By moonlight's shadow

Chapter 17

Snow ran outside and then kept on running and then again kept on running at high speed without even knowing how far she had come from the Academy. When the day is growing old and the hearth calls, the sun sinks down beneath the tops of the pines. The light streaks through the boughs in both brilliant and shadowy beams. In the summertime they were white gold, illuminating the greens into virescent riots; yet the gift of those warm days has passed for the season. On these wintry days the fogs cast those same beams of light into sepia tones and the woodland becomes the most beautiful of photographs. The trunks of fallen trees bare icicles longer than my hand, no two of them the same - more enchanting than any work of man. Every twig and blade of grass grows winter "leaves" of ice crystals, frost deeper than the fleece in my gloves. And never is the woodland silent, though it is quieter than any city street for sure. There are the birds above, calling, pecking for grubs. There is movement of mammals, mostly small, sometimes not. There is the water that flows quietly until it meets the sharp rocky scree slopes and forms the waterfalls.

It is to the forest I go for rest, for serenity that flows as cool river waters. There is something about the sparkle upon the blue, a melody without a rhythm, music without sound. Above wave the great arms, clothed in the greens of every palate and none, the verdant hues of nature's free dreams. In that place I become a part of that art, of that three dimensional creation of time and space, of a greater evolutionary span than my brain can fathom. It's when I stop knowing and begin feeling, it's when I hear with my heart the voices of these mighty trees, "Sister, welcome." In this forest I am with my tribe of wood and leaf, among the giants whose roots hug the earth. It is a place of ancient souls, of the creatures who dwell with the sweet sounds of moving water and bird song. Somehow this is more home than home, perhaps one day I'll learn why.

“You should have come here,” came a voice from behind and Snow whirled back in apprehension breaking her reverie.

“Who is there?” she asked out loud but did not get any reply.

“You should not have come here. You need to leave,” said the voice from nowhere once again.

“I want to see who is talking to me otherwise I am not leaving this place under any circumstances,” said Snow, her voice like a petulant child.

“This is not the time or the condition to behave like that, Princesa. You need to listen to what I am saying. Your life is in imminent danger, you need to leave right now and go back within the walls of your school. You will be safe there,” said the voice once more. Snow still could not understand who was talking to her neither could she fathom from where the voice was coming or why was that person calling her Princess because as far as she knew, she was definitely Blue-Blood but Princess, did not cut it at all.

“I want to see you. Please wherever you are, you can come out. I am not going to harm you under any circumstances,” said Snow as she moved around the same place in circles.

“You are in the border of the Lands which are inhabited by the Fae and they do not prefer to take prisoners. Please return back the way you came. It is not time for us to meet Princesa, but we will for sure. It is fated for us to meet someday and be together,” said the voice and then there was nothing. Like it faded away and vanished in thin air.

Snow kept on calling out hello hello a few more times in a loud voice but it kept on echoing around her and then she felt a prickling sensation on the back of her neck which meant that she was truly in danger and she needed to get away from that place. Whoever was there a moment ago wanted well for her and was like her well-wisher. Snow did not wait to be captured at the hands of the Fae anymore and then she ran like crazy back to the direction that her school was. She met Sonata and Akira in the midway who were out trying to find her.

“Where the hell had you gone away girl? We have been trying to find you since like forever. Do you have any idea what has happened while you were away?” asked Sonata her eyes as wide they could be and indignation on her face.

“What on the earth are you even talking about? Do you have any idea what might have happened to me if someone had not saved me today?” asked Snow with equal indignation at Sonata.

“And that is why I never leave the campus grounds under any circumstances. For now it looks that I might be correct in following the rules,” said Akira, with a smug smile on her face.

“Akira, do you have no sense at all? Now you have to say these things? You will have an eternity to gloat about what a good girl you are but for now her life is at stake. So you need to understand the priority of things really,” said Sonata now glaring at Akira, who immediately looked very contrite.

