Jenna's Deathwish

“No, no, no.” Adele stood in front of the door with her arms folded, “You are not going!”
“Aw c’mon!”
“Ella! What if it’s a trap?” Jenna panicked.
I hurried to straighten my hair, “I know, I was thinking about that.”
“So why are you going?” The eldest said.
“I just…he seemed nice.”
“You’re crazy.” Jenna said.
“Im going.” I pushed past them, “End of.”
“At least take Tundra with you.” Adele said.
“I will.”
I wore my black, paten Doc. Marten boots, short white dress and my black leather jacket. I swept my hair into a high pony tail and ran out the door. The other two ran after me, still panicking. I had told them what had happened the previous night.
They weren’t so keen on the idea, “If I’m not back in an hour you can start to panic, okay?”
They nodded, looking unsure.
I hugged the both goodbye, “I’ll be fine. If the guys ask, make something up. Bye!”
I called on Tundra as I entered The Dark Forest and he was racing to my side within minutes. I told him what I was doing, although I had no idea if he could understand me. We ran towards the lake, and I burst through the trees at quarter past twelve.
“Sorry I’m late.” I panted.
I watched Godric spring from a tree and land at my side. He smiled when he seen me. He wore tight, grey jeans and a dark blue t-shirt with a gorilla on it and a pair of over-sized sunglasses; perfect for keeping the sun out his eyes and face. They really suited him.
“I feared you would not come.”
“I said I would.”
“And you brought a wolf.”
“I’m not stupid.” I looked down at Tundra, who was eyeing Godric suspiciously, “This is Tundra-he’s a good friend of ours.”
The two locked eyes, then the wolf sat down.
“Come.” Godric smiled again then put his arm around me.
Bad move.
As soon as he touched me, Tundra leapt between us with ears back, hackles up and teeth bared in a ferocious growl. Godric jumped back showing his fangs and hissed at Tundra, eyes glowing blue.
“Woah, hey it’s okay!” I said, stepping between them. “Tundra, it’s okay.”
The wolf relaxed a little, and Godric, whose eyes were back to normal, kneeled in front of him, “Tundra. I know you will protect Ella, and I know you do not trust me. But I wish for a chance to prove that I can be trusted.” He looked up at me, “I do not wish to harm her.”
Tundra gave a sigh and walked away.
“Shall we?”
We followed him down to the tree he had been sitting on, which grew at an angle over the lake. Attached to the branch over the lake, was a swing that consisted of a plank of wood and two pieces of rope.
“Would you like a swing?” Godric asked politely.
I gave a feeble laugh, “Have you seen the size of me? I can’t reach way up there.”
He stood behind me, put his icy hands on my arms and jumped. The next thing I knew, I was sitting on the swing and Godric was grinning on the branch above me.
I looked at the lake below me, “Um…thanks.”
“Any time. How is it?”
“How’s what?”
“The swing.”
“It’s fine.”
“I didn’t make it too big?”
“You…you made it?”
“For you.”
Don’t giggle like a school girl. Do not giggle.
“Why?”
“Don’t you like it?”
“Aw, no-It’s lovely. I really like it. Thanks. Nice thing to do.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
‘I’m flattered.’
I swung my legs to gently swing, “Beautiful view.”
He looked down at me, “It certainly is.”
“So why did you want to meet me?”
“You and William have a close bond. I was thinking that if you got to know me and see what I was like, he and the others would let me join.”
I looked up at him, astounded, “You want to join us?”
“I’m not a bad vampire, Ella. That’s why I want to leave Jared’s clan. I fear if I stay there any longer, I will turn as savage as the rest.”
“Okay. So why didn’t you ask Adele instead? She and Valo are pretty close if you know what I mean. And I think Valo is the boss.”
He sighed, “Ville is a wonderful man, really. Though to be honest I don’t think he ever liked me. I thought if I got closer to one of you there would be more of a chance he would let me into his clan.”
“You know Valo?”
“Yes. He and the others- William and Nicholas were once a part of my clan. Didn’t they tell you that?”
“No. They didn’t.” Weird. “So…do you all live in The Dark Forest?”
“We do, yes. Vampires don’t sleep so that’s not a problem. If it gets too sunny we find shade to stay there until it’s okay to come out.”
“Do you have a power?”
“Yes. I can erm… freeze things, people. Anything I want.”
