0 comments/ 2963 views/ 0 favorites Stalker Story Ch. 01 By: bbgrlbksmith I shivered in the cold as I pushed my way through the thick underbrush toward the outskirts of my small town. The tangled trees that surrounded me blocked my path time and time again, and I had to struggle around them, making my own path that only lasted a moment before the forest overtook it once more. I pulled my cloak tighter around my small frame and I blew on my hands to warm them up before I continued. I scanned the small clearing in front of me in fear. I had been taught to fear the forest, to fear the night . . . and yet I had not heeded the warning of the elders on this dark evening. I had not even listened to the small voice in my head that grew louder with each step I took forward that told me to turn back. There were unmentionable dangers that fill the black void around me, and any second any of them could come flying at me. As if the earth could hear my thoughts an eerie low howl drifted through the air to me sending a cold chill up my back, my hair standing on end. No, no I begged the earth. Please no. Not them . . . Anything but the- Another howl sounded from behind me, closer this time, seeming to call my name as I looked about in horror. There was nothing I could do. I was going to die; this was as sure as the sun would rise. A shudder crawled through my body as I saw a movement to my right, a long dark gray muzzle propped open sniffing my fear like one smells the wafting scent of a delicious meal set at the table in front of them. Though the moon was hardly shining I could see the glimmer of the razor sharp fangs within the muzzle that poked out of the undergrowth, the fangs that would rip through me as if I wasn't there. I could already feel the bone crushing jaws closing around my neck. I was theirs and they knew it and basked in the knowledge. I could hear the pack circling around me; unafraid of my power, smug and thirsting for hot blood. I caught a glimpse of the glowing red eyes I knew were lurking about and slowly let out the breath I had been holding. So this was it. It came down to a game between the hunter and hunted, though I knew I was the hunted instead of the hunter in this game. Maybe if it had been ten years ago I would still be the hunter, but the intelligence of animals never ceases to amaze the flamboyantly self assured. When these creatures, what in my town we call mashante, realized that a single hunter stood no chance against our magic they sent out pairs. When pairs failed them they sent out reinforcements to their hunters, and so every defeated pack of mashante added more and more force. Before we knew what awaited us the creatures had learned from their mistakes and took out our hunters with ease, celebrating victory with blood. Thus we strayed from hunting at night when the mashante roam the forest, and hunt only in the sunlight when they turn their weary eyes from the sun that blinds them and sleep. And yet despite all my knowledge of the danger I stood in the midsts of I ventured forth from safety and stood now in this death trap with no reason for my insanity except love. It is said that one may do strange things for love. I never believed that would entail becoming a meal until this second, but in my mind Will was worth it. Will, my poor beloved that I was going to meet, will never know my fate. It may have all been worth it if I could walk away from this and live with him, but that feat was impossible now. I closed my eyes and listened with all of my being to my surroundings. I could feel my heart thumping spastically in my chest, an odd offset to my calm breaths and the equally calm way I formulated an attack to my last breath. I could hear them getting closer, closing the last little bit of the gap that kept me from them. Before I knew what I was doing I was sprinting as fast as I could through the thick underbrush, my cloak catching on the brambles as I ran, choking me every time it caught on a low hanging branch. I struggled with the tie as I ran, my insides screaming in fear as my lungs begged for breath. What was I doing? The sudden realization that I was leading them toward Will had my desperate sprint slowing to a jog, then a trot, then a walk until I came to a dead stop. I planted my feet on the ground and closed my eyes. My acute hearing picked up the angry howls of the pack as they came closer to me. I felt moisture form on my lashes and roll down my cheeks as I opened my eyes, my slender hand snapping up to my face to wipe away the tears. I hated to cry. It made me feel like a weakling, unable to control my emotions. I was a warrior for the town, I couldn't be this week on the inside when I was so strong on the outside. It just didn't make sense! Suddenly the trees around me glowed red in the night as the mashante gathered about me, their hungry eyes staring at me. "Come on!" I shouted at them, turning around in a circle to address all of them. "Come get me!" The red eyes blinked in surprise at my voice. They weren't used to anyone or anything standing up against them. As I turned in another circle I took in the number of them and my heart nearly stopped as it caught in my throat. What had I just gotten myself into? There were at least twenty members to this pack, a number unheard of in any pack. They were growing faster than we had feared, and there was no way I could warn anyone back home. The tension that surrounded me in this moment was so thick I could cut it with a knife. I turned in another circle and finally saw what I knew was coming. A particularly large mashante was slowly climbing down the tree, edging closer and closer to me, trying his hardest to look like he wasn't moving. I let out a quick breath and mustered my strength. If I was going out, I was going out with a bang. My