Butterfly Children.

[Waste]

She was sitting on her window seat, one hand hanging out of the window; the ice cold breeze gently caressing her bare skin, she loved the cold, the feel of ice, the chill of the heat leaving her. Rose was special like that, at least she liked to think she was, she had always been told so. In that way she was lucky, lucky that she had been born into such an understanding species, a species that was intelligent and curious enough for her difference to be accepted and admired. Her sapphire butterfly wings were seen as beautiful, she was seen as special, and that was all Rose had.

Her gaze scanned the night sky, marvelling at the beauty of the stars, seen so clearly through her keen eyes that matched the colour of her wings and held a glistening surface, stirred by the reflection of the thousands of stars that held their place above her. She was so lost in the depths of the sky, and in her own thoughts, that she didn’t hear the door open.

Elisa Song crept into the room to find her daughter in the usual spot, staring out of the large bay window. Downstairs the music was playing; the orchestra of sound weaving its way through the mansion, Rose appeared not to hear it. She knew nothing of the party that was already in full swing in the rooms below.

“You never did pay much attention to your surroundings Rose” Elisa said gently so as not to scare the girl too much.

Rose didn’t even look up “I’ve never needed to.” Elisa smiled and walked further into the room “You never trained me to.”

“Rose, you are wanted downstairs.” Elisa sat beside her daughter on the window seat and reached up to stroke her cheek with a soft hand. “Everyone came to see you tonight.”

“Downstairs? What would be the point?” Rose asked, still staring out of the window with eyes that no longer saw the landscape that spread out around the small Town, Ison, it was made up or rolling hills, leading up to steeper cliffs, further north the Mountains of Ison could be found, their peaks reaching for the sky, snow caps kissing clouds. The valley was beautiful this time of year, and Rose loved beauty, beauty that was serene and untouchable, she lifted her head, like the stars.

Her mother brought her from her dream again “Over a hundred people are waiting for your appearance Rose, you’re 18 now and they want to know that their Lady is well.” her voice was trim, proper, elegant words twined with a gentle rhythm that lulled the listener. Rose was almost immune to it, unless she was tired, even at 18 she still slept better if it was Elisa’s voice that eased her dreams.

“Over a hundred people, and I care for none of them.” Rose sighed “Each one carries a gift that I shall never need.” and as if to prove her point she ran her right hand down the left side of her open back satin blue dress, then over her pale legs to the silver shoes that she wore on her dainty elven feet.

She knew her mother was frowning from the hardened tone “Those people have put a lot of work into earning the money for their gifts, they are your people Rose, do not brush them away so rashly.”

“I do not feel like dancing tonight mother,” she said, sounding distant as she became lost in the dimpled surface of the distant full moon. She felt a warm hand on her shoulder as Elisa pulled her daughter to face her. Rose stared into her mothers dark eyes, taking in the full image of her sharp, angled features. “I will be down soon.” she finally promised.

Elisa smiled as she stood, “Thank you.” she said, stooping, she brushed her daughter’s ashen hair aside so she could gently kiss her cheek. She pulled away and smoothed the font of her silver dress before leaving the room, the dress rippling like mercury over her narrow waist and wide hips, as she walked. Rose sighed and turned back to the window, she was ready to become lost again when someone else spoke.

“Do you not feel like dancing with me? Rose?”

Rose looked up, her face bland but even she could not hide the shining surfaces of her eyes when she saw him. “Will.” he was a dark figure in her doorway, tall, slim. Wearing what looked like a black suit, baggy as usual. His clothes were always too big for him, his hair always too shaggy for his thin face and high cheek bones.

“Good evening Rose.” he said, he had been listening to the conversation between Rose and Elisa and now tried to mimic Elisa’s tone, he failed to do so, but his voice still made Rose’s breath catch in her throat.

“Good Evening William.” she replied, standing as he entered the room, the moon’s eerie light highlighting the frown on his face.

“I never expected such a formal greeting from you.” he said, stopping a few feet from her, “I only give one to you because it is required of me.” he went past her and waited by the window seat, he was waiting for her to sit down first. She smiled, she loved it when he pretended that she was so much better, she was the daughter of Lord and Lady Song, and he was the only person who hardly ever treated her as their daughter. Although he was being strangely formal.

She also stood by the window seat “Why are you waiting for me?”

“Am I not supposed to?”

“You have never waited for me before, especially when we’re alone.” she said quietly, her eyes flicked up to Will, standing opposite her. “So why start now?”

“You’re 18 now Rose.”

Rose sighed, she could see what he meant, she was eighteen, on her way to becoming a mature adult who would have to look after the town, but that didn’t mean her close friends should change the way they acted around her. “It doesn’t matter.” she said.

The corner of Will’s mouth tugged into a smile, he sat down “I hope you didn’t mean what you said about unneeded gifts either?” he said quietly.

“You were listening,” she sat beside him, lowering her gaze. He’d heard her acting like a selfish mule, her cheeks reddened and she was thankful that the darkness covered them.

“Yes,” his smile widened “I was listening”

“Do you enjoy eavesdropping?” She asked defensively.

“I enjoy listening to you.” He said simply, “But that doesn’t answer my question.” he pressed, changing the subject.

“Well you are one of the people I care about so that also changes your gift status.” she caught his eye and his smile faded, he reached out and gently touched her bare shoulder, which still surprised her, most people avoided physical contact with her due to the ice cold feel of her skin. She lowered her gaze as he pulled her around so she had her back to him. He admired her beautiful wings as the moons light hit them and danced off. He pulled a small box from his trouser pocket and slowly opened it. Revealing a butterfly wing, a single sapphire butterfly wing on a silver chain. He put it around her neck and fastened the catch.

They sat in still silence for a moment, a long moment where the only sound was the orchestra playing below and Rose’s racing heart, at least, she thought that Will could hear it. She slowly raised her hand and picked up the small wing so that she could look down at it, “Will, it’s beautiful.”

“You like it?” he asked as she turned back to face him.

“I love it,” she breathed, he gave a small smile and then reached to his neck, he pulled on a silver chain and lifted a blue sapphire wing out, a single wing. She could see that his wing would fit with hers, he didn’t say anything as she leant forward and locked her wing with his. Together they made a whole butterfly, Rose hoped it meant something, but his expression was blank when he stared at her.

