Skotos Aenaon - Chapter 1 - Parts 1 & 2
25/6/2011
Skotos Aenaon
Chapter One: Visions may come and go...
Part 1
I was having a vision; I'd be damned but I was having a freaking vision! Right in the middle of my sister's marriage, too! Oh, God, Mandy will kill me! I thought. Not that anyone would blame her... or even stop her, for that matter...! Over the years, I'd developed a -totally unintentional, of that I can assure you- tendency of stealing her moments with my freakish visions that came and went at the most unexpected moments-for example, just like now, in the middle of her marriage, in which I happened to be the bridesmaid and walking down the aisle! I stood there, on the red carpet strewn with white and pink rose petals, frozen and unmoving, while being washed over by the picture of my sister standing in front of me, her white bridal gown dripping in blood, her hair a flying mess and her sky blue eyes empty of all; not just empty of emotion, but completely and utterly void of life! Right behind her appeared my very own bane - Dean, that unearthly vampire which, I presumed, must have a definite taste for suicide if he had the nerve to mess with the Darrows...
As suddenly as it came, the vision was gone and I found myself looking down the red aisle... and directly at Mike's crotch! I felt my cheeks heat up furiously, having a death-grip on the rose bouquet in my hands. Looking down to my feet, I realised that everyone was eyeing me warily, and it wasn't hard at all to guess their mutual thought: there we go again. The Darrows' little one is throwing off a spook show. Determined to not let this ruin Mandy's Big Day, I played it down as a spontaneous surge of nervousness and I composed myself, held my head up straight and walked on.
Reaching the Altar, I stood to the right side of the Priest and faced towards the entrance from where I had come in. Right then, the wedding march resounded and the heavy wooden twin doors opened to welcome the bride, on our father's hand. Syncronized, they walked towards us; if I hadn't been looking right at them, I'd have thought they soared inches above the carpet instead of walking on it. Mandy was practically glowing with excitement and Dad was really proud of her; one look at his face looking at her easily conveyed that much. They stopped in front of the Priest, Dad put her left hand on Mac's right one and they stood there together, so beautiful and so deeply in love.
"My fellow Christians, we have gathered today in this sacred temple to unite2 this man and this woman in marriage...", said the Priest and, as soon as the ritual began, I tuned out and contemplated my previous "accident".
I suppressed a shudder; it was just as scary -if not scarier- as that time when I'd first met Mike and, upon our handshake, I had a vision of him lying upon a road, covered in blood, with one of his legs twisted into a strange and uncomfortable-looking angle. I'd warned him not to cross any road at any time during the following day; well, to make it short, he spent nearly three agonizing weeks in the hospital with a broken leg and a plentiful of severed ribs. He had been hit by a car, the driver of which turned out to be his ex-girlfriend, who never really got over him and went by the theory "If I can't have him, no one else will!".
From then on, he got used to my powers, which were as fickle as the British climate. Everyone around had gotten accustomed to my irregular visions, however true they were. It was only me who couldn't get used to it; I'd been born with this and yet, at the age of twenty, I still couldn't seem to get a grip on my own powers!
Then I brought the vision in mind - the lifeless, glassy eyes of my sister, the way she stood there like a robot out of batteries. The way Dean had stepped out from behind her, like a hunter coming out of his hidey-hole - his mischievous smile, and the solid promise in his eyes... Just then, I clearly heard his voice ringing out in my head: "I won't trash your sister's marriage; you will do that for me, my little one!".
"No, dammit!", I cursed under my breath, but, unfortunately, it didn't escape the priest's well-trained ears, who had reached the point of asking whether there was anyone who objected to this marriage.
"Miss Darrow? Do you not wish this couple into marriage?", he asked and I visibly cringed - I just had to let that out, didn't I? I mentally kicked myself. Way to go, girl! I audibly swallowed and collected myself.
"Uh, no, sir, of couse not! I... I just remembered something I forgot to do...", I mumbled my shitty excuse of an apology. Mandy sighed heavily and Mike tightened his grip on her hands, reassuring her; the Priest nodded and went on:
"Very well... As it is, I hereby pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!", he declared and the couple kissed under the hurrays and claps of everyone present, myself included. I mean, what the hell? I might have had that damned vision, but I so wasn't letting it ruin that beautiful day!
Part 2
I sighed as I pushed the high-heels off my feet - oh, sweet bliss! I lied on top of the bed, still in my maid's dress, too tired to bother changing, though I was fully aware I had to. The thing was simple - If I didn't change and go back down in time, Mandy would skin me alive and use me to make herself a new, unique purse. No, I didn't make this up - she's been using this threat ever since she'd been able to fully understand the terms "fashionable purses" and "life threats". Yes, Mandy can be a real pain in the ass, sometimes... but she's my older sister and I love her, however absurd that may sound...
I stood up and took my crimson party dress from where it hung in its plastic wrapper, all clean and ready. I had just taken the maid's dress off, when a dull thud caught my attention and got me spinning around towards its direction. And there he was... Dean, in all his magnificence... running his eyes appreciatively up and down my body which, I realised with a gasp, was clad only in my black underwear. I grabbed the dress and held it in front of me, like a shield.
"Mmm, you look... tasty...! So, how's the wedding proceeding? Is all good?", he asked, walking slowly toward me in a slow, feline-like pace. I held my breath as I realised he was trying to bespell me. I knew I didn't need to worry, seeing as I was immune to vampires and all their "extras", but, still, I could feel the sexual pull of his vampiric aura.
"Dean, stop trying to bespell me... you know very well it's not working on me!", I said, taking a few steps back and hitting the wall with my back when he suddenly took one long stride and stood towering right before me, all broad shoulders, toned muscles, waist-long strawberry-blond hair in a plait, white-blue eyes... and handsome as Hell; such a great pity that we were on opposite ranks... He let out a quick giggle and brushed a stray lock of raven-black hair out of my face.
"I'm fully aware of this, mind you... but you're so much fun; I just can't resist pulling your strings, honey...", he whispered in a low voice and brushed his lips on my left cheekbone, with just a hint of long, promising canines; though the touch was feather-light, it made me shiver and caused my hair to stand on end and my heart to start a furious drum-roll. Hey, immune or not, I was a perfectly healthy young woman...! What was I supposed to do with that kind of a man? Play freaking Ice-Queen!?
Just then, his head snapped around to the door - there were high-heeled footsteps approaching, probably Mandy, to make good on her threat. He turned to me, placed a feather-light kiss on my lips and went to stand on the open window shill. He looked back at me and gave me that very same promising smile as in my vision.
"Au revoir, Miss Darrow... We'll meet again... maybe...!", he said. I blinked once and -poof!- he was gone. I eased my heavy breath as a knock came from the door.
"Blake?? Blake, are you in there? Blake, open the goddamn door, NOW!", bellowed Mandy. I looked at the digital clock on my drawer, afraid I might see it broken down or stopped at midnight-it actually read 16:46. Whoa! I'd been up here only for five minutes? It had felt like ages...! The aggressive knocking on my door came again. I left the dress lying on the bed and walked the short distance to the door, mumbling about how she should knock her head on it instead.
To Be Continued...
© Marina Misty Trandaki 2011