We have always been different… always had that secret. It has never been difficult to pretend the three of us are normal. The hardest thing is to hide what we can do, from people who’s minds had become too inquisitive. I can remember the day it began, well the day everything changed at least, when everthing was thrown up in the air like the spray from crashing waves. there was a man was hunting, his heavy boot crashed through the leaves littering the floor of autum. The three of us were laughing at his attempts. How could he even contemplate catching a single thing making as much noise as he was?
We tried ever so hard to hold back the giggles as he didn't notice the movement in the trees. This had become a regular occurrence over the last few years. But something different about today... very different. I wasn't inclined to bring about the bad weather I favored so much, I wanted to leave the sky clear and blue, not clouded and dark. This struck me by suprise, Harry and Belle, my brother and sister loved the sun, the warn golden rays stroking their skin, myself on the other hand was not so ammused by it, I liked the cold droplets that fell from the sky at my control. So the fact that I didnt want to make it cloudy and rain was rather odd.
Harry, Belle and myself had always tried to keep ourselves hidden in fog, if someone was close I would creat a blanket of fog, fearibng bad weather the mortal would turn and walk away. As our aging progressed, it was harder to conceal ourselves in the woods, where we had been for as long as any of us could remember. The three off us had reached the impressive age of one hundred and seventy, barley seventeen to mortal eyes, so we had all had wnoug time to find our ‘gifts’, perfect and control them, just the way we wanted to.
We had got used to being on our own, no parents nor family, just each other, but thats how we liked it. Yet this day...today we all agreed somthing was pulling us out of the shadows towards the hunter. He didn't seem like a hunter anymore. Somehow, he seemed the same as us! Soft, eligant, features, bold eyes, of a rich emerald. We all stared hard, especially myself; glaring through his thoughts telling Harry and Belle of secrets he held and bewilderment he felt. The only thing i could seem to get a grasp on was his justified paranoia thinking ‘there is someone else here I can feel it, someones watching me’.
Silently we talked to each other through our minds links, this being one of the many reasons we had concealed ourselves so well in the wood, was there being no reason for verbal conversations.
“Belle,” I snapped her out of her daydream, “Do we need to be ready for a fight? Does he put us at risk in the future” In an instant she was focused, blank eyes staring. There must have been a few uncomfortable moments for her as every so often she winced or gasped.
“I don’t think we need to worry. He’s only a boy but he seems to be a servant to his own family, still . . . fairly nice though, unhappy but nice.” She had always been naïve, far too trusting for her own good, putting us all at risk for the simple point that she thought that she was right.
Both Harry and I looked eagerly at our sister, awaiting the news that would make up our minds as to whether or not we inducted ourselves into the human world. Again the slow, almost painful minutes ticked by as we watched her blank expression; she was more careful to hide any emotion until her short, sharp intake of breath proved that something had to be wrong. I knew it! I was always right and there was no way that I was going to let she surrender us to them willingly.
“He takes us in. We finally have a home!” again her naivety was shocking; she didn’t even know the man and was already planning OUR future with this person. “But there’s a problem He’s going to . . . to . . . die!” her eyes filled with tears for a man she was yet to know.
“Belle,” Harry tried to comfort her as the visible tears were pricking her eyes, he failed, “listen love, as your brother it’s my duty to tell you to . . . GET A GRIP!!!” with a hand on each shoulder he shook her like a rag doll back and forth. “I bet he’s gonna be old anyway.” Belle stuck out her tongue like an obnoxious five year old and continued argued her case.
“He’s younger than us!” she yelled at Harry. It was another petty argument and Harry was right so I just ignore them, and climbed back up my tree and sat perched on the edge of a branch to watch.
“Yes well c’mon it’s not hard to be younger than us” Harry giggled.
“I know! That doesn’t make any difference to my prediction. You would both love him if you just trusted me for once! You say you’d never bet against me so what’s changed?” Her eyes were wide, almost frightened with tears glistening as they rolled down her cheeks. The guilt hit Harry.
“Nothing’s changed; we’re still together aren’t we? We aren’t trying to go against you; we just want you to think before you act for once, I’m sure we’ve had this conversation before.” Harry had to make her think of what she would do to us if we changed now, what would happen if things went wrong. “And you! Come down from that tree! You are hardly helping my ‘we are all together’ thing are you?”
“Fine” I sulked and slid off the branch and landed softly on the floor with a bounce.
“Yeah Belle, it’s not that we don’t trust you, we don’t trust them.” Harry looked at the mortal through hard eyes.
“Right, Harry. He’s a hunter, or so we think, so you can be our crash test dummy to see if he can help.” Harry’s face started of with mild confusion and as she finished it turned into pure horror. Belle let out a loud giggle. Both Harry and I covered her mouth and dragged her further back into the shadows. Busted!
We waited silently, knowing what was coming for us. I kept my mind fixed on him. We could all feel his footsteps vibrating off the soft moss as he got too close for comfort. The blinding light nearly let our secret slip but the trees slipped back into their protective shell around us.
That was too close! My voice echoed in my head, on edge and scared for our safety. “You know what the sun does! He nearly learnt too much and I don’t want to make Belle’s prediction come true too early!” The sun was bad for me; I am a person who has always burnt in the sun, and when I say burn I meant burnt down, everything near, caused fires. To Harry and Belle the heat didn’t matter, they are hot blooded but have their weaknesses, just as dangerous as mine. But it wasn’t theirs that had chosen to show it’s self. If I was to get to hot a fire would burn in my eyes, everywhere I looked would burn, bursting into flames as fire would rage, engulfing the comforting wood that had kept us safe for one hundred and seventy years, the place that we called home. Harry and Belle knew what was going to happen. I could hear them talking. Harry’s adamant and protective demands were deafening out Belle’s insecure panic stricken words. “We have to cool her down! If she gets to hot you know what will happen Belle!” Harry’s thoughts echoed with commands. “But what if he see’s? What if he finds out what we can do? What if . . .” Belle’s panic was cut short and Harry yelled at her in his head “shut up with your ‘what if’s! I’ll tell you one what if we don’t cool her down and she burn the woods, killing that hunter, the one we’re meant to live with, well that’s what you said isn’t it? The woods are our home. Belle you can’t be thinking about not doing it! You said you saw us living with him he takes us in; he can’t do that if he’s dead...burnt alive because you didn’t want to get caught! We have to she’s our sister!” Belle turned her head down, upset that she had angered Harry, embarrassed that she had lost her fight.
“I feel it, that fire” I cried out to their minds hoping they would hear.
“Look Belle I don’t care I don’t need you to do it I can do it on my own!” Harry screamed at her mind. They dragged me further away from the hunter Harry had one of his hands over my eyes. What I couldn’t see I couldn’t burn.
They let me go behind a fallen tree where I couldn’t be seen, Harry took his hands off my eyes. I couldn’t hold it anymore; the fire ripped through me, I screamed, my eyes opened the fire burning deep. My eyes ice blue now blood red. Belle panicked I could hear her thoughts none of which concerned with how I was ‘What if he heard her scream, what if he comes looking for where it came from . . . No. . . . Harry what if he sees him I have to stop him’
“NO!” she screamed out at Harry. He turned back glaring at “And you think you screaming at me to stop won’t tell him where we are . . . No? I don’t care if you want me to stop, I’m going to save our home and our sister whether you help or not!” he was too angered to think his words now, so just hissed them at her.
Once the fire had me I was at its mercy. Nothing went un-burnt but I liked it the power . . . the thrill . . . the fun. I wasn’t in pain I could talk I was me just darker and more flaming. I held my eyes shut tight Harry was thinking hard ‘Ok. So I’ll just hold her hand and think ‘cold’ she warms me up while I cool her down. That fine me and Belle yeah we like the heat. It’s just Alice who likes to be different. Ha-ha I bet your listening” I moved my head, so, if open my eyes would have been looking straight at him; a smile grew across my face as I nodded. “Ha-ha so we can all hear each others thoughts but Belle and me can turn it off and you, you just read minds permanently, oh that must be fun.” My smile widened making him laugh.
“I was right wasn’t I? I mean hold your hand and think cold, you make me hot I freeze you yeah?” Harry asked worried that he would get it wrong. I nodded, “yes” left my lips before I could stop it. The “s” slipped out with a spark. I raised my hand to cover my mouth. “Hurry this is to dangerous” I thought to him. He grabbed my hand. As I watched his thoughts of polar bears sliding over huge ice chunks floating on the freezing water. I was soon freezing cold, the fire had burnt out. I opened my eyes and smiled at my brother.
“Thanks, you always know how to cool me down . . . in a funny way” the smile continued to grow across my face.
I soon remembered Belle’s thoughts, I was bitter from her only worrying about being seen, rather than saving me, her sister. I knew she was only trying to help by not getting us caught, but surely if she had seen us living and ‘loving’ the hunter surely he was going to find us and take us home. I stood up so I was prepared for the row forthcoming with Belle. She knew I could hear what she was thinking, so she had begun pleading her apology franticly. I shot her a glare, her eyes evading mine. “IM SORRY” she screamed I stared at her with my cold blue eyes; they had a way of getting people to talk. I was surprise how loud she had said it since she was just minutes ago saying that we should be quiet so the man couldn’t hear us. My eyes moved across to Harry as his thoughts rumbled over in my head, “don’t go to hard on her Al she was just trying to help and I really don’t want you two to have a row I mean it’s never straight forward yelling, you always bring huge vines out the ground and tangle Belle all up she screams and you, you then avoid the chunk of rock she materialised in her hands then you throw chucks of heaving ice at her that you have materialised in your hands god! It’s never easy with you two is it?” I laughed at what he had thought, he used sarcasm, my pet name Ali whenever he was trying to get me to do anything, he knew the normal “don’t do that . . . don’t do this . . . blah . . . blah . . . blah” would never work on me. My laugh angered Belle even more I could hear her script rolling through her head about what she was going to say to me.
Finally she spoke “ALICE! Look at me!” she demanded I look at Harry and he smiled,
“Ooooh, you really made her mad this time Al! Try to keep it cool and calm” he thought.
“ALICE!” her voice echoed again. I turned myself to her
“Look I don’t think you was fair to say we should be quiet so he doesn’t hear us when I’m burning with the risk of burning down our home where we have lived for 170 years and now and your making all the noise possible. How can you have such double standards?” my voice became more agitated and angered as the word feel out of my mouth.
“Oh you think you so special having everyone fall all over you, just because you burn and turn into a fire when the sun heats you up!” she raised her right hand as if holding something I knew what was coming “you think you’re so special Alice, newsflash...you’re not! ARGH!!!” she screamed out in anger throwing her arm in my direction and with it came a huge rock clipping my eyebrow and I turned sideways. I turned slowly back to her “oh you did not just do that” I glared at her again from my eye no longer a cool blue now to a raging blood red. I wiped my hand across my eyebrow and looked at the blood that marked my hand.