The house shook as a loud explosion ripped through the floor below. Rose’s eye’s widened and Will pulled away sharply, breaking the butterfly he jumped to his feet, Rose followed him from the room and down the hall that opened into a large landing with a wide stair case leading to the entrance room. The bottom of the stair case was shrouded with smoke and debris. “Mum.” Rose gasped, she went to run down the stairs but he caught her wrist and pulled her back. A figure was walking up the stairs, it’s outline wavering as the smoke swirled around it, giving it an even more alien appearance.

Will’s eyes widened “Run.” he hissed.

“Will?”

The figure moved faster, now bounding up the stairs, a wolf jumped from the smoke, black fur shimmering as it came forward, it was aiming for Rose. “Run!” Will cried, throwing himself in front of the Rose he caught the wolf’s shaggy haired neck and threw it out of the way. It’s claw caught his shoulder and ripped down, “RUN ROSE!” he shouted, his voice barking, it was an order.

“I can’t leave you!” she shot back.

“I’ll be fine.” He growled, two more wolves leapt from the darkness, Will drew a gun from his shoulder holster and shot one in the head, it rolled to the side as the other came at her, the black wolf going for Will. Rose’s eyes widened, she had never thought that Will even knew how to use a gun, he shot at the other brown wolf, the sound echoing through the house, to her it seemed louder than the explosion. She gasped, her hands going to her mouth as tears sprung to her eyes, the explosion, there hadn’t been any screams.

Another wolf bounded out of the swirling debris and lunged for her, she screamed, and finally ran. Hearing Will call after her “Out of the window like we used to!” she reached the door to her room and as she turned her ankle twisted violently and she fell to her knees, crying out in pain. Will shouted and she rolled over looking up as the brown wolf stood above her, it howled loudly and then there was another gun shot and a bullet ripped through it’s skull. It fell on top of her and she screamed again as it’s blood spattered her neck and ran over her shoulders. She pushed the wolf away and pulled her shoes off, getting to her feet she heard the padding steps of another creature coming for her.

She began to run again, her ankle hurt but it was bearable, she didn’t have time to think through the questions that were screaming at her. She reached the window and held onto the ledge as he swung herself out of it, holding onto the wooden frame built for vines to wind around. She began to climb down, seeing the wolf stick it’s head out of the window she watched as it prepared to jump and quickly dropped down, spreading her wings to slow her fall. As soon as her bare feet touched he cold grass she ran. Hearing two wolves drop down behind her, they soon became four.

[giovanni r]

Oh, my!! You have a real talent!! It was so ..W~O~N~D~E~R~F~U~L!!!! The way you desrcibed them... breathtaking.....!!!You should really look into pulishing your stuff!!!! That was wonderful!! Absolutely ...B~E~A~U~T~I~F~U~L!!!!!!! I loved it!!! Great work!! :)

[leoern]

good job!!!!!

[Waste]

(Thought i'd add the next bit, i may do something like i did with Red, unless people lose inerest.)


She sprinted to the fence that bordered their land and quickly scaled it, dropping into the street on the other side. She started running again, the soles of her bare feet breaking as they tore on the pavement. She bit her lip against the pain and pushed herself forward, her breath coming in short gasps every one tearing at her chest. She turned into another street, lit by street lamps, giving everything a yellow glow, her shadow stretched across the street; the houses either side of her were empty, their occupants either didn’t care or, had been at her party. She bit back a cry at the realisation and her run slowed, she was becoming worn, her ankle protesting and her legs aching. She began to run towards an alley between two houses, but she stumbled, her foot catching on a loose paving slab sending her to her knees.

She threw out her hands to catch herself as a sharp pain stung both of her knees and then her palms, she scrambled to her feet but by the time she was standing the wolves had her surrounded. She backed against the wall as all four threw back their heads and howled.

Rose bit her lip as she looked for a way out, she beat her wings a few times but they were too small too lift her weight. Then the wolf turned into the street. Larger than the others the black wolf made its way towards them, a slight limp in its front right leg. Rose put her hand to her mouth to stifle her cry, the wolf’s appearance meant that Will had lost. Rose was breathing heavily, sobs tried to shake her body but she forced them away, she had more important things to concentrate on.

As the wolf came closer its body seemed to convulse, at first Rose thought it was going to die, but then a horrible crack came from it as it’s back snapped and it pushed itself onto it’s hind legs. It threw it’s head back, revealing a human face beneath, now wearing the wolf’s head as a hood, pale limbs burst from the wolves legs until a woman was walking towards her. Wearing the wolf like a cloak, her waist length black hair spilled from the hood, her face was a ghostly white. Werewolf.

The two werewolves in front of Rose moved aside as the woman came forward, Rose began to pull the moisture from the air in preparation for an attack, her lips turned an icy blue as the moisture sunk through her pores and turned to ice in her blood stream.

“Where’s Will?” Rose was surprised to see tears staining the woman’s cheeks.

“He killed my brothers, maybe if he hadn’t I wouldn’t have left him in your house as it burned.” her voice was watery, she sniffed, but the anger in her eyes was unmistakable. Rose let out a small sob as tears streaked her face again, she threw out her hand shooting a dagger of ice at the woman, but she deflected it with a small ball of fire. Rose gasped and pressed herself against the wall, fire was hot, it burned, even if the fire did not touch her skin the heat could hurt her, she was ice. “Come quietly and I won’t have to hurt you butterfly child” the woman dipped her hand into her cloak and with drew a strip of silver, she showed it to Rose, “Don’t make me use this.”

Rose almost gagged at the sight of the shock collar “That’s sick.” she growled. Throwing another ice dagger that was easily deflected.

“I know, but you deserve it, you’re so weak child!” the woman advanced, she didn’t get the chance to take another step before a boy dropped from the sky, he spread his wings wide to shield Rose and held a gun out in front of him, his arm dead straight, and hand steady.

“Sorry to drop in like this,” he said, Rose couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing, the boy had wings, large butterfly wings! They were a dusty brown sown with streaks of amber that covered most of his back. She couldn’t see him properly from behind, only his head and legs from the knee down.

“You!” The woman shot, venom in her voice.

