Like the mists of wind, he disappeared before the moonlight showed itself again.
Chapter Four
Willow trees scattered all over wilderness, occupying every inch of the Woods where the anarchists and rebels lived. It was in the north, a couple of miles from wolves’ boundary. But at times, they found themselves fighting against the greedy wolves for territory. They tried to join them to defeat the Dark Valley, but the wolves were vicious and proud, they wouldn’t mingle with such prodigal citizens of the land. They were aware that the way the anarchists rebelled against their own, they’d do also to them. Trust was deadly weapon they couldn’t afford to buy.
“What was he doing there?” Marissa kicked a walnut into the air, attracting a squirrel she could have for a snack.
“I don’t know, but we have to know what his plan is.” Milo walked back and forth, trying to figure out why Danilo did not kill Aria.
“Sister, don’t you think he’d sensed you?” Maricar asked Marissa.
“What do you mean,” Marissa’s gaze was fixed on a hole in a tree.
“You know… he might have smelled your stinky armpits,” Maricar giggled quietly. Although she loved making fun of Marissa, no one could deny they were twins. From the red eyes to their orange curly hairs, their mother did not get it wrong when she predicted that one of the twins would act childishly while the other like her father with short patience.
Marissa got down from the tree, despising the squirrel she was after. Then, she sniffed her dress to find out if she really stunk. “You’re such a liar, Maricar… I smell better than you, you twat,” she spat out.
Milo just rolled his eyes over such little stuff his older twin sisters were arguing about. He was the youngest of them three, and he was also the most mature among them. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?
“Oh well, sister… It seems Danilo has chosen his princess already. What’s her name again?” Maricar turned her gaze at Milo.
He sighed at the thought that his twin sisters would be no good to steal Aria from Danilo’s grip. “Aria,” he answered.
“Not bad. I actually like her name more than yours, Marissa.”
“Oh, shut up! She’s freaking ugly. Did you see her hair? Yuck, it was tangled. Look at mine, nice and shiny…” Marissa boasted as she swayed her hair, spreading her scent across the Woods. Other rebels and anarchists had their eyes on the twins, but Milo had warned them beforehand. One touch could mean their death.
“Did you find her?” All at once, they were silenced by the stern and rather demanding voice of Master Penn. He was the chief who established and fought for the Woods, the rebels and anarchists’ shelter where they trained and prepared to bring Emperor Marcus down and eventually take Dark Valley over.
Milo swallowed his shame. “Yes, master. But –”
“But what? Don’t tell me you were out wised again?” The rest of the anarchists and rebels walked slowly away from Master Penn. They knew he wouldn’t be happy with the news.
Milo stooped down and turned his head at the tree next to him. Just as Marissa felt the sting of Master Penn’s vexation, he knew Milo’s patience was running low. Without the will to see battle erupt between them, she stood up and glided her feet toward the old man.
“Not really, master…” she caressed Master Penn’s chest, feeling his heartbeat. “It’s just your nephew got on the way. We saw her first, but your brother’s son stole her from us.” She allured him, touching his beard.
The old pervert swallowed as he gazed at Marissa’s huge breasts. “Is that so? Why didn’t you kill him!” he enraged.
“Well, we thought you’d be angry. Since he’s your nephew, we don’t want to do anything against your rules,” she explained as her eyelashes flickered.
He pushed her away. Milo quickly looked at him with indignation in his eyes. He didn’t want anyone hurting his family. They were the only ones he had left, and to lose them would be his death. He promised his father who was killed by Emperor Marcus’ army that he’d take care of his twin sisters till death. And he was adamant to keep his oath.
“Since Marcus cast me away, I cut all my connection with his family. I’m just here to take what’s mine. Dark Valley needs us, and we’re not going to let my brother defeat us this time. We’re going to fight and bring them down to our knees…” he sniggered, inspiring every anarchist and rebels to raise their feet against Emperor Marcus and everyone under his rulership.
“But how are we gonna do that?” Maricar cut in, annoying the old man.
