Lavender Blues

“…. Lavenders blue dilly dilly…. lavenders green…. you will be king dilly dilly…. And I will be queen….”

Marie sang to herself as she rocked back and forth in the cold night air. She hugged her pink fleece jacket and white nightdress to her tiny frame. Her black hair swirled around her, tossed about by the wind as she pumped the creaking swing back and forth with her little legs. She stopped her little song briefly to see if she could still hear the shouting coming from her parent’s bedroom.

“…..This is all your fucking fault you piece of shit!”

“I should’ve never married you in the first place!”

“How dare you blame this on me woman! I wasn’t the one who………”

Marie hastily plugged her cold and blue hands over her ears and started to murmur to herself ‘its only pretend, its only pretend, its only pretend.’ Marie hated the sound of her parents fighting. Repeating to herself that it wasn’t real had been how she had coped with that and all the other things in her life that scared her for as long as her young mind could remember. When she saw scary shadows in the dark corners of her room she would curl up under the sheets and repeat this mantra to herself until she fell asleep, exhausted.

Even at the young age of seven she knew that it was her fault that her parents had stayed together. If her mother hadn’t gotten pregnant with her, they would’ve broken up long ago. It was a horrible burden for a seven year old to carry but she tried not to think about it much, except at times like this when she couldn’t avoid it.

As she continued to repeat that her parents screaming match wasn’t real, she felt a dark shadow pass over her and looking down, she saw two well polished leather shoes before her. She slowly looked up to see the man standing before her. He was wearing loose black pants, and a matching charcoal shirt, unbuttoned at the neck and rolled up at the sleeves. He was staring down at her with intensely dark chocolate eyes, with somewhat of a smile on his mouth. Marie gazed back at him with her blue eyes trembling, suddenly frightened of the man before her. He had yet to say anything, but was watching her with an intensity that she had never experienced in her short life. It was almost like he was looking into her, judging her. Dropping her eyes, she shrank back away from him as he let out a short humourless chuckle. He knelt down towards her and placed one hand on the chain of the old swing and the other one underneath her rounded chin, and lifted it so her gaze met his once more. Marie was stunned at how cold his hand was. As his skin brushed against hers, she felt a shiver break out down her spine. He was cold unlike anyone she’d ever felt before.

Once they had resumed their staring match, he dropped the hand on her chin and dropped it to the ground, using it to keep his balance in the crouch position he was in. He opened his mouth as if to speak but then stopped again once he saw the tears threatening to fall from her azul eyes. He reached into his pocket and handed her a handkerchief which she proceeded to ball and twist in her hands. Once sure that the tears were not going to fall he resumed what he was going to say;

“What are you doing out so late at night little girl?”

Marie sniffed indignantly at this. Little girl! She was going to be eight in three weeks! She was hardly a little girl!

“I’m not little! I’m almost eight mister!”

The dark haired stranger grinned a little and let out an amused chuckle at this little girl yelling at him so indignantly. If only she knew who it was she was speaking to, perhaps she would think more carefully about her words and not be so flip. However there would be plenty of time for introductions later.

“I apologise my little Marie… it is indeed almost your birthday is it not?”

“What? How did you… what?”

“How did I know your name? And that it was your birthday soon? All in good time little one. And from now on you will call me… Gabriel. Now, next week is your birthday isn’t it little one?”

“Yes Mister… Gabriel” She continued as he raised his eyebrow at being called ‘Mister.’

“Well let me give you this… you may open it now if you so wish.”

With this he pulled out a small purple present from his pants pocket. Marie took it from him slowly, knowing she wasn’t supposed to accept gifts from strangers… but he knew her name and that it was her birthday so he couldn’t be a stranger, right? With hands trembling, no longer from fear but from the cold, she unwrapped the gift carefully. When she had finished unwrapping it she was left with a small black velvet box. Marie looked up at him wondering if this was her present.

“Thank you Mister Gabriel. Its umm very nice.”

