I Told You I can Smile.

[MADLYALICE]

THIS IS MY FIRST LOVE STORY!!!! TELL ME IF YOU LIKE!!!!


I quickly walked out of the door to my house and ran through the rain to my car. My grandmother called something after me, but the rain is coming down way to hard to hear her words.
I scrambled for the door handle and nearly rip it off of the car door in my haste. As I climbed into my precious Hyundai, I couldn’t help but marvel at the warmth in the cab. Quickly, I shut the door and turn the car key, starting her up. As I drove out of the driveway, I glanced up into my rear view mirror and caught my reflection.

Before I go any farther, let me tell you a bit about me. My name is Peace Ellen, and I am 16 years old. I go to Stormy Cove High school, and I live in Arch Cape, Oregon.
I live with my grandparents because my father and mother want to travel the world but they don’t have enough money for me to join them. I decided to go to Oregon and grow up there, with my grandparents. That was two years ago. Now, my parents are still going world wide.
My and my friends are all going to Stormy Cove. My friends are pretty cool. There’s Aoife, she’s Celtic and moved in around the same time I did. Her and her twin, Annwn, live right across from me.
My French neighbor, Cadence, is a really sweet girl. She welcomed me into the neighborhood first thing with a plate full of crepes. She’s only twelve, but she’s going to high school already. She’s the smartest girl you’ll ever meet.

I arrived at school pretty quickly, it’s off the only road where I live, then a bit down a bumpy road. I looked in my rear-view mirror, this time checking how I looked.
I looked better than usual, my black hair curled around my chin, bouncing with every movement. My pretty green eyes stared out from under my bangs, the thick lashes around them adding an exotic flavor.
Nodding to myself, I checked my clothes. My shirt was in place, a green checkered T-shirt with ruffled sleeves. My pants seemed to be on, black trousers that covered my long legs and rested on my hips. Did I put my shoes on? Checking, I see the answer is yes. The black boots covered most of my lower leg, protecting me from the mud and rain.
I opened my car door and jumped out, running through the rain to reach the warmth of Stormy Cove. Shoving the door open, I took a few moments to warm my muscles up before walking to my first class. As soon as I opened the door, someone was dragging me into a seat that had apparently been saved for me.
Looking at the person towing me, I was met with Aoife’s familiar face. She’d changed her hair, the long green hair was, well, still green, but now it was short and spiked. She smiled down at me, her brown eyes narrowing. She stopped in front of what I believed to be my desk and spun around slowly.
“What do you think?” She asked, gesturing to her clothing.
I took it all in for a second. Her shirt caught my attention first, a black long sleeve corset. With that, she had bright red skinny denim jeans, pure black vans, and a red skull necklace.
“It’s very…………you.” I finally managed to say. Aoife grinned, taking it as a complement, and dragged Annwn out of her chair.
“What about Annwn?” She demanded.
Annwn’s green hair had stayed long through the summer; it had even gained a few inches, now brushing her hips. Her bark brown eyes stared at Aoife with frustration in them.
Her clothing was very……Annwn. Her shirt looked retro; it was off the shoulder with what I think she called a chiffon top. The print was flower, and it was very pretty for her. Plain bootcut jeans were on her other half, and black boots pressed against each other as she shifted her weight.
“She looks fine.” I assured Aoife, sneaking Annwn back into her seat.
Before Aoife could say anything else, the door opened and our teacher, Mr. Williams came in. He told us that in this class we’d be learning advanced home-ec, and that he was very strict.
As class progressed, I became extremely bored. Home-ec ended, and I zipped out of class faster then anyone else. As I entered Math, I froze in mid-step. One of them was here.
A dark angel.
All around us, there are creatures that normal humans have no idea exist. There are elves, shapshifters, vampires, dark angels and light angels. There are a few other beings, but one of the best known are the ‘Six families of Zirus’. These six families hunt down and kill creatures that stray from their paths or break the rules.
The six families are these: Senkensha, Joufu, Ryoushi, Enji, Shikaku, and Saishi. I am a Ryoushi, while my mother is a Senkensha and my father is an Enji.
People in the families are either human or half-breed. Annwn and Aoife are Shikakus, and they are half-elves too.

Dark Angels are angels that fell from light for some reason. They have been stripped of their wings, and they lose their light powers, only to gain dark ones. Dark Angels tend to kill or hurt people when they’re temper gets out of hand, and my guess is that this Dark Angel will hurt someone before the day is out.

Taking a breath, I walked all the way to me seat, immediately relaxing. The Dark Angel presence was just coming from a feather that some human girl was showing her pals. I quickly sat down, and took notes all through class while glancing at the girl and her feather. As soon as class ended, she approached me.
“Hey, um, I thought you might like this.” She said nervously. “You kept glancing at it, and I don’t want it……”
I smiled largely and responded, “Thank you…”
“Jen”
“Thank you Jen, my name is Peace.”
We chatted until we reached her English class. We then parted, I was in a special class where we just read and talked about classic books for a few hours. Once I entered class, I was dismayed. It appeared that all the seats were full.
My teacher cast me a withering glance, but before he could speak another voice saved me.
“There’s a seat open right here, if you’d like it.”
I turned to the voice, and smiled at the boy who had spoken. I walked over to him and sat down, saying thanks.
“No problem. My name is Demetrius. What’s yours?” He asked innocently.
“Peace.” I returned. I looked into his eyes, a blinked with shock. Both of his eyes glowed purple, while both pupils shimmered a milky white and was shaped like a diamond.
He was a dragon shape shifter. I found this rather interesting, and I smiled at him.
“It’s good to meet a dragon shape shifter.” I said casually. He jerked with shock, then relaxed slightly.
“And what family do you come from?” He wondered.
“Ryoushi.”
“Ah. A hunter.”
I nodded, and we stayed silent through class. However, on the way out, he grabbed my arm.
“Would you like to sit at me and my family’s table? You can bring your friends.” He said softly.
I looked at him for a long moment, then flipped my Blackberry out. I typed a message to Cadence, Aoife and Annwn. They all agreed to eat with Demetrius, and I told him so.
His face lit up, and he led me to a table in one of the cafeteria’s corners. As we walked, I took everything about Demetrius in.
His skin was ivory white, and he stood at the normal height for teenagers. His hair went a bit below his chin in the front and to the middle of his neck in the back. His hair glowed the same purple as his eyes, and was curved towards his face.
I inspected his clothes, a white turtleneck and dark wash jeans with black boots.
Noticing my inspection, he smiled and laughed slightly. As soon as we had reached the table, Aoife, Annwn, and Cadence caught up to us.
I introduced them, looking at Cadence as I did. Her brown hair rested at her hips, held in large curls. Fern green eyes peeked out at me, and her fern green shirt and black pants shifted with each movement. Her elf ears were well hidden by her hair.
Demetrius then introduced his siblings.
“This is Anastasia, we call her Tasia.” He told us.
Anastasia’s hair looked disturbingly like a brown tabby cat’s pelt, and her eyes were shaped in a cat-like manner, their blue depths glittering. Her skin, a pretty cream color, seemed to sparkle with every movement. Her cream sweater and dark jeans contrasted it perfectly. Her hair however, told me that she chose a cat.
“My brother, Neka.”
Neka’s white skin, black hair, and silver eyes gave him an exotic look, also alerting us that he chose a raven. He was wearing a plain white T-shirt, jeans and brown boots.
“And the twins, Graham and Eilidh.” Demetrius finished.
Graham, the male twin, was very exotic looking, much more than Neka. His white hair fell to around his waist, shifting with each tiny movement. His dark green eyes watched me, and a small smile appeared on his heart shaped face. His clothing, a black long-sleeve and jeans, seemed to make his white hair glow brighter.
Eilidth looked a bit like her twin. Her hair touched her ankles, and instead of being white it was a dazzling silver. Her pure black eyes glowed with interest, and they rested perfectly on her heart-shaped face. A rich blue dress swirled around her, giving her silver hair more volume.
“So.” I murmured, “Let me guess: Demetrius is a dragon, Anastasia is a cat, Neka is a raven, Graham is a horse and Eilidth is a mouse.”
Everyone was silent. Anastasia broke the silence first, her purr soft and gentle. “You are correct, Hunter Peace. It is an honor to meet you all.”
The other nodded in agreement, and I relaxed slightly.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“That was fun.” I told Demetrius. Everyone was starting to leave when I remembered something.
“Cadence, can you look at this for me?” I asked while handing her the dark angel feather.
Cadence gasped and leaned away from me, looking like she was going to be sick. Slowly, she reached out and touched the feather with one finger. She then inspected it more.
The feather was strong, stronger then steel. It was rotting, and the color was somewhere in-between red and black. I think it’s called ‘midnight red’. It gave out a disgusting scent, one of a very angry Dark Angel.
Looking at Cadence’s face, a wave of pity shot through me. I could smell it so well because I was trained to, but Cadence, she was unlucky. Her amazing Elvin senses made it so that she could smell that feather a billion times better then I could.
She took another breath and said somberly, “I don’t recognize the scent, but I could ask my father. May I have that?”
“Of course.” I responded while handing her the feather. She took it and slipped it into her book bag, grimacing at the smell.
“I hate to ask, Peace, but why didn’t you wait until school was out to give me this?” She asked while wrinkling her nose at the smell.
“Sorry! I probably would have forgotten about it by then so I thought……” I smiled at my Elf friend sheepishly, and she sighed heavily.
“It’s alright, just remember that if I fail any tests, I’m blaming you!” With that Cadence walked away, most likely headed for Science.
Neka, Graham and Eilidth headed for history, Anastasia went to counseling –apparently she’s the best counselor here-, while Aoife and Annwn ran after Cadence.
Demetrius walked next to me as we headed to gym, one of my favorite classes.
“I hope we get to play dodge ball.” Demetrius said suddenly.
“Why?” I asked.
A sly grin appeared on Demetrius’ face. “I just like taking everyone out on the other team, its fun to hit people with giant red balls.”
For some reason, that was funny to me. “But what if I was on the opposite team?” I questioned.
Demetrius rolled his eyes. “Peace, what on earth made you think that you’d be on the opposite team?”
“Wishful thinking?” I suggested.
He hit the back of my head. “Idiot.” He muttered. “You’d always be my first choice.”
I stared at Demetrius blankly. “Where did that come from?”
“You don’t remember?” He cried out. When I asked, ‘remember what?’ Demetrius kicked me in the butt.
“Baka!” He snapped, and I hissed angrily.
“Don’t you insult me in Japanese!” I growled.
We glared at each other for a long moment, and then Demetrius started laughing. “Come on Peace, we’re here.”
As he opened the gym doors for me, I asked, “What should I remember?” Demetrius only winked and walked into gym class.
I quickly followed, and got into line next to him. Our coach, Robert, walked over to us and announced, “Today we’ll be playing tennis! Get a teammate and get ready for some doubles!”
I looked around after saying, ‘yessir’ and noticed that all of the girls were giving me furious glances. I looked behind me, and saw the reason why.
“Are you ready, partner?” Demetrius asked casually, glaring at the girls until they cowered in fear.
“Of course I am, partner.” I responded, a smirk building on my face.

