Escaping Paradine by Krysten Masters
Chapter one captured
The wind blew ice chills through my hair, as I ran my pack to break through the thick pine forest. There we stood before the colossal walls of the city we'd been seeking for so long now. Victorain. "There's no gate, no door, not even a hole in the wall how do you expect us to get through to the other side Somia?" Anthny was giving me a headache, and I knew he was getting on Leah's nerves to. I looked up at the blond boy standing tall, with his pale hand touching the gray stone of the wall. "Don't question her." Leah said trying to keep her voice down. I turned to look at Leah she was no taller than me and looked virtually the same, isn't that what twins are to look like though? "I'll question who I want!" Anthny snorted at her, and Leah gritted her teeth. "Watch what you say" she warned him her voice growing in volume. Anthny made a strange yet silly face at her sticking his tongue out of his thin but perfect lips. Leah's stone fist slammed into Anthny's lower square like jaw, with an echoing boom of thunder. Not a second later Anthny was soaring into the thick pine, and crashing into a large tree. Needles shook down in rhythmic patterns, fluttering helplessly to the ground.
Anthny's eyes squinted in pain, as he threw him self up on to his feet then dashing back into the woods like a dog with its tail between its legs. "Got rid of him" Leah scoffed in the trees direction, I turned away to stare at the gray solid mass in front of me. How where we going to get into the city undetected, and get out? "Why did we come back after running away so many years ago?" Leah's questioning voice startled me. "We need to get a few things then we can be on our way." I answered smoothly. "Well let's open the gate then-." "NO!" I cut her off short, as I looked up at her shocked pale face. "Why" "we need a plan, and a good one at that" she understood my reason before I even finished my sentence.
The ground shook beneath our feet, and the wall before me vanished revealing a large mahogany gate. I stepped back disbelief filled Leah's face as she skipped back about ten feet. The gate was beautiful though it was carved with great battles and gruesome loss; I stared in awe for a breathless moment. I had a Very quick mood swing as I growled at Leah. She heard the rumbling building inside my chest and answered back quickly. "I didn't open it, Honest" she put her hands up in the air palms facing me. If she didn't the who did? My train of though was cut short as the large gate cracked and the hinges groaned as the gate began to open. I stepped back about three more feet, as the light from in side the city began to blind me. A priest and two guards stepped cautiously out of the city towards us. "Welcome" the priests booming voice was unsure and careful as if not to offend us. "We-"he took another unsure step forward, "- have been sent to greet you" his voice was becoming hoarse and his body seemed to tremble. "What-." Leah took one carefully measured step towards the priest and he stumbled back a foot or two. "-is it that you want", the priest was about to step back another step. I made a quick decision; I took one deep lung filling breath and sighed an "ok".
We followed the priest into the blinding city lights, and appeared on a cobble stone street in front of the white fairy tale castle. "Umm err-, the king would like to speak with you" he said though still cautious but a little relived to be inside the city. He turned gesturing toward the castle, and we followed soundless. The cobble stones clunked beneath our feet, as we reached the three flights of stairs we were about to climb. Leah groaned in displeasure, she would much rather run up the steps and leave the three almost noble looking men behind. She straightened up and composed a confident face to hide her worry and annoyance. As we reached the top of the stone stairs the three men sighed with exhaustion, and continued on only to stop a few feet at the grand golden door with king Paradine the 1st face engraved into the shiny sleek surface. The two sliver suited guards stood on either side of the golden door and opened it with a gentleman's bow. The priest cleared his throat and continued on dragging his long black robe form the stone to the blood red carpet.
The room was different than I remembered it in many than just one way. Leah leaned over her shoulder and whispered words to fast for human ears to catch. "Obsessed much?" she noted looking around the room at every painting and work of art. I saw what she meant instantly, as I looked every witch way there were paintings and sculptures with my face as the inspiration. The tiled covered floor was a mosaic of a beautiful moon light night and then I plopped right in the center of it. I shudder back in distaste to the memory I was about to recall.
