Fearless Fiery Beauty

Chapter 21: Revelations

[A.N.  I know in earlier chapters I describe her as having black hair and hazel eyes, but I have done a lot of editin (only small details, nothing crucial to the plot) so now she has red hair and green eyes.  Like in the cover picture.]

Edana was still shaken the next day.  The conversation between her and Lucian had taken a serious mental toll on her.  She felt closer to him than anybody before and while the weight of her family’s betrayal still clung heavily to her mind, she felt as if part of the weight had been lifted.

She wandered aimlessly through a park a few streets down from her new home.  Lucian and his father still didn’t want her leaving the mansion, but she had needed to get out; to clear her head.  So, she put a compulsion in the guards’ minds and slipped off the grounds.  Lucian had been screaming in her mind for a while, but she had blocked her mind so securely she couldn’t hear him anymore.

She sat down on a bench on the side of the park that was bordered by trees and watched a group of boys a way off playing rugby.

It was just all so confusing.  She wasn’t used to letting people in, to sharing all her secrets with them.  Dani knew about her past and the vampires knew about her abilities, but it was somehow different when someone knew both sides of her.  She had to admit though, it was nice to have someone she could share these things with, and thanks to the mind-link they had shared during the conversation, she knew he was honest when he said that he cared about her, that he loved her.  It was a strange feeling, hearing those words, feeling the truth behind them.  She knew her friends, especially Dani felt the same, but they had never said it.  It was like an unspoken agreement between the five of them that they would never say those words.  None of them were comfortable hearing those words, and they were even less comfortable saying them.  They had all suffered damaging years; years that had made that one simple word a fearful concept.  They never said it, but they didn’t need to.  They all knew how they felt about each other.  They didn’t know about her abilities though.  A part of Edana felt that if they did, their feelings would change, that they would desert her.

She felt more comfortable since her talk with Lucian though.  A part of her still argued with her, saying that it was different because he was a vampire and was therefore very much used to special abilities and less likely to loath her for hers, especially since she was supposed to save his entire kingdom.  Another part of her though, a newly formed part, had hope that maybe they could accept her, that maybe they loved her enough to stand by her.

She sat for a while on that bench, thinking things over, idly watching the impromptu sports game.  Sometime later, a pair of men walked out from behind the trees.  She didn’t notice them at first, but when she did she jumped up from her spot and immediately went on the defensive, relieved when she finally recognised them.

“Josh, Dantè, what are you guys doing here?”

“We heard a little bird flew the coup,” Josh joked, an uncharacteristic smirk on his lips.

Edana laughed, “Yeah, I just needed some air, you know?  After that episode at the party and then everything that happened yesterday, I just needed to get out and clear my head.”

“Naughty, naughty, Edana, you know it’s not safe out here,” Dantè grinned.

“Yeah, the Gaunts could get you,” Josh laughed, flashing his teeth.

Edana cocked her head to the side.  “What’s wrong with you guys today?  You’re acting very weird.”

“We’re just happy I guess, you always have about a thousand people around you, it’s almost impossible to get you alone.”