Author's Note:
Good morning! (Just kidding. That's not how I'm going to start out my author's note.)
The Tale of Sonja and Lucian. A tale of true love in a time of confusion and hatred, a time where all must ask themselves the ever present questions...What is justice, and what is humane? What is right, and what is wrong? We must ask ourselves what it means to be members of the 'human family', despite even obvious, and sometimes startling differences.
I am writing this story for my friends, who know nothing of Underworld. So if I take my writer's privilege on the story and you don't like it... :)
Begin.
The night sky beckoned. Grass swayed in a shallow breeze, crashing waves on a field of unbroken stillness. Stars sprinkled the black sky, the moon casting a milky shadow, as a safe and dimmed daylight. And she knew the night was hers.
She walked alone across a field and on, towards the river she knew lie somewhere just beyond. There was a rock there. A secluded resting spot where one could sit and breathe in the air of an uncomplicated existence, where there was no fear of hunt; where none followed, and none led. There was only wind, and the peace of being.
She sat down, arranged her skirts, then stared at the great expanse of open sky and freedom, which lay right before her, open to her arms. If only she could fly, far and wide, never to land but only to live.
Hours passed, and she remained, knowing that soon she would have to return to her home, the castle of stone, a hard barrier protecting them from the outside world and the light of morning. Soon the rustling of the trees would change. They would no longer be cool, but would whisper and jitter with excitement of the oncoming dawn; a dawn she would never be a participant of.
Behind her she heard a slight rustling, and wondered if the trees weren't readying for a dawn which was coming much too early. She turned towards the eastern sky, then stopped.
It was a Lycan.
He stood there, watching her slowly, his arms folded across his chest and his eyes narrowed, curious.
She felt suddenly defensive, and angry that he was intruding upon her space, observing her without her knowing. "Why do you watch me, Lycan?" she asked, not needing to hide the annoyance from her tone.
"I am not watching you." he defended, his voice simple, stating a fact.
"Then why are you here?" she asked again, demanding, this time.
"I'm guarding."
"Oh, of course." she muttered, rolling her eyes to stare back up at the sky, which didn't seem quite so beautiful, now. "How long have you stood there?" she asked.
"Only a few moments." the Lycan responded, shuffling his feet, then staring up at the sky also, following her lead.
She chose to ignore him, and continued observing the fading stars, pretending that nothing had changed. But she had been badly shaken by his appearance. She had not heard his approach.
"I wonder..." the Lycan started, speaking again from behind her, as if making casual conversation. "Life cannot be so hard that one would willingly seek out the light..."
"What are you talking about?" she interrupted him, turning back to look at him, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
He stared at her, his gaze piercing, and he cocked his head to the side, wondering. "I wonder why you sit here, Lady." he said finally, as if that would explain it all.
"And why shouldn't I sit here?" she wondered, impatient with him.
The Lycan began to step forward, his hands now clasped behind his back, his lips pursed thoughtfully. He paced beside her, still staring at the dark sky overhead, thinking to himself. "It has been a beautiful night." he commented, completely disregarding her last question.
"It was." she hissed at him, glowering. "But it is no longer."
He stopped his pacing in front of her and looked down at her, his eyes still narrowed, his solid build, and stance now firm. "I am curious as to why you remain sitting, Sonja. You seem to sense no danger?" he asked, all casual tones gone.
And through her heart shot a startling jolt of fear. Here she sat, alone, before a Lycan, in the waning hours of the night. She quickly rose to her feet, straightening herself, ready for an attack she felt certain was imminent. "I would inform you, Lycan, that I do not require your guarding." she stated in a commanding tone, for lack of any better words to say. "My only desire is for the privacy which I was enjoying before your sudden interruption. Leave, now."
The Lycan took a step back, raising his hands briefly to show he meant her no harm. "It would be my pleasure to leave you to your own business." he replied curtly. And then he smiled. "Before I go, however, I feel it is my obligation to remind you that the rising sun, and dawn, come early today. In fact, you have only three minutes..."
Sonja blinked, surprised, then glanced behind herself to the east, once more. And, sure enough, the sky was changing from dark lavender to red, faster then she had accounted for. Startled, she turned back to the Lycan, who helplessly shrugged, his eyes sparkling with quiet mirth at her misunderstanding, and now, danger.
She glared, hissing at his face, turned on her feet and ran back to the castle, outrunning even the hurrying shadows.
"Why you insist upon staying out until the last possible moment, I will never understand." Viktor scolded, his voice hard and his crystal blue eyes boring into her, from the chair on which he sat. "If you were to hold one second longer, it would be your end. This is a consequence which I fear for you to bear..."
"That will not happen." Sonja murmured, looking at her feet in a quiet embarrassment.
"And can you be so certain?" Viktor asked, accusing. "Your words are empty. Nothing can protect you from set consequences, even the love of a father." He paused, and then sighed, resting his head in his hand, tired. "How much longer will you be here to trouble me? I do not know..."
"Forever, Father. Forever." Sonja insisted, stepping forward to rest a hand on his shoulder. "I will be more careful, from now on." she insisted. "I will come home earlier."
"As you should." Viktor said quickly, nodding to himself. He sighed, then, looking up into her face. "My daughter, my daughter." he mumbled quietly, taking her hand in his own. "You are so beautiful, and strong. You make me proud. But your spirit is willful and reckless. You must learn to control yourself. These flights of fancy are merely imaginings and wishful thinkings. The world is a colder and harder place, but is also full of its own dignity and honor. And you are my daughter." Viktor added, narrowing his eyes, serious. "You have great strength and obligation."
