Give My Heart To Him

There were people all around me. Everything was so bright, yet so real. The grass was a beautiful shade of green, the sky a perfect shade of blue. Everyone was dancing. We were in a circle, all holding hands, and we were skipping around, dancing. I could feel the happiness in the air. Everyone was smiling. I looked at the people around me. They were all incredibly beautiful, with glossy black hair and golden eyes. They wore old-fashioned clothes, Victorian gowns and corsets, and Victorian suits. But the colors were nothing like the colors of that time period. These people wore natural, bright colors. They were clad in every color imaginable. One woman was wearing a dress the color of silver, and it refracted the light in every direction. That was only within the circle. I looked beyond the circle, and I saw four men on horses. The first looked straight into my eyes. He had the same golden eyes as the others, but unlike their eyes, which were filled with joy and love, his held a certain hatred in them. He raised his hand and the sunny day transformed. I heard a crack of lightning.

I woke up with a start. I looked outside the window. It wasn't raining, and there were no clouds in the sky. But how could I have heard lightning if there was no clouds? The lightning could have been part of my dream, but it had sounded so real. The whole dream had seemed so real.... But dreams normally don't feel real. Normally they feel too bright, there are no shadows. But the place I had dreamt of was not like that. It was bright, but there were shadows. That place had felt real. So real. It felt like...home.

I shook my head. Blackwater was my home, not some place in my dreams. I don't know why I would think any differently. I've lived in Blackwater all my life. I looked over at my clock. It read 5:00. I normally got up at 6:00. I rolled over. But, when I tried to go back to sleep, I couldn't sleep. The memory of my dream still haunted me. So I pulled myself out of bed.

I did my hair and makeup the same way as always, rimming my blue eyes with black. I stopped for a minute. I looked in the mirror at my eyes. They had always been a curious color. They were blue, but they had a gold ring around the pupil. It was weird. My mother had blue eyes like mine, but they lacked the gold ring. But my father had brown eyes. Where had I gotten the gold from? Now that I thought about it, I didn't look that much like my father. My dad had brown hair. My mom had blonde. And yet mine was glossy black. Weird.... I decided not to think about it.

I started getting dressed, putting a simple black dress on. It fell to my knees, and the collar was a v-neck. I put a plain gray corset on over that. Then I slipped on some fishnets. Not an easy task, but I knew they looked killer with the dress and some combat boots. I laced up my knee high combat boots and looked into the mirror. It did look killer. Since I had a bit of extra time, I teased my hair a little. It looked good and fluffy when I was done. Then I put a bunch of chain necklaces on. A few leather bracelets completed my outfit. I had a while before school started, so I painted my nails. Just a plain matte black.

Before long it was time for me to leave to get on the bus. I picked up my black bag, slung it over my shoulder, and headed to the bus stop. I didn't talk to anyone, I was still thinking about my dream. Who had the people been? I remembered the woman in the silver dress and the four horsemen. Who were they? My mind drew a blank. I swear I had seen them before, but I couldn't remember where. And then there was another question on my mind. How had Lucian known where I lived? I had never told him. I'll have to ask him today.

I walked into the school, still thinking about my dream and how Lucian knew where I lived. So many strange things have been happening.... Life at Blackwater was never interesting until Lucian got here. I went to my locker and to Mrs. Fenner's room without paying much attention. That is, until I heard a familiar voice.

"Hello, Ava," Lucian said. My head snapped up, seeing him sitting at the across the table from me.

"W-what are you doing here? Mrs. Fenner has no homeroom," I stated, confused.

"Yes, but she let's people like us stay here during homeroom. She saw me in second hour and told me that I could always join you in homeroom. I accepted," he said with a grin.

"B-but," I stuttered.

"Oh, Ava, I told Lucian he could join us. I hope you don't mind," Mrs. Fenner said, entering the classroom.

"Of course not," I said. Under my breath I muttered, "But you could've warned me."
"So, why don't you two work on drawing whatever you want," she said. Then she left, to get coffee, presumably.

After a moment of silence I spoke. "How did you know where I lived?" I asked.

"So what are you going to draw?" Lucian said, ignoring my question. "I think I'm going to draw you."

"What!? Ugh, fine, but I'm drawing you," I said. Then I started sketching him. That's when I remembered my question. "Wait, you didn't answer my question."

"So, do you think its going to rain today?" he asked, once again avoiding my question.

"No. Answer my question," I demanded.

"Would you believe me if I said Stacy gave it to me?" he said.

"No, unless you did something unspeakable with her to get it," I replied. "Tell me the truth."

"I found it in your file?" He said it like a question.

"Doubt it. They have the wrong address listed," I said. "Tell me."

"If I did you wouldn't believe me," he sighed.

"Fine, don't tell me now but you can be sure I'll bug you all lunch, fourth, and fifth hour. Even after school if I have to."
"I wouldn't expect any less," he said, chuckling.

I continued drawing him. But the thing about drawing people is that you have to keep looking at them to be sure you're drawing it right. So every time I looked at him, it felt like I was checking him out. Because I looked at him, from his black skinny jeans to his Converse to his plain black shirt to his beautiful face. Whoa, did I just call him beautiful? I mean, he is, but he's such a jerk, and so hot n' cold, like that song, how I could I like him? I shuddered at the thought. But a little part of my mind said, "But you do like him." I wanted to punch that part of my mind.

Soon the bell ended homeroom, and we went our separate ways. I couldn't stop thinking about how he could know where I lived or my dream. In the middle of third hour art, it occurred to me that all of the people in my dream had golden eyes. As did Lucian. Coincidence? I think not. Maybe they were related. I decided to sketch the woman who had been in the silver dress. If I showed it to Lucian and he recognized it, then he could tell me who it was.

I sketched her as she had been in my dream, beautiful and smiling. I was soon done, and when I heard the bell ring, I hurried to lunch to ask Lucian if he knew her.

He was already sitting at the table when I got there. "Lucian, do you know this person?" I asked. I handed him my sketchbook.

His eyes widened when they saw my drawing. "Titania...," he whispered. He looked at me, tearing his eyes away form the drawing. "Where did you see this?" he asked, sounding a little confused.

"I had a dream...," I said. I didn't really want to share my dream with him.

"Tell me," he said. He stared at me with him piercing golden eyes and I couldn't say no.

So I told him all of the details of my dream. His face seemed to pale as I told him about the four horsemen.

"Well, Ava, I think I have to leave," he said. Then he stood up and started walking away.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Home," he called back over his shoulder. I thought about it for a minute. If he knew where my house was, I should know where his house was. I started following him.

We had left the cafeteria, and now we were walking outside the building. By some stroke of luck, no teachers saw us, and he never turned around and saw me. I was following him as he started walking down the street. Luckily Blackwater High School was centered in the middle of town, so wherever he was going couldn't be very far. He certainly wasn't going home, I had figured that out. If he was, he would've taken his car. But he didn't. I saw him take out his phone. He dialed someone and said, "Roman, meet me at Joe's in five." Then he hung up. Joe's was the local diner, where everyone hung out after school. Well, everyone but me.

I kept following Lucian to the diner. When we got there, he sat down next to a man also wearing all black. He looked so much like Lucian, they could have been brothers. When he sat down in the red booth, I crouched down behind it so he wouldn't see me but I could still listen.

"Hello Roman," he said, shaking the other man's hand. "It's been too long."

"Indeed it has. What have you been doing lately?" he asked.

"Bounty hunting. But that's beside the point. I found a half-fae who has been chosen by Titania," he said.

The man named Roman whistled. "Wow. Seelie Court doesn't choose half-fae often. What is she? Assuming its a she, since you've been assigned."

"She's like us," Lucian said, running a hand through his hair. "But I'm certain her father was Unseelie."

"Oh. Snap. That's rare," Roman said.

"Well. Does Titania still want me to get the bounty?" Lucian asked.

"Oh, let me just call her and ask," Roman said sarcastically. "Oh, wait, I forgot, they don't have phones there! We'll have to find out on Beltane. Of course, if she has been chosen, they'll take her away on Beltane."

"Well that doesn't help me!" Lucian nearly yelled. The man working by the counter looked at him. Lucian waved his hand and the man continued working. Okay, I was completely confused. What were they talking about? Titania is the faery queen in folklore, but they wouldn't be talking about that. And Beltane is a Wiccan holiday, but other than that I was confused.

"I need you to help me with this one. I've never dealt wit ha half-fae of our species before," Lucian said.

"I guess I'll just abandon my post as Guardian so I can help you," Roman said. "Of course, I'll need a replacement for me."

"You can take Fred," Lucian said. "But first, I think someone's been eavesdropping."

Shit. I watched as Lucian turned around and looked behind the booth to where I was crouching. "Its not polite to eavesdrop on conversations. You should know better, Lady Ava Ealhdun."