The Legend of the Blue Eyes

by B. Kristin McMichael

  After rinsing off the soap and putting on her pajamas, Arianna tried to go to sleep in the king–sized, four-post bed, but found it was too different from her normal, single bed at home. Home, Arianna thought. Where is that? Her life was now in disarray, and though she could still remember the small apartment above the diner, a part of her told her it was no longer home. But this isn’t home either. The strange room, decorated for a five year-old, wasn’t home. The pink fluffy comforter was not home. The six ruffled pillows now piled on the floor were not home.

  Arianna lay still, listening to the room around her. Though she tried to only focus on the room, her ability to hear traveled down the corridors of the large estate to the ballroom. She could hear the laughing and talking of complete strangers as they enjoyed themselves. The click of high heels and formal shoes kept the beat to the faint music that continued to play. Doesn’t anyone sleep around here? she wondered, as she stared at the clock flashing 3:43AM. Arianna sighed as she realized, they were dearg-duls, night humans. Of course they don’t sleep at night, she told herself. Arianna began to ponder her new existence. She knew very little of dearg-duls. Would it be like the movies? Would they turn to ash at the slightest sunlight? Did they attack innocent people to feed? Would vampire hunters follow her, trying to put a wooden stake through her heart? What about garlic and holy water? Was she now immortal?

  Arianna tossed and turned in her bed as she failed to fall asleep. The guests, enjoying the night, continued to talk and dance as time crawled on. Arianna tried to picture her bed at home: the soft, worn sheets, her favorite pillow she refused to give up, and the window that allowed her to see the moon as she fell asleep. It was no longer her home, but she longed to be there anyways. This isn’t going to work, she thought. There was no way she could fall asleep with all the noises to distract her.

  Silently, Arianna opened her bedroom door to peer into the sitting room. The fire in the fireplace crackled and slightly flickered as the air from her bedroom pushed past it to the chimney. On the couch, sitting with his back to her, Devin was reading papers. Without looking up, he stopped, and placed the papers on the coffee table.

  “Having trouble sleeping?” he asked, as he picked up a new set of papers.

  “Mm hmm,” she replied, sitting next to him. “You know, it’s almost four in the morning.”

  “Is it?” he asked.

  “Don’t you sleep?” she asked.

  “I normally only sleep two to four hours a night,” he responded.

  “What are you doing so late?” she wondered.

  “Going over the files from today,” he explained. Arianna nodded as she curled her feet beneath her to keep her toes warm. “It’s my job to keep you safe, so I need to make sure we didn’t miss anything.”

  “Your job?” she asked. “But you’re only seventeen, right?”

  Devin smiled as he set down the paper and picked up the next. “Correct, but I’m still employed by your grandfather.”

  “But you’re just a high-school student,” she added.

  “I graduated from high school three years ago,” he replied. Shocked, Arianna stared at the young man beside her. Was he really so smart that he could graduate high school at fourteen? Devin kept reading.

  “It’s too noisy here, and the party is still going on,” she explained why she couldn’t sleep, though he hadn't asked.

  “It could be a few more hours yet, before everyone leaves,” Devin replied. “Just ignore the noise.”

  “That’s easy for you to say. You can’t hear every little whisper about you,” she sulked.

  “Eventually they’ll get used to you, and the gossiping should stop,” he replied.

  “Why is everyone making such a big deal about me?” she asked. “Gabriel said there’s some legend about a dearg-dul with blue eyes, but he didn’t know the details.”

  “Mm hmm,” Devin replied, not elaborating.

  Arianna was starting to get mad at his short replies. “Why won’t anyone tell me anything?” she complained.

  “They’ve told you quite enough for one day. Too much information at one time can be bad,” he replied calmly. “You need to get some sleep. Tomorrow I’ll answer all of your questions, okay?” Arianna nodded. He was always correct. She already had way too much to think about.

  “Can I sit here a little longer until I feel sleepy?” she asked. Devin nodded without looking up from his papers. “Thanks.”

  Arianna sat and watched the fire flicker. The flames danced on the walls, captivating her attention, but she couldn’t stop the sounds running through her head of the people talking below. Arianna sighed. She wanted to sleep, but being in such an unfamiliar place made it impossible to ignore all the new noises she heard. There was nothing she could do to block out the sounds. Out of the corner of his eye, Devin watched Arianna as she endlessly watched the fire. She was exhausted from her long day, but she wasn’t showing any signs of falling asleep soon.

  “You really need to go to sleep,” he said, as he scooped her into his arms and carried her back to her room.

  “But I can’t fall asleep,” she complained, struggling to get out of his grasp. “It’s still too noisy in this house.”

  “You have to get used to it. Your sense of hearing has increased now, and it won’t change,” he added.

  “But,” she began to complain again.

  Devin sat down on the bed beside her. Arianna stared in shock as he began to unbutton his shirt.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, moving away from him.

  “Come here,” he directed in a serious tone. He patted the bed and patiently waited. She slowly crawled back to him, sitting on the edge of the bed. Devin took her hand and placed it on his bare chest. “There’s something a dearg-dul can hear even better than voices.”

