We stopped by the tomb- a flicker of memories passed my mind as I felt Ethan's hand drag me a little closer to him. He took my hands in his, intertwining our fingers together. "Remember this place?"
I felt Ethan press closer to the wall beside me and we were both smiling foolishly together at the situation we brought upon us.
'This is your fault.' I mouthed up at him, a wide playful grin playing across my lips.
He held the same ravishing grin, his green eyes sparked in the dark as he looked down at me. 'I'll make it up for you, I promise.'
"Oh, yeah." I laughed nervously, looking down at our hands, a little anxious.
"Eden, I don't want to wait any longer."
I laughed, taking my hands out his and holding his in mine. "I love you, but we need time. This... whatever this is can't be rushed."
He peered at me under his dark lashes for a while, until he sighed and turned away. "Do you want to go inside?" He stepped away from me and opened the door.
I nodded and followed suit. I felt the new vibrant air around me- as if dragging me to a new era in the old, ancient tomb.
I looked towards the stairway that leads down to the basement but didn't head there. Instead, I studied the patterns on the wall. Simple but elegant.
"You like it." He said, more of a statement than a question.
I nodded.
He walked over towards me, held my hand and lifted them up then placed it on top of the carving. His eyes were distant and all I wanted to do was grab him and kiss him better, but he spoke.
"It was carved from their ancestors. Generations before generations before generations." He explained, letting my hand fall loose. "It's old."
I pushed away the feeling of hurt. "I like old."
He looked at me.
"It has a history." A story. I wanted to say, but afraid he'd find that foolish.
After a while he said. "Aren't you warm, Eden? Why don't you take the jacket off?"
And I did. The jacket that Ethan hung over my shoulders, was no more of use. I gently took it off, letting the heavy leather black jacket rest on my elbow.
He stared at me intimidatingly, before I cleared my throat. "What about the carved names from the tomb," I said. "Why are some names crossed with an x?"
He looked at me before replying. "Because they're dead." He snarled in such a cold voice that it was almost impossible to recognise it came from him. His blue orbs were darker and more lifeless as he took a menacing step closer.
"W-what?"
"Dead, we killed them. Not that they know that, of course."
I shivered from the sudden change of temperature, it was awfully cold, or was it?
I turned, about to leave when a pair of hands surged me back. He had gripped my waist roughly. His breath lured by my neck as he breathed evenly as if nothing had just happened.
"Come with me, Eden." He splurged. "I really do like you, not all of it was an act." He turned me round. His eyes were calm, cool and collected.
But they were no eyes of his.
"Join us,"
"No!"
My slap echoed the room. His head was turned from the effect and a red mark began to form in the dark.
My heart almost penetrated out of my chest when he turned his head slowly back to me. His eyes glaring and unforgiving, hands clenched hard.
I immediately turned to leave until someone dragged me backwards by the strands of my hair. I screamed. I turned, ignoring the pain of my scalp as best I can and shoved him. Hard. His head snapped to the wall as he fell to the floor pressing a hand to his head drawing forth a slump of scarlet liquid.
He snarled, jerking his eyes to mine.
He held so much fury... It wasn't him. I knew the eyes of the Ethan I fell for. He had gorgeous, ocean-like eyes, a handsome expression and that devious smirk that can make a woman weak at the knees.
But this...
I didn't know who the guy leaning on the wall was. A line of blood slimmed its way down from his head.
He lunged.
I turned to run but being the clumsy girl I am, I slipped on my gown and finally realised the true difficulties in wearing a gown. Especially one that had been curled outwards from the waist and down. I felt a hard grip on my ankle, dragging me further into the room.
"Let go!"
I tried kicking, screaming, and I tried to get back up. But every time i did, he kicked me back to the floor until I could stand no more.
I heard the grunting of him punishing open a door- leading to the tomb and my eyes widened in realisation.
He was going to kill me.
"You know," He started to slow down, looking down at me. "It wouldn't end this way if you only joined us. It would be a pity losing a she-wolf without having to use that title against the Camp."