fists turned into bright balls of cerise light, my matching eyes lighting up as the energy poured through my body to my hands, ticking my nose and tingling my ears. The pink energy pulsed wildly in my clenched hands, wanting out as he mashante closed in on me, more now following the leader down the trees to take me. I opened my hands and the brilliant light shone through the forest. I turned to the closest mashante and pushed my hand out at him, willing the energy mass to hit him as the brilliant ball went flying from my hand to his chest, hitting him and disappearing as it delved deep into his skin, stopping his heart as he slammed into the base of a tree where he laid limp. I turned around the circle again in time to see that it was no longer a slow creep they made toward me but a fierce run. In the millisecond it took me to see this they were on me. I shot out at least five more blasts of energy, cursing myself for not being more careful for not doing my meditations before leaving. I was weak, and they overtook me easily. I fought with all my will, begging my magic to come to me even as I could feel it slipping through my fingers and settling back down in my pathetic body. Now I would die, cheated by my own weak body. I could feel them all over me, covering me like a swarm, some jumping on my back and pulling my hair and other climbing up my front. My chest heaved as I could feel my lungs being crushed. At least there was no one here to witness my weakness. I fell to the ground, my body instantly being covered by the mashante. I couldn't breath. I was smothered by them, suffocating on their rust and salt stench from their blood soaked fur. My vision grew blurry as i struggled against them for all I was worth. Why was I still fighting? I hadn't cared if I died before, but now that it came to this I did not wish to part with my life. My vision finally faded, and I sucked in my last breath as I laid on the ground, my long immortal life slipping out of my fragile body like water slipping through one's fingers. Why this? Why now? Why me? Suddenly I heard a noise from somewhere around me.It felt like a weight was lifted from my throat, and I took in another breath, life rushing back into my body. My muscles tightened, and my arms and legs began thrashing wildly, trying to get the rest of the mashante off of me. Yelps echoed around me as mashante were thrown around wildly. I tried to catch a glimpse of whomever might be helping me, but his face was obscured by the continuous attack of the mashante. Anger pushed its way through me, and my cerise energy reformed in my hands, pulsing between cerise and magenta in the center. Bursts of light came from my hands, killing the mashante around me. I saw green bursts of energy come from the other being as he, too, killed some mashante. The few remaining mashante ran off into the darkness, knowing they were beat. Slowly the energy was absorbed by my body, dissipating the energy in my hands. My whole body was shaking as I stood looking at my savior. His back was turned to me as he ran his fingers through his hair. As I watched him, my vision went blurry again and I fell to the ground. When I opened my eyes my savior was standing over me. I turned my head towards him to see who he was, and groaned in pain. I clenched my teeth together and continued until I could see him. My head began throbbing as I looked at him, but I ignored the pain and tried to sit up. I pulled myself into an upright position, and daggers of pain shot through my skull, leaving a trail of fire where they passed through my brain. The fire spread until I couldn't take it any more and had to lay down again and close my eyes. "You know, it's such a pain to protect you sometimes, Jaina." I bolted upright at the sound of my rescuer's voice. I had expected it to be my boyfriend, Will, but instead it was a stranger. "Who are you?" I asked, grabbing at my head as an explosion rocketed through my skull. "And how do you know my name?" "I've been watching you for some time now Jaina, and I -" He stopped mid-sentence and chuckled. He's been watching me for some time now? What the heck? This night has been far from normal. First I run away from home to meet Will, then I get chased by a pack of twenty mashante, and now this guy knows me, and has been watching me, strange. "Telling someone you've been watching them isn't usually the way to start a normal conversation," I said, and stared oddly at the stranger. "Normally a conversation starts with a greeting, and then each side states their names, and then they talk about normal things with each other. So, cold you tell me your name?" I asked, and stood up. The stranger was about my height, and inch or two taller than me, perhaps a little taller, and had brilliant green eyes that seemed to see right into my soul. "No, I will not tell you my name. Why would you need to know it any ways? You're running away with," he paused and tapped his chin thoughtfully. "With what's-his-name-" "Will," I said grumpily to the stranger. "Yes, Will, and you will never see me again, so, why are names that important?" he finished, and raised his eyebrows at me. I rolled my eyes in return, and crossed my arms angrily. "They just are, I said, and let out an exasperated sigh. His bright green eyes looked me over as I stood there. "Fine. Be all secretish. If you'll excuse me, I have someone I must meet." I walked off quickly, looking over my shoulder several times to my rescuer. He stood as still as a statue where I left him, his long brown hair rustling in the wind. I ran through the forest, scanning the area for Will. My sharp eyes could see every leaf in the dark, but caught no sign of him. I stopped running suddenly, sensing Will's presence. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming, Jaina," he said as he stepped out of the shadows towards me. I sighed in relief, and ran to him, falling into his arms. "Will," I cried, and snuggled into his warm embrace. "I'm so glad you're here, that you waited." He gently grabbed my shoulders and pushed me away from him, his brown eyes searching my face carefully. His thumb rubbed across a scratch on my forehead and his brow furrowed. "What happened to you?" he asked as he touched my cheek with his fingertips. I grabbed both of his large hands in my own small ones, and out fingers intertwined. "Nothing happened," I lied, and put his right hand against my cheek. He frowned and grabbed my chin, turning my downcast gaze up to his face. "Really," I insisted. "Nothing happened Will." "Jaina, you know I don't like it when you lie to me," Will said, looking into my eyes. "It wasn't important. I'm fine now, that's all that matters," I said looking down to his feet again. Once again he lifted my head. "Jaina ... please," he said simply to me. "I want to know." "All that happened was that I was attacked by a group of mashante, and-" I stopped there, afraid to mention the stranger. One look at Will's face, though, told me what I needed to do. "And a stranger saved my life." I conveniently skipped over the part about the stranger telling me he had been watching me, afraid of what Will would think if it was mentioned. "Is that all?" he asked me slowly. "Do you know who this elf is?" "No, he wouldn't tell me his name. He said I didn't need to know." "Ok. We're late already," Will said then and started to walk away. "Wait," I said softly. He stopped mid-step and turned to me. "We shouldn't run away. At least not tonight. I want to find out who this strange elf is, and why he saved my life." Will frowned and walked back over to me. He grabbed my hand, and bent his head down to whisper in my ear. "As you wish," he said, and we walked back to town hand in hand. Stalker Story Ch. 02 "Dang it!" I said as I looked through he archives. I couldn't find a file on the strange elf that saved me. I had been looking all day for anything on him. The bright sun overhead shone down through the branches of the tree, casting odd shadows across the floor with bright spots of light throughout. I've searched through the archives for any male elf from the age 265 through 365. There was no way he could have been and older or younger than that. I was almost 300, Will was almost 301, and the stranger looked about the same age as Will. I sighed in dismay, and pushed my brown hair back behind my ears. So much for finding answers in the archives. The only things I had found were more questions. I walked over to the desk stationed in the corner of the archives tree, and set another box on it. Dust flew up everywhere when I plopped it down, and I waved it away from my face. I took off the lid to the box and flipped through papers there. Nothing. Why couldn't I find anything on him? All I wanted to know was his name. Why couldn't he just tell me? Now, because of him, Will and I were still in the elvish city, and I was almost killed for nothing! This was making me mad; I set my jaw and stomped my foot on the ground. I place the lid back on the box and slid it back onto it's spot on the shelf, and I pushed open the door and walked outside. I took each of the forty steps that led down the tree slowly, one had resting on the railing, and the other swinging freely at my side as my mind wandered. What could his name be? There were so many possibilities that I couldn't even begin to say them all. Suddenly I was up in the air, unaware of what snatched me up. I let out a muffled scream, believing that it was the mashante, but then I realized that it was mid-day, and the pack would be asleep at this time. I looked down at my snatcher, and blinked in surprise. Will's dark brown eyes shone in delight as he looked up at my face. A smile broke out over his lips, and he began laughing. I glared down at him from were I was held, my glare locking onto his smile. Slowly his smile faded, but my glare held steady until he finally put me down. "That was not funny," I said, crossing my arms and turning my back on him. "I'm sorry, you're right. That wasn't funny," Will admitted in defeat. He walked around me and stopped in front of me. "Forgive me?" he asked pleadingly, his tall form bending down to pull me closer to him. I set my jaw and turned my head away from him. "Go away, Will," I said angrily. "Jaina, what's wrong?" he asked me, gently grabbing my shoulder as he did so. I looked over at him, and shrugged my shoulder out of his grasp. "Leave me alone," I snapped at him and walked off towards my house. "Jaina," he called after me. "Don't be like this. Just tell me what's wrong!" I ignored him and walked even faster, hoping he would just go away. "Jaina, I want to know! Just stop," he continued, easily keeping pace with me. I looked over my shoulder at him, and began to jog. Why couldn't he take a hint? "I don't know what's wrong, but I think you may be over reacting just a little bit." "No, I'm not," I snapped at him, and ran for it. My tree house was in sight now, so if I could just get up there before Will did...but too late. Will sprinted ahead of me, turned around, and swept me up into his arms in one swift movement. "God damn it Will! Put me down!" I hollered, and beat on his chest with my fists. "Jaina, just calm down and tell me what happened," he said calmly. " I will not calm down," I said through clenched teeth, and tried to push myself out of his grasp. I was acting like a little kid, but I didn't care. I just wanted to be left alone right now. "Don't be so immature," he said, and pulled me closer to him. "Just tell me what you want and I'll do it." I could hardly move, I was so close to him, so I stopped struggling