So dear I love him that with him,
All deaths I could endure.
Without him, live no life.
~ by William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
Seduce my mind and you can have my body,
Find my soul and I'm yours forever.
~ by Anonymous
"the nights young" Damien whispered in my ear his arms encircled my waist. i didnt know how long i sat cradeld there simply enjoying his embrace. the days troubles seemed like a distant memory wrapped in damiens arms.
"you should get some sleep" i mumbled absent mindedly into his chest. Damiens reply was muffled against the silky folds of my tousled hair.
"im not leaving you for a minute, not after today" he vowed his voice burned with perfect sincerity, it was hard to doubt his words. in my lovers arms it was hard to doubt anything. the world had faded into a non exsistant orb. Damien was my sun, my moon, my stars. he was the grass beneath my feet on a summers day. the long blades that tickled the soles of my feet, as i sunbathed in the golden sun.
"Dont be ridiculous you cant watch me forever" i mumbled patheticaly, my heart shuddered at the thought. Damiens slim pale fingers laced themselves under my chin with a sharp jerk he brought my head to meet his own. his eyes blazed with there own fire. i had to fight the urge to blink.
"Il watch you untill the stars burn out" he vowed. translation? he wouldnt let me out of his sight. well for a while at least, damiens head already rested against my shoulder.we had spent the remainder of the day making plans, discarding others. Damien was all for informing the council members i how ever was not so enthusiastic. it would mean revealing the whereabouts of cody. and i wasnt sure i was ready to loose my little boy... not just yet. please just let him be my boy for a little while longer,i begged silently.
Damien drew calming circles down my back, i felt the same familar fire settle in the pit of my stomach. and i closed my eyes utterly content.
Damien planted heated kisses along my jaw, he settled me more comfortably onto his lap. a low purr vibrated deep within my chest. Damien tried to hide his smug smile, i swatted him playfully on the shoulder.
Despite the pleasure of his touch his kisses frightend me. there was to strong an edge to the way his lips crushed mine, his grip although not painful was not comfortable either. Damien couldnt restrain his fear.
I moved restlessly under his embrace. torn. not wanting to spoil this perfect moment but not wishing to prolong this feeling of raw tension.
"Damien" i warned, though my reply was strangled by another heated kiss. i sighed moving my lips against his i forced them to move into a slower rythm.
after a moment or two damien sighed and gazed unseeingly into my eyes.
"i need to think alots happend to today and i just need time to sort things out in here you know?" i tapped the side of my head for emphasis.
"but i might need protecting" damien muttered his expression sullen. i nearly gave up then and there. he looked so adorable so crestfallen his raven locks, tumbled into his tawny eyes. my hand longed to sweep back that carpet of wild dissaray.
"Im sorry...damien i..i" i couldnt finish my sentence. i couldnt simply sit here and pretend everything was normal even for a few moments. not while this shadow hung over our heads.
"Juliet" he growled, his eyes filled with deep concern. they watched my every movement as i retraced my footsteps to the door.
"dont do this" his voice nothing more than a quiet whisper, muted by the thud of my bare soles as they ran down the stairs. my feet took me in no paticular direction, i found myself headed up another flight of steps towards
the upper floor. in my time at damiens home i had never explored the upper halls. Damien had once said that there was nothing of interest. but i was curious. in a world that didnt make sense, we prescious few have to cling to the remaining peice of sanity we had left.
and so running towards my new found haven, i felt a little of my sanity return. Questions flooded, my mind like the river bursting through a dam. Damien.who was this dark stranger who had taken my heart so captive?
Who watched over cody, like a father would a son.
I stared at the arrogant faces of his anscestors my hand brushed along the chipped paint. each set of eyes seemed to follow me through rooms.
I felt like a servant girl lost to a world of nobles. i felt like i didnt belong, a misfit finding her place.