“Ok, Sonata, now you are acting really weird. I mean weird, even for you. Will you do me the favour of coming out with what has exactly crawled up your ass?” asked Snow, narrowing her eyes at both the girls.

“No no, nothing has crawled up my ass but your brain has crawled up yours along with your temper. Who told you to throw that creature with such a force at the wall that she has suffered multiple fractures and so many broken bones that it is going to take her three days to become whole again. Do you not have any control over your mind or body or your arms for that matter?” asked Sonata and Snow looked at her as if she was saying something very trivial.

“Yeah? So we are vampires Sonata, it is possible to become whole and beautiful for that vile thing once more. I would never do such a thing with a human being, would I? And that girl has the nerve to get on my bones at every moment. It is her fault that she is able to make me so damn angry every single time she crosses path with me more over if you want to know or if you even remember what had happened the first day that I came in class? Blood-letting? Drinking from the new girl without even trying to know her name, her identity, what am I? A blood-w***e?” shouted Snow in anger. Her hair was on the verge of bursting out of its confinement of beads and clips.

“That will be more than enough Ms. White,” came the loud booming voice of Raphael from the gates of the hall and they were standing in the courtyard.

All of them turned towards the voice of the Headmaster, the only person whom they never had seen angry was looking furious at the moment and he looked at Sonata and Akira and they knew that they were required to leave the place at that moment without any word or any kind of noise and they sped away from the place as if their bottoms were on fire.

Raphael came forward towards Snow with slow deliberate steps as if he was stalking his prey. There was an animalistic instinct clearly reflecting in his eyes which Snow had never seen earlier. It did not scare her, but there was something akin to fear in her heart but she tried hard not to express that. Once he was close to her he said,” You need to come with me at this moment without any words.”

Snow knew better than to talk at that point of time. She nodded her head like a good girl and followed him towards the building where the office and living quarters of the Headmaster were situated.

But they did not go to the office which was a veritable office of the CIA, or probably even better equipped than that but only Snow knew the way to it. But never before had he brought her to his living quarters.

“Are we not going to the office Sir?” asked Snow in a small voice.

“NO,” came the answer from before.

Snow was a bit surprised at his reaction and mono-syllabic answers. Normally it was she who did not like to talk much but today it seemed that the roles had been reversed.

As they reached the place Snow stood outside not knowing what to do next. Raphael unlocked the door typing the passwords in the keypad of the lock so fast that even she could not see that.

“Enter,” came the command as the headmaster went inside. Snow entered the room and was shocked at the sheer opulence of the room. It was like a veritable dream for any man or woman who liked dark colours and shades.

Before she even knew it Snow was turned towards him and slammed into the wall with her back pressed against the wall tightly, her breasts jutting forward at the shock of it and she looked in the eyes of the man who just did it. He was not in himself. His eyes were dark, feral even but Snow instinctively understood that he was scared out of his wits.

“What the f**k were you thinking running off like that?” he whispered, but the menace was clear in his voice.

Snow was dumb-founded by his behavior and could not say or utter a single sound. His lips were so close to hers and she could hear both their hearts beating at the same pace in sync. What scared her even more was that only one heart beat could be found, rather she could hear two hearts beating as one.

“You need to answer me Snow. What were you thinking running away like that in the middle of the night? I know you are a creature of night and you might have had gone out to let away some steam but to the Land of Fae?” the grip on her hand tightened and she winced in pain for the first time in her life probably. Her sound made Raphael realize what he was doing and he left her hand and stepped away from her. Immediately Snow missed his presence close to her body and the touch of his skin on hers.

She looked at him in the eyes and went ahead until she was as close to Raphael as she was earlier.

“I wasn’t thinking anything. I did not know that I would go that far and I had no idea that I was going to go away so much distance in such a short time. This has never happened earlier and you know that well, because you have been with me almost every night. So what changed today? Found yourself a new toy to fixate upon?” she asked him fiercely and she could not even recognize her own voice. It was laced with venom and jealousy.

Raphael looked at her not knowing what he was supposed to say to her and then instinct took over and he pulled her close and kissed her.