Vale:
I didn’t realize how much rage was inside of me. Of course, I was angry-in my mind, though it may be bias of me, I had every right to be. Even in not fully knowing why I was so angry.
My memory from before…I mean exactly before I died, it was severely flawed. I knew who Alastair Wade was, I even recognized that insufferable Harlyn, a girl whom I’d grown to love in a way that, unfortunately I could not force out of my memory or my mind.
I remembered the Lycan king; how could anyone forget him? His tall, brooding bulge of masculinity, and subtle resentment in his hard eyes. I was hard-pressed to confess that thinking about him and our controversial situationship forced the corner of my lip to curl up into a smirk.
I tossed the corpse aside, as the feeling of nostalgia faded away. There was a fury in me that I could not shake, and the only release that I had was trying satiate this hunger that I couldn’t seem to gratify.
It was wrong to feed off of and even kill these humans that I was feeding on. I tried telling myself that because most of these people were scum of the earth that it was okay. Deep down, though, my conscious incessantly reminded me that it was still wrong to take them away from here. Did it stop me? No, it didn’t.
As the night went by, I walked the streets of Shadow Veil for a while familiarizing myself with all that I had dearly missed, despite the life I was forced to live. The school, the town hall where Alastair Wade would have his soirees, the hospital where I was forced to look after the lycan king; something that I actually wasn’t too upset about, now that I think about it.
I even bypassed the stables where once I had to spend my days because of the spat that I had with Harlyn.
Eventually, I walked the streets until I came to a stop, once again, at my old stomping grounds.
I’d gone into Herry’s bar a few times since my…”resurrection” and every time, I successfully avoided any familiar eyes. It was a preference as I knew that I’d be bombarded with neverending questions if I was recognized.
I almost went in, but I decided against it and kept going. “Val?” I heard a voice call to me. I knew immediately who it was and I couldn’t help but turn around to face him.
“Herry,” I smiled and walked towards him. “It’s good to see you.”
“Wow!” he blew sharply. “You…you’re doing well, I see.”
I knew by then that he’d heard the rumors going on about me. “As well as can be expected, I suppose.”
“I-wow, this…I’m so glad to see you,” remarked Herry as he took a step towards me. It wasn’t until I noticed this that I realized he’d been on approach since our conversation started.
“Same here,” I said. It was nice to catch up with Herry but I knew that it wouldn’t be a good idea to stay for too long. It had become somewhat of a natural instinct at this point to feed. Herry was one of the last that I wanted to make a meal out of. “Listen, Herry,” I started. “I’d love to catch up some time but I really should be going-”
“You’ve changed,” he said as if nothing that had just come out of my mouth had registered to him. His eyes squinted at me and then he took yet another step closer. There was a sudden sullenness in his eyes. “You…you’re one of them.”
For some reason, I felt a slight hint of shame when he said this. I respected Herry as well as his opinion and so I honestly would have hated it if he actually thought of me in a different light simply because of something that I had no control over. And even if that was the case, I still could not find it in my heart to resent him the way had did everyone else.
“Not by my own choosing,” I finally tried to explain in short terms. “It was this or death,” I shrugged.
“Ah,” his eyes widened for a split second and then he nodded his head, his stare falling to the ground. “Not much of a choice,” he said awkwardly as he shoved his hands in his pockets in rocked back and forth on his heels.
There was a slight lull in our conversation a moment but I could tell that there was something else that the old guy wanted to say to me.
“Well, it was nice seeing you, Herry.” I smiled genuinely.
He returned my smile, “If you ever want to get back to work at the bar, my doors are always open, Val. Speaking of which, do you still play that Cello?” he asked.
The idea of my instrument sparked delight. “I don’t think I could ever stop, to be honest with you, Herry.”
“Good to hear,” he returned. “It sure would be a shame for a gift like that not to be put to use. If you ever want to display that genius again, I’d be glad to oblige you at the bar.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, Herry,” I replied. Of course, in the back of my mind I knew that I wouldn’t be able to necessarily take him up on that offer. Not with my father being the one who owned the place. It was a risk being in its vicinity as it was. “Well, I should get going.”
“Of course, of course!” He said. “Well, it was nice talking to you, Val. I hope it won’t be the last.” I returned his sentiment and started to walk away. “Oh, and Val,” he called me one last time. I paused and faced him. “I know the choices weren’t all that grand, but I am glad that you’re alive. Kind souls like yours are far to rare to waste,” he smiled, and then waved before heading into the club.
Oh great! Leaving me with those final words only exacerbated my guilt. I knew I shouldn’t have stopped to talk to that guy. He always knew the exact words to say to make one think about their actions, past, present, and even future.
Quickly, I started to head for the hills, not wanting anymore of this nostalgic sentimentality tonight.
“Valene?” Someone else! And this time, it wasn’t Herry. I refused to turn around when I heard that voice. “Valene, is that you?”
His voice seemed to break and weaken as he asked this question. There was pain there. Why was he so pained? Did it hurt him to see what I had become? That I was alive? Maybe he missed me. Did he…miss me?
No! No, that couldn’t be the case. I refused to believe it! My stubborn pride wouldn’t allow me to believe it.
