The Aurora Stone (16 page)

Striding along the corridor that led to the Queen’s drawing room, Eve was aware of the humming in the atmosphere. Walking to the window, she noticed the flora pulsing with colour, not aura’s exactly, but their very life force, bright green channels pulsed from below the rich earth and up to the tips of the leaves. For a moment, she was utterly captivated by the power of nature. Looking away from the light display, Eve glanced up at the clear sky, only it wasn’t the empty expanse of blue she had come to expect. instead, the sky was filled with coloured threads, more pulsing beams of light. Every colour of the spectrum was up there; it brought to mind the highway to the moon story Caleb had told her. This was more like a celestial road map. Since waking, Eve saw more of the world than she ever dreamed existed. Shaking herself, Eve hurried to Queen Sophia’s drawing room.

Back in Eli’s chambers, the men eyeballed each other, for once Caleb was not the focus of Jericho’s intense black stare. Eli seemed to either not notice or not care. He busied himself gathering a leather bag and several changes of clothes from his wardrobe. He was well aware of their scrutiny, but like most things in life, they washed over Eli like cool water. Being brought up by the Fae, he was extremely laid back almost to the point of indifference. People mistook his carefree attitude to life as a sign of weakness; some even thought he was an imbecile. Eli was far from those things; he was both strong of body and mind. His gift had activated the same day that Eves had, though at the time he was unaware of her existence, Eli’s gift was not as rare as his twin’s, but it too had merits. For now, he would keep it to himself; he wanted to get to know each of them first before they became aware of his ability, as that was certain to change their attitude towards him.

Once everyone was ready, they all headed for the stables. The King and Queen had offered them each a horse as walking would take time and that was something they didn’t have. Thanking them for their kindness and hospitality, Eve and her companions, which now included Eli, mounted up. Eve rode Bobby as he was the fastest should trouble befall them again, the rest rode Palomino’s, the most beautiful horses in all of Gloria. Pointing them in the right direction for the nearest portal, the King and Queen wished them well and sent up a silent prayer to the Goddess that the dark legions had not yet begun infecting the realms.

“Evangeline is our only hope, let them ride like the wind and may the Goddess keep her safe, for all of Orea depends on her. How strange to think that the fate of the world as we know it, is dependent on the courage of a teenage elf, who only discovered her destiny a few months ago,” murmured King Efrin, as he watched them gallop across the bridge and out of the palace gates.

The covan was restless; it had been weeks since the scouts had been sent to fetch fresh blood. Fights were beginning to break out over nothing; the atmosphere was heavy with tension. Winter was becoming bored. She wanted to go to the feeding grounds and have a dalliance with a handsome man and then sup his rich blood. Just thinking about it made heat pool low in her belly, and made her gums itch. Though she only appeared to be a young woman of no more than twenty-one summers, Winter was in fact, hundreds of years old. Rising from her four-poster bed, she moved languidly to her vanity. Her father would return shortly from his meeting with a small fraction of rebellious subjects, and on his return would no doubt expect an audience with her.

More suitors to parade in front of, I shouldn’t wonder.
She thought while picking a lipstick from her new makeup box, such treasures she had gathered since her people discovered the other world. Settling on a shimmery pink, Winter carefully applied it to her full lips. The colour worked perfectly with her chestnut waves and ice blue eyes; Ariana was going to be so envious of her new look. Getting up, Winter picked up the gift she had for her best friend and headed out of her room.

“Where are you going, Your Highness?” Enquired a silky voice that set Winter’s teeth on edge.

“Nowhere that concerns you, Archie.” She spat back hoping it would deter him from following her; sadly, it seemed to amuse him.

“Come now, Your Highness, I am only concerned for your wellbeing, as any man who cares for you, should,” Archie crooned. Resisting the urge to bare her fangs, she had learned this seemed to excite him, which was the very last thing she wanted, Winter scowled at him. Archie Van Grüber was becoming a problem, one she hoped her father would deal with on his return. Picking up her pace, Winter rushed along the corridor with a love sick Archie hot on her heels.

“How did you manage to get into my wing of the castle Archie? You know full well, no would-be suitor’s or in your case, stalkers, are allowed down here.”

Looking very pleased with himself, Archie explained how he had convinced the guards they were now an item. Well, that was the last straw, stopping abruptly, Winter spun to face the smirking vampire. Everything about him screamed narcissist, all vampires were beautiful, it’s how they lured in their prey. However, Archie was overkill, slicked back black hair that shone with oil, A dinner suit, spats and a very thin, perfectly oiled goatee.

Who dresses like that!
Winter thought to herself as she took in his appearance. Looking directly into his eyes, she suddenly had an idea. Stepping closer to him, Winter gave her thick eyelashes a-flutter.

