Phirias

Fiery-Haired Man

His name brought an ache to my heart, and also struck fear in it as well. I wasn’t afraid of my Cian. I loved him. “Would you like a slice of ham?” He asked me. I shook my head. I did take a sip of wine, and I felt fine. I finally stopped listening to my gut and gave in to the pure hunger and sadness in my reality. “Surely you don’t plan on traveling out there now, are you?” The sun had set, and the town was still quiet. “A pretty little lass like you could get hurt out there in the big scary wild.” Cian teased. I realized, I was tired. “Why don’t you stay in our guest room tonight? You can leave in the morning if you wish.” Adrian offered. I nodded in exhaustion. He led me up to a room with an ivory door. He looked back at me, smiled and opened the door. It was the most elegant room I had ever seen. The bed was a huge, lush mixture of purple and burgundy in color. The sheets and the canopy were silk, and the bed was solid oak. There was a wardrobe, a vanity mirror and desk, an adjoining bathroom, and a balcony with French doors leading out to it. I must have been in awe, because he cleared his throat and motioned for me to come into the room. “You may use everything in this room. If you would like a fresh change of clothes, there are plenty in the wardrobe. You may wear whatever you’d like.” I nodded at him. “You may join us down in the dining room for breakfast in the morning. Sleep well, Helena.” He said to me as he was leaving the room. I smiled to myself as I sat on the bed. It was as soft as I could only imagine the feathers of angels wings would be. I stood, and walked over to the bathroom. I was shocked to see how big it was! There was a tub that I swear could fit 9 other people in. I walked over to the tub, and filled it with warm water. I was sore from riding, my skin was caked in dirt, and my hair was matted down from the elegant curls I had been wearing at the show. I took the pins from my hair, and got undressed. I jumped in delight as I stepped in the bath. The water was just warm enough to be soothing, but not too hot to scold me. I sighed in relief. I would never have to see those awful people again, and I could just relax. I would figure out what I was going to do tomorrow. For now, just let all of my troubles melt away. I washed and soaked in the tub for a while, and when it was finally time to get out, I realized that I didn’t grab anything from the wardrobe. I blushed at the thought of me walking around a stranger’s house in full glory, even if it was the room I was staying in. I got out of the tub, and grabbed for anything that could cover me. It’s a good thing too. Just then, the door opened. “I was just coming to check on you, Miss Helena- Oh! I’m so sorry.” He turned his eyes away from me long enough for me to take cover in the bed. “Well, you seemed refreshed.” Adrian said to me as he walked into the room behind the man that had opened the door. “Ryan, don’t you know it’s rude to enter a woman’s room without knocking?” Ryan didn’t seem to be phased by Adrian’s statement. “You might run along to Cian now, he’s looking for you.” Ryan nodded, muttered some sort of generic statement and left the room. “I apologize for him; he’s not used to having company.” Adrian shot me that celebrity smile of his before bidding me goodnight, and he too, left the room. I ran to the door, and locked it. I walked over to the wardrobe, and opened the door. It was filled with the most beautiful dresses I had ever seen. There was one of every color. I tried several of them on, they all fit me as if they were made for me. Odd, I thought to myself. I picked one that matched the black in Adrian’s hair. It looked perfect. I took it too, and put it to the side for the morning. I picked up a nightgown, put it on, and got in the bed. I drifted a deep and dreamless sleep. I woke up to the sound of frantic horses. I rushed to dress, and ran to the balcony. My horse was at their stable! I was 100% sure that I tied her down when I got to Paradise. I had to go to her. I grabbed my things, it was just before sunrise. I could leave without anyone noticing. I decided to do just that. As I got closer to the stables, I looked out into the wooded area. There were loud crashing noises, there were trees falling, and the roaring of beasts in the distance. I tried to ready my horse as fast as I could, but I wasn’t fast enough. The trees had stopped falling, and there was a silhouette in the clearing. It was Cian. He was covered in blood, and he had a crazed look on his face. “Cian! I was just getting my horse ready for the road. I-“He flew at me at an inhuman speed. As he reached me, I felt hands on my arms slip away. Relief washed over me as I recognized the area and small group of people around me. That feeling didn’t last for long as I quickly realized what was going on. As Cian snatched me away from the guards, I flinched away from him. Looking at him at that very moment, I found it hard to tell if I was still dreaming about the monster I had just seen, or if he was real. A look of pain flashed in his eyes, and quickly turned back into the pure hatred and fury that was Cian. He and Adrian both were moving so fast that the untrained eye (or someone who didn’t know) couldn’t have seen them. Cian picked up one of the guards by the leg, and crushed the poor man’s armor and his leg in his grip. He full on swung the guard at Adrian. As the guard hit Adrian, Cian let loose his grip on the guard and both of the men went flying into and though several trees. I was frozen in fear. I couldn’t stop watching them. Cian was still my Cian, but he was someone else in the same sense. I finally found my feet. But again, I was too little, too late as Cian and Adrian clashed in the clearing again. This time, a winner emerged victorious. Cian had Adrian by the throat. Adrian was laughing at him, and in a way taunting him to keep it up. Cian