We headed towards the forest surrounding the house on foot. Myself and Rose walked silently behind the boys as they walked ahead of us, carrying the majority of the supply bags with them, which I was extremely happy about. The trees created a canopy above us, shielding us from the heat of the sun as we travelled deeper and deeper into the woods. I felt at peace for once as I settled in to the steady rhythm of my pace and immersed myself in the calming scent of the forest along with the chorus of bird song that echoed through the trees. This place really was beautiful; it was a shame that soon we would be entering dangerous territory with the constant threat of capture.
The rebels would surely take us away from the boys if they realised we were being used as slaves for their enemy. I couldn't quite understand my reasoning for not wanting to leave the vampires, and I was too frightened to believe the feelings I had.
So I denied them.
After a while of walking it dawned on me that I wasn't in any pain from any of the injuries I had sustained since arriving. Even my ankle was completely healed and not one spike of discomfort shot through me. I silently thanked Aiden for healing me, even if I had to swallow vampire blood for it to be possible.
''So, how are you fairing?'' Rose broke the silence as we continued.
''Despite the situation?'' I asked, glancing at her where she matched my pace beside me.
''Well, yeah. Sorry, stupid question.'' She gave a half-hearted laugh and looked down at the floor.
''I'm actually surprised at how this has all turned out, aren't you?'' I questioned, trying to carry on the conversation before it became uncomfortable.
''Sure, I mean at least neither of us is stuck with some freak who is obsessed with torturing like the Punishers.'' She grimaced, her eyes training on Josh's back for a moment before they returned to me.
''Well, yeah. And the fact that neither of us are dead yet is a plus, right?'' I smiled, noticing that Rose's eyes lacked their usual spark, like she had lost hope.
''Yeah.'' She mumbled.
''Rose, what's wrong?'' I asked, slowing so that we could drop back further from the two vampires walking ahead of us. It would be a break from the norm if we could actually have a private conversation without vampire ears listening in.
''Nothing.'' She stated, her voice betraying her as it shook.
''Seriously, Rose.'' I grabbed her hand, slowing her before she could speed up and put an end to my questions.
''I just...how can you be so upbeat when we're here? With them?'' She made a gesture towards Aiden and Josh who seemed to be chatting themselves, ignoring us.
''Because there's no point in being gloomy, it's not going to change things.'' I spoke, sounding desperate for her to feel the same way.
''Violetta, things couldn't get much worse. It shouldn't come as a surprise that I'm not happy.'' She sounded as if she was becoming angrier, not at me, but at this whole situation. I couldn't help but feel hurt by her words despite that.
''That's where you're wrong though! You were just saying yourself that we could have been with a much worse Master. Somebody who didn't provide us with clothes, food or even a bed-''
''We're stuck with the prince of all vampires and his best friend in the middle of a deserted forest heading towards a human camp to assist them with their plan to destroy them.'' She interrupted me, rushing her words, ''Is there any part of that that sounds even remotely good for us?''
''Well no, but-''
''Exactly. It's you that shouldn't be happy, there's no problem with me.'' She spoke, her tone harsh.
I let go of her, allowing her to stomp ahead of me whilst I hung back processing her words. I grasped my hands together nervously. She was right that what we were doing didn't benefit us at all. We were basically helping the enemy come closer to completely overhauling the human race. But, there was nothing we could do to stop that.
The Queen's threat echoed in my thoughts.
I hoped that Rose wouldn't think badly of me now that I seemed to be siding with the vampires. I couldn't help it; it was the only way to survive this.
The air had become colder by this point, darkness beginning to close in around us as night fell. The forest lost its enchanting and peaceful beauty only to be replaced by an overwhelming sense of danger. The trees towering above us looked sinister, their pointed branches stretching out around us as if they would grab a hold of me at any second, blocking out the light of the stars and moon high in the sky. The chirping song of birds had completely faded, replaced by an eerie silence.
I hoped it wasn't a bad omen.
I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering slightly at the drop in temperature. Aiden had packed well for this type of weather but I was too afraid that stopping to retrieve some warm clothing from my bag would result in the others leaving me. I couldn't bear the thought of being in this darkness alone.
I suddenly noticed that the others had come to a halt ahead of me. I hurried to catch up, the weight of my bag slowing me. As I reached them, I found myself in an open clearing, the moon flooded the area with its comforting light and I breathed a sigh of relief.
''This looks like a good spot for camp.'' Aiden spoke up, dumping the bags he had carried at his feet, ''Josh and I will set up the tent, leaving you two to collect some wood for a fire.''
We all nodded, following Aiden's orders without question. It was a good thing that I wasn't asked to pitch the tent, there was no way I would know what to do with all of those different pieces. Knowing me it would fall embarrassingly on top of us during the night.
Rose and I dumped our bags alongside Aiden's and I followed Rose as she chose a direction for us to search. The tense atmosphere that had surrounded us earlier had lessened, leaving me feeling more comfortable that she wouldn't lash out at me. The distraction of something to do helped guide our thoughts to other things.
''Have you done this before?'' I wondered, my breath showing as mist in the cold when I spoke. I regretted not retrieving a jumper before we had left our bags. My hair stood on end along my arms, goose bumps covering my flesh.