I put my arm out in front of me raising them so they were at the same height as my shoulders, my palms facing the ground I was staring at the floor, my head didn’t move but my eyes rose up to meet hers. I flicked my fingers up towards her; two great trees grew from the ground. The branches twisted their way round her. One bound around her legs, the other around her wrist so she could not inflicted her powers on me anymore. I span round trying to find Harry but he was nowhere to be seen. I narrowed in on his thoughts until I found where he was. I paced forwards and found him behind a fallen tree.
“When you two row you scare even the Gods!” he said chuckling at his own words “I hope I just don’t get into a row with either of you two, ever!”
“Oh Harry” I placed one hand on my hip and lent forward so I was looking down on him. “We are the Gods, so your statement that we scar the Gods is partly true since Belle and I scare the life out of you”
“Oh, Ha-ha Alice very funny, Belle you were being a bit unfair” he said trying not to anger her anymore even though she was still held by the trees.
“Let me down” she cried
“Not until you calm down” I answered.
“Ok fine, Alice I’m . . . sorry” Belle reluctantly apologised.
“It’s ok but we need to stop fighting if we’re going to be living with the mortals not that I can see it working out well, I mean we can’t die so someone’s gonna guess when we don’t age for 100 years what are we going to say?” She was much like the little sister sweet and naive but had a temper in her, but she was caring, occasionally.
Hearing the outburst we obviously startled the hunter thinking he was alone, I could hear his bewildered thoughts trying to explain the occurrence.
“Oh don’t be silly, there can’t be anyone out here...can there? Dude be a man lets go and check it out!” I heard his thoughts trying to be brave the truth. His heavy feet just as before crashed through the littered leaves.
By now Belle had clocked on to him walking towards us, we had heightened sense, and the noise of his now light foot steps sounded like heavy stomps just next to us.
“Can we go with him yet?” Belle’s sarcastic anger was so obvious among her thoughts.
“I have already said no, I’m not going with him! We know nothing about him, or what people would do if the ever find out. I have already said people would be inquisitive when hundreds of years go past and we still don’t die, OR AGE” my thoughts were now impatient and angry at Belles persistence.
“Please can we not get into this again” Harry’s brotherly sarcasm broke the tension.
“You only ever think about yourself, and what you want, never what Harry or I want. You’re cold and heartless Alice.” With her words completed. Belle turned around and ran away, so fast the trees were uprooted by the wind she took with her.
“An icy gift for an icy heart” Belle said under her breath. A shard of ice, clean cut like and icicle was heading towards me, I had seen her plan and the result she was hoping for in her mind as she ran. I turned around and grabbed the iced, mid air.
“You forget Belle, you can turn off your telepathy so you can’t hear Harry or I, but me I can hear all thoughts all the time. Next time don’t make a plan, or at least don’t think about it before hand. That way you might actually achieve what you want!” I looked at Harry as I stabbed the ground with the icicle.
“How can she say I don’t think of you two, I mean that’s the only thing I’m worried about!” I said to Harry frustrate at her allegation. “Do you think she is right?”
“Yeah . . . I am not going to answer that one thank you very much” Harry answered sarcastically once again.
“And why not?” I bellowed back at him, my emotions toying with the weather as usual. The sky grew dark and a fierce and cold wind wiped around the forest. Against the dark sky the trees seemed to look far greener, brighter than before.
“Because if I say she isn’t right you will be happy that I agree with you and she will be mad, and most probably try and kill me and if I say you are wrong she will be happy but you will, try and kill me. To be quite frank I’m not sure what one I am most scared off!” his answer was trying to make me laugh through his bewilderment. His simple mind was still confused and why Belle and I were still arguing. He could never work out any of the reasons for our countless rows, I think we were just so opposite and just didn’t agree but if we had to we would and will do anything to keep each other safe and would kill for each other willingly.
“Belle, come back” I whispered in to the wind, and blew it along her trail of devastation.
Harry and I sat down waiting for her to return, and began talking.
“You would think she would be a bit more discrete about what we can do. She keeps telling you to make it less obvious. Then of she goes throwing huge icicles at you . . . In the middle of summer. I mean hello it’s that not just a little bit suspicious.” Harry piped up; moving his arms to his words trying to make his point more obvious.
“What is it with you and your arms; you look like a bloody string puppet” I added laughing “sorry it had to be said. Although I do know what you mean, if I can’t show off my powers of weather control and pretty much control of everything and anything then neither should she!”
“What!” her voice sounded from behind me, as though in much disgust with my demand for to return.
“Decide to come back did we?” I hissed coldly, not turning so my face didn’t give me away.
“You sound disappointed sis” she retaliated with enough sarcasm to rival Harry’s
“Don’t you dare turn this one out on me! You were the one who had her little temper tantrum when you didn’t get your own way.” I was deliberately picking a fight now, if I could stall her for long enough she might think about some of the consequences that come from her actions.
“I am doing, and have done nothing!” The steely edge to her voice was crystal clear. I had to laugh; she shot me a glare which Harry caught.
“Don’t you two start again I really can’t be bothered with it. And we have to decide what we’re going to do about that hunter”
“Harry I have already told you what is going to be done and we have to do that. It is not rocket science.” Belle made extra effort to direct the majority of her words at me, thinking foolishly that it might just sway me. Yeah right well I guess people can hope.
“Belle, how many more times? It isn’t safe for us to be out of the woods, it isn’t safe for us to be around the mortals. It just isn’t safe!” I knew what I wanted and if I had to trample on a few toes that was fine by me. I was not backing down that easily.
“Alice, you were the one who always wanted a family. You were the one who wanted to know what it was like to live with them!” again her persistence was futile.
“Will you two just shut up?” I was shocked at his sudden outburst. He had never been that demanding with us, I was always the one demanding things and 9 out of 10 times I got them.
“Fine then you choose should we stay here or leave?” My voice and Belle’s echoed in his ears simultaneously.
“Finally you agree on something! I’m all for a bit of sightseeing, and I’ve heard there’s some hot chick’s as well.” This was bizarre I wasn’t getting what I wanted. I was now on my way to a place I didn’t want to go to, I felt like they were dragging me in further.
I turned and saw them standing all ready to leave, to throw ourselves upon those mortals we didn’t know and who didn’t understand us and the power we held.
“So I guess I’m going then, whether I like it or not?” I scowled at them both, irritated that I hadn’t got my own way.
“I guess you are Alice” Harry replied trying not to sound too pleased with him.
“Oh shut up Harry, you will both be sorry when it all goes wrong and people find out about us” thunder clapped joined by a streak of lightning bright enough to rival the sun against the black stormy sky, as I shouted at him.
“Alright Alice calm down, I was enjoying the sun thought I might have got a tan” a laugh broke through with his words.
“Don’t mock me Harry. You are neither funny nor clever.” I hissed at him.
“Were are going and everything will be ok I have seen it. So let’s go!” Belle bellowed from along the trail, egger to leave.
“Fine but when something goes wrong I am going to say ‘I told you so’” I replied. I knew I was right Belle thought everything was set in stone but she was wrong.
By the time I had finished my sentence Belle had already set off again. By now all I could see of her was her curly black hair just resting on her shoulders.
“Come on! Harry grabbed my arm and pulled me as he was jogging towards Belle. “Wait for us Belle”. Harry’s immense strength was something I couldn’t compete with no matter how much power I had.
Soon enough we had caught up with her. She was standing still in a small clearing, we knew that the hunter had changed course. I could vaguely here is thoughts somewhere in the forest but I couldn’t pin him down...not exactly anyway.
“What’s he thinking AL?” Harry’s words were filled with curiosity and excitement.
“If you want to know then please hush. He isn’t that close so it’s a bit hard to hear.” I replied shooting him a glare.
“Well sorry . . . but if we are going to be living with him then I want to know what he likes. See if we have anything in common.”
“Well at the moment he has given up on looking for us because he found a dear. Thought it would make a good meal. So I would say that...yeah you have quite a lot in common, you both like FOOD!” I giggled through my irritation. “Give me a minute I will see if I can hear better” I walked forward “no, no that isn’t any better.” so I turned and paced to the left “ah now that’s better, much, much better.” I was mumbling to myself.
“She’s off again Belle” Harry chuckled.
“I don’t care Harry I just want to find him and she is taking too long if it gets dark he is going to leave, and I want to go with him....tonight!” Belle replied bitterness to her voice.
“Alice you have anything more?” Harry whispered sounding less excited. I could feel his breath on my neck as he was looking over my shoulder. It was as if he thought that maybe if he stood close enough, he would be able to hear what I herd. I looked up at him.
“That isn’t going to work you know?” I whispered to him.
“I was just trying, you don’t seem to be telling me much” his voice trailed off sounding defeated but his thought kept on rolling over and took a large step backwards. “Ali you can tell me I won’t get mad you know that. I can understand you not wanting to say anything to Mrs impatient naivety over that but me... I’m you big brother.”
“It’s no use Harry, I can’t hear him” I now sounded just as defeated as him if not more.
“Is it me am I being too loud? Because if I am you know you can just tell me to shut up”
“No its not you Harry he is silent. He isn’t thinking about anything or he might just be too far away now but I can’t find his thoughts. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry Ali, we always have me don’t we?” Harry sounded smug that I was finally asking for his help as it didn’t happen that often. Before I had a chance to say anything he was a wolf. Marbled fur a mix of pale grey and brown resting on his muscular body.
“Go on boy” I mocked him; with a smile “go on boy find his smell, go on, track us a mortal” I laughed. Even as a wolf he had the same mind with the same though it was a good thing about his shape-shifting I would always be able to know what he was thinking or what he could see.
“Ha-ha very funny Al, c’mon I think he went this way” He walked further away from us in a lurch his nose pressed against the wet earth. “Darn I lost him what was he doing how can someone’s sent just disappear. How can that happen?” he sounded so confused, I had never known him to lose a smell before.
“Wait Harry” I ran over to him “maybe if we stay together I can see if his thoughts get louder. That way he his thoughts do get louder I can give you a direction.”
“If we are going to stay together go and get Belle. I know how annoying she is but she means well. She just wants a home I think she’s bored of the forest. Go on I will keep tracking. I’ll go slowly so I will be easy to catch up with if you can see him just run that is fast enough your saw what Belle did to them trees.” His thoughts sounded so withdrawn as if felt he was losing his talent of tracking.
I stalked off back towards Belle, her black her was so easy to see against the green.
“Belle. Belle. C’mon Harry thinks he can smell him, he’s tracking him now.” I called to her. To my surprised when she turned around to meet my gaze I caught the slight glimmer of tears on her cheeks.
“What’s wrong?” I sighed “I thought you wanted this”
“I do but . . . I’m not sure . . . ” she had the same tone lining her voice just as Harry did as if she also thought that she was losing her talent on seeing through the future and past.
“Not sure of what exactly” I was trying to reassure her with questions. I didn’t know what to do.
“What I saw, of him, the part where he dies.” She sounded ever so confused I still didn’t quite understand what she meant.