Shape shifters had always been cool people to hang out with, and they usually helped the six families in their jobs. Some people say that a shape shifter founded the six families, but that’s just a myth.

Demetrius and I were playing against Jessie and Kate. They were apparently dating, and all of the girls thought that they were ‘so cute together.’ However, their cuteness couldn’t stop them from getting stomped.
Demetrius high-fived me, and we smirked at our defeated enemies. Within minutes, we had killed all of the teams. “We win!” I sang. Demetrius laughed, and lifted me onto his shoulders. “Go team!” He said jokingly.
The coach quickly ended gym, and Demetrius walked out with me still on his shoulders.
“Hey Demetrius?”
“Yes?” He said while looking at me.
“Um, you don’t have to carry me if I’m too heavy.” I said meekly.
Demetrius froze, and then burst into laughter. He set me down, and put a hand under my feet. He looked around to make sure that no one was watching, and her lifted me into the air. After holding me up for a few moments, he set me back on his shoulders.
“See? You aren’t heavy at all.” He assured me.
I vaguely recalled that Aoife had called me fat and heavy once while we were sparring. “I’m pretty sure that you’re biased.” I told him flatly.
Demetrius shook his head, and I watched in fascination as his purple hair moved in the wind.
“I’m pretty sure that I’m not.” He responded.
I went to say something, but he set me down, shushed me, and walked into Latin with me following.
And that’s how the day went. Demetrius had every class except my first class, which was advanced home-ec. Scary. Anyway, he would carry me on his shoulders to each class, and set me down right outside of the door. Then after school, Demetrius grabbed me and I sat on his shoulders again.

He carried me out to my Hyundai, and set me down nest to it.
“Care to come over?” I asked nervously. Demetrius and I had a Latin project together, and so I thought it would be nice to invite him first.
“Sure.” Demetrius said eagerly. He climbed into the passenger’s side, and watched me start the car.
I went to back out, but froze when I heard a honk. Spinning to look out of Demetrius’ window, I relaxed when I saw Aoife waving at me. I waved back, then backed out and hightailed it out of the school parking lot.
“That girl seems rather hyper for a Shikaku.” Demetrius commented.
I laughed at his words. “In comparison to every other Shikaku, yeah she’s pretty hyper. No training can break her.”
Demetrius looked at me, interested. “Really? Are you sure about that?”
I froze. “Don’t you get any funny ideas dragon-boy.” I grumbled.
Demetrius smiled. “Do you want to play twenty questions?”
“What version?”
“The one where we each ask each other twenty questions.” He said promptly.
“Ok, you start.” I muttered.
Demetrius seemed to brighten up at those words. “What’s your full name?”
“Peace Cassandra Ellen.” I responded. Then I asked, “How old are you?”
“Fifteen. Or I was when I became a shape shifter.” I nodded, remembering that shape shifters never age, even if they want to.
Demetrius turned his purple eyes to me and murmured, “Who are your parents?”
“My mother’s name is Haneul Rose Winter Ellen. My father is Kade Silver Ellen.” I thought for a moment, and then chose my question. “How long have you been alive?”
Demetrius paused for a few moments and said, “For a while. I’m one hundred and fifteen years old. Some of my are older then me in both human age and shape shifter age, some are younger.”
He then smirked at me and asked slyly, “Have you ever kissed someone?”
My answer surprised him. “No.”
Twitching, he said, “Really?”
“Hey!” I yelled out. “My turn to ask something!”
Demetrius grinned and motioned for me to ask my question.
“How many girlfriends have you had?” I demanded.
“None actually.” He admitted.
My mouth dropped open, and I stared at him. “Wow.” I said simply.
“How many questions have we asked?” Demetrius wondered while shifting in his seat.
“Um, You asked three and I asked three. I think.” I looked up and noticed that I had almost passed the turn in to my house.
I quickly turned, and rode up the jumpy driveway, parking in the dirt patch I always park in.
If you have seen pictures or been to Sea Rose Beach House, then you know what my grandparent’s house looks like. My grandparent’s loved Sea Rose so much that they made their own copy. It looks almost the same, and is one of the most beautiful houses you’ll ever be in.
We walked into the house, and I introduced Demetrius to my Grandparents. They smiled and nodded to him, so we escaped to my bedroom.
“Is Peace your real first name?” Demetrius asked, continuing our game.
Falling silent, I played with the hem of my shirt before saying, “……No. Cassandra is my real name, but I made it my middle name and made Peace my first name.”
“Why?” He asked.
“You only get to ask one question each turn.” My eyes narrowed.
“You can ask two on your turn.” Demetrius said dismissively.
“Okay, fine. I just don’t like Cassandra because it’s so normal.”
Demetrius sighed. “Actually, it’s not. The Greeks believe that Cassandra means ‘One who helps mankind.’ Cassandra is also a prophetess who foretold the fall of Troy, but no one believed her.”
I frowned. “Does your name mean something?”
Demetrius laughed. “All names mean something. Mine means ‘One who loves the earth.” Pausing he added, “That was your first question.”
“Augh! Fine. Okay, what are the meanings of your brother’s and sister’s names?”
“Anastasia means ‘A revival from new.’ It’s Greek. Neka means ‘Wild goose’ in Native American. Graham is ‘From the great meadow.’ Eilidh is my favorite. It means, ‘Light’.” Demetrius smiled at me, silently laughing at my awed expression.
“Peace?”
I slowly blinked. “Yes?”
“Let’s do ten questions instead.”
“Okay, what’s your sixth?” I asked.
He pretended to think. “How many pets have you had?”
“One, and that’s my cat, Robinsong. What kind of food do you like?” I paced the floor.
“Any. Except Mexican.” Demetrius made a face at the word, ‘Mexican.’ He watched me pace before asking, “How many crushes have you had?”
“Zero.” I grumbled.
“You need a life.” He informed me.
I hissed at him. “How many crushes have you had?”
“One. Are you allergic to anything?” His head went to the side in a questioning way.
“Nothing. That’s part of why I’m a hunter. I never sneeze.” I got a mysterious edge to my voice, and Demetrius burst into laughter.
I laughed too, the asked: “Do you have parents?”
“No. We all live with Neka and his older brother. Do you have siblings?”
I pointed at myself. “Only child.”
“Lucky.” Demetrius responded.
“How many siblings do you have?” I returned easily.
“two.” He muttered. Then Demetrius smiled. “Can I come up with a better name for you? It won’t be Cassandra or Peace.”
I sighed at his pleading expression and said softly, “Only if you do all of our homework.”
“Done and done.” He brightened up and started working, chattering so happily that I forgot my tenth question.


