The vampire's incubator

Chapter 19

Chapter 19
Finally

Thank you SamintaIslam12 for the beautiful artwork, gosh I've even run out of words to praise you!! You're that good!!!

After explaining tonight's plan to Matilda, Rosaline and I went back to the castle where upon my bad luck, I ran into Lin.

"I delivered, now you owe me."
He whispered in my ear and walked away, not waiting for a reply.

I couldn't let him ruin the great day because for the first time today, I realised just how beautiful the flowers were outside. Yellow roses blending into the white lilies and in turn, the lilies mingled with the red roses, creating an enchanting sight.
All along I saw the colours, but finally I can see the beauty beyond the yellow, white and red.

Matilda's face had held a smile, that hopeful one I love where her pupils dilate a little when we told her about our departure but quickly, a frown replaced it. "Will they come this time?" She had asked and once again, I had promised.

"Of course, of course they will."

Now, in the darkness of this spring night where even the moon has abandoned us, Matilda and I sit on a bench, my hand running through her hair while Rosaline stands in front of us.

In a distance of about four metres or a little less, Sola leans by the oak tree with hands shoved in his pockets and the watch cuddled on Rosaline's chest rhythmically ticks with every passing second, along with every beat my heart cares to make.

My eyes go back to Rosaline and before I can even speak, she grins. "Did you have to?" My gaze shifts to the black-rimmed analog clock that was originally on my bedroom wall.

"They took everything from us Adinah, our childhood, our innocence... everything." She isn't angry though, she simply states.  "Don't I have the right to steal the ugly clock at least?" I smile and so does Sola. "Besides, we spent all our time slaving away for them so I can also take their time with me!"
She shrugs and this time I chuckle while Sola shakes his head with a bigger smile, giving her that look I always envy, his entire face looking at her like she's a newly discovered animal that amuses and intrigues him at the same time.

"I need to be sure," She pauses and pulls the clock from her chest to check the time again, for the twentieth time since we got here about fifteen minutes ago. "There are still five minutes left and I swear if...."

Her words slowly fade out, getting lost in the cool spring wind.
Her lips move and as I look at everyone around me in this moment, the family I've chosen, a smile crosses my face and a pinch of happiness in my chest pushes a few tears into my eyes.

They all seem to be in a separate world, muted on screen and the fast movement of Rosaline's lips along with her hand gestures has Sola laughing harder now.
Allthough I can't see due to the darkness, I know his eyes are crinkled at the edges and on my lap Matilda's body lightly shakes from the laughter too.

Maybe I'm not crying because everyone I care about is finally with me, brightening the dark night with their smiles but maybe it's because this time I can hear them.

Canter!

Canter!

Canter!

They may be far but I know it's them. I know!
My eyes shut momentarily as I listen to the fast, angry sound of the horses' hooves trampling over the dry soil on the ground and possibly shattering weak pebbles in the process.
This sound doesn't stop pulling me in though, dragging and drowning me into this feeling, this pure untainted joy that with my eyes closed, everything turns white inside me, everything is bright and this, this is the one feeling I never want to let go!

"Stop crying Dinah, we're okay now." I hadn't realised just how many tears had left my eyes until Matilda started wiping my eyes.

Maybe we're not okay yet, but a while ago it was just the four of us in this park. Now we're eight and there are four horses, each mounted by a person cloaked in the same long, black coat as the others I've seen before.

"There is no knight in shining armour to teach you how to get on a horse's back so if you want to get going, jump on." A woman's lilting voice commands, he face hidden behind the hood and a man with a deeper voice chuckles beside her, we don't wait to be told again as we struggle but finally climb up with their help.

I'm over my trust issues.

My hands which were clinging for dear life on the woman's soft coat slowly let go and cautiously spread out in the wind, afraid that I may fall if I quickly fly them in the air.

This is it, this is what Rosaline was talking about the other day.
She had spoken about the rainbow and the smell which accompanies the first rain after a dry spell, and right now it's pitch black out here, the land is dry now, so much that it has even started to crack but I finally feel it, 'the expansion of our lungs when we let the air in'.
I love how the very same air pushes through my hair, sending it in all different directions but mostly, I love the smile on my family's face.
There is one unspoken word floating in the air between the four of us and the word is 'finally'!
I've never felt this good, I've never smiled so much that I could see my own cheekbones without looking in the mirror but right now I don't care, I want to absorb all this, the breeze hitting my face as the horses canter and trot through the narrow gravel road and making my entire body wobble.

Time passes but the feeling doesn't, my heart is still thumping in my chest, blood sizzling in my veins until the horses stop trotting to walk.

Ahead of us is a flame blazing unsteadily and as the horses halt, a dark skinned woman comes into view, holding a burning torch close to her face and a crowd I hadn't noticed huddles behind her.

She smiles under the unsteady torchlight and speaks, her voice thick and a little rough, yet sweet at the same time.
"Hi, I'm Lalan and we all have been waiting for you," She takes a minute to look at us individually, her eyes lingering for a while on Matilda but she tears them away to continue. "Welcome home, sinctures."

A/N

Pheww... so that one is finally out!!
Anyone who saw that one coming because I've been trying to drop hints?
Hehe okay, so thank you again for reading, commenting and voting I still love you all sooo much.
♥♥♥