It is very likely that Chapter 9 will be the last chapter because I simply cannot continue with this thread of thought anymore. And honestly, after Apple of My Eye, [as one reader emailed me], TLAW is crap! That was such a harsh assessment but well, every story has its own merit right.
Alrighty... so heres what I have written so far for TLAW chapter 9. It's still in it's rough stage; I might make minor or even major changes. As of the moment, I decided not to follow the skeleton that I've written out so I'm writing with the flow. Also, I am not going to send this chapter for editing, so do bear with the mistakes.
Oh yes, one more thing. I have alot of problem with conceptualizing miles, feet VS kilometres and metres and such. Same as kilograms and pounds. Oh yes, and British vs American spellings...
***
Sydney looked at herself in the mirror and caught Fiona’s eye.
“I’m kind of nervous,” she said with a jittery laugh. Fiona smiled and placed a gentle palm on Sydney’s shoulder.
“If it makes you feel better, I think Dominic is just as nervous. Maybe worst. I saw him puking outside his house not too long ago.”
“Really?” said Sydney, suddenly brightening up.
Fiona laughed, “It made you feel better didn’t it? That’s all that matters right now.”
Sydney was smiling as the door opened slowly and Sophia peeked in.
“All ready girls?” she asked and offered a hand to her daughter. “Your father’s waiting for us outside. I think he’s going to cry,” she said with a wink, making Sydney burst out in giggles.
True enough, Edward was holding a handkerchief to his face; trying to blot out the tears that had escaped his eyes.
“I’m having a ‘butterfly kisses’ moment,” he said with a sniffle. “Except you didn’t bake me a cake or gave me any butterfly kisses at night.”
“Oh Daddy…” said Sydney, squeezing his hand tight. “It’s time to give me away now. No one likes a crybaby,” she teased. Edward gave a hearty laugh and patted her shoulders.
“Yes, you’re right… no one likes them… especially when they have such intense green eyes and soft strawberry blonde hair. I’m not pointing any fingers,” he chuckled as he offered his arm for her.
Fiona smiled at Edward’s comment but at the same time, it made her somewhat sad. Her real father would never have a chance to give her away at her wedding. For a moment, she wondered if he was just as funny as Edward or as serious as Aramis.
To be honest, Aramis Culzean was more a father to her, even though he insisted on her calling him ‘grandfather’. Whatever his title was, she loved him and was looking forward to letting him know about her plans to get married with Eian. It would make him so happy.
At that moment, Pearl and Sydney’s sister-in-law joined her and together they walked down the aisle towards the end of the hall. There was a make shift raised platform and podium where Dominic stood, dressed in his smart black tuxedo. On his left was Eian, dressed in a similar fashion with his brown hair tied neatly at the nape of his neck. His eyes flickered to Fiona’s face for the briefest moment before it focused on Sydney as she entered the hall hand in hand with her father.
Bloody blistering cannons Eian! She’s beautiful!
Yes she is. But Eian was looking at Fiona once again; watching the way her eyelashes fluttered as she tried to look away from his gaze.
***
The reception was held outside Dominic and Sydney’s newly built home. Tents and marquees had been put up to accommodate the few hundred guests that were present for the wedding. Food was abundant, as was the wine and music. People were making conversation, taking photos with the bride and groom and getting drunk.
And yet, Fiona was sitting quite alone at the far end of the party, blending in with the partial darkness of the night. She watched as Dominic and Sydney opened the dance floor with the customary newly-wed first dance, followed by Sydney’s parents, Pearl and Mike and then everyone else. Eian stood under the floral arch, greeting guests and showing them to their table. She knew that he was searching for her but his attention was always diverted by various guests who wanted to thank him, the host, or by other ladies who wanted to have a dance with him.
She told herself that she wasn’t the jealous type but the more she sat there watching the people milling around her, the more she felt sick. She hadn’t been feeling too well since the wedding ceremony in the great hall. She had initially blamed it on the lack of sleep or excitement but it had gotten worst as the day drone on.
As the night got older, Fiona drifted away in the darkness towards the edge of the water. She was cold even though there was hardly a breeze in the spring night.
Then she started coughing; feeling herself choking as though oxygen was knocked out of her lungs. She couldn’t take it anymore. There were just too many humans around her and they smelled… different from the wolves. They enticed her and it had taken a lot of her self-control to stay as far away from everyone.
Fiona squatted and tried to curl herself into a tight ball to quell the thirst. She clenched her fist tight as she felt herself shivering but it was useless; her nails were growing longer and she felt her canines elongating. She had only felt this way once. It felt like the attack on the man in the woods all over again. It scared her to know what she could possibly do to everyone within her vicinity; to herself or Eian, if she didn’t do something right now…
Without entertaining another thought, she jumped into the lake; letting her shouts of pain burst underwater. Even as she grappled with the intensity of the pain, she forced herself to move through the water to the other side, to try and put as much distance between her and the others.
It felt like forever but she finally managed to gain enough strength to pull herself up the bank, almost ten miles away from the MacFarlane lands.
The pain had stopped but she was feeling too numb to know for sure.
“You need to feed,” said a voice from behind her. Fiona’s instinctive reaction was to clamp her hands around the person, slamming the body up against a tree. However, the familiar face of Alaron smiling at her forced her to let him go. He was not food.
“Here. Drink this,” he said, offering his wrist. When she gave a disgusted look, he rolled his eyes and pressed it to her mouth. “It will quell that hunger for awhile. We need to get you home… or somewhere safe for you to feed.” Fiona didn’t reply him for she was fang deep in his flesh, drawing upon their shared blood with an astonishing hunger.
When she finally pulled away, she felt herself slowly returning to normal; fangs and nails retracting. Somewhat shocked at herself, she collapse on the floor and begin to cry.
“What… what’s happening to me Al?”
“I can’t say for sure but I think you’ve never been exposed to so much… prey, at one time. I’ve told you haven’t I that the most basic need for the Vampire is to sink his teeth into moist, plump flesh… of a human.”
“Shut up! Don’t say that! I… I am not like that!” she shrieked.
“Don’t lie!” he shouted back, pushing her such that she rolled a few feet away from him. Fiona’s eyes hardened. In a blink of an eye, she returned his assault by knocking him down with a blow to the stomach.
“Why were you following me? And why is it I didn’t sense you?”
Alaron leaned against a tree and scoffed. “Like I’d ever let you out of my sight. I made sure I kept my distance; far enough to ensure that you won’t catch a whiff of me. But it’s not you I’m worried about. It’s that dog you’re sleeping with that annoys the hell out of me.”
Fiona looked up and narrowed her eyes at him. “I told you not to speak of him like that haven’t I? I’ve got to get back now. He’ll be worried,” she said, trying to get on her feet.
“To where prey is plenty? Don’t be stupid Fi. You might even attack that dog that you love so much and that’ll be the end of it,” he said casually before frowning. “Come to think of it… maybe I should just let you go back. If you manage to kill him by accident then I’ll stand a chance.”
In a blink of an eye, her hand was at his throat again while the other clenched into a fist, aiming for his face. However, Alaron remained calm and laughed hysterically.
“I dare you to do it,” he taunted, still laughing at her feeble attempt to attack him. Fiona glared at him angrily but released her grip around his neck and lowered her hands.
“I’ll go with you,” she said after awhile before looking at the other side of the lake. She tried to get one last look at the people but she couldn’t see anything much except the glow of lights.
***
Okay, so there we have it- the starting of TLAW. I'm on my third cup of coffee. It's almost 11pm and guess I've got a long way to go eh. I'll update again once I get more stuff on script. Oh yes... and it's blistering COLD!
Ciao for now!
***
Okay, so there we have it- the starting of TLAW. I'm on my third cup of coffee. It's almost 11pm and guess I've got a long way to go eh. I'll update again once I get more stuff on script. Oh yes... and it's blistering COLD!
Ciao for now!
