Only Human: Monsters and Men

Chapter 18: June Jackson

Back to Original P.O.V.

Light. I wanted to stay in comfortable sleep for a little bit longer, but a light was knocking against my eyelids. I turned away, but in doing so I fell off the loveseat.

On the ground I looked up into the ceiling. Why was I sleeping on the loveseat? I scurried to my feet once I remembered. I calmed down when I still saw Hendrix's sleeping form on my bed. He had shifted in his sleep, but he hadn't moved from the bed. I was giving a massage to Hendrix last night, and he had fallen asleep. I didn't know what to do. I much preferred a sleeping Hendrix to an awake one, and I didn't know if waking him would make him grouchy. I also couldn't leave the room. If he had awakened in the middle of the night, and I wasn't there, I would have been in big trouble for breaking my promise. I decided to try to sleep on the loveseat. It was a fitful sleep, but it was better than nothing. I glanced at the sunlight filtering into my room. It was safe for me to leave now, and I definitely wanted to leave before Hendrix woke up.

I crept to the dresser to grab fresh undergarments, but was surprised to see the drawer stocked full with folded clothes. I checked the other drawers, and every drawer was filled. The top had dresses, the second to the top had shirts, the third had skirts, and the bottom drawer had my standard underwear and various tights and lingerie. These must have been the clothes that Katherine had bought me. Quickly looking over the clothes I could see, there weren't many options that were to my taste. A lot of the clothes were too revealing or see through, and provided absolutely no protection from horny perverted vampires. Hendrix coughed, and my hair jumped.

Fortunately, he was still sleeping. I grabbed the white underwear, a pair of black sockless tights, a purple layered skirt that actually reached the knee, and a black three-quarter length sleeve with purple roses and a swoop neckline. I shut the door behind me in the bathroom and rushed to change my clothes and brush my teeth and hair. Looking in the mirror I felt a surge of hope. I wasn't over the moon about the outfit, but I had picked it out. No one had assigned me clothes or gave this to me. It was my own, and I was my own.

Leaving my dress behind in the bathroom, I snuck out, greatly relieved that Hendrix was still sleeping. I noticed the tray of breakfast food on the hallway floor, and after closing my door behind me I stuffed some pancake in my mouth and gulped down the orange juice. I checked in with the white flower, and showed off my new outfit. The flower made a few slight adjustments and nodded its approval. Saying my goodbyes, I went off to head to the sprouts. My bare feet ran over the grass as I made my way to my plot. I was happy to see that the plants had gotten even bigger. The bud was still closed, but was the size of my fist, and the tendrils were long and curling. I filled a watering can and made my way to the fast-growing buds.

"Look at you!" I said. The buds turned in my direction, and this time the tendrils moved. "You can move now?" I knelt beside the flowers and outstretched my hand, and the thin fragile tendrils wrapped around my fingers like a new born baby would. "You'll be like your mother in no time," I said with pride swelling my heart. I began to water them and speak sweet praises to them. I complimented on how big they were getting, and what a beautiful shade of green they were. I moved on to weeding and told them stories of how wonderful their mother was. I told them of the flower's white glorious petals and its gentle touches. I admitted that it had more love and compassion in one little leaf than any human I had ever known. The flowers seemed to enjoy me talking. They swayed and brushed me with their small tendrils whenever I was close enough. I couldn't wait to see their petals open.

"Lily," a voice said, but this time it sounded so close. I stood abruptly and looked behind me. I nearly fell over seeing a person standing there. After a few moments I recognized the man. His grass like hair and short green beard. His tunic that looked like tree bark. The deep drown eyes. Even without the red moss cloak I could tell it was the perverted dryad that had ruined my escape that last time. It was because of him that I had this bracelet on my wrist. But who was Lily? I glanced behind me, and looked to my sides, but there was no one here but me.