Chapter Nine

Shaking Off The Leaves

I felt the blanket being pulled off gently from over my body, and a cold hand gently gripped my upper arm. With a small shake, I moved from on my side to my bank, rubbing my eyes sleepily. Apparently not even the earlier death sleep had been enough for me. I opened my eyes to see a much more calmed Evanen, who seemed to be up to something.

"Come with me," he whispered, and I nodded curtly. Except I was following the order on my own accord, rather than the controlling tug that had been in my head when he had been trying to kill me. He trailed his hand to my wrist and helped me off the bed before leading me out of the room. I was wide awake with curiousity, mixed along with fear, distrust, and hope in one banana split.

We tiptoed -- well, I did, seeing as I'm not as lithe as a vampire -- down the hallway, and I assumed we were trying not to let the others know I was out. I guess I'm really not welcomed here; how homely. Evanen led me down the stairs one step at a time, pausing every other step and moving to a certain degree that I had to copy so that none of the stairs creaked. And for a moment, I thought he was leading me out of the front door, to freedom. As though he'd changed his mind about keeping me for himself. But the hope was demolished when he led me around the stairs and towards an unknown section of the house. Of course, most of it was unknown, but this section was definitely unknown to me.

Finally, he did reach a door that led outside, but when he pulled me out of the door and into the darkness, I noticed the line of large, privacy induced fences that would slow me down if I tried to run. At this point, I had given up any indication of being let go, so my curiousity as to where we were going was at minimum enthusiasm. The land in this section started out empty, but then stretched to a blend of trees. Evanen led me through these trees, but instead of being a vast forest, it ended rather shortly to surround a large, rectangular area of a garden. There were benches on the outer edge of the rectangle, followed by bundles of flower bushes, sprinkles of colored plants -- sorted in a pattern around the rectangle. Then there was a small distance of flat land with concrete benches placed randomly before leading to another rectangle line of plants. And it ended with more benches that surrounded a circular pond in the middle of the garden, with a fountain installed in the middle.

Without having to lead me, I moved with awe into the vast beauty of the garden. The place seemed to be sprinkled with lightning bugs, along with songs of crickets and toads. I even got glances of resting butterflies in certain plants. I made my way to the pond, bending down to look at the outer part. Some frogs leaped into the water in sight of me, but I took no notice. The fountain caused easy ripples to vibrate through the water, but it seemed to fade just before hitting the outer edge of the pond, where the lily pads rested on top of the water. I touched the surface of the cool water, spotting the sudden nervous movement of the fishes within it. For a moment, it would seem as if there were stars in the water itself, but common knowledged told me it was just a reflection.

I suddenly took notice of my reflection. My hair was a mess, being oily from being unbathed, and probably completely swallowing the ponytail holder with random barbed protection by now. Plus, it wasn't doing a good job at hiding the unhealed bite marks on my neck. My face seemed slightly sickly, probably because the eyeliner -- though cheap, but efficiently better than most eyeliners I had tried -- was smeared under my eyes in such a way as to not even pass as eyeliner smears, but as druggie bags. My lips were dry, seeing as I hadn't drank anything in a while since I hadn't even ate or drank anything before going to the party itself, and there was a slightly darkened mark on my bottom lip compared to the paleness of my chapped lips where Evanen had bitten it. My skin was sickly pale, probably from losing so much blood and gaining stress. And when I looked down at my clothes, I saw that even though the shirt I was wearing was black, you could still tell a considerate darker trail where blood had been spilled onto it, along with the area that tied in the back was hanging limply and untied. At least it was just for decoration instead of needed to keep my shirt on... Even my pants had blood spots on it from where I was bitten on my wrist. I hadn't even realized I wasn't wearing any shoes. I looked like a beaten up... hobo or something. I was even missing some jewelry, though most of it was still on.

"What do you think," Evanen suddenly asked from behind me, obviously expecting praise from me.

"Needs work," I responded, but then realized he was talking about the garden, not me. "Oh, I mean, it's really... big... and pretty. Looks like it took a lot of thinking." I looked behind me and up at Evanen. He was looking around at the large garden slowly with thought.

"Yeah, Katha made it as a gift to Mikel," Evanen informed me, sounding unimpressed. "I never understood why exactly, but it was something about making him feel more human with the life and beauty of this place. Which is kind of stupid seeing as these plants aren't actually living.. more like surviving." I stood up slowly, walking over to a bench before sitting down. Evanen followed, sitting beside me.

