Bright Lights and Dark Blood (On Hold)

Chapter 9

♪Love song by Tesla (Intro loop)♪

Ella rustles in her sheets, visibly distraught and breathing heavily but she smells air not from her room but from somewhere else and from another time.

She is running through a field now with a piece of paper in her hand. “Elizabeth! Give me my drawing back” a young man catches up to her. Elizabeth turned and slipped on the hem of her dress and lands on the soft grass. “Are you alright, my lady?” The young man with dark hair and stunning blue eyes alarmingly said and he offered his hand. “Well thank you kind sir!” she pulls him down and lands beside her. They were in kissing distance giggling so infectiously.

Elizabeth props up with her elbows holding her weight and he tries to stand up. “No! Let’s stay” she hold him down and puts her hand to his chest. She felt his heartbeat thumping hard against her ear. She swears this feels like perfection. The sky was in the perfect blue hue, sun just right and the smell of fresh air. Elizabeth wished she could stay there with Phillip in an everlasting loop.  

She looks up and saw the sky reflect in his eyes. “What are you thinking?” she wonders. Phillip looked at her green eyes and rosy cheeks and wished that time would stop at that moment. “I was wondering how I can stop time. So this wouldn’t end”  he caresses her cheeks with her thumb. Elizabeth’s heart plunged to the abyss. “What made you think this would end Phillip?” the question prompted Phillip to sit up straight his back on Elizabeth.

“Who are we fooling Elizabeth? You’re the Baron’s daughter and I’m just a servant’s son” his voice low. He was right, Elizabeth will probably be married off in her father’s will.  “We could run away” she said the words she was hoping he would say. Live faraway in the far countryside. Away from walls people built between them and they will be starcrossed no more. “Your father will kill us Elizabeth. I can’t handle the thought of putting you in such danger” Phillip puts his forehead to hers and she closed her eyes in the truthfulness of his words. “When the time comes that we’ll part, I want you to remember this Elizabeth. I love you with a love that will outlive us and as long as one of us breaths, we will linger on” He puts his hands on her cheeks. And they kissed.

“My Lady!” They saw Olivia pulling her dress as she runs through the field.

The booming sound of a carriage disturbed the quiet niche of Elizabeth’s paradise. Her heart went dead as she stood. She looked at Phillip as he too also paled. “Phillip love, you need to run” she instinctively pushed him away but his feet stuck to the grassy ground before starting to back away. “No!” their heads snapped to Olivia, with fear in her eyes “They already saw us ,my lady. Running would make things worse”.

The elaborate horse drawn carriage stopped. Elizabeth’s hand became cold and she swears she’s about to have a heart attack. The rosy tint on her cheeks was no more and she trembled on the ground where she stood.

A man cloaked with luxurious clothes stepped out a deadly stare in his eyes followed by his personal servant .

“Father “

“Father” they said in unison.

A servant called them to come near. She felt like walking on a plank, step by step nearer to a certain death. Olivia and Henry followed her until they stood at the roadside near the baron. They bowed and curtsied. They were dead silent.

“Such a nice weather for a stroll. Right, Elizabeth?” he said with a dangerous calm. Her father looked around seemingly enjoying the view. Something caught his eyes, A piece of paper carefully held on by his daughter. He slowly took it from his trembling daughter noticing her tight grip. Elizabeth closed her eyes wishing that suddenly the Phillip’s drawing of them under a tree would just magically disappear. The baron glanced at Elizabeth for a split second and with a knowing smile gave it to the man beside him. “You failed to mention your son can draw” he said to the man behind him without leaving his sees off Elizabeth.

“What is the meaning of this, Phillip?!”

“Father, I. . .” Phillip could no longer continue. What was he to say? That they were in love and are running away?

 “Phillip has nothing to do with this. It’s all my fault”—Elizabeth protectively raised her hand—“I told him to. . .” .“Silence, Elizabeth” Her father gave a look that choked the air out of her. This isn’t good, now she’s sure of the impending battering later. “Get inside, daughter. This is a men’s conversation” she bits her lip with surrender.  Elizabeth is sure if she said anything by now he would order her head to be cut off and be put in a stake. She nods and climbs in the carriage.

                Elizabeth takes a seat and looks up. She isn’t alone.  Henry was there in the carriage, his face was in pure pain and eyes full of regret. Something in her mind clicked and a wave of understanding filled her with anger.

                “You told my father.” Her eyes filled with much hate and despair from the betrayal. Elizabeth’s eyes filled with angry tears as her lips pursed in disgust with Henry. “Elizabeth, I didn’t have a choice” he defended. In her book, those words were as good as Yes, I betrayed you and stabbed you in the back.

The baron stepped inside the carriage to sit beside Elizabeth. “I hope this will be the last time they see each other” he said from the window. “I’ll see to it myself, my lord” the voice replied.

“Hiya!” The horses started their pace and the carriage started to move. “Wait Olivia is. . . “. “She has feet she can walk” her father cuts her off. “But father!” Elizabeth’s head jerk and she swears she heard something crack. Her hand touched her cheek in disbelief, her father slapped him.

“You do not call me father”

“I…I’m sorry my lord”

Elizabeth gasped as she kicked herself up. She looks around her dark room and gave a heavy sigh. It’s the 21st century now, she was far away from that time now. No corsets, No carriage, No father. She touched her cheek and remembered how her skin burned like it just happened.

This must be vamp stress, she thought. Probably because she’s been flying all around for her shoots and runways that it finally caught up on her.

She needs air. She opened her windows and felt the wind brush her hair. The air wasn’t the same as it was back then. Shaking her head as she thought of Phillip once again. I need to go and walk outside, maybe feed or just kill, she said to herself.

Elizabeth went out with a blur.