The Legend of the Blue Eyes (9 page)

Arianna returned to sitting
in silence, and watched the people below enjoy themselves. She
hadn’t noticed when Aunt Lilly left, but the faint fragrance of her
perfume was not in the room any more. Unable to concentrate any
longer on the people whispering about her, but not having an answer
to her question of why she was different, Arianna yawned as she
looked at the clock: two in the morning.
Where’s Gabriel
, she wondered,
knowing he would answer her questions. Arianna closed her eyes and
listened to the footsteps of the people dancing. She searched
around the room. He wasn’t in the ballroom. She focused her
attention on the rest of the building. Outside on the patio, she
could hear the faint, distinct steps of Gabriel. Arianna opened her
eyes to find her grandfather watching her.

“Are you getting tired?” he asked. Arianna
nodded, wondering how she could detour to the patio before heading
to bed. Arianna looked below at the people dancing. To leave the
room, she could go straight through the dance floor, or around
either side. If she headed around the right side, she could walk
near enough to see if Gabriel was outside.

“Did you want to say goodnight to Gabriel?”
Lord Randolph asked, surprising Arianna. It was of no use lying to
him. Arianna nodded. Lord Randolph stood and offered her his hand.
“I’ll take you to him.”

Whispers and stares followed them as they
walked. Arianna tried to stay shielded behind her grandfather’s
large, powerful arm as he led her around the right side of the room
to the patio doors leading outside. Relieved to find that Devin was
following close behind, Arianna tried to ignore the curious
guests.

Outside, the cool spring air smelled wet, as
if it had just rained. It perfectly hid the scent of her uncle as
he stood outside, watching the stars. Gabriel only moved slightly
to acknowledge he heard them near him. Arianna could feel the
tension between the two older men, and Devin seemed to be anxiously
waiting for something to happen.

“Nice night,” Gabriel commented. “What do
you think, old man?”

Lord Randolph chuckled. “If I’m an old man,
what does that make you?” he replied. “Arianna was heading to bed,
but I believe she wanted to talk to you first. We will be right
inside the door,” he said kindly to Arianna. Arianna nodded her
head, thankful to be left alone with Gabriel.

“Not enjoying the party?” Gabriel asked.
Removing his coat, he placed it around his tiny grandniece. “Too
much to take in at one time, isn’t it?” Arianna nodded as she
realized it was still quite cold outside, and his warm coat felt
good.

“Why do they stare and talk about me?” she
asked. “I know I’m different than them, but I don’t understand
why.”

“You mean your blue eyes?” Gabriel asked.
“They make you very special to them. There has never been a
dearg-dul born with blue eyes. If I remember right, there’s some
sort of legend that goes along with your eyes. Everyone is curious
if you are truly the person of legend.”

“A legend? That’s a lot to live up to. What
does the legend say? Do I have to do something?” she asked.

“I don’t know the specifics.” Gabriel could
see her disappointment. “I’m not a dearg-dul. You should ask Devin.
I’m sure he can explain it to you.”

“But he’s not a dearg-dul either,” Arianna
said.

“No, but he was raised by the most powerful
dearg-dul alive today, so he has a very good understanding of
dearg-duls,” Gabriel explained.

“Who is that?” Arianna wondered.

“Your grandfather,” Gabriel replied. “Most
of the people, if not all of them, that are in that room there
respect and fear him.”

“Do you?” Arianna asked.

“No. To me, he will always be that short
crybaby that was older than me by a few years, yet always acted
five years younger,” Gabriel responded. Arianna nodded her head as
she stared into the room of dancing people. She had sensed the fear
in the people in the room because they feared her grandfather.

“Why do I have blue eyes? Why am I, yet
again, different than everyone?” she asked, not expecting a
response. She had spent her life being different for as long as she
could remember. She was always the child without parents. Though
she loved her aunt and uncle dearly, they couldn’t hide the fact
they were not her parents.

“Because you are not just a dearg-dul,”
Gabriel replied.

“But Grandfather said I’m a purebred
dearg-dul,” Arianna explained, confused by Gabriel’s comment.

“Purebred sounds like it means one-hundred
percent, but really it’s a measure of the strength of your
dearg-dul genes,” Gabriel explained. “You are also what we consider
a purebred baku.”