“Good evening General Lark.” he said politely, holding the barrel of the gun to her head, “Don’t even think about it.” he added a moment before Rose heard the unmistakable whoosh of a fire ball being ignited. “Leave here or I’ll blow your brains out, it’s a simple decision General, why are you wavering over it?” The wolves either side of Rose began to growl, “You know I’ll do it,” the boy pressed “I’ll execute you without a second thought if you even think about throwing that fire ball, now call your mongrels off and leave.”

Rose stood in the frightening silence, feeling as if she were drowning in the suspense. “Move back.” General Lark finally ordered, the wolves looked at her, “I said move back!” The wolves backed off and then ran, General Lark transformed into her wolf form and slowly turned away from the boy, seeing the gun still aimed at her she quickly followed after her pack.

Rose watched them until they were out of sight and then fell to her knees, her breathing coming in short gasps. It felt as if her chest was constricting as more tears streamed her face and her throat closed up, breathing became a struggle as the thought of death ran through her mind.

Then there was a shape in front of her, a large alien shape blurred by her watery eyes, he was talking to her in a gentle voice, “Rose, can you hear me?” she looked up at him “Breath Rose, breath slower, nice and slow for me,”

She felt warm hands holding her arms, rubbing gentle circles “How…how..” she choked, taking in a deep breath “How do you…know…my name?”

“I’ll explain that later, talk to me, you have to breathe to talk right? Tell me about Will?”

Will. Will, the wolf WILL! Rose struggled to get a hold of herself, she began to concentrate on the boys breathing, timing hers along with his “Will, there’s…a fire.” she pulled herself to her feet and felt the boy support her, her chest still hurt but she no longer fought to breathe. “There’s a fire!”

“I know,” The boy said as he guided her along, “Your house isn’t far, don’t worry.”

“How do you know where my house is?” Rose asked, her voice weak.

“Because I’m like you Rose, I’m a butterfly child and I have a special power,” he lifted one hand to run it through his short black hair “I can read minds” Rose gulped, but before she could say anything he spoke again “Are we at the end of the road?”

“Yes…” Rose extended the ‘e’

“Sorry, it’s just that your mind is too crowded for me to pull the image out.” he made a sharp left, pulling her along gently, she could see the glow of fire at the end of the street, she began to pull as much moisture as she could from the air and felt the boy shudder as her body temperature dropped. “Are you ok?” he asked.

“Yes, my body temperature has to always be below freezing.” she explained “I can move away if you are uncomfortable”

“No, it’s fine,” he said, he pulled her a little closer to help support her, he was able to go into her mind so he knew her legs were aching. It was the thought of Will that kept her going, moving as fast as she could. They had soon reached the end of the street and the boy gave Rose a boost up and over the fence, going around to the front of he house would have taken a little longer, so they went in the way Rose had came out.

As soon as Rose landed on the grass she began to run towards the burning house, she heard the boy call after her “Rose! Stop! The heat will kill you before the smoke chokes you!” she knew he was right, but she didn’t care… a dark shadow passed above her and suddenly the boy dropped in front of her, forcing her to stop.

“Let me pass!” She shouted. Her eyes going to the fire bursting from the windows, she couldn’t go in there, she knew she would die. She swayed a little “Please, get him back” it was her final plea to this mystery hero, she began to cry as the boy ran towards the house, searching out Will’s mind. He was scared he wouldn’t find anything, if he didn’t it meant that Will was either dead or had ran away.

[wi_sam]

nice !! ^^

[sUnakO..]

awesome!^^

[Waste]

As Finn approached the vines below Rose’s window he finally caught the nudge of a mind, it was weak but it was there. He spread his wings and began to beat them steadily as he took hold of the wooden frame, glad it hadn’t yet been burnt to cinders, he began to climb, using his wings to give him extra lift and move him faster, he pushed himself into Will’s mind, pulling images from it to guide him. Finn saw through Will’s eyes, watching Rose run away with a wolf behind her.
*
Will turned back to the black wolf and shot at her again, his eyes narrowing as she dodged it. “You’re something else.” he said, almost knowingly. He knew her kind and he was ready for her, he threw the gun aside and drew a thick sword, like a butchers knife but a little longer. It was obvious that the reason for Will’s baggy clothes was to conceal the weapons.

Will lunged forward as the wolf ran at him and jumped, he ducked under her, striking up with his knife he just missed, but she caught his face with her claws, dragging three deep cuts across his left cheek, over his eye and up his forehead. He gritted his teeth against the pain and went down to his knees, leaning against one hand he swung himself around and jumped back to his feet, the wolf clawed at the floor to spin herself around sharply, Will heard a scream, it sounded like Rose, and he looked over his shoulder, then back to the wolf. Wherever Rose was she needed him more than he needed to kill this wolf.

He squared her up, looking at her powerful legs, he was powerful too, enough that he could run faster than most. He turned and ran, but had completely out judged the wolfs speed, he managed to get two feet into Rose’s room when he heard clawed feet hit the ground just behind him; he was about to turn when he felt a sharp pain rip his left shoulder and run diagonally across his back. He cried out as he went down, his head spinning at the sudden pain and loss of blood. His sword spun from his hand and he tried to push himself up. Hearing a crack coming from behind him he managed to get to his knees before a boot was placed in the centre of his back, he cried out again as he was pushed to the floor, the Generals boot pressing against his wound.

“You wont be seeing your girl for a long time, not where your going.” she growled, then the night was split but the howls of four wolves, “I’d kill you right now” the general spat, she sent a few fire balls bouncing down the hall, setting it alight as she walked in front of him, he watched her boots move towards the window seat, she straddled the window seal and looked back at him, “The fire will catch you soon,” she jumped out of the window and Will’s memories ended there, but from them Finn knew where to go once he reached the window that should have been directly above him.
*
Reaching up he finally found the thick ledge, it was hot, but not burning. He hauled himself up, thankful now for all the times his father had made him train. He felt the cushion of the window seat and clawed his way into the room, smoke instantly choked him and he dropped to the floor, crawling low to avoid the smoke billowing out of the corridor. He heard a low groan and made his way towards it, feeling the heat from the smoke against his wings. He was glad Rose hadn’t decided to come, she would have been too weak to continue with the amount of heat that Finn could feel coming from in front of him. With the only guiding mind currently unable to give him any direction’s Finn was literally a blind man, feeling around for anything useful, after a few minutes he felt a hand.