snapped Adrian’s neck. “NO!” I yelled at them. I rushed to Adrian. As I got closer to them, Adrian stood. He smiled at Cian, and snapped his head back to its proper place. “You’re going to pay for that, one of ancient blood.” Adrian threw the words at him like he was a dog. Cian just proceeded in causing him pain. He came at Cian with his bare hands. “That’s where you’ve made your mistake, my friend. I am me. There is nothing and no one else.” The expression on his face was one I had never seen. Although I was terrified, I laughed loudly. I laughed at them until my side hurt. They eventually stopped to look at me. “Now that you two have that out of your systems, shall we continue?” I stopped laughing to scold them as if they were children. “Did you finally find your sanity, Danya?” Adrian spat at me. Cian stepped in front of me, ready as always to defend my honor. “How cute, he’s like a little doggy.” Adrian snapped at us. Before I could control my temper, I was diving towards him. I felt Cian’s grip just barely miss me as I flew by. He tried to step out of my range, but I was one step ahead through the whole thing. “You’re getting better.” He held his smile and eye contact with me. I realized that I felt a little calmer as my movements slowed. Although my anger was fading, I still managed to sum up enough to strike him. As my hand met his face, I felt a hand on my wrist stopping me just as I made contact. I looked behind me, and it was Cian. I looked at him, now a bit confused. Adrian flinched, and then smiled at us. “You should leave that to me.” He dove at Adrian once again. Iris was standing by, watching from the distance. She motioned me to come over to her. I looked back at the fighting men, and then turned away from them. As I walked toward Iris, I heard a rustle in the bushes next to me. I turned to investigate, and saw a little hand emerge from them. I jumped back, and ran to Iris. “Did you see that?” I asked her, unsure if what I just saw was a hallucination or reality. “Yes, and I know who it is.” She replied. “Em! What are you doing here?” She asked the bushes. Moments later, a little girl came crawling out of the bushes. “I felt that you were near, and I followed my feeling! You’re here!” She said with pure excitement as she hugged Iris’s leg. “Your father must be worried!” She practically yelled at her. I stood there, confused as usual. “This is Emily. They saved me and took me in when I escaped from the brothers.” She said matter-of-factly. “Ahh, okay.” Were the only words I could get to come to me. I looked at the girl; she looked like the others that have come up to me since I ‘awakened’. She was a ghoul! But, she didn’t seem like the others. “Princess! You need to get out of here before the bad men come!” She protested as we continued to stand there, watching the men fight amongst each other. “There is no use trying to get them to stop, it won’t work.” Em decided to tell us as I started toward them once again. They were both injured pretty badly at that point. A couple of the guards survived the event, and were now surrounding me, all the while pointing their weapons at Emily. Iris was standing in front of her, defensively. “Don’t you dare touch her!” I screamed at them. Cian and Adrian obviously heard all the commotion, and were heading toward us. “Get away from her!” Cian screamed at the guards as the scarlet mist once again surrounded him. Adrian had such a feral look in his eye, it made me flinch. “She is just an innocent little girl, you can’t hurt her!” Iris dove at the guard as he made a move closer to them. I used this opportunity to get out of the enclosed circle that the few had made around me. Adrian grabbed me, and ran into the surrounding cover of trees. “Let me go! What the hell are you doing?” I yelled at him as he continued on further. After about an hour, he finally stopped. “What the hell is wrong with you?” I asked him. He left me defenseless against anything or anyone that could possibly come across us. “You were in danger with all of them; I had to get you away.” I looked at him, not sure if I should be upset with him or happy that he and Cian weren’t fighting anymore. “That girl will bring more of them around, and that will attract the brothers, among other things.” He said as he grabbed me by the arm, dragging me towards what I hoped was Phirias. “Cian and the others will meet us when we get to town.” He tried to convince me, still pulling me in the same direction. “We can’t just go back without them! Something bad could happen!” I tried to pull away from him, but his grip tightened. Along our long ‘stroll’ we found my mare. “I knew you would find me.” I cooed at her, smiling. I knew she could feel my distress and inner turmoil, so I didn’t mount her. She just followed alongside us as we went on. “We’ve got to get back to Phirias to sort out our affairs.” Adrian sneered at me. He may be a creature of the ‘damned’, but deep down there was a soul within him. I must have drifted off into daydreaming, because I wasn’t being dragged by him anymore. I was walking beside him, with him. He looked over at me, met my eyes, and smiled at me. “Helena, you must be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever had the privilege to lay my unworthy eyes on. I could feel myself blush. “You’re too kind, sir.” I said back. He just kept staring into my eyes, until I looked away. “You shouldn’t let Cian scare you, or make you uncomfortable.” He said to me, after a few moments of silence. I looked up at him, shocked. “Can you read my mind?” I asked him nervously. He just looked at me, and smiled. I blinked, and he was dragging me again. Was I losing my mind? How hard should it be for me to determine what is real and what isn’t? I really was going crazy. Adrian stopped, and looked at me. I took the opportunity to pull myself away from him, and took off toward where Cian and Iris were in the forest. “Danya, don’t! You