Are you serious? Marissa turned her gaze to her sister.
“Why do you think I sent to you to find that girl?” Master Penn leered at Maricar.
“Oh, right… I remember now,” she grinned, slightly terrified of the old man’s voice. She knew he did not know how to fool around; he was always serious and focused on the business of avenging himself against his brother and take Dark Valley back as if he owned it for once.
“We’re going to try our best to take her back,” Milo cut in, distracting Master Penn’s annoyance from his sister.
“I want her as soon as possible, Milo. Don’t let me give you an ultimatum to get her. I know, you wouldn’t like that.”
Milo nodded.
As soon as they heard the word ‘ultimatum’, everyone cringed in fear that if Milo and the twins failed to take Aria back within an allocated time, Master Penn would make sure to turn them into dust. The wolves’ territory wasn’t far, and one blow, the sun could easily consume them not if the wolves got them first. One way or the other, they had no escape.
*****
“Oh, she’s so beautiful,” the fairies adored Aria’s long eyelashes with her thick perfectly aligned brows. They were heedless, she got it done last week in the salon where Tasha’s sister worked. And it was for free as well.
“Please, leave her alone!” Danilo stood by Aria’s bed, booing the cute but powerful fairies. They were too small to be his wife. But Aria was not that bad, even himself would agree with that statement.
“Bye, bye, fairies. See you outside,” Hamish greeted as he watched the little creatures flew from Danilo’s room.
Opposite his bed where Aria lay, Danilo took two clear glasses and poured blood into them and gave one to Hamish. “Here. Please, take a seat,” he motioned his hand for his friend to rest his bottom on one of his couches. “So tell me, what have you found so far?”
Hamish engulfed the whole glass of blood at once. “Ummm… nothing much really. I tried to talk to the fairies and they told me the same thing.” He looked at Danilo who was staring at Aria.
“What did they say?” He turned and finished his glass of blood.
“S-she needs to die or…” he paused, thinking twice whether he should say the next words or not.
Danilo frowned. “Or what, Hamish?” His tone yearned for the answer.
“Or let her stay here. You can’t afford to let her go, Dan. The anarchists are out there hunting her down. I’m sure you knew what I was talking about. You went to the mortal’s land and saw them, didn’t you?”
“What are you talking about?” Danilo’s visage turned grim. “Did you follow me?” He raised his voice, expressing his anger.
Hamish turned his head away. “Yes.”
“W-what? You know that if you get caught you’ll die. What were you thinking?” Danilo dropped the glass. As it shattered, a tiny piece of it landed on Aria’s bare feet, forcing her to wake up.
“Well, I was just making sure you’d be fine. And I heard Milo and the twins were there, weren’t they?” Hamish caught him off guard.
Danilo sighed. “Yes, they were in the cemetery.”
“Why didn’t you confront them? You’re a royalist, Dan. You could’ve killed them. Did you know Penn send them there to steal her?” Hamish stood up as he brought his gaze at Aria. Little did they know, she was awake, listening to their conversation.
“You know we can’t do that. Milo is still our friend and he could easil
y fight me back. He’s a first class vampire, Hamish. His strength is closer to mine,” he explained as his countenance fell.
“Friend? You call him a friend? Milo is a traitor, Dan. He betrayed us! Since his father was killed, he treated us as his own enemy and nothing would change that. So please, for the sake of Dark Valley, wake up!”
Danilo sat still, pondering about the chaotic situations they were in. “If only father allowed uncle Penn to rule, this would’ve never happened,” he sighed.
“Your uncle is the problem, not your dad. He was greedy and wanted the people to labor for his own benefit, can you allow that? Do you want your people to suffer such oppression?” Hamish’s voice rang true to Danilo’s head.
Aria couldn’t comprehend where the hell she was. Her face was kissing the bed and the only thing she could see was the lantern beside her. Everything was blurry and in the dark. The two voices she’d been hearing were out of her sight. She wanted to move but feared to surprise them and in return, kill her for knowing information she ought not to know. To play safe, she kept her mouth shut and continued listening. But until when could she keep her silence if she heard she was about to die?
