The Legend of the Blue Eyes (4 page)

Arianna laid still, listening to the sounds
around her. Outside, it sounded like there were birds chirping,
along with the sounds of unknown people talking. Closer, possibly
in a nearby room, she could hear her uncle and aunt quietly
talking. At the sound of their voices, Arianna quickly sat up and
opened her eyes, expecting to see her room at home, but instead,
found herself in an enormous, dark room. Arianna first focused on
the bed she was lying in. The grand, four-post, king-size bed was
not her normal, small twin bed at home. The room was dark due to
the curtains covering the windows across the room, but she could
clearly see everything. Arianna gazed first to her right. There was
a door directly next to the bed, and one on the wall to her right.
Her aunt’s and uncle’s voices were coming from the door next to her
bed. Arianna tried to move, but fell back into bed. Her body was
sore. What had happened the day before to make her so physically
tired?

Arianna then realized that
the day before hadn’t been a dream. Arianna pondered the images she
had all jumbled in her head. There was a meeting with a man who
told her about her parents, the photo album that contained proof
that he knew them, the deed to the house, and then the young man
from her math class waiting outside the gate for her. She had seen
him so many times before in school, and on the bus, but he never
spoke before. In fact, she had never seen him speak to anyone
before. After he picked her up, Arianna’s memory grew even fuzzier.
There were large men with long white hair and ripped clothing. She
could also remember the rain hitting her face as the young man
carried her.
What happened after
that
, she pondered. Arianna tried to
remember as she lay there, but no concrete images came to mind. All
she could remember was how it felt. First she was sick, and then
she was thirsty, very thirsty. And after that, she was sleepy. What
happened to make her so tired?

“You should stay in bed for now,” a voice
next to one of the large curtained windows called out to her.
Arianna turned to find the young man from the night before sitting
in a chair, watching her.

“Where am I?” she asked, trying to will her
body to move.

“The Randolph Estate,” he replied.

“What happened to me yesterday?” she asked.
“I feel like I got run over by a truck.” Arianna tried to stretch,
and found she was quite sore.

“You’re so little, there would be nothing
left of you if you were actually ran over by a truck,” he replied.
Arianna scrunched her face in disgust that someone she just met
would so comment on her size. “You don’t remember last night at
all?” he asked, ignoring her reaction.

“I met with Gabriel, and you picked me up to
take me home, but nothing much beyond that. My mind feels all
fuzzy-like,” she paused. “Did you drug me?” she asked, accusing the
young man who sat calmly smiling at her.

“It would have been easier if I had,” he
responded without changing his smile. “You are picky. Did you know
that?”

“Me, picky?” Arianna replied, still not
understanding. “What are you talking about?”

The young man removed a pin from his shirt
and pricked his finger. The blood beaded up on its tip. Arianna
felt a wave of thirst come over her. Her eyes glassed over as she
stared intently at the blood. It smelled delicious.

“Stop teasing her, Devin,” a female voice
ordered from the left side of the room. Devin licked the blood off
his finger and smiled.

“As much as we went through last night, I
should get to tease her a little,” he complained.

“Who are you?” Arianna asked the familiar
young woman now standing next to her. The purple streak in her hair
made it obvious that she was also one of the Friday bus riders
Arianna had seen so many times.

“I’m Molina, the head of your personal
security,” she explained. “This is Devin; he is my second in
command.” Arianna stared from one to the other.

“Personal security?” Arianna pondered, still
not understanding the situation. “Whose personal security?”

“Yours,” Molina replied. “We’re part of the
seven-member team trained to make sure nothing happens to you,” she
explained. “The team has been watching over you for over a year
now. Your grandfather was worried about you, so we were assembled
earlier than normal. You’ve met everyone at some point except Mori,
our computer specialist. We’ve been taking turns following you, and
making sure nothing happens to you.”

“Following me? Why would anything happen to
me?” Arianna questioned.