“Will!” He choked, he heard the boy groan and pulled himself forward, “Will I need you to move, the window isn’t far.” he found the boys other hand and began to move forward, gripping the boy’s lower arms he began to pull him along, slowly, he managed to reach the point where his feet were touching the window seat, he tried to lift Will but he wasn’t strong enough, “Will you need to get up, Rose is waiting outside” he felt the boy’s consciousness stir as he forced himself to wake up, he let out a long breath “Come on.” Will’s arms pulled away from Finn, bracing his palms against the floor he pushed up, his arms shaking.

Finn began to pull images from Will’s mind, images of the floor mostly, but then a blurry image of himself kneeling by the window seat, wings spreading from his back, he’s like her. That was the first coherent thought that came from the young boy, of course it was about Rose. He heard the shuffling of Will’s hands and knees on the thick carpet as he came forward.

Finn pushed himself up onto the window seat, taking in a lungful of smoke he began to choke. He heard Will follow, saw the window seat from Wills memory, but not the one that was shrouded in smoke, the one with the moonlight lighting it. Finn wasn’t very good at seeing through the eyes of people, the most impressionable sights were the ones Finn saw clearly. He’d never seen the world through his own eyes, only ever through the memories of others.

He reached the window seal and swung his legs out; hearing Will pull himself up onto the seat, the cough that came after a lungful of smoke. Finn wasn’t sure where the fire was now; he just wanted to get out. He jumped off of the window seal, spreading his wings to slow his decent. The impact with the floor still hurt his legs, but not as much as it would have if he had just dropped, he felt Rose’s mind get closer as she ran towards him.
*
Rose was running towards the boy, her eyes going to the window as Will climbed out, making slow movements, she could see a horrible gash running across his back. He made it down about a metre and fell just as Rose reached the boy. “Will!”

The boy ran forward and swiftly caught him, Rose guessed he had taken the image of Will falling from her mind. The weight of Will hitting him sent the boy to his knees. Will cried out as his back was stretched and Rose ran forward, she fell to her knees by his side as he pushed himself up. “Don’t fuss.” he growled, “I’m fine.”

“No you aren’t, Will, look at your face.” Rose gasped; the left side of his face was covered in blood.

“It’s just a scratch,” Will snapped although his voice was husky so it wasn’t entirely possible for him to sound too angry, the boy helped him stand straight. “Who is your friend?” Will asked. Rose scrambled to her feet and put Will’s other arm over the back of her neck, she ignored the wince he gave as her freezing cold skin touched his arm.

The boy frowned, “I’m Finn.” He said quietly.
*
Finn thought he had introduced himself before, apparently not, he shrugged and took a few steps forward so he was a small step behind Rose and Will as they began to walk, slowly making their way across the grounds that had been Rose’s home for her entire life. He heard a quite sob and realized that Rose was crying, he could hear the duo talking quietly.

“I can’t beli…” Rose began.

Will made a quiet noise, a small shush that was extended in comfort “We can start again.” He told her, obviously anticipating what she was about to say, and then ask.

Finn shook his head slowly, the movement known only by him. He was possibly the only person, other than those who led the charge, who knew what was going on. Well partly, he knew that there were two others apart from Rose and himself who had the wings of a butterfly. He knew that there was something special about them, maybe their powers, that caused King Erron to want them, but he had only had the chance to read General Lark’s mind, so he wasn’t entirely sure why; because even she did not know.
He considered telling them that they wouldn’t have the time to ‘start again’ any time soon, but then he noticed how close they were. How tightly they held onto each other, it wasn’t just Rose supporting her friend, no, it was more than that. Her thoughts revolved around him and his around her, he didn’t want to ruin that with worry just yet, he hated eavesdropping on them at such a personal level but he couldn’t turn his power off and with so little else to occupy his thoughts he couldn’t help but listen, besides he needed their thoughts to guide him.


End of part one.

[Valor]

I like it so much...
I demand more! lol

[Waste]

Skye glided across the sky, her short white hair standing on end as she used her power to create pockets of air that lifted her higher and allowed her to fly faster than the natural wind speeds would. She stretched her arms out in front of her and flexed her fingers, smiling as she dived down, fluttering her pearl butterfly wings, well more like a moths as they could fold into her back. She grinned as the hot suns light reflected off of them and onto the small cloud below her.

Skye looked to the sea of desert sand that stretched out below the clouds; she loved to race her shadow across the sand. She whirled, barrel rolling a few feet to her left, she opened out starring up at the expansive blue sky, although her ski goggles touched everything with an amber glow. She twisted again so she faced the sand, then saw a flash of dark amber below the movement instantly caught her attention. It wasn’t often that things moved on the desert floor. She gave her wings a few clumsy beats and then angled her body downwards, using a gust of wind to push herself forward.

She caught sight of the movement again and quickly pulled her goggles down so they hung around her neck, her keen amber eyes picking out a slim, pale boy with electric blue hair running across the sand. She dropped a little closer, shocked that someone would be crazy enough to run through the dessert, a frown creased her forehead; she was close to him now, close enough to make out the black wings on his back.

He ran so fast, his powerful legs pushing his feet against the sand, his lean body powering him forward at a punishing rate, he wasn’t wearing a shirt and his pale torso shocked her, he looked ill, his left am was covered in black markings that looked to have been etched into his skin with magical precision. He ran up onto an out crop of rock and didn’t bother stopping, she wanted to shout out and tell him how sharply the sand dipped down, on the over side of the out crop, she expected him to stop running and get his bearings but instead he just leapt from the outcrop, his wings fluttered a few times before he landed heavily on his feet, crouched, and then took off again, sprinting, kicking sand up behind him.

Skye found herself bemused, watching his sprinting figure, she was still nothing more than a shape in the sky to him, she came lower, realising that if he looked up now he would be able to make her out in some detail for she was beginning to see him better; His electric blue hair was more like a mane, stopping just above where his wings started, and his wings appeared to have holes in them, his whole appearance was shaggy, although his movements were anything but.

He ran up another jagged outcrop, taking him up to a higher shelf of sand, Skye felt herself dropping lower as she became more interested in him, he paused at the top of the outcrop, and Skye found herself edging closer, drawn to him, “Hay, you!” she shouted. He turned around and held out his hand, Skye cried out when she was blinded by a bright light shining in his palm, she forgot to keep the wind that kept her aloft and found herself falling though the air, towards the boy. She felt herself collide with him and he grabbed her arms, he fell backwards and landed in the sand, feeling the hot granules pressing against his back and stinging his wings. He gripped her wrists and used his legs to push her up, he flipped her over so that he was on top and held a small knife to her throat.

