Forbidden Violets
By Angel of Death
Chapter 1-The Chosen Pt. 2
I dreamed of my mother that night. Her easy smile shining behind my eyelids. She was dancing with the wind, enjoying freedom but tears were streaming down her pale face. Screams poured out from behind her lips, creating a sea of chaos. She tried reaching out for me, as I slowly drifted away from her. Wolves as tall as stallions pinned her down, sorrow burning in their throats. A howl rang out against her screams and the last thing I saw before I was pulled into the darkness, were the cerulean eyes of my father.
I woke with a start. My heart was beating erratically and dried tears doused my tongue in salt. Underneath my bare back something cushy rest. It wasn't the hard Earth I fell asleep on last night, but it felt somewhat familiar. Imprisoning me, was a drape made of white lace. It fell all around my bed, mixing with the sea of purple that was engulfing me. I was in my room at the palace. The nights before my birthday, I slept at Ilonea's house in the city. This was the first time, in a very long time, that I've been in here. Even though this has always been my room, I feel like it belongs to someone else.
Smells of fresh violets tainted my nose, making me push back the silvery curtain that surrounded my bed. It was everywhere, placed in white vases around my room. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood. Curtains open to the sun, I ran to look out my window. Snow was falling gracefully to the ground, covering the mountain in its icy splendor.
I aimlessly stared out the window, trying to regain my train of thought. It was often that I dreamed of my mother but now, in the most demanding days of my life, there wasn't a moment she wasn't on my mind. When my father was giving me lectures about how proud he was of me, I'd fall into the memory of the one who gave me life. Sometimes, if I stared really hard at myself in the mirror, I'd see her. Breaking free from the surface of my hazel eyes and weaving her way through my long raven, black hair. She was as much as apart of me as the Moon was to the Earth.
A bird passed by my window, chirping a somber melody against the snow. Its red wings were covered with white flurries and a worm was dangling from its bright orange beak. From the confusion hidden deep in his black button eyes, I could tell it wasn't expecting winter. Slowly it soared through the mountaintops, only to descend to a tree below my window. As I watched the small creature, two emerald spheres caught my attention. Scarlet lips pulled up at the corners, revealing teeth almost as white as the sky's frozen tears. It was Alexandru.
The engine to his BMW was still revving, sending birds into a frenzy. I looked down at my body to find it was covered with goosebumps. Anger and embarrassment flitted across my face, making me draw the curtains. His boisterous laughter flew into my room, dancing in and out of my head. I was so perturbed, that the knock at my door almost sent my heart into a cardiac arrest.
"In a minute," I called, reaching for the robe I usually wore at night. It was hanging on the back of my chair, cool from the amount of times it sat untouched by the warmth of my skin. I slipped it on, the soft fabric feeling remotely familiar.
"Come in," I said, tying the robe shut.
The door creaked open silently, exposing a frail body with long gray hair. My heart settled, it was only Rosa, my maid by association. She's been with my family for years, never complaining about the work she was given, honestly, she hardly said a word. Before stepping over the threshold into my room, she bowed and then parted her thin lips as if to speak. I waited patiently, combing my fingers through my now tangled hair.
"Your father was hoping you'd come down to breakfast. He has some guest here to see you," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
The look in Alexandru's eyes made me shudder. If I went downstairs, he would kiss me again, and then...
My thoughts were broken by Rosa clearing her throat. I looked up at her, fear burning in my eyes. There was no way I was sitting in the same room with that man.
"Tell father that I'm not hungry," I murmured, sitting on the edge of my bed.
Rosa sighed and then started fidgeting with a string on her dress. When she looked up, her eyes were filled with apologies.
"He said that you would say that," she said, frowning.
The intensity of my stare when Rosa said those words made her turn away. A look in her tired brown eyes told me that I wasn't going to like what she was going to say next.
"He also said that if you refused, then he'd come and get you himself," Rosa continued, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.
I gulped in horror, not wanting him to touch any part of me again. He thought that he could own me just because we were bound by a prophecy. Even though Rosa failed to mention my 'threat's' name, I knew that she meant Alexandru. I truly despised that man.
"Tell them that I'll be down," I said, bitterly.
The harshness in my voice made Rosa's face whiten and her eyes turn glassy. I could imagine that the look on my face was murderous. To keep from launching a rock at the shiny car outside my window, I got up, walked to my bathroom, and closed the door. Rosa was so quiet when she left, I couldn't even hear the sound of her going down the stairs.
Parallel to where I stood was the mirror, staring at me incredulously. I looked a mess. Leaves wove there way into my hair, making me look wild. My eyes were purple and red, proof of my lack of sleep. Reluctantly, I moved over towards the shower and turned both the knobs on. Water gushed out of the sterling faucets, smashing loudly against the white ceramic tub. I let the robe slip from my body and \stepped in, closing the curtain behind me. Warm water caressed my skin, relaxing all the tense muscles and puring my soul. A line of my favorite soups lined the rack above my head, I picked Jasmine, and rubbed it against a washcloth.
