Should Have Walked Away | Aarmau Vampire AU

𝔱 𝔥 𝔦 𝔯 𝔱 𝔶

• єιgнтєєи ωєєкѕ, σиє ∂αу •
• ѕтσям, ∂αу σиє •

Yesterday was sunny, but the weather changed overnight to a storm that could likely weather bedrock.

The torrential rain smelled of morning dew and electricity. No matter how static the air felt, however, I could never see lightning — only hear distant rolling thunder.

I had to train the girls' class today, but lucky for me, I was given permission to use the empty ballroom.

With small help of some guards, we got all the equipment moved into the marble-floored dance room. Some of the equipment we weren't initially going to need, but it had to be out of the rain regardless so I decided on a day of individual training where everyone could help each other out.

Nobody opposed the idea.

I traveled around the all-too-big room that collected dust at the seams, helping out as I went.

Two girls, one barely twenty and the other in her thirties, were struggling with a salmon ladder. The younger attempted to jump, but only one side of the beam got caught on the peg and she fell.

The eldest woman went to catch her, but I beat her to it.

"Need some help?"

The younger girl had brown hair the color of rich soil, and eyes that matched the storm clouds outside. She jumped when she realized it was me who caught her, but I simply smiled and jumped up to grab the pole and bring it down to the lowest peg.

"I'll admit, this one took even me a while to get."

I settled my hands at an even distance apart from my head, and the metal supports on both sides of me. "Make sure your hands are positioned to support the full weight of the metal."

I pulled myself up off the floor with the iron beam and went into a pull-up. "Once you go for a pull-up," I released back down, and did another but leaped up to the next peg set. "Jump like you were doing, and you should have no problem. However," I jumped down to the floor and turned to face them. "If you aren't sure that you have the strength for this, I suggest starting with weights or pull-ups without the flourish, then move up to this."

The two smiled to each other and went on to use my example with excitement, which is when I noticed half the ballroom was watching me do that.

Two different young women, not too far from me, were sprawling on a leather mat, and one pinned the other down who flailed her arms desperately.

"Just give up already!"

"No!"

She held her shoulders to the cow skin, and I felt the pressure in my bones. I could audibly hear my heart rate increase, the sound thundering in my ears.

My mind leaped back into my past, a million miles away, to a time I thought I had forgotten with cold stone at my back and short hair that came to my shoulders.

How old was I? Five? Six?

"No!"

Was I really that young?

I didn't even realize my hand was shaking until the girl gave up and tapped out, a sharp sound that shocked me out of my dizzied state.

Knitting my fingers together to hide the tremble, I shouted so everyone could hear me. "Thank you all for coming today, and you all did great!"

A round of complaints sounded, pointing out that we still had time left.

"It's okay, we can make it up next week! Just go home and stay warm and dry!"

I held back the trauma in my head until everyone cleared out, which by then I quickly left and ran through the rain to escape the panic that was ready to consume my body, taking it by storm.

Somehow I managed to be discrete and made it to the marketplace without any students or guards finding me.

Habit, I guess.

Nobody was out here, of course, thanks to the weather which was now drenching me head to toe. Normally this wouldn't bother me in the slightest, but as I sat against the base of the tree, I was shaking.

Somehow cold, hair stuck to my face as I recalled the memory that, above all, I wish I could forget.

Black hair, lighter than mine and Aaron's and even my mother's, consumed my vision. It smelled of ash and powdered soap from the battle just recently fought.

My skin was pale, the veins under my flesh a pink rather than dark red or blue.

I was low on blood

I was low on blood.

The muscles in my shoulder were weak; I had just started training a month ago. I was no match to the trained muscles of this man, let alone as he pinned me to the stone of the training hall.

My throat was raw from crying, and every time I tried to yell, the hands on my rib cage moved faster. Soon a bandage was shoved in my jaw.

I shut my eyes tight against the memory, wrapping myself into as small a ball as I could manage. It didn't do much.

The last time this memory affected me, I was at least eleven. Maybe seventeen.

It was so long ago.

My thoughts eventually sobered, and I stood to get up.

How long did I spend in the center of the square, standing in the rain to swallow my tears?

I hoped they would swallow my memories too, but alas they did no such thing.

I have to live with it.

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тιмє ιѕ α ѕσ¢ιαℓ ¢σиѕтяυ¢т.
ѕσмєтιмєѕ ιт ∂σєѕит нєαℓ, вυт ∂єѕтяσуѕ.
Word count: 951