Fenced In Hearts

*KASPIEN’S POV*

I sighed, skipping back into my studio as Xavier left to continue writing. I closed the door behind me, walking over to the latest painting and sitting in front of the pedestal. I took the paint brush in my hand and grabbed the flat paint holder. I dipped the end of my slim paint brush into the black ink. I dabbed it at the side of the tray before letting the paint brush flow against the canvas. I made sure to get Zimmy’s hair just right; adding a mix of brown in there, for his hair wasn’t purely black. I knew exactly what I was painting.

The green castle gardens have already been painted, the trees all nicely filled in and the willow trees even looked exactly like the ones outside our bedroom window. I painted the swing that hung on the tree, myself sitting in the swing, reading one of Xavier’s books. I loved his writing. He was the most brilliant author I’ve ever heard of. I loved his stories because they were rough, true and just plain amazing. His stories involved not only love, but also the rough life of creatures, our own kind, and even humans.

He even wrote a story about our life. Our life up until we had stopped aging. The love and pain we went through. You’re a lot more vulnerable when you’re mortal.

I shuddered, taking the paint brush back and grinning at the finishing product. I took my finger tip and slowly dabbed at the wet pain, trying to give the tree leaves a bit more of an authentic look to them.

I sat back, grinning madly before getting up and walking over to one of the windows in my room. I looked over at the setting sun and smiled brightly, turning around and grabbing my camera before dashing out of my room. I closed the door, careful so it shut. I didn’t want Monty or Savannah going in there. They’d only chew things up or walk over paintings. That wouldn’t be very nice. Plus the mess would be a pain to clean up.

I walked down the steps, almost bumping into Payton. “Oh hey kiddo.” She smiled. I grinned, hugging her before waving quickly and running outside.

It was the perfect time to get pictures of the moon-flowers. They were always prettiest at dusk. I ran into the gardens, leaping over Savannah as she jumped at me, and skidded to a stop before the small, silvery flowers. I grinned, taking my camera in my hand and kneeling beside the flowers. I took a snapshot of it, just as the sun was setting, the beauty of the photo stunning me. I looked at the flowers as they opened up, their small, silver petals catching the moonlight and making them shine lightly. It looked like little fairies danced across the petals every time the light shone down on them.

I grinned, taking my camera and sitting on the ground, taking another picture before standing and walking along the gardens. Small, firefly lanterns lit up the dark sky, the gardens looking gorgeous under the dim fiery glow. I walked over to a bug jar and adjusted my lens so it was clear before snapping a picture of the firefly. I cocked my head to the side, slightly amused by the small bugs. I giggled, tinkling my finger against the jar for a moment before skipping away. Savannah walked beside me, her head occasionally rubbing against my leg. I smiled down at her, linking tails again, reassuring her that I wasn’t going anywhere before walking through the gardens.

I loved the night air. It was refreshing, and slightly spooky. I prodded around the trees until I found the swing. I sat down on the small wooden piece and started swinging my legs, looking around for a little. It was getting too dark to take any more pictures, but I enjoyed it out here. I wish my brothers would come. Or at least one of them. Xavier was worrying me. He hasn’t missed so many meals before. And he’s always writing. I know he loves writing… but lately he’d rather do that then spend time with me.

“Kaspien!!!” I heard Damien screaming after me. I looked up and saw him running towards me full speed. I squeaked when he crash landed into me, wrapping his arms around me. I groaned, falling onto the ground, my back hitting the hard dirt.

“Owwww Damien.” I whined. He gasped.

“Sorry! But c’mon!!! We’re testing the new contraption. I’m so betting it works!” He grinned. My eyes widened and I grinned. I loved testing his inventions. They were always so funny, and usually it was hilarious to watch the people we prank. He grabbed my hand and dragged me up, running back into the castle, through the corridors, and up onto the balcony. I frowned, what were we doing outside?

I saw Zimmy drumming his fingers across the stone wall, looking forward to what would come next. Xavier looked bored, and sort of… mad. I bit my lip, shrinking back slightly. Why was he mad? We usually had loads of fun doing this stuff. Damien was a classic clown!

“Can we just get this over with?” He asked, his voice seethed with annoyance. Damien cocked an eyebrow towards the vampire before rolling his eyes.

“I told you he needed to get laid. C’mon.” he grinned, taking me and pulling me to the edge of the balcony.

“What is it?” I asked curiously when he brought out the small, round metal ball. He grinned.

“Spiders. Well, they’re supposed to be metallic. But like, you know, they have to listen to me…” he grinned. My eyes widened and I stepped back, knocking into a cold chest. I looked up to see Zimmy. He chuckled and put his hands on my shoulders.

“I hate spiders!” I shrieked. They laughed lightly, Xavier actually laughed before Damien shrugged.

“Whatever, they won’t eat you.” He smiled before watching over the edge of the balcony. We saw a servant pulling a wagon behind him, manure from the stables in the wagon. We all looked at each other before Damien dropped the ball. We watched as it flew through the air, landing right in front of the servant. We heard a sickening crack before the sound of many little metallic spiders came to life.

