Aiden

The story of Lyra Lilith Demara all traces back to a legend. The legend of Lyra, the vampire queen and first vampire ever. Few had ever seen her face, but those who had claimed that it was as beautiful as an angel’s face. Every once and a while, people would claim to have spotted Lyra’s signature pale, curly blonde hair, or her perfect body as they were wandering about and then she would disappear. She would always reappear, but, the sightings suddenly ceased. Now we come to the main attraction. Ms. Lyra Lilith Demara. A gorgeous girl of Lynwood known only as Lilith to most. A girl blessed with a beautiful, powerful mother, Azreal, and a handsome, yet evil, father, Damon. Azreal was the spirit of the good, whereas Damon was the spirit of evil. Azreal was the yin to Damon’s yang. They gave birth to a girl who would change the fate of those in Demarcus. They also birthed a son, Mihale. Mihale, a talented dragon rider, was similar to his father in the looks department. Chocolate brown hair, a handsome face, and a long lean body.
“Lyra,” the voice echoed through Lyra’s head. A dark voice. An evil voice. The voice of a demon.
She bolted straight out of bed breathing heavily she clapped her hand over her mouth as she suppressed a scream as she heard thunder and a flash of light illuminated her dark room. Sitting up in her bed, Lyra gasped for air. She swung her feet over the side of her bed and touched one foot onto the cold grey marble floor. She walked to her bay window and pushed the curtains revealing a view of Lynwood and the Forest of Layne, the forest that surrounded Lynwood. Lyra took a seat at the window seat and stared out her rain streaked window. Her heart pounded as she looked at the dark sky. She felt an ominous presence and she stepped away from the window quickly, holding her now pounding head. She sharply breathed in and bit her bottom lip. She felt the compelling urge to scream but she instead pulled her curtains back to their original place with a quick flick of her wrist. Looking at the clock mounted on her wall, Lyra discovered that it was midnight and considered going back to sleep, but decided to go down to the kitchen for a glass of water. Lyra slid on her robe and ran down the staircase, her body hitting the bannister at every turn of the staircase. She continued running and crashed into her brother causing her to take in a breath sharply and squeeze her eyes shut. She clapped both of her hands to her mouth.
“Ly! Are you alright?” Mihale asked worriedly, pushing her away from him, but keeping his hands lightly placed on her shoulders until she opened her blue eyes and sighed in relief.
“I’m perfect, Mihale. What are you doing up this late anyway?” Lyra asked sharply.
“Nightmares. Nothing to worry about. What are you doing up?” Mihale ruffled his hair in irritation, but keeping one hand on her shoulder.
“I need some water,” Lyra walked to the dining room and entered.
Mihale followed. He grabbed her wrist, “That reaction was not that of one who simply came down for water. You had a nightmare too, am I correct?” Mihale raised an eyebrow.
“Fine. I can’t get anything by you can I?” Lyra sighed. “Yes. I did, but it was silly and impossible. Now, can I get my water?” she asked impatiently, wishing to get away from the uncomfortable confrontation.
“Yes,” Mihale sighed and dropped her wrist as he readied to turn around. “Don’t worry, Lyra. It will all be okay,” he kissed her cheek and walked back up to his room.
With Mihale gone, Lyra returned to her pursuit for water. Taking her full glass up to her room, Lyra returned to her bed and fell victim to her nightmares. Her nightmares got worse as the nights passed. Her nightmares were all linked together. They all were different, but Lyra could tell that they all were a part of something much bigger than a lone nightmare. They were all linked together for a single reason. One event led to another. The misfortunes were all caused by the wish to lure Lyra out. The nightmares all eventually ceased. But all of Lyra’s spare thoughts drifted to her series of nightmares. One day, the nightmares came back, but more intense. Lyra sat up in her bed and clutched her head in her hands, her breathing jagged. A knock at the bedroom door made Lyra sit up straight and force her hands to her sides.
“Who is it?” Lyra asked tiredly, shutting her eyes for a moment.
“It’s me. Mihale,” her brother replied.
