, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he turned the book back around and pointed to a passage on the open page.

“I might be a little off on my calculations, but I think you’ll need to be a good thirty miles east of where she was taken when you read it for it to work,” he said. “The stars have shifted in the time that she’s been gone.” Lex nodded and slipped his credit card receipt into the book to mark the passage.

‘Thirty miles east…’ he thought to himself, ‘…the castle.’

He gave a hint of a smirk to the man in front of him and then pulled his wallet out of his jacket pocket once again. He swiftly reached into it and threw a couple of hundred dollar bills on the counter. Pelleas grinned and slid the money across to himself.

“Pleasure doing business with you,” he said as he folded the bills and shoved them into the front pocket of his slacks. Lex resisted the urge to roll his eyes and opted for a smirk instead, which Pelleas cleared his throat at. “You might have to try it a few times; no guarantee that she’s going to be in the room when the gate is opened, you know?” ‘Or that she’ll go through it even if she is,’ he silently added.

~*~*~*~*~*~

King Gabriel’s brows knitted together as eyed Chloe skeptically. She let out a sigh and made sure to lean close enough to him so that he could hear her, but Alexander and Lionel, who were now speaking with each other, couldn’t.

“Look, I remember my life, okay? Whatever thing Carrado tried to give me didn’t erase my memory, so believe me when I say that James looks enough like some of my cousins back home for me not to have any doubts about his lineage.”

Her voice was a harsh, authoritative whisper and Gabriel couldn’t get over how different his biological daughter seemed to be from the one who had been raised in his world. He inwardly gave himself a bit of praise on his decision to send her away. Not only had she escaped certain death at the hands of his unstable wife, but she had also developed the qualities she would need to possess to take over the throne. Intelligent, confident, and stubborn. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn’t immediately taken note of when she started speaking again.

“I’m not judging you,” she said in a hushed voice. “My mother here is apparently a psycho, and they probably don’t have such a thing as divorce, so I get why you cheated on her with Rachel, but ---”

“I did not,” Gabriel interrupted a little too loudly. His eyes quickly scanned the crowd to make sure that no one was paying attention to their conversation and then he turned his attention back to Chloe. “I wished to marry Rachel,” he whispered. “But she was not of royal blood and my parents would not allow it. They arranged my marriage to Rebecca, just as I am sure they arranged for Lillian’s unexpected passing so Lionel would be free to marry her first.” Chloe paled.

‘Okay, wasn’t expecting *that*,’ she thought. “But you continued your relationship with her.” Gabriel pulled back slightly, a sullen expression on his face.

“She would have informed me if she had born my child.”

“Why?”

“Be---”

“Because as far as I can see, telling you would pretty much only get her and James killed – at least at the time.”

Gabriel’s eyes fell to the floor, his head dizzy with the thoughts that Chloe was putting in his head, wondering if it could possibly be true that the woman he had been involved with for so many years had given birth to his son and passed it off as her husband’s. He raised his head and stared into Chloe’s eyes, searching for any indication that she might be lying to him, but he found none. Gabriel turned to face Lionel.

“I wish to speak with James, send for him,” he said, his commanding tone leaving no room for argument. Lionel looked surprised.

“James is…unwell,” he responded. “Perhaps ---” he trailed off when he saw the stern look on Gabriel’s face and then gave him a nervous grin. “Of course.”




TBC…

[Blaire023]

Okay from now on I'll send my roomie to do my bidding. Anywho, thank you for updating this, I didn't want to beg, seeing as how you've been so good with the others. So thank you and I loved it, now have lex get her the hell out of the other hell dimension and back home safely in his arms. That way she can start fresh.

But damn, I do like the Alexander from the other dimension. <frowns> Not fair, you just had to make them both so appealing didn&#39;t you?

B & M

[petriebird18]

DAMMIT, Dammit dammit&#33;
I don&#39;t know who i want Chloe to be with&#33;&#33; If only the other Chloe was still alive, then BOTH sets of Chloe and Lex&#39;s could be happy&#33;
Ok, now go write more, since i don&#39;t know what i want to happen&#33;
~Deidre~
:chlexsign3:

[bluemoongirl23]

Another wonderful chapter. I love that he has to be at the castle when doing the incantation. And the story of the royals in the other dimension is fantastic. Very sad that you&#39;ll be away, but this eases the pain a little. A very little.

Blue

[flower]

Snif...Snif...
no update? ....Snif...Snif....
:sad:
well....
I LOVED this chapter....

hope you have a good time, wenn you&#39;re outa town...
but...don&#39;t forget....
NEED UPDATE&#33;&#33;&#33;

[Blu_FireFly81]

Lionel&#39;s afraid he he gotta like seeing that&#33;

I’m so loving this story and I wait for updates when I can.

Lex, Alex, Lucas?

I don’t know who I want Chloe to be with they are all nice to have maybe when she chooses I can have one for myself, please? :worship2:

Please update soon and now I’ll end my rambling&#33;

[Gemini]

That was incredible&#33; Could the plot get any twisty-er? :yay: I&#39;m really interested to see how you plan to resolve all of this.

[sara_noele]

I just read all those chapters and now I need more&#33;&#33;

Please, please update soon.

This is so good. I still don&#39;t know with which I want Chloe to be? Lex or Alexander?


:chlexsign2:

[flower]

snif snif...
Update....

FloweR

[scifichick774]

Chapter 22
~*~*~*~*~

A/N: Hey, look&#33; I’m back. *smiles* This chapter has some odd scene switching, but hopefully it won’t get too confusing. Oh, and it’s a long one – not that any of you will mind. *wink*

~*~*~*~*~*~

Lex scowled down at the old book in front of him. He had read it three times already with no portal opening up at all, and was beginning to suspect that the tip he had given to the seedy clerk hadn’t been warranted. He sighed and ran a hand over his head.

“Concentrate,” he ordered aloud to himself. Unfortunately, it was easier said than done; especially given the fact that his mind was flitting through other disconcerting news that he had received earlier that day.

He had received a call telling him that his half-brother Lucas was dead, and although he had been able to push the information aside when he initially heard it, it was now starting to gnaw at him.

Then there was the message from his lawyers, waiting for him when he finally got home; telling him that his father’s attorneys had managed to get him a hearing, which would undoubtedly release him from his temporary stint in prison. There was definitely something to the old adage of the rich getting out of anything. Money was power and Lionel Luthor had a lot of both.

Meaning that he had lost his brother, his only link at having a “real” family, and now his father was probably going to come back into his life and play all of his old games to try and get him under his thumb again.

‘And the damn incantation isn’t working,’ he mentally added.

Lex walked over to the decanter set and poured himself a generous helping of scotch to help ease his nerves. He brought the glass to his lips, taking a sip and swirling the harsh liquid around in his mouth before he swallowed it, letting it burn his throat on the way down. His gaze fell back to the open, yellowed page of the book that held the passage the clerk had pointed out and strolled back over to where it lay on his desk, his fingers wrapped around his glass of alcohol as if it had become his one link to maintaining whatever sanity he felt he had left.

His tongue darted out, cleaning the rest of the scotch off his lips before it dried, and then he started to read the words for a fourth time. As the words poured from his mouth, Lex immediately knew something was different this time.

He didn’t notice when the clouds fell away from the moon in the night sky, or when three of the stars that lit up the darkness seemed to move into a straight line, but he knew something was different.

He read the last bit of the text and a swirling light began to form in front of him. Lex stared at the portal, blinking a couple of times to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing. When he was satisfied that he wasn’t hallucinating, he lifted his glass of scotch somewhat shakily into the air.

“Here’s hoping you find it before it closes, Miss Sullivan,” he said as a toast, despite the fact that he was the only one in the room. ‘And that you’re able to come home.’

~*~*~*~*~

The guards who escorted James to the main hall were visibly nervous as they entered the large room. King Lionel’s youngest son never attended family gatherings, let alone the rare, very special events like the one that was being held now, and for good reason. Despite the obvious prophecies he spouted and his way of talking in mysterious riddles, James had a way of using his knowledge to his advantage, and it was well known that this fact alone made Lionel incredibly uncomfortable.

The guards couldn’t help but wonder whether the visiting King Gabriel and his wife had not been warned about James’s personality quirks and what Lionel had up his sleeve for giving into the request to have his son brought downstairs. No one wanted a war, that’s what Alexander and Chloe’s marriage was supposed to signify, but if Lionel were to try and gain an advantage in the ongoing game by using his “gifted” son…the guards exchanged a look, knowing exactly what the other was thinking, and not liking what the probable outcome would be.

They entered the room and one of the guards stepped forward, thumping his forearm flat against his chest before bowing as a form of salute.

“Sire,” he addressed Lionel, taking one step back and holding his head high with respect for his king. “We have brought your son as commanded.”

Lionel rested his tongue in his cheek as he stared past the guard to James, over to Gabriel, and then back to James again. The expression on his face conveyed barely restrained anger. Now that he saw them in the same light, the family resemblance between Gabriel and James was unmistakable; and, in one instant, every suspicion he ever had about his second wife being in love with a man other than himself was confirmed.

~*~*~*~*~

Lucas held his freshly-sharpened sword out in front of him, lunging forward quickly, and making a stabbing thrust into thin air. He could practically see himself pushing the sharp metal through Alexander’s gut, the dark red blood seeping out of his brother’s body as punishment for taking Chloe away from him.

He conveniently glossed over the facts that she had been promised to Alexander from the beginning and that even he could see the undeniable physical chemistry between the two. Lucas reasoned that there was more to a real relationship than being attracted to someone, a thought that he realized never would have crossed his mind before he met Chloe, only proving to Lucas that he was the one she truly meant to be with.

He pulled the sword up to his eye level again, admiring the way the blade’s sharp edges now glistened in the small amount of light in the room.

“I apologize for the amount of time it took, but a quality weapon such as yours cannot be rushed, your highness.”

Lucas grunted in response to the blacksmith’s statement and then nodded once at him before turning on his heel and leaving the room.

Instead of going to his room to change his clothing as was recommended, he had left Chloe’s room in pursuit of the palace’s private blacksmith. Alexander’s sword had not been seen to since before he left for battle, and Lucas decided that a sharp sword would undoubtedly place the odds in his favor for the fight with his brother that he now felt was certain. Unfortunately, his own blade had needed more time than he had planned on, and he was now running late for King Gabriel and Queen Rebecca’s official greeting.

He cursed under his breath. He had probably already missed most of Gabriel’s angry rant at Alexander for forcing his daughter to marry him against her will. If Gabriel was angry enough, Lucas mused that there could even be an upset of power that night, with Gabriel killing Lionel and Alexander as punishment for Alexander’s crime against Chloe. It would leave Tor, a brother who he could easily manipulate – or kill, poised to take the throne. That was assuming, of course, that Gabriel would allow the Luthor family to continue ruling their kingdom, let alone living – and one should never make assumptions.

Lucas quickly opened the door to his room and rushed in, only to stop dead in his tracks when he saw the swirling circle of light in front of him. From the description that Nudd had given him before he killed him, Lucas knew immediately that the phenomenon in front of him was a portal to another world; and since they weren’t exactly common and had to be conjured, he reasoned that it was quite probably the gateway to the world Chloe had been stolen from and they were trying to bring her home.

The question now was whether someone had come through or gone through, since from what he had been able to gather, wormholes only traveled one direction.

‘Only one way to be certain,’ he mused to himself. He strode over to the side wall and took down an axe. Bringing it back and flicking his wrist, he flung it into the light, smirking when it didn’t come flying back at him. He turned around, ignoring the fact that he was improperly dressed, closing the door behind him as he left to search for Chloe. In his mind, he now had a way to get her away from his brother for good, and he would be damned if he was going to let the opportunity pass him by.

~*~*~*~*~

Lex’s eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped open in shock when an axe shot out of the portal and barely missed grazing the side of his head. It lodged itself firmly into the wall behind him because of the speed with which it came through, and as he stared at it, Lex found himself pushing down the sudden bout of nervousness that encompassed his entire being. He frowned.

“I certainly hope that’s not a hint.”

~*~*~*~*~

By the time Lucas made his way to the main hall, all hell had broken loose. He drew his sword and prepared to defend himself when he heard the familiar clanking, clashing, and screaming sounds of battle coming from the room. He ascertained that Alexander was paying for his sins as he had earlier suspected might happen, and took advantage of the fact that the guards were no longer at the door to take a quick survey of the situation from the safety of the entryway.

He could see that his mother lay dead on the floor by one of the walls, along with a few other bodies whose faces Lucas couldn’t see. Several guards and knights were fighting through visible injuries and the bloodshed was already great. Lucas’s eyes came upon where his father was dueling with King Gabriel, and although Lionel was known to be a skilled swordsman, Gabriel appeared to be winning; a fact for which Lucas inwardly smirked.

His gaze continued to flit across the room. Seeing Julian ushering Lana out of the door at the far side of the room, he quickly averted his eyes to something more substantial to his plan. He saw that Alexander and Tor were both busy fighting with opponents that he figured were from the Sullivan court, and knew that he needed to find Chloe quickly, to take her out of there before his eldest brother was none the wiser.

Lucas’s eyes locked on her. She was standing against the far wall, too absorbed in shock to notice that her escape only lie fifty feet or so away from her. He swiftly maneuvered his way across the room, through the screaming women and fighting men, dodging swinging metal and fists, using his sword as a shield when he needed to, until he reached his destination.

She didn’t even notice when he stood right in front of her, her eyes glazed over as she had tried to mentally separate herself from what was happening. Lucas grinned. At least she wouldn’t fight him to stay with her beloved Alexander and die by his side.

He reached down and rested his arm behind her knees, bringing her up into his arms as he had done in the garden on the first day he met her. Even with the added weight of her in his arms, he moved with speed and grace, getting them to the exit that he had watched Julian and Lana leave through earlier. He had her down the first hallway and had turned down the corridor that would eventually lead to the one that led to his room before she snapped out of her shellshock.

Chloe blinked up at him, the horrific images of what she had just witnessed flashing before her eyes. She thumped at his chest and kicked her legs, struggling against him to be set on her feet.

“What are you doing?&#33;” she yelled. “Didn’t you see what was happening in there?”

“Did you?” Lucas countered, adjusting his grip on her to deal with the extra pressure from her moving around.

“Y-your dad,” she replied, her lower lip starting to quiver as the bloody scene of Lionel stabbing his wife through her heart and twisting the sword in her body as she fell upon it replayed in her mind.

“He killed my mother,” Lucas said, no hint of emotion lining his voice. Chloe furrowed her brow slightly.

“How can you be so…blasé about it?”

Lucas raised an eyebrow at her and Chloe shuddered, suddenly very aware that the young man who had become her best friend had been a sociopath from the day she met him and she had just chosen to ignore it because she was the only one he was nice to. And he had just taken her away from the battle – why? To protect his friend? Or did he more probably have an ulterior motive? Could he have gone over the edge with seeing her and his brother together? Was there a possibility that he might be taking her to rape her, make her his own? Or maybe even kill her for betraying him?

“I --- where were you?” she asked, changing the topic away from the slew of unsettling questions that were running through her mind.

“Attempting to remove the image of you as my brother’s wife from my head,” he replied coolly.

Ouch.

She knew then exactly what he was feeling. It was the same feeling she had when Clark made moon eyes at Lana. And despite the fact that Clark had never actually been hers, it didn’t hurt any less to see him fawning over another girl - especially one who everyone in the damn town already seemed to be in love with.

“Do you love him so much that you are willing to die for his selfishness?”

“What?”

“If he truly loved you, he would have protected you, left with you as Julian did with Lady Lana,” Lucas responded. “Instead he chose battle, just as he always will. The need for war runs through his body and it will never be satiated until he dies.” He gave her a hard look as he set her down in front of his room. “Is that what you want? To continually be second?”

In some deep level of her mind, Chloe knew that he was manipulating her, using the things she told him about Clark to his advantage, but still…it made sense. She didn’t want to be second in her significant other’s eyes. Whether it be a boyfriend or husband, she wanted to be his first priority, and God knew she had been through enough to deserve that.

“I am not going to cause you harm,” he said, echoing her previous thoughts and then tilted his head to the side with a grin. “Unless James was correct.” Chloe looked at him questioningly and the grin on his lips turned into a smirk before he opened the door to his bedroom. Chloe turned around and her eyes grew large when she saw the portal in front of her. “Is it not a sign from the gods that the road back to your world should appear in *my* bedroom?”

Chloe opened and closed her mouth and then turned around, flashing a bright smile at Lucas. She jumped at him and wrapped her arms around him quickly in a tight, surreally overjoyed embrace.

“I – I can’t believe it,” she said as she hugged him.

“You should depart,” he said, slightly pulling away from her.

Chloe nodded and then her face went serious. She touched his arm and looked down.

“Before I go – I ---” she paused and sucked in a breath. “I know how it feels to like someone and --- I know how it is to feel betrayed,” she said, her eyes beginning to well up with a light shimmer of tears. “Please believe me when I say that I never meant to do that to you. Despite what everyone says about you, you’ve been such a good friend, the only real friend I’ve had since I was brought here.” Lucas’s eyes went to the inter-dimensional gate behind her.

“I do not know how much time it has left before it will close, and I do not wish for ---”

Chloe stopped him with a well placed hand on his chest as he started to move her toward it, looking up at him with pleading eyes.

“Is there any chance that you could find a way to forgive me and still go back with me?”

Lucas scanned her face for any sign of insincerity and was happy when he found none. He reached down and took her hands in his before looking her in the eye.

“Your marriage to Alexander will not be valid in your world,” he informed her, even though he suspected she already knew it. “I would be most pleased if you would consider me a potential suitor for your hand.”

Chloe’s mouth opened slightly in surprise, but she quickly closed it and gave him a small grin.

“*Potential*, right?” she asked. Lucas nodded. After a moment of consideration, Chloe nodded her head once. “Okay.”

~*~*~*~*~

James clasped his hands onto the sides of his head when a vision of Chloe and Lucas going through the portal burned behind his eyelids.

“No&#33;” he yelled loudly, his voice echoing over the other noises in the room. The fighting stilled for a second as people turned toward the sound of his protest, surprised that his voice carried so much power over everyone else’s. James shot an angry look directly at Alexander. “You were supposed to stop this&#33;” He released a growl from deep in his throat and then turned on his heel to storm out of the room.

Gabriel and Lionel both looked to Alexander for an explanation, but instead of answering them, he squared his jaw and they could have sworn they saw a violent fire rise up in his eyes before he turned and started to run in the same direction that James had gone. Gabriel stared after him for only a moment before he swung his head around to question Lionel. Knowing the unspoken question already, Lionel answered.

“Chloe.”




TBC…

[Blaire023]

Noooooooo&#33; Why must you end it there? I have waited for an update for so freaking long and you end it....THERE?&#33;?&#33;

My god, you are trying to kill me over here aren&#39;t you?

And OMFG, the comment Lex made when the axe came flying through the portal had me giggling my ass off&#33;

That was great&#33; *g

~B

[vardaquareien]

Ohhh&#33; I want more&#33;&#33;&#33; What&#39;s gonna happen? :crygreen:

I&#39;ve been reading this and others of your fics at ff.net where I&#39;ve been reviewing as Renee and have only just registered here. I&#39;m glad your back I need my scifichick fix&#33;&#33;&#33; Now get busy and update all your fics&#33; :mad: Chop&#33;Chop&#33; :blinkkiss:

[asharnanae]

Ahh, my scifichick fix has been given to me at last, and what sweet relife it is to my senses, I am proud to admit my adiction to your writeing, you have been unknowingly crule to me, I have been writheing in the flames of withdrawral for soooooo long, thankyou for returning&#33; :pclol:

[drina]

I didn&#39;t even know there was an update..but the way you end the chapter..AHHHHH&#33;&#33;&#33; I wanna know what happen next&#33; Pretty please? *begging puppy eyes*

[bluemoongirl23]

Cool&#33; A swordfight&#33; Of course, you know it was mighty wrong of you to just stop there. All kinds of not being fair. Eagerly waiting for more.

Blue

[Gemini]

Ahhh&#33; Of all the places to end the chapter, you ended it THERE? That was evil&#33; Okay, now I really want to see whats going to happen when they get back to the cowtown :yay:

[krahmogh]

Please update again soon. Will they get throught the portal before the others get to them or will there be a fight in Lucas&#39; bedroom?

:chlexsign4:

[hler]

Yayyyyyyyy&#33;&#33; An update&#33;&#33;&#33; However, I was very sad :crygreen: (note the tears) to have you end it there...more please soon&#33;&#33;&#33;

~Heida

[sara_noele]

Oh, my heart jumps :yay: , an update, finally. I&#39;m so glad that you&#39; re back, but why ending it there?

Now come back and update again&#33;&#33;

[Sunny]

This fic is incredible&#33; I love it&#33; PLeeeaaaasseeee&#33; Continue&#33; :yay: :worship2:
:chlexsign3:

[Sunny]

This fic is incredible&#33; I love it&#33; PLeeeaaaasseeee&#33; Continue&#33; :yay:

[scifichick774]

A/N: I know I don’t say this nearly often enough, but thank you so much for all of your reviews. They mean more to me than you could ever imagine. That said, I apologize for some of the filler fluff in this chapter. It had to be done to keep the story rolling along.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Because Chloe was asleep during her first portal experience, she wasn’t prepared for the sheer velocity with which she and Lucas were practically hurled through the swirling circular tunnel. She was even more ill-prepared to find herself launched directly at Lex as she shot out of it. She rapidly stumbled into his arms, knocking his newly-poured glass of scotch into the air, sending the liquid flying along with the shards of delicate crystal as it hit the ground.

“Lex&#33;” Chloe exclaimed in surprise, quickly correcting herself by saying, “I mean, Mr. Luthor.”

“Chloe --- Miss Sullivan,” he responded, matching her brisk, uncertain tone.

They stared at each other, unblinking and mouths slightly agape as they didn’t know what else to say, for what seemed like an eternity, until Chloe pulled back slightly, Lex’s arms still holding onto her loosely. He noticed the drying blood spatters on her and frowned.

“Are you alright?”

Chloe barely nodded, somewhat in shock that Lex – the Lex from the world she had grown up in – had his hands resting on her hips as he seemed to be looking over her face and the sides of her head to make sure she wasn’t wounded.

“I’m fine.”

Lex didn’t seem convinced, but the sudden sting of a sharp metal blade at his neck made his eyes turn from her. He glanced toward Lucas, who stood next to them, sword drawn and Lex surmised, obviously ready to kill him.

