CHAPTER SEVEN
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"Ares Knight"
His name kept repeating in my mind, no matter how hard I tried to fight it; the harder I fought, the more the name played. Derek had left shortly after the realization of the mysterious man's name and as I walked threw the halls thinking about my "dream," I was plagued with all kinds of inner battles about how to go about asking my parents about it.
I was tempted just to go screaming and raving at them, demanding to know what had happened at my birth, but I decided that wouldn't end well. I also thought to go calmly and ask for answers, but I didn't believe my father would tell me anything.
"I can tell you everything, my little Kitten."
My footsteps halted as the smooth, but rough voice echoed in my mind. I couldn't do that... I needed to trust that my family could do something about this, and if I went to find him, I wasn't sure how things would go. Who was I kidding? At this point in time, my whole being was considering it.
He could keep me hostage for leverage, slowly torture me to insanity, and throw me back home to die insane. I knew nothing of him or where he even lived. Picking up my feet that felt like lead, I mustered the strength to power walk down the hall, meeting the dead end and staring at my parent's master bedroom. Should I even try to gain any truths? It had been seventeen years of lies about my birth, and it scared me of what else would be lies.
"Mother?"
I waited and waited for what seemed like forever before the door slowly came open and revealed my mother softly, trying to smile at me. "Yes, my dear, is everything alright?" But unfortunately, her voice wasn't as confident or comforting as it used to be, and I fought to keep looking at her.
"I must ask you about something." She let out a breath and opened the door more comprehensively as I walked in. Their room was disheveled. An array of books, papers, and potion ingredients littered the bed, floors, and desk. I knew it was all research.
They were working desperately, but based on what I saw, I needed to understand what needed to be researched drastically. My mother sat on her elegant silver bed with purple and blue drapes dropping from the top four posts.
I didn't sit even as she patted beside her. I didn't know whether it would have been a good idea. I wasn't thrilled with her or my father, they'd kept a massive part of my birth out of the story for so many years, and you could say I was angry.
"Mother ... tell me about my birth again." Her hands were rustling threw papers came to a sudden halt. She seemed to pick up her breathing as she slowly looked up at me, pale as a ghost.
"You were born in December in the forest. I used to walk daily. I knew I was to deliver but did not realize how close I was that day. Then, you were a more determined girl than you are now. Your father heard my screams and came running for me with the nursery workers..."
I stared at her in disbelief, she was telling me the same story she had told me so many times over as I grew up, but she was telling it so effortlessly, as if it truly happened that way. What I had seen was too real, though, and my gut screamed at me she was lying. I was livid but attempted to remain calm as she continued to speak the lies as if they were the truth.
I nodded as she finished up and gently smiled at me. It was mind-blowing as I started to wonder who this woman even was. I never saw my mother as a liar till this very point. What was I supposed to do? What was I to say? I still respected my mother. Maybe she thought she was protecting me ...
"Thank you, mother... I am going out for a while. I haven't had any more spells of turning out of shifts ... I need air."
I could hear her protest as I stormed out of the room, shifting. My once long white and blue-tipped hair was now a shorter dirty wavy blond, eyes were no longer a purple-silver color but a dark brown. I wasn't sure where I was going exactly, but I had headed anywhere but that home as I ran out the front gates of the large palace.
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Hours later, the bright sun in the sky had gone down, and I was wandering the downtown streets. Decorative orange, yellow and purple lights hung everywhere. The young people were out in full force, laughing or fighting. It all depended on the beings. My feet hurt from the black hills I had rushed to put on by the front door. My outfit looked decent, though. Hilled knee-high boots went with the thigh-high silk black slip I was still wearing from bed. It was a mixed-up look for sure, but a look no less.
"Ares Knight"
I growled low as my body kept walking, and my mind still screamed his name. This had to be something to do with the marks, the claim the gods had put on him and myself. I could still see the image of him in the rain making my skin crawl in what I could guess was longing. I wanted it all to go away; my life was lonely and boring before, but I never wanted this new type of isolation and drama.
The whole time I had been walking, I was seeing him or the day I was born or wondering where he was. Then, finally, my brain simply wouldn't stop, my body hit something, jarring me out of my head, and I blinked as a young woman yelled at me.
I had run right into a highly intoxicated woman coming out of a nightclub, and that's when it hit me; I knew a way to get this all off my mind as I pranced my tiny frame to the door before swinging it open.
It was a typical scene, all kinds of people swigging down drinks at the bar, most people were dancing to the upbeat music, and I smiled at the smell of chaos.
Walking to the bar and wishing I knew how to call the bartender over, I resorted to watching the others before realizing they simply yelled. My voice wasn't meant for that, I never could genuinely raise my voice or scream per se, or at least Derek just laughed at my attempts. So I whistled the loudest I could, and surprisingly the tall, pretty woman turned to me and grinned before walking over.