My wandering must have sent me in the general direction of the servants qauters because not more than a moment later,i was knocked of my feet, by a maid. she was dressed in plain modern day clothes her fiery curls were hidden beneath a black bandana. the angry retort died on her lips and her face transformed into a look of frozen horror.
"Its not possible" she stuttered, falling over her wash bucket, i caught her midfall she struggled in my arms. terror still the dominant feature on her face.
"im sorry?" i asked caustiously struggling to control my annoyance. i wasnt exactly known for my sunny outlook on life. and right now i was in no mood to be messed with.
"your her.." she offered uselessly, i sighed this conversation seemed to be going nowhere. i set her down gently to her feet. she backed away a few paces her blue eyes wide with disbelief.
"and her would be...?" i asked curiously, my interest sparked. i tapped my finger against folded arms, a nervous habit or so i was told. the girl gulped at my impaitence.
"Mia summers?"she made it sound like a question rather than a statement of fact. i frowned suddenly suspicscous. what was damien keeping from me this time?
"No im juliet summers, Mia was my aunt" i said slowly deep in thought. my aunt had died while my mom was only 7 years of age. people had often remarked i looked like her, but that wouldnt explain this womans reaction.
The maids eyes widend further still, she hung her head in shame before dropping into a quick curtsy. i had to stiffle a gigle this was like something out of an old fashioned movie. next id find a carrige in the driveway or mints on my pillow.
"How did you know her?" i asked forcing my voice into a neutral tone. I didnt want to frighten the maid any more than she obviously was.
"beggin your pardon m'lady it was not my place" she said bobing once more. i caught her arm in mid turn she looked at me her cheeks flooded a deep crimson. her blue eyes were instantly wary.
"whats your name?" i asked gently keeping my voice low and persuasive, the maid relaxed from her tense posture.
"Lottie m'lady, although if i may be so bold as to speak, i think it highly improper for a lady of your status to be mixing with the commoners of this house"
"dont put yourself down! lottie this is the 21st century, women have the right to vote now. your not a slave!" lottie smiled kindly at my little tirade.
"ah but when youve lived for the better part of 3 century m'lady, such trivial things dont seem to matter" she patted my arm maternaly before heading towards the exit.
"wait"i cried out forcing my feet to match her quick pace.
"Beggin your pardon mam but theres work to be done and im a busy woman this house hold doesnt run itself you know" she said a little proudly wiping a bit of invisble lint from her sleeve. i stared at her dumfounded, this woman was a complete mystery. one minute she was so frightend she could barely string a sentence together, and the next she was trying to get rid of me.
"Lottie" i spoke slowly as lottie tensed, her blue eyes tightend the mop in her hand trembled slightly. "how did you know my aunts name?"
"its not my place mam i...i.." lottie stuttered a feiry lock escaped her bandana, she shoved it back franticaly in place.
"MOMMAA" a sweet angelic voice wailed. i groaned in frustration.
"Meet me at midnight, in the servants qaurters, il tell you everything you need to know" she hissed. i threw her a grateful smile, before opening my arms as an adourable blur. Cody burrowed his head underneath my chin, his arms wrapped around my neck. it was as if these arms were designed for him. such a perfect fit.
"hello baby" i crooned my fingers idly ran through his tousled blonde hair.
Cody glanced shyly at lottie his face hidden beneath my many layers of hair.
"please to meet you master cody" lottie smiled impishy extending a hand. cody shot her a big smile before taking it. he froze for a moment his brow furrowing. lottie said her goodbyes, and fled quickly through the servants qaurters. i made a mental note of where to find the place.i had a feeling it would not be so easy to find this corridor upon my next visit.
Cody shivered not long after lottie had left. his arms tightend protectively around me.
"whats wrong honey?" i asked worriedly. swinging him onto my hip i carried him downstairs. my footsteps no longer echoed along the marble floor, its as if we were ghosts in this quiet house. i suppressed a shiver of my own. cody idly twisted a lock of my hair in his fingers. not meeting my gaze he spoke his bottom lip trembled.