I can remember everything from the blue of the sky to the chill in the air, everything became that day. All hale king Paradine the 2ndThe royal announcer called from his high hidden balcony. Paradine an odd beauty stepped forward, his brown curly shoulder length hair flowing majestically. Ahh Somia Hendrige, what gratefulness I have that you accepted your invitation to see me. He was always so formal but for the first time I sensed a weakness in his voice an undecided note, that I couldn't put my finger on. Do you know why I've called you her? No.of course I didn't know has the one who had invited me to his fairytale castle. Then we will get to the objective my dear, I have chosen you as my-." Please don't tell me has going to make me his- "bride". No! The word echoed inside my head, what I feared most out of all the things up to that time. To be married to this selfish prideful and materialistic prick, was beyond me. Ohh she's speechless, what joy" wrong I was the exact opposite of speechless; I wanted to scream the word no in his face and run. But I stood there frozen in fear how could I let something so easily delta with bolt my feet to the floor? It's a no you scum bag! I heard a familiar voice call and I knew at once who had come to save me, who had come to speak the words I couldn't manage to even choke out. I turned tears streaming down my face, and there Leah charged toward Paradine leaping high into the air. Guards began to run to Paradine who stumbled a few feet back. Now he was the one frozen in fear, as Leah rocketed down her fist ready to indent his face. Just as the second her fist should have hit his strained expression, and meddle shield thrown from some mystery person at some mystery place soon had the indention of Leah's fist.
She skipped back very light on her feet, and the mystery person reveled herself for her mystery hiding spot. Thank you Mary-Angela, you come in handy once in a while. The young woman bowed alliance as her beautiful golden hair flowed like feathers, fluttering down to the ground. In that instant it was very clear she was one of us, but only not on our side. I shudder knowing that a pureblood must have done this, even though she was beautiful and fast she had no talent. Her eyes were a dull gray, the color from feeding on human blood instead of the new lowed animal blood we vampires were suppose to drink. About a year ago now the feast or drinking of human blood was strictly forbidden in the city of Victorian, king Paradine must have been privately feeding her. There's always a reason for everything and this time the reason was that pure bloods could survive on animal blood and others like Mary-Angela her second class could not.
Do you accept my proposal, Somia? His words were like knifes tearing all my thoughts in two. If I were to say yes Leah and I could stay in Victorian, but if I answered no he would surely try to kill us and when that failed he would banish us never to return to the one city we could call home. Somia, do you accept? His alluring voice startled me out of my train of thought. I -. I took a quick pause. Am afraid that my answer is a No my king. Anger formed hard ceases into his tan skin. I knew that we would have to leave and start completely over in another place far from here, but to go through with this madness I wouldn't stand for it. Priest Giffor. He called, his voice rising in volume. Yes? Escort these havoc causing twins to the gate for there -.he seemed to struggle with the last part of the sentence, his mouth twisting around the words. There um-banishment. He finally choked out in sorrow and anger, we hurt his hole being but most of all his pride. We were escorted to the gate in chains rapped around our ankles and wrists, even though they did nothing, Paradine was only gesturing the "unwelcomeness" we now had in the city. People gasped and pointed some even outraged yelling in protest. They were all upset that the twins were benign banished. Once we reached the center of the city the gate opened creaking and groaning as if to protest in its own way. The announcer cleared his throat and began his loyal speech to the king. Somia and Leah Hendrige are here by charged with torsion and harmful relations to his majesty the king Paradine. As soon as his voice cut off I gave Leah one quick glance, and then we broke out of our thick chain raps. The crowd instead of gasping and running applauded us, and then all we could think to do was run straight into the gate and out into the world.
"Ahem!" the priest cleared his throat taking me out of my flash back. "The king will see you now" he said in a low voice. We walked abruptly forward and Leah leaned over her shoulder. "I know "I whispered before she could even ask. When we got inside the next room a different announcer from the last I remembered announced our entrance. "Somia and Leah Hendrige" he howled. "No lady?" Leah snorted sarcastically, " ohm your banished once for a lifetime and then they don't even call you lady when they open the gate and say hey twins welcome back, but were not going to call you lady!" her tone rose a little in volume as the sarcastic words dripped from her perfect lips.
This room was different from the other in many ways, for one there was only one painting of me on the dome calling. As beautiful as the artist had made it I still shudder away trying not to recall that flash back again. The large exquisite room was long and wide, with a blood red carpet with gold trimming that stretched all the way to the other side from the door I stood to the oversized thrown. There was no wood or cement on the floor, but tile tan and back brown marble like tiles about two foot each way.
I was taken away from the breathtaking site by the announcers startling cry "all hale king Paradine the 3rd" Leah's expression became startled. She looked over dazed and confused, I spoke quickly to not attract attention to us but no matter how quickly I said the words all eyes were still on us. "Paradine died 200 years ago". At first she looked wary like she had no clue what I meant, then she mapped it out in her head and nodded twice. "That's right it's been 200 years since we've been here"
Even though I've always known how long it's been it still shocked me when she said it aloud. Paradise's brightly polished shoes tapped across the floor, as her strode toward his enormous thrown. The priest tapped my shoulder and waved us onward toward the thrown. I swallowed hard and took slow short strides toward Paradine. The closer we got the more his expression came into view until I saw that it was a wide ear to ear goofy smile. I wasn't relived or compelled to go further, I was actually a little scared at the image of a Paradine descendant smiling such a goofy smile.