Gabriel chuckled once again and took the box out of her hand. He opened it and then turned it to face Marie again. Inside lay a silver pendant with a dark red stone hanging from it. It was an extremely mature necklace that Marie knew she wouldn’t be able to wear for many years yet. She took it out of Gabriel’s hands and examined it with her childish eyes. To her it was simply a pretty piece of jewellery to wear when she was playing dress up. She smiled up at Gabriel and then shivered slightly as the cold wind blew by her again. Gabriel took her pink fleece and gently did up the snaps that held it together. He lifted her off of the swing and pushed her softly back towards the house.

“Bed little one. You have a big day at school tomorrow after all.”

Marie turned to face him again to thank him for the pendant, but he was gone.

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(Roughly nine years later)

Marie wiped the fog off of the mirror in the bathroom as she stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her lean body. She shook out her long black hair and wrung it till it lay damp around her shoulders. She smiled at herself in the mirror as she finished drying herself off. She knew that today was going to be a good day. After all, it wasn’t everyday that a girl turned seventeen. She wondered if there would be a present waiting for her from the mysterious stranger. She still remembered that night just before her birthday, when she met Him.

Being the child that she was, after a few days she thought nothing of it until the next year, when she had awoken to find a gift lying on her windowsill. Every year after that there had been a new gift, whether it had been the toy she had desperately yearned for or an irreplaceable piece of jewellery to match the necklace he had given her when she was so young.

Stepping out of the bathroom and walking down the hallway into her dark little bedroom, she dropped her towel and walked over to her closet and pulled open the chest of drawers. Selecting a pair of green panties with the matching padded bra. She quickly slipped them on and then grabbed a floaty white gypsy skirt that settled around her knees and a black fitted t-shirt. She grabbed some grey converse from the closet and pulled a black hoodie over the t-shirt. She ran a brush through her midnight hair and pulled it back into a wet ponytail. After finishing this she found she could hold herself back no longer.

Running over to the windowsill, sure enough she found a package wrapped as usual in light lavender. However this time there was a white rose attached. Fingering the rose she let out a sharp hiss as she felt a thorn prick into her finger. Sucking on the blood she ripped open the package one handed. She sighed as she stared down at another velvet box. Whoever He was he always sent her jewellery with a note that always said “for later.” Cracking open the box she was forced to hold back a gasp as she stared down at the bracelet. It was a silver charm bracelet with teardrop shaped gems that could only be rubies. She slipped it onto her wrist and did up the delicate clasp on it.

Holding out her wrist to admire it, she almost missed the note that had dropped to the floor. Picking it up, while still half admiring the gem she read it absentmindedly. What she saw made her blood run cold. In impeccable cursive, it read:

“Soon my little one…. soon we shall be reunited in the moonlight once more.”


Marie stood trembling as she read and reread the note that came with the charm bracelet. She didn’t understand what he meant, ‘reunited in the moonlight’ she thought to herself. Whatever that meant Marie knew one thing for sure, she’d be home before dark every night. Deciding to tear the note up and forget she ever got it, Marie threw the remains into the plastic trashcan and padded quietly down the hallway to the kitchen. She was trying to be quiet so as not to wake her mother and father, who once again had been fighting last night.

Sometimes Marie wished that she would step into the kitchen and her mother would be waiting for her, cooking breakfast for her with a smile on her face and that there was a table laden with presents just for her. However, as she stepped into the grey kitchen and flicked on the light-switch she knew that that was unlikely to ever be the case. Marie pulled open the refrigerator and grabbed a carton of milk. Leaning over to find something suitable to eat for breakfast she found a slice of cold, hard pizza from a few nights ago. Shoving it quickly into her mouth as she poured the leftover milk into a glass, she grimaced, wishing that it had been a piece of hot crunchy toast instead. As she took a long drink of the cool milk, her mind wandered back to the note and what it could possibly mean. All of her life the presents had had notes attached to them, but they had always been along the lines of “enjoy your present,” “I’m sure you will look beautiful in this one day” that sort of thing. Nothing that had implied that her and Gabriel were ever destined to meet again someday, let alone some day in the near future.

