Violet Fire

I wasn’t sure how long I had been unconscious. My eyes were still closed, but I could feel sunlight warming them, and could feel my body sprawled out on the ground. I slowly opened my eyes to see a ray of sunlight falling on me through a large gap in the canopy of two trees. I sat up slowly, fighting off vertigo as I did.

I was in a forest. It was early summer here, just like back home. The leaves were brilliant shades of green, and the moss underneath me stretched in every direction like a carpet. I could hear the faint trickling of a stream and the breeze rustling the leaves. I stood up carefully, using a tree for support. I followed the sound of water and knelt down by the merrily flowing stream. I cupped my hands and drank greedily. I had obviously been out for a while – it was midmorning here.

I looked down again as I reached my hand toward the water for another drink, and saw violet eyes staring back at me. What happened to my contacts? I thought. I looked to my left and noticed that the journal was lying in the grass. It must’ve fallen out of my hands. I picked up the journal, then froze at the sound of rustling behind me. Two men stepped out from behind trees, their burning red eyes fixed on me. I stood for a moment, then turned and jumped over the stream.

I started running through the trees with absolutely no idea where I was going. I could hear them following me, which only egged me on. I wove through the densely spaced trees and paused behind a large oak to catch my breath. I peeked around the trunk to see them looking around for me. I quickly pulled back as one of them glanced my way. I turned around and found myself facing another man, although not one like the two following me.

His hand shot out and covered my mouth before I could scream, and he put a finger to his lips to indicate that I should be quiet. He was much taller than me, and I had to crane my neck to get a good look at him. He had dark hair and looked as if he spent a lot of time in the sun. The clothes he was wearing looked like they came out of a Lord of the Rings movie, and I noticed a sword hanging from his belt. The last thing I noticed was his eyes. They were light brown with flecks of gold in them. He seemed trustworthy enough – besides, it’s not like I had many more options – so I nodded and he took his hand away.

He started walking slowly around one side of the tree, so I turned to peek around the other side. The men who were following me had their backs turned to us, and were talking in low voices in a language I had never heard before. My new friend drew his sword and the men turned, drawing their own weapons. I could hardly keep up as I heard metal scraping against metal and saw the sunlight flashing off of swords. I didn’t even notice that one of the men was gone until I heard a twig snap right behind me.

I whipped around to see the second man leering at me with a sword in his hand. I started backing away quickly, and tripped over a tree root. He smiled at me, revealing pointed fangs. The forest had gotten eerily quiet. I tried to ask my friend for help, but I couldn’t manage to make a sound. The man crept closer, and the next thing I knew the tip of a sword was staring at me through his midriff. The man exploded into ash, and my friend was standing in front of me, sheathing his sword. He offered me his hand and I let him help me up.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, his voice as deep and warm as his eyes.

“No,” I whispered, staring at the pile of ash on the ground. “What were they?”

“Unnatural creatures,” he said darkly.

I tore my gaze away from the ash and turned instead to face my new friend. “My name is Juliet,” I said, extending a hand.

“Damon,” he replied, taking my hand.

I thought he was going to shake it, but instead he kissed the tops of my fingers. I looked around at the forest to hide my blush.

“Where am I?”

“Loridian,” Damon replied. “You must have traveled a long way, where are you from?”

“Southern California,” I replied.

He looked confused, but didn’t say anything.

“Where is the nearest city?”

“About two hours east of here. I could take you there, if you’d like,” he said.

I smiled; glad that I wouldn’t have to wander around all day by myself. “I would like that a lot.”

Damon knew the forest well. He led me expertly through the dense underbrush, and we soon discovered the road that led out of the forest. We followed the road for a while until we found ourselves in front of a large city. The guards at the city gates looked at Damon with dislike, but let us through. I gaped at everything around me. The narrow streets were crowded with people and animals, and everywhere I looked there were bright colors.

The city seemed to be built around a hill, and on the hill was a magnificent castle. Damon led me through the streets to the city square. There were stands set up selling anything and everything surrounding a large fountain. People passing by gave us funny looks, and I felt very conspicuous.

“Do you need any more help?” Damon asked.