-----------


“That was good spaghetti.” Demetrius told me. I laughed, escorting him to the door.
“It’s my Dad’s recipe.” I told him.
Demetrius nodded, and then smirked. “How about I show up at your window tonight? We can talk, and I’ll bring a few new names.”
I knew that it was a bad idea. I’d just get addicted to him visiting, even if he came only once. Either way, I nodded vigorously. “Come! I’ll be waiting.”
Demetrius’ smirk grew wider, and he waved while walking away. I waved back, shut the door, and shot for my room.
Grandma Lucy and Grandpa Steven were already asleep, so I was basically alone in the house; -Grandma and Grandpa fall asleep, and won’t get up until their inner clocks say so, even is World War three started right outside of their bedroom.-
I got into the shower and quickly washed my hair and body. Getting out, I got dressed, brushed my hair, and brushed my teeth. As I walked back into my bedroom, I jerked with shock.
Demetrius was lying on my bed, his hands behind his head. “Hi.” He said casually. I smiled and walked over to my bed, climbing in next to my Dragon visitor. “Hi.” I agreed softly.
Demetrius smiled and asked, “Want to hear the names I have?”
I was immediately amused. “Of course.”
He grinned even bigger. “Alright. I came up with a few. Madison?”
“No. To normal.”
“Riley?”
“Maybe.” I allowed.
“Rebecca?”
“Normal.”
He sighed. “Teagen?”
“That’s male!” I shrieked, smacking his arm. Demetrius laughed.
“Okay, okay. What about Zuri? It means, ‘White and lovely.’”
“Nah.”
“Why not?” He demanded.
“Because I said nah.” I grumbled.
He rolled his eyes. “Fine. Raine? Skyla? Bjork?”
“No, Maybe, Maybe.”
“I got two maybes! I feel so proud!” Demetrius pretended to wipe tears away; then added, “I’d like to thank the academy.”
I snorted and hit his arm again. “Oh, shut up.”
“Yessir.”
“Anymore?” I demanded, glaring at his fake salute.
“A few thousand. These might work: Coco, Nova, or Caroline.”
“I like Nova and Caroline. But Coco?”
“It’s a French name!” Demetrius said meekly. I heaved a sigh.
“Whatever. Give me some more.”
Demetrius shook his head, and I twitched with surprise. “You should get to sleep.”
“Will you sleep too?” I asked, suddenly feeling tired.
“Yes. We shape shifters do actually sleep.”
I nodded, and then shivered as cold air swirled through the house. Pressing myself to Demetrius, I laughed at his shocked gasp.
“You’re the warmest thing in here, dragon-boy.”
He chuckled nervously and wrapped his arms around my back.
“Goodnight, Peace.”
“Goodnight, Demetrius.”  

[MADLYALICE]

When I woke up, I smiled at the warmth that surrounded my body.
“Are you awake?” A deep growl asked.
“Yes, Demetrius, I am.”
I felt two arms let go of my back, and I jumped out of bed. Demetrius got out too, Wearing new clothes.
“Did you leave?” I demanded, feeling annoyed.
Demetrius shook his head. “No, I just found some clothes that fit me in your trunk and put them on.”
I immediately remembered what trunk he meant, and I noticed that his clothing was my dad’s old clothes. A black turtleneck, and jeans.
“Oh, good.” I looked relived, and he laughed slightly while going into the bathroom.
“Call me out when you’re dressed.” Demetrius’ said.
I quickly pulled on a burgundy long sleeve, tweed trousers, and then I called Demetrius out.
“Red looks good on you.” He told me, a smile on his face.
“Thanks.” I winked and led him out of my bedroom, running into the kitchen.
I grabbed the cheerios and poured a bowl. Deciding to eat it dry, I carried the bowl into the dining/living room and sat down at the small table.
Demetrius sat next to me and asked, “Want more names.”
“Heck yes!” I said enthusiastically.
He chuckled and rattled off three names. “Jocelyn, Maeve, Caileigh?”
I thought for a moment. “Ya know, I actually like all three of those!”
Glancing at my dragon-friend, I was pretty sure that he had gone into shock.
“Demetrius? You Ok?” I asked, waving my hand in front of his face.
He nodded slowly. “Yeah, I’m just shocked.” He explained.
“Don’t be.” I laughed freely.
It was odd for me to act like this. As a hunter, my main job, my way of life, was keeping the humans that didn’t know anything about the mythical creatures in the dark. I also was supposed to kill off criminals that escaped from the Zirus families. And, just to add more stress, I had to protect the humans that did know about us, while killing every dark angel I met.
I knew I shouldn’t be so carefree, but around Demetrius it was impossible to be emotionless.
Demetrius nodded and asked solemnly, “Do you want more names?”
“Hm, NO! Duh! Of course I do.”
“Okay then. Dyani? It means Deer. Or maybe Yesenia, Moral strength. But then again, Noelle is good too.”
“I like Yesenia.” I interrupted, feeling annoyed at his ramblings.
“Is that a yes?”
“It’s a maybe.”
Demetrius groaned. “This isn’t going to be easy, is it?”
I smirked. “You got yourself into this mess, and there’s only one way to get out of it.”
He groaned again.

- --------- -

I drove to school with Demetrius, answering random names. I told him that Sophie was right out, as was Destiny, Charlotte, Rose, and Brianna.
When we got into school, he said, “one more name, then I’ll give you more at lunch.”
“Ok.” I replied.
“Cha`risa?” Demetrius asked.
“Maybe.” I allowed before slipping into class.
Aoife and Annwn were already there, looking at my worriedly. As I approached them, Annwn began driving a knife into her desk, while her sister motioned for me. I walked over and set my hand on the desk, where Annwn ‘accidentally’ stabbed me.
“Sorry!” She gasped out while wrapping the wound.
I sat down, and waited for Cadence’s message to enter my heart.

Elves are very smart creatures, probably one of the best races. They are known for being excellent healers, warriors, assassins, hunters, and magi. In fact, there’s a good chance that Zirus was an elf, not a shape shifter.
Elves are also the second worst enemy of Dark Angels. Because of this, Elves have come up with secret ways to pass on messages so that Dark Angels cannot get the message.
For example: The knife that Aoife stabbed me with was coated in a special liquid from a plant called, ‘Mishatu’ by the Elves. Mishatu means ‘Light poison’ in Elvin, and is a very special plant. Mishatu sap can have messages inserted into it, which will only be told if the sap enters some ones blood stream and reaches the heart.
This sap is called ‘Light poison’ for a good reason. It is poison to only one race, and that is the Dark Angels. The Mishatu plants have been blessed by Light Angels, therefore making the plant a holy weapon against all things dark.

I knew that the sap had touched my heart because my body got all warm and fuzzy. Slowly, a voice came up in my head, and soon took on Cadence’s tone.
“Peace, I did as you requested and gave this feather to my father. As soon as he touched it and started inspecting it he became very still. This feather belongs to Robart, the grandson of Jasan. Robart is supposedly leading the Dark Angels now, and if I were you, I’d consult the family leaders. Do not tell Aoife and Annwn, they already know. But, you should tell the Shape shifters, they’re going to be targets now that they’ve met you.”
Her voice vanished, and I closed my eyes. The fact that this Dark Angel was strong enough to know that I had handle his feather the longest bothered me. Then again, my stupidity bothered me too. I should have known to wear gloves when touched the said feather, yet I had forgotten for some reason.
Probably because Demetrius distracted me. I snorted, but found that there was truth to those formerly innocent words. Before I could figure out why he had distracted me, Mr. Williams finished class.
As I entered math, I didn’t even have a second to look around before hands were on my shoulders.
“Hello, Peace. I saved you a seat.” Demetrius led me to the back of class and pushed me down lightly into a seat. He then sat across from me, and nodded to Mr. Xolin as he started class.
I did my best to pay attention, but Demetrius continued distracting me. The strangest thing was that he wasn’t doing anything strange or ….distracting. He was just sitting there, writing his notes.
Around half-way through class, I got angry. Quickly, I tore a piece of paper off of my notes and wrote,
Am I distracting you?
After flicking it too him, I silently groaned at the confusion on his face. He erased what I had written and wrote something else before flicking it to me.
Not badly, but you are distracting me a bit. Why?
Ouch. I was caught. How did I explain this question? Improvising, I wrote down:
Just curious. You see, this boy next to me seems very distracted and keeps glancing at me. That’s all.
He grabbed the note, read it, and silently laughed.
‘What?’ I mouthed at him.
Really, Peace, you are quite a good liar. That lie was almost believable. However, you forgot one teensy little bit: There are no boys near you apart from me.
Oh. I shot a glance at him, and he mouthed: ‘Why do you want to know?’
Shaking my head, I wrote down the reason.
Because you have been distracting me since the first day I met you. Happy now that you got the truth?
He read the note, and smiled largely; ignoring the withering glance I shot him.
I’m flattered. And yes, I am happy.
Oh, nice, he even had to add a smiley face.
Deciding not to write another note, I pressed my pencil to my notes and tried to finish them.
Just like before the notes, Demetrius distracted me. At the end of class, I threw my unfinished notes at him and announced,
“You are giving me a copy of your notes.”
He smiled. “Because you couldn’t finish them since I was so distracting.”
My glare was the only answer he got.
Demetrius sighed and picked me up, setting my on his shoulders and walking to lunch. I stayed quiet all the way.
“Hi Demetrius, Peace……What’s wrong?” Anastasia tipped her head to the side, confused.
“Hello Tasia, Peace is angry because I’ve distracted her since day one.” Demetrius informed his friend (or is it sister?) while setting me down in a chair.
“A ha ha ha ha ha!” Anastasia laughed whilst hugging Eilidh in the process.
“Eilidh, Sis, isn’t it funny? Say that it’s funny!” The cat commanded while going hugging to shaking the poor girl.
Eilidh stammered out, “It is funny!” And hid behind her brother while whispering, “Protect me from the scary woman!”
Anastasia looked confused while Neka shook his head.
“Tasia, be gentle with Eilidh.” He said in a voice that sounded like rustling papers.
“Sir yes sir!” She saluted and bowed to Neka before tackle-hugging me.
“Rawr! Helloes my hunter friend!”
“Hello?” I echoed while trying to get out from under my attacker. She was to strong, so I gave up.
Luckily, Anastasia jumped up and stared at Demetrius.
“Look Demetrius! Look, look, look, lookit, lookit, lookit, lookit!”
Trying to stop her flood of ‘look’ and ‘lookit,’ Demetrius gasped out, “I’m lookiting, but I don’t know what I should be lookiting at!”
I burst into laughter with his siblings, while Anastasia asked, “Lookiting?”
“You started it.” He accused, blushing.
“Whatever. Anyway, look! Full notes! I didn’t fall asleep!”
“Good. You can have fish for lunch then.”
Anastasia fell silent for a long time, then she suddenly lunged for the lunch line while screaming,
“FISH!” At the top of her lungs.
Graham gave Demetrius a hard look before waving to someone. Looking up, I watched as Cadence, Aoife, and Annwn walked over.
“Hi!” Aofie squealed while Annwn grunted out, “What’s up with cat-girl?”
Cadence nodded and watched as Anastasia mauled the cafeteria food.
“It appears that she’s allowed to have fish.” My elf friend said casually.
Graham glared at Demetrius again, while dragon-boy flinched. “I promised her……” He said weakly.
I laughed again. Demetrius turned his gaze to me and picked me up. He threw me over his shoulder and spun around in a circle a few times before setting me down. I stumbled around for a few moments before collapsing into Annwn’s arms.
“Nice.” She said while helping me sit down.
As I tried to regain my non-spinning sight, Anastasia came back, licking her lips. “Yummy fish………” She murmured while sitting down.
I quickly looked up and said, “Guys, I need to talk to you all.”
Everyone gathered around the table, and Cadence put a hand on my shoulder.
“The feather I gave to Cadence belongs to the new Dark Angel leader. He’s now going to come after me because I held the feather the longest, which also means he’ll be coming after you guys too if you all stay around me any longer.
“So please, don’t be around me anymore. You might just be passed by if you stay away.”
I glanced at everyone, and noticed that all of their faces were cold.
“No. We will not leave you alone Hunter Peace.” Eilidh said somberly.
“But-” I started
“No, my twin is right. You can’t be left to this.” Graham interrupted, hugging Eilidh.
“Ah-”
“Lady huntress, I would never leave you alone to fight a Dark Angel leader yourself.” Neka snarled.
“That makes two of us!” Anastasia inserted.
“Four.” Annwn corrected, smirking at her sister.
“Five.” Cadence whispered from behind me.
“I really don’t think-” I tried again.
Suddenly, warm hands covered my shoulders.
“Peace, be quiet. We are your friends and your allies. If this new leader tries to kill you, then he’ll have to get through all of us to do it.” Demetrius rubbed my freezing arms gently, and watched me as I stared at everyone else.
“Guys…” I trailed away, not knowing how to finish that sentence.
Smiles appeared on everyone’s face. Neka gave me a soft glance, Graham and Eilidh nodded to me, Anastasia knocked Demetrius away and tackled hugged me again.
“We’ll fight with you cuz we’re your friends!” Anastasia squealed.
I hugged her back, and couldn’t help but cry with happiness.
I had friends.

