Elfrea
The feeling of Alea's warm fingertips had my head spinning as she helped me tighten my corset. Once she was done, my skin immediately wanted the feeling back. I go to turn and say thank you, but I see that she is rushing out of the room. My heart dropped as I watched her footsteps run down the hall and the stairs.
I started to worry that I had done something to make her suddenly run from me. We had been getting along so well, and she seemed to be relaxing a bit.
I did have to remember everything she had told me about the state of Cana and how humans, witches, were now treated. Vampires were rulers and used them as food and harsh labor, witches were the prized food source now. Alea told me that witches, once found, were taken away and hidden from everyone. She doesn't know where, but they have to have a witch somewhere to be able to produce magical items. Magical items and increased use of crystals started to pick up after many years into the vampire takeover.
So maybe I had pushed too much with so many requests when she had already helped me so much. Alea was helping an enemy in her eyes, she watched me closely since I started to walk through the manor. She must have been on edge, but knows how to mask her true feelings.
I shouldn't stay any longer and cause her any more of a headache, but I wouldn't know where to go from here. Even if I made it to the wall she said had been built, I didn't have anywhere else I could stay. No one I could go to for further help. I honestly didn't want to deal with other vampires; I didn't want to be this.
I don't want to leave Alea. The words swirled around in my head. There was no use in wanting her; she would never want me. The way her face lit up when I handed her the necklace will forever be etched into my mind. The way her green eyes seemed to shine, eyes the same color as the gem in the necklace.
I shake my head and put on the white undershirt I had stored in the bag. I had thrown random items of clothing in the bag one day while cleaning, and wanted it out of the way, so I tossed it in the safe. Two undershirts, a pair of black riding pants, some very lacy undies, and a corset, along with a few dresses. All these items were the peak of style, but now they were ancient.
I grabbed a pair of riding boots I had bought with the pants. Once I was done, I grabbed the rest of the jewelry and shoved it all into the black bag. I shut the safe door and blew out the candle Alea had left, picking it up to take with me.
With the cloak wrapped tightly around me, I venture out of the closet and back into my room. I walk over to the now destroyed vanity, the mirror completely shattered, and the chair smashed to pieces. I set the bag and candlestick down and reached underneath the vanity, and placed my hand under the middle drawer, and the wood moved. Reaching in, I pull out my diary and my father's will.
I want to cry when the diary practically falls apart, all my memories are gone, just as everything else.
I catch a glimpse of my image in a piece of broken glass on the floor. I pick it up to bring it closer to my face. I knew my hair was white, but I hadn't realized how silver it was now, no longer the deep black my hair used to be. The eyes are what scared me once, a blue now bright red, almost the color of fresh blood.
Everything else I could see was the same as before, other than my skin being much paler than it was.
Dried blood from the animals I drank stained my mouth and neck, which I needed to wash away. There was a pond not too far from the back of the manor, and I would have to wash off there once the sun went down. I would let Alea know as well, in case she needs somewhere to wash up.
My throat then began to itch, not as it was before I drank blood. This was my body telling me it was time to drink soon. I needed to find something soon, and I couldn't think of potentially hurting Alea.
I knew in my gut she would come out the victor if I did attack her. She was short and had a petite body type, but just from seeing some definition in her arms, Alea had muscle from the years she had been surviving.
I grabbed a few pages from my diary that had fallen apart and shoved them all into the bag. I would deal with it later. First, I needed to see if I could find any creatures still in the manor. The thought of having another rat in my mouth wasn't pleasant, but if it was my only choice, I would do it.
I headed down the stairs and set my bag down in the hallway before I began to walk towards the kitchens. Birds used to fly in all the time, so I was hoping to find one since they weren't being disturbed.
I walked in slowly since the sun was now mostly in the back of the manor and let in a ton of light through the kitchen windows. Which just like most in the manor were shattered, letting the elements and greenery slip in.
I listen closely, and to my surprise, I don't see a nest in my sight but a squirrel. Just as I notice him, he notices me, and we stare at each other. Neither of us is moving. All I can think is for him to walk towards me, out of the sun's rays.
Come over to me, please! I scream in my mind while I stare into the squirrel's beady black eyes. To my surprise, it started to move towards me. It seemed in a daze, like the animal was sleepwalking as it got closer, stopping at my feet. It stayed still as I reached down and picked it up without a fight.
I was sad to see the small animal being hurt, but the thirst pushed the feeling aside as I bit into the creature. This time, I used my elongated fangs for a much cleaner bite. I wasn't losing blood with desperate bites and getting it all over me. The itching in my throat disappears with each gulp I take, much smaller, so I didn't stain my face or new clothes.
Once I was finished, I turned to walk back towards the foyer to find Alea when I heard chirping. I turned to where the chirping was coming from and found a mother bird feeding a baby bird. The nest is positioned like a decoration on top of one of the cupboards.
Without thinking, I take a step forward, and the mother bird flies off in frantic chirps. I slowly pulled down the nest, carefully curious to see if any eggs were unhatched. I then noticed that the only hatched baby had markings of a cuckoo hatchling. The other babies in this nest were never gonna make it with the little guy. That was what I was using to justify taking the unhatched eggs out. I planned to give Alea the squirrel and eggs, though small, to show my appreciation.
After placing the nest back with the living hatchling, I headed to the foyer with the squirrel and eggs. Alea comes out of the study door with the rabbit meat she cut up earlier today. Her eyes widen as she sees the squirrel dangling from my hand.
"I found a squirrel and some bird eggs. I was hoping these would help you while you hide here." The words tumble out of my mouth.
"I also want you to know that there is a pond not too far from the back of the manor you could use to clean up where I was going once the sun went down."
Why did I form it like an invite!? I have truly lost it when it comes to this woman.
Alea just stood in front of me without a word for a long silence before she seemed to snap out of the trance. She gives her head a shake and smiles at me. I notice her top lip is a perfect cupid's bow.
"Thank you, I started to make a fire to cook this up. It's in a shady spot if you would like to join me," She then says.
All I could do was nod my head yes and follow her out the front door. Alea had made a small fire near the door, so I took a seat on the ground next to the fire. I watch as Alea grabs a few more sticks to add to the fire, leaving a few skinny ones to the side. She then disappears for a moment, coming back with a flat rock that she pours water over. She begins to start the fire, and once again, I catch myself just staring at her.
When our eyes meet, I quickly look away, embarrassed.
"Would it bother you anymore if I stayed around the manor for a bit longer?" I ask as I watch her start the fire and begin using a knife to sharpen the sticks she had set to the side.
Alea stops her movements and turns to me to say. "This is your manor, stay as long as you would like. I will most likely leave in a day or two."
When she said this, it made my heart hurt, knowing she would be gone so soon.
So I say, "You are welcome back here anytime."
We both fall silent while Alea cooks the rabbit meat on the sharpened sticks, then uses the flat rock to cook the eggs on. I smile as I watch her do a small movement of her shoulders, moving side to side like she was dancing, as she starts to devour the eggs.
"You must have been starving," I say. Alea jumped as if I had started her, causing me to let out a small laugh.
Her face goes red as she looks away from me, trying to hide it. Teasing has made Alea's face even more adorable.
"Eggs are my favorite and very difficult to acquire," Alea tells me.
"I will try and find more if you would like," I say.
We go back to complete silence as Alea finishes up her meal, breaking down the fire. She goes a distance to clean the squirrel, so I decide to walk around the outside.
The sun was starting to sink behind the trees behind the manor, so most of the front yard was now covered in shadows. Still keeping the cloak's hood tight around me.
The front yard was taken over by the greenery over the many years. The grass was almost as tall as the trees, bushes, and thick vines snaked around the ground, and anything it could use to climb, it did. The front of the house was thick with them, bursting through the smashed windows. The carriage driveway was mostly gone now, only a few patches of gravel of the past.
Once I see Alea head back inside the manor, I follow after her as she goes into the study. It had been my father's study where I spent a lot of my time reading books while he went through piles of paperwork, working closely with the royal family. Now, books were scattered on the ground and pushed into a pile, their pages torn and scattered. A pot sat in the middle of the room with ash inside. It must have been a small fire Alea had made.
I look at my father's desk and see it clear besides a crystal and now an inscription carved into the wood. It must be a new spell since I couldn't tell what it was used for. Alea saw me looking at the desk because she said, "I needed a way to send a letter telling my friend I was safe from the Hunters". Alea doesn't elaborate further and goes to lie down on the lounge chair.
Alea told me she was running from vampires that were after her and fled past the wall. She seemed reluctant to give me any more details than having a friend who was still inside the wall. I wasn't going to pressure her anymore, fearing that it would make her back away from me.
"I have never seen an inscription like that before," I say to her as I walk closer to the desk to have a better look.
"I'm sure you didn't have to worry about your letters being read by those trying to hunt you down," Alea says.
I moved to gently sit down in my father's old chair, worried it might break under me. Luckily, it stays in place, groaning under my weight.
Alea gives a big yawn before relaxing into the lounge chair.
Maybe I had taken her rushing away from me earlier the wrong way, and she was fine with me being near her. I would still make sure not to be any more of a burden on her. I thought to myself as I watched her close her eyes and drift to sleep.
I would sit and watch her sleep as if I were her guard, making sure no one came near the sleeping princess.
I sat until the sun was about to give up the sky to the moon. I wasn't sure if I should wake her, so I took the cloak from my body and laid it gently over Alea, then I quietly slipped out of the study, carefully closing the door behind me.