Middle of the Edge

Chapter Six

"Wait what?!"
"Did you say mate?!"
"Did you say one of?"
  The last one comes from me. The first two come from the brothers. Sam, however, stands there with a blank face, starting at the man, Aristotle. Then he looks to me. "And you brought him here?" I hesitate, then nod. Sam tips his chin in a curt nod and holds out a hand. Without hesitation I go to his side, letting him tuck me against him, wrapping his arm against my waist. The kids scamper over to the brothers, and each picks up one, moving closer to Sam and I.
  "Then introduce us." He says gently. I frown at him, but he only raises an eyebrow. After a moment I sigh. "This is my best friend, Sam, his little sister Lily, my unofficial adopted son Cade, and my friends Lyson and Narc." I give the brothers a small smile and they return it, joy in their eyes. "And?" Sam prods. I narrow my eyes at him. He returns the look, his eyes flashing red. I grumble, looking at the floor. "Stupid vampire. I just wake up and you're so mean."
  He squeezes my waist slightly, hard, but not hard enough to hurt. "I'm Sophie. But it's a terribly girly name so this brute calls me Phie, and back home they called me Wylde." Aristotle approaches us, gently taking my hand and bowing over it, kissing the back. "It a pleasure to make your formal aquaintance." I only narrow my eyes at him, but he just smirks back. Sam pulls away from me, and I immediately look to him. "I'm going to get you some food, and see if Lady Steel is still awake. It's only just midnight, so most of the castle is asleep." I nod, letting him go. "Make sure she doesn't sneak out the window. Cade, Lily, come on, she needs to rest still. You can play with her later."
  "No!" Cade reaches for me and I gently take him from Lyson. "They can stay. I'm fine. I fed alot to get here." Sam shakes his head. "You're going to need to feed alot more, and eat alot, to get back to full strength." I sigh and nuzzle Cade's head. "I'm not going anywhere, okay? Go get something to eat and go to the rest of your lessons, okay? I'll come visit you later if Mother Sam let's me." I tickle him and he giggles, nodding. He kisses my cheek and I set him down. Lily tugs at my pants and I crouch down to giver her a hug. "You too, okay? And raise hell for me." She gives me a big smile and nods, hugging me back, and both kids run out of the room. Sam gives me a smile and follows after them.
  I look to Lyson and Narc. "You two need to eat and get some rest yourselves." They look at each other then level a look at Aristotle. I glance back at him briefly before looking back to them, shrugging slightly. Lyson shifts into his tiger form and comes to me, rubbing against me. Narc joins him and I roll my eyes but pet them. After a few moments they pad out of the room.
  Letting out a breath I hold out a hand, relaxing my body and swaying slightly. "Hey!" Aristotle is there, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me against his front. I sag into him, closing my eyes. "You're not okay, are you?" He picks me up smoothly and I let out a squeak of surprise, my eyes flying open. But he only lays me on the bed, propping me up.
  "They don't need to worry about me. They did enough of that when I was asleep." Laying my head back on the headboard I close my eyes. I feel the bed dip and my eyes fly open again as he straddles me. I flush hot. "W-what are y-you d-do-doing?" I stutter hard as gently cups my cheek, putting my hands on what I only now notice is his very bare chest to push him back. He barely moves, smirking at me. "I'm starting to think you're a virgin." I blush harder. "If you thought any different you would be wrong." I tilt my chin up.
  Surprise flickers on his face before his eyes darken. "Have you ever dated?" I can't help but scoff. "I did not have time for those things. I was a midwife and assistant to the cove Elders starting at thirteen. And I don't play well with people my age." He leans in, nuzzling my jaw. I tilt my head away, pushing him back. "Get off of me."
  "What about your friend? You seem close with him." Ignoring me he grabs my wrists, holding my hands in place on his chest and continues to nuzzle my jaw. I don't say anything. It's not like I owe him any answers. The he bites my neck, teeth peircing my skin, and I gasp in pain, my eyes widening in shock. He pulls back, licking the wound. "Every time you don't respond to me, I bite you."
  I clench my jaw, narrowing my eyes at him. He smirks. "So you want to play that way?" My eyes flick to the door, where I feel Sam hovering outside. I reach out mentally, and he lets me in, speaking first. "Do you want me to stop him?" I feel his dislike for Aristotle and carefully consider his question. This could end multiple ways. Sam could step in, but then Aristotle would just start again another time. I could answer him, but then he would likely continue to try to continue to get me to comply to his will with similar methods. I could refuse him, and he will continue to bite me until I'm likely to weak to resist, and still end up answering his questions. I could force him to stop myself, but there's no guarantee I actually have the will to force him into submission.
  So what's the best option? How do I solve this without it causing problems? "Come in with the food. Don't say anything about what's going on." He doesn't like it, but for once he doesn't argue against me. He comes in, rolling a cart of food, and I find myself narrowing my eyes at him. "Cade and Lily have both gone to their lessons." He starts, ignoring my look. "I brought you alot of fruit, as well as pasta and meat left over from dinner. Try to eat all of it. When you finish, there is a herbal tea one of the witches said should also help replenish your energy, but she said only drink one cup every few hours." He stops the cart next to the bed.