  Arianna felt his heart beating beneath her hand. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the sound of the blood rushing through his body. Arianna began to feel the outside world dimming. She could no longer hear the guests at the party, or the maid down the hall. Everything was covered up by the gentle thumping of Devin’s heart. Arianna felt her body being moved, but she didn’t fight it. The urge to sleep was slowly drawing over her. Without the distracting noises around her, she could finally rest.

  “Devin,” she asked, as she drifted off to sleep. “Promise me that you will always take care of me.”

  “Of course,” he replied as she drifted off

  EIGHT

  Arianna lifted her head slightly and heard a rush of noises around her. The bird outside chirped loudly, the maids clicked as they walked down the marble hallways, and the clanking of dishes told her it was already daytime. Arianna felt the warmth of her pillow before realizing her pillow had a pulse. She opened her eyes, in the dim light, and to her surprise, she found she was lying on Devin’s bare chest. Swiftly, she sat up and moved away from him to the other side of the bed.

  “I knew you were tired, but thirteen hours is a long time to sleep,” he complained, as he placed the paper he was reading on the nightstand.

  “What…” she began to ask, but fumbled with her words. Here she was lying in a bed with a half-naked boy with absolutely no memory of the previous night.

  Devin smiled. “You don’t remember last night?” he asked, knowing it would be fun to tease her a bit more.

  Arianna blushed from head to toe as she tried to look away from Devin. Arianna’s experience with boys was rather limited. While many girls her age were allowed to date, Aunt Lilly and Uncle Dean had told her she would have to wait until she was older. For the most part, Arianna didn’t care, as she was too busy helping with the diner. In reality though, she wanted to hang out with her friends more, and the prospects of dating were quite scary. Every boy she had ever had a crush on was impossible to talk to. When she finally liked a boy, she couldn't make complete sentences when alone with him, even if just in a hallway at school.

  Devin cautiously reached for her hand as she obviously, for a reason unkno
wn to him, became frightened by the situation. Arianna moved to stand, but instead felt her legs weaken, and she ended up back on the bed. Without looking up, her face continued to glow red. Devin tried to catch her gaze, but she avoided him.

  “Have I done something to offend you?” he asked as he looked down at himself. Devin buttoned his shirt and smiled. “Are you feeling okay?”

  “My legs feel a little weak,” Arianna replied, grabbing a pillow to try to hide behind.

  Devin moved to try to catch her gaze, but she still refused to look at him. “That’s because you aren’t completely transformed yet. You use up your blood too quickly.”

  Arianna peeked up at him. “Will it always be like this?” she asked.

  “No. It will get better as you learn to control things, such as your sensitive hearing. Doing things that are beyond human ability uses the blood you drink. So the more you do, the more blood you will need,” he explained.

  “How did you make me go to sleep last night?” she asked. “I tried to sleep, but everything was too noisy.”

  “I read in one of my books that you’d be drawn to the sound the heart makes. Just by touching my skin, you can hear it, can’t you?” He waited for her to understand. Arianna nodded. “It seems that’s enough to block out all other sounds.”

  “Does that mean every time I want to sleep, you have to be there?” she asked, blushing again as she found herself wanting to add half naked.

  “Are you afraid of me?” he replied with a question. Arianna shook her head no. There was nothing scary about Devin. He had been kind to her since the first moment she talked to him. He was very quiet, which made her always wonder what he was thinking, but he wasn’t scary. “You are doing your best to hide behind that pillow like I might jump over there and attack you.” Arianna looked down at the pillow she was still hugging. “Like you think I’m a monster. Let me reassure you, I’m human. You should be able to tell.”

  “It’s just that this is all a little weird,” she replied. “I’ve never even dated a boy, and here I wake up in the same bed with a boy I’ve only known for two days. Aunt Lilly would kill me if she knew,” Arianna accidentally blurted out before turning bright red again.

  “Oh that’s the problem?” he replied with a laugh. “Then don’t worry. You’ve known me much longer than two days. In fact, we met over ten years ago.” Arianna slightly dropped her defensive pillow. “You don’t remember? You told me that you would marry me when we got older.” Arianna began to blush.

  “But I don’t remember that,” Arianna replied, trying to remember ever meeting Devin.

  “I came here right after my family was killed. Your grandfather took me in. He felt bad for me because he was too late to stop my family from dying,” Devin explained. Arianna concentrated on Devin’s face as he spoke in the dimly-lit room. She could see the honesty in his crisp blue eyes. “I was only seven-years-old when I first met you. You were already asleep when we arrived back here, so your grandfather didn’t want to wake you to introduce you to me. Instead, he just tucked me into the bed next to you, and told me to sleep. After losing my family in the middle of the night, I found comfort in this strange place where everyone slept during the day. When I woke, it was already evening again, and I began to panic until I realized I wasn’t alone in the room. The girl who had been sleeping during the day was now awake, watching me. I was scared, so you offered to play with me.” Devin paused as he thought of a childhood that Arianna couldn’t remember. “You were only there a week because it was your last week living with us. Your grandfather had been picking up Lilly and Dean to bring them back to meet you when he saved me. At the end of the week, you told me that you were going on a long trip, but someday you would come back and marry me.”

