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Well, I'm back with another story. Sort of. I took a short break from Whisper in the Woods to write this excerpt. It's not going to be continued just yet. I haven't worked out all the details of it, but this was the only scene I could picture perfectly, so I wanted to write it down before I forgot it. I hope you like it. Please comment and tell me what you think! I encourage the comments, here. If you want to see more, I'll try to write more of this one. Hope you like it. 
The fire flickers, flames dancing before the four companions. Crickets chirped around them after the sun departed, letting the moon rise high into the sky. Stars followed, slowly coming into view when deciding they were done with their game of hide-and-seek. The moonlight poked through the tree branches of the forest and met the flame of the fire, but it wasn’t that bright.
Xalia lifted her light crystal blue eyes to her new friends as she ran a hand through her dark raven hair as she sat back from the fire. The moonlight seemed to make her creamy pale skin glow. A hawk, which she called Xander, perched himself on a small log beside her, and he was starting to doze off. Her first sight was Alec.
Alec was leaning back on his arms in front of the fire, enjoying its warmth. A soft smile crossed his face. Xalia knew he was probably proud of himself. She looked over to their tent and had to smile faintly herself. His magic was improving a lot, in fact, over the past week since she met him and the others.
Her gaze switched to Sierra, who sat beside him, and that faint smile seemed to wipe right off her face, not that you could tell it was there in the first place anyway. Sierra sat quietly, looking up at the moonlight peering through the tree branches and leaves with her bright emerald green eyes. Her slender fingers toyed with a locket around her neck. And a very special locket it was.
Legend had it, from only recently Xalia had heard, that locket belonged to the ‘lost princess’ of King D’Vangeline. The princess was said to have been kidnapped coming on two years ago now. The locket was supposedly what she left behind and only she is able to open it to see the picture inside. Her initials, A. J. C. D, were engraved in a fancy way on the back of the tiny heart locket.
Sierra now held the locket, finding it on the outskirts of the forest they were in now. Xalia was surprised anyone to see she had it—She never thought anyone would find it.
Now she glanced towards Liam as the boy yawned and leaned back against a tree. He ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair and folded his arms. He looked as if there was something bothering him, like he was in deep thought. Xalia had no doubt that it was probably herself. She wasn’t much of a talkative person nowadays. She closed her eyes and shook her head softly, and looked into the flames.
“Hmm.. We should tell some scary stories,” Alex said thoughtfully, sitting up straight. Sierra and Liam looked over at him. Liam smiled, but Sierra looked frightened all ready.
“No scary stories,” she protested, shaking her head. She let go of the locket and wrapped her arms around her legs.
“A scary story like what?” Liam asked. His ocean blue eyes seemed to light up.
Alec shrugged. “What about vampires? You know how much they scare the living daylights out of people.” He paused. “No pun intended.”
Liam nodded as the hawk opened his eyes, ready to listen in on the conversation. “They do, of course. I remember being told they’d come and take me away if I stayed out late.”
“And they rip your throats out.”
Sierra scrunched her nose and covered her ears. “Stop it!”
Alec and Liam smiled at each other across the fire. “We’re only kidding,” Alec said. “You’re perfectly fine right here, they don’t exist. It was only an urban legend to keep you in before curfew.”
There was a short, soft sound breaking into the conversation as if someone thought Alec’s comment was a joke. Sierra dismissed it.
“I know, but still. You know it scares me anyway.”
“True.”
“Do you have any thoughts on the matter, Xalia?” Liam asked, looking over at her.
Xalia had been looking into the fire as she listened to them. The flames gave her skin a yellow glow, and with the moonlight it was almost ghostly. “Actually, yes. I do.”
“And?”
“You’ve got it all wrong,” she replied casually, as if amused by what they thought. “They are in fact real. I mean, if werewolves are, why not vampires?”
They looked at her silently. Sierra tilted her head.
“Okay, Princess,” Alec said, and ignored her glare from the nickname, “what do you know about them?”
“Which type?” replied Xalia.
“Type?” asked Liam.
She nodded and smiled softly. “You’ve got your Pure Bloods and then you have your Turn Bloods. They’re both different; even you have to know that.”
“I didn’t think there was a difference,” Sierra said. “I didn’t even think there were two types.”
“There are. Pure Bloods are natural born vampires, and Turn Bloods were turned by a Pure Blood,” Xalia explained as if obvious. Xander looked up at her and seemed to shake his head before flying up to a tree branch.
