Dark Things

She felt cold and alone without his arms around her, but was not going to throw away her judgments and instinct for love. "Darren, I-Never mind," she whispered, curling back on the bed, head masked by her pulling of the pillows over it. Better to leave it unsaid.

*-*-*-*-*

"You'll have to get used to it; this society is all about war and power." He tilted his head to the side, studying her soft, sad features. He found himself to still be fond of her even after finding out she was so... Delicate. But who knows, maybe it was just a phase and he'd move on to another woman, get rid of all vampires and live in tranquility.

Darren looked back to her for just a moment longer. Oh how badly he wanted to stay, to keep holding her. But she didn't want him. With a low growl, he turned, slamming the door behind him as he fled.
***
Lena nodded her head silently, playing with her fingers in her lap. "I think that I'm going to go to sleep It's late," she murmured, giving him the hint. She really was tired, and it wasn't like he wanted to stay the night with her. Besides, they still didn't know each other well, and he didn't seem to like what he saw in her, and he was much too...bad boy for Lena.

(Ta-da! Surprise, surprise! <3 Mwahahaha! Eliza hates me know. ;D)

She may love him, but trusting Darren was a whole other level. Eliza couldn't in the end.

For her baby's sake, she left Darren for a second time. Although, this time with only a note scrawled with the words 'Don't bother'. She planned on him never finding her, for as long as she wished it, and would receive help from a very reliable source. It was incredibly easy to leave unnoticed when you had a friend to help out.

"I'll find her. Just make sure i'm never found. Cover my tracks."

The eyes that stared back at her were solemn, but full of a burning hope. "You're sure about this? Don't you want to rethink-"

"No! I need to leave regardless. There's no chance I'm becoming their - your - queen," Eliza snarled the word with great distaste. "Might as well find the real heir while I'm gone. Unless of course you don't want her to be found, or better yet, take the throne yourself...."

The man grinned, regarding that a joke, "My sister is what this place needs. I doubt I'd be able to manage anyway. Take care out there; it's still a dangerous, and in your state, you're vulnerable. No one will find you though, that's for sure."

He kissed her cheek, patting her head. Eliza always reminded him of Bethany, his sweet little sister.

"Will do, Grash." And Eliza left for foreign lands, disappearing.

*-*-*-*-*

James was flushed with strain, flustered as he came to a stop spotting Darren down the hallway. "Darren! I-She's gone." James raked his hands through his hair, lost for words. What was he suppose to do? Their queen had left.

"We're vulnerable in our state; we've no direction. Others will attack at this difficult time for us. Eliza-She's left us open." He couldn't believe it. And he had thought she had something with Darren. Was he mistaken?

Hold it, Darren was king of the vampires in their country, maybe he could... "Would you consider taking temporary placement until we find her?" He stood silent, heart racing at the extremity of their situation, waiting for Darren to answer.

*-*-*-*-*

Chris grinned, "Okay. What side do you want?" pointing to the bed, looking entirely casual about it. Just because she wanted to sleep didn't mean he was going to leave her. No, he liked her too much for that to occur.

(AHH! There ya go! ;D Darren is in no way allowed to find her...So, is it okay to go three years later?)

Darren stumbled, as he had been about to walk out of the mansion entirely. "Gone? Where did she go?" Was she really gone? Forever gone? "We have to find her," he growled. He needed to find her! But...

Maybe she didn't want to be found.
**
(I just won't post with Lena right now, and maybe you can do the skip? )

(Okays. And sure, sure, it's grand. ^.^)

James shook his head, "Listen, she's been gone for at least an hour. Right now, we need someone on the throne before this causes a riot. We can look for her then. Please, Darren." James never begged. That was until situations got chaotic. One thing was clear: Darren really cared about her. So why did she leave?

*-*-*-*-*

Three Years Later...

The tall figure took in the view of the Commons from atop the high incline of ground, looking over the vast forestry and cityscape below, watching the interaction between various kinds, such as the sly fey prying for a game or two, the shifters with animal instincts, vampires and their inspection of passer-bys' necks, and warlocks minding their own affairs.

The girl removed the hat from her head, letting loose the black velvet strands of hair, curled at the ends of her lower back where they fell, and raking her hand through it, tousling it to fit her liking.

It had been a long time, but now she had returned. She had heard many rumours since her departure, some so extreme, others realistic, unsure of her place anymore. The expression on her face was vacant of emotion, clearly not certain how she felt to be back.

It was much warmer there, though that was supposedly due to it being in the summer months and the unknown fact to everyone besides her and one or two others that she had been living in the North-Eastern regions for the past three years, becoming adjusted to the incredibly cold (not to mention wet) climate.