don’t know what you’re doing!” But, it was too late, my mare followed me closely as I ran looking for my love. I heard a growling in the distance. Adrian was yelling for me. None of that was important now, there were monsters about, and I had to find Cian. “You won’t find him running about like that.” I heard behind me. I turned, and the face that met mine was that of a bad dream. The man with white blonde hair was there. “Don’t I know you?” I asked him, not letting my fear take ahold of me. He smiled, and faded into the forest, just as quickly as he had appeared. I finally reached the clearing where we were, and I could not have prepared myself for what I saw. There was Aeron. He had Cian by the throat, and he was holding a knife to it. I gasped, and they both looked up at me. “Danya, get out of here, NOW.” Cian yelled at me. Aeron had already dropped Cian, and was heading in my direction. I dodged his grasp, and ran to Cian. “We’ve got to go.” I grabbed him by the arm, and off we went. “I think we’re safe now.” I told him when I thought we were far enough out of danger to finally stop. “We need to find Iris again.” I let out a long sigh. I was tired of the constant running. What’s the point in surviving the alleged apocalypse, if you can’t even enjoy life after? Is all of this leading up to something more? “I didn’t see her take off when Aeron showed up. Everything happened so fast.” I shuddered at the thought of the brothers getting to her before we did. “So, Adrian huh?” Cian looked at me with only what I could describe as jealous rage. He hated Adrian. “What about him?” I asked, hoping that he wasn’t taking the conversation in the direction that I thought he was. “He seems to be VERY close to you. What is going on with that guy?” And there it was, he confirmed my suspicions of his jealousy. “There is nothing going on with him. I saved his life, and now he thinks he owes me a ‘life debt’ of the sort.” Cian just rolled his eyes, and sighed. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say that he’s in love with you.” I could have gotten sick. If it didn’t take long for him to figure it out, why hadn’t I realized it? My mind started racing to when I first met Adrian, and all of the encounters I had with him. “I don’t really think- Don’t say that he’s not. I can tell. He has a thing for you.” I tried to take his hand, and was hurt when he pulled away from me. “Cian, there is NOTHING going on with him.” I tried to reassure him, but he wasn’t listening to me. We walked along in silence for a while, until the silence was broken by some sort of groaning. I must have looked scared, because Cian was now holding me. “What the hell was that?” I blurted out, once again losing my control over my voice. We heard a rustling in the bushes, and seconds later, a little girl stepped out. It was Emily, the little girl that appeared to Iris earlier. Her eyes were now pink, and she was groaning like a zombie. “Do you know where Iris is?” I asked her, hopeful. She just kept staring at us, and groaning. “Get back.” Cian said, now pushing me behind him. She looked feral now, with her hair (what little there was) all wild, and her eyes tinted with a dark shade of red. This was definitely a different girl than earlier! Cian started pulsing that red glow that meant that he would no longer be my Cian. “Please, don’t.” I begged him. I don’t know if I can handle all of the changes he has gone through. I don’t even know all of the changes that he has been through. She launched herself at us, nearly missing me. Nearly. She grabbed me with her stone cold hand, and dug her fingernails into my skin. Cian ripped the girl’s arm from her body, threw me over his shoulder, and took off running. Still circled by that red glow, I noticed it was getting brighter. His skin was like lava to the touch, and I couldn’t let him keep carrying me anymore. “Cian, please put me down.” I said to him, softly. He seemed to ignore me, and kept going. I couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t know which direction we were going, or if the road we were going down would even lead us to where we needed to go. Cian was growling, and I was feeling more afraid by the moment. He came to a quick halt, and just dropped me onto the ground. I made a thud on the ground as I tried to stand. I was red where our bare skin had touched. Cian was breathing heavily, still surrounded by that mysterious crimson glow that I had come to hate. He turned to face me, and what I saw looking back at me was familiar in a way that shook me to my very core. His hair turned a fiery red, and his eyes matched the shade of crimson that surrounded him. As the glow ‘burned brighter’, all of Cian’s injuries seemed to disappear and heal right before my eyes. The marks on his neck had spread to his shoulders, and partially down his chest and back. I started to get closer to him, drawn like a moth to the flame. I wanted to comfort him. I wanted to understand what was happening. I didn’t know what to do. “We need to get going. Do you know where we are?” I finally broke the silence. Just like that; the red glow dissipated, and Cian ‘came to’. “We need to find Iris, like you said. That is exactly what we’re doing.” He looked around for a moment, and faced a different direction. “Cian, what is happening to you?” I finally asked. I was sure that he wouldn’t have an answer to offer, but I had to try. “That’s the worst thing about it. I have no idea.” He responded; after some time. Could Prudence really have the answers we were looking for? Did we really know that we would be welcome back in Phirias? I didn’t know for sure, but it seemed like the most logical thing to do. If we couldn’t get the help we were looking for from her, we would go to someone else. “I have no idea where the hell we are, let alone how we’re going to find Iris and Adrian.” I looked at him, hoping to get some sort of response.