"She has so many secrets momma" he said biting his lip. he glanced at me anxiously. still not able to quite meet my gaze.
i paused midstep. my foot hovered over the floor.
"what kind of secrets?" i kept my voice low and gentle. i tried to mimic our mothers tone, and failed. she had such a gentle nature. i was always the fighter in my family, the rebel child thinking of her only brought me more pain.
Cody pursed his lips considering his answer.
"i think you should meet her tonight momma, there are things...things you need to know" i examined codys face carefully. his lips were pressed together in a tight line, as if one word would unlock all his secrets. his green eyes (my eyes) remained defiant. i could see a hard resolve form deep within there depths.
"are you hungry?" i asked cody quickly changing the subject. cody would either tell me or he wouldnt. it was the way things were between us. though i never let it show how much it bothered me. we never kept secrets from one another.
"nope, dad already gave me some tea" codys eyes sparkled whenever he spoke of damien, he had quickly adpoted damien into our family.
i sighed, just when it seemed the peices of our life where finaly falling into place , fate came along and ripped it from our grasp. i cuddeld cody closer to me for a moment , needing to reassure myself. he was the one constant thing in my little world.
"You dont want to see da....damien" cody corrected shyly only just realsing his mistake. i ruffled his hair half heartedly.
"would you like to play a game?" cody suggested helpfully,his eyes lighting up once more with excitement.
"sure why not" i smiled sweetly,"what wolud you like to play?"
"hide and seek" cody crowed practiacly bonucing on the balls of his feet. i froze where i wa, the last time i had played hide and seek was with cody in my dream....
Cody quickly read my thoughts, he smiled sympatheticaly.
"dont worry momma" he said quickly squeezing my hand. i remained frozen a statue in his arms. despite codys best attempts to wake me from my slumber, i kept picturing his face, the watchers cold black eyes staring deep into my soul. my body convulsed remembering its pain. the ruby pendant still clung to my neck i had been unable to move it even an inch.
"how about explorers?" cody begged his bottom lip trembled into an adourable pout.i couldnt help but laugh the action felt wrong on my lips.
cody used to paly the game with my dad each day they woul find another amamzing adventure.
"so where shall we to travel today cody? atlantis? the deepest hearts of africa? the lost tombs of tutencarmoon?" codys excitement grew with each suggestion. and so we spent the rest of the evening exploring the grounds of damiens house. i saw no sign or trace that he had been here and yet still i was overwhelemed by his prescene it seemed to linger in the air.
I had just chased cody into the top floors attic, it was a largih room about the size of a banquet hall. my eyes took in the rows of boxes, mirrors were shoved to the four corners of the room. dressers lay discarded toys and trinkets, forgotten. I found cody hudeld over a trunk he was trying franticaly to break the lock. crouching beside him i took the lock from his tiny palm, cody gazed up at me in wonder, as sparks shot from my palms the lock melted i wiped the silver residue on a nearby cussion.
"momma ur special" he gazed at me in wonder. i patted his hair lightly. cody opened the trunk with a crow of delight. inside was a stash of clothes
.From a variety of different,time periods. neatly folded each staked in perfect order. i lifted up a floor length gown, it felt light in my arms. it was made of white satin, clearly a wedding dress from some earlier decade. i let it slip in my fingers. I hardly noticed cody exit the attic, he murmured good night to me before he left, i brushed a feather light kiss along his forhead. he squeezed me gently in a one armed embrace before leaving. i simply sat there transifixed at the material. i dont know what possesed me to try the dress on it was like the fabric was calling to me. i know i sounded like a self obsessed shopper but i couldnt help it. slipping of my clothes i slid the dress on it fell to the floor moudling to my every curve. i admired my relfection in a cracked mirror. i looked like a person from another world. i twirled in dizzying circles laughing quietly to myself. enjoying this rush of happiness while it lasted.
I didnt hear the footsteps behind me, or the the sharp in take of breath, untill the door slammed. i spun round quickly, damien stood before me transfixed his eyes were luminous his lips parted in suprise.