“But he has to die Belle he isn’t... well he isn’t like us. He is just a mortal he has to die”
“No Alice. That’s not what I meant.” She chuckled obviously finding my confusion amusing. “I mean of course he does die but not-naturally, I think someone kills him. I think he gets murdered.” He voice began to trail off at the end.
“Oh. Well that’s all the more reason for you and Harry to drag me upon the mortal world so we can protect him” I nudged her with my elbow trying to get a laugh out of her. “C’mon if we go before dark we can make a firm ground before tomorrow, settle in and stuff. And belle remember your visions aren’t set in stone they can change”
“I guess. Your right we can protect him against whatever comes for him” she sounded a bit more positive. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards Harry.
He was further away than I thought he would be. So I picked up my pace and began to run still holding onto Belle’s wrist, she was more contempt with speeding up with me. We began a sprint and were back beside him in a matter of seconds.
“Found him Al. He’s braver than we thought-picking a fight with a wolf” Harry’s thoughts were screaming out to me. He was in clearing not too far from us now crouched down in a fighting stance. His lip was pulled back over his razor teeth. A terrifying growl rolled up from his chest and spit out though his teeth. He was circling the hunter just the same as the hunter was circling him. His huge paws denting the ground as he snarled.
“No!” I screamed at the hunter as Belle and I erupted from the edge of the forest into the clearing. “You can’t kill that wolf”
“Nice Ali, now I am just a wolf, no longer your brother. I am truly hurt” his thoughts were as sarcastic as I thought they would be. I shot him a glare
“Shut up Harry, you know he can’t find out that my brother is in a fighting stance crouched down ready to fight and...Oh yeah that he is a wolf!” I returned his thoughts.
“W . . . w . . . w . . . w . . . what” the hunters voice stuttered with shock. Although he struggled to grasp some concept of how strangely two girls were in a forest alone while a wolf larger than any wolf known to man was in a forest that had never been inhabited by wolves before. His voice sounded soft and comforting.
“I apologise if my sister startle you sir, but she is right you can’t kill that wolf” Belle said, trying to keep her voice calm even though the hunter had a gun pointed at my brother.
“But . . . but it’s going to attack us. Stay back I will protect you” his voice sounded braver as he finished his sentence.
“I am sorry but I can’t let you do that” I was adamant that my brother was not going to be shot
“But . . . but-” he tried to talk but Belle cut him off mid sentence.
“No” she bellowed as she walked in front in Harry’s wolf self blocking the hunter’s line of fire. “If you want to kill him you will have to kill me first” Harry as a wolf was much taller than a normal wolf as he stood behind Belle her head was level with his waist even as he was crouched down. The bewilderment that crossed the hunters face made me chuckle.
“What is so funny about a giant wolf that is going to attack me yet two girls have stopped me?” the hunter sounded annoyed.
“I . . . we are sorry for the inconvenience sir but you will be ok and so will we.” I tried to calm him with a soft and gentle voice. I stepped towards him and put my hand on his shoulder. “You have no reason to be afraid of that wolf I am sure it will not harm you or us” Harry still growled and pulled his lip further over his teeth making him look even more menacing.
“How can you be sure of that?”
“I don’t know I just am” I put my hand on his cheek and turned his head towards me. He was unfocused so didn’t see the wolf run off. Within a few minutes Harry came jogging towards us back to a normal human appearance.
“Hey, sisters did I miss anything?” he looked at the hunter and grinned much like a child that knew he had done something wrong but wasn’t going to admit it.
I took my hand away from the hunter and giggled. He was thinking about Belle and I. How beautiful we were yet how different we looked for sisters. “How can the black haired girl look like she has been in the sun too long and tanned, yet this one be so pale with blonde? Nether of their eyes are remotely the same colour. One has brown eyes and this one has ice blue eyes. Yet they are both so beautiful?”
“Do you know of anywhere that we could stay sir, we got lost when we were passing through this forest?” Belle was good at being believable.
“Err...well I know of one place.”
“Were?” Belle answered sounding slightly too enthusiastic.
“Well with my family, well actually it’s just me. I mean they are never there and it is a huge house” he sounded egger to please.
“If that wouldn’t be a problem for you to cater for 3 extra people we would be very grateful” I said trying to keep myself calm I knew that if I spoke before Belle there was less chance of him being scared off. I could tell that she was going to be over excited and high pitched. Her eyes grew wide at his offer and the she shot a glace towards Harry and I. “I told you so” she thought mockingly to Harry and I.
“Well it’s this way, not too far from here” he walked off towards the west through the clearing and back into denser part of the forest.
There wasn’t much of a conversation between us and the hunter. The three off us kept talking through our minds not to give what we could do away. Belle kept saying how she was right and that we should have believed her faster all the while Harry was making faces to me to what he was hearing from Belle. We came to a road on the furthest outskirts of the forest. The hunter still kept his walk at a steady pace in front of us and walked down a small slope and across the road into a village. He continued to walk in the direction of a huge house I saw his lips move as if he was talking to someone. He turned his head to look behind him. A look of shock pasted over his face.
“Where did they go? Oh no I lost the already” I chuckled obviously louder than I had before because I saw his eyes move up and see us standing at the edge of the forest still.
He jogged towards us his gun wobbling hung across his chest by a piece of cotton strap. It swung from side to side with each bouncing foot step it wasn’t long before he was standing front of us his look of bewilderment that crossed the hunters face once more made me chuckle.
“I am sorry, is there something wrong?” he asked politely but puzzled. What was I going to say ‘sorry but we have lived in this forest for one hundred and seventy years and are having a problem with putting ourselves on where you live’ that hardly seemed the way to keep our secret exactly that...a secret.
“Ermm... no we just, err...haven’t been here before” before I had a chance to speak Belle had burst out trying to give us a reason for him to still want to take us with him. “We don’t like being in new places it’s just something we don’t like. Sorry”
“Don’t be sorry. I can understand what you mean but don’t worry there is no one home at the moment so it will just be the four of us. My family have gone away to do something. They never tell me where the off to but I know they won’t be back for about six months that should be enough time for you all to settle in and get some jobs and maybe we could all chip in if it goes well and buy a small house to get away ha-ha” his voice was soft and cheerful “sorry I’m thinking out loud”
“Ok, we will go with you” Belle said still anxious. She stepped forwards taking a deep breath in. As her foot touched the ground she breathed out and turned to look at Harry and I. “it’s not as bad as we think Al. Just try it. Its just one foot step” I knew what she was thinking, and I knew she was right.
“C’mon bro we can do this” I whispered lightly to Harry. We both did the same as Belle and stepped forward taking a deep breath and stepping out onto the road, permanently forcing ourselves upon the mortal world. There was no going back now, this was it the last time we would go unknown.
The first step was the hardest but from that we felt more at ease. So we followed the hunter. He fell silent once again and the conversation was lost, but his thoughts were all over the place. I found it hard to follow a single one. As soon as he thought about something that I might have been able to listen to he darted off to thinking about something else. We passed through the small village quietly a saw a few people looking at us Belle moved her head so she was looking at the ground. Trying to hide her face she shook her head slightly and thick curly black her fell forwards making a type of wall between her and the population of the village. On the other hand there was Harry. He seemed to be enjoying the attention, he was standing tall his chin pushed out making his already square jaw line look more prominent. The sun glinted from the sky, without my complete knowledge I must have cheered up slightly as the clouds had faded away and the sun was glinting off the tops of the trees. I just skipped forwards lightly on my toes so that I was standing next to the hunter who’s name I still hadn’t grasped.
“Hello” I said cheerfully leaning my head in towards him just so I could see his face. I had my hands locked together by the fingers behind my back.
“Oh hello, I didn’t notice you coming up, you’re very quiet” his reply sounded intrigued as a laugh broke through along with his words.
“I know.” I whispered to him “It’s just one of my many skills” I answered I couldn’t help but let out a proud smile. I glanced back to see if Harry had wondered of to talk to the towns female occupants, but he was still in his place about four strides behind the hunter and I next to Belle.
“I guess you have many skills then if being quiet and cat like is one of many then” he chuckled.
“Cat like? I have never heard anyone call me that before.” I was a bit confused.
“Sorry, did I offend you? I didn’t mean to I’m sorry I just meant like that you’re light on your feet and have soft features sweet looking lips and you have a slight body frame, and your eyes, their so big and blue, ice blue” His words trailed off and thought splayed out again. “And your skin it’s so pale it looks like ivory, it looks so much different to your brother and sister they both look . . . well tanned and . . . You’re . . . not. Sorry I don’t mean to be rude I’m just curious.”
“Stop saying sorry, it doesn’t bother me. The cat thing is kind of cool I like it. And yes my skin is very pale; you see I don’t like the sun very much. And my brother and sisters skin is warm and soft whereas mine is cold and not as soft.” I liked talking to him it was nice having someone different to talk to I mean one hundred and seventy years talking to Belle and Harry was a bit dull there wasn’t very much to talk about.
“Oh, why don’t you like the sun? It’s quite strange really I don’t like it either, makes me too stuffy and uncomfortable but I’m a man so most things make us stuff and uncomfortable.” He was smiling; his smile could be easily seen in his brilliant emerald eyes that were not hard to get lost in.
“Oh err...”I couldn’t think of a reason why I hated the sun other than if I got to hot I became an inferno and everything I looked at went up in flames. So I settled for the simple “It’s a long story ha-ha” I smiled back at him “you have lovely eyes nice and bright” I was intrigued. I had never now a mortal to have eyes like it.
“Thanks” he sounded confused “have you never used a mirror?” his voice was mocking but in a nice way.
“What do you mean? Have I ever used a mirror?”
“I mean how can you say that my eyes are lovely when I can’t even think of words that would even begin to comprehend the beauty of yours” a light blush filled his cheeks. “I can’t believe you just said that to her, you stupid, stupid man! How can you even begin to try and flirt with her? She is far too good for you she is far too beautiful. You are such an idiot, stupid, stupid, stupid!” his thoughts made me uncomfortable, not because they were sweet and he was thinking them about me but because he was saying e was worth me a silly girl who wasn’t even human.
“Thank you but you don’t have to be so modest”
“What do you mean you do have beautiful eyes?” I felt compelled to give him the same reply that he had already give me “Have you ever used a mirror?”
“You are very beautiful though, you look like you fell straight from the sky as if from heaven.” His voice ended but his thought continued. I couldn’t help but listen to them. “You digging yourself a very big hole mate and you’re jumping willingly into it. It’s not a good place to be!”
“Thank you. You are also handsome. Pleasing to my eyes” I had to look away I sounded very silly. ‘Pleasing to my eyes’ was I suddenly a high class woman trying to force a date from a man.
“I am glad that you think so” his soft cheeks were filled with blood the pink blush had warmed them. “Can I ask you something? Don’t be affined you don’t have to say yes” I could already see what he was planning
“Can I touch your skin? I just want to see if it is as cold and hard as you say”
“Sure, I don’t mind” I stopped and turned by body so that I was facing him and he did the same. I closed my eyes and held out my hand for him to touch. He picked his hand up from beside him and reached it out, and pushed my hand away from him.
