Chapter 1

My adrenaline pumps into overdrive, the man chasing me laughing, getting closer. He's not human. Too strong, too fast, too intelligent. He seems to be holding back, enjoying the chase. If I weren't so frightened it would make me sick. He's not quite....right. Maybe it's his non-human instincts. I don't know.
Suddenly his laugh is right by my ear. It sent chills down my spine, giving me goosebumps. I can see him reaching for my arm, so I immediately stop running. He whips past me and turns around a few yards off. Then I realize that I'm in the forest. How did I get here, I wonder vaguely. I look around, searching for the city's lights. There are none. The man smiles and I realize just how horribly beautiful he is. It's not right. Yes his features are agonizingly breathtaking, but I know better. His jet black hair comes down to his shoulders, encasing his perfect face in shadow and making his red eyes stand out. His dark clothes are thick, but don't quite hide his flawlessly toned mucles. His skin is pale but radiant at the same time.
Abruptly, he is by my side again, wrapping his arms around my waist. "No!" I scream, his arms are like ice. "No, let me go!" He laughs meniacly and smiles as if this is a fun hobby. I pull at his arms, trying to rip myself away, but they are like iron bars.
"Young girl, you think you can get away from me that easily?" His soft satin voice makes me freeze. He lets go with one arm, making sure the other still holds me securely, and brushes a cold finger down my cheek. I realize that I was crying, my vision bluring. He sighs and brushes my hair away from my neck and breathing in deeply. "My, my!," He whispered, "You smell devine!" I took in a sharp breath as he brushed his lips softly along my skin.
"Let the girl go, Marquez." A calm voice sounds from behind, and the man holding me turns.
"And then what?" He asks, his voice dripping with menace. "She already knows that I'm not human. There is no turning back." He pulls me around to face the man that had spoken. I gasped softly. He looked just like Marquez-apparently that's his name- except his hair was blonde, almost white, and cut short. He steps forward, and in one long stride he stands in front of the two of us.
"That may be true, but you are done with snacking in this town. The humans are not happy with you. They are suspious." The whiter-haired man looks down at me with warm golden eyes and smiles. "Come to me, little one." Marquez let go of me, muttering something that I couldn't understand. I glanced from him to the other, unsure. I couldn't think straight through my already fragmented mind. I can never make sence of anything around me.
"Listen to him, Freya." a sweet voice whispers in my mind. Ah, he is back. The Voice. I listen to it and walk to the other man. He holds out his hand and I take it, giving him my trust. My voice has talked me through many situations. I trust it, though it must mean I'm insane. I already knew that.
"Good girl." His voice strangely matches the one in my head, soft and sweet like honey. He pulls me into his arms, gentley hugging me, while he looks at Marquez. "She was mine to begin with." His voice was suddenly angry. "You knew that." Marquez just snorted in amusement. "Yes Alec, I did. I was hungry and she just so happened to cross my path." His face suddenly morphed into a hideouse creature. Nothing I have ever seen or thought of in my entire life that ever frightened me couldn't compare to this. Even the bravest, strongest man would be terrified of this. His face resembled every horror movie character come to life. There are no words to explain the pure terror that this face could do to someone.
Too scared to even scream, I buried my face into Alec's chest and gripped his thin white shirt. Alec's hand moved up to the back of my head. He growled like a wolf, it came from deep in his chest. That alone could scare the living daylights out of anyone, including myself. I let go of him and took a terrifyed step back-or tried to. "Freya, trust him, or you will die." My voice said urgently. Another chimed in, "Yes Freya! He is your only hope for survival!" This one was female, her voice sounding of bells. I have about five or six voices in my head that help me at different times. I trust them all very much.
Alec suddenly put me behind himself as Marquez sprang at him. I stumbled back, my vison blurred even more with fright at the sound of their horrid growls. Without realizeing where I was headed, I fell into yet another person's cold arms. I looked up at her face and gasped again. She was beyond breathtaking. Her orange-almost red-hair draped down her back in waves and her hazel blue eyes beamed at me. She helped me stand and I got a look at her figure. She had perfect curves and her slender form gave her the look of a super-model. These beautiful people made me feel uterly plain and ugly.
I turned at a cry of pain. Alec had been bitten and was writhing on the ground. His arm sizzeled as Marquez smirked and stood by my side once more. He smiled the most beastly smile I'd ever seen, but I was relieved that his face was now normal, as was Alec's. I took a step toward's Alec but the woman held me back and glared at Marquez. "You will not have this girl! She may not belong to me, but I will protect her with my immortal life!" Agin I was shoved behind her and fell into yet another person's arms. Seriousely? All my confusion was breaking me down. I felt my mind shatter into more fragments and my thoughts became scattered. Four more people stood beside me and fell into fighting stances. But i couldn't tell what they looked like, the pain in my head wasexcruciating. I slumped from the arms of whoever held me, falling to my knees. I put my hands over my ears and let loose an agonized, blood curtling scream. Everyone around me froze in place and looked at me. Alec was up again and he fell to my side. "What happened Freya?" His voice was anxious, I could barely hear it over my screams.
"It hurts! It hurts!" I shrieked. Alec had me in his arms in an instant. "No! It hurts so much!" I struggled to get away from his icy grasp but he held me tight.
"Freya!" Six voices sounded all at once, all concerened. Alec's voice was the only one I could hear clearly. "Freya," He said, "Freya, what hurts? What's wrong?"
"Broken!" I choked out through my screams of torment. "Please, make it stop!" Alec looked more than worried now. "What's broken? You need to tell me Freya. Calm down." I couldn't calm down. Every time this happens, waves of pure unstoppable pain rip through my body and especially my head. The only thing I can do is scream and wait for it to pass.
"Freya..." I had quieted and was now sinking into unconciouseness. Finally, the pain would stop, but as I slowly lost my train of thought, I knew it could be days before I woke again. Maybe longer