“Who are you?” his voice was surprisingly rough, almost breathless.

Skye was dazed, she moved her head slightly, eyelids fluttering as the light outlining him dazzled her. Her head hurt a little and there was something cold pressed against her throat. She didn’t realise what it was until she tried to move her arms but found she couldn’t seeing as he was holding her wrists together with one hand and had them pressed against her stomach. He was strong. She tested his strength again and then felt his grip tighten.

“Who are you?” he repeated, “Why were you following me?”

“I…I wasn’t” Skye said quickly “I just saw you and, you interested me.” She shrugged, feeling the hot sand grind against her bare shoulders. With a boy sitting on her hips she was suddenly highly aware of her thin white strap top, it was probably twisted from the fall. He didn’t seem to notice, he was studying her carefully, obviously looking for any waver in her face, she was getting bored with lying on the floor. She felt her hair stand on end as she created a pillar of air nearby, letting it pick up granules of sand so that it held more energy. She threw it towards the boy and he gasped as it hit his side, winding him, he loosened his grip as he was thrown of balance.

Skye pulled her hands from his grip and punched him, her fist grazing his nose and bruising his cheek, she pulled herself out from under him as he tried to compose himself. He was on his hands and knees, his hands sinking into the sand. They both pushed themselves to their feet at the same time, the boy stepped to one side and Skye stepped to the other as they circled each other. “Who are you?” The boy asked “Why were you following me?!” he lunged forward, lashing out with the small knife, Skye moved back, just missing the blade, she brought her arm up and knocked his hand away he caught her wrist with his other hand and she found herself a little shocked that she’d missed that movement. He yanked her forward, hard, and she stumbled a little, unable to straighten up and hit him. He hit the back of her head with the side of his hand and she was knocked to her knees, her head pounding as her arm was pulled back painfully. She gritted her teeth against the pain, looking to her left she pulled a column of wind up again, appearing as a column of sand. This time the boy saw it, he let go of her arm, Skye flipped herself over as the boy tried to jump over her back to avoid the sand, she kicked up hard and slammed the column into his head. He was winded again and it showed with a ragged gasp for air. He rolled to the side and laid choking on the sand and gasping for breath.

Skye scooted near to him, intending to hold him down when his fist came up, still holding the knife she pulled back, but not in time, a deep gash opened up at the top of her arm and she cried out, he’d been faking it! He got to his knees and pushed off from the tips of his toes, lunging at her, he grabbed both of her arms, one of his large hands clamping down on her cut, pulling another cry out of her, and the other pushed her other shoulder down until he had her on her back again. He held her down, his hand becoming slick with her blood.

She squirmed under his hold “Who are you?!” He demanded “Who do you work for!?”

The tendons on her neck stuck out as she strained, he was so strong! “Get off.” she growled. Gritting her teeth as she pushed up, he held her hands and lifted them up above her head, stretching her wound she gave a small squeak of surprise.

“Who are you!?” he shouted.

Skye winced, then flared up in anger, who did he think he was! “Will you let go of me!” she shouted back. The boy faltered a little, he obviously hadn’t expected her to shout back at him, he had her held down! He was in charge! Why was she shouting back? “How dare you hold me like this, you hardly know me!” she snapped. She was flushed, her shoulder stung and she felt humiliated.

[Valor]

Aha, guess what I'm gonna do now...
Demand more! haha!
:D

[Waste]

The boy studied her, she had a thin tanned face with wide amber eyes and white hair. She was slim and a bit dishevelled, her top looked thin and twisted, pulled down low. She was straining, trying to push her hands up, she was strong and that surprised him, he wasn’t used to fighting with girls, especially girls that could hold their own so well, he was especially wary of another sand attack. He’d noticed her pearl coloured wings and they surprised him the most, they seemed to fold into her back like a moths, so unlike his own. She glowered at him stubbornly, and he shot a glare back, why couldn’t she just tell him who she was? Why couldn’t she just manage that? Then he could let her go and wouldn’t have to hurt her anymore.

“Why are you so stubborn?” The question didn’t come out as he had intended, instead of keeping up his demanding tone it ended up sounding more like a simple question, almost conversational. It even had her frowning as she hadn’t expected the sudden softness.

“See,” she grinned “You’re a teddy bear really”

His lip pulled up into a small snarl, he didn’t seem impressed, and he tightened his grip on her hands. But she’d already seen that he wasn’t as strong as he put on, all because a few words had slipped out. He couldn’t hurt her more than he already had and because she knew it the thoughts of causing her more pain were dissolving from his mind.

“Shut up” he shot, pressing down on her hands he swung one leg over her hip and leant over her, staring down into her eyes, trying to discern emotions beyond the amber liquid that seemed to smoulder within them. She seemed to instantly become angry again as her back arched when she tried to throw him off of her. He swallowed as he felt himself go hot, hotter than he had been anyway.

“I’ll tell you who I am if you let me go.” her eyes searched his face as he slowly loosened his grip. She sneered as she pulled her arms down and brought her hand up into his gut as hard as she could. He gasped again and she grabbed his hair, or mane, and threw his head to the side, then followed through by arching her back violently to try and buck him off. He fell to the side and tried to grab onto her as she stood up.

“What was that for?” he asked, “I let you go didn’t I?”

“That was for cutting me, and holding me and being so… rude!” she pressed her hand against her wound and glared at him.

“If looks could kill.” He flashed a smile then his face became serious again “Now, who are you?”

Skye let out a sigh of exasperation “You don’t give up do you?” she pursed her lips then “My name is Skye Marlowe, does that solve anything for you?” he gave her a blank look “Exactly” she turned and began to walk away.

“Hay wait a second!” the boy took a few quick steps towards her and caught her arm. Skye turned,

“What?”

“Where are you going?” he asked, his eyes slipping to look at her arm. “I’m sorry, I don’t know who I expected you to be.”

“Someone who’s after you apparently.”

He looked down at his feet, then back up at her “Yeah, there are a few people.” he admitted, flicking a little smile he let go of her arm and offered her his hand “I’m Angel,” she glared at his hand and turned away again, he caught her shoulder and turned her back.