The lathered cloth moved smoothly across my body, ridding me of the remnants of last night. When my whole body was sanitized, I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. Again I was met with my face in the mirror. It didn't look wild like before, but it still didn't look like me. I looked older, changed.
Water dripped down my back, and onto the floor. I grabbed a towel off the rack above the toilet and dried my entire body off. Luckily, my closet was adjacent to the bathroom, so I swung open the door on the far right of the shower and walked in. My closet looked more like a room rather than a place to put clothes. It used to be my father's study but as I grew older he figured that I would need some space. Above this room lye the attic, a secret place that only I knew of. Sometimes I'd go up there to clear my head. If I could, I'd be up there now, curled up into a ball rocking back and forth. There was nothing scarier than the life I was living. Not even a coven of blood-thirsty vampires or a pack of armed humans could be worse than marrying Alexandru or becoming Queen.
I grabbed some underclothes and slipped them on. Even as a princess, I wasn't into dresses like some of my sisters were. Usually, I just wore dark jeans and the occasional fitted tee. Everything about me was normal, that's why I couldn't understand why I was deemed extraordinary.
Dressed, I left my closet and returned to my room. As I slowly walked towards the door, I couldn't help but not miss the statuesque body sprawled across my bed. His seraphic smile grew wider, thus illuminating his iridescent eyes, when he saw the surprised look on my face.
"And we meet again, my sweet," he chuckled, sitting up.
My heart was beating ten time the normal rate. His soft snicker assured me that he could hear it.
"What are you doing in my room, Alexandru?" I asked, turning away.
There was silence, and then he was right beside me, his lips trembling against my ear.
"That's no way to greet your husband," he whispered, a smile in his voice.
"You are not my husband," I muttered, sitting on the edge of my bed.
This was a bad move considering that Alexandru automatically sat down beside me. He was so close I could almost taste the lust that burned on his lips.
"Why don't you love me?" he asked, playing with a strand of my hair.
I ignored his question and got up to stand by the window adjacent to my bed. He looked at me quizzically, holding back a bemused smile.
"Perhaps it is the fact that I am a little older than you or maybe you love someone else," Alexandru pushed, staring at me.
I rolled my eyes and retreated to my bathroom. As I expected, he followed, becoming a statue against the door. To keep from looking at him, I busied myself by brushing my teeth. If I looked in the mirror, I could see tiny glimpses of him staring at me or off into space. Either way it made me uncomfortable.
I spit the toothpaste into the sink and then turned the water off. The blue paste went down the drain, along with the cold stream spilling from the faucet.
"Corinna?" he asked, his arms folded tightly across his chest.
"Why can't you leave me alone?" My voice was filled with venom as I absently perused the contents of the cabinet above the sink. There were bottles of hair products, face creams, and medicine. These were human props-human casualties. As Alexandru shortened the distance between us, blood splashed across my eyes. I could feel his veins beating death underneath my death. His flesh nothing but paper in my hands. My thoughts were barbaric, and beast-like. And though I lived like a human, trying so hard to reject everything animal about me, I can never be like the others in this world. Ignorant and free.
"You know that we're right for each other. It may not be as clear as the morning sky but its there. I know..." he started, thickly.
"You know nothing about what I think, nor do you care." I spat, inching away from him.
His ice cold hand made make-shift manacles around my wrist. It felt as if a thousand bullets were piercing my skin, boring through my bones like atomic snowflakes. Those hypnotic eyes of his, glared at me as if I were a dumb child. As if I had no idea what I wanted in life.
"The prophecy has foretold, and there is nothing you can do about it! Our ancestors, our people, waited a long time for this change and we are here. You are the Chosen Corinna, and its time you've gotten that through your thick skull!" Never have I heard his voice so fierce and threatening. If his words could kill, I'd be dead. My body spilling gallons of blood across the bathroom floor. Tears burned in my eyes. He thought he owned me. He thought he knew what was best for me. Everyone thought that my life was there for them to control. My father. Alexandru. The pack. And I was getting tired of it. As Alexandru continued to probe at my mind with his furious gaze, murder screamed melodic psalms in my ear.
"I love you, more than you know. I only want the best for you and I think... I know that this is what's right for you. Me. Everyone," His tone softened as well as the grip he had on my wrist. A faint blue bruise formed around my wrist. Each time I looked at it, my brain signaled that I was in pain. In his eyes I could see a reflection of my face. My skin was white, and my eyes were gray. Tears flowed in neat paths around my irises. To Alexandru, this would be a sign of weakness. A sign that I understood.
"It's gonna be okay," And then he took me into his arms, his lips gracing each strand of my hair. Parts of me wanted to give up and embrace what I was and who I was. But other stronger and more sane parts thirsted and almost lusted for this man to be killed. All it would take was one blow to the head or a simple punch through the heart. Flesh and bones. He was only flesh and bones.
