Strength Of The World

I was laying in the dirt, Matt still on top of me, his arms wrapped firmly around my waist. We were beside the staircasethat Jimmys chair sat upon, except he was gone. There was no one in sight; even the two demonic vampires that stood at either side of the stairway. The sky was black and the only light that shone, were from the pits. It was cold; colder than normal. You could see each breath we took flowing through the air in the form of a white haze.

"Are you okay?'' Matt whispered, his eyes meeting my own. I nodded softly, looking past him when I noticed a dark figure nearing us. I clutched onto his shirt tightly, pulling him as close as possible.

"Matt behind you!'' I exclaimed, an earsplitting scream escaping my throat when he began to get jerked away from me. He released his grip from around my waist as he was pulled from my fingers.

A sudden silence took over after he was dragged into the darkness and I quickly stood, looking around for anything, anyone. I slouched over, wrapping an arm around my stomach, using all the strength I had to hold myself up. I was still weak from the lack of blood.

"Hello?'' I called out, only to hear my voice echo back into my own ears.

I could hear someone scuffling through the dirt, nearing me. I squinted, trying to see the person through the darkness. A young woman, who looked younger than myself, was soon standing before me. She had short curly blonde hair, beautiful natural skin, and hazel green eyes. A dress that looked like something you'd see in the eighteen hundreds fit her perfectly.

She pinched the sides of her dress, bending slightly "Welcome back Angel'' she smiled politely "My name's Lillian.'' She stood up straight, taking a few steps forward, wrapping an arm under my shoulders "Please, let me get you cleaned upand fed.''

I nodded some, confused, but let the girl assist me. We walked into the opposite direction Matt had been taken and soon came to a large mansion that almost reminded me of a castle in a fairytale. The walls were made of stone and hadmoss growing along the sides. Each window had a candle placed in the center of it. We stepped off of the sandy walkway and onto a sidewalk made of beautiful white marble tinged with a hint of blue. A large garden could be found on either side of us with a large fountain placed in the center of the one on the right. The sky began to merge from black to a dark blue, the sky in the distance a dark pink mixed with orange. It didn't take long for me to realize I was staring at a sunset. My jaw fell slightly in awe. It was the first time in eight years I'd seen the sun and I wasn't even being harmed. Everything around me was breath taking.

Lillian pushed the large metal doors open when we arrived at the large mansion. The inside was just as beautiful. The floor glowed a bright yellow and you could see every reflection off of it, as if it were a mirror. A large arrangement ofpurple and white tulips were placed in front of us, directly in the center of a staircase that started on both sides of the room and met at the top. There were a set of closed doors behind the arrangement of flowers, but she led me up the stairs; vines wrapped carefully around the railing.

"Where are we?'' I asked as she helped me up the stairway, groaning slightly with each step.

"This is Jimmys home'' she turned toward me, her eyes glistening like diamonds, she placed a hand on my lower back, taking hold of one of my hands for better support.

"This place is so beautiful'' I couldn't help but smile slightly through the pain as we reached the top of the stairway.

Lillian helped me into a room at the end of the hallway. A black bath was placed in the center of the room, a towel holder held up a velvety robe. She leaned me against the wall before turning on the water, steam poured over the edges. Shestood me up straight, standing behind me helping me lift off my shirt, undoing my bra, and letting it fall to the side. I looked down at the bloody shirt with dirt stains as she helped me slide off my pants and undergarments. She wrapped an arm under my shoulders once more, assisting me into the tub.

I tensed as I sat into the hot water; my small wounds stinging. Lillian turned off the nozzle, dropping what looked like tiny crystals into the water.

"This will help you heal'' she smiled, picking up my dirty clothes, heading toward the hallway "I'll find you something more decent to wear.''

I closed my eyes, my skin felt as if it were crawling as my flesh began to heal. Everything that surrounded me almost made me forget about the past few days, or even what had happened with Matt not too long before. I had never been anywhere so flawless in my life. It was what I pictured heaven to be like. So calming and relaxing, beautiful. The sunset outside replayed in my mind. It was one thing I had missed since becoming a vampire.

I reopened my eyes, cupping a handful of water, watching it roll off my skin, splattering as it reconnected with the water in the tub.

I wasn't sure what I believed anymore. Matt was so convincing when he'd told me about Jimmy lying, yet Jimmy treated me as if I were a delicate queen. He'd stuck to his promise of me not getting hurt, and sure, I'd acquired a few scrapes and cuts along the way, but here I was, fully healed and safe because of him. It also wouldn't surprise me that Matt would say they had been confused. He wanted his life spared. I would lie to spare mine; it's only human, I guess you could call it, nature.

However, I wasn't settling for much more until I spoke to Jimmy again and finding out where Matt was taken. Besides, I needed to kill him to earn back my mortal life.

I picked up the small cloth over the edge of the tub, rubbing it against my skin, washing away the excess blood and dirt. It wasn't long and Lillian had returned, a towel placed over her arm.

"How are you feeling?'' she reached into the tub, pulling a long chain to drain the water.

"Much better'' I smiled, standing from the bath, wrapping the towel around my body after she handed it to me. She grabbed the robe, holding it open. I dropped my towel, sliding into the bathrobe, tying the two ribbons together.

"I really appreciate your help Lillian'' I began "but you don't have to help me.''

She shook her head, folding the wet towel over her arm, placing a hand on my lower back once more, pushing me slightly toward the hallway "I do what Jimmy wants. It's how I earn my keep around here.''

I followed her into a new room, a bedroom. A small fireplace lit the room. My favorite purple corset and black leather jeans were placed tidily on a large bed.

"Jimmy would like for you to get some rest and meet him for breakfast in the morning'' Lillian walked to a large cabinet, pulling out a wine shaped bottle and a small glass. She set the glass on the nightstand beside the bed, pulling the cork from the bottle. I watched as she poured blood into the glass, inhaling deeply. It smelled fresh and after days without blood, I was famished. I grabbed the glass between two hands, downing it quickly. My head fell back as I licked the excess blood from my lips.

Lillian placed the rim of the bottle to the glass, pouring me a new drink before setting it down "the bottle is yours, have as much as you'd like'' she smiled, walking to the doorway.

Turning to face me once more she took hold of the doorknob, pulling it shut "Sweet dreams, Angel.''