Night Children: Secrets are only secrets for so long

Night Children: Secrets are only secrets for so long Fourteen: Fireflies

The two men studied the young woman with fierce green eyes, her blonde hair waved in the wind, her dress was torn, and matted from dirt since she had tried to run away. “She is kind of pretty in that ‘angry bitch’ kind of way.”

The other man smiled down at her, “she is a little bit of an angry bitch. Perhaps the Prince could put her in her place.”

“Your going to pay for this,” the woman said with an accent that neither man could place. “You will both die horrible, painful deaths.”

“Shut up,” O’Connell said, “she’s good enough to be a treat, drag her along.”

~

“Is the coffin finished?” Viktor asked Horace. Horace was a human that could build the most beautiful of things, his works decorated the castle, from the tables and chairs in the grand ballroom, frames of paintings, beds, and dressers. This time Viktor had asked him to perform a different task.

“Yes it is my Prince,” Horace responded bowing his head with respect.

“Have her body in it and waiting for us with the others at the end of the east wing hall.”

“As you wish,” Horace bowed once more and left.

“She wakes up to attend the funeral of her first love.”

“First love?”

Griever frowned, “for humans I hear the infants first love is their mothers, who hold them in the night to stop them from crying, who feed, provide, and take care of them.”

“I see,” Viktor said, but he didn’t. He didn’t have a mother, she had died so long ago. His father told him she died of a Moon Child attack, it made Viktor hate those wolves even more.

“Do you really think we should do this today.”

“The body is going into decomposition, we can’t have it laying around.”

Griever shrugged, he couldn’t argue that point so he let it be. They were waiting for Alana and Evanangelique to emerge from the bathroom, but had yet to do so. They were both standing awkwardly in Alana’s room that was over the top decorated with trinkets and shiny objects, it was highly likely that her favourite colour was green because the room was littered with it.

“Kind of wonder what it will be like now,” Viktor said, “he is a she.”

“It is strange,” Griever agreed, he thought both Viktor and he were in shock one day they would be angry about being deceived. Well maybe. Right now they were too happy about her just being alive. Male or female, Evan was the best friend of the Prince.

“What is taking them so long?” Viktor asked, he was always impatient, something Griever found humorous, after all when you live forever, you may want to take the time to learn some patience.

~

“You look absolutely stunning!” Alana said with a smile, “oh Riana…wops,” Alana looked embarrassed, “sorry Evanangelique.”

“Riana your sister’s name?”

Alana nodded her eyes looked distant as if remembering something from long ago as she nodded slowly, she suddenly broke from her trance. “Here,” she said before walking away and opening a tiny box, inside an emerald hung from a gold chain, she placed it around my neck, “I want you to have this.”

“I couldn’t possibly!”

“I need to learn to let go. A Night Child has a long life, if we hold on to everything and it weighs us down to insanity. So I ask of you Evanangelique Cross, take this token from my life, remember me, and that this once belonged to a beautiful girl named Riana who was kind and warm-hearted.”