She proceeded to remove her large, thick trench coat, revealing a short, thigh-length black dress which showed off her curves to their best, and took out a pair of sunglasses from her coat pocket, placing them over her eyes, shielding the world from her just a little.

"Eliza."

"Yeah?" Eliza turned, remembering she hadn't returned alone. Her gaze fell to the blonde - almost white - haired girl, only one year older than she. Her appearance - the bright yellow shirt dress, white tights complete with gold heels - contrasted sharply against Eliza's attire. Even their hair was polar-opposites, both colour and length, since the girl had hers cut short and straight to her shoulders.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," Eliza replied, sighing to hide the increase of speed that was her heartbeat. "C'mon, let's get a place to stay the night before the big day tomorrow." Even the thought of it made her tense.

A soft growl came from the direction of the rustling bushes to their right, a small animal leaping out following it. A panther to be exact. The dark-brown coat was shining under the sunshine and it's teeth gleamed. The creature prowled half a second before jumping Eliza, knocking her to the ground, licking her cheek lovingly.

"Sweetie! Don't get so excited." Because she highly doubted 'Daddy' would be thrilled to see them. "Help, Bethany?"

"Bethany laughed, shaking her head, "You're on your own with that kitty."

(And now Bethany's all yours. :3 How is Darren taking this? ;D)

Lena's eyes were completely focused on the television, her hand reaching into the popcorn bowl ever few seconds. Her head was pillowed comfortable in Chris' lap, her body sprawled out on the couch. She was sore and tired, but in a great mood. She had just reached 8 months.

Lena rubbed her belly absentmindedly, feeling the comforting kick of the child inside. She had only turned 19 a few weeks ago, but she was more than ready to be a mother. She knew Chris wanted to be a father too, even though the pregnancy had at first been an accident. But not long after they'd found out, they'd both been so happy. They really wanted a family.

They lived in a tiny cottage near the lake, somewhere peaceful with no neighbors. Chris had wanted that, because he had told Lena not long after they'd met that he had been exiled from his pack. It made so much sense. No wonder he had come to her that night. She didn't mind the house either. She liked the quiet and the room to practice her magic. She was still working hard to get all of her spells perfect. She was a perfectionist like that.

The movie ended and Lena changed positions on the couch, rolling her body over to nuzzle Chris's warm, bare abdomen. "That was a good movie," she mumbled, yawning tiredly. It was only 8pm, but she was still so exhausted.

(*whispers* My dad came home and he's in the kitchen. The computer's in the kitchen. Mo's 'studying' in her room. See my dilemma? D:) "If you enjoy endings with everyone happy, yeah." Chris rolled his eyes, stroking the hair away from her neck, his thumb rubbing behind her ear. His perfect ending was when the villain would actually have a sly trick up is sleeve, something that would wipe smiles from all the heroic faces for eternity. Now 'that' was an ending. "Are you tired 'already'?" What the hell? Her strange mood swings always left him stunned. Before they had found out about the baby, Chris had been confused when she would suddenly be a different Lena from the shy, innocent, scared Lena. He'd experienced her seductive side, which he rather basked in, the depressed emotions she would get into, screaming and shouting about nonsense, something Chris found to his lesser interest, the violent moods, happy-dazed moods, hungry, procastinating and many others, but now there was the tired Lena, one of which was frequent.

"Mm, yeah, sorry," Lena murmured, looking up at him. Sometimes she felt like...maybe she wasn't quite enough for him. "I'll stay up though. What do you want to do?" He was hard to please most times, but she did want to please him. He made her happy, and she'd gotten to know him so well that she really did love him. With her whole, entire heart. There was no one else to love with it anyway. Just him, and now her baby.

(Ah, crap. D:)

She was so naive; she gave him everything if he so much as flicked his fingers. Why, he wouldn't doubt she'd jump off a cliff for him. Though that looked impossible considering she was having his baby, of om they both cared about. Chris saw the advantage of having a child following in his footsteps, conquering what is rightfully his and destroying the filthy leeches once and for all.

His plan was going swell already; he had gotten away safe and stayed hidden, using little Lena to run errands such as retrieve food and water, all without causing suspicion. Then again, he did feel something for her, but he kept telling himself it was only lust and just for his use. That was all she was. It had to be.

"I'm hungry," he finally stated, implying she would do good making them something to eat, even if she was quite... Occupied with looking after a baby.

(Chris is such an ass. -.- Anyway, this'll be possibly my last post until 21 days. Miss you 'til then! xx <3)

(Ouff, yes, he is XD And aww. </3)

Lena could hear the hint in his voice. She frowned. She didn't feel like moving. She wished sometimes that he would be the one taking care of her, not the other way around. She didn't mind, but...she was so pregnant. She needed rest. She forced a smile on her face though. "Okay, I'll go make you something. What do you want?" She heaved herself up into a sitting position, ignoring the back pain.

(Chris: Hey! You know you love it. *winks* Mo: *rolls eyes*)

"I don't know what we have!" he exclaimed as if she was dim-witted. "Just make something that actually is called food, a.k.a. no vegetarian crap." He then pulled a radio device from the pocket of his pants, peering at it and hitting it against his hand. Stupid technology. This is why it died with the humans; both are useless! His interest in his own secret plans and grumblings led him to forget all about Lena for the period of two minutes when he came back to the present, watching Lena stiffly walk to the kitchen. With a sigh, he drew himself to his feet, calling out to her. "Lena, come back and rest; I'll do it." Stupid feelings. Stupid wolf.

Lena peered back at him, surprised. "Really?" He never liked to do anything like that himself. Lena had just figured that he'd had a hard life and deserved the break. "If you don't mind." She was so sore, and she just wanted to lay down and curl up.

"Really. Before I change my mind," he grunted, striding past and into the kitchen. Cooking was easy peasy. Or, it looked it. He took out a packet of pasta, frowning as to where it goes... Opening the bag, he took one out, only to spit it back out. What the hell? It tasted like cardboard. Yes, he knew what that tasted like, unfortunately.

Angry with his lack of cooking skills, he took out a carton of milk from the bucket of melting ice, pouring it into a bowl. Oh, right, company... Bothersome. Chris hastily poured the milk from the bowl into a glass nearby, taking it back into the room Lena was still in, resting. He'd fix up something later when Lena wouldn't be correcting and humiliating him.

"Another movie?" he suggested, gulping the milk down without a second to breathe, like the animal he was.

"Mm, okay, but I might fall asleep," Lena murmured with a yawn. "How about we talk instead?" They didn't do enough of that, and with the baby close to being born, she really thought that they needed to. He just never seemed in the mood. Talking for him always led to sex...

He lay the glass down to the table with a loud bang of glass on wood. "Right. Talk." Dammit, why'd the baby have to be so big? Now he couldn't do what he did second best... "So is this like a 'how are you doing' talk or some sort of intense talk, or what?" Chris crossed his arms as he flopped down to sit beside her.

Lena flinched when he slammed the glass down and was taken aback by his tone. He obviously didn't want to talk at all. Her eyes began to water and she sniffled. "N-Nevermind. I'm going to got to bed,"

Chris scoffed, "No, I won't 'never mind'. What the hell do you want to talk about? Spit it out already, Lena!" Did she have to cower at everything?

Lena turned her watery eyes to the floor. Why did he treat her like this?He used to be so much sweeter to her. He said he loved her, and her him, so why treat her badly? "I don't want to talk to you anymore," she murmured. "Sleep in the guest room tonight," She didn't want to sleep with him either.

He covered his face in his hands, taking a small moment to calm down. "I'm sorry. It's just... Everything. I'm stressed. Lena, I'm sorry," he whispered, walking over and gently pulling her back with his hold on her wrist. He didn't want to see her cry. He couldn't afford to keep opening up like this either.

"Why are you stressed? I'm not stressed and I'm having a baby," Lena whispered, pulling her arm out of his grasp and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. She hated crying in front of him, but he made her feel useless.

He was not going to spill all his plots to her. No way! Lying was easy. Lying it was. "Oh, I'm just stressed with the baby; I'm a little concerned if it doesn't go right. What if something bad happened? It's just all getting to me."

"But why do you...take it out on me?" Lena asked softly, walking towards him to lean against his body. She couldn't stay mad at him.

"Because you happen to be the only one I can take it out on." He rubbed her arms, his fingers creating circular patterns as they caressed her skin through the thin material of her clothes. "Let's get you sleep."

Lena nodded against his chest. his answer wasn't the nicest, but...he loved her. She hoped. She wanted him to love her and their baby just as much as they loved him. "Are you coming to be now too?" she asked hopefully, taking his hand in hers.

He had people to speak to regarding conspiracies with the situation over Darren and the treaty between vampires, shifters and warlocks. It made him furious to know they - both warlock and his own, shifters - accepted the blood-thirsty leeches, but he'd solve that soon enough. It could wait a few hours anyway. "Yeah, sure," he sighed, pulling on her hand so her body pressed against his. Chris needed the rest anyway and maybe, just maybe, he'd get some good information by morning to set him in a cheery mood.

(Backs for a wee bit cuz I needed a break. xP *waves* HAI! :33)

(I can't wait to see who will be affected by your evil plot. > But I might cry. Okay, not cry, but one of my characters might. :O GAH! xD Eliza wants her Darren. Ick! OH! You wanna name their son? And when I'm back for real, want me to write Trey first? *Trey shows off his ring* Look at my bling! Mo: O.o)