THE WATCHERS
1090 Words
He had been watching over this sleeping beauty for over a week now, and now he watched this girl named Angel open her eyes, squinting at the sunlight streaming through the window. She grabbed her head and he could tell it must be in pain. Looking around he watched as she noticed the window had bars and the IV attached to her arm. He watched as she weakly sat up in bed noticed the full bottle of water, he watched as she drank it down immediately, then he watched as her eyes fluttered back into a dreamless sleep.
If Angel had been more aware she would have noticed a creature half her size watching her, small beady blue eyes checking for any sign of movement. Sam saw her stir and awaken then fall back into her slumber. He shuffled over, checking her temperature, it was coming down. She had been blazing hot, hot enough to kill a human, but a lycanthrope would run extra hot when healing.
Hmmm, he thought to himself, maybe this wolf child will make it. Already she had slept over a week. Sam and his wife Lillyanne had been watching her, using what medicine they could to help her heal, applying special herbs to stop her wolf again. So young to shift for the first time, he wondered if it had anything to do with the scar on her neck, shaped like a crescent moon. It was almost like the moon goddess had marked her as her own.
Sam and his wife Lillyanne lived in the network of caves below the dungeons. It was a natural relationship between them and Carlos, dwarves loved the underground and vampires needed to sleep beneath the earth.
Theirs was a long history that stretched from the hundred year war to now.
Sam would have to wait for sundown to tell Carlos of his young prisoners awakening. First he would tell his wife, the little dwarf hurried to the door that led down to the underground network of caves.
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Angel opened her eyes once more, the room was dark, except for light of the moon she could see shining through her window, caressing her skin. She felt well rested and confused. Sitting up she tried to recollect where she was, noticing an IV line in her hand attached to a drip. Was she in hospital, what had happened?
"Ahh Sleeping Beauty has awakened, how do ye feel my love?"
Angel heard the small gravelly voice and looking around, she realized she was in a prison cell, as her eyes adjusted to the dark she saw an old dwarven man stood on the other side of the bars peering at her, a friendly smile on his face and a crinkle to his eyes.
"Who are you, where am I?" Angel asked in astonishment.
"Don't ye worry about that my love, ye'r safe here, which is a lot more than I can say for the humans of ye'r last residence."
Angels brows furrowed as she tried to remember, "I was on the school bus, then .... nothing, it's like a black hole in my memory."
"Don't worry my love, as ye body heals ye will remember, ye have had a big shock, other then ye memory how are ye feeling anyway?" the dwarf enquired in an almost fatherly fashion.
"I feel fine, why am in these cells, have I done something wrong, am I back at the orphanage?"
"No love, ye not done one thing wrong, Im picking its the others who done wrong to yer, these bars here are for everyone elses safety mainly. The next full moon is in two nights, a young wolf will normally only shift under a full moon the first time and with a pack."
"What wolf are you talking of?" asked Angel.
"Lycan, shifter, werewolf, that's what yer are Miss, but probably better for old Carlos to explain. I need to notify him of your awakening, are ye hungry Miss?"
Angel realised at that moment she was famished.
"Yes please, I am starving. I'm sorry I never caught your name?"
"Sam, miss. Just Sam is fine. I won't be two ticks, I'll go get me wife Lillyanne to bring yer a feast. I won't be long," with that he shuffled off.
Angel sat there wondering what this funny little man was talking of, lycan, shifter, it sounded so foreign yet so familiar somehow.
About half an hour passed and Sam returned with another small lady with an equally friendly face and a plate piled high with food. Roast chicken, bacon and potatoes and vegetables. They pushed the plate into her cell.
"Sorry ma'am, we can't let yer out, at least not until old Carlos comes back."
"Who is Carlos?", she enquired.
"Why, he's a vampire lass, yer in his house! Now come along eat up, ye don't want all that good grub getting cold," encouraged Sam.
I"m sorry Miss, we can't let you out of this cage until the master returns, but I'm sure a small girl like yourself won't cause much trouble, ooh where's me manners, my names Lillyanne," smiled the small lady.
Angel couldn't remember anything but blackness, and the surrounding bars did little to alleviate her concerns yet she felt no fear here and she was interested to while away the time with these two little people.
Strangely enough, though Angel figured she was in deep s**t, she found them oddly compelling and likeable. She even found herself laughing out loud on occasion, something she had not allowed herself the luxury of doing in many years. They regaled her with stories of a place called the Shadowlands where supernatural creatures of all descriptions dwelled, of past wars fought and of their happy times now living in the caves below and of their many jaunts to the Riverhead Tavern of which they were part-owners. It seemed the two little dwarves loved a drink or two.
It was nearing dawn when Sam piped up and said "ahh that will be the master now, and he has company."
Like a bubble bursting, the vampire that was old Carlos emerged first, he was wirey, lean and youthful looking, he couldn't have been older than thirty, he was closely followed by a great big bear of a man, all big bulky rugged muscle and testosterone, he had a long brown beard and carried an axe in his hand.
Angel felt her false sense of security floating away, joviality replaced by fear at seeing these two dangerous looking men with all their attentions set on coming for her.
- Writer
