9
You sat straight up and tried not to scream, you've had this nightmare before. But it still hurts like the day it happened.
"You ok, tomato face?" An icy yet warming voice called. You were about to reply but he poked your cheek and kept his finger there. You turned and gave your friend a look and he smiled.
"Well you look perky this morning" you looked around "Where's Bunny?"
"I don't know" he replied nonchalantly, leaning lazily on his staff. But you could tell he was lying.
"Yes you do, tell me, please."
Jack sighed. "Fine, fine, Bunny's avoiding you, and this is because he's mad that you still love that other guy that killed you so he needs some time alone."
You raised an eyebrow "he told you all of that?"
"In a sense" he chuckled smirking. "So I'm supposed to watch you today."
"Oh great, you know I don't need to be watched-" you started.
"Oh good cause I have way better things to do then sit around here, so bye!" Jack cut you off, speaking quickly and taking off just as quick. Huh, strange you thought to yourself as you walked down a dirt road, deciding to explore more of the warren thinking of all the different ways that Bunny was going to pumble Jack for leaving you.
Soon enough you became very tired of walking around and climbing through this and that to go sightseeing. You follow a trail to a area where the path split, leading off into the six doors. You've seen these doors before; tried to escape through one of them. Walking over to them you graze your hand over the interact carvings. A soft smile creeps its way onto your face; Easter was always your second favorite of the holidays. Like every other child in the world, Christmas was your favorite, but Easter always had this thing that made you feel refreshed and new. It was always around that time that you would start to go off on your own more. Easter for you was a time to think about what happened the year before and try to let it go and forgive. John, he was the one you had to forgive the most. You can't remember much from your past, you lived during the first days past the Dark Age so only about half of your teeth were collected, as well as the fact that sometimes Tooth would misplace them; this was before she had her fairies.
But you always had this feeling that John was a good man, that it was the foul drink that intoxicated his mind and made him do these things. Of the few memories you hold, there was one that you held closest to your heart, the one that kept you loving him, that kept you loving the world, it was, what North called, the key to your center.
The morning had been a long, tiresome one, sewing five or more gowns and patching at least seventeen trousers and blouses. It wasn't until past noon that Nancy, your mentor and the local seamstress let you out.
"Don't stay out too late, you need to be back by supper, the Harrings are coming over later to discuss a large shipment to their village north!" her soft yet stern voice called out behind you.
"Okay mother, you don't have to worry, I'll be back before you can stitch up a leather vest." I turn, running backwards, laughing while yelling back. Nancy was also your mother.
You take off running, dodging through the crowd; looking up at the sun you found it to be past midpoint. You were already late for your date with John. Passing friends called out for you to be careful; since you were so clumsy you might trip. You just waved them off and said you'd be fine. By the time you made it to the park you were out of breath,
"John!" you called happily, seeing his figure turned away from you. Still running you put your hand out to wave. Instead you felt the ground slip from under you as you trip over a rock. Your body hits the floor; your gaze on the grass that you just face planted into.
"Valentine!" you hear his warm voice call as you begin to pick yourself up. You feel his large hands gently grasp your upper arm and helps you up. "What were you doing?" he asks concerned as you sit down on the grass, your eyes meeting his warm and concerned brown ones. His body is kneeling next to yours, his hand brushes over your cheek slowly "You're so clumsy" he says his voice dwindling from concerned to loving. He brushes some dirt from your cheek and pulls some grass from your hair.
"I'm so sorry." You squeak out, face pinking from his soft touch. "I'm sorry I'm late and made you concerned." Your eyes evade his. His sigh is deep, his breath resting on your cheek. He pulls your chin up; your eyes meet his and are locked in his gaze.
"I will always wait for you; I'd wait a thousand years for you. And I will always be concerned for you, I want every one of you needs to be met, for your happiness to be suspended for a millennium or more." He says sternly but with a warm undertone "That's what love is" at this point you've never exchanged I love yous so this came as a surprising shock.
A smile sets over your face, tears gathering in your eyes "I love you too. All I want is your smile, your happiness. I'd do anything for you." you say a little shakily. He smiles in return to you. Slowly, he pulls your face to his but stops, so his breath is all that is between you two.
"I'm sorry, I want this to be special, is it okay if we don't?" he asks, words ghosting over your lips as you breathe in the air that he breaths out.
"I would wait a thousand years for you." you say, letting your smile return
You never let anything tint that memory, it was the one that you clinged to to keep you loving him. You exhale deeply; they were the best of times. The sun above the Warren was the position that it was of that day, slightly past midpoint. That's when the door rolled over quickly and you jumped out of your skin, hopping at least a foot into the air and a couple inches back.
