My heart was beating out of my chest as I ran, dodging trees and bushes. I could hear the pounding of the feet of vampires behind me which served as my encouragement to not slow down. I got scraped by branches I didn't see until it was too late and barely avoided smacking my head on some.
I don't know how long I ran but I eventually came out on the other side of the woods. The hill loomed in the distance, separated from me by a large field of tall grass. I quickly jumped into the field and fell onto my back to avoid being seen by my pursuers. When I heard all of the footsteps stop and angry voices asking where I was, I held my breath and hoped they'd give up.
"What if she's hiding in the field?" one asked.
"If she is, she isn't our problem anymore. It's the Field of Snakes. Those bastards will get ahold of her soon enough," another answered. "Good luck getting outta there bitch!" They then yelled. I ignored the nasty comment and instead froze with fear. Snakes? Did they say snakes? Oh God... please no. I had the strongest fear of snakes and being swallowed in a field, where I couldn't see anything, that was inhabited by them didn't help me at all. But I couldn't run out and risk being seen by the vampires, so my only option was to stay low and creep through the tall grass.
I made sure to do it quick though; no need to be slow. As I crept through, seeing nothing but dim sunlight above and tall grass ahead, I wasn't able to keep my shaking at ease.
Then the hisses came.
Some were accompanied by rattles, others by the sound of rustled grass. I saw movement to my right and left, but none ahead. I stood up a bit more so I could speed my crawling to a small run. That's when the movement increased and the snakes, I assumed, kept up with my pace.
How intelligent were these things?!
My foot hit something large and sent me flying to the ground. When I realized it was an actual snake stretched out across my path, painted with a red and black pattern, I was unable to hold back a cry. It raised its head and shot its forked tongue into the air, staring at me with the terrifying eyes. It managed to narrow them at me, confirming my suspicion of them being highly intelligent.
Supernatural snakes? Seriously? Don't I ever get a break?
The snake moved and hissed, beginning to slither towards me. I tried to scramble away but another snake, a complete black one, wrapped its thick body around my right leg and constricted it. I was crying uncontrollably and kicking at it with my other foot, until a yellow and black one began to slither up it. Another followed and tightened its lengthy self around my waist. Then more snakes, more than I could count, slithered out from the tall grass and encircled the rest of me: two on my arms and one on my neck. The one around my neck started to constrict tighter and caused my breathing to slow, so did the one around my stomach. I started coughing and tugging at their scaly bodies but it was like trying to move a solid brick wall. Their taunting hisses in my ear didn't help.
Not only was I terrified out of my mind and probably about to die from a heart attack before the snakes could asphyxiate me, I was also angry that I couldn't just be left in peace. What the heck did I ever do?
The snake around my neck squeezed tighter as I opened my mouth to gasp for air. Just then, a smaller and more normal sized snake slithered up my chest and raised its head so I could look into its eyes. I saw its narrow pupils look down at my mouth and I quickly shook my head (or tried to), doing my best not to throw up at the thought. I gritted my teeth at it and glared angrily. A muffled "no" escaped my lips as my tears turned angry. I cried for them to let me go until finally... all my restrainers started to loosen.
The one above me widened his eyes, which started to become engulfed in a full purple glow. I looked down at the ones around my legs and arms and realized theirs were doing the same. It was like looking at Kade's black eyes just... purple.
All at once the snakes started to unwrap themselves and slither back into the grass. I stared, gasping and free from the scaly feeling. Did I just control a group of snakes? I decided not to test the theory and stood up completely, uncaring if the vampires saw me or if they were gone, and took off towards the hill in a furious sprint. Grass slapped me on the way but I honestly didn't care; I just wanted to get away.
It seemed like hours before I reached the other side and jumped into the clearing. The field loomed behind me but I didn't dare turn to look at it. The image of snakes strangling me wouldn't go away. Luckily the foot of the hill was less than a mile away and surrounded by a few trees that could serve as cover. Even from where I stood, I could see the three small figures standing amongst them.
How the heck did those guys beat me?
Though they were waiting for my arrival, I decided to take it slow since I was out of breath. That was my plan at first until I heard more hisses from the grass and decided to just run for the little bit of life I still had left. And for someone who didn't run much, I reached the trees awfully quick. It's amazing what someone can do when they're under the pressure of extreme fear. I could see the worry on my friends' faces as I neared. I slammed into Kade as he tried to calm me down and asked multiple times what was wrong.
"V-vampires," I whispered, completely out of breath and plopping down against a tree. "S-snakes."
"Bella, did you seriously go through that field?" Odis asked surprised.
"You did know there was a path a little to the west of here, right?" Maeve said as if the statement were obvious. I glared angrily at her and the others since they had the same look and gathered more breath to speak.