“What?”

“I said I was sorry.”

“For judging me? Or for almost killing me?”
He ran a hand through his electric blue hair “Both, I think” He peered at her sheepishly. He chewed his worn lower lip, cracked from the hard winds of the dessert.

“So?”

“So can I come with you?”

“I’m not going anywhere” Skye frowned, slipping her hands into her pockets as she slouched, “Besides how can I trust you?”

His pale tongue flicked over his lower lip “You can’t” he sighed, “But I’m lost, and surely you can’t let me die out here.”

Skye regarded him for a moment, then tugged her goggles up over her eyes “Watch me.” she grinned and bent her knees, creating a gust of wind beneath her, pushing her into the air, she beat her pearl wings a few times. “Keep up if you can desert rat!” she shouted to Angel as she began to fly away. She watched his shoulders slump slightly as the muscles in his legs surged and he began to run after her.

[wi_sam]

......w o w !!!

[Waste]

Will woke groggily the watery sun touching his face, his whole body stiff and cold. He stretched his arms out in front of him, feeling the tug of the bandages around his shoulder and the sting of pain. He undid his sleeping bag and pulled himself out, his back protesting as he straightened. He looked across the small camp at the smouldering fire and then to where Rose lay, still asleep. Her breathing steady, hair still in the messy bun she had held it in the night before, some strands fell across her face and he smiled a little.

He heard Finn groan as the boy woke, Will sighed, he wasn’t too keen on the mind reader. He didn’t like the complete invasion of privacy. The boy’s sightless eyes seemed to gaze at Will, the boy knew something, Finn knew why he was actually there, why Will had always been there. Will looked away from the boy defiantly not liking the fact that Finn knew what he was thinking even now, Will thought he should say something.

Don’t, she’s awake. Will jumped as Finn spoke to him, his lips remained unmoving. He’d been warned about not saying what he wanted to, about not starting an argument with Finn, maybe it would upset her if she heard. He saw Finn nod and frowned, he didn’t like it. He pulled a thin blanket around his arms, he was just wearing a sleeveless tank top, something he wouldn’t usually wear around Rose. He had always posed as a weaker male so she didn’t suspect him, but since the wolves he’d had no need to hide himself from her, he needed to have as many weapons on him as possible. Even though he was no longer getting paid to protect her, he felt as if he needed too. He cared too much to leave her, but he couldn't ever tell her why he was there, and that hurt more than the gash on his back.

It had been a whole day and a night since the attack, and in that time they had gone to Will’s house to collect supplies and stolen two horses. Rose had stitched and bandaged all of Will’s wounds. They would all scar, his face would always hold three thick scars as a reminder of what had happened.
*
Rose opened her eyes when she heard Finn move; a small groan escaped her lips and she pulled herself into a seated position, the thin blanket falling away from her. She raised a thin hand to pat her hair. Rose winced as she felt the tangle; what a mess, she was wearing one of Will’s old shirts, with slits in the back for her wings, and a pair of his track suit bottoms, rolled over at the top. She felt the cold nip at her and smiled, when she looked at the other two she noticed that they had their clothes pulled tightly around them.

Although it was Will she worried about the most, his eyes were sunken with deep shadows beneath them from the pain he was in, she knew he was in pain and was evidently trying to hide it He gave her a small smile when she caught his eye, his secret smile, a small tug of the lips that no one else would really notice. She stood up, pulling the cords of her tracksuit bottoms to hold them around her narrow hips; it would be too hot this time of year if she wasn’t in the valley as the shape of the valley created a wind tunnel.

The wind was especially cold if it blew over the mountains first, like it was that day, and if you were particularly close to the mountains, which they were.

Upon leaving Ison they had spent a while thinking about the best way to travel, and had settled on travelling over the mountains where Rose would be more comfortable. Not that that made Rose feel particularly good, the other two had brought some thick coats with them but that wouldn’t completely take the cold away. She rolled up her blanket and thin ground mat then carried them towards her horse, Wing. She had a white coat with pale blonde hair, a beautiful elven horse that had always been hers, the boys had a bit more trouble with their horses seeing as they had stolen them.

Rose patted Wing’s neck and, feeling eyes on her back, she turned to face Will again, “Do you think your bandages need changing before we leave?” she asked quietly, the atmosphere felt awkward, a chill hung in the air that none of them could quite explain. Something more that a light breeze, “Or do you want to wait until we reach the village?” she added when he didn’t answer. He hadn’t spoken to her much recently, Finn had hardly spoken at all, and she knew there was something that both boys were hiding from her. When she still got no answer she pursed her lips “Will.” She said sharply. He looked back at her, eyes curious. “Did you hear me?”

He slowly closed his eyes, his left lid looked sore, there was a gash running a centimetre above his eye that she had tried to stitch up and three beneath, they would all scar, and he already knew that, it didn’t seem to have upset him too much “No.” he said quietly.

She let out a small rush of air “Do you want me to re bandage your shoulder? Or your back?” she asked, trying not to let irritation waver her words.
“No, I’ll find a healer when we get to the village.” He said, looking away. He seemed depressed; could a few scars do that to someone? Will moved to his horse, calming it with gentle words as a stranger came close. Elven horses were more intelligent than any other horse, they were bred to know and care only for their owner, the fact that Will had no idea of his horses name didn’t exactly help.

“Will.” Rose said again, a little quieter as she approached, she heard Finn pack his things away, also trying to calm his horse, but seeing as he was human it took longer than it would have taken an elf. Rose ignored the small amount of noise coming from Finn’s direction and focused on Will. He ignored her when she said his name, instead turning to his horse to secure the saddle bags. “Will.” Rose repeated, almost tearful now, “What’s wrong?”

Will finally looked at her, “Nothing.” he said quietly, he knew Finn was paying rapt attention to them now, and it just made him angry. Finn knew everything, Finn knew why Will had to hurt Rose, and it made him hate the mind reader.

Rose drew close, standing just a foot in front of Will “You can tell me.” She said quietly “Is it because of the scaring?” she reached up to touch his face.

“I’m not so shallow.” Will snapped, drawing his face away from her, she pulled her hand back her fingers closing into a lose fist as let her hand fall back to her side, he was hurting, she could see that, he was hurting inside and she couldn’t do anything because he wouldn’t tell her what was wrong. It annoyed her so much that she wanted to scream.

