Full Figured Chic Ch. 21

Jay whirled around, as Greg moved toward the phone. As soon as Greg picked up the receiver, one of the guards from hell appeared out of nowhere and smashed it back on the cradle. Greg moved away, edging back toward the others.

Sutomi stood at the top of the staircase. He smiled down at all of them, and started to walk towards the first step, then proceeded to make his way down the stairs.

"What seems to be the problem here? Are you not ready yet Jay? Still clinging to some hope that all of this isn't going to happen?"

Jay stood watching him as he walked down the stairs. As if he'd been convinced by his mother's words, he moved slowly to the side and said "Only that we have found something here. Something that we think may belong to you."

And he moved to the side to reveal the woman that Sasha held right.

Sutomi Lim looked up, and immediately his face fell into a shock that seemed to rock him to his core. The entire colour drained from his face and he stopped dead in his tracks. He half collapsed to the rail of the steps, and moved both hands to reinforce his grip there.

"Aoide?" was all he could say.

Aoide pulled herself free from Sasha, who couldn't quite believe that she had been right after all. She wasn't worried now about letting her captive go. She'd been seen and that was all that Sasha thought would be required for Sutomi Lim to have what he wanted.

"Aoide. Is that really you?"

"Aye, it's me" She said with a heavy level of disgust in her voice. She rubbed her wrist and looked at Sasha as she rolled her shoulders back and stretched a little. "As you see, I am here before you."

Sutomi Lim didn't move. He kept staring at Aoide.

Sasha stared up at him. The one guard by the phone had now been joined by the other two and their eyes were on Sutomi Lim as well. Everyone watched, as if the entire world depended on what happened next.

Soon, he partially recovered and remembered himself. He stood and walked down the stairs the rest of the way, not saying a word. Sasha watched him, fascinated. Suddenly she felt a touch at her elbow, and Jay was gently encouraging her to stand closer to him. She moved, and he'd pulled her further toward the stairs. Suddenly, Sutomi Lim turned on his hells.

"You four get over near the stairs there. I don't want any of you leaving or thinking that this is over for you."

Jay pulled Sasha toward him, and moved nearer to the edge of the staircase. The three guards moved to position nearby making it clear they had a job to do again and were doing it.

Sutomi Lim moved toward Aoide. He stood only about two meters away. From where she stood, Sasha could only see the back of him, but she could see Aoide's face.

"Where have you been? How did you survive?" he said, wonder in his voice now.

"I am half daemon. I didn't die, like you killed my children. Instead I was cursed to live as all daemons live. I stayed physically close to my offspring, but I have had to watch them all die through the ages because of you and your curse."

Lim looked down as if he were wondering who had tied his shoelaces that morning. With his head still bowed, he said, "But I have had to spend an eternity without you, and you have been here

with me all along?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you show yourself?"

"You were killing my children. You would kill me eventually, if you knew that I lived. Just I expect you will now."

Lim looked up at her. "Yes it's true. My anger against you runs very deep. You gave yourself so happily to another man. We were young lovers."

Aoide had a defiant look on her face. "We were never lovers. You never touched me. I tried to kiss you, I tried to reach for you, but you always turned me away. You didn't want Me., We were both daemon, and you didn't want me. I thought, where will he find another daemon woman? But I decided that you must be searching for her, so I would have to make myself take my own course."

"I wanted to make myself human for you."

"When did I tell you I wanted a human?"

"But you are human. You are half human."

"That doesn't mean I can live a human life."

Sutomi looked down again. Toward his feet he said "Have the gods deceived me?"

Suddenly Aoide laughed. It was a screeching, piercing laugh that hurt the ear drums.

"The gods? The gods! You fool! You deceived yourself."

Sutomi turned so that his face was revealed. He was definitely in some sort of shock. He moved toward the chair that jay had been sitting in earlier. It was a collapse, all the strength out of him. He looked to Sasha like a man who had the weight of a thousand planets on him. He took a deep breath, and then without looking up at Aoide, he said,

"Why didn't you speak to me, and tell me all this. I would never have killed you."

"Yes you would have. You could kill all my children. You could kill me."

Aoide placed her hands on her hips. She looked defiant, and in control. She dealt Sutomi the final blow to his realisation. "And besides. I liked it when I had sex. I didn't want to stop and I didn't want to have just one man."

"You would do that rather than save your children?"

Aoide screamed out loud in the same terrifying voice, "I thought you would kill me you fool. I hoped you would never come from me and that I would be able to watch my children's children from a distance till they left. It was the only pleasure I ever had."

Not the only pleasure, Sasha thought with disgust.

A pause controlled the room. Sasha held her breath and imagined everyone else did the same. Sutomi sat in his chair, staring at Aoide as she looked back at him doing the same. Sasha could feel the tension between them, and almost imagined she could feel some sexual energy.

Suddenly, Sutomi Lim leaps out of the chair and ran toward Aoide. As he did so, she opened her arms and welcomed him. The pair started to kiss, fevered, passionately, Lim holding her face in his hands, Aoide with her arms clasped around his neck. If it weren't for the fact that both of them disgusted Sasha so much. The scene would be endearing.

However, soon the kissing had been going on long enough. Sasha wanted resolution on the issue at hand, and clearly Jay did as well. He stood forward, not enough so as to wake the guards, but enough to be able to show that he had something to say.

"Ah, hem." He forced a false cough to get their attention.

They didn't move. Kissing as if they'd been separated for years, which they had, they ignored Jay and just kept up.

"Sutomi Lim. You have a problem. You now have to deal with me." Jay called out.

"You have no justification for your anger now." Sasha turned to see Estella standing next to Jay. She looked strong, and almost as thought ten years had been taken from her appearance.

This would be the biggest validation the woman was ever going to receive and she was enjoying every moment of it. "The gods will not look favourably upon you exacting out revenge with Aoide in your arms."

This had Sutomi Lim cease his kissing. Without taking his arm off Aoide, he turned to look at the small party gathered under the stairs.

"It's true" he said. The guards turned their heads suddenly toward Lim. "This has no justification now. I have Aoide back again, and I am no longer allowed to curse Alexander and his offspring."

He leaned toward Aoide and kissed her again. She kissed him back, and snuggled into his chest.

"You are free from the curse Jay. I no longer wish to see your death. And your woman is yours also, and you can enjoy your child together."

Then, with a sudden wave of his hand, he and the guards, and Aoide all disappeared.

Sasha stood still, not being exactly sure of what to do next.

Jay turned around, and ran to her; kissing her almost with the same passion Lim and Aoide had kissed with. He held her caressing her, clutching her, reaching of her. Sasha kissed him back, feeling the full weight of relief flowing through both of them. Jay was going to be alright, he want' going to die, and they had a chance at a real life together.

After a moment of clinging to each other, accepting that they had more time, and they had a future, Sasha turned away from jay to look at the others. Greg stared at the two of them. He looked lost, as though he didn't know what to do with this information or what it could all possibly mean.

Her eyes wandered to Estella. The older woman had fallen into the chair and sat forward with her head in her hands. She shook and at first Sasha thought something was wrong with her. She soon realised, however, that she was crying. Pouring all the years of grief and desperation into the tears that flowed through her hands.

Sasha let go of Jay and indicated toward his mother. He pulled away and ran to her.

"Mother. Mother, I'm here. Touch me. I'm here and I will never doubt you or not trust you again. You saved me mother. Your belief and faith saved me, and I will always be grateful."

Estella looked up at her son, tears staining the face that had already been marked by the years – years of sadness, desperation, loneliness and grief. Jay held her hand and lifted her out of the chair to stand before him. In a hug that held and protected her against a world that hated her for so long, he wrapped his protective muscled arms around her and let her sob and sob into his chest.

With tears in her eyes, Sasha moved toward Greg.

"What is there to say?" She looked at him, deep warmth in her eyes. Greg kept his gaze levelled at Jay and his mother, but spoke to Sasha in a hushed voice, so as not to disturb their moment.

"I will never understand what I have seen here today, Sasha, but I know what in am seeing now. I've never been so touched by two people in my life."

He paused and turned to Sasha. "And thank you. I don't know how you did it, but I think this means Jay is back from whatever strange place he was in."

