Green

The darkened room seemed much less miserable without visibility. Riley clenched her eyes tightly closed. She didn't want to see what was around her. She didn't want to notice that she had been placed in a different, unfamiliar place. Her body ached, her soul longed for something she couldn't identify, her bones shook as if they had been rattled previously. She grabbed hold of something and tried to sit up. She needed to breath. She took a deep breath in and out.

"Somebody help me..." She whispered through the dark. She couldn't find her full voice as if it had been lost. She trembled and held her head to calm herself. She thought she was going crazy.

When she finally opened her eyes, it hadn't dawned on her just yet that she could see through the thick darkness effortlessly. She saw a dresser adorned with fragrances of every shape and color. There was a large wardrobe and above it a large painting of a woman resting in the crevice of a mountain. In the far corner of the room she could hear water, moving water. A tiny pool had been set up with a basin of red solution beside it. She wanted to see everything, notice everything. Her vision was so keen.

Riley felt faint again. Her body was weakening fast, and her urge to look around was no longer relevant. She fell back down into the warm pile of furs and listened to her pulse.

The door creaked open slowly and then shut before Riley even noticed someone was in the room. She felt her body being lifted.

"Who...who are you..."

"Shhh."

The man settled her body into the small pool of warm water. He held her gently, like a mother would and infant and poured water down her steaming flesh. She shivered.

"What's...happening...to me." She said, swallowing hard. Her throat was tightening or dry from having not drunken in days.

"With this water, I bathe you in my flesh and in my blood." He began pouring the basin of red solution inside the bath. "With this we become one."

Riley screamed as the blood seeped into her open wounds. It burned, but healed them. It grew cold after.

"Take this." He said cutting his wrist the slightest. Without fully understanding, Riley grabbed hold of the mans open arm and drank. She was satisfying that part of her that longed for something and she loved it though in a warped state of mind. She drank for minutes, hours it seemd until she was fulfilled and the darkness returned...

-----

Riley grimaced in her sleep as the light of the sun caressed her skin. She pulled the blankets up over her face before realizing she was awake and aware. Her mind was no longer distanced from her body. She sat up and looked around, mouth agape.

"Where is this? Where am I?"

She jumped out of bed quickly and ran to the window. The sun was shining and birds were chirping, but it wasn't her home. There were large open fields of grass, a large 13th century arc and a beautiful garden. She had recognized none of those things. This wasn't her home. It wasn't even her town.

There was a knock at the door. Riley pressed her back up against the wall defensively.

"Your breakfast."

A young woman walked into the room holding a tray of food. She was brown skinned and slender. Her hair was short and brown.

"Your breakfast." She repeated."Don't be scared."

"Where am I? Where is this?"

" You are in master Carlile's castle. Were you not aware of this?"

"No. No I wasn't."

"Ill leave you to your breakfast."

Riley watched the woman leave and stared down at the tray of delightful looking edibles. There was a blueberry muffin, eggs benedict and bacon and a glass of tall milk. Riley looked back to the door. She walked over and tried to open it but it wouldn't budge. She figured it had been locked and she kicked it harshly.

"I want to go home."

Riley closed the curtains when the bright light began irritating her skin. She thought it was peculiar, but didn't think much of it. She looked over at the tray of food again. She grabbed the plate and nudged the eggs with her finger. She then broke off a corner of the muffin. She hadn't noticed how hungry she was.

There was a click and the door creaked open once again. Riley dropped the muffin she was holding and jumped across the bed to the floor. She ducked behind it and watched as a very tall man stepped in. He pushed the long blond hair away from his face and looked around.

"Come to me child."

He bent down on one knee and held out his hand.

"Are...are you carlile?"

"Yes I am."

Riley could see familiarity in his facial features. She remembered she had seen the man before.

"Then tell me...why am I here?"

"Your home was destroyed. This is your new home."

"Says who..."

Carlile frowned at that. He knew the girl was going to be difficult.

"Says me."

"Who are you?"

"I am your master."

"Says who?"

"Says me child."

"Your a stranger to me!"

Riley noticed the look in his eyes. She remembered seeing it before somewhere else. She remembered seeing him back at home. She remembered.

"You!" She shouted. "You took my friendm! You were there at my house that day! You, you killed people!"

"I killed no one. You are mistaken."

"You were there!"

"Does my presence immediately indicate wrongdoing?"

"Yes!"

Riley backed away, her back pressing up against the cold wall.

"As much as I love to hear your beautiful voice, I must ask you to keep quiet now. Your false accusations anger me."

"Your not the boss of me..."

Riley stepped forward as if prepped for battle.

"I didn't think I'd have to teach you obedience so soon. Do you know who you are talking to? Do you truly know?"

Riley was trying to hide her fear, but couldn't keep her knees from shaking.

Carlile removed his jacket and slipped the white gloves from his hand one finger at a time. Riley backed away again.

"Ill only give you an order once."

Carlile, without warning, sped over to where Riley was cowering like a lightening bold surging through the sky. He caught her off guard, grabbing her beneath her arm like a naughty child.

"Stop it! Your hurting me!"

He sat her on his lap gingerly.

"Get off!" Riley yelled. Carlile landed one swift slap to her cheek. Riley sat aghast. She had never been hit before.

"Why did you do that?" She cried.

" Obedience is something that you will know. I won't go back and forth with a child."

"Your holding me against my will!"

"No matter. Here you have not a will nor a say in anything that pertains to you."

Carlile grabbed hold of Rileys jaw and with his thumb and pointer finger pried her mouth open to examine her gums. Her fangs were just growing in. Riley pulled away and Carlile landed another swift slap on her cheek, harder this time. She clenched her jaw from the sting.

"Leave me alone!" Riley screamed. She was awarded with another swift slap. She cried openly, holding her swollen cheek.

"Stop it!"

He slapped her again and continued to until she was silent.

"Rest. Ill be back in a couple hours to check on you again."

Carlile placed Riley back down on the bed. Riley dug her face into her pillow and cried freely. Her cheeks were red and throbbing.

When she heard the click of the door locking, she sat up face flushed. She walked up to a small hand mirror sitting on the wardrobe and stared into it. Besides her tear stained cheeks, her skin was pale, her hair was much more vivid than she had remembered it being and her gums were sore. She wondered why she had gone through such awkward changes since she had been home. She knew she hadn't been getting a lot of sun which was the reason for her pale flesh, but the other changes were alien to her. She opened her mouth, pulling her lip back to get a better look. What she saw chilled her to the bones. She gasped and fell back onto her bottom.

She grabbed the mirror and looked again to be certain.

"My teeth...what happened to my teeth??"

There were two bare spots on her gums from where two of her teeth had been missing. In there place was an indication of two new teeth growing in.

Riley threw the hand mirror against the wall and watched it shatter to pieces, but the frame remained unbroken. She ran over and stepped on it breaking that in half too.