- ------ -


Demetrius gave me new names through school, and once we got out he stopped.
“Why’d you stop?”
“Because I’m driving you to my house.” Demetrius explained.
“Oh. Wait, why?” I asked curiously.
“Because, one: I’ve already been to your house and had your cooking. Two: You need to come to my house and have Anastasia’s cooking.” He responded.
I cast Demetrius a sour glance. “Lemme guess. Fish?”
“No, no. That’s dessert.” He grinned, and I handed him my car keys.
“Ugh.” I grumbled.
His grin widened, and he started the car.
It ended out that the drive was pretty complex. You had to follow a lot of twists and curves, a lot of single lane bridges and roads, and a lot of not-even-visible-dirt roads. At the end of it though, Demetrius got the pleasure of watching my facial expressions.
Their house was exactly the same as the Neuschwan castle. Just as grand and just as beautiful, the castle glowed in the dimming sunlight, giving it a surreal shimmer.
“You actually live here?” I whispered in awe.
“Yeah, ostentatious isn’t it?” Demetrius asked while getting out of the car.
“Ostentatious.” I echoed while climbing out too.
Demetrius took my hand and led me up to the door, opening it and letting himself in. As we walked in, he called out,
“Anastasia? Neka? Graham? Eilidh?”
“In here!” I heard Graham call out. Demetrius led me into what was probably the living room. He stopped, letting me get a good look at the living room.
The room contained a large TV that rested on the eastern wall. It obviously had surround sound, and the entire room was full of the sound of fighting. The floor was marble, a beautiful grey color. The walls glowed a blue, much like the one on the towers outside. Grey curtains with gold fringe were pulled back from each and every window, adding to the elegant look.
Large couches rested in the room, five of them all together. They glittered the same gold color as the fringe on the curtains, as did a few high backed chairs that sat in the room. A beautiful Ash wood coffee table rested on top of a blue and gold rug, a few feet in front of the TV, one of the gold couches had been placed behind it.
The doors were made of the same Ash wood, they were oiled to perfection. I also noted that the wood in the couches and chairs was Ash too. A beautiful silver stereo sat on an Ash dresser on the northern wall, and one long shelf held many gold and grey vases.
In each vase there was a bouquet of either Asphodel, White Bridal Rose, deep red rose, or Elder.
The only other thing in the room was a giant mirror, right above the stereo.
Graham and Neka were playing Super Smash Bros Brawl, moving with their Wii controllers. Anastasia tackle hugged me, and Eilidh looked up from her journal to wave slightly.
“Deme!!!!! You brought her!!!!” Anastasia sang while hugging her brother. He laughed and hugged her back. Then, he growled and grabbed her arm tightly.
“Demetrius, what’s wrong?” I asked, fearing that he was hurting his sister.
“What is this?” He snarled at Anastasia, completely ignoring me. I look at Anastasia’s arm, and gasped.
There was a gaping hole, large enough to be made by…………
“A knitting needle.” I said aloud.
“I did it, I tripped and fell on one.” Anastasia explained.
Demetrius calmed down immediately and sighed heavily.
“Ana………” He groaned, hugging her again.
She giggled and ran off, grabbing my arm. “I’m going to show her the kitchen!”
“Have fun!” Demetrius called back.
Anastasia yanked me into the next room and giggled, waiting to see my reaction.
The wood was still Ash, and the marble was still grey granite. The kitchen was as big as the living room, holding around three ovens, one pizza oven, two fridges, a sink, a trash compactor, and a dish washer.
All of the appliances were a beautiful silver, and they were all the highest quality. There was a bar with blue hanging bar lights, the chairs were gold and ash. Pretty silver plates were stacked in cupboards next to blue glasses, visible through the cupboards’ glass doors.
The flower in this room was the pretty blue Flax, they were used to hold napkins together, and they were in vases everywhere in the kitchen.
“Well?” Anastasia asked impatiently.
“I like it.” I said seriously. “It’d be fun cooking in here.”
Anastasia laughed and gave me a ‘You’re jealous’ look before walking over to the first oven.
“Go find Demetrius and he’ll give you a tour. I have to cook.” She said, dismissing me.
I said bye, and walked out of the kitchen. However, I had no need to look for Demetrius; I had walked right into him as I had left the kitchen.
“Ready for a tour?” He asked eagerly.
“Um, in a sec. I have a question.”
He waited, and I asked nervously, “Will Anastasia’s injury be okay?”
He laughed and ruffled my hair. “It’ll be healed by tonight. Shape shifter’s heal quickly, remember?”
I nodded, and he took my hand. “We’ll go check out the library first.” He decided, dragging me along.
When we arrived in the library, I was surprised that it wasn’t blue. Demetrius watched me, gauging my reaction.
The walls were al covered with book cases, all of them made out of dark Cherry wood. The floor was cherry wood too, and it had a Venetian Red rug covering most of it. There were cherry wood tables with Venetian Red cloth over each one, and the chairs were Venetian red too.
Red roses sat in vases on the tables, along with white china tea sets.
“Very nice.” I said a smile on my face.
Demetrius laughed and dragged me out, running up the stairs with me over his shoulder.
He set me down and said, “My room!”
“I can tell.” Was the amused response I gave.
His room was in one of the towers, and all of the walls were glass, something I hadn’t noticed from the outside of his home. The floor was made of obsidian, I could tell as soon as I touched it. The shiny black floor contrasted perfectly with the glass walls.
The walls, I noticed, were actually mirrors. Every single wall was a glass mirror, and I shook my head at the oddness of it.
His bed was made of Black wood, with white silk sheets that somehow had no creases. Royal purple fabric hung around his bed, shimmering with each tiny movement.
There was a white couch with purple pillows in one corner, a CD player against one wall, hanging from one of the mirrors. There were too many CDs to count in his room, but what really caught my eyes were the flowers.
Beautiful purple roses filled vases and were weaved together to curl around the bed posts.
“Well?” Demetrius asked nervously.
“It’s……beautiful. I can’t even explain how amazing this is!” I whispered.
He smiled largely, wrapped his arms around me.
“Thank you.” He whispered.
We stayed like that for a bit, but then Demetrius began moving towards his bed. Laughing, he grabbed her and threw me onto it. I let out a yell of shock, before laughing when he jumped on too.
“This bed is comfy!” I announced from in-between giggles. When he didn’t respond, I look at him confused. I was only trapped in his large purple eyes, which were transfixed on my face.
“What?” I finally managed to ask.
Demetrius didn’t respond, instead he gently stroked my shoulder.
“You were laughing.” He said after a long moment.
“Only because you were acting like a child! It was cute!” I said defensively.
He shook his head, and stroked my arm. “I mean, Ryoushi’s aren’t suppose to show emotion.”
I slowly blinked, lost in his dragon eyes. “This wouldn’t be the first time I broke a rule.” I finally managed to say.
“Mmm.” Demetrius stroked my neck, then moved his hand back down to my arm. He rested his head in the crook of my neck, closing his eyes and sighing contentedly.
I froze, not wishing to disturb him. All of my Ryoushi instincts yelled at me to throw him off, but deeper emotions burst through, emotions that had been hidden for much to long. Succumbing to those deep emotions, I pressed my body against Demetrius’ and moved his hand off of my arm, holding with my own.
I felt him smile against my neck, and my heart beat faster.
“Ahh, you’re so warm.” Demetrius murmured from against my neck. A blush spread across my cheeks, and I just squeezed his hand tighter.
Suddenly, he removed his head from my neck, placing it on the pillow next to me. I blushed deeper at his closeness, and said weakly.
“Anastasia should be done cooking soon.”
He didn’t respond, instead he moved our hands up to stroke my neck. “I know.” He whispered.
I nodded dumbly, unable to speak. Slowly, Demetrius pressed his cheek against mine, his breath moving over my ear. Then, his face drifted down, and he pressed his lips to my chin. I released his hand and touched his shoulder gently, while his hand curved around my neck.
Lifting his lips, Demetrius smiled at me in a gentle, loving manner; before placing them gently against my own.
For a brief moment, I thought I had died and gone to Heaven.
Acting on instinct, I wrapped one arm around his back, grabbing his other hand with my own. His free arm held my neck tighter, and he kissed me more passionately.
He pulled away far to early, and looked at me with soft eyes.
“Ego amor tu.” He said, speaking Latin fluently.
I smiled as I recognized the words.
I love you.
“Ego amor tu.” I echoed, curling up against his warm body.
I could feel his heart beat quicker as he wrapped his arms around me, nuzzling his face into my hair.
We lay like that, silently communicating. After a while, Demetrius sighed and pulled away.
“Anastasia’s coming to tell us about dinner.” He explained, seeing my confused expression.
Turning scarlet, I was about to jump off of the bed when he sat up and pulled me against his chest.
“Wha?”
Demetrius smiled. “We should make our relationship known. Besides, I can’t hide anything from Anastasia. If we don’t tell her now, she’ll bug us all night about it.”
“Well, we wouldn’t want that.” I agreed, sinking into the comfort of his arms.
Someone knocked on the door, and Anastasia’s voice asked if she could come in. Demetrius nodded and called out, “Come in!”
The door opened, and Anastasia walked onto the Obsidian floor. She looked at us once, and was jumping up and down.
“Congratulations!” She squealed while hugging us both.
“Thanks?” I asked while trying to squirm out of her iron like grip.
Demetrius easily freed me, and clasped me to his breast.
“Time for dinner?” He asked easily.
“Yep, yep! I made everyone favorite meal.” Anastasia responded cheerfully.
“What did you make?” I asked, looking curious.
“I made an elk dish for Demetrius, shrimp scampi for me, burgers for Neka, a basket of apples for Graham, a tofurky for Eilidh, and egg flower soup for you.” She said, pride on her feline features.
Demetrius sighed and told her, “We’ll be right down.”
She nodded and kissed our cheeks before leaving. Demetrius and I followed.

