4a/n: Lala... Here's Chapter 3! ENjoy!
Chapter 3
World: Earth (White Zone)
A young boy around the age of 18 dressed in a buttoned up shirt with matching white khaki pants stared out the window of his extravaganza room that was flourished with the finest wood and gold. His skin was fair yet it had the pinkish color of health. His hair was blonde, almost silver, with a pair of striking purple eyes. He wasn't muscular, but he was lean with long arms and legs.
He slowly sat himself down on his black satin sofa and crossed his legs at his knees. In a slow, deliberate motion, he waved his hand in small gestures, his eyes never leaving the scenery before him, his eyes devoid of any emotions, as if lost in his own thoughts.
Even as his servant poured red wine into the dainty wineglass, he made no sense of acknowledgement as he held out his hand. The servant placed the wineglass into his hand before bowing and retreating into the corner of the room, waiting for his next summon from his Young Master.
The young boy took a sip of the wine absentmindedly without even bothering to savor the smell first. He propped his other elbow up onto the arm of the sofa and placed his hand by his lips. As he continued to drown himself in his thoughts, small creases formed between his eyebrows. He could feel it – the sense of excitement and danger – in him. Not often did he had such strong feelings before and nothing could have excited him to this extend except for only two things – or rather, two people – that could make him feel so deliriously happy and furious at the same time. One of course was his beloved Kendrick of whom he had carefully avoided for personal amusement and the other was the knowledge that Sable had finally awaken and the battle was about to begin yet again.
A small smile that probably was a gift from the devil himself crept up his lips and instantly, the angelic image of him was tarnished. He licked his lips like a beast ready to savor its prey as he reminisced about his past reincarnations. Finally… he thought, I can kill again…
A knock at the door, broke his train of thoughts and he turned around in annoyance. "Come in!" he called out, already knowing who was at the door.
The door swung opened and a woman with a presence that belonged to a queen walked in. Her charcoal colored hair was let loose and it went all the way down to her waist. She wore a body hugging midnight blue gown that glittered under the chandelier's light. Her complexion was deathly pale, her luscious lips and strong eyes were as red as blood. Nevertheless, the air of regency around her could not overpower the strength and authority the young boy had around him.
"What is it Gabby?" the boy asked briskly after dismissing all of the servants out of the room.
"My Lord Keegan," she began after she knelt before him. "I'm here just to make sure that you're aware that Sable has been awakened."
"Ah… yes… Of course I am. How could I not? I sense her presence the strongest."
"Since she has finally awakened, you need to prepare yourself for the long awaited battle. The knights and I have had a visit from the goddess Arkaál that she will be sending your sword to you very soon."
"Oh?" Keegan said in faint amusement and sat back down on the sofa, his back facing the leader of his knights – the vampire Gabriella. Gabriella stood up, walked to his side and looked out of the window, following his gaze, at the picturesque garden before them. "I wonder how bloody it can get this time for us to get our swords back? The last reincarnation…" he paused for a while trying to recall. "It was the blood of children…" he muttered.
Gabriella turned and fixed her eyes on the striking features of her master when the sunlight caressed his hair and skin. "The blood of a virgin." She answered. "Arkaál told us that this time she would send a virgin to deliver your sword."
"Okay…" Keegan answered in a singsong voice, clearly not caring about that little information. "When is my next practice, Gabby?"
"In an hour's time with Horatio."
"Oh, great. Magic lessons…" Keegan drained the last drop of red wine down his throat. Neither of them said a word and he began tracing the rim of the wineglass with his finger, his eyes fixed onto the clear transparency of the glass. "You may go now…" he ordered nonchalantly when his vampire did not leave.
Gabriella nodded and took a swift bow. She headed towards the door and stopped as she was about to leave. "Keegan…" she called out his name hesitantly before she left the room.
"Yes?" Keegan murmured in reply but loud enough for the ears of a vampire's.
"Are you going to have Kendrick again this time round?" Gabriella's body tensed up when the question rolled out of her tongue. She was afraid of this question, but she was even more afraid of the answer to it.
"Maybe. It depends. Why?"
"You cannot!" Her voice sound harsh and she immediately regretted it.
"That's for me to decide and why do you sound so harsh, Gabby? Are you still jealous of your cousin?" his voice was soft yet there was a sharp edge to it.
"No, no my Lord." Without waiting for a reply, she turned around and hurriedly closed the door.
Keegan closed his eyes and leaned back against the sofa. He took in a deep breath and his eyes snapped open. The wineglass shattered by itself angrily in his hand and the shards of broken glass flew into the air. His fingers tightened around the broken glass and they started to bleed before uncurling, allowing the blood tainted glass to fall onto the blue carpet. His arms fell limply to his side and already, his severe wounds were healing by themselves but not fast enough to prevent the blood from dripping down from his palm to the tips of his fingers and onto the carpet.