''Not really, but I've seen it on TV. My dad used to watch survival shows.'' She bent down and picked up a small log and I followed suit, hoping mine was acceptable.
''Really? Mine did too.'' I laughed at the stupidity of the conversation. It was true, my father had always been into survivalist shows before he had died. I'd always asked why he had such an interest but he would shrug me off, telling me it was a simple form of entertainment to pass the time.
''What happened to your dad?'' She asked bluntly, and a wave of sadness ran through me.
My gaze fell to the dirt beneath our feet, ''He's gone.'' My voice was quiet.
''Where?'' She asked, seemingly undeterred by the hurt I knew was obvious on my face.
''He was murdered, I think.'' I retrieved another log, ''Haven't seen him in a while anyway, and that's what my mum thought.''
''Really? I didn't know.'' She sounded sympathetic.
''Yeah.'' I muttered, slightly annoyed that she had caused me to remember the bad aspects of my dad's short life. I knew I shouldn't be angry at her though, I just wasn't used to discussing him.
We carried out the rest of our task in silence, and the temperature felt below freezing by the time we found our way back to the camp. It was a struggle to manoeuvre ourselves through the trees in the pitch black, I held onto Rose's hand as she guided us back to the clearing, balancing the heavy fire wood in the other.
The large tent had been set up in the middle of the open space, and the boys had placed two long, thick logs beside each other around a pit designed for the fire. It seemed silly that during the time it took for myself and Rose to gather a few planks of wood, the boys could set up the entire rest of the camp. Though, I was relieved that they had done so.
''Great, you're back.'' Aiden looked up at us from where he was seated as we stumbled towards them, ''I trust that you know how to set up a fire?'' There was a gleam in his eyes that showed he knew we most definitely did not know how.
''Rose, why don't you go and prepare the food for you two whilst Violetta handles the fire? That way you can get it all done twice as fast.'' Josh was relaxed in the same sitting position as Aiden, smiling cheekily.
I glared at the boys, almost ready to protest but thinking better of it. They knew that I would struggle, but it was simple entertainment for them.
Assholes.
''Fine.'' Rose dropped the wood at the edge of the pit and avoided my gaze as she retrieved the food packed for us humans and began to prepare it into an edible meal.
I kneeled beside the carefully positioned stones that would be the base of the fire, well aware that I had two vampires focused on me. It must have been obvious that I didn't know what I was doing as I fiddled around with the wood, placing it in the centre of the pit ready to be burnt. I had no experience of doing this before; my family had been too protective to allow me to go camping with them in case we were attacked by hungry vampires.
When it got round to lighting the fire, I was at a loss. I'd seen the technique of a spark to light the fire but I couldn't even produce a spark to start a flame.
''Having trouble?'' Aiden whispered teasingly, his hot breath hitting the side of my neck.
I didn't speak, determined to prove to him that I could do this alone and that his closeness didn't cause my heartbeat to accelerate involuntarily. Although, I was pretty sure he could hear it.
''Violet, how do you expect to light a fire like that?'' He asked, mocking me as I continued my attempts.
I must have looked pathetic because he snatched the two twigs from my hands that I had been trying to use to produce a spark, and quicker than my eyes could follow he engulfed the logs in a warm flame.
I stared at the fire in disbelief and then my curious gaze shifted to the vampire next to me.
''What? You haven't heard of a lighter?'' He smirked, showing me the shining contraption he held in his hand.
A sudden feeling of humiliation overtook me and I felt my cheeks flush as he continued to stare at me. I wanted nothing more than to hide in the tent and retreat at that moment, but I found myself transfixed by his beautiful blue eyes.
Aiden's smirk dropped, his face turning serious as he pulled away from me and stood. I stared after him as he walked away and returned to his position on the log beside the now lit fire.
My emotions were frazzled; I couldn't decipher them as my thoughts went wild. I had no idea what this sudden feeling was but my palms were sweaty and the urge to run had intensified.
Fear?
Anger?
Disappointment?
I didn't know. Whatever the feeling was I wanted it to stop, now.
My wish was granted as Rose appeared beside me, thrusting food into my hands. My thoughts were forgotten as my hunger became apparent and I scarfed down the food presented to me. I hardly noticed when the boys began chatting about the days ahead of us.
''When should we take that potion?'' Josh was asking as I finally came round to listening to them speak.
''Probably tomorrow afternoon, we're about a quarter of the way there.'' This surprised me as I recalled Aiden saying we would be there in two days at the most. How were we going to cover that much ground in a day?
Josh answered the questions in my thoughts with his next words, ''So tomorrow we're running?''
I immediately panicked, how were we going to keep up with the vampires? But, then a sensible part of my mind remembered that Aiden said we would be using their speed.
''Yeah, we are. You up for that, girls?'' Aiden asked tauntingly, his eyebrows raised. Rose nodded, seeming as if she wasn't too enthusiastic about the idea. Aiden didn't wait for my answer, ''I'm going to go and scout the forest, just to make sure we aren't in somebody else's territory.'' He proceeded to stand and was gone before anybody else could say a word.
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~ Edited 10/01/2016 ~