Phirias

History and Myth

There was a strange looking man at the counter staring at us as though he expected someone else. "Welcome. A room for two then?" He seemed to be amused by the thought. "Do any of your rooms have more than one bed?" I asked watching him intently. "No ma'am, none of our rooms have more than one bed." Again, he seemed to be amused. "Prudence warned me that you might request more than one bed or separate rooms." he continued on to inform us that there would be no separate rooms for the two of us and that we weren’t allowed anywhere else inside the inn besides that room without her first being notified. "Okay then, well it looks like we will HAVE to share a room." I didn't care to hide my frustration. "I will show you to your assigned room, Mrs.-" Ms. and my name is Danya. There is no need for formalities; I won't be staying long anyways." He led us up the stairs to "our room". It lacked every shred of modern times and it made me feel uneasy. There was a small couch, a dresser, a full-sized bed, and a small bathroom. I would have argued that there was no closet, but I finally realized that I had no spare clothes other than the drab hospital attire i was currently wearing. Before I could turn around to ask where i might be able to find spare clothes, he was gone. I went to leave the room, but again, the damn door was locked. "I'm getting really tired of having to do this." But before I could do it, Adrian ripped one of the legs off of the couch and broke the handle off of the door. The man standing outside looked scared. "You read my mind, I was about to do the same thing." he smiled at me as we walked right past the "guard” and down the stairs. "Are you cold?" Adrian stared at me like I was some kind of alien creature he'd never seen before. I really needed to start paying more attention because, 1 I was cold, and 2 I was shivering so badly that I could barely walk. " Here." he gave me his long overcoat and we went out into town. It was nightfall and I felt like I hadn’t slept in a million years. It was fall. But yesterday it was over 94 degrees.... something's not right. "What month is it?" looking at him with hope in my eyes. “I’d say it is probably October." this time he was looking at me with concern in his grey eyes. "It was just July yesterday, how can it already be October?" not believing what i just heard. "We need to go to the market to get you some warm clothes. I wonder if they will be able to give you a couple of spares." he was talking to me as if I was a child. "You say that like there's a shortage." I teased. I might as well make light of the situation. He smiled back at me but quickly noticed it and looked away. The market was on the other side of town. It was a huge building with Triquetra on the ground in front of it. It seemed to shine as we walked through. We were met at the door by 3 big guards. The smallest was the one who spoke. "You are not supposed to be here." "I can do whatever I please, it’s a free country so, you ca-" "what she means to say is the old woman told her she may do as she pleases and she would be very happy if you could give her a few sets of clothes." he looked kind of disturbed at what i was trying to say. We went in and I was measured for some clothes and they went to find some that would fit. They found some alright, some winter dresses. I sighed while Adrian stifled a laugh. The look I threw his way was more than enough to take the amusement out of the situation. "Do you have any pants and shirts, perhaps?" I asked, my tone laced with poison. Again, the smallest was the first one to speak,"Nope, the dresses are all we have." I went into the dressing room and put the dark purple one on first. It was a little too low cut for my style, and had a tight-fitting bodice. But other than that, it was better than what I was wearing prior to that. When I walked out, all of them stopped talking at once. "I need a way to carry all of these on the way to the inn." of course, I would imply to have a bag for them. It was the only way to carry all of these heavy winter dresses. "Take these." the bigger one handed me a couple of duffel bags. "We need to get back, you need to rest. Tomorrow is another day and we can try to settle the rest then." we thanked the man and left the market. "Danya!" Adrian called to me with fear in his musical voice. He helped me up off of the ground and back on my feet. "Let me carry you." "There is no way I'm going to let you carry me to the inn, and I can walk just fine." I was in no mood to be messed with. Not to mention, I felt sick. I felt the need to avoid physical contact with him. Next thing I know, I was swept off of my feet and as i went to protest, we were already back in our room at the inn. "What the-" "sleep, now. When I said let me carry you, that wasn't a request. It was a command." I cannot believe what I am hearing. He cannot tell me what to do! "I am NOT a child, I am NOT your girlfriend, and I am most certainly NOT going to be ordered around by you!" I was so furious. Speaking of relationships, where was Cian? He never would have left me for this long. "You can’t sleep in that dress, take this." it was a blanket. "I will be fine sleeping in this dress. I am not sleeping in a blanket." feeling more than a little uneasy about the situation, I went to the couch and laid down. "Go over to the bed, I will stay right here." he was walking over to the couch. I jumped up, and headed for the bathroom. He snorted. "What? A woman can't