CINDERBEAST(On Hold)

Chapter Thirteen

CINDERBEAST
Chapter Thirteen:

"Wow," Elliot exclaimed as a pile of dirt beside him began to grow bigger and bigger. Christopher's suit jacket-which now rested on the arms of Elliot- slowly become dirty with grit and stains. His bare chest was still exposed to the world, but he didn't seem to mind. The brown-eyed man sat only whiles away leaned against a tree, taking amusement in Elliot's childish behavior.

Soon, an aged diamond-shape kite appeared in the hands of that child. Excitedly Elliot ran over to Chris with a kick in his step and wide-smiled perched on his lips. ¨After all these years, I can't believe it's still here." Christopher stared at the kite for a second taking it in his hands. It flipped over and over as he turned it. ¨This is a kite?¨

A kite, once beautiful, was now a rugged brown with holes in random places. The white string was attached to a short broken rolling pin. Elliot snatched it from Christopher's hand and turned it in his hand himself. " It's fine, it still works." Elliot waited until a strong breeze passed to lift up the kite and let it fly. It drifted a while, holding Christopher in an amazed gaze before it slowly drifted down.  How could such a broken kite be able to fly?

"See", Elliot smiled.

Christopher couldn't help the small smile that grew as he watched Elliot. He seemed happy and at peace, and that made him happy and at peace. It seemed as if Elliot's emotions were now Christopher's emotions. However, the young man didn't seem to mind, he was too happy to even realize the sudden change in his thoughts.

At some moment he decided to sit back down on the soft grass and watch as Elliot ran around holding the kite in his hands. Sometimes it would drift away from others it would stay rested in his hands.

"Tell me a story," Christopher said once, Elliot laid down beside his sitting figure. Arms and legs stretched out, while he breathed heavily trying to catch his breath. " A story?" Elliot asked as he tried to sit up only to lay back down. It had been a while since he had the time to run around. " How about a legend? A myth?"

Christopher nodded his head. He didn't care what type of story Elliot told him. The sound of Elliot's voice was all he wanted to hear. There was something about the way he spoke, acted, even walked, that Christopher couldn't help but feel drawn to. He was caring, sweet, childish, and sometimes a little naive. It seemed there were only two people he cared for, his sister and Fletcher. No matter how long they had been friends, not once had Christopher heard Elliot speak of his parents nor his personal feelings.

Sometimes Christopher wanted to pry, but other times he knew how wrong it would be.

"Oh! Since we're here, it would be wrong not to tell you the legend of the Fernweh Lake. That one is my favorite." Finally, he sat up, leaning against the same tree Christopher was on. Clapping his hands together, he got comfortable. Christopher grew tense when he felt Elliot's shoulder collide with his.

"There was once a woman and man, who despised each other with every fiber in their beings. She hated the way he talked. He hated the way she walked. Every time their names were even mentioned in a conversation they would throw whatever they had in their hands and walk out. However, what they didn't know was that their parents had arranged for them to get married.

The man had a fit, breaking every precious valuable item he had in his room. The woman only cried and cried, in tears of joy. Although she hated him, she couldn't help but feel relief. There was a small part of her, a small part, that loved him a bit more than she wanted to admit. But, this man wouldn't allow it, he wanted no part. For he too had someone he loved, but it wasn't her.

It was another fair maiden, with eyes color of the dark sky."

Elliot stared at the glistening lake, before him, as he once again began to swirl the strands of grass in between his fingers. " He blamed this all on her, 'I will kill myself before I marry her,' he said in rage fit. But the fair maiden had other plans. There was not one person that could have escaped an arranged marriage. So, in the deep evil thoughts of this fair maiden, she called out to the woman.