“Wow.”
“I still can control it when I get nervous.” He said with a cheeky grin.
“Nervous? The window…you were making me cold!”
“Yes.” He nodded, “Sorry about that.”
I bit my lip then looked up at him, “So…how old are you?”
He grinned, “I was born just outside London on the ninth of May in the year fourteen twenty.”
My mouth dropped, “So your…”
I frowned as I tried to count how old he was. I had no chance-I was useless at Maths.
“Five hundred and ninety.” He grinned again.
Wow.
“So how did you…become a vampire?”
He looked down at me suddenly shocked.
“Sorry, um…was that rude?”
He shook his head, “You just surprised me. No-one has ever asked me that before.” He took a deep breath and looked out onto the lake, “My father was head of our village. My mother was killed when I was eleven-she was accused of being a witch and I watched her burn at the stake. One spring evening the night before I turned twenty, my father went out for a walk. He did not return so I went out to look for him. I ended up in the forest beside the village and I saw a man standing over my father. I shouted at the man, to get away from him and he turned to look at me and his eyes were red and he had fangs. At first I thought my eyes had deceived me. I thought it was a demon. Or a punishment from God sent to hurt my father for marrying a witch. But as I got closer I saw the man clearer. It was Jared.”
I froze, “Jared turned you?”
Godric nodded, “He had killed my father-drained his blood. I ran at Jared to fight him. To get my revenge. But he was too strong and too fast. He was not human. He took hold of me and told me he admired my courage. He said I would do well, and he would give me the greatest gift; immortality.
“Then he turned you?”
“Yes. After that he taught me everything: how to hunt and how to feed and how to keep what we are a secret from the world. He became my mentor, my father, my brother and best friend. He became everything to me. I am the first one he ever turned.”
He said that with a hint of pride.
“We travelled and existed together, watching the world change and the people in it.”
“You must have seen some amazing things.”
“Yes.” He smiled as if remembering, “But the longer we existed, the more savage he became. He has only recently been turning innocent people so they can be a part of his clan. I use to fear the bond between us was breaking. Now I know that for certain.”
“Can’t you just talk to him?” I began to swing again.
“Jared doesn’t listen anymore.”
“Maybe he’s forgotten how much you mean to him.”
Godric swivelled around on the branch so he was facing me, “Am I that worthless? Do I mean that little?”
“No! I mean that maybe he has other things he is focused on. I’m sure he hasn’t forgotten about you. How could anyone forget about you?”
He smiled, “You are too kind.”
“So that’s why you want to leave his clan?”
“I want to keep my humanity. Or what’s left of it anyway.”
We sat for a while and I listened to him as told me sorties from his past and places and events he and Jared had been to over the years. Most of them made me laugh, but others were serious and tragic. He had witnessed so many global disasters and watched so many people die, and he couldn’t save them without exposing himself. I felt sorry for him.
“I said to the girls I would only be gone an hour. It’s almost one o’clock.”
“Of course.” He stood up, “Let me get you down.”
Half a blurred second later, I was standing next to Tundra on the ground.
“Will you meet me again tomorrow?”
I nodded, “Same time same place.”
He looked strangely at my leg. Then his eyes were red then green, then red then back to green.
It was as if he was fighting to keep them normal.
I looked down at my knee.
Uh oh.
The scab was gone and blood was running down my leg. Tundra was crouched down and growling at Godric, who was backing away and looked as shocked as I did. I knew he didn’t want to attack me, but I also knew the bloodlust would be growing in him.
I moved back, but he held up his hand.
“Stay. Absolutely. Still.”
Yeah who moves? I was too scared to move.
He stood deadly still for a moment, then moved back slowly and gave a sigh of relief. I saw his eyes had stopped changing. He looked at me, full of guilt.
“See you tomorrow?” I breathed.
He looked astounded then gave a huge grin, “Yes! Tomorrow.”
I guess he hadn’t expected me to want to meet him again after he almost killed me. But what can I say? I was getting use to it.
The other two were waiting anxiously at the hole in the wall for me then relaxed as they saw I was back safely. Before I even walked in the castle they were asking me everything that had happened. I told them everything; what he said, how he was turned, how our men were once part of Jared’s clan, what he looked like, how he made the swing for me. Which was dead cute, they agreed. The three of us decided to keep the meeting a secret from the guys. We didn’t want them to get the wrong idea.