“No&#33;” Chloe yelled, completely pushing herself away from Lex and almost tripping back into the vortex. She caught her balance just in time, the portal closing mere seconds later. She clutched her hand to her heart and took a breath to steady herself, not immediately noticing that Lucas’s sword was still Lex’s skin. When she did notice, she stepped toward him and placed a small hand on his outstretched arm. “It’s Lex – Mr. Luthor – not Alexander,” she tried to explain. “He doesn’t like me like that.”

Lucas frowned at the fact that she was protecting his brother’s double, but took the fact that Lex was unarmed and holding his hands halfway into the air in front of him as a sign of surrender. He nodded once and slid his sword back into its hilt.

Lex slowly lowered his hands and then let his eyes run over Chloe’s body quickly, making it appear as though he was just taking in the way she was costumed.

“Nice dress --- and tiara.”

Chloe nervously raked her teeth over her lower lip as she looked back at Lex. There was no easy way to explain away something like what just happened.

“I can explain,” Chloe said. “It’s a long story and you probably won’t believe me, but I can explain. I know this is weird, but I’m not dead, and ---”

Lex, feeling considerably better now that his life wasn’t in immediate peril, managed a small grin at both of them.

“I wasn’t sure it would work,” he said. Chloe furrowed her brow in confusion and Lucas tilted his head to the side.

“You opened the gate,” Lucas said, more as a statement than a question. He glanced over at Chloe, moving his mouth much closer to her ear than Lex would have liked, but he wasn’t about to start an argument with someone carrying a sharp sword and perfectly willing to use it. “Are you sure he does not feel for you?” Lex heard him whisper jealously.

“Lucas ---”

“You have no idea how much your dad has missed you,” Lex cut in, helping her to avoid answering Lucas’s pointed question.

“My dad,” Chloe said in a choked voice, the tears already welling up in her eyes.

“The Smallville coroner is rather thorough apparently. He discovered that it wasn’t really you lying in his morgue.” Lex paused and gave her another glint of a grin. “I’m not sure Clark and Lana ever believed him ---”

“Figures,” Chloe mumbled under her breath.

“--- but I know for sure that your dad has never given up hope on finding you.” Lex knew it was probably completely inappropriate and perhaps even life-threatening, but he couldn’t resist adding, “Neither did I.” Lucas growled low in his throat, but Chloe smiled and wiped away the trails of wetness that slid down her cheeks.

“Speaking of which, how *did* you find me?”

Lex opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it when he saw the angry fire raging in Lucas’s eyes.

“Long story,” he offered curtly. To his surprise, Chloe seemed to accept his short answer without any further prying. “Would you like me to call your dad?” Chloe smiled and nodded, tucking a loose tendril of hair behind her ear.

“That’d be great. Thanks.”

Lex grinned at her again and turned on his heel to leave the room. There was a phone in his office, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to have Chloe overhear part of the inevitably bizarre conversation that he was about to have with her father, nor was he certain that he could maintain anymore civility toward the homicidal young man who had apparently appointed himself Chloe’s protector.

Lucas grumbled and ran a hand through his hair, avoiding eye contact with Chloe so she might not notice how upset he was.

It didn’t work.

“What’s wrong?”

“It seems our brother was correct,” he said ruefully. Chloe opened and closed her mouth, allowing a look of pure confusion sweep over her face.

“What?” she asked. “But I’m not dead – we *survived*. So, how was he right, exactly?”

Lucas raised his eyes from the floor and fixed a steely gaze upon her.

“He said that the Alexander of this world wasn’t listening to him, that he had become just as obsessed with you as my brother is.”

Chloe barely resisted rolling her eyes, opting for a shake of her head instead.

“It’s not like that,” she argued. “You heard him. My dad missed me – my dad is his plant manager, and if he’s not happy then ---” she trailed off, but Lucas looked at her expectantly. “Then nobody’s happy,” she finished with a light smile, realizing that he had probably never heard the saying before. “Everything is about business for Lex, just like everything is about war for Alexander. I’m sure he just wanted to get my dad back to his normal self so the plant would run smoothly.”

“Perhaps,” Lucas conceded, not meaning it at all. He lifted one of her hands and turned it palm-side up before leaning to kiss it. Chloe gave him an uneasy grin and he let go of her hand as he started to look around the room. “What is this place?”

“Looks like Lex’s office,” she said offhandedly, smiling when she saw the stained glass window she had been pushed out of a couple of years before. “Yep. You remember me telling you about all the trouble I got into while digging for stories?” For the first time since they had arrived, Lucas smiled.

“Of course.”

“Well,” she started, tugging on his hand to walk over to the window, “this is the window those burglars pushed me out of.”

Lucas nodded once and then took a closer look around the room. Most of the objects that it housed were foreign to him, but he was looking at the architecture, trying to place why the room seemed so familiar to him. His eyebrows rose when the answer came to him.

“This is my bedroom.”

“What?”

“My bedroom,” Lucas repeated, running his hand along one of the walls. “This is where my bedroom stands in the palace back home.”

“Ahh,” Chloe said in understanding. “Well, that makes sense. I mean, the portal was in your room there and we came into this room. It stands to reason that it would match up, right?”

“Am I interrupting?”

Chloe and Lucas both turned their heads to see Lex leaning against the doorframe. Lucas frowned, but noted that this version of his brother seemed almost friendly toward him. Lex wasn’t shoving Lucas away from Chloe, and, incredibly enough, he didn’t seem to be threatened by Lucas’s presence at all unless his sword was drawn. It was…refreshing. The corners of Lucas’s mouth lifted ever so slightly as he theorized that he could definitely get used to Chloe’s world.

“He’s on his way,” Lex said after neither Chloe nor Lucas spoke. Chloe smiled.

“Thanks,” she said again.

“My pleasure,” Lex responded, his eyes fixed on Chloe as he gave her the tiniest of smiles.

Lucas squared his jaw. He could get used to Chloe’s world, but not if Lex was going to try and woo Chloe out from underneath him.

‘He will need to be taken care of,’ Lucas thought to himself.

“Not to be insensitive, but have you considered sleeping arrangements?” Lex asked, the question directed at Chloe.

“Why?” she asked. “Don’t tell me my dad has rented out my room or something?” Lex let out a small chuckle.

“Not to my knowledge,” he replied, “but I somehow doubt that twin bed of yours is going to be able to fit both of you on it.” Chloe’s mouth dropped open as Lex’s words hit her.

“I --- oh. I hadn’t thought about that,” she admitted. Lucas reached out his hand and ran the backs of his fingers against the smooth skin of her cheek.

“I have no difficulty sleeping on the floor, my princess.”

Lex wanted to vomit.

‘That, or choke him,’ he thought to himself. He forced the tiniest of smirks onto his face, hoping that it would come across appearing genuine. “Or you could just stay here.”

“Lex – Mr. Luthor ---”

“Lex,” he said simply, hoping that she would drop whatever formality she felt still lay between them. After hearing her scream his name while in her husband’s bed, he didn’t think he could ever get used to hearing her call him by his last name again. She smiled for a fleeting second and then continued.

“Lex,” she corrected herself. “You don’t have to do that. I mean, he’s not your brother, and ---”

“Chloe, if you hadn’t noticed, there are plenty of spare bedrooms here. And sleeping on a bed has got to be more comfortable for him than sleeping on your floor.” Lex watched as Chloe and Lucas looked at each other, silently trying to decide whether or not to take him up on his offer. Although he wouldn’t admit it to anyone but himself, he was more than a little uncomfortable with the idea of Lucas sleeping under the same roof Chloe was, especially when she didn’t have a lock on her bedroom door to keep him from sneaking in to see her in the middle of the night.

Lucas narrowed his eyes at Lex with great suspicion.

“Why?” he asked. “As the princess has pointed out, you are not my brother, and therefore under no obligation to provide a bed for me.”

“Chalk it up to karma,” Lex said cryptically. Lucas raised an eyebrow and Lex let out a breath that he hadn’t realized he had been holding in. “My brother, the Lucas of this world, he died before I ever really got a chance to know him.”

“What? When did this happen?” Chloe asked, her features marred with a sympathetic frown.

“This morning,” Lex said, pumping a little more emotion into his voice than he actually felt.

“Oh, my God. Are you okay?”

“I’ll be alright,” Lex answered, refocusing his attention on Lucas. “I know it seems a little twisted and I should probably seek years of therapy for even coming up with the idea, but I think it might help me get over the loss if you were to stay here – get to know you the way I never got to know him.”

“Oh, Lex,” Chloe said, her heart practically breaking for the man in front of him. She knew that he rarely showed any emotion and for him to openly admit that he was grieving… “Of course Lucas can stay here.” Lucas turned to look at her as if she had lost her mind. “Hey, like he said, it’s more comfortable than the floor; and this way you don’t have to live in the same house with Lana.” Lucas grimaced.

“Is she ---?”

“Pretty much the same as in your world,” Chloe confirmed. Lucas made a face and Lex snickered.

“So, you’ll be staying here then?”

Lucas nodded regretfully.

“It would appear so.”




TBC…

[Elviriel]

:worship2: I love it &#33; The tension between Lex and Lucas ... it&#39;s so cool &#33; Thank you update soon &#33; :blinkkiss:

[sabby]

Wow, I just saw I forgot to review the last chap so I&#39;m gonna do it now with this new one. You know I loved the chap before this, but I had to tell you again and the fighting scene was good. Lucas is starting to really grate on my nerves in his psychoness and that is saying something,coming from me&#33; The axe thing was great, too&#33;

Now to this chappy, again Lucas is grating on my nerves, but Lex thinking on his feet is of course nice to see. Sneaky sneaky our Lex :biggrin: And Chloe is already smitten with him, I just know it. Then an ounce of jealous Lex in there and *snap* I was a happy girl *G*

Update as soon as rotation allows

hugs,
Sabby

[jem]

OooOooh shes back and shes in for some surprises....

lol&#33;&#33; love it

(dang i say that in nearly every bloody post i make, u writers just ROCK thats all)

please update when u can&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;

[hfce]

More now please ;)


Hope

[Gemini]

Oh my God, it&#39;s not possible for me to love this fic any more than I do right now. Talk about tension&#33; :yay:

[NightGlow]

You&#39;re back&#33; :yay:
And man was it worth the wait.
But what is Chloe doing bringing sword-toting, axe-throwing Lucas into her world?&#33; I can only imagine what&#39;s going to happen once he gets a hold of a gun. :wacko:

[Calliope]

I&#39;m so glad you&#39;re back. Hope you had a good time.

Now, get back to updating&#33; :blinkkiss:

[drina]

:yay: :yay: Chloe is back in her world&#33; yay&#33; Man, I want to see how the smallville populace react to her &#39;ressurection&#39;. lol

[bluemoongirl23]

Lordy, Chloe is going to have her hand full with feuding Luthors. And, I just want to remind Lucas that she said she&#39;d keep him in mind, not be with him. Damn him and his selective memory. Oh, also damn him for being perceptive. Me thinks that he and Lex should be having some interesting conversations.

Blue

[krahmogh]

I love this story so much and this chapter was no exception. It was so cool seeing the two Luthors from the two different worlds interacting. But now, does Alexander try to open another portal and come back into our world for Chloe? Update soon please.


:chlexsign4:

[hurlingturtles]

:worship2: :worship2: :worship2: I am soooooooo in love with this story. I almost want Chloe to end up with Lucus, though, even though he&#39;s a bit deranged. Of course she has to end up with Lex, though. Will the Lex from the other dimension try to go to her&#39;s? Now that would be interesting., seeing the Lex&#39;s reaction to each other. Post another chapter soon&#33; *whip cracking*

[vardaquareien]

What was it that Chloe liked about Lucas again? :D Man the boy&#39;s a phsyco&#33; But he does make for good jealous&#33;Lex moments. And who doesn&#39;t just luv jealous&#33;Lex?&#33;&#33;&#33; I don&#39;t know where you plan on going from here, but I&#39;d luv to see Lex and Alexander together in the same world - I&#39;ll let you pick which one (generous of me isn&#39;t it?&#33;&#33;&#33; :blinkkiss: )

I luv this fic, so make sure you update soon&#33;&#33;&#33; (Bossy aren&#39;t I?&#33;) :devil:

[flower]

WANT MORE WANT MORE :biggrin:

FloweR

[Gemini]

Originally posted by flower@Jul 15 2003, 06:01 PM
WANT MORE WANT MORE :biggrin:

FloweR
I&#39;m going to second that motion. You have no idea how many times I check for updates on this fic, it&#39;s kinda scary.

[crazygirl]

Hey, I demand an update. As in *right now*. Please...., I&#39;m even willing to beg for it, if that helps ;)

[Tandy]

Great chapter&#33; It&#39;s so exciting, Chloe&#39;s gotten back to her world and with Lucas&#33; Wonder how he and Lex will get along&#33;

What&#39;s going to happen to Alexander though? I know, I&#39;ll take him&#33;&#33;&#33; :devil:

Tandy

[scifichick774]

Chloe and Lucas sat on one of the plush couch’s adorning one of the many rooms at the Luthor mansion, Lex sitting across from them in an oversized chair as they all waited for her dad to arrive. She was exhausted from everything that had transpired and, as she had become accustomed to doing, she rested her head on Lucas’s shoulder. He gave her a small grin and wrapped the arm around her to make her more comfortable. Lex cleared his throat.

“Tomorrow we can have a personal shopper come to the house and get your measurements for new clothes,” he said to Lucas, trying to seem as inconspicuous about his feelings for Chloe as possible. Lucas raised an eyebrow and Chloe smiled, raising her head off of his shoulder.

“Lucky,” she jibed, lightly swatting him on the chest with the back of her hand.

“Lucky?” Lucas asked.

“Fortunate,” Chloe clarified. Lucas tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes slightly.

“As I recall, you did not seem anxious to have my kingdom’s dressmakers visit you.”

Chloe snickered.

“Well, yeah, because it would have meant I was giving in to staying there,” she said. “I have no problem with getting new clothes in general.”

“I see,” Lucas said, his eyes flickering with amusement. Lex leaned forward and clasped his hands together.

“You’re welcome to join us, Chloe,” he said. “I don’t think your dad has thrown any of your stuff out, and I know it hasn’t been that long, but you know as well as anyone how styles change and ---”

“*Us*?” Lucas interrupted. Lex faked a grin at him. He had hoped that his little slip up would go unnoticed, but since it wasn’t, he had no problem enacting damage control.

“Us,” Lex repeated. “Bonding – remember? Besides, I could use a few new things.”

Chloe smiled hesitantly, her gut twisting in apprehension. Lex was so…Lex. Intelligent enough to sidestep Lucas’s display of jealousy and generous enough to warm her heart, but still, it was hard to look at him and not be reminded of Alexander. It was hard to be around him without the intense, albeit volatile, chemistry she had shared with his double. Other than her initial arrival out of the portal, she had not that she had allowed herself to get anywhere near close enough to Lex to know whether they shared the same sort of connection and she was determined to keep it that way.

There was no sense in falling for someone who would never return your feelings. She had already been through that with Clark and she wasn’t going to let it happen again with Lex, especially not when she had the very real memories of being with someone who looked exactly like him still fresh in her mind.

“I appreciate the offer…Lex…but with everything that’s happened, I don’t think asking my dad for a new wardrobe would be the best idea – and I could never ask you to buy me anything since we don’t know each other that well,” she finally said. ‘There,’ she thought, ‘he’ll understand and accept that.’

“Yes, because God knows, it’s not like I can afford to buy you some new clothes,” Lex said with humored sarcasm. Chloe pursed her lips to try and keep her mouth from spreading into a smile. “Just consider it a welcome home present.” Seeing that Chloe didn’t look convinced and Lucas looked suspicious, Lex quickly added, “And I’m sure that Lucas would feel more comfortable if you were here.”

Chloe turned and tilted her head up slightly to look at Lucas. He grinned slightly and nodded in response to her unspoken question. She pushed herself toward him and wrapped her arms around him in a delighted hug.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said excitedly against him.

Lex frowned. *He* was the one providing her with a new wardrobe and she was thanking Lucas? *Hugging* Lucas? He couldn’t help the nagging feeling of jealousy that started to eat away at him, and though from what he had seen he didn’t condone his other self’s actions, he was starting to understand them. Lex was barely able to cover the look of discontent by the time the two friends turned their attention back to him, but thankfully he didn’t have to.

The butler showed up in the doorway and Chloe’s eyes were immediately drawn to the man following him.

“Dad&#33;”

“Chloe&#33;”

Chloe leapt out of her seat and practically tackled him. The butler let out a small, almost annoyed breath and gave an apologetic look to Lex.

“Mr. Sullivan is here, sir.”

Lex smiled, his heart warming with the fact that Gabe had finally been reunited with his daughter and that he had been the one to make it happen.

“I can see that,” he replied, his eyes going back to the butler as he stood up. “Thank you.”

The butler nodded once and left the room.

Chloe and Gabe pulled apart from their embrace and Gabe reached out to brush away some tears that had started to fall down Chloe’s cheeks.

“I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again,” she said. Gabe nodded and pulled her back into a hug, his hand moving over the back of her head.

“I know. I didn’t think --- God, I’m so glad you’re alright,” he said. Chloe pulled back a final time and smiled tearfully at him. She sniffled and Gabe finally looked over the attire his daughter was clothed in. His brow furrowed ever so slightly. “What are you wearing?” His head cocked to the side. “And why are you wearing a crown?”

“Long story,” she replied with a lilt to her voice. She tugged on his arm. “Come on, there’s someone I want you to meet.” Gabe smiled in amusement, not having noticed Lucas in the room.

“I already know Lex, sweetheart.”

Chloe slapped his arm playfully.

“Not Lex – Lucas,” she said, motioning to where Lucas was now standing up. Gabe suddenly felt an uneasy feeling sweep through him. His daughter had just come home from…somewhere…and she wanted him to meet a young man who was dressed in the same time period of clothing as she was.

‘This can’t be good,’ he thought.

“Dad, this is Lucas Luthor. Lucas, this is my dad, Gabe Sullivan,” she introduced. Lucas stepped forward and gave Gabe a small bow of his head, causing Gabe to pull back the hand he had starting reaching out to shake Lucas’s with.

“Your highness,” Lucas greeted. Gabe’s eyebrows rose and Chloe quickly maneuvered herself so she was holding onto Lucas’s arm. She raised herself up onto her tiptoes to speak into his ear.

“He’s not a king here – remember?”

Lucas nodded and grinned at the fact that Chloe was so close to him.

“My apologies, my princess.”

Chloe rolled her eyes a little and shook her head lightly.

“And I’m not ---”

Lucas reached out and placed a finger against her lips to still her words. He leaned a little closer to her, until she could feel his warm breath against the skin of her cheek.

“You will always be my princess,” he said, “regardless of what title this world has placed upon you.” Chloe smiled sweetly at him and Gabe and Lex exchanged a disparaging expression. Gabe cleared his throat.

“Okay, I think I need to be filled on some details,” he said to Chloe. “Princess? World? Where exactly have you been all this time?”

Chloe grimaced and then gave her dad a large, forced smile.

“Maybe you should sit down,” she suggested.

“Chloe ---”

“She’s right,” Lex cut in. “There’s a strong possibility that you’ll have trouble believing what you’re about to hear…” he stopped for a second and smirked at Gabe. “And you’ll have less of a fall to the floor from the chair if you pass out.” Gabe glared at him and Lex let his smirk slide into a smile as he motioned to the chair a couple of feet away from where he had been sitting earlier.

“Why do I have a bad feeling about this?” Gabe muttered to himself as he sat down. Chloe and Lucas took their previous seats on the couch and Lex remained standing. “So?” Gabe asked expectantly. Chloe sighed and shook her head as she looked down at her lap.

“It’s all so weird – I’m not even sure where to begin.”

“Chloe was born into my world to King Gabriel and Queen Rebecca,” Lucas started when he saw that neither Chloe nor Lex jumped right into it. Gabe opened his mouth to speak, but Lucas continued. “From what I have been told, a prophecy foretold of someone close to her doing her harm, so the king had her sent to your world and exchanged for your daughter so his blood would not be the one harmed.”

“What?” Gabe asked, not sure if he was hearing the young man correctly.

“It’s a long story, Dad,” Chloe said. “A *long* story. But, the gist of it is that the Chloe they replaced me with died, so they came back here to get me and left her in my place.” Gabe nodded dumbly but then stopped and stared at his daughter.

“What are you telling me, Chloe?” he asked. “That you’re not even really from here? That you’ve been in some – what? Parallel universe or something?” He paused as Chloe nodded. Gabe blinked and then shook his head. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“It’s the truth, Gabe,” Lex interjected. “I’m not sure how I can explain it, but I got…visions…of her there.”

“Visions,” Gabe repeated with great disbelief lining his voice.

“That makes sense,” Chloe said.

“It does?” Gabe asked. Chloe nodded.

“James said he was trying to contact you through the inter-dimensional walls or whatever,” she told Lex. “That’s probably what you saw.”

“The blonde guy,” Lex said in confirmation of her statement. Chloe nodded again, followed by a curt nod of Lex’s head. “I was wondering who he was.”

“Chloe?” Gabe asked, leaning forward in his chair. “I don’t suppose you could fill your old man in on what you’re all talking about?”

“It’s how I found out where she was,” Lex said, deciding not to go into a further explanation of the things he had seen. There was no need for Chloe to know that he had seen her and his double together – at least not yet. “After that, a few phone calls to some magic shops and I found out how to bring her home.” Gabe stared at Lex, searching his face for any sign that the younger man might be trying to use his finely-honed skills of deceit on him, but found none.

“O-kay,” he strung out slowly. Why did it matter where she was? She was back now, safe and alive. That’s what he wanted, wasn’t it? He looked over at his daughter and gave her a small grin, one which quickly fell when he noticed the ring on her left hand for the first time. “Chloe,” he started in a warning voice and narrowed his eyes at Lucas. “Are you ---?”

“Am I what?” she asked.

“You, your finger – you have a we---” he stopped himself before he started stumbling over his words and then cleared his throat. “Are you married?” Chloe paled and pulled away from Lucas a little as she straightened her posture.

“No,” Lucas said straight to Gabe. “Her marriage to my brother Alexander is not valid in your world.” Chloe cringed and darted her eyes off to the side so she wouldn’t have to see what she was sure was a surprised and probably disturbed, questioning look on Lex’s face.

