So here ya all go, another Black Coven Chapter! I want to send a big Thank you to everyone who, not only reviews but also follows my stories. It makes me happy. ^_^ I am sorry it takes me so long to update. I am working on this. You all have been very patient with me and it is greatly appreciated! Also thank you for all the good thoughts and vibes while I healed up from my car crash. I love being able to use both hands! It is something you can take for granted!
So the Thank yous aside, ON WITH THE CHAPTER!
It was an hour before the sun would rise and they were still a ways from the village. Zack was no longer able to carry Aerith. It was not possible with the Sleep beginning to set in and his already depleted strength. Denzel took over carrying Aerith the rest of the way and Vincent took Zack, since neither of them had a weakness for the sun. Vincent and Denzel now raced against the dawn.
Corel was a fair sized village that sat near the edge of the woods. There were very few lights on in Corel, as they arrive. Many of the residence still rested within their warm beds. The first house they tried there was no answer, even though a porch light was on. The second had a rather cranky elderly woman, who sent them to a two story house at the far end of the village. The hag had said it belonged to the village leader, right before she shut the door in Denzel's face.
As they climbed the steps of the large porch, Vincent saw the sun's light barely touching the horizon. He turned back to the door and knocked heavily. Footsteps could be hear shuffling a crossed the floor, before a mousy brown haired woman opened the door. "May I help you?" She asked wondering why someone would knock this time of morning.
Denzel was the first to speak. "I am Denzel of Helhiem. Sir Barrett said we could find shelter in this village."
Her eyes grew large at the mention of Barrett's name. She quickly pulled the door open wider. "Of course, please hurry in."
"Thank you." Denzel said as Vincent and he wasted no time entering the house. The lower level of the house was a large open room. A kitchen area in the far corner and a large fireplace on the opposite wall, the place had an inviting feel. They were glad to have finally found a sanctuary.
The middle aged woman closed the door hastily behind them. "I am Eleanor." She said briskly before going to all the windows and pulled the heavy curtains closed. A man came in from the back door only to stop and look at his wife in confusion. "This is my husband, Dyne." Eleanor explained when she noticed her husband. "They are from Helhiem. Barrett sent them here."
Dyne seemed to understand immediately as his expression relaxed some and he nodded. "If it is shelter from the sun you seek, there is a hidden room we have, void of any light."
"If we may leave this one there, we would be grateful." Vincent said gesturing to Zack, who had been taken by the Sleep.
Aerith had also given in to exhaustion and was soundly sleeping against Denzel's back. "The Lady is as you are and only requires a bed." Denzel said looking to Eleanor once more.
"Come. There is a spare bed upstairs she can take." Eleanor moved to the stairs waving Denzel to follow her. They left Vincent and Dyne to hide Zack from the sun. Although Vincent knew that Zack would not want to be apart from Aerith, he was more concerned about Zack's wellbeing than Aerith's comfort.
Upstairs, Denzel followed Eleanor to a door that had an M and a rose carved into it. The woman paused briefly. "My daughter is still sleeping, if you would please try not to wake her." Denzel just nodded and Eleanor very carefully opened the door.
Dim light of morning had started to creep through the window of the small room. It was clear by the artwork on the wall and the many flowers that littered the room that the room belonged to a girl. Eleanor held the door open for Denzel to carry Aerith inside. The room was small, just big enough to fit two twin beds in. He barely glanced to the bed that the sleeping form laid in.
Eleanor's whisper made Denzel turn back to look at her. "You may use our room a crossed the hall to rest in. I will go make it up for you."
Denzel raised an eyebrow as Eleanor left. It baffled him that she would just leave him alone with her daughter. If she knew his true nature she would not have left. No doubt that she would not have welcomed him within her home so easily. Not giving it another thought he laid Aerith down on the unoccupied bed.
He looked at the young woman, who slept in the other bed. Denzel normally did not look twice at a human but something about this girl made him stop. He crossed the room without sound and kneeled by her. Denzel sensed something wrong with her and could taste her pain in the air. Her complexion was paled and her breath was slightly labored. Placing his hand lightly to the side of her face, he let his power slip ever so gently throughout her body. It sought out what ailed the girl and it did not take Denzel long to find it.
The girl's heart had a defect and it would be only a matter of time before it killed her. It was not something that Denzel's power could fix. If he tried, it would most likely cause her more harm than good. Although the heart was damaged, he felt something about it…something he did not understand. It would be something he asked Barrett about later.
A soft whimper, escaped her lips and her brow furrowed in her sleep, took the vampire from his thoughts. Denzel slowly withdrew his power, making sure not to cause the girl any harm along the way. He watched as the girl's face softened and unconsciously he traced his knuckled, in a caress, along her cheek. Denzel did not realize what he had done til the girl's eyes began to gently open.
Jerking his hand away from her face, Denzel shot up. The girl did not react too much to his sudden motion; she was still caught in a half slumber. So when the boy that stood before her vanished from her sleepy gaze, she drifted back to sleep with a soft sigh.
Standing with his back against the closed door, Denzel let out a breath as he heard the girl fall back asleep. He glanced over his shoulder back at the door with a puzzled expression. He didn't understand this feeling he had because of this Human, but he did not like it.
"Sir Denzel?" Eleanor's voice questioned as she saw his expression.
"They are both still asleep. Thank you taking us in." Denzel's cold demeanor returned as he left her standing there and went down the stairs. Eleanor watched him leave and checked on the girls before she too went back down stairs.
Zack now safely stashed away, Vincent sat at the table with Dyne when Denzel returned with Eleanor. "You have our thanks, for helping us."