I thought for a moment and realized how truly lost I was. I wanted to say yes, that I didn’t belong in this world and that I needed to get back as soon as possible, but I didn’t get a chance. A troop of guards in blue and gold livery rode into the square, followed by people on horseback. All around me people dropped to their knees, including Damon. I followed suit, bowing my head respectfully. I looked up through my eyelashes as the people came through.

They were obviously royalty, because their clothing was much finer than any I had ever seen. In the lead was a couple who looked to be in their early thirties. The woman was incredibly beautiful; she had long black hair and a porcelain complexion, with warm brown eyes. The man was almost equally handsome with tanned skin, brown hair and hazel eyes. Behind them was another couple on horseback and several courtiers.

The woman in front looked our way and I quickly looked down. She must have recognized someone, because I could hear her horse’s hooves clopping against the cobblestones as she came over.

“Damon!” she said warmly. “It’s good to see you.”

Damon stood up and smiled at her. “It’s good to see you as well.”

The man came over as well and greeted Damon warmly. He glanced towards me and I looked down again quickly.

“Is she a friend of yours?” he asked.

I felt a hand grasp my elbow ever so gently and urge me to my feet. I looked up and saw them regarding me curiously. I heard the woman gasp almost inaudibly. I looked over at her and saw something like recognition in her eyes. She stared straight into my eyes for a moment before I looked away.

“This is Juliet,” Damon said.

They greeted me warmly and introduced themselves as Claire and Eoin. They didn’t offer their titles, but I assumed that they were some kind of Loridian royalty.

“While you are here you must be our guests,” she said.

“I couldn’t impose on you,” Damon objected quietly.

Most people had gone back to their business, but almost all kept glancing back at the odd party and whispering excitedly to each other.

“You must. Both of you,” Eoin insisted.

Damon nodded, and I quietly thanked them. Eoin turned to two of the guards and ordered that they offer their horses to us. The guards weren’t thrilled about it, but they didn’t dare to disobey him. The guard who offered me his horse noticed my look of apprehension. He smiled at me as he helped me up.

“She’s gentle, miss,” he said quietly. “She knows where to go, so just trust her.”

“Thank you,” I said just as quietly.

I let the horse have her head and she trotted along with the royal party. We headed for the magnificent castle on the hill, and I started wondering what I had gotten myself into.

We rode into the courtyard and were met by an army of servants. Some led the horses off and others started leading us into the castle. My guide was a timid young maid who couldn’t have been older than me. I tried counting the twists and turns so that I could find my way back, but quickly gave up. She finally stopped in front of a large door and opened it, bowing and indicating that I should enter first. I entered and felt my eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

It was like I had stepped into one of my favorite fairytales. I was standing in a room fit for a princess with a huge four poster bed, cedar-lined wardrobe, and a cozy little sitting area. The walls were covered in exquisitely painted murals of a beach, resplendent with gulls, sea creatures, and mermaids in the distant waters.

“Will you be needing anything, milady?” the maid asked quietly.

“No. Thank you,” I replied, still ogling the beautiful room.

There was a brisk knock on the door and the maid scurried to open it. Claire entered with three ladies-in-waiting. The maid curtsied and left, closing the door behind her. I curtsied clumsily, and Claire just smiled at me.

“How do you like the room?” she asked.

“It’s beautiful,” I replied.

Her smile widened slightly. “I’m glad. My ladies-in-waiting will take care of your wardrobe, but for now we would like to get to know you better.”

I wasn’t sure who “we” was, but I followed Claire out of my room and through the castle. She led me along the corridor until we came to what looked like her personal study. There were tall bookshelves loaded with books, overstuffed armchairs, and a beautiful mahogany desk illuminated by tall windows. And already in the room were Eoin, Damon, and the other couple I had seen.

Claire introduced the couple as Evanna and James. I nodded politely, not exactly sure how to greet them. Claire was looking at me in excitement, and as soon as the introductions were made she blurted, “You look just like your mother.”

“You know my parents?” I asked in surprise.

“Yes,” she said, with a sad smile.

“Are they here? Can I see them?” I asked, starting to get my hopes up.