"I can see how you'd think that plants don't actually live. Seeing as they stay in one spot while most people consider living as actually doing things that make a difference in their life; like bungee jumping or finding joy in their life. Or feeding," I responded slowly, wondering how you explain to a vampire who has been dead his whole life why nature would make someone feel alive. I sighed. "I like to think of it as though plants actually had a choice in their life at one time; before they were being destroyed and bothered by us. And maybe they found their content in staying in one spot to listen to other lives around them, and live peacefully. So when I sit out in a... garden or just a place like this..." I looked around at the trees, almost confusing myself. "I guess I think of it as choosing what they chose. Not having to move about, wondering what my purpose is, and just being at peace."

Evanen scoffed. "It's called dying." And there goes the peaceful mood. That's what happens when you put someone who has never lived before in nature.

I laughed at the smart ass remark. Oh, I hate him so much. "Well, how do you know death is peaceful, unmoving, and unconfusing," I asked sarcastically.

"Well, a corpse doesn't seem to move, nor does it seem stressed or confused," he answered.

"On the outside," I argued, not quite wanting to think of him knowing what corpses look like by experience. "Anyways, I think the love of nature is also kind of partial jealousy, if you want to know. Like... trees..."

Now Evanen looked at me with disbelief. "Why would someone be jealous of being a tall, wooden thing thats only exciting moments in its life is when it sways in the wind during a storm?"

"Nevermind." I felt stupid about mentioning it.

But now Evanen was interested, and he nudged me. "No, come on. Why are you jealous of a tree?"

I didn't answer for a moment. "Well, it's more about its habits rather than its ability to stay in one spot in content for lifetimes after lifetimes... if it isn't bothered. Like, take its seasonal shedding for example. These trees have all these beautiful leaves that kind of remind me of people and memories. And through the life of the memories, there are those leaves that are torn up through hard times, like storms. Then there are leaves that are eaten away at by others to satisfy their own needs, like catepillers. And you have leaves that become old and shriveled through time. And, finally, you even have those perfect leaves that keep the tree filled with life, soaking up the warmth of the sun to keep it alive. And... it's stupid, really." I stopped, feeling nervous about saying something aloud that I would usually just write in my notebook of random stuff.

"You can't just tell me you're jealous because trees have leaves and you don't... besides, if the leaves represent memories, you have those yourself," Evanen stated in confusion, now curious. "Come on, finish it. What makes that envious?"

I sighed, and continued. "Well... every time winter starts coming along, the tree can shed away its leaves. All those leaves that have been a bother, just taking up space on its living arrangement, fall away from it, leaving it bare to start over once spring comes back. And sometimes I wish I could do that; shed away the memories of the past and start over renewed to get rid of all the troubles that slow me down.

"Then again, it could be considered a curse more than a gift sometimes. Because, say there's a time when the tree actually has good leaves, and is content with them. It'd still have to shed them come winter, so then it'd probably end up with worse leaves the next spring. But I guess everything has a bad side to it," I finished. I smirked at the look of confusion on his face. He still didn't quite get it; not much of a critical thinker.

"You should be a writer," He finally suggested.

I scoffed. "Of what?"

He shrugged, "I don't know... inspiring novels?"

I looked down at my feet. "Being a writer is actually quite hard. People expect you to go by the natural order of man versus man, man versus self, or man versus nature. And then you have to have a beginning, middle, and end with a natural plot to the story. Not to mention having to figure out the rising action, which should lead to the climax before going back to the falling action and eventually the end. In my mind, if ever I think of a story, it usually goes straight from the climax to the end. But then again I might be confusing the climax for the falling action, so I'd be senseless in writing a story. Not to mention the harsh critics on enforcing well built paragraphs and detail, detail, and more detail. Then you end up having to rewrite it five times before its even acceptable... at the least. And then it still may not be published anyways so it's a complete waste of time. I'll stick to talking."

"So I'm assuming you don't like writing much," Evanen said sarcastically.

"No way. I love writing. It's just the closest I've ever gotten to actually writing a story was last year, when I had to write a short story. And even then, it was just about a girl who went for a walk in the woods, got lost for twenty mintutes, and end up having lifetime nightmares about it because it represented how afraid she was of getting lost in the real world," I stated quickly. I had got an 'A' on it and was questioned as to why I tend to write depressing things in that class. I always found dark, disturbing things more beautiful than a girl getting lost on a rainbow.

"Well, if you like writing, and if you can write a story by being pressured into it, maybe you'll find writing stories to be enjoyable," he replied shortly, "Besides, it's not as if you have to get anything published. But if you end up enjoying it, it could help with stress and all that. Seeing as it'd be your story; your world. And you could make anything happen if you wanted to. But, if you're afraid to, I get it. Commitment issues are common in this world." And I half gasped and half laughed. But I let it go.