“Well, seeing as you are so resourceful, maybe I should give you another chance, hmm?” Winter almost gagged on the words as she stared in, what she hoped was an adoring fashion into his eyes. Clearly, he was as gullible as he was irritating. Archie went into full on smoulder. The over-confident fool reached out and stroked her face; it took all of her willpower not to break his arm clean off.

“I knew you were attracted to me; you play hard to get, but I knew you burned for me,” he boasted, still stroking her jaw. Taking his hand gently in hers, which neatly stopped the creep from touching her face, Winter arranged to meet him later that night in the courtyard for a romantic stroll. Archie readily agreed, lifting her hand to his lips he kissed it.

“Until later, Princess,” he smouldered.

“Yes, until later. I must get on now, Archie; I am meeting Ariana, and I am already late,” Winter smiled reclaiming her hand and discreetly wiped the wetness from his kiss onto her leather pants. Taking this break in physical contact as her chance to leave, Winter turned and headed along the corridor. She didn’t look back.
When I find out which of the guards believed that oily creep, they will regret the day they were turned!
She thought.

Ariana’s face was a picture, she was practically drooling over the lip gloss and compact mirror Winter had gifted her. Winter hoped it made up for her not being able to cross into the other world. It was hard for Winter knowing what had really happened that night in the human world, what she did know was that Ariana was innocent. They had only spoken of it once, just after it had happened and that was when Ariana begged her best friend to never disclose what truly happened, it would bring shame to the whole covan rather than just the House of Dai. Reluctantly, Winter had agreed.

Ariana Dai had been taken before the high council and the King, found guilty and branded across her back. To this day, Winter could still smell the burning flesh and hear her best friend’s screams, while she stood with the rest of the coven and watched the punishment. Thanks to Vampire healing abilities, Ariana had healed well, though with the brand being bewitched, she still, bore the scar of the bewitched branding. The image of the rising sun covered the top half of her back for all eternity.

“So why were you so late? Surely it didn’t take that long to put on your makeup,” Ariana teased poking her friend in the ribs. Winter explained with much eye rolling about Archie and his antics. “Seriously, the guy has some serious guts to pull a stunt like that.

“No, Ariana, he is seriously stupid to pull a stunt like that; my father will not be pleased,” Winter fumed while her oldest friend merely laughed. “And did you just refer to a vampire as a guy?” Winter teased her friend. She was amazed how easily the covan had picked up the casual way in which the human creatures spoke, it was so much more fluid than the way they had all be taught.

. The girls chatted for hours, comfortable in the plush recliners, glasses of red wine in hand.

The atmosphere changed rapidly when one of the royal scouts appeared on the threshold.

“The King has returned! All of you make haste to your posts! Has anyone seen the Princess?” He shouted into the crowd, though there was no need everyone was silent. Suddenly the room was a hubbub of activity, as vampires scrambled to return to duties. Winter sighed, it was now her duty to go and greet her father at the gate and offer him a goblet of blood. The custom was so outdated; she had asked on many occasion why they must continue it. Her father had looked aghast and explained that to her it may be outdated; however, to a two-thousand-year-old vampire, it was practically modern!

King Fredrick was tired, it had been a very tiring few weeks, the civil war that had broken out over Coven supremacy of all things; it was a bloody mess. Many lives had been permanently ended. He stroked his trimmed beard, a relic from his human life. If he chose to shave it, it would, in a matter of hours grow back to the exact length and style it had been when he was turned. Fredrick often counted his lucky stars that he had trimmed it the day he had become a vampire. His horse snorted with impatience, the beast was no doubt as road weary as he was.

“Soon Ulysses. We must uphold tradition, much to my daughter’s disgust,” he chuckled while patting his grey stallion’s neck. After another few minutes, Winter appeared from the grand front door and met him and his warriors, though just to rile her, he often referred to them as knights. She looked just a beautiful as she had the day he left, though this should come as no great surprise to a vampire. Fredrick was always amazed by his daughter’s beauty. It was her smart mouth that hindered her marriage prospects. The thought pained him, he wanted her to be settled and ready herself to undertake Royal duties.

“Father, how glad I am to see you home and well. Here is the blood, the elixir which sustains us,” Winter said; she had been saying the same line for a hundred and forty-two years since her mother died. Winter quickly shook the image of her mother’s beautiful face from her mind.

Smiling down at his daughter, Fredrick took the goblet and drank deeply. The rich, velvety blood was welcome after so many hours with only wine to sustain him. Many of the myths surrounding Vampires in the other world were simply fabrications, though drinking blood and not being able to consume food were two that held true. Reaching for his kerchief, he dabbed at his lips and returned the cup to his daughter.

