VIOLET

-WINTER-

Julia and I walked away from the gym laughing, dodge ball had been EPIC!!! My team lost but the fact that Sterling now had a nice, shiny black eye more than made up for that fact. My wonderful best friend has been the cause of that. You see, Julia had “accidentally” elbowed Sterling in the face when she “tripped” in the locker room after class. Now, Julia was normally a very sweet and non violent person, but she tended to have these kinds of “accidents” when her friends were being harassed. Turns out I had been right to suspect Sterling and had ended up with a dodge ball smacking me dead in the face when she “accidentally” stumbled into me during the game. I rolled my eyes at my mental rampage, good thing I wasn’t really doing air quotes, my fingers would have cramped up already.

-Well, Miss Chocolate Tart, I believe you have earned yourself a strawberry sundae!! My treat!- I announced as we walked away from school.

-Why, Vanilla pudding! However did you know I was craving something sweet?- Julia replied as she licked her lips in a sexy way, which would look sort of weird if you did not know what we were talking about.

-Julia, baby, I knew you wanted me- Reese said as he and Michael made their way up to us. I chuckled and shook my head, Reese had obviously gotten over the Chocolate Tart embarrassment. Michael rolled his eyes at his friend which was a regular occurrence whenever he tried to flirt with Julia.

-Reese, baby, you wouldn’t know what to do with me even if I wanted you- Julia retorted sweetly as she looked over her shoulder.

Reese turned red again but tried playing it cool.

-Honey, I’d know exactly what to do and I’d have you begging for more- Reese replied suavely. My eyes opened up like saucers and I turned to look at Julia’s reply. This was weird, they had never had such a…saucy conversation. Michael looked as taken aback as I felt and shrugged his shoulders when I looked at him questioningly. We both looked over at Julia wondering if she would finally cave and blush like she usually did.

Julia walked over to Reese slowly, looking him up and down as she bit her lip sexily. Reese didn’t seem capable of movement as she raised her hand to his cheek and slowly caressed him as she whispered into his ear.

-Is that a promise Reese? I love a man that knows what he is doing…-

My jaw dropped, as did Michael’s. What The Fuck!?! Julia, my sweet, sweet Julia was…flirting? Teasing? Some insane and unfathomable mixture of both? What happened to my sweet little Mormon girl that blushed ten different shades of red when a guy called her pretty? That was it! I was interrogating her after this! Full on dark room, with the bright light in her eyes and her, firmly strapped into a chair, as I demanded she tell me where the real Julia was!!!

-I…um…it…y-ye…what?- sputtered Reese, still unable to move.

-Hmmm…and to think you were doing so well, guess you are not ready yet. Bye then!- Julia chirped happily as she turned around and quickly dragged me across the street.

My jaw was still hanging open 5 minutes later as we strolled down the street toward Dairy Cream, our favorite food/ice cream/cheesy touristy junk filled place. I turned around to see that Michael and Reese where in a similar state, too shocked to follow us.

We finally reached Dairy Cream and slid into a booth. I looked at Julia and raised an eyebrow questioningly; she sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

-Nope, you don’t get to skip out on an explanation, young lady! - I said seriously –What the hell was that? What happened to the sweet, shy and I-am-too-focused-on-finding-a-good-husband-to-flirt-with-dumb-boys Julia that we all know and love? - I ranted as my arms flailed around my head. She shrugged her shoulders as she looked out the window trying to avoid eye contact.

-Being polite did not work, ignoring him didn’t either so I figured I’d try out-flirting him- she said as a slight blush made its way up her cheeks.

-Out-flirt? - I asked, trying to grasp the concept. She finally looked at me and huffed.

-Yes! Be more aggressive that him to see if I could get him to back down! I do know how to flirt you know!-

-Jesus! I did not say you couldn’t flirt! I’m just surprised! I mean, that is something I would do!-I cried defensively. My eyes widened suddenly as a though hit me. –Oh my God! Does that mean I am rubbing off on you finally? Yes! - I finished happily.

I was doing a little dance in my chair when I was rudely interrupted, by Julia, who smacked me twice in the arm.

-Frik! What the H was that for!?!?!- I yelled as I rubbed the bright red mark on my arm. Julia snickered.

-What have I told you about cussing!? - She asked. I looked at her confused, cussing? I had not said anything bad, had I?

–You used the Lord’s name in vain! Twice!!!!- Julia explained annoyed as I looked at her with a confused expression. I rolled my eyes and snorted.

-Dude!-I said. I tended to call everyone dude when I was excited or upset. –Really? And here I thought you had finally seen the light! - I finished dramatically. She laughed and shook her head. I frowned and slouched into my chair as I stuck my tongue out at her.

