Chapter XXIII

By the time I had got to the lake, my vision was beginning to blur. I had a massive headache as well, and everyone of my muscles were aching. However, I paid little attention to my pain, and started looking everywhere for Ariel.

I paused for a moment, looking around.

"Ariel?" I called out. No answer.

I then continued to run through the thorns, getting my skin raked up, and jumping past trees.

"Ariel?" Again, no answer.

I continued pushing branches away from my face as I ran through the woods, the wind flying past my head, blowing back my hair.

"Ari-" My right foot got caught by a rock, which twisted my ankle and caused me to fall into the dirt.

I cursed under my breath and started to push myself back up when I caught a glisten of blonde hair out of the corner of my eye. Quickly, I crawled over, to find Ariel unconscious with a gash on her forehead. Soaking, red, shimmering blood spilled down past the curve of her cheek. Whatever happened to her didn't occur too long ago, since the wound was still fresh.

At this point, I wouldn't have been able to last another two minutes-literally- without.. You know what. But I knew I could protest no longer. If anything I would have left myself there to die- but, Ariel needed me to get her back.

I leaned down and licked the blood off of her porcelain skin, my stomach tense as I tasted the metallic substance in my mouth. I am a half-vampire.. So, of course I must admit it tasted good. I continued to suck the blood away from her face- but only the blood that had already come out of her wound. I didn't want to hurt her.

Even though I still needed more blood- since I had starved myself- I only drank a small amount. It would be enough to get me back to the campsite. After I was done, I picked Ariel up and took her to the lake, which I placed her beside.

Carefully, sitting down next to her, I cupped some of the lake water in my palm, then slowly poured it onto her wound, and cleaned the remaining red smears away- leaving only the cut on her face, which stopped bleeding.

Hopefully the cold water would wake her up.

I cupped more water and poured it onto the side of her face one last time.

Ariel winced, and her eyelashes fluttered open, then slowly sat up and looked around.

"Ariel!" I was relieved, and wrapped my arms around her.

"Darren? You found me?" Her voice weak.

"I'm sorry it took so long, I figured you just got up early and left to go watch Valinty.. But then Evra told me you never came back the night before and-"

"It's okay, I'm glad you came." She said, then smiled softly, but winced, then touched the cut on her forehead.

"What happened to you..?"

She looked away for a moment, as if trying to remember. "Once the show, last night, was over, I began to walk back to the tent.. I was by myself, or at least I thought I was."

It was then, when she finished that sentence, that I could see her memories had come back to her completely. Her expression went from weary to lively in that very moment.

"I looked over to see R.V. standing by the big circus tent, looking at me.. He started asking me about the wolf-man, first. I just told him that he's actually a normal person, but that when he's on stage he's just acting. I could tell, by the way he looked at me, that he didn't believe me. He then asked me where the wolf-man was, so I asked him why.

He then not only told me to let the wolf-man loose, but to do it at that very moment. I couldn't believe it.. I told him no, and when he tried yelling at me I went to alert Mr. Tall. Then, the next thing I know, I was hit and the head and when I woke up I was back here. I don't know why he did that, I think he was planning to use me as a hostage or whatever.. Then when I went to kill him, I got all dizzy and weak in the knees again, and he hit me in the face with something.."

"I'm gonna kill him.." I murmured, angry as hell.

"We can't." She sighed, looking down at her hands, which she clenched into firsts, then released. "Not like this, we're provoking death by starving ourselves."

I nodded sadly. "Are you ever gonna drink human blood?"

"I don't know.." She sighed.

"Well, we should go back now.." I said, standing up. "Mr. Crepsley's probably looking for us. I told him you were in trouble."

"He worries for us, you know." She said. Ariel was the only one out of the two of us who didn't have resentments towards him.

"No he doesn't." I looked down. "Not for me."

"Yes he does, Darren- He cares about you just as much as he does for me."

I just shook my head, and continued to walk back to the camp site, Ariel following.

We had walked to the hill that overlooked the Cirque when my exhaustion came flooding back, and apparently the same thing for Ariel- she sat down and laid back, looking up at the stars.

I did the same, and almost instantly fell asleep.