Annabelle La'Crain - The Prophecy

Chapter 8 - A Lost Love

"So I hear you've been looking for me." Annabelle heard a cold voice say behind her, while feeling hot breath hit her neck. Annabelle's fingers grazed her hidden blade as she turned to face him. They were standing so close that she could smell him, he smelt like cinnamon and danger, Annabelle wondered how he managed that. Suddenly she realised that she had been spending a bit too long taking in his scent, and so she looked up at him, directly in his eyes, and said, "And now I've found you." He laughed quietly, "So you're travelling with... human cargo..." he said, and as Annabelle went to deny it, he leaned in close, his lips brushing her ear, "No point denying it, I can smell him" Annabelle's hairs on the back of her neck stood up on end and tingled at the same time. "Okay, fine, maybe I am travelling with a human, but he has nothing to do with this. Our matter doesn't concern him." Annabelle said, quickly gathering herself. "If you say so... What is it that you want from me?" Delvid asked her, eyeing her curiously, with a glint of unknown humor in his eyes. "I want to know where to find the leader of The Order Of The Blood Raiyn" she replied, confidence and determination clear in her voice. Delvid looked at her, amusement in his eyes, and laughed, "And you what, thought that you could just ask nicely and I would tell you or," he said, leaning in closer, bringing his hand up to push a stray strand of hair behind Annabelle's ear, "did you plan to persuade me using other less-conventional means." Annabelle was thrown, and shocked at this vampire's actions, but gathered herself and responded with confidence, and just a bit of coy, "Well I had planned to ask nicely," Annabelle took a step away from Delvid, and began circling him, examining him like prey, "and if that didn't work, I had planned to use other means to get it out of you." As she said this, Annabelle pulled her hidden blade and admired it threateningly. "And you thought that a simple blade would do the trick, my dear, you have much to learn." Delvid remarked, clearly amused, while Annabelle simply smiled, she too was amused by his remark. "Anna!" Their verbal game of tennis was suddenly interrupted by Harry reentering the tavern after having prepared the horses.

In the blink of an eye, Delvid was at Harry's side, and he had sunk his teeth into Harry and was sucking him dry. "No!" Annabelle yelled, drawing her blade back and throwing it at Delvid, wedging itself in Delvid's neck. Annabelle ran at Delvid, pulling the blade out of him and then taking an iron blade that she had in her boot and ramming it in his heart. You see this wasn't just any blade it was a blade that Annabelle had blessed and baptized in her own blood, therefore giving it special abilities. This blade, had the ability to incapacitate vampires, the other blade that Annabelle had thrown at Delvid's neck, inflicts more pain than a vampire goes through at death.

The minute Delvid was incapacitated, Annabelle collapsed at Harry's side. She felt his pulse, it was failing, "No!" Annabelle cried, tears streaming down her face. Harry opened his eyes and looked at her, "I'm so sorry, it's all my fault." She said to Harry, begging for his forgiveness, "No, no, no, it's not your fault, I chose to come, you didn't make, that makes this my fault," Harry's voice was failing, and becoming weaker and weaker, "Just promise me one thing... you won't just forget about the prophecy, believe it, remember it, and most importantly, believe in yourself and stay good..." Harry's voice drifted off, as he lost his last bit of life, "I love you" where his last words, before he died. "I love you too" Annabelle said, crying. She saw his breath falter and then completely cease. "No, No, No" Annabelle kept repeating, pulling his body up to her and embracing it. "No, not him, not HIM!" Annabelle yelled. "Please... take me, kill me, take my life, but don't take his, don't do this, please, please!" Annabelle begged. She wasn't sure who exactly she was begging, all she knew was that she couldn't bear to let Harry die, she had already lost her family, she couldn't lose him too.

After spending many hours crying over Harry's body, Annabelle picked herself up off the floor and got to work. She dragged Delvid down to the tavern's cellar, and tied him to a chair there, making sure to leave the dagger in him. She then goes and collects wood for a cremation for Harry. She prepares everything and collects as many white roses she can find and sets them around Harry's body.

Annabelle stands looking at Harry's body, tears still streaming, "I've surrounded you with white roses, our flower, the same flower that was growing at the base of the waterfall from that sunset..." Annabelle smiles slightly, "Don't worry Harry, I will get your revenge, I will destroy the entire order, they will all pay for your death, I promise" After saying this, Annabelle lit the torch and cremated Harry. Once the fire had died down, and ash was all that was left, Annabelle walked away from the ashes and collected a case from the stables, before going down to the cellar.

Annabelle walked over to Delvid's body and placed the case next to him, she then pulled the dagger that was still wedged in Delvid's neck. Delvid gasped loudly, and opened his eyes. "What kind of blade is that?" He said eyeing the blade fearfully, "Actually, I'll be asking the questions from now on," Annabelle interjected, staring at Delvid coldly.

Annabelle walked over to the rusted table that was in the corner of the room and dragged it next to Delvid. After moving the table, Annabelle revealed two stakes and placed them on the rusty surface of the table, she then retrieved her case from the floor and placed it alongside the stakes. She unclipped the two clips that were holding the case shut, and then cut her hand, dripping her blood into the lock on the top of case. Annabelle watched her blood drip into the lock, and observed expectantly as the lock began to glow, and then the case popped open.

Delvid, who had been silent until now, finally said, "So you think a little bit of witch craft is going to loosen my lips? I'm afraid you're gravely mistaken." He had an amused look on his face, as he eyed Annabelle, expectantly. She simply pulled the case open fully, revealing a set of daggers. One dagger bore a sapphire blue stone on the hilt, and had a sapphire blue pattern stretching up the blade to its tip, the next bore a blood red stone with a blood red pattern stretching up the blade to its tip. The third bore an emerald green stone, with an emerald green pattern stretching up the blade to its tip, the fourth bore an amber stone with an amber stretching up the blade to its tip, and the fifth blade bore a black stone with silver flecks a with a black pattern stretching up the blade to its tip. She set them all out, one by one, in a row on the rusted surface of the old metal table.

Annabelle looked each of the blades and each of the stakes over with a careful admiration, before choosing a stake. She carefully and slowly lifted the stake off the table, before positioning herself directly in front of Delvid.

"So... shall we get started?"