Chapter Five
Theo's trip fell short the second I stepped outside. There was a flurry of snowflakes drifting throughout the air lazily in the darkness, painting the ground in an ocean of white. I stood on the steps in front of the mansion in my oversized outfit, mismatched socks, and absent of any other footwear or protection towards the cold. It wasn't a wonder why I'd been freezing within his room as of late. It was winter.
I froze at the thought of placing my feet into that blanket of ice.
"What's your problem?" Theo called, finally having noticed my absence. He stalked towards the steps in irritation. When I didn't answer, he sighed. "I'm not a mind reader. I'm not human. And I haven't been human for a very long time. Speak your mind."
"I-it's cold," I pointed out the obvious. Theo paused, looking around him as if only just noticing the snowflakes that were beginning to collect on his shoulders. Could he really be that oblivious? Or was he making a show of it in order to further mock me?
"Fine," He sighed again, moving towards me determinedly. I backed up quickly, but paused when he bent over in front of me. He quickly removed his shoes from his own feet, placing them in front of me pointedly.
"Feet. In." He demanded sharply when I hesitated. I quickly placed my feet within the oversized shoes, but they were just small enough for him to be able to tighten the shoestrings so that they wouldn't completely fall off... just so long as I stepped carefully. Even being small sized for men's shoes, they still appeared like clown shoes on me. He proceeded to remove his buttoned down shirt, leaving him in a sleeveless white undershirt, and offered it to me as though it wouldn't look even more insane over my sweater. "Better?"
I nodded quickly and Theo once again moved into the night, shoeless and sleeveless. At least we both looked insane. The thought was a curious one that for some reason drew a smirk across my face. I bounced after him, hopping occasionally in order to keep my feet within my clown shoes. It was still freezing, but it was better than nothing.
We ended up in a car rather than on feet as Oliver had done when he delivered me here. I sat uncomfortably in my seat, shifting constantly in the cold as Theo failed to turn any type of heat on. A part of me wished I had his ability: the ability to just not feel cold. My teeth chattered as the car drove across an empty road into the night.
Theo glanced at me momentarily during the ride.
"Do you have something to say?" He addressed me sharply, clear irritation painting his words. I didn't understand what he had to be irritated about. He wasn't the one freezing to death and heading to an unknown place. "I'm not going to do anything for you until you learn how to speak."
I hesitated uncertainly. "But you said not to speak," I responded pointedly.
"Oh, I see. You're some mindless doll," Theo stated simply. A spark of frustration ignited within me, not that it would help me any. It wasn't like I could allow myself to become angry, attack a vampire, and expect to somehow survive. "In that case, jump out the car."
For a moment I didn't hear him. Then I frowned. "What?"
"I said, jump out of this car, now," He demanded sharply, reaching over to unlock the passenger door. I glanced at the window where trees were passing by at a dizzying rate. If I leaped from a moving vehicle, I would be seriously injured if not killed. Who knew what I'd land on or against? Was he mad?
"I don't want to," I answered, frightened.
"What does it matter what you want? You don't technically prefer anything, do you? You have no personality, no food preferences, no taste in music, no feelings... I'm surprise you can even feel the cold. What's the point of existing? Just be a good puppet and jump," Theo was apathetic, as if he could care less if I disappeared off the face of the Earth. I set my jaw in irritation. I didn't know what food I preferred, but I knew I didn't like oats. I'd never heard music before this night, but I knew I enjoyed the slow melody he had created. And I most definitely had feelings. I wasn't sure why I existed, but I wasn't a puppet.
"I won't," I snapped, "And I already told you. It's cold. You don't have to be so..." I lost my train of thought as his eyes caught mine sharply. For a moment, I wondered if he'd toss me out of the car himself, but he only reached forward and fiddled with the control panel before turning on the heating system. It wasn't long before the heat began to thaw my flesh most pleasantly. I almost sighed with relief.
"Where are we?" I asked curiously, looking outside the window once again as if I could just suddenly figure it out, "Where are we going?" As we turned down an intersecting road, a familiar small town crossed the horizon not far in the distance. It had been the town I had wandered into before finding my path crossed by Oliver and Jax.
"That's Eden," Theo admitted boredly, "We're in northern Missouri. We're going on an errand." I glanced back at him without satisfaction.
"What kind of errand?"
"The kind where you stay out of my way and keep quiet," Theo stated sarcastically. For a moment, I almost fell into my silence with confusion. In one second, he told me not to speak unless spoken to. In the next, he told me to speak my mind and stop being a mindless doll. And then he said to keep quiet. I couldn't keep up.
"What kind of errand?" I decided to ignore his comment, receiving a quick look from him, but once again I couldn't quite tell if it was an annoyed look or one of intrigue. He sighed, rolling his eyes as though I were the bane of his existence.
"We came into possession of valuable artifacts. I have to present a certain one to a prospective buyer," Theo admitted emotionlessly, "It's how we build our fortune. Some artifacts value at millions of dollars. Just stay out of the way and you'll be fine." I quieted, watching as Eden disappeared into the distance silently. We drove for a while, coming across new towns which Theo would randomly name without me asking. It was the most he had ever acknowledged my existence.
We finally pulled into a residential road, traveling down private property until we were stopped in front of a large gate. Theo waited only a moment before a buzzer went off and the gate opened dramatically in front of us. He pulled into the circular driveway of a large house, stepping out easily. I wondered if I was to stay put in the car, which I wouldn't have minded at least until the warmth faded, but then my door was opened and Theo was standing outside waiting for me to exit.
I stepped back into that cold with a clearly disgruntled expression. I followed Theo up to the doorway where a man in a tidy suit stood with the door opened. I would've found it welcoming, but he was silent and didn't even look at us. Theo walked us into the house, stopping before heading further.
"You stay over there," He turned on me, pointing at a collection of seats in a lounge room just to the side. I peered at the area with displeasure, but by the time I could address Theo, he had already disappeared from sight.
I took a seat on one chair that was facing a pair of patio doors. The curtain was only pulled back slightly so all I could see was a discolored reflection of myself upon a black background. I settled with letting my mind wander blankly while waiting for Theo to come back. He appeared to take ages, and part of me wanted to search the building out of curiosity, but a main part of me knew curiosity was dangerous and didn't want to risk being injured. So I settled with staring at nothing.
That is, until a small movement caught my eye just outside the patio door. I hesitated momentarily, uncertain if I should proceed to investigate, but then decided to take a small peek. I crawled down from my chair, pressing my hands and face against the windowed door with concern as the movement came into focus.
It was a small creature, no bigger than my palm. I guessed it to be type of squirrel; most likely a flying squirrel. My initial determination was that it was dead and the movement was merely caused by the drifting wind against its fur. For some reason, this devastated me.
I quickly unlatched the door, sliding it aside to reach down and cup the poor thing in my grasp before locking the cold back outside. I skittered to my seat, curling myself around it as though my warmth would bring it back to life, despite the fact that lately I had been nothing but cold myself.
The squirrel stirred in my grasp, causing me to inhale sharply in surprise. It hadn't been dead at all. I quickly investigated its body, determining it to instead be dying. It was injured, possibly from a bad fall, and starving. Plus, with the addition of the winter cold, it was no doubt freezing to death. Once again, I wrapped myself around the creature protectively.
Something about the squirrel reminded me of myself. Perhaps not injured, but definitely having fallen from some unknown place. Hunger pangs were constantly vibrating through my body. I felt weak and not even the heat within the car was enough to completely warm me. It was as though the last time I felt completely content was under the touch of Sebastian, but I wouldn't feel his or any of the other vampire's touch again. They considered me dangerous, untrustworthy, and bewitching. I wondered why I didn't feel the same towards them, considering they were the vampires.
The squirrel was beginning to become more lethargic in my grip. It would probably die. Tears began to blind me. Was this my fate as well? To wither away until death caught me? Was my existence really that pointless?
I started to whisper comforting things to my dying companion. I wasn't even sure what I was saying. My words sounded rushed and some of it came out as gibberish. I wished him warmth, etcal. I wished him good health, etsalu. I wished him life, etvit.
Etcal. Etsalu. Etvit.
A golden glow of light was forming in the lines of the palm of my hand. It traced the creature curiously and then bit into him vibrantly. The words spilling from my mouth were startled into silence. Had I murdered the poor thing?
When the glow faded, the squirrel was unmoving. Before I even had time to mourn it further, it was suddenly on its feet, bolting up my arm. I screeched in alarm, assuming it had come back from the dead to attack me. But then it was against my neck, ruffled within my hair, and scratching at its fur. I hesitated. It was alive. More than that, it was healthy.
I reached over to stroke its fur curiously.
"What have you brought with you? A Disney princess?" A woman's condescending voice announced from within the room. I nearly jumped within my own skin, having been so immersed in my strange situation with a random flying squirrel. "What is she wearing?"
"She's none of your concern," Theo's voice followed. I looked up to find him standing next to a woman with vibrant hair in shades of violet. She was thinner than me, which was impressive considering I was a nearly starving to death. Her eyes were a sharp blue, telling me that whatever she was, she wasn't vampire. All the vampires I had met so far had eyes black as coal.
"If you say so, but if you do get bored of her, feel free to send her this way. We would pay a good price for new entertainment," The woman purred humorously. I remained unsure on how exactly I would be some form of entertainment.
"We're leaving. Let us know what you've decided about the artifact. We won't keep it on hold forever," Theo announced and I was glad to hear I wasn't the only one who brought about his annoyed and bored tone. He indicated for me to follow him before turning away. I quickly scrambled to my feet, stumbling over my oversized shoes. I passed by the woman, following her face with my eyes as I did so, and escaped through the entrance behind Theo.
Once we made it to the car, I suddenly gained momentum enough to leap in front of him to stop him. Theo could have completely plowed past me, and something in the look that crossed his face told me he planned to, but I abruptly gripped the squirrel that had been resting on my shoulder and held it out to him in the palms of my hand.
At a loss for words, the only thing I could awkwardly come up with was, "Look, a squirrel!"
"I care why?" Theo asked, completely unimpressed. He stepped past me, heading towards the driver's side and leaving me alone. I looked at the squirrel with frustration as it began to shiver in my hands. Not wanting to end up killing it by trying to care for it, I lowered it onto the ground simply. The squirrel ran a lap around me before racing towards a random tree, climbing to the top, and leaping from that tree to another. I was almost envious.
"Get in the car or I'll reconsider not selling you," Theo demanded sharply from within the car. I didn't doubt his threat, so I quickly settled in the car next to him. We drove in silence for a few minutes as I thought about what I had done.
I knew I was a witch, but I hadn't cast anything more than minor things until now. Words had formed on my tongue without me realizing and I had somehow healed a living being. I wanted to appeal to Theo about his family, to let them know I wasn't dangerous, but at the same time I didn't want to appear desperate. After all, I was craving their touch. How long had it been?
I glanced at Theo momentarily. With him, I was barely fed. I was ignored and treated cruelly. But when I looked at my feet I remembered how he had easily given up his own shoes for me. The heat was already on within the car. Perhaps he just had issues with knowing how to take care of a human. After all, hadn't he stated he wasn't a mind reader and hadn't been human for a long time?
"It's not so bad," I sighed pleasantly, despite the hunger pains that were aching throughout my body.
"What?" Theo asked, having heard my words regardless of how quiet I had been. I felt a tinge of embarrassment, but clarified.
"It's not so bad, being with you," I answered quietly, not looking directly at him. I thought about the piano and how he had suggested listening to other works. I immediately perked up. "Can we listen to the music you suggested once we get home?" The words slipped from my mouth so suddenly, I almost didn't notice. Home.
When I looked over at Theo, he was staring forward with a cool expression and shaded eyes. His hands were tight on the steering wheel, as if I had said something that had more than irritated him. Was he upset with me for imposing my enjoyment of music?
"Yeah, whatever," He finally answered without looking at me.
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Music: Roses by The Chainsmokers
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