The pain that was supposed to be there was not as Keegan pictured Sable's face during the time when he killed her a thousand year ago. In between a low rumbling laughter, he called out her name, hoping that she would be able to hear it and anticipate their next meeting…
A month had passed since Sable learnt of her existence of her seemingly useless life. She did not want to believe in it at first as it seemed utterly impossible but from the moment, she realized that she could turn scrap papers into any kind of animals she wanted, it was impossible for her not to believe.
Nevertheless, despite having this newfound knowledge about herself, came the ugly side of it. Every night, she would have dreams of the past – that was what Luther told her. She would see herself in the battlefield, drenched with blood and sometimes she would even see herself being brutally killed. Each night, she would wake up with a scream and in no later than a minute; Luther, Saphira and Kendrick were there by her side. She would tell them her dreams and they would answer all her questions as well as tell her in which reincarnation was the dream was from.
There were also moments too when she would have these flashbacks while she was awake and that was worse than the dreams. These flashbacks seemed to transport her into a different frame of time and rather than looking at it from a third person's point of view, she was looking at things through the eyes of her past self and she felt everything and anything that went on.
Sable sat by the edge of the swimming pool, soaking her legs in the cool water. She looked around her at the marble statues and beautiful floral garden. Until now, she could not believe how huge this mansion was. Lifting up her hands, she pointed her index finger at the middle of the pond. A small shimmering light came sparking out form the tip of her finger and when it touched the water, the water seemed to have come alive on its own. It danced its way up into the air, molding itself into the shape of a dolphin as Sable started to move her hand in small motions.
Ever since that one time when Saphira taught her magic, she had been able to conjure up spells that she never knew she had within her – consciously and unconsciously. Sable started smiling when the 'dolphin' dived into the water and started playing by itself. She loved the feeling of magic especially the part where she could feel small waves of warm fuzzy electrical jolts of sparks and electricity flowing through every vein in her body.
"Sable… my good friend Sable…" Sable spun her head around, searching for the voice that seemed to send chills down her spine. Her hand dropped and the dolphin disintegrated into water again. The voice started laughing but it sounded to evil that Sable started to panic. Another memory attack? She asked, hoping that she was right.
"Of course not! Don't you remember me? I'm Keegan!" the voice shouted. Frantically, Sable stood up. "What are you doing here?!" she demanded. She was about to run into the house when all of a sudden, in her vision, a pair of large beautiful purple glinting eyes appeared in front of her. Sable screamed and the eyes seemed to laugh and feel amused by her reaction. She stumbled backwards while the pair of eyes got closer to her. When they were only inches apart, the voice sounded again, "I just wanted to know whether you've missed me…"
Sable shook her head and closed her eyes shut. Taking in a deep breath to erase the trembles in her voice she replied, "I don't even know how do you look like and taking into consideration the memories that are returning to me, all you bring are disasters!"
Again, the pair of eyes seemed to have laughed. "Isn't that just what makes me so alluring? Anyway, I have to go, Sable. I really do hope I can meet you soon. Until then, don't die…"
Just as sudden as its appearance, it disappeared and left everything untouched. Sable scrambled up to her feet only to have fallen onto the ground again. She somehow felt tired, exhausted and couldn't move an inch. Calling out to Saphira, she sad there and forced herself to remember how Keegan looked like. The picture of him in her mind was always in a blur and she could not quite figure out how he looked like expect that he had blonde hair and his skin was fair.
Sable pushed her thoughts away when hurried footsteps were within her earshot and a lone figured appeared. Sable felt like smashing her head against the wall when she realized that it was Kendrick – and he was the very last person she would want to meet. "What's wrong?" he asked in that dead tone of his and looked down at her.
"I can't stand up…" Sable muttered, feeling frustrated that she could not figure out how did Keegan actually looked like. She also couldn't get used to the fact that she was Kendrick's master and not the other way around although he was supposed to be since he was the one who bought her. With these two things and the sudden 'memory attacks' as well as dreams all added up, she felt she'd rather drown in the pool right then.
"And why can't you stand up?" he raised his eyebrows at her. "Had another attack?"
"Keegan… I saw him, or rather his eyes…" Sable muttered, not wanting to look into his cold red eyes. The vampire stopped moving and his face went blank with expression – if he had any at all before that. She sighed and continued, "He did not do anything to me. He just asked whether I missed him or not and told me not to die before we meet…"
Sable thought she caught a sense of fear flitting passed his eyes but allowed that matter to rest unsaid.
"Don't think much about this. When it's time for both of you to meet, then it's time. What's most important now is for you to rest and not wander about on your own. I can't be coming to your aid like this every time. It's troublesome."
"Then don't come to my aid then!" Sable snapped, startling Kendrick. She was furious, alright. He may be the one who saved her but he had no right to say hurtful things to her when she was already going through hell trying to adapt to everything that's suddenly crashing into her life. She pulled her arms away from his cold hands and tried to steady herself on her own two feet.
Kendrick made no move to catch her when she fell. Instead, he just stood there, like a statue, waiting for her next move. When Sable gave up trying to fight off her fatigue and move her body the way she wanted it to, the vampire allowed himself a small, satisfied smile. "If I did not, you would have been stuck there until your body regained its strength that was lost when you communicated telepathically with Keegan."
"Telepathically? Is that even possible?" Sable asked, still annoyed but undoubtedly interested.
Kendrick ignored her. "Saphira and Luther won't be able to hear you because this place's too big. I'm the only one who would be able to hear you no matter where I am in this house which means I'm the only one who you can actually call out to when you in such a… state." He ended and scooped Sable up into his arms.
Sable glared at him and decided to focus her eyes on something else than his beautiful smooth statue-like face. "And why are you the only one?" she asked when they finally reached her room and he laid her down on her bed.
"Plainly because I'm a vampire. Vampires are meant to be the strongest and fiercest predators on earth so naturally we have very sharp senses plus the instinct to hunt, kill and thirst for blood." He replied so nonchalantly, as if it was nothing that Sable began to see him in another new light. For the first time, she willed herself to search for the little warmth in him that she felt on the first day they met amidst the cold and murderous pair of eyes.
Clearly, Kendrick was uncomfortable with her sudden boldness and it was his turn to look away. "Don't bother trying to search for anything humane in me." He commented as he turned around.
Sable stared intently on his disappearing figure. Unexpectedly, she began to feel a wave of nausea overwhelming her. "Oh my God… not now!" she fell back against the soft pillow and cover her face. But that was of no use as scenes of the past came visiting her again.
This time, she found herself standing in a place she had never been to before yet somehow it looked familiar.
Green pastures were everywhere, the sky was clear, flowers were blooming and colors covered her like candies. There were laughter and singing. She felt peace.
The scene changed. This time bodies were everywhere. Dead, lifeless bodies. There was fire, buildings were either burnt down or torn down. Sable choked at the smell of blood and her horror-stricken eyes turned up towards the misty sky.
She could hear voices. Angry, lethal voices. Shouting, screaming, crying. "Keegan! I'll kill you! I'll rip your fuckin' head off that body of yours!" She found herself shouting, with a glinting sword in her hands. She could feel sweat trickling down her own two hands along with blood.
Like always, Sable started screaming in her heart incoherently while she continued looking through the eyes of her past self. "Get me out of here!" she begged. She frenetically somehow tried to push herself out from the body that she was trapped within.
The images shifted to another one although the surrounding scenarios were practically the same. "Keegan! Get away from that kid now! Don't you dare lay a finger on him!" a small boy was crying while holding his toy, wailing loudly for his parents. Keegan stood beside the body with his fingers at the boy's throat. Creatures unknown to her were ripping bodies into shreds.
For the first time, Sable was able to have a clear view of Keegan. Her screams stopped and she just stared at him, absorbing every detail she noticed.
"What if I do?" Keegan asked, his eyes fixed onto hers beneath his sweat-drenched hair that seemed to sparkle underneath the sunlight.
"Keegan!" Sable heard herself shouting threateningly.
Keegan laughed and to her absolute horror, Keegan drove his sword into the boy's throat and chopped it off. Sable wanted to throw up as the stench of fresh blood infiltrated her nostrils. The young boy did not even have the time to scream. Keegan killed him too quickly and too swiftly.
Sable felt her body running at top speed and in a matter of split seconds, she clashed swords with Keegan. She could feel the wind cooling her body as Keegan gave her another blow against her sword. "God… I just love to see your urge to kill me!"
"You took Kendrick away from me! I won't allow you to take even the world away from me now!"
Keegan smirked as Sable swung her sword. She cursed when she almost got him by his shoulder, missing him by only a few strands of hair. "Don't be so sure of yourself, Sable. Now that Kendrick's mine, I already have taken the world away from you…"
Sable's heart stopped when she said those words. What did she mean? Why did she say Keegan took Kendrick away from her and why did she suddenly feel a constricting pain in her chest? She wondered whether it could be an answer as to why Kendrick always had that violent look and fear in his eyes whenever Keegan was mentioned? She knew she would have the answer if she could stay a moment longer.
That however was not mean to be as the scenes shifted. Sable was startled, as it had never happened before. Never once so far was she able to have vivid flashbacks thrice in a row. Sable closed her eyes. She opened them as soon as she felt dust settling on her dry lips. She was sitting on cracked soiled ground. Her emotions were hard as stone amidst constant chaos. Her eyes were dry; telling her that she had officially ran out of tears to soothe her heart.
Sable noticed that her hand touched something. Turning her head gingerly, she saw a head without its body under her palm. Its eyes blank and staring at her. Its skin was wrinkled and dry with hollow cheekbones and grey lips. Just staring. She turned her head back to face the front at the barren space before her and started screaming again. Without stopping, an agonizing, horrified, confused scream…
When Kendrick was out of Sable's sight, he felt like crumpling onto the floor. Keegan's awake, he's somewhere near and Kendrick wanted to see him and meet him. He knew Keegan was avoiding him even after he was awakened and no doubt, Kendrick thought, Keegan was having fun playing with the thoughts that Kendrick longed to look for him and to Kendrick's shame, Keegan was extremely close to the mark.
He leaned himself against the wall and took deep breaths. He needed blood to calm his nerves and after that, he'll need to inform Saphira and Luther about Keegan. They would want to know that he paid their seeker a little visit. He forced himself to walk towards his room. As he touched the doorknob, he knew that something wasn't right. Instincts wide and clear, he swung his door opened and drew out his long sharp claws and bared his teeth.
Standing at the other end of the room by the window was a familiar woman with jewels ornamenting her long brown hair and her gown was covered with glitter dusts. Her mere presence was a sore to everyone involved in this battle. Kendrick relaxed himself, his claws began shortening themselves into normal looking nails, and he closed his mouth, hiding his fangs. He stood up straight and with a flick of a finger at the window, the windows shut themselves with a bang, bolted themselves and the curtains drew themselves closed, allowing darkness to envelop the room once more – just the way Kendrick liked.
"You need to brighten up your room, Kendrick dear." Arkaál turned around and placed her hands on his hips. Her voice was light and her words seemed to float.
"Shut up." He snapped. "What is it this time?" he asked although he had a rough guess what it was about.
"It's about Sable's sword. She should get it now that she's awake. Gather Luther and Saphira here."
Kendrick eyed Arkaál wearily. "Can we hold the meeting somewhere else? I don't want you replacing the darkness of my sanctuary with your holy presence."
Arkaál shrugged her delicate shoulders. "Alright. We'll meet in Saphira's room then."
Kendrick sighed and shook his head. He contacted Saphira and Luther telepathically and once they were gathered together, Arkaál took a sit on Saphira's study table while the other three stood facing her.
Kendrick folded his arms, Saphira sulked while Luther stuffed his hands in his pockets, his eyes wandering somewhere else – all clearly showing their displeasure.
"I know you guys hate me but I'm still your creator so I suggest you show me some respect." Arkaál voice sounded clipped. The three before her reluctantly acknowledge her and she continued. "I will be quick as seeing your response is as equally as bad as Gabriella's and the rest."
None of the knights made a response.
"Anyway," she began. "I'll send the sword to Sable in three days time. I've picked the sender of the holy sword and it'll be one of my favorite worshippers. She'll be a virgin and she knows exactly what would happen to her. Please do take care of Sable for I don't think she's as hard up yet as Keegan is and might take things badly."
The knights nodded and Arkaál finally stood up, much to their happiness. After saying goodbye and giving her a bow, Arkaál disappeared in a bright glow of light that hurt their eyes – especially Kendrick's.
A moment of silenced accompanied them for a brief moment.
"You guys should know that once she gets her sword, she could never return to her old life. She would probably never see her siblings again." Luther pointed out as he took off his spectacles and wiped it with his shirt before putting it back on.
"We need to start planning on her training schedule already. Apparently, Gabriella caught hold of Keegan when we were still searching high and low for Sable and now, although he hasn't gotten hold of his sword yet, his trainings have already started. Once he regained his full powers, he will strike whether or not we're ready."
Saphira blinked at him surprised. "You've contacted Gabriella?"
Kendrick did not want to admit it but he still nodded. "I bumped into her when I went to pick Sable up." Which was the truth. They did not say much except exchanged greetings and his cousin informed him to act quickly because they had found Keegan already.
Saphira began toying with her hair, trying to distract herself from her sudden thoughts of her twin brother Horatio who was Keegan's wizard. "We should allow Sable to meet up with her siblings for one last time…" she whispered.
"Yes we should…" Luther agreed and his thoughts drifted to Trinity, his ex-wife, now Keegan's historian.
Kendrick licked his lips wet; lost in his own thoughts too.
However, their trails of thoughts were broken when Sable's mortifying scream sliced into their ears. Instantaneously, they bolted out from the door wondering what Sable had seen again, temporarily forgetting their own painful past caused by this never-ending curse that befell upon them…
a/n: reviews please? thank you! God Bless