"Think nothing of it. Barrett is a good friend of ours and King Angeal has always protected us and asked for nothing in return. We are more than happy to do the same."
"We will still see to it that you receive something for your help." Denzel said joining them at the table.
"As Dyne said there is no need." Eleanor said with a smile. "Barrett visits often and gives us more then what we need already."
Dyne nodded in agreement with his wife. "You see most of us are from the Black Coven region. My family originally came from the part that was once the Fenris Coven."
Vincent looked as if he was interested by what Dyne said. "That was a very long time ago. You would not have been born when Fenris was still a Coven."
"No, it was my great great grandfather that lived at that time. He escaped with his family when Hojo over threw Fenris and kidnapped Queen Claudena."
"Your Grandfather was extremely lucky. Not many Humans or Vampires made it out of the attack alive." Vincent leaned back in his chair as he remembered when he first saw the aftermath. A shadow fell over his face. That is where talk of Fenris Coven ended. Vincent did not wish to talk more on it and they let the sore subject fall.
When it was drawing close to noon, Denzel was left alone. Dyne and Eleanor had left to go to work for the day. Vincent was resting in the room upstairs, that Denzel did not have use of. He did not feel tired as he was well rested, or in a weakened state as the other two. Denzel sat by the fireplace reading a book he found, it was not enthralling but reading made the time pass by quicker.
There were sounds of movement from upstairs; Denzel glanced to the ceiling as he heard small bare feet. He knew that the daughter was awake and it frustrated him. Not because he wanted to be alone, it was because he felt an excitement that she was finally up and possibly a hope to be able to talk to her.
His eyes followed the path of the footsteps to the stairs. As soon as he saw her feet step onto the top step, Denzel's eyes snapped back to the book in his hands. His eyes did drift back to watching her, only to once again focus back on the pages, when she reached the foot of the stairs.
"Oh, I did not know we had guests." Denzel could hear the surprise in her voice as she spoke. The young woman gave a gentle smile as Denzel gave up on pretending to read the book. He took note of how she held onto the rail for support. He could tell that she lack strength that even a normal human would have. "I'm Marlene and you are?"
"D-Denzel." The vamp stuttered for the first time in his existence and he wished to hit himself.
The smallest of giggles came from Marlene. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Denzel. What brings you to Corel?" Marlene let go of the rail and began to carefully walk towards Denzel.
He watched her like a hawk the moment her hand left the rail. He felt his whole body tense as she moved to him. Denzel was on high alert as if he would need to save the girl from falling any moment. It was only when she took a seat in a nearby chair that he relaxed enough to answer her. "It was on our way to Helhiem."
"Then you are from the Coven?" Marlene inquired.
Denzel did not hear fear or uneasiness in her voice as she asked her question. "Yes, I am a Knight of Helhiem." Denzel set the book aside.
Marlene's eyes filled with excitement. "Really? I have only met Sir Barrett. He is the only one that comes to visit us. That makes you a Pure Blood, doesn't it? Is that why you can be awake during the day?"
The girl was full of questions and Denzel found that he was not annoyed by it. "Yes. I have a resistance to the sun and to silver." He could not say why he told her in detail and not short yes or no answers. There was something that nagged at him more than his truthfulness. "Why do you not fear me?"
"Should I?" Marlene asked innocently and if Denzel could blush he very well would have right then. Something about the way she asked and cocked her head to the side in a childlike manner made him find her, dare he say cute.
"No, but most Humans do not react to us as you or your parents have, even if they are allies to a Coven…It is different." Denzel said finally looking to the floor.
Marlene let out another giggle, which made Denzel look up. "Only because you assume all Humans fear you, or that is what you are used too."
"You are correct. I am not used to" Denzel gave a slight snort that could be considered an attempt at a chuckle. He looked away from her, but when he glanced back he saw that her eyes were closed and her expression was a little distressed. Once again Denzel was reacting without thought. "You're not well." He was now kneeling in front of Marlene and watched her concernedly.
Her eyes delicately opened. "So you can tell that, huh?" Her face fell when she looked down to him and Denzel felt himself fall with it. "I have always been sick. The village healer did not give me a year to live when I was born, but I have proven him wrong. Fifteen times over." Marlene smiled brightly.
The smile seemed to sooth the Vampire some. Denzel realized that he felt a need to touch that smile of hers. It was her smile that seemed to make him not want to look away. "He too assumed…" Denzel's words died away when he noticed pain come back into her eyes, this time with a vengeance. It caused Denzel to feel anxious, yet another first.
Marlene put a hand to her chest as another round of pain hit her. Her breath caught and she doubled over slightly in the chair. Her eyes were shut tight, bracing against the pain and tried to remember to breathe. Just when she thought it would become unbearable, Marlene felt a hand over hers and warmth filled her chest. The warmth chased the pain away just enough for Marlene to open her eyes. Denzel's were looking straight back at her; he was what calmed her pain.
As carefully as Denzel could, he abated the pain and soothed her heart muscle from the painful constriction. There was a pause after the pain left her on its own. He lifted his head. "I cannot heal you, but I can ease the pain."
Marlene gave a sad smile, as she now held his hand. "That is enough." She gave it a weak squeeze and then asked, "Will you sit with me and tell me more about Helhiem?"
There was no hesitation in Denzel's response. "Yes, I will stay with you." Denzel pulled up a chair and spent the rest of the day telling Marlene about his life at Helhiem and answering any question that she had.
Well look at that! We find Cloud's original Coven. So they call Cloud the ice wolf because his power over ice and the Coven he was born. It is the name of a wolf that rivaled the gods. Ta da! I had the question a while back of why he was called the ice wolf. Hope that answered it! And No Marlene is not going to die!