I shouted, as Ethan harshly tugged at my ankle. I could already feel the bruise forming. "What have they ever done to you? Why are you doing this?" I shrieked up at him.
"They... " He snarled as if remembering something. I took that in for granted and shoved him away with my feet.
He looked at me then. Really looked at me as if he finally recognized me.
"You're exactly like him," his whisper made me freeze.
He was slouched against the wall where I shoved him. It almost made me want to go and support him, almost.
Instead, I spoke. "You are delusional."
That made Ethan look at me, not the way earlier as if someone crossed his mind, but as a way of wanting to get rid of a bothersome fly. He attacked me to the ground, hands pinning my arms down onto the floor.
He nudged his face closer to mine, I could feel his breath on my skin. "Oh, sweetheart, I really don't like that word."
I fought hard. It was one of the worst feelings I have ever faced- to be hurt and have your trust mistreated by the one person you used to call your lover, the thought of betrayal never crossing your mind, thinking - now showing his true character, I wanted nothing more than to avenge him for putting up an act.
It can't end like this.
The door jerked open and in ran a heavy breathing young man.
His hair was longer than the last time I saw him- his eyes a lighter shade of blue and his skin as pale as snow. His lips . . . his plum lips were saying something.
I couldn't make out his words before I drifted into heavy sleep.
*~**~*
The carriage was trodden away with the horseman pulling the horses, leaving the middle-aged father and son looking at the new home that awaited them.
The father's hand was on his son's shoulder, a gesture of encouragement. He possessed salt and pepper hair, eyes blue as his son's. He seemed to be forming wrinkles at the corner of his eyes.
My gaze faltered to his son where he too held his sapphire blue eyes onto mine. And for that brief moment, the world stopped around us.
He had beautiful natural tanned tone, his black raven hair falling back, and his thin, but poised structure announced a foreign aura, one from outside the countryside.
His father caught off his gaze and the world went back to its ritual. He looked my way where my parent's hold on my shoulders tightened for a reason that was left unknown.
"We should get back inside," my mother suggested. Although she sounded calm, I noticed the brief contact my mother gave to father. It wasn't loving, longing, or any of that sort. It was fear.
I turned over my shoulder and gave one last glance to the son, but they too were heading inside.
The last thing I had heard, later that night, was the loud, repetitive arguments from the kitchen downstairs. The dirty dishes were still in the sink and the laundry was yet to be hung outside, as my father spoke the words: "We can't let her out."
*~**~*
A splash of cold water woke me up from a deep slumber, I jolted up, breathing heavily.
Screams and shouts radiated behind the fuzzy blur of my vision- before I took it all in as it cleared.
Homes were on fire, the stables where the animals were rested had been burnt halfway. It didn't help that the hay and straw constructed barn was spread up to the homes next to it.
A scream shot through the air as a burning man ran past us, the heat escalated to us. Just then a roar of the raging fire shot up threatening smoke.
My eyes widened as it burned every piece. Every bit of what was left.
"What's happening?" I shouted.
One commoner looked at me, eyes wide and his breath ragged. "We're under attack."
It took every piece of me not shout for other information, The man grunted when I remained silent and rushed off to help gather water. Groups of men gathered and splashed hoards of water at a bundle of fire which died out with a puff of smoke. They then rushed to gather other buckets of water.
I vaguely remembered what had happened.
Blood boiled in my veins and rushed to my heart, burning fiercely against my ribs. My hands clenched in a harsh manner as I felt the instant angst. "Stop!" I shouted but only one person turned to look at me, the rest continued rushing to the fountain to fill their buckets rapidly and heavily stammer back.
I lifted myself and immediately felt the pain in my ankle. "Agh!"
I hissed and look back up just in time to see the fire roar more, it was hot, heavy and puffed out large masses of smoke into the air. It was hard to see at first, I knew our faces were covered in dark ash but that didn't stop me from running, trying to ignore the swollen pain.
Heat.
