[Blake]. chapter 6

A Chapter by [Kaytken]

Blake.

Chapter 6

The feeling of fire coursed through my veins. My body was glowing red in the darkness. I tried to scream, but only silence surrounded me. Time was useless to me in this place. There was no way to tell how long I stayed trapped in the fire. My only salvation was the cold touch I felt every once in a while.

“Only a few more days,” Anita's voice whispered one time. She laid against me as she had done so many times. The chill I felt must have been her body. The icy touch of her skin counter acted the burning feeling inside me.

A few more days? Till what?

Too much time passed before her skin cooled me again. When it did, I was greatly relieved. Only the tips of her fingers were on my cheek, but it was enough for now. Still I had many unanswered questions for her.

After a time of fighting and struggling against the darkness, attempting to gain control of my muscles and trying to talk to her, it gave, just a small amount. It only lasted for so long, then I was thrust back into the abyss. I was getting no where fast and the hours continued to drag on. Endlessly I waited, patiently for the burning to subside, yet it did not.

Days or weeks, I couldn't tell, but it dulled. Just the smallest amount, but I felt the difference. A voice called out, Mom? Chloe?, they've begun to sound alike. The voice was closer this time, it was definitely Chloe. She stomped into my room and sounded quite irritated.

“Anita,” she huffed, “have you seen Norah?” I can't seem to find her anywhere!” Her weight pressed down on the opposite side of Anita's.

“No, I'm sorry, can't say that I have,” her voice was sincere. A groan came from Chloe and she stomped out of the room.

There were more shouts coming from downstairs. Noise was all around and then once again the burning dulled.

“Don't torture yourself child,” the voice sounded like dad's.

“I know, but it's been a week and he should be better soon, right?” Anita's voice was weak and tired.

“Yes, so do not fret, come eat dinner,” he told her. Anita let out an exasperated sigh in response.

“Could I please just stay with him a short while longer?” she pleaded.

“Not too much longer, you don't want your dinner getting cold,” he said. His steps soon faded down the hall and her cool head rested gently back on my chest, cooling the flames.

* * * * *

My eyes opened and the burning was gone.

Anita.

Her beautiful face was staring at me. I reached up to her face and stroked her warm cheek softly. She tilted her face into my palm and closed her eyes with a smile playing at the edges of her pink lips. When she looked up at me again, a tear trickled down her face and I whipped it away as quickly as it had appeared.

Anita scooted herself closer to me, laying beside me. She twined our fingers together as I wrapped my free arm around her small frame. A sigh of pleasure warmed me and only then did I realize how cold I actually was. I ignored the chill and just watched Anita where she lay; calm and relaxed.

“Anita,” I whispered.

“Yes Blake?” she replied. Her voice still sounded like bells, lovely and hushed. She looked at me with eyes full of curiosity.

“Never mind,” I said glancing at our twined hands. I begun stroking her soft dark brown hair.

“M'kay,” she murmured.

I noticed for the first time how dim the lights seemed in the room. The curtains were drawn, only a small lamp in the corner was on. Even through the terrible lighting, I could see that nothing in the room was different from whence I left it.

“What time is it?” I asked a very tired sounding Anita.

“About midnight, why?”

“Hmm, and what day is it?” I couldn't fathom how long I'd been under.

“The 24^th,” she told me. Almost a whole month since the ball. “You know, everyone has told me so much about you,” she giggled.

“Oh really? And what lies have they been feeding you?” I joked.

“Well,” she started, “they told me that the night after the ball, you couldn't stop talking about me.”

“Is that so?” She laughed and then her voice turned some-what serious.

“Is that true?” she asked, her brown eyes wide. Her question ran through my mind a few times before it really processed.

“Yes,” I told her. A smile lit her face, bringing a few wrinkles to the edges of her mouth.

We ended up laying where we were for a few more hours till the sun rose and an orange glow illuminated the curtains. The green numbers on my clock read 7:16am. When I glanced at the still sleeping Anita, there was a knock on my bedroom door. I didn't answer, so the door creaked open moments later and little Norah stood in the door frame.