Especially Will.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I continued to meet Godric every other day and he would take me on walks through The Dark Forest-places Adele, Jenna and I had never been. He showed me what the forest looked like from his point of view and even carried me to the very tops of the mountains and trees to give me the best views. He asked questions about me and I answered them all truthfully. Our friendship grew strong quickly, and I knew I could trust him. Maybe even with my life.
He had explained to me that, since he was the first one Jared had turned, that made him the next leader of the clan if Jared was to be destroyed. He never liked how Jared was so vicious and I even suggested that he could get rid of Jared and take over as clan leader, making the others into decent, civilised vampires instead of bloodthirsty killers. But he told me that the bond between vampire and maker was stronger than I could ever imagine. He could never hurt Jared intentionally.

Tuesday 28th August
“I’m gonna bring the girls tomorrow.” I decided as we walked through another new part of the forest. “And if they approve…we will talk to the guys about letting you join us.”
He stopped suddenly and looked at me in disbelief, “Really?”
“Yes.” I grinned.
He lunged forward, picked me up and spun me around whilst laughing, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
I had to balance myself as he put me back down.
“But what if they don’t approve of me?”
“Don’t be stupid.” I nudged him, “They’ll approve. How couldn’t they approve? Your lovely!”
He picked me up, swung me on his back like usual, and raced through the forest as easily and carefully as if he had been walking. He then jumped and clung onto the side of a huge oak tree.
“Ready?” He asked.
“You’re lucky I’m not afraid of heights.” I said with a grin.
I hated this part.
He climbed up the tree, so I was at a vertical angle practically clinging around him for dear life. I knew he wouldn’t let me fall, but it was still terrifying.
Once at the top, he sat casually on a thick tree branch and looked out onto the scenery. The land was so beautiful I could see for miles. And I knew he would be able to see much further.
“Won’t you sit down?” He patted the branch beside him.
“I think I’m fine here.” I clung onto him tighter.
He chuckled then lifted me off his back and placed me carefully on the branch.
“I won’t let you fall.”
“I dunno. You might break a hip whilst saving me.” I looked at him, “Old man.”
“Hey! I’m trendy.”
“Five hundred and ninety.”
“I’m with the times!” He waved his hands, “Don’t you be getting all up in my grill.”
My mouth opened, “Never dothat again.”
He stood up, “Let’s just see how old I am then.”
He grabbed me then swung me on his back.
“Oh, no! Godric, no wait!”
“Too late.”
“No, wait I’m sorry!” I laughed uncontrollably.
Just then, he jumped from the branch and together we were falling through the air. I was screaming and laughing, terrified and full of adrenaline.
“Old man?” He yelled.
“Godric I was kiddin’!”
He grabbed a branch on the way down, swung around it then launched himself off the trunk, so we were now soaring horizontally through the air. He continued to terrify me with moves like that until he decided we should take a swim.
He jumped from the side of another tree, right into the middle of the lake. The impact wasn’t as hard as the time I had jumped from the cliff, but it still stung a little. I let go of him as I went under, but bobbed on the surface almost instantly.
I looked around for him, but I couldn’t see him.
“Godric?”
Nothing. Not even a ripple.
“Godric? Godric!” I yelled frantically.
Suddenly, something grabbed my ankle and I yelled in shock.
Then I was dragged under.
I opened my eyes to see Godric with that cheeky smile waving at me.
“You.” I mouthed.
I shoved him as best I could, then resurfaced. He was laughing uncontrollably and for the first time, I actually caught a glimpse of his sharp fangs.
“That was not funny! I thought something had happened to you.”
“You’re priceless, Ella. What could get me? Honestly.”
I shrugged, “Crocodiles?”
“Crocodiles?”
“Well I don’t know.”
I looked at my watch-it was a miracle it was still working, “Fuck that’s quarter past three!”
“What time did you say you would be back?”
“Two.”
“Sorry. I guess I’m to blame for that.”
“It’s alright. Shouldn’t you be getting into shade? I don’t want you burning up on me.”
“Yes, you’re right. The sun is starting to weaken me.”
We make it back to shore, said our goodbyes then went our separate ways. I couldn’t wait to get back to Adele and Jenna and give them all the news. I also couldn’t wait until tomorrow. I would see Godric again, and the girls would meet him!
I was so excited I ran all the way back to the castle on a high.