"I can't believe this is happening! My baby girl is going on a date, and with Darren Pitts no less!" Saraphine's mother squeled. She was almost as excited as Saraphine herself. "Perhaps you should wear my red lipstick. Bring out those lips a bit more." Her mother frenziedly began her search for the red lipstick. Saraphine looked at herself in her mother's mirror and smiled. She actually felt confident in herself for once. Her mother had allowed her to borrow one of her old dresses from high school. It was a beautiful slinky black number, designed after the ancient flapper era. Her mother grabbed her shoulders gently and spun her towards her sending the beads on her dress flying. Saraphine loved the sound of the tiny clink they made as they moved. Her mother lovingly applied the lipstick on her. Saraphine returned her gaze to herself. Red definitly suited her. Her lips looked plump and soft. Saraphine, still in a daze from her new found self-esteem, glanced over at the clock. She had an hour before she was to meet Darren. The walk would only take her thirty minuetes but she didn't want to risk being late. Darren might have time to come to his senses if she were even a moment late.
"I think I'm going to head out now mom. Love you." Saraphine said practicly bouncing out the door.
"I love you too Saraphine. You look beautiful." These words caused Saraphine to freeze momentarily. She had never been called beautiful, and to be able to hear that from her mother meant more to her than her mother would ever realize. As Saraphine stepped out she had to endure a moment of breathlessness while the gills powered up. When she finally heard the beep indicating they were on and ready to perform she took in big gulps of air. The gills made the air breathable yes, but Saraphine would never get over the horrible taste of the stagnant dirt cloud that was their air. There was hardly anyone out today Saraphine noticed. "Even better" she thought "that's all I need is for people to be around to make fun of me in front of Darren. Darren seems so nice though. He would probably defend me. I wonder if he likes me. If he does maybe we will get married someday. Perhaps have a kid. Maybe a boy. I think I'd like to have a boy." Saraphine was pulled harshly from her daydreams by something smashing into her side sending her hurtling towards the ground beneath her. Saraphine angrily looked around for who had so roughly pushed her to the ground. She turned to see a guy sprawled on the ground behind her. He was chuckling to himself as he stood up. That's when Saraphine realized he was a vagrant.
Saraphine's eyes widened in fear. She was surely going to die now. The vagrant looked down at her with a crooked grin. He held his hand out to her
"I'm terribly sorry for knocking you down. As you can tell I'm in a bit of a rush." His voice was creamy and smooth. It didn't seem to match the rugid appearance that was him. Saraphine reached up and took his hand. She could feel his strength as he lifted her to her feet. "Fare thee well maiden." the vagrant bowed before quickly crossing the street and disappearing into the sewer duct. Saraphine decided then and there that it would probably be best if she kept this incident to herself. Not that anyone would believe her if she did tell them.
Once Saraphine was in her seat next to Darren in the theatre, not even the fact that Darren was holding her hand could pull her mind from the vagrant. He hadn't attacked her. She had been an easy target and he was nothing but polite. Saraphine remembered how his pants looked like no more than a bunch of scraps of fabric sewn together. He hadn't been wearing a shirt. Saraphine couldn't help but recall how lean and muscled he was. His hair had hung in tight dreads. The thing she really couldn't shake, however, was that little crooked smile he had. His eyes had practicly been sparkling.
After the movie her and Darren stood outside the theatre. "So that was a good movie." Darren smiled at her.
"Oh ya it was great." Saraphine lied. She had not paid attention to one moment of the film. "We should probably get going the curfew alarm will ring soon."
"Ya i guess we should. I had a good time with you by the way. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow at school." Darren pulled her into a hug. Saraphine forced a smile before heading home. She mad sure to take the path she had before. She walked especially slow once she reached the street where she had met the vagrant. He was no where to be seen. No doubt he was long gone. Saraphine didn't know what she had expected. She had known she would likely never see him again. She didn't know why she was so dissapointed with the idea of never seeing him again. Vagrants were dangerous right?
Once Saraphine had arrived home she found her mother and father both fast asleep in their recliners in the television room. She covered them with blankets and headed up to her room to the comforts of her bed. She slipped on a tshirt that was way to big for her, it fit her as a dress, and slid into bed.
Saraphine had only been asleep for a few hours when she was awoken to the sound of her bedroom window opening. She groggily opened her eyes to see a dark figure climbing into her room. The figure was fast. It had crossed her room and had it's had on her mouth before she could make a peep. Before she could get a look at the intruder's face she began gasping for air. She had taken off her gills before bed. The air entering her window would suffocate her for sure. Just when she thought this must be the end she felt gills being applied to her neck. Once she herd that oh so comforting beep she gulped in as much air as her lungs could hold.
"I'm not here to hurt you so please do not scream." The figure said from beside her. The voice sounded familiar to her but the shock of hearing it took away any comfort that the gills had provided. She looked up to see the face of the vagrant beside her.
"What are you doing here?!?!" Saraphine exclaimed. "Please please don't eat me! I don't have very much meat on me. I'll be stringy and unsatisfying. You really don't want to eat me trust me." The vagrant chuckled at her and sat at the foot of her bed.
"I'm not here to eat you. I don't do that. None of us do." he said patronizingly.
"Then...then why are you here?" Saraphine wiped the tears from her eyes.
"I'm actually here to save you. The King and his ghouls are going to have you dissapeared in the morning. They caught footage of our meeting from earlier. The fact that you weren't attacked is too dangerous for them to allow to get around. You have to come with me." He said putting his hand on her blanketed leg.
"I can't! My parents are here. I can't just leave. Things are finally going better. I can't." Saraphine frantically shook her head scooting away from him.
"I was afraid you might say that." he said as he quickly put a cloth over her face. Saraphine struggled at first but she felt herself getting dizzy and tired. She couldn't stop herself from falling asleep.