  "I brought you a plate too." He adds, eyes flicking over Aristotle before setting back on my face. Aristotle sits back on my legs, releasing my hands. I ball them into fists but let them fall to my lap. "Will you be staying with us?" I raise my eyebrows at Aristotle. "I have to go to training, but I'll be back to check on Phie right after." Now I frown slightly at Sam, trying not to pout. Of course he has to continue with his life, but I was actually hoping to talk with him. Though I suppose that would have to wait until Aristotle isn't around anyway.
  He leans down to kiss my forehead. "Trust me, I would rather spend my time with you. But you should eat and rest anyway." He gives a pointed look to Aristotle, and I smile at his first statement. But then a thought occures to me. "Sam?" I ask as he straightens. "Hm?" He starts uncovering all of the food. "How did we become friends?" He pauses. "I mean, you hated me when we first met." He smiles slightly. "Yes, well, my mom asked for you specifically to deliver Lily, but said I was to young to actually help her. I resented your position in the cove because all of the adults gave you important jobs but thought the rest of the kids as childish, even though most of us were older than you."
  I shrug. Alot of kids thought that way when I was growing up, so to hear Sam felt the same doesn't surprise me. "So how did you two get close?" Aristotle asked. Sam steps back, looking at both of us. "Well, I can't speak for her, but I stopped hating her when my mom asked me to take you food one day." My heart drops, and I lower my head. I remember what he's talking about. "So that's when, huh?" He pets my head and I look up.
  "What about you? I don't think I ever really asked." I grin. "I started warming up to you when you broke Jason's arm for daring Luke to come above ground and kill a bear." He laughs loudly. "So not until three years after we started hanging out?" I shrug. "Honestly I thought before that you just hung around me so you could tell the others how weird I was and because your mom made you. It wasn't until then that I realized you were different." He chuckles again and ruffles my hair. "Well, I'll be back in and hour or two. All of your food better be gone." I roll my eyes.
  "Yes mother." He flicks my forehead, and with a nod to Aristotle leaves the room, silently closing the door. I smile softly, laying my head back and closing my eyes, remembering home for a second, and letting myself wonder how everyone is. "What day did he bring you food? Why did he bring you food?" I open my eyes, looking at Aristotle a second before sighing and reaching for a bowl of mixed fruit. "I was fifteen when my parents died. My mother died giving birth to my stillborn brother, and my father died two days later from the loss of his mate and child." I eat a strawberry slowly, holding his eyes. I don't see pity on his face, but there is sadness, and understanding.
  "I planned the funeral. I dug their graves. Only ten people aside from the elders showed up. Lily had been sick the day of the funeral, so Sam and Lily's mother couldn't come. I spent my month of solitude is some abandoned tunnels, and when I got back, Sam brought me this huge thing of food his mom cooked for me. Said she said it was so I wouldn't have to worry about cooking for awhile. They didn't know I could already cook. But at that time...I was in bad shape. He came into my section in the middle of a fit I was having." I look away from him, ignoring the pain in my chest.
  "I broke his arm, and fractured two of his ribs, but he didn't leave until I exhausted myself. When I woke up, my place was cleaned and all the food put away. I thought he did it out of pity." I shrug, shaking my head and eating another strawberry. "The rest is history. He was in the clinic for three days healing, and when he got out, started coming around my place. Then I started helping him watch Lily when he asked, and we spent alot of time together. But like I said, I thought it was because his mom told him to, since my family was dead and I didn't have friends my age."
  It's quiet for awhile, with him just watching me eat. I finish a large bowl of fruit before he talks again. "I'm a middle child. I have two older brothers, three little brothers, a little sister, who's the youngest, and a twin sister." I look at him, surprised. "That's alot of kids." He chuckles and grins, grabbing the place of chicken Alfredo and spooning some up and holding it to my mouth. After a second I eat it, and he continues. "Yeah, it is, but I have two moms and four dad's." My mouth drops open and I stair at him, speachless. He chuckles again, lifting my mouth shut with a knuckle. I chew and swallow my food.
"You said what now?" He feeds me another forkful. "I have two moms and three dad's. All of them are mated to each other. It may seem weird to you, but it's what I was raised with, so it's pretty normal to me." I nod. I'm just going to store that in my brain to pick apart later. "With such a big family, you wouldn't believe the amount of fights we had, over toys, clothes, space, attention. But we're all really close. But I was always closest with my twin. They say twins have a special bond, and we really did."
  "We did everything together. Our siblings hated how we would team up against them, so it wasn't really often they picked fights with us, or played pranks on us, because they knew they would get it back doubled." I smile slightly at the soft look on his face. "On our twenty first birthday we went out to some ruins. We were just messing around, we liked to scavenge old things. And we got into a little fight. Over something small. And I pushed her into a half crumbled building."