The moment I stepped closer to the tattered building, fire igniting every piece of straw around to every heavily shrunken cabins. People screamed, shouted, rushing back and forth to gather their little ones and tried to cut past the wired fence and out the Camp borders.
My eyes widened.
What they failed to notice was the fact that off in the distance, something moved.
Not something, someone.
It seemed to be figures dressed in camouflage. Through the heavy drifted smoke, it was hard to spot them, they seemed to know what they were doing.
I clenched my hands and snapped my eyes to the folks. "Enough!" This time, they all jerked in shock before turning their attention to me. "Do you even know what you're doing?"
"We're putting out the fire, can you not see, lady?" One dared to say.
I glared like never before, my mind racing back to when I first met William. My heart clenched before I took a menacing step forward.
"Tell me, man. Were you at the ball this afternoon?" I didn't leave him room to speak. "I'm Eden!"
The man's eyes went vast as suddenly a shout pierced the air- silencing even the raging fire.
One man who was part of the crowd cutting at the wires to provide an exit was now on the ground, an arrow pierced right at the center of his chest. Even from here, I could see the life run out of his eyes.
I drew in a sharp breath of air. It was definitely what I anticipated. The mean in camouflage abandoned their hideout as they drew in further on us.
All too sudden, when I was thinking it couldn't get any worse than this, figures raised themselves from the roof of the building, bow and arrows in hand.
Oh, god.
"What the hell- " The man who questioned me was cut off with the flying arrow that harshly pricked at his heart. He fell silently to the cold ground.
Just then, as if it wasn't enough. The men drew their arrows into the torch that stood on the corners of the roof, as the flames grew thirstily and dipped it in setting the wood on fire.
And they aimed.
Screams echoed the Camp, people rushed with their children close to their chest, being sidetracked by each other and bumping harshly against one other. Blood dripped from their wounds that each arrow stood silent in its socket inside their flesh. I rushed to the main building where the ball had been held. Tears threatened to brawl, and I would let it out once I was at a safe place. I couldn't risk it.
I turned the corner to be caught by one man, arrow in hand. He had dark grey hair and brown eyes. He stood, looking at me strangely. Not now. I closed the distance, placing my hand on his shoulder and dragged him low, then I raised my knee and kicked him where no man should be kicked.
He groaned as he lowered to the ground, hands releasing the weapon and clutching his groin.
I took the bow and arrow with me and headed to the ballroom, where I thought the leader would be.
I ripped the double doors wide open, only to be confronted by nothing but men with their weapons clutched close to them. I looked down to where they were looking and saw the commotion.
Sir Redrick was on the ground, limp. His face was pale, his lips was blue and he seemed to be ice cold.
My blood boiled cold as I clutched harder onto my weapon.
The men looked at me and noticed me standing there foolishly. Instead of shooting at me, they glanced at each other and nodded slightly to each other. I was never so perplexed when they walked past by me and out to where the death rate was increasing. One last time I looked at the dead body in the room, and followed.
"What are you doing?" I shouted when I caught up to them. "Why aren't you killing me?" They ignored my outbursts. "Hey. Hey, I'm talking to you!"
I caught one of them by the shoulder and turned him forcibly around. "Stop this commotion immediately! People are dying out there-"
"Look, lady!" One shouted, clearly irritated at my ranting. "Enough is enough. We're ordered to bring fear into this Camp, now leave us!"
They turned, ignoring me completely, and leaving me standing for a moment. That was until my stomach churned, my hands twitched, and clenched them hard in pure anger and rage. I had never felt this anger towards anyone. Not even Ethan who betrayed my trust and love. The only man I had ever loved. Maybe this was his fault. Maybe they were his men; the "us" he was ranting about.
"Not on my watch."
"What the-" The man turned, but before his eyes could reach mine, I aimed the weapon at his heart. The men noticed and turned, a look of shock passed their features.
"I won't repeat myself." I informed, collectedly, something I didn't think I'll be able to do in this commotion. "Stop. This. Now."
"I-I uhh..." The man slurred.
I lowered it to his feet and released the spring. A deep shout rang out in the halls.
"I didn't ask."