I ran ,dodging people. I just wanted to be alone where no one could find me. I wished I had wings like in the story so, I could fly away. But no, life had to make me wingless. Life had to make me a faery. Life had to make Donia Keenan's new play toy. Life had to make me desperate and useless.
My foot hooked under a tree root and flung me forward. I landed hard on my knees which brought new tears of pain to my eyes. I sat there, blood dripped down my leg.
I felt numb. The only thing that moved were my tears that fell down my face. My vision was blurred. I could only see the fuzzy outlines.
A dark outline came into my view. The figure was coming closer. I realized that the person was running after me. The person was quite fast.
"Erlina?" The person asked worriedly.
I sniffled. I knew that voice. I searched though my brain trying to pin point the voice. Niall!
I looked up at him. He stood there. His hands in his pockets. His hair ,that he usually had cut short but had grown out a bit, waved in the wind along with his long coat. His dark eyes trailed from my golden hair to my tear stung violet eyes. His eyes grew large with concern and shock.
"Are you okay?" He exclaimed.
I looked up at him and tried to bundle up a smile. It felt unfamiliar. Stretching my face like an elastic band. I smiled as a tear ran down my face.
"Yeah." I said in a small quiet voice as I looked down at the ground.
"No, you're not." He said sadly.
He bent down to crouch beside me before he wrapped a lean arm around my waist. He didn't care how wet the ground was, all he cared about was me. The person who had just yelled at him. The person who always pushed him away. The person who didn't deserve him. Yet, he was there holding me in his arms as I sobbed into his chest.
He held me like my father had. My father hadn't always been mean, it was only when he was mad. That was when Mom would drink. He held me after he hit me, I'd cry into his big chest while I could feel tears fall on the top of my head. He would sob that he was sorry and he promised he would never do it again. But he did. After a while, he stopped promising because he knew he couldn't.
"Erlina, I'm so sorry. I'm such an idiot. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. You were right, I am pushing you into an unwanted relationship. It just frustrates me so much. I've never had anyone reject me before. God, why would you want to have anything to do with me? I'm-"
"Kind, sweet, gentile, ruthless, smart, handsome, adorable, and mysterious." I finished his sentence.
I looked up at him to find him smile uncontrollably. His dark eyes sparkled in the moonlight.
"What?" I asked suspiciously.
"You think I'm adorable." He mused.
"Out of all the things I said, you only got that?" I asked annoyed.
"No, I got handsome out of there too." He grinned bigger.
"You're such a guy!" I laughed as I lightly elbowed him in the ribs.
"Oh! You slay me!" he joked.
He fell back while his arms were still around me. I fell on top of him. His face nuzzled into my hair. I gazed up at the stars that were like a blanket across the dark sky. It reminded me of when I would lay out on the grass on clear nights and it always gave me a spark of hope. Hope, that I could do something with my life. Hope, that I would get away from there. As I gazed up at the stars, I realized that maybe, just maybe I could do that some day. I smiled to myself. His arms tighten around me.
"Then, why, my love, were you crying?" He asked.
I unwrapped his arms around me and sat cross legged so, I could look at him. His eyes were so understanding and open.
I said three simple words. "Keenan's after Donia."
My eyes started to water again. Donia had everything set for her. She was going to Yale next year and she had Jeff who she was madly in love with. Everything was going to be perfect. And to have everything crushed by one boy.
I looked up at Niall. Shock, then concern , then rage crossed his face.
" How could he do that? He's probably making plans now and he's going to ask me to do it..." He rambled furiously.
I looked up at Niall surprised. Niall was usually so collected and calm but in the last couple of days, he had been angry and rash. Totally unlike himself.
"No, he won't." I said quietly
"What?'' He calmed down.
"He won't need your help." I whispered.
"Why?" He asked confused.
"Because I am meeting him tomorrow night to see if we can compromise." I said a little louder.
