Awakenings: The Rise of an Empire

Discovery-Kristoph

Kristoph

     Annie stood with his hand in hers and watched her friends drive away.

     “Come now it’s time to go, it's time you learn why you are here.”

     She looked up at him; “why am I here?”

    “Soon you will have all the answers you desire, he replied.” He picked her up in his arms and carried her quickly to the house at the end of the long driveway.

      It was as if time stood still, in less than a heartbeat they were inside the huge home.

      “Come, he said, “we have much to discuss; then you must sleep. Your time has come, and you must be prepared for it.”  His words sounded like riddles but hidden in them was something that touched the core of who she knew she must become. They entered a warm sitting room where a fire burned low.

     The sparks caught her eye and for a moment something in them terrified her, yet in that same moment comforted her too. “Sit so that we may talk.”  She sat at the edge of the fireplace with her legs folded, and he joined her there. “My name is Kristoph and I have come for you. I have waited for this moment for a long time. I waited and watched patiently as you grew. You are my mate.” Somehow, she knew, she knew exactly who he was the moment she looked into his eyes.

      “I know that you are. I knew the moment I saw you that somehow our lives were entwined.”

      “Yes, they are. Tonight, you will change. You will become who you were born to be, not just my mate. You were meant to walk this life eternally with me; your parents left you to be raised in the human world until it was time for you to change. You are immortal.”

     “Why did they leave me? I don’t understand what you mean.”

     “They wanted you to be raised like me, human. They wanted you to value human life. Your parents, like mine, where hunted by humans, and by our kind. They live a quiet unknown life here, but in the immortal world, our parents are rulers.      It is a lot to uncover we were placed here in the mortal world under a spell to protect our identity until we became of age, my spell was lifted three years ago so that I could watch over you. I will take you to your parents in the morning. First, you must change. Your time has come; do you not feel it inside you.”

      “I’ve always known there was something different about me; I’ve always felt abnormal.” Kristoph smiled at her and suddenly she was awestruck at his beauty. His piercing eyes and his hair appeared as if they were set on fire with the glow from the fireplace. His skin was as pale as stone, and she realized at that moment he was more than any mortal being.

      "you're not abnormal.” He said.  He stood and led her to one of the upstairs rooms.

     “This is where you will sleep tonight. When you awake you will not be the same, you will be different. The world will be a whole new place; you will no longer be mortal. You will see yourself as I always have, and you will recognize who I am. Sleep now, your change is near.  It will be a long night and I will be by your side the whole time.”

     “You’re...Going...To sleep here, with me?” She asked nervously.

     “I will not touch you until you are my bride. I will be here in that chair by that window. You must not be alone tonight.” “Will this be difficult?” “It will be difficult. Your body will change, and your true form will take over and you will become immortal. This night has been pre-destined since your birth. I will not let you go through this alone. I will be with you to protect you and be by your side. There are others here as well to protect us both. They are our families. You will meet them when you awake. We are at our most vulnerable state when we change, and you must be protected.

    “Now it’s time to sleep.” She reached her hand out to him.

    “Come and sleep with me, I don’t want to lay here alone. If I must take this journey, I want you by my side.” Kristoph reached out and took her hand. He lifted her and took her over to the bed. He lay beside her and wrapped her in his arms.

    “Sleep now my love as tomorrow will be a new day." Slowly she drifted off to sleep content in his arms and for the first time in her life, she felt at peace….

     That night she dreamed, and her old world fell away...She saw the fabric of her life changing. She could feel her body change; the pain came slowly and began to become intolerable she felt as if she could no longer bear it, it felt if every inch of her skin were being slowly burned. It held her paralyzed, even her bones felt as if they were burning like they were turning into liquid. Through the pain, images appeared of a different reality. She dreamed of Kristoph at her side. Everything changed and she saw how they fit together and nothing outside of this moment made sense until now. She saw how they were one, how they were always meant to be…the fire pushed her deeper into unconsciousness and she drifted deeper slowly into darkness.

Kristoph

     Kristoph watched as she changed. Her curls grew longer, and she began to glow a beautiful golden amber color under her brown skin. Her body grew hard as steel and changed in his embrace. He knew that she would be strong. He loved her from the moment he saw her three years ago. He remembered the day he came to Pine Grove in search of her….

April 2nd, 2013

     Kristoph stood in the doorway to the school office waiting patiently to be enrolled. I must go through this he thought. I have waited so long to finally come here to see her, to protect her until the time is right. She knows nothing of the world she comes from. He knew others would be watching too. It was important to be here to protect her until it was time for her to join him. As he sat patiently in the school office the moment arrived. Annie walked in; her scent hit him before he saw her, the sweetest smell of lilac and honey, she was so carefree.

