Akatsuki watched as Boston flopped down on the blanket in the grass. He had found a nice spot away from the dorm but close enough to make them comfortable. The spot he chose was hidden from the sun so he didn't burn. It gave them time to be alone.
He lay beside her and listened to her breathe. This staying up 24/7 was going to catch up with him soon and then he would be really irritable. She had gone to sleep faster than he figured she would. The staying up had gotten to her as well.
In all honesty he had never watched a girl sleep before. Granted they all shared the same house, Boston was the one to wake him up. It was never the other way around. She was always awake and vibrant. It was only now he saw the lines of exhaustion by her mouth and eyes. She was very good at hiding the little things; she had to be when living with vampires.
He was caught off guard when she rolled towards him. Her head nestled in the space between his neck and shoulder and her arm went around his waist. The hot breath that caressed his neck came from a sigh. She was content being beside him, content to sleep beside him. He sighed a laugh and looked up into the foliage above him.
She was human. How could he have fallen so hard for such a delicate creature? No, not delicate, just a different strength bloomed inside her. He could feel it every time they ventured or slept in the woods. This was home to her. He could see it every time her eyes lit up when she walked into the trees. The green of her eyes glinted as she looked around. The woods were always the same but she looked like a wild siren; flaming red hair that shone brightly against the sun. She was a breath of fresh air in their lifestyle; a breath of fresh Irish air.
What would Kaname say when he found out they were keeping secrets from him? Akatsuki pulled his version of the leather bound book to his chest. This was her life, or would be if she ever figured out what it all meant. After that, he'd have no choice but to choose between his heritage and the woman he found.
Akatsuki finally drifted to sleep after stuffing the book under his shirt.
HOURS LATER
Something caught Boston's attention. She had been sleeping peacefully, especially after Akatsuki wrapped both arms around her. Her dreams as of late had been disturbing. Most of them included being sucked dry of her blood simply because it smelled good. That was a reason she hadn't been sleeping at all. Also she had been reading any books about the Fae she could get her hands on.
So when Akatsuki had wrapped himself around her, she had felt safe enough to let her guard down and go to sleep. This time, her dreams were different. She was walking around in a gown and on a bed of soft grass. Her feet were bare and there was some sort of circlet around her forehead. It was gold and cool against her skin, even the bright sun she was dancing in.
The dream was so real, so vivid she seemed like she was there. But that was all it was; a dream.
She was startled awake when the trees began to call to her. Something about that made her off guard. She opened her eyes and looked around, refusing to wake Akatsuki in case it was just something that didn't warrant her attention. Closing her eyes she nestled back into his arms. Something else was disturbing her but she couldn't pinpoint what it was.
She had just settled once again when a twig broke. She sat up suddenly, pulling Akatsuki's arm brutally. He groaned in pain and sat up as well.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Something's wrong." She replied.
"What do you mean?"
"Someone's here."
He stood after she did. She was looking around, sensing the wind for anything that would give her a clue as to who was stalking them. They turned a wide circle in their little area, trying to figure out what was going on.
There was movement to his right. He turned to confront the threat when something caught him off guard. As he started towards Boston, something whizzed past him. It turned out to be a man. No, not a man. He was Fae. He had bright red hair, hair that matched Boston's. His eyes were emerald chips as he stared at him, his body on alert for any attack. Akatsuki looked at Boston's face just over the man's shoulder. She was clearly in shock.
"Stay away from her, dark one." he said.
Akatsuki looked bored as he ran a hand through his already mussed hair. "Dark one, huh? What exactly have I done that's so dark?"
"You're a vampire consorting with the daughter of the Winter Queen."
Boston, who had been staring in utter shock, finally found her voice. "Puck? What are you doing here?"
"You should know that by now, princess." There was another voice as something gray jumped from the tree and landed on her shoulder. "After all, it is you we have been tracking for quite some time."
She raised a hand to the fur ball on her shoulder. "Grimalkin? You're here as well?"
"It would seem so."
"Boston, who are these people?" Akatsuki asked.
She looked at him. "This is…" She finally shoved the man out of her way so she could see. "Puck, would you move? He's not going to do anything to me."
"How do you know?" he asked as he refused to budge.
"He hasn't in the last month so I think I'm fine." Finally, he moved, but only two paces to the side. "Thank you. As I was saying, this is Puck. He was always in Ireland when I went to visit. He's the only friend I had there. Grimalkin is his cat; at least I thought he was his cat. Now since I know that he talks, he must have just been there to make sure Puck stayed out of trouble."
Akatsuki nodded at the answer, but one thing bothered him. "What did you mean when you said she was a princess and daughter of the Winter Queen?"
"Faeryland is divided into three sections: the Summer, the Winter and the Iron. The Iron Queen has been in power for the last ten years. She was human just as Boston is, but she was a Summer Princess. She was my best friend and yet she chose to follow her destiny. Her new husband was a Winter Prince, the last surviving one. He gained a human soul and now resides in the Iron Kingdom. After the loss of her sons, Queen Mab ventured into the human realm with a Winter consort for an amount of time. When she found herself pregnant, she disappeared to have her child. Before Elysium, which is when all three courts gather twice a year to trade a scepter of power, Queen Mab gave birth to her child and hid her in the human world away from the prying eyes of the Iron Kingdom and the Summer Kingdom." Puck explained.
"Tell me. What happened to the child?"
"She was given to two of Mab's trusted half-Fae advisors in the human realm. The two raised the child in the ways of a human, but took her to their homeland when they went for the half-Fae's version of Elysium. After each meeting, the child's memories were erased of the meetings because they did not want her knowing before her time had come."
"Why have you come after her?"
"Yeah, Puck." Boston said. "Why have you come?"
The Fae's eyes saddened. "We heard about the death of your mother six years ago. We tried to find you and by the time you did, your father had remarried and your stepmother's stench covered your own."
"How did you find me?"
"King Oberon found out about your birth shortly after I figured out who you were. I was on my way to tell him when he called me. Mab had told him because she had lost sight of you. She had been keeping a close eye on you all these years and when she lost you, it saddened her. in all my years, I had never heard of the Winter Queen being so sad. That was when my King told me to come find you. I searched New York for you. Then I heard word of a socialite being sent to a boarding school in Japan and I followed you. Imagine my surprise when I find you in the arms of a vampire. Do you know how dangerous they are?"
Anger blossomed in Boston's eyes as she glared at her friend. "Yes, I know how dangerous they are. Who do you think killed my mother?"
Puck looked shocked. "I'm sorry, Boston. I didn't know."
"As for Akatsuki, he's nothing but a friend to me. You have no right to say anything about him until you know how he is." She snorted unhappily. "There goes our camping trip." She started back to the dorm.
"Where are you going?"
"To bed. Your showing up has annoyed me."
Akatsuki looked from the retreating girl to the man watching her. "If you want her to go back with you, then you must follow her. Otherwise, she will ignore you until you get so mad you want to scream. Before you ask how I know, I've watched her do it with my cousin."
He was walking after her when Puck spoke up. "I won't let you have her."
"If you're talking about her blood, I don't want it."
"I'm not talking about her blood. I'm talking about her as a person." Puck looked up, fire in his green eyes. "You can't have her."
Akatsuki stopped and turned around. "And if she chooses me?"
"I won't allow her. She's Fae and she belongs in the Fae realm."
"It's her choice if she wants to live in that realm or not. I won't make that choice for her and neither will you." He turned and started back to the dorm.
Puck followed at a sulky pace. This was going to be bad.
