Fighting Fate 🏗[Under Construction]🏗

Chapter 17: Titus Alaric

"She was a princess with the weight of a kingdom on her back," - Titus Alaric

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There came a time where I once believed in the feelings called 'love.' It was pure-sweet when I got my first taste. But over the years, it morphed into a demon that stayed glued to my shadow. It taunted me as time passed, mockingly telling me what I had for a brief spare of time.

There was only one girl at fault for this.

She was a princess with the weight of a kingdom on her back, but at the same time, she had a smile that was as carefree as the passing clouds on a summer day.

A girl who took the time to be my playmate-to kiss all the bruises and scrapes that I inflicted upon myself from a childish dare.

It was the girl who was a constant presence in my life until she one day disappeared from the picture that I had taken of us.

I had thought that I would never see her again, doomed to my own questions for the rest of my life. Until recently.

Now, that same girl has grown into her own woman and was staring at me with a seething anger that made me feel scorched.

A memory from a time with no worries came to mind, for only a moment did it seem like it would last forever before she was gone.

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It was a day full of sunshine, the meadow full of our laughter as we played an innocent game of tag.

"Titus, you cheater!" Kei chased after me with a determined glint in her eyes, her six-year-old stature so much smaller than my eight-year-old one.

"I didn't cheat, you did." I accused childishly, dancing away from her reaching hands.

"I didn't cheat, you cheater. You know I don't have any Gifts," she whined as I laughed.

"It's not cheating. It's called using my resources. That's what my dad taught me," I said proudly, stopping to turn to face her. Which was a mistake as I felt her slight body slam into mine with a tackle. I let out an 'oomph' as I fell to the ground, the tall grass hiding our forms.

"Well, my dad taught me how to cause bodily harm." She straddled my waist with a triumphant look on her young features.

"That's cheating," I pouted.

"It's called using my resources," she shot back with a smug smile. Even at the age of six, Kei had a sharp tongue that could cut through you like a knife. "And I won." She stuck her tongue out before standing up. She held her hand out to me to grab and which I took, helping me up.

"I'll get you next time," I muttered, slightly bummed.

"No you won't," she teased, prancing around me happily while swinging her arms. I stopped and crossed my small arms over my chest.

"Yes, I will," I say stubbornly. She laughed at my expression.

"Sure." She held out the word and I frowned even deeper. Seeing this, she smiled up at me.

"I still think you cheated," I griped some more under my breath. She looked as if she was going to retort another reply but before she did, I saw her small form still and her eyes turned into slits.

"Vampire," she whispered and I instantly tensed with my eyes searching.

"Where?" I saw her small hand lift and point behind me towards the woods. I swiftly turned and put her body behind mine. "Stay behind me Kei and when I tell you to run, you run." My voice was now serious, the teasing vanishing.