“Alexander,” Gabe repeated. Lex stared down at Chloe until she finally looked up.

“We were married?” he asked, trying to put a surprised tone into his voice, but already knowing the answer. Gabe’s eyes widened in shock, but before he could say anything, Chloe cleared her throat and answered Lex’s question.

“Well, not you and me – you know – it was,” she paused as she tried to think of how she could explain the situation without making her sound crazy. “I was married to your…other self,” she admitted quietly. “It was an arranged marriage and ---” she trailed off with a small sigh. “We weren’t married for that long if it makes you feel any better.”

“It doesn’t,” Gabe interrupted. He ran his hands over his face. “So, what happened to him – your husband? Why did you bring his brother back with you instead of him? Or should I even ask?”

Chloe remained quiet and absently rubbed at the spot on her arm where her birth control implant had been removed. Lucas draped his arm over her shoulders and lightly ran his fingers along the top of her bandage through her dress sleeve.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” she said. “I just hope it doesn’t get infected.”

Gabe felt his discontent with Chloe being married in the other world slip away into the concern that overcame him with her words.

“You hope *what* doesn’t get infected? What did they do to you?”

Chloe flinched. There was no easy way to explain what had happened without getting her dad upset again. If he hadn’t been happy about her being married to Alexander – however briefly – then she was fairly certain that he would throw a fit over hearing that her husband had her birth control implant removed without her permission.

“They, um…”

Lucas, however, had no issues with announcing his brother’s misbehavior.

“Alexander had Carrado remove the device from her arm against her will,” he said. Gabe furrowed his brow as he tried to think of what Lucas was talking about.

“Device?” he asked, his eyes widening in realization when he saw the look on Chloe’s face. “I’ll kill him.”

Lucas didn’t even attempt to hide the smug grin that passed over his lips.

He could definitely get used to things here.




TBC…

[Elviriel]

Oh &#33; An update at last &#33; Thank you so much I&#39;m so happy to read this story I love it it&#39;s one of my favourite ... Poor Gabe... he must be confused... ;)

[bluemoongirl23]

Poor Gabe&#33; He thinks his daughter is dead, then she&#39;s back and some nutjob has cut her open. Hope he doesn&#39;t go all with the blaming of Lex after it&#39;s explained more properly to him. And, really, Chloe, totally hugging the wrong Luthor there.

Blue

[Gemini]

*shriek*

That was amazing&#33; I&#39;m SO glad you updated this&#33; I can&#39;t wait what&#39;s going to happen next&#33; Fanfic like this makes the bad script writing in Smallville all worth it. Thank you&#33;

[hfce]

Oh Lex is in trouble... Lucas :tease: I cant stand him.


Hope :blinkkiss:

[drina]

O yeah...update&#33; Dancing for joy here&#33;

[vardaquareien]

I lurv this fic. Though not so much the Chloe hugging Lucas. What&#39;s wrong with the girl, sexyLexy&#39;s sitting right there jealous n everythin&#33; hmmm if Chloe keeps with the Lucas hugging, can I have Lex for myself? Pwetty please?

Poor Gabe. Gotta luv him&#33;

[sabby]

Well that certainly was an interesting conversation. And I could almost see Lex pout when Chloe hugged Lucas instead of him *snickers* Anyway, love how Gabe reacted. He took it fairly well, tho I think the full extend of Chloe&#39;s implications didn&#39;t hit him yet. Lucas is of course still being his psycho self, *shakes head* and I hope Chloe and Lex will get to talk alone sometime soon, it doesn&#39;t do at all like that. Love the story, work over your rotation cycle and update soon

hugs,
Sabby

[jem]

AYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

yAY&#33;&#33; u updated&#33; happy happy joy joy&#33;&#33;&#33;

and now lex knows they were married....

poor gabe, feel very bad for him...

ooh update soon pls?

[flower]

:biggrin: Jumping up and down she screams;
"I LOVE YOU&#33; YOU UPDATED&#33;"

FloweR

[scifichick774]

Having to fit the huge dress she was wearing into her dad’s small car had been quite an ordeal, but once they were on the road, Chloe inwardly mused about how nice it was to be back home. Different, but nice.

“You know, Lana and the rest of your friends are going to be so happy to see you,” Gabe said, snapping Chloe out of her reverie. “Surprised, but happy.”

Chloe’s gave him an uneasy grin.

“Yeah, it’ll be great,” she replied with false enthusiasm.

The truth was, as much as she was glad to be home, it just didn’t feel the same. She supposed she had probably gotten used to things in the other world and that there would understandably be a period of adjustment, but she hadn’t expected to feel so blasé toward the fact that she was going to see her friends again.

Gabe twisted his head slightly to glance at Chloe. She may not have been around for a while, but he was still able to discern the tone of his daughter’s voice.

“What’s wrong?”

Chloe kept looking out her side window as she shifted slightly in her seat. Not only was the car difficult to get into, but it was also uncomfortable to be squished while riding in.

“Nothing,” she lied, allowing a small pause before she spoke again. “It’s just…I don’t feel right just leaving him there. I mean, this world is going to be a complete switch for him. I should have made him come home with us, or I should have stayed there – just…something.”

“Chloe ---” Gabe trailed off as he realized he had nothing to say, at least not any collected thoughts that could be construed as a coherent train of thought.

“Dad, he’s my best friend,” Chloe said almost tearfully as she tried to explain. “He’s the only one who was completely there for me the entire time and quite frankly, I don’t know if I would have been able to make it through without him. He’s got to be freaking out here and I just want to make sure that I return the favor.”

“I thought Clark was your best friend,” Gabe said carefully.

Chloe sighed and then sucked in a breath to replace the one she lost.

“Lucas has been a better friend to me in this last what…month, month and a half…than Clark has ever been,” she said almost ruefully. “Than any of my ‘friends’ here have ever been.” Gabe frowned.

“Do you like him?”

“Of course I like him, weren’t you just lis--- oh. You mean *like* him,” Chloe said. Gabe caught her eye through the corner of his and then he gave a single nod of his head in affirmation. “I don’t know. When I first got there I thought I did. What’s not to like? He’s handsome, he’s smart, he’s…” ‘…a sociopath,’ she silently added. ‘Yeah, better not tell him that. And he probably won’t be like that here anyway since he doesn’t have to deal with his family.’

“He’s?” Gabe asked after Chloe drifted off into her thoughts. He grimaced and then glanced at her again, this time unable to catch her gaze. “What about your --- what about ‘Alexander’?” Chloe turned to look at him accusingly, projecting the bad feelings she had toward herself for leaving her husband there onto her father.

“What about him?”

“Chloe, I know you said you didn’t want to talk about it, but ---”

“Dad ---”

“No,” Gabe said, cutting off whatever objection she had been about to speak. “Let me say this.” Chloe’s lips thinned as she gave him a cross between a pouty face and a grumble. “I know you said he had your contraception removed against your will, but from the little I’ve been able to gather, that seems perfectly acceptable for the time period…er…world. And you did *marry* him, Chloe. Marriage is ---”

Chloe cringed. She should have known that the abandonment issue would hit too close to home for her father. Essentially, she had just done what her mother had done, only sooner – before they had kids to screw up because of it. Her face relaxed into a sympathetic expression and she reached out her hand to touch his arm.

“Dad, it just wasn’t like that,” she said. “Yes, we were married, but it was an *arranged marriage*.”

“Still…”

“*And* it was performed against my will, *and* it was only for like a day before the portal opened,” she continued.

“But you ---” Gabe stopped talking and made a discomforted face. “You know.”

Chloe waited a beat before answering.

“Yeah.”

Another second passed.

“He removed your birth control,” Gabe said in an observational tone. Chloe couldn’t help rolling her eyes and giving him the smallest grin.

“Dad, I’m not pregnant.”

“It only takes once,” he said, reminding Chloe of all the sex-ed stuff she had been forced to sit through in her health class.

“I know,” she returned, “but the hormones that the implant gave out, they stay in you for a while, like a month or something after you have it removed. So, don’t worry, okay?”

Gabe seemed visibly relieved, but only for a moment. Then, his fingers gripped tighter around the steering wheel and he shifted in his seat.

“Lex found a way back for you.”

“He did,” Chloe agreed with a nod.

“What if ---?”

“What if ‘what’?” she asked with suspicion, not liking where she thought he might be going with his new line of questioning.

“What if the other Lex finds a way to come here to? To take you back with him?”

“Dad ---”

“Chloe, they did it once before. Hell, they did it *twice* before,” he said. “And a man who has your contraceptive device forcefully removed and marries you against your will --- I just have a feeling that he’s not going to give up that easy.”

“If he’s still alive,” Chloe mumbled under her breath.

“What?”

Chloe sighed.

“Before we left, there was a huge reception to greet you and…mom. Anyway, a big fight broke out – and when I say a ‘fight’, I don’t mean an angry exchange of words.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. More like an action movie, only with real and more gruesome deaths.”

“Oh, God, Chloe,” Gabe said. “You were there?”

“Yeah.”

“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Chloe said with a light shake of her head. “I’m pretty sure that years of therapy can help me purge the memory from my mind.”

Gabe gave her a wry grin, one which quickly fell when he thought about what she had said.

“So --- he died? Alexander?”

“I don’t know,” Chloe said quietly. “He’s an amazing warrior, so I want to believe that he’s still alive, but…” Chloe paused and drew in a deep breath to steady herself. “But the odds weren’t exactly in his favor,” she finished in almost a whisper.

“And Lucas? Why wasn’t he helping?”

“He *was* helping,” Chloe said. “He was helping to get me the hell out of there.”

“That’s not what I meant – but of course I’m glad he got you out of there.”

“He showed up late,” Chloe said, finally answering her dad’s question. “By the time he got there, the fight had already broken out. I was in shock on the sidelines and he picked me up and carried me out of there.”

“I see,” Gabe said stoically. After a minute, he decided to voice what he had witnessed that evening at Lex’s house. “He likes you.”

“What?” Chloe asked, her mind back on the horror she had seen in the main hall of the castle, how despite their volatile chemistry that she hoped Alexander was alright and not completely pissed at her for going home.

“Lucas,” Gabe repeated, thinking that Chloe needed clarification. “He likes you – and not just as a friend.”

“I know.”

“You know,” said in a monotone voice of disbelief.

“Yes.”

“And you still brought him here instead of ---”

“Dad, I didn’t bring him, he brought me,” Chloe said. “The portal opened in *his* room. When he saw it, he came to get me out of the reception.” She shook her head and looked down at her dress. “I practically pleaded with him to come with me. He’s the best friend I’ve ever had.”

“But he likes you more than a friend,” Gabe pointed out. “And you ---”

“Like him enough to give him a chance,” Chloe finished for him. “Alexander and I had chemistry, but a real relationship, a *lasting* relationship, is based on more than that.”

“O-kay,” Gabe strung out.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Gabe said. “I just didn’t think I would have to hear my daughter talking about long term relationships until she got finished with a couple of years of college is all.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Gabe said. “Look, I’m sorry if I’m having a hard time with all of this. You’ve obviously changed some since you were there and I’ll just have to take the time to get to know you again.” Chloe couldn’t help but give him a hopeful smile along with rapidly watering eyes.

“Really?”

“Absolutely.”

Her dad was actually going to set aside time for her, to finally get to know her better, and not just concentrate on work. It was what she had wanted to hear for so long and Chloe wished they were home already so she could give him a hug.

“Dad?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”





TBC…

[Gemini]

YES&#33; I&#39;m sooooo happy about this update :yay: I luved the scene with Chloe and her dad- the poor guy. I wonder what&#39;s going on with Lucas and Lex? Oh, and what&#39;s going to happen when Chloe sees Clark and Lana *eep* I love this fic way too much for my own mental health. :lol:

[Tandy]

I&#39;m glad Chloe is working things out with her dad. It was really sweet&#33; I feel so bad for Alexander though, poor thing&#33; Great chapter&#33;

Tandy :yay:

[hfce]

Aw that was sweet.


Hope :blinkkiss:

[Blaire023]

Yay, I&#39;m so glad you updated this.

Is it bad that I&#39;m routing for Chlex? Or is this an UST also?

~B

[drina]

Originally posted by Blaire023@Jul 20 2003, 02:53 PM

Is it bad that I&#39;m routing for Chlex? Or is this an UST also?

Hey B,

they did have sex together, albeit it was with Alexander rather than Lex. Lol.

And I really do not know how this story will end too. I mean Lucas is a pyscho here, so if Chloe rejects him, we don&#39;t know what he&#39;ll do.

So there&#39;s a lot of unanswered questions here, and Kris, you have to supply the answers, ya hear?

[vardaquareien]

:wub: Oh that was a great Chloe and Gabe scene. I love Gabe - can I take him home? *sigh* I love your fics&#33;

[Elviriel]

I love that fic &#33;&#33; Update soon &#33; I wonder if Alexander is still alive and will come to take Chloe ...
Chloe forget Lucas &#33; Lex is so much better &#33;

[bluemoongirl23]

I love the Chloe/Gabe interaction. Especially since he notices the way that Lucas feels about her...and is asking about Alexander. I loves me the Gabe so I can&#39;t help but root for him to help Lex.


Blue

[scifichick774]

Lucas strolled beside his brother’s double, completely ignoring the looks he got from some of the servants because of his attire. Despite Lucas’s protests, Lex had been giving him a tour of the castle for the last hour or so, painstakingly pointing out what all of the rooms were in this world. Lex stopped at yet another door and Lucas didn’t bother to stifle a yawn.

“You’re tired,” Lex said in an observant tone. “Perhaps the rest of the tour should wait until tomorrow.”

“I am not tired,” Lucas replied. “I am…how is it that Chloe says? Bored?”

Lex resisted rolling his eyes, but he did shoot Lucas a wry expression before ceasing his walking and folding his arms across his chest.

“Your rooms may serve different purposes here, but the pattern is the same,” Lucas explained smugly. “I will be able to navigate without any difficulty.”

“Alright,” Lex agreed. He didn’t like letting this version of Lucas have free reign over the house, but it might be to his advantage if the younger man didn’t know everything that having the Luthor name had to offer. “So --- tell me about your world.”

Lucas looked at him suspiciously, but he relinquished into giving him a curt nod before they started walking again.

“In comparison to what Chloe has told me of your world ---”

‘Damn. He’s really infatuated with her,’ Lex thought to himself, quickly adding, ‘I’ll have to take care of that.’

“--- quite different.”

‘Yeah, because I couldn’t have guessed that from the clothes – let alone the visions.’

“First of all, our families are not similar – you have far less siblings,” Lucas said. Lex looked at him warily through the corner of his eye. Lucas’s tone had sounded almost jealous and he hoped that his brother’s other self wasn’t getting any ideas to become an only child. “There is no Tor, Lucia, or James, and Julian died as an infant. Is that correct?” Lucas asked, snapping Lex out of his thoughts.

“Julian – my brother, Julian?”

Lucas nodded.

“Yes. He died before he reached his first birthday.”

“You are most fortunate,” Lucas said without emotion. Lex frowned, but decided to let the comment slide.

“And the others? Who are they?”

“Tor was second born to Queen Lillian and King Lionel, Julian third, and Lucia fourth,” Lucas informed him. “I was first born to my mother, Rachel, and James was born of the coupling of my mother and King Gabriel.” Lex stopped walking again.

“Wait a second. James is Chloe’s brother?”

“Yes.”

“And she still chose to come back here with *you*?”

Lucas gave him a pointed look.

“They are bonded only by the blood of her true father,” he said carefully. “He wished for her to remain in that world even when he knew of her desire to return here, even lied to her to make it so. Do you believe that she should have brought someone who would manipulate and lie to her?”

Lex narrowed his eyes, recognizing the comment for how it was intended. Even though Lucas knew that Lex was not his brother, he was still suspicious of Lex’s feelings toward Chloe and was subtly warning him away from her by reiterating how Alexander had treated her for a while. Lex might not have caught the implication if he hadn’t seen some of the visions for himself, but he wasn’t going to bring up the fact that he had basically seen Lucas’s brother making love to the woman he was obsessed with – at least not while the young man wielded a sword that looked so sharp.

“Of course not,” Lex finally answered and started walking again. “I didn’t know the details of their relationship. I just know that two of her best friends here are male and perhaps it’s her way of having the brother she never had while she was growing up. I didn’t think that she’d be so quick to dismiss that.”

Lucas grunted.

“It is better for her to have the replacements.”

Lex raised a pale eyebrow, but said nothing. Clearly Lucas wasn’t fond of any member of his family and although under normal circumstances that might make him uneasy, in this situation it sparked an idea in his head.

“If you don’t mind my asking, you’ve mentioned your brothers and your sister briefly, but what was your relationship with your parents like?”

“Why?”

“My brother,” Lex started, adding a melodramatic quality to his voice so Lucas would think he was choked up, “my father had an affair with Rachel Dunleavy when my mother was dying. Despite the fact that he was a horrible husband to begin with, he insisted that he would never divorce my mom, especially not while she was on her deathbed. So, he basically stole my brother after Ms. Dunleavy gave birth and sent him to live with a family he selected.” Lex paused primarily for effect, but found himself genuinely pained as he told the story. “I never even knew he existed until a year ago and then he became a pawn in my dad’s twisted little power trip. I sent him away for his own safety because my dad threatened his life, and then ---”

Lucas frowned. He didn’t want to feel bad for Lex, he didn’t want to feel anything for anyone except for Chloe – and up until this point he had succeeded. But now, he found himself feeling the smallest twinge of remorse for the man beside him.

‘Or perhaps the sorrow is toward yourself in this world,’ his inner voice told him. Yes. That made more sense. Lucas calmed down after he convinced himself that he felt badly for his double and not for Lex, allowing himself to feel content in his self-centered universe once again.

“I’m sorry,” Lex said, apologizing for choking on his last couple of words. “There are always the ‘what-ifs’. I guess I was just hoping that somewhere Lucas had led a better life, had the relationship he deserved with his parents.”

Lucas, however, was now bored with Lex’s theatrics, and had a suspicion that he was trying to manipulate him.

“I did not get along well with my parents,” he finally said, hoping it would end Lex’s little show.

‘Shocker,’ Lex thought sarcastically.

“I did not make an effort to get along with anyone,” Lucas continued and then smirked at Lex. “Until Chloe arrived, that is.” Lucas was not surprised to see Lex’s demeanor change and hear a distinctive grumble rise from the bald man’s throat.

Lex was fighting with conflicting issues. He could either ask about Chloe and Lucas’s relationship and risk exposing his true intentions toward her further, or he could concentrate on why he started that line of conversation in the first place.

“How did you feel about your dad, specifically?”

Lucas smiled and threw his head back with a low, thundering laugh.

“So many questions,” he observed. “Are you trying to take over his kingdom here as well?”

Lex couldn’t help the smirk that rose to his lips.

“Something like that,” he admitted. “But right now I’m more concerned with the fact that he’s probably going to be released from prison and I don’t know whether he knows about my brother’s death or not.”

“You imprisoned him?” Lucas asked in an impressed tone. Lex merely gave him a small smile and Lucas found himself returning it. “And if he does not? You wish for me to pretend to be him?”

“You catch on quick,” Lex observed. “So, what do you think? Are you up to driving the old man crazy?”

“Certainly,” Lucas responded arrogantly. “Though your plan may fail if he has already been informed of your brother’s death.”

“Actually,” Lex said, slapping Lucas on the shoulder, “that could work too.”

“Explain.”

“What better way for a man to go insane than to have his dead son visiting him?”

Lucas gave him an evil, lopsided grin.

“I have misjudged you,” he said. Lex looked at him with surprise. “I thought you were more similar to my brother, but when he desires something, he will kill to get it. And you – you are much more devious.” Lex gave him a bemused grin.

“That sounded like a compliment.”

“You will not receive them often,” Lucas assured him, causing Lex to chuckle.

Lex’s cell phone started ringing and Lucas was startled by the strange sound. He began to draw his sword, but Lex held up a hand for him to stop.

“It’s just my phone,” Lex explained. Lucas furrowed his brow, still unsure of what to think of the small black rectangle that Lex pulled from his jacket. Lex pressed the key to answer it and held it up to his ear. “Luthor.” Lucas frowned, but seemed to be placated by the fact that the phone had stopped ringing.

“M – Lex? It’s Chloe.”

“Chloe,” Lex repeated, glancing at Lucas to see what his reaction was. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m sorry about calling you so late and on your cell phone, but this was the one that was programmed into dad’s cell phone and ---”

Lex grinned at Chloe’s rambling, an action which caused Lucas to glare at him.

“It’s okay. What is it?”

“Um…I don’t suppose I could talk to Lucas?” she asked. “I just felt so bad for leaving him there. He’s new here and my only real friend and I just dump him there with you instead of letting him come home with me.” Chloe stopped and sighed and Lex could practically picture her running a hand through her hair, which he suspected probably no longer held the tiara in it. “Is he doing okay? You’d tell me the truth, right?”

“He’s fine,” Lex answered, trying not to visibly wince at the fact that Chloe was calling about Lucas.

“Is he ---”

“Hold on.” Lex handed the phone to Lucas, who merely looked down at it and then back up to Lex like he didn’t know what to do. “Chloe’s on the other line. Just hold it to your ear like this,” he paused and showed him how to do it, “and talk.”

Lucas frowned, but did as Lex showed him.

“Yes?”

“Lucas&#33;” Chloe exclaimed in relief. “I’m sorry, I guess I overreacted, but I just had this horrible memory of you and Alexander fighting in my bedroom and for some reason I thought you and Lex may have killed each other by now. Ooh – don’t tell him I said that though.” Lucas laughed and Chloe instantly felt better.
“Okay, I guess it was a *little* silly.”

“I assure you I am in fine health, my princess.”

Chloe blushed ever so slightly and were it not for the fact that he was pulling into their well-lit driveway; Gabe may have never seen it. He frowned, but covered it by clearing his throat.

“Here we are. Home sweet home,” he said. Chloe smiled back at him.

“Yeah, okay Dad,” she said. “Lucas, we’re home so I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow though, okay?”

“I look forward to it.”

“Bye.”

“Goodnight.”

Lucas heard the click through the receiver when Chloe hung up her phone and then he handed the small device back to Lex, who turned it off and let it drop back into his jacket’s inner pocket.

“A remarkable invention,” Lucas mused. “You will need to instruct me on how to operate it so that I may speak with her when I wish.”

Lex gave him a tight grin.

“First things first,” he forced himself to say. “Are you really up to pulling this scheme off with my father?”

