Scarlet Desires: Last High Blood

Ch. 27: The First Encounter

I think I'm on a roll. I'm already starting to write the next chapter as soon as I uploaded a new one! Well, it's a lovely progress and no better way to spend my semester break on. Maybe except eating chocolates and going out with friends. *cough cough* Anyways! See you at the bottom of the A/N!

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   The ghoul maids stood along the walls of the dining room, eyes fixated on Lincoln and I while we were having breakfast. Occasional clinks of glasses and tableware broke the silence but no vocal communication happened. I said vocal because Lincoln sent daggers towards my way, hoping to trigger my outbursts. Holding in a sarcastic remark, I wiped my mouth with a handkerchief provided earlier before leaving the dining hall.

   As soon as one of my legs stepped out of the place, the crimson-eyed twin decided to voice his thought aloud. "Please meet me in my room later."

   Hesitation took hold for a brief moment. I ignored his request and walked away in a calm, collected composure. A barely audible sound of a dissatisfied grunt emerged his throat, giving me a sense of victory. Don't ask me why - it just did. The sounds of light footsteps behind me and murmurs signaled that my maids followed me instead of Lincoln. Risking a glimpse towards the dining room, a row of Lincoln's own personal maids lined up to replace Margaret and Gwendoline. It was my turn to grunt this time.

   "Master Artemis -" One of my maids' began, only to be cut off by my next words.

   "You don't have to be formal with me, you know," I said with a small smile forming on my lips.

   After a pause, she spoke up. "Pardon me if I'm being blunt but what happened last night? You seemed... different now."

   My walking came to a stop at her seemingly harmless question. So what happened to me? My inner voice wondered. What happened to that Artemis who couldn't fend for herself? Lowering my gaze to the floors, I replied in the softest tone I could manage.

   "People change all the time."

    After searching for my will to continue the leisure stroll, I eventually found myself at one of the exits leading to outdoors. The sounds of birds chirping were music to my ears, accompanied by a warm and gentle breeze caressing exposed parts of my body. Inhaling a deep breath, I stepped onto the soft blades of grass barefooted, naked to nature in a certain sense. Any signs of the maids' presence were quickly erased by my mind; eager to relieve any sorts of worldly burden and just let it go. If I strained my ears a little harder, I could hear the current of the river nearby. Faint but persistent. Moving my focus away from it, I listened to the barely audible hooves stomping on the green carpeted ground and permitted myself to see again. An impulse came out of the blue; my legs somehow had their own will and began carrying me into the depths of the woods.

   As if in a trance, the tips of my fingers brushed against the leaves as I continued my unplanned adventure. I mumbled a single, sincere prayer to whoever who was above for providing decent shade from the merciless sun with the help of mother nature's canopy. The flow of the time mattered little till a flutter of wings above my head triggered me to survey the evening skies. The sun sank lower beyond the horizons of the mountains, reflecting its waning rays onto the once white clouds. It transformed into beautiful shades ranging from yellow till red only to be decorated with birds passing by in a V - formation. Mesmerized by this simple yet majestic view, my eyes remained captivated till crickets began to, well, cricket and soon joined by the buzz of mosquitoes. 

   Jerking my eyes away from the gorgeous view, I noticed the shadows became longer twice their length. A single strand of hair that fell onto my vision quickly got tucked behind my ear before I continued following the compelling urge. The creeping darkness threatened to swallow the forest whole, including me in it but I did not feel afraid. I am a creature of the night, after all... A voice from the back of my mind commented. It was a different story when it came to the mosquitoes. They tend to surround me and land on wherever they could on my naked skin before sucking blood. I could not resist hissing a profanity under my breath whenever I discover a mosquito pumping my blood into their bodies. My blood.