In My Own Little World

I followed Maurus through the gloom, but it wasn't easy. He never turned around, and his milky skin and fierce eyes were the only parts of him that the moon would show. I was forced to stumble over rocks and hidden roots that sprang up to trip me at the last minute. Maurus seemed to be leading me deeper into the forest. Unlike me, Maurus moved with all the grace and agility of a cat. He would disappear into the void in front of me periodically, causing a well of panic to rise in my throat. I still didn't trust him entirely, and every time I lost sight of him I could imagine him sneaking up behind me silent as a shadow to drain me like he had done to Miles. He always managed to prove my suspicions wrong, and once I even walked right into him, knocking us both to the ground.

"Would you watch where your going?" he hissed at me as he tried to rise out of his undignified position on the ground. I thought he might find it difficult with me practically laying on top of him but he looked so normal it was hard to believe he wasn't human. He stood up quickly and I slid off his back and onto my butt.

"Ow!" I shouted, but Maurus ignored me completely. I had no time to exaggerate my injuries because he was already disappearing into the darkness again.

"Would you wait up for just a second! If you didn't keep disappearing I wouldn't have run into you." He stopped for a moment until I was next to him before he started off again.
"I'm sorry." he said. It surprised me, but I let him continue. "No one has seen a human in years. Hundreds of years. It's easy to forget how fragile you are. And how weak your senses are."

"My senses are not weak! And I am not fragile! You should have seen the black eye I gave to stupid Marky Johnson at school, fragile my a-"

"Please!" he begged, "I can't take any more of your defiance or bickering! I'm sorry if I insulted you but it's true. In comparison to my powers, you are very fragile Evelyn. Need I remind you of earlier?" My mind unwillingly relived the memory of being stuck in place while watching Maurus make mincemeat of Miles. I had never felt so powerless before, and it was easy to forget how strong Maurus was. He really did look normal for the most part. I studied him in the dark, my eyes sweeping over his high cheekbones, chisled jawline, and knitted brow. He looked very much like a man, but too flawless to be natural. Only when the moon shone on his eyes could I see his true nature. It was like a small fire he kept hidden inside himself.

"You don't need to remind me. Seeing it once was enough." Silence resumed as we continued our trek through the wilderness. After my little outburst I found I didn't lose him in the dark as often, at least he was making an effort. I don't know how long we walked, but just when I thought I couldn't take another step Maurus stopped abruptly. I almost ran into him again, but I was ready this time. Even in the dark I could see that we had come upon a cliff face, the natural wall ran away into the gloom on either side. I had no idea how far it extended, but we seemed to be in the right place because Maurus was stroking the rockface with the precision of a brainsurgeon.

"Nobody knows about this but me. Don't tell anyone about it, unless they have already been inside, and I don't expect that will ever happen."

Before I could say something smart about the fact that Maurus didn't have any friends Maurus tripped some kind of magical switch. The wall cracked down the middle with a loud snap that echoed away into the trees. I was nervous for a second about being discovered. The feeling was quickly forgotten when I saw what happened next. As I watched in fascination the crack began to glow an ominous blue before it widened to a gap about the width of a person.

"Come on, this way." Maurus strode fearlessly into the dark crag that yawned open in front of us. I was less than enthusiastic about marching into a hole in the wall but seeing no alternative I strode in after him. As soon as I had crossed the threshold there was the sound of grinding stone and I turned to see the crag shutting behind me. I have always had a slight fear of closed spaces, and I didn't like the idea of being sealed in, especially with a vampire.

There was complete darkness for a few moments and I stayed by the entrance, just in case Maurus wanted to try something funny. Even though the door had all but disappeared, it made me feel better to have my back against something as sturdy and solid as cave rock. I could hear his footsteps echo away into the distance. There was some shuffling about, a few quiet curses and suddenly there was light at the end of the tunnel, literally. Maurus came back down the passageway, candelight casting strange shadows on his features.

