Serena, Nightstalker
Chapter 3
Rest and Remembering
I stared for a second, trying to fully process the information just given to me, then blinked. "Your fiancee? But you're only 15!"
"As the oldest child of a peaceful village, it was my obligation to wed an older female child in a group threatening war against us. I am free from that promise, as they broke their part of the treaty. I am relieved, as she was a blood thirsty wench."
I resumed my staring and, apparently, my blinking in astonishment.
"That really is a show of weakness, Liortna, to blink rapidly in succession. Surely you were promised when your family was killed?"
I shook my head. "I became a hermit almost right after the incident. Most asked, but the offers halted after I took up the job I continue."
He muttered incoherently, almost too low for my heightened hearing, as I walked inside. The word that left his lips were, "Why do you kill my race?"
I whispered to myself, knowing that he couldn't hear me through the shut door. "Because if I don't, they'll come after mine."
The orphans were sitting in a circle by the fire, holding hands. Alaina, skipping round the circle, went round and tapped each head, muttering "duck."
As I approached, Alaina tapped Kypel on the crown sharply and screeched "goose!" as if it were the most exciting thing in the world.
Kypel chased Alaina around the children until she saw me standing there. She came to an abrupt halt, and quieted.
Kypel, unaware of her halt, ran right into here, knocking Alaina to the ground, and fell on top of her small frame. The room vibrated in laughter, and Kypel pulled himself swiftly off the little girl.
"Are you okay?" He reached for her hand to help her to her feet.
"I'm fine." She accepted his hand and dusted herself off, blushing a crimson red.
I pulled her to the side gently, and looked into her eyes. "Do you like Kypel?"
"Of course I..." Her eyes widened. "Oh. Is it really that easy to tell?"
"I'm just experienced."
"He's two years older than me!"
"So? I say that you should go for it. You make your own happiness."
"Or sorrow." Lymel came up behind me and grabbed my shoulder. "There is someone outside looking for you. He has flowers. He looked shocked when I just walked in."
I scoffed. "Vincel."
"Should I get rid of him, my lady?"
"My lady? Didn't I ask all of you to call me Serena?"
"You did! I heard it!" Alaina looked at Lymel. "What's wrong with you? Serena's been nice to us when we thought that noone else would." She seemed almost too wise for her six years.
"I'll get rid of him myself. He comes by every week, and I can't get rid of him, no matter how hard I try."
"Well, we'll have to fix that, won't we?" He smiled maniacally, and I shoved him into the closet.
I walked to the door, hesitating before opening it to the cold. "Hello Vincel."
"Oh! You're home! Who was that guy who opened the door? Are you cheating on me?"
"First, he's a client, and currently locked in the closet. Second, we're not dating, so I can't be cheating on you."
His face fell, and I felt guilty. Not guilty enough to do something about it, but guilty.
"Are those for me?" I pointed to the flowers, which were a blend of orchids and roses.
"Yeah." He said, brightening.
"I'll go get a case. I'll be right back." I scurried in, closing the door. By this time, Lymel was out of the closet and had my mothers favorite crystal vase in his right hand, the water pitcher in his left. He handed them to me, and my fingers brushed his palm.
A tingle shot up my spine, warming me inside and out. I felt the blood rush to my face, and felt a blush creep from my collarbone to my hairline. That was crazy! I am Nightstalker! Feared by all and loved by none, remember?! I don't blush!
It hit me then, hard. I wanted someone to love me. I wanted someone to come home to, someone to hold my hand while I cried. I wanted to love someone.
I turned from him then and walked back to the door and Vincel. "I've suddenly taken ill. Thank you very much for the flowers. They're beautiful."
"You're welcome, Nightstalker." My heart went cold. "Would you like to go out sometime? I know you've refused me before, but I thought..."
"No Vincel. There's no chemistry between us. I'm sorry."
"That's all right. I still think you're beautiful."
"That she is." Lymel and Alaina came up behind me, Lymel grabbing my waist and Alaina gripping my leg.
"Mommy, come back inside! I got the fire going!"
"Good for you! Come on, honey, or the meal will burn. Goodbye, friend of my wife."
Lymel closed the door on a stunned Vincel. I waited a few minutes before turning on him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! I wanted him gone, not scared to death! Besides, " I calmed down a bit in tone, but not temper. "What in the world makes you think that I would marry you, Son of My Enemy?" I mimicked his earlier words.
"Because I'm irresistible." He didn't miss a beat, not even to think about what I had said, or what I had called him.
I pulled Alaina into my arms. "What did he give you to go along with that fiasco, my dear?"
"Just a little something." From behind her back she pulled a bar of chocolate that I had bought in town two days prior.
"That's it! Back in the closet!" I shoved him in, and locked the door quickly. I heard him hit the back wall and hit the vacuum. I pulled the chocolate from Alaina's hand gently and broke it into eight pieces, shoving a small square into my mouth before handing a piece to each child.
