None of us mentioned the events of the morning, and I refused to acknowledge them as I set out to cook myself and Rose what would now be considered lunch. Determined to prove to Aiden that I could be independent, and to Rose that I cared for her, I retrieved the lighter and relit the fire to then sort through some of the basic ingredients we had with us. I threw together a random concoction that I wasn't even sure would be edible; it turned out to be tasteless, but filling.
It was as I was finishing up eating that I tuned into Josh's conversation with Aiden.
''We should think about preparing this,'' Josh held up the vial of liquid Gertrude had provided them with.
''Yeah, have you figured out the old woman's instructions yet?'' Aiden prodded the fire with a long stick, staring into the flames.
I watched them from where I was perched on the log beside theirs. Rose sat beside me, her arms wrapped securely around herself as if she were trying to hold herself together. Some colour had returned to her cheeks, but her eyes were dark, the skin beneath them appearing bruised from exhaustion.
A feeling of despair overwhelmed me when I looked at her, I didn't know if it was because I felt sympathy for her, or whether I was selfishly awaiting the inevitable pain I would feel when Aiden decided his appetite had returned.
''It says something about heating it, the usual I guess.'' I tore my eyes away from Rose, returning to settle on Josh who had spoken.
I didn't know much in the way of witchcraft, no humans really did. It was a well-kept secret, and witches were a rare species, so there wasn't much need to learn about them. My interest in the tiny vial filled with luminous liquid had piqued though. How would it affect the boys? Would they change completely?
I decided to ask.
''What's it going to do to you? Besides disguise you I mean.'' My words caused both of the boys to snap their heads in my direction, obviously surprised that I had spoken.
Aiden leaned forward, ''It won't do anything drastic, if that's what you're implying.''
I shook my head, ''No, I'm just curious.'' I met his steady gaze, my hands clasped together in my lap.
''We'll still have all of our vampire traits, it supposedly changes our appearance. If it works, that is.'' His eyes returned to the fire and I praised myself for not being the first to look away for once, ''I wouldn't put it past that witch to toy with us though.''
''Don't be stupid, Aiden. You know what your parents would do to Gertrude if she mucked this up.'' Josh had a playful smile lighting his features, despite the dark meaning behind his words.
''Yeah, yeah. Doesn't mean I trust her.'' Aiden muttered, throwing the stick that he had been fiddling with onto the fire, ''Why don't you two get packed up, we'll be leaving soon.'' He remained seated, not making any move to help or giving any indication that he really cared what we did.
''Sure.'' I muttered, standing and making my way towards the tent to start gathering up my things.
It was beginning to annoy me how commandeering he was. I knew that he was my Master and it came with the role, but I had felt something else between us on the way back to the camp earlier. It was as if he had been genuinely interested in learning about me, and now his attitude had snapped back to the controlling vampire I had grown to know him as.
I shouldn't even care; he was not going to change for a human.
When Rose and I had finished packing up our belongings, the boys began to take down the tent and gather the rest of the items. It wasn't long before we had everything in order and were preparing to begin walking again. I was anticipating the run ahead of us, nerves were eating away at me, but at the same time there was a sense of excitement. I couldn't wait to feel the thrill of vampire speed; it looked both invigorating and frightening.
''We'll be walking for a few miles; we're close to the border.'' Aiden was ahead of us as we set off again.
He hadn't asked any more questions about my past since we had arrived back, and it bothered me, no matter how little I would tell him even if he did ask. I had noticed a difference in him between the way he acted around all of us and me alone, it was a noticeable change and I found that I preferred his personality when it was just us. I knew I was being silly, fantasies were forming in my head and I dismissed them, there was no way he had any feelings for me. I blamed Millie and Josh for putting those childish thoughts into my head.
The greenery surrounding us didn't change as far as we walked, the birds didn't stop their constant song and the wind whipping through the trees didn't cease. The bag I was carrying had begun to drag, becoming heavier as the distance we walked stretched further and further. The shock of the morning had left me tired, and I was in desperate need of a rest, but I knew that neither of the boys would want to stop.