"No... I didn't," I growled. "That would've been nice to know before I jumped in there! I was this close to getting strangled to death by snakes!" I yelled, holding up my thumb and I index finger for emphasis. Kade stepped closer and tilted my head back with a gentle hand. He then picked up my wrists and examined the deep red rings around them.
"How the hell did you get away?" he mumbled. My mind flashed back to the snakes' purple eyes. I told him about the situation and froze before finishing.
"I think I was controlling them," I whispered. They were all stunned by the story until Maeve started laughing.
"Looks like we've discovered another one of your abilities!" she exclaimed.
"Why did you jump in there in the first place?" Odis asked. That's when I told them about my run in with the vampires and their "boss". They seemed fascinated at what I'd done but Kade remained upset.
"He bit you. Bella... do you know how dangerous that is? If you didn't kill him, he would've drained you!" he said, studying the bite mark on my neck. I smiled teasingly at him and poked his shoulder.
"But I got away, didn't I?"
"It's not funny. You could've died. And next time, try climbing up a tree instead of jumping into a field of snakes," he answered. His gentle hand was still rested on my cheek as the thumb of his other hand stroked the red ring around my throat. "Why does everything want to strangle you?" he whispered to himself. I shrugged off the question and could only guess there were three types of marks on my neck: two from the vampire and one from the snake, two of which were from their attempts at asphyxiating me.
"I don't know about you, but I'm tired and I'm in extreme pain so can we hurry to whatever town we're going to," I grumbled, rubbing my aching wrists and ankles. He nodded slowly and reached into his pocket, pulling out a paper with the elf's address that Winston had given him.
"Yeah, let's get away from here," he said and helped me up. "You gonna be okay?" His eyes shot to my red ankles and then to my neck again. I only nodded and motioned for him to lead the way. And so we began walking again and journeyed up the hill. On the other side loomed an enormously large town which I'd personally consider a city. We hastened towards it, awkwardly silent as we approached its border. But just as we entered, kindly faces and random strangers greeted us, like we were prized visitors meant for praise. Maeve and I greeted them back while the guys searched for the address. We stopped to ask directions from some people who politely pointed us towards our destination. I'd never known a town to have such nice folk, even the children had respectable manners. It seemed almost too good to be true.
So with the help of such willing people, the four us eventually found our desired house, a two story cabin with a wooden welcome side hung on the front door. When Odis knocked, seconds later a young man, maybe in his late thirties, with unusual long black hair that was pulled back into a pony tail, opened it with a smile. His ears were a bit pointed (somewhat like a stereotypical elf would have) but not so much that it would draw attention. He had grayish blue eyes that seemed duller thanks to his hair, and he was strangely taller than I'd imagined. But thankfully, he greeted us like long lost friends.
"Hello there!" he said in a powerful voice. "How may I help you?" Kade looked back down at the paper (which also had the elf's name written on it) and carefully asked about it.
"Are you... Lord Farlen?" He said the name as if it confused him, and I hoped Lord Farlen didn't take offense to it. But his smile only widened.
"Ah... supernaturals, I see," he said kindly. "Who sent you? No one in this town knows my true identity so I know you don't live here."
"Winston," Maeve answered with a bright smile. Farlen laughed heartily and opened his door wider.
"Come! Come! If he sent you then this must be important," he exclaimed as we all stepped in. His cabin was welcoming and decorated a bit casually, nothing much to describe. But then he waved his hands and the whole room started to shift and morph into something more magnificent. Pillars formed and the humanly room started to become painted in a sparkling white quartz. A long path, covered by a red carpet formed under our feet and trailed forward as Farlen followed it. The pillars were eventually accompanied by a wondrous ceiling and floor, until the whole cabin room was transformed into a royal room with an enormous jewel encrusted throne at the end of its red carpet. Lord Farlen was dressed differently as he climbed up the two steps leading to it and sat elegantly onto its red cushion. He wore a long black and white gown (more like a very long trench coat that buttoned at the front) that matched the scene around us and that left me speechless as I stared at its sparkling beauty. It was something that could only be worn by a great king or with someone with top notch superiority. He also now wore a showy flowered crown on his black head which added to his magnificence.
"Welcome to my kingdom, travelers. I am your host, Lord Farlen. Please take comfort in my hospitality. As long as you don't, I mean no harm to you nor do I disrespect your presence," he said proudly and pointed to the two black love seats on either side of his throne. "Please sit and explain to me your reason for seeing me. It's been awhile since I've had visitors." We silently obeyed his request and took our seats.
Then, as if it hadn't been told enough times, Kade began our story.