“Baku?” she repeated, unsure of the
word.

“There are more types of creatures that live
off of human blood than just dearg-duls,” he replied. “Humans are
food to different types of creatures which some call demons. We
prefer not to be called demons, but rather ‘night humans’. This is
yet another conversation you should have with Devin.”

Arianna felt light-headed. Her day had been
filled, non-stop, with new sights, sounds, tastes, and ideas. Now,
Gabriel was adding in one more piece of the puzzle. Arianna felt
strained from trying to understand everything. Gabriel ushered her
to a bench to sit down. She would need time to sort out what she
was being told. Arianna stared into the vast dark sky dotted by
tiny stars. In the past twenty-four hours, her life had changed by
leaps and bounds, not the baby steps she was used to. She had been
content in her own little world, living with her aunt and uncle.
Their life, while sometimes a bit hard, was happy and full of love.
She had friends, a home, a school, a life, but now it was all being
taken away. Arianna winced as she felt her previous life
shatter.

“Can I just go back to normal?” she
asked.

“I wish it was that easy,” Gabriel replied.
Gabriel put his arm around her and squeezed. “You should get some
sleep. Things always seem better after the rain has passed.”
Gabriel waved to Devin who returned, removed the coat, passed it
back to Gabriel, and escorted Arianna back to her room.

“She’s more unbelievable than expected,
right James?” Gabriel said, as Lord Randolph joined him on the
patio, both men staring into the dark night. “She grew up too
fast.”

“Agreed,” the older man added. “I thought it
would take forever until she returned, but in the blink of an eye
she was turning sixteen. She seems a bit stressed tonight. Did we
do the right thing, sending her away to live with Lilly and
Dean?”

“What choice did we have? Her parents were
both murdered. Neither one of us could provide her with complete
safety. We had to let her go. It was Travis and Tiffany’s wish.”
Gabriel wrapped his coat around himself. “Though it would have been
easier if Lilly or Dean had mentioned a bit about her past to her.
She is in for quite a shock now.”

“I could already see it in her eyes. She’s
confused, and it’s only going to get worse,” Lord Randolph
added.

“Isn’t that what Devin’s for?” Gabriel asked
as Lord Randolph sat beside him. “You trained him well.”

“Thanks, but that wasn’t my intension,” Lord
Randolph added. “He filled the void she left. He has always been
such an eager young man, wanting to learn as much as he can, as
quickly as he can.”

“Then what happens now? Is it finally time
to end this feud?” Gabriel replied.

“I hope it ends this easily, but it will
take time,” Lord Randolph added. “I wish it would have ended
sixteen years ago, but it didn’t. It has been so long that we’ve
been on opposite sides. You’ve gotten old, friend.” Lord Randolph
stared at the graying man beside him.

“So have you,” Gabriel added, chuckling.
“Our time is almost up. Hopefully we can set everything straight
for her before she takes over.” Lord Randolph nodded, as they both
stared into the star-filled sky in silence.

*****

Arianna returned to the room in which she
had awoken that morning. Though everything was how she left it, it
didn’t feel comforting since she had been kidnapped from the same
room. After much reassurance from Devin that she was safe, Arianna
tried to relax with a hot bath. As she soaked in the tub, she
pondered everything that had happened since she had left home. It
was all too unbelievable. Her Uncle Gabriel, her grandfather,
dearg-duls, personal guards, drinking blood, kidnappings, murder,
and a new, extravagant lifestyle swirled through her head as the
last of the bubbles faded away. Her life had changed drastically in
just a short twenty-four hours. Every fact she knew to be true was
being shattered, one after another. Her life, as she knew it, was a
lie. Her aunt and uncle were not related to her. Her family, which
she thought was dead, was not. Her birthday wasn’t even on the day
she thought.

After rinsing off the soap
and putting on her pajamas, Arianna tried to go to sleep in the
king–sized, four-post bed, but found it was too different from her
normal, single bed at home.
Home
, Arianna thought.
Where is that?
Her life
was now in disarray, and though she could still remember the small
apartment above the diner, a part of her told her it was no longer
home.
But this isn’t home either.
The strange room, decorated for a five year-old,
wasn’t home. The pink fluffy comforter was not home. The six
ruffled pillows now piled on the floor were not home.