I started to walk away again. “Val, please! Please don’t run away.” There were tears in his voice. “Please.”
I turned around, and I faced him. I didn’t know how to feel, but I did come to the realization while standing there that it was time to face my father.
Alastair:
When Merari expressed to me the difference of her appearance before, I didn’t realize how literal she’d was until that moment.
I could hardly contain myself as I watched in the distance, the young woman that I’d raised from a babe up, standing there with the tale of a grim story written in her eyes.
She was angry and rightfully so. I could tell that she was like a rare bird, waiting for one of us to make one move before she fluttered away never to be seen again.
“Val-”
“Vale,” she corrected me. Apparently, she didn’t want to live by that name anymore and I could do very little but respect it.
“Vale,” I quickly corrected myself. “Sweetheart, where have you been?”
“I’m sure that she’s kept apprised of everything that I’ve been up to,” said Vale. “As well as where I’ve been this whole time.”
It was after she said this that Merari stepped in. “Sweetheart, I don’t even know where you’ve been all this time, so…no, no I have not.” I sensed reluctance engulf Merari as she then said, “But I have heard things…things that I fear are quite displeasing for any parent to hear-”
“Parent?” Vale scoffed, shaking her head. She then expelled a harsh sigh. “You think because you’ve been running around all my life, masquerading in another skin all my life makes you worthy to be called a parent?” she asked.
“Baby,” Merari took a chance in taking another step closer as she tried to explain herself.
My senses, told me to grab her wrist and hold her back. I knew that if she’d gotten too close to Valene, she’d flee.
Merari glanced at me a moment and then returned her regard to our daughter. “I told, you sweetheart, it just isn’t that simple.”
“I think it is,” said Valene. “I think that you were too much of a coward to actually introduce yourself to me. So you paraded around in a stranger’s face and earned my trust because it would be easier for you to come and go as you please. Right?”
Merari’s lack of a response was all the answer that Vale seemed to need. She sighed. “Baby, I was fighting a war. I-I wish that you could understand that. It was harder for me to leave you than you could ever realize. I don’t-I don’t how many times I have to say this until you believe me.”
I sensed at this point that they’d had this conversation more than once. “That’s enough, Merari,” I intervened. This wasn’t the time to have it again.
As long as Valene was in this headspace, she would not be willing to hear what her mother had to say. At this point, Merari was just wasting her breath.
“Vale,” I took over the conversation. “Sweetheart, I just…I just want you to come home,” I saw the reluctance in her eyes. “I know that it’s a big ask.” I could see it in her eyes. “But I-I have to admit, life has been quite miserable for the last two years and I-”
“It’s not about how you feel anymore though, is it?” she said bitterly.
“No, no, of course not, sweetheart!” That was a jab at me, I knew it was, and I was alright with that. “That’s not what I meant. I-I just want to talk.” Raw emotions began to well up inside of me. Aziz feeling the same as I did only made them stronger. I struggled to hold myself together as I watched my daughter…my little girl stand there with so much anguish and confusion in her heart. “Please. I-can we talk?”
Before I could stop myself, I’d done exactly what I was trying to stop Merari from doing; I stepped forward. And no sooner than I did, Vale took a flighty step back. I quickly remembered myself and walked away.
“I just want to talk,” I said. “That’s all.”
She stood there a moment, her mind seeming to consider my request. Her gaze went distant and then she finally spoke, “I saw you, ya know?” she murmured. It was hushed, but I could tell that she wanted me to hear.
“Saw me?” I murmured, trying to figure out what she meant by this.
“I watched as you stood at that tree…for hours, and hours on end,” she seemed to recall. “Sun up to sun down, placing flowers…little trinkets that I used to like….sweet treats,” her voice began to weaken and I saw the mist of tears threatening to release from her gaze. Then she looked back up at me. “I saw you mourn me,” a small solemn smile played across her face and then almost as suddenly as it appeared, it disappeared. A frown wrinkled the space between her forehead and she quickly looked away. “I’ll think about it…this talk,” she said, crossing her arms defiantly.
“Thin-think about it? That-that’s all I ask,” I said, hopeful that she’d leaned towards agreeing.
“If I do,” she said and then glared at Merari. “If I do come back to that house. I don’t want to see her.”
I heard Merari’s breath hitch when Valene said this. Her heart was broken by our daughter’s harsh words.
“I’m just not ready for both of you,” said Vale. “Not right now.”
Before another word could be said, Valene’s body seemed to break away into shadow-like winged creatures and she disappeared into the sky in remarkable form. Whatever this new power was, it was something that I’d never seen before. And it was quite amazing.
“Well, at least you…” Merari’s struggled voice brought me back to currents. I looked at her and saw the pain in her eyes. “At least you’ve given her something to think about.”
She couldn’t hide that pain in her voice from me. I faced Merari and gently squeezed her arms, stepping closer to her.
“Give her time, sweetheart,” I said to her. “She needs time.”
Merari’s sad eyes looked into mine, and oh how my knees weakened her serene and enchanting beauty. “I hope you’re right, Alastair,” she said and unconsciously stepped closer to me as her gaze veered up to the night sky where our daughter had not so long ago disappeared into the clouds. “Losing her again…I just…I couldn’t bear it.”