Lucas smirked smugly, causing Lex’s gut to twist in uneasiness.

“I believe you’ll find that I can be quite devious as well…when I need to be.”




TBC…

[hfce]

Kris Lucas is scaring me :tease: more please.


Hope :cool:

[Calliope]

I agree that Lucas is creeping me out. :huh:

However, I&#39;m all for driving Lionel nuts. :biggrin:

[staysixkid]

:blush: Hey man...I like this Lucas. I love this Lucas. You&#39;ve got him just fine.

Question, in your archive, you have this story under "others", does that mean that this is a :wub: Chlucas fic? :biggrin: Either way, I&#39;ll be happy. They&#39;re Luthors, aren&#39;t they?

[Gemini]

Oh my God, I&#39;m so happy that you updated&#33; I love the tension between Lex and Lucas, the conversation was perfect&#33; Hehehe, Lex wasn&#39;t happy about Lucas wanting to learn how to contact Chloe using that magnificent small device. I can&#39;t wait for more Chlucas interaction... especially when it has this effect on Lex.

[vardaquareien]

Hehe&#33; Can&#39;t wait for them to start driving the magnificent bastard insane&#33; I&#39;m hanging out for some more Chlex interaction. Will there be any soon?

[bluemoongirl23]

The character interactions are wonderful&#33; Lex and Lucas each secretly keeping a watchful eye on the other. Gabe knowing what&#39;s up. Can&#39;t wait for the inevitable sparks to fly....and heavy objects.

Blue

[Czech Angel]

:worship2: :worship2: :worship2:
I am so happy you updated&#33; I love the Lex and Luthor interaction. I can&#39;t wait until Chloe visits the manor.
:yay2:
Is it just me or is a jealous Lex so FREAKIN&#39; HOT&#33;:drool:
UPDATE SOON. :balloon:

[crazygirl]

Oh, I so adore your fic. I love the fact that Lx and Lucas are getting along better, even if it&#39;s just to drive Lionel crazy. But I wonder whom Chloe is going to choose, now that she&#39;s back home. :chlexsign1: *hint* :angel:

[sabby]

Two updates in a row, good thing. And of course Lex has ulterior motives all the way, just like Lucas *shakes head* will those Luthors never learn *sighs* Anyway, can&#39;t wait to see how things will develope now that Chloe&#39;s home. Update soon again

hugs,
Sabby

[Blaire023]

Oh good god, we have two devious luthor&#39;s on our hands...what&#39;s the dimension coming to?

And poor Chloe...huffing over Lucas when she should be shacked up with Lex, fucking him like a rabid bunny.

Sorry, i need smut bad. *injects smut straight to the vein*

much better...

looking forward to seeing how this turns into a chlex fic.

~B

[krahmogh]

I must agree that i am thouroughly enjoying the two devious Luthor brothers. I would like to know why Lionel is in prison. How easy is Lucas going to adapt to modern technology? How is Lana going to react to seeing Chloe again? More updates please&#33;&#33;&#33;

:chlexsign4:

[drina]

Lex and Lucas seems to be getting along...for now. But i bet this will immediately change when Lex actively pursues Chloe.

[scifichick774]

“Lana? We’re home,” Gabe called out as he opened the front door.

Chloe clenched her jaw as she prepared for the worst. From what she had heard, Lana still believed she was dead, despite what the coroner had said, so it proved to be a unique encounter when she found out that she wasn’t.

“We?” Lana asked with confusion before she and Clark completely turned the corner. The brunettes wore matching expressions of wide eyes and gaping mouths when they finally caught sight of Chloe. “I – I – I,” Lana stammered.

“You – you – you,” Clark added on. Chloe snickered.

“Well, nice to know that your babbling idiot status hasn’t changed while I’ve been gone,” she said to Clark before smiling brightly at Lana.

“Oh my God,” Lana exclaimed in a half whisper, her eyes then lolling back in her head as she collapsed into Clark’s arms.

“You – you’re alive,” Clark said, slowly leaning Lana back so she was lying unconscious on the floor.

“Yeah,” Chloe said, her eyes still fixed on Lana’s unmoving form. “Is she gonna be okay?”

“I ---” Clark started in a flustered voice before trailing off when he realized he couldn’t form a coherent sentence because of the shock he was in. Gabe smiled at him and slapped his arm as he walked by.

“It’s great, isn’t it, Clark?” he asked rhetorically. “I’ll go get the smelling salts.”

Chloe shook her head lightly in amusement, silently wishing that she had a camcorder to capture the moment for posterity’s sake. Clark finally snapped out of his stupor enough to take in what she was wearing, causing his brow to furrow in confusion.

“Did you go to a costume party or something?” he asked, confused by glare Chloe shot him right after the words came out of his mouth.

“Yes, Clark,” Chloe said, the heavy sarcasm already evident in her voice. “A costume party – that’s where I’ve been all this time. I was just having so much fun that I couldn’t bear to leave.” His face contorted into a wounded puppy dog look and Chloe let out a small, exasperated sigh. “No, Clark. I wasn’t at a costume party. This is just the sort of thing they wore in the world I went to, okay?” Clark’s eyes widened again, this time ending up so large that they threatened to pop out of his skull.

“W-world?” he asked carefully, stumbling over the first part of the word. “You mean like…” he trailed off and pointed a finger upward, making Chloe erupt in a fit of giggles. His face fell again, not used to hearing Chloe giggle.

“No, Clark,” she said. “Like an alternate dimension or whatever.” Chloe saw an expression of relief pass over Clark’s face, and although he quickly covered it with a nervous grin, she still wondered why he would be relieved.

“So, um ---”

Chloe held up a hand to stop him from saying anything more. Just like with Lex and her dad, it was a long story and she didn’t want to explain it more than once, especially since both Clark and Lana were a little slower on the uptake than the men she had to tell the story to previously that night.

“Just wait until my dad wakes Lana up, then I’ll tell you everything.”

Clark nodded almost absently, shoving his hands in his pockets as Gabe arrived right on cue and crouched down to wave the small stick of smelling salts under Lana’s nose. Lana’s nose crinkled at the scent and her eyes slowly flitted open.

“Chloe?” she squeaked, again wide-eyed as Gabe and Clark both helped her up. Chloe smiled in amusement at the other girl’s reaction.

“That’s it?” she teased. “No ‘welcome home’ or ‘wow, I missed you’?” Lana blinked rapidly several times and then practically launched herself toward Chloe, catching Chloe completely off guard. ‘For someone so tiny, she’s pretty strong,’ Chloe thought as Lana refused to pull away from the hug that was squeezing every last breath of air from Chloe’s body. “Okay, okay, I get it,” Chloe said with a little laugh as she tried to push the other girl off of her. “It’s good to see you too.”

Lana shook her head, her smile beaming across her face.

“I can’t believe it’s you – it’s really you.”

“It’s really me,” Chloe confirmed, a bemused grin on her lips.

“Wow. Where were you? And why are you dressed like a princess? And ---”

“Uh, well, that’s kind of a long story,” Chloe said, cutting off Lana’s other questions. She then shot her father and friends an almost desperately hopeful look. “Don’t suppose we have any coffee?”

An hour or so later, Chloe found herself in one of the reclining chairs in the living room, laughing and surprisingly enjoying her conversation with her dad, Clark and Lana; though she thought the third cup of freshly brewed coffee running through her system didn’t hurt.

“So, you’re *really* a princess?” Lana asked excitedly.

“Well…technically,” Chloe answered. “But it’s not like I’m ever going back there, so it doesn’t really matter.”

“And you were married to Lex,” Clark said in a voice seeking clarity, his tone lacking any enthusiasm whatsoever. In fact, he seemed considerably uneasy with everything that Chloe had told him.

“Again, *technically*, but ---”

“You’re never going back there,” Clark finished for her. Chloe nodded.

“Exactly.”

Clark didn’t even try to mask the stubborn frown that placed itself on his mouth.

“What if ---” Clark stopped and paused, trying to think of a way he could word his question without Chloe getting angry at him. “What if he finds a way to come back here?” Chloe blinked.

“What?”

“Lex – Alexander – whatever,” Clark said. “I mean, they found a way here once to kidnap you, and he sounds kind of…”

“Psychotic?” Chloe offered.

“Obsessive,” Clark countered, unwilling to speak poorly about his friend, even if it was just his friend’s double. “Anyway, what makes you think he won’t just come here and take you back?”

“He won’t,” Chloe said, her voice not coming out as strong or convincingly as she had hoped. “The portals have something to do with star alignment, or so James claimed, and he wouldn’t be able to open in for a long time from now.”

“We could move,” Gabe suggested, tilting his head to the side as he waited for his daughter’s reaction. “I’m sure Lex could transfer me to the plant in Littleton or maybe we could go back to Metropolis.”

“Dad ---”

“Chloe, it would be for your own safety. I don’t want to lose ---” Gabe trailed off as an image of his biological daughter lying dead on Chloe’s bed flashed into his mind. Chloe frowned, suspecting that her dad still hadn’t dealt with all of the emotions that he needed to.

“Dad, I appreciate the offer, I really do, but I can’t just leave Lucas here like that,” she said. “He’s my best friend. I already told you everything he did for me while I was there and I’m not going to desert him by moving on the off-chance that Alexander might find a way over here.”

“Chloe ---”

“No,” Chloe interrupted firmly and rose from her chair. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m tired and I need to get some sleep.”

“It’s only a little after eight,” Clark said with confusion. Chloe looked at him; it wasn’t a glare, but she presented it with an attitude that he couldn’t place – as if her word was law and he shouldn’t question it. He grimaced as the realization came to him. Despite her protests, Chloe had apparently gotten used to how things were done in the other world, and that included the power that came along with her title. It might be a difficult transition getting used to her the way she was now.

Chloe nodded her head once at Clark’s apparent acquiescence and turned to leave the room, leaving a bewildered Lana and Gabe behind her.

“What was that all about?” Gabe wondered aloud.

“I don’t know,” Lana answered, not realizing that it hadn’t really been a question for her. She started to rise from her seat on the couch. “Maybe I should go talk to her.”

Clark frowned, but didn’t stop her. He had a feeling that Lana needed to figure out for herself what he had just learned the hard way.

Lana slowly padded up the stairs, stopping to suck in a breath when she reached Chloe’s closed bedroom door.

‘She’s just getting used to being back home,’ she told herself, gathering the confidence she needed to confront Chloe while she was visibly upset. She raised her hand and lightly rapped on the door. “Chloe? It’s me.” She heard the shuffling of feet against the floor and let out a small breath of relief when it seemed that Chloe was going to open the door for her.

The door creaked open and Chloe stood in front of her, an expression of dismay on her face. Lana frowned.

“You wanna talk about it?”

Instead of answering her, Chloe stepped to the side to allow Lana to come into the room, closing the door behind her.

“It’s going to sound crazy,” Chloe started quietly, trying to tug at the laces that held the back of her dress closed. Lana saw what she was doing and went over to help her, giving her a slightly condescending grin as she did so.

“You show up out of nowhere, all of us thinking you’re dead, claiming to have been in a parallel universe…Chloe, I’m not sure ‘crazy’ is the right word.”

Chloe shook her head and lifted the back of her slightly grown-out hair so Lana could get the laces.

“It’s not that,” she said. “It’s…Lucas is the only real friend I have.”

“Chloe, that’s not true. I ---”

“But I don’t know if I’d be able to stay here if…Alexander came here for me,” Chloe continued as if Lana hadn’t spoken at all. Lana gave her a perplexed look.

“What do you mean? You just got back, you ---”

“It’s kind of hard to explain,” Chloe said, cutting the other girl off. “But Lex – Alexander,” she corrected herself, “and I have this weird physical connection. It’s like chemistry overload.” Lana’s eyes grew large with surprise.

“You’re joking,” she said with a chortle of disbelief. “You and Lex? Come on Chloe.”

“Me and Alexander,” Chloe corrected. “Granted, he looks the same, but he’s definitely not.”

“Do you love him?” Lana asked, trying to keep the astonishment from coming through in her voice.

“No, I --- I don’t know. Like I said, it’s hard to explain.”

“Well, from what you’ve told me, it sounds like he’s worse than Lex – and that’s *really* bad,” Lana said, causing Chloe to arch an eyebrow at her.

“You make it sound like Lex is a bad guy,” Chloe said with some amusement, the quirky smile on her face falling when she saw the extremely serious look on Lana’s face.

“Chloe,” Lana started slowly, moving back so Chloe could shimmy out of the top layer of the dress. “When you were gone – some stuff came up that ---” Lana stopped and shook her head. “Clark found out some stuff – some *bad* stuff – about Lex. They’re barely even civil to each other anymore.” Chloe opened and closed her mouth, unsure of what to say in response.

“Oh,” she finally said. “He seemed okay to me.”

“You haven’t been here. You don’t know what’s going on,” Lana argued.

“Well,” Chloe responded, stripping down to the tiny slip underneath all the bulky layers of the dress, “I’ll ask him about it tomorrow, but you know how Clark likes to blow every moral or ethical decision out of proportion.” ‘Except when it comes to him,’ she quickly added in her thoughts.

“You’re seeing him tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Chloe answered as if it was nothing. “He’s having someone come over to fit Lucas for clothing and ‘so kindly’ offered to get me some new things too.” Noticing the frown on Lana’s face she let out a small sigh. “What?”

Lana shook her head again.

“Nothing,” she lied as she rose from the bed to walk to the door. She placed her hand on the knob, but stopped before she turned it.

“Lana?”

“Just don’t let your feelings for…your husband,” Lana tripped over her wording, the sentence sounding wrong as it came out of her mouth. “Don’t let it cloud your judgment when it comes to Lex. Like you said, they may look alike, but they’re very different people.”




TBC…

[hler]

*tackle hug* Thank you Thank you&#33;&#33;&#33; I love this story, and I&#39;ve been in such a funk all day, this really picked me up.....Lana fainting, Chloe basically dismissing Clark with her super-princess powers, really great&#33;&#33;&#33; More soon&#33; :yay:
~Heida

[hfce]

Can Lana butt out please :tease: more please . Kris I was wondering if Mxyz story will be updated soon. ;)


Hope :biggrin:

[kmdaugherty2821]

:chlexsign3: :yay2: *sighs another great chapter thank you for updating and keep up the good work&#33; :biggrin:

[Gemini]

Oh my God, that&#39;s was the funniest thing ever&#33; :lol: Poor Chloe having to deal with dumb and dumber. Hehehe, I really liked this chapter&#33; :yay:

[bluemoongirl23]

Why does Lana always stick her nose where it doesn&#39;t belong? But, I loved their reactions to her coming back. The shopping spree ought to be very interesting. And, I love that Chloe is now used to her own way. Maybe she&#39;ll stick with the attitude and Clark will acutally listen to her from now on.

Blue

[vardaquareien]

*grumble, mumble* Bloody Lana&#33; *mumble, grumble*

...so are we gonna get some Chlex soon? Pretty please?

I luv this fic&#33;

[scifichick774]

Chloe bit her lower lip, tuning out everything else as she assessed the damage to the front of her car.

“Chloe?”

“Hmm?” she responded absently. The dent wasn’t large, but she knew she would get a nice long lecture from her dad when she got home about it. ‘Don’t miss those,’ she thought to herself.

“What happened to your car?”

The sound of Lex’s smooth, yet amused voice filtered into Chloe’s ears and she finally turned around to look at him.

“I think I hit something,” she admitted with an uneasy grin.

Lex was coming closer to her and despite the fact that she knew he didn’t see her as anything more than a friendly acquaintance; she still wasn’t entirely comfortable in finding out whether she shared the same kind of chemistry with Lex as she did with Alexander. It would only mean problems either way.

Lex came up right next to her and grinned before crouching down to look at the dented front bumper and broken headlight.

“I don’t see any blood.”

Chloe glared at him and placed her hands on her hips.

“I didn’t hit a *person*, Lex.”

Lex smirked at her as he pushed his hands off his knees and rose to full height again.

“Why did you hit anything at all?” he asked.

Chloe suddenly became very aware that he wasn’t stepping back from his position and was standing only a couple of inches away from her. Her heart started to beat rapidly in her chest and she wiped her now sweaty palms against her curve-hugging suede skirt before giving him a hesitant grin.

“I haven’t been driving in a while,” she said.

“Ah. Perhaps I should have someone chauffer you around for a while then. I don’t think your dad would look too kindly on you getting hurt so soon after you got home.”

Chloe narrowed his eyes a little at his teasing tone and before she could think about what she was doing, she backhanded his arm playfully.

“Jerk,” she said with a smile.

Lex looked down at the part of his arm where the contact had been, his eyes fixed to the where the strange tingling sensation now coursing through his body had begun. Chloe cleared her throat and Lex looked up at her.

“So, where’s Lucas?” she asked uncomfortably. Lex’s face fell from dumbstruck to displeased in the space of half a second.

“In the house,” he responded gruffly and then started to walk in that direction, Chloe following closely by his side. Careful not to let any other emotions through, he quickly added, “He’s having…difficulties…with the staff.”

Chloe surprised him by letting out a loud, hearty laugh.

“Why does that not surprise me?” she asked.

Lex grinned at her, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that had moved through his body and created such warmth only seconds ago. He couldn’t help wondering if that was the same connection Chloe had with Alexander. If so, it certainly explained why Alexander had been willing to go to such extremes to keep Chloe with him – and why he would probably go to any lengths to bring her back to his world.

“Chloe,” Lex started seriously. “I know you don’t want to talk about this, but I think we should discuss what the plan is if…Alexander…finds a way back over here.”

“You’ve been talking to my dad,” she said in an observant tone.

“No. Why? Did you already discuss this with him?”

Chloe gave him a small nod of her head and he opened the front door for her.

“He wants to move – or at least have me think about it.”

“Oh,” Lex responded, unable to keep the disappointment he felt from leaking into his voice. He understood Gabe’s position, but he didn’t want her to leave.

“I told him no,” Chloe said.

“You *would* be safer,” Lex pointed out. Chloe shook her head.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “It was my decision to bring Lucas with me. I’m not going to just desert him like that.”

Lex had to push down the swell of jealousy that arose within him. For now, Chloe didn’t know of his feelings for her; and since it looked like that was the only reason that Lucas was letting him live, he wasn’t in a hurry to state otherwise. Lex Luthor was not a patient man, but he could bide his time, slowly dropping hints to Chloe until she realized that she should be with him instead of Lucas; making her fall for him before quietly sending Lucas on his way back to his own world and finding a way to seal the gate so it couldn’t be opened again.

“Do you like him?” Lex asked quietly.

“Lucas?” she asked. Lex nodded and noticed the way that Chloe ducked her head so she wouldn’t have to look at him as she spoke.

‘Interesting.’

“I like him – as a friend,” she said so no one else but Lex could hear her.

“I see.”

“But I’m going to give him a chance,” Chloe added. “The way Clark stomped on my feelings – God. I could never do that to Lucas. He’s been the only *real* friend I’ve ever had and I --- he deserves better than me, but he also deserves the opportunity to figure that out for himself instead of just having me tell him.”

‘There is no better than you,’ Lex thought to himself. ‘And if Lucas is as smart as I think he is, then he’s already figured that out. Better not say that though.’ “Have you seen Clark?” He immediately regretted his choice for change in topic when he saw her straighten her spine.

“He was at the house last night when we got home.”

“And judging from your tone, I’m going to guess it didn’t go well,” Lex said.

“You could say that,” Chloe said and then shook her head lightly. “I just never realized how sanctimonious he can be. Like his way is the only way. God, if that were true then we’d all be wearing flannel.” Lex snickered and Chloe broke out a small smile. “Has he always been that way?”

“As far as I can remember, but I think friendship helps people overlook each other’s faults.”

“I guess,” Chloe said sadly. ‘And I guess that means Clark and I have really stopped being friends – not that we weren’t headed in that direction anyway.’

“I suppose you heard that we had a bit of a falling out,” Lex said. Chloe snorted.

“Lana went so far as to warn me away from you,” she said. Lex grinned.

“And yet, here you are,” he pointed out. “Curiosity as to what I did that was so bad as to be put on Clark’s ‘bad list’?”

“Hey – I’m here to see Lucas,” Chloe retorted with a teasing smile.

“Ah yes. How could I have forgotten?” Lex asked, mimicking her joking tone.

“Of course, now that you mention it…”

Lex chuckled and showed her a real smile.

“What’d you do? Kill someone?” she asked.

Lex was about to answer with, ‘nothing quite that sordid,’ when he thought better of it. That answer would only make her keep digging for the truth, and that probably wasn’t the best idea if he wanted to eventually win her over.

“I’d tell you, but I’d rather not scare you away like I did with Clark.”

Chloe gave him a tight grin.

“If I can still be friends with Lucas after he killed Nudd, then I’m pretty sure whatever you have to say isn’t going to affect our relationship,” she said, blushing with embarrassment after the last word came out of her mouth. ‘Good one, Sullivan. Now he’s going to think you like him like every other lovesick girl or gold-digging model likes him.

Lex felt his heart pump faster when Chloe made a slip of the tongue and then blushed about it, but his thoughts were drawn to the fact that she had said that Lucas had killed someone – and she had forgiven him for it. He was about to ask her about it when Lucas bounded into the room and swept Chloe off her feet as he twirled her around in a large hug. Chloe laughed and Lex frowned.

‘Great,’ he thought sarcastically.

“I have missed you,” Lucas said before setting Chloe’s feet down on the floor. His gaze moved over her body and Lex clenched his hands into fists. “You look…nice,” he said with an appreciative smirk. Chloe, used to Lucas’s compliments, simply smiled. She let own eyes run over him and her smile broadened.

“You too,” she said when she saw the outfit he was wearing. A tight long-sleeved coal colored shirt with nicely fitting black jeans. Chloe shook her head. “Did the people bring clothes with them or something?”

“My brother left some of his things here,” Lex answered.

“Oh,” Chloe said. “I’m sorry.”

Lex nodded once.

“It’s okay. At least they’re being put to use, right?”

Chloe gave him a sad grin, and much to Lex’s surprise, moved away from Lucas to give him a small hug. She pulled away before Lex could wrap his arms around her and he suddenly felt a complete lack of warmth where her body had just been. He cleared his throat to cut through the now uncomfortable atmosphere around them and motioned with his arm to the room where they would get their measurements taken.

“So – shall we?”

[marrycherry]

they&#39;re so cute together :chlexsign1:
i love this fic...i really do....but i would really like to know what happen to the other Lex.. and when this lex is gonna make a move on Chloe.

update soon.. :chlexsign3:

p.d: did i tell you that how much i love this fic :cool:

[Tandy]

I don&#39;t know why but now i kind of like this Lucas&#33; I feel really bad for Alexander though...will he come back? Great chapter&#33;


Tandy :wub:

[sabby]

Nice update, but hey that was way to short, and you know I want more&#33; So come on, give Lex and Chloe a couple of minutes alone so he can tell her what the fall out was about and for a little more UST&#33;

hugs,
Sabby

[drina]

This story is one of my favourites. Although Lucas is a pyschopath, he does really care about Chloe. And I just know that Prince Alex will not give up Chloe so easily...it&#39;s so exciting. :yay:

[bluemoongirl23]

Lex can bide his time, huh? Hope he doesn&#39;t have to bide too much of it. And, really, Chloe is too good a person giving Lucas a chance when Lex is all hot and sexy and standing right in front of her.

Blue

[scifichick774]

The ride into town was…torturous.

Chloe hadn’t even considered the probability that Lucas might get motion sickness as he had never been in an automobile before and she was sure that the limo driver was going to be less than pleased when he saw the streak of vomit along the outside of the car on the driver’s side.

They finally pulled to a stop in the street in front of the Talon. The chauffer held Chloe’s door open for her and she had barely gotten out when Lucas quickly came scrambling out after her, making his way to a section of sidewalk to the side of the Talon’s front door, where the remainder of his stomach’s contents were promptly exhumed.

The driver grimaced and Chloe looked at him apologetically.

“You’ll – uh – want to visit the car wash, I’m guessing.”

He grimaced again, but gave her a polite nod and left them standing in front of the building that had become one of her second homes when she had still been living there.

She frowned at the thought. Did she not consider self a resident of Smallville anymore? She hadn’t been over in Lucas’s world that long, she couldn’t possibly…James’s words rang in her ears. She *technically* wasn’t from the world that she was now in. Maybe that’s where all of this doubt about being there was suddenly springing up from. She shook off the thoughts and turned her attention to Lucas.

“Feeling better?” Chloe asked sympathetically and rubbed Lucas’s back. He grunted and she began to usher him toward the Talon’s front door, handing him a Kleenex out of her purse so he could wipe his mouth. “Guess it’s a good thing that Lex insisted on the limo since it went a lot slower than *I* usually drive.” Lucas arched his eyebrow and Chloe smiled at him before offering a light one-shouldered shrug. “You get used to it.”

Lucas grimaced as he looked over toward the section of sidewalk that he had just thrown up on.

“I do not believe I shall ever become used to that.”

“Oh. Well, no. I meant, you’ll get used to being in the car – you won’t get carsick after a while,” Chloe said.

Lucas nodded once and placed his hand on the small of her back as he opened the door for her.

If she had any doubts about bringing Lucas back with her, they were all dismissed the second Chloe saw Lana’s face. The brunette girl’s jaw dropped to the floor, quickly followed by the tray of coffee mugs and glasses she was carrying.

Chloe had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing, but Lucas had no qualms about showing his amusement with the situation. He threw his head back and let a deep laugh erupt from his throat, causing Chloe to snicker as well.

‘Too bad I didn’t have him here when I hate her,’ she thought to herself. ‘Ooh – or the jocks – I could have had him get rid of them for me.’ Chloe ran her bottom teeth over her upper lip after the thought drifted through her mind. ‘Probably not a good idea to encourage his homicidal tendencies.’

“I – um – hi,” Lana stammered, giving Chloe a little wave as she approached the couple. Lucas growled at her and Lana’s eyes widened, her feet taking a step back out of instinct.

“Hi Lana,” Chloe replied with a beaming smile, more than a little entertained by Lana’s reaction. She then rested her hand on Lucas’s waiting bent arm, an action she had come to get used to when she had been in the other world. “Lucas, this is Lana Lang; Lana, this is Prince Lucas of ---”

“We’ve met,” Lana interrupted and then scrunched up her face. “Or, sort of anyway. I met Lex’s brother while he was here.”

Lucas raised a disdainful eyebrow and gave her a mocking look.

“We are different people, and I am certain that my double held you in the same regard that I hold Julian’s fiancée.”

“Uh, well,” Lana said in flustered discomfort and then looked away and at the floor as she started to speak again. “We didn’t hit it off as well as we could have, but he had a hard life, and ---”

“And tolerating you did not make it any less difficult,” Lucas said pointedly. He leaned his head toward Chloe and placed his hand on top of the hand she had resting on his other arm. “May we be rid of this place now?” Chloe smirked up at him.

“That anxious to get back in the car, huh?” she teased.

Lucas gave her a tight grin which quickly turned into a mischievous smile, and within the blink of an eye he moved his hands to her sides to tickle her unmercifully. Chloe yelped and Lana watched on in confusion as her friend started to giggle. Chloe *never* giggled.

The giggle turned to a full-blown laugh and Chloe started to playfully try and push Lucas’s hands away from her.

“Stop it&#33;” she squealed.

Lana blinked and took a few steps back further away from them, stumbling a little on the broken cups she never picked up.

After thinking that she was dead, even after the coroner said otherwise, Chloe was alive and home. And despite what she had said the previous night, she seemed…happy. It was the first time Lana had seen her like that in a long time.

‘Since before Clark and I really started even becoming friends,’ she thought to herself with a tiny frown on her lips. Her ears perked back up when she heard Chloe start talking again and her gaze moved over to where her friend stood with her hands against Lucas’s chest.

“…Besides, you said you wanted to meet Clark,” Chloe said. The words set off warning bells in Lana’s head and she quickly rushed over and grabbed Chloe by the arm. Chloe merely raised an eyebrow at her. “Can I help you?” she asked with a slight laugh. Lana tugged on her arm and Chloe gave Lucas a grumbling apologetic look as she let the dark-haired girl pull her away.

“Chloe&#33;” Lana hissed in a hushed voice, her eyes darting over to Lucas to make sure her life wasn’t in immediate peril. “What are you doing?”

Chloe tore her arm away from Lana’s grasp and rubbed it.

‘She just had to grab my *wounded* arm,’ she inwardly chided. “What do you mean?”

“I mean ---” Lana trailed off and motioned to Lucas with her head. Chloe narrowed her eyes at her.

“I told you that I was bringing him to meet you, Clark, and Pete today,” she responded, meeting Lana’s almost venomous tone. “It’s not *my* fault if you didn’t ‘hit it off’ with this Lucas either.”

Truth be told, Chloe was glad. Ever since she had moved to Smallville the summer before eighth grade, Lana Lang had been worshipped like a goddess who could do no wrong – even when her faults and misdoings were blatantly clear. It was nice to see someone who didn’t put Lana up on that pedestal, but instead placed *her* there. It was nice to be the princess. And Chloe wasn’t about to let Lana’s fragile ego ruin that.

Lana blinked, startled by Chloe speaking to her like that. In Chloe’s absence, she had forgotten that the blonde girl had been the only one to ever stand up to her, to call her on not being perfect. Although she had always been the center of attention, Lana had gotten used to her false glory not being called into question while Chloe was gone. And now that Chloe was back, Lana had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach that things were about to take a definite turn for the worse.

The girls’ heads turned when the bell above the Talon’s front door chimed and they watched Clark and Pete walk into the establishment. Lana gave Clark a nervous smile and started to move toward him.

Chloe, on the other hand, had a completely different reaction. She rolled her eyes in partial disgust at her former crush and then covered the space between her and Pete to give her friend a warm hug. Pete hugged her back, his arms wrapped tightly around her as if he were clinging for dear life. Chloe pulled away and Pete smiled broadly as he unashamedly looked over her body.

“Clark told me, but I didn’t believe it,” he said. “I can’t believe you’re actually here - *alive*.” Chloe chuckled and then noticed Lucas’s raised eyebrow. “So, tell me all about your adventures as Princess Chloe.”

“In a sec, Pete,” she said, grabbing his hand to drag him over to where Lucas stood. “First, there’s someone I want you to meet.” Pete smirked and gave an upward nod of his head to Lucas.

“We’ve met,” he said casually. “Long time no see. What’s been goin’ on?”

Lucas glanced over at Chloe, who snickered into her hand.

“Pete, this is Lucas.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said. “I ---”

“Not the Lucas you met Lucas,” Chloe clarified. Pete furrowed his brow until understanding dawned on him and his eyes grew large.

“You brought him back with you?” he asked in surprise. Chloe nodded and Pete blinked a couple of times, unsure of what to make of this newest development.

“Whoa.”

“I gather that Clark didn’t fill you in on everything?” Chloe asked with amusement. Pete shot a small glare at Clark, who ducked his head sheepishly.

“Apparently not,” he answered. “But that’s Clark for you.”

Lucas looked over to the young man who Chloe’s friend had glared at. So that was Clark. Tall and good-looking - the boy that Chloe used to like. He would need to be taken care of.

Clark, of course, chose that exact moment to step forward and extend his hand.

“Clark Kent,” he greeted. Lucas glanced down at the hand and then back up to Clark disdainfully. Clark pulled back his hand uncomfortably and narrowed his eyes questioningly at the prince. “Sorry. Have I done something to make you not like me already?”

Pete snickered.

“The other him didn’t like you either. Remember?”

Clark gave Pete a warning glare, but Pete shrugged it off.

“Hey, just sayin’ – kind of funny is all,” he said.

Lucas sneered at Clark.

“You chose…*her*,” he said, spitting out the pronoun with disgust as he glanced at Lana, “over the princess. You. Are. *Nothing*.”

Pete’s lips formed a perfect ‘o’ and he cleared his throat. If the situation wasn’t diffused soon then people were going to end up getting hurt.

“So, hey,” Pete said, jerking Lucas away from his feral glare, “do you have a title too or is Chlo slumming it?”

“Pete&#33;” Chloe exclaimed with a smile, backhanding her friend on his upper arm.

“I am a prince,” Lucas replied, a hint of a smirk on his lips as he addressed Chloe’s shorter friend. Unlike Clark, Pete seemed to pose very little threat to his burgeoning relationship with Chloe and he realized that it could only be to his advantage to try and get along with the boy.

Pete let out an impressed whistle.

“Nice,” he said. Lucas’s smirk grew larger, but it quickly turned smug when he noticed Clark and Lana watching him uneasily. Pete slapped a hand onto Chloe’s shoulder. “So…*adventures*?”




TBC...

[Blaire023]

awww, ain&#39;t that cute....*pinches Pete&#39;s cheeks*

just look at him, who wouldn&#39;t like Petey?

So....Pete being friends with a Luthor? Which hell dimension has she crawled into this time?

I&#39;m still waiting for Chloe and Lex to get all snuggly and go at it. Course I&#39;ll probably have to go check out the threesome over yonder way. GAH I need smut, get on with it already. Or bring Alexander back so he can rock her world some more.

~B

[staysixkid]

I love the team of Chloe and Lucas&#33; They seem so fitting together. :wub: And I know it&#39;s a Chlex fic...but I can&#39;t help but look for all the Chlucas things in it. :biggrin:

I love this story&#33;

[Elviriel]

I love it &#33; Update soon &#33; :chlexsign3:

[hfce]

That was great :clap:


Hope :biggrin:

[Tandy]

:yay: :yay: I :wub: this lucas just for the fact that he hates Lana and Clark. Hey, if we&#39;re lucky he might even killed them for us&#33; :yay: More&#33;

Tandy

[dsapiro]

I love it. Pete is great. And I like Lucas. Although, I think we need some Chlex action.

[shailafter]

yay&#33; you updated.. but hey&#33; when is there going to be some chlex scenes? :crygreen: :chlexsign3:

[bluemoongirl23]

I think that Pete&#39;s peacemaking skills will get a serious workout. He&#39;s going to be putting out fires all over the place in this fic.

Blue

[kmdaugherty2821]

:yay: You updated&#33; Thank you. Great story, can&#39;t wait to read more&#33; =) :yay:

[scifichick774]

Two weeks later…

“Lovely,” Lucas said appreciatively as Chloe slowly turned around in one of the many outfits that the personal shopper had gotten for her.

This one happened to be one of several evening gowns that Chloe was sure she’d never get the opportunity to wear anywhere.

‘But hey – free stuff,’ she told herself. Not to mention the fact that Lana would probably be seething with jealousy at the sight of them. That alone made playing dress-up Barbie for the day worthwhile.

Lucas smirked over at Lex.

“I am enjoying your world.”

Lex glared at him, but it only caused Lucas’s smirk to grow.

The dress Chloe was wearing was beautiful and showed off her curves nicely, but if every guy at a party was going to be looking at her like Lucas was, then he would have to rethink his opinion on it.

Lex turned his attention back to Chloe.

“I liked the green one better,” he commented, his arms folded sternly across his chest.

Lucas rolled his eyes at Chloe and she snickered. Lex had been very sweet and surprisingly attentive for the last couple of weeks, but today he had insisted on giving her his opinion on every single outfit she tried on. Earlier on, it had been so detailed – what cuts he liked her, which fabrics – that it prompted Lucas to whisper a derogatory comment in Chloe’s ear challenging Lex’s masculinity.

She knew it wasn’t true, of course; but she figured it could only help Lex stay alive longer if Lucas no longer perceived him as a threat, so she went along with it.

“The green one, huh?” she teased, earning her a genuine grin from Lex. “That wouldn’t be because it shows less skin?”

“Not at all,” Lex lied. “It’s simply more flattering to your --- argh&#33;”

Lex clutched at his head and Chloe did the same, leaving Lucas standing there, wondering what the hell was going on.

“Do not deny me, my wife,” Alexander murmured next to Chloe’s ear as he nuzzled her cheek, silently delighting in the fact that her skin broke out in a pleasured shiver with his words.

Chloe tilted her head further to the side as he started to kiss down her jaw. Alexander’s hands creeped up her body, moving to cup and fondle her breasts as he roughly nipped and sucked at the delicate skin on top of the vein in her neck.

“Lex,” she whimpered pleadingly, moving her body closer, rocking her hips against him in an effort to find the friction she so desperately needed. He growled low in his throat and twisted a hand in the back of her hair to drag her mouth to his.

He backed her toward the bed, the layers of bedding hitting the backs of her legs before her knees bent and he lowered her onto it.

“Tell me we do not belong together,” he whispered tauntingly against her lips before sucking the bottom one into his mouth. He released it slowly and laid a soft kiss on her parted lips afterward. “You feel it as well; I know you do, my beloved.”

“I ---”

Alexander moved down her body and lightly captured one of her already peaked nipples between his teeth. Chloe closed her eyes – half in panic and half too overwhelmed by the heat that now coursed through her.

The heat turned to an astonishing pain as she felt Alexander enter her, ripping through her maidenhead with one giant thrust. She screamed and clawed at him, but her husband merely dipped his head and kissed her before he started to pump in and out of her.

The pain laced with pleasure and Chloe soon got caught up in the intense chemistry there was between them. Her stomach started to clench and tingle and Chloe cried out hoarsely as she climaxed.

His arms wobbled slightly under the pressure of Chloe’s inner walls tightening around his shaft like a vice grip. His hips thrust forward a few more times, his body jerking as he came and sprayed his hot release deep inside her.

Alexander collapsed on top of her and Chloe panted against the crook of his neck, her hands clinging to his back as if it were for dear life.

The image faded and Chloe and Lex were left with a sea of mixing colors behind their eyes.

“You consummated your marriage with Alexander. It is your duty to return home.”

Lex blinked and Chloe’s hands clenched into fists.

“Get the fuck out of my head, James&#33;” she yelled, startling both Lucas and Lex, but for different reasons.

Lucas frowned.

James still had the ability to try and connect to people in this world without their permission, and he was obviously using it to push his own agenda – namely getting Chloe to go back to the other world and stay married to Alexander.

Lex swallowed hard.

He had only seen glimpses of his double making love to Chloe before and to see the full coupling now, with Chloe standing in the same room wearing a dress that showed off her skin as well as her curves…it was almost unbearable.

He wanted to jump her then and there; slam her back against the wall, feel her legs wrap around his waist, and then plunge into her with all his force.

But he couldn’t.

She didn’t like him like that, she liked Alexander – and from the other things he had seen, she didn’t really care for him all that much either. They just had some inexplicable connection, like some greater force was trying to drive them together.

Then there was the issue of having his throat slit if he got too close to her while Lucas was in the room.

“I --- you saw that?” Lex finally asked, breaking the silence that had filtered into the air around them after Chloe’s outburst. Chloe’s eyes widened, but whether it was in horror or panic, Lex couldn’t say.

“Y-you?”

Lex nodded.

“The message at the end made it clear that the images were meant for you, but I must still be connected to him somehow because of the previous times he contacted me.”

Chloe paled and nodded absently.

“I – um – I need to get some air,” she said, careful not to make eye contact with either man.

“Princess?”

Chloe held up a hand.

“Just let me go get some air. I’ll be back in a minute, okay?”

Lucas seemed hesitant, but he nodded once and watched as Chloe left the room in the evening gown before shooting Lex a questioning look.

“What did James show her?”

If Lex hadn’t had the years of practice in what it looked like to show no emotion, he would have flinched.

“I think that’s a question for her.”

“You saw the images as well,” Lucas pointed out.

“They weren’t meant for me,” Lex said. “And they’re of a…delicate nature. If she wants you to know, then she’ll tell you.”

Lucas squared his jaw.

“Her and Alexander,” he said knowingly.

“Like I said,” Lex started, turning away so he wouldn’t have to try to lie to Lucas’s face, “You’ll need to ask her.”

“I saw your expression – your lust for her as your eyes glazed over with James’s vision. Do you really believe you will ever have her?”

Lex stopped and turned back around. Lucas wasn’t carrying any weapons and he’d had about enough of having to walk on eggshells around him.

“Chloe’s her own woman, Lucas. She doesn’t belong to you.”

Lucas raised his chin in defiance.

“No,” he said with a sneer. “She *belongs* to my brother, Alexander. And if you touch her, he will kill you the second he arrives – and make no mistake, he *will* come for her. You would do well to remember that.”

“Oh, dear,” Lionel said, appearing out of nowhere in the doorway with a smirk. “I’m not interrupting, am I?”

Lex frowned. He had been expecting his father to pay him a visit when he was released, but he hadn’t been informed by his attorneys that it would be that day.

“Dad,” he greeted coolly.

“Son,” Lionel said, the smirk still prominent on his features. “And Lucas, what a pleasant surprise.”

Lucas arched a mocking eyebrow and scowled disdainfully at Lionel. Letting out a derisive huff of air through his nose, he let his lips curl into a smirk that rivaled the one Lionel’s face.

Lionel was almost unable to cover the unsettled feeling that rose within him because of Lucas’s look.

Lucas had always had false bravado, but wherever Lex had been keeping the boy, it had given him real confidence; and Lionel knew well enough how dangerous that could be. It was the reason he had always withheld his love and approval from Lex, because he needed to keep Lex reaching for the golden ring, going for the prize.

But the look on Lucas’s face, the power he exuded – no amount of making up for lost time was going to keep him from overthrowing Lionel. And if he teamed up with Lex…

Lionel turned his attention back to the son he knew he had a better chance at manipulating and gave him a fake, amused smile.

“Dissention in the ranks?”

Lex mimicked his father’s smile.

“I thought you wanted me to be a team player, Dad.”

Lionel narrowed his eyes and Lex smirked at him.

“Okay, I’m ---” Chloe trailed off as she came back into the room and found Lionel Luthor standing in front of Lex and Lucas.

“Miss Sullivan,” he greeted with a modicum of surprise lining his voice. “How nice to see that you’re alive and well after all.”

Lionel let his eyes sweep over her in a leering gaze until he felt a hand wrap around his throat and another touch the back of his head. His head snapped to the side and his body fell in a lifeless heap to the floor.

Lex stared on in shock until Lucas addressed him.

“Let that serve as your warning. You only get one.”




TBC…

[Carina]

:ohmy: Okay, my first response? Absolutely speechless, followed by a whispered "oh my God." I tell you what, that rivals Jenny Calender for shock value. I thought it was odd that Lucas was taking Lex&#39;s reaction to the vision so calmly and then that at the end... wow.

This is an amazing story and I just... words can&#39;t express my love for it, which explains why I rarely leave reviews for what has to be my favourite fanfiction ever. To say I can&#39;t wait for the next installment would be a severe understatement.

[Tandy]

Hee, :lol: I love Lucas and I loved this chapter&#33; Great update, so who will Chloe end up with? Alexander or Lex ...or both? :drool:

Tandy

[shailafter]

:ohmy: *jaw dropper* lucas.. evil much. lol great chappy

[dsapiro]

Wow, that was... suprising? really good? can&#39;t quite figure out the best words to use except for want more soon&#33;

[hfce]

OH MY GOD&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; :ohmy: Did he just kill Lionel? :huh: Ohhhhhhhh


Hope :huh:

[Michelle]

Oh n-no no&#33; Did Lucas just kill Lionel&#33;?? OMG, if Chloe forgives him for this I will never read this ever again&#33; It&#39;s about time she recognises him for smarmy, psychotic bastard her is&#33; Continue soon pleeeeease&#33;&#33;&#33;

Hugs, Michelle

[Blaire023]

*heeeeeeeeeeeee*

~B

[tigerbaby]

I think I&#39;m in shock. I certainly didn&#39;t see that coming. I hope Chloe finally puts psycho boy in his place

[Joy]

gyah&#33;

My first post didn&#39;t work.

Anyway. I love this chapter. I&#39;m not sure about Lionel, though...he hasn&#39;t done anything yet&#33; Lucas should learn to control his temper&#33;

I can&#39;t wait to see how you&#39;ll write the Alexander/Lex confrontation...

[sabby]

*frowns* me thinks that is gonna cause some problems. DO YOU SEE NOW CHLOE?&#33; You brought a psycho with you that&#39;ll kill people on random&#33; How can you like him after that?

Update soon, I wanna know where they hide the body&#33;

hugs,
Sabby

[Blaire023]

LOL @ Sab, oh yeah, all cute and innocent and what not.

*whispers in ear* let me know where they hide it after you find out.

~B

[bluemoongirl23]

Lucas has officially gone bye-bye. All sorts of a lunatic isn&#39;t he? Wow. Yeah, everyone grab a shovel and trudge to the Luthor backyard, it&#39;s a grave digging partay&#33;

Blue

[TestingFaith]

Grave digging party??? I loves me grave digging parties...especially if the guy being burried is as evil as Lionel...