"my goddess" he spoke in a strangled whisper. i flet myself blush a deep, ruby crimson. Damien was at my side before i could take a step his lips hunting for my own.
"your so beautiful" he groaned his fingers knotting into my hair.i couldnt speak as he captured my lips again drawing me into his arms. he pinned me to his side raining kisses upon my head.
a low growl echoed deep within damiens throat when ever i tried to move an inch from his side. his face glowed with an untainted light. i was just as mesmerised he kissed the hollow beneath my ear, the indentation of my collarbone. my spine arched into damien where his hands traced the length of my fiery hair.
after a few heated moments damien withdrew from our embrace, i let out a pained moan pulling him back to my side.
"if i kiss you now i wont be able to stop myself" damien explained by way of an explanantion.
"so dont" i sighed drawing him back into the circle of my embrace. damien stood there frozen his eyes were huge with surprise. i kissed his jaw trying to melt the statue in my arms.i felt his arms tighten almost panifully around my waist, though he made no other move to touch me.
His heart hammered loudly in his chest. he held my against his chest and we moved in slow moving circles. towards the attics exit.
"unless that is you dont want to...?" i smiled provocatively over my shoulder, as i darted down the attics stairs, i heard damien low cureses as he sprang to llife shadowing my evey footsteps.
'catch me if you can" i chanted over and over, listening to the trail of damiens profanities as we raced through the house. i was fast, my speed suprised me. damien however caught me as i reached the third step.
He swung me carefully into his arms kissing me deeply.
i returned the kiss with as much passion as i could muster. it felt like my world was on fire.
"are you sure?" damien begun again but i kissed him firmly on the mouth silecing any further protests. he laid me gently on the bed, his eyes roaming slowly up my dress again. it felt like a feather like caress and my fingers shot out to bring him back to me i could not bare to be parted from his side for a moment longer.
Clothes were quickly discarded in our heated passion and damien kissed me from head to toe. coveting my body, healing my soul.
my finger knotted in his hair as i dragged him closer still. it was like a fiery inferno behind these lids. i literaly felt as if i would burst into flames at any given moment. damien the lake to my desert. he soothed my heated brow with his kisses. i had no doubt no fear as we finaly connected in the truest. sense it was like a primal urge driving me forward untill finaly our worlds collided and i drifted back down to earth with a contented sigh.
"so thats what heaven feels like" i smiled happily damien didnt reply, so i rolled over gathering the sheets around me. he simply stared at the ceiling a look of profound awe, crossed his features. he looked completely at peace with the world. he drew me closer to his arms and i felt his heart drift back to its usual rythm.
"i love you" i murmured, his hands tightend around me.
"il never let you go" he vowed burying his head in my hair.
sometime later, i wasnt sure of the hour i got dressed sliding the silk dress back over my skin. it felt a part of me somehow. i tied my hair in an idle bun. i glanced back at damien he was sound asleep snoring softly. i chuckled to myself, a pillow now laid in my place damien clung to it with a feirce protectivness murmuring sweet words into its ear.
i had to stiffle another series of hysterical gigles.
at the stroke of midnight i was wandering curiously along the servants qaurters a few maids stopped dead in there tracks when they saw me.i silenced them with a finger to my lips and they wandered down the corridor whispering heatedly under there breath.
I was just about to head into another set of qaurters when a hand grapped me from behind curlnig around my mouth silecing my screams.
"its me m'lady" lottie hissed,releasing in me.
"dont do that!"i said shaking myself from her embrace. she smiled apologeticaly sliding into another curtsy, i rolled my eyes and yanked her two her feet. Lottie rose her pefectly shaped eyebrows in suprise. she suppressed a small smile. i had the feeling i had found a good friend.
"please just call me julliet" i said with a small smile of her own.
"pleased to meet you julliet" she smiled slightly embarressed.
"so you had something to tell me?"i asked eagerly. lottie rolled her eyes before grabbing my hand.
"so impaitent" she chided gently pushing me through a series of doors and up two flights of staircases. i had no idea that the servants passages led through the whole house. we must have been at the top of the house now as lottie pushed open a concealed conpartment sliding aside a fake book shelf. i laughed to hide my astonishment it was like somthing out of a movie.
"this was the old master qaurters before the romeos inherited it." i spun around the room it was a large study.
a mahogny desk sat in the middle of the room next to a roaring fire.
"and who owned it before them?" i asked curious to know damiens history.
"the watcher madam"lottie spoke barely above a whisper. i froze my body locked down with suprise. i was in the enemy grasp.
"it gets worse" lottie continued steering me towards the desks chair. it was a mahogony affiar. intricate wood carvings deocrated a leather bound seat . i sank into it graefully it seemed as if a posion was bubling inside of me. i had to fight back the rise of bile i felt within my throat.
Lottie placed an old fashioned oil burner upon the desk it threw light into the room casting my face into shadow. it masked the horror that must have showed on my face. sitting across from me hung a portrait of my aunt, her fiery red locks hung in a bun atop her head. in the portait a handsome young man stood beside her, his brown hair hung low over his right eye, she held a boque of roses in one arm, the other was firmly wrapped around her newly wed husband. i wanted to gag. my aunt was married the vampire prince. in the photo she looked so..so carefree.
i felt the tears pool down my cheeks. wh hadnt damien showed me this!
underneath the harsh light of the lamp our appearances were identical. it was easy to see now why lottie had mistaken me for someone else.
"no no no... how could this be?" i cried into lotties shoulder as she rubbed soothing circles into my back.
My aunt mia was married to the watcher the old prince of the vampires. hysterical sobs rose from my mouth. she was wearing the same dress that i had on to this day, a ruby pendant hung around her nec. the similarity between us was staggering. i looked as if i had just stepped out of the painting myself.
"many summers ago, prince theadore (the watcher) dissapeared, much like master damien" lottie said in a sad voice. "he was an evil man, power hungry half crazed with it, that is untill he met mia" i nodded not trusting myself to speak.
"they returned some months later, happily married. but happiness wasnt enough for our dark lord, he wanted to seize control over the human population he had this idea for a hybrid race of vampires you see"
"mia found him one night drinking the blood of an innocent he intended to create his own vampire army." i sihvered at lotties words, he had complete control over the vampire dominian and still it was not enough, would he ever stop?
"that was the day she cursed marrying such a monster, she fled to the top of the tallest tower and threw herself of the building. master theadore went to peices after that, he swore on her death bed that they would be reunited even in death, you see by taking his own life, by ending his own rule so abruptly, theadore cursed the descendants of his thrown."
"so cody isnt the rightfull ruler" my quick mind guessed "the half prince must rule the throne for a thousand years" i mumured remebring damiens lecture not long ago. "how long was he in power for?" i asked my voice trailed of into nothing.
"it was 500 years to the date miss" lottie knelt beside me her hand clasped my palm whilst her other checked my pulse the room was fading slidingo ut of focus. my breathing came in sharp gasps, it was to much i was going to faint.
"miss?" lottie shook me "JULIET" she screamed catching me as i fell into her arms , "stay with me" i rasped clutching her hands with a fevered desperation. before my world slipped into night.
It felt like an age when i slowly openend my eyes. i could feel the cool wind brush against my heated skin. leaves gathered under my head, the smooth grass tickled the backs of my bare legs. my eyes flew open in suprise. i was not in the castle. where was i?
the first thing my eyes met was an old oak tree, autumn leaves scattered around me, cloacking me like a second skin. i sat up abruptly and shivered it was winter here. it looked exactly like the castle grounds...yet it wasnt. there was something different about this picturesque scene, i dont whether it was the cold air that rose goosebumps along my skin or wether it was the feeling of iron cold dread in my stomach. i felt as if i had dived into a bath of ice water. my skin was no longer flushed from the evenings activites. i felt bare before the world dressed in my simple white dress the pendant still hung around my neck.
i rose silently to my feet, maybe i could find lottie my scattered thoughts screamed and....
