Nobody slept well the night before our plan was going to be carried out.
I tossed and turned, and several different scenarios of what could happen played in my head, and it drove me insane. Anya, who was sleeping beside me was having the same problem as I was.
So we both talked, and I remember our conversation clearly. It was a light hearted conversation, filled with smiles and laughter as we mapped out our future.
I rolled over, facing Anya. And to my surprise, she too, was awake.
"Rough night too?" I ask her.
She rubs her eyes and nods, her auburn hair was strewn about everywhere and the blanket was tucked under her chin. She's my burrito.
"Just thinking about....everything really." She whispers.
"You and I both, Anya."
She huffs and groans loudly as she turns over on her back. "I just want to sleep, but I can't! Every time I close my eyes my brain keeps talking to me. It makes me think about everything and all possibilities. I even thought about.....us after this whole ordeal is over. We haven't thought much about our future, Donovan."
Her many words surprise me. I'm still not quite used to her speaking as much, but I like it. I like talking to her.
I chuckle. "Our future, eh? Tell me more about what you were thinking about."
Her face flushes red, causing me to chuckle. She hides her face in the blankets and laughs softly.
"Is my little vampire thinking dirty thoughts about me?"
"What? No, I'm not! I was thinking about....about our future and how many children we're having-"
"So you were thinking dirty thoughts then?" I tease her. Watching her being shy and uncomfortable like this is entertaining.
"No, I-I was just thinking about everything in our future, not just....our kids." She admits.
"How many children were you thinking about, hm?"
She blinks, and a small, nervous smile creeps across her face. "Uhm....I don't know, I was thinking seven? I like big families and I understand if you're not on board with it-"
"Seven?!"
"I know it's a lot and-"
"Seven?" I smirk.
"Donovan, get your mind out of the gutter!" She squeaks, hiding behind her blanket.
"Tell me more about these....children." I say, laughing.
She smiles. "Well, I just want more people to love and I love babies and children. How many kids do you want?"
"More than two, for sure." I reply.
She smiles at me before inch-worming over to me. She giggles as she leans down and kisses my cheek.
"Your face is turning red!" She exclaims, poking my cheek and laughing.
I laugh, feeling a little embarrassed with myself that a blushed like some little school girl. "Only you are able to make me blush. Only you."
She smiles and settles down and nestles into my side. My arm is wound around her side and sleep tugs at my eyelids. I finally feel relaxed.
We can dream about our future all we want, and we can only hope it becomes a reality.
"Goodnight, Anya."
But I received no answer because she was already falling asleep.
* * *
That conversation I had with Anya last night had calmed me down enough so that I could fall back asleep. It had given me some hope and reassurance that maybe, just maybe, things will get better.
But right now, it is time to put our plan in action. I arise early from bed and Anya awakens with me.
"Nervous?" She asks me.
I nod. "Yes I am. Today is the day we could possibly go to war, and I don't want that. It may be necessary, but it's something that I don't particularly favor."
"I'm worried," She whispers, "What if something goes wrong? Or you get hurt....." Her voice trails off.
"I won't leave you, I promise. It takes a lot to kill someone like me, and I can assure you that I will be okay."
"What's exactly the plan? It's not too clear for me yet." She asks.
I sigh. "Well, the plan is to take many of the members of the resistance and approach the council today. We will try to reason and use logic, and perhaps threaten the council. They're not much of a fan of war, so we're hoping that we at least meet some sort of an agreement."
"And if that plan fails?"
"Then we go to war." I reply.
Anya nods, looking concerned.
"It'll be okay, try not to worry so much, alright?"
"I'll try not to, I just can't help it." Her voice is low, almost a whisper. "Maybe I can be by your side, then?"
I didn't really favor the idea. Not because I didn't think Anya was incapable of standing by my side for the plan, but because I'm particularly worried what they would do to her if something went wrong.
"I-I don't know, Anya, it's just that I wouldn't want you to be there if things went south, who knows what they would do to you then." I tell her.
"That's not fair, though, because they could hurt you, too. Besides....this matter involves me, too, so I think I should be included." She explains, her tone steady and firm.