“AHHH!!!! CURSE YOU MASTER DAMIEN!” The servant shrieked, throwing his hands in the air, trying to rid his bodies of the little creepy-crawlies. I giggled, looking over the edge of the balcony. The others laughed, shaking their heads in amusement.

“Oh that’s funny.” Damien laughed, punching the air in triumph.

“Uhh… Damien…?” Zimmy chuckled nervously.

“Huh?” Damien asked, still doing a happy dance that his invention had worked on the first try.

“Why are they crawling up the building? Towards us?!” He shrieked. My eyes widened as I lurched myself on the edge, looking down. I shrieked when I saw the little silver spiders crawl up the balcony. Damien’s eyes widened.

“SHIT! RUN!” He screamed, swatting the nearest spider away and booking it for the entrance to the castle. I shrieked, running forward quickly, faster than the others. Yes people, when I was scared of something, I ran fast.

They all gasped as Damien closed the door. Zimmy smacked him upside the head.

“What?! I didn’t know they were going to turn on us!” He shrieked. Xavier rolled his eyes.

“You never do.” He grumbled. I giggled, hugging the pouting wolf.

“It’s okay, it was still funny!” I grinned. He looked back and broke out into a grin, hugging me back.

“Thanks Kasp.” He exclaimed. I giggled again, nodding and hugging him tighter.

“Kaspien can I talk to you?” Xavier asked. I looked back and frowned.

“Sure.” I smiled, skipping behind him as he took my hand, leading us into his little library. He walked over to the back, bringing the papers off his desk forward. Damien’s eyes widened at the pages. I looked at them in shock.

“Whoa! You wrote all of that?! In like… a few hours?!” Damien exclaimed. Xavier blushed softly.

“Yes…” he mumbled. I grinned, reaching out and taking the parchments out of his hands gingerly, careful not to rip the pages. I looked down at the sequel of his previous story. I grinned when I saw the familiar characters.

“Let me read it.” I grinned, immediately getting lost in the story. It was amazing how much effort he put into his writing. He never wanted anything but the best, and never settled for anything less. It was nice though. To read something of really good quality for once. I took the story out of his room and sat on our bed, finding a comfortable position on the bed and sitting back against the pillows. I felt the others crawl onto the bed, lying down next to me.

“Read out loud.” Zimmy murmured, his head in my lap. I looked down and bit my lip before smiling softly.

“Okay.” I murmured before starting the story.

“Chapter one. The beginning.
‘Scampering through the forest, I jumped over fallen trees, twigs and branches. Weaving my small body through over grown grass, the sun beaming down in the breaks of the foliage bringing the land alive, birds chirping to each other a loud ‘hello’, insects crawled over the ground, deer’s pranced around, hidden in the shadows of trees. My lone laughter filled the air; my arms brought high over my head, a victorious expression brightening my face…”

I continued, smiling lightly when I felt Zimmy come closer to me, burying his head in my tummy. I giggled when his fingers clutched my sides for support. I was very ticklish.

“Sorry…” he murmured playfully. I shook my head.

“It’s okay.” I smiled. He nodded before motioning for me to continue. I read until the end of the chapter, flipping the pages now and then. I was already enticed with the story, and I was only two chapters in. Xavier had a gift. But I was worried he didn’t know that.

“This is amazing Xavier.” I murmured when I finished. He looked up and nodded, a smile on his face before he took the papers and set them on his desk, letting the ink pen sit upon the little indent in the desk.

He walked back and slid in between the covers, sighing contently.

“Thanks.” He smiled, pecking my cheek quickly. I grinned, hugging him tightly.

“You’re an amazing writer Xavier… but I wish you’d hang out with us more often.” I pouted. He bit his lip before nodding.

“I’m sorry… I’ll try.” He murmured, letting his lips grace against my cheek again. I grinned, nodding.

I sighed, resting against the pillows again, playing with Zimmy’s hair for a moment before suddenly remembering my pictures. I had captured the butterfly from the day before beautifully. I had the picture all ready. It went through the dark room, and it was now nicely laid on a piece of white film paper.

“Hey, does anyone want to see the pictures from yesterday?” I grinned. I waited a few seconds for a reply, but none came. I frowned, looking down at my brothers. I sighed when I saw their eyes closed and their mouths slightly agape, soft snores escaping Damien’s mouth. My heart sank a little, but that was okay… because their inventions, songs and books were much more important than my pictures. After all, everyone’s seen pictures before, right? I bit my lip and lay down gingerly, crawling over towards Xavier and setting my head on his chest. I always needed someone to sleep with. As a general rule, I never slept alone. I couldn’t.

As for the pictures, I could always show them tomorrow. Even if I was really excited about them today. It didn’t matter, because we had fun together, whatever we were doing. My photos and paintings could wait…