  He pauses, feeding me some more. And I think I know where this is going. "The force of the push sent her through it. What was standing crumbled, falling on top of her. I managed to dig her out and rush her home, and she was in a coma for a month. But then one day she just...went missing." His voice breaks slightly at the end and I raise a hand to gently cup his face. He leans into my touch, closing his eyes and taking a careful breath. "No one knows what happened. One minute she was there, then the doctors were doing rounds, and she wasn't."
  "I left home then. I searched for years, but I never so much as found a lead. I haven't been home since." Closing my eyes I lean my forehead on his, saying nothing but sending soothing energy into him. There is nothing that can be said. Nothing can help the pain of losing someone you love. And I can't even imagine the pain he must feel thinking he caused it. After a couple minutes he pulls back and I let my hand fall, opening my eyes. He picks up the pasta and holds another forkful. I eat it. I chew slowly. When I swallow I turn away slightly from the next forkful and he raises his eyebrows.
  I take a careful breath. "Theoretically speaking, is your twin is alive, I can find her." He lowers the fork, face sort of blank. "In theory." I repeat. "I've never actually done it. There was never a need to back home. But I'm able to." He raises the fork again and I eat it. He feeds me in silence, and I say nothing else. When I can't eat anymore he finishes the rest, and I smile at him slightly. Sam really would have had my head if the food wasn't gone when he gets back.
  We're sitting in silence, me propped up on the pillows with my head back and eyes closed and him laying with his head on my lap when I feel a gently brush against the walls of my mind. Thinking its one of my friends or Cade I make a crack in them, letting the person in. "Lady Terror" I stiffen, steeling my mental barriers back. Who...? The brushing returns, seeming to gently prod but not applying any serious force. After a full minute I carefully let them back in. "This is Link Lady Terror. I apologize if I startled you." Right, Link and Daemon, the cousins that escorted us the rest of the way here. I had half forgotten them .
  "Call me Sophie, and it is fine. What can I do for you Link?" There's a pause, and I feel another presence attempting to connect with them. I sigh aloud, but let them in. I feel Aristotle lift his head but don't lift my eyes, only stroke his hair. He rolls over, and I feel his eyes studying my face. "Hello Lady Terror. We heard you woke up." Daemon says. "Yes, I am awake." I return, giving up on getting them to drop the title. I assume I'll have to get used to it.
  "How are you feeling?" Link asks. "I'm alright." I reply shortly. I'm more concerned about this new ability to mind link with strangers without physical contact than being polite. "Could you please come here? We need your opinion on something." I open my eyes in surprise. "Um...why me?" I ask, at a slight loss. "Because you are our Wylde Guardian." Link says as if it's the most obvious thing anD I frown slightly. Aristotle sits up. "Is something wrong?" I shake my head. "I think I need to research exactly what my role here is." I say softly and carefully swing my legs over the edge of the bed.
  Which is when I notice I'm in purple pajama shorts and a purple pajama top. "Give me some time to get dressed. I'll be there shortly." I respond to them finally. "Of course Lady Terror. We will wait." Daemon says and I close down my mind. Taking a second I look around. And my eyebrows raise.
  The room is huge. Ridiculously so. The room is about thirteen by seventeen feet. The bed, a king size, is across from the door. To the far left of the bed is a black brick fireplace. Which is a stark contrast against the cream walls. To the right of the room is a redwood vanity, and I see it already filled with makeup and hair supplies. To the left and right of the bed on this wall are two picture windows.
  Standing my feet sink into the black carpet and I pad silently across the room to the door. Opening it a small gasp leaves my mouth. "Okay then." I mutter to myself. Turns out the room I was in is part of a whole suit. The room I've stepped in is a large sitting room, with a door on each wall. There's a black lounge set in the middle of the room, rimmed in what I'm pretty sure is pearl. The walls in here are cream as well, though the floor transitioned to hardwood, with a black rug under the lounge set.
  To the right of the room are large glass balcony doors, with the curtains drawn back. I find myself stepping up to them and swinging them open. Outside I take not of the largeness of it, built like the balcony I landed on before in dragon form. I cross to the railing, gently leaning on it and closing my eyes, taking a deep breath. My body relaxes and I let myself open up. Immediately my head is bombarded with an assortment of voices sounds. I cry out, clutching my head at the pain of it and dropping into a crouch.
  I throw my barriers back up, but my head still rings for a couple seconds. Slowly I stand, letting my head go. "I remember when that happened to me. Quite loud, yes?" I turn, and see the Wylde Guardian from before. She smiles at me gently. "Do not worry. I will teach you everything you need to begin. But first, I believe you have someone to attend to." I open my mouth, then pause. I don't even know what to say right now. A shower should help me process, so I only nod and follow her inside. She leads me to the other side of the sitting area to the wall with two doors.
  She opens one and I see a large bathroom. She then opens the other and I see a walk in closet. She places a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Take as much time as you need." I nod, and choose to go into the bathroom first, and find myself guiltily wishing I had stayed in my sleep a little while longer.

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3406 words....too long? I kinda think so. Hope you enjoyed either way.