Wax Candles

“Mind telling me what you’re drinking again?”

“Blood, Miss Incompetent,” Yu growled, pressing a silver cup to his lips. The five boys and I had been sitting at a long wooden table below deck for about thirty minutes now and I couldn’t get over the fact that they point-blank told me they were inhuman.

“We’re not human, though we do wish we could return to such days,” Kiro had told me during the first few minutes we were down here. Soon after that he drifted off into deep thought; he seemed the least worried about telling me what they really were.

“Oh, please, Kiro. Just spit it out already,” Yu had barked, clearly wanting to just get this little introduction over with so he could get his "glass”.

Shin, the boy who might as well have had his lips sown together, spoke up at that point. “Vampires--” Strify choked on the piece of bread he had been nibbling on, shocked Shin had said it so flat out. “We’re vampires, Miss Montague, nothing more, nothing less.”

“He speaks,” I had said, sarcasm practically dripping from my words. “Wait, wait. Did you say…vampires?” I attempted to jump up from the wooden bench and make a break from it, but Yu had pulled me back down by my shoulder. “Vampires! Oh heavens, this isn’t fair!”

“Life’s not fair,” Yu had snapped, and then prodded Shin with a long finger of his. “I want my glass now.”

That was all they told me, giving me no background on why or how they became such bloody suckers. So at this point I was stuck with vampires on a boat, wait, ship, in the middle of seemingly nowhere. I was way past agitated with these boys, sipping their little glasses of blood like it was wine. Utterly disgusting it was. Things, as I always thought, couldn’t get any worse and yet they always did.

“Get up,” Yu ordered me now, setting his glass down on the table. I glared up at him, but on the inside I was just trying to keep myself from breaking down crying and yelling “Don’t eat me! Please!”

“I’ll do no such thing,” I pouted, shaking my head. Whenever I did what Yu wanted, I always ended up getting my face slapped or my nose flicked. “I don’t like how you handle me.”

A harsh laugh exploded from Yu’s reddened lips; his brown eyes chuckled with him. “You don’t like how I handle you?” He grew suddenly serious, grabbing me by the collar of my shirt, lifting me completely off the bench. “After I finish beating you then you have the right to tell me how much you “don’t like how I handle you”.” As he yanked me away from the table and dropped me on the floor, he drew a slender knife's blade and leaned close to me. He was so close to my face and his breath reeked of blood and something so strong and bitter that I couldn’t even think of where I had smelled it before. Placing a hand around my neck, Yu set the knife lightly on my throat and sneered. “One cut didn’t hurt anyone.” He paused as a grin sliced his face. “But twenty has.” What was happening? Why weren’t any of the other boys helping me? Did they want Yu to kill me right here? Right after they finally found me? Oh heavens please help me.

A pale hand slid around Yu’s neck so that it held him in a head lock. “Hören,” a voice cooed in Yu’s ear, that’s when I knew it was Shin. “Sie ist nicht wert, wie Hass,” Shin told him quietly. “Lassen Sie es passieren--” Yu’s muscles relaxed and the hand around my neck was removed; Shin took his arm from around Yu’s throat. “Seien Sie in Frieden, mein Freund.” The fire in Yu’s eyes dulled down until it seemed only embers were flickering in them. Slowly rising to his feet, Yu pocketed his knife, brushed past Shin and headed up the wooden steps.

“What just happened?” I whimpered, trying to sit up, but with my hands still tied I didn’t have much luck. Shin sat me up and then walked behind me, his nimble fingers undoing the rope that held my hands together. As the rope dropped, I pulled my hands around to my chest to see my fingers were black and blue, my palms had rope burn. “Ouch,” I muttered, sticking a few of my fingers in my mouth as if wanting them to heal with the help of my salvia. Shin stood in front of me now, holding out a hand to help me up. I took it graciously, removing my hand from my mouth. “Thank you.”

He smiled, pleased to have helped. “Not a problem.”

