This is a fic that will be continuing for a long time - I've already wrote about eight chapters, but I need some opinions on this first one. Please R&R?
If you get a tad bit confused during this chapter, then I suggest you read my previous Fic entitled 'Lumina.'
Rated M for later chapters.
All of my life, I had been told that stealing was wrong.
Once, when I was very small, Rock dared me to steal a Turnip from Vesta's farm. I did it, but pathetically, due to feeling too guilty, handed myself in five minutes later.
Rock was annoyed, Vesta was confused, Sebastian was ashamed, and Romana was furious; in Forget Me Not Valley, stealing is considered a terrible act, and is frowned upon. So I learnt that day. Romana lectured me often enough from that point on, and I came to conclude that thieves were below me, below everyone in the Valley. They were lazy. Ignorant. Selfish.
And then, quite suddenly, I found myself in love with one. In love with a thief.
How odd.
His name was Skye.
Him coming to the Valley was bizarre - I had never seen him before. I doubt that anyone else in the Valley had. He just came, from the shadows.
I was sitting on my windowsill when I first glimpsed him. Romana and Sebastian had since retired to their bedrooms, worn out by the continuous glare of the hot Summer sun on their backs. But I was wide awake, with nothing to do; and so I sat. I day dreamed, or rather, night dreamed, about nonsense. Romana always did say that I was a dreamer.
I saw his hair first. A quick flash of silver underneath the moon - the moon's once brilliant rays of light now seemed dull compared to this colour.
I jumped when I saw his shape move outside; I was not expecting visitors at such a late hour. Peering up against the cold glass of my window, my cheek hurting from being compressed so tightly, I saw the silver once more - this time, much nearer to the house, next to the fountain.
Quietly, ever so quietly, and holding my breath - why, I did not know, for I had no reason to be afraid of guests - I pressed the latch into the handle on the window - and slowly, it opened.
Creeeaaakkkkkk.
"Damn you, Goddess," I muttered angrily under my breath as his head jerked up automatically.
The few rays of moonlight hesitating around the fountain's water flickered around him, and I felt my heart lurch as a brilliant pair of curious green eyes stared up at me - and then just as suddenly disappeared.
I gasped; his face had been glorious, and yet.. dangerous. Unrecognisable. Was this man, or boy, whoever he was, a threat? Should I wake Sebastian?
But what would Sebastian, an old man past his time, desperately in love with my own grandmother, do to stop a murderer from breaking in?
Heart thudding, I grabbed the window and slammed it shut, the noise making an impressive BANG inside and around the silent house.
"Lumina, dear, are you alright? You have such terrible dark eyes."
I sighed, spooning another mouthful of cereal into my lack mouth. I chewed, jaw aching.
I had stayed awake all of the previous night, hoping to just glimpse him once more; to no avail. He did not return.
"Lumina?"
Romana was worried. I forced my muscles, weak from lack of sleep, to smile up at her.
"I'm fine, just a little tired is all," I swallowed my cereal, the milk running soothingly across my tongue.
"I thought you went to sleep at the same time I did?" Romana's voice was thick with suspicion, as always when it came to dealing with me.
"I did," I lied carefully, "But I just couldn't sleep." That second part was hardly a lie.
"Hmmm." She pressed her lips together, eyes still narrowed.
I knew that Romana wasn't convinced; her lips pursed.
I pushed my spoon around the cereal bowl in front of me, completely drained of it's contents. Hesitating.
"Grandmother?" I paused, before addressing her.
"Yes, dear?"
"Is there.. a new person in town? A traveller? Someone with.." My voice trailed off slightly, "..silver hair?"
Romana frowned, "No, I don't think so. "The last person to move in was Jack, but you know he's gone now.."
A black wall inside my head slammed automatically down onto the conversation. I did not want to be reminded of how Jack had moved away from the Valley.
".. lucky thing, sent a letter the other day, didn't read it though did you.."
"Grandmother," I said sharply.
"Yes?"
"Please, stop talking about Jack,"
Romana's eager face suddenly slacked; and she remembered.
"I'm sorry, dear."
Her face was full of pity, and I hated it.
Waiting for him to come again. Sitting on top of my window ledge, leaning against the pretty glass.