“I don’t want to feel your hand” he voice was sweet and even. I opened my eyes to see his hand next to my cheek. His forefinger reached it first, I felt him flinch back from the cold. Within moment his hand as completely resting on my cheek curved to fit it. I moved my eyes so I wasn’t looking in his anymore and I was now staring at the dusty floor. “Her skin is so soft and cold but hard at the same time. How is that possible? I want to try her lips, see what they feel like” I felt his hand move along my jawbone until all but his forefinger was still on my skin. He ran his finger over my lips and then traced the outline of them, like an artist making a painting.
I heard someone laughing loudly so I pulled away from his hand and turned around.
“Sorry did I hurt you?”
“No, don’t worry” I turned around and saw Belle looking at me with eyes I couldn’t describe. She looked very angry but I couldn’t tell why. The laugh bellowed again and this time I recognised it, I turned round and say Harry talking to three girls. My eyes narrowed, I stared at him fuming with anger.
“Is something the matter? You don’t look very happy” the hunters comforting voice had returned. He had one of his hands on my arm.
“Oh, no it’s just Harry. I won’t be a minute” I turned around and started to walk towards Harry with a cold glare filling my face.
Some of the girls were laughing. I heard the tallest one say “Ha-ha who’s the angry girl then?” she had long blonde hair and rosy cheeks. Her voice was followed by another’s. It was the voice of a shorter plumper girl, with black hair that looked like wire nothing like Belles soft and bouncy curls.
“Did we steal her boyfriend?” the shorter girl and begun to snigger. Her laugh sounded like a pigs grunt than a humans laugh.
“Sorry Ali, I just...just got a bit distracted” Harry’s voice was stuttering in panic. My eyes shot up to meet his.
“Well next time don’t!” I was trying hard to keep my tone calm and even but the irritation found a way of creepy though with my words. “Some brother you are” I muttered to myself.
“I’m sorry Ali, really sorry” Harry’s voice was panicking. He knew that when we were out of sight from the mortals I was going to moan in a way I knew best using my skills to make him pay.
“Move, now!” I lifted my hand so I was pointing back and the hunter. The thunder clapped above as the dark clouds lit up with each electric fork of lightning.
“Is this big strong man scared of a little girl?” the taller girl’s voice was bitter and sarcastic, whilst the short girl was sniggering again.
“You don’t know her like I do” Harry’s voice sounded defeated. He dropped his head over so he was looking at the floor and curled his big shoulders over and begun to walk towards the hunter and Belle. I heard her voice whisper to Harry.
“You’re in trouble” she started laughing.
“I know” he looked at her and made a comical sad face trying to hold his laugh in.
I skipped of back towards the hunter who was standing still looking at me.
“What” I asked confused “Why are you watching me?” a slight smile had began to pull up at each corner of my mouth as I reached him.
“You skip?” he giggled
“What’s wrong with skipping exactly?”
“No, nothing just...makes you look more cat like” his face was filled with a warm smile.
“Oh, well it’s faster than walking and more dainty that running”
“I think someone’s found a new friend” Harry had whispered to Belle, low enough for the mortals not to here but not low enough so that I couldn’t hear. I glared back and him with narrowed eyes.
Belle seemed more comfortable that she had at first because she had lifter her head so she was looking straight on and her wall of hair was thrown back over her shoulders.
“Just be blunt if you want to find out just ask her, I am sure she won’t eat you, so go on just ask her what her name is” I got the impression that in his thoughts the hunter was a more persistent and brave character but when he spoke he sounded shy. “So....what’s . . .”
“Alice, we travel around a lot” I had forgotten my place and that I was with mortals now. I jumped in saying my name and where we lived before he had finished his sentence asking me his questions.
“How did you know what I was going to say” I watched his face as it looked as if a cloud of confused smoke passed over it.
“Lucky guess?”
“Well Alice is a nice name”
“I know”
He laughed at my certainty “And the others?”
“Oh, well the big guy that is Harry and the girl is Belle we are brother and sisters, I want to ask you something ok?”
“Sure”
“How old are you? I mean you don’t look much older than us”
“Nineteen”
“Well were here now” He was staring up at two iron gates. He raised both his arms and pushed them open. Before we had a chance to walk through them and up the long driveway leading up to the house Harry was memorizer by the huge house and walked into me as if I wasn’t there and didn’t stop walking. His muscled chest pushed into my back through his top and knocked me clean off my feet. Before I hit the floor or had even moved 2 inches forwards, closer to the ground, my whole body was stopped by the hunter’s cold hands gripping my shoulder. His reaction was faster than the reaction should have been for any un-special mortal.
“Instinct . . . I guess . . . sorry” he stumbled over his words trying to explain away the incident. Ever more his thoughts were panicking “what was that about? I thought you were trying to keep a low profile!”
I was silent. I had no idea what to say. I had only ever seen people who move that fast a few times before and it was either Harry or Belle, immortal begins with . . . abilities to be able to control everything that has ever existed or ever would and alter everything without their specific talents. Now we have come across a mortal a normal human being no different from the billons of others that exist now showing signs of being. . . different. The only words I could scrape together out of my utter astonishment were;
“At least I didn’t land on the floor. Would have muddied my cloths” trying to fake a smile was harder than any other time.
I turned to look at belle. Her mouth was open sheer shock was the only thing visible on her face. I gave her a confused look trying to prompt some words from her. Surely the physic-future-seeing sister should have foreseen this.
“Sorry Ali. I was just” Harry’s eyes were blankly looking at me cutting him off mid-sentence seemed like a good thing to do.
“Don’t worry no one got hurt” I said smiling at him.
“No but I think that Belle might be suffering from shock.” For once I heard a thought in Harry’s head that sounded serious. Not sarcastic or mean.
“But how . . . did . . . he . . . and . . . you . . . and . . . huh?” Belle sounded more confused that Harry and I and both anticipated.
“Don’t worry sis. Wait till we get inside and you can fly of the handle bar and find out how, ok?” Harry whispered ad he swung his arm around her shoulders and started walking again.
The hunter hadn’t seemed to notice anything that had just happed because by the time I turned round to talk to him he was metres up the driveway. I skipped off just like before until I was next to him again.
I lent in to whisper in his ear “thanks for catching me by the way”
“Argh, you keep making me jump. And its ok wasn’t gonna let you fall now was I”
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to.”
“Don’t worry about it” his voice sounded upset and quiet.
“What’s wrong?” I had to ask, it seemed like he wasn’t thinking about what was upsetting him because I couldn’t find an answer “You stopped me from falling, you should be happy. I am”
“You don’t understand, you could never understand” his voice was adamant.
“Try me. I’m not as naive as you would think a 17 year old would be”
“You still wouldn’t believe it no matter how un-naive you think you are. So just drop it” the soft comforting feel left his voice and was filled with anger and frustration “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you but you will think I am insane and I don’t want that”
“Well I promise I won’t” a smiled at him as his eyes caught mine and darted away again.
“When we get you three settled in . . . maybe I will tell you.” His eyes shot up at me my mouth dropped open. His beautiful emerald eyes were no longer emerald but black. Then they dropped to the floor again.
Belle still looked shocked as Harry’s arm was still tightly wrapped around her shoulders practically dragging her feet along the floor.
“Err . . . I won’t be a minuet I have to speak to my sister”
“Ok” although his words were the he was obviously thinking something else as he mumbled. I skipped off towards Harry and Belle.
“Belle, are you ok? Belle” I knew what she was like and this . . . this was not like her. I moved from in front of her so I was standing on her left and looked over her head and down at me.
“This isn’t like her Ali and you know that something has changed how do we know that she can take this” it was as if Harry had suddenly developed my mind ready skills, picking the words right out of my head. I swung my arm up so it was around her shoulders just like Harry’s
“Move your arm” I joked with a smile. “Hold her up I can’t lift her. It will be a bit of a giveaway that a five ft six skinny girl was lifting her sister of five ft eleven up with one arm. So switch with me you lift her and I will hug her. Do we have a deal?”
“Yeah I can do that just because you know that you wouldn’t be able to lift her so you require the muscle and strength of your brother.” He was biting his lip trying to keep a bellowing laugh with in, failing miserably as he let out a hissing spitting noise that sounding much like a cobra with a cold and was sneezing. He moved his arm so it was round her waist and lifted her off the floor just a little bit so her feet were still touching the floor so no one would be suspicious.
“But how did he? . . . But how can he? . . .” Belle’s voice stumbled over her words trying to grip some kind explanation to how the hunter had moved so fast.
“Get it together Belle. Try to make yourself speak your gonna have to get it together to live with mortals. Don’t worry he is about six ft and I’m about six ft six I am sure I will get the truth out of his” he smiled, shaking his free hand in the air.
By the time we reached the house, if that was what you could call it. It was more like four if not five houses bunched together to make one. The hunter was standing under and arch it the hallway.
“I can walk for myself now” Belle’s voice piped up from her silence towards Harry.
“Alright” he sighed “if you say so, but I don’t think you will” he reluctantly placed her on the floor his arm still hovered behind her ready to catch her when she would inevitably fall. Her feet touched the floor closely followed by her knees, hands and then her chest.
“Told you so” he smiled at Belle as he bent down to pick her up. “I don’t understand how you can’t walk because he moved fast, like he said maybe it was just an adrenaline rush you never know”
“Don’t be so stupid Harry. You know as well as both Ali and I do that a human to move that fast isn’t normal. No matter how much adrenaline is pumping through his blood. Now if you wouldn’t mind” she gestured at her legs.
“What? What you want me to do?”
“If you wouldn’t mind, could you please carry me the rest of the way?”
“Nice to have you back Belle giving orders like normal” he laughed at put his right hand behind her knees with his left hand still supporting her back and picked his hand up. He walked towards the house just as before as if he wasn’t carrying anything at all. In a five of his long strides and about 10 of my small paces we had reached the door.
The hunter stepped forward throwing his bag and his gun down on the floor. “Is your sister ok?” he questioned stretching out his arm as if to help.
“Just tired I think” Harry answered “she can’t take busy days I don’t think.” She scowled at him despite him smiling at her.
“I am fine my legs just ache”
“Do you have somewhere that she could lie down?” I asked
“Yeah through here” he led us through into what I presume was one of many living rooms. It was wide and square with a very tall ceiling.
I flitted over so I was beside Belle as Harry laid her down on the couch. The colour was back in her cheeks and she looked well. She was thinking about what had happen. “That isn’t possible, Ail I know you can hear me. How is that possible I mean how could I not have seen it?” I shrugged my shoulders and shock my head answering her silent question.
“You seem to have recovered Belle” Harry eyebrows lifted up wrinkling his forehead adding an emphasis to his sarcastic expression. He was shocked the only way I could explain his expression was that if someone had robbed him but told him that they were going to do it.
