Lilly fell asleep early that morning, and slept late, working all of the alcohol out of her system. She never got hangovers, so when she woke up at six, when the sun was lowering in the sky, she felt fine. She moved from her little house, set back in the woods, and to the stables about a quarter of a mile away. Inside the stables, as if sensing her approach, a horse whinnied into the air.
Breeze, Lilly's horse, kicked at the door in excitement. Lilly may have been a harsh fighter, but her care for her horse was beyond all others. Her horse was a part of her, especially when she was in battle. As she went through the years, she had many horses, all of which died as she stayed exactly the same. Breeze did not have the muscle or amount of endurance that horses had when she was born. Those horses had been bred for battle, but these horses were bred for beauty and a stroll in the woods. But Lilly had been working Breeze up, slowly pushing her farther and farther, even though the need to fight upon horseback no longer existed.
She rode Breeze bare back, as it was more natural and easier for her. She was used to the bony, hard back, rather than the more fitted, loose feeling of the saddle. She tended to slip off, or shift easily, when the saddle was on. She did, however, place a harness and reins around the horses face and led her out of the paddock. She walked her through the woods, about a mile or so, and out in a beautiful, wide meadow. She had stumbled across the pile of land on accident, actually, when she had been wandering around after buying the house. With nothing to do, walks usually filled the time.
There were rolling green hills, but not many hole for the horse to slip and hurt herself in, so Lilly liked to use this pasture for riding. She jumped onto her horses back with practiced ease. Jus the small movement of mounting the horse seemed almost graceful it was done so perfectly. She gripped the reins in her hands, rubbing them against her bare skin. There were thick hard calluses on her skin, from riding so many years.
She squeezed the horse's sides and snapped the reins. The horse snuffled a little, and eased into a steady walk to stretch out her legs. She had been standing in the hot stall all day, and she could feel her horses sweat against her legs. There was a small lake at the end of the pasture, so Lilly decided she would let her horse wade in the water and cool herself down. Even now, as the sun set, the heat remained in the air, not as severe, but like a memory.
She eased her horse into a trot, moving with the horse instead of bumping along its back. She tried applying as little weight to its back so it could move with graceful, even strides, and make her faster and more agile. Soon they were flying in a full out canter, Lilly pressed down against the horse, fitting her face aside the main so it wouldn't effect her vision. The air slapped against her face, but she did not mind. The slight sting to it seemed to wake her up, make her more alert.
She had been riding for a while, making her and her horses heartbeat rise. Breeze was amazing fit, with rippling muscles underneath her golden brown hair. Her main was effortlessly brushed to one side, and her tail hung down, recently cut. She was a beautiful horse, one of Lilly's proudest accomplishments.
The sun was setting, but she did not worry about vampires. They hunted in the cities now, instead of the woods. When she had been drifting through the centuries, they had stalked the woods in search of a meal, because humans would wander through them to get home, or to hear sheep. No longer did that happen, though, since humans were afraid of the shadows.
Just behind a thin line of trees was the chilled water, and the horse moved there of her own free will, sensing the end of the run and the water she was being allowed. As her hooves padded into the water, Lilly jumped off, soaking her own feet. After a moment's hesitation, she stripped her own clothes off until she was just in her bra and panties and dived into the water. The horse flew onto its hind legs and kicked the air, whinnying in surprise.
She was smiling when she emerged from the water, her black hair now pressed to her face. The lake was shadowed, and she could not see her body, but she did not mind. She liked how cool the water was, and how it erased all smell of alcohol and sweat from her skin.
After a little while, maybe thirty minutes, the sun had fully set, and the moon was shinning full blast, sending white streaks through the thin shadow of trees. Breeze had moved out of the water, and was standing by the lake, waiting for Lilly to finish her swim.
Only when she started to fidget and become unsettled did Lilly suspect something. Breeze whinnied and kicked the air once again, drawing Lilly out of the water and to her frightened horse. She stared into the wide eyes, and sighed.
