Taken by the Wind
The night is warm, the sky, full of stars that blanket the heavens like fireworks suspended in a sea of black on display for those who dare to notice its beauty.
There is a strangeness in the air, it's exhilarating, inviting, delivering promises of infinite possibilities, of hope for the hopeless.
From the ninth ward, to the French Quarter, across gator filled swamps of the bayou, those sensitive to what cannot be seen, turn their sights upward, close their eyes and sigh.
There is a white witch with pure intentions conjuring wishes for the broken two so that they would become whole again.
Taken by the wind so that young hearts might find their way, she releases her potion, jasmine, rose petals and vanilla, her magic is all around them now, it charges the air sweeping along pale skin and honey hair.
Lightning is about to strike.
For two broken souls feeling lost to this world, outsiders to the carefree normalcy most take for granted, it will be the beginning of something unforeseen, unimaginable, the dawn of a rare and wondrous love that some might even call, magical.
Lounging on a white veranda sipping a cool tall glass of mint julep she smiles knowingly, a spell has been cast, one of the heart, of opportunity, some might say divine intervention.
Soon the stars themselves will blush with envy in the wake of what is to come.
zKz
Stumbling behind the B list actor in heels ridiculously high, and a dress that feels as if she wearing next to nothing, Zoe, on her first day at her new boarding school is having seconds thoughts as they near the frat house.
"W-wait, Madison I changed my mind, this just isn't me, I'm going to head back - "
Yanking her roughly her by the arm, the self absorbed, child actress/recovering drug addict rolls her eyes.
"Too late black widow, we're here, just stand in the corner and try not to look as pathetic as you feel."
Inside kind dark eyes, burdened by horrors no one should be forced to endure, scan the overflowing house of reckless youth.
He's swept up in the chaos of the party, it's a welcomed distraction, but not anything he's able to really feel a part of.
Red punch swirls in his cup instead of beer, which he'd give anything for right now.
He's dying to feel numb, at least for a while, but he has no choice, it's who he is, responsible, sweet, always thinking of others, a truly good person.
As self appointed watchdog over his brothers, worried for the future of his charter that was once again put on probation, fraternity president Kyle Spencer declines the usual vices that are needed to get him through the night.
Alcohol, weed, whatever it takes, whatever is available to help block out the dark secret he's been keeping for as long as he can remember.
(Earlier that evening)
Hands that were meant to nurture and protect held a more sinister meaning as they smoothed around his waist stopping him from walking out the door.
His voice wavered, trying to hide his urgency to get away, knowing it would just make it worse.
"Mom, I have to go, I'm sorry, the guys are waiting. I checked the pilot light on the stove, it's working fine. Your dinner is on the table, take out from Billy's Barbecue, your favorite."
Drunk, slurring words behind his ear, she laid her mussed hair alongside his tense muscles pulling him back.
"You're such a good boy, my boy, why don't you stay, we'll make a night out of it, just like we used to."
She takes his silence as her answer, it's not what she wants to hear.
"You promised, you swore to me that college wouldn't take you away from me, that things wouldn't change, but here you are running out the door again to be with those boys - "
Lowering his head his gut twisted in knots, his hand squeezed the doorknob before reluctantly turning around to hug her knowing it was his only way out.
In the midst of the guilt heavy in her voice, he was calm, beaten down by years of abuse and manipulation.
"Mom, remember I told you, belonging to a fraternity looks good on a resume. The counselor said it attracts potential employers. Thousands of kids are going to graduate when I do, I have to do everything I can to stand out from everyone else, volunteering, keeping my grades up, all the community and campus events I'm involved in are a part of that."
Feeling her grip getting tighter, his feet shuffled backward tripping over the coffee table, scrapping wooden legs against the floor.
"But you'll be back tonight, right baby? You promised Kyle… you promised I wouldn't spend another weekend all alone."
Letting go of her slowly, hearing Dillon beeping his horn several times, he nodded while backing away.
"I'll try, I'm sorry mom, I really gotta go."
Grabbing his sleeve on his way out, she stopped him, waiting for the words she demanded to hear always before he left.
"Kyle, wait, did you forget?"
Closing his eyes, he swallowed hard, before running down the front steps.
"No, ma' course not, I love you."
His buddies laughing hard pulls him back to the present as he manages to catch the end of a vulgar joke, he smiles, forcing himself to join in seamlessly as if nothing was wrong.
It's a technique he's perfected over the years out of necessity, survival skills for a world that had abandoned him to a monster.
Techno music blares over his friend who's saying something indistinguishable while pointing towards the front door.
Looking up through the crowd expecting to see another sorority girl from his school, he's blindsided by the sight of someone far different, a vision so stunning it stills his gentle heart.
Frozen, his lips part trying to remember how to breathe as he stares in wonder at the most beautiful girl he's ever seen.
She's standing in the shadow of another, but there is no hiding, not now, not from him.
The washed up movie star she came with, who's begging for attention quickly abandons her, he feels for her but can't help but be thankful for the opportunity that's presented itself.
Captivated by her, he studies her every move, unable to tear himself away.
Glancing back at the door she's deliberating her escape, a sharp intake of air holds tight in his throat as he calls out to her silently.
'No, please… don't go.'
Letting out a shaky breath relief washes over him, she's decided to stay.
His heart clenches with empathy watching as she awkwardly crosses one arm over her slender body while drunken teens push by her.
Uncomfortable in the tight black dress that is clearly not of her choosing, he follows her as she makes her way to a huge ice sculpture feeling inexplicably drawn to her.
