|Little Red|
I wanted my distance to be respected between me and this haggard witch who used to be one of my favorite cousins. Unfortunately, she has no intention of talking loud enough for me to here.
"You should get a hold of your powers. Our blood is toxic."
"How do we even use our powers?" Eleana shrugs, giving me the urge to strike her across the face. But I'm not like that. I just had an all out argument with someone. I can only take the effort to argue with one person a day.
So much stress arguing with two, and trying to put my point out there.
It also doesn't help that my emotions exist. Perhaps I should get rid of that too. I don't know why I feel like an ass for yelling at the wolf, when it seems like he didn't actually do anything. I don't want to be a bad guy, but I think this happened for a reason. I was getting to comfortable.
"I don't know. I know how stupid it seems, but I never asked him. I was too engrossed in falling in love."
"Fuckin gross. Falling in love with the warden? I'd get a guard, even though they are just as bad. But the fucking warden? The worst of the worst?"
Eleana sighs. "I know. I'm not even going to fight it. Look, I know my mistakes but you need some direction. First of all, you're doing this the wrong way. Removing that curse will get you in trouble. Secondly, I fell in love with the warden, my mistake. But you have gotten yourself entangled wit the big bad wolf. You're never getting away from him."
I flinched. "Why am I the only one who didn't know about him?"
"Because you were kept prisoner. Don't beat yourself up. But the big bad has history. If there's anything I discovered from leaving the prison to the warden's home," there's no sense of pride in her tone and that makes me ease up a little. Because there is nothing to be proud about when the warden is involved. "It's that people don't get away from him. Fight him, argue with him, you're never escaping. He's currently being nice. Nice! Everything he has done for his pack is him being nice. The history gets darker. There's a reason they fear him. Just…. Don't get yourself hurt. Telling him off will hurt you only."
Well, thank you mistress relationship. "I doubt that. I'm in love. Trying to start a life and family." My sarcasm has never been clearer. "So tell me how the warden could see me. Better yet, how do you know so much?"
"Believe me, I didn't know any of these until your glitch that called me. Someone how I'm like your guardian-"
"Take that back."
She nods, "okay. Not a guardian. Anyway, the warden, when we were together, he was preparing for something I don't know what it was but he used to take little bits of our blood. Not for his weapons only, or anything else. He would drink a little every day. Every freaking day which was weird. But he said he was developing a tolerance of some kind. Even though that was bullshit I believed him."
"I thought our blood was toxic."
"Very toxic. He was taking it one at a time. Drops. It was making him feel weak on the inside. But it was having effects that were positive. He could sense something when we tried to attack him. Even though only one of us has done that and she took one of his ribs as a trophy."
This is the first I'm hearing of this as well. How much did I miss? I thought I had all the information but I mostly have the crappy ones.
"I know, the story didn't get out. But she's out too. If there's anyone who can use their ability it would be her. I don't know her name, but the warden spoke about her with hate. I bet he's doing the same with your name. Escapies put him back on his plan."
There was a girl before me that got away. I need to find her. Maybe she can teach me how to use this…. Okay, no, what I need to do is get rid of my curse. Maybe even remove it for the last remaining girls. For all I know the warden could have been lying to Eleana about a girl escaping.
"Okay, so he's drinking blood so that he can? What is his end game?"
"I'm ashamed to say I don't know. I'm not even sure why he would start a fight in the first place. The warden's motives for doing the things that he does have never been clear. And at the time, I thought it was best if I didn't know."
"I still hate you. You could have been up there with the test of the family, instead you're stuck. Wandering around the ghostly version of the dynasty prison. Listening to the pain our sisters, mothers, our whole clan went through."
"Love is a powerful drug."
"Bullshit. I hope to never be like you."
Eleana sends me a look of remorse. "Red, that's a cute nickname." My shoulders tensed immediately.
"Well I didn't give it to myself."
"Oh I know. Big bad gave it to you. As his mate. His bride. You know what you're going to do. You're going to wake up from this, and apologize to him because you know if you don't, he'll place tighter restrictions on you. You're seeing his good side, and eventually you'll forget this nonsense about removing the curse and try to be happy. You're not like me, it you had gotten out when your sister was still alive, you would have gone with her. And deviced a plan to get the others."
I like the shame on her face. She doesn't know what she's talking about when it comes to the wolf. Yes, I will apologize because I don't want him to lock me up in a cage next.
My claustrophobia could never survive that again. I'd get flashes of being tortured and who knows what I might do to make them stop. But love? Falling for him? Never.
I'm not going to make the mistake for choosing emotions over my freedom. I'm not a moron.
I'm not her. I'm not weak.
I didn't go through life just too…. Fucking fall in love. Why on earth would I do that?
"I see that look. I don't mind that you condemn me, but don't condemn the feeling of love. It is sweet, and sometimes it's just what you need to help you. You have someone to lean on."
"Look, Eleana, I don't need romantic advice or any romance in my life. I don't care if love is good to some people. Obviously I know it's good to some and bad to others. For me, it would be catastrophic. You basically just warned me of the wolf, and I had no intention of actually staying with him forever. My goal is one year. I need to be free in one year or so help me I will do a header off a mountain, and let my brain splattered on the first rock it hits. Now that we're done, and you've practically given me no information worth using, I am going to go back to the world. Suck up my pride, and apologize when I didn't do anything wrong."
Eleana actually huffs. "You're wrong this time. For the wolf's sake, I hope he finds a better mate than you."
What the fuck did this bitch just say? Before I can direct the force of my anger into words, the room fades and my eyes open.
Unbelievable. Eleana had the audacity to…. To- fuck her! I tossed my covers off, and dropped my feet to the floor. Immediately recoiling as the small zap of cold.
I turned towards the door, heart skipping at the sight of the hand that is still there.
You can do this.
I found the wolf in the kitchen, seated around the counter stirring a cup of black coffee.
It doesn't smell so good, and no hate but I think he prefers my cooking.
"Hey."
"What do you want?" He says, tone flat.
Maybe we can strike a deal.
"Okay, so you know where I came from." He's quiet. Still stirring is cup of tea. "I don't like the idea of being used for my curse."
"No shit. Honest to the gods, what on earth would I want from your curse?"
"I know. But can we make a deal?"
"No."
"Just hear me out." I walked around so I was close to him. My arms opened, and he sighs before pulling me towards him. I settled on his lap and brushed the hair out of his eyes. "I can be your wife, for one whole year. Then you need to promise to help me remove this curse. It hurts me. And I'm tired of this fear that someone will take me away and use me."
I watch his expression as my words hang above us.
Why am I suggesting a deal? Obviously I'm not going to stick around to see the full year through. If I can get to the old woman, I'll do it. But I need a back up. I want this curse gone. There's really no limit to what I won't do to have it removed.
I'm almost ashamed to say that.
"Okay, one year. But in three months, you have to marry me. And you have to make this year feel like we're an actual couple."
That's unrealistic. I can't even convince myself to do things half the time. "Or we can keep the domestic rules, and I'll marry you. But we get our marriage annulled by the end of the year."
"Deal."