Paradine arose from his feet and picked me up giving me a giant bear hug with one clumsy movement of his shiny shoes. "Cold as stone" his smile seemed to get wider if that was possible. "Just the way great great grand Paradine said, and so beautiful who would have thought these paintings were of a real person?" his joy and glee was too much, he was giving me and headache. "So you have come back to marry into the royal family hmmm?" his voice was so gentle that I almost answered with a yes. "yy- uhh er-no" I stumbled the words out, and a frown pulled his young skin into creases along his brow. "no?" he questioned as if to make sure I had the words correct. "No" I relied once more. He turned his ear to ear smile into a tight line, and then finally letting his lips fall to a frown. "Put them in room B15, please" his voice was no longer the gentle breeze it once was, but an angry growling plead.
Guards discarded the hospitality, and grabbed us by the arms pulling us through a series of doors and passage ways until we stopped at a room. The door took about 5 minutes to unlock due to about 20 different locks bolted to the mettle door. Once inside we could tell it was no dungeon, or chamber but and exquisite expensive looking room.
The room was covered with white carpet, and there was a canopy bed at the far wall with gold comfier. There were no windows just lots of paintings of animals and sunsets. Leah stepped inside the room suddenly relaxed. She turned sliding her foot in a loop and invited me in to join her, like she had been living in this room her whole life. Suddenly memory burst into play, I realized that the reason she was so inviting and so comfortable in this room was because it looked and felt just like the room we shared in the small little house on the cobble stone road by the shimmering Crystal Lake that we got kicked out of 200 years ago.
I stepped in with a bit of hurry in the way I made my foot hop, but only because I was so anxious to see the closet. To run over and find out if our clothes were here as well. To open all the jewelry boxes and all the chests to see whets inside. Before I could rush to the closet I caught Leah out of the corner of my eye opening the large chest at the end of the bed. I halted to a stop and peered around her body to get a better look. The chest had our names engraved in the golden wood, the chest our father had made before he died. The light bounced of the top as Leah creaked it open, and pulled out a small fuzzy object. I didn't get a good look but I already knew what she was hugging, her rag doll all withered and torn. It had changed so much, its appearance was no longer new and fresh as it had once been but old torn withered and faded. It didn't seem to matter to Leah; she hugged it tightly for a long moment. As I watched her reunion with the doll our mother had made her I wondered where the doll she had made me is. I ran to the chest and flipped the top open carelessly, as I searched for her. Nothing. I slammed the chest shut and hurried to a white chest short and small sitting right next to a white vanity. I banged open the lid and prepared inside. Nothing. I was getting angry now where could she be, there are only so many places in this room the could be hid. I sat there in my train of thought, where did they put her? The I jumped up realizing its not where they put her but where I put her. I rushed to the closet, making it there in a mere second. I opened both doors carefully so I did not break them, inside on the top shelf was and ancient looking mahogany box. I lifted it tenderly and pulled it closer to me, felling the engraved words my father had put there. Somia. I read to myself, before gently sliding it open. I reached inside with one unsteady hand and pulled out my old white bear.
She was dirty and missing one black button eye, her leg torn and fur noted but it didn't matter to me. I hugged her tightly smelling m mom's old perfume, and remembering the day shed given it to me. Id sat still for at least thirty long seconds, before Leah was at my side hugging me intently. "I miss them "she cried into my shoulder. "so do I...so do I" I repeated the words slowly until I could say them no more.
