Innocent Blood

Innocent Blood (chapter 13)

Innocent Blood

Chapter 13

    My body felt heavy as I lay on the floor, I tried to drag myself closer to the bed, but my limbs never obeyed me. The pain in my heart felt like it was spreading through my body and doing it quickly. A heart attack, I thought. Gosh, only 17 and my heart attacks me, that's what it felt like. Like my heart had broken into several pieces, moved through my body and each piece was fighting against all the other organs inside me. Then I felt it. Death.
     Heat surged through my body for only a split second then I exploded. Or at least I thought I did anyway. It was a horrible experience, I felt like I had been blasted by fire, sucked through a tube and deposited into a cool pool of calm waters. I was floating upwards. Slowly. It was strangely nice. Nothing seemed to matter anymore, there was no pain. What happens next? I wondered. I turned my head to look down. If I were breathing, the site would have made my breath catch. Below me, I saw myself on the floor in a fetal position, hair strewn out on the floor  behind me, my face was turned down away from view but the skin on my hands and feet were white. A white with a greyish tinge, like I had been dead for several days. It was a ghastly site. But it didn't matter to me anymore, I felt somehow disconnected from that girl on the floor now.
     Movement at the door caught my eye. The door was ajar and Alastor was in the room, he didn't seem to be aware of me as he strolled in casually. When he clapped eyes on my lifeless body lying there he ran over. He must have been making noise but I realised I couldn't hear anything, as if I were watching a T.V on mute. Then I did hear something, like a far away voice travelling in the wind. Strangely familiar, yet alien at the same time. What was it saying? I struggled to listen, it was getting closer, almost audible. "Accalia", was the one word I could pick out. I was getting excited now, butterflies fluttered in my stomach. I was moving up again... "Accalia... Accalia, come", came the melodic voice. This is it, I thought, the answer to the age old mystery, what happens after death. "Accalia", a voice urged on, a different sounding voice, but equally as sweet. Yes I'm coming.
     My upward floating stopped. I halted in mid air, unable to guide my movement. Suddenly I was jolted backwards. Being pulled towards the floor, I was rushing down, like being sucked back through the tube and then through the fire. It hurt. The voice was still in my ear, "Accalia", much louder this time. My head pounded and I tried to tell the voice to be quiet, but I made no sound. Feeling was coming back to me, my hands and feet tingled with pins and needles. It wasn't an unpleasant sensation, unlike most people I always had liked the feeling of pins and needles. I threw my hand over my face, "shut up", I croaked.
"Oh you're okay!". I opened my eyes to find three worried faces looking back at me, Alastor and two young women.
     One of the women handed me a tall glass of water. I could see now that they both wore simple black pinafores. Maids. I pulled myself up and realised that I was on my bed, and Alastor was sat beside me. The look of worry was still clear on his face and I felt grateful for his concern. "I'm fine", I assured him with a smile. Relief shone through his face and he dismissed the maids. I worried about being left alone with him, not that I feared him, but about what we might talk about, I wasn't even sure how to act and I didn't want the situation to get awkward.
     It didn't. In his company I felt so at ease, and he again was easy to talk to. "I've got a migrane. I don't even know what happened, I was fine then I think I fainted. That's not happened in a long time".
"Its happened before?", Alastor asked concerned. I slid my feet off the bed so that we sat side by side. "Not like that, sometimes I would feel like I was going to pass out and I'd get all hot but someone always turned up before I actually fainted". He studied my face, looking at me with a raised eyebrow. "You're really okay then?". I nodded. "Good, you're looking better. So how are you enjoying your stay?". I didn't want to offend him or hurt his feelings, so I by-passed telling him of my misery and spoke about the castle. "I found myself in a room with a carousel", I arched an eyebrow sarcastically and he let out a chuckle. "Ah, fun right? Not been there in years", he leaned closer as if letting me in on a secret, "the clowns used to sorta give me the creeps". We both laughed.
"I met a girl called Thalia".
"Yeah she said, hope she wasn't too much of a bitch to you. Don't take it personal if she was, she's like that with everybody".
"No she wasn't", I laughed, "she wasn't what I expected at all". I paused before going on, "I saw Aristaios".
"Oh right, what was he saying?".
"Nothing, actually. Who is he?", I fished.
"My big brother, Thalia's twin", he informed me. My eyes nearly popped out their sockets at that. "Thalia is your sister?!" I exclaimed, unable to comprehend that, she was so unlike Alastor. But more shocking was the news that Aristaios was a relation to either of those two, that mysteriously captivating man was brother to the open, friendly boy in front of me.
     "Um, Alastor, how old are you?", I asked after clearing my throat.
"Eighteen in two days babe. Having a party for it, you better come", he stuck out his bottom lip like a sulking child. I had to laugh at that, he really did look cute. "I'll ask one of my sisters to take you shopping for something to wear...".
"How many sisters have you got?", I interrupted.
"Well there's four but Asteria doesn't have time for that kind of thing and Calli is only four", he nodded to himself, "that leaves Thalia and Achlys". Achlys? The name was vaguely familiar but I couldn't put a face to it. "How long are you staying?", he asked me as I racked my brain to remember Achlys. "Oh, um... I'm not actually sure, I don't have anywhere else to go", I admitted to us both. Until now I hadn't given it much thought about where I could go if I left here, both my parents had been only children and my mothers parents had died when I was young. I hadn't seen my paternal grandparents since I was three years old, when they had moved to Australia.
     "You're shrouded in mystery", Alastor told me, "it's amazing". I blew out a breath, "Alastor, you told me you were a prince, but I've saw pictures and seen the royals on television and well... I never recognised any of you?".
"You've saw the monarchy of your kingdom, my dad is king of the vampiric kingdom".
"Oh", was all I said in return, even though I was now bursting with loads of new questions. Unconsciously I let out a yawn and Alastor smiled. It was dark outside the windows, strange that I was ready for bed at this time. "I better go and let you get some sleep". He stood up and pulled me to my feet, "been nice talking to you". He leaned in to kiss my cheek, just as I went to give him one the same side, in the confusion our lips met. I stared wide-eyed at him as his lips lingered a little longer than they should have. When he broke away he let out a nervous giggle and his cheeks flushed a pale pink. "Um... Sorry, I, we both went for the side...", he trailed off, looking away shyly, "I'm gonna go now". I still stared at him in shock as he left the room.
 
    The room was hot when I woke up, and in utter darkness. Something had woke me up but I didn't know what. I lay there in the darkness, letting my eyes adjust then I heard a creak of a floor board. I looked at the windows, one of the large windows was open to let in fresh air. There was another creak, a definite footstep. There was someone in this room.