Claire and Eoin exchanged a look that made my heart sink. She smiled sadly and repeated, “Yes, we knew your parents.”

All of my frustrations and pent up anger bubbled to the surface. I felt a little tingly, but I barely registered it as I stared Claire and Eoin down.

“Look, I’ve been stalked by two creeps for the past month, nearly killed by a psychotic siren, and now I’m in a different world. I am in no mood for riddles,” I said hotly.

Eoin and Claire’s mouths dropped a touch, and I felt a little abashed. I was being incredibly rude and disrespectful, but when I glanced around I noticed that Evanna was smiling slightly. I looked down and noticed that my hands were starting to glow again. My fear was replaced with panic, but gradually the glow faded. We stood in silence for a long, tense moment.

“I like her,” Evanna said finally.

James chuckled lowly and the shocked expressions melted off of Eoin and Claire’s faces.

“Why don’t you tell us what has happened to you?” Claire prodded gently.

So I did. It felt good to finally tell someone everything, from when I got the journal to waking up in the forest.

“Damon told us about what happened with those creatures,” Eoin said. “Unfortunately, they have become incredibly bold. They have even started attacking merchants and travelers on the roads.”

The hairs on the back of my neck started prickling uncomfortably. “When did this start happening?”

“Just about a month ago,” Eoin replied, starting to put together what I had already seen.

“The same time that I got the journal,” I stated, taking their grim expressions as confirmation. “But what is so important about this journal?”

“May I?” Claire asked, reaching a hand out.

I gave her the journal and watched as she stuck her fingers in the slit I had made in the spine. Realizing what she was looking for, I took off the chain and key that I had been wearing. She took them gently from me and turned them over in her hand.

“This is the key to your parents’ study,” she said quietly.

“They had a study?”

She nodded. “Right here in the castle.”

“What were my parents doing here?”

“They were answering a distress call,” Evanna answered.

“What was the distress?”

“We don’t know,” Eoin replied. “Because we didn’t send it.”

“It was a trap,” I said quietly. “But who would want to trap my parents?”

“We aren’t entirely sure,” Claire hedged. “Are you sure you want to hear this?”

My chin came up a bit stubbornly. “Yes.”

“Your parents knew who it was,” she continued sadly. “And they went after them.”

“So, where are they?”

“We don’t know,” Eoin replied.

I felt like I’d been sucker punched. “So my parents are missing in this world, too.”

“Please understand,” Claire said, a touch of desperation in her voice. “There was no talking them out of it. But then they never came back.”

I ran a hand through my curly mess of hair, trying to absorb everything. I looked Claire in the eye for a moment, and something clicked. “My parents were kidnapped,” I paused. “And you know who took them.”

Fear flashed across her immaculate features, but she quickly composed herself. “I only have a suspicion, I do not know.”

But whoever it is should definitely be feared, I thought. Out loud I said, “If someone has my parents, what would they want me for?”

There was a long pause before anyone answered. Their hesitation was obvious, but hesitation over what, I didn’t know.

“Whoever took your parents wants something from them. And to get that, they might be seeking…leverage,” Damon finally answered.

It took me a second to fully understand what he meant, and it made my stomach turn when I did. What are they doing to my parents? Are they imprisoned, tortured? My imagination was running wild with possibilities. I took a deep breath and drew myself up to my full height.

“I am no one’s leverage,” I said quietly.

“You are so much like your mother,” Evanna replied, really smiling at me for the first time.

I smiled back, unsure of what to say. I could tell from how she said it that she considered it to be a very high compliment, and I found myself wishing that I could meet my mother. Claire looked as if she wanted to talk with me more, but something must have shown on my face, because Eoin turned to her.

“Our guest has had a very taxing experience,” he said it to the room, but it was clearly intended for Claire.

She nodded, although she seemed disappointed. “Damon shall escort you to your room, and I will have a bath drawn for you.”

Damon bowed to Claire and Eoin, and I clumsily followed suit. Damon held the door, waiting for me to exit before following me into the hall. I leaned against the corridor wall, pinching the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger.

“Are you alright?” Damon asked tentatively.