The night had been long and we were restless. Leah was pacing oddly around the room, as I sat and pondered beside the golden chest at the bedside. "We need to get out of Victorian" I finally choked out as I toyed with my bear. Leah stopped and fell clumsily to the floor making a loud thud as her stone body collided with the floor. "I know, but how" she baled up one fist and rested her head on it. "What about the walls threes got to be a way over them" her voice was serious now. "There is" I answered back remembering what dad had told me on an occasion, just in case we might need to run away from things. But I never thought we'd have to use it. "how, how are we going to get out of this terrible city?" her voice rose with a sudden fright." Threes nothing to be worried about" I reassured her. "I'm not worried" she tried to make her voice sound secure but cracked under the pressure. We both sat there on the white canopy bed staring intently at each other intently; until one of us gave in. we both did, at the same exact second, down to the smallest fraction. "Okay let's think, how are we going to get out of this room and out of the castle?" Her voice was shaking off the worry and becoming straight forward. "First all the locks no problem, second the guards will leave off duty in about ten minutes" she was thinking one step ahead swell as one step behind. "But then another set of guards will be on duty" she tried to correct me but I quickly answered back. "No till take five minutes for them to alert the new guards and another five for them to get here" she looked at me, no doubt the wheels turning in her head. "Yes I see". I processed the moment for a second and began my master plan, "okay so in ten minutes we break down the door, but don't let it hit the floor till make too much noise. Second run down the hall and jump through the stained glass windows, with as little sound as possible." She nodded as I spoke each step intently focusing. "third the sun is out so people will be walking around everywhere, as soon as you hit the ground run to the nearest manhole or sewer" to be completely honest, I had only made it to step three but I kept going in hopes of babbling out some idea I had just thought of. "Fourth in the sewers follow my every direction and step, there may be guards waiting for us to escape down there so be stealthy" her lips twisted up in to a crooked smile as soon as I used the word. "And fifthly?" she asked curious, "I have to admit that I haven't made it that far into the plan quite yet" I blushed, a deep red staining my cheeks. "Okay when we get to the wall entrance we'll figure it out there" she suggested mildly mocking my unusual slowness. "Yes" we waited in silence, my mind counting the seconds. One...two...three...four...five..., I reached twenty seven before speaking. "Its time" I said a quick rush of relief came to Leah's face.
Leah hit the metallic door with one fist, as if she were knocking, as it fell clumsily I caught it buy its door knob. Leah rushed out so that she could hold the door for me as I walked through the cracked archway. We pushed the door back into place repairing the hinges with a twist of our hands. I stood up right straighten but back, as Leah fixed the last twisted hinge. We didn't have time to look for mistakes in our handy work; we just quietly and quickly bolted down the red carpeted hall and sprang covering our faces to protect ourselves from the impact of the glass. The second before my stone hands collided with the colored crystal, I realized that it was a stained glass portrait made of me. His up session gave me a sudden burst of anger that I used to propel myself higher into the air, all at once the air rushed pass me. We slowly flipped our arms wingspan spread, to me we were moving so slow but I knew we must be heading to the ground at a million miles an hour.
We hit the ground with a booming thud, like stone colliding with marble. Then we flew forward to the nearest manhole, opening it with one swift movement then sliding in with another. As soon as we landed in the soiled liquid Leah gave a quit gasp of disgust. I covered my nose and spoke "we need to keep moving not time for a break" I said sourly sounding stuffed and funny as I talked with my nose plugged. Leah only nodded once and we began our run for freedom right was we had stopped it.
We traveled in the polluted waters, running endlessly through dark tunnels only to find more intersections. "This sewer is like a maze!" Leah complained "and we've only been going straight, why not turn". I knew she was tired of the dark and stenchy tunnels that flew past us. "No if we turn we'll only lose our place" I knew where we were going and that fact seemed to give an edge to my voice. "Well if u know so well of where we are why don't you tell me how much longer I have to run?" she was sarcastic now; "for about five more seconds then you'll run into a wall" I joked back. "Haha" she announced with more sarcasm in her voice if that was at all possible. I knew her feeling of restlessness to get to that door of opportunity, that one door out of thousands in the city that would open us to the outside world. "Thirty seconds" I gave her my real timing, "twenty". The time seemed to stand still, "ten ...nine...eight...seven...six...five...four...three...two..." "ONE!!" Leah shouted out as the door was in sight. It had two be one of the beautifulness sights I had ever seen, the plain wooden door with a torch on either side of it. We screeched to a halt and sprang wildly fourth to open out into the new world.
"The honors?" Leah asked her hand gesturing to the old worn out door. I lifted my hand, the pale skin glowing in the darkness. I torched the ice cold knob and turned slowly, just too tense up Leah. "Okay open it already" she growled at me, and I impatiently turned the knob the rest of the way. I swung open the door and paused there frozen, my feet bolted to the floor as my stomach dropped to my feet.
Leah peered inside and gave a look of horror; I wrinkled my nose in disgust. We hadn't found the secret exit; we had stumbled onto a whole nether happening. One so disgusting that I would have to look away for a moment to regain my thoughts.