“Since when did you start keeping things from me William?” she used his full name, showing him how annoyed she was, his eyes even widened slightly, showing that he had at least heard her.

But then his eyes narrowed, becoming emotionless as he spoke to her “I’m mourning Rose,” he said icily “You weren’t the only person who lost your parents” for a moment it seemed as if he would turn away but then he dropped one last line “It isn’t always all about you.” he pulled himself onto his horse. Winding his hands into the reins, he didn’t speak again and she knew she was dismissed. And she hated the way it felt. She gave one long look at Will before tuning away, her heart aching a little.

[BlueSano]

T^T WHY!!!! WHY ! HAVEN'T I GOT THE TIME TO READ THIS *sobs* .... i know it is good .... but i can't seem to finish part one Q.Q .... your brellient waste .. keep it up ^^
ok i read it
WHAT HAPPENED?!?!?!...O_O what's with all the stopping.... NO FAIR I WANNA KNOW...waste...honestly you have even gotten better at describing ..and i thought you were perfect to begin with :O ....KEEP IT UP.... this story keeps drawing more and more into it :3 CAN"T WAIT ... PLEASE HURRY !!!!! ^^

[tenten24]

wow... u have a real talent here.... y dont u publish these...... i think u would make a great author and a great writer at tht....
u can go far with these talents of urs...
i would like u to publish these so i can go out and buy a copy of this and ur other ones as well......lol

[WolvesRose]

That was totally amazing. I can't wait until you post the next part. Hope it's soon ^_^.

[Waste]

(( Just a small note to say that ive edited part two, i re read it and didnt like the way it was going as ive come up with soething new))

Finn swung himself onto his horse and found himself lost in their thoughts again. They were so complex, especially the boy. The things he’d seen in the boys mind… things he knew needed to come out or he would lose Rose. But Will couldn’t let them out, he was bound by blood and Finn was the only person who knew. He wondered if it would be end up being him who had to tell Rose about Will, Finn sighed, he already had too much to tell them. He heard Rose speak again as she got onto her horse, Wing.

“You said we could start again.” She said icily. Finn sighed, yes he remembered the conversation the two had had the night before. The one that had led to Will’s iciness this morning.

They had lay on opposite sides of the fire, Rose as far away as she could get from it without being too far from Will, Will had started the conversation “Rose, you want me here, don’t you?”

Finn remembered the shock in her mind at the question, “Of course I do, you’re like my best friend.” She’d smiled easily, despite the red that ringed her eyes from crying so much. Will had put that smile there, he always did.

“Do you know what’s beyond the mountains?” Will asked, he already knew but he wanted to know what she expected to find, where she wanted to end up.

“There’s another elven town somewhere, mo… I’ve been told.” Her eyes were lit by the dancing fire, they seemed to contain some hope, hope that Finn still couldn’t bring himself to take away “We can start again, you and me.”

Will smiled a little, his body unmoving as he indulged in a rare, painless, moment. “Yeah. We’ll find somewhere nice.” He said quietly, “You, me and brain boy.” Finn had chuckled a little at that, at least they weren’t completely ignoring him. Although he knew that Will didn’t like him that much. “Sleep well, my lady.” Will whispered.

Rose managed a laugh “Goodnight Will.” She fell asleep quickly after that, her nightmares filling her head and making her toss and turn. Finn knew she’d never admit to the images she saw. He pulled out of her mind when she began having them, they even disturbed him. Instead he focused on Will, listening as the boys thoughts grew more and more tortured as he fretted over how good he was for her, and in the end he focused around one thought. A thought that had even stuck in Finn’s mind; I can protect her, but how can I ever let myself love her? Even Finn realised that it would be unfair for him to get too close to Rose, something like a relationship couldn’t be built on a lie. Besides, relationships never worked when you were on the run.

Remembering this made Finn shiver, maybe it was down to him to tell Rose the truth, would Will want that? Finn knew he couldn’t ask, Will’s oath bound him so tightly. Finn returned to the conversation that the two were now having as they steered their horses towards the towering mountains and the outline of the small village that lay at the entrance to the passage through the range.

“And I meant it.” Will replied, Finn retrieved the images of the path ahead from Will’s mind and spurred his horse forward, the creature was irritable and he reached out with his mind to sooth it.

“Then why are you being so moody?” Rose sounded almost childlike as she spoke, it reminded Will of when she 15, the time he had first met her. His mind became less clear to Finn as Will began to think back to the first time he had met Rose, he didn’t answer Rose’s question as he became too lost in his old thoughts.
*
Will approached the large manor house, it appeared huge to him, much larger than any other house he had been to. He’d already dumped his stuff at the house that would be his home for, as long as it took, and now he was off to meet his client. At a ball. He was wearing a loose fitting suit, a gun and his sword stashed under the baggy shirt.

The door was already open, with music and light spilling out of it, he entered the house, Roland, his father for…as long as it took, was behind him. Will moved inside, slipping between the elves who blocked the door. Looking around he could see that there were many beautiful women present, he wondered which one he was assigned to, he had only met the girls father, he didn’t even really know her name, the job had been discussed through letters which meant he wasn’t given much information due to people who liked to open other peoples mail.

Will moved through the grand foyer, a wide set of stairs stretching up to unknown rooms, to his left two large doors opened into a room that he couldn’t place a name on, it had a wooden floor and a few chairs either side of the doors, and it was filled with bustling bodies, all dressed in finery.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to face a man with blonde shoulder length dead straight hair. He was wide shouldered and long legged. “Mr Heights?” he asked in a quiet voice that barely made it above the music.

Will nodded, “Lord Song?” he asked.

The man nodded, “You’re a lot younger than I imagined.” he said.

“Just 16 sir.” Will replied, “You have a lovely home.” He added awkwardly.

Song dipped his head “I thought it best that you should meet my daughter here, you’ve already taken the oath I assume?”

“Yes sir.”

Song took a step back, narrowly avoiding collision with one of the butlers that were skilfully weaving through the crowd; he looked the boy up and down, the corner of his mouth tugging up a little “You definitely don’t look the part.”

Will frowned.