and glared up at him. "Put me down," I commanded. "And stop following me." "Ok, I'll do anything but that," he said, and looked pleadingly down at me. "Please?" he asked. "Tell me?" "Fine," I said angrily. "If I tell you will you set me down, Will?" He looked up for a few seconds, and then looked back down at me. "Yes," he answered. "Yes I will." "I'm angry, that's the problem," I said. "Now put me down." "Well, surprise surprise surprise! She's angry! I never would have guessed!" he exclaimed sarcastically. "What made you mad?" I glared down at him again. "I held my end of the bargain, now you hold yours. I told you what yo asked about, so put me down." He looked down at me, rolled his eyes, and set me down on the ground. He couldn't argue with my logic, which is exactly what I intended. "Thank you," I said, and stormed off towards my house. I was almost to my stairs when I noticed Will was following me still. I spun on my heel to face him. "What are you doing?" I asked as I crossed my arms over my chest. "Following you," he said, staring into my cerise colored eyes. "I said to leave me alone. It was part of the deal," I said slowly. "You have to uphold your part of the deal." "I did," Will replied automatically. "I put you down. That's all you asked for." Damn it! I forgot about that. Stupid technicalities. I bit down on my lip, trying to come up with a plan to get into my house without him following me. He was starting to irritate me, following me everywhere since my near death experience with the mashante. "Can't you just leave me alone for five seconds?" I asked through clenched teeth. He was beyond irritating me at this point. Now he was downright frustrating me. I wasn't even going to wait for an answer. I turned away from him and stormed up the stairs tony door. God damn it! Doesn't he understand 'leave me alone?' He was still following me. I walked through the thresh hold and turned around, grabbing the handle and facing Will. His solemn eyes looked at me longingly, and he walked up the last three steps slowly, giving me time to decide. What would I do? What could I do? "Go away Will," I said one last time in a fruitless attempt to shoo him away without upsetting him or myself. "I just want to talk to you Jaina," he said, reaching out a hand, and pressing it against the open door, keeping it propped open. A lump formed in my throat, and tears brimmed in my eyes as I stood there. I wanted to press myself deep into his chest and let him wrap his strong arms around me as I bawled my eyes out, but at the same time I wanted to shove him away from me, and sit by myself inside, figuring out what to do next. I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I don't want to talk to you," I said as I blinked back the tears. I was going to go inside, sit in a corner, curl up into a ball, and cry until I could think straight. Then I would figure out what I would do about the stranger. "And I don't care what you want to do, Will," I continued. "You could go jump off a cliff for all I care. You don't always get what you want in life. You should know that from the 300 years of experience you've had." "I know you better than that, Jaina," Will replied. "You don't want me to jump off a cliff." He looked at me calmly, unaffected by my statement. How could he be so calm? Any time my temper flared he stayed just as calm as he was before anything happened. It just wasn't fair. The world wasn't fair. The two things I wanted most right now were completely opposite, and it wasn't fair! "Ok, you're right. I don't want you to jump off a cliff," I said sweetly. Will's head perked up, and his eyes brightened. "You might survive that way," I spat at him angrily. He rolled his eyes, and looked me in the eye. "Nothing could keep me away from you. Not even death itself," he said dreamily. "Cut the crap Will. Sweet talking me won't help you any," I said straight forward to him. He recoiled in surprise, but regained his composure quickly. He reached out his free hand, and placed it lightly against one of my cheeks. "You know that I love you," he said softly, bending his head down towards my own. The inevitable kiss ... he just can't leave good enough alone. I rolled my eyes and bit down on my tongue. "Well, I do," he said when he saw me roll my eyes. I took a step back, hoping it would throw him off balance, but it didn't work. He just leaned in even closer to me. His other hand, the one that held the door open, came up to my other cheek, and touched it lightly. Everything was perfect. Now all I had to do was wait for the right moment and I could be alone. The step I had taken backwards put me inside the house, leaving Will outside, and since he had moved his hand I could close the door. Now all everything came down to was timing. His face was so close to me now that I could feel his warm breath on my skin, but I was getting the chills as he proceeded. No, I wouldn't let my feeling make decisions for me. I was going to be run by my mind. His eyes closed as he prepared himself to cover the short distance between us. As he closed his eyes, I stepped back, gripped the door handle in my hand, and slammed it shut. Will fell forward into the closed door, and I clicked the lock into place with a satisfied grin. Not today, Will. That would have been our first kiss too ... not very good timing on his behalf. "Jaina!" Will called from outside. I looked out of the small window in my door. He had one hand held up against his head where it hit on the door, and was knocking on the door with the other. "Go. Away!" I yelled out at him. He stopped knocking on the door and jiggled the door nob. Lucky for me I had locked it. "God damn it Jaina! Just tell me what's wrong!" I was taken aback. I had never heard him curse, and I had never ever seen him