“Come in,” Lyra got up and shrugged on her robe.
“Good morning, sister,” Mihale kissed Lyra and held her door open. “Shall we?”
“I suppose so,” Lyra took Mihale’s arm and they descended the staircase.

Mihale and Lyra entered dining room where their parents were waiting. Lyra curtseyed and Mihale bowed to their parents.
“Good morning, Lyra,” Damon briefly nodded to her before returning to the conversation he was engaged in prior to her arrival.
Their butler, Mr. Jarvis, entered the grand dining room, a silver platter resting in his left hand, “Ms. Demara, there is a letter for you from Ms. Narina.” Jarvis held out the platter towards Lyra.
Lyra remained standing as she removed the letter from Jarvis’ platter and broke the wax seal on the back. She removed the letter and read it quickly.
She took her seat beside Mihale, “I must go out today, Arabel has requested my presence.”
“Be sure not to stay out too late,” Azreal chimed, looking over to her daughter.
“Yes, mother.”
The family ate in silence, except for the clattering in the kitchen. Their maids and butlers were cleaning the kitchen. When Lyra finished eating, she cleared her throat.
“I must go and ready myself now then,” she got up and pushed in her chair.
Lyra walked up the winding stairs towards her bed chamber. Lyra walked behind her changing screen and began to disrobe. Her personal maid, Elvira, knocked on the door.
“Who is it?” Lyra asked, standing behind her changing screen only in her undergarments.
“It is me, Elvira. I have come to help my lady ready for her visit to Ms. Narina,” Elvira said in her quiet, singsong voice.
“Come in, Elvira,” Lyra stepped out from behind her changing screen as Elvira opened Lyra’s door and walked in.
Elvira was a beautiful woman. She was slender and had thick, curly, black hair on her head. Elvira was tan and had green eyes and high cheekbones. She had been with the family since Lyra was born, and adored Lyra.
“Thank you, Elvira,” Lyra watched Elvira as she selected a blue dress from Lyra’s dresser.
“Of course, my lady,” Elvira held up the dress she chose. “Is this dress suitable?”
“Yes, thank you.”
Elvira began lacing up Lyra’s corset as Lyra squeezed her eyes shut as memories of her horrifying dream flooded her head. Her mother and Arabel were slain. Lyra was the cause. They were luring her out of hiding. What am I hiding from? Lyra ran the scenario through her head many times until it hurt her to even think of such an absurd idea. Her mother? Die? Foolish. Lyra felt silly simply by dreaming about it. However, her dream- no nightmare- didn’t end at that. Her father and brother were kidnapped by an evil thing from Hali. Lyra had no clue of what Hali was for it was across the ocean of Murn in the land of Exie. She had never so much as stepped outside the boundaries of Lynwood, for the Forest of Layne surrounded the land. The nightmare sent shivers down her spine. She could not- no she would not- allow any such things to happen. By the time Lyra had finished analyzing her nightmare, Elvira had already finished dressing Lyra. Lyra was sitting in front of her armoire and Elvira was pulling a horse-hair brush through Lyra’s medium length, straight, auburn hair, After she threaded a few of flowers into Lyra’s half-up hair, she patted her shoulder.
“You are ready now, my lady,” Elvira stepped away and allowed Lyra to stand up. Elvira picked up Lyra’s red cloak and placed it on her shoulders and Lyra slid her arms through the slits on the side.
“Thank you very much, Elvira. Farewell,” Lyra walked gracefully out of her room and descended the staircase.
Lyra entered the waiting carriage which was awaiting outside of her home. She tapped on the window by the driver and he whipped his horses. Lyra sat in the carriage and focused on the passing scenery so she wouldn’t continue to over-analyze her nightmare. The carriage came to a jerky stop and the driver opened her door. He held out his hand and helped Lyra out.
“Would you like us to wait for you?”
“No, thank you. I will walk home,” Lyra approached the door and knocked.
The door opened slowly and revealed Arabel’s governess and personal maid, Lynn.
