Queen of Them

Screams. The screams of both the girls, begging for mercy, combined with the shouts of victory that came from the creatures that chased them, echoed all around me. My face was decorated with various marks and cuts that I received from running through the forest. It took everything in me to keep my teeth from chattering, as even though my dress had sleeves that went down past my hands, as well as a very high collar that rested under my chin, it still was an early spring morning. My prom dress was ruined, to say the least. Mud was splattered about me, with deep rips and cuts into the thin silky fabric, exposing more of the open cold air than I cared for. My whole body shook from the frosty cold, and as I squatted there, in the mud, hiding in a thick thorn bush, I only had to look over my shoulder and see my two best friends huddled together, crying, to know I was more fortunate than most. Unlike them, I had expected this was going to happen. Unlike them, I wore thick wool socks with hiking boots. The ugly, early 1900s dress look-a-like that I wore wasn't because I was an outcast or prude, but it was because of the long intricate black tattoos that were carved into my flesh. Sorry. Once black tattoos, as ever since late November, they started to change to a lighter, golden color. As if counting down the days till I saw him again. They were tired, scared, and tried to weep as silently as they could, as the chaos of these monsters chasing the other girls continued around us. If I wasn’t in the various self-defense classes, sword fighting classes, or even track, I would be in the same position as they were. As I was when this all started when I was only sixteen years old. It’s funny how, only two years before this, I was living a completely different life. A shiver traveled across my shoulders and down my spine, making my head shake slightly. For the first time that night, fear sat heavy in my stomach. That wasn’t another shiver of cold, no, that shiver was my body telling me he was near. Like it always did since I got these marks. My vision changed for a second, letting me for a brief second see through the pitch-dark forest. I closed my eyes and shook my head, making my vision go back to my normal, inferior one. It just wasn’t my tattoos that were changing, it was my whole body. Not only was it my vision, as I no longer needed the thick glasses that I once wore. My diet changed, as I craved raw meat, and my body went from a frail thin little thing, to thick, powerful muscles. I was slowly starting to become one of them. I knew dawn was slowly approaching, and if I could make it to when that beautiful sun rose above the horizon, I was going to be free. For at least another year, but I was still free. And maybe, just maybe, I could be like my friends and lead a normal life. Instead of this crazed waste of life that I was slowly starting to become. That I could actually believe in a future, and not one of being stuffed away in the dark caves under the earth. Forgotten like so many others. Another shiver spread through me, but this time it felt like fire, as it traveled across the markings on my body. Burning me, searing into me. I clenched my teeth, refusing to cry out both in pain and pleasure, as the heat among my markings died down, till nothing. I had to slowly let out my breath, as a rush of heat made me want to rip off my dress. He was doing this to me. He was trying to make me show myself, so that I would make it easier for my own capture. Focusing, I looked up at the black sky, and saw that it started to change to a soft gray. That was the first time I had truly smiled in a year. I just needed to hold on. To keep hiding, and stay just out of his reach. Just for a few more hours. Please. But, as if to shatter any remaining hope I had, the sound of a horn blasted. Bringing a sense of silence and quiet to the chaotic forest floor. It was only when the creatures quieted down, did I hear the voice that had haunted my dreams. “MY BROTHERS!” he called, making me snarl, and expose my teeth by instinct. “You have done well in thinning the selection! And for that you have my thanks!” A thunderous yell went out, making both my friends, and I flinched in reaction to how loud, and how close it was to us. I turned to see them grip each other tighter, placing their hands over their mouths, trying to stifle any cries that might give away our position. I flexed my fingers, as I used the loud noise to cover my movements as I shuffled over to them. I wrapped my arms around them and brought them into a hug. Guilt sat heavy on my heart, as I felt them both shake and sob against me. This was all my fault. From running from him years ago, I basically challenged him to do something like this. And now my friends, and everyone else in my school that had went to this prom, were just dragged into this bizarre and terrifying courtship. The thunderous boom of voices calmed down once again at the sound of the horn’s blast, letting him continue. “WE HAVE MADE IT TO THE FINAL ROUND! I CALL ULRIC!” Another round of cheers erupted as his name was said. “TYBALT!” Mary, my friend of eight years, flinched upon hearing his name, as yet another wave of cheers echoed around us. “LYSANDER!” Sarah, my best friend since kindergarten, looked up in surprise and fear. Biting my lip, I shook my head, giving her the news that her date, the date that she had fantasized about, and was afraid for when this all started, was actually a part of this nightmare. Mary grabbed the other side of her and pulled her back down, using our bodies to mask any sobs that Sarah would make because of this revelation. “YOU THREE HAVE BEEN WITH ME SINCE THE BEGINNING. YOU THREE HAVE PROVEN YOURSELF TO BE THE MOST LOYAL, AND FAITHFUL AMONG ALL THE OTHERS. I HEREBY INVITE YOU TO BE ON MY COUNCIL, AND TO JOIN ME IN CHOOSING A BRIDE!” The forest ground rattled, as the many monsters that lurked in the shadows stomped and rejoiced at this declaration. Fury started to rise up in me, as my friends shook and cried from being trapped. From knowing that this was to be their fate, that this was the end. They looked up to me, as I let go of them. Sarah, sweet Sarah, held out her bloodied bandaged arm to me. Trying to get me to come back to them. “Please,” She mouthed. But I shook my head no. Making a heart with my hands, I looked over to Mary, who, was once the strongest of us three, locked eyes with me and nodded. Mary was the only one outside my family to listen, and believed what had happened to me. To what was happening to us all. “Give them hell.” “THERE ARE FOUR POTENTIAL BRIDES LEFT!” I turned around, and as slowly as I could, crawled out of that thorn bush. I felt the cold mud soak through my dress, as the thorns grabbed and ripped at the dark green fabric. “YOU THREE MAY CHOOSE ANY OF THREE, BUT LEAVE MY CHOSEN, YOUR SOON-TO-BE QUEEN, ALONE.” Once clear of the thorn bush, I slowly pushed myself up to a standing position and ripped off my sleeves. They tore away easily under my grapes, ripping at the seams that connected them to the rest of the dress. “ON THE THREAT OF DEATH, SHE’S MINE.” The world morphed around me, as this time I let my vision change, making the world appear sharper, clearer, in the dark forest. Soon my other senses sharpened, making me know where every creature was, as the dark gave way. I could finally see him. Standing up there at the entrance of the valley that my friends and I had run into too. He was only a few hundred feet away, but that was still too close for me. I knew that he could sense me. Just like I could sense him. So there was no need to take off my dress, and stand there in the mud with nothing but my leggings and bra. But I needed him to see me. To know that I was there, right in front of him, yet again, just out of his grasp. Just like last time, and the time before that. I could hear some of the loud cheering start to die down. First, the ones closest to me, before it gradually traveled through the ranks. My markings glowed gold, and I could feel my body sharpen and change for the fight I was about to join myself in. “Come on you fucker,” I hissed, before screaming as loud as I could, trying to attract more of his attention. The world went deadly quiet for a few heartbeats before I sprinted up the hill towards him and the three that were a danger to my friends. I was going to kill him, or die trying.