angry. "I just want to know what to do so I can help you," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "You can help by going away and leaving me alone," I replied angrily. No way his stupid pity voice was going to make me give into his every whim. He sighed and leaned against the door covering his face with his hand. "Jaina," he persisted. "Just go away!" I screamed back at him, balling my hands up into fists and pounding them on the door. The windows shook violently in their frames as my fists fell ruthlessly against the door.. "I will not just 'go away,'" Will retorted. "Not when you're this upset about," he paused a moment and sighed. "About whatever it is you're upset about." I stopped pounding on the door. Not because I wanted to, but because I had to. I couldn't feel my hands anymore. They were throbbing and turning a shade of red too. I took in a deep breath, trying to calm myself. "Do you know what privacy is?" I yelled out finally. So much for calming myself down. "Yes I know what it is, but why does that matter?" "It matters because that's what I need right now!" I exclaimed, my temper flying sky high. "Why?" Will inquired after a long pause. Why? You've got to be kidding me! Just because I almost got killed doesn't mean I need another mother. If I didn't find a way to vent my anger soon, my head was going to explode. I needed something to throw. I reached for the closest throwable object near me, a glass vase. That would do. I extended my arm behind me and wound up. I'd go give him a piece of my mind if that stupid door wasn't in the way, and if he wasn't so much bigger and stronger than me. "Step. Away. From. My. Door," I said, punctuating each word with a punch on the door. by my free hand. I would count to five in my head with my eyes closed, and if he wasn't gone- well, he'd see. I took in a deep breath and squeezed my eyes closed tightly. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. My eyes popped open and I looked out the window. He was still there. My body shook with fury and I flung the vase at the door. It hit just below the inset window and shattered into a million tiny fragments. At the same time I let out a blood curdling scream and threw myself down onto the floor with the glass. "Jaina!" Will hollered outside. "Jaina are you ok?" His voice was thick with fear, and I could just imagine what his face looked like. He jerked on the handle and wiggled it fiercely. When that didn't work he hit the door again with his hand. "Jaina talk to me!" he called, pushing against the door. "Say something! Do something! Let me know that you're ok!" Not gonna happen pal. I smiled and refrained myself from laughing at how much this freaked him out. "Jaina open up the door! Let me see you!" he continued, banging on the door and jiggling the handle when I refused to answer his pleas. "Jaina," he said after a while. His voice was thick with pain, an emotion he rarely ever had. Had he been crying? I started to get up quickly to see if he had been crying, but stopped myself before I could get completely up. If I got up without him hearing me, which was unlikely, there would be no way for me to see him without him seeing me, which would ruin my whole previous effort. My right hand was crossed over my body, holding part of my weight up off of the floor. "Jaina?" Will called as I paused. He must have heard me when I started to get up and stopped myself. I must have moved some of the glass on the floor. "Jaina, is that you?" I froze where I was, afraid to even breath. Something cold and sharp dug into the palm of my hand, sending out pain through my arm. Dang it, the glass! Warm red blood gushed out from under my hand onto the floor. I wish I would use my brain more. Just go away Will. Go away so I can take care of my wounded hand. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, I heard people walking up my stairs. Who would come to my house? Maybe I'd get lucky and it would be the police. "Will, what's the matter?" a deep voice asked, Aelicke. "It's Jaina. I think she's hurt," Will answered. "Are you sure?" another voice asked. It was softer and sing-songish, Quixzton. "Yes I'm positive. I heard glass shatter, and her. I heard her scream. And then nothing. Silence," Will replied softly. It was quiet for a minute outside as the group took in Will's words. "Maybe she just wants some space," someone else suggested, definitely Yzflon. It was like him to suggest the most obvious answer, but it usually turned out to be right. "No, she would have told me if she needed some space. I'm sure she's hurt," Will argued. I really think someone should just punch him in the face. I told him that I needed space, and he wouldn't listen. "Watch, I'll knock on the door and ask her myself," Yzflon suggested. I could hear Will shifting his weight around as Yzflon walked up to the door. Silence. What were they waiting for? I let out the breath I had been holding, and slowly sucked in another. My arm began shaking under the weight of my body, and probably from the loss of blood. There was a large pool of it beside me, wide enough that I could put my hand in it with my fingers spread out, and they wouldn't touch the edges. There was a loud knocking on my door finally, and Yzflon called out from the other side. "Jaina, can you hear me?" I didn't answer. I was becoming dizzy, and it was hard to concentrate on anything but the sting in my hand. "Jaina if you can hear me please answer the question I'm going to ask you," Yzflon continued after a short pause. The walls in my living room were becoming fuzzy around the edges, and seemed to be closing in on me. "Jaina, are you ok?" he asked finally. I lifted my head and was overcome with a wave of nausea. "Yes," I whispered, hanging my head back down. "Did you hear her Will?" Aelicke