Pushing it out of her mind she put the carton of milk away and checked the clock. It was only 8.01am. There was still time for her parents to burst through the kitchen door with an armful of presents to make up for the years of nothing. She shook her head ruefully, they’d never acknowledged that she was growing up before, why start now. Jumping up on the bench and pulling on her converse she wondered what it was like to be a normal girl, one whose parents didn’t fight and drink the night away. One who didn’t buy all of her clothes from charity stores except for this one pair of shoes that her friends had got together to buy her. The most expensive things she owned were the things that Gabriel had given her.

Jumping back off of the bench she ran swiftly back to her bedroom to pull out her school bag from its hiding place by her door. Grabbing the Ipod she had saved up for six months for, she turned it on and flicked it round until it landed on “Dirty Little Secret” by The All American Rejects. They were one of Marie’s favourite bands and as she stepped out of the house into the cool autumn air she was happily singing along to them, ignoring the looks she got from the strangers listening to it. If she’d known it was going to be the last time she saw home, she might’ve said goodbye to her parents. However, as it was, Marie was blissfully ignorant that today would be her last day of normality.

She did not feel the dark eyes watching her in the sunrise. Yes the sunrise, it was autumn and the sun rose late. In fact it was often still half dark when Marie left for school. ‘Dirty Little Secret’ had just finished and ‘Pretty Lush’ by a band called Glassjaw was just beginning as she rounded the corner and walked smack into a solid wall of flesh. She looked up at the man she had walked into her mouth full of apologies. But they never got a chance to leave her mouth. Her eyes grew wide as she realised she was staring into the face that had haunted her dreams for so many years, her mysterious benefactor. Marie’s mouth fell slightly open and she took a few stumbling steps backwards. A mocking voice cut through her shock.

“I will take it from your face that you have not yet forgotten me little one.”

“W-what are you… who… why…how?”

Marie was once again treated to the laugh she had heard that cold night so long ago. However this time it did not seem so friendly as it did mocking and cruel. She continued to stare at him wordlessly, after that last attempt she didn’t trust herself to speak. Gabriel, yes she still remembered his name, still looked the same as he had, not a lot had changed. He wore a very similar pair of loose fitting black slacks, a midnight blue silk shirt and strangely, a black leather cord necklace around his throat. His hair was longer now, the ebony locks streaked with a vivid scarlet would doubtless fall to his shoulders had he not tied them in a neat ponytail with only a few strands allowed to hang loose from his forehead. This look, mixed with his somewhat unnaturally pale skin and tall height of at least 6 foot gave him an air of power Marie had never seen before in a man.

“Now, now little Marie, there’s no need to be afraid of me. I’m not going to hurt you, well not unless you ask me very, very nicely.”

He gave her a wolfish grin, his teeth gleaming slightly in the twilight of the morning.

“You look so surprised to see me little one. I told you I would come for you did I not?”

“Yes but… you can’t mean… I’m just a…. get away from me!”

Marie took off at a frantic run as his words seeped into her brain. ‘Come for her!?’ what did that mean? He couldn’t possibly mean what she thought he did. She was only a teenager; she had a life to live! Still running Marie could hear the mocking laughter carried by the wind and distinctly in her mind she heard his voice saying ‘Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?” She was Marie acknowledged o herself. She was afraid of Gabriel, a wolf in humans clothing if ever she had seen one.

Finally reaching school Marie stopped for a few seconds to catch her breath before walking slowly through the gates to find her friends. She shoved her ipod away as she looked around waving to a few people who weren’t quite friends, but she was friendly with. She saw her friend Jasper talking to his boyfriend and ran over to him. Covering his eyes with her hands she growled into his ear ‘guess who.’ He turned around with a little scream and picked her up and twirled her around in a circle. With his low slung tight black jeans, pink fitted t-shirt, eyes surrounded in dark eyeliner and spiky blond hair, he didn’t look like the strongest guy in the world, but looks could be deceiving.