"What can I get you, dear ?"
She sounded too sweet to be in a raving night club but who was I to judge? I had never even been in one, and yet here I stood. Never honestly had I drunk a day in my life, much less been to a party. I was going to find out, though; I was determined to get all this shit out of my head.
"Get me the whole bottle of your strongest drink... please."
Her brows went up, and she smirked before quickly walking away and returning with a black glass bottle with a glowing green logo. I couldn't pronounce what it was, but as other young people at the bar stopped and looked at me in Awh, I almost giggled.
My first drink was BAD, almost gag-worthy, but after a second and third, it tasted rather lovely and burned my throat in all the right places. Finally, my head felt lighter, and I sighed, hoping I was at the point of relaxation.
"Find Ares Knight"
My head banged against the bar in agony as I realized I had failed at keeping his name out of my head; hell, now it was not just his name but something telling me to find him. Quickly I recovered and growled, looking at the bottle in front of me.
"I will forget you, Ares, if I have to drown in this fucking bottle!"
I had passed the point of caring. It felt like the Gods had screwed me over at seventeen, and I was done with it all. I didn't want to think for the moment. I wanted to do anything but feel, get as numb as possible, and just forget.
Swig after swig, I was feeling better than I had in weeks as I slammed the empty bottle on the bar. My body shivered with a chill as if a cold fire was running down my spine. Ignoring this, I swayed to the beat of the music, and before long, I had made my way to the dance floor, not really dancing with anyone but dancing with everyone at the same time.
The chill swept over me again, but this time stronger, making me slow down and look around me; but you couldn't really make anyone out of the smoke, loud noises, dim lights with super bright ones, not to mention my current state was as if looking threw a frosted and broken glass.
The warmth hit me like a lightning bolt, starting from my hips and throughout my body, sending shots of excitement and fear. Someone had their large hands on my hips, swaying me with the beat. I could feel their body heat on my back and hot breath on my neck, making my body react in ways I had never felt.
I accepted it. To my surprise, maybe it was the alcohol, but I invited more of the feeling as I leaned back and looked at the ceiling. My mind was finally blank and at peace. The only thing filling it was the warmth of this person. At that moment, I never wanted to feel anything other than that intoxicating and suffocating feeling.
It was as if everything had aligned just the right way, and I greedily took a bottle of my previous drink from someone nearby. They swore at me before suddenly stopping with wide eyes and backing away before disappearing.
"I showed you, Gods! I don't need you to tell me who my chosen is. I'll make one !!"
I felt the vibrations of a chuckle behind me but ignored it again and continued dancing before raising the bottle up to take a drink.
I was stopped, though. The warmth behind me was gone, and a hand was now on mine. Pulling the bottle away from my lips. I growled lowly, trying to fight them back, yet I hadn't even opened my eyes to see who was pissing me off. The music was low now, oddly so soft, and people's voices seemed to be off in the distance. I fought for as long as my intoxicated body would allow before giving up and letting the bottle move away; I eyed the hand holding my own and grew nervous.
Not a scared nerve or anxiety, more of an exciting rumble ran threw my body. Deep down, I was so excited that I had to force away a smile from growing on my face. My eyes trailed up, broad shoulders leading to a sharp jaw with a growing five o'clock shadow, perfectly shaped rosy lips, high cheekbones with shaggy hair tickling it; then the eyes ... those deep dark rich hazel gold eyes that made my heart want to stop beating.
"Ares ... "
I couldn't say anything else. My tongue was tied, my stomach was twisting, and my head was clouded. My body felt like it was on fire from the inside out. My wrist was burning more and more every second. The inner battles I had faced for days now felt like nothing compared to what my body, soul, and mind were having. It wasn't a battle; it was a full-blown war.
His face was emotionless at that moment, just perfectly staring at me as a stone statue edged to perfection. My heart thumped in a rhythm I had never felt as I tried my best to breathe normally.
Then it happened, the same feeling I had at school two weeks ago began to take place, and my eyes widened looking around. No one seemed to notice us, though, as if we were on another plane than them. I was scared as I started to shift back to myself, uncontrollably almost as if forced to, but why?
I had come to a conclusion even in my state, the room was slowed down, and the fact no one seemed to notice us and now me shifting back to myself by force, I knew it was him ... But how was he so strong and what was able to do such feet? I completely turned back into myself. Long waved white and blue hair fell against my nightgown, purple eyes found his in wonder, and my height fell slightly shorter than before.
His straight face was all I saw as my hand holding the bottle fell, the bottle falling and shattering on the ground at our feet. Warmth filled my body as he placed a hand against my cheek, things seemed to stop at that point, and I had no control as I leaned into his touch.
"I found you, my Kitten."
Those words would be forever engraved in my soul.