I sat at the table in the main hall with Del and Kiko as we decided to take an extra long break in between training. Kiko was telling Del about my improvements, that I had been able to floor her more often than not and, with a cheeky grin, Del looked at me. “How about I come on in these training sessions, see if you can knock me down?” “Yea, sounds good to me!” I said confidently with a shrug.“Del!” Kiko groaned. "I’m trying to build her up so don’t be too full on." “I won’t, I won’t! I’ll try to take it easy. Don’t worry Ellie, I won’t be too hard on you!” he said with a playful wink.“Bring it on!” I replied, feeling competitive.“You think you can take me down that easily?” He said with a cocky smile.“I think you’re scared I’ll be able to!” I shot back at him.“Ooooh” Kiko cooed, chuckling. “Del, you’re not going to back down are you? But you can if you’re too afraid!” She joined in with goading him.“Alright, alright girls! I know what you’re doing. But I’ll join in, don’t you
“You’re quick” Del said as he walked back across the mats, “But you’ll need to be quicker”.I bent over leaning my hands on my legs as I tried to catch my breath, I had so much sweat forming all over my body, even my pulled back hair was wet! “I’m being as quick as I can!” I told him in annoyance. “You do have an advantage, in case you’ve forgotten”. “If you find it hard now, how are you going to defend yourself against rogues? He asked with a frown.“I’ll just have to do as best as I can, Del”. “I don’t think you’re at your best, Ell’s, and so far I’ve taken it pretty easy on you!” “Easy? You call that easy?”. “Del, let her have a break!” Kiko suggested as she watched our training. “She looks like she’s about to topple over!” “Fine!” He slightly eased up. “Get some water, then we’ll go again!” “Fuck!” I said as my chest heaved, trying to catch my breath. I dragged myself over to the bench and drank what was left of my water.“She’s improved a lot, Del. If we go too hard she won
I woke up early, the birds outside my window tweeting away as the sun was beginning to rise. I could already hear Talon in the next room rummaging around and I knew we weren’t the only ones awake. Everyone would now be getting out of bed to prepare themselves for the day ahead. I quickly put on all of my clothes I had chosen to wear whilst we hid in the tunnels. I knew it would be cold down there, so my three layers of tops and jumpers would hopefully keep me warm enough. I tied back my hair and clicked open my bedroom door, to see Talon putting away a handful of papers in a big black folder. “Good morning Ellie, you’re ready to go?” “Yes, what are you doing?” I asked as I watched him neatly place the folder on the main table. “Just getting things in order, in case I don’t make it back”. He said so calmly as if he didn’t realise exactly what his words meant. “You WILL make it back, Talon, I know you will”. I tried to reassure him and myself, even though doubt was ma
Kyan's Pov:I couldn’t wait to get away from here again! As much as I love being with my father and maybe even my brother, it felt like time just stood still here. The same shit every day! Not to mention we couldn’t even step outside our territory because of those insufferable humans!Sure, we had more than enough wildlife for us to feast on and, I’ll admit, there were some things about this forest that I liked, but I just didn’t feel like there was a real place for me here, it was just too drab…. Too confined with no real reason to be here. Father tried so many times to keep me from disappearing every few weeks, but it was different for him. He had a place, a reason! He was a vampire lord for fuck sake! Even my brother had his little underground gambling ring he seemed to take so much delight in, not to mention, for some warped ass reason, he seemed happy here with that vixen Lyra.I just couldn’t stomach just how many humans my father had allowed to roam our home now. One by one the
Ellie's POV: I rode my bicycle through the mundane hustle and bustle of the town, on my way to work… or as I like to call it, my one peaceful sanctuary that I immerse myself in to escape the boredom of my life. I pushed open the heavy wooden door that led into the town’s library. It had been one of the first places to have been built and has been around for generations with stacks and rows of books from floor to ceiling. It used to be wildly popular according to my mum, but most days I’m here, the only ones that seem to come in now are kids and teenagers that still attend school. They come to us to know more about our history, our land or poetry and for most girls…homemaking.Apart from me and Andrea Collins, the energetic and hopeless romantic who oversaw everything within these walls, no one else seemed to have a passion for this place anymore. When I was still attending school, as soon as the bell rang for home time, this is where I’d spend most of my evenings, reading book after
It has been two weeks since I saw the mysterious vampire and I had started to think maybe I had just dreamt it all because as much as I didn’t want to, it all kept replaying in my head. No matter what I was doing or how engrossed in a book I was, his face would appear in my head and the more I thought on it, the more it felt too bizarre to be real. The only thing that confirmed it was how different Danny was whenever he saw me. Of course, he said nothing to anyone about that night. He never saw what knocked him down and seeing as how he man-handled me, I couldn’t see him admitting to anything any time soon. But he had never backed off from me before, for years he always tried to get my attention or sleaze his way over to me at a party.It had taken days for me to feel like I was normal, just like everyone else here. Me speak to a vampire?.... Nooo never! I was just like everybody else, not that I really wanted to be, and what happened will be my little secret, never to tell a soul.As
“Is there anything else you’d like me to do before I go?” I asked Andrea, who was currently so engrossed in sorting the accounts she probably didn’t even realise how long she’d been sitting there. I started work six hours ago and apart from a quick lunch break, she hadn’t moved.“Oh, uh Ellie, sorry I didn’t even know you were still here. What time is it?” “It’s 6.15pm, you’ve been at those books all afternoon!”“I know” She sighed as she leant back tiredly in her chair.“Well, I have thirty minutes left of my shift, but I could stay longer if you need some help”.“No, no, it’s fine. But if you could just get out all of the solar system displays for the class that’s coming tomorrow and set it up in the kid’s corner, it’ll save me having to come in early”. “Of course, I’ll get on that now… Are you sure there’s nothing else I can help you with?” “It’s ok Ellie, honestly, I’ll do this last bit and we’ll lock up together. I have a date to go home and get ready for”.“A date? You mean w
After cashing in my payslip at the bank, I rode my bike home with the cool spring breeze flowing through my hair. Trying to blank out how nervous I had been last night, I tried to fixate my thoughts on what I wanted to do when summer came. Maybe go hiking or camping out in the hills, stay in one of the huts by the beach. I didn’t care what I did, as long as I was out of the house for part of it.My parents were just as distant this morning as we ate breakfast around the table in silence. I felt even more suspicious of my dad. All morning he kept dropping things, looking flustered and on edge… What is he up to? I kept thinking and I felt irritated at the fact that I knew he was hiding something, whether my mum knew or not, I wanted to know! I leaned my bike outside the front porch and as I walked into the house, it was just as quiet as it had been when I left. I decided to poke my head round the door to the living room, but what I saw, left me rooted to the spot as the hairs on my ski