- --------- -

“That was delicious, Tasia!” I announced, leaning back from my empty plate.
“Yay! Thankies!” She sang, collecting all of the dishes.
I went to help her, but she growled in a horrifying manner at me. I froze before sinking into my chair, looking at her with wide eyes.
“What time is it?” I asked, rubbing my eyes.
“You don’t need to worry about that, your staying the night.” Graham responded.
I stared at him with wide eyes before spinning around to glare at Demetrius.
“What about Jenny and Jack?” I asked. My Grandparents would freak if I didn’t show up.
“Eilidh cleared it with them already, and she went and got your stuff.” Demetrius said smugly.
“I don’t have a choice.” I stated.
It wasn’t a question, but he answered anyway. “Nope.”
Sighing, I gave him a slight nod. “Fine.”
I stood up and headed into Demetrius’ room, and he followed.
“I need a minute.” I informed him.
He nodded, and motioned towards a hidden door. Walking through, I quickly changed into my pajamas and brushed my teeth. Walking out, I noticed that he was already in pajamas, lying on his bed. I joined him, and sighed happily as his arms snaked around my waist.
“Get some sleep, we have school tomorrow.” Demetrius whispered, kissing the tip of my ear.
“I’d say the same for you, but I don’t think you’d listen to me.” I grumbled, already half asleep.
He chuckled and pulled me closer, my body fitting perfectly against his. “Quiesco puteus, Peace.”
“You too.” I murmured, falling asleep in his warm embrace.  

[MADLYALICE]

I didn’t exactly remember getting dressed. I vaguely remembered Anastasia commanding Demetrius and I to wake up, and then she dragged me out of bed when I refused. I had dressed in a daze, thinking about what had happened last night.
I was still awed that Demetrius loved me.
Demetrius had driven me to school, saying that I probably couldn’t drive myself. As soon as I got out of the car, Aoife and Cadence had hugged me, dragging me off to class with Demetrius following.
My friends promised to meet me at lunch, as we all took our seats. I basically slept all the way through class, along with Math. I stayed awake during Classics, but only because I like that class.
It was a half day, so after lunch we were all free. Everyone sat together at lunch, chatting about random things. Demetrius and I rarely joined in, instead we just talk to each other about random subjects.
“Peace? Peace?” Aoife called, waving a hand in front of my face.
“Yeah?” I asked, embarrassed.
“Where were you last night?” She demanded.
“I had a sleepover at their house.” I responded, motioning at the shape shifters.
“Awe-Some.” Aoife responded before turning to chat with Anastasia.

Lunch ended, and I quickly got into the drivers side of my car. Demetrius climbed into the passenger side and said, “For a new name, Imogen?”
“Maybe.” I purred, amused.
“Ugh. What about Astrid, Bronwyn, Ysabelle?”
“I like them all, actually.”
Demtrius suddenly frowned. “You have to choose one now, I’ve given you a lot.”
“That’s not fair!” I argued
“Yes it is.” He said in a voice that ended the conversation.
I rolled my eyes, but kept silent. I watched to road, looking for the pull off to Demetrius’ house. It wasn’t that hard to find.
As I stopped the car and climbed out, Demetrius took my hand and led me around the back off his house.
“I’m going to show you the garden.” He explained, catching my confused expression.
We reached a beautiful gate that was made of wrought iron, and had Latin written on the middle bar.
Hortus Of Turbatus Angelus
Garden of Restless Angels
Demetrius smiled at my expression and opened the gate, which made not a single sound as it swung on it’s hinges. Leading me in, Demetrius had to catch me as I fainted.
“Peace? Are you okay?” He asked anxiously.
“It’s to beautiful……” I said dizzily as he helped me up, letting me lean against him.
Demetrius muttered something under his breath, but started smiling again as I looked around.
The gardens was all roses. Millions of roses surrounded me, and after a few moments, I began picking out the rose types.
Abraham Derby, Albertine, Amberlight, Avon, Baroness Rothschild, Champagne Cocktail, Cidercup, and Couldnine surround the gate, their petals touching my legs. After a few moments, I decided that I was looking North. This meant that all of those roses were on the south side of the garden.
On the East side, Crimson Cascade, Ellen Mary, Ena Harkness, Etoile De Hollande, Burgundy Ice, Goddess Of Love, and High Flyer curled together, their red shades mixing together.
“You have a lot of roses.” I grumbled.
Demetrius laughed. “Look at the other sides.”
I obediently turned west, and saw orange and white roses. To the south, lay pink and yellow roses.
“Wo-w.” I said, shaking my head.
“Anastasia and Eilidh like roses.” Demetrius explained.
Well, that made sense. He took my hand, and led me among the roses. When we neared the center, I frowned, amazed and confused.
There was a circle of fir trees, lined up so that you couldn’t see whatever was in the circle. Demetrius squeezed through a small entrance, and I followed him, only to be frozen in awe.
Standing there was a statue made out of white marble that had been painted. The statue was of a girl with inky black hair that was as long as mine, and marble skin with pink tints. She was wearing a blood red long sleeved dress that had black lace around the sleeves and hem of the dress. Her eyes were closed, and she held a violin that was made out of pure Ivory. She looked very sad, but I saw the connection immediately.

“Idiot.” He muttered. “You’d always be my first choice.”
I stared at Demetrius blankly. “Where did that come from?”
“You don’t remember?” He cried out.
“Remember what?” I asked.
He just growled and kicked me in the butt.

I was suddenly three years in my past, when I was part of a music school. All of the students were afraid of me, and once we had to choose teammates. I had thought no one would choose me, but then a boy with purple hair asked to be my teammate. I had said, ‘but no one wants to choose me!’
He had smiled and said, ‘You’ll always be my first choice.’
He was Demetrius.