I had never seen her act like this before, so it's surprising to me.
On the downside, though, her stubborn ways are convincing me. Should I really include her? If something were to happen to her, I wouldn't be able to live with myself.
She's right, though. This matter does involve her.
I bite my lip, feeling uncomfortable at the decision I am making. "Fine, you can come. But if anything happens to go wrong, promise me you will leave with the others as soon as possible."
She nods her head. "Deal." She says, smiling.
What am I going to do with her?
"Get ready, then, we are leaving within the hour. Oh, and Anya....take this." I tell her, handing her a small silver knife I had dug out of my pocket. "Just in case worse comes to worse....I don't want you being completely helpless."
She takes the knife from my hand and slides the blade out from its sheath, examining it. Her reflection is distorted in the glint of the knife as she looks at the blade with fascination.
There are some interesting symbols on the handle of knife, looking like some other language, and I suppose she's trying to decode the message.
"Neat knife," She says, slipping the blade back into the sheath, "And if you're wondering, the message on the handle says death will come. It's in Russian, that's how I know what it says."
"I didn't know the language was in Russian. My father had given the knife to me, he said he got it while he was off reaping." I tell her.
"This type of knife is pretty common in Russia, though, most of the knives had different, often dark messages written on the handle. It is said that the message holds a little bit of truth behind it." She says.
"I hope that message on the handle doesn't hold any hidden meaning for both your sake and mine, then. I guess there's only one way to find out."
She nods, and it is then I realize other people are waking up from their sleep and are getting ready for the day's plan to unfold.
"Get dressed. We will be leaving soon." I tell her. She nods before walking away and then Richard walks up to me with a swagger in his step.
He punches my arm lightly. "Ready for today, bud?" He asks, a smile on his face.
"Aren't we all?"
"Of course. Everyone here is anxious and itchin' to find out the results of today. Surely the damn council will have no choice to overturn their law unless they want an expensive, time consuming, and deadly war on their hands." He said.
What Richard said was very true. It seemed promising but we could only hope for the best for now.
* * *
Turns out, there was hidden vehicles amongst the forest that were parked just in case of an emergency or an event such as this one. A few hundred of us would be going to the council while the other half would stay here and keep an eye out for anything fishy that could go on.
Anya of course, road next to me in the truck. I had five people in my vehicle and everyone was quiet. It was hard to speak when your mind is being flooded with many different scenarios about what might happen.
The trip was a long one, and the closer we got to our destination, the more nervous I became. People have suspected I was dead, so for me to suddenly turn up alive is going to be shocking. I'm not technically a criminal anymore, because law states that if a rogue wolf does manage to survive and find their way home, then they are set free.
But the odds of that ever happening are very low, so most of the time the rogue wolf is ever seen again.
We finally arrived at our destination. It felt different to be back in normal society and it felt weird to see regular people going about their day to day lives. I was so used to the cover of the forests and living life as a fugitive that I had forgotten about the simple things in life.
It looked a little odd to see several trucks rolling into the the town. People sensed something was off but carried on with their lives.
I led the group to the large marble building was at the end of the little town. It was almost like a courtroom in the way the building was assembled.
We parked our trucks and nervously got out. Only a couple of us would be going in to request a meeting with the council and the others were here for support and proof. Proof that there are way more people in hiding than the council thinks.
I brought Anya, Richard, Scottie, as well as five others in with me. The lady at the front desk looked at me with wide eyes, and blinking rapidly as if to make sure I was really there.
"I would like to meet with the council right now to speak with them about some....issues." I say sternly.
She gulps and glances at the people standing beside me.
"Of course. I'll let them know they have guests." She says before quickly getting up and wandering into the back room.
None of us say anything, rather, we just give each other nervous glances. This was the moment of truth, the point we've all been waiting for.
The lady with short curly brown hair comes back into the room, the sound of her heels clicking loudly. "Follow me. They may see you now."
All of us look at each other, and with a deep breath, we follow the woman into the council room.
It was time to talk.