"Who could have done such a thing?" Leah's voice cracked in pain. "I don't know, I really don't know" it's all I could say as I stared at the gruesome inhuman sight. The sight of vampires blood thirsty and locked in cages, but none were purebloods. They howled in pain agony and despair, most of them holding their heads and covering their ears. I could count at least six, maybe seven but mostly girls. There were only two men both turned away from our curious eyes.
"Help us wont you?!" A young girl no older than sixteen cried out. Her shoulder length hair drooping out of the cage. I walked forward and the others flinched as well as Leah, "this is not right, but what we can do if we release them they'll hunt in the city!" her voice was hoarse and full of fright. "I know" my voice came out in a whisper. I walked to the blond girl's cage that had pleaded for our help, "What is your name?" I asked breathless as I noticed an injection mark on her bare ankle. "Samantha" she replied her voice shaky and unsure that she could trust us. "Samantha, I'm Somia and this is my twin sister Leah. You can trust us we're pure bloods" her eyes widen as I spoke the last of y sentence. "pur...p..pure bloods?" she struggled with the words slurring them out. "Yes, I promise we'll help but first you and all the others here must promise us something in return" she flinched at the thought of what it could be. "That's what he said" she whispered her eyes intent, "what who said?" I gave her a worried expression and her face softened up the tiniest bit. "Paradine" she hissed his name out. "Of course it was that sleaze bag!" Leah snorted from across the room, lifting up a jar of blue liquid and examined it.
"He told us that he could help us" she continued "he said that he would put us somewhere safe where nobody would get hurt" her voice was soft and high pitched. "He was right this way no one will get hurt just the way he meant it." Another girl spoke out; her crimson eyes shining brightly and her black short hair shudder in response to her movement. "What do you mean by that" Leah said in a thoughtful tone her eyes looked up from papers she had been reading. "He doesn't want us to hurt his people, the city and his entire kingdom" her voice was monotone and dead but wiry at the same time.
"Cant you break thought the bars of your cage?" I asked curious to why the are sitting around acting hopeless. "We're too weak, we haven't fed in months and others have died" Samantha's voice was became grave and fearful, as if she too was on the break of death. "This is insane" Leah declared outraged and stunned, as she threw papers to the ground. "What?" I asked viscously, "They were researching them their behavior and habits the language they spoke down to the ethnic backgrounds and their family". I shudder at the thought; he was keeping them here for research how disgusting.
"Leah I have a plan" I turned to her as I stood up straight "we need to check for whose sane enough to be released from captivity and keep the insane locked inside until they can get some food." I spoke so quickly so that the weak vampires could not hear that only some would and could be helped. "I will take this side you take that side" I assigned us our orders for now. I walked to the first cage on the right side of the room. "Whets your name?" I asked as a young women appeared out of the darkness, "Annabelle" she answered her body movements told me that she was apprehensive. "Annabelle, how old are you human years?" I asked softly as I tried to calm her. "Thirty four" she answered back quietly. "Still so young" I spoke to myself. "How long have you been in this reached cage?" I shudder closing my eyes as I spoke, "ten days". "So you're a new capture?" "Yes" she cringed away from the word. "Can you help me?" "Yes, fortunately for you your thirst is a small quench". As I spoke I opened the lock crushing it in one hand and opening the door with the other. "How long has it been since you have eaten last?" "Two weeks maybe a little more" she spoke roughly as she climbed out of her cramped enclosure.
I moved on to the next diminutive jail, and began the next interrogation. "Your name?" "Ian" his voice hit me like a gust of honeyed air. Breathless I continued "Ian how long have..." he cut me off eager to find out whether he was helpable. "Two weeks with out a meal" he grumbles through clenched teeth. "If I release you will you behave?" I asked in a perky voice, "yes, yes I will I promise!" his immediate response startled me. I sighed calming myself "okay" I said softly as I crushed another lock into robust dust and threw it aside as I open the cage door.
Once on his feet he pulled me behind him and assumed a familiar position, with his hands wing span and knees slightly crouched. I gazed past his wide spread arms to see the young girl I released just moments ago. She was crouched in a different position not an protective one like Ian, but n an threatening arrangement" who do you think you are?!" was all I heard before I was shocked out of an eggshell, by the ringing clash of her stone body smacking into the girl called Annabelle. "No" is all I could manage to whisper. "She was lying to you, this whole time" Ian spoke crossly. "What?" I gasped trying to gather my thoughts. "She's been here longer than me, and all the rest of us. She was using you as a pawn to get her way out into the city, to hunt." I dithered away from the word. "You couldn't see through her Somia?" Leah joked sarcastically. "No I guess I must be slipping" I mocked back.