Rose was looking worse for wear, her steps were sluggish and I knew she was having trouble keeping up. The only help I could offer was to carry her bag, but she refused to allow me to, looking pointedly at my bruised arms and we continued on in silence.
The sun was beginning to descend in the sky when it first came into view.
A wall towered above us, made completely out of stone. At first I didn't notice the guards stationed on top of it, looking down at us, but when I did I felt a shiver of fear race up my spine. They were dressed in identical uniforms to the vampires from the morning, their eyes trained on our movements, calculating.
''Stop!'' A sharp voice demanded, startling me. It was a woman, her hair tied into a tight ponytail and her features stern as she approached us. I didn't see any signs of recognition as her eyes scanned the four of us; they lingered on Aiden for moment but quickly moved on, ''What's your business?'' Her tone was authoritative, causing a grin to spread across Aiden's face.
''We're passing through.'' His posture was relaxed, it was clear that he was enjoying her display of ignorance.
''Nobody passes through here. Especially not humans.'' She spat the last words and aimed a sneer in my direction.
''Is that so?'' Aiden raised an eyebrow at her, his head tilted to the side as he observed her. It was obvious that he was being patronising, and I wasn't surprised when the woman fought back.
''Yes, you may not pass. Now leave, before we remove you.'' Her fangs elongated with her threat, only making Aiden chuckle.
''You seriously don't know who I am?'' He pointed at himself, the familiar smirk not wavering as the woman tried to intimidate him with a glare, ''I'm not sure you're in the position to threaten me.''
The woman seemed to look more closely at him, he hadn't made any move to hurt her, but it was obvious that he was beginning to get annoyed. I wasn't surprised, it was extremely rare for the prince not to be recognised and Aiden didn't seem like somebody who took kindly to not being known or respected, especially by his own kind.
Her eyes widened the moment she realised who she was dealing with and she gaped at us, ''Prince! I apologise for my behaviour, of course you all may pass.'' I rolled my eyes against my own will; it was pathetic how these vampires worshipped the High Royals. Though, I suppose it was inevitable with the amount of power they held over the entire vampire species.
Aiden didn't say anything, his smirk dropping slightly. He turned to me and I found myself under his scrutiny for a moment, before he addressed Josh, ''We're gonna have to start running when we make it to the other side. That is if we want to make it to the camp tonight.''
''Sounds good to me.'' Josh immediately responded, having been silent throughout the exchange with the guard who was watching us with regret shining in her eyes, along with admiration.
''We'll be leaving now. I don't expect any more interference from any of your comrades.'' Aiden spoke seriously to the woman, and she was tremoring slightly as she listened to him.
The guards looking down on us averted their eyes when Aiden looked up at them, shying away from his gaze. It was astonishing to see how much fear the vampires exhibited whilst remaining complimentary and loyal to their High Royals. I wondered what it felt like for Aiden to grow up around this attitude towards him and his family; it certainly gave some explanation to his actions. He obviously wouldn't know much better than to act as others expected him to act.
There was a large wooden door as the only barrier between us and the other side. Beyond the wall there was wilderness, as well as some small communities of humans who chose to live further away from the Centre. They still had Punisher's to keep them in line, but chose to live with less protection and under less scrutiny from the High Royals being so close by.
Aiden was the first to go through, followed by myself, and Rose behind me. Josh was the last to exit into the barren land that stretched for as far as the eye could see.
It was a stark contrast to the lush forestry that had surrounded us since we had left the mansion, and it was exhilarating to be faced with the unknown ahead of us.
Aiden and Josh walked us further away from the wall, dirt soft beneath our feet, until the border was out of sight behind us and they stopped.
''Right, time to run.'' Aiden looked at me expectantly.
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A/N Wow guys, 1000 reads! That was my first milestone and I am super happy to have passed it, you have no idea how grateful I am! :D
Thank you for reading and please vote and comment if you enjoyed! :)
~ Edited 10/01/2016 ~