Yay&#33;&#33;&#33; **sings off key to the tune of "The Witch is Dead" from the Wizard of OZ"** Lionel is dead&#33; Lionel is dead&#33;

Lily M. :sunny:

[Gemini]

I love this fic so much I want to hug it&#33;&#33;&#33; Please, for the sake of my sanity update this soon? Don&#39;t do the threat-thing, I can&#39;t stand not being without updates, especially from this fic. It&#39;s gotten one of those special places in my fic-luvin heart.

[vardaquareien]

WOW&#33;&#33;&#33;

....

....oh you want more review?

....ummm lets see... if I join in the grave digging party out the back of the mansion will you be pissed if I accidentally whack Lucas over the head with my shovel and send him flying to land unconcious in the magnificent bastards grave? *whistles as she shovels dirt over the bodies of the magnificent bastard and the not-so-magnificent psychpath*

*singing* Ding-dong the bastard&#39;s dead&#33; Which old bastard? The Magnificent Bastard&#33; Ding-dong his psycho son is too&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; *skips merrily away back to her padded cell*

[krahmogh]

I too will be very unhappy if Chloe forgives Lucas for killing his own father without even thinking about it.

I am loving this story&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; Please update again soon.

:chlexsign4:

[scifichick774]

“Why will it not open?&#33;” Alexander snarled in frustration. His tone was enough to make Carrado take a couple of steps back, but James merely sighed.

“We have already explained this to you, Alexander. The stars are not in the correct alignment,” he said as if he were speaking to a child. Alexander growled and drew his sword. The sharp blade pressed against James’s neck, but the younger man kept a cool expression. “I am her only brother. If you kill me, she will never come back to you.”

“She will never *come back to me* regardless of what actions I take,” Alexander retorted knowingly. “That is why I need you to open the gate so that I may retrieve her.”

“You would not need to retrieve her if you had done as I told you,” James scathingly shot back.

Alexander lowered his sword, placed it back in its hilt, and frowned.

“I was protecting her,” he said in his own defense. “Father would have ---”

“I know,” James interrupted, uncharacteristic sympathy lining his voice. “But you should have left that duty to her father – provided Chloe’s escape instead of fighting beside someone who is a capable warrior in his own right.”

Alexander turned away and closed his eyes.

“Can a man not remedy his errors, James?”

“Not always.”

“And you believe this to be one of those times?”

“It is difficult to say,” James replied. “From what I have observed, I believe she is having conflicting emotions about leaving this world and you behind, but ---”

“But you do not know if she will willingly return,” Alexander finished for him.

“I do not.”

“You said she is having conflicting emotions,” Alexander said, turning to look at the young man he thought was his brother for so many years. “Does she have feeling for me beyond our mutual…physical attraction?”

James frowned. It was not an easy question to answer, and one that he wasn’t entirely certain he should be entertaining to begin with.

“James?” Alexander asked again when he received no response. James sighed.

“I believe so,” he said quietly, causing a small smile to twitch at one corner of Alexander’s mouth. “But you need to know that she may not allow it to sway her decision.”

“I only wish to have my wife back.”

“I know,” James replied, thinking it wise not to delve into the discussion about how Chloe wasn’t actually brought there for him again.

“Every day that passes, she spends her time with *him*, grows closer to *him*. She should be with *me*, not my brother&#33;” Alexander yelled with growing impatience, spinning around to face James and Carrado. “*I* am her husband and *I* am her *king*&#33;”

James closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.

“We have been through this, Alexander,” he said with an exasperated sigh. “Your marriage is not valid in that world unless she acknowledges it as such.” He paused and gave Alexander a pointed look. “And in that realm, she has no king.”

Alexander’s nostrils flared, but he knew there was nothing he could do about what James was saying, nothing but find a way to the other world and bring his wife back – whether she wanted to go with him or not.

“She is no longer bound to you. If she refuses you and accepts another’s proposal…perhaps you should consider remarrying,” Carrado suggested, earning a wince from James and Alexander’s hand swiftly around his throat.

Alexander squeezed tighter, only stopping when Carrado’s face changed colors and he knew the man was close to death. He let go and the monk dropped to the ground, gasping for air. Alexander turned and arched an eyebrow, daring him to say something, but the blonde man merely frowned.

“If the stars are not in alignment here, then we will travel to where they are aligned,” Alexander informed him. “My wife is coming home.”

James watched on stoically as Alexander left the room , his former ‘brother’s’ words echoing in his head.

‘Can a man not remedy his errors?’

James ran a hand over his face. He was beginning to believe that he had made the greatest mistake of all in allowing Chloe to be brought back to their world in the first place. It had turned everyone’s lives upside down, and his inability to see what the future held in concern to his sister was maddening.

‘Not always.’

“Not always,” he mumbled to himself right after thinking it. “Not always.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Oh, my God.”

Lucas looked over and frowned when he saw Chloe observing the scene in horrified shock. In his jealous rage, he had forgotten that Chloe had told him that if she took him back with her that the rules were different, that he wouldn’t be able to kill anyone or he would be sent away.

‘Surely there are exceptions,’ he thought to himself, quickly crossing over to where she was standing and placing his hands on her upper arms. Taking a chance that Chloe hadn’t heard his low, but threatening words to Lex, he began to speak to her quietly. “You were not here,” he said. “He would have exposed both of us and hurt Lex. I was merely protecting my new family.”

Lex frowned. If Lucas’s words and tone sounded convincing to him when he knew the truth, then he couldn’t expect Chloe to be able to know it was a lie.

Lucas leaned forward and kissed Chloe on the forehead and much to Lex’s chagrin, she seemed to lean into his touch.

“You are pale,” Lucas said, running the back of his hand down her cheek.

‘Gee, I can’t imagine why,’ Lex thought sarcastically.

Lucas pulled back a little, a worried frown on his lips.

“And you look unwell. You need to rest.”

Lex pursed his lips. Lucas’s concern for Chloe actually seemed touching in a twisted sort of way and he couldn’t help thinking that if he wasn’t interested in her that…

‘SOCIOPATH&#33;’ a little voice inside his head screamed and he blinked away the other thoughts that had flit through his mind.

“I appreciate the thought, but this isn’t my home,” Chloe said, giving Lucas a weak grin. “Not here.”

“I forgot. I apologize,” Lucas said, running his hand over her cheek again. With a slight turn of his head, Lucas was looking at Lex. “I do not believe she is in the proper condition to operate her…car. May she sleep here in one of your guest rooms?”

Lex nodded once.

“Of course,” he agreed. “Why don’t you have one of the maids show her to a room and I’ll take care of the…” he paused and glanced at his father’s body, “…situation.”

“Thanks, Lex,” Chloe said. “I’m…sorry.”

Lex gave her a hint of a grin.

“Go get some rest.”

He watched as Lucas wrapped his arm around Chloe’s back as they walked out of the room and then pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number that he rarely used, but had memorized in case of emergencies.

“I need a clean-up crew,” he said into the phone, his voice leaving no room for argument. Lex sucked in a breath as he prepared to step over a line he wasn’t sure he could ever be forgiven for. ‘If she could forgive Lucas then she can forgive me,’ he thought. “And send Meeker with you. I have something to discuss with him.”

He clicked off the phone and turned his head toward the sound of the doorbell chiming.

‘Crap. That’s just what I need,’ he thought, moving out of the room and closing the large doors to it behind him.

The butler answered the door, but Lex was close enough to see who was on the other side.

“Clark,” he greeted, no friendliness in his tone whatsoever. “I thought you normally went around to the kitchen for deliveries?”

“I need to talk to you,” Clark said, stepping by the butler, who swiftly shut the door and exited the foyer.

“No offense, Clark, but I think we said everything that needed to be said the last time we talked.”

“It’s about Chloe,” Clark said with a steely gaze.

“What about her?”

“She’s…changed…since she came back.”

“Has she?” Lex asked. “Or is it just that she’s not following you around, pleading for you to notice her anymore?”

Clark squared his jaw and stiffened his spine at Lex’s harsh tone.

“Lucas is a bad influence on her,” he continued, outwardly ignoring Lex’s comment.

“And you’d like me to do…what exactly?” Lex asked.

“Keep him away from her&#33;” Clark blurted out as if it was the easiest answer in the world.

Lex scoffed and turned to start walking down a hallway, instinctually knowing that Clark would follow him and that he would be further away from the body Lucas had left behind.

“You think I’m joking?” Clark practically yelled. “This is serious, Lex&#33;”

Lex pivoted on his heel and gave Clark a hard glare.

“Chloe was *kidnapped* to an alternate reality, Clark – one that she almost didn’t escape from. *That’s* serious,” he said. “And now that she’s back, you expect everything to be like it was? You expect her to just to jump back into her old life like nothing happened?” He stopped and shook his head. “It’s never going to be that way again. In fact, it probably wouldn’t have stayed that way if she hadn’t been kidnapped at all. People evolve into their personalities and outgrow each other. That’s how life is.”

Clark pursed his lips and stared at the young man who used to be his friend.

“So, you’re not going to keep him away from her,” he said.

Lex gave him a tight, bitter grin.

“I hardly think that’s my place, do you, Clark?” he asked. “However, if you’d like to warn him away from her, be my guest. He just showed her to a room so she could rest and should be down any minute now.”

Clark’s face fell a little and he eyed Lex questioningly.

“Rest? Is she okay?”

“Not that you’ve taken the time to notice, but she hasn’t been feeling well lately.”

“Oh....Lana didn’t say anything.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but Miss Lang spends the majority of her time at school, at work, or with you. That doesn’t leave a lot of time for socializing with the woman who took her into her home when she refused to escape this hellhole and simply move to Metropolis with her aunt,” Lex said pointedly and Clark squirmed uncomfortably.

Lex glanced over at the grandfather clock in the hallway and then back to Clark.

“I have a meeting in a little while,” Lex said. “If you’d like to stay and talk to Lucas, then I’ll tell him and you can take it outside. I’d prefer for there not to be any blood spilled in front of my business associates.”

“I’m sure your ‘business associates’ are used to it,” Clark said snidely.

“Not everything in the world lives up to your exacting moral standards, Clark. I won’t apologize for the things I’ve done, but I am sorry that you had to find out about it.”

Clark shook his head despairingly.

“I think I should leave,” he said.

Lex nodded a couple of times in agreement.

“I think that would be a good idea.”

Lex watched as Clark left through the front door, letting out a small breath of relief when he heard the Kents’ truck start up and start to drive away.

He had told the truth, he wasn’t sorry for the things he had done to get ahead in business, even if they were ruthless. He couldn’t even bring himself to feel sorry for what was soon going to happen to Lucas. Anything worth fighting for was worth fighting dirty for.

And Chloe was worth it.




TBC...

[Calliope]

Ooooo, I&#39;m so glad Lex is ready to fight for Chloe. I still haven&#39;t figured out who I want her with - Lex or Alexander. I do know that Sociopath&#33;Lucas needs to go. :biggrin:

[vardaquareien]

Originally posted by scifichick774@Sep 9 2003, 01:25 PM
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but Miss Lang spends the majority of her time at school, at work, or with you. That doesn’t leave a lot of time for socializing with the woman who took her into her home when she refused to escape this hellhole and simply move to Metropolis with her aunt,” Lex said pointedly and Clark squirmed uncomfortably.
BOOYAH&#33;&#33;&#33; Score one for Lex&#33;&#33;&#33; :tease: Take that Clarky boy&#33;&#33;&#33; I absolutely loved the confrontation between Lex and Clark&#33;

I can&#39;t wait for Alexander to find a way to this dimension - a Lex/Alexander confrontation should be VERY interesting&#33;&#33;&#33;

I still wish something nasty would happen to Lucas though&#33; How can Chloe actually still like the guy&#33;

Ooooh you make me so emotional&#33; I can&#39;t wait for more&#33;&#33;&#33;

[hfce]

Ok where is chloe&#39;s head? Why wasn&#39;t she freaked out? What is wrong with that chick? :huh: Lucas needs to go. :tease:


Hope

[Michelle]

:ohmy: What in the hell?&#33;?&#33; Didn&#39;t he just kill Lionel? How could Chloe let him near her, let alone smile at him and let him touch her? What the smeg is going on? When is Chloe going to bitch-slap Lucas and tell him to bugger off? :die: The guy is f*cking insane&#33; Nice work though :worship2: please continue soon&#33;

Hugs, michelle

[Sunflow]

Uhhh I hope this clean-up crew will help Lex with getting rid of Lionel&#39;s body and Lucas in the same time. I mean, come on, this is civilised world, you go to jail for killing people here. Prepare some nice evidence, bring Chloe back to her senses (what&#39;s wrong with you, girl, your friend is a m-u-r-d-e-r-e-r&#33;) and voila, the best way to say sayonara to Lucas-freak. :hammer:

*wants Chloe to be with Alexander. Men with swords are :love: *

Sunflow

[sabby]

*frowns* Ok, I can see that Chloe has changed a lot during her time in the other dimension. *nods* I can see that Lucas is her only real &#39;friend&#39; now, because he has been in the other dimension (And why would somebody want to go back to a dimension where they have only one friend that btw is a fuckin SOCIOPATH )and she is estranged from this dimension now. *nods* I understand that she never had sympathetic feelings for Lionel in the first place. *nods*
But is the poor girl sooo far out of her wits that she doesn&#39;t even so much as YELP or step back or want to hurl or run when a man is murdered right in front of her?

Then there is Lex. Ok, his father never loved him. Ok, he never got anything but trouble from his dad. Ok he probably thought &#39;God can somebody kill my father please&#39; more than a hundered times in his life. But, just turning around grinning at Chloe then calling a sweeper crew as if it was nothing? Something smells foul in Smallville, like really really foul. And I for myself am waiting for the other shoe to drop.

And Clark, well Clark is his usual selfrighteous selfabsorbed and worried for the sake of worrying self.

Back at the other dimension...

Still love James, but he should really learn when to keep his mouth shut. I don&#39;t understand why he wants to help Alexander, except for his own selfish reasons to &#39;have a lil sister&#39;.

Alexander, hmmmm I don&#39;t know if I want to believe a man that he wants to change when he says it in the same breath as &#39;I&#39;m gonna haul her back over here if she wants to or not&#39; (Where&#39;s the arched eyebrow icon when I need it?)

but we will see....

Update this one soon, if you can. I still love the story and wait for the other shoe *looks up to see if other shoe is coming already*

hugs,
Sabby

[asharnanae]

:huh: ok, I am still processing this one, give me like, a year or something...................

..................... woah, ok, nope, brain still cant process, hang on........................


............ Damn, that was really good, but wha??????? God I want to kill lucus, psyco&#33;&#33;&#33; and alexanander has just plumeted in my estimation. I can only feel sorry for lex, haveing all this shit dumped at his doorstep&#33;

Fantastic as ever&#33;&#33;&#33;

aghhhhh, I cant wait for the next part now.

[tigerbaby]

Originally posted by Michelle@Sep 9 2003, 04:17 AM
:ohmy: What in the hell?&#33;?&#33; Didn&#39;t he just kill Lionel? How could Chloe let him near her, let alone smile at him and let him touch her? What the smeg is going on? When is Chloe going to bitch-slap Lucas and tell him to bugger off? :die: The guy is f*cking insane&#33; Nice work though :worship2: please continue soon&#33;

Hugs, michelle
I second that. I wouldn&#39;t want him anywhere near me after that. I&#39;d be using Lex :eyebrows: for protection and I&#39;d definitely be freaking.

I also loved the confrontation between Lex and Clark. I used to be a really big Superman fan but since I&#39;ve been watching the show, I&#39;ve been converted.

Keep up the good work.

[randa]

*.........* *..........* this is me speachless.

WOW&#33; and i know there are more shockers on the way and i cant wait&#33;

update soon

randa

[Czech Angel]

WHAT. THE. FUCK. IS. WRONG. WITH. YOU. CHL-wait Smallville&#39;s on. I&#39;ll finish later.

[Tandy]

Wow&#33; Why is chloe still with lucas?&#33; REally amazing chapter&#33; Glad clark got put in his place and that Lex is willing to fight for Chloe... even if it is dirty. Gotta love The Sexy... :blinkkiss:

[Blaire023]

*applauds* nicely done.

oh and *points up* hehe,

Varda said Booyah&#33;

Gotta love that&#33;

~B

[Czech Angel]

Chloe, sweetie how do I say this?
DUMP THE PYCHO AND GET WITH LEX&#33; (MAYBE BOTH OF THEM.)
thank u. Please update Scifichick soon.

[Gemini]

Best. Plot. Ever.

It&#39;s really remarkable how you&#39;ve managed to keep us all on the edge of our seats&#33; Your version of Lucas is awesome, he seems so realistic- and you have me all conflicted about which Lex is supposed to be with Chloe&#33; Ahhh&#33;

Please. Pleeeeaaase update soonish?

[SexInStilettos]

this is absolutly wonderful...please please update&#33;&#33;&#33; :chlexsign4:

[scifichick774]

Chloe tossed and turned in the bed, the expensive gown she had fallen asleep in twisting uncomfortably around her body.

Alexander moved down her body and lightly captured one of her already peaked nipples between his teeth. Chloe closed her eyes – half in panic and half too overwhelmed by the heat that now coursed through her.

The heat turned to an astonishing pain as she felt Alexander enter her, ripping through her maidenhead with one giant thrust. She screamed and clawed at him, but her husband merely dipped his head and kissed her before he started to pump in and out of her.

The pain laced with pleasure and Chloe soon got caught up in the intense chemistry there was between them. Her stomach started to clench and tingle and Chloe cried out hoarsely as she climaxed.

His arms wobbled slightly under the pressure of Chloe’s inner walls tightening around his shaft like a vice grip. His hips thrust forward a few more times, his body jerking as he came and sprayed his hot release deep inside her.

Suddenly the image flit to the main hall as James entered and King Lionel realized that he was not his son. One swift movement had Queen Rachel’s head removed with Lionel’s blade and King Gabriel attacking Lionel for retribution.

All hell broke loose around them and it seemed to go in slow motion as one of Lionel’s guards stepped in front of Gabriel and Lionel started moving menacingly toward Chloe. Though the guard was little match for Gabriel, Alexander pushed Chloe behind him and immediately commanded Tor to move her out of harm’s way.

Chloe stood there, pained to be reliving the events, but only seeing what happened clearly for the first time.

Alexander hadn’t been so set on doing battle as Lucas had suggested when he took her from the room, but had been trying to protect her. Even while his sword was clashing with another, he kept checking on her through the corner of his eye to make sure she was alright.

And Lucas had carried her out of there.

“Oh, God,” she said sickly.

Her eyes snapped open to find a darkened room surrounding her and Chloe had to remind herself where she was. The knot in her stomach only seemed to tighten when she realized that she was remembering what had really happened, having blocked it out from the mere shock of seeing so much blood and killing before.

“Oh, God,” she repeated, this time aloud and her nausea almost palpable.

Her tears filled with unshed tears and her lips thinned and pressed together to prevent her from throwing up over what she had seen.

If it was indeed true as she suspected, then she had a difficult decision to make.

~*~*~*~*~

Lex smirked when he saw Lucas finally coming down the stairs. He had only been gone for a couple of hours, and honestly Lex didn’t care how his brother’s double spent his time, as long as it wasn’t with Chloe – and Lex had already made sure that the servants were to keep anyone, including Lucas, from disturbing the young woman’s sleep.

Unwittingly, Clark coming over had given him the perfect excuse to get Lucas out of the castle while Meeker and the clean-up crew came over to do their jobs and discuss Lucas’s soon-to-be shortened lifespan. He only hoped that he had figured out enough of the young man’s behaviors to count on him leaving.

Lucas narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Lex, but Lex spoke before Lucas even had a chance to ask about the change in Lex’s demeanor.

“Clark Kent came by earlier,” Lex said. Lucas arched an eyebrow and Lex’s smirk only seemed to grow. “He wanted me to tell you to stay away from Chloe.”

Lucas scoffed.

“You believe you can warn me away from her?” he asked.

Lex’s smirk rapidly threatened to become a small smile. For once, Lucas’s reaction had been predictable. Lex could only hope that his luck continued to hold.

“Actually, I told him if he was so concerned about it, that he should talk to you directly.”

Lucas glanced past Lex to the foyer, raising a mocking eyebrow and folding his arms proudly across his chest when he didn’t see Clark.

“And yet he fled,” he pointed out.

Lex let his smirk fall into a frown and then a look of mock concern.

“We had an argument,” he said. “Lucas --- I know they’re not getting along right now, but Chloe and Clark actually used to be pretty good friends. If you’re seriously considering…’courting’ her…then you should try to make peace with him.”

“She does not care for him,” Lucas insisted.

“She’s angry and she’s hurt right now,” Lex said. “But that doesn’t mean she won’t eventually forgive him.” He stopped and gave Lucas a hard glare. “I’d think you’d know better than anyone what a propensity for forgiveness she has.”

Lucas frowned, but his eye contact with Lex didn’t waver. After a beat, an evil grin crept onto his lips and Lex found himself inwardly unsettled by the look on the young man’s face.

“Then I will go to speak with *Clark*,” Lucas said, Clark’s name dripping off his tongue with disgust.

Lex hid his truly pleased reaction well, masking his face with a dry expression.

“Why do I get the feeling that you’re not going there to apologize?” he asked.

“Because I have nothing to apologize for,” Lucas said with simple arrogance. Lex nodded once.

“Well, be sure to have the chauffer drive really slowly. Clark is a lot stronger than he looks and you don’t want to weaken yourself by getting carsick.”

Lucas looked at him with questioning suspicion.

“Why are you attempting to assist me?”

Lex shrugged.

“I may not like you, but Chloe has raved about what a good friend you’ve been. I don’t think she’d forgive me if I didn’t send you into a fair fight,” he said.

Lucas grunted in acceptance of Lex’s words and then walked to the door, not bothering to look behind him or he would have seen the almost gleeful smirk that placed itself on Lex’s lips. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long, and moved into a pensive frown.

Although he was pleased that he had finally started to be able to understand Lucas’s motivators and behaviors enough to manipulate the situation to his advantage, Lex wasn’t entirely sure it was a good thing to get into a sociopath’s mind. An individual had to have a specific kind of personality in order to distance themselves from the things they encountered in others, and Lex wasn’t certain he could remain objective – especially considering that he had basically sent the boy off to his death and was only thinking about himself.

‘Damn.’