Arianna lay still,
listening to the room around her. Though she tried to only focus on
the room, her ability to hear traveled down the corridors of the
large estate to the ballroom. She could hear the laughing and
talking of complete strangers as they enjoyed themselves. The click
of high heels and formal shoes kept the beat to the faint music
that continued to play
. Doesn’t anyone
sleep around here?
she wondered, as she
stared at the clock flashing 3:43AM. Arianna sighed as she
realized, they were dearg-duls, night humans.
Of course they don’t sleep at night
,
she told herself. Arianna began to ponder her new existence. She
knew very little of dearg-duls. Would it be like the movies? Would
they turn to ash at the slightest sunlight? Did they attack
innocent people to feed? Would vampire hunters follow her, trying
to put a wooden stake through her heart? What about garlic and holy
water? Was she now immortal?

Arianna tossed and turned
in her bed as she failed to fall asleep. The guests, enjoying the
night, continued to talk and dance as time crawled on. Arianna
tried to picture her bed at home: the soft, worn sheets, her
favorite pillow she refused to give up, and the window that allowed
her to see the moon as she fell asleep. It was no longer her home,
but she longed to be there anyways.
This
isn’t going to work
, she thought. There
was no way she could fall asleep with all the noises to distract
her.

Silently, Arianna opened her bedroom door to
peer into the sitting room. The fire in the fireplace crackled and
slightly flickered as the air from her bedroom pushed past it to
the chimney. On the couch, sitting with his back to her, Devin was
reading papers. Without looking up, he stopped, and placed the
papers on the coffee table.

“Having trouble sleeping?” he asked, as he
picked up a new set of papers.

“Mm hmm,” she replied, sitting next to him.
“You know, it’s almost four in the morning.”

“Is it?” he asked.

“Don’t you sleep?” she asked.

“I normally only sleep two to four hours a
night,” he responded.

“What are you doing so late?” she
wondered.

“Going over the files from today,” he
explained. Arianna nodded as she curled her feet beneath her to
keep her toes warm. “It’s my job to keep you safe, so I need to
make sure we didn’t miss anything.”

“Your job?” she asked. “But you’re only
seventeen, right?”

Devin smiled as he set down the paper and
picked up the next. “Correct, but I’m still employed by your
grandfather.”

“But you’re just a high-school student,” she
added.

“I graduated from high school three years
ago,” he replied. Shocked, Arianna stared at the young man beside
her. Was he really so smart that he could graduate high school at
fourteen? Devin kept reading.

“It’s too noisy here, and the party is still
going on,” she explained why she couldn’t sleep, though he hadn't
asked.

“It could be a few more hours yet, before
everyone leaves,” Devin replied. “Just ignore the noise.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You can’t hear
every little whisper about you,” she sulked.

“Eventually they’ll get used to you, and the
gossiping should stop,” he replied.

“Why is everyone making such a big deal
about me?” she asked. “Gabriel said there’s some legend about a
dearg-dul with blue eyes, but he didn’t know the details.”

“Mm hmm,” Devin replied, not
elaborating.

Arianna was starting to get mad at his short
replies. “Why won’t anyone tell me anything?” she complained.

“They’ve told you quite enough for one day.
Too much information at one time can be bad,” he replied calmly.
“You need to get some sleep. Tomorrow I’ll answer all of your
questions, okay?” Arianna nodded. He was always correct. She
already had way too much to think about.

“Can I sit here a little longer until I feel
sleepy?” she asked. Devin nodded without looking up from his
papers. “Thanks.”

Arianna sat and watched the fire flicker.
The flames danced on the walls, captivating her attention, but she
couldn’t stop the sounds running through her head of the people
talking below. Arianna sighed. She wanted to sleep, but being in
such an unfamiliar place made it impossible to ignore all the new
noises she heard. There was nothing she could do to block out the
sounds. Out of the corner of his eye, Devin watched Arianna as she
endlessly watched the fire. She was exhausted from her long day,
but she wasn’t showing any signs of falling asleep soon.