"Erlina, are you sure you want to do that? He could make you do anything, I am his friend but-"
"I would do anything for Donia. I don't want her become one of us, she has so many things going for her and I don't want her to throw it all away" Like I did. I thought to myself.
Niall looked up at me. His eyes were pained.
"Erlina, I just don't want you to get hurt. You are so important to me and to see you get pressured to do anything you don't want to do. Would kill me."
"Niall, you don't have to worry about me." I smiled." I'm a big girl."
He laughed his song-sweet laugh. A crooked smile appearing on his perfect, handsome face. His dark eyes sparkling in the starlight sky. He looked like a fallen angel.
I couldn't control myself. I started to lean forward my face inches away from his. I turned my head to the side and lightly kissed him on the cheek. I heard his breath hitch but it seemed far away because the only thing I could think about was my lips on his skin. How my lips still tingled even after I pulled away.
I stood up awkwardly. "It's late. I think I'll go to bed. Good-night Niall."
I walked away from him slowly wanting to replay that moment in my head. Even though it wasn't a real kiss, it made my head sway. All I thought about as I walked to my room was Niall.
Niall's POV
I stared at the doors I had opened so many times. Then I had been calm and I was coming to see a friend. But now, I was filled with unfamiliar anger. I busted the doors open, letting the anger I felt flow through me.
"Hello Niall." Keenan greeted me without looking at me.
"Keenan, we need to talk." I said through clenched teeth.
"It's late. Can we talk another time?" He dismissed me.
"No, we can't." I calmed down a bit.
"Why?" He said annoyed.
"Because it has something to do with Erlina." I breathed.
"Ahh... Erlina such a pretty girl. Too bad she didn't just accept her feelings and come to me." He shook his head.
"She's not like that." I said quietly.
"How do you know that? Can you see into her mind? How do you know she's not itching to be with me? How do you know she's not using you?" He asked accusingly.
He sat on his bed like a king, as he thought he was better than everyone. He did everything he ever wanted to do and didn't care who he crushed. I wondered if he even cared about me, or if I was just another play toy like everyone else. Well, not anymore.
I rushed at him and grabbed his collar. I brought his face close to mine. My eyes blazed. I saw shock go through his unnatural eyes, so fast most people wouldn't notice it. But I'm not most people.
"I said, she's not like that." I said firmly.
"Well, I could make her."
"If you make her do anything she doesn't want to do, I'll-"
"What? What can you do? If you even touch me, you'll be killed. Now, leave with your dignity or I'll make you!" He dismissed me again like a pest.
I flicked the lights off and climbed into my bed. My room was silent, not like the other girls' rooms, which were on the other side of the Summer Court. That was one thing I asked for; a house to myself. It was nice. It was small but I loved it. It was a place where I could be alone.
The sheets against my skin were nice and silky. It was so easy to sleep. I started to close my eyes, letting sleep take over.
"Hello, princess." A voice greeted.
"Irial." I replied coldly.
He turned the lights back on. His close chopped hair seemed to be a shadow on the top of his head. His blue-black eyes were like the shadowy depths of the ocean, never knowing what you are going to find. The tattoos on his arms seemed to link a story. Though his black t-shirt covered his shoulders and chest, I could tell there were more. If I thought Niall looked like a fallen angel, I was wrong, Irial did.
"Are you sure you didn't turn into a winter girl over night?" He questioned.
I rolled my eyes. "Ha. Ha. You're hilarious." I said sarcastically.
He ignored my comment. "So how was your day ,love?" He asked casually.
I raised my eyebrow. "Should I really tell you?"
He laughed. "Smart girl. A simple "good" would be fine."
"Good." I replied with a smile. "You?"
"I really shouldn't." He purred.
"Fine." I said disappointedly. "Then, why did you come?"
Irial visited me. I didn't know why, he just stopped in to talk. But why would he go through so much trouble to visit me , a lowly Summer girl? He'd never really told me why. We didn't talk about anything to do with the courts, it was just Erlina and Irial. Not Summer Girl and Dark Court King.