bathe?" the warm water felt so good I wished I would never have to move again. When I was done bathing, I dried, dressed and got into bed. I laid there and stared up at the celling for a while. When I finally slept, I dreamt of Cian. Waking up in a strange place, the same thing as me. But he really is alone, in a big house and he is locked in. He was beating on the door trying to get out. A big black figure came up behind him and absorbed him completely. I woke up in a sweat, my heart beating fast and tears in my eyes. . "Cian?" I whispered in the darkness. "Nothing good has ever come from that name." the dream seemed too real to just be a figment of my imagination... "Are you always such an asshole?" this whole 'protector' thing was going to get old really fast. "Not an asshole, just protective and loyal." he was looking at me like i could disappear any moment. I really wish that I could have. "Where are we exactly?" one way or another, I was going to get answers. "In a town, of course; Phirias to be exact." he was getting on my nerves. "Well, where is all the technology? Is there like a phone or something I could use?" Cian was going to be worried about me if I didn't at least call him soon. "There are no more phones, no more technology at all really." he just glared at me. "We have a big day tomorrow so got some more sleep." "Aren’t you going to sleep?" i can't believe he actually expected me to sleep at a time like this. "Don’t you worry your pretty little head about me." who does he think he is talking to me like that? "I’m your protector; i owe you a life and nothing more." I fell back into a dreamless sleep. I woke up the next morning to the sound of a door slamming. I jolted up out of bed. That’s just great, they fixed the door handle and I already know, without testing it, that it’s locked. I walked over to the bag that I stored the dresses in. I needed to get dressed. I pulled out a semi-elegant emerald green gown. It was a little too formal for my taste, but it’s all I had. Not even a moment had passed after I got dressed, someone opened my door. It was Venus. “Prudence wants to see you, regarding the vampire.” Venus seemed more troubled than when I had last seen her. I nodded my head her way. As we were walking back to the dark building that I recognized as the hospital, I asked her; “Venus, what is going on here? You never did answer any of my questions.” She just shook her head at me as we entered the building. We walked down the hall to the room that was next to mine. In the room was Prudence along with the guards that I unintentionally scorned. There was a girl in the bed. She had long white blonde hair, covered in blood, and lying there half dead. The looks I had gotten from the group told me I wasn’t in their inner circle. I didn’t care to be. “This is what happens when a vampire meets with one of us.” Prudence’s words cut into me like a blade covered in poison. The sight of the girl on the bed was enough to make my stomach turn. “He did this to her!” she raised her voice at me. “ Danya, this is the reason he was on trial. He killed her! She won’t survive this.” She looked at me with tears in her eyes. I walked over to the girl’s bedside to take a closer look. She was still covered in blood, with bites from head to toe. “What exactly happened to her?” There was no way that all of these bites could be from Adrian. At the thought of bites, I reached up to my own neck. The bite was still sore, I couldn’t even begin to imagine feeling her pain. “He sank his teeth into her. She’s lost quite a bit of blood. I believe that she might pull through.” It was Ven who spoke from the corner of the room; shooting an angry look at Prudence. “Not to mention the vampire headhunt.” The taller one of the guards decided to add. “Vampire headhunt?” I asked before I could really think about the words coming out of my mouth. “Tell me Danya, how does it feel to know everyone you ever loved is dead?” Prudence began. “What?” I felt like I had been slapped in the face. “It wasn’t her fault. She was not yet awake.” Ven tried to mend the damage that Prudence had bestowed upon me. “Yes, you heard me right girl! Your family is dead and gone. Thorn is now going to share that same fate.” Her expression hardened, and she walked out of the room. “You’ll have to excuse her, as you can see, times are hard for our family.” Ven’s expression screamed agony as she watched the girl impatiently. I couldn’t hold it in any longer. Tears now dropped freely from my cheeks. Instead of the gut wrenching feeling I normally felt when I was upset, I could now feel strange energy coursing through me. Just as I turned to leave, Ven grabbed my shoulder. “Mom?” The girl spoke for the first time. Ven instantly rushed to her side. “I’m here darling.” She was now sobbing and holding the girl close. Prudence must have heard the voices, she rushed into the room. “Thank the Goddess!” She embraced the girl and kissed her forehead. “What is going on here?” I couldn’t believe it. This girl was just a moment away from dying, and now she was ‘all better’? “She will live now, thanks to you. You really are who my mother believed you were.” She was now smiling at me. I didn’t know what she meant by that but, I was happy that the girl would live. “Go now, I must speak to my granddaughter.” The guards escorted me out of the room. I made my way from the hospital and back to the inn. When I walked through the door, there were scents of food and wine in the air. Feeling a bit