Danilo poured blood into another glass. “Do you more?”
Hamish looked at the shattered glasses on the floor. “I’m good.”
“So, tomorrow I’d bring her to my father and convince him to stay here for as long as we find the right solution to save her, thus save Dark Valley.”
“What if Emperor Marcus didn’t agree, what would you do? Kill her?”
What? Are they gonna kill me? Shit, I need to get out of this fucking place. Where am I, anyway? she asked herself as her eyes wandered forcibly in the dark, keeping herself still as stone.
“Well, I guess that’s the only way we could save our kinds…”
Danilo and Hamish’s heads turned in one direction. Aria couldn’t keep her silence any longer. “Where the fuck am I?” she burst out.
They stared at each other with shared panic of what to do. But it seemed, Aria’s pitchy voice deafened their ears and maimed their mouths from speaking. How could they possibly explain everything to a woman whose destiny was their doom?
Chapter Five
Before any of them could speak another word, the door screamed at the top of its voice, making Danilo’s entire room tremble.
“Here they come,” Hamish warned, foreseeing the soldiers outside the room.
Aria seized her breath, disallowing any mist to come out of her mouth. By the smell of the pillows, sheet, and blanket, she knew she wasn’t near America. A sudden nostalgia crept into her mind as she wished she just stayed home and went to the cemetery at day time. But it was too late now to learn her lesson.
“Who is that?” Danilo demanded, indignant of the people outside the door.
“It’s me. Open up,” a deep and austere voice echoed across the corridor.
Levi, Danilo thought as his nose and ears released smoke of anger. Levi was his cousin and the commander. Since childhood, they’d never been close to each other. Maybe because they were both short tempered and liked giving out commands.
“What are you after?” Danilo yelled, making Aria cringe, fearful of the creatures hiding in the dark.
“Don’t pretend, Danilo. I know you didn’t kill her as you’re told, so let me in. The Circists have to deliver the verdict, not you!”
Hamish looked to his direction, forcing Danilo to relinquish Aria to the Circists, the royal vampires who judged and delivered verdicts to criminals and rebels within Dark Valley alone. Their authorities couldn’t extend as far as to the Woods for obvious reasons…
“Enter.” The door flung open and in naked flame, Aria watched the soldiers sieged toward her with their blazing eyes and pale skins. Their fangs were out and their eyebrows were crossed. They seemed to be so abhorred with her presence. Her blood must have triggered their appetite as they leered at her neck, pushing each other in order to approach her first.
Aria clenched the sheet. To defend herself, she threw the pillows at the soldiers as if that would do anything to save her life.
“Go away, monsters…” she cried out as she tried to stop them.
“Leave her alone!” Danilo stood up, fangs out with his eyes glaring at the soldiers. Levi just stood there, entertained with what he was seeing. He knew Danilo had a soft heart for mortals, and to pain Aria would certainly enrage him even more.
Hmmm… interesting, Levi thought.
“Bring her to the Circala. Bind her hands and feet, and carry her like a pig to be burnt. Don’t be too gentle, she’s an abomination to our race,” Levi commanded, infuriating his cousin even more.
“Wait, w-where are you gonna take me? What the hell is Circala?” Aria struggled against the soldiers as they gripped her arms and bound both of her hands and feet as commanded.
“Where the hell are you taking me? Help…” she pleaded as her voice irritated the vampires’ sensitive ears. Danilo’s kinds could hear even a footstep of a tiny insect, and to listen to her voice was worse than hearing a cymbal rang.
“Shut her up,” Levi ordered one of his soldiers.
But Danilo was quick to respond. “Don’t you dare lay your hands on her, Levi. Know your limits!”
Hamish took a step forward to stop the inevitable eruption of a volcano between the two royalists, only Levi was impure as his mother came from the anarchist’s descendants.