Alexandru's hands rested on the small of my back and then I felt something touch my neck. It was his warm lips and each time he kissed me it burned. The scent of him overwhelmed my nose and his feeling of victory shouted in my ears and flowed through my mind. I didn't fully register what I was doing until we were suddenly two feet apart. His face was filled to the brim with both shock and bewilderment. It was almost as if I slapped him in the face. And I could've if the other more irrational side of me wasn't begging me not to do it.
"What is wrong with you?" he asked, angrily.
"Me? What is wrong with me? You come here thinking that you can just take me...because of some stupid prophecy! I am not a prize to be won, Alexandru!" I snapped.
"You are the prize, Corinna. The best prize there could ever be. Don't you understand that I love you?" His face was now soft, and it was almost as if his was pleading...begging me to just give in. He didn't care what I wanted or thought. It was all about him. It always has been. For a moment I almost fell for that innocent look. Those electrifying green eyes but then, before me they turned gray and dark and deadly. He was a monster if he didn't get what he wanted. A tyrant. A tyrant that I could never love.
"I'm not going to lie to you Alexandru, but I do not love you,'
He nodded thoughtfully and then left. Unlike Rosa, he departed loudly, almost slamming the door shut. I sighed. This was relationship was going to harder on me now that Alexandru knew that I could never love him. In his eyes, my resistance to him was another way of saying that I lusted for him with a deep passion. I turned the water off and walked back in my room. A cool wind was floating through my room, curling the ends of my hair. Something told me that I should have been scared but it was only Daniel.
He was standing by my bookcase, perusing through a shelve of books. When he finished looking, he looked up at me and smiled. In his hands was a box and it was tied neatly with a red bow.
"Hey Corina," Daniel said, coming towards me.
"Hi," I replied.
"So, Alexandru is here?" he asked, holding the box out to me.
I sighed and took the box from Daniel.
"Yeah, unfortuneatly," I replied, rolling my eyes.
Daniel sat on the edge of my bed, his angel's face holding a horrid expression. I couldn't understand what was wrong until he looked up at me.
"Did he do anything to you?" he asked, cracking his knuckled.
I shook my head no and sat beside him. The box was light in my hands. My curiosity was getting the best of me but I could tell Daniel probably wanted to know what else had me on edge.
"We made our feelings about each other clear and from the way the conversation ended I don't think Alexandru understands that I don't love him," I explained, grunting.
"Want me to do something to make him see the big picture clearly?" Daniel asked, a smile in my voice.
I looked up at him and smiled. This was a huge contrast from last night, which was good because it really wasn't nice seeing up as messed up as he was.
"So, how was your night?" I asked, pulling at the ribbon on the box.
"Well I went to go see Beth and she really is psyched about meeting you. We might be gone all night...wait a minute. Did you tell your father that I'm stealing you for the day? He's going to be so mad if we just leave..." Daniel started, frowning.
"Don't worry about it. I'm planning to get as far away from this place as possible. Besides, he'll understand because sometimes you have to do what you want to do, right?" I interrupted, shoving him sideways.
Daniel laughed, his melodic chuckle bouncing off the walls. This was the Daniel I was used to. This was the Daniel I was going to miss. Not being able to hold back any longer, I pulled the ribbons apart and took the top off of the box. Inside was a necklace with a huge green ruby surrounded by diamonds hanging from it. The amulet shimmered in the light from the light fixture above my bed. It was beautiful. When I looked up at Daniel, I couldn't find the words to say to think him for such a wonderful gift. His face was calm but it held a hidden sense of pain and anger. Before I could ask him what was wrong, he took the necklace out of the box and held it up.
"I felt that this would be the right time to give this to you," he whispered, gesturing for me to turn around.
As I held my hair up, Daniel clasped the necklace around my neck. When I turned to look at him, he was still smiling but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. I wrapped my arms around him, unable to stop the rain from falling down my cheeks.
"I don't want you to leave," I breathed, burying my head in his chest.
Daniel didn't say anything, he just caressed the back of my head until some of the tears disintegrated. I heard him sigh but before I could look up at him, he tightened his arms around me, keeping me nuzzled in his chest.
"I'm sorry," he said, kissing me on the top of my head.
Confusion swept my mind, leaving me too curious to be sad. I tried to not move as Daniel almost smothered me to death. Maybe I was overreacting. It wasn't like this was the last time I would ever see him or was it?
"Corina I..." he started loosening his hold on me.
I looked into his eyes and frowned. He looked pained, even though minutes before my little breakdown he was fine. If he was going to leave to be happy, then I shouldn't make him suffer on my account.
"Beth is probably wondering where we're at," I interrupted, smiling.
Daniel smiled a soft smile and then stood. He slowly walked towards the window and I followed, letting the frosty air wash away my tears. When Daniel extended his hand out, I took it. Then, so fast that I didn't even know how, we were out the window, and into the day. Running, our legs pounding the cold, white Earth.
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