The Legend of the Blue Eyes (3 page)

“It’s really them,” she said in shock, as
she gently touched the pictures. She had spent so many years trying
to see their faces clearly in her dreams.

“They were around your age when that photo
was taken,” Gabriel explained. “They met as teenagers, and, against
the wishes of my brother and your maternal grandfather, they
married as soon as your mother finished high school. Your maternal
grandfather, Lord Randolph, disowned your mother the day she
married your father.” Arianna turned the page and continued to look
at the pictures of her parents. “He has never been too fond of our
side of your family. You have no family on your mother’s side
besides him. As a matter of fact, he is your only living relative
on your mother’s side of the family, but there are plenty of us
alive on this side.”

“Here,” Patrick said quietly, handing
Arianna a soda can. “We don’t use this house too much, so there
weren’t many choices.” Arianna took the drink without looking up
from the pictures on the next page. Her parents had only been a
dream before. She had no real memories of either her mother or
father, only faint pictures in her head of what they would have
looked like. The pictures in front of her were so much more real
than anything she had ever imagined.

“We will leave you alone for a little bit,”
Gabriel suggested, as he stood and followed his son out of the
room.

“Is it safe to leave her alone?” Patrick
asked quietly just outside the doorway. “She looked like she was
going to run away only moments ago. She would be fine in this
neighborhood, but out of it …”

“We are not holding her here as a hostage,”
Gabriel responded, knowing she was listening. “She is free to leave
any time she likes.”

Arianna relaxed, knowing she hadn’t really
been kidnapped. She turned the page and continued to watch her
parent’s life unfold in pictures before her eyes. Her father and
mother as teenagers, then their wedding, next her mother pregnant,
and finally a picture of their family: her mother, her father, and
Arianna, all grouped tightly together, smiling. Engrossed in the
photo book, Arianna hadn’t noticed the time that had passed, or her
uncle, who had returned to sitting beside her.

“I took that picture the day you were born,”
he said quietly, trying not to startle her.

“But my aunt said my mother died during
childbirth,” Arianna replied, as she realized the truth of the
photo in front of her.

Gabriel chuckled again. “I knew your father
said he was going to lie to your grandfather, but I thought he must
have told him the truth about your mom, Tiffany, for Randolph to so
openly accept you.” Arianna stared at Gabriel. She didn’t
understand what he was talking about. “We lied to everyone about
your birthday,” he explained. “Both sides of your family have been
feuding for hundreds of years. We knew something could happen to
either your father or mother at any time because they were crossing
the divide. That’s why only I was called to help when you were
born. Your father and mother trusted no one. I was reassured when
nothing happened the day you were born, but the next day your
mother was murdered. It was an attempt to end both her life and
yours. We still have not been able to find who did it. Nor have we
found who killed your father.” Arianna stared at the older man. His
melancholy sigh indicated to her that he was telling the truth.

“Why would they go against their families if
it meant they could get killed?” she asked.

“Because they loved each other,” he replied.
“A true life Romeo and Juliet romance. In reality, you can’t help
who you fall in love with.”

“If my grandfather is alive, and so are you,
why was I raised by Aunt Lilly and Uncle Dean? Because no one
wanted me?” Arianna asked, questioningly.

“No, dear, don’t ever think that,” Gabriel
replied, taking her hands in his. “You have been loved and wanted
since the day your parents married. It’s true your grandfather
would have probably never accepted your father into his family, but
he couldn’t deny you.”

“Then why was I given away? Did you not want
me?” Arianna could not help but ask.

“I would’ve taken you in a heartbeat,”
Gabriel replied. “It was you father’s choice to send you to your
grandfather’s. After several attacks on his life, he didn’t feel it
was safe for you to remain here with me. I tried to convince him
that I’d protect you with every hair on my body, but I knew I
couldn’t change his mind. I now see that he didn’t trust your
grandfather completely either, since he lied about your
birthday.”

“Then does that mean Sunday isn’t my
birthday, or that my mother didn’t die on that day?” Arianna asked,
confused.

“Your birthday is tomorrow, or, rather, in
less than an hour,” Gabriel replied. Arianna glanced around the
room for a clock.

“What time is it?” she asked.

“Almost time for you to leave,” Gabriel
replied.

“Randolph’s dog is here,” Patrick said from
the window. “He’s just down the street.”

“The order to not touch him was sent out?”
Gabriel asked, as he and Arianna joined Patrick in looking out into
the dark street. Arianna could see a person in the distance,
leisurely walking down the street. “Take the letter in the back of
the book, Arianna. Your father wrote it the day you were born. It’s
for your eyes only,” he instructed, as the mysterious person neared
the house. Arianna quickly grabbed the letter and placed it in her
coat pocket. Hesitantly, she followed Gabriel and Patrick down the
staircase. Arianna stopped in the doorway and stared at the person
standing just outside the gate of the picket fence. The rain began
to fall again, and he opened the umbrella he was carrying.

“Here,” Gabriel said handing Arianna a
sealed envelope. “Give this to your grandfather for me, would
you?”

Arianna took the letter, but remained on the
covered porch. She stared at the young man, who waiting for her to
join him. He stood silently outside the white fence encircling the
yard. In the dim light of the nearest streetlamp, she could barely
make out any of his features. From the distance, she didn’t
recognize him. Arianna gazed back to her uncle and cousin standing
just inside the doorway.

“Go on,” Gabriel urged. “He will take you
back to Lilly and Dean.”