asked, clapping Will on the shoulder. "Yes, I heard her," Will answered, and walked up to the door. "Jaina, if you wanted space why didn't you just tell me?" he asked. I looked up at the door once again, this time ready for the wave of nausea that washed over me. "I did," I said through clenched teeth. Without thinking I clenched both of my hands into fists. A burst of pain shot up my right arm like fire spreading out across a dried plain of grass. I yelled out and unclenched my hands quickly. "Jaina are you ok?" Will asked through the door. "Go away. I don't want to talk to you. Any of you," I replied angrily. The scent fo blood had filled the room and was beginning to suffocate me. Come on Will, let's go down to the tavern and talk over some hot herbal tea and maybe a pint or a quart," Quixzton suggested. I waited until they were down the stairs to get up. The loss of blood effected me more than I thought it would. As I slowly made my way to the bathroom I hung onto furniture to support me. I reached my bedroom door, and everything around me started to spin. I opened the door and made my way through my room to the bathroom door with my head down. When I reached that door I grabbed the handle and flung it open with more force than necessary. I blindly reached out a had for the faucet and turned on the water. I thrust my cut right hand in the cold water to rinse it off, letting the water help clear my head and allow me to focus on the task at hand. Th water ran red with my blood as if poured down the drain. just the thought of having lost so much blood made my knees buckle, and I had to grab the edge of the sink to keep myself from falling. I closed my eyes and took in several deep breaths to clear my head before venturing to look at the water again. I turned the water off and grabbed the hand towel, dabbing it against my right hand. The glass was still stuck in my hand, so I couldn't apply pressure to the wound until it was removed. My stomach twisted itself up in knots as my nimble fingers felt around the inside of my palm for the glass. I could always go to the healer, but why waste my time? Sisktro would do the same thing I was doing. Aha! There it was. My thumb and forefinger grasped the piece of glass from inside my hand and slowly pulled it out. If Will would have just listened to me for once this wouldn't have happened. Will. That was another reason I didn't want to go the healer's. Sisktro had set his house up right across the way from the tavern. If I went to Sisktro I was pushing my luck. Will would more than likely be sitting outside the tavern and would see me. I threw the shard of glass into the trash can I had beside the sink, and applied pressure to my wound with the towel. As I did this I broke down the walls in my mind that held back my magic. The pink energy rushed through my body down to my left where it conglomerated and formed a ball. Lightly I reached out a shaky finger and touched my open wound. Instantly the torn flesh shimmered and began to grow back, and as the wound grew smaller the pain and flow of blood lessened. I ran the water again to wash off all of the extra blood that had crusted there on my hand. As I did so I looked up in the mirror attached above my sink. Eeewww. My hair looked disgusting. It was frizzy around my face, sticking out every which way at every angle imaginable. I turned off the faucet, and attempted to straighten out my hair before I grabbed a fresh hand towel off the towel rack and dried my hands. I ran my fingers through my hair once more in and attempt to flatten it out, and when I looked back into my mirror I saw something I never would have expected to see. A man was sitting on my bed. I froze for a second in fear as I stared at the image in the mirror. Jaina, calm yourself and act natural. Don't let him know you know he's here until you know what to do about it. I unfroze, and continued to mess with my hair, looking up at the mirror every few seconds, hoping it was just my overactive imagination, but at this point I know it wasn't. Stalker Story Ch. 02 I really hoped that my actions looked natural to him. I assumed that they looked real enough because mow he was smiling. His white teeth gleamed in the sunlight that poured through my unshuttered window. This was so weird. I felt like I knew him from somewhere, but I just couldn't place it ... that's it! My stalker! That's who it was. A look of realization flashed across my face and he smiled even wider. Crap. He knew that I knew he was there. "You!" I exclaimed, spinning on my heel and walking towards him. "Me!" he exclaimed sarcastically, pointing at his chest. "What are you doing in my house?" "Sitting on your bed," he replied. "Well don't!" I yelled, still walking towards him. "Get out of my house! I don't ever want to see you again!" I was towering over him now. He obviously didn't like feeling short because he jumped up from where he sat. "So you don't want to see me huh?" he asked, and smiled. What was so funny about that? "Yes, I don't want to see you, ever," I replied glaring at him. At this he began laughing hysterically. I looked at him, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. "What's so funny?" I asked angrily, my voice turning acidic on the last word. "You," he said, suddenly serious. My eyes widened in shock for and instant, but quickly returned to their normal size. "Me?" I asked, pointing to myself just as he had done earlier. "Yes, you. Let me get this straight," he started, looking down on me the best he could. I didn't let it show, but that really bothered me. Yeah, so he's only and inch or two taller than me, and yeah, he probably couldn't restrain me like Will could, but still, it bothered me. "You made Will stay here so you could find out who I was, because you don't ever want