“I was fine Harry just couldn’t be bothered to walk . . . and well you’re a means of travel aren’t you? Ha-ha-ha” she laughed pulling herself up from her position so she was sitting up. We heard the huge front doors shut, but to be honest we didn’t even hear the hunter leave the room to go and shut them.
We tried ever so hard to hold back the giggles as he didn't notice the movement in the trees. This had become a regular occurrence over the last few years. But something different about today... very different. I wasn't inclined to bring about the bad weather I favored so much, I wanted to leave the sky clear and blue, not clouded and dark. This struck me by suprise, Harry and Belle, my brother and sister loved the sun, the warn golden rays stroking their skin, myself on the other hand was not so ammused by it, I liked the cold droplets that fell from the sky at my control. So the fact that I didnt want to make it cloudy and rain was rather odd.
Harry, Belle and myself had always tried to keep ourselves hidden in fog, if someone was close I would creat a blanket of fog, fearibng bad weather the mortal would turn and walk away. As our aging progressed, it was harder to conceal ourselves in the woods, where we had been for as long as any of us could remember. The three off us had reached the impressive age of one hundred and seventy, barley seventeen to mortal eyes, so we had all had wnoug time to find our ‘gifts’, perfect and control them, just the way we wanted to.
We had got used to being on our own, no parents nor family, just each other, but thats how we liked it. Yet this day...today we all agreed somthing was pulling us out of the shadows towards the hunter. He didn't seem like a hunter anymore. Somehow, he seemed the same as us! Soft, eligant, features, bold eyes, of a rich emerald. We all stared hard, especially myself; glaring through his thoughts telling Harry and Belle of secrets he held and bewilderment he felt. The only thing i could seem to get a grasp on was his justified paranoia thinking ‘there is someone else here I can feel it, someones watching me’.
Silently we talked to each other through our minds links, this being one of the many reasons we had concealed ourselves so well in the wood, was there being no reason for verbal conversations.
“Belle,” I snapped her out of her daydream, “Do we need to be ready for a fight? Does he put us at risk in the future” In an instant she was focused, blank eyes staring. There must have been a few uncomfortable moments for her as every so often she winced or gasped.
“I don’t think we need to worry. He’s only a boy but he seems to be a servant to his own family, still . . . fairly nice though, unhappy but nice.” She had always been naïve, far too trusting for her own good, putting us all at risk for the simple point that she thought that she was right.
Both Harry and I looked eagerly at our sister, awaiting the news that would make up our minds as to whether or not we inducted ourselves into the human world. Again the slow, almost painful minutes ticked by as we watched her blank expression; she was more careful to hide any emotion until her short, sharp intake of breath proved that something had to be wrong. I knew it! I was always right and there was no way that I was going to let she surrender us to them willingly.
“He takes us in. We finally have a home!” again her naivety was shocking; she didn’t even know the man and was already planning OUR future with this person. “But there’s a problem He’s going to . . . to . . . die!” her eyes filled with tears for a man she was yet to know.
“Belle,” Harry tried to comfort her as the visible tears were pricking her eyes, he failed, “listen love, as your brother it’s my duty to tell you to . . . GET A GRIP!!!” with a hand on each shoulder he shook her like a rag doll back and forth. “I bet he’s gonna be old anyway.” Belle stuck out her tongue like an obnoxious five year old and continued argued her case.
“He’s younger than us!” she yelled at Harry. It was another petty argument and Harry was right so I just ignore them, and climbed back up my tree and sat perched on the edge of a branch to watch.
“Yes well c’mon it’s not hard to be younger than us” Harry giggled.
“I know! That doesn’t make any difference to my prediction. You would both love him if you just trusted me for once! You say you’d never bet against me so what’s changed?” Her eyes were wide, almost frightened with tears glistening as they rolled down her cheeks. The guilt hit Harry.
“Nothing’s changed; we’re still together aren’t we? We aren’t trying to go against you; we just want you to think before you act for once, I’m sure we’ve had this conversation before.” Harry had to make her think of what she would do to us if we changed now, what would happen if things went wrong. “And you! Come down from that tree! You are hardly helping my ‘we are all together’ thing are you?”
“Fine” I sulked and slid off the branch and landed softly on the floor with a bounce.
“Yeah Belle, it’s not that we don’t trust you, we don’t trust them.” Harry looked at the mortal through hard eyes.
“Right, Harry. He’s a hunter, or so we think, so you can be our crash test dummy to see if he can help.” Harry’s face started of with mild confusion and as she finished it turned into pure horror. Belle let out a loud giggle. Both Harry and I covered her mouth and dragged her further back into the shadows. Busted!
We waited silently, knowing what was coming for us. I kept my mind fixed on him. We could all feel his footsteps vibrating off the soft moss as he got too close for comfort. The blinding light nearly let our secret slip but the trees slipped back into their protective shell around us.
That was too close! My voice echoed in my head, on edge and scared for our safety. “You know what the sun does! He nearly learnt too much and I don’t want to make Belle’s prediction come true too early!” The sun was bad for me; I am a person who has always burnt in the sun, and when I say burn I meant burnt down, everything near, caused fires. To Harry and Belle the heat didn’t matter, they are hot blooded but have their weaknesses, just as dangerous as mine. But it wasn’t theirs that had chosen to show it’s self. If I was to get to hot a fire would burn in my eyes, everywhere I looked would burn, bursting into flames as fire would rage, engulfing the comforting wood that had kept us safe for one hundred and seventy years, the place that we called home. Harry and Belle knew what was going to happen. I could hear them talking. Harry’s adamant and protective demands were deafening out Belle’s insecure panic stricken words. “We have to cool her down! If she gets to hot you know what will happen Belle!” Harry’s thoughts echoed with commands. “But what if he see’s? What if he finds out what we can do? What if . . .” Belle’s panic was cut short and Harry yelled at her in his head “shut up with your ‘what if’s! I’ll tell you one what if we don’t cool her down and she burn the woods, killing that hunter, the one we’re meant to live with, well that’s what you said isn’t it? The woods are our home. Belle you can’t be thinking about not doing it! You said you saw us living with him he takes us in; he can’t do that if he’s dead...burnt alive because you didn’t want to get caught! We have to she’s our sister!” Belle turned her head down, upset that she had angered Harry, embarrassed that she had lost her fight.
“I feel it, that fire” I cried out to their minds hoping they would hear.
“Look Belle I don’t care I don’t need you to do it I can do it on my own!” Harry screamed at her mind. They dragged me further away from the hunter Harry had one of his hands over my eyes. What I couldn’t see I couldn’t burn.
They let me go behind a fallen tree where I couldn’t be seen, Harry took his hands off my eyes. I couldn’t hold it anymore; the fire ripped through me, I screamed, my eyes opened the fire burning deep. My eyes ice blue now blood red. Belle panicked I could hear her thoughts none of which concerned with how I was ‘What if he heard her scream, what if he comes looking for where it came from . . . No. . . . Harry what if he sees him I have to stop him’
“NO!” she screamed out at Harry. He turned back glaring at “And you think you screaming at me to stop won’t tell him where we are . . . No? I don’t care if you want me to stop, I’m going to save our home and our sister whether you help or not!” he was too angered to think his words now, so just hissed them at her.
Once the fire had me I was at its mercy. Nothing went un-burnt but I liked it the power . . . the thrill . . . the fun. I wasn’t in pain I could talk I was me just darker and more flaming. I held my eyes shut tight Harry was thinking hard ‘Ok. So I’ll just hold her hand and think ‘cold’ she warms me up while I cool her down. That fine me and Belle yeah we like the heat. It’s just Alice who likes to be different. Ha-ha I bet your listening” I moved my head, so, if open my eyes would have been looking straight at him; a smile grew across my face as I nodded. “Ha-ha so we can all hear each others thoughts but Belle and me can turn it off and you, you just read minds permanently, oh that must be fun.” My smile widened making him laugh.
“I was right wasn’t I? I mean hold your hand and think cold, you make me hot I freeze you yeah?” Harry asked worried that he would get it wrong. I nodded, “yes” left my lips before I could stop it. The “s” slipped out with a spark. I raised my hand to cover my mouth. “Hurry this is to dangerous” I thought to him. He grabbed my hand. As I watched his thoughts of polar bears sliding over huge ice chunks floating on the freezing water. I was soon freezing cold, the fire had burnt out. I opened my eyes and smiled at my brother.
“Thanks, you always know how to cool me down . . . in a funny way” the smile continued to grow across my face.
I soon remembered Belle’s thoughts, I was bitter from her only worrying about being seen, rather than saving me, her sister. I knew she was only trying to help by not getting us caught, but surely if she had seen us living and ‘loving’ the hunter surely he was going to find us and take us home. I stood up so I was prepared for the row forthcoming with Belle. She knew I could hear what she was thinking, so she had begun pleading her apology franticly. I shot her a glare, her eyes evading mine. “IM SORRY” she screamed I stared at her with my cold blue eyes; they had a way of getting people to talk. I was surprise how loud she had said it since she was just minutes ago saying that we should be quiet so the man couldn’t hear us. My eyes moved across to Harry as his thoughts rumbled over in my head, “don’t go to hard on her Al she was just trying to help and I really don’t want you two to have a row I mean it’s never straight forward yelling, you always bring huge vines out the ground and tangle Belle all up she screams and you, you then avoid the chunk of rock she materialised in her hands then you throw chucks of heaving ice at her that you have materialised in your hands god! It’s never easy with you two is it?” I laughed at what he had thought, he used sarcasm, my pet name Ali whenever he was trying to get me to do anything, he knew the normal “don’t do that . . . don’t do this . . . blah . . . blah . . . blah” would never work on me. My laugh angered Belle even more I could hear her script rolling through her head about what she was going to say to me.
Finally she spoke “ALICE! Look at me!” she demanded I look at Harry and he smiled,
“Ooooh, you really made her mad this time Al! Try to keep it cool and calm” he thought.
“ALICE!” her voice echoed again. I turned myself to her
“Look I don’t think you was fair to say we should be quiet so he doesn’t hear us when I’m burning with the risk of burning down our home where we have lived for 170 years and now and your making all the noise possible. How can you have such double standards?” my voice became more agitated and angered as the word feel out of my mouth.
“Oh you think you so special having everyone fall all over you, just because you burn and turn into a fire when the sun heats you up!” she raised her right hand as if holding something I knew what was coming “you think you’re so special Alice, newsflash...you’re not! ARGH!!!” she screamed out in anger throwing her arm in my direction and with it came a huge rock clipping my eyebrow and I turned sideways. I turned slowly back to her “oh you did not just do that” I glared at her again from my eye no longer a cool blue now to a raging blood red. I wiped my hand across my eyebrow and looked at the blood that marked my hand.
I put my arm out in front of me raising them so they were at the same height as my shoulders, my palms facing the ground I was staring at the floor, my head didn’t move but my eyes rose up to meet hers. I flicked my fingers up towards her; two great trees grew from the ground. The branches twisted their way round her. One bound around her legs, the other around her wrist so she could not inflicted her powers on me anymore. I span round trying to find Harry but he was nowhere to be seen. I narrowed in on his thoughts until I found where he was. I paced forwards and found him behind a fallen tree.
