Shadows

Reunion

When I awoke, the world around me was dark and smelled of must. The chirping of birds had ceased and all that was left behind was the rustling of trees and the whistle of wind that swept past my ears. I rolled from my side and onto my back, the silk sheen of the grass brushed my exposed skin which caused me to shiver, I looked straight up to gaze up at the bright light of the moon peeping through the hands of the trees, to anyone else it would seem beautiful, but to me... all that I was, was a reminder that my time was up. There was no more running now, this was it.

I reached into my pockets and found the two jewels, I didn't even remember putting them there. Pulling them from my pocket I held them up in the air and gazed at them

'What's wrong?' Tatiana asked, her voice sounding more shaken than I felt at that point

'I was just thinking... where is this war? I hear no fighting, no raised voices.. just nothing. What's going on?'

'It is strange.. but just remember what we talked about.. there's no going back now.' I didn't mean to, but the moment she said that, I thought of Dante and my heart twisted. I had left him behind in that castle, what if something had happened to him?

'It's too late to worry about that' She mumbled in my head, and truth was she had a point. I sat up and ran a hand through my hair which was now tangled with loose strands of dead grass, shaking them loose I sighed, what would we do now? 'We do this ritual'

'But I don't have a clue what to do..' I muttered

'Of course you do' she said in s stern and steadied voice, and at that point a picture of myself caressed in moonlight and holding the stones up to the silvered disc popped in my head.

'Are you sure?' I asked her once more

'Of course.. now go.. you play your part in this and I shall do the rest'

I stood up and brushed the bits of dead grass off me before looking up once more, I was directly under the moon and its tender light caressed my skin ever so gently, for something that would change everything I knew.. it was the most peaceful time of my life. Closing my eyes I took a deep breathe and clutched the two stones in my hand till I was sure they would cut skin and draw blood. Releasing them slightly I held them up to the moon and wished my sister free, a tear fell from my right eye and I felt a strange tingling in both my hands, my eyes snapped open as they slowly began to burn and what I saw shocked me to the core. The marks the twins left on my hands were now glowing.

'It's happening.. I can feel it' Tatiana whispered ever so softly

'Do what you need to do.. you have to make the choice here' I closed my eyes once more and tried to ignore the burning sensation in my arms, all I wanted was her free.. Vampire or no Vampire. She was my sister, regardless of what most of them thought, that I was just the vessel for her, that I was the key to allowing her to take control fully.. she deserved whatever freedom she was given.

The next thing I knew the burning had ceased in my arms and I felt a soft hand caress my face, opening my eyes I saw myself.. but it wasn't myself, it was her.

“Tatiana?”

“Yes Victoria it is me” She smiled at me and I could see it in her eyes that she was truly glad to see me, but as I looked around I saw that she was still not free but rather.. we were back in that darkened place that we called a mind. She took a step toward me and wrapped her arms around my neck, and pulled me into a warmed embrace that shocked me as it was so unlike her, wrapping my arms around her back I hugged her back. We stood like that for a while until she eventually pulled back.