My Immortal Beloved

My Immortal Beloved (Ch. 1-6)

Chapter 1

Aurelia sat on the edge of a high cliff, letting her legs dangle over the edge. The jutted edge was her favorite place to go and think. Her sister Cadence, was terrified to get so close to the edge and thought she was crazy for sitting there, positive that one day it would surely break and fall, taking Aurelia with it, but Aurelia had no fear.

She enjoyed coming here to free her mind, to let go of her troubles and just be one with the world. The sound of the waves beating on the rocks below, the gulls calling to one another in the sky; the natural sounds the world made, was her idea of peace and quiet.

Today she'd come to free herself from the pressures of marriage. She was already 20 years old and her mother had been pressuring her to find a good man and settle down. That was what people did in their little town of Binderton, population: 500 or so. It was a quiet and lonely place to live for a girl who had dreams bigger than the town itself.

It was hard to make friends because she was so independent and broad minded. Not many others in the town saw things her way. She did have one friend, Sophia, who tried very hard to understand Aurelia's big dreams and hopes to leave their town, but the sense of adventure just wasn't in her the way it was with her dear friend Aurelia.

If finding a friend who understood her was hard, then finding a man who would take her as she was would be all but impossible. None of the men in town tickled her fancy. They were all dull, boring and thought themselves superior to women. Aurelia had a dream of finding someone who would treat her as their equal, someone she could share her ideals and theories with.

She sighed quietly as she thought to herself that she may never find her other half. Who in this little town could ever be worthy of her love? In truth, she thought quite highly of herself and rightly so. Aurelia wasn't just any girl to settle down with and make a housewife. She wanted to travel the world, see things she'd only heard of in books, taste things she'd only heard about from travelers passing through and freedom...

Freedom was what she wished for the most. Nothing could compare to that, freedom from this town, from the constant scrutiny of her family and the lack of understanding she found, no matter where she turned.

So she sat alone and at peace for these few precious, stolen moments of the day, when her sister was too afraid to come and get her and her mother didn't know where she was. Today she'd been late coming out and had the rare treat of watching the sun sink below the horizon.

The sky was painted in beautiful pinks, oranges, reds and golds, then blues, purples and a hint of white from the clouds that were slowly moving across the sky. She tucked her knees up so that she was curled into a ball, and rested her chin on her knees.

"What on earth am I going to do with myself?" she thought impatiently. For some reason she seemed to want out of this town even more than usual. Maybe it was the call of the sea. The thought evoked wild fantasies of running off to be a pirate, or an explorer who traveled the world.

She smiled to herself about her silly dreams. "They'll never come true anyway." She said out loud, sighing sadly. As the sun finally sank past the water line of the ocean, Aurelia noticed that the stars were beginning to show, and the moon was making its appearance. It would be time to go home soon; she'd been out far too long already.

Suddenly, she heard a sound behind her and whipped around to see a girl standing near the trees. She looked uncertain as to whether or not she should come any closer. Being the friendly person that she was, when she realized that it wasn't her sister, Aurelia put on a welcoming smile and beckoned the girl closer.

Slowly and timidly, the girl crept out from the protective cover of the trees. As she came closer Aurelia realized that she'd never seen her before. She also noticed that this girl was stunningly beautiful with flawless, alabaster skin, and eyes the color of the sky; clearly noticeable even in the darkening light.