Chapter 11

   Talking to Rayne I didn’t have to worry about anything. I didn’t feel harmed or unsafe, and he knew what to say to a lot of what I had to tell him. I felt like he trusted me in a way, telling me about his father and family. He talked a lot about drawing and about what his whole life has been like since becoming a guard, and I talked to him about the human world, and about how I had grown up. We talked until I fell asleep.

   The next few days were the same. I would wake up and Rayne would be sitting on the floor, either sleeping himself or awake staring at the walls and drawing in his notebook. We would talk about our two separate worlds and relate them, and separate them. It seemed like Rayne was lost as well. I wondered if I should help him find his way, but then again I was lost just as much as he was.

   A few days later when I woke up breakfast was already sitting on the bedside table, and Rayne was sitting against the door facing me, sketching in his notebook.

   “What are you drawing now?” I asked him.

   He looked up at me, shutting his notebook in the process. “Just free drawing again. You’re awake early.”

   I laughed. “Like I can ever tell what time it is? Maybe I went to bed early.”

   “True.” He set the notebook beside him and lifted himself up off the ground. “Hard to tell when there’s no clock or window.”

   I nodded and lifted myself up from the bed, yawning. Then I followed my morning routine and ate my food, took a shower and let Rayne bring me a new pair of clothes. Where he got them I didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. When I walked back into the room Rayne addressed me.

   “As much as I enjoy talking to you, I think it’s about time I cleaned up my act.”

   I nodded, and I felt that weird emptiness in my stomach again. “You have to go guard the queen?”

   “Only for a little bit. I’ll be back soon. I trust you, Constance.” He sounded genuine. “I do. So I’m not going to send in a guard. If you want me to I can send in Christian….”

   I rolled my eyes. “Christian doesn’t make conversation.”

   He laughed. “That’s true.” He opened the door. “Bye Constance.”

   “Bye Rayne,” I said quietly. And then he left.

   I let out a long breath and sat down on the bed. He said he would be back soon. How long is soon for him? Hours? Days? Weeks? I let out a frustrated groan. Why did I even care so much? Rayne was a friend to me. I trusted him and he trusted me. It had been a while since I’d had a real relationship with anybody. Now he was gone and I had no one to talk to. I looked over at the door, hoping he’d walk back through. But he didn’t.

   I got up from the bed and headed towards the door, opening it and looking down the hall. It was empty, but I could see the main hall. There were guards at every corner, and a few people dressed nicely walked down, their footsteps even. Then I heard the tapping of the queen’s heeled shoes and her elegant figure came into view. Her long blonde hair caught the wind and reached out behind her. Rayne was walking next to her, his posture straight. He looked a lot taller. He turned his head to look down the hall and when he saw me, he smirked, lifting the edge of his mouth up slightly.

   I smiled back and then made my way over to the bed again. The rest of the day was slow and boring, and I felt myself drift into sleep.

   I woke up to cursing. I opened my eyes a little to see Rayne come into the room. The hallways were dark and there weren’t any sounds, and my room was darkened. It was reasonably hotter in this room, so I removed my sweater.          

   “Something bothering you?” I asked softly.

   He looked up, startled. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

   “It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Are you okay though?”

   He shook his head. “The damn queen again. She abuses her power. She’s a b***h because she knows nobody can do anything about it.”

   I frowned. “Did she do anything to you?”

   “Only insulted my mother and my kind a million times.” Rayne let out a frustrated breath. “I don’t see why she should get a right just because she’s the queen.”

   I sat up. “Why don’t you just quit?”

   “Quit? I can’t just quit Constance. This is my life.” He grabbed his notebook. “Just go back to bed, I’m going to draw for a while.”

   I got up out of the bed. “Rayne you can change your life.”

   He looked at me incredulously. “Change my life? If I quit they won’t let me live in peace. We work with them. My kind.”

   “Says who?”

   He threw his notebook to the ground. “I don’t know! I. Don’t. Know! After that damn war when we decided to feed off each other like leeches, use each other….”

   “It’s still not equal is it?”

   He put his face in his hands. “I just want us to stop being criticized. Being a demon I want that to end. Being this kind of demon I want that to end, in my own kin.” Rayne shook his head letting his hands fall.

   My next actions were alarming but I knew I trusted him too. I embraced his body in my arms, kissing his cheek lightly. His body seemed rigid, but soon his arms wound around me as well. He buried his face in my neck.

   “Thank you,” he whispered.

   “That’s the second time you’ve said that,” I replied with a small smile.

   He pulled back, giving me a replying kiss on the cheek too. “I know.”

   I tried hard not to turn a little red. My kiss on the cheek had been friendly; I hadn’t expected him to give me one back. 

   “You can change your circumstances, know that,” I said.

   “Not in this world.”

   “You can try.” I smiled a little again before pulling out of his arms and turning back towards my bed.

   “Constance?”

   I turned around just in time for his hands to capture my face. He looked me in the eyes for a moment before slowly leaning down to put his lips on mine. It was like ice and fire meeting, our lips. A slow, small kiss, filled with silent music, his tongue tracing patterns on my tongue. It was strange but nice.

   “I want you to see something,” he breathed onto my lips after pulling away.

   All I could see were his eyes. His hands slid from my face and down my arms. When his fingers began to trace skin, the hand that was on my left arm pulled back quickly, as if burned. I saw him furrow his eyebrows and look down at my arm. I suddenly remembered I wasn’t wearing my sweatshirt.

   “What is that?” He whispered almost inaudibly. Fear filled his voice. “Where did you get that tattoo?”

   “I’ve had it all my life,” I answered. “Why?”

   He took a few steps back. “After all I said to you? After all I told you about my world you forgot to mention you had that tattoo?”

   I furrowed my eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”

   Rayne looked at me strangely. “You didn’t-” Suddenly he looked hurt. I tried to reach for him but he shook his head, backing up against the wall. “Don’t. S**t Constance why didn’t you tell me!?”

   “I’m sorry I forgot to mention that one minor detail of my life!” I was getting heated now.

   He groaned, opening the door. “Forget about that kiss. Forget about me. Forget it please.”

   “Forget it? Rayne how am I supposed-”

   But he was already out the door.

Reviews

[r]

I was waiting for that kiss to happen but...

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! O_O What the hell had that been about with him?!?!?!