“Shin,” Kiro spoke up now, trying to hide his surprise at the scene that had just unfolded. “Why don’t you go with Carter on deck to get some fresh air? Romeo, Strify and I will clean up tonight.” As he spoke, Strify threw him glare, popping his last bit of bread into his mouth. Romeo shrugged and picked up his glass, as well as Yu’s.

“Very well,” Shin nodded, stepping aside from the stairs. “Ladies first.”

I blushed and walked up the steps, Shin on my heels. Once we got out into the cool night air, we wandered over to the stern, the wind ruffling our hair. “Thank you again for helping me out down there. It was brave of you to stand in Yu’s way.” I offered the blonde haired boy some praise, but as I had guessed he would, he didn’t except it.

“It was nichts,” Shin insisted, smiling up at the moon. His skin was like a dull crystal under the moonlight, and once again, I wondered how someone, human or not, could be so perfect. I let my warm fingertips brush against the back of his stone cold hand; the hairs on my arms stood up at the chill. His skin was as smooth as granite, his hair like silk, and I couldn’t help but wonder what his lips were like. I glanced up into his eyes, they were butterscotch like most of the other boys on the Luminor. Like a statue craved by the finest craftsman, Shin stood still and silent next to me; taking my breath away. “You are quiet,” Shin spoke to me in his cool, velvet voice. “May I ask for what reason?”

I was surprised he was speaking; he never spoke unless it was necessary. “Oh, I, uh, just admiring the beauty of tonight,” I sputtered, keeping my statement as bland as possible.

He smiled; his little teeth like pearls. “I see. Do you like the Mond? It is very bright tonight,” Shin commented. I had no idea what “Mond” meant, but I didn’t want him to know that.

“Oh sure, it’s pretty nice,” I muttered, trying to take my eyes off of him, but once I did I came to realize that after looking at his beauty, the rest of the world appeared dull. It saddened me really, what did I look like to him? I couldn’t possible look as beautiful as any of the females they must have met on all their little adventures, yet Shin was the most dashing man I had ever laid eyes on.

What about Huyu? My head asked me. Don’t you like him? I wish I knew the answer to that, then I wouldn’t feel guilty if I gushed my feelings about Shin right now. Sleep on it, I told myself. Your heart will know by then.

What if it didn’t know by then? What if I was stuck between a boy whom I might never see again and a vampire who was practically bound to me? I needed to stop thinking this over and just go to bed.

“Shin.” Just saying his name made he shiver. “I would like to go to bed now. It’s getting quite late and I need my sleep.” He simply looked at me with his warm eyes and nodded, leading my back towards the cabin door. The table was cleared and everyone but Yu was in bed; two hammocks were open and they had “Shin” and"Yu" sown into their sides. “Where do I sleep?” I asked, looking up at him.

“Follow,” Shin cooed, drifting down a short hallway. I followed on him with haste, not wanting to lag too far behind. We reached a large wooden door at the end of the hall and with a turn of the handle, Shin and I stepped inside the room. It wasn’t too large, yet it fit a double bed, dresser, and a white bassoon filled with water. Two candles on the dresser were the only light in the room. “Here we are. Schlafen well,” he told me. As I turned to thank him, he closed the door gently behind him and made his way back down the hallway. I frowned, why must he leave so suddenly?

I sighed, walking over to the dresser and opening the top drawer. Dresses of all different colors were folded neatly in the wooden drawers; I closed it. I needed to find sleep wear. I shuffled through the other three drawers and once I reached the bottom one I finally found what I was looking for. Pulling out a white sleeping gown, I made sure the bedroom door was locked and then changed into the gown.

“Mmm. Hehe.” A mutter and a chuckle rippled through the dark room. I shrieked, but covered my mouth at the same time.

“Who are you? Show yourself!” I whispered, removing my hand from my mouth. I twirled around in the dark room and suddenly came face to face with that crocked grin I knew too well.