“Good morning, Ms. Demara,” Lynn opened the door more and stepped aside. “Ms. Narina is in the drawing room.”
“Thank you, I suppose I can find my way there.” Lyra walked in and moved towards the drawing room of the Narina mansion. She pushed her hood off of her head and continued into the mansion.
Arabel was sitting at a marble table in the middle of the room, watching her tea steam in her cup. She sensed movement in the doorway and looked towards the door.
“Ly!” Arabel pushed back her chair and ran towards Lyra, her shiny red ringlets bouncing behind her. Arabel wrapped her skinny arms around Lyra’s neck and smiled.
“How do you fare, Arabel?” Lyra asked, pulling away from Arabel.
“I am excellent, thank you for asking. And you? How do you fare? You look awfully pale,” Arabel pressed her hand to Lyra’s cheeks. “Oh! You’re as cold as ice!”
“I am fine, Arabel. Thank you. I just need some fresh air. Could we voyage on a stroll?”
“That sounds lovely!” Arabel led Lyra out of the drawing room and out towards the back door. She opened it and gestured for Lyra to exit first. Lyra stepped out onto the back porch, which was made of wood. Arabel stepped out and donned her own cloak.
“Are you ready?” Arabel smiled and held out her elbow.
“Of course,” Lyra took Arabel’s arm and they set out.
The cold air felt nice on Lyra’s feverish skin. She felt better just being outside. Her parents kept her indoors most of the days, and being outside was like a gift to Lyra. She took a deep breath in, the air had a wonderful autumn smell to it. She loved the autumn, it wasn’t too cold, nor was it too hot. It was perfect. Lyra and Arabel unhooked their arms and Arabel ran towards the forest.
“Arabel!” Lyra yelled out to her, and ran after her.
“C’mon Ly!” Arabel ran and jumped into a pile of fallen leaves.
Lyra ran to her and jumped in with her. They stayed in the leaves for a moment, breathing heavily as they both laughed.
“Lyra,” Mihale called.
Lyra got up and ran towards Mihale.
“Mihale!” she jumped into his arms and kissed him quickly.
“Hello, Mihale!” Arabel smiled widely, and brushed the leaves off of her dress self-consciously.
“Hi, Arabel,” Mihale smiled back and watched as Arabel’s attention focused on something by the edge of the woods.
Arabel ran towards it and Lyra slowly walked towards it, full of awe. Mihale stayed in his place and watched the girls.
Lyra was shocked to find, a person. “Who is that?”
There weren’t many people in Lynwood, so everyone knew everyone else. The only wealthy families in Lynwood were the Narina’s and the Demara’s, everybody else was a peasant.
“I don’t know!” Arabel replied, her mouth hanging open.
“Mihale! Come over here!”Lyra yelled to Mihale hurriedly, who came running.
“What’s wrong? “ Mihale asked, coming to a stop in front of Lyra and Arabel.
“Look! It’s a person!” Arabel kneeled beside the person.
The person who lay in front of them was a boy, approximately Lyra’s age, with blonde hair. He was unconscious and he looked dead, but when they looked at him closely, they noticed he was breathing shallowly.
“We should bring him back to your house, Arabel,” Lyra said, placing the back of her hand against the boy’s forehead. “He feels feverish.”
“Alright. Mihale, do you think you can carry him to the guest house?” Arabel pointed to a regular-sized cobblestone house not too far away.
“I suppose I could,” Mihale answered as he hoisted up the boy onto his shoulders.
A couple paces past where his body was found, Lyra noticed a backpack and a sword caked in blood next to it. She took the edge of her dress and quickly wiped off the blood and placed the sword into the backpack. She picked up the surprisingly heavy backpack and put it on her shoulder. She followed Mihale and Arabel to the guest house of the Narinas. Arabel held the door open for them and then led them to one of the many bedrooms. Mihale set the boy down in the bed and sighed.
“Arabel, would you go and get me a couple of cloths and a dish of water, please?” Lyra asked as she set down the boy’s bag on the floor and rolled up her sleeves.
She undid the buttons on his shirt and noticed the smattering of tiny cuts on his abdomen. Upon completely removing his shirt, she noticed multiple big gashes on his arms.
“Arabel, hurry please!” Lyra yelled urgently, as the boy’s breathing became even more shallow and strained.
“Mihale, go to the witch and ask her for a healing potion.... and a stew to help his sickness,” Lyra once again placed her hand on the blonde boy’s clammy forehead. It was even colder than before.
Arabel came bustling in with a couple of cloths soaking in a dish. Lyra quickly pulled one out and hastily placed it on the boy’s forehead. She then pulled another out and began to clean his wounds.
“Go get an antiseptic,” Lyra said as she gasped at the blood that stained the cloth. It had managed to soak through onto Lyra’s pale skin.
She kept herself busy until Arabel returned with a glass vial labeled “Antiseptic: For Cuts and Gashes”. She poured a small amount onto a clean cloth and lightly pressed it against the cuts. He groaned in pain and grimaced, still unresponsive, however, to the girl’s calls.
Mihale came running in, holding a bottle of sparkling blue liquid, the potion, and a steaming wooden bowl, the stew. He handed the two objects to Lyra, who then poured the whole potion into the stew. She stirred it with the tiny wooden spoon the witch had placed into the bowl and then took out a spoonful. She sniffed it, it smelled of magic and meat. Not a pleasant combination. She grimaced and then blew on it, to cool it down. Once the concoction had finished steaming, Lyra sat the boy up and poured the odd liquid into his mouth.
“Drink,” she ordered, patting his shoulder before she fed him another spoonful.
Soon after he had finished consuming the potion-stew, Lyra laid the boy back down.
“Sleep now. You must rest to get better,” Lyra whispered to him before getting off the bed and walking towards the door, Arabel and Mihale falling into step behind her.
Lyra shut the door quietly before she walked down the hall towards the sitting room, her steps echoing with a hollow clicking noise. She took a seat and her brother and friend sat down in chairs close to Lyra’s.
“Oh, yes, Lyra! Are you still going to be attending classes tomorrow?” Arabel asked, referring to the daily classes that all the children and young adults attended.
“Yes, this will be my last week before I leave Lynwood to attend the School of Allan,” Lyra was planning on transferring to a school across the world.
Allan lay in Exie, the land which lies across the Ocean of Murn. Lyra was to travel to Allan alone, and she planned on doing just that. She would be leaving her fiance Mihale in Lynwood.
“I think we should check on the boy,” Mihale said.
“I’ll go,” Lyra stood up and began walking out towards the room in which the boy was resting in.
She opened the door and noticed the boy was sitting up and was holding his head in his hands.
“Hello,” she said, standing in the doorway.
He slowly looked over to her. He began to get off the bed, when he nearly collapsed.
“I wouldn’t do that. You suffered multiple cuts, some were serious. I gave you a tonic and healing stew, but you probably won’t be alright for some time.”
“H-hi,” he said, voice strained. “I-I’m Aiden. Aiden Cullen,” his voice getting stronger.
“Lyra. Lyra Demara. Do you know where you are, Aiden Cullen?” Lyra asked, head cocked to the side.
“No... All I remember is going through a forest. I’m from Alf. I set out to come to Lynwood, the country of legend on a dare.”
“Well, you made it. Welcome to Lynwood, Mr. Cullen.”
His eyes widened in shock.
“You will have to stay here for a couple of days, but, if I am correct, which I’m sure I am, Alf is on the way to Allan. I going off to the School of Allan, and I shall accompany you out of Lynwood.”
“Thank you, Ms. Demara,”
“Lyra. I don’t wish to sound like my mother,” Lyra told him, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
“Yes, Lyra.”
“Mihale!” Lyra yelled.
 Mihale immediately entered the room.
“Dear, will you call a carriage? Aiden will be staying with us until I leave for Allan.”
“Right away, Lyra,” he left promptly to fetch the carriage.

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 30.10.2011

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