Everything falls away, thumping loud music fades, the crowd surrounding them vanish into nothing, there is no one else but her.
She lifts curious hazel eyes through transparent frost manipulating her into a vision of something not of this earth, dreamlike, angelic.
Powerless against her, he can't help but feel there's a promise of heaven in those eyes.
He's lost all sense of space and time, it's irrelevant, the world, and everything in it is meaningless in comparison.
He stares unflinchingly as if in a trance, he's falling fast with each second that passes to the girl mirroring him in ways he has yet to discover.
Finally connected with her, their eyes meet for the first time, wild beating hearts collide, the feeling is tangible, an indescribable force that delivers on its promise.
Wanting to know her, everything about her, he breaks the tension releasing a smile that strikes her hard, waking places inside that she knows will eventually wither and die.
It's a bitter reminder that stings like fire on her skin, but still she finds it impossible to tear herself away.
He's beyond handsome, a hazy reflection of black soulful eyes, and white alabaster skin, a contradiction that's strikingly beautiful in every way.
His gaze is warm, vulnerable, leaving him defenseless before her, he is completely at her mercy and he doesn't care that she knows it.
Flushed, wide eyed, her lips part, her heart pounds in rhythm with his, but reality is biting at her ankles, tugging on her arm, whispering harshly in her ear.
'Death is the only gift you have to offer.'
A sadness envelops her as she walks away, it's strangely familiar, something he recognizes in himself, it drives him even further to know her.
Alone she leans against the security of the wall behind her, feeling out of place, still reeling from the nightmare that sent her across the country.
Startled by the sound of his sultry low baritone voice, she's taken off guard, unable to hide her happiness to see him again, it doesn't go unnoticed.
He's rewarded with a bright welcoming smile, one that he would never forget.
Offering her punch, Zoe accepts, but somehow manages to regain her senses, she can't do this and she knows it.
She tries to insult him, to push him away, but he quickly rebounds, revealing himself as nothing that the Greek letters on his shirt imply.
They banter back and forth, his charm is inescapable pulling her in further leading her to a place she keeps reminding herself she cannot go.
Introductions are made, their conversation is effortless, she's calm with him, he makes her feel safe , its beyond cruel, a twist of fate that can never be fulfilled.
"You're not from around here are you?"
Biting her lip she sighs wondering if she should lie, if it even matters.
"No actually, is it that obvious?"
Strands of honey silk glide over raspberry lips, he feels helpless, in awe, truly mystified.
"Yeah, but you should take it as a compliment, you're different, special, in the very best way. Are you a transfer student?"
Chills rush over him making him shiver, his gaze lowers to his sneakers realizing this is all too good to be true, he knows all too well there are no such thing as fairy tales, that he is far from a prince.
Unbeknownst to him that is exactly what he is, possibly his love, the only cure to her curse.
Embarrassed she rattles off the name of the school she's been forced into against her will.
He knows of it, everyone native to New Orleans has, rumors of the supernatural run wild in The Big Easy, but he believes it to be tall tales made for tourists, and nothing more.
"I know, a finishing school... it wasn't by choice."
She's tense suddenly, he can sense it, there's something much darker going on behind the whiskey glint of her eyes.
He closes the space between them grazing his fingers along her arm in an effort to comfort her and in the process is nearly brought to his knees.
This innocent touch shakes their breath, he's done, hers, with whatever that may entail.
Zoe feels a rush of pleasure so intense it flushes her skin, he feels it on his fingertips hot and soft vibrating with need.
It's too much and not nearly enough all at once, slick between her thighs with poison meant to kill, she stammers softly, on the verge of tears feeling the loneliness that is now her life creeping up behind her.
"Look Kyle, I-I like you, but ... this... us... it can't happen. I'm sorry."
Nodding slowly, raw with rejection, he replies the obvious, in the kindest way, thinking how stupid he was to not know.
"You have a boyfriend."
She steps back almost immediately recoiling as Charlie's demise, bloody and violent colors her memory.
"No, no I don't. Look I-I have to go, I'm sorry. I need to find Madison."
Someone over hears the famous name remembering that they came in together.
"She gone, found another party, left with a bunch of girls."
Shaking her head in disbelief, Zoe makes her way past the crowd, searching for the way out, needing to escape, damning Madison for forcing her to go in the first place.
Worried for her alone in a house full of drunken guys, he follows a few steps behind.
Finally outside she begins walking up the narrow road back to Miss Robichaux's Academy before turning to face him.
He lifts his hands in defense, "I can't let you walk home alone, I'm sorry Zoe, but it's not safe."
Drowning in the irony of his words, she breathes out a weak 'thank you' before continuing on with him beside her.
Approaching the iron gate dividing the sidewalk and the coven's property Kyle can't help but press her gently.
"Zoe, do you have any plans tomorrow?"
Closing the gate behind her she held onto the cold iron rails tightly.
His stare walked a tightrope between innocence and seduction, as if there was a need, she wavered slightly, almost painfully telling him all he needed to know.
"Kyle we ... "
Moving closer he hovered over her, the bars stretching out between them keeping them apart, a metaphor of the challenges that awaited them.
Gripping the iron, he drifted his thumb over her fingers tenderly, there was quiet passion between them, one he was willing to wait for, to suffer for, no matter what the outcome.
"Let me take you out, show you around the city, no pressure or expectations. I promise you can trust me Zoe."
A slight nod reaffirmed that there was indeed hope for the hopeless, a promise of infinite possibilities, two souls taken by the wind.