I let go of my nose and looked up at him. There was a little crease between his eyebrows as he regarded me, and I nodded. Poor guy probably didn’t know how to handle a rude teenaged girl.

“I’m fine,” I lied.

He looked at me for just a second longer before turning to face the hall. “Shall we get on then?”

I nodded again and followed Damon’s lead down the stone hallways. As we walked I noticed that the servants avoided Damon, which seemed odd to me.

“Why are the servants afraid of you?” I asked him as probably the twentieth maid scurried away.

Damon looked at his feet in discomfort. “I’m different,” was all he said.

We spent the rest of the time in relative silence, until we finally stopped in front of my room. Damon bowed politely before leaving. I walked into my room to find a well-dressed girl about my age laying a few dresses out on the bed. She turned when she heard me enter and curtsied.

“Hello,” I said.

“Good afternoon,” she replied politely. “My name is Penelope, and I am your ladies’ maid.”

The way she said this reminded me of the “Hello, my name is and I will be your server this evening” that we always got when we went out to eat. I attempted a curtsy and was somewhat successful. Penelope simply smiled at my lame attempt to be graceful.

“A bath has been requested for you,” she said. “I will finish laying out your clothes while you bathe.”

“My clothes?” I asked in surprise.

Before she could answer there was a gentle knock on the door and the same young maid as before entered.

“This way, M’lady,” she squeaked timidly.

I followed her back out into the hall and down a series of stairs. After what seemed like hours we reached the bottom of the stairs and started walking down a torch-lit hallway. I could hear voices, laughter, and water splashing as we made our way to the end of the hall. We passed by an open doorway and I glanced in to see a laundry. The women working in the laundry waved as I passed and I smiled in return.

We didn’t stop until we had passed through the last doorway in the hall. Right in front of me was what looked like a steaming swimming pool. The floor down there was made of marble tiles, and the entire room looked like a Roman bath. That was when I realized that the pool before me was the communal bath which was thankfully empty. Off of the main room were several doorways, one of which my maid was walking towards. I trotted to catch up with her and she opened the door for me. Inside was a small room with some simple furniture, a changing screen, and another door.

“Behind that door is the bath,” the maid whispered. “You can leave your dirty clothes behind that screen and someone will collect them for washing.”

She turned to go, but I asked her to wait. She looked at me in sheer terror.

“What’s your name?” I asked kindly, smiling to show that I didn’t mean her any harm.

“Lilly,” her voice was barely audible.

“Well, thank you Lilly,” I replied, before moving toward the screen.

I didn’t hear her leave, but when I popped my head around the screen again she was gone. I slipped quietly into the room with the bath and sighed appreciatively. There was a much smaller pool in this room, but it too was steaming. I didn’t slip into the water until I was sure that there were no other doors. Everyone there seemed friendly enough, but that didn’t mean that I wanted to be that friendly.

I sat in the warm water and just let myself soak. After a couple of minutes though, I noticed the bar of soap sitting next to the edge of the pool. It was harsher than what I was used to, but it got the job done. I managed to rinse all of the soap out of my thick hair, but by the time I was done the water was cold. I glanced around again and saw a towel folded neatly in the corner. I wrapped it around myself and made my way back to the door. I peeked in to make sure that no one was in the room before I entered. Someone had come in and gotten my clothes while I was bathing, and had left a simple gray dress on one of the chairs. I had managed to slip the dress over my head when Lilly popped her head in. She buttoned it up for me and led me back to my room.

When I walked in Penelope turned around and gestured proudly to the dresses that she had laid out on the bed. I had never seen lovelier clothing. I picked the simplest dress, which was made of a light blue fabric and Penelope helped me put it on.

It took a lot longer than I expected. Penelope had to lace up the back and then decided that she had to do my hair. By the time she was done I was ready to get out of my room. I left my room in her wake and nearly ran into a bunch of kids.

They were well dressed and clearly related, and running headlong down the corridor. It didn’t take me long to realize that these were Claire and Eoin’s children. There were two boys and two girls. The oldest looked to be about twelve, and she looked a lot like Claire. The two boys looked about ten and eight, and they too had their mother’s coloring. The youngest looked about six, and she looked just like her dad.