Tears feel down my face, as I looked at the statue. I had looked just like that when I had played Siobhan’s favorite song, Last of the Wilds.
Demetrius touched me shoulder, alarmed.
“Peace? What’s wrong?”
“I remember.” I sobbed out, clutching his shirt. He was frozen for a brief moment before chuckling and pulling me close.
“I knew you would.” He whispered, nuzzling my neck. “Shhhh, don’t cry.” He added softly.
I dried my eyes, and looked up, hearing rain. The rain drops began to fall, but they all dripped down onto the statue, vanishing into its head. Then, they reappeared, sliding out of tiny holes that were located in the statue’s eyes. The statue was crying.
“I remembered every detail of when you had played up there, Peace. I loved you from then on. I made this because I needed to se you every day, I couldn’t – and still can’t – live without you.” Demetrius murmured into my ear.
I started crying again.
Honestly, I don’t know how long we stood like that, me crying in Demetrius’ arms while he rocked me back and forth gently.
I calmed down soon enough, and threw my arms around his neck to kiss him. Demetrius smiled against the kiss and held me tighter, picking me up and sitting down on a stone bench, still kissing me.
I ran out of air before him, and pulled away, resting my head against his heart. A low chuckle came from my mouth as I listened to his heart beat quicken.
He dragged one hand through my hair, kneading my back with his other hand.
“I remember the song you sang after playing your violin.” He said solemnly. I waited for him to continue, and he sang a bit of the song.
“Flowers wither, treasures stay hidden, until I see the first star of Fall. I fall asleep, and see it all, Mother’s care, and color of the kites.”
He pressed his lips to my hair, and whispered in a soft, loving voce.
“Meadows of Heaven.”


- --------- -


Demetrius had led me back to his house, where he asked if I wanted to sty for dinner.
“Sure.” I said cheerfully, squeezing his hand.
He smiled and led me in, announcing that he was home.
“Hey, Demetrius, come over here!” Graham called out from the living room.
We walked in, and saw that Graham was putting a Wii controller into a piece of plastic that was shaped like a gun. He held it out to Demetrius and said, “Your favorite, Resident Evil.”
Demetrius looked at me, and when he saw me grin, he grinned back and took the controller.
“Awesome. Peace, you’ll love this.” He announced, sitting down on one of the sofas. I sat with him, twitching with surprise when Eilidh sat next to me.
“You’re staying the night again.” She told me.
I growled and turned to glare at Demetrius, who had a look of fake innocence on his face.
“You’re really cute, but you’re annoying too.” I informed him.
He smirked and started his game.
“Thanks for telling me, Eilidh.” I said with a sigh. She smiled at me, and I smiled back. Turning my attention back to the TV, I watched Demetrius play his game without interest.
After he turned it off, I asked, “Demetrius, What’s your story?”
He froze, then slowly turned to me. “I suppose you have a right to hear, it, and Anastasia will have to tell you her part too.”
He shifted, and then started his story.
“I was born in 1894 on February 20th, somewhere in Belguim. I can’t be sure where. I was the first child my parents had, and they named me after my mother’s dead brother. Eliza and William were their names, and they were the part of the highest class. My mother took care of the house, and my and my siblings, until I could watch them myself. She attended parties regularly, and wasn’t home for very long. William owned many banks across Europe, and he was always traveling to check up on them.
“Anastasia was always my favorite, she was born on May 1st. Eliza detested her, mainly because you couldn’t get her into a nice dress for longer then a half an hour. It took me three hours on convince her to put on a dress and go to a party with Mother once.
“The youngest was also female, I can’t remember her name.”
“Nelly.” Anastasia said helpfully.
“Yes, Nelly. She would go off to the parties with mother, and then Anastasia would play with me around the river. On my fifteenth birthday, my parents were going to announce that I was engaged to the neighbor girl. I do believe her name was Isabel. A snobby brat, if I may speak my mind.
“I left home to give my horse it’s daily exercise, when I ran into a man who was walking through the abandoned streets. I spoke with him, and he told me that I had shape shifter blood. I believed him to be crazy, so I rode my horse home and said not a word of the man. After the party, I fell asleep, and in my dreams I chose a dragon. I awoke with purple hair and eyes, and so I ran away from home.”
Demetrius looked at my awed eyes and smiled slightly. Anastasia then took up the story, her voice sad.
“The next morning, we thought that Demetrius had ran because he didn’t wish to marry Isabel. We looked for him everywhere, but never found him. I was heartbroken and never left home. On my thirteenth birthday, and tried to commit suicide. My parents stopped me and called a doctor. He stayed through the night, and so when I changed into a cat, I killed him in my horror. I ran too, and soon found Demetrius sleeping by a lake. I explained everything to him, and we ran to America together.”
Anastasia hugged her brother, and I smiled, a warm feeling rushing through me at the sight of them.
Demetrius threw an arm around Anastasia, but then put his other arm around me and pulled me close.
“Neka, why don’t you tell her your tale?” Demetrius suggested.
Neka looked at him for a long time before nodding slightly.
“Peace, would you like to hear my story?”
I nodded, and he narrowed his eyes. Gripping his shirt, Neka pulled it off and turned his bare chest to me. In the light, I could see that there were dozens of holes and ink markings on his chest.
“Neka! What happened?” I rasped.
Neka smiled bitterly.
“When I was born, the date would have been somewhere around 1789. My people didn’t keep track of the passing years. I was born to an Indian Tribe in a place that humans destroyed long ago. My brother was five years older then my when I was born, and I was trained from the moment I could walk. You see, my tribe was at war with many other tribes, and all of the men needed to be battle ready.
“I was chosen at seventeen to marry a neighboring tribe’s princess. Then, a truce would be forced. My brother accompanied me, and we entered the other tribe without fear. The princess, Cha`risa, was loved by every man. She was beautiful, but I saw nothing in her. She was strange, with blond hair and dark skin.
“She greeted me like a king and gave me and my brother everything we wanted. I went through many tests to see if I was the perfect man. One of the worst was when I stood naked, tied to a pole, and I had arrows shot at me.”
“That’s how you got those injuries!” I gasped.
Neka nodded and continued.
“But I didn’t fail. In honor of my strength, I was tattooed. Cha`risa married me, and that night, told me of her father’s plans to kill my tribe while I was away. I wanted to go home immediately, but Cha`risa insisted that her father would notice and would capture and kill me if I did. I believed her, and stayed for the two weeks I was supposed to. When my brother and I got home………Everything had been destroyed. Babies and females hung from poles, while the skin of our braves and our chieftain burned. I was so angry, I transformed right then. My brother did to, and we ran.
“We were found by Demetrius and Anastasia, who became part of our family.” Neka finished.
I gulped and stared at his injuries. Tears filled my eyes, and I looked away. Demetrius looked at me in alarm and cradled me against his chest, murmuring soothing words.
Once I had calmed down, I noticed that Anastasia and Neka were playing another Wii game. Neka’s shirt was back on.
“Peace, why don’t we tell you our tale?” Graham asked, smiling at me.
I nodded, and he said, “Eilidh, would you like to start?”
Eilidh set her book down and said in a musical voice,
“Graham and I are twins that were born on 1954, December 30th. We were triplets, but our brother died in the womb. Graham and I grew up and went to school together, and were inseparable. Many girls were interested in him, and many men were interested in me. Once we joined High School, we made it easier to keep them away by saying that we were Boyfriend and Girlfriend, not brother and sister. When we turned fifteen…….”
Eilidh stopped, and Graham took over.
“When we turned fifteen, we got into a car wreck which killed our parents. I had shape shifter blood, so my injuries healed. Eilidh however, had no shape shifter blood. I tore my heart out and forced her to eat part of it. It healed her injuries and turned her into a shape shifter. We ran. Then, once we reached Oregon, we met Demetrius and Anastasia when they were out hiking. They took us back to Neka and Alexander, and we join their family.”
I smiled slightly. “That’s a nice story.”
Eilidh’s expression questioned my sanity.
“I mean the ending.” I explained, bristling slightly.
“Ah, well, that is the nice part.” Eilidh said, half asleep.
I nodded and sank into Demetrius’ arms again, feeling a bit tired. When Neka offered his Wii controller to Demetrius, I obediently let go of him so he could play.
Everyone’s stories kind of had me in shock. I had never known how each of their lives had been crumpled by something terrible. Casting a glance at Anastasia, I could help but frown. How long had it taken her to heal from the pain of thinking that she’d never see Demetrius again.
Then again, I mused, how would I handle losing Demetrius? I doubted I would handle it well. I’d probably commit suicide, just like Anastasia did.
Looking at Demetrius, I wondered how it felt to leave his family, his sister behind, and not be able to ever see them again. In a way, I knew how that felt. I hadn’t seen Haneul and Kade for around three years. But it was them leaving me, and I had never been close to them, so it didn’t really hurt.
My eyes flickered to Neka, and I cringed. How had he felt, knowing that his wife had lied to him, had stopped him from saving his family? Would he ever fall in love again? Or did he not trust love anymore, did he despise it? I hoped he still believed he could fall in love.
Eilidh and Graham, they had nothing to leave behind. Out of all of the shape shifters, they’re past was the least painful. Or was it? When Graham had thought that Eilidh would die, how did that feel? Knowing that the person closest to him was going to be gone forever.
I shivered.
Deciding to forget these questions, I moved onto a lighter subject. I began trying to figure out a good theme song for everyone. By the time it was 2:00 A.M., I had everyone figured out.
Demetrius’ song was Last of the Wilds by Nightwish
Anastasia’s song was Fairytale by Neja
Neka’s song was King of the Fairies by Amadeus
Graham’s song was If Only by Tiffany
Eilidh’s was Meadows of Heaven by Nightwish
Aoife’s was Twilight by Vanessa Carlton
Annwn’s song was Paint it Black by Vanessa Carlton
Cadence’s was Colors of the Wind by Pocahontas
And me song was Whisper by Evanescence.
I was cheerful by now, but also exhausted. Demetrus helped me up to his room, where I collapsed on the bed, clothes and all. He laughed and climbed onto the bed too, his heart hammering as I snuggled close to him.
“Night.” I muttered
“Goodnight.” Demetrius hummed, pulling me close.