He wasn’t sure how long he had been standing there before the doorbell rang and jolted him from his thoughts, but Lex was thankful for the interruption to his inner ramblings. He motioned to the butler on his way that he would get the door.

A quick, upward nod of his head greeted the people on the other side.

“Meeker,” Lex said, stepping to the side to allow the four men into the house.

“Luthor,” Meeker returned and then looked at him questioningly.

“In there,” Lex said in response to the unasked question, already walking to his destination. He opened the large doors and the clean-up crew followed him into the room.

Meeker crouched down and carefully looked at the body.

“How’d he die?”

“Snapped neck,” Lex curtly replied, noting that Meeker appeared not only surprised, but impressed.

“You?”

“Lucas. My…brother,” Lex answered, figuring that it wasn’t necessary to delve into all of the details with the man.

“Wow,” Meeker said, rising up to a standing position once again. “I’m impressed. No finger marks, no bruising at all. It’ll be really easy to pass this off as a car accident because of that.”

Lex nodded, but said nothing.

“You think your brother might be interested in taking on a few jobs? I could sure use a guy with that kind of talent,” Meeker continued.

Lex grimaced, but the man didn’t catch it as he was still looking down at the body.

“I’m sure he would be, but he won’t be available since he’s the reason I asked for you specifically,” he said.

Meeker frowned and then looked at Lex uncertainly.

“You sure? It’d be a shame to waste someone with that kind of ability,” he said. Lex gave him a tight grin and Meeker shrugged off the line of discussion. “So, what did you have in mind? Another accident?”

“No. I’d like it to look like he was in a fight and lost.”

Meeker raised an eyebrow at the odd request.

“If you do that, the cops will be all over the case looking for a suspect.”

“That’s the point,” Lex said nonchalantly.

“Ah. Already have somebody picked out to take the fall, huh? Smart. Kill two birds with one stone,” Meeker commented. “So, when do you want it done?”

“Right away. Lucas is on his way to the ‘suspect’s’ house right now to pick a fight.”

~*~*~*~

Lex watched until the crime scene was completely swept over, until there was no evidence to indicate that anyone had been in the room, including him.

Deciding to check on Chloe, he headed up the stairs, stopping in front of her door when he heard a gentle sobbing coming from the other side. He rapped his knuckles lightly against the wood and began to push the door open, frowning when he saw her looking out the window with her arms wrapped around herself for comfort.

“Chloe?” he called out to get her attention, as the squeaky door hinges hadn’t been enough to make her turn to face him. She turned around and Lex moved toward her. “Are you okay? Is something wrong?”

Lex had a strong suspicion that what happened a few hours earlier had finally pushed its way past whatever defenses she had built up while she was in the other world, but if he came out and talked about it first, he had no doubt that she’d blame herself for bringing Lucas back with her in the first place; and the last thing he needed was for the young woman to be guilt-ridden over actions that she had nothing to do with.

“I need to go back,” she said in a quiet, choked voice.

“Okay. I’ll grab my keys,” Lex said, not understanding what she meant.

Chloe shook her head.

“I’ve screwed everything up. None of the conveniences this world has should have been reason for me to leave Le---Alexander. I remember now. He was just trying to protect me and I left him. God. How could I do that to him, Lex?”

A heavier frown came upon Lex’s face and he moved even closer to her.

“You’re not seriously suggesting that you should go back there?” he asked. “I know you’re upset about Lucas, but there are other ways to handle ---”

“It’s not about Lucas,” Chloe argued. “It’s about me. I should never have come back here.”

“You can’t leave, Chloe. What about your dad? It would destroy him,” Lex pointed out.

“I don’t know,” Chloe admitted, shaking her head a little in despair. “Maybe I can come visit him sometimes or something, but I can’t stay here. I can’t do that to ---”

“If not for your dad, then what about me?” Lex asked, skipping over the argument he could make about her friends since she was obviously on the outs with everyone except for Pete, and that boy seemed to emotionally rebound the fastest out of anyone in Chloe’s group.

Chloe furrowed her brow in confusion.

“What do you mean?” she asked, unaware that he was steadily stepping toward her and would only be inches away in a matter of milliseconds.

“I mean ---”

“Lucas,” she finished for him. “I’ll take him back with me. I’m so sorry for ---”

Lex placed a hand on her waist and pulled her toward him, leaning his head down to brush his lips against her own. Chloe’s eyes widened in shock, her mouth dropping open to let out a small gasp. Lex’s kiss became more persistent, his lips hard against hers and his tongue darting out to sweep into her mouth.

Chloe tried to push him away, but found her body responding the same way it had to Alexander’s, the intense physical connection rendering her unable to do anything but let her eyes flutter closed and kiss him back. Her hands crawled up to his chest and then his shoulders, allowing Lex to close the small space between their lower bodies when he pushed against the small of her back with one hand.

When she finally pulled away, she looked up at him with glazed-over surprise.

“I ---”

“What about me?” Lex whispered huskily against her ear. “Shouldn’t I get a say in whether you leave or not? I just found you Chloe. I’ve been looking for so long and now---”

Chloe reluctantly pulled away and gave him an apologetic frown.

“I’m married,” she said, the words sounding strange even to her own ears as they came from her mouth.

“Not here,” Lex retorted. “And I doubt you are there. You were unconscious when he married you. I’m pretty sure that won’t hold up in any court of law here or *there*.”

“But ---”

“Forgive the interruption, sir,” the butler said, slightly out of breath from running up the stairs.

Lex inwardly cursed and glared at the man.

“What is it?”

“Your brother – the police have just – they’re requesting your presence downstairs, sir.”

Chloe’s eyes grew large with panic. The police showing up on one’s doorstep was almost commonplace in Smallville because of the surprising high crime rate the small town had, but it also always meant that something bad had occurred.

“What happened?” she asked.

The butler glanced at Lex for approval and Lex frowned and stiffened his spine as he prepared to put on an act for Chloe and Smallville’s finest.

“Let’s go find out.”





TBC…

[tigerbaby]

I don&#39;t know where to start......there&#39;s just so much to say.

Yay update. Yay Chloe for beginning to realize what a psycho Lucas is, although with what Lex had planned, she just might turn right back around. *groan* and I&#39;ve gotta say, I loves me a sneaky Lex.

[hfce]

I am so torn :crygreen: I want to pull for Lex but Alex has me pulling for him. Great update.


Hope :cool:

[happy bunny]

Oh, wow. This fic is amazing. I feel so bad for Alexander, but I desperately want her to be with Lex.

I&#39;m so glad that Lucas is out of the picture. That guy was one major psychopath. How Chloe was able to forgive him so many times is entirely beyond me.

Please tell me that you&#39;re continuing this *very* *very* soon&#33;&#33; If you don&#39;t, I&#39;ll cry. :crygreen:

[asharnanae]

:huh: :ohmy: NNOOOO chloe&#33;&#33; stop being silly&#33;&#33; Ohhhh hope lucas got his ass kicked, though it would be kinda funny if clark was dead&#33;&#33;&#33; she cant go back, she just cant&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; aghhh now I just have to know what happens next&#33;&#33; damn but you are fantastic. :biggrin:

[beautiful N' Bruised]

Aww, finally Lex shows her how he really feels. But my, does he have issues? It&#39;s not the killing of physco Lucas that bothers me, but the completely unemotional way he does it and sets up Clark and doesn&#39;t even blink when his father is killed.

The bad guys seem to be just flocking towards Chloe, don&#39;t they?

Great chappie.

[sabby]

Oh man, that was good. Heh gotta love hitmen. Meeker asking straight away for Lucas&#39; talents *snickers*

But then there is Lex, oh boy, why do I just FEEL that he&#39;ll get himself in trouble. *shakes head*

Update ASAP, chica. you know I&#39;m anxiously waiting


hugs,
sabby

[Gemini]

Oh my God- is it even POSSIBLE for me to love this fic any more than I already do? I seriously have no idea what I want to happen, but I can&#39;t wait to see where it goes. Arg... Alexander or Lex? Hell, that&#39;s the hardest decision ever. I&#39;m leaning towards Alexander... or not... I&#33; Don&#39;t&#33; Know&#33; Ahhhh&#33;&#33;&#33;

[drina]

Originally posted by Gemini@Sep 15 2003, 02:38 AM
Oh my God- is it even POSSIBLE for me to love this fic any more than I already do? I seriously have no idea what I want to happen, but I can&#39;t wait to see where it goes. Arg... Alexander or Lex? Hell, that&#39;s the hardest decision ever. I&#39;m leaning towards Alexander... or not... I&#33; Don&#39;t&#33; Know&#33; Ahhhh&#33;&#33;&#33;
I feel actually the same way&#33; Darn you for making it so hard for us to side with either of them&#33; heehee

[vardaquareien]

*skipping around like a drongo* they kissed&#33; they kissed&#33; they kissed&#33; they kissed&#33;they kissed&#33;

....oh you want intelligible reviews....ummm.... YAY&#33;&#33;&#33;


*recomences singing and dancing* Lex and Chloe kissed cha-cha-cha&#33;


(in case you havn&#39;t been able to work it out - I&#39;m rooting for Lex&#33; :biggrin: )

[SexInStilettos]

OMG please update, what r u trying to do to me??? I love this fic, I read it instead of my statistics homework&#33;&#33;&#33; :yay2:

[HumbugGirl]

Damn you&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;


*cough* Okay, slight overreaction I know but... well... you see... it&#39;s just that I MUST KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;

[happy bunny]

:sad: *sniffles* Still no update?? *pouts*

[kirt30]

oh come on add the next chapter

[TestingFaith]

Evil Lex...how cute...I love evil Lex....

Lily M.:sunny:

[Blaire023]

Jesus Christ. They&#39;re both fucking psycho. I guess even being in different worlds doesnt change much.

I&#39;m thinking she should screw Lex and then decide from there. WHAT?&#33; This is in the NC17 category,

~B

[scifichick774]

A/N: Consider this a desperate shout out to Sugi - you *need* to update Neptune&#39;s Cradle. *NEED* Because, if you don&#39;t, this will be the last chapter I post of this story for a very, very long time. Got it? Good. Now everybody go bug her about it.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Lex painted his face with feigned concern. If the sheriff was at all suspicious of him, and he knew she probably would be anyway, then it would serve as another obstacle that he didn’t need. Thankfully, he had planned the scenario with a scapegoat already in mind.

“Sheriff,” he greeted. “What’s this about my brother?”

Sheriff Adams frowned, but her face quickly fell into disbelief when she saw Chloe standing beside Lex.

“They told me they found you, but I didn’t believe it,” she said.

“I’ve been getting a lot of that,” Chloe replied.

“Where have you been?”

“Away,” Lex answered for Chloe in a clipped tone. “So, *Lucas*?”

Adams solemnly nodded, taking her hat off to show respect.

“I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, Mr. Luthor, but your brother is dead.”

“What?” Chloe squeaked out, lightly shaking her head back and forth in denial. “That’s not possible. He ---”

Lex narrowed his eyes pensively a little in preparation for the role he needed to play.

“How?” he asked.

“You don’t seem really upset about it,” Adams observed, eyeing him suspiciously.

“Not all of us wear our emotions on our sleeves, Sheriff,” he said pointedly, his words laced with a bridled anger. “Now, what happened to my brother?”

“We’re not sure exactly,” Adams admitted. “But it looks like he was in a fight and lost.”

Chloe shook her head again.

“Lucas *never* lost,” she said.

Adams arched an eyebrow at her.

“Get in a lot of fights, did he?”

“Yes,” Lex answered simply. “And she’s right. Lucas never lost. He was a skilled fighter.”

“Well, there was some evidence to suggest that he may have been drugged first,” Adams said. “But we won’t know anything for sure until the coroner gets the toxicology report back.”

‘Damn it,’ Lex thought to himself. ‘Of course they had to drug him, Meeker would never have won otherwise. Why didn’t I think of that before? There’s no way Clark would have access to tranquilizers.’

“This isn’t happening,” Chloe said sickly, her face pale as Lex reached out to steady her from losing her balance and swaying to the ground.

He pulled her into his arms and rubbed her back soothingly, earning him questioning looks from the sheriff.

A thought struck Chloe’s mind and she quickly pulled out of Lex’s embrace to narrow her eyes suspiciously at Adams.

“Wait a minute. How do you even know it was him?” she asked, half-accusingly and half in a desperate hope that her best friend wasn’t really dead.

Adams looked startled by the question.

“What do you mean?”

“I *mean*, Lucas doesn’t carry any I.D. – and it’s not like he’s been in town a lot since he’s been here. How do you know it’s him that you found? Maybe it’s someone else.”

Adams shook her head.

“Clark Kent identified the body,” she replied.

Instead of going pale like Adams expected, a furious color rose to Chloe’s cheeks as she balled her hands into fists.

“Clark?” she asked through gritted teeth. “That son of a ---” she trailed off with what sounded like a growl and stepped forward to start stalking toward the door, only to be pulled back by Lex’s firm grip on her arm.

“We don’t know that he was responsible,” he told her quietly, but purposefully loud enough for the sheriff to overhear.

Adams narrowed her eyes and toyed with the hat in her hands as if she were using it to think.

“You think he had something to do with it,” she said. It was a statement, not a question.

“Obviously,” Chloe spat. “Clark hated him – for no good reason – he just – ARGH&#33; I can’t believe he did this&#33;”

Adams shared a look with Lex.

“Tell you what; why don’t I go have a little chat with him and you see that she gets some rest,” she said; her underlying meaning perfectly clear. Calm her down before she goes and does something stupid.

Lex nodded once and wrapped his arm around Chloe’s waist to help guide her out of the room and Adams exited through the front door.

Not until she reached her car, did she let out the breath she had been holding in. Reaching her hand to the back of her thick belt, Adams removed a miniature cassette recorder and pressed the ‘stop’ button.

Although she was relieved that she had been able to position her stance inside so no one would notice it, the fear that pumped through her veins while she was in the castle had almost been deafening to her own ears, and the information she gained was disconcerting.

“Looks like you were right,” she said ruefully, her eyes darting down to the young man sprawled out on the back seat of her vehicle. “He definitely hired that guy to kill you. Damned if I could get him to admit it though.”

“Nor will you most likely ever be able to because he is intelligent,” Lucas conceded with no apparent emotion. He raised himself up to a sitting position so he could climb out of the car, stopping as his legs draped off of the seat to let a smirk crawl across his lips. “But not as intelligent as I.”

Adams scoffed.

“For you I think it’s just dumb luck,” she said. “You have any idea what would have happened if I hadn’t been driving by when I was?”

Lucas stepped out of the vehicle and bowed his head ever so slightly.

“I am in your debt,” he replied, his voice oozing with false charm, though Adams didn’t seem to be able to tell the difference.

“Yeah, well, I wish you didn’t have to be. Smallville has enough problems without me having to shoot a hit man hired by your brother.”

“Indeed. Now, if you’ll pardon me, I must retrieve Chloe so we may take our leave from this place.”

Adams frowned, but nodded, hooking her thumbs through the extra space in her belt loops.

“It might not be easy since she thinks you’re dead,” she warned. “But, I think that’d be best – at least until we know you’re both completely safe.” Lucas mock-bowed again and started toward the house. “Be careful,” Adams warned again, shaking her head back and forth a little when Lucas started to circle around the house instead of using the front door.

He *was* intelligent – she’d give him that.

Startled from her thoughts by the sound of her police radio coming to life, she quickly moved to pick up the receiver. She clicked the button and spoke into the small metal box.

“This is Adams. Go ahead.”

“Roger that Sheriff. There’s been a car crash off the interstate by Andersen Field. Two injured. Paramedics have been advised and Harry’s requesting you out at the scene.”

“I’m on my way.”

~*~*~*~*~

Lucas scanned the back of the house carefully. He wouldn’t be able to use the servants’ entrance, as he was certain they had been told of his untimely death. Unfortunately, that only left one of the windows as a possible entry point and he didn’t cherish the idea of climbing all that way only to be defeated by Lex’s electronic security system – or gravity.

He pursed his lips and squared his jaw. If it was the only way to get Chloe away from Lex, then he would need to take the risk.

Concentrating his gaze on where his possible footholds could be, he didn’t notice the swirling circle of light appear not ten feet behind him.

~*~*~*~*~

By the time Adams reached the scene of the car accident, it was already littered with other official vehicles. Her deputy, Harry Cooper, was there, as well as a fire engine, an ambulance, and the coroner’s van. She frowned and then let out a grumbling sigh when she saw the last one.

‘When it rains, it pours,’ she thought to herself sourly.

So far that day she had been called to a domestic disturbance where the oldest child in a family had mutated into some half-snake boy and was going around spitting venom into people’s eyes, stopped an attempted murder-for-hire, saw a girl whom, despite the evidence, she completely thought was dead, and now this.

Walking over to her deputy, she greeted him with an upward nod of her head.

“What happened?”

“Car accident,” Cooper said simply. “Two people and a horse were killed.”

“A horse? Should I even ask?” Adams asked, running a hand over her weary face.

“Busy day,” Cooper retorted to the unspoken sentiment that weighed heavily in the air between them.

“Yeah,” Adams agreed. “So why’d you need me out here for a car accident?”

“Well, it’s more because of who was involved in it,” Cooper answered, looking over at where the paramedics were helping to put the driver of the car into a body bag.

Adams looked at him expectantly, but he didn’t say anything.

“Well? Who was it?”

“Lionel Luthor.”

The wheels started spinning in Adams’s head and it was all she could do to slow them down long enough to demand to know what had taken place.

“Tell me what you think happened.”

“We’ll probably never know for sure,” Cooper said somewhat apologetically. “But the best guess is that the horse got spooked somehow, the rider couldn’t control it, and it jumped the fence to the street where Mr. Luthor just happened to be speeding. There were skid marks,” he said motioning with his head to the street, “so we think he just wasn’t able to stop in time, hit the horse and the girl, and died because of the impact.”

Adams nodded along with Cooper’s estimate of how the accident happened, all the time a strong suspicion nagging in the back of her mind.

Lionel Luthor had been driving – a rarity by itself – *and* speeding, meaning that he was probably trying to get out of town in a hurry…meaning that there was probably a *reason* he was trying to get out of town in a hurry.

Perhaps it hadn’t been Lex who had hired the hit man after all, but his father - and Lex simply knew about the plan ahead of time.

Setting the thought aside, she motioned to the second body bag being taken to the coroner’s van.

“Who was the girl?”

“Miss Lang. You know – that girl who runs the coffee shop?”

Adams groaned.

“Well, this day just keeps getting better and better, doesn’t it?” she asked in sarcastic rhetoric.

Shaking her head, she closed her eyes and rubbed them with her fingers.

She really needed to get a job in a different town.

~*~*~*~*~

Alexander stepped through the portal, relatively unaffected by its intensity because of the tips that Carrado had given him before hand. His eyes darted quickly across the castle and landscape, but settled on the figure in front of him, who for some reason unbeknownst to Alexander, seemed to be merely staring up at the wall.

His sword drawn, he carefully stepped toward the young man, growling loudly when Lucas heard his footsteps on the gravel and turned around to face him.

Lucas glanced at the portal and then sneered at his brother.

“Go home, Alexander. You are not wanted here.”

Alexander let out a derogatory huff of air through his nose.

“You are more unwelcome than I,” he replied. “Or is it not true that my mirror of this world has ordered your death?”

Speaking to James again, I see,” Lucas observed. “You should know better than to put your trust in him after Chloe lived from passing through the gate.”

“He was trying to prevent this,” Alexander argued.

“Prevent *what*?” Lucas asked; his voice full of mock innocence.

“You are his only brother by blood. He was trying to spare your life.”

“You cannot kill what is already dead,” Lucas said cryptically.

Alexander creased his brow, but ultimately decided not to engage in whatever game Lucas was playing. Instead, he lowered his sword enough to give his brother a false sense of security and took a few steps closer to him.

Smirking smugly, Lucas honestly believed that his brother thought him to be a spirit – at least until Alexander spoke.

“We shall see.”

With one swift jab, Alexander plunged the sharp sword into his brother’s chest, piercing the heart that beat within. Twisting it to the side to make sure the wound was fatal; Alexander then removed the blood-covered metal and holstered it by his side.

Lucas gasped, but didn’t cry out in pain; the gurgle of blood rising up in his throat silencing any screams that may have come.

Alexander moved to wrap a steadying arm around Lucas’s back.

“I know I am regarded as a monster, but I am not without mercy, brother,” he said quietly as he led Lucas to the still-open wormhole. “You are still of my blood and as such deserve to be buried alongside our father.”

With the last note of his words, Alexander released his hold on Lucas and shoved him into the swirling light, remembering only after the portal jerked closed that Carrado said that the doorway only worked one way.

Sloughing off whatever little remorse he had for the man who took his wife away from him, Alexander turned his attention back to the castle. From the last vision James saw, Chloe was still resting within its walls – and he was going to find her and bring her home.




TBC...

[tigerbaby]

OMG Kris, I don&#39;t know what to say... Lana dead, again. *tackle hug* all hail the goddess :worship2:

although, Alexander is beginning to creep me out..

[drina]

OH HELL&#33; That were so many things happening in this update&#33; We find out that Lex hired a killer to kill Lucas, Lionel AND Lana dead, Alexander arriving AND KILLING LUCAS&#33;&#33;&#33; How can Lucas be dead??? i like him&#33; :crygreen:

[sabby]

*smirks* So we can scratch the psychopath from the list of problems *makes a little hook beside Lucas&#39; name* So what&#39;s next? I can&#39;t wait to see what happens when Chloe sees Alexander again. I&#39;m still torn between wanting her to be with Lex and wanting her to be with Alexander, tho I must say as it is now, I&#39;d rather have her be with Lex.

hugs,
Sabby

[hfce]

Kris that was :ohmy: wow :ohmy: no words.....


Hope :huh:

[Blaire023]

Originally posted by tigerbaby@Oct 7 2003, 08:26 PM
Alexander is beginning to creep me out..
Alexander is beginning to creep you out? HELL-OOOOO?&#33;

Lex, Alexander, Lucas...good lord. What the hell have you surrounded Chloe with. Of course...now is when Alexander and Lex meet and they duel to the death to win Chloe over. Course Alexander killed Lucas. He was Psycho. And well, as for the other two...*studies Kris*

HEHE, I don&#39;t think Kris even knows which one she wants Chloe to end up with.

*races off to find Sugi*

~B

[scifichick774]

Originally posted by Blaire023@Oct 7 2003, 07:06 PM

HEHE, I don&#39;t think Kris even knows which one she wants Chloe to end up with.


