Fraden
I could hear then talking, their laughter as I made my way into the kitchen. Linus seemed to be settling and forgetting about his usual rants on never staying here. It was amusing thinking about it
"No, he's here," Linus said and stopped eating. "I can't take another bit, my appetite has been taken from me."
"Linus, be nice." James told him, Jennifer was the least happiest about the progress of Linus and James' friendship and my being here. She hardly spoke to Linus or I, even in our presence, she tried not to talk too much. She, however, tried to hold back her distaste in my presence, that much I had noticed.
"Obviously I've been way to nice because my prisoner has taken it upon himself to take over my house." Linus glared at me.
"I'm not a prisoner!"
"Think what you will. Now," I lay my hand on the counter. "School," I narrowed my eyes at Linus, whose eyes widened as he stared at me.
"No," he said immediately below his breath.
"You aren't going." He sighed in relief and began eating his lunch. "Instead, you shall be home schooled."
"What!? Why!? I don't need an education! I will do nothing with it! Let me leave so I can live my days out in the wild and maybe die in a ditch somewhere."
"You have oddly dark ideas of living." James said with a worried look in his eye. "How can all that sound appealing?"
"Nobody will be calling me prisoner at every turn, so, yeah." Linus shrugged and stuck his tongue out at me. He was such a child.
"Anyway, can you make that happen, James?" He nodded, his iPad in his hands.
"What about you!?" Linus said pointing his finger at me, I stared at it in distaste.
"What about me?"
"Fiver hundred and whatever years is a long time, you need school more than I."
"I've been 25 years old, I have all the education I need. Much hasn't changed since my time." Linus looked confused.
"Dude, how old are you?"
"Six hundred." I told him, "I was imprisoned for five hundred and seventy five years, starting from when I was twenty five, thus I look twenty five, thus I have my education."
"Fraden," he said calmly and I glanced at him.
"Yes?"
"Someone's probably never told you this, but your life is a mess." James coughed to cover his laugh, what he found amusing about his was beyond me. I just rolled my eyes and turned around.
"He's right though," James spoke, "a lot has changed since your time and I know you were a doctors apprentice before everything happened." I tilted my head.
"I won't be partaking in medicine," I told him and continued my way down the hall back to the library.
I sighed to myself as I picked up a book I couldn't quite bring myself to let be. My diary. I opened to the end of it to find the picture it hid, it was worn out, old and it was in black and white, but it was alright because it showed me him. Jerald. His smiling face and his arms wrapped around my shoulder were enough to made my heart ache. I didn't know why I was doing this to myself, why I couldn't just put it down and stop depressing myself.
"Fraden?" I blinked and looked up to see nobody. "Fraden? I know you can hear me you little snake! Where are you?" I rolled my eyes at the sound of my annoying prisoner.
"What?" I said in complete frustration over being disturbed. I turned around closing my diary and leaving the photograph inside. I put it on the table just as Linus peaked his head from the end of a book shelf.
"I had my doubts about this library, but, I must say, it's huge." Linus commented and walked over, his hands in his pockets.
"I'm sure you didn't just come here to tell me about the size of this Library." Linus rolled his eyes and sighed, folding his arms over his chest.
"Look, uh..." He looked down at the ground and shook his head. It was an odd sight, seeing his struggle with his words, he seemed to be more of a speak first, think later type of person. "I don't... Uh, I don't really know what's going on or what should go on, but, I just thought to tell you that...I'm..." He mumbled something and I furrower my brows.
"Excuse me?"
"I'm sndndhy." I tilted my head and gave him a weird look and he huffed. "I'm sorry, okay?" I blinked and smirked.
"Oh?"
"Yeah!" He threw his arms up, his neck was turning red. "I realise that I owe you,okay?" He shook his head. "This is so stupid," he said to himself. "I know I complain a lot or whatever, but, this isn't all that bad, its only been like three days and...I like it, here."
"Oh, trust me, I'm aware." He scowled at me.
"Shut up, I still don't like you, I just think staying here isn't all that had...so far, so, thank you for not sticking me in a cage and torturing me."
"That's a bit extremely and quite frankly, I'm a lazy person." I shrugged and he chuckled.
"I've noticed." There was a silence between us for a moment, nobody moved which had me squinting at him. "Look, I.. Uh, heard what happened." He stated and I patiently waited for him to elaborate. "About you and your father... Seems you really left your mark."
I turned away from him then, my jaw tense as I pretended to look through the books on the shelf closest to me.
"And what exactly is this mark?" I asked tensely.