“When you two row you scare even the Gods!” he said chuckling at his own words “I hope I just don’t get into a row with either of you two, ever!”
“Oh Harry” I placed one hand on my hip and lent forward so I was looking down on him. “We are the Gods, so your statement that we scar the Gods is partly true since Belle and I scare the life out of you”
“Oh, Ha-ha Alice very funny, Belle you were being a bit unfair” he said trying not to anger her anymore even though she was still held by the trees.
“Let me down” she cried
“Not until you calm down” I answered.
“Ok fine, Alice I’m . . . sorry” Belle reluctantly apologised.
“It’s ok but we need to stop fighting if we’re going to be living with the mortals not that I can see it working out well, I mean we can’t die so someone’s gonna guess when we don’t age for 100 years what are we going to say?” She was much like the little sister sweet and naive but had a temper in her, but she was caring, occasionally.
Hearing the outburst we obviously startled the hunter thinking he was alone, I could hear his bewildered thoughts trying to explain the occurrence.
“Oh don’t be silly, there can’t be anyone out here...can there? Dude be a man lets go and check it out!” I heard his thoughts trying to be brave the truth. His heavy feet just as before crashed through the littered leaves.
By now Belle had clocked on to him walking towards us, we had heightened sense, and the noise of his now light foot steps sounded like heavy stomps just next to us.
“Can we go with him yet?” Belle’s sarcastic anger was so obvious among her thoughts.
“I have already said no, I’m not going with him! We know nothing about him, or what people would do if the ever find out. I have already said people would be inquisitive when hundreds of years go past and we still don’t die, OR AGE” my thoughts were now impatient and angry at Belles persistence.
“Please can we not get into this again” Harry’s brotherly sarcasm broke the tension.
“You only ever think about yourself, and what you want, never what Harry or I want. You’re cold and heartless Alice.” With her words completed. Belle turned around and ran away, so fast the trees were uprooted by the wind she took with her.
“An icy gift for an icy heart” Belle said under her breath. A shard of ice, clean cut like and icicle was heading towards me, I had seen her plan and the result she was hoping for in her mind as she ran. I turned around and grabbed the iced, mid air.
“You forget Belle, you can turn off your telepathy so you can’t hear Harry or I, but me I can hear all thoughts all the time. Next time don’t make a plan, or at least don’t think about it before hand. That way you might actually achieve what you want!” I looked at Harry as I stabbed the ground with the icicle.
“How can she say I don’t think of you two, I mean that’s the only thing I’m worried about!” I said to Harry frustrate at her allegation. “Do you think she is right?”
“Yeah . . . I am not going to answer that one thank you very much” Harry answered sarcastically once again.
“And why not?” I bellowed back at him, my emotions toying with the weather as usual. The sky grew dark and a fierce and cold wind wiped around the forest. Against the dark sky the trees seemed to look far greener, brighter than before.
“Because if I say she isn’t right you will be happy that I agree with you and she will be mad, and most probably try and kill me and if I say you are wrong she will be happy but you will, try and kill me. To be quite frank I’m not sure what one I am most scared off!” his answer was trying to make me laugh through his bewilderment. His simple mind was still confused and why Belle and I were still arguing. He could never work out any of the reasons for our countless rows, I think we were just so opposite and just didn’t agree but if we had to we would and will do anything to keep each other safe and would kill for each other willingly.
“Belle, come back” I whispered in to the wind, and blew it along her trail of devastation.
Harry and I sat down waiting for her to return, and began talking.
“You would think she would be a bit more discrete about what we can do. She keeps telling you to make it less obvious. Then of she goes throwing huge icicles at you . . . In the middle of summer. I mean hello it’s that not just a little bit suspicious.” Harry piped up; moving his arms to his words trying to make his point more obvious.
“What is it with you and your arms; you look like a bloody string puppet” I added laughing “sorry it had to be said. Although I do know what you mean, if I can’t show off my powers of weather control and pretty much control of everything and anything then neither should she!”
“What!” her voice sounded from behind me, as though in much disgust with my demand for to return.
“Decide to come back did we?” I hissed coldly, not turning so my face didn’t give me away.
“You sound disappointed sis” she retaliated with enough sarcasm to rival Harry’s
“Don’t you dare turn this one out on me! You were the one who had her little temper tantrum when you didn’t get your own way.” I was deliberately picking a fight now, if I could stall her for long enough she might think about some of the consequences that come from her actions.
“I am doing, and have done nothing!” The steely edge to her voice was crystal clear. I had to laugh; she shot me a glare which Harry caught.
“Don’t you two start again I really can’t be bothered with it. And we have to decide what we’re going to do about that hunter”
“Harry I have already told you what is going to be done and we have to do that. It is not rocket science.” Belle made extra effort to direct the majority of her words at me, thinking foolishly that it might just sway me. Yeah right well I guess people can hope.
“Belle, how many more times? It isn’t safe for us to be out of the woods, it isn’t safe for us to be around the mortals. It just isn’t safe!” I knew what I wanted and if I had to trample on a few toes that was fine by me. I was not backing down that easily.
“Alice, you were the one who always wanted a family. You were the one who wanted to know what it was like to live with them!” again her persistence was futile.
“Will you two just shut up?” I was shocked at his sudden outburst. He had never been that demanding with us, I was always the one demanding things and 9 out of 10 times I got them.
“Fine then you choose should we stay here or leave?” My voice and Belle’s echoed in his ears simultaneously.
“Finally you agree on something! I’m all for a bit of sightseeing, and I’ve heard there’s some hot chick’s as well.” This was bizarre I wasn’t getting what I wanted. I was now on my way to a place I didn’t want to go to, I felt like they were dragging me in further.
I turned and saw them standing all ready to leave, to throw ourselves upon those mortals we didn’t know and who didn’t understand us and the power we held.
“So I guess I’m going then, whether I like it or not?” I scowled at them both, irritated that I hadn’t got my own way.
“I guess you are Alice” Harry replied trying not to sound too pleased with him.
“Oh shut up Harry, you will both be sorry when it all goes wrong and people find out about us” thunder clapped joined by a streak of lightning bright enough to rival the sun against the black stormy sky, as I shouted at him.
“Alright Alice calm down, I was enjoying the sun thought I might have got a tan” a laugh broke through with his words.
“Don’t mock me Harry. You are neither funny nor clever.” I hissed at him.
“Were are going and everything will be ok I have seen it. So let’s go!” Belle bellowed from along the trail, egger to leave.
“Fine but when something goes wrong I am going to say ‘I told you so’” I replied. I knew I was right Belle thought everything was set in stone but she was wrong.
By the time I had finished my sentence Belle had already set off again. By now all I could see of her was her curly black hair just resting on her shoulders.
“Come on! Harry grabbed my arm and pulled me as he was jogging towards Belle. “Wait for us Belle”. Harry’s immense strength was something I couldn’t compete with no matter how much power I had.
Soon enough we had caught up with her. She was standing still in a small clearing, we knew that the hunter had changed course. I could vaguely here is thoughts somewhere in the forest but I couldn’t pin him down...not exactly anyway.
“What’s he thinking AL?” Harry’s words were filled with curiosity and excitement.
“If you want to know then please hush. He isn’t that close so it’s a bit hard to hear.” I replied shooting him a glare.
“Well sorry . . . but if we are going to be living with him then I want to know what he likes. See if we have anything in common.”
“Well at the moment he has given up on looking for us because he found a dear. Thought it would make a good meal. So I would say that...yeah you have quite a lot in common, you both like FOOD!” I giggled through my irritation. “Give me a minute I will see if I can hear better” I walked forward “no, no that isn’t any better.” so I turned and paced to the left “ah now that’s better, much, much better.” I was mumbling to myself.
“She’s off again Belle” Harry chuckled.
“I don’t care Harry I just want to find him and she is taking too long if it gets dark he is going to leave, and I want to go with him....tonight!” Belle replied bitterness to her voice.
“Alice you have anything more?” Harry whispered sounding less excited. I could feel his breath on my neck as he was looking over my shoulder. It was as if he thought that maybe if he stood close enough, he would be able to hear what I herd. I looked up at him.
“That isn’t going to work you know?” I whispered to him.
“I was just trying, you don’t seem to be telling me much” his voice trailed off sounding defeated but his thought kept on rolling over and took a large step backwards. “Ali you can tell me I won’t get mad you know that. I can understand you not wanting to say anything to Mrs impatient naivety over that but me... I’m you big brother.”
“It’s no use Harry, I can’t hear him” I now sounded just as defeated as him if not more.
“Is it me am I being too loud? Because if I am you know you can just tell me to shut up”
“No its not you Harry he is silent. He isn’t thinking about anything or he might just be too far away now but I can’t find his thoughts. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry Ali, we always have me don’t we?” Harry sounded smug that I was finally asking for his help as it didn’t happen that often. Before I had a chance to say anything he was a wolf. Marbled fur a mix of pale grey and brown resting on his muscular body.
“Go on boy” I mocked him; with a smile “go on boy find his smell, go on, track us a mortal” I laughed. Even as a wolf he had the same mind with the same though it was a good thing about his shape-shifting I would always be able to know what he was thinking or what he could see.
“Ha-ha very funny Al, c’mon I think he went this way” He walked further away from us in a lurch his nose pressed against the wet earth. “Darn I lost him what was he doing how can someone’s sent just disappear. How can that happen?” he sounded so confused, I had never known him to lose a smell before.
“Wait Harry” I ran over to him “maybe if we stay together I can see if his thoughts get louder. That way he his thoughts do get louder I can give you a direction.”
“If we are going to stay together go and get Belle. I know how annoying she is but she means well. She just wants a home I think she’s bored of the forest. Go on I will keep tracking. I’ll go slowly so I will be easy to catch up with if you can see him just run that is fast enough your saw what Belle did to them trees.” His thoughts sounded so withdrawn as if felt he was losing his talent of tracking.
I stalked off back towards Belle, her black her was so easy to see against the green.
“Belle. Belle. C’mon Harry thinks he can smell him, he’s tracking him now.” I called to her. To my surprised when she turned around to meet my gaze I caught the slight glimmer of tears on her cheeks.
“What’s wrong?” I sighed “I thought you wanted this”
“I do but . . . I’m not sure . . . ” she had the same tone lining her voice just as Harry did as if she also thought that she was losing her talent on seeing through the future and past.
“Not sure of what exactly” I was trying to reassure her with questions. I didn’t know what to do.
“What I saw, of him, the part where he dies.” She sounded ever so confused I still didn’t quite understand what she meant.
“But he has to die Belle he isn’t... well he isn’t like us. He is just a mortal he has to die”
“No Alice. That’s not what I meant.” She chuckled obviously finding my confusion amusing. “I mean of course he does die but not-naturally, I think someone kills him. I think he gets murdered.” He voice began to trail off at the end.