nauseous, I went up to my room. I closed the door behind me, glad to be alone. Unfortunately for me, that’s when the weight of what prudence had said in the hospital room finally hit me. My family was gone. Everyone I knew and loved was dead? What happened to them? I slid down the back of the door and let my head sink in the palms of my hands and sobbed uncontrollably. I cried for what felt like days. Drained and depressed, I forced myself off of the floor and walked into the bathroom. I ran a hot bath and eased myself in. The hot water felt amazing to the chill in my bones that had seemingly set in. I must have dozed off because I was woken up by Adrian. “Are you alright?” He had a look on his face of pure amusement. “Get out of here!” I couldn’t help but raise my voice. He turned around and, without a word, he shut the door behind him. I got out of the tub and realized I had not thought about grabbing any clothes. (A usual realization of mine; Cian scolds me for it, daily.) Thankfully, there was a robe on the back of the door that I hadn’t noticed. I grabbed it and walked out of the bathroom. “You could have at least knocked!” the flame seemed to flare up all over again. “You have nothing I haven’t seen before.” He smiled and looked me up and down. I shuddered and laid down, quickly pulling the blanket over me. I fell asleep almost as soon as I shut my eyes. Once again, when I woke up, I was alone. I quickly dressed, and looked out the window. It was a grey, stormy day. I was startled by a knock on my door. She walked right in. "Come with me." It was the girl from the hospital. She was short, with long blonde hair, pale skin, blue eyes, and a "go to hell attitude." "Who are you?" . "I am Thorn. Ven’s daughter, the maiden of the coven, and third in line of command. Do as I say and follow me." I stood up and followed her. "Where are we going?" "You ask too many questions." was she for real? We walked right to the middle of town square. There were 12 women in a circle surrounding the statue. Thorn took a place in the circle right next to prudence. "Danya, it has been decided that you will stay in Phirias as long as you please. You are of no threat. My Goddess has shown me how to guide you." Ven was the one who spoke this time. "You must watch the vampire closely, he makes my stomach churn." Prudence really wasn't going to drop this whole "act" if it indeed really was an act. I looked at the women around the circle. They were looking at me like I was some breed of animal they'd never before seen. "I want to go home." I missed Cian dearly. "I'm sorry Danya, the place that was your home has been reduced to a pile of rubble. We found you lying under a pile of stones. Then we had you brought to the hospital." She looked like she was sorry for me. "You mean to tell me that MY home is nothing but a pile of rubble? I'm sorry to say I won’t believe you on that one. I just fell asleep next to Cian a couple of nights ago. I woke up in the hospital that morning after. Please, I just want to know he's okay. Did you find him next to me?" Tears were now flowing freely. "Where is my daughter?" I can't believe that it has taken me this long to question her whereabouts. “She was at my mother’s house that night.” ." I said hopefully. "Danya, we must tell you, you slept way more than a night. We found you barely breathing and skin and bone." those were probably the nicest words prudence had spoken to me since the day I woke up. "First you tell me that my home is gone and everything that meant anything to me is nowhere to be found; now you tell me I was in a coma for a vast amount of time? ? You are all out of your minds." I walked away. What kind of freak show was this? I needed some time to think. What the hell had happened? If they were telling the truth, I couldn't have been out that long. Where were Cian and Lilly? I missed them both so much and could really use that reassuring voice of reason that Cian usually spoke in times like these. I walked around the town getting more acquainted with the area. I quickly found myself at a barrier that surrounded the town. I ran right into it. It was like an invisible wall. The more I tried to walk through it, the more it seemed to solidify. "What the hell?" This town was feeling more and more like a prison every minute that passed. "There is a boundary that protects Phirias; you must have a crystal to pass it. The amethyst you gave to Adrian would be one of those." Why had the old woman followed me here? Was I allowed no peace? "If I can come and go as I please, then why not warn me? Or at least give me a crystal?" everything about this town annoyed me so far. I wanted to know what happened to my family and friends and if leaving was the only way to do so, then that’s what had to happen. "We had one laid out for you on the table in the hospital but, you gave it to the vampire.” she was now glaring at me. Was I the one who had done wrong? I don't see how. How was I supposed to know anything? Not to mention you left me alone, I didn't know where I was, and this may sound odd, but your town resembles a medieval fair." I sighed. I didn’t like where this conversation was heading. "You are in Phirias. We do things differently than you would have done in your time." My time? What was she talking about? I felt like I woke up straight into a nightmare. "What are you talking about, 'my time'? Are you messing with me? Like are you serious?" I think that everyone in this town is officially nuts. "Your time means you