• ~Chapter I~
    A brisk, cold wind blew past everything in the forest; almost sounding as if it was a light beating of drums. However, this was no ordinary wind. Elijah, an immortal that could run faster than the wind, slowed his pace down to a bare minimum for him—an average human’s pace. Standing at the top of a cliff, Elijah looked down upon all of the trees and shrubbery. This spot on the cliff was his favorite, partly because no one else could climb up this far. Plus, he could be all alone up here, which Elijah quite enjoyed. Of course, he used to not be that way. But ever since that incident, he was forced to live in a life of loneliness solitude. After the first few weeks of being alone, he grew to liking this new life.
    Sighing to himself, Elijah pulled out a box of tic-tacs and placed one in his mouth. He rather would have something else besides tic-tacs, but everything else seemed to taste bitter anymore. Shrugging it off, Elijah laid down onto the soft grass and began day dreaming of a life he could never have. Sweet, tingling ideas and dreams popped into his mind, forcing him to smile giddily and sigh happily.
    “Hey you! What are you doing out here?” asked a soft and unfamiliar voice.
    Elijah quickly opened his eyes, realizing that time must have passed while he was zoning out. “Um...”
    “Look, I don’t know who you are or what you were doing, but do you have any idea how late it is?”
    Elijah scanned the area and quickly found where the voice was coming from. A young girl stood about five feet from him, looking at him as if he was an alien.
    “Um…no, I do not nor do I care.”
    The girl looked at him, tilting her head a bit. “Oh, well it is unfit for you to be out here all alone this late at night.”
    “But miss, I’m always outside no matter what time of day it is,” replied Elijah, brushing a strand of hair out of his eyes.
    “Err…okay. How about tonight you join me in my cabin? It’s supposed to snow tonight,” whispered the girl.
    Elijah gracefully stood up and strode over to the girl, keeping eye contact with her with each step he took. “Mmm…I love snow. Want to know why?”
    “Sure, but do you think we can finish this conversation in my cabin? It’s freezing out here!” exclaimed the girl, wrapping her arms around herself, trying to keep warm.
    Softly placing an arm around the girl, Elijah smiled sweetly at her. “Of course; by the way, I’m Elijah.”
    The girl smiled shyly back, shivering even more under his touch. “I’m Rose and it’s very nice to meet you, Elijah. You’re freezing!”
    “Nice to meet you too, Rose. And yes, I know I am—I always am,” laughed Elijah.
    “But why? Is something wrong with you?” cried the girl, somewhat startling him.
    Elijah chuckled a little, trying to change the atmosphere. “Maybe, maybe not.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Rose, slowly leading the way to her cabin.
    “It doesn’t really mean anything. Why do you ask?” Elijah asked, grinning slightly.
    Rose shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Just feel like there is a story behind it.”
    “Oh, well there kind of is, but I don’t feel comfortable talking about it. I’m sorry,” replied Elijah, having an apologetic tone in his voice.
    Rose smiled and shook her head. “It’s okay; you don’t have to apologize for something that you don’t feel comfortable talking about. I understand. By the way, we’re almost there.”
    “What do you have planned for us to do when we get there?” Elijah asked, patiently going Rose’s pace.
    “I haven’t really thought about it much. Most likely I’ll fix something for us to eat,” whispered Rose, trying not to chatter her teeth.
    Elijah glanced at her, noticing that she was trying not to chatter her teeth. Taking off his jacket, Elijah carefully place it onto Rose’s shoulders. Rose smiled sweetly up at him and then turned her attention to what was ahead—her cabin. Rose began to quicken her pace so that they could reach the cabin sooner. Within minutes, they were standing at the front entrance of the cabin. Digging into her jean pockets, Rose quickly pulled out a set of keys. She took one of the keys and placed it into the lock on the door. A loud click came about as she twisted the key and then Rose turned the brass knob. Motioning Elijah in, Rose quickly flipped the lights on and closed the door after Elijah entered the cabin.
    Casually looking around, Elijah noticed that the cabin contained many mysteries. Plus, he noticed that there were two shot guns as well as a crossbow. Elijah made a mental note not to anger Rose.
    “Ah, I see you noticed my weapons. Don’t worry; I don’t plan on using them anytime soon. I only have them to protect myself from the wild,” came Rose’s voice from behind.
    Elijah turned around and faced her, keeping his uneasy feelings to himself. “Have you ever used one of them?”
    Rose nodded once, showing remorse on her face. “Yes, unfortunately I have. I didn’t want to, but I had to.”
    “I see; that must have been hard for you,” replied Elijah.
    “Yeah, it was. But I had to, otherwise I wouldn’t be here today,” whispered Rose, turning her back towards Elijah.
    Elijah grimaced as he looked the gun up and down, thinking of his past nightmares. Quickly turning his back towards Rose and the gun, Elijah carefully examined the rest of the cabin with his razor sharp eyes. His eyes picked up on a small tea kettle sitting on the stove, with steam rising out of the spout. Smiling at the normal luxuries of life, he waltzed over to the tea kettle and smelled the aroma pouring out of it. He quietly turned the knob on the stove, turning the burner off, and grabbed a pot holder hanging on a hook close by. Rose saw what he was doing and silently shuffled over to him, grabbing two coffee mugs on her way over. Being very careful, and swift, Elijah took the two mugs and poured the contents of the tea into both of them. He handed one mug to Rose and kept the other for himself. Rose motioned towards the beige couch in the middle of the room, asking Elijah to come join her. Elijah, grinning, gracefully followed her over to the couch and delicately sat down, crossing his left leg over his right leg. While watching Elijah move, Rose thought that he looked very elegant; far from what she originally thought of him when they first met.
    “So, what exactly were you doing when I found you?” Rose politely asked, casually sipping her warm tea.