He released her hand, but did not release her eyes. She had been excused.
"I understand, Father." Sonja mumbled, stepping back from his chair and bowing her head. "I will do as you say."
He nodded, and she left the room.
The Lycans were their slaves. Lycans, a dirty and uncultured race, too foolish to live, let alone thrive, on their own. And so they had bound most of the Lycans in cages, to keep the others loyal. Those permitted free range were efficient, and, for the most part, they made faithful guard dogs...
Sonja wandered amongst their cages, now, searching for the face of the Lycan who had made a mock of her in the face of the rising sun. No doubt he was still outside, patrolling the grounds or hunting, as they did, and yet she searched on.
Always, she felt, she was nothing but trouble for her father, Viktor, the leader of the clan. She was too eager to explore, and her adventures often put herself, and more importantly, the safety of the entire clan, at risk. Her father had been ashamed of her again, for her latest careless mistake. And now she sought out something on which to place all her blame.
But the Lycan was nowhere to be seen, as she had expected. The other Lycans sat or stood quietly in their cages, watching her restless pacing and surveying glance with cautious eyes. But she had nothing for them, and so left.
Her bitterness would have to wait, to be satisfied, until nightfall.
She hurried up to her quarters, instead, and lay upon her bed, wetting her pillow with her shame-faced tears.
"You're going out again?" came a voice from behind her, as she headed towards the door, to leave the castle for the night, once more. "I would think you wise enough to learn your lesson after so close an encounter, only last night."
She turned on her heel to face Kraven, the wise-mouthed boy who, so recently been turned, had concluded that his new-found immortality automatically made him the expert on all matters. "There is no danger in the night air." she backfired, unable to keep the snarl out of her voice. "Tonight I will be returning earlier. And upon my return you had better not be within sight, Kraven, for I have fight to pick with you."
Kraven froze, and she saw him swallow nervously, obviously regretting his having spoken.
Sonja turned and left the castle, trying to calm herself. Her emotions were firing all out of proportion. She could take many things, including wounds, despair, even mocking. But one thing she could not take was her father's disappointment, and any word uttered which so much as hinted at the sensitive subject heated her veins and made her eyes burn with an intense cold blue.
The sun was fading, the western sky dark red, as spilled blood. The Lycans should be coming back in.
She walked to the north side of the castle, to the gate through which the Lycans passed when night fell, and through which, in the morning, a few were allowed free reign, to hunt and protect the boundaries of the clan's lands.
"Ademar." she called, as she approached the two guards whose job is was to hurry the Lycans forward and in through the gate, preventing others from leaving. "Clotaire."
"Sonja." Clotaire greeted, bowing his head slightly. Ademar was preoccupied with taking the body of a fawn from the hands of a Lycan, who offered the meat forward then stepped through the gate and into the cages inside. "What can we do for you?" Clotaire continued, watching her curiously.
"I'm looking for a Lycan I need to speak with." Sonja said, tearing her eyes from the sight of the fawn, not allowing it to distract her. "How many of them have returned so far?"
"Four, now." Ademar stated, brushing his hands together. "There should still be a few more out."
"I'm looking for one who had longer hair. He was very dark. In height he was about..."
"Ah!" Clotaire cut in, nodding in understanding. "I know the one you're looking for. Big one, but lank."
"Yes." Sonja agreed, guessing from Clotaire's certainty that he knew which one she was looking for.
"No, haven't seen him yet." Clotaire shrugged, glancing back towards the western sky. "I'd allow him five more minutes, though. Has he caused trouble?"
"No." Sonja murmured, stepping out of the way and crossing her arms, determined to wait and speak with the Lycan upon his return. She wasn't all sure what she intended to do with him, though her hands longed desperately to sink into something, with the sheer purpose to destroy it. Somehow she knew it would make her feel better.
More Lycans returned, looking ragged and tired, but no sight of her Lycan. The five minutes passed, and Ademar began to close the gate. "That was all of them." Clotaire stated, shrugging uselessly to Sonja. "Perhaps he will be back in tomorrow. You know how they are. They run into some trouble in a nearby village, or some other such..."
"That would be trouble indeed." Sonja interjected seriously. "I would hope you are not so lax in your profession. If the Lycan is found out, that puts the safety of our clan's secrecy at stake!"
Clotaire blinked at her slowly and Ademar, having finished closing and locking the gate, grew serious also. "We will go and find him, Lady Sonja. Wherever he may be." Ademar insisted, nodding firmly. "We will hunt him..."
"Inform my father's captain, Cephas, of the situation at once." Sonja ordered, raising a challenging brow.
When neither of the men rebutted her, she left, stalking across open field and towards the river... Her need for vengeance had remained unfed. This Lycan... She would take this matter personally into her own hands, now.
It gave her something to do. She was not like her father, taking great pleasure out of stalking her prey. Her father would call her a child, innocent, rejoicing in life and stillness. But that was not the way of her people. For them, life was a competition, a constant battle, to prove one's strength and right to dominance. But she did not enjoy killing.
When she found this Lycan, there was no doubt that she would try to destroy him, however. She was tired of being told how powerless her innocence was, that she had made herself a victim to frailties of the mind, in her own world. She would prove to them she had ability. She did have strength... Perhaps her father was right after all. Her people may appear cold and hard, but their power and dignity... Perhaps she was wrong...
She reached the rock on which she had sat the night before, and searched the ground for any trace of the Lycan, or which direction he may have traveled. And there it was. A trail of footsteps leading towards the river, and across, into the trees, and forest. Eventually the footsteps turned to claw marks and paw prints, and she knew she was on the right track.
