The cold ones. Part 1, In two worlds

Chapter 12 - Beneath the surface.

Two days later.

Since I’d been staying in Talon’s quarters, things were much quieter and Lyra hadn’t once been by. Luckily, Kyan had only stopped by once since the last time and I was already in bed when I heard him speaking to Talon, but the hushed conversation was too quiet for me to know what they were speaking about and I didn’t want to take my chances of hovering by the door, being nosey, seeing as he was once again curious about who I was.

I had started to relax more around Lord Talon. He didn’t speak a lot, apart from the usual morning small talk, he spent most of his time writing in big brown heavy books or signing things and reading. He would do his rounds of the castle to keep a watch over everything, but he was never gone for too long and I’d spend my time just pottering in and out of my room. The time would slowly tick by, but as bored as I sometimes felt, I was so glad to be in here, away from Lyra, than back in that cupboard and to be honest, I was starting to feel a little spoiled with Talon.

There was always an array of food brought to us each mealtime and he’d always insist I ate as much as I wanted. My sheets on my bed were changed every day by the maid, my clothes were cleaned and just this morning new bath salts and candles were neatly placed in my bathroom. I was still trying to do my bit. Whenever the maid visited, I always tried to assist and help out and I had learned that the older plump woman was called Constance and the younger maid, who looked to be in her mid-40’s, was called Bianca. We never had much time to converse, but they always seemed happy and took time to speak to Talon. They were always joyful and pleasurable conversations, which I think contributed to me not feeling so afraid of him anymore. He was just so calm, quiet and placid towards anyone that came in.

I sat at the wooden table in the middle of the room as I looked around at all the portraits hung from the walls. Most of them were of a woman, a very pretty one with long dark hair and bright green eyes. Others of Talon standing with the woman, smiling, but it wasn’t a posed smile, it looked like a truly happy one, with their arms holding onto one another.

“Who’s that woman?” I decided to ask and disrupt Talon from his writing.

He let out a long breath as he looked up at the same picture I had my eyes on. “That is my wife!”

“Where is she? Does she not live here?”

“She lives here, in memory…. She died.”

“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…. I mean I thought…I didn’t mean to bring it up for you.”

“It’s ok. I think about her every day anyway, so it’s never really gone”.

“If you don’t mind me asking… when did she pass?”

“Twenty-five years ago”.

“I’m really sorry for your loss. I couldn’t imagine losing someone I loved.”

“Then you’re lucky you haven’t had to know that kind of grief. She was taken all too soon from me and our boys.”

“Taken?”

“Yes, taken!”

“I don’t understand!”

“What I mean is, her life was taken from us. She didn’t deserve what happened.”

“What happened to her?”

“You’re very inquisitive, aren’t you young Ellie? Do you normally ask such personal questions?”

“I’m sorry Lord Talon, I won’t speak another word on it.” I told him as I just looked down at the table, trying not to irritate him.

He let out a deep sigh. “No, forgive me for being short with you young Ellie, my sons don’t like to speak of it, and I can’t remember the last time they even mentioned her name. I suppose I’ve become used to not speaking of her either”.

“Is it hard for you to speak of it?”.

He nodded with a crestfallen face as he looked thoughtfully at the portraits. “We were ambushed one evening, we were in the gardens playing with Kyan and Zekan when…. When humans just emerged from the trees and started shooting their guns. She shielded the boys as I tried to take them down. Most of them ended up retreating and the rest I killed. But it wasn’t until I got to her that I realised she’d been hit by several of their silver bullets. She died in my arms and my sons saw it all”.

I listened with my mouth wide open in horror as I watched his eyes fill with sadness. “I… I’m so sorry”. I said in more than just a whisper.

“Not a day goes by that I don’t miss her and wish she was still with us. She always knew how to keep the boys in line”.

“What was she like?”

He blew out a long breath as a smile brightened his face. “She was… she just glowed with beauty….”

“She does look really beautiful!”

