Green Eyes

‘Kaylee?’ The woman in front of us spoke, tangles of black hair clouding her ivory face. Her deep green eyes were unwavering, and in the corner a trickle of salty water was forming.

There was one thing I knew about her straight away, judging by the pale, chiselled skin and the intricate eyes that seemed to know so much about the world. She was a vampire. But for some reason, she wasn’t a danger to us.

‘Mum,’ Kaylee croaked, before throwing herself forward into the woman’s arms. A deep sob left her mouth as they clutched on to each other, their pale arms wrapped tightly around the other’s body as if they were never going to let them go. I could hear the echo of muffled sobs coming from both of their mouths, and I felt my heart clench at the memory of how much this must have meant to Kaylee.

‘I thought you were dead,’ she sobbed quietly, burying her face in the nape of her mother’s neck. ‘I thought they killed you.’

Her mother pulled away, holding her at arms length, a small, willowy smile sitting on her dark lips. ‘I got away, sweetie,’ she whispered, a small, lone tear escaping and flowing down her pale cheek. ‘But look at you; so beautiful!’

Kaylee smiled a weak smile, and I suddenly felt uncomfortable standing there when they were having such an emotional moment. The nagging reminder of Zacky’s absence crept into the back of my mind, and I felt myself once more becoming overwhelmed with startling grief.

In a split second, those green, intricate eyes were on me, and I was startled at the deep compassion I found lying in them as she looked at me. She allowed her arms to drop from her daughter’s shoulder before stepping forward, until she was standing just in front of me, the dark swirls of her green orbs staring at me in an almost haunting way.

My eyes widened as she wrapped her arms around me, pulling me tightly against her body. ‘I can never thank you enough, little one. My family will forever be in debt to you,’ she whispered in my ear, her arms holding me close. It was almost frightening how much warmth and safety I felt in her arms, and the vast wisdom I felt coming off her body. She pulled away, her green eyes sparkling as she gave me a soft smile.

It was then that it struck me. ‘How do you know wh-‘

She stuck her hand up, her smile only widening. ‘Kaylee never told you? Why, I’m surprised,’ she laughed, the sound coming out deep and melodic. She glanced over at her daughter, and I could see the compassion for her clouding in her eyes.

‘How about we sit down, okay? I think you all deserve an explanation.’

I nodded solemnly, before walking out of the room and into the living room, and sitting down on the couch. Her mother followed me, and I looked down to see her thin hand wrapped around that of my friend’s, holding it so tightly that it seemed as though she might break her.

They sat down together, side by side, facing opposite to me, their eyes both trained on my face.

It was then that I noticed it. The pale blue aura surrounding her body, coming off of her like a thin glow. It was almost like a smoke that was emitted off her body, surrounding her in thick swirls that made my eyes widen. ‘Your aura, what is it?’ I breathed, startled by its overwhelming beauty.

Her smile was soft and knowing, and she nodded her head at me. ‘We shall get to that, my dear. But first I believe I must start from the start.’

‘I’m assuming that Kaylee told you the story about her father and I? Well, it started a bit before that.'

'You see, I have this power where I am able to see small glimpses of the future, present and past, and they come to me at any moment of the day. At first I thought they were random and insignificant, but then I began to realise that they were chosen specifically, and that they all meant something.'

'I realised that all I could see was glimpses of those I loved, and what dangers or happy things they would experience in their life. Then I began to control my power, so that I could push myself further, and see things of others that meant something to those I loved.’

She stopped, taking in a deep breath, flicking her dark hair out of her eyes. ‘When they discovered my power, though, they wanted to use me as a weapon. They wanted to force me to marry someone powerful, a leader, so that I could see all of the dangers that surrounded his life when I learned to love him.'

'But there was a problem. I had met and fallen in love with Kaylee’s father, and I wanted nothing else than to be with him. I didn’t want to be a weapon, I wanted to be happy, and that was what made them mad.'

'When I ran away, I knew that someday they would find me. I knew that I could never have the life that I wanted, that I was in too deep, but at that time I had a beautiful daughter and a loving husband that rendered me oblivious to the dangers.’

She sighed, her tired eyes lifting from the floor to look at her daughter, who had trails of tears running down her cheeks. ‘When they took you, I knew I had to run. I promised myself that I would return for you, that I would never let you be in harm’s way. But the further away I got, the harder it became to come back, and the more dangers came flooding through my mind.’

‘One day I saw it. I saw you helping her,’ she said to me, giving me a smile, ‘and I knew she would be safe. I thought then that it would be better if I didn’t come back, if I allowed her to be happy and danger-free. I knew your friends would protect her as if she was their own, and that made me feel better about our position. The minute I got a glimpse of you and your soulmate was the happiest moment of my life,’ she said quietly, tears in her eyes as she looked at her daughter.

Kaylee wrapped her arms around her mum and pulled her close, burying her face in the nape of her neck. ‘What is the aura then? Why is it blue?’

Her mum sighed, her green eyes becoming dark, never leaving my face. ‘Besides that, I have another, well, gift as some would say,’ she explained, before letting out a deep sigh at my inquisitive gaze. ‘It is fairly rare, though not at all unheard of. It was more common in older days, and was thought to be very valuable. The colours represent the holder’s emotions, and the way they are feeling at the present time. It was very useful a long time ago in the ages of war among us, when you had to decipher who was dangerous to you and who was not.’

I nodded, taking in all of the information. ‘And blue is?’ I asked slowly, almost dreading the answer. Because seriously, when had blue been a good thing?

She sighed again, running her fingers through her hair tiredly. ‘Sadness.’

My eyes widened, and I slowly took a stumbled step back. ‘Why are you here, then? What did you see?’

Kaylee seemed to catch on to what I was saying and sat forward, placing her hand on her mother’s shoulder.

The woman’s eyes became tense and grave, her face suddenly seeming so old and worn out. Recognising the sympathy and regret that shone in her orbs, I shook my head, begging her not to say what I thought she would. ‘Your friends,’ she started quietly, dropping her eyes to the floor, ‘Your friends are going to die.’