- --------- -


I was sick of the weekend already.
It was only ten A.M, which was a half an hour after Anastasia forced me from Demetrius’ bed. She had yelled about how I had to have fun instead of sleep, then she had hit my arm and dressed me while I had tried to wake up.
Demetrius had already been up – he was the one that had asked Anastasia to wake me up for him. When he had seen me come down in my half asleep state, he had burst into laughter.
I had tried to hit him as hard as I could, but he had just dodged and continued giggling. Well, continued laughing. I don’t think a dragon can giggle.
After eating, I had decided to go on a walk. Stepping through the forests, I allowed my mind to wander.
Such a beautiful day. It’s a pity that no one is here to share it with me. It’s pretty enough that I’m actually sad that I didn’t wake up earlier. I grimaced when the words ‘wake up’ appeared in my mind. I was not a morning person.
As I set my foot down, another person stepped out.
“Hello, Peace.”
I spun around and gasped with horror.
“Robart!”  

[MADLYALICE]

“Bjork, arise.” His voice commands.
I jump out of my dream, and look at him in confusion.
“What?”
“I said, arise!” He snaps.
I nod and wipe my tears away. I remember the dream, the dream of my memories. Standing up, I follow Robart as he leads me from my bedroom to the war room.
All of the other Dark Angels greet us happily, their eyes gleaming as the fall upon me.
I am the one that everyone wants.
Catherine and her sister, Skyla, come up to Robart and start covering him with caresses. I remember my dream, and tears fill my eyes.
Everyone goes back to discussing battle plans, so I slip away. I fly back to my room and lock the door, falling asleep again.


- --------- -


Robart took a step towards me, an evil smile on his face.
“You smell delicious.” He purred.
I flinched and took another step back. Suddenly, something crashed into Robart. A giant cat.
“Anastasia!” I yelled.
I horse cantered up to me, a mouse on its back. Robart shoved Anastasia off of him and started getting up. As soon as he was on his feet, a massive purple dragon slammed into Robart, tearing at his hidden skin.
“Demetrius……” I whispered, leaning against Graham.
Robart was back on his feet, watching Demetrius. Anastasia was also up, ready to jump into the fight. Robart lunged at Demetrius, only to be caught by his tail and swung back. In mid flight, Anastasia wrapped her tail around him and clawed at the Dark Angel furiously.
I hunted for my gun and, pulling it out, pointed it at Robart. Right as he climbed out of Anastasia’s grip, I shot him in the heart three times, and twice in the brain. This made him stumble, and Demetrius clamped his jaws around Robart’s chest. As he bit down, I heard no sound.
“Something’s wrong! Stop!” I yelled.
Demetrius obediently set Robart down, and I gasped.
It wasn’t Robart. It had been a shade that Robart had sent to trick us. To find us.
“No.” I moaned, falling to my knees.
Demetrius must have changed back, because two very familiar arms wrapped around my chest. He pulled me against him, cradling me like a baby. Then he started running, everyone running with us. A raven swooped down and eyed me before flying back to Anastasia’s side.
“Demetrius.” I whispered as we ran.
“Yes, Peace?”
“He’s going to find us and kill us all.” I cried out, clutching his shirt.
“Shhh, honey, he’ll never find us.” Demetrius soothed me, his soft words calming my frightened soul.



- --------- -


We hadn’t seen head or tail of Robart since that one day. A year passed, and I moved into Demetrius’ home. Today it was Saturday, and, because it was raining, I was curled up on one of the couches with a blanket.
Demetrius was out hunting with Anastasia – they enjoy catching the meat that’s needed for dinner, not buying it.
I had a pile of my favorite classics in front of me, and I quickly went through them all to make sure that they were all there.
Wuthering Heights – Check
Jane Eyre – Check
White Fang – Check
Chocolat – Check
Anne Frank – Check
Animal Farm – Check
I picked up White Fang and began to read. I had reached the part where Beauty Smith had just laid eyes on White Fang when the door opened. Looking up, I smiled dazzlingly as my favorite person came in.
“Demetrius!” I sang, tearing out of the blanket and throwing myself at him.
“Oof!” Demetrius fell over, not expecting my weight. We clattered to the ground, and he laughed while wrapping his arms around my waist.
“Hello, Love. How was your day?” He asked cheerfully.
“Dull.” I said promptly. “White Fang can only entertain you with blood for so long.”
He laughed harder, standing up and carrying me back to the couch. Graham nodded to Demetrius, not taking his eyes off of the Resident Evil game.
“The movies are so much better.” I said casually.
“Ah, but you don’t get to shoot zombies in the movies. You just watch them get shot.” Graham responded.
“Hey, if you want to shoot zombies, I’ll have Cadence make a zombie army and have them attack you.”
“Could she really make an army?” Graham asked eagerly.
“Yeah, probably.” I admitted, smiling.
Graham looked like he was going to accept, but Eilidh reached over and yanked his hair.
“No.” She said firmly.
Graham laughed sheepishly and nodded. “Yes Ma’am.”
Demetrius snorted, and I giggled. Eilidh shot us a smile before tugging Graham’s hair again.
“Don’t you ever talk about a zombie army again, do you hear me?” She demanded.
“Yes, Ma’am!” Graham said louder.
Demetrius and I burst into laughter. After I recovered from my giggle attack, I asked cheerily, “Is Anastasia cooking?”
“Yep, We caught bear this time.” Demetrius said proudly.
I purred slightly, leaning against his chest. “My hunter.” I murmured softly, stroking his bare chest. (Bare because he refuses to ruin his shirts by hunting).
Demetrius’ heart beat wildly, and I made a sound of amusement. Despite the fact that he had been together for so long, Demetrius’ heart always beat out of control when I touched him.
I rested my head on his chest, breathing a sigh of happiness.
There was a crash, and it happened so quickly.
Anastasia came flying into the living room, Robart following her. The threw a needle at me, which I couldn’t dodge in time. The needle entered my heart, knocking me out instantly.


When I awoke, it was very dark. As soon as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw that Robart had his teeth against a purple dragon’s neck. At first, I couldn’t understand what was happening. But then something took over, and I remembered who that purple dragon was.
I jumped up and threw myself into Robart, knocking him away from Demetrius.
“Hello, Cassandra.” Robart hummed.
He threw me off of him and went to sink his teeth into Demetrius’ neck again.
“No!” I shrieked.
Robart looked at me, amused. Demetrius slowly blinked, transforming into a human again.
“P-peace.” Demetrius rasped.
Robart turned to Demetrius, but looked back at me when I screamed to him.
“Robart, please, don’t kill him.” I begged, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Why shouldn’t I?” He asked in a good-natured voice.
“Because I love him.” I whispered.
Robart laughed and walked over to me, kicking my stomach. He grabbed my hair and yanked my face up.
“I won’t kill him, but you must repeat everything I say, and do everything I tell you to do. Do you promise?” He yanked my head, and I hissed in pain.
“Yes, I promise.” I moaned.
“Then say, Demetrius listen to me.”
I looked at Demetrius, and called, “Demetrius, listen to me.”
He raised his head and gasped, trying to get up to help me.
“Say, Demetrius, stop.”
“Demetrius, stop!” I cried.
He stopped and stared at me oddly.
“Now say, Demetrius, I hate you.”
“Wha?”
“Do it.” Robart hissed.
“Demetrius” The words came out of my mouth, full of pain. “I hate you.”
Demetrius looked at me in confusion, rejecting the words.
“Tell him that you helped me find them.”
“I helped Robart find you all, Demetrius. I was always helping him.”
Demetrius’ obviously believed these words, especially because my tone was cold and harsh.
“I never loved you, you fool. All those promises were lies.” Robart murmured into my ear.
I repeated his words, and cried harder when I saw Demetrius’ eyes. The pain in them was unbearable.
“Now, hug me and say, Let’s go Robart.” The fiend hissed in my ear.
I hugged Robart and whispered, “Let’s go Robart.”
Robart made a strange growling sound and wrapped his arms around me, flying away.

We landed in his room, where he had probably com up with the plan to kill us all. Robart set me on his bed, then leaned down to touch my neck with his robed fingers.
“You are mine.” He hissed.
His land flew down lower and dug into my flesh, pulling my heart out. It beat in his hands, the beat slowly dying as I watched with veiled eyes. He then cut his hidden arm, and allowed his Dark blood to land in the hole where my heart was.
Immense pain filled me, piercing my soul and burning my heart former home.
I felt none of it.
Demetrius’ eyes were still in front of me, the pain in them glowing, the tears continued to fall, and I to wept. I wept for all I had done and all I had lost. And slowly, as the Dark Angel blood finishing changing me, my tears finished falling.
Forever.  

[MADLYALICE]

Demetrius

I feel nothing where my heart lays. It has been three years since my darling Peace left me, and I still feel pain from her betrayal.
No, not betrayal.
I still do not believe that see meant those things. The pain was real then, but what if she was forced to speak those words? She hates Dark Angels.
Or does she?
I continue to walk through the forest, knowing that my siblings will not try and find me. They are used to my wanderings.
I continue to walk, until the sound of snapping branches reaches my ears.
I turn, and gasp.
“You!”


