19It's getting colder outside and the first snow has fallen... And this little idea wouldn't leave me alone, so I had to write it down. I don't know how long it'll be, let's just see what my muse will whisper to me...
Disclaimer: Godric, Isabel and everything else that sounds familiar to you from the books or series is not mine. I only borrowed it and will (possibly) give it back. My OC, however, is mine.
Now I wish you a lot of fun reading and please let me know what you think about it.
Chapter 1 ~ A good night to die
Bright lights were all around her. Every street corner smelled of cinnamon and roasted almonds, and the people's anticipation of Christmas was noticeably electrifying.
The girl looked at the gathered men and women in their thick coats and jackets. Some seemed to be running errands, hectically going from shop to shop and frowning, but the majority of the people passing by were cheerful, the Christmas spirit glittering in their eyes.
She liked to look at the many people with their cold-reddened noses and warm gloves and was happy for them. With the winter and Christmas songs pouring in from all over the department stores and lulling the girl in as well as the warm thoughts of the people, it was a great time, the best time of the year. She would only wish that the warm thoughts sometimes turned towards her too...
It was cold, even chilly, and if her feet hadn't frozen in her worn-out and skinny shoes, she would also run from window to window and admire the myriad consumer goods she would never have been able to buy in her life. So she was condemned to sit under the little ledge and watch the hustle and bustle, knowing that she herself cannot attend.
When she watched a little boy waiting for his mother to give him a freshly prepared waffle, her stomach growled for what felt like the hundredth time that day. Fortunately, the sound was damped by the many layers of her clothing and didn't disturb the passers-by. It would have embarrassed her. She was also grateful that she had so much clothes that no one noticed how thin she really was.
Normally she got along well enough. As a homeless orphan, it was a daily challenge to just get by, and she was proud she mastered her life alone. Only in winter it was more difficult, because at these temperatures, she could no longer play her guitar and sing for the walkers and earn her daily money. And this winter had started very early. However, she didn't have a problem with searching the garbage cans for scraps of food that people threw away. And sometimes, people were generous and gave her some money or bought her something to eat.
But most of the support came through the minds of the people themselves. Because if they thought about the bright children's eyes, who would be happy about the newly purchased gifts, or the delicacies that will be served or the upcoming New Year's fireworks, then yes, she could also escape her life in her mind and forget her cold, stiff limbs and growling stomach for a while.
She loved the nights. Especially in the evenings, when the city quiets and the Christmas market lights are dimmed, she would sometimes just stand in the middle of the square and look up to the many stars above her, wondering what it would be like to fly there. Of course, she knew that the stars were all suns, all scattered throughout the universe. But she liked to imagine how she jumped from star to star and experienced adventures... like in the one book about a little prince and his fox that she had once seen in a shop window.
Her thoughts wandered around, and when the music in the nearest store quieted and eventually faded, she came back to the here and now. She had to have been absent mentally for longer than usual, because the place was now almost completely deserted. There were only a few men and women here and there going home now, and that was usually the time she got up to find her supper. But day by day it had gotten harder to do so. Whenever she tried to move her legs, they ached like hell, and even though the black hole in her stomach screamed at her infernally, she found no motivation to take up the fight to get up. She was tired and it was easier to just sit and wait for sleep.
Maybe it would have been easier if she had already had something to drink today, but last night her search had only been modest. People have been acting environmentally friendly for some time now and have not thrown away so much. Normally, she was glad of it, but right now, she was painfully aware that she was probably hopelessly dehydrated. With this realization came another one - if she didn't manage to get herself up and seek some food and drink that night, then she knew she most likely wouldn't wake up tomorrow, as emaciated as she was.
She looked back up to the stars, thinking whether it would be too bad to fall asleep right here and now forever. If she didn't move, she wouldn't feel her body anymore and it would be so easy to just close her eyes... Why should she keep on living and for what? She had no one, and from waking to falling asleep, her life was solely survival. No more and no less.