Arianna still hesitated, standing out of the
rain and watching the young man, who was, in turn, watching her.
Arianna didn’t fear meeting the mysterious letter writer, and even
after waking in an unknown house, she still wasn’t afraid, but now
she couldn’t help but worry about the situation she had gotten
herself into. Arianna’s stomach began to churn as she worried over
what she should do.

“But,” she started to complain. The young
man offered his open hand to her.

“Go now; he is safe,” Gabriel promised.

“Will I ever see you again?” she asked,
turning to her newfound family.

“Any time you wish,” Gabriel replied.

The tumbling of her stomach didn’t stop as
she slowly stepped into the light rain, towards the unknown man
waiting for her. The young man opened the picket fence as she
neared. Arianna stopped suddenly as she recognized the young man’s
face. He was the same blond-haired, blue-eyed boy from her math
class, who rode the bus north every Friday night, the same as
her.

“You’re from my math class,” she said in
shock, as he took her arm and pulled her under the umbrella with
him. He didn’t respond but directed her down the street. “You also
ride the same Friday bus as me.” Arianna waited for a reply, but he
still didn’t speak. His clear, blue eyes darted around, searching
the shadows as they walked. She was feeling worse now as her
stomach churned. “I think I’m sick,” she said, as she slowed her
walk. Arianna quickly stepped away from the unnamed boy and puked
into the grass. “Just my luck,” she said, trying to break the heavy
silence. “I turn sixteen and get sick at the same time.” The boy
escorting her stopped.

“Your birthday is tomorrow,” he responded,
still carefully watching around them. Arianna should have been
surprised he knew, but she was too sick to care.

“Nope, I just found out from my uncle back
there that it’s today,” she replied, as the sick feeling continued.
The boy took her arm and began to walk more brisk. In their haste,
Arianna failed to notice the small group of men that had begun to
follow them. She saw the first man as she stumbled trying to keep
up with her escort. “My feet are going numb,” she complained,
before realizing they were completely surrounded. The young man
helped her to her feet and handed her the umbrella.

“Hang on to this for a
moment,” he instructed, as he moved in front of her. Arianna closed
her eyes as her head began to throb. She reopened her eyes in awe.
The men surrounding them were extremely muscular, and all had long
white hair. Arianna turned from face to face and realized they
looked quite similar.
Brothers,
she wondered. “It’s best if you just keep your
eyes closed for a moment,” the young man with her said, as he
gently placed his hand on her eyes to shut them. “This should only
take a moment.” Arianna nodded. Between the sicknesses she was
feeling, and the fear that was beginning to form in the pit of her
stomach, she was hoping that if she closed her eyes, she would wake
up in her own bed, and it would all be a dream. Arianna held her
eyes tightly closed as she heard movement around her.

“I’m assuming you are all acting on your
own?” the young man said loudly to the men around them. “I’m pretty
sure Gabriel wouldn’t approve of this.”

“Gabriel is an old fool. That girl is one of
us, she belongs here,” one of the men replied. Arianna heard
movement again as the young man momentarily left her side and
instantly returned.

“I’d advise you to let us
pass,” the young man said. “None of you here have enough power to
stand up to me. If your friend in the shadows were to join you, it
would be a different story, but the six men here now are not
enough.” The young man prepared to fight six men at once.
“Since he isn’t protecting you, I’ll assume I’m
correct in that Gabriel has given us safe passage out of
here.”

Arianna fell to her knees as the pain in her
stomach increased. The young man quickly knelt to catch her from
falling further.

“I wouldn’t call this a nice birthday
greeting,” the young man said to the men surrounding them as he
scooped Arianna into his arms. “Her sixteenth birthday,” he
clarified.

Arianna opened her eyes as she heard the
movement around them stop. She saw only a glimpse of the men
disappearing into the shadows. As the last man vanished, a new
person stepped out, and bowed to Arianna before he followed the
rest of the men. Arianna gripped her escort’s shoulder tightly as
the pain increased. It was beginning to feel as if her internal
organs were ripping apart.

“Miss Arianna,” the young man said, quietly
staring at her as she shook from the pain. “We need to get you to a
safe house immediately.” The man reached into his pocket and
removed a small, glass bottle. He drank the red drink. “Keep your
eyes closed,” he directed, and she felt him begin to run down the
street carrying her. As the pain momentarily subsided, Arianna
realized the wind was whipping against her face quite severely.
Suddenly, the pain began again, worse than before. Arianna gripped
the young man’s shoulder as it continued. Arianna was numb to the
world around her, while the pain continued to grow worse. The man
stopped running, and darted into an alley between two stores. He
carefully set Arianna down against a building with an overhang to
protect her from the rain. Arianna glanced up as he moved a few
feet away and turned his back to her. The pain grew worse, and she
shut her eyes as he spoke on his phone.

“We won’t make it there in time,” he said
into the phone. “She’s already turning.” Arianna waited, trying to
distract herself from the pain by listening to the rain. “My
tracker is on, get here as soon as you can.” The young man knelt
beside Arianna.

“Can you make the pain stop?” she begged. He
nodded.

“I was trying to make it to a safe house,
but we’re still at least a mile away from the nearest one.” Arianna
nodded, though she didn’t understand what he was talking about.
“You need to feed, or the pain will get worse.”

“Feed?” she asked, confused. Arianna felt a
jolt of pain rip through her body and she closed her eyes. With one
fluid movement, the young man pulled a knife from his pocket and
cut his own wrist. “What…?” Arianna began to ask, as she opened her
eyes to find his bleeding wrist near her face. Arianna felt an urge
come over her. Her eyes glazed over as she stared at the blood.
Without thinking, she reached for his bleeding wrist and licked the
blood away. Arianna felt the pain inside her subside. The world
around her dimmed, and she passed out.