While part of me wanted to hunt down Kyle, the other part believed that he was nothing more than a daydream. I had asked around about a Kyle Sage, but all I had gotten were blank looks. And yet, I was so sure that he had existed. Those dark green eyes, ever so haunting and sorrowful, had to be real.
Enomis knew something was wrong, but she was whisked away by Father before she could ask any questions. Life was lonely once more, and I was left with no one in the dark and empty mansion. Father had taken the servants, and I was left to my own devices. I spent most of my time in the library, where I learnt about spells and potions that I would never cast. Time moved slowly, almost sluggishly, as always.
At times, if I would spend my entire life like this. My sister would grow up, and get mated to some vampire or mage, and have her own family. I would spend the rest of my life in this mansion, feared by others for my darkness, reading books on magic, than daydreaming about a life where I was loved by all. Would I forever live in misery? I was scared to find out the answer.
On the fifth day of Enomis's leave, I received a letter from Father. It was short and curt, void of any warmth or endearment.
Simone,
You will be receiving household help in a few days. There will be a guest arriving in the next full moon, and I trust you to behave yourself. I have heard from Jason Vega himself of your most disturbing and impolite behaviour at his party. As I will not be there to greet the guest, I expect you to give him a tour of the mansion and to cater to his every whim.
Enomis and I are trying to settle some matters with the Sages, and it will be a few months before my daughter returns. She will not have time to send you letters every minute, so I suggest you stop writing to her.
Gregory White
I was hurt that Father did not acknowledge me as his own blood and flesh. I had seen the letters addressed to Enomis, and they were so full of love. He called her his 'little light'. I was envious of the affection that she received, although I knew deep down that it was my fault. I was cursed with this darkness because I was a coward. Because I was weak. Because I was selfish.
Help had arrived in a few days, as Father had promised, in the form of a troll, a housemaid by the name of Glenda. She was friendly enough, and her skills in cooking and claning were excellent. We seldom conversed, preferring to keep to ourselves and go on our merry way.
My life went on, lonely as ever, until the night a second letter arrived, only this time, it was stamped with the seal of a sage plant. A letter from the Sage clan. I debated with myself whther to open it, and my curiousity won in the end. It was a short letter from Enomis, and I suppose it was the night that my life changed.
My darling sister,
I write to you in secret. Father is in the study, conversing with Mr Sage. I have had a most startling discovery, Simone, one that has been kept a secret from you for years. As the firstborn child of the White family, you hold a heavy burden on your shoulders. There has been a terrible vision of you, one that both the Sage family and the White family have been trying to keep from you.
I can hear Father's footsteps approaching my room. In the woods, tonight, by the stream. Take care, and may no harm befall you.
With all my love,
Enomis.
A vision? My mind was spinning. What was Father trying to hide from me? I reread the letter several times, but I could find no clues in the letter. I threw the letter in the fire in the end, afraid that it would be discovered.
I fetched my cloak in the drawing room, sneaking out of the mansion as quietly as I could, lest Glenda discovered me. Once I was out of the door, I raced towards the stream in the forest, with a small lamp in my hand. Even a with a lightsource, I could barely see what was in front of me. I squinted, trying to make out my surroundings.
"Enomis?" I called out. "Enomis?"
Someone grabbed me by the arm towards a nearby bush. I struggled, but my attacker still had the upper hand. "Stop struggling, for God's sake. Someone will hear," an all too familiar voice whispered in my ear. "Do you want to get discovered?"
I stilled, and Kyle finally let go of me. "You're... real."
He stares at me for the longest time, "Yes, I'm real."
I stare into his dark green eyes, the colour of the leaves on a willow tree. "What are you doing here?"
"Enomis sent me, to tell you everything," he ran a hand through his curly mop of hair. "About the vision. The marriage. You. Me."
We are silent for a moment, but then I gesture for him to continue. "No interruptions, please," he says, before taking a deep breath and speaking. "Our great grandparents... they were at constant disagreement with each other. There were fights all the time, and eventually these fights became even more serious than anyone could have anticipated. They became a war. Both clans fought each other, and there was a great massacre. The vampire king at that time ordered a truce, threatening to throw them out of Mortuus if they did not comply. There was to be a union between the two families, a marriage of sorts. However, the children of both clans were already either mated or married, and they were not willing to leave their mates. Besides, there was still resentment between both families over the deaths at both their hands. And so it was agreed that their firstborn great grandchildren would marry, and the union would finally be completed."
It takes a few minutes for the news to sink in. A union. Firstborn children. I... was to get married to.... I turn my head to look at Kyle, who nods his head. "I am the firstborn child of the sage clan."
Before I could sift through my puddle of emotions, Kyle continues speaking. "The problem is not the marriage, Simone. It's the vision my great grandmother had. Jade Sage was the most gifted of all the seers in the clan, and she had a vision that you could be the end of all vampires. She had a vision of me, and she warned them not to let the both of us meet, because I would be the one to support you in the chaos that you would seek to create. She said that I had to be killed at birth, to be eliminated immediately, but my mother.... she spared me, and she paid with her life."
Without even knowing it, my hand was on top of his and I squeezed his hand as comfortingly as I could. he looked so sad, so remorseful and bitter. "Simone...." he looks at me, and my heart flutters in my chest. "Her last words were that Enomis's daughters would either eliminate the vampire race, or save it, and that you would be the one who made the ultimate decision in the end."
"What do we do now?" my words are a whisper, and I knew he could see the fear in my eyes. He squeezed my hand, and smiled, though I noticed how watery it was. We had to honour the agreement, that much was certain, unless we had a valid reason for not being able to do so. We could present the vision, but I knew that that could get us both killed.
"Kyle?"
"I don't know, Simone. I don't know,"