“Oh. Well that’s all the more reason for you and Harry to drag me upon the mortal world so we can protect him” I nudged her with my elbow trying to get a laugh out of her. “C’mon if we go before dark we can make a firm ground before tomorrow, settle in and stuff. And belle remember your visions aren’t set in stone they can change”
“I guess. Your right we can protect him against whatever comes for him” she sounded a bit more positive. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards Harry.
He was further away than I thought he would be. So I picked up my pace and began to run still holding onto Belle’s wrist, she was more contempt with speeding up with me. We began a sprint and were back beside him in a matter of seconds.
“Found him Al. He’s braver than we thought-picking a fight with a wolf” Harry’s thoughts were screaming out to me. He was in clearing not too far from us now crouched down in a fighting stance. His lip was pulled back over his razor teeth. A terrifying growl rolled up from his chest and spit out though his teeth. He was circling the hunter just the same as the hunter was circling him. His huge paws denting the ground as he snarled.
“No!” I screamed at the hunter as Belle and I erupted from the edge of the forest into the clearing. “You can’t kill that wolf”
“Nice Ali, now I am just a wolf, no longer your brother. I am truly hurt” his thoughts were as sarcastic as I thought they would be. I shot him a glare
“Shut up Harry, you know he can’t find out that my brother is in a fighting stance crouched down ready to fight and...Oh yeah that he is a wolf!” I returned his thoughts.
“W . . . w . . . w . . . w . . . what” the hunters voice stuttered with shock. Although he struggled to grasp some concept of how strangely two girls were in a forest alone while a wolf larger than any wolf known to man was in a forest that had never been inhabited by wolves before. His voice sounded soft and comforting.
“I apologise if my sister startle you sir, but she is right you can’t kill that wolf” Belle said, trying to keep her voice calm even though the hunter had a gun pointed at my brother.
“But . . . but it’s going to attack us. Stay back I will protect you” his voice sounded braver as he finished his sentence.
“I am sorry but I can’t let you do that” I was adamant that my brother was not going to be shot
“But . . . but-” he tried to talk but Belle cut him off mid sentence.
“No” she bellowed as she walked in front in Harry’s wolf self blocking the hunter’s line of fire. “If you want to kill him you will have to kill me first” Harry as a wolf was much taller than a normal wolf as he stood behind Belle her head was level with his waist even as he was crouched down. The bewilderment that crossed the hunters face made me chuckle.
“What is so funny about a giant wolf that is going to attack me yet two girls have stopped me?” the hunter sounded annoyed.
“I . . . we are sorry for the inconvenience sir but you will be ok and so will we.” I tried to calm him with a soft and gentle voice. I stepped towards him and put my hand on his shoulder. “You have no reason to be afraid of that wolf I am sure it will not harm you or us” Harry still growled and pulled his lip further over his teeth making him look even more menacing.
“How can you be sure of that?”
“I don’t know I just am” I put my hand on his cheek and turned his head towards me. He was unfocused so didn’t see the wolf run off. Within a few minutes Harry came jogging towards us back to a normal human appearance.
“Hey, sisters did I miss anything?” he looked at the hunter and grinned much like a child that knew he had done something wrong but wasn’t going to admit it.
I took my hand away from the hunter and giggled. He was thinking about Belle and I. How beautiful we were yet how different we looked for sisters. “How can the black haired girl look like she has been in the sun too long and tanned, yet this one be so pale with blonde? Nether of their eyes are remotely the same colour. One has brown eyes and this one has ice blue eyes. Yet they are both so beautiful?”
“Do you know of anywhere that we could stay sir, we got lost when we were passing through this forest?” Belle was good at being believable.
“Err...well I know of one place.”
“Were?” Belle answered sounding slightly too enthusiastic.
“Well with my family, well actually it’s just me. I mean they are never there and it is a huge house” he sounded egger to please.
“If that wouldn’t be a problem for you to cater for 3 extra people we would be very grateful” I said trying to keep myself calm I knew that if I spoke before Belle there was less chance of him being scared off. I could tell that she was going to be over excited and high pitched. Her eyes grew wide at his offer and the she shot a glace towards Harry and I. “I told you so” she thought mockingly to Harry and I.
“Well it’s this way, not too far from here” he walked off towards the west through the clearing and back into denser part of the forest.
There wasn’t much of a conversation between us and the hunter. The three off us kept talking through our minds not to give what we could do away. Belle kept saying how she was right and that we should have believed her faster all the while Harry was making faces to me to what he was hearing from Belle. We came to a road on the furthest outskirts of the forest. The hunter still kept his walk at a steady pace in front of us and walked down a small slope and across the road into a village. He continued to walk in the direction of a huge house I saw his lips move as if he was talking to someone. He turned his head to look behind him. A look of shock pasted over his face.
“Where did they go? Oh no I lost the already” I chuckled obviously louder than I had before because I saw his eyes move up and see us standing at the edge of the forest still.
He jogged towards us his gun wobbling hung across his chest by a piece of cotton strap. It swung from side to side with each bouncing foot step it wasn’t long before he was standing front of us his look of bewilderment that crossed the hunters face once more made me chuckle.
“I am sorry, is there something wrong?” he asked politely but puzzled. What was I going to say ‘sorry but we have lived in this forest for one hundred and seventy years and are having a problem with putting ourselves on where you live’ that hardly seemed the way to keep our secret exactly that...a secret.
“Ermm... no we just, err...haven’t been here before” before I had a chance to speak Belle had burst out trying to give us a reason for him to still want to take us with him. “We don’t like being in new places it’s just something we don’t like. Sorry”
“Don’t be sorry. I can understand what you mean but don’t worry there is no one home at the moment so it will just be the four of us. My family have gone away to do something. They never tell me where the off to but I know they won’t be back for about six months that should be enough time for you all to settle in and get some jobs and maybe we could all chip in if it goes well and buy a small house to get away ha-ha” his voice was soft and cheerful “sorry I’m thinking out loud”
“Ok, we will go with you” Belle said still anxious. She stepped forwards taking a deep breath in. As her foot touched the ground she breathed out and turned to look at Harry and I. “it’s not as bad as we think Al. Just try it. Its just one foot step” I knew what she was thinking, and I knew she was right.
“C’mon bro we can do this” I whispered lightly to Harry. We both did the same as Belle and stepped forward taking a deep breath and stepping out onto the road, permanently forcing ourselves upon the mortal world. There was no going back now, this was it the last time we would go unknown.
The first step was the hardest but from that we felt more at ease. So we followed the hunter. He fell silent once again and the conversation was lost, but his thoughts were all over the place. I found it hard to follow a single one. As soon as he thought about something that I might have been able to listen to he darted off to thinking about something else. We passed through the small village quietly a saw a few people looking at us Belle moved her head so she was looking at the ground. Trying to hide her face she shook her head slightly and thick curly black her fell forwards making a type of wall between her and the population of the village. On the other hand there was Harry. He seemed to be enjoying the attention, he was standing tall his chin pushed out making his already square jaw line look more prominent. The sun glinted from the sky, without my complete knowledge I must have cheered up slightly as the clouds had faded away and the sun was glinting off the tops of the trees. I just skipped forwards lightly on my toes so that I was standing next to the hunter who’s name I still hadn’t grasped.
“Hello” I said cheerfully leaning my head in towards him just so I could see his face. I had my hands locked together by the fingers behind my back.
“Oh hello, I didn’t notice you coming up, you’re very quiet” his reply sounded intrigued as a laugh broke through along with his words.
“I know.” I whispered to him “It’s just one of my many skills” I answered I couldn’t help but let out a proud smile. I glanced back to see if Harry had wondered of to talk to the towns female occupants, but he was still in his place about four strides behind the hunter and I next to Belle.
“I guess you have many skills then if being quiet and cat like is one of many then” he chuckled.
“Cat like? I have never heard anyone call me that before.” I was a bit confused.
“Sorry, did I offend you? I didn’t mean to I’m sorry I just meant like that you’re light on your feet and have soft features sweet looking lips and you have a slight body frame, and your eyes, their so big and blue, ice blue” His words trailed off and thought splayed out again. “And your skin it’s so pale it looks like ivory, it looks so much different to your brother and sister they both look . . . well tanned and . . . You’re . . . not. Sorry I don’t mean to be rude I’m just curious.”
“Stop saying sorry, it doesn’t bother me. The cat thing is kind of cool I like it. And yes my skin is very pale; you see I don’t like the sun very much. And my brother and sisters skin is warm and soft whereas mine is cold and not as soft.” I liked talking to him it was nice having someone different to talk to I mean one hundred and seventy years talking to Belle and Harry was a bit dull there wasn’t very much to talk about.
“Oh, why don’t you like the sun? It’s quite strange really I don’t like it either, makes me too stuffy and uncomfortable but I’m a man so most things make us stuff and uncomfortable.” He was smiling; his smile could be easily seen in his brilliant emerald eyes that were not hard to get lost in.
“Oh err...”I couldn’t think of a reason why I hated the sun other than if I got to hot I became an inferno and everything I looked at went up in flames. So I settled for the simple “It’s a long story ha-ha” I smiled back at him “you have lovely eyes nice and bright” I was intrigued. I had never now a mortal to have eyes like it.
“Thanks” he sounded confused “have you never used a mirror?” his voice was mocking but in a nice way.
“What do you mean? Have I ever used a mirror?”
“I mean how can you say that my eyes are lovely when I can’t even think of words that would even begin to comprehend the beauty of yours” a light blush filled his cheeks. “I can’t believe you just said that to her, you stupid, stupid man! How can you even begin to try and flirt with her? She is far too good for you she is far too beautiful. You are such an idiot, stupid, stupid, stupid!” his thoughts made me uncomfortable, not because they were sweet and he was thinking them about me but because he was saying e was worth me a silly girl who wasn’t even human.
“Thank you but you don’t have to be so modest”
“What do you mean you do have beautiful eyes?” I felt compelled to give him the same reply that he had already give me “Have you ever used a mirror?”
“You are very beautiful though, you look like you fell straight from the sky as if from heaven.” His voice ended but his thought continued. I couldn’t help but listen to them. “You digging yourself a very big hole mate and you’re jumping willingly into it. It’s not a good place to be!”
“Thank you. You are also handsome. Pleasing to my eyes” I had to look away I sounded very silly. ‘Pleasing to my eyes’ was I suddenly a high class woman trying to force a date from a man.
“I am glad that you think so” his soft cheeks were filled with blood the pink blush had warmed them. “Can I ask you something? Don’t be affined you don’t have to say yes” I could already see what he was planning
“Can I touch your skin? I just want to see if it is as cold and hard as you say”
“Sure, I don’t mind” I stopped and turned by body so that I was facing him and he did the same. I closed my eyes and held out my hand for him to touch. He picked his hand up from beside him and reached it out, and pushed my hand away from him.