to see me?" "How do you know that we stayed so I could find out who you were, and not because Will wanted to?" "Because I was there. I saw you stop him from leaving,"he retorted. "Well, maybe...perhaps I...fine you're right," I admitted in defeat. "You know, if you would have just told me your name-" "What does my name have to do with anything?" he broke in. "It has everything to do with everything!" I yelled throwing my hands up over my head. "No it doesn't!" he yelled back, throwing his hands up in the air too. "Yes it does!" I insisted, stepping closer to him. "Fine. Elaborate for me, if you would," he said. I refused to answer him. "Please?" "If you would have just told me your name in that God and people forsaken forest then I wouldn't be here right now!" I said softly, my voice breaking with emotion. "Why couldn't you just tell me your name?" "I had to keep you here somehow," he answered softly. My eyes narrowed until they were slits and my mouth twisted into a snarl "You tricked me into staying here," I said in a dark, savage voice. "Yes, I did. It's not my fault you fell for it," he said lightly. My anger didn't seem to faze him. "You ruined my life!" I screamed at him. "And you won't even give me a justified reason why! What does it matter to you if I run away? I was just trying to find somewhere that I could be happy, and I end up here, where everything goes wrong. Fights with my boyfriend, weird men stocking me, my life's a living hell!" I glared at him, my eyes scanning his face for any sign of weakness. "You sure seem to be choleric today, Jaina," he said raising his eyebrows. "Think what you want of me, I don't care. I'm sure you already do." The room grew silent around up as I glared at him and he smirked at me. I hadn't realized how close together we had moved. If I put my hand up in front of my face and stuck my fingers out, I could touch his face. So much for personal space. But I couldn't back down, couldn't just let him win. I wasn't capable of something like that. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair "Get out of my house now," I growled at him through clenched teeth. "Or else." "Or else what? You'll throw a fit?" he asked. "If you don't move it, a fit is guaranteed, along with other more violent actions," I threatened. "Ooh! I'm so scared! Someone help me please!" he exclaimed sarcastically. "If I were you I would be more concerned about me doing something to hurt you rather than trying to threaten me," he said seriously. "I'm not afraid of you," I replied boldly. "And I'm not afraid of you!" he retorted. "Out!" I yelled at him. I hated how he kept on making this fight go off subject. "Get out! If I wanted you here I would have invited you, but I didn't, so go away!" "Yes you did," he said with a smug look on his face. "No I didn't!" "Leaving your door unlocked sounds like an invitation to me." "Well, I wasn't inviting you in, and even if I was, I'm uninviting you now." "Well, I don't care," he said stubbornly. "You will leave," I said angrily, my voice making my statement sound like a threat. "No, I don't think I will." We glared at each other in the bitter silence, neither one of us willing to give up. I had never realized how much work fighting with another person could be. The fights Will and I have are never really fights. Usually it's just me yelling, and him calmly explaining everything to me, or trying to tell me everything and me not listening to a word he says. This fight was different though. Very different. It wasn't just me yelling. This time the other party was yelling back, putting up an effort to make me give up. This type of fight took will-power, and a lot of it. I don't know how long the two of us stood there glaring. Had it been seconds? Minutes? Hours? I couldn't tell, even with the clock on my wall ticking out each long second. Finally he spoke, his voice loud in the near empty room. "Why?" The question caught me off guard. "Huh?" "Why do you want me to leave?" I looked around the room, searching for an answer. Honestly I had no clue why I wanted him to leave. Maybe I was afraid. Afraid for what? My life? No. He wasn't that threatening. In fact, he wasn't threatening at all. My safety? No. I could use magic any time I needed it, and could have him on the floor in less than a heart beat. But if not those then what? My relationship? But why? Nothing was in the way of my relationship with Will but my own pride and stubbornness, and this stranger couldn't do anything about that. "Well?" he asked. "Because you are invading my privacy, and I don't like it," I answered. "I think it's something else. Something to do with the one thing that's more important to you than your privacy," he said thoughtfully. "And what would that be?" "Your relationship with Will," he replied. I chuckled at his words. "Yeah right." "You think you're going to lose him! That's why!" he exclaimed. "What? No! I want you to leave because I want you to leave," I retorted quickly. "This has absolutely nothing to do with Will." His green eyes scanned my face for a minute before he said anything. "Jaina, you know I don't like it when you lie to me," he said quietly, just like Will had when he said it. Tears welled up in my eyes and a lump formed in my throat. It wasn't fair. He wasn't playing this game fair, copying Will like that. My emotions were running around unchecked by my sanity, not that that changed anything now. Every time Will and I fought I seemed to be pushing him away from me. If this continued I would lose him forever. A single tear rolled down my cheek as I stood lost in my thoughts. I have to face it. I'm a weakling. I couldn't control myself any more, not even in the presence of my stalker. His brow furrowed. "Jaina?" he asked slowly, his voice soft like velvet. I looked up to him and lost the little control I had left over my emotions. The tears flowed freely down my face as I stood there, absorbed in my emotions now. "Are you ... ok?" he continued slowly as he looked me over. It seemed like he didn't know what to do about me. He obviously hadn't been expecting this from me, and it showed on his face. I threw myself at him and flung my arms around his neck. He stiffened in reaction to my unexpected actions, but I buried my face down in his neck and cried. Slowly I felt his body relax and him bring his arms up around me. "Shhh. Shhh. It's ok. Shhh," he said softly in my ear as he stroked my back tenderly. His fingertips ran lightly up and down my spine as I cried into his neck bitterly. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked kindly. I hated this sympathy that he gave me, but I couldn't stop crying enough to tell him off. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry," he said apologetically. "It's not your fault," I replied in between sobs. I sounded pathetic. "It's Will," I started and broke off crying. "It's ok Jaina. Everything's going to be ok," he comforted, bringing his right had up off of my back and stroking my hair with it. "No it's not," I bawled. "Nothing's going to be ok. You were right about everything." I couldn't tell what his reaction was from his body language, and I didn't want to remove myself from my spot on his shoulder to see. "I'm going to lose Will at the rate our relationship is plunging." "You're not going to lose him," he reassured me. I wish I could be that confident. "Every fight we have I push him further away. Soon he's going to end up out of my grasp, too far away for me to pull back to myself," I tried to explain through my tears. I didn't know if my stalker understood what I was telling him, but that didn't seem to matter right now, I just needed to get this off my chest to stop worrying. "It's going to hurt so bad," I said through renewed tears, and pressed my face deeper into his shoulder. "Like someone's cutting out my heart," I continued, my speech broken by sobs. "While I'm still alive." "What is, Jaina?" he asked me, his tone staying the same as before although I was sure he was scared by what I was saying. He must think I'm some sort of deranged maniac or something like that. "Losing Will," I bawled. The house was quiet except for my crying as my stalker waited for me to calm down. I slowly calmed down as I rested my head on is shoulder, my tears rolling down my cheeks and falling on his clothes. I lifted my head and wiped my eyes with my hand, and took a step back. I couldn't tell what his emotion was, of if he even had one at all. He had a peculiar look in his eyes though, like he wanted to tell ne something, but couldn't bring himself to say it to my face. I bit my bottom lip as I looked at him, unsure if I should apologize or tell him the rest of my worries. I chose to go with the first. "Sorry," I said softly, diverting my eyes from his gaze. "I didn't mean to offend you I just-" He pressed his fingers against my mouth and shook his head slightly. "It's ok, I understand," he said simply and dropped his hand back down to his side. "You do?" "I do," he reassured me. "And I don't take any offense." "You don't?" "I don't." His uneasy green eyes darted around my room until they came to rest on my face again. "Jaina I..." "Yes?" I asked, furrowing my brow. "I want you to know that I..." "That you what?" I prompted. His eyes darted around the room, and landed on my window. The sun was setting mow, turning the sky brilliant shades of pink, purple, orange, and red. "I have to go. It's getting late." He looked at me again, and lifted his right arm to grab my shoulder, but dropped it in hesitation. "That's not what you were going to say," I said. "That was just a lousy excuse to get out of here." "Maybe it was, and maybe it wasn't, but who's to know but me?" he asked, turning to the window. "No, I have every right to know what you were going to say because it obviously deals with me. So either tell me what you were going to say, or tell me your name, because I won't let you leave until you tell me." "And how exactly are you going to stop me?" he asked, knowing that I was nowhere near crazy enough to fight him. I didn't answer. He turned back to the window and walked over to it. He quickly unlatched the locks on it, and pushed it open, and then turned his gaze back onto me. "Have a nice night Jaina, and don't go out tonight. They're mad." Although he didn't say mashante, a sense of dread shot through me, and the hairs on my arms stood up. As he turned back around I broke down the walls in my head that held back my magic, and sent a ball of energy out the window. "You missed," he said, turning to face me. "I wasn't aiming at you." "You still missed." "No, I didn't" "You just can't stand being wrong." He turned at that, and ran headlong into the closed window. I smirked as he rubbed his face. "Ok, ha ha real funny. You shut the window and I ran into it. How was that supposed to keep me in though?" He opened the window again and jumped out, landing nimbly on his feet when he hit the ground. He looked back up at me as I ran to the window and smiled. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled up to me. "Ganzlongintine!" (Ganz- long- in- teen) "Ganzlonginwhaty?" "Ganzlongintine!" he yelled back up at me. "What type of weird name is that?" "A weird one." "And is that really your name?" He was quiet for a moment, thoughtful. "No!" he yelled up to me. "What type of weird freak do you think I am?" "A weird one!" I yelled down to him. He chuckled, shook his head, and ran off into the distance. I put my head in my hands and sat sown on my bed. How come I could never find anything out? And how come I actually thought Ganzlongintