Huldrefolk, Book 1

Chapter Six

It was five o'clock by the time Rose tripped into the house. She put her arms out to protect her, but her knees still collided painfully with the marble floor. Looking up, she came face to face with a very unhappy looking mom.

"Where have you been?! I got a call from the school to say you missed your final periods. Then you're late, I tried calling about ten times!" It was clear by the look on Ms. Martin's face she had been worried sick, so all Rose could do was apologise excessively, praise the hell out of the vegetarian Italian pasta and pesto that her mother had prepared, before wandering slowly up to her room. She was passing her adoptive father's study when she heard something unnerving.

"I don't care what they think, Jeremy! A boy has been killed in my town. If it wasn't the Lindbergs, who the fuck was it?!" Rose had never heard Paul Martin swear, let alone use the tone he was using on 'Jeremy'. He sounded angry, but there was a dangerous note to it. One that made her heart beat faster, and her hackles raise.

Then a hand grabbed her shoulder, spinning her to face them.

"What are you doing?"

"I was just going up to my room..." Rose looked her adoptive mother in the eye, and knew that she knew what was going on. She pulled away, hoping her lie wasn't lost on Ms. Martin, hoping the confusion and uneasiness in her eyes hadn't betrayed her.

Lying in bed later that night, Rose pondered. Kade had said that George's death hailed the arrival of a new Hulder family in town. Her dad had accused the Lindberg's, but later decided they weren't responsible, demanding to know who was... the Lindberg's were supposedly scouting the situation carefully, because the family had announced themselves as hostile. Why did her father think it was the Lindberg's? Unless... no. That wasn't even a possibility. There was no WAY he knew about Huldrefolk. She was still trying to grasp the very concept there was more to life than human, animal, fish and insect. Then  again, that had all just been dumped on her today.

Almost eerily, considering her current train of thought, her phone buzzed with a new message from Kade.

Hey gorgeous, I'm sorry for the info dump earlier. I hope we're cool, because I've never felt the way I do about you and I guess what I'm trying to say is I hope I haven't scared you off because hanging out with you is amazing- you're amazing... Sorry. This is probably very unromantic. But that's a Hulder thing not just a me thing. I can be cool too... I'm going to stop now because I'm rambling...

Rose giggled at Kade's needless- but equally adorable- worries. She typed out and sent a reply in under two minutes, though she was tempted to try and freak him out by not responding until morning.

Don't worry, it's fine. I was bound to find out eventually, right, with me being a Kongelig and all? I can relate to how you're feeling, because I feel it to. I'll see you on Monday :-)

Rose set her phone down and drifted off into a deep sleep, just as the waxing moon brooded over the mountains surrounding Grovewood.

The trees were dense in this area, but Rose knew what she was doing. She had tvinged the boy to follow her, and with much difficulty, he was doing it. She could sense the proximity to her tribe now, she could smell them in the fresh forest air. Finally, she spied the opening of the cave, and slipped into it, waiting at the entry for the boy to catch up. His feet and ankles were a bloody mess, cut up by the rocks and vines. Nature loved Rose, so her soft feet were in much the same condition as they had been before she left.
Leading the boy deeper into the darkness of the cave, she could finally hear the sounds of her tribe, and smell the smoke from the oil lamps. She shoved the boy through the last passage, eager to reunite with her family. Her soft, fluffy, apricot and white cat tail swished with anticipation at her first catch finally being served. Kade was the first to face her, he eyed her naked body greedily, and then saw the food she had brought for the tribe. A proud smile grew across his lips, all the way to the perfect dimples in his cheeks. He dug in, his lower canines the first to dig into the soft flesh of the hikers neck. Blood pooled around his mouth, staining his already rosy lips crimson. He walked over to her after he'd had his fill, and she licked the blood off his fingers. He pressed her up against the cave wall, oblivious to the tribe which we now feasting on the hiker- oblivious to everything but her. Her curved cat ears perked up, as she became aware of every sensation around her. He pressed his bare chest against hers, bridging the gap between them, pressing his blood covered lips against hers. She licked and sucked the blood off them, savouring the taste of not only the coppery blood, but him as well. His hand slid down her tilbake, causing shivers of pleasure to run through her body and-

And then the exquisite scent of normal people food, being her mother's famous waffle pancakes, woke her. Rose was unperturbed by the dream, dismissing it as some sort of mental reference to yesterday's enlightenment. Merely a coping method for her brain to deal with the impossibility- but clear, undeniable truth, that the Huldrefolk existed. Glancing in the mirror, she fixed her bed hair, but noticed something funny. Something was wrong. She felt her back, down to her collarbone, where she finally felt it. A soft tail, just like the cat tail she had had in her dream. She flinched back. Turning so she could see her back in the mirror. Sure enough, an apricot and white cats tail, like one on a Persian cat, hung down from her tailbone. Her eyes widened with shock, and the tail stood on end, the hair rising and making it seem even fluffier. It was long enough that it tickled the base of her her neck- and she wasn't short. Regaining her composure, she hid it down one of her PJ trouser legs. She flicked a text to Kade explaining this latest development, before heading down to breakfast.

Supposedly Ma felt bad about last night, because the waffle pancakes were stacked high on her plate, decorated with all manner of berries, chocolate fondue, and whipped chocolate cream. It was Rose's favourite. She devoured it, not even wondering why neither of her parents had stuck around after leaving it on the table for her. There was no note, which implied they were still in the house, but where? She couldn't tell. Finishing up, Rose wandered over to sink to dump her dishes. A hand grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth, and gripping her arms tightly. She dropped her plate, which shattered into a million peices on the marble floor.