Midnight Rose

Chapter 5 Pierre

And then I heard the sound of two swords clashing. I whirled around. Sir Percy was battling another fairy knight. 

"Run, Princess! I can't hold him off for long! You MUST run!" Sir Percy shouted. As I turned to run, I heard, "You betrayed the queen. You will die for that."
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I woke up on my bed. When had I gotten back here?

I saw the bunny that had followed me home last night curled up at the foot of my bed. I chucked and pulled it into my arms.

I walked downstairs to get something to eat. As I got closer to the kitchen, I heard mom, dad, and the man in armor whispering to each other.

"I don't know how much she remembered... Powerful memory block...."

"Will it be enough?"

"I don't know."

I decided to go in and ask what they were talking about. But as soon as I did, they all smiled like everything was just peachy.

"What's going on?" I asked uncomfortably.

"Oh, nothing, dear!" My mom said.

"Mom, you're a terrible actress."

"It's nothing important." My dad said. I arched an eyebrow but got some cereal.

"Are you all packed? We'll be leaving in an hour or so."

"Yeah. Where are we moving anyway?"

"To your old home." Said the man in armor. As I looked at him, I remembered his name was sir Percy. "Is something wrong, princess? You keep staring at me."

"No, everything's ok. But why do you keep calling me that?"

"What?"

"Princess."

"You don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

"Please tell me what you remember."

"Hmmm... Well, I'm a fairy. My home burned down. I don't know why, but you were asked by my mother to take me away from the... I can't remember where we lived. As I watched my home burn, another knight fought you and you ordered me to run. Oh, and you told him he'd die for betraying the queen." I summed up what I'd remembered, leaving the part about le Jardin de Fleurs out. I wanted that to be my secret, my last hope of finding my real mother.

"Well, let me fill in the blanks. You are not just a faery, but the princess. I was ordered to keep you safe, and take you to the couple you call your parents should something happen to your real ones. The kingdom needs you back; it's in shambles. We are at war with ourselves. Please, you need to retake your throne." He said, lowering himself onto one knee with one hand over his heart and his head bowed.

I was stunned.  A simple move had turned into me taking a throne and rebuilding a kingdom.

"I-I don't  know... I have know idea what to do!"

"I will be by your side the whole way." Sir Percy said from the ground. 

Slowly, I nodded. "I just- may I take one more walk in the woods?"

"Go ahead." My mom said.

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I walked through the forest of cherry trees, remembering my younger days when I would try to climb them.

"You look lost in thought." Said a voice behind me. I jumped and whirled around. The man who'd taken me home last night was standing there.

I blushed. "Oh, hi."

Oh, hi?! Stupidstupidstupidstupid! I mentally punished myself. I knew it was dumb, but I was beginning to develop a crush on him.  I was just going to get my heart broken when I moved.

"Hello-oo!"

"Huh?!" I said when I realized he'd been talking to me. I blushed again. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

He smiled gently and said,"Would you like to walk to the lake with me?" He had out a hand.

Taking it, I agreed. I would allow myself to have fun, but I would refuse to fall in love. According to sir Percy, I had a mare out there somewhere. If I fell in love, it would be too hard to recognize the man I was meant for.

We arrived at the lake. I'd never seen it before, but it was beautiful. The grass around the water was greener than any I'd ever seen before. It blew in the gentle breeze that tickled my face and played with my hair.

The water itself was so clear I could see to the bottom. Fish of all shapes, sizes and colors swam around.

The man smiled. "Sit with me." He requested. We sat on the shore.

"It's said that this lake can determine if a couple is meant to be or not." He told me. "If they aren't, they'll break up within an hour of seeing the lake."

"What if they are meant to be?"

"Then the lake's magic keeps them together forever."

"If you're trying to get me to fall for you-"

"I'm not. I'm just telling you the story of the lake." He said with a smile.

Trying to change the subject,  I asked what his name was.

"Pierre."
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Half an hour later, I glanced at my watch. "Crap!" I exclaimed. "I gotta go. Thanks for showing me the lake." I said to Pierre.

"Let me take you home." He said, standing and lacing his fingers with mine.

When we were about halfway to my house, Pierre, who had been unusually quiet, whispered,"You do know what I am, right?" He stopped walking and wouldn't look me in the eye.

"I suspected." I answered. "But... I don't care."

"What do you mean you don't care?!" He exclaimed. "I'm a monster!"

"I mean, I don't care. Something about you, it just seems... Abnormal. Harmless. Like you'd never hurt me or anyone else. " I clarified, trying to catch my eye.

"I have killed though." He still refused to meet my eyes.

"Was it intentional?"

"What does-"

"To me, it does."

Slowly, he shook his head no. "My sire, he made me- he"

And I found myself hugging him, comforting him. A tiny voice in the back of my head told me I was being an idiot, hugging a vampire like that.

At first, he was shocked, but then he hugged me back. Then, he finally met my eyes. And we moved closer until we were kissing. He was gentle, and I tasted the salt of his regretful tears.

When we parted, I asked,"Does this mean we're meant to be?"

"I guess it does." He said, and then pulled me into a tighter hug.

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We arrived at the clearing my house sat in.

"I told you today at the lake that we're moving today, right?"

He nodded.  "I'll see you tonight." He assured me in response to my unasked question.

We leaned in for another kiss.  I could feel his breath on my lips.

"Get away from her, you bloodsucking monster!" Sir Percy shouted, and I heard him unsheathe his sword.

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Sorry about the cliffhanger, guys! Wait, no I'm not. MWAHAHA! I'll try to update asap, so don't go away!