A Prophecy Fulfilled

Chapter Three

Five days after Vincent's chance meeting with Lorenzo in the woods, Andromeda had once again successfully managed to sneak out of the castle. She had gone hunting for awhile, and decided to do more target practice before heading home for some more "light imprisonment." This time, she went just beyond the boundary, into the stretch of land that belonged to neither of the families. Here she knew she had to be cautious. A member of either family could appear from nowhere, and she may have to defend herself.

After feeding, Andromeda found a circle of trees. She looked around to make sure no one was in the area. The trees were close, but not so close that Andromeda felt closed off completely. Taking the dagger from her sleeve, Andromeda aimed at one of the trunks, and flung the dagger. The blade stuck firmly into the wood, as she had known it would. She smiled as she pulled the blade from the rough wood. As always, the first throw felt especially satisfying. Truth be told, she wasn't practicing as much as she was working off steam. How was it that she had gotten stuck with a twenty-four hour guard anyway? She couldn't walk down the hallway without meeting someone from the guard down the corner. Two weeks was too long before a private excursion. She had discovered that years ago. The anger and stress built up so soon and so quickly that Andromeda usually had to leave every four or five days to avoid a public explosion. Well that and she enjoyed being a rebel; slipping out when nobody knew it. The past few days, Andromeda had been upset because she wanted to see courtroom proceedings. A silly thing to get angry over, she knew. But she'd never been inside. Her father always said it was no place for her just yet. But how could she hope to rule the land with a fair hand if she wasn't at least allowed to see how a court proceeding was run? And it wasn't just the courtroom. There were so many other places Andromeda wasn't allowed to go. She considered her list of limitations ridiculous.

For half an hour, Andromeda stood contemplating and taking out her anger on the tree trunks with the dagger. She lifted her head toward the bright blue sky, breathing in the scent of the fresh air. She was thoroughly relaxed now, her knife slipped back into her sleeve. Ready to head home again, Andromeda turned around, hearing the movement of grass from the right. Someone was heading in her direction. Andromeda stood still as a stone, hoping that who or whatever it was would pass her by. The clearing was silent, as if whatever was coming, knew that Andromeda was aware of them. She turned and looked to the left and right. Andromeda saw nothing. Reassured that maybe whatever it had been was gone, Andromeda started walking again. Then it happened.

Andromeda was ambushed from behind. She landed face down into the grass. A hand grabbed her arm and pulled her over onto her back. Andromeda smacked the man squarely on the chest before attempting to reach for her knife. The man snarled, his fangs bared, ready to kill. But as he looked at the woman before him, he stopped. Her disheveled hair was long and black, shining in the sun. Her brown eyes shone with a mix of fear and anger. Shaped like doe eyes. Her full lips were slightly parted. Vincent had been ready to kill her a moment ago. But he had never seen her before. Nor had he met someone he thought was so beautiful. He lifted himself off of her, extending his hand to help her up.

Andromeda took the hand that was offered. When she had her balance, she was able to get her first real look at the man who stood in front of her. His hair was as black as she had ever seen, his eyes a very deep blue. He was tall, broad shouldered and muscular. The stranger was the most beautiful man she had laid eyes on. For just a moment, her breath was caught in her throat. Neither of them spoke. Vincent was the one to finally break the somewhat awkward silence.

"I'm sorry for knocking into you. I was out hunting and I thought you were an animal."

Andromeda, who had been ready with a rebuttal before she had actually looked at him, stood shocked a few seconds. Now all the anger had vanished and she felt a small, shy smile creep over her lips. The tiniest bit of heat suddenly rushed to her cheeks.

"No, no. That's alright. It's hard to tell what's walking where when it's so quiet." It was a lame excuse for conversation, Andromeda knew. But it was the only thing she could think of to say. Vincent smiled back, feeling a little nervous himself. He could tell by her stillness and the small smile on her lips, that she felt nervous too.

Vincent cleared his throat, and asked,

"I haven't seen your face before. If I could ask, what is your name?"

"I'm Andromeda." She hadn't told him her last name because she didn't want him to know that she was part of the Luminar coven. Perhaps she didn't want to know he was from the opposite coven either.

"What's your name?" she asked in return after this reflection.

"I'm Vincent." He answered, equally anxious about giving his last name as Andromeda had been.

"I'm glad to have met you." Andromeda told him quietly.

"And I you." Vincent returned, smiling back.

The two of them were at a loss for words. How would you continue a conversation with someone who you had just met, and whom you weren't sure what family they were from? They didn't want to fight each other, and yet duty to their family meant that they would have to.

"What were you doing way out here?" Vincent asked, finding an opening to conversation that most likely wouldn't lead to a confrontation.

"I was frustrated. So I came out here for some target practice." Andromeda told him this last bit with bitterness in her voice.

"What makes you so angry?" Vincent asked with concern, hearing the tone of hurt and anger in her voice.

Andromeda took a deep breath to steady herself.

"I'm never able to get any time to myself. It makes me so upset that sometimes I sneak away to do this. I find it relaxing most of the time." Vincent understood what she meant very well.

"I know what you mean. I don't get much time to myself, either." Their eyes met for a moment, a look of understanding passing between them. Regardless, it made for another somewhat awkward silence.

"What are you practicing with?"

Andromeda drew the dagger from her sleeve. She held it out to Vincent, who took it carefully in his hand. The blade itself was simple and sharp. The handle made of smooth ivory. Both simple and elegant.

"It's beautiful." Vincent smiled, handing the dagger back to her.

Suddenly, they both remembered that they should head home. They had been away longer than expected.

"I should be getting home now. Others will be wondering where I am if I don't get back soon. Goodbye, Vincent." Andromeda turned and started home. Vincent watched as Andromeda's slender figure turned away. In spite of the urgency to get home, he couldn't leave without knowing he would see her again.

"Will I have a chance to see you again?" he called.

Andromeda looked back at Vincent again, smiling to herself at the prospect of seeing him again. She knew the perfect occasion to see him again without any thought.

"Come to the Midnight Ball!" Andromeda called back. "We'll see each other there, surely!" She continued on her way, running.

Vincent watched her going away. He knew that his father's kingdom was in the west. She was going in the opposite direction. A realization hit him as if he'd been slapped in the face. He had never given her his last name, she had never given hers. Perhaps she hadn't said anything for the same reason he hadn't. Vincent couldn't believe what had just happened. He was from the Black family. She was from the Luminar family. Vincent knew he was supposed to hate Andromeda. Everything his parents had taught him told him so. But instead of abomination, he felt a sense of understanding. How could he hate someone who seemed to understand loneliness as much as he did? True, she had hit him, but it was only in self defense. He was the one who had knocked her over, after all; what else could he expect? But they had talked. Little as it was, without a single harsh word between them.

Now Vincent knew he had to get to the Midnight Ball. He wanted to see her again. It wasn't the need to cause mischief or a silent revenge anymore. The anger and friendly fun had vanished. He needed to see her again. At the same time, Andromeda came to the gates of her home; she had the same realizations that Vincent had. And just the same as Vincent, she wanted to see him again.