"Liortna! Let me out!" Lymel pounded on the door, and I smirked. After five minutes of pounding, he ceased. "Serena, please." I opened my mouth to refuse, then realized what he had called me. I opened the door, and the limp form of Lymel spilled out, nearly falling on top of me. He was breathing heavily.
"What's wrong with you?" I looked at him.
"Claustrophia." I shut my mouth and apologized.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize..." he held up a hand.
"No problem. I probably deserved it." I raised an eyebrow. "Okay. I definetly deserved it."
"Damn straight." I growled.
"Are you allowed to swear, Serena? I thought women weren't allowed to swear without permission from their..." Recognition dawned in Kypel's eyes. "Oh."
"Okay everyone! There is a barn right there." I pointed to the door, "that I have never used. You can use hay to make your beds. I have to go get enough blankets for everyone. I'll be right back. Don't let anyone in. Anyone. Got it?" All of the orphans nodded.
I took off down the walk and ran into town, I went for the quilts form my grandmother's chest in our old house, and began to cry at the little stains left from the dried blood and the marks in the well from the Mikara's claws.
Lymel's father did this. I wonder where he hid?
I ran my fingers over the wall just as I had done when I was younger, tracing the claw marks with my hand. I went to my old bedroom and looked more carefully than I had in previous years, since the pain had been too great. There was a little blood in the one corner. Probably dripping from those lethal claws, the ones that had nearly taken me with my family. Those accursed things must have been the reason for the relocation.
I looked at the wall, seeing something I hadn't. There was a little heart carved into the floor. Inside was an "S" and the beginning of an "O".
A tear fell down my cheek an landed in the center of the "O".
Lymel.
When I got home, noone was in sight, and the barn was empty. I pulled out my sword and walked into the shadow of the spare room. Footsteps sounded behind me, and I whirled around, executing the perfect stop thrust.
I nearly lost my balance, simply because I hit only open air. There was no doubt in my mind that there was someone in the barn with me, but who?
I heard a giggle to my right, and sheathed my sword. I sifted through the hay bale to discover Alaina hiding there, her hands covering her hair, and she had quieted. I placed a hand under her chin, and lifted her head. "Are you okay, mija." I fell back on into my second language, Spanish.
"What does that mean? Me-jah?" She blundered the word, and I laughed.
"Mija, Alaina. It means 'Dear One'."
"Am I your 'dear one' Serena?" She looked up at me, and her eyes sparkled.
"Si, Alaina. You're my mija." I hugged her close and noticed the chill of her skin.
"Why are you out in the barn? It's cold and here, and no place for a young girl such as you. Go, warm yourself by the fire."
"I can't. We're playing hide-and-go-seek."
"Well, you stay here then, but take this." I handed her a blanket and kissed the top of her head.
I heard someone else moving around. I dove into the next hay bale and pulled out a shell-shocked Aurora. "How did you find me? I was well-hidden!"
"Sweet, if I relied more on my eyes then I did on my ears, I'd be dead by now. Go bury yourself again. Take this and wrap up, though. It's getting cold."
I dashed around the house, finding more and more concealed refugees. I handed a blanket to each child and went to seek the seeker. Who else could it be but Lymel?
I found him sitting in my den, a white box on his lap, and an object in his hands.
"Aren't you supposed to be searching for the children?"
"I'm trying to find a hidden child, just not one of the ones that forced me to be 'it'."
"What are you talking about?" I took another glance at the object in his lay, and the ones in his hands. I froze when I realized what they were. My photo albums.
"Give them back!"
"Why?" He looked strange, almost as if he weren't himself.
"Because those are mine, and I'd really like to keep them private." I folded my hands across my chest.
"I really don't care."
"You do know that I have a sword, right?"
"You do know that I have your photo albums right?"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"They make great body guards, no?"
"Why are we talking in questions?" I moved a step closer to him.
"How should I know?" He stepped closer to me, the albums laying forgotten on the couch. He reached for me, and I was tempted to back up.
"What are you doing?" He grabbed my arm and suddenly dragged me nose-to-nose with him.
"Why are you so afraid of your past?"
"Why are you so afraid of your future?" I countered.
"You didn't answer my question."
"Neither did you."
"Fine. Let's call it a draw." He shrugged.
"Fi-." Before I could finish speaking his lips were sealed over mine, and his hands were on the small of my back.
Instinctively, my hands went around his neck, but I was cursing myself inside. Why didn't I see this coming? I'm the Nightstalker, feared by all! My intuition and instinct are faster than a rabbits! Then it dawned on me just as hard as the last realization had. I didn't want to stop him. I wanted this. When we stopped, we were both short of breath
He went to apologize, but I held up a hand. "Don't. Then I might begin to regret it."
His eyes shined. "Now get to looking you lazy bum! I found all the children already. Hopefully, they're hidden better than they were."
He left through the door without a word, and I plopped down onto one of the couches, all the while rubbing my temples. Why me?