“Your grandfather is a very important
person. You, being his only grandchild, are a perfect target. Along
with a few other details, you have been watched for many years not
only by us, but also by other groups intending to kidnap you,”
Molina explained. Arianna stared at Molina. Her direct talk and
thoroughness were in stark contrast to her laid-back-rocker image.
“You don’t seem surprised when I mention your grandfather,” Molina
added.

“Gabriel told me about him last night. If
grandfather disowned my mother, why does he want anything to do
with me? I’m still my father’s daughter,” Arianna asked.

“Your grandfather is a proud man,” Devin
explained. “He can’t take back what he did to your mother, but he
wants to make it up to you.” Arianna turned to Devin. It was clear
that he knew her grandfather quite well.

“Devin will feed you, and then you need to
get more rest,” Molina instructed. “Lord Randolph is anxious to
meet you. He wasn’t supposed to return until late this afternoon,
but with everything that happened last night, he is returning early
today.” Molina left the room, and Arianna only had the strength to
sit and stare at Devin as he approached her.

“What is she talking about, feeding me? I’m
not a little kid,” Arianna complained. Devin sat on the foot of the
bed without responding. “You look so familiar,” Arianna commented,
as she stared longer at Devin. His blue eyes seemed to want to give
a response, but he remained silent. “It’s as if I’d met you before,
and I don’t mean at school.”

“You have,” Devin replied, but didn’t
elaborate. Arianna wanted to know more but the pounding in her head
was distracting her. Arianna listened to her aunt and uncle talk to
Molina. Even in their hushed tones, Arianna could hear them.
Outside that room, Arianna could hear more people talking and the
clicking of the heels of women walking down a long hallway.

“It’s so noisy here,” Arianna complained.
“There must be over a hundred people in this house talking and
walking around, and the walls must be thin.” Devin stared at
Arianna. Arianna’s suite in the Randolph estate was directly above
her grandfather’s, so Devin knew the walls to each room had been
built to be soundproof. Devin moved closer to Arianna as she
covered her ears. He reached down and touched her face gently.
Arianna did not move as she concentrated on all the sounds and
numerous conversations she could hear.

“Is it true, his granddaughter has
returned?” a young voice asked.

“I hear she was targeted for assassination
before she was even born,” an older woman responded. “They say she
could be the one.”

“What one?” the younger voice asked.

“The one with the blue eyes,” the older
woman replied in hushed tones.

The clanking of dishes brought Arianna’s
attention to another conversation.

“How are the preparations coming?” a shrill
voiced asked.

“Perfect ma’am,” a young boy responded.

“It better be, or it will be your job,” the
shrill lady replied. “Everything must be perfect for Miss Arianna’s
coming-out party tonight.”

Arianna listened to the various
conversations as she finally stopped by listening to her aunt and
uncle outside the door.

“Is she really alright?” Aunt Lilly asked
Molina. “Is it possible to change without needing a sacrifice?”

“Devin checked her over last night,” Molina
explained. “She didn’t take much blood, but she took enough to
start the process. She needed more, but once we got her to the safe
house, she refused everything given to her. We would have to put an
IV in her, but we didn’t have time.”

“But why would she refuse?” Uncle Dean
asked. “I thought, when someone turns, the blood doesn’t matter as
long as it’s blood… and our Ari has never been picky about anything
in her life before.”

“We don’t exactly know why she refused. But
you have to remember, she’s special,” Molina replied.

“Is the prediction is true?” Aunt Lilly
asked. “She really is the one everyone has been waiting for?”

“Yes, Devin confirmed our guess last night.
She is the one in the legend,” Molina responded.

“What legend?” Arianna asked as she finally
opened her eyes and found Devin holding onto her. Devin pricked his
finger and Arianna felt a warm sensation begin in the pit of her
stomach. Her cheeks flushed as she smelled the scent of his
blood.

“You need to feed now,” he said, gently
stroking her head as he waited.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,”
Arianna replied, trying to keep her eyes open. She was beginning to
feel light-headed and didn’t want to pass out again.