I never told anyone. I didn't know why I didn't. He was just so comforting even though I was scared of him some of the time. And I couldn't tell anyone now, I would be punished.
"To talk to you, of course." He replied. "And you like it, don't you?"
He walked through my room and came to stand on the side of my bed. He sneered lazily as he trailed a single finger down my arm. I took my arm away as if his touch was fire. Scorching my skin. He took his hand away surprised.
"No, why do you come and visit me? I'm just a lowly Summer girl."
"Well you are but, I don't care. I come for a different reason." He suddenly became serious.
"And what is that?" I questioned.
"You'll know in time." He shook his head.
"You know you are so stubborn." I laughed.
"You're too nosy." He said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Will you ever tell me?"
"Sometime I will. How's Niall?"
We always talked about Niall. Irial just wanted to know how he was doing. It was innocent. I said nothing about the courts. He was just truly concerned.
"I don't know. He's acting... different." I gazed at the ground.
"He's just missing me." He laughed.
"No, it's more than that. He has a very strong temper, isn't being calm and-and he's just not himself."
I felt tears roll down. Niall was changing before my eyes and I didn't know why. I felt myself shaking all over, just wanting to be held. Wanted someone to understand. Wanted someone to tell me it was okay.
I wanted Niall.
I looked up and found Irial staring at me. Hungrily. My eyes went wide with fear. I could tell he was trying to hold himself back, but it wasn't working. He growled low in his throat, his eyes became predatory.
"Irial?" I asked frightened.
He sniffed the air. His eyes rolled back in pleasure. "You smell so good. So many years of frustration, rage, hate, fear. It's like a buffet in front of me. Erlina, just one taste?"
His eyes were glossy and unfocused. He stalked over to the side of my bed and lightly trailed his index finger from my forehead to my chin until he scraped his nail across my neck drawing blood. My breath quickened as blood dripped down my neck.
"Mmmm... Pain, one more delicious emotion." He leered.
He came onto the bed. His arms at my shoulders and his legs at my hips, restraining me. He lowered his head to my neck then came up again to look into my eyes.
"Your blood even smells like pain but does it taste like it?" He smiled.
He bent down and lapped at my blood. And seemed to love it. I found the opportunity to lift up my knees and kick him square in the stomach. His face was shocked as he fell to the floor. Faster than I ever had, I got up from the bed and ran through the door to the kitchen.
The kitchen was big enough, didn't have a lot of counter space. But, it had a lot of knives. I picked up a fairly big butcher knife and pushed my back up against the wall across from the door.
I waited for what seemed like hours. My heart was racing in my chest, it about to burst. My sweaty palms almost dropped the knife. My whole body shook with fear. Sweat poured down my face tangling my bangs.
Finally, he leisurely walked in. A cocky smile spread across his face. He lifted his hand to the top of the door and he let it trail down the frame.
"Your little trick surprised me. Never would have thought such a strong kick would come from a Summer Girl." He snarled the last words."Mind you, you're not a normal Summer Girl. But, I didn't like it." He shook his head as he walked closer to me." You've been a very bad girl and you need to be punished."
He rushed at me, full speed. I stepped out of the way so, he smacked into the wall. He staggered a couple of steps. I rushed at him and grabbed from behind, and put my arm across his chest. I brought the knife up to his neck.
"Irial, please don't make me do this." I whimpered.
He tried to twitch away but I just tightened my grip. He huffed in defeat. "Fine. I'll leave."
I loosened my grip and let him go. He walked through the door and he turned around. " I'll be back , don't you worry. You can't keep your emotions to yourself for long." He laughed all the way through the house until he slammed the down to my house.
I stayed in the same place, still shaking. I still couldn't put my mind around it. I don't know how I knew what to do. I had just let my body take over and I still didn't know where the strength came from.
I finally, walked into my bedroom and laid in my bed and tried to sleep.