    Elijah took a sip of the tea, feeling the heat restore him. “Just daydreaming…nothing really in particular.”
    “Oh, then why didn’t you leave once it turned dark outside?” Rose asked, hoping she wasn’t prying too far.
    “I don’t really have anywhere else to go. Well, actually I do—my cave. But that is about five miles from here or so. Why?” Elijah asked, pressing his hands against the warm mug.
    Rose blushed, and then gave him a weird, sidelong look. “So you’re telling me you live in a cave? Are you serious or are you joking? What did you do run away?”
    “Um…no, I was not joking. I do not have a home. I was banned from my town for believing in something that was forbidden. They punished me with a lifetime of loneliness solitude and made me something I hate,” replied Elijah, glancing down into the tea.
    “I’m sorry to hear that. That sounds horrible what they did. What did they make? Or, I mean, why do you hate what you are?” Rose asked, slightly confused.
    Elijah turned his attention towards Rose, and shook his head. “Nothing, it doesn’t matter. I don’t know why I opened up like that. Most likely because you’re the first person I’ve talked to in about two months. I’m sorry, but I feel uncomfortable going any further in this conversation.”
    “I’m sorry for digging into your past. Please forgive me. You seem like an interesting person and I really wanted to learn more about you. I hope you don’t take it against you and I hope that you will at least spend the night tonight,” whispered Rose, trying not to let tears fall down her cheeks.
    Elijah reached over to Rose, cupping her chin in his hands. “Look, its okay. It felt rather nice talking about things. It’s just, I don’t want to scare you or place useless things onto you. I’m sorry for upsetting you.”
    “Oh, okay. Um…would you like to play cards with me?” Rose asked, trying to change the atmosphere a bit.
    Smiling, Elijah nodded his head. “I would be delighted to play cards with you. But, isn’t it getting a tad late to play games?”
    “Um…maybe just a tad. I just felt that we should play one or two games and then try to go to sleep. I often have trouble going to sleep sometimes, and I have a feeling tonight I will,” blushed Rose, carefully grabbing a deck of cards off of the coffee table.
    Elijah smiled back at her, raising his left hand to brush a few strands of hair out of his eyes. “Then deal me.”
    Rose giggled, and let out a sigh of relief, slowly shuffling the cards and then dealing them out as quickly as she could. Elijah picked up the cards dealt to him and held them out in front of him. Rose motioned for him to go, making Elijah smile. Carefully looking over his hand of cards, Elijah placed a card down, grinning to himself. Rose picked up on his cocky mood, and quickly placed a card down, hoping it would pursue her to win. Elijah felt even more confident in himself about winning the game as he continued to place cards down onto the table. However, Rose placed down a card that surprised Elijah, leaving him losing at the moment. Quickly grabbing a card from the pile of cards in the middle of the coffee table, Elijah placed a pair of cards down. He looked at Rose and saw that her expression turned from grinning to a shocked, surprised look. Elijah had just won the game.
    “You’re pretty good. Where’d you learn to play like that?” Elijah asked Rose, shuffling the cards.
    Rose blushed, revealing a tint of pink on her pale cheeks. “Um…well, my sensei taught me how to play like that when I was little. What about you? Who taught you how to play like you do?”
    “I learned by watching people play,” replied Elijah, placing the cards down on the coffee table. “So, are you getting tired yet?”
    Rose glanced at him, watching him as he delicately placed the cards in a neat pile on the table. “A little bit. I guess we should probably hit the hay.”
    Elijah smiled his sweet smile, showing his pearly white teeth. “That sounds like a good idea. Where shall I sleep at?”
    “Um…there’s an extra bedroom right across from the bathroom. You can sleep there unless you’d want to sleep on the couch or the floor,” replied Rose, motioning him to follow her.
    Elijah laughed, finding what she said amusing. “Thank you, the bedroom will be fine. Better than what I’m used to.”
    “Oh, okay. That’s good. Let me show you the way to the room,” replied Rose, smiling a bit.
    Elijah watched as Rose elegantly led the way to the guest bedroom, smiling to himself. He never realized that someone would allow him of all people to stay at their place. He felt a rather warm, fuzzy feeling in the pit of his chest, one that he has rarely ever felt in a long time. This feeling seemed to lift him up, which was a hard thing to do after his punishment. Sighing to himself, memories slowly starting pouring out, making him miss his old life. Rose briskly turned around and examined the look on Elijah’s face, which was twisted with sadness and somehow, happiness.
    “Um…are you okay?” Rose asked, placing a puzzled expression onto her face.
    Elijah looked up from his feet to glance into her eyes for a brief second. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
    “Well, the expression on your face is a mix between sadness and happiness. I don’t see how it can be both,” whispered Rose.
    Elijah slapped his forehead, not realizing that he wasn’t controlling his feelings very accurately. This was the first time in years since he lost control of his feelings. “Oh, well, I was just thinking of a few things—nothing to be bothered by.”
    “Oh, okay then; if you say so. Um…this is the guest bedroom. I guess if you need anything, let me know,” whispered Rose, trying hard not to ask any more questions that would make him uncomfortable.
    Elijah smiled, trying to show her that he wasn’t unhappy at all. “Thanks, I’ll let you know if I need anything. Thanks again.”
    Smiling back sweetly, Rose whispered a polite “you’re welcome” and then quickly darted down the hall towards the master bedroom. Elijah softly chuckled to himself, and silently closed the door in the process. Gazing quickly around the room, he found the light switch and flipped the lights on. Everything was instantly illuminated by the light. Peering at the portraits hanging on the wall, which he figured consisted of Rose and her family, Elijah decided to flip the lights back off and hopped onto the nice, soft bed. Closing his delicate eyes, Elijah soon drifted into a deep slumber that would release all of his nightmares over and over again throughout the night.