The Enchanted Woods: book 1

Chapter 15

**Austin**

Alice has had her head rested against my chest, bawling her eyes out and shrieking at the top of her lungs for over an hour... The painful screams echoed through the cave. Her tears stained my shirt. Her hands were clenched in fists around the soft fabric of my jacket. She had explained her entire dream to me. It was terrible. I'm glad I woke her up when I did. I saw her body twitching angrily and I heard the occasional groan of 'Sapphire'. Once or twice had she screamed... When I had my hands on her, her body was so... so cold. She couldn't move her arms. They were stuck to her side.

I keep trying to quiet Alice down, but the anger and sadness just wouldn't leave her. I can feel that this was a true pain that would continue to haunt her.

"Alice," I say clearly again. Her sobs die down a little. "Please, I hate seeing you so upset."

She realeases one of her tense fists and wipes her tears away from her cheeks. "I'm sorry," she utters softly. She gently pushes back from my chest and hugs her knees tight against her chest.

I get up and wrap a blanket around her and place Violet in her arms. Happiness finally fills Alice's expression. Her eyes are bleary and bloodshot from all the tears she had shed. Violet mutters sensless words. "Mommy's okay," Alice breathes out.

In this moment I remember how caring Alice is. Her black hair fell down in careless locks. Deep purple eyes that glimmered as she looked down at our child. Her cheeks are bright red in the standing moment. She stood up and caught her gaze at me, catching me staring at her.

"I'm going to put Violet down," she smiles at me, silently gesturing for me to follow.

I follow her to the make-shift bed Miki had offered us. She leans down and places the sleeping Violet in it, covering her with blankets.

Again, I catch myself staring at her. Stop! I scramed in my mind, but my eyes would not peel away from the beautiful girl. She snaps back up and turns to face me. I see her face turn an even brighter shade of rose. I jerk my head in attempt to toss hair out of my eyes as an excuse possibly. Alice takes a step toward me. I see a gentle part in her lips and a longing desire in her dark eyes. Another step. The space between us got tighter. Her arms stretch up and wrap around my neck. I place my hands firmly on her hips and hold her in place. She inclined her head to one side and I turned mine opposite. Her soft pink lips touch onto mine softly. Her tounge glides along my lips before she presses them back onto me heavily.

"Alice," I groan as I catch my breath. She giggle and snaps away from me, jogging outside of the cave.

"That little teasing bitch," I mutter under my breath.

I walk out and see her body weaving through the trees. The fresh morning sun beat down, but a cold spring chill lingered in the air. A light mist hangs with the cold. Alice stops running and peers at me through the trees. She flashes her white teeth at me. I see her tail flicker as she disappears from view (since she has been a feline for a couple months she remains full form, ears and all).

Where did she go? I wonder. A twig snaps behind me and I jerk around instantaneously. Another snap, but from a different direction. Then another... from above. Slowly I turn my head up and see Alice...

"CRAP!" I shout as I see her plummeting down toward me after she jumped out of the towering tree. She hits me with such impact and we both tumble to the forest floor. "ALICE WHAT THE FUCK!" I scream, half amused.

She giggles, sensing my amusement, "Sneak attack."

I grin and look into those deep purple eyes I loved so much. She leans down, her nose brushing against mine and she kisses my cheek. Again with the teasing...

Her black hair falls down and laps across my shoulders. Her eyes glint in the sunset. The snow white ears with black running through them stand up high as her long feline tail flicks carelessly. Again that soft giggle penetrates the silence and she leans in and presses her lips against mine. Her scent wraps around me, the warm aroma of flowers and pine, the taste of her, sweet like candy. Her soft pink lips part gently and I do the same. Our tounges go at it, pushing eachother out of the way. As soon as Alice is able to push mine away, she bites down on my lip in the way that just makes you feel like a unicorn is shitting rainbows and glitter all around you. Maybe that is a little, um, weird but in my deranged mind I can imagine that to be pretty damn amazing. Anyways, stray strands of her pitch dark hair glide across my face and tickle me, sending a shiver down my spine and causing gooseflesh to form upon my arms. I feel her delicate nimble fingers work their way into my shirt and as they stroke up and down my back. I reach my stronger hands up and pull her head closer to mine. I could feel her shirt riding up...and up... until it was just on the edge of her bra. A moan seeps through my occupied lips and echoes in the nearby air.

Alice did wonders to me. She did things I could never put into words. She made me want to do things that I can't even repeat legally. God did I love her.

She retracts her head from mine and stares into my eyes.

"Alice, please don't stop," I whimper.

"We can't do this. Last time we did you knocked me up." A chorus of giggles fills the open air. Can't she just let that go, I wonder as I chuckle.

Wind blows through and rustles through my hair. Alice's scent once again fills my nostrils. A familiar scent that I could never get enough of. A scent that describes Alice perfectly: the soft, delicate flower scent that proved she was kind, gentle, loving, and compassionate. The strong smell of wintery pine needles that distinguished her rough, good-in-combat style. So sexy. The lips I had kissed just moments ago curl into a gentle cupid's bow smile. She interlocks her fingers with mine and she walks us back into the cave.

It was hard to believe that she could just forget that nightmare so quickly...

***********

**Alice POV**

We all sit in the cave, huddled around a crackling fire. The babies are all asleep on a blanket close by. I rub my hands together, anxiously awaiting Miki's answer on whether Sapphire will be alright or not. Austin wraps his arm around my shoulder and kisses my cheek, assuring me that everything will be alright. Silence hangs in the air, making it hard to even want to say anything.

The stress was killing me. I shot up from my seat and ran over to Miki's room where Sapphire still lay motionless on the table.

Miki pounds on the desk in frustration, brushing off tons of books onto the ground. She rubs her temples. Turning to face me, she stands up and shakes her head.

"Alice, there is no way to save her.. We are too late. I tried everything," she whispers, glancing down at the corpse.

I felt my heart drop. There was a sharp ringing in my ears and I felt numb.

Sapphire is gone.

I feels tears running down my face, but I stayed quiet. I simply walked back to the group, and began packing.

"Alice what are you doing?" Ashlynn looks at me. I ignore her, folding up blankets and packing away supplies.

Austin understood because he got up and went to see Miki.

**Austin POV**

"So.. Sapphire is really gone?"

Miki sighs and nods her head, explaining that she tried everything.

I take a deep breath and look down at Sapphire, brushing a few strands of hair out of her eyes.

"Miki I've also been meaning to ask you about the war.." I whisper so everyone outside can't hear.

She looks over at her crystal ball and telepathically brings up an image of what is happening: the feline village I had once known was now reduced to ruins, but soldiers still fought.

"The felines have been losing. They desperately need a hero," shesays with concern in her voice. "And I believe that that hero may be..."

The name she said left me shocked. I began to cry. How could I let this happen?