She gasped and ran to my side, climbing onto the small stool that was beside my bed. I carefully pulled my hand from Anita's and helped hoist Norah up onto the bed. She hugged me with all her might and I gently squeezed her back.

“I missoo Bake,” she whispered, clearly aware that Anita wasn't awake yet.

“I missed you too, Norah,” I told her. She smiled her cute little smile and laid on my free side. Her tiny body curled up against me. Not long after, they had both fallen asleep, mom, dad and Chloe all came in.

“Oh, Blake,” Mom broke down crying. Dad held her up and came over to hug me.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Better and just a tad bit chilly,” I told him. He laughed and told me about how Carter told them about the burning.

“We only wanted you to be comfortable,” he said clapping me on the shoulder. Chloe was next to fuss, instead she smiled. She hugged me as best she could over Norah.

“I'm glad you're okay,” she said sweetly. Something had obviously happened while I was in the darkness because Chloe was being nice to me.

Once Mom calmed down, she kissed my forehead and asked about Anita. She wondered if Anita knew yet and I told her that she had seen me wake up and then fell asleep. Mom seemed relatively glad, then she and Chloe left to fix breakfast and turn the temperature up in my room. Dad lingered around though.

“Hey, Dad?” Millions of questions filtered through my mind.

“Hmm,” he sounded like I had pulled him from his thoughts.

“Why did you bring Anita here when I got sick?” I asked. He looked shocked and confused.

“Well, because of the treaty.” I studied his face as he answered.

“No,” I told him, “why did you really do it?” He took longer to answer this time.

“Son, it's better that she is here now, I couldn't leave her there. We didn't know how long you'd be sick for.” His voice was stern and he left the room abruptly.

Couldn't leave her there? In her own home? I pondered over that; the part which confused me the most. I didn't stay on that though train for long because Mom called up to let me know that breakfast was ready.

“Anita,” I said softly, brushing stray strands of hair from her face. She groaned and I laughed.

“Love, it's time for breakfast.” Norah woke up and rand downstairs to the kitchen. Meanwhile, Anita laid there and only opened one eye to look at me with.

“Fine, but afterwards, I get to sleep.” I didn't argue because the shadows under her eyes indicated that she was seriously sleep deprived.

We headed down the hall and down the winding staircase into the familiar smelling kitchen. Somehow, it always smelled like fresh cut apples, even when there wasn't an apple in sight. Today the apple was blended with maple syrup, pancakes and eggs.

“Looks and smells very good mom,” I said, taking another wiff of eggs.

“If you sit down, you can see if it tastes as good,” she laughed. I pulled out a chair for Anita, then sat beside her. Mom handed us plates full of food and we dug in. I ended up eating firsts, seconds, thirds and fourths before she cut me off. When breakfast was finished, Anita and I went back up to my room to nap.

The rest of the day wen by relatively quickly. The entire time I was trying to ask Anita all of the questions I had pilled up for her, but we didn't have a single moment alone after the nap.

* * * * *

The days flew by, still no time alone with Anita. Day after day, my family and friends constantly surrounded me. We were only by ourselves at night when we were going to bed. At that point, I was always to exhausted to think or talk.

After a couple of weeks, I became furious. I finally told my mother that I needed time alone with Anita. She reluctantly agreed to leave us at peace.

The very next day, I woke up early to prepare breakfast and lunch for Anita. I cooked up pancakes, bacon, eggs, toast and was in the middle of pouring her a glass of orange juice when she walked, sleepy-eyed into the kitchen. She smiled, then looked over the table which held each food on a different plate.

“This looks great,” she said, sitting in a chair. I let her pick and choose what food and how much of it she wanted.

“Today,” I said, glancing at her, “it's just the two of us.” Her face turned a pinkish color, almost the same shade as her bathrobe.

“And what shall we be doing today?” she asked, taking a bite of her pancakes. I furrowed my brow as I thought carefully about where I should take her. Ombra Point? Neville's Cove?

“It's a secret, and you can not know,” I told her, smirking the entire time. The rest of breakfast was silent.

