Prologue
A different life…..
“Fiachra” She laughed rolling over on the grass
“Yes Saoirse?” I rolled after her, grabbing her waist.
Moonlight spilled over her wild red hair and I couldn't help but watch her in awe as her face lit up with happiness.
It was a full moon, and so her eyes glistened, rings of gold, around big browns and I could hear her breath as she painted. In the distance, some cubs were howling, but I was here, with her. And that's all that mattered.
She was my world. The red haired girl who reminded me of a pixie. Free spirited and mischievous and beautiful. In this world, with her, I wasn't who I had to be- I was who I wanted. And that would be enough for her.
I could be a miserly peasant, and she would love me still. I could choose to forsake it all, and she would leave everything behind and run with me without a care in the world.
But I could never ask that of her. Nor could I readily run from what was my destiny.
I put my fingers in her hair and let it comb through, taking all of her in. Every single moment with her was simply precious.
“Come, Fiachra,” she beckoned to me, dancing along with fireflies, twirling in their midst. I had never seen anything more beautiful. I was enthralled. I could be under some kind of spell, bewitched by her, but I went towards her anyway.
I would be anything she wanted me to be.
I held her face in my palm. She was so small, fragile. “I'm sorry we always have to sneak around, you deserve better”.
l
I meant it. She deserved better than I could offer right now. This secret could ruin us. And it would be worse for her.
I could already picture the crowd….torches, stones.
I shake it away. Never. Not while I still had air in my lungs.
She shrugged, “I am happy”. To her, nothing else mattered.
And I would do anything to keep her so.
I would forsake the vow I took, and readily burn the village to the ground if it meant keeping her safe from harm.
I picked a flower for her. One as fragile and pure as she was.
She held it, her doll eyes filled with delight.
“Promise me,” she said, her eyes revealing every fear, every wish, and most of all, hope, “promise me we'll always have each other. No matter what, nothing will sever this…” she hesitated a little, “our bond”
I glanced at the mark on her neck, and ran my fangs across it. She shivered.
If only she knew. The sun could burn and the last star in the night sky could fade into nothing, and I still wouldn't let her go.
“I swear on it” I whispered into her ears instead
Her lips crashed onto mine, and we stayed that way until there was no air between us.
A small knock
“I'm sorry your highness, but we need to leave now”
I sighed and looked at the girl beside me.
“It's okay” she whispered, hearing me without me having said a word “we have tomorrow”
“Tomorrow” I promised, and sealed it with a kiss.
As we left the cabin, and I watched her slip into her bedroom, I wondered for the first time, what would happen if we didn't have a tomorrow.
And years later, memories of her would still plague me. Memories of that night and many more. Every kiss, every word, every whispered promise.
“In every lifetime, I will find you”
