Arranging Fate

The next morning, Zion was still asleep when I woke up. I looked at the clock. It was almost seven in the morning. I wasn’t sure when he usually got out of bed; it was always nearly nine by the time I was up. Deciding to wake him up, I turned to face him.

The act made the mattress move and disturbed him a little. He frowned in his sleep then reached out. His arm wrapped around my waist and he pulled me close.

“Aviel,” he mumbled and I blushed.

His other arm went under his head and mine. Our bodies were practically touching and I was incredibly embarrassed. Even though he always slept without a shirt on, I never took the time to look at him. I had loathed him, after all. Now, though, I felt the urge more than normal. So, I took advantage of his sleep.

He was more muscular than I thought he’d be. Though he wasn’t muscled like the farmers, he would have fit in with the blacksmith: very lean but defined. His chest and abs looked hard and I wanted to touch them, something that made me blush even more. I was reaching out to touch them when his eyes opened abruptly, startling me.

“Good morning,” he said sleepily.

“H-Hello,” I said in a high voice. He saw how close we were and I saw the confusion in his eyes. “You- Well, you wouldn’t let me go and-.”

“Sorry,” he said quickly and let me go.

“It’s okay,” I said. “Er, what are we doing today?”

He shrugged. “Whatever you want to,” he said. “You have two days left.”

I shut my eyes, feeling a jolt of pain go through me. He caressed my cheek, making me squeeze my eyes tighter.

“I’ll help you,” he whispered.

I swallowed thickly. “Will I ever get to see my mother and sister again?” I whispered back.

“Not until after the war is over,” he said. “We can’t risk someone finding them or us.”

“I understand,” I said, disappointed. “Are there many kingdoms with vampires in them?”

He nodded. “Pretty much every kingdom has at least ten,” he said. “There aren’t any in your village, though, if that’s why you’re asking.”

“Why not?”

“You’re too small. It would be very easy to find them.”

I nodded thoughtfully. “Can you be in sunlight?”

“No,” he said sadly. “The only way we can get reprieve is if we have something covering us.”

We spent several hours in bed, him answering my questions. He was holding my hand again and, the more time I spent with him, the more I realized how honest with me he was being. He never hesitated when I asked a question and he even told me the more grim details.

“Will you be in the war?” I asked as we walked down to the barn after lunchtime.

“No,” he said and sounded disappointed. He helped me onto my horse. “That will be my brother’s task. Heather and I are bridges. When Suzenne approached my father, saying she wanted to help find her brother, we took the advantage to make a foothold.”

“Are you wanting our village just for the war?”

“No,” he said with a shake of his head. I noticed he hadn’t trimmed his hair and I felt a little happy. “We’re really doing it for expansion. It’s the nature of every kingdom. I’m sure Jasper is doing the same thing. Frankly, I’m surprised they hadn’t already claimed you guys.”

I shrugged. “Like you said: we’re small. Maybe if we had more people move out here it would be different. There’s not much of a need for us, too. We don’t farm anything, we don’t have a large group of men who are fit for battle, we don’t make anything useful, and our women are pretty much all married. We have nothing to offer.”

“Sure you do,” he said but I shook my head.

“It’s okay,” I said. “We all accept that we don’t have a place in a kingdom. We have people that come through with goods to trade; we’re well known for being good with traders. Other than that, we just keep to ourselves.”

“Sounds lonely.”

“Is Felden large? I don’t know much about it.”

He made an iffy gesture with his hand. “More or less,” he said, leading me down a different path. “We’re big enough for the need to have three dukes. More than half of our kingdom is made up of vampires.”

“That makes sense,” I said. “Your father is the father of all vampires.”

I saw him nod and we continued on in silence. It felt strange knowing that I didn’t have much longer until I became a vampire. I heard something move and pulled my horse to a stop. Zion looked at me but I put my finger over my lips. I slid off the saddle and smiled. It was a deer and, if my suspicions were correct, it was the same doe.

I walked carefully into the trees, holding my hand out. Unlike last time, she came right up to me. I smiled and stroked her neck. She was spooked again but this time it was by Zion.

“No, no it’s okay,” I said in a calm voice and the doe hesitated. Zion was standing beside me and I made him stop. “Hold your hand out so she can sniff it,” I told him.

He did so and we waited. Her brown eyes looked from him to me. I nodded and put my hand beside his. She stepped a few steps closer and I looked at Zion. His eyes were wide and I wondered if he had ever had a creature come up to him before. The doe was just inches away when she stopped. Zion looked at me in confusion and I took his wrist. Slowly, I moved it forward until she sniffed it. She nuzzled it and I nodded at him.

He ran his fingers down her neck and gasped quietly. His eyes were still wide as he stepped closer to use both hands. He rubbed her ears and she closed her eyes. I giggled as the doe drooled a little. I had never seen that before but didn’t doubt that animals could drool, too. When he stopped, she bumped her head into his stomach and nuzzled me before turning and disappearing among the trees.

“That was the most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced,” Zion said breathlessly.

He was looking at where the doe had disappeared then at his own hands. I smiled and reached out to him.

“You just have to remember to be gentle,” I said and he smiled back at me.

He leaned closer then stopped.

“Let’s go,” he said.

“Zion,” I said and he looked at me.

I gulped and stood on my toes. I was still too short to reach his face but he understood and leaned down quickly to kiss me. I melted into his lips and wrapped my arms around his neck. He put his arms around me and all I was aware of was the forest, his lips, and the scent of whatever cologne he used.

When we parted, he looked deep into my eyes.

“Why did you kiss me?” he whispered and looked a little scared of my answer.

“Because….” I stopped and thought it over. I just let the first thing I thought of come to my mouth. “Because I wanted to.”

He smiled and pulled me into a hug. I put my head on his chest. I had been right. It was firm and I felt like I was safe with his arms around me. It was as if I was in a cocoon of safety. Once again, I thought that, if this was going to be my eternity, then I was sure I’d be happy.

We didn’t go back for another hour when my feet started to hurt. We had just been embracing, leaning against a tree. I enjoyed it but we were both hungry and went straight to dinner before getting changed. In bed, he gave me some information that made me sad.

“I’ll have you get up early in the morning,” he said.

“Why?” I asked and he bit his lip.

“It is your last sunrise,” he said and I stared.

“I had forgotten,” I whispered.

“It’ll be okay,” he said but I couldn’t think of a response so I just closed my eyes.

Even though I sensed it upset him, I turned to my side and he reached out, touching my back. He didn’t speak but I didn’t need him to.