“But that’s the point.” Lord Song quickly added. He looked around the room, trying to locate his daughter, he frowned “I bet she’s upstairs.” he said quietly, he looked back to Will “Follow me.” he said. He led Will to the bottom of the stairs and began walking up them, his floor length coat trailing behind him. Will gave a nervous look at the crowd below as he walked up the stairs, following Lord Song. He wondered if young men often followed the lord up the stairs to meet his daughter, he smiled a little, of course they did. The daughter of a lord, no matter how ugly or stuck up, would always be desirable to young men.

They reached the landing, it was large of course, everything in this house seemed to be ridiculously big. Lord Song led Will down a pastel blue corridor, coming to stop outside a white door. He turned to give Will an encouraging smile “A small warning,” he said softly “My daughter has never liked any of the boys I introduce her too, please be open minded with her.” He raised his hand to knock on the door then paused “I’m afraid she isn’t very open minded.” He said a little quieter then rapped three times.

“Go away.” Came a sharp reply as the third knock landed.

“I have someone here to see you.”

When her voice came again it sounded just as distant, she hadn’t bothered to come towards the door. “That’s the third tonight; you must be desperate to ship me off.” Lord Song took the handle of the door and tried to pull it open, it was locked; which didn’t come as a surprise to Will or Lord Song.

Will moved forward “I’d make sure you were shipped 1st class, Princess.”

There was a pause in which Lord Song’s eyebrows drew together in a small frown of disapproval. Will heard light footsteps as she came closer to the door. “I suppose that was supposed to be funny.”

[Valor]

Once again, I shall demand more!
^_^

[kitty-kat]

wow....*sits and waits for more*:happy:

[Waste]

“No, I was being serious.”

Lord Song moved away from the door “I’ll leave you to it.” He said, “Try not to mess this up.” He gave Will a light pat on the shoulder, an action that was supposed to be reassuring, Will relaxed when the Lord had swept out of sight, almost a little too dramatically to be taken seriously.

“Is he gone?” she asked, now a lot closer to the door.

“It depends on which ‘he’ you mean, Princess.” Will smiled wryly, although she couldn’t see the smile, he was sure she heard it in his voice.

“I’m no princess.” She said, almost defiantly.

“You know what? I’m not moving until this door is opened.” he said stubbornly, turning around he pressed his back against the door and slid down it, making it so she realised what he was doing. He heard the floor board creak as she also sat down.

“We’re going to be here for a long time” she finally spoke, her voice almost sarcastic. Will found himself wanting to see her, badly, he couldn’t fit a face to the personality coming through the door. It just wasn’t possible.

“Probably, I can be just as stubborn as you Princess.”

“Stop calling me that.” She snapped.

“What?”

“Princess, what else?” she sounded agitated, which just made Will grin, he could tell that this was an assignment he was going to enjoy, even if at first it had sounded like babysitting, and if she was as pretty as he had been told…well, according to the rules he wasn’t allowed to get too emotionally involved. But he’d managed to be with loads of girls without letting his emotions mix into it too deeply.

“Sorry,” he said a little quieter, “I’d leave, but I really do want your name, I‘m new here see, and your dad didn’t volunteer it.”

“Would you leave even if you had it?”

“Promise.”

She sighed, “Any other man would have gotten tired of me by now” she laughed a little.

“Have you given any other man a chance?” Will rested his head against the door as he waited for a reply.

“No,” she said after a minute or so.

“Why’s that?”

“Other men would insist on seeing me before they decide whether or not I am worth the effort”

“So you don’t think you’re good looking enough?” he asked,

“No that isn’t what I meant,”

“Then what did you mean?” he pressed.

“That they have all been shallow so far, so they decide that they like me when they see me,”

“So you are good looking?”

He heard her laugh, “Are you?”

“Do you want to decide that?”

She let out a long breath, still sounding agitated “You realise the longer this goes on the more I begin to think you are just the same as all of the ‘others’”

“I’m nothing like the ‘others’ princess.” He said sincerely.

“No, you aren’t, so far, but maybe you’re just trying too hard.”

He laughed at that, “Even if I am I think I still deserve to see the girl I’ve been talking too for the past half hour.” he said irritably. Folding his arms across his chest he let out a long sigh, he was getting ready to spend most of the night on the floor when he heard a creak. A few seconds later the lock clicked.

Will scrambled too his feet and straightened his shirt and suit jacket as the door was pulled open, revealing a dark room, the only light belonged to the moon that lit the window seat. She stepped into the doorway, and he felt his eyes widen, she had waist length wavy hair and an angled face, high cheek bones and a thin, curvy body. He found himself speechless as he looked at her, scanning his eyes over her tight fitting knee length black dress with netting around the hem, she smiled up at him, a gentle smile.

“Hay.” She said quietly.
*

“Because I just want to get away” Will snapped as the memory faded, it had all passed so quickly, the whole memory, it had seemed to take over half an hour but had actually passed within a few minutes, the few minutes it had taken Will to answer. Finn understood now why Will was being cold towards her, for years he had tricked himself into thinking that his past would never have to be dredged up, he’d moved closer and closer to Rose and now…after the attack everything had been brought back into focus for him and now he couldn’t bare the fact that he had to lie to her.

“From what?” Rose asked “Me? Because if it’s me just say and I’ll leave” her voice rose in volume as she finished.

“No, no Rose it isn’t you.” Will said a little gentler as he moved his horse towards Rose, he hated seeing her upset, and it was worse to be the one who upset her. She turned her head to look away from him “Rose.”

“Don’t bother Will” she snapped “You’ll only start ignoring me again later.”

He didn’t reply straight away, it took him a few moments “I’ll try not to Rose, I’m just…upset about my father.” Of course he was, Rose should have guessed that. She felt bad for drawing it out of him but she needed to know it wasn’t her. If she’d upset him…

[kitty-kat]

*squeals with delight*

[BlueSano]

WOW!!!!.... WOW!!!! *amazed* waste this is truly great.... the edited part two is even better now :O WOW!!!!.... keep it coming waste CAN"T WAIT :D

[tenten24]

Amazing...... Keep It Coming......*squels* U Need To Make More Stories As Well...... This Is Amazing...plz Think About Publishing Ur Stories....cuz These R Amazing...!!!!!!!!!

[Silverleon]

Wow, i gotta say, the story is great, you're pretty good at this.

[Shield.Me]

Simply Amazing.
I've been reading since you first posted the story. :)
Love it! Don't stop writing, waste.
:cute: