• They always seemed to get me in trouble. Some fell in love with them and tried to buy me for them but others wanted them melted to nothing. And then there were the ones who were jealous of them and just wanted to use me. Of course Alexion wouldn't let them take my eyes but even he wanted them for his own reasons... At least I think he has his reasons, or could he really care for me?


    ~_~_~_~_~



    After a brief moment of silence, Alexion laughed. It was an odd sound and not one that I heard to often. His laughter reminded me of a songbird who had just been freed and it set my heart a flutter.

    "Xerux, you'll be the end of me one day." Alexion had stopped laughing and started walking. I followed, close to his heel. "Thank you for being so calm about Janessa. She's definitely different from the girls I usually bring home, yea?"

    I cringed. Being asked about Janessa wasn't something I wanted to go into with Alexion. I didn't want him to know that I didn't agree with her being with him or that I was madly in love with him.

    "Janessa seems to make you happy, Master Alexion." I winced as a sharp pain ran over my shoulder.

    "Are you okay, Xerux?" Alexion came to stand before me and pushed aside my dress's sleeve so that my shoulder was exposed. "Your shoulder is as large as a grapefruit!" He grinned. "When we get home I want a grapefruit."

    I had to laugh. He was such a goofy person that even in a serious moment could make you laugh. Alexion laughed along with me.

    When we had calmed our laughter to small giggles we resumed towards the mansion. When the gate was in front of us the guards opened the gate and Alexion stepped ahead of me.

    "I'm going to go see if Janessa is alright. I'd feel horrible if she were hurt." Alexion murmured, almost to himself.

    After he left I went to find Mistress Silver; the servants' medical lady. She wasn't hard to find and I found her in the servants' foyer. She was busy checking Lie, a stable boy, for his annual physical when I arrived so I took a seat on a hay bail.

    "Young Miss Xerux, what brings you to my service?" Her accent was thick with Southern voice. She sent Lie on his way back to his horses.

    "I was hurt at the market, today." I pushed my hair off of my hurt shoulder with my good arm.

    "If that Janessa touched one hair on your head, Miss Xerux, I'll have Hellren go at her in her sleep. That I swear, Missus."

    "No, she did nothing but faint." I sneered, thinking of how weak she was.

    "Faint? She was quite awake when she got here." Silver confined. "She had a guard take her to her room, but I guess she had been acting famished."

    I growled. She had lied to Alexion and I knew that even if I told him that he wouldn't believe me. I felt helpless but as I thought I came up with a plan to find out why she had lied. I was a good spy.

    "Now, what hurts, Missus?" Silver continued, knowing that my temper was raging. "I see you don't have the glasses and that makes me happy. You are such a pretty young girl, without the glasses. Why Alexion persists on covering them is a mystery."

    "My shoulder," I wasn't in the mood to talk about pretty or Alexion.

    Silver had me remove my dress, down to my waist, and examined my swollen shoulder. She told me about the minor cuts that ran over my back but was most worried about my shoulder.

    "Missus, I have to set the shoulder and I want you to stay as still as possible."

    I did as I was told but as she started to raise my arm, my eyes went wild and focused on everything blue. Water around the room shot up in jets and blue fabrics snaked around. I was in dire need of my glasses, since they were the only things that stopped my power from reacting as it was.

    The pain slowly subsided as she finished. All that was left was the dull, numb feeling. The blue objects slowly calmed, just as I did.

    "Sorry, Silver. I didn't mean to kill the daisies." Silver shrugged and smiled at me. She was one of the few who knew what I could do.

    "Them daisies were about to die anyways; you did me a favor. Now please limit use of that shoulder, Xerux." She scolded me, knowing that past injuries had come back due to my clumsiness and risky behavior.

    "Yes, ma'am." I grinned, before zipping out of the room.

    I ran smack-dab into Hellren's heavy chest. He gripped my good shoulder to hold me up and growled a little. His eyes were black and you could tell he was a demon of some sort.

    "Xerux, you need to watch where you are going." His thick voice was laced with a fatherly concern.

    I nodded, trying not to look him in the eyes. Fatherly or not, it was still amazing that Silver had married the man. He scared me, even after so many years of him being like my father.

    I side-stepped him and went to go find Alexion to talk to him about Jenessa. That is until I heard Janessa scream and Alexion apologize. Hellren turned towards the noise and pushed me behind him as Janessa came rushing from the room ahead of us.

    She pushed Hellren aside and grabbed my arm. Her eyes glared into my soul. She was angry and from the looks of it she was angry at me. I cringed as she raised her hand to slap me. Hellren pushed her back and growled at her.

    "You touch her and I'll gladly take the death sentence to kill you, whore." He growled and she stepped away.

    "Lexi!" She bellowed and Alexion came out of the room she had just exited. "The girl tried to poison me with that water and you saw it. I want her out of my sight and this worthless mass, too." She was talking about Hellren.

    "Janessa, please calm down. I am sure that Xerux didn't purposely try to hurt you and Hellren isn't all that bad." Alexion kept his gaze, heavy and angry, on me.

    "If she isn't put in the stables or out of my sight by nightfall, I am leaving Lexi." Janessa planted her hands on her hips and glowered at me. "She's worthless, but her eyes."

    Alexion almost let a growl slip from his lips before grabbing my arm; Hellren knew better than to interfere with Alexion and stayed back. The arm he grabbed was the bad one and flared to life with pain. I howled with pain as he dragged me away from Janessa.

    When we were down three flights of stairs and in the darkness of the servants' chamber room, Alexion pinned me against the wall. He placed his arms on either side of my waist, touching the wall not me. He growled in fustration and pushed himself away from me.

    "Why, Xerux?" He spun back around so that he was inches away from my face. "I have never known you to be so... so... Damn stupid!" He punched the wall by my face and his fangs caught a gleam of light from a candle on the other end of the room.

    "I didn't know." I plead, even if I did some what know.

    "God, don't lie to me!" He hissed. I had never seen him so angry.

    "She taunts me with you. She knows how I feel; She uses my feelings. And she's using you..." I murmured, scared of him lashing out.

    "Feelings, what feelings?" His voice softened.

    "Please just give me my punishment, Master Alexion. I deserve it for trying to harm the Mistress of whom is to be your bride." I sank into myself.

    Alexion grabbed my hair and yanked my head so that it exposed my artery. His lowered his head so that it hovered over my neck, sending his hot breath over my neck. I shuttered.

    "I cannot hurt you, Xerux, no matter what you do." He whispered, running his left thumb over my neck. "Tell me how you feel, Xerux. This will be the last chance you have to save me and yourself from her."

    "She makes you happy, Master Alexion. I wish not to displease you so I cannot say anything."

    Alexion sighed, pulling my head so that I looked straight ahead of me into his eyes. He placed his hands on my cheeks and lowered his lips towards mine.

    "Master Alexion," Called Lie.

    Alexion scrambled away from me and I sank to the floor. "Tell me, Xerux. Tell me now or you'll lose eveything." His voice was urgent and full of sorrow.

    "I lo--" Lie got to the last step and bounded over to Alexion, casting a shadow over me. I was no longer there.

    "Master, the mistress is looking for you. She wants to finish the wedding plans." The stable boy was nodding, knowing that by being asked to deliver this message was a great request.

    "Yes, my boy. Please leave, I need to finish a punishment and then I will be up.

    Lie glanced around. "No one is here, Master." He shrugged and sprinted up the stairs.

    "Xerux, please come back out of the blackness." Alexion walked back to the wall. When I did nothing to reappear, he stepped away and started up the stairs.

    "I love you..." I whispered, letting the sound drift on the blackness around him.

    "I love you too..." He shook his head and continued up the stairs. "I'm selling you tomorrow, Xerux. I told you the chance was yours to end our suffering. You proved me wrong by hiding."

    I stiffened and the room lightened after I had drawn on the color of the candle flame. The only darkness remaining was coming from my body. Alexion looked back and walked back over to me.

    Color returned to my body and he placed a lingering kiss on my lips before leaving. I felt my cursed eyes flood with tears that slipped down my cheek.

    To be continued.