Hee hee. You know, I actually wanted her to wind up with Lucas, but as you all know, my muse is fickle and evil. I know exactly who she&#39;s going to wind up with now though...

[Michelle]

So Lucas is dead? YAYYY *does the dance of joy* That psycho was really beginning to piss me off. The other two psychos, I don&#39;t know... *cough* THREESOME&#33; *cough* Okay, okay, so so sanity isn&#39;t the dominant gene in the Luthor family, but hell, isn&#39;t that why we love them? (that, and the fact we constantly want to lick Lex all over :heart: ) Kris, as a token of bribery to make you update soon, I give you the mental imagery of MR naked, covered in chocolate icing and chopping wood. Hope you enjoy&#33; :hehe:

Hugs, Michelle.

[staysixkid]

Originally posted by scifichick774@Oct 7 2003, 09:12 PM
Hee hee.* You know, I actually wanted her to wind up with Lucas, but as you all know, my muse is fickle and evil.* I know exactly who she&#39;s going to wind up with now though...
:tease:

not cool&#33;

I can&#39;t believe you killed lucas&#33; :huh:

:tease:
not. cool&#33;

[tigerbaby]

Originally posted by Blaire023@Oct 7 2003, 09:06 PM
Alexander is beginning to creep you out? HELL-OOOOO?&#33;

I was kinda okay with him before but after this *shakes head*

Although, you know this could just be the lead in to Sharing is a Beautiful Thing...so Drina, if you&#39;re listening...UPDATE&#33;&#33;

[happy bunny]

Loved it, loved it, loved it&#33;&#33; :biggrin:

The instant the officer had said that the car hit someone riding their horse, I immediately started chanting in my head "please be Lana, please be Lana..." And YAY&#33;&#33; You killed her&#33;&#33; Again&#33; :biggrin:

God I love this story.

[vardaquareien]

Loved. LOVED. LOVED&#33;&#33;&#33; This update&#33;&#33;&#33; :worship2:
*happy sigh* You killed "The Blah" Whoohoo&#33;&#33;&#33; *does a little dance, makes a little luv, gets down tonite*

:drool: Now we have both Lex and Alexander in the same dimension&#33; :yay3: It&#39;s what I&#39;ve been waiting all story for&#33;&#33;&#33; (just so you know, I&#39;m still rooting for Lex)

[SexInStilettos]

omg, i have been waiting fo you to update and u didn&#39;t let me down&#33;&#33;&#33; but u have too update again, i&#39;m willing to fail college to read ur story ;)

[Czech Angel]

So it&#39;s just Chloe, Lex, and Alexander.
In a big mansion.
Alone.
Probably with a king size bed.
:eyebrows: :drool: :devil: :yay: :popdevil: :smut:
Me. ---&#62; :biggrin:

[Blaire023]

LOL@czech...god do all the ns-ers think alike?

It was like I was communicating to you through brain waves. I sat there and stared at the screen and was like, "oh, shit, it&#39;s an orgy."

[ColumbiaBlue]

I love love LOVE this story&#33;&#33;&#33; When I first started reading it I was like, uum, okay, but now i&#39;m totally addicted to it&#33; So glad you got Lucas out of the way, he was really starting to annoy me. I have mixed feelings about Alexander, but Chloe should SO end up with Lex&#33; But really, it&#39;s SUCH a great story&#33; Update soon?&#33; Please?&#33; :biggrin:

[serenitysea]

Posted by Blair023

LOL@czech...god do all the ns-ers think alike?

It was like I was communicating to you through brain waves. I sat there and stared at the screen and was like, "oh, shit, it&#39;s an orgy."

We have dirty minds. So sue us. ;)

Liked, Lucas, didn&#39;t like the neck-snapping thing. Not sure how I feel about him being "dead."

James needs to take a rest. A *long* rest. And maybe not wake up.

As for Alexander? He just needs to not walk in on Chloe and Lex in the bedroom. ;)

[Lady Candy]

I have already read this ff in other forum, perhaps ff.net.
Anyways good fic ;)

[scifichick774]

A/N: Just warning you that many of you will be upset by the latest twist in this last installment of the story, but it was necessary to appease my muse – and I know that you all want her to keep working for me, so hopefully you won’t complain too much.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Hey&#33; That’s not what happened&#33;” a tiny voice argued in protest.

A snicker came from a corner of the room, followed by a snide comment.

“Obviously.”

The word caused Lex’s initially amused smirk spread into a full, teasing smile. He leaned forward in his chair and gave an upward nod of his head to the little boy who had spoken seconds before.

“How do you know? You weren’t there,” he pointed out.

“And we wouldn’t be *here* if it had happened that way,” another little voice said.

Lex turned to the older boy sitting next to his little brother on the couch and gave him a tight grin, though there was no malice behind it.

“You’re entirely too smart for a five year old. You know that?”

The boy smirked with pride, but his little brother wasn’t entertained by the exchange between the two.

“Daddy tell it,” he pouted, pointing a small finger at the corner of the room.

Lex twisted a little in his seat and craned his neck back to look in the direction that the snicker had come from earlier.

“Looks like you’re on.”

Lucas arched a mocking eyebrow at him and rose from his chair.

“Are you certain? It sounded like you were having a grand time making me out to be the villain and then killing me off.”

“I was,” Lex admitted without missing a beat, smirking as Lucas shot a warning glare at him. “Too bad you’ve already told your kids the story the way it really happened. It’s much more interesting my way.”

“The way in which it is you who ends up with Chloe instead of me?”

Lex rose from his seat, the smirk still on his face as he spoke in a tone that was hushed enough so the two little boys wouldn’t be able to hear him.

“Obviously,” he said, mimicking Lucas’s earlier statement and tone.

Instead of jealously lashing out against him, Lucas merely scoffed and took the chair that Lex had abandoned.

“Only in your falsified version of history, Lex,” he tauntingly chided.

Lex shrugged.

“It could have happened,” he responded nonchalantly. “Besides, most versions of history are lies. Or haven’t you gotten around to reading the history books here yet?”

“I prefer to concentrate on the present,” Lucas answered, helping his younger son, Kegan, climb up onto his lap. “Now, Caedmon,” he said, glancing at his older son who had sprawled himself out on the couch,” As I haven’t been in the room the entire time, where did your uncle deviate from the true story?”

“When you and mom came through the swirly gate.”

Lucas growled low in his throat, but pushed aside his irritation so he could tell the true story before dinner was ready.

Lex snickered to himself and strolled quietly out of the room, moving to where Chloe was cooking in the kitchen. He placed a hand on the small of her back and grinned at her as she turned her head to look at him.

“Smells good.”

“Thanks.

“You know, you’ve turned into quite the super-mom.”

Chloe laughed and shook her head.

“The only reason I’m cooking is because our cook is out of town visiting family for the holidays,” she said.

Lex gave her a one-shouldered shrug.

“You’re good at it,” he said, practically looming over some of the dishes that she was preparing.

“I’m good at lots of things,” she replied cheekily. Lex smirked.

“I’m sure you are.”

“So, what are you guys doing out there? Watching football or something?”

Lex chuckled.

“Actually, your kids won out in the battle between football and cartoons, forcing your poor dad to go watch TV in the other room,” he said. Chloe smiled at him, but quickly turned her attention to the many dishes cooking on top of the stove. “Then, once they realized that there were only – and I quote – ‘girl cartoons’ on – I convinced them to turn it off altogether.”

Chloe’s eyebrows rose.

“Wow. You got the boys to turn off the TV? I’m impressed,” she said. “Maybe we should make you their new nanny.” Lex smiled; a mischievous smile that didn’t escape Chloe’s attention. “What?”

“Nothing,” he lied. “I’m just not sure Lucas would appreciate that.”

“Why?” Chloe asked suspiciously.

“Well, I had to keep them entertained somehow…”

“Uh-huh. So?”

“So I started telling them the story of how their parents first met,” Lex said.

The corners of Chloe’s lips quirked upward.

“And I suppose you took some artistic license?” she asked.

“It wasn’t *that* bad.”

“Which is why you’ve been banished to the kitchen,” Chloe pointed out. Lex smirked. “Uh-huh. That’s what I thought.”

“Okay, so I may have…embellished a little,” Lex admitted. “But overall, my story was much more entertaining.”

Chloe smiled at him.

“I’ll bet,” she said. “So what did your embellishment include?”

“I added some things, deleted some others,” he said as if it were nothing.

“I don’t suppose you’d care to be more specific?”

Lex leaned his side against the countertop and smirked at her.

“I sort of…killed off my dad.”

Chloe furrowed her brow.

“But your dad *is* dead.”

“Yes, but he didn’t really have his neck snapped by your husband,” Lex said. Chloe gave him quick glare out of the corner of her eye that he smiled at. “If it makes you feel better, I had a hit man comment on how well he did the job.”

“Should I even ask what the rest of the story entailed?” she asked.

“Probably not…but you will anyway.”

Chloe laughed and then handed a long wooden spoon to Lex.

“Here. As long as you’ve been banished to the kitchen, you can at least make yourself helpful,” she said, motioning to one of the pots on the stove with her head.

“Technically I wasn’t banished. I’m sure that Lucas would have loved for me to stick around and listen to the boring version where Lana wasn’t killed and Alexander didn’t come through the portal to kill him and retrieve you,” Lex said, starting to stir the food in the pot.

Chloe let out a low groan.

“You didn’t.”

“Well, what fun would it have been to tell the truth? You and Lucas came through the portal and I sealed the gate so nobody could make any more gates to come get you,” he said in a monotone voice. “Where’s the adventure and excitement in that? They’re boys, Chloe – they need those things.”

“You don’t think the rest of the story is adventuresome enough? I mean, traveling through portals to alternate realities, war breaking out because of it, their uncle Alexander dying bravely in battle…?”

“Yeah…I kind of left out that part.”

“Lex&#33;”

“What? I couldn’t very well have him come through the portal to get you if he was dead already, now could I?” Lex asked teasingly. “Although…I suppose a zombie element *would have* given the story a special touch. Maybe next Halloween…”

“You’re incorrigible.”

“Thank you.”

Chloe chuckled and shook her head lightly.

“And what was that about Lana dying?” she asked.

“Oh, it was tragic,” Lex said with feigned seriousness. “The clean up crew I hired to make my father’s death look like an accident made his car speed and weave on the road, spooking the horse that Lana was riding…”

“Get to the point.”

“My already dead father hit Lana and her horse with his car, killing all of them instantly upon impact.”

Chloe groaned again.

“And you told my *kids* this? They’re way too young for that sort of thing, Lex,” she said. Lex scoffed and she sighed. “Alright, I guess it’s too late now. I don’t suppose you managed to kill Clark off in this twisted story of yours?”

“I was getting to it when Kegan interrupted me.”

“Called you on the accuracy or your little tale, did he?” Chloe asked somewhat snidely, though her voice was lined with pride for her younger son.

“He had the nerve to tell me – ‘that wasn’t the way it happened’,” Lex grumbled, though the smile twitching at his lips betrayed his words and the tone with which he said them.

“Well, he’s heard the story *how* many times now?” Chloe pointed out. “I’m pretty sure both of them have it memorized.”

“Exactly. So, why tell them the same thing they’ve heard over and over again? They’re too stuck on routine.”

Chloe laughed and let out a tiny laugh, but didn’t notice the way Lex’s smile had fallen into a pensive look of adoration. After a minute or so of silence, of turning their attentions to the food that was almost done cooking, Lex finally spoke again.

“Do you ever think about Alexander and what you gave up?” he asked quietly, his eyes still focused on stirring something that really didn’t need to be stirred any more.

“He died, Lex.”

“I know, but…there are always those what-ifs, aren’t there? I mean, what if you didn’t fight marrying him and were away on your honeymoon when the battle broke out? You could have been a princess, Chloe.”

Chloe allowed a sad half-grin to crawl across her mouth.

“Sometimes,” she said in a hushed voice. Lex turned and looked at her questioningly. “Sometimes I think about the what-ifs, but…I think that’s normal. I think everyone does that – looks at all of the different directions their lives could have taken. Just look at Lana. That’s what almost every conversation I’ve ever had with her is based on.”

“Are you implying that Lana’s normal?”

“Well…no,” Chloe said, her grin raising into a slight smile. “My point was going to be that even if I occasionally think about those things – I’m happy with my life. I wouldn’t give up what I have now for anything. If I had stayed there I wouldn’t have had my boys…well, not Kegan anyway.” Chloe’s face fell sullen. “Amazing chemistry is great, but you need more than that to make a relationship last.” She shot him a wry look. “Just look at you. How many women have you married who tried to kill you for your money? I thought you’d have learned the fiery, short-term passion doesn’t necessarily equal love lesson by now.”

“I have.”

Chloe stopped what she was doing, startled by Lex’s words.

“You have?” she asked, a pleased smile lighting up her face as the implications of what he was saying danced around in her mind.

“Yes, but it’s a delicate matter of timing. I’m waiting for the right time to tell her how I fell about her.”

“Who is she? Is it anyone I know?”

Lex smirked.

“No offense, but I don’t want to jinx it by telling you – not yet anyway.”

Chloe’s smile lapsed into a smaller one and she reached out to touch his arm compassionately.

“Okay. But you know I’m your friend. And I hope you’ll tell me eventually.”

“I will,” Lex said, glancing down at the physical contact. Even if Chloe’s motives were completely platonic, it still sent a jolt of electricity through his body. “It’s just a matter of timing.”




The End

[sabby]

*insert primal scream* How COULD YOU DO THAT?&#33;?&#33;?&#33; You know there&#39;s only gonna be ONE person being happy about this ending GRAH&#33; Unacceptable&#33; Horrible, just WRONG&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; In so many ways&#33; Grah&#33; Ok it was well written as ever, but COME ON&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; Lucas? Why?&#33;? Why?&#33;?&#33;

Now you really really need to make MM good because, damn I need to collect myself now *pinches bridge of nose*

*goes of muttering* B baby, you won&#39;t believe what Kris did, it&#39;s ...

[hfce]

Kris give me a reason for me not to come after you? Please give me a reason :die:



Hope :tease: :tease:

[asharnanae]

:blush: Loved that this is finaly finnished, even if chloe ended up with lucus and not lex :tease: :crygreen: but what a twisty story&#33;&#33; you have had me griped from beginning to end&#33; I loved that lex still has hope too, and how he rearanged the story. well done indeed&#33;&#33; :worship2:

[WolviesLover]

*sulks* Good writing as always. Poor Lex. Poor Alex. :crygreen:

[Impress]

ok, honestly not quite sure how I feel. I mean on the one hand Chlucas. On the other...argh &#33; no Chlex. *grumble*

*sigh* good job hun.

[happy bunny]

I&#39;m not mad at you Kris. It was a cute ending, even if Chloe ended up with the wrong Luthor. :tease: But, *shrugs* No biggie. You&#39;re just gonna have to have Lex steal her away in the sequel. Cause you are doing a sequel, right? This is just begging for one&#33;

Anyway, this is one of my favorite stories&#33; Loved it.

[marrycherry]

a CHLUCAS?????? :huh:

COME ON.............. I REALLY LIKE LEX&#39;S VERSION OF THE STORY THOUGH

:chlexsign4:

* after several minutes*

ok the shock is gone I love your story (even if it&#39;s a Chlucas..anyway...is a sequel coming right? *looks around with a pleading look*)

[staysixkid]

Girl...this is all I can do right now :biggrin:

freakin&#39; amazing&#33; I absolutely Love It&#33;

Fee

[liasonforever33]

YOU CANNOT LEAVE IT THERE&#33;&#33;&#33; I REPEAT YOU CANNOT LEAVE IT THERE&#33;&#33;&#33;
I Need a sequel now. Please, please pretty please with sugar, chocolate cake and whipped cream on top? :ohmy:

[scifichick774]

*sigh*

Okay, before you all decide to stone me to death, know that there is a Chlexy (though angsty) sequel in the works. But, as I&#39;m trying to get back to fic rotation, it might be a while before it comes up. Just letting you know.

[Calliope]

While I was a bit bummed with the ending ;) , I have a tiny hope that Lex&#39;s version is true in some universe.

Bring on the sequel&#33; (Well, when you&#39;re ready.) :biggrin:

[autumngold]

Oh my god, don&#39;t get me wrong when I say this (because I&#39;m a total Chlex fan), but I love your ending&#33; I really want you to make a sequel, although I wish it didn&#39;t have to be in the angst section&#33;&#33; I like the thought of Chloe and Lex ending up happy together&#33; :biggrin: :chlexsign3: You are so awesome&#33;&#33; ;)

[SinnerSaint]

Okay , it was extremely well written , but NO WAY should she have ended up with Lucas . For the love of God and all of humanity , Lucas and Chloe ? Thats like mash potatoes and ice cream . That being said the story was really awesome and kept me on the edge of my computer chair.

[Susie Q]

You know with all the lovely twists and turns you&#39;ve been throwing at us my sentiment had pretty much been ‘expect the unexpected.’ Except the one thing I did expect was for Chloe and Lex to end up together. Then you had to go and be all ‘throw us for a loop girl’ :tease:
Mind you I don’t have anything against the Chlucas, I guess I just feel bad for Lex http://www.angelfire.com/emo2/emoticons0/images/Comfort_a_friend.gif. Anyways, great job as always http://www.angelfire.com/emo2/emoticons0/images/clapping.gif

[SexInStilettos]

i just, don&#39;t know how to respone to that, it was an amazing story and a very good cliffhanger, but only if you write a sequal, u are writing a squeal right?????

[drina]

I think I may the one person Sabby says who is happy with the ending. Okay, it seems like a letdown to most, but I like the twist. Really good, and I always rooted for Chlucas for this story..heehee.

[krahmogh]

I loved the twist at the end. Lex did make the story very interesting and I am glad you might be planning a sequel. This was a great story over all though.

:chlexsign4:

[Jen1388]

Okay this story rocked&#33; And I have to say, I&#39;m really happy she ended up with Lucas, I mean don&#39;t get me wrong I&#39;m a pure Chlex fan, but I also have a little soft spot for Chloe and Lucas, so I was rooting for her to end up with Lucas, Lex and Alexander.
Did Alexander have to die in battle though? I mean I would have had him :biggrin:
I felt really bad for Lex, but hey that ending implied they&#39;re be a sequel right?(Cause there had best be&#33;) But I dunno... maybe Chloe could have a wild passionate fling with lex, then go back with Lucas, maybe then I&#39;d be totally happy.
And something Chloe said about the what-ifs, she wouldn&#39;t have had her boys, well not Kegan anyways, so does that mean she was preggers with Alexander&#39;s kid? :ohmy: :biggrin:

It was great, I LOVED reading it. :chlexsign1:

[scifichick774]

Originally posted by Jen1388@Nov 20 2003, 07:57 AM
And something Chloe said about the what-ifs, she wouldn&#39;t have had her boys, well not Kegan anyways, so does that mean she was preggers with Alexander&#39;s kid?
That&#39;s exactly what that meant. I think you&#39;re one of the only people to point this out. And yes, I put it in there for a reason - it ties in with the sequel. :)

[Jen1388]

*claps excitedly*

omg that&#39;s so cool&#33;

Okay I only just finished reading that story like an hour ago, and I&#39;m already having withdrawls, do we have to wait long for the sequel? :biggrin:

[scifichick774]

The sequel...

I think I&#39;m adding in the new fics right before the next AP update, so yeah. You&#39;ll have to wait a while. Sorry.

[Not An Addict]

Ok, so maybe it was just because I knew that you were planning to do something big and anger-inducing for the end, and because I&#39;ve been leaving this one alone for long enough that my emotional investment isn&#39;t quite as high, but . . . *shrugs* I liked it. Granted, that&#39;s definitely influenced by the fact that we get a Chlexy sequel. ^_~ But really, it was extremely well done. Very realistic--and yes, I caught the whole Caedmon-is-Alexander&#39;s-kid thing. ^_~ I feel sad for Lex, but I have faith that he&#39;ll win out in the end. I mean come on--the boys can&#39;t grow up with a sociopath for a father. Look at the damage it did to Lex. ^_~ Can&#39;t wait for your next offering&#33; :wub:

[Czech Angel]

I love this story&#33; With the whole Lex pining and the Chlucas and the cute little kids and the whole Lex telling the story he would have liked to happen and the whole Chloe being pregnant with Alexander&#39;s baby and... I just love this fic&#33; :wub: And you&#39;re coming out with a sequel too&#33; I could just hug you right now&#33; :blush: This just verifies it. You are one of the wonderful Chlexy fanfic goddesses.:worship2: I can&#39;t wait till read the sequel.

your devoted follower, lol
Gabrielle

[SexInStilettos]

omg, i am so excited about the next story u have no idea&#33;&#33;

[gina]

Amazing story&#33; I was rooting for Lex but I still loved the unexpected ending. Excellent job&#33; I can&#39;t wait to read the sequel&#33; :yay:

[BlushingRose]

Kris--

I love this story...did you ever write the sequal?

RoseAnn

[scifichick774]

Er...no. I&#39;ve actually just decided to add onto this one instead of writing the sequel that I had planned. The continuing storyline will pick up in the alternate world after Chloe and Lucas left - and yes, it will be Chlex - just don&#39;t ask me to explain how since I&#39;m not going to reveal all my twists. ;)

[BlushingRose]

Great&#33; I&#39;m looking forward to it. I always enjoy your stories :) :yay2:

RA

[julz]

sabby rocks at bitching

but i kinda like how you made lucus and chloe happy and in the sequel you can make lex and chloe happy and

its nice to know that you dont actuially have your heroes continuously killing people

loved the fic and i am looking forward to the sequel
:chlexsign3: :chlexsign3: :chlexsign4: :chlexsign3: :chlexsign3:

[Jen1388]

*I&#39;m growing old here* ;)

btw just re-read it, and omg IT&#39;S SO EFFING GOOD&#33; This is one of my favourite stories&#33;&#33;&#33;

[RevDorothyL]

I like it! Didn't think I would, but that little twist of unrepentant Lex-the-still-deviously-obsessed at the end turned the 'real' puppies and rainbows ending just enough on its head to make for a primo Chloe Luthor story (even if she's not CURRENTLY married to my preferred Luthor scion)! :)

[Ami Rose]

I don't know how I never came across this fic! It was awesome... but really surprised me with the ending! I was really getting in the hole her and Alexander reuniting! But then the hole twist almost made me scream lol! But I still loved this fic!