have been asleep for a LONG time and things are now different.” ." she had to be joking. I silently prayed that she was joking. "How long was I out? If that's actually what happened?" I dared her to tell the truth. "You were out for 50 years after my mother found you." I must have fainted because I woke up in the hospital in the same room as before. I sat up quickly, and automatically regretted the decision. "Hello?" I called, not hoping for a repeat of the last time. I didn't know how much more of this I could handle. "Danya, hello!" said a friendly voice. It was Venus. And I sooo wasn't in the mood to deal with this right now. "Oh so this time you guys decided not to lock me in the room and leave me all alone wondering what the hell is going on?" I snapped. "I'm sorry that they locked your door. I didn't know. And no one expected you to wake up so soon." there it was again, the horrifying reality I was going to have to face. "There is no way I could have slept for 50 years after your grandmother found me. I'm only 22." I don't want to believe it. I can't believe it. Ven looked at me with concern. "What I'm telling you is the truth. You can either accept it, or deny it, but that will not change the outcome." I was still feeling dizzy from all of the craziness. "Here, I wanted to give you this." she handed me a tiger's eye crystal. "You may only wear it for a week at a time, and then take it off for a couple of days. But you can now freely come and go as you please. But consider this a warning Danya, there are a lot of things that have changed outside of our barriers." I sighed. I want to go but, I'm afraid of what lies ahead. I don't want to run into something that I'm not yet ready to handle. "I might do some exploring later tonight. But is there any way I would be able to go by myself?" I really needed some time to process this and make plans. Not to mention, I really needed to find Cian and Lilly. "Not without him." She looked to the doorway where Adrian stood. "When did you get here? And where have you been all day?" I asked him. "I went out." really? That’s the only explanation that he was going to give me? Whatever, I didn't really want or need to know anyway. "Are you ready to go?" he seemed annoyed. I'm the one who should be annoyed with him, not the other way around! Ugh, this was getting under my skin way more than I would like it to. I got up out of bed and realized that again, I was in a hospital gown. "I needed to stop by the inn and get some clothes." I didn't care to hide the frustration at the fact I didn't care for the way too revealing hospital attire. "Already taken care of." He tossed a dress and a pair of boots my way. "I would like some privacy so I can change." There was no way I was going to change in front of either of them. Adrian walked out of the room and Ven stood there looking at me. "Here, this will also help you along your way." She handed me a set of the most beautiful silver daggers I'd ever seen. "Why would I need these?" it seemed stupid but, I was curious. "There are many more dangers out there than just a vampire." Adrian answered for her. "After the great accident happened, there have been many dangers. They both finally gave me all the privacy I needed. I quickly dressed and left the room. "Where should we go first?" Adrian looked at me with a smile. "I want to wander around and see what else is out there." I was feeling adventurous. We started out by wandering out south of the town. We reached the outskirts of the town. I didn't need anyone to tell me to know I needed to keep my crystal close and my set of daggers closer. I could feel an odd presence around us. There was a low growl in the bushes. "What is that?" I looked at Adrian, who had apparently gone to a complete stop just a few steps behind me. "Get down!" he tackled me and then I knew, we were in danger. We were surrounded by a crowd of people. But they didn't look like the ones from Phirias. They looked like ghouls. They looked like zombies. They had grey skin, horrible posture, smelled like a rotting carcass, patches of their hair missing, not to mention their teeth. Ugh. "Give her to us," they told Adrian. They started coming closer and closer to us. Adrian tensed up. "Why do you want her? She's nobody." Well that was rude of him to say about me. "Give us the princess, and we will think of letting you live." again they demanded. "I will not give her to you without a proper reason." he was shaking with anger now. "What are they talking about?" I asked him with an accusing look on my face. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with." What was all of this? Why was everyone so interested in me all of a sudden? I pulled out my daggers, ready to kill. "Princess, we would never hurt you." Said the biggest one of the group. "What do you want with me then?" I wasn't asking this to be a smart-ass, I was actually curious this time. "We would never harm you, princess. We would just like you to help our people. You are special." He said with concern in his eyes. "Don't listen to a word he says Danya!" Adrian looked like he might vanish and take me with him any second. "What is he talking about?" I wanted to know. Why did these 'things' want me to help their people? I can't help them anymore than i could help myself at this point. "We want you to come with us. We mean you no harm, princess." again, it was the biggest one of those 'things' that spoke. Adrian snatched me up and everything went black. We were back in Phirias.