I stared at a red rose bush in the distance; half of its flowers fully budded and half of them still closed. It was extremely pretty here, with all the flowers, ponds, bugs, stars, and the quiet peace. I hesitated, but then said, "So when you said Katha thought I was too pretty to be human awhile ago, did I happen to look like this?" And I smiled sheepishly.

Evanen laughed. "No. Now you look a bit disheveled... like a...," he frowned a bit, turning his head to the side as though to listen in the distance before saying distractedly, "Kind of like an abused hobo if you ask me. But you can still tell that once you get cleaned up, you'd be pretty." And there's the embarrassment.

"Well, I wouldn't say--," and I was interrupted when Evanen suddenly shoved me off the bench and snatched the pale hands of Katha that had been about to grab my throat. He growled threateningly, and I pushed myself from my stomach to my bottom. But before anything could be said, I was snatched from behind around my upper arms and pulled to my feet roughly. I gasped at the grip.

"Come along Evanen," Cecilian's powerful voice snapped, "We're not going to kill your human. We just have to clean up the mess you've left behind in snatching her away." And she started dragging me towards the direction of the house. Evanen shoved Katha's hands against herself, and untrustingly followed after Cecilian.

He suddenly grabbed my arm himself and pried Cecilian's hands off of me almost effortlessly. "I can bring her along myself, thanks," he snarled, and Cecilian scoffed, but continued ahead of us. At this, Evanen let go of my arm, gently grabbing my wrist instead. I rubbed my arm where Cecilian had had her death grip occupied at. And he said to Cecilian, "So what do you mean 'clean up the mess' anyways?"

Katha stomped past me, growling in disappointment before walking ahead of Cecilian. Even though she was beautiful, she looked scary when she was angry. Cecilian just looked disturbed, as though this mess cleaning was wasting her important time, but needed to be finished with anyways. And she called back, "You'll see."

Evanen moved closer to me as we walked -- we were lagging behind because while they may be super beings with super speed-walking abilities, I tend to think of walking as normal walking -- and he assured me quietly, "I won't let them hurt you. We have a deal, and you haven't broken our end, so they're probably just going to nag. I'll get us out of it; just don't say anything to upset them. Okay?" And I nodded, still worried about what was coming up next.

We entered the house, and were led into a room -- a living room, I assumed -- in which Cecilian turned on the television in annoyance. "Where's Mikel," Evanen asked while she started flipping the channels.

"I don't know. He's afraid of your human, so he's been hiding around," And she turned to Katha, who had been looking at the direction of the front door when Mikel had been mentioned. "I don't see why you let him live. He's a complete waste of our kind if you ask me, and he's both suffering and causing us to suffer." Katha didn't respond.

Suddenly, Cecilian stopped on a newcaster, who had a picture of Kyler hovering over his left shoulder. "... death of a teenage girl Friday night by injuries to her neck during a party in which her friend, Hailence Truit..." My picture replaced Kylers promptly at the mention of my name. "... ended up disappearing from. Witness says that she left with a man around the age of 20. Witness says the man looked around 6 ft, caucasian, bleached white hair, blue eyes, and lip peircings.." A drawing of someone similiar to Evanen appeared to cover the whole tv screen, but the newscaster continued. "If anyone has any vital information on the knowledge of Hailence or the identity of the suspected kidnapper, please contact authority or..." And he listed two seperate numbers, which were listed next to Evanen's face.

Cecilian turned off the television with annoyance. "It's all over the humans news. You," she pointed at Evanen, "You were seen. You could have taken off with the other girl's body, got rid of it, and taken off with this one at the same time without being seen and you know it. You need to get your head straight." And she pulled me over to a table, sitting me down roughly. Evanen stood behind me without a word. Cecilian suddenly dropped a phone directly in front of me and I winced as if she hit me.

"Call your family... tell them you ran away, that Evanen is just some boy you were hanging out with the whole time during the party, and that he didn't kill your friend," Cecilian ordered firmly, and she moved closer and growled, "And you better make it believeable."

I stared at the phone in disbelief. "I can't do that!"

"You're going to," Cecilian snarled.

"But," I hesitated, "Why would I run away?"

"I'm sure you'll think of something."

"I can't," I said weakly, "I can't... Please, just leave me alone. I can't. I--" I was cut off when Cecilian's hand swipe across my left cheek hard enough to send my head to the side. I felt a searing pain, and clenched my teeth together to hold the scream in. And Evanen's angry yelling was just a blur in my head as I reached up to my cheek to feel three long gashes seeping with blood.