, I thought peacefully, maybe I wont wake again...

Chapter 2

"Freya?" the voice sounded far away, distant, like I was listening through a tunnel. "Freya, can you hear me?" Someone murmured something and it grew quiet. I drifted back into oblivion.
"Freya, you've got to wake up!" The voice was back, and urgent. No

, I thought groggily. It was the voice in my head-one of them anyway. "Freya, listen to me! You've got to wake up!" I don't want to

, I retorted, I have no pain in this dark and peaceful place

. The voice began to get anxcious. "No Freya! Be strong and open your eyes. Everyone is waiting for you to get up again! They're beggining to think that you are dead or dying." I felt myself sigh. It would be great if that were true

, I told it, I wouldn't have to put up with the horrible pain. I would be happy again

. The voice did not answer for a while and I began to slowly fall back into the fog.
"No, Freya, you must wake up! Fight the pain! Fight to be happy again! You can do it!" The voice was now slightly angry. "I believe you can! Do it for Alec. You don't know how much he actually loves you!" I felt a jolt and was ripped out of unconsciousness for a short distance. Alec

, I struggled to remember who that was, Who is he? I can't remember. I could feel the voice inside my head getting more and more upset. "Remember the forest and Marquez. All the beautiful people. Remember the monsters?" I vaugely remembered beautiful faces that made me feel indignant. Yes

, I told the voice carefully, I do remember them, but not well. They are the ones who brought on my horrible pain. I will not go back to that.

Now the voice sounded a bit hurt. "Freya, they care about you very much. They did not mean for this to happen. They have been keeping an eye on you since you left the orphanage and started living on the streets. They were protecting you from Marquez. Please, don't make them upset. Right now you are at their house. Alec has been watching you, hopeing you would recover." I thought about it for a few minutes, or it felt like a few minutes. How long

, I finally asked, how long have I been...asleep? The voice gave a small sigh of relief and said, "Much too long. They can't keep you alive for much longer than this." I sighed and began to strugle back to awareness. It felt like I was trying to resurface out of thick caramell. But finally, I opened my eyes.
It was dark and silent. I lay in a soft, warm bed. It felt as if it were made of satin and clouds. I took a deep breath, for it felt as if I hadn't been breathing for days on end. Immediately, the lights flickered on and I winced. The room's walls were a deep maroon color and they matched the bed. The only other piece of furniture was a comfy looking chair that sat next to the bed.
Alec stood in the doorway looking utterly surprised. "Freya!" He said in delight. He disappereard. I was confused for a short second before he reappeared next to me on the bed. His ice cold arms were wrapped around my waist, pulling me into his lap. Almost as soon as I was setteled, five others filled the room smileing happily. Still, I kept my expression blank. I studdied their faces. There was the girl with the orange wavy hair, I realized that her features were pixie-like. Beautifully innocent. Then there's a small boy about my age maybe-at least he looks it-with black curly hair and stunning blue eyes. His smile was crooked but warm and inviting. He held the hand of a girl with brown hair that was cut short and stuck out a little bit. Her face was pixie-like as well. Her eyes shone like the sun and her smile even warmer. Both girls were slender and absolutely breathtaking. Then there were two more boys who looked exactly alike. Their hair wasn't quite blonde or brown. Kind of in the middle. It was cut short but still shaggy and they were smiling so hard their dimples had dimples. Every boy was well packed with mucles and extremely good looking.
"Freya, how do you feel?" It was Alec. Dispite how cold he was, his breath on my ear was hot. But I didn't answer his question. He spun me around to face him, my legs wrapped around his waist. "Freya?" His eyes gleamed with anxiety, and I couldn't help but smile and answer, "I'm fine. um...Where exactly am I? And who are these people?" He chuckled softly.
"You are at my home of course. These people are my family."- He pointed to the orange haired girl-"That's Emily, the other girl is Nikkie, the twins are Krin and Yue, and blue eyes over there is Jacob." I noticed Jacob blush slightly and Nikkie smaked him. Alec laughed at that and gave me an almost bone crushing hug.
"Alec, who was that Marquez guy?" Everyone's smiles fadded at the name, even Alec's.
"He was my brother. His soul purpose seems to be to make me furiouse and upset."
"Why?" He shrugged. The others had come beside the bed to say a few things. I didn't quite catch what they said, but I listened carefully to their voices. I had a growing suspision that they're the ones that were in my head...