“Well, her beauty was more than just on the surface. She was sweet, merciful, her smile could light even the darkest of days. The love she gave to me and our sons was magical. I never knew of such happiness until I met her. She would give shelter to anyone that needed it and she always hoped that if we showed a little kindness to the humans and let them really see us for who we are, that we would find peace. Unfortunately, peace still didn’t come for some time”.

“Your father…. He was killed by humans too, right?”

“Yes, that’s right”.

“And that’s when you and the mayor declared peace?”

“That’s not quite how it happened. Where did you hear that?”

“It’s in all of the books I read. I worked in the library in Bluebay, I devoured so many stories about your kind and they taught us some of the history at school”.

“Well, I think you may have only read one side of things”.

“Well, I know I never saw anything in the books about your wife and what my kind did to her”.

“You like to read?”

“I love to read, that’s why I worked at the library. I even love the smell of books and taking care of them. I think books always seem to be so undervalued”.

Talon grinned then stood up and took hold of his cane. “Come, there’s something I’d like to show you”.

“What is it?” I asked as I got up and followed him out of the doors.

“Wait and see”.

We turned right out of his doors and walked further down the hallway that was barely lit, until he suddenly turned right. I stared in shock for a moment, I hadn’t even noticed there was a turning, it was blended in with the walls like a trick of the mind. I never would have seen it if Talon wasn’t here.

We walked down a bit further until he stopped at an old wooden door and opened it with a loud creak. He flicked on some lights and in front of my eyes appeared shelves and bookcases stacked to the brim with books, just rows and rows of them in a large cream carpeted room and a chandelier hanging over a dark thick wooden table with fancy cream arched armchairs, placed cosily in front of a coloured tainted window of birds and storks surrounded by roses. There was a wide window seat in front of it, with loads of little cushions scattered on the edges.

“All these books!” I gasped in delight. “What are they about?”

“All kinds, my dear. Some are just old stories written by authors we’ve collected over the years, but some….. come with me”. He said as we walked past some of the bookcases down a narrow walkway.

He stopped at a rickety, dusty bookcase that held old leathery books. Some were small but others looked like they were the type to hold old-time manuscripts. The smell of old leather wafted to my nose, and I felt like I was in my own little book heaven.

“Some…” He said as he ran his finger across the top of them. “Are written by ones both mine and your kind that have lived here”.

“Wait! Humans have written some of these?”

“Yes”, he replied with a smile.

“But…. But they look so old!”

“I think you’ll find humans have been coming here a lot longer than you first thought”.

“Well, to be honest, until I came here, I didn’t even know humans lived with you, or even came this far from Bluebay”. I replied, feeling astonished.

“Well, if you ever want to satisfy that curiosity of yours, you’ll find your answers in here, I’m sure of it.”

“There’s so many books… not that, that’s a bad thing, it’s just made me even more fascinated”.

“Well, this one…”he said as he pulled out a small white hardback book and blew off a cobweb. “This was written by the first of your kind that ever came here.” He told me as he held it out for me to take.

“Emma Fennelly!” I spoke aloud as I read the neat black ink on the front of the book. “I can read this?”

“You can read whatever book in here you want. I know you miss your life at home, and I know you must miss your parents terribly and that none of this was of your asking or doing, but while you are here, just think of it as your new home away from home. So, you can come in here and read whenever you like. Apart from the bedrooms of others, the rest of this place is yours just as much as it is theirs”.

I looked at him, suddenly filled with gratitude and guilt for realising I misjudged him so much. “Why are you being so kind to me?”

“Because none of this is your fault, young Ellie. Your life as you knew it was suddenly snatched away from you. I know that feeling all too well!”.

His sudden comparison of losing the life he used to live so happily with his wife, to the changes in my life…. Gave me this sense of thanks, that my troubles as bad as they felt… were so small compared to what others have endured…. One of them being a species I had grown to fear and assume all the worst things of them. I never in all of my years imagined the lord of the vampires on Bluebay Island could be so compassionate and warm beneath his cold skin. I had always pictured him as being fierce, frightening… the thing of nightmares! In fact, when I was a child I did have nightmares of the vampire lord.