There was a sudden silence, and Evanen's breath was on my ear. "Just call your dad. I'm sure you can think of a reason why any other person would run away from him. You can lie, right? It'll be easy. You're a writer; you can make up a good story. I know you can," he reassured me, picking up the phone and putting it in front of me. "Just like a tree; shake off your leaves. You can do it." And with a boiling hatred, I grabbed the phone, taking notice to the red blood on my fingers.

I took a deep breath, holding the wireless phone in front of me. With my bloodied hand, I wiped the tears that had burned into my cheeks off from my face. If I had to make it sound serious, I couldn't be choked with tears. And when I finallly felt that bitter rage in control to be used in the phone call, both physically and emotionally, I started to dial my number. I didn't get the first number in when I realized I couldn't remember it. So I paused, thinking what my number was. I couldn't believe I had forgotten a number that I had dialed for years now.

I sensed rather than saw another swipe coming from Cecilian, and I winced in preparation. But Evanen had reached over my shoulder and had snatched her hand before it came near to my face, and he swiped at her instead, causing three gashes to suddenly appear on her own cheeks. Cecilian lifted her free hand to her face, but as she turned to glare at Evanen, the gashes started healing themselves. "She's thinking about dialing those stupid human police," Cecilian snarled angrily.

"No, she's not," Evanen snapped, "She's smarter than that." Smart enough to forget my home phone number.

"Then tell her to hurry up," Katha screeched impatiently.

But before anybody could tell me anything, I realized why I couldn't remember it. I never remembered it. I started dialing without thinking, and sure enough... my number appeared on the face of the phone. I hesitated before I lifted the phone to my ear, but pushed the hesitation away. I was causing my eternal doom here with this call, but without it.. I'd die sooner so I supposed I had to pick between the two.

My dad answered uncertainly with, "Hello?"

"I just thought you should know that I'm not coming back, Bart, so you don't have to worry," I said cruelly, but even those words didn't keep the gasp of happiness in knowing that I wasn't dead from him.

"Wynnie? Where are you? I'll come get you," Dad said, and he called behind him, "It's my daughter! She's alive!"

"It doesn't matter where I am. Are you listening?! I'm gone," I snapped in frustration, "I'm sick of you thinking you can control me forever. I'm 17 years old! Another year and I'm legally an adult! So what if I go sleep with some guys? Did you seriously think that just because you're so protective meant that I couldn't have a boyfriend? Grow up."

"Wait... you're running away," Dad asked, now confused.

"BINGO! Look who finally woke up," I yelled sarcastically. "Go find someone else's life to ruin."

"Then who was that boy your friend, D.J. whatever, saw you leave the party with?"

I scoffed, "He's just some idiot I was having fun with. Why don't you stop trying to blame other people for your own faults? And tell Kyler that I'm sorry I left earlier than planned... but I'll see her later." And I hung up the phone in pain. Cecilian snatched it from me, and I felt the tears starting to blur my vision once again.

"What was the Kyler bit about," Katha asked suspiciously.

"Now he thinks I don't know about Kyler being dead," I responded angrily, "So both Evanen and I aren't going to be blamed for it." And Evanen grabbed my wrist to take me out of the room. He started to lead me upstairs, and I tried to pull my hand out of his in disgust. He seemed to have gotten the picture, and he let go of my wrist. I followed behind him instead, occasionally wiping at my burning cheek to attempt to clear the blood. Instead, the blood just caked my hands and blended in with the blood caked on my face.

When Evanen led me into his room, I sat on the floor next to the bed rather than on it. He opened a door within the room that led to a bathroom I hadn't known was there. And when he came back, he had a wet cloth in his hand. He bent down in front of me.

"I won't let them hurt you again in front of me like that," Evanen promised, and started to dab at the blood on my face. I jerked away, not in pain, but in malice. He started to dab at it again, and I smacked away at his hand.

"What do you care? You're a monster, remember? Who cares if I get hurt or not, as long as I'm yours," I snapped furiously. And he glared at me with such rage that I knew my life was over with.

"Fine," he snarled, and he threw the wet cloth on the floor. "The bathroom's there if you want it." And he stormed out of the room. I didn't feel guilty at all, except in the knowledge that I just may have given away any chance of making any friends in this house. So much for me getting someone to let me go. And I grabbed the wet cloth, trying to wipe away the blood on my hands. But ultimately I ended up burying my face in the side of the bed to sob out the pain and rage within me. I was stuck here forever.