A woman who seemed to glow an aura of orange and red and yellow stood at least a foot taller then you, her head barely passable through the door. Dressed in a feathered dress that was strapless as well as short in the front, showing off her golden legs, yet long in the back that dragged a little behind her, came at a point with three longer feathers protruding from it, they curled elegantly back toward herself. Her hair floated in the air and flickered like fire, it was semi short, coming to yet another point as it floated. Her skin cracked around her fingers like molted lava, the cracks traveling up her arm and almost meeting her shoulder.
You hold your heart calming yourself. "God, Aurelia, you scared me shitless" you say, breathing heavily.
"Well you're the same as ever Cupid. And how many times must I tell you, you need to call me by my proper name, Spirit of Summer, or what the humans call me, Phoenix." Her stern prostegus voice scolds you.
"Come on Auri, we used to be close." You say a in a teasingly yet pouty, it's a tone that you call the Jack-ass.
"That was before you brought rain upon the whole summer of 1933" she says, folding her arms
"Love was not very strong that year, the tears of broken hearts just built up." You say putting your hands up.
"And the summer of 1845, and 1846 and 19-" she begins to go on.
"Okay okay I get it, summer is a hard time for love okay." You explain "A lot of teenagers on one night stands, okay."
"But it's your job to hold those tears and bear their burdens." She says pointing at you
Your eyes lower "You can't imagine the feeling, holding in the tears of thousands. Sometimes you just need to cry." Looking back up at her
"Yes but when you cry for thousands, there are enough tears to last two or three months, you can't hold it for Fall when it's support to rain?" Her accusing voice continues.
A cold rush of wind blows through the warren to us. "Aye, if it isn't my Polar opposite." Jack says, lying on his staff. He nudges you "get it?"
"Were not at North's" you say shaking your head at him "It doesn't really make for a good pun unless we're there." You say sighing
"And I cannot travel to the north." Phoenix says shaking her head at him as well.
"oh whatever" he says, sitting up and sliding off his staff and stands next to me.
"I thought you had better things to do then babysit me" you say with your hands on your hips.
"Well Tooth caught me out and punched me pretty hard, telling me to get back here. And honestly I wouldn't want bunny to know I've left you alone all day, right." He says "I'm sure the fluffy kangaroo would kick the daylights out of me. But honestly I'm sure his fluff would cushion the impact." He goes on pretty arrogantly. You and phoenix just watch with amused looks on your face, arms crossed and try to hold in your laughter to see how deep a hole he can dig himself into.
"You bloody lazy bludger, I'm going to murder you, twat." The shadow of a fluffy, long eared, 6 foot tall, bunny, shadows Jack. The look on his face is priceless as he freezes and the light fades from his eyes into total terror.
"Well, if it isn't the greatest bunny I know." He says, laughing nervously. You could practically see the thought of Bunny murdering Jack in Bunny's eyes. "Well gotta go, children to make happy and all. Bye" he says swooping out of the warren so fast it creates a breeze that lasts a couple of seconds.
"I'm gonna kill him." Bunny grumbles in dissatisfaction.
"Well, before you do we have business to attend to." Phoenix says to Bunny and he looks to her confused.
"We didn't have a meeting" he says sternly.
"This is an emergency." She says her eyes flashing to you then back to Bunny.
"What is it?" you ask confused.
"That's none of your business, this is adult talk, why don't you go run off and play" she says waving me away.
"Hey, just because you're one of the originals, doesn't mean that I'm any less important then you" you shoot back.
"Really, Cupid, this doesn't concern you." Bunny says sternly. "My egg golems will watch you while me and Phoenix speak." He says making a hand gesture and the two large egg statues get up and approach you.
"Bu-" you try to protest.
"Now, stay here." He says and then guides Phoenix back toward the center of the warren. As they leave she looks back over her shoulder at you. It takes all of your willpower not to stick your tongue at her or worse.
Sighing you look at the golems around you. "So" you say awkwardly "Before Bunny summons you are you like hibernating or do you go into a rock world?" you ask and as the words leave your lips you realize how stupid they sound.
Hey guys, thank you so much for all the recent support and I'm really sorry I stopped school and sports got in the way and honestly I thought no one was interested in this so I stopped. But I'm going to really try and continue this story. Honestly this is the longest story I've ever written and I'm really in love with this. I'd love it if you comment it was the comments that made me want to start this up again. Thank you again. I'll post again when I find time later today or tomorrow