“Just follow your
instincts,” he replied calmly. “You were born knowing how to feed.
Everyone of your kind is.” Confused, Arianna stared into his eyes.
The tenderness in his voice made her want to follow his directions,
but she didn’t understand what he was talking about. “Close your
eyes,” he said quietly, placing his hand over both her eyes.
Arianna closed her eyes. The scent of his blood seemed to become
more powerful as she did so. Suddenly, without opening her eyes,
she could see a faint outline of Devin sitting next to her. A light
pounding began to thump in her ears.
Ba
dump, ba dump, ba dump
. With each thump,
she could see his body better. He slowly extended his arm to her.
“Here.” He offered the finger he had pricked.

Arianna wanted to refuse, but quickly found
herself licking the tip of his finger. The sound of his heartbeat
grew louder as she continued to hold onto his hand. The blood
flowed through his veins to his wrist. Arianna tried to stop
herself, but she was gently licking the throbbing vein in his
wrist. Without understanding why or how, she lightly bit down,
releasing blood into her mouth. Against her wishes, Arianna felt
her world dimming.

When she finally opened her eyes again,
Arianna was lying alone in the strange new room. Slowly sitting up,
she realized that her strength had returned. She walked to the
nearest large-curtained window and pushed aside the plush, white
velvet. Arianna stared into the expansive garden that spread just
outside her bedroom window. The large fountains were dry, and the
trees were still bare because it was the end of winter, but she
could not help but be in awe of the enormous garden. Behind the
garden, Arianna’s attention focused on the mountain range. There
were no mountains in the Midwest where she was from. Arianna turned
back to the room and continued to look around. The room was
ornately decorated, and everything was in pale blue and pink. It
had been decorated for a child, and she could vaguely remember part
of the room from her childhood.

Arianna noticed on the chair next to the
window was a pile of clothing and a note.

Please dress in these when you get ready.
Your grandfather is a bit old-fashioned, and believes young women
should wear skirts.

Arianna smiled at Aunt Lilly’s handwriting.
At least something in the room was familiar. Arianna picked up the
clothes and wrinkled her nose at them. From the plain, boring style
and choice of pink, Arianna knew immediately that Aunt Lilly had
chosen the child-like outfit. The jingle of a chain and the click
of boots as Molina approached the bedroom door caught Arianna’s
attention. Molina stopped before the door and prepared to
knock.

“Come in,” Arianna replied, still staring in
horror at her aunt’s choice of clothing.

“How do you feel?” Molina asked as she
opened the door.

“Much better,” Arianna replied. “But I
blacked out again. Maybe something is still wrong with me.”

“That should go away in a bit of time,”
Molina replied. “Your grandfather returned home an hour ago. He's
waiting to meet you.” Molina stared at the clothing Arianna was
holding in disgust. “Your aunt has an interesting taste in clothes.
Pink, huh? I don’t recall ever seeing you wear that color.”

“Tell me about it,” Arianna replied. “I’ve
tried for years to train her, but I don’t think she will ever want
me to wear anything but pink and lace. What sixteen-year-old wants
to wear baby pink and lace all the time? Are my bags here
somewhere?”

“All of your things have been put away in
the closet,” Molina said, moving across the room to the left side
of the bed. What Arianna had assumed was a wall covered by a
tapestry, was actually a door. Molina pressed the button next to
the nightstand, and the tapestry folded to reveal a large walk-in
closet.

“As long as it’s a skirt, it’s all right?”
Arianna asked, and Molina nodded. “But you aren’t wearing a
skirt.”

Molina smiled. “I don’t think your
grandfather views me as a girl. He hasn’t since I was little.
Besides, I’m in your employment. So your word trumps his. Will you
order me to wear a skirt since you must also be tortured?” Arianna
smiled as she pretended to contemplate the idea. “Take your time
getting ready. I know you said you feel better, but it’s best not
to push it. Even if he arrives early, your grandfather can wait.”
Arianna nodded.

Arianna sifted through the clothes in the
closet. Everything she had packed was neatly hung in order. She
easily found a skirt and shirt she wouldn’t be embarrassed wearing
and threw them on. Quietly, she opened the door to her room to
where her aunt and uncle were talking before, but found only Molina
sitting in the room alone.