Sasha smiled at him, and felt the warmth flowing between them. This was a moment to bask in relief and to feel the free flow of the joy of being human.

After a few moments with his mother, Jay turned to room to speak with the other two people who had stood by him through the strangeness of this ordeal.

"Friends! We have a line to complete!"

*****

Sasha teetered nervously on her high heels. She stared at the woman in front of her, who was applying the fifth layer of lipstick to her deep ruby coloured lips.

Everything that had happened between her and Jay in their dealing with Sutomi Lim and the subsequent whirlwind weeks of getting the line complete were nothing compared wit this moment.

Right now, she'd rather face those daemon guards again, than go out on that runway for the first time as she was preparing to do. She felt a warm hand slither into her own and she turned to see Penny; only a faint bruising on her face reminded her of the ordeal of a few weeks back. Her friend looked well and happy, and at this moment, filled with excited sympathy.

"Oh you look nervous, don't worry. All your training will kick in the second you are out there."

"Man, Pen, I am so scared. I mean like really really scared."

"Oh come on Sasha. This doesn't sound like the woman who single headedly reconciled a daemon with his long lost daemon lover, and saved her fiancé from suicide."

The makeup artists paused and glanced at Penny, then back at Sasha. She kept up with the lipstick application.

"I kid you not Pen, I'd take any of that over this, any day."

"Sasha." the makeup artist jumped in. "I've done this for twenty years, and I have never seen a model more beautiful than the way you l0ok right now, nor have I ever seen a world more ready for this idea. You are about to make history. Can I respectfully suggest you think of something a little bigger than yourself in this moment?"

Sasha gulped. She glanced toward Penny, her mouth curled into a smooth 'O' shape so that it would be worked on better.

Penny was laughing. "Yeah. Get over yourself for god's sake."

The makeup artist pulled back. "Perfect. You know you have to be extra careful with your changes don't you? You've got a dark colour on. It won't stay this good, and I can only do touch ups – no time for full recovery if you smudge this."

"I'm ok with the changes." Sasha replied. "I've been practising them every day for a fortnight."

Satisfied, the woman walked away. Sasha turned to her friend.

"Well, I have ten minutes before in go out there and change the world."

"You look fantastic. You'/re glowing you know."

"As long as I'm not showing. And thank god there's no morning sickness."

"At least not yet," Penny reminded her. "It's early days you know."

"The doctor told me it looks like I may be clear. And seeing as he's saying what I want to hear, I'm going to take his word for it."

Penny laughed softly, and then stood back, looking at Sasha. She looked wistful as if she were contemplating something.

"You know, I haven't thanked you properly for what you did for me in that hospital. I know everything worked out ok, and Gilbert is making a full recovery, but you took the risk that he may not. You were brave enough to tell me what in needed to hear – not what you felt comfortable in telling me."

Sasha looked down, smoothing out her dress. "It wasn't easy Pen. I tried not to do that."

"I didn't know the deceit in that woman Sasha. You gave me what I ached for; what that woman could never give me. You feed me when I was hungry Sasha, and I will never forget it. I took that strength and I gave it to Gilbert and now we are both well again."

Sasha looked up into her friend's eyes – great oceans of love and warmth. "With eyes like that you make me feel like I can take on the world."

Penny smiled, adding to the emotion she poured out on her friend. "You are about to go out there and take on the world.

You will be brilliant. And, my dearest of all friends, in will be by your side to feed you in the same way you fed me. Trust yourself, trust our friendship and trust Jay. Take what's being offered you."

Sasha smiled, opening her mouth to say something back to the warm words, but instead paused as "Sasha smith into position" filled the gap between the two women. Penny gasped, leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the cheek. Smiled, then turned and walked away, as Sasha made her way to the position ready for the Jay miles models to walk the catwalk.

Behind her, in a group, stood four other full figured women, each wearing Jay's incredible designs. Each looked like the flower she represented, and each stood elegant and dramatically styled in jays clothes. Suddenly jay himself appeared.

"Model four needs a hair check," he shouted as he moved into their eye line, his bus9nes gaze moving rapidly over all five models. He moved directly to Sasha.