“Children!” Eoin called, rounding the corner. They all stopped and bowed their heads, looking abashed. “Penelope will escort you and you will watch where you’re going."

Penelope nodded before taking the two youngest hands and leading them away.

“They look just like their mother,” I said.

Eoin smiled. “But they act just like me, which isn’t always a good thing.”

I smiled back as Eoin walked beside me, leading me to a large dining hall. It was magnificent with large glass-paned windows and high ceilings. There was an incredibly long oak table, which was nearly full of nobles and courtiers. I took my seat next to Damon as Eoin joined Claire at the head of the table, enjoying the late afternoon sunlight streaming in.

As the last few stragglers sat down, I noticed that I was getting a lot of attention. I was starting to feel self-conscious, wondering why they were staring. Well, they weren’t all staring at me. Almost all of the teenaged girls present were fawning over a guy across from me. I have to admit, he was pretty attractive. He had dark blonde hair, tan skin, and bright blue eyes. He flashed a smile and one of the girls looked like she might faint. The way that he was leaning back in his chair, soaking it all up made me sick.

“Who does he think he is, nature’s gift to women?” I muttered to Damon.

He stared at me blankly for a second, then he started to chuckle. After only a minute he was shaking with suppressed laughter, and I smiled mischievously. The guy heard us laughing and looked over, one immaculate eyebrow cocked. Our eyes met for a split second before servants started serving dinner and blocked my view. I looked down at my plate and saw an army of utensils on either side.

Once Damon had gotten control of himself he leaned over to whisper, “Start with the outermost and work your way in.”

“Thank you,” I whispered back.

I picked the utensils farthest away from my plate and saw the guy watching me out of the corner of my eye. I caught him doing this a few times throughout dinner; although he wasn’t the only one I caught. It became so frequent that it was a relief when the dishes had been cleared away and Eoin and Claire invited everyone into the garden.

I followed the crowd down through the castle and into the garden. The sun was just starting to set when we went outside, and every once in a while there was a soft flash of light from the fireflies buzzing around. I noticed a towering hedge maze in the center of the garden and started walking towards it. I saw a few giggling couples slip into the labyrinth, and did my best to avoid them.

The calm and quiet of the maze was relaxing, especially after all of the staring I had noticed. I lost track of time as I wound my way through the plants, only stopping when I noticed that it was getting dark. I found myself in the center of the maze, where there was a large, open space. There were stone benches surrounding a towering apple tree. I sat down and looked at the old tree, noticing bright red apples peeking through the leaves.

“You got here faster than I anticipated,” a voice said, breaking into my thoughts.

I turned around and saw the guy from dinner staring at me. What does he want? I thought in irritation. He gave me that annoying, self-confident smile; but I didn’t return it.

“I apologize for being so rude, I’m Alaric,” he paused, as if expecting me to swoon.

“Juliet,” I replied without enthusiasm.

I stood quickly and began walking back the way I had come.

“Wait!” Alaric called, following after me. “May I accompany you?”

“I prefer to walk alone,” I replied snippily. This guy was seriously getting under my skin.

“No one should walk alone,” he insisted, with what I assume he thought was a winning smile.

I just ignored him and continued walking.

“I’ve never seen you here before,” Alaric said after a short silence. “Where are you from?”

“A long ways away,” I answered. “I’m here visiting my aunt.”

“Who is your aunt?” he pressed.

“Um, Evanna,” I lied quickly.

“Really?” We were finally out of that stinking maze.

“Why are you so interested in me?” I asked, not very politely.

“I don’t meet someone like you very often,” his tone and expression was hard to read.

“Someone like me?”

“Someone touched by magic,” he stated this as if it were perfectly obvious.

“What by magic?”

He smiled in satisfaction, finally grabbing my attention. “How could you not know? Your eyes make it clear that you are close to magic,” he eyed me with distaste, as if magic were a disease that I had contracted.

No wonder they were all staring at me, I thought. Out loud I said, “I’m not some trained monkey for you to go chasing after, so just leave me alone.”

With that, I turned on my heel and left.