"Go home. I'll be back in a short while." She talked to the horse, as if it would understand her. But they had gone through this enough for the horse to understand, if in a different way. It stayed for a while, almost hesitant to leave her here with the thing lurking in the shadows, but Lilly smiled, knowing she had the knife tucked in her clothes to keep her safe. She smacked the horses butt, and told her to leave a second time. This time Breeze listened, and flew dirt into the air as it took off at a canter. Lilly only hoped the horse wouldn't stumble and fall.
She stood alone, in the quiet darkness, listening for any movement that could have panicked her horse, but heard nothing. She bent down to retrieve her clothes, and suddenly felt a presence behind her. She uncovered two things quickly. One was that it was human, but the second was that it only resembled a human. It did not breathe, because she heard no breaths, but she could see his leg.
He was not suspecting that she knew of his presence, obviously going with the fear factor that would follow when she turned around and saw a stranger. So she picked up her shirt, also grabbing the silver knife that was hidden under it. She shook the shirt, as if to get the dirt off before putting it on, but instead gripped the knife carefully.
She wheeled around suddenly, the knife flying through the air. She suspected correctly that the vampires first move would be to grab her wrist and stop her from attempting to kill him. She moved quickly using her years of practice. His finger tips only brushed her skin before she had quickly moved it downwards and then up again, stabbing it through his pale arm.
There was a surprised growl of pain, and she withdrew the knife, bringing the flat end against the face of her attacker, who happened to be so much taller than her.
She recognized the handsome Viking, Eric, but did not take the knife away.
"What are you doing here, vampire?" she hissed in a menacing voice.
"I would ask you the same thing." He spat back, his fangs extended as the silver burnt away his flesh.
"Do not play with me, vampire. I will not hesitate to kill you." Lilly threatened, pushing the knife deeper into Eric cheek and causing him to grimace.
"I come here sometimes." He spat, obviously not pleased about sharing this piece of information.
"What for?" she asked again, relentless in her pursuit for answers. Eric only snarled. She saw the decision in his eye a milli second before he acted. Lilly had years, centuries, millennia even to practice fighting against vampires. It was what she had been made immortal to do, to drive back these monsters from her village, or the people she was sent to protect. She knew the signs, the reasons why they did something. And she was very good at predicting their next move.
So when she saw the hardening of her eyes, she brought the knife down and sliced his shoulder, just as he started to lunge at her. She growled louder, trying to go for her throat, but she caught his hand and held it tight, bringing the knife down so the tip dug into his hand.
"Do not make me do it, vampire." Lilly warned, and she saw that Eric truly believed she would not hold back.
"Yes, Eric, please do not make the young lady harm you." Another voice said from the trees, but Lilly did not even look, did not even think about looking. Eric looked disappointed in not being able to attack her in her lapse of judgment, but covered it quickly. Besides, Lilly already recognized the voice to belong to Godric.
"Now why are there two vampires at this lake? I have been coming here for longer than you can imagine, and no one had ever made an appearance here." Lilly demanded evenly, although she was outnumbered.
"We have been coming here for longer than you can imagine, little girl." Eric hissed. She looked up into his face, and saw hate in his eyes, but he she also recognized the devotion to his maker. But what she saw most of all was the regret at not being able to kill her, which she assumed was because his maker ordered it that way. So she released his hand, knowing he wouldn't harm her in front of the man he loved.
"I doubt my horse has even gotten to the barn, because she is running in the dark, thanks to you." She said with a sour look to Eric as she bent down to retrieve her close. She did not feel ashamed at showing her body, but quickly put the cloths on because she did not like the way Eric's eye lingered on her thigh, or her butt, or her cleavage. He was just asking for trouble he certainly didn't want.
"Would you stay a moment?" Godric's kind voice asked from the shadows, and Lilly hesitated, and then nodded. Godric came into view then, and stood beside Eric. He watched Lilly closely, although not with the same look Eric had. He seemed more observant, as if watching her for something else.
"We had been watching you before as you rode your horse. It is quiet beautiful, the way you ride." Godric noted, looking at her expression calmly, which remained exactly the same. Not even her eyes changed.
"I was born into it. My mother was a farmer; my father became a farmer when he married her. I was born and brought up to ride a horse, and ride a horse right." Lilly lied effortlessly, the tale to familiar. Even a thousand years ago the tale could have worked, although the man would have been the farmer, and the woman would have been a seamstress.
"Yes, I can tell it was natural. You don't just learn to ride like that." Godric praised her, although she did not want it.
"I honored by your compliments, Godric, but I only wish to know why you have kept me from my chores?" Lilly asked, raising a perfect eyebrow.
"I cam here to see the lake. Until I was attacked by a mere human. You should be dead now, little girl. If it hadn't been for Godric, the lake would have been red with your blood." Eric hissed, still furious even though the wounds had healed.
"If it hadn't been for Godric, little boy, the lake would have been red with not my blood, but yours. Do not forget who had the upper hand in the fight." Lilly said, pointing her knife at him threateningly. He threw his head back and laughed into he air, the sound booming into the night and bouncing back off of the trees.
"You are too cocky, human. I am a vampire. You and you little knife could not have killed me. And do not call me little boy, as I am a thousand years older than you." Eric said his voice harsh and cold.
"That is where you are wrong, vampire." She said evenly, and then flinched form her mistake. She hadn't meant for her to say it out loud, but she had been thinking it so strongly that she couldn't help it.
"Whatever do you mean?" Godric asked, clearly curious, along with Eric.
"My ancestors." Lilly said quickly, covering her face to make the lie look almost believable. "I have an ancient line of ancestors, and their blood runs deep and strong in my veins, making me older than him." She said.
"Ha, that does not count." Eric said with an evil, mocking smirk.
"It definitely does count." Lilly shot back.
"Your ancestors may date back farther than my birth date, but I am older than you, probably a hundred times older than you." Eric said tartly, and this time Lilly held her tongue, learning from her mistakes. Eric seemed convinced by her lie, but the way Godric was looking at her made her believe he knew she was talking bullshit.
"I need to find a horse, gentlemen. It has been one of the best moments of my life meeting you here tonight."Lilly said sarcastically, nodding to Godric, and then sneering at Eric.
"Will we see you again?" Godric asked as he walked away.
"No." Eric said in a nasty voice.
"I believe your Child said it clearly enough. I have many, many enemies, Godric. You do not want to get screwed up in my life." Lilly warned, and instantly Eric took back his previous answer. He loved someone with drama in their lives, and he especially adored people with enemies. Someone like Lilly should have quite a few reasonable people who hated her, and he would actually love to get screwed up in her life and meet them.
"I did not ask for an opinion on my question, but I appreciate the warning. I did ask if I was allowed to." Godric said, and watched Lilly's reaction closely. She smiled, liking the way he took control of the situation instead of snapping and mocking like Eric did.
"Yes, I guess you can. Goodnight to you, Godric. Eric." She said, nodding once again to both of them before jogging off into the night.
"You noticed how she fought, did you not?" Eric asked once he was sure she was out of hearing range.
"Yes, I did." Godric murmured, watching her form through the darkness.
"It was as if she were reading my thought, knowing what I was going to do a moment before I did it." Eric said, this time speaking with only a flavor of anger in his voice, but mostly awe. He was born and raised a fighter. It was what he loved to do. He had just never met anyone else as well as him, let alone a human.
"She is not entirely human." Godric admitted to Eric.
"I suspected that. She smells too… heavenly to be a human." Eric agreed, nodding his head.
"She interests me." Godric continued, still watching her even though she had disappeared over the side of a hill.
"And me as well, Godric."
"I think l we will see her again soon, yes?" Godric asked, finally turning to look back at Eric.
"Yes, of course. I have quite a few questions to ask the young lady." Eric said with a smile, quickly following after the woman to find her home.