"Then come away with me. Let us leave this place behind," He says, as if we can simply pack up and take off; which is, undoubtedly, a very tempting idea.
"I would love to but I can't. I can't leave Meg behind." I look into his eyes searching them, trying to make him understand. He cups my face in his hands and kisses me softly, gently before he pulls away again.
"She can come with us, but let us leave now. Before any of them find out." Victor says, holding me closer than he ever has before. I am relieved that he will allow me to bring Meg with us. We kiss again before we part. I grab the first servant that crosses my path and ask them to send Meg to me as soon as possible.
It is much later into the night when Meg knocks on my door; I look both ways down the hall before ushering her quickly into my bedroom. When she sees me smiling her fear vanishes.
"Meg, you won't believe it. I chose a suitor tonight," I smile and for once it is genuine. "I chose Victor, Meg!" And I squeal and soon she is as jubilant as I am, happy for me finding love in the darkness of my life, even though she had only recently lost her own.
"That's great Anna, but I have a feeling that you wanted to talk to me about something else," She says, bringing me back down to earth for a moment, as she has always been capable of doing.
"Victor and I are leaving soon, possibly tomorrow after tea. I want you to come with us," I say before I quickly amend, "That's if you want to come with us."
"Of course I want to come with you. I'm so happy for you Anna, I'm glad that you finally are leaving this place," She says, still as jubilant as ever though I know that there is pain hiding underneath her layers.
"Alright Meg, we both have to pack but promise you won't tell anybody about this," I say, Meg promises me that she won't tell a soul. We hug before Meg leaves. I start packing as soon as Meg goes; I pack everything I think I will need, and I know that if I need anything else Victor would be able to provide for me.
I fall into a deep sleep, and I dream about escaping this place, and achieving freedom with my best friend, and the suitor I have chosen, whom may even be the man that I love.
I wake in the afternoon; I haven't meant to sleep in for this long. It is a lovely bright day, and I think that it will be nice to be able to spend my last day here out on the shoreline, underneath the radiant sunlight and so that is where I end up spending most of my day. It isn't until Victor comes and gets me after the sun has set, that I realize the time.
"Come Anna, we must leave, now. I overheard Christian planning to stop us at tea. Meg already has our things loaded into the carriage," He says as he sweeps me up into his arms. He carries me as if I weigh nothing and he runs until he has me safely in the carriage. Meg is already sitting inside, waiting for the two of us. She smiles a grim smile at us, again worried for me, if not for all of us. The carriage starts moving at a pace that I never knew was possible for such a large thing. I am facing the back window – Victor is sitting beside me – and in the twilight I swear that I see a flash of silver, and then a face so contorted with anger that I do not recognize who it is at first, and then as I smooth the features out into a smirk in my mind, I realize that it is Christian watching us flee the castle. Victor sees him as well, and draws the back window's curtains close so that we will not have to look at him anymore, before he wraps his arms around me.
It is instantly dark, but as quickly as it had gone dark, it is light again. However, it isn't moonlight this time. Instead it is candle light and Meg is waving the match so that the red, hot flame goes out. There is nothing to do now except to wait until we arrive at Victor's kingdom, and even with that goal in mind, I don't know how long it will take.
"Meg, did you bring anything to eat?" I ask, but she shakes her head; her dark curls flying around her face.
"No, sorry Anna. There simply wasn't enough time," She replies. I tell her that it is okay. Seeing that there simply isn't anything else to do, I lay my head upon Victor's shoulder, and doze into a dreamless sleep. My entire body anticipating what is in store for the three of us.
Chapter 6 – The Underworld
Anna's P.O.V
Two days later
We have to pass through the Fae kingdom, through their forests and wastelands and around the city. It is scary to say the least. I feel eyes watching us; watching me from every crevice and surface. As if I fascinate them or as if I am a tasty delicacy.
Though this feeling haunts me during the time we travel through their lands, I find that despite its citizens it is an enchanting place. The forests shine with an inner light, their green leaves sparkling like emeralds, and the trunks of the trees shining like brown sapphires; their sky dazzling like one giant London Blue topaz. Their cities shine like diamonds. Even their wastelands shine like precious gems.
Even if the Fae kingdom did not shine like it does, it would still be beautiful though I doubt it would be as enchanting. The Fae themselves are beautiful, though some are very strange indeed. Some had hooves and some had claws, though these strange Fae lived in the forest. We didn't get to see any of the Fae that lived in the city but I imagine that they looked like enchanting versions of humans.
We continue to ride on in the carriage. We pass a vast watery expanse and Victor explains that it is Mer-folk territory. He explains that Mer-folk are vicious beings whom only care for their own kind. The mermaids are rumoured to take sailors to the bottom of the ocean, wrapped in a deathly kiss. The Mer-men are rumoured to be able to walk on land and when they do, they are rumoured to go to a woman's bed and have his way with her. I wonder at the time if any of the Mer-folk are queer but the thought doesn't stay with me long. Now after two long days, we are finally zoning into the vampire kingdom.
"Welcome to my kingdom Anna, at the moment we are at the outskirts. My castle is in the centre," Victor says, breaking the crippling silence.
"Are there other vampire kingdom's?" Meg asks. I can feel a tightness on my chest and I cannot understand why it is there. I hear Victor mutter something and see Meg nod her head. Something they don't want me to know just conversed between them, but what exactly?
"So how long until we get there?" I ask, my curiosity brimming even though I am soar from sitting for so long.
"We should be there in a few minutes." Victor says smiling brightly, as if it is exhilarating to be back home; for all I know it probably is.
A few more minutes of silence course between us but now Victor has a hold of my hand. It is blissful silence rather than awkward silence. Meg hasn't been herself form the moment we left home but that is understandable, due to Simon's death.
It's not long before the carriage comes to a stop. Someone helps Meg out of the carriage, leaving Victor and I alone for a moment.
"I really hope you like it here Anna. Once you’re settled in may I call on you?" He asks tentatively, as if he is scared that I will say no.
"Of course Victor," I say, grinning from ear to ear. I give him a soft kiss on the lips, before I climb out of the carriage, and into the new world I will come to call my home.
First impressions are everything. They help you to decide on whether you like something or not. My first impressions of Christian allowed me to know that he wasn't exactly normal or safe and my first impressions of Victor were really confusing and I couldn't decide if I liked him or not. My first impression of the underworld and of Victor's castle is simply enchanting. I feel as if a veil has been lifted from my eyes, and I can see clearly, for once, all the magic in the world; and it is beautiful.
"Do you like it?" I hear him ask from behind me. I can feel his breath on my neck and it tingles the skin there.
"Yes, it's beautiful," I reply smiling once more. I am telling the truth, it is beautiful. It looks like it has come right out of a story tale. The spiralling towers, the Gothic arches, the arched windows and the King of this particular castle is standing by my side; hoping for my approval.
"It's all I've ever dreamed it would be and more," I breathe, the words rushing forth from my lips.
"I'm glad you like it. Come on let me give you a tour of the castle," Victor says, placing a kiss on my cheek before holding out his arm for me to take, which I gladly accept. We walk around the castle to the back, where the gardens are, our arms still linked together.
"What's your favourite colour?" Victor asks, his crimson eyes shining with emotion. An emotion I cannot put a name on.
"My favourite colour is red," I reply thinking of all of things I love with this colour.
"Why red?" Victor asks looking down to meet my eyes, smiling as if he already knows the answer but wanting to hear it from me anyway. Looking up into Victor's eyes reminds me why my favourite colour has become more permanent.
Keeping my gaze locked on his I reply "Red is the colour of passion, love, anger. It's the colour of fire and sunsets. It's also the colour of your eyes." I pull my eyes away from his before I can see his reaction, at the same time that I can feel a blush rising on my cheeks.
"And what about you Victor, what is your favourite colour?" I ask, trying to pull his thoughts away from my confession.
"I guess my favourite colour is the blue-green of the ocean." He says, nudging me with his shoulder.
"And why is that?" I ask, curiosity bubbling inside of me.
"My only memory of my parents is a day that they took me to the ocean. I was a very young boy and it's the only thing I remember clearly about them," Victor says, a sad smile forming onto his lips. "They would have been proud of me, for having such a beautiful girl to be mine. They would have loved you Anna."
The garden is beautiful; it is filled with every kind of flower I know of and ones that I have never seen before. There is a dark purple flower that is closed off to the world as it has not yet bloomed.
"What kind of flower is this?" I ask, as I bend down to stroke my fingers against the soft dark velvety purple petals.
"That is something that a friend of mine created, he likes to call it a midnight bloom. The flower, as he likes to tell me, only blooms at midnight which is where he got the inspiration for the name." Victor says from behind me. I raise back to my full height, my fingers still lingering on those soft petals.
"It's beautiful," I say, a smile dancing on my lips. Everything here seems to be beautiful, even Victor, as if everything has been dusted in a light spray of beauty.
We continue to talk as Victor shows me around the rest of the castle. I learn quickly that Victor loves animals and that he hates having to speak in public; as he always gets nervous. I also learn that he has never been a suitor for anyone before me and that spreads a warm fuzziness throughout my body.
I am still giggling form the last answer he has given me, to my question of 'what is your favourite past time?'
"What is a secret that you have never told anyone?" Victor asks me, his crimson eyes focused intensely on me, as if he could pick the answer right from my mind.
"When I was a child, probably no more than ten, I had my first kiss. It was from my childhood sweetheart. He left not long after that and I never saw him again." I could feel Victor's reaction, as if it is a physical thing in the air.
"That's terrible Anna, I'm sorry you lost him." Victor says, though I'm not quite sure if he means it.
"It's alright, I eventually got over it." I say, brushing off his condolences. "So what is your secret Victor?" I ask, nudging him with my shoulder.
"It's not really a secret that I've never told anyone, but it's a secret that you don't know," He says, pausing to gauge my reaction when I stay silent he continues. "I'm a vampire Anna so I have lived for centuries alone. I was wandering your world, your kingdom and one night I found your father. He had absolutely nothing left but his soul. He came to me for help and I gave him all the riches he desired, I even helped him find a wife, but in return for all of that I asked for one thing alone. I asked him to keep a slither of my soul within him until he had his first baby girl, which the slither of my soul would be passed onto, so that that girl would be my bride. Anna you were his only girl and child. That slither of my soul, it is within you," His words keep on coming out the more that I stare blankly at him.
"What?" I ask, not really believing what he is saying.
"Anna I love you but you need to know. I'm a few hundred years old Anna and I didn't want to live another hundred years without someone to love, without someone to care for. I chose you before you were even born but I didn't know I would love you as much as I do. You're my world now Anna," Victor says, as if this can bring me comfort, he is saying that I have no choice in whom I am to be with.
Although I thought I had a choice, that choice was never really mine to begin with. However that's not all he is saying, he is confirming what my father always knew, what I always knew, that I am different, that I am not normal, that my soul and thus myself is tainted with the soul of another man.
"Victor, you're telling me that half of my soul is really half of your soul? And that's only because you wanted to secure me as your bride?" This fact will not leave me. I feel violated, as I finally understand what is wrong with me. Why my father hates me, why my mother can't look me in the eyes, and now that the answer is in front of me, I just can't accept it. I can't accept the fact that half of me belongs to him – for all these years – without me knowing about it.
I can hear him crying but I can't see it, it is like I have suddenly gone blind though I can see perfectly. It is like I have died inside but to the world I am still alive.
"Anna, please say something," Victor begs, I can feel him moving in to wrap me up in his arms but I step back out of his reach.
"What do you want me to say Victor? I don't even know if I love you or if it's only half of my soul that is in love with you," I say bitterly, scornfully at the man that I believed I had chosen on my own will.
"Do you want me to leave you?" He asks, I can finally see with feeling again and when I look up to see his face I can see that he has been crying though his tears are not made of water but of blood.
"I think that would be best for now, will you let me know when it's time for supper?" I ask, trying not to be moved by his bloodshot tears but failing at the task. He nods his head and turns away from me.
"Of course, please try to be ready by sundown," Victor says, before walking away in a blur. I look around me in a daze; everything seems the same in the broad hallway. Well except for one door that catches my eye. The slash of red hanging off of the door knob is what has caught my eye. I open the door - in my curiosity – wondering what lies behind it.
The room is beautiful full of burning gold’s, deep reds and dark blacks and I know instantly that this is Victor's bedroom. I want to leave almost instantly when I realize that this is Victor's bedroom, but something within me makes me want to stay, and I am not entirely sure if it is my own curiosity or that half of my soul that I have only recently learned is Victor's; which really infuriates me beyond what words can describe.
I have to admit that it is beautiful, without its owner in it. The bed is a massive four poster and it seems to fill up most of the room. There are different tapestry's covering the walls, all of which, if you stared at them long enough, the pictures will move. The bed is more than inviting, and when I sink into the soft embrace of the sheets and pillows I lose my mind to sleep, within the beds warm embrace.
Victor's P.O.V
I wipe the tears from my eyes. It will do me no good for anyone - other than Anna - to see me crying. It was idiotic of me to tell her of the one thing I regret doing. I remember the day well, that fatal day I had been introduced to the street rat that had nothing to lose. I had given him everything that he desired; riches, love, loyalty, royalty and in return I ask for his unborn daughter. I come back twenty years later and instead of finding her in one piece, as I thought I would have, I find her in tiny, broken pieces. The respect that Rupert has for me and for Anna was to give her a messed up life, before I could even meet her.
"Victor may I have a word with you?" The sound of my captain's voice comes to
me from the door.
"Of course Kayden," I say waiting for him to enter into my war room. I am sitting at my desk, we've been plotting for the war against the skin walkers for years, hell for generations but we've been holding back, waiting for the perfect time to strike.
"My spies in the Skin-walker territory have informed me that Christian has returned with two mortals, a woman and Fawkes" Kayden says placing his hands onto my desk and leaning down so he could look into my eyes. I suppose he would be attractive to a woman, his hair is cut short and pushed back, he has moss green eyes with golden amber specks and pearly white teeth. He is built like I expect all my warriors to be and he is a shape shifter, which is the good version of Skin-walkers. This is probably why I have been hesitant to declare war upon their territory as both Skin-walkers and Shape-shifters live there.
"Victor, we aren't sure who the mortals are," Kayden says but I raise my hand to stop him.
"Don't worry Kayden, I'm pretty sure I know who they are," I say, I am almost certain that the mortals are Rupert and Darleen; Anna's parents.
"It's good to have you back Victor. I hope I get to meet the girl soon," Kayden says making me smile.
"You will, I'm throwing a feast for Anna tonight. I hope you will be able to make it and let your men know that they are invited." I say looking up into those moss green eyes and seeing the smile in them before I see it on his face.
The Fire Within (The Fire of The Soul Series) Page 6