  Arianna giggled. “Did I really say that?” she asked, mortified at her bold younger self.

  “Yes, but I suppose it doesn’t count if you don’t remember. Oh yeah, not to mention the fact you told two of the butlers, three maids, and your favorite cook you wanted to marry them also,” he added before breaking out into laughter. Arianna smiled as she watched him. Since she had first seen him in her math class, she had never heard him laugh. He was always so serious about everything. Even being with him almost constantly for two days, she had yet to see him honestly smile.

  “You’re a lot cuter when you smile,” she added. It was Devin’s turn to blush.

  “I’m not your type,” he replied, trying to cover up his embarrassment.

  “And how would you know who is my type?” she asked.

  “I know everything about you,” he replied, looking out the nearest window to avoid her gaze.

  “What?” Arianna replied. How could someone who sat in the back of the room know anything about her? They had only just first talked together two days ago. “Doubt it,” she added.

  “You love chocolate, but only if it’s dark chocolate. You return home every day at 3:48 to help the cook chop vegetables for the evening meal. Your prized treasure is a small bracelet Lilly gave you that she told you came from your mother. On weekends you change clothes at least twice a day because you finally have freedom from your school uniform. You love daisies and hate roses. Should I go on?” he asked as her mouth dropped. He was correct. He knew her quite well. “Now, I promised you last night to give you answers after you had time to sleep. Do you have any questions?”

  Arianna stared at him, unable to form a sentence. How could he know so much? Devin smiled and laughed at her confused face.

  “I can leave then?” he asked as he stood up.

  “No, wait,” she called, reaching over the bed and grabbing his arm. Devin sat down beside her. “Why do you know so much about me?”

  “It’s my job,” he replied. “Like you believed about yourself, I have no family. I owe everything in my life to your grandfather. He took me in, gave me a home, and raised me. This is the only way I know how to pay him back: taking care of the most precious person to him in the world, his granddaughter.” Devin’s sincerity brought back her questions.

  “What is a baku?” Arianna asked, remembering the word Gabriel used the night before. “Gabriel said I’m a purebred dearg-dul, and a purebred baku.”

  “Like dearg-duls, baku are also night creatures that survive on blood. You met a group of them the first night I picked you up from Gabriel’s house. Those men with long white hair and pale skin were all baku,” Devin explained. “There are four types of night humans you will encounter: dearg-dul, lycan, baku, and tengu. You have met dearg-duls, as most of the people here last night were dearg-duls who are loyal to your grandfather. They are what you would call a vampire. Mixed in with the guests last night were also lycans, or what you’d picture as werewolves. Your uncle and cousin are both baku, a night human that’s like a vampire but can also feed on dreams and feelings. Tengu are more like lycan because they feed on meat as well as blood, but instead of being a bit on the furry side, they grow large wings that can support their body weight and allow them to fly. There were no baku or tengu at last night’s party. Night humans don’t get along too well.”

  “Were my parents human like you?” Arianna wondered.

  “No, your father was a baku and your mother a dearg-dul.”

  “And that’s why my families don’t like each other?” Arianna asked.

  “For hundreds of years, baku and dearg-duls have been fighting for control of the night. Lycans and tengu, which don’t necessarily need blood, but can eat raw meat to feed, each joined sides of the fight. Lycans allied themselves with dearg-dul and tengu with the baku, but it’s really just a fight between both baku and dearg-duls who need human blood to survive. Your grandfather is the leader of the dearg-duls. He had been leading the fight since he was a teenager against Gabriel, the leader of the baku.”

  “My parents both came from different sides? Like Romeo and Juliet?” Arianna asked. Devin nodded. “And you are human. Do humans get involved in this also?”

  “Mostly not by choice,” Devin
replied.

  “Why would my grandfather take a human child home to this strange life?” Arianna asked.

  “Because my family was murdered by a baku as they slept. Whether I want to or not, I’m involved in this. Now, though, I’m here by choice,” Devin replied. “I can leave at any time if I wished. Your grandfather has told me, time and time again, he would get me out of here with a new identity and all, but I want to stay.”

  “So, you were raised here amongst night humans?” Arianna asked.

  “Yes, but as you will find, there are almost as many normal humans as night humans living here at your grandfather’s estate,” Devin replied.

  “Then you can tell me about the blue eye legend,” Arianna deduced.

  “All that I’m allowed to say is what you already know. When a person turns into the dearg-dul form, whether their eyes are blue, green, or brown, they all turn a reddish brown color when they transform. Your eyes do not.” Devin explained. “There’s a legend that goes along with finding a dearg-dul with blue eyes, but your grandfather has forbid us to tell you it. He doesn’t want you to feel added pressure to live up to some legend.” Arianna nodded. She could understand her grandfather’s reasoning, but she still wanted to know.

  “Can you at least tell me the basics of dearg-duls? Are they like vampires in the movies?” Arianna asked only to be interrupted by the distinct clicking sound of Molina’s boots. Arianna turned to the door, and Devin stood to open it.