"you look as beautifull as the day we were married" a cold harsh voice remarked. i spun on my heel about to tell the owner of the voice that he must have mistaken me for soemone else. when i slapped into a solid chest. two arms ensared my waist. it didnt feel right. it wasnt like damiens rough but gentle touch. his perfectly scuplted hands were painfull as they gripped my sides and lifted me of my feet, my face was inches apart from his, i stared into two black wholes, i could not see the whites of this mans eyes.
"watcher" i spat my voice shook with the rage of my emotion. he looked exactly as he had in the photo. tears of anger stabbed at my eyes and he wiped them away with a kiss.
"i told you we'd be reunited again someday, not even death could tear us apart" his silky voice took on a more sinister edge.
"oh god u think im..." my voice trailed of as i fought of another wave of revulsion i thrashed helplessly against his iron clad body but he just gripped me tighter still.
"ahh but you dont remember your past life.. do you juliet? still all in good time my dear" he set me down to the earth with a gentle thud. i staggered back a few steps trying to force my useless feet to run they remained frozen in place. my dead heart hammered in my chest.
'you have the wrong girl...mia was my aunt" i explained through gritted teeth." Theadore laughed a cold hard laugh that cracked like a whip against my non existant nerves.
"do you believe in reincarnation? miss summers?" the watcher paced around me in a circle seeming undisturbed. i tried to swallow past the block in my throat.
"im not her" i said uselessly my voice hoarse.
"look at the facts" he said harshly his pacing increased. "you were born shortly after your aunts death"
"coincidence" i spat. theadore laughed a hard inhuman laugh.
"you look exactly like her"
"genetics" i smirked, hiding the sudden the ilgoical terror i felt within me. why did his words make sense?!!
"then how do you explain the ruby thats hung around your neck? the very ruby that she wore on the day of her death, or the fact that you wear her dress, admit it it called to you didnt it?"
"i.." my voice came out as a broken sob. his words fell slowly into place it was a key being turned behind a locked door scattered images darted through my mind to fast for my mind to comprehend.
"or the fact that you share the same power" he finished softly closing the distance bewtween us. i i fell to my knees he caught me in an open armed embrace i tried to push him away but my body wouldnt respond.
"you belong to me mia" he whispered through the thick tendrils of my fiery hair.
"No your wrong i belong to damien, were mated"i spat the words like bullets across his chest. hoping to wound him some how, i didnt really care. i just needed to rid my body of this boiling rage it was like an inferno that threatend to consume me.
"you cant have own something that was never yours" theadore growled as i shoved uselessly against him. he planted a kiss under my jaw. the pendant glowed to life, for a breif moment the watcher was blinded by the light. i saw my oppurtunity and ran with it, forcing my feet to move faster than they had ever done before.
i ignored the howls of rage behind me, focusing only on the breeze on my face it revived my tired and aching limbs i gained speed with each step i took. theadore followed hot on my heels. but his steps were more faultered almost laboured..he could not maintain his own body in life, so he was struggling to in my dreams. my quick mind guessed as i race across the grounds darting to the iron gates. the only reason his soul remianed trapped in the dream world, was because he was because his setence was not over. he had not lived out the full extent of his rule. he was tied legally to the throne. my heart hammered with my head as i reached the gates. dead end. they were boltedd to with a thick chain. i tried in vain to climb the bars but i kept slidding back down. somewhere in the distancei heard the watchers laugh he had slowed his run to a casual stroll harsh chuckles escaped his lips, as i tried in vain to wake my body up. my screams of rage peirced the night. in sleep on the verge of certain death, the rage inside me reached boling point my plams glowed a dull crimson with sparks.
for each step he took my power grew untill in a rage of fury i lunged at his heart.