"What are you waiting for Evelyn? My hideout is just down this tunnel." He tried to hide his amusement but failed miserably. Determined to seem unafraid I walked boldly behind him and followed him down a short tunnel that curved away to the left. The tunnel kept curving and after a while I determined that by now we might even be facing the opposite direction in which we started. U-turn anyone?

The tunnel began to slant downwards and we headed deeper underground. The perfect place for a vampire to hang out during the long hours of the daytime. Every once in a while we would pass a hollow in the wall that housed a candle or two to guide us. It felt like we were walking forever in that dark, cramped space but in reality it was probably less than 5 minutes, and that was at a leisurely pace. I breathed a sigh of relief when the tunnel finally opened up into a cave.

Since we were so far underground there were definitely no windows, but there was a breeze blowing past us. I tracked it to a small set of holes in the ceiling.

"That's so I can get some fresh air down here every now and again. It also keeps the fire and the candles from smoking me out of the place." he explained. "I drilled them myself, and they lead to the outside of the wall, somewhere along the base so they wouldn't be noticed. I barely have a fire down here anyway, I am cold blooded after all." He let out a deep chuckle that didn't fit his youthful personality and echoed off the walls. "This is the main room, in case you haven't already figured that out. See that?" He pointed to another tunnel that was smaller than the one we had just come out of. "That leads to my bedchamber. I apologize but there's only one bed, and it's too small for two. You'll have to sleep out here on the loveseat." He directed me towards a loveseat that was pressed against the wall of the cave. It didn't fit very well, because the cave was round, and had no corners for him to tuck the seat away in. I sat down gratefully.

"I need to change out of these clothes. They're my... hunting clothes. I'll be right back, and then we can figure out getting you something to eat." he turned around and headed for his little mini-cave that served as a bedroom and politely drew a curtain that was fixed to a pole he had managed to drill into the rock above the entrance. His room was dark and I wondered why he was so worried that I'd see him, he's a night creature for crying out loud! He could have easily gotten changed in the dark, he could see through it like daylight. Maybe he was trying to show off, because as he lit a candle in the room beyond I got a pretty nice look at the silhouette of his body cast on the curtain. I would be lying if I said I wasn't impressed, but when I saw clothes start to fall off I averted my gaze and studied the living room.

There was the loveseat, as well as two living chairs that looked like they came straight out of a Victorian romance. The upholstery was unsurprisingly black. There were some small rugs strewn about on the floor in an effort to cover the rough stone. These also looked very antique and expensive. Hollows had been expertly cut out of the walls to house more candles. Below the air holes was a small firepit, as far from the rugs and chairs as it could get. Since vampires have no need to eat food, there was no kitchen. I wondered briefly how Maurus planned to feed me without one. The only decoration on the walls was a huge portrait of a beautiful woman. She had deep black hair that fell in luxurious waves upon her shoulders, and the same piercing blue eyes that Maurus had. "She must be a relative..." I mused. There was a small bookcase full of books I didn't recognize, and many that I couldn't even read because they were written in languages I had never seen before. This was strategically placed next to one of the arm chairs as well as a small end table with more candles on it. This guy loved his candles. What piqued my interest most of all was a small dark wood cabinet that stood alone on the other side of the room. Curiousity got the better of me and I found myself standing by the cabinet in a flash.

"Don't be nosy Evelyn." I reasoned with myself. "It could be something terrible."

"But then again," my adventurous side continued, "It's always the terrible things that are the most interesting."

I had just put my hands on the little knob that held it closed when Muarus stepped out from behind the curtain and immediately glared at me. I froze under that terrible gaze and if I had been able to blink I would have missed what happened next. In a blur of motion my pathetic human eyes couldn't follow Murus ran across the room and my wrists were locked in his hands and he was towering over me. It was like we were in the forest all over again. His eyes glowed dangerously and I knew I had messed up bad.

"Do. Not. Touch. This. Ever. Got it?" I nodded but at the same time my mind was screaming at me, "What's in it what's in it?" Thousands of possiblities floated through my head but none of them seemed likely to make Maurus this mad. He released me immediately and began to pace the small living space while I just looked on like a confused groupie. I know I was pushing it but dang it I wanted some answers.

"What's in it?"