"Oh, just how you saved the Cabrera family from your dads oppression." He shrugged. "I think it's pretty cool, what you did for them. Respect."
I blinked at that day threatened to resurface.
"I don't think you really understand," I whispered, "And I would appreciate it if you didn't bring that up with me again...or anyone."
My eyes stung as the corpse of my lover became the only thing I could actually see. I hissed then as my eyes shifted first and I saw green and yellow, as I looked to Linus, I saw bright red. I hissed at him and he gasped, stepping back.
"I'm sorry!" He squeaked and inched backwards. "I...I didn't...sorry." Then he turned and ran out the library. I could feel my body growing and my bones trying to shift against my will. I groaned because holding it back was never easy, I couldn't force it to stop no matter what I did, so I turned to the nearest window and opened it, jumping out, I landed as my giant black cobra self.
My tongue flickered out instinctively, sensing my surroundings. I slithered away into the forestry across from my home.
Narrator
Elijah sat on the floor, cross legged and alone in Sanctum, in a great white room, he focused his energy on his illusion on earth. He had his eyes closed as he watched from his illusion self's eyes. The Supreme Council had gathered in an old library. He looked around at all the faces masked with worry and anxiety.
"Elijah, what is the next move?" A women named Lerato with beautiful dark skin asked in her African accent, she had startling gold eyes and she growled to show her frustration.
"We must execute a plan of capture, that's obvious." A man said, his long black hair in a braid. "Mr. Cabrera cannot be allowed to walk freely, we all remember what happened last time."
"Would you believe me if I told you that it would be different this time?" Elijah spoke calmly. "I ask we give him time."
"Time?" Lerato asked with furrowed brows. "Would that be wise? He did kill over a hundred people within a span of a year the last time we ignored him."
"He was angry, lost." Elijah tried to reason. "He only acted the way any of you would have if you lost the people you love." He looked around at them and they glanced at one another. They still didn't trust him, Elijah could see that, just as much as they still couldn't trust Elijah himself. "I'm not asking you to ignore him, or to even throw away the notion of recapture and imprisonment." Elijah took a deep breath.
I see you, a voice spoke into his mind and he lost focus. From Sanctum his brows furrowed as he tilted his head. I can feel you. The voice was so familiar, so dark and it sounded exactly like him. I am rising, Elijah, you cannot stop me.
"Give him a few days." Elijah told the council. "Watch him in secret before you confront him. See if he is worthy of forgiveness."
The council was silent, glancing at one another.
"Well, I trust you, Elijah, I do not see why not." Lerato said with a sigh, leaning back in her chair.
"I beg to differ." Benjamin spoke at last. "I don't see why we should trust you." He said his eyes suspiciously eyes him. "For all we know, you set him free, after all, you're the one who cast the spell 575 years ago, you even picked the place. You did everything yourself." He looked around at the council, "he is the only one who knows how to open it, he created the seal after all, why should we side with him?"
Elijah scowled then, in Sanctum he was sweating bullets, fear gripped at his chest as a voice echoed in his mind, laughing tauntingly in his head.
"Shut up," he said allowed to himself.
"What?" Council members looked to Elijah's illusion in confusion.
Elijah was losing focus.
"See, he isn't even here with us, to be honest, I don't think Elijah should be allowed to attend council meetings, he has lost all right to lead us." Benjamin fumed. "He must be taken care of," Benjamin said menacingly.
"What?" Elijah said. "Are you suggesting my execution?" Benjamin met his gaze.
"Your the badass caster, why don't you tell me?" His eyes blazed with anger and Elijah nodded slowly.
"I see," he said simply. "Well, I guess I'll leave you all to decide if that's what's best."
"Elijah-"
"Its alright," Elijah held up his hand.
You won't be able to stop me, he tilted his head trying to pinpoint the voices location.
"I must go." Elijah opened his eyes and looked around the room. He stood then as his vision threatened to leave him.
You thought you could get away,didn't you?
"Where are you?"
I'm sure you'd like to know that, wouldn't you? The voice laughed. I am here, and I am there, I am all around you Elijah, I am you after all.
"Why are you doing this?"
You ask such useless questions, Elijah. It sighed. I look forward to facing you again.
Elijah looked around him and blinked, he felt faint, his stomach turned and he took deep breaths. He had been feeling weak and light headed for the passed week, from the moment Linus had opened the cave that held Fraden, he felt worse and he wasn't sure how much longer he had to feel like this and hr hated it.
He groaned and coughed before falling to his knees. It's feeding from me, he thought hatefully and panted. Make it...stop. He begged himself as he fell face first and passed out.