Chapter 1

Aurelia sat on the edge of a high cliff, letting her legs dangle over the edge. The jutted edge was her favorite place to go and think. Her sister Cadence, was terrified to get so close to the edge and thought she was crazy for sitting there, positive that one day it would surely break and fall, taking Aurelia with it, but Aurelia had no fear.
            She enjoyed coming here to free her mind, to let go of her troubles and just be one with the world. The sound of the waves beating on the rocks below, the gulls calling to one another in the sky; the natural sounds the world made, was her idea of peace and quiet.

            Today she’d come to free herself from the pressures of marriage. She was already 20 years old and her mother had been pressuring her to find a good man and settle down. That was what people did in their little town of Binderton, population: 500 or so. It was a quiet and lonely place to live for a girl who had dreams bigger than the town itself.

            It was hard to make friends because she was so independent and broad minded. Not many others in the town saw things her way. She did have one friend, Sophia, who tried very hard to understand Aurelia’s big dreams and hopes to leave their town, but the sense of adventure just wasn’t in her the way it was with her dear friend Aurelia.

            If finding a friend who understood her was hard, then finding a man who would take her as she was would be all but impossible. None of the men in town tickled her fancy. They were all dull, boring and thought themselves superior to women. Aurelia had a dream of finding someone who would treat her as their equal, someone she could share her ideals and theories with.

            She sighed quietly as she thought to herself that she may never find her other half. Who in this little town could ever be worthy of her love? In truth, she thought quite highly of herself and rightly so. Aurelia wasn’t just any girl to settle down with and make a housewife. She wanted to travel the world, see things she’d only heard of in books, taste things she’d only heard about from travelers passing through and freedom…

            Freedom was what she wished for the most. Nothing could compare to that, freedom from this town, from the constant scrutiny of her family and the lack of understanding she found, no matter where she turned.

            So she sat alone and at peace for these few precious, stolen moments of the day, when her sister was too afraid to come and get her and her mother didn’t know where she was. Today she’d been late coming out and had the rare treat of watching the sun sink below the horizon.

            The sky was painted in beautiful pinks, oranges, reds and golds, then blues, purples and a hint of white from the clouds that were slowly moving across the sky. She tucked her knees up so that she was curled into a ball, and rested her chin on her knees.

            “What on earth am I going to do with myself?” she thought impatiently. For some reason she seemed to want out of this town even more than usual. Maybe it was the call of the sea. The thought evoked wild fantasies of running off to be a pirate, or an explorer who traveled the world.

            She smiled to herself about her silly dreams. “They’ll never come true anyway.” She said out loud, sighing sadly. As the sun finally sank past the water line of the ocean, Aurelia noticed that the stars were beginning to show, and the moon was making its appearance. It would be time to go home soon; she’d been out far too long already.

            Suddenly, she heard a sound behind her and whipped around to see a girl standing near the trees. She looked uncertain as to whether or not she should come any closer. Being the friendly person that she was, when she realized that it wasn’t her sister, Aurelia put on a welcoming smile and beckoned the girl closer.

            Slowly and timidly, the girl crept out from the protective cover of the trees. As she came closer Aurelia realized that she’d never seen her before. She also noticed that this girl was stunningly beautiful with flawless, alabaster skin, and eyes the color of the sky; clearly noticeable even in the darkening light.

            “Hello.” Aurelia said warmly, getting to her feet to meet the girl.

            “Hello.” The girl repeated.

            “My name is Aurelia, I like to come here to think sometimes, but I’ve never run into anyone else out here. Most people are too scared to get this close to the cliff’s edge.”

            The other girl smiled slightly. “I’m new to town and thought I’d do some exploring. I love the ocean so it seemed like a fitting place to start. I like finding little, out of the way places that are generally deserted. My name is Lisette.” She held her hand out, and smiled genuinely this time, as Aurelia took it in her own to shake it.

            “I find it strange that you moved here of all places.” Aurelia said honestly and Lisette smiled back at her.

            “I like to find small towns to stay in once in a while, I think you can really find the heart and soul of a place if you go to smaller communities that haven’t been overly affected by the modern world.”

            She definitely found the right place, Aurelia found herself thinking and Lisette looked at her curiously.

            “Did I say something to offend you?” She asked, sounding very proper to Aurelia’s ears as she blushed, embarrassed that her expression had given away some of her distaste for Binderton.

            “No, I’m sorry. It’s just that I dream of getting away from here. I’ve never met a person who willingly came to live here unless they were moving back and I don’t even understand why they’d want to do that!”

            Lisette suddenly laughed, a musical sound like nothing Aurelia had ever heard. She found that she enjoyed listening to the sound of the new girls’ laughter. It made her feel happy and lifted her spirits.

            “Well, like I said, I enjoy checking out little towns and getting to know the people. If everyone is as kind as you are, I may stay for quite a while.” Lisette smiled slyly.

            “If you don’t die of boredom first. I give it a month before you run screaming from this town, swearing it will be too soon if you never come back.” Both girls laughed this time. Aurelia felt like her laugh sounded so plain compared to the musical sound that came from Lisette’s lips.

            There was no doubt that this girl was different than anyone she’d ever met, and she hoped to learn more about her while she was in town.

            “Do you mind if I join you for a bit? Or would that be too much weight on the ledge?” Lisette asked, startling Aurelia, who was lost in deep thought about getting to know her better. When she came back to the present, she realized that it was completely dark, but for the light of the moon shining brightly on them. Lisette’s skin almost looked like white marble in the nocturnal lighting.

            “I actually should be heading home, I’ve been out late enough as it is. You’ll learn pretty quickly that this town shuts down pretty early, nothing exciting going on here.” Aurelia finally replied. Lisette smiled and for a moment Aurelia’s breath caught in her throat. The other girl looked almost angelic, smiling like that in the moonlight.

            Aurelia mentally shook herself, “You don’t need to be thinking crazy things about the new girl.” She thought.

            “Oh, that’s too bad; maybe we’ll see each other tomorrow?” Lisette enquired.

            “Sure, I’ll see if I can sneak away again. If I don’t get going now though, my mother might chain me to the front porch for the rest of my life.” Aurelia replied and they grinned at one another.

            “Until tomorrow then, hopefully you will be unchained and free to come explore with me.”

            “I’ll do my best, see you tomorrow!” Aurelia called as she hurried off in the direction of her house. She’d finally met someone who seemed to at least have a free spiritedness about them self. Maybe Lisette was what she’d been waiting for, someone who could understand her and maybe even help her find a way out of this sleepy town.

            As she cuddled down into her bed a short time later, even the scolding that her mother had given her for being out alone in the dark couldn’t dampen her spirits at the thought of seeing Lisette again tomorrow. She had a really good feeling about this girl and couldn’t wait to see her again.

Reviews

[Daydreamer54]

The 1st chapter is beautifully written! I am also wondering about this Lisette girl. I hope she's not a vampire...