Alec stayed with me no matter what. Though I never knew him well, I began to really like him. Whenever he was there I could think straight, though it is still very difficult for me to form complete thoughts. I never asked what these people were or why. I know what I am and they seem to understand that. No I'm not human, nor will I ever be again, but that's not really the point. Or maybe it is. I wouldn't know. But what I do know is that my mother still lives, though she is kept under lockdown while I still wait for that one man who said that he'd take care of me. Was that Alec? Most likely, but I'm too afraid to ask. Too afraid of what his answer might be. Like my past. It doesn't bother me, other than my mind being shattered. What I am, our minds are fragile but sturdy. It depends on the situation and what species you are.
I'm getting ahead of myself. I am a nymph. A love nymph and a wood nymph put together to be exact. My species is said to be the most gorgeous thing on the planet. Nothing can compare to our beauty, though I still feel that there are others that look much better than I. I'm much too self-consciouse. I guess I am very pretty though. I have silver hair and am excedeingly skinny. My narrow features and slightly paled lips go perfectly with my radiant skin tone. But I'm very small and very frail. My kind is the weakest, yet very strong at the same time. Weak because of stalker human men looking for a cute girl in the night. Strong because we can ward him off easily if we know how. Weak because we have been the other nymph's slaves since the bigginning of time. Strong because we can win over the affection of anyone. I have never used my strengths before.

Alec fell in love with me on his own accord.

Chapter 3

"Alec, where are we going?" I asked as Alec led me through the forest, setting a quick pace. "Somewhere...fun." He answered with a playful smile. I smiled back and he blushed, looking away. My smile grew wider and we fell silent.
We soon arrived at a dark part in the woods. It was a clearing with a huge tree in the middle. Its roots came up out of the ground, twisting this way and that. And right in between the roots was a glowing pool. Alec went and sat by it, pulling me into his lap like he always does. "Just don't touch the water. It's like acid." He grimaced at a memory-probably-of touching it. "Where does it come from then?" I asked curiousely.
"The tree." He replyed absently. "Freya, do you love me?"
"No, I don't. Not the way you want me to." I answered him quietly. He remained silent.
"At least you do love me. If not that way, then in some way."
"Yes." I ripped a long piece of grass out of the ground and dipped it in the pool. It blackened and shrivled up. Alec wasn't paying attention, so I cautiousely dipped my finger in the glowing water. It felt cool. Cold almost. "Alec, how does this burn?" He looked down and gasped, pulling me away.
"Are you okay?" He asked fitfully.
"Yes. How does it burn?" He examined my finger, confused. "How does it not burn you?"
"I don't know. I can barely form complete thoughts." Alec looked concerned when I said that.
"You can't?"
"No."
"That's why you don't try to talk much?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"Broken" I answered, giving him a much-needed smile.
My mother used to beat me. And murder other people in front of me. Once I tried to run and she became very angry. She attacked me with a knife, sliceing at my stomach tirelessly. I still have a few of the scars to prove it...
"But-" I held up a hand to silence him and unbuttuned my shirt. The worst scars I had were two long jagged lines leading from my right shoulder to left hip, left shoulder to right hip, creating a painful 'X'. Then there are a few others, smaller, lining my stomach. Alec looked absolutely horrified.
"My mother did it. She broke me. Shattered me. It's been ten years since I've seen her." Alec gently traced one of the scars. "How old were you then?" He asked, voice cracking.
"Three." He shook his head, the horror fading. "Let's go home then..."