When she had finished eating, I told her to go and get ready. I stayed to tidy up the kitchen. I put the lunch into a picnic basket, along with a blanket and drinks.

She had wet hair, was wearing a blue T-shirt and an old pair of jeans. I smiled at her and she returned it. I took the basket in one hand and her hand in my other. We walked until we reached the flat rock beneath the old oak tree. I set the basket down and released Anita's hand.

I pulled out the blanket and set it down on the ground under the oak. I sat down on the blanket and patted the space beside me. Anita sat next to me and I took her hands gently in mine.

“There have been a few questions that I've been wanting to ask you. I just haven't gotten the chance yet,” I told her. Her eyes were curious and scared at the same time.

“And what might those be?” she asked.

“Why are you here?” I looked at her and she had a far away look in her eyes.

“I-I'm not sure,” she dropped it there and I thought about telling her what my father told me, but I refrained. Instead I thought up another question.

“Do you like it here?”

“Yes, I like it very much,” a smile lit her face as she said this.

“Do you know what I am?” I asked. Once it was out of my mouth, I almost regretted it.

“Yes, you are one of the wolves,” she told me. I sighed in relief.

“That I am, also, I am the Alpha's son. When my father passes away, I become the Alpha.” Her smile became weary. “That probably won't happen for a very long time though,” I said, trying to cheer her up a bit.

“Alright,” she said. She pulled her hands out of mine and folded them in her lap.

“I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?” I asked, wondering why she seemed so distant. She fiddled with her fingers, twisting and untwisting them. She wouldn't look me in the eye.

“No, it's just that...this is a lot of information to take on all at once. And I'm nervous and still a bit frightened.”

“Don't worry, no harm will come to you here,” I reassured her. She gave a weak smile, then I pulled out the feast I had prepared for her.

The feast consisted of two roast beef sandwiches, a bottle of champagne, a couple of rolls, and some baked goods Mom had given me.

When every last bite was eaten, Anita looked at me curiously.

“Why did you bring me here?” she asked.

“Because this is where I used to come to think, before I got sick,” I told her.

“I can see why,” she said as she got up. I went and stood beside her. We walked along Ombra Point for a while, eventually we went down the Neville's Cove. A smile lay plastered on her face the whole while. It made me happy to think that we could come here together to escape the messes back home. Even she could have somewhere to escape to when she needed a place to call her own.

Neville's Cove was still as wondrous as it was the last time I'd been here. We walked into the cave and soon enough, the majestic waterfall was in front of us. Flowers of all colors surrounded the ground around the pool of water at the bottom of the falls.

After much walking, we got back to our picnic spot. We sat under the oak and I continued with my millions of questions.

“When do you want to get married?” I asked. She made a face.

“Not for a while. Cathleen already told me that you are 21 years of age. I am only 17 years of age. Back when I lived in the castle, amongst my kind, it was proper to marry at the age of 18 years. Any earlier was disrespectful and unspeakable.

“So in a year? Would that be fine?” I asked.

“Yes, a year would be fine,” she said. One year and we would be married, I thought.

I asked six or seven more questions before she asked some of her own.

“Do you turn into wolves?” she asked as her voice quivered.

“Yes, but it is easy to tell us apart from the wild wolves. They all have black eyes and jet black fur. Our wolves have eyes and fur the same color as their human forms.” I told her.

“Does that mean that as a wolf you have deep green eyes and dirt colored hair?” she giggled.

“Yes and if you were a wolf, you'd have dark brown fur and brown eyes,” I laughed.

“We would be quite the sight to see,” she laughed. No more questions after that, only our laughter dying off. We laid on the blanket and watched the sun set. All too soon, the moon and stars shone brightly above us.

“When I was a little girl, I used to go out on my balcony and look at the stars every night. I would look for a shooting star to wish upon.”

“Would you like to know a secret, Anita?” The sound of her name was like a song. She nodded in response.

“I still do that, only without the balcony part,” I told her. She laughed and the sound of bells filled my ears.

“It is getting late,” she said.

“Right, we should be getting back.” I packed everything up and we walked back in the dark. Mom was there waiting for us with all the lights on, even though it was late, very late.