The Man With The Gloves (mxmxmxm)

2. An unfortunate encounter

"All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost." ( J.R.R Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring)

When Fayez opened his eyes, he couldn't tell how much time had passed since he had left his parents' castle. All he knew was that he was all alone, in a huge forest, and his father was nowhere to be seen.

Well, guess he got what he wished for, as it didn't seem there was even one living soul around him. Never in his life had he been so completely alone, which was something he had always longed for. No more prying eyes. No more small talk. No need to be constantly careful around others.

Yet, it didn't feel satisfying. For the first time in his life, he had been ready to willingly endure others' compagny, and for what? To end up in gloomy forest? How was he supposed to protect the human race, if he was stucked here amongst vicious-looking trees - cause, yeah, these trees definitely looked mean ?

But Fayez had a more pressing issue than his self-imposed duty to protect the human race. He needed to find his way out of this forest, and he needed to do it fast, for there was something wrong lurking here. He could sense it.

First, the noises, or rather, the lack of noises. For all he knew, forests were supposed to be full of birds, rabbits, and a lot of other small and not so small animals. The global warming didn't seem a good enough explanation as to why this forest seemed so uninhabited.

Second, he felt like someone was watching him, yet he couldn't see any creatures around and, as a vampire, he had a very good eyesight.

What was going on here?

The unfortunate thing was that, as it was the first time Fayez ever left the castle, his sense of direction wasn't the greatest. He was pretty sure that, regardless of the path he choosed, he would end up back to his starting point.

He looked up, hoping to see some far-away house that he would have missed at first glance, but there was nothing on the horizon. The only thing he saw was that the sky was quickly turning dark, and although he was a bad-ass/grown-up/supernatural creature, the realization made him feel even more vulnerable.

Why on earth did I end up here and who could be watching me? Friend or foe? I guess the later is more likely.

A few minutes later, Fayez had the answer to his unvoiced question, in the form of an incredibly beautiful woman who appeared out of nowhere in front of him.

Fayez never met many people outside of the castle, and, as most of them were vampires, they all had perfect skin, hair, and powerful body. He was used to beauty, and beauty was quite boring to him. Perfectly beautiful people all looked the same to him. He always thought that if he ever got the chance to have a lover at some point, he hoped they would have dark circles under their eyes, spots on their skin and crooked teeth. Anything but this perfection that was everywhere he looked at.

Yet, the woman standing in front of him was something else entirely. Never in his three hundred years of existence had he met someone like her. It would be hard to describe her, as words wouldn't be enough to do her justice.

It seemed to Fayez that she was the embodiement of light. A captivating yet deadly light.

Yes. That woman with the unethereal beauty was deadly.

She smiled at him, and somehow, this simple gesture made him feel even more cautious. He could feel goosebumps forming on his forearms, as drops of persperation started running down his temples.

"Good evening, Fayez"

Instead of responding to her, he took a few steps back, opening his mouth to show her his fangs and adopting an aggressive stance. The woman didn't look very impressed, though. On the contrary, she seemed to find his reaction quite entertaining.