“Well that figures,” Liam said. “But what’s the difference? How do you know?”
Xalia shrugged and leaned back on her arms. “I’ve heard from people in my travels,” she replied. “Anyway, the Pure Bloods are pretty much your average vampire: they suck blood to live, can’t walk in daylight, not a big fan of garlic.” She said this as if having recited it a million times and was getting sick of it. “The only thing is, fire and silver and crucifixes, holy water, too, do nothing to them,”
“Sounds like a weird horror movie.”
She nodded. “Sometimes I wonder.”
“What about the.. Turn Bloods, was it?” Alec asked.
“Turn Bloods can walk in the daylight, but fire isn’t their best friend. Their wounds, depending on how bad they are, heal fast, but not as fast as a Pure Blood’s. They couldn’t turn another person into a vampire even if they wanted to, either, but they can still suck your blood.”
Sierra frowned and made a small wincing movement. Xalia seemed to smile softly. It seemed like it was the first time she did since they offered to let her join them, Liam guessed.
“Don’t worry about it. They can last awhile without blood, but not too long. Pure Bloods can last up to two months, three the most, maybe. Turn Bloods are no longer than two weeks.”
Sierra rolled her eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Xalia shook her head. “Not at all,” she said seriously.
Sierra made a face and Liam thought back to just before they met Xalia. He and Alec had found a bloodied rabbit. The animal’s neck had been snapped, along with bite marks. Sierra had the same look she did now as when they found the bloodied rabbit, feet sticking out of some bushes.
Xalia let out a laugh, a soft light one. “I’m only kidding. Sure they’re not real,” she replied, shaking her head. She stood up and moved away from the fire. “It’s late. We should get ready for bed,” she said as she when into the tent. “Your magic’s improving,” she called to Alec, and he smiled.
She returned holding her long thin sword by her side. “I can keep watch while you guys rest,” she offered.
“Wake me up if you want to sleep awhile,” Alec said to her.
She nodded as the three stood and headed for the tent. Waiting until they were inside, she put out the fire. The smell of burnt wood filled their campsite for awhile, but Xalia ignored it as she sat against a tree and folded her arms.
Alec rolled over onto his side, trying to get to sleep. His eyes only stayed wide awake, looking to the far side of the tent. He sighed quietly and then smiled to himself. Indeed Xalia had been right. His magic was getting better, as hard as it is to perform. Speaking of which…
There was no firelight shining against the tent wall. He sat up and looked towards the entrance. It had to be late, but surely she hadn’t just gone to sleep?
He stood and grabbed an extra blanket beside his bed. He poked his head out of the tent and saw Xalia’s back as she leaned against a tree. He could see she had her arms folded. The moonlight made her skin glow.
“Aren’t you cold?” asked Alec as he walked over and took a seat next to her.
She blinked as if just realizing he was there. “Huh?”
He put the blanket on her. “The fire’s out.”
“I know. I put it out just after you three went to bed.”
“Why?”
She shrugged lightly, closing her crystal blue eyes before opening them again. She was wide awake, too. “Didn’t need it.”
Alec looked at her. She kept her gaze looking ahead of them. He had started to learn she kept to herself even though she liked to be part of the group. She only ever said what she needed to, and that was fine with him.
He frowned, a worried look on his face. Xalia seemed to feel it or something because she looked over at him.
“What?”
“Nothing. It’s just… Are you okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“You just looked like you haven’t eaten anything in awhile. You hungry?”
Xalia shook her head and smiled weakly. “Not now. I’ll find something later,” she replied, looking back out into the darkness. A soft breeze rolled past them and she made sure she was under the blanket.
“Sure you’re f---“
“Yes. I’m fine. Alec, go back to bed.”
He paused for a moment, then nodded and stood. He walked to the tent’s entrance and started to go in when Xalia’s voice stopped him.
“Alec?”
He looked around at her, his hand at the tent opening. “Yeah?”
“Thanks.” She smiled softly.
Alec smiled, whether or not because he was returning the smile was beyond him. Maybe he just liked seeing her smile. Either way, it was rare to see one on her face and he felt it was a shame. It was such a nice smile, too, one that could brighten up a gloomy day.
Xalia looked down as if suddenly aware they were staring at each other. She turned her attention back to the darkness.
Alec watched her for a moment before disappearing into the tent.
 OrliDeppgrl1526 · Sat Feb 02, 2008 @ 12:53am · 2 Comments |
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