“Say goodbye to your captive, my cousin. You’ll see her no more, and I’ll make sure that happens…” he said as he turned to leave Danilo’s chamber.
Aria’s mouth was sucked with fabric. And as the soldiers dragged her out, she finally recognized Danilo’s face. Her heart sank in disbelief to the thought that the handsome man in the cemetery was no closer to being a human.
H-how could you do this to me? she thought to herself as she fixed her gaze at Danilo.
*****
The royal vampires gathered around in a circle as they sat to ready themselves to see Aria, the most hated and disgusted person in Dark Valley. When Levi broke out the news which he heard from the talkative fairies, he quickly alarmed Emperor Marcus of his son’s iniquity.
The royalists murmured among themselves as they showed off their elegant and sophisticated garments. Well, they were in Circala so they ought to conduct themselves with such reverence and beauty. Fooling around in this reverent place would send their asses out of its iron doors.
The Circists were still in the chamber of deliberation, agitated to give the verdict. But what had to be done must be accomplished, despite of anyone’s opinion.
“I can’t believe he did this to us!” one of the elders spoke up.
“Please, I-I know he has some valid reasons to spare the mortal. Don’t judge him as yet.”
“But Berna, your son brought us shame and abomination. How could he bring that filthy mortal to our land? I know he’s your son, but he’s not the only one who makes decisions around here,” Saya burst out. She was the peacekeeper, and part of her duty was to protect not only Dark Valley but also the mortal’s land.
“B-but…” Berna stuttered, trying to find her ways to defend her only son, Danilo.
“Silence!” Emperor Marcus raised his voice. “The mortal will die and that’s the verdict. Any arguments about this matter will be punished!”
The twelve elders, excluding Berna as she was the emperor’s wife, became quiet. They discerned that Emperor Marcus was having a hard time facing the truth that his son had to be punished for his transgressions.
“Prepare yourselves, the mortal is nigh…” Emperor Marcus’ eyes flamed in fury to see Aria.
Just around the corner, the soldiers gripped Aria’s arms so tight that her blood clotted in one place. Minutes away from her facing the elders and highnesses of this kingdom, she held her fear and focused her mind on the good things that ever happened to her life, if there was any. Her legs accumulated clouds of dust and killed insects along the way as the soldi
ers dragged her forcibly.
She spat the dirty fabric out of her mouth. “Where the fuck are you taking me?” Her voice echoed across the long, slimy and loathsome tunnel that seemed endless. She felt like they were going in a circle as each turn was the same. Every corner did not differ to another.
“Hey, you,” she called Levi. “Let me go and I’ll do whatever you want me to do. I promise,” Aria contracted him, but he wasn’t interested in her.
“Just be quiet and keep your mouth shut.” He continued walking as his sword dragged along the path.
Aria saw an opportunity. She eyed the two soldiers at her sides, waiting for the right timing to pull her arms away and go for the sword in the hopes that would scare them and let her alone.
“Aaaargh…” she screamed, alarming Levi and the soldiers.
“What’s your problem, mortal?” Levi’s tone was stoic and lacking emotion.
“M-my foot. I can’t walk,” she cried out.
The two soldiers released her as they stepped back to give space for Levi to examine her. Aria looked up slightly, calculating the amount of time to take Levi’s sword. She cringed again as he approached closer and closer…
“What damage have you done to yourself? Don’t pain yourself too much before your death. Such agony will come upon you shortly.” He kneeled down and his sword sat on the ground, fixed on his hip.
Out of their consciousness, Aria pushed Levi to the ground as she stood up and went for his sword. Gladness and feeling of bravery shawled her understanding that these creatures weren’t as normal as she would have thought.
He let her do her will.
Aria slid the sword out and raised it up in the air. This is heavy, she thought as she swung it around to get used to its weight. With her petite arms, she could barely swing it around with one hand.
Levi grinned. “What do you think you’re doing?”
ROMANCE: Paranormal Romance: The Valley (Book One) (Fun, Sexy, Mature Young Adult Vampire Shape Shifter Romance) Page 3