Julia slid out of the booth and walked toward the counter to order our treats, we always ordered the same thing so she did not need to ask me what I wanted. I looked out the window to my side and winced as I felt a sharp pain slash through my head, not so much through my flesh as through my thoughts. I cringed as I recognized the pain and what it meant, it did not happen very often but when it did…well, it did not come without its toll. It was one of those times that I did not need to open my mind to thoughts, one of those dangerous decisions belonging to others that came to me unbidden. I gasped as the pain increased and my hands flew to my temples as if trying to release the pressure in my skull. Somewhere in the back of my mind I could hear Julia gasp and ask if I was all right as she ran to my side. I was in too much pain to answer her, she had seen me like this only once before but it had not been this bad, not even close. I broke out in cold sweat crumpling down into my seat as I started to shiver and whimper in pain. Flashes and images came to my mind, the thoughts of those around us came into my head confused and swirling like snow in a blizzard, but my mind pushed them away seeking the one that caused the pain.

Then I found it…

-The decision is final! You are not safe Caleb! We go now, and you will do as told! I am your Keeper and I will damn well keep you alive! - A deep voice boomed in the small study looking room. Nothing much filled it other than bookshelves and a desk with three simple chairs scattered around it.

A tall man with blond golden locks and piercing blue eyes stood behind the desk his hands clenched at his sides, the deep voice had been his. Three others stood in the room. A woman with the same blue eyes as the blond god but with fiery red hair that curled around her shoulders and down past her narrow waist, she was short and frail but her still form seemed to whisper grace and inner strength. Beside the first woman stood another, a young girl that looked my age, she stood with the same grace but she was much too confident in herself. She shared the blue eyes and golden locks of the first man and could easily be considered his child though if one took a closer look you would notice that was all the resemblance they shared. The fourth person stood out amongst them, contrasting in every single way, a young man, who also seemed to be my age. He stood rigid near the door, his whole demeanor screaming threat and anger. He was tall, black feathery hair covered his eyes and contrasted with his pale skin. His mouth was adorned by snake bites that emphasized his full bitable lips. He dressed in black but it did nothing to hide his strong, fit form.

-So your answer is to run away? And to Ash Mountain no less? I don’t even know where the fuck that is!!!- The boy in black retorted angrily, never raising his voice but menacing none the less.

-You can do nothing for the time being, keeping you alive is all we can do Caleb… Please be reasonable- The woman with the fiery red hair cooed softly, her voice barely more than a whisper yet soothing beyond description. Caleb looked up and her and sighed, the tension in the room visibly thinning.

-Very well…we shall go. – The boy, Caleb, replied as he slowly made his way to a chair, defeated but still upset. His hand reached up and pushed his hair out of his face in desperation, revealing his eyes for the first time though they were closed. Suddenly he stood straight and opened his eyes in shock; he tensed as he looked around the room as if searching for someone until his eyes landed upon a mirror and froze, looking confused.

My mind was finally my own again as I gasped for air as if it would shoo away the pain that still flitted through it. Never before had I seen the decisions of others, it was always the hearing of mere thoughts and always of people close by. The people in my vision were not is Ash Mountain yet so they should have been much too far to hear. I had no way of explaining what had just happened. I mentally snorted as I reminded myself that I really had no way of explaining how I was able to hear regular thoughts either. I finally regained some measure of composure and noticed that Julia was by my side, pressing a cool cloth to my head with a worried expression on her face. I straightened myself in my seat and looked around the room, people viewed me with a wide range of emotions. Everything from curiosity to fear and even a woman that silently prayed as she crossed herself, but not one of them seemed concerned, other than Julia that is.

Julia and I made our way home, not bothering to finish ordering our treats. I was a bit unsteady on my feet but Julia helped me all the way home where she hugged me quickly before rushing off. She was late because of me and needed help her grandmother with dinner. Julia and I had been through this before; she knew of my little ability and had still befriended me. She knew I wished to be alone, it was Friday, and so we still had the whole weekend for me to tell her what I had heard, or in this case, seen. I dropped my backpack in my room before I trudged to the shower, wanting to wash off the clammy feel of the cold sweat that had soaked by body as I had fought the pain from my vision. I undressed and stepped in the shower letting the hot water wash away every emotion from that day, those of others as well as my own. I closed my eyes and sighed in contentment, water had always helped me relax, and it cleared my mind like no other thing in my life. As I washed I allowed myself to go over what I had seen, exploring the new perspective. My eyes flew open and my body tensed once more as I remembered the last thing I had seen in my vision of sorts.

The boy, Caleb, tensing as if he knew someone watched him, the way he sought me out and finally his eyes landing on the mirror that was the view point from which I had witnessed the exchange.

I sucked in my breath and held it as if trying to hide from the memory. Hiding from his piercing gaze, from his eyes. Eyes like no other I had seen before. Eyes of a wintering and utterly seductive Violet.