"You're about to change my life – again." he whispered.

The model behind Sasha giggled then looked away with a flush in her cheek. Jay glanced at her then looked back at Sasha. "You look incredible" he smiled.

Sasha wore a very pale lime satin frock twisted gently around her voluptuous figure. The plunge of the neckline, combined with the corset bodice lifted her ample bosom and almost poured it out of the top of the gown.

The large collar stood stiff in petal shapes behind her, as her impeccable coiffe sat in deep auburn curls close to her head. She looked like a lily – the style Jay wanted for her. She was no virginal bide, she was the mature sophisticated woman, dramatic, proud, fertile- goddess.

A real woman, the perfect musky female partner for her man. Jay's line encouraged the strength in woman, the power, avoiding the waif like insecurity of women who look like little boys.

"Gone are the days of weak women Sasha. You are power – harnessed power – but power none the less. You are beautiful, feminine and wild. A lioness, not a kitten." Jay had said to her in the final rehearsals long after the drama of Sutomi Lim had passed them both by.

Now she stood before him, and he checked the line of her gown, the hem and the seams. She saw the mist in his eyes, as he moved on to check the next model, running are more professional, less affected eye over her.

They'd called the four extra full figured women in two weeks before the show. They used real models, but they only had catalogue experience, no runway, and Sasha found herself helping to coach the experts in a field she'd taken to most surprisingly.

In those last few weeks, so much had happened. They had successfully kept the press away from discovering the line, but with the disappearance of Sutomi Lim, and the shock revelation of his attempts at sabotage, the buzz around this line had gotten out of control without anyone knowing what secrets this line contained.

The papers talked of rumours of a lockdown situation and Jay working around the clock to bring a line to complete before the next show. The press hadn't been able to get through the security Jay employed. Never before in fashion had so much security been used for one complex.

It was like a maximum security prison.

The big surprise was Sutomi Lim disappearing from the face of the earth. Press had traced some movements to his packing up his life a few weeks before fashion week, but he'd left his entire empire in the hands of no one. His staff came to work Monday morning to find they had no job, and no line left b y Sutomi to complete to b e prepared.

Jay had publicly announced that ye would take up every employee left by Sutomi Lim, as he believed he would need all the extra workers once he revealed a dramatic secret at his showing at fashion week. He'd paid big bucks to get the opening show, an opening he promised would change the face of fashion. The press could hardly wait. Sasha was about to take the first step on the runway to change the world right now.

Sasha herself had poured more work into the final weeks of the line than she'd ever given any other project. She got plenty of sleep to preserve her look, but achieved ten times the output of anyone in the studio in the hours she was awake. She learnt seven years of modelling in four weeks, and trained as though she were with a martial arts sensei.

She knew she was ready. She'd called work and asked Martin to invite her co workers to the show. She'd arranged seats for them all and she knew they all sat out there, not knowing what part she played in all of this, but that she was going to be doing something.

She'd received word that Darren was there and that he'd already done everything he could to keep the gossip alive on the dramas that went on between them.

She was due back at work Monday morning, and although Sasha knew she was never going back to that job again, she wanted martin, and her colleagues to see her here, so that they would fully understand why they would never be seeing her in that office again. Her life had changed so much in a few short weeks that nothing they could say would ever bring her back to who she used to be.

Jay came back to her as they heard the announcement that the Jay miles collection was coming out in 2 minutes time. The audience was seated, and the lights and music in place. He leaned in and kissed her lightly on her lips so as not to spoil her lipstick.

"It's is our line my love. This is our life. Now go out there and change the world."

Sasha walked past him, her shoulders back, her head held high and her entire self ready for what she was about to do.

She stood at the curtains. She could see the first row of people and she pulled back gently so not a moment was revealed a head of time. She hears the voice over say;

"Ladies and gentlemen. Mr Jay Miles."

That was Sasha's que. With her head held high, she walked out to the deep burnt orange curtain that said Jay miles in the large sliver letters.

She turned and stood still, hand on hip, and stared defiantly into the audience. In her peripheral vision she saw Jay watching her from the side still, like a statue.