Houston, Texas
1856
It was a serene day out. No clouds in sight and the sun was shining brightly over the modest farmhouse that was home to the Hutton's; a respectable family of four. The youngest Hutton was currently sat in front of her favorite rose bush. Ella Hutton was at the ripe age of twelve years old, nestled right in between that age of blossoming womanhood while also still maintaining the innocence of a child. If asked, the local neighbors would say the young girl was quite remarkable looking despite being a little strange. Her skin was a beautiful alabaster with hair that contrasted deeply due to its jet-black hue with slight blue reflects that were visible in the light. Add to the fact that her eyes were a startling cerulean blue. The girl looked more like a woodland elf than a normal human girl.
Sobs raked violently through the young girl, tears washing down her face and soaking her cotton dress she so loved. Ella was generally a lovely, carefree child but the news of her brothers passing in battle was much too great for her to bare at the moment. She had loved him so, and the news would surely haunt her for years to come. How cruel was fate that someone as young as twenty-one would perish without ever starting to really live? As if the roses could feel the girls pain, they began to wilt horribly and suddenly the bright sun filled day began to darken with the oncoming clouds promising signs of rain and high winds.
"Excuse me, miss? Are you okay?" Came a voice.
Ella blinked as she registered another being within close proximity. The boy was quite a few inches taller than her 5'1 height and had the makings of what promised to be strong chiseled features and a lean build. The odd honey haired boy looked quite worried for her and she figured she ought to answer him soon. "I'm…mad as hell." Ella replied, gasping at her sudden outburst. She had never said a bad word in her twelve years of living, but she couldn't help but feeling this was a good as time as any to start. The boy smiled, an odd look on his handsomely boyish face.
The boy opened his mouth several times before finally finding the words to speak. "You're not very lady-like, are you?" The young man asked and grinned widely. Ella scoffed and began to just show him how un lady like she could be but his quick reply stopped her. "I like it." Ella smiled slightly, her spirits lifting a little more than they had that entire day.
That was the day she had met Jasper Whitlock. A local boy her age that while also being a little odd, would soon be the best friend she could have asked for. Jasper had promptly introduced himself and promised they would be great friends. Jasper had been quite right about that, and more. Several years down the line, Jasper had started to court the young Ella Hutton and had plans to marry her. Ella still had terrible dreams of the funeral of her beloved brother but with each passing day, month and then years the nightmares started to fade slowly and Ella thanked God for that.
The biggest qualm that Ella had now was the upcoming wedding and the ever-increasing powers that seemed to blossom upon her twelfth birthday right before her brothers passing. It was quite amazing, the things that young Ella could do. She was what would later be called an Elemental. Meaning that she could control and create the elements, along with having an almost literal green thumb. She was quite fond of plant life, and it of her, seeming to beckon to her every call. She was busying herself with decorating for the ceremony that would be held in her childhood home when Jasper come up behind her, grabbing her and swaying her as she giggled her back and forth. "Ellie, just how soon as you wanting to be married? The wedding isn't even for another week!" Jasper exclaimed, looking a little pale.
"Oh no, you're not getting cold feet, are you?" Ella asked, merely joshing around with the man before her. But as Jaspers face began to slightly fall, Ella grew serious. "Darling, whatever is the matter? You look as if you've seen a ghost." Jasper sighed and pulled Ella close. "Ellie, what year is it right now?" Jasper asked. Ella wrung her hands together, it was a nervous habit that she had possessed from childhood. "Well, its 1861, but why does that matter? Are you sure you're not ill?" Ella was very concerned at this point. She was toying with the idea that maybe he was having a heat stroke when he spoke finally.
"Correct, its 1861 but what has been happening?" Ella sighed, still confused. But suddenly she realized what was about to happen. "Jasper, are you getting ready to tell me you're going off to war?" Ella felt very faint and if not for Jasper holding her, she would have surely fell. "Oh God. You're signing your life, away aren't you?" She began to weep and the flashbacks of her brothers' demise was fresh once again in her mind. "This isn't happening, we're to be married, in one week. "
As she lost control of her emotions, the sky began to darken quickly and rain and wind set in violently. Jasper tried to calm her down, noticing the weather pattern change rapidly. "Love, I know how you feel about war, but this is important to me. My family come from a long line of war veterans. You knew of my feelings on the subject. I don't understand why its upsetting you so much now." He rushed out, trying to reason with his Ellie. Surely, she would understand, wouldn't she? Apparently not, he realized, Ella glared up at him. "I will not be a traveling soldiers wife. Nor will I be a widow at the age of sixteen. I will not accept what's bound to happen. You're going to die, just like Edwin, and if you choose to join the confederate army, it will not be with my blessing or the backing of a wife." Ella slipped off the ring and gave it back to Jasper and then ran into what she thought would be her soon to be former home, grief stricken and utterly broken.
For the next three years to come, Ella would not regret calling off the engagement, until word had gotten around that Jasper Whitlock had went missing in action. Hearing the news utterly destroyed the young woman, while she knew he would surely meet his demise, she couldn't help but think, what if she had agreed to marry him, consequences be damned. Maybe he would have fought harder, knowing he had a loving wife to come home to.
Ella hadn't married nor had she dated anyone since losing her beloved Jasper to the army those three years ago. She held on to hope that he would come back to her and she would be waiting, always waiting for him. But then he had disappeared and had been declared dead. He even had a plot out the cemetery that she frequented often. Upon one of these visits, Ella had grown very tired and had fell asleep for what only seemed to be a short few minutes but what was really long enough for the sky to grow dark. She stumbled up and began to hastily make her way home. Her mother and father were probably worried sick about her. Ella tripped and ripped her dress slightly not really noticing the open wound that began to pour crimson down her calf.
"My, my, don't you smell scrumptious." The man came out of nowhere, almost giving the poor girl a heart attack in the process. Things happened quickly then, the man slamming into Ella with an inhumanly strong force and to her horror, began to feed from her. She would have been drained had it not been for the last of strength and sheer will power she could muster up to throw him back with a strong force of wind. The man staggered and became so startled that he didn't even hear the faint beat of the girl's heart and with one quick assumption, fled the scene. His thirst sated, for now. Slowly, and very weakly, Ella crawled her way back to Jaspers plot and lead down beside it, thinking if she would die, it would be with her beloved Jasper. Thorns and roses burst out from the ground and entombed the girl, and there she sat, buried in her lovely greenery while the venom from the vampire worked its magic, transforming Ella until she was rebirthed a new, and more powerful than she ever thought was possible. The cerulean blue of her eyes was replaced with a scarlet red, the color of fresh blood. Ella climbed from the her grassy and thorn covered tomb and trekked her way to a new home, feeding and sating her ever rampant appetite along the way. Thus, started the new and cursed existence of Ellie Whitlock.
Jasper Whitlock finally returned home a few years after being turned, but only after hearing his beloved Ellie had been killed by some crazed person. It had been a struggle and although they hadn't found a body, large amounts of blood were found along the crime scene. Now Jasper sat, looking down at the two grave plots that held neither his nor Ellie's body. Here Jasper Whitlock finally died, along with any humanity he possessed. He dropped the roses that he had stolen down onto Ellie's grave and placed the ring down into the grave, making quick work to cover up any evidence of it being disturbed.
"Well, are you satisfied?" Maria asked, her silken voice sounding detached and without a glance, Jasper could feel that she was very bored. "I am ready." Jasper said, voice monotoned. "Let's go grab a bite." He said, pulling her along with him. Her haunting laughter echoing through the home of the dead as they glided away.
To be continued…