Yes, it was actually a beautiful night to die for. With a small smile she looked to the stars one last time to say goodbye. But when something flew just above the rooftops in the distance, she frowned. It was too big to be a bird; it had been too fast for that, too. When this something looped around and shortly afterwards landed in the middle of the square with the Christmas stalls, she thought for a moment that there really might be aliens out there and that they would now take her with them.
She heard herself laughing quietly about that thought, but as quiet as it had been, this something seemed to have heard it. It turned in her direction and she realized that it was a young man wearing unnaturally thin clothes for this season. Maybe she would even have wondered about that fact and that he wore only a sweater, but no jacket or gloves, scarf or hat, but she could not take her eyes off his face. Did he see her? She doubted it, always looking for a place that was already shaded by daylight unless she sang and played guitar for a living. Now at night one wouldn't be able to see her, especially since she looked more like a mountain of rags than a human being sitting at the corner of a shop. But his eyes never left her face for a second and she saw him frown.
'That's not right,' she thought. He had such a sublime face that it didn't seem right that it would be interrupted by a frown. When she realized that she was the trigger for the frown, she felt hot and cold within. He seemed like a phenomenon to her and shouldn't feel disturbed because of her!
Ashamed, she wanted to close her eyes, but then she felt a warm breath, which slowly lay over her and seemed to examine and feel her from head to toe. Her body shuddered and immediately hurt again because of the unfamiliar movement. She stifled the cry of pain that lay on her tongue in order to not attract any more attention. But his gaze didn't even move elsewhere, holding her captive. Did he really see her? But how could that be?
How long she was caught in his gaze and felt the warm breath, she didn't know, but suddenly, she got a strange feeling and shuddered again. She knew the feeling! It always came over her when something was about to happen that wasn't good. Immediately she opened herself up and consciously perceived her surroundings. And then she noticed it. Not only that this young man, who was apparently not cold and could fly, had no thoughts streaming out of his head, but also the putrid thoughts of four men who were just about to sneak up on him.
Hearing the thoughts of what they wanted to do to him, any color left her face, and her heart cramped painfully. Forgotten was her tiredness and she didn't know if her voice would obey her, but she had to try. She had to warn him!
"Watch out!"
Her voice sounded weak and scratchy, and her throat ached immediately, but she brought out the words and he seemed to hear them, for his posture changed and his eyes took on an alert expression. But he didn't turn around and still didn't let her out of his sight. Why didn't he turn around? The bad thoughts of the four grew louder and closer, but he didn't seem to notice them. Did he want to die? Her whole body was shaking by now, and as her hood slipped and the icy wind caught her face, she felt sick and almost blacked out.
The four were now so close to the young man that she could see that all of them were armed with nets and chains shining in the moonlight. But he was still concentrating only on her and that made her angry for some reason. They wanted to drain him! She could hear that clearly in their minds. Once again she tried to control her voice and it actually worked.
"Fly, you fool!"
She could hear her own panic clearly, hoping he would fly away and save himself. But her warning had now been heard by the four men too and after a brief hesitation, they rushed to him. But they were not the only ones. From the alley to the right of her suddenly came other dark figures, their murderous thoughts flowing into her. They made no sound and apparently didn't want to be detected, but she knew that they were there. Desperately, she tried to sit up and point in their direction to make the young man somehow understand that there were more attackers lurking around. But her arm failed her, so she could only look in their direction.
Then everything happened at the same time. The moment she saw that the attackers from the alley had also noticed her and one was already charging toward her, she saw the knife swinging in her direction. When she felt a short pain and something warm ran down her throat, she also heard loud, furious shouting, gurgling noises and a snap that sounded like bones breaking from a little further away. Then her attacker with the knife was suddenly torn away from her and she realized that she was getting weaker and weaker. Unconsciously, she felt for her throat and when she saw that her fingertips were red with her own blood, she realized that she was really going to die that night.
But when she heard a lovely melodic voice above her and looked up, she couldn't help but smile. There stood the young man, close to her and unhurt! That was good; she had warned him in time. With this thought she could fall asleep without regret.
Although she still saw him kneel beside her and felt his arm supporting her back, her senses failed and the cold and the blood loss took their toll and she lost consciousness...