Bjork

I have left the castle to wander on my own. As I walk through the leaves near my former Oregon home, I catch a familiar feeling. I can sense that he is here, and all of my Dark Angel instincts command me to leave.
I ignore them.
Walking forward, I purposely step on a branch in order to alert him to my presence. Looking up, his wide purple eyes stare at me in awe.
“You!” He gasps.
I am silent, unable to move. He reaches out to me, his eyes pleading.
“Love.” He whispers.
I run into his arms, bursting into tears. We sink to our knees, and I feel his hot tears land on my skin. He clutches me frantically, as if he thinks that I will run if he releases me.
“Love.” He says again, kissing me intensely.
I know I must taste strange to him, now that I am no longer human. I kiss him back, pressing my body against his and tangling my hands in his messy hair.
Our tears continue falling, carrying our sadness away. Joy fills the emptiness in both of us.
When he breaks away, I snuggled against him and listen to his heart beat.
“Peace, you must come back home with me.” Demetrius says.
“What?” I look up at him, shocked.
“Please?” He begs.
“No. I cannot.” Even I am shocked by the coldness in my words. I stand up and walk away from him, it is only a few steps, but the pain is returning to his eyes.
“Why?” He asks.
“Because. I am a Dark Angel and you are a Shape Shifter. It would never work.” As I speak, I am vaguely reminded of when Cathy gives her reason of why she cannot marry Heathcliff. I am Cathy, and Heathcliff is in front of me, in pain.
It is a real life Wuthering Heights.
“Then come and visit me, everyday.” Demetrius begs.
“I will try.” I whisper. I turn and fly away, fearful of what will happen if I stay longer.


I am happy, yet afraid.
A year and a half has passed, and happy things have happened. Eilidh and Neka have had a child. The child is male, and his name is Akira, a Japanese name.
I am happy for them, and happy for me.
I have not told Demetrius why, but I told him I had to stop visiting him for a few months. I look at me bed, and smile at the reason.
My daughter, Charlotte, sleeps on my bed. Because she is half shape shifter, she gained a seventeen year old body within three months of her birth. She is a genius, but she never likes to show it. She is very quiet, just like me.
My daughter, Demetrius’ daughter.
I have planned to take her with me to meet Demetrius today. As she awakens, I smile at her and help her out of bed.
“Mother, are we going to see father today?” She asks, looking half asleep.
I nod, and help her into a white long sleeved dress. I wrap my arms around her, and unfurl my wings.
We fly back to my love.



Demetrius

I wait for Bjork, and she does not fail me. I smile largely as my love shows up, looking as glorious as always. As embrace her and cover her with kisses before demanding why it took s long for her to see me again.
“See for yourself.” She murmurs, motioning to a hidden someone.
When the girl first walked out, I thought a Goddess was standing in front of me.
She stood around 5 foot 5, her slightly tanned skin rippling with each tiny movement. A long black and blue braid fell to her knees, a blue ribbon was tied at the end. Her eyes – I noted with surprise, were my eyes. The color was not purple, instead it was ice blue. Yet she also had large black wings, and I heard an accelerated heartbeat coming from her chest.
“Who is she?” I ask.
“Your daughter.” Bjork says proudly. “Her name is Charlotte.”
I am shocked. “Daughter?” I finally whisper.
“Yes.” Bjork responds, “She is half shape shifter and half Dark Angel.”
I am filled with joy, but the joy does not last.
“How beautiful, a family reunion.” I voice that I know all to well sneers.



Bjork


“What are you doing here, Robart?” I snarl.
“I think you know.” He purrs, and I fill with horror.
“Charlotte, run!” I cry.
She turns and runs, transforming into an ice blue dragon and flying away. Demetrius and I turn to face Robart, who sneers at us.
“Are you ready to die?” He asks.
We both attack.
Robart smoothly dodges my blades, and narrowly misses Demetrius’ claws. We press on, and slowly begin to destroy Robart. He is stronger then us, but we are unstoppable together. Even God would fall in front of Demetrius and I.
But something goes horribly wrong. Demetrius raised his claws up to high, and before I could move, Robart was tearing at the flesh over Demetrius’ heart. My love howled in pain, and I screamed, throwing myself at Robart, plunging my blade into his head.
It was to late.
Robart collapsed, dead, and I knelt by Demetrius’ side. He was human again, and I clutched at his face desperately.
“Love, no! Don’t leave me, please!” I beg, tears falling.
He smiles at me, and brushes my hair out of my face with a blood coated hand.
“Don’t worry, sweety, everything will be fine.” He is comforting me!
I cry harder and kiss him strongly, feeling him kiss back. Then I feel nothing. My love has left me.
I clutch his body against my chest and scream my pain to the sky.
“NO! DEMETRIUS!!!!!”
His stone cold body rests limp in my arms, and I feel the need to end my own life.
“Mother?” I look up and see Charlotte.
Standing up, I say softly, “Charlotte, go to the castle near here and introduce yourself as Peace and Demetrius’ daughter.”
“But.”
“GO!” I scream, rage filling my voice.
She scrambles back and then runs, looking horrified. I pick up Demetrius’ body and follow her.





Charlotte


It has been many months since father died. Now, my mother lays on her deathbed. I have not left her side since she became sick, and I have continued to comfort her.
She speaks in her sleep, and usually says, “A real life Wuthering Heights.” Before waking up. Apart from that, she screams and cries and calls for Father. I am at my wits end.
Anastasia says that Father’s death made Mother sick, and I believe that.
Today, I left her bed for one moment. An hour passed, and Anastasia ran to me, her eyes somber.
“Time to say goodbye.” She whispered.
I ran home, and threw myself onto my mother’s bed.
“Mommy, don’t leave me.” I beg, and she smiles weakly.
“I must. Demetrius calls me.” She whispered.
I closed my eyes and rested my head against her chest, holding her hand. Slowly, I could feel her body lose it’s heat. The last breath left her lungs, and she stilled.
“Goodbye Mommy.” I whispered.



The funeral was somber. All of her friend and family gathered for it, and countless tears were shed. She was buried next to Demetrius, and as a tradition, I sang a song after everyone spoke.
“Sakeru koto no dekinai wakare to iu bamen ga
Sono tabi ni watashi wo tsuyoku shite yuku
Ano hi deae nakereba anata wo shira nakatta
Atarimae dakeredo sonna guuzen ga ureshii no
Mou ika nakucha time to say goodbye
Ichiban no egao de
Wakare no kazu dake tsuyoku natte yuku
Hitomi wo tojite itsudemo aeru
Atatakana omoide itsumademo mune no naka
Junsui na kimochi wo omoidasasete kureta egao
Saigo wa kiss de time to say goodbye
Arigatou wo komete
Deaete yokatta mata itsuka aeru
Wasure nai you ni dakishime atte
Hanarete mo mae yori mo anata issho ni iru kara
Ima watashi mae muite aruki daseru yo
Wakare no kazu dake tsuyoku natte yuku
Hitomi wo tojite itsudemo aeru
Saigo wa kiss de time to say goodbye”
As my song finished, more tears fell. Unable to handle the pain, I ran.
I sat on a rock, a few miles away from the funeral.
“Are you okay?” A boy asks.
“Fine.” I say.
He nods and sits next to me, finally saying, “I’m Akira. You must be Charlotte.”
I nod, and he continues.
“I just came back from a trip to Europe. I’m sorry to hear about your mother, but she’s happy now. That is what you want, right?”
I look at him nervously, then nod and smile. “Yes.”
Perhaps life won’t be so hard without Mom. I will always miss her, and father too, but I do believe that if I try, life will not be hard to live.
I lean against Akira gently, getting a gasp of surprise. I smile and close me eyes.
No, life won’t be hard to live at all.

Upon a ridge overlong the ocean, Demetrius sat and waited. His beloved had passed from life to death, and he was nervous to see her.
Soft steps behind him foretold her coming, and Demetrius turned to see the Peace he had always known and loved.
No longer a Dark Angel, Peace’s red eyes glowed with happiness as she launched herself at Demetrius, barely being caught in time.
Lips pressed against lips, gently at first, then rougher and more passionate as they held each other tighter.
Breaking away, Demetrius lay in the grass and cradled Peace against him. Despite the odds, they were together again, and they were happy.
Smiling, he quoted Peace as they both fell asleep.
“Like a real life Wuthering Heights.”

 

[DemonPuppyNinja101]

Wow very long (good thing i'm a quick reader) I love how much detail you put in it. And I alwats like 1st person piont of view better than 3rd.  

[MADLYALICE]

DemonPuppyNinja101

Wow very long (good thing i'm a quick reader) I love how much detail you put in it. And I alwats like 1st person piont of view better than 3rd.

^^ Thank you!
1rst person is my favorite because then I become the characters.
I hope it wasn't to confusing >.<  

[DemonPuppyNinja101]

Falling Butterflies

DemonPuppyNinja101

Wow very long (good thing i'm a quick reader) I love how much detail you put in it. And I alwats like 1st person piont of view better than 3rd.

^^ Thank you!
1rst person is my favorite because then I become the characters.
I hope it wasn't to confusing >.<

Only part I didn't get was the very last parigraf in itlic (me no care if me spells it wrongs so deals with it =P)  

[MADLYALICE]

That was in Heaven, where Demetrius was waiting for Peace after she died.  

[DemonPuppyNinja101]

Falling Butterflies

That was in Heaven, where Demetrius was waiting for Peace after she died.

oh ok. sweatdrop