I had been doing this every night for the past week; but he had not come. During these long nights I would reflect on what a pitiless existence I led, praying and missing out on my sleep just to see the face of a beautiful man I did not know. How shallow of me - infact, how incredibly desperate. Is this what I had been reduced to, a girl who so eagerly sat awake at night, waiting for a potential murderer to stumble onto her garden? What would I do if the potential murderer did stumble onto my garden? Invite him in? Invite him in to give him a head start into slaughtering my family?
I would shake my head at these thoughts.
How silly, I would think, Travellers are always passing through the Valley. There is nothing to fear.
Occasionally I would fall asleep, but I would always jerk myself awake again, and when I did resurface, urgently peek outside; then, disappointed, return to my standstill position against the window. Dreaming. Of him, wanting to see that handsome face again.
My hopes were not left unanswered. Perhaps the Harvest Goddess did have a little faith in me, after all.
This time, I was ready for him. I spotted the shadow, a mass of silver, a pale face - and swung my window open.
"Hello?" I called out, surprised by the strength in my voice. If I addressed him personally, perhaps he would come inside and introduce himself? I was even more curious than before to discover who this stranger was, now that I was clear he had not moved into the Valley.
Silence. The figure had stopped moving.
"Hello?" I repeated myself, pursing my lips as I remembered my Grandmother, fast asleep in the room directly below mine. Why was I doing this? I felt a spark of adreneline rush through me - little Lumina, poor, fragile little Lumina was never allowed to invite a person in during the day without her Grandmother's permission, let alone at 11 o clock at night.
I had never used to mind Romana's strict rules - but now, after everything, I was prepared to be a little more adventurous in myself.
I leaned further out of the window, hoping that my voice would be less of a disturbance now.
"Would you like to come inside?"
The figure was still for another long moment, and then his head nodded smoothly.
I smiled.
"Give me one minute."
Goddess, what am I doing? What's happened to me? Why am I suddenly letting a beautiful, unknown stranger into my family home? Why am I suddenly so reckless?
Jack.
The answer to all my questions.
I came crashing to a halt; I was running carefully down the stairs, moving as light footed as possible, trying not to wake Romana or Sebastian.
I shuddered, my hand resting on top of the wooden banister. I felt it drop pathetically to my side, and I stood quietly for just a moment. Recharging.
Then I picked myself up, shaking my head as if to shake off the thought.
"I'm not doing anything wrong," I mumbled to myself, "It's rude to be unwelcoming to travellers…"
As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I passed the pearl encrusted mirror hanging on the heavily decorated walls. I frowned, pushing a few stray strands of hair behind my ears that had escaped, due to the absence of my headband. I never wore it at night.
I had pulled on a loose pair of khaki trousers on my way down the stairs, having resided to simply wearing a plain white t-shirt and shorts during the hot summer nights.
My legs guided me to the heavy front door, and I fumbled around the cabinet on my left for the key Sebastian always looked after. I pushed it into the lock, twisted, and heard the satisfactory click of metal.
The door swung open, and there he was. Silver haired and glorious.
"Hehe. Good evening," he nodded his head, a small smile on his thin lips. I was surprised to see that his face was very delicate. A pretty boy.
"Hi," I replied awkwardly, aware of a sudden heat spreading cruelly across my cheeks. His smile widened slightly.
"I'm.. " he paused, about to introduce himself, but then looking suddenly unsure. Silence.
"I'm Lumina," I blurted out, to fill in the silence, "Are you new here?"
"In a way." That small smile again. I noted the exact shade of his eyes - green, bright green. Piercing. Enchanting.
"Well, I live here. Obviously," I stammered, and felt my blush spread. "And, er, if you want some help settling in, you can just come here, anytime.. would you like a drink?"
"Hehe, that would be wonderful." His face was almost sparkling; he seemed strangely smug with himself.
"Tea?"
He grimaced, but nodded politely, "Thank you."
On his approval, I immediately spun around, pushing shut a few doors on the way to lower the risk of somebody waking up. I was messy whilst making the tea; I was not used to it. I usually just asked for Sebastian to make one for me, when the urge for a hot mug struck me. Upon spilling a whole jar of sugar across the kitchen floor, my respect for the man suddenly flew up.
"What's your name again?"
I jumped, spilling half of the tea down my pyjama top.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Don't worry about the tea," he apologised hastily, looking guilty, "I'll make it, if you like."
"It's fine," I lied, feeling like screaming as 100 degrees of scorching hot water spread across my stomach, "Sorry about that. You've only got half a cup now."
"Hehe, that's plenty. Even a sip is a luxury to me. I don't usually drink this stuff at all."
His hand had closed around the mug, and he raised it to his lips.
"Why not?" I asked curiously.
He sipped carefully, "I travel. I rarely settle down."
"But you could still stop somewhere for a mug every so often," I pointed out, then moved swiftly on, "Where do you travel?"
"Oh, here and there," he gestured unconvincingly with his hands.
"Why do you travel?" I enquired, hoping that I did not sound too demanding in my questions.
He gulped down the remainder of the tea and set it on the counter, "I don't know.. I enjoy it, I suppose."
My eyes narrowed. I had, without sounding too arrogant, always been told that I had a good head on me. And it didn't take a genius to see through a few lies, especially badly told ones.
"What's your name again? I didn't quite catch it earlier," I leant against the broad kitchen cupboard, feeling strangely at ease with a man I did not know in my house, in the middle of the night.
There was a pause, and I met his eyes. We looked at each other for just a moment, green eyes upon brown. And then he answered, his voice tone strange; almost as if he were surprised with himself.
"… Skye."
I nodded, "That's a nice name."
"But they don't really call me that. They don't really know my name, so you probably wouldn't know if.. not many of, them.. they don't treat me like a-"
My eyes shot up to his again, interrupting his speech, "They?"
He avoided eye contact.
"Who are you, Skye?" I asked quietly, "I haven't seen you around before. You just appear at night."
"I'm a thief," he replied automatically, his voice honest.
My face dropped.
"But please.. don't judge me for that!" Skye's voice inched higher by a slight note.
"I'm not going to," I raised one eyebrow.
His face was suddenly confused, "You're not.. going.. to?
"That's right," I confirmed sternly, "As long as you come back."
"What do you mean?" he asked quizzically.
"I want you to come back. Here," I blushed again.
"Oh," his face was suddenly alive, "Hehe. I guess that I'll try and make time."
"Good."
"I've got to jet off now though. Hehe. I've got to.. go find a - ah - a place to stay the night." He turned to me, "Know anywhere?"
"You could try Ruby's Inn."
"Is that the big yellow building?" He had already begun to make his way towards the front door. I followed after him hastily, clinging to the essence that had suddenly filled me up.. I hadn't been this curious since Jack.
Jack.
Jack who left me.
Jack who never loved me.
Jack who flew away to Mineral Town with a beautiful blonde to spare me my heartache.
Jack who I would never see again.
Jack who I loved.
And here I was, crushing on a silver haired thief.
That big black wall came slamming down again, knocking my heart into bleeding once more.
Jack. Jack. Jack.
I felt myself falling.
The sudden, real pain of the floor. I'd feel it again soon, it would knock my heart back to a regular beat.
"Lumina?"
Two strong hands on my back. Where was the pain?
I saw green again, realised where I was. How could I let myself start thinking about Jack in the presence of his man? This thief.
"Umm.." I awkwardly tried to move myself out of his hands, but he held on regardless.
"Are you okay?" He was concerned.
Hands on my back, cold and pale, yet so warm. Jack's hands were warm.
"Put me down." I demanded suddenly. He obeyed, and stared at me while I stood carefully on my feet. I didn't meet his emerald gaze as I twisted the key in the lock, and held the door wide open for him. Skye stepped neatly out into the courtyard, seemingly unembarrassed about saving me from fainting onto my own home's floor.
"Thanks," I muttered, sorry for appearing so ungrateful.
There was another silence, and it rang full of questions. When I thought he had gone, since I did not dare look up for even a moment to see those eyes, I began to push the door shut - but he was still there. His eyes scorched.
"It seems you have a few mysteries of your own, Lumina."
And then he disappeared, like he had come, into the night.