     He knew her the moment he saw her. “Mine, mate!” Her brown skin glowed like it held some secret only for him. He watched as she laughed with her friends so clueless to what she was, and what she would become. She was destined to be his mate; she would walk this world alongside him forever. They would someday rule, and she had no idea of the royalty that lay inside her. He did not care about those things; he only knew he loved her; it was instant. He knew he would lay down his life for her. She looked up at him, when their eyes locked for a single moment, he knew this moment would stay with her as it would stay with him. He released her gaze willing her to forget until the time was right…

    He lay holding her in his arms now remembering that moment three years ago. He felt her body temperature rise and he knew it was close. She would awake soon; her eyes ablaze bright and, glowing with curiosity. What he looked forward to the most was her instant recognition of him. He loved her long ago, and she loved him. She would remember it all and they would begin their journey together. He knew that though their journey would soon begin; so, would the dangers of their world begin. He pulled her closer vowing that no matter what happened he would always protect her; his life held no meaning without her.  The warmth radiating off her skin drew him into a deep sleep.  For the first time in what felt like centuries, he slept peacefully…….

Marcus

     Marcus drove unseeingly back towards town. He fought the urge to turn around and drive straight through the huge iron gates. He pictured himself breaking in the doors and dragging Annie far away from that place, far away from that boy…if he was a boy; that held her captive. He sighed loudly grabbing the attention of both Dannie and Matt. They momentarily glanced in his direction. He glanced over at Matt wondering if he should remind him of what they saw when they looked in the abandoned car in the middle of the road.  He was not even sure if it was a subject, he was ready to approach. Whatever happened back there on that road was not normal. It sent chills down his spine just thinking about it.

How they could leave Annie behind knowing what they saw; all he knew was that he was going to protect her regardless. He knew he would return whether she wanted him to or not. He slammed his hand on the steering wheel swearing loudly; he could not shake the feeling of rage that began to take over him.

     “Man, what’s wrong?” Matt asked.

     “I can’t believe we just walked away. I cannot believe you let her walk away; Matt, what is wrong with you? She is a part of all three of us; not just a friend but family!” Matt eyed him irritatingly.

     “What did you want me to do? Drag her kicking and screaming? I cannot make her do anything. You know this; just as well as I do. You know this Marcus, you know she’s going to do what she wants in the end and if any of us would have tried to stop her, she would never speak to us again.”

     Marcus stared straight ahead trying to gather his composure. He wanted to punch Mattin the face, but he knew it would not be fair. He knew deep down it was not Matt he wanted to hit but the boy holding Annie. “Look I’m sorry for yelling at you Matt, but I'm angry; and regardless of how either of you feels I'm going back there tomorrow night. No one is going to stop me from taking her out of that house."

      Dannie knew that Marcus meant what he said, and she knew there was no way she was letting him return alone.

     “I’m not letting you go alone,” Matt said echoing Dannie’s thoughts. “If you are going back, I’m going back; we’re brothers. Brothers from different mothers you know.”  Matt smiled trying to get Marcus to laugh. Matt laughed momentarily, breaking the tension.  “You know since we look nothing alike...I’m as pale as paper, and you know you with your year-round tan. We watch each other’s back on the football field and off always.” Matt nudged Marcus’ arm, “come on man you know I will always have your back.”

     Marcus laughed; for the first time all night. He nudged Matt back, “Yeah I know. You are funny; we are brothers regardless of our skin color you know that right. We have all grown up together; we have been best friends since I can remember. We made a promise to each other a long time ago. The four of us finding each other, we come from similar places, we were all adopted, we share something that not most people do. We promised each other to never leave each other alone, we are a family for life. We’re not leaving Annie behind.”

     They sat quietly for the rest of the ride back to town. Matt sat wondering what they would do tomorrow night if Annie refused to come back with them. He understood her all too well and deep down he knew if she believed she belonged there; they would face a brick wall trying to convince her otherwise. He always knew that she loved him, but he saw her only as a friend, family.               

She never forced her feelings on him, she was always honest. Somehow though tonight looking in her eyes; he saw the resolve in them, he knew the feelings she had for him were gone. He did not know how to feel about that realization. He shook the feeling off and focused on just getting her to come home. How was he going to convince her; and keep Marcus calm at the same time? He glanced at Marcus and noticed his tight grip on the steering wheel and the determined look on his face. He realized that it may be impossible to calm Marcus. He had only seen Marcus this angry one other time; and it involved Annie. He felt the need to protect her always. Anytime she faced a problem he was always there to resolve it. He always wondered if Marcus had feelings for Annie, but when he saw how Marcus looked at Dannie like the sun never rose until it was shown in her eyes, he never pondered that thought again. He knew that Marcus loved Annie like a sister. He was very protective of her. One thing he was certain of was that Marcus loved all of them like family. He always told them they were the family he never had, tonight only proved that point. Matt knew Marcus would return to that house for Annie, and that he would not leave without her. “Poor kid,” he thought. He knew Marcus was going to rip the boy apart if he did not let Annie go…...