The young girl, Trish, was chatting animatedly with her girlfriend Alkaid in the park, as usual. Trish was smiling warmly. Alkaid made her feel so pretty and important. Trish was hesitant to admit it, but she thought she might have found her soulmate. And tonight...

Alkaid stopped talking and looked up, noticing Trish's distant gaze. "Something wrong? You seem out of it today."

Trish blushed and averted her eyes. "Oh, it's nothing, I was just...thinking."

Alkaid's eyebrows furrowed worriedly. "Oh. Wanna talk about it? If something's bothering you..."

Trish quickly turned back to her love with a huge grin. "Oh no! It's the exact opposite. I'm happy. It's almost scary how happy you make me, Alkaid. And I...I was thinking that maybe tonight we could..."

Alkaid's eyes lit up. "Really? Are you sure?"

**************

Across the park, Kite lowered his newspaper slightly, his eyes glinting with a dangerous spark. "Hmmm...good. The queen is moving into position. Now I just need to place a pawn in her way..."

**************

Alkaid left the park with a skip in her step. Tonight, she was going to....Alkaid blushed at her desires. She closed her eyes, picturing Trish's beautiful, naked body underneath her, all her limbs spread, giving Alkaid full access to-

She bumped into something and fell onto her ass, hard. "Ow! Um, sorry, I was...daydreaming," she muttered embarrassedly. She looked up, but the sun shone in her eyes, and all she could see was the shadow of the man standing over her. A hand extended from the shadow. Alkaid squinted, and then blushed again and took the hand, letting him pull her to her feet.

"It's quite alright. I should have paid more attention to where I was walking," the man replied.

Alkaid shook and turned to look at the man closely. He spoke with an upper-class accent, and the only people who got away with that around here were the real upper-class.

The man she had bumped into certainly looked well-off, with a black blazer and a dignified demeanor. He had an air of power about him, one that just seemed to eminate from every pore of his skin. Alkaid suddenly felt very small, like a puppy who had peed on the carpet. She shook her head quickly. She was a strong young woman, and it was just as much this guy's fault as it was hers.

"I...Thank you," she finished, having momentarily forgotten where exactly she was headed. She bowed her head gratefully, and side-stepped the guy, walking briskly past him.

"Alkaid," the man said, without turning to face her. Alkaid stopped dead in her tracks and spun around, staring daggers into the man's back. "How did you know my -"

"Your mother is in the hospital, isn't she? One of my friends is a nurse, she says that all that woman talks about is her wonderful daughter. She showed my friend a picture, and my friend told me that Alkaid's hair was the only shade of red she had ever seen that was even darker than mine."

Alkaid hesitated, not sure what to say. "Oh..."

The man turned around, finally, his eyes meeting hers. Alkaid's feet suddenly felt rooted to the spot she stood in. His gaze was much more powerful than whatever she had been feeling from him before. Alkaid was a little intimidated, to say the least. Something about him told her, this was a guy she didn't want to piss off.

He continued. "I'm sorry, I got off topic. Anyway, as an apology for knocking you over, would you mind escorting me to her hospital room? I understand her operation has been put on hold because her insurance would not cover it. The least I can do for hurting you is to help your mother heal."

Alkaid stayed frozen. What kind of guy was this? He wanted to pay for her mom's operation, just because he had bumped into her? That was pretty creepy.

The man took a step towards her, gesturing towards her with his right hand. "Please, let me make amends to you. I insist."

The tone of the man's voice when he spoke the last word changed from sophisticated non-chalance to a cold order. Alkaid finally felt life returning to her heels, and she gulped. Part of her wanted to run away, but this man knew where her mother was, so...it didn't really matter. Besides, if she didn't go with him, he might change his mind. As creepy as the guy was, Alkaid really wanted her mom to get better. Alkaid's mother had been hit by a car, and her skull was in pretty bad shape. She was being kept on round-the-clock pain medication to keep her from going into shock, and that medication was keeping her asleep. It was almost like her mother was comatose.

Alkaid hesitated, then lowered her eyes. "Of course, thank you very much. Please follow me."

************

Trish looked at the clock, her heart thumping. Alkaid was ten minutes late! What if she had decided that she didn't want to make love to Trish? A tear formed in Trish's eye. She knew that she should have kept up her damn exercise program. Her slim body was what attracted Alkaid in the first place, but since she had been so busy with school and Alkaid lately, she had slacked off, and now she was so FAT that Alkaid didn't even want to touch her!

Trish was crying fully now, clutching her knees to her chest. Alkaid was the only girl who ever looked at her at school, and now she would probably break up with Trish. What was she going to do?

The door bell rang. Trish jumped ten feet in the air in surprise, then quickly rushed to the mirror, dabbing at her cheeks to soak up all the tears. Her eyes were a little puffy, but she hadn't been crying that long, so hopefully Alkaid wouldn't notice.

She ran to the door and threw it open. Alkaid was standing there in a knockout red dress that matched her hair. It was very skintight and ran down her hips and thighs. Trish gulped, feeling some wetness between her legs. "Alkaid, you look...wow! Come in! Come in!"

Alkaid stepped into the house. Trish gasped, noticing a bandage on Alkaid's neck. "Alkaid, what happened to you!"

Alkaid smiled secretively. "Oh nothing. Something bit my neck earlier. Don't worry about it."

She grabbed Trish's hand and led her to the bedroom.