Author Games: Empty Night

Task One: Immortal

Mal Lilystone

Mal drummed her fingers against her knees as the music reverberated inside of her skull; drilling room for flowers to bloom along the creases of her skeleton. One day when she ceases to exist in this world- and she is perpetually aware that even as an immortal being this day will eventually come- she hopes to become home to a whole garden ready to boast for the world to see. Her sunflowers will reach up towards the stars and her lilies will flourish underneath the light of the moon. She has lived enough years on this planet to know how ugly it is when people forget to care for the world and all the organisms that grow from its earth.

A knock came at her door and she reluctantly paused the music to pull it out of her head and back into nonexistence. She stood up from her perch and made her way across the room, letting out a soft sigh before opening the door to the petite figure of the fledgling designated to her on the other side.

"Speak," she commanded of him; hating how harsh her voice sounded in contrast with the softness of her demeanor. However, she knew well enough that he wouldn't be able to make it past fledgling without being properly taught how to respect superiors.

"Elder Vlad requests your presence," the boy bowed his head, his movements marked with nervousness as he shifted between his feet. Mal grimaced and clenched her jaw before allowing her neutral expression to return to her features and her shoulders to relax back into confidence. The last time Elder Vlad wanted to see her it was to berate her for doing something wrong. He rarely ever complimented her for the million things she did right; he only remembered the few things she had messed up. Which sucked when he was to be her mentor, and he hardly ever did anything but complain that she hadn't done it right.

She was under constant scrutiny for every single move she made, and it caused her to loathe even becoming a vampire in the first place. Not that she'd had a choice in the matter, anyways.

"I hate to rush you, Princess, but he made it clear that urgency was crucial," the boy bowed again, not daring to look Mal in the eyes. She hated being called Princess; it was a title that she felt she did not deserve. You live long enough and do enough good in the world and apparently people start to look up to you.

She wanted to glare at the boy for being rude but knew that this was her hunger speaking as she had skipped breakfast in favor of getting some time alone. She smoothed the skirt of her dress and hastily walked down the hall to the room where Elder Vlad did most of his research.

"Come in," his voice called out to her from the other side of the door just as she reached her hand up to knock. She should've known better; Elder Vlad had a real knack for sensing where people were without even seeing them. It was an incredibly difficult ability that only the "experienced" vampires could even attempt... according to Vlad, at least. Mal was never allowed to even try this (not to his knowledge and not to yours either, dear reader, for if Mal were practicing anything unbeknownst to Vlad she'd be beheaded... seriously).

"I was told you needed to see me?" she inquired lightly, using a pathetically meek tone of voice. Not that she were afraid of him, but because if she talked how she wanted to she'd be chastised even further.

"You know Dorian H'Langraash, right?" Mal fumbled in her mind trying to place the name to a familiar face. It wasn't until she had rearranged the jigsaw pieces to the handsome face of one ruby-eyed Prince among Dragons that she nodded her head in reply. He had stubble lining his jaw the last time she'd seen him and silky hair that itched for her fingers to run through it.

"He was murdered today," her stomach plummeted to the floor as the news settled into her pounding heart; causing it to rattle inside of her ribcage. She gulped, trying to swallow the sandpaper realization that unease was slowly creeping into her throat.