“I don’t want to feel your hand” he voice was sweet and even. I opened my eyes to see his hand next to my cheek. His forefinger reached it first, I felt him flinch back from the cold. Within moment his hand as completely resting on my cheek curved to fit it. I moved my eyes so I wasn’t looking in his anymore and I was now staring at the dusty floor. “Her skin is so soft and cold but hard at the same time. How is that possible? I want to try her lips, see what they feel like” I felt his hand move along my jawbone until all but his forefinger was still on my skin. He ran his finger over my lips and then traced the outline of them, like an artist making a painting.
I heard someone laughing loudly so I pulled away from his hand and turned around.
“Sorry did I hurt you?”
“No, don’t worry” I turned around and saw Belle looking at me with eyes I couldn’t describe. She looked very angry but I couldn’t tell why. The laugh bellowed again and this time I recognised it, I turned round and say Harry talking to three girls. My eyes narrowed, I stared at him fuming with anger.
“Is something the matter? You don’t look very happy” the hunters comforting voice had returned. He had one of his hands on my arm.
“Oh, no it’s just Harry. I won’t be a minute” I turned around and started to walk towards Harry with a cold glare filling my face.
Some of the girls were laughing. I heard the tallest one say “Ha-ha who’s the angry girl then?” she had long blonde hair and rosy cheeks. Her voice was followed by another’s. It was the voice of a shorter plumper girl, with black hair that looked like wire nothing like Belles soft and bouncy curls.
“Did we steal her boyfriend?” the shorter girl and begun to snigger. Her laugh sounded like a pigs grunt than a humans laugh.
“Sorry Ali, I just...just got a bit distracted” Harry’s voice was stuttering in panic. My eyes shot up to meet his.
“Well next time don’t!” I was trying hard to keep my tone calm and even but the irritation found a way of creepy though with my words. “Some brother you are” I muttered to myself.
“I’m sorry Ali, really sorry” Harry’s voice was panicking. He knew that when we were out of sight from the mortals I was going to moan in a way I knew best using my skills to make him pay.
“Move, now!” I lifted my hand so I was pointing back and the hunter. The thunder clapped above as the dark clouds lit up with each electric fork of lightning.
“Is this big strong man scared of a little girl?” the taller girl’s voice was bitter and sarcastic, whilst the short girl was sniggering again.
“You don’t know her like I do” Harry’s voice sounded defeated. He dropped his head over so he was looking at the floor and curled his big shoulders over and begun to walk towards the hunter and Belle. I heard her voice whisper to Harry.
“You’re in trouble” she started laughing.
“I know” he looked at her and made a comical sad face trying to hold his laugh in.
I skipped of back towards the hunter who was standing still looking at me.
“What” I asked confused “Why are you watching me?” a slight smile had began to pull up at each corner of my mouth as I reached him.
“You skip?” he giggled
“What’s wrong with skipping exactly?”
“No, nothing just...makes you look more cat like” his face was filled with a warm smile.
“Oh, well it’s faster than walking and more dainty that running”
“I think someone’s found a new friend” Harry had whispered to Belle, low enough for the mortals not to here but not low enough so that I couldn’t hear. I glared back and him with narrowed eyes.
Belle seemed more comfortable that she had at first because she had lifter her head so she was looking straight on and her wall of hair was thrown back over her shoulders.
“Just be blunt if you want to find out just ask her, I am sure she won’t eat you, so go on just ask her what her name is” I got the impression that in his thoughts the hunter was a more persistent and brave character but when he spoke he sounded shy. “So....what’s . . .”
“Alice, we travel around a lot” I had forgotten my place and that I was with mortals now. I jumped in saying my name and where we lived before he had finished his sentence asking me his questions.
“How did you know what I was going to say” I watched his face as it looked as if a cloud of confused smoke passed over it.
“Lucky guess?”
“Well Alice is a nice name”
“I know”
He laughed at my certainty “And the others?”
“Oh, well the big guy that is Harry and the girl is Belle we are brother and sisters, I want to ask you something ok?”
“Sure”
“How old are you? I mean you don’t look much older than us”
“Nineteen”
“Well were here now” He was staring up at two iron gates. He raised both his arms and pushed them open. Before we had a chance to walk through them and up the long driveway leading up to the house Harry was memorizer by the huge house and walked into me as if I wasn’t there and didn’t stop walking. His muscled chest pushed into my back through his top and knocked me clean off my feet. Before I hit the floor or had even moved 2 inches forwards, closer to the ground, my whole body was stopped by the hunter’s cold hands gripping my shoulder. His reaction was faster than the reaction should have been for any un-special mortal.
“Instinct . . . I guess . . . sorry” he stumbled over his words trying to explain away the incident. Ever more his thoughts were panicking “what was that about? I thought you were trying to keep a low profile!”
I was silent. I had no idea what to say. I had only ever seen people who move that fast a few times before and it was either Harry or Belle, immortal begins with . . . abilities to be able to control everything that has ever existed or ever would and alter everything without their specific talents. Now we have come across a mortal a normal human being no different from the billons of others that exist now showing signs of being. . . different. The only words I could scrape together out of my utter astonishment were;
“At least I didn’t land on the floor. Would have muddied my cloths” trying to fake a smile was harder than any other time.
I turned to look at belle. Her mouth was open sheer shock was the only thing visible on her face. I gave her a confused look trying to prompt some words from her. Surely the physic-future-seeing sister should have foreseen this.
“Sorry Ali. I was just” Harry’s eyes were blankly looking at me cutting him off mid-sentence seemed like a good thing to do.
“Don’t worry no one got hurt” I said smiling at him.
“No but I think that Belle might be suffering from shock.” For once I heard a thought in Harry’s head that sounded serious. Not sarcastic or mean.
“But how . . . did . . . he . . . and . . . you . . . and . . . huh?” Belle sounded more confused that Harry and I and both anticipated.
“Don’t worry sis. Wait till we get inside and you can fly of the handle bar and find out how, ok?” Harry whispered ad he swung his arm around her shoulders and started walking again.
The hunter hadn’t seemed to notice anything that had just happed because by the time I turned round to talk to him he was metres up the driveway. I skipped off just like before until I was next to him again.
I lent in to whisper in his ear “thanks for catching me by the way”
“Argh, you keep making me jump. And its ok wasn’t gonna let you fall now was I”
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to.”
“Don’t worry about it” his voice sounded upset and quiet.
“What’s wrong?” I had to ask, it seemed like he wasn’t thinking about what was upsetting him because I couldn’t find an answer “You stopped me from falling, you should be happy. I am”
“You don’t understand, you could never understand” his voice was adamant.
“Try me. I’m not as naive as you would think a 17 year old would be”
“You still wouldn’t believe it no matter how un-naive you think you are. So just drop it” the soft comforting feel left his voice and was filled with anger and frustration “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you but you will think I am insane and I don’t want that”
“Well I promise I won’t” a smiled at him as his eyes caught mine and darted away again.
“When we get you three settled in . . . maybe I will tell you.” His eyes shot up at me my mouth dropped open. His beautiful emerald eyes were no longer emerald but black. Then they dropped to the floor again.
Belle still looked shocked as Harry’s arm was still tightly wrapped around her shoulders practically dragging her feet along the floor.
“Err . . . I won’t be a minuet I have to speak to my sister”
“Ok” although his words were the he was obviously thinking something else as he mumbled. I skipped off towards Harry and Belle.
“Belle, are you ok? Belle” I knew what she was like and this . . . this was not like her. I moved from in front of her so I was standing on her left and looked over her head and down at me.
“This isn’t like her Ali and you know that something has changed how do we know that she can take this” it was as if Harry had suddenly developed my mind ready skills, picking the words right out of my head. I swung my arm up so it was around her shoulders just like Harry’s
“Move your arm” I joked with a smile. “Hold her up I can’t lift her. It will be a bit of a giveaway that a five ft six skinny girl was lifting her sister of five ft eleven up with one arm. So switch with me you lift her and I will hug her. Do we have a deal?”
“Yeah I can do that just because you know that you wouldn’t be able to lift her so you require the muscle and strength of your brother.” He was biting his lip trying to keep a bellowing laugh with in, failing miserably as he let out a hissing spitting noise that sounding much like a cobra with a cold and was sneezing. He moved his arm so it was round her waist and lifted her off the floor just a little bit so her feet were still touching the floor so no one would be suspicious.
“But how did he? . . . But how can he? . . .” Belle’s voice stumbled over her words trying to grip some kind explanation to how the hunter had moved so fast.
“Get it together Belle. Try to make yourself speak your gonna have to get it together to live with mortals. Don’t worry he is about six ft and I’m about six ft six I am sure I will get the truth out of his” he smiled, shaking his free hand in the air.
By the time we reached the house, if that was what you could call it. It was more like four if not five houses bunched together to make one. The hunter was standing under and arch it the hallway.
“I can walk for myself now” Belle’s voice piped up from her silence towards Harry.
“Alright” he sighed “if you say so, but I don’t think you will” he reluctantly placed her on the floor his arm still hovered behind her ready to catch her when she would inevitably fall. Her feet touched the floor closely followed by her knees, hands and then her chest.
“Told you so” he smiled at Belle as he bent down to pick her up. “I don’t understand how you can’t walk because he moved fast, like he said maybe it was just an adrenaline rush you never know”
“Don’t be so stupid Harry. You know as well as both Ali and I do that a human to move that fast isn’t normal. No matter how much adrenaline is pumping through his blood. Now if you wouldn’t mind” she gestured at her legs.
“What? What you want me to do?”
“If you wouldn’t mind, could you please carry me the rest of the way?”
“Nice to have you back Belle giving orders like normal” he laughed at put his right hand behind her knees with his left hand still supporting her back and picked his hand up. He walked towards the house just as before as if he wasn’t carrying anything at all. In a five of his long strides and about 10 of my small paces we had reached the door.
The hunter stepped forward throwing his bag and his gun down on the floor. “Is your sister ok?” he questioned stretching out his arm as if to help.
“Just tired I think” Harry answered “she can’t take busy days I don’t think.” She scowled at him despite him smiling at her.
“I am fine my legs just ache”
“Do you have somewhere that she could lie down?” I asked
“Yeah through here” he led us through into what I presume was one of many living rooms. It was wide and square with a very tall ceiling.
I flitted over so I was beside Belle as Harry laid her down on the couch. The colour was back in her cheeks and she looked well. She was thinking about what had happen. “That isn’t possible, Ail I know you can hear me. How is that possible I mean how could I not have seen it?” I shrugged my shoulders and shock my head answering her silent question.
“You seem to have recovered Belle” Harry eyebrows lifted up wrinkling his forehead adding an emphasis to his sarcastic expression. He was shocked the only way I could explain his expression was that if someone had robbed him but told him that they were going to do it.
“I was fine Harry just couldn’t be bothered to walk . . . and well you’re a means of travel aren’t you? Ha-ha-ha” she laughed pulling herself up from her position so she was sitting up. We heard the huge front doors shut, but to be honest we didn’t even hear the hunter leave the room to go and shut them.
I hope you like it, please comment,,, it is only a draft and i am still working on it x