* * *
"Hey Emily, can you keep an eye on things while we...go out?" Alec asked his sister.
"Sure!" she answered cheerfully. Alec gave her a nod and everyone -other than Nikkie, Emily and I- took off.
"Emily, where are they going?" I asked after a few moments of silence. She looked a little befuddled. "Not sure, actually. The guys don't tell us where they're going half the time. Hey Nikkie, can you fix us up something to eat? I'm starved. And-" I stopped listening after that. Emily could go on and on about everything and change the subject in an instant. It hurt to talk to her sometimes. Actually, now that I try to think about it, it hurts to talk to anyone. Emily had followed Nikkie into the kitchen, babbling about some movie or another, so I got up and decided to go for a walk. I wouldn't mind being alone for a while.
The air in the forest was crisp and chilly, but it felt good. I remember my father very faintly, though I know he used to love nature. But he died when I was three. Mother probably killed him. Mother was a nymph of nature, Father a nymph of love. My mother was great at first. Sweet, loving, funny. Or so I read in my father's journal. But then something happened, and it hurt her deeply. A nature nymph is among the strongest, though I hold very little of that blood. Of course, nature nymphs feed on nectar like butterflies. So, I do too. It's a little weird to have two tounges...
Suddenly the air around me grew cold very quickly and a dark aura came over me. "Well, well. Isn't it the little nymph my brother fell for." I kept my expression blank, trying desprately to hide my fear, as I turned to Marquez. "Hello, Marquez." I said softly.
"Ah, I can see why too. Never before has a love nymph and a forest nymph been put together. Astonishing beauty." I felt my face flush ten shades of red and he grinned."And she must like me! Wonderful! It will make this so much more fun."
Anger welled inside me. "I do not like you, nor will I ever!" I shouted. He laughed and pulled me close. I tried to squirm away, put his grip was strong as ever and it only tightened. "Now, be still Freya." He whispered. I grew still, unable to stop myself from obeying. "I know just how much you want to die. You want to be rid of the pain of this world. You want to be rid of your confusion that causes you pain everyday. I'll grant you that wish." My breath stilled as he let me go and pulled out a slim gold chain, a black oval hanging from it. "This is my mark. Put it on, but keep it hidden. If they see it, they'll try to make you take it off. They can't take it off themselves of course, but take precausions." It sounded so great. So wonderful. Just to slip away from this world like I've done before, but not come back. To be forever at totall peace. To be set free.
I turned and held my long wavy hair to the side so Marquez could fasten it on. He smiled as then necklace fell perfectly into place under my shirt. "I'll come back for you, my sweet meal, in time. Keep it hidden." With that he vanished, and the fear finally set in. What would Alec think when he found out what I'd just done?

Chapter 4

"Hi, Alec!" Emily said cheerfully as the boys finally returned. "How was your trip?"
Alec glared at her for a second, making her sulk away, before turning to me. "Freya, come with me." He turned back to the door, but I didn't move. "Why?" I asked instead, giveing him my most innocent look. He sighed, pulled me off the couch and dragged me into my bedroom.
"Free, tell me, did you sneak out when we left?"
"Yes.." I answered him carefully. He'd called me by a nickname I didn't know I had. Or I didn't remember.
"For how long?"
"A few minutes. Why?"
"Nothing." He gave me a soft smile. "When do you eat anyway? You never touch the food here..." I giggled and he paused. "What?"
"I drink nectar. Like a butterfly." I opened my mouth and a thin pink string unrolled itself. I guess you could say it was a second tounge.
"Oh! Gross!" Alec stepped back, making a face. "Eew."
"Hurtful!" I said, smileing and rolling my "tounge" back. He laughed and kissed my forehead. I wont tell him what I did. It would hurt him so much worse than the pain I go through everyday. I wont send that pain on anyone else, so I go through it silently. But when he finds out, I know he'll feel so betrayed, he wont much care about what happened. Then he'll realize how much pain I must have gone through to agree to this.
My mind began to have problems wrapping itself around my thoughts by then, so I stopped worrying. "Alec, do you really love me as much as you say?" I asked timidly. He smiled as he answered, "Or course I do, sweet." I didn't care about the deal I had with Alec's brother right then. All I wanted was someone to love, and someone to love me back. I stretched up on my tip-toes, and brushed a soft kiss on his lips. Stunned, he gaped at me, so I turned and left him in his daze.
* * *
"Alec, I want to go for a walk." I sighed. It had been almost six months, and still no sign of Marquez. In some ways I was relieved. Alec and I had begun to grow so much closer, though I was rarely allowed to leave the house unless I was hungry."Alright, alright." He smiled and took my hand. "It's begun to get boring around here anyway."
He took me out to the woods, but avoided the clearing he had taken me to-probably scared I'd jump into the water this time. Actually, I very well might. We chatted lightly for about an hour befor I heard a familiar voice in my head. It wasn't one of my main voices that lead me through bad places, but instead it was Marquez's.
"Freya, come to your little clearing. I'm waiting." That's all he said. That's all I needed. I turned to Alec, "My head hurts and I'm tired. Let's go home." He agreed and took me home. What will happen when he finds out about my deal with his cruel brother?