“How wonderful it is to be home and to see you well, my daughter,” he replied in a formal greeting. Fredrick dismounted Ulysses in one fluid movement and casually handed the reins to a stable hand. Instructing that he was to have an apple and a bucket of oats after his rub down. Turning back to his daughter, Fredrick offered his arm, smiling up at her father’s kind face, Winter slipped her arm through his, and they made their way back into the castle.

“How was your trip, Father? I hope all is well, and the fighting will now stop.”

Looking at Winter, his heart swelled with pride.
So she is interested in the governing of the realm.
He thought as they walked towards his chambers.
Maybe she shall surprise me and pick a husband.
Feeling foolish for getting ahead of himself and zoning out of the conversation Fredrick returned his wandering mind to his daughter.

“I am sorry, Sweetheart; I missed what you were saying. Too many conflicting thoughts are taking up room in this old head of mine,” he said smiling down at her. Winter smiled, she knew her father had much on his mind and so she would not be unreasonable about his lapse in concentration.

“Its fine, Father, it wasn’t anything that can’t wait. Once you have had supper or even tomorrow, once you have rested, I can tell you then.” Kissing his dusty cheek, Winter let go of his arm and headed toward the corridor that lead to her wing. When she reached the door, she called to her father, “I will see you at dinner, Ariana needs my help with a project, and I know how much you need a rest.”

Nodding to her, Fredrick waited for her to go before he continued at a slower pace towards his chambers. Though he was well enough, he felt tired after such a long ride and felt the need for a long bath and maybe a nap before supper. On reaching his chambers, Fredrick walked to his desk and as was his ritual, he picked up the ornate gold frame and gazed at the image of his beloved late wife, Helen. How beautiful she had been. He missed her so much. Just as he had when Helen had graced these chambers, he repeated the words he had said to her a hundred times.

“Hello my love, I have returned to you unscathed and well, I have missed you every second since we parted and now I am home I feel whole once more.” Raising the image of Helen to his lips, Fredrick kissed the cold glass and sighed. The last part of his home coming always felt hollow these days; he did not feel complete returning, when his beloved wife was no longer here to greet him. Every homecoming was the same, how happy he was to see his daughter who had her mother’s face, apart from her eyes. No one knew why her eyes were ice blue. All vampires had the same colour eyes. A rich burgundy that when viewed up close, the beholder would clearly see the flecks of bright red within the iris.

Replacing the photo frame, Fredrick picked up the pile of missives, which were neatly bound with a golden ribbon and dropped down into his comfortable armchair. Kicking off his riding boots, he untiled the ribbon and flicked through the notes, party invites, a petition for marriage, a dispute over payment for goods. Content that he was not going to find anything that could not wait till tomorrow, he put the pile on the coffee table and headed to his wet room for a long soak in his rather large bath.

Winter, found Ariana waiting outside the entrance to her wing of the castle, smiling at her friend she quickened her pace. Ariana didn’t return her smile as expected, in fact, she had been crying. Concern suddenly filled Winter’s heart, she hurried the last few feet between them.

“What wrong Ana?” she asked reaching for her hand.

“Nothing, It’s nothing,” Ariana mumbled wiping her eyes and smudging her mascara. It didn’t look like ‘nothing’ to Winter. However, there was no point in trying to find out what had happened, Ana would tell her when she was ready.

“Well, I am ready when you feel like talking. In the meantime, we need to sort your face. You have mascara all over the place,” she said smiling , pulling Ariana along with her. They half ran to her bedroom where they spent the next hour giving each other makeovers and doing impersonations of Dame Higshot, their old school mistress.

“The others are blaming me for the lack of raids,” Ariana suddenly blurted out. Winter was horrified; that was in no way true, and every vampire in the castle, indeed, within the city walls knew that the reason the raids had stopped was due to her father being away dealing with the civil unrest. How dare they blame Ariana.

“Nonsense, they know full well why, and they should not be blaming you for anything!” Winter replied as anger flashed in her eyes. Feeling worried her friend would make things worse, Ariana begged her not to tell her father.

“We both know why they do it, and they shall continue to do so. It was silly of me to get upset. I have made my bed, and now I must lie in it.” Ariana replied.

Sighing, Winter promised. This whole situation had to end and one way or another she was going to make it happen. Her father needed to know that his subjects did not always behave in the way he expected, indeed, under her rule in his absence they seemed to do exactly as they damn well pleased.

“I will speak to my father, but I will not mention the incident you have confessed to me. There is more than one way to get the right result for this,” Winter assured her friend, determination radiating from every pore. Right then, Ariana could see the great Queen Winter would one day become.