“Happy birthday princess! Hows it feel to be the big 1 7 aye?”

“Hey I thought I was the only one you called princess” Jasper’s boyfriend Tom broke into the conversation. Tom was the more masculine and reserved of the pair; he generally wore jeans and a t-shirt, wouldn’t be caught dead wearing eyeliner and had a brown buzz cut. But they say opposites attract, and that had been the case for Tom and Jasper. Tom had moved to the town last year and despite some initial problems, they had eventually sorted things out and had been going strong ever since.

“Aww sugar I’ll make it up to you later.”

Jasper leant over and gave Tom a peck on the cheek as if to prove his point and then started to rummage through his backpack. He pulled out a square package wrapped in silver. He handed it over to Marie with a grin on his lean face.

“Its not a birthday without presents right?”

“Jasper! You didn’t have to do that for me! Can I open it now?”

“No, see it’s actually just an empty box, of course you can silly.” Jasper replied with a grin as Marie carefully unwrapped the silver wrapping and folded it into her bag for later. She opened the black box and found a silver photo frame with all of her friends in it. She recognized the photo it was one they had taken last year during the mandatory school camp. Marie was being piggybacked by her friend Lindsey and was poking her tongue at the cameraman who she assumed must’ve been Tom considering that Jasper was blowing a kiss at him as well. She felt her eyes well up with tears and blinked them back before pulling Jasper into a fierce bear hug and whispering into his ear;

“Thank you… I love it.”

The bell rang and they all looked up as if expecting a fire to be flaming around their heads. Grabbing Tom and Jasper’ hands Marie raced down the hall into common room, she’d never been late to school before and she didn’t intend to start now. They settled into their seats and Marie looked around trying to spot he other friends. She waved to a few of them and when she looked back at her desk she saw a note had landed on it. As the teacher droned on in the background she glanced down at it and subtly opened it. It read ‘hey, if your not doing anything special this weekend, maybe we could hang out? X mike.’

She glanced over at Mike and saw him looking expectantly at her. Marie contemplated what to say in return. Mike was cute in a sort of skater way, with his baggy pants and dreadlocks. They had been flirting with each other for a few weeks now and she had had a vague feeling that he might ask her out soon but she still hadn’t really expected it. She’d never been asked out by a boy before so she decided non-committal was for the best. She gave him a smile and sent back ‘we’ll see ;)’ and left it at that.

After homeroom Marie had English and then Spanish and then a free period. She walked into her English classroom, empty as usual. She was always the first one to class. She started doodling on her pad of paper, not really thinking about what she was drawing. As the others in her class started to file in she looked down at the piece of paper and realised she had been drawing the necklace that Gabriel had given her. Hastily she screwed the piece of paper up and stuffed it into her bag.

Five minutes after class had started and Mr Coleman, the English teacher still hadn’t turned up and the class was just starting to get restless, the door opened. The class instantly became silent. Marie looked up and let out a gasp. Gabriel was standing at the door, gazing around and settling on her with that frightening intensity that he always had. He walked into the classroom and placed his jacket on the teacher’s desk. He then turned to the blackboard and wrote ‘Mr Morretti’ and then turned again to face the class.

“As you may see, I am Mr Morretti. I will be your substitute whilst Mr Coleman is sick. For today you may go to the library to read.”

The class started to pack their things, pleased that they had such an easy first period they almost missed Gabriel, or as he appeared to be calling himself right now ‘Mr Moretti,’ calling out,

“Ms… Marie was it? You will stay behind please.”

Marie piled her things into her bag anyway. She knew she couldn’t outright defy Gabriel, after all he was acting as her teacher, but she wanted to be ready to run anyway. After everyone had left, Gabriel walked up to her until her was almost touching her. HE stared at her for a few minutes before leaning into her and whispering against her ear in a way that made her spine shiver.

“So you thought you would escape me little one? Never.”

It was the last thing she heard before something muffled over her face and she sank into darkness.