Chapter 5

I snuck out that night, once I was sure everyone was sound asleep. The night was somehow soothing. Maybe it was because I was headed for my death. The thought made me chuckle softly to myself as I entered the twisted clearing. Marquez sat waiting on the exact root I had sat on the first time I had come. Funny how I can remember things at all, isn't
it?
"Ah, Alec's little beauty didn't chicken out after all. You were just waiting to get out alone, weren't you?" He smiled wickedly.
"Yes." I answered, my first wave of fear setting in. It wont last long. It wont last long. I kept telling myself. It wasn't helping much.
Suddenly, Marquez was standing next to me. "You'll taste great then. Wait here."
He disappeared, but was back within secounds carrying wood. Fire wood. He made a small bonfire with impressive speed. "There. That's better light." He winked at me, then tore off my clothes. I gasped and struggled not to object or cry out. Instead, I gritted my teeth until it hurt.
"I'm going to make this count." He whispered, lying me on the ground and pushing a
smoldering stick into my stomach. I screamed in agony as it burned my skin to no end. I
heard Marquez laugh as the preasure of the stick was released. My vision was blury with
tears, the fire seeming to dance around me from all sides. I heard the familiar, terrifying growl come from Marquez as he changed shape. I felt his disgusting slober fall onto my belly. Then I felt his teeth ripping into my stomach. I let out another blood curdling scream of pain and Marquez's howl of triumph.
He kept on biting on me. One after the other after the other. Each time my screams
became more and more desperate for death. This was so much worse than what my mother put me through. So much worse.
Suddenly, Marquez was thrown off of me as five figures raced past after him. I realized that it was Alec and his family. No, Alec...

"Freya? Freya! Can you hear me?" All I heard in his voice was fear. Fear of losing me. I smiled up at him, my body going numb to all my pain. My brain shattered again, but
without the awful ache. I began to see things floating around Alec's blury figure. They looked like little monsters. Little bitty demons all staring at me and Alec. How cute

, I
thought lazily.
"No, Freya. You can't die. You can't. Please.." He was looking down at my stomach. I raised my head slightly and saw a big gaping hole where my actual stomach should have been. My intestines were spread out arond me. I could even see my spine. If I still had a stomach, I'd feel sick to it. The blood was awful.

My mind broke again.

I started seeing colors that weren't there. They were so pretty. "Alec, can you see the pretty colors? And the little demons?" His tears dropped onto my face as he shook his head in despair. "No, Freya.", He said, "I can't see them." I smiled again and began to laugh softly. "What?" Alec asked quietly, his voice cracking.
"I was so stupid, Alec. So very very stupid. Right befor he bit me, I realized that I loved you. More than anything. That's when I didn't want to die." This time Alec laughed. It was the sound of relief. He leaned down and kissed me gently. I pulled him closer, glad I was numb to my pain but not this. He knew, even with all the medical help in the world, that I was going to die. I knew it too. My heart ached for him. I could pratically hear his heart shatter into a million tiny pieces. I knew, but I felt the life finally leave me anyway.
* * *
I stared down at my pale faced love. She actually, finally said she'd loved me.
Finally. But now she was gone. I would never see her bright, but distant smile again. Never hear her laugh. Never see her beautiful silhouset in the sun again. Never get to touch her, love her, kiss her. None of that ever again. She was gone. Gone.

Emily had her arms around my waist, helping me to stand. "Come on, Alec. We'll take her home and have a funeral for her. She's probably happier now, anyway." True. She probably was. Or maybe her heart was broken just like mine at the fact thyat we would never see eachother again.

I loved her.

* * *
I loved him.

Impressum

Texte: This was written from my own original ideas from my insane mind.
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 04.03.2012

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