The Sleeping Girl

Chapter Six

I tell myself that as I walk down the long hallway (which I shall now dub the "walk of shame"). I draw myself up to my full height, telling myself to stop slouching. She is right, but I am right, too.

Once I get inside, I flop down on a large pink beanbag in the corner, thinking over the vampire fight. I realize that I didn't actually get any information from any of them, and that just makes me even more irked. Frustrated, I grab the nearest thing to me, a fluffy purple pillow, and throw it at the wall. It makes a muffled thunk. I've always been more of a person to express my anger physically. Perhaps that tis why I am so good at killing. Right now, I really want to do some damage. Make something hurt.

There's a knock on the door. Figuring it's Ev, I get up to go to open it. But standing there is not Ev, but Mike.

"Hey Keela," he says. "I heard about what happened with the vamps today. Can I come in?"

"Alright," I say, opening the door wider. I sit down on my bed, sinking into the soft comforter."I'm wondering why everybody seems to say that," I say, for the sake of conversation. I'm not the best at expressing myself... vocally. As I said before, I'm more of a physical person.

"What?" he asks, looking genuinely interested, which is encouraging.

"'Hey,'" I say. "Hey is used to express irritation, of confusion, or shock, or emotions of that sort. But nowadays it seems to be used in substitution of 'hello' or 'greetings.' Tis just another one of the many things that I must adapt to."

Mike grins. "I guess so. Never really thought about it; it's so normal. Growing up with this world, you know?"

I give a weak smile. "I suppose. There are many new things in this world that I must adjust to, anyhow. The new words, customs, living conditions, transportation, clothing, and so on. And so one. And so one. Forever. And ever. And ever."

"Yeah."

We sit in silence for a moment. It's a comfortable silence though, not awkward in the slightest. Peaceful. Almost calming me down from my earlier livid rage.

Finally, he asks, "so was Amanda really harsh?" His tone of voice and his words make me wonder how many times he has been the one on the receiving end of Amanda's fury.

"Not too bad," I admit. "Mostly she seemed cold, stern. I daresay that tis just something that she must do, as leader. Although it is quite frustrating." I sigh. "Many a time I've wished that I was not the Sleeping Girl. Not only because of this heavy burden of finding the next Girl, and everyone I knew dying, but also simply to be free. I've been watched my whole life, kept under careful watch. Sometimes I wish..." I trail off, wistfully. Sometimes I wish I could be free.

He nods. "Yeah, I get what you mean. I mean, I've been pretty free my whole life, but not as free as some kids. When we were little kids, maybe five or six I think, Carmi and I got attacked by a couple dark faeries. I think that's why she's so good at killing them. But me? I was so lame I just sat there and cried and almost died. And ever since then Mom's been really protective."

I smirk slightly. "You just cried and let your sister protect you?" For some reason this is funny. I suppose it discredits all that knight in shining armor damsel in distress stuff that I've grown up with.

Mike blushes slightly. "I was like five, okay? And between the two of us, Carmi's always been the more, I don't know, physically active I guess, while I've been the more intellectual. Right brain left brain, I guess. Well actually not really. But you get what I'm saying."

I nod. "I understand. Nothing problematic with that."

He shrugs. "I want to be part of the council when I'm older, like Dad is. I mean sure, I can kill monsters now. It's what we do. But... I just don't like it, you know? It seems like most of society does, but I don't. I just feel, like, wrong or something taking lives. Even if they're not all technically lives, and even if I know they're bad, I just don't feel morally right."

"I didn't used to," I say, lowly. "But that about changed when they killed my sister. Members of our society five centuries ago used to say I was ruthless, even though I'd killed the least of all of us. The reason I didn't kill more was because I never got a chance, being so sheltered. But when opportunity arose, I never hesitated. I still don't. They have caused so much destruction for millennia and they deserve what is coming to them."

"I think that's good in our society," he says. "That's how we've been dealing with things for decades, centuries, millennia. I think we really do need to be ruthless, to match the dark magic or we'll never win. But I also think we need to know when enough is enough, know when to stop and have mercy. Because if we don't stop, can't stop, are we really any better than them?"

I regard him carefully, in a new light. "You are wise, Mike. I never thought of it that way, but your words ring with truth. But it is just so hard when you see someone you love die for you. I think that feeling never really leaves. Even after five hundred years. I think it just... hardens a person. I've seen it happen to others many a time, as well. You think that this life is harsh, but tis actually far better than it was before. Growing up... well, it was hard, to say the least."

He offers me a faint smile. "I'm sorry. On to a lighter topic," he says. "This is purely my curiously, but what is exactly going on with your mark? Carmi said it leads you to the next Girl?"

"That's what I thought at first," I say. "I believed so, until it led me to the vampires today. Now I think that it... it will give me clues. Of a sort. Lead me to objects, people, places that shall help me find the next Girl. Which is rather far more inconvenient than I thought it would be. But no matter. Tis just the way of things."

He looks intrigued. "Clues," he muses. Then he grins. "This, Keela, is where the brains instead of the killing comes in handy."

I nod. "I admit, it is helpful to have an intellectual instead of just a bunch of fighters when it comes to clues. I myself was never good at mind puzzles when Mot-" I cut off, choking, missing my family with a deep wrenching feeling in my gut. "When my mother told us them," I finish, although now my voice is a whisper, tears filling up my eyes.

"Hey," says Mike. "Hey. Listen. It'll be okay. Your old family is gone, but our society? Me, Carmi, Mom and Dad, Amanda, Dan, Richard, Ember, Jackson? We're your new family. We'll always support you. You can rely on us. You can trust us. We'll help you, I'll help you, we'll find this Girl. And then you can just relax and live life as though you were born sixteen years ago instead of five hundred and sixteen."

I give up on trying to hold back the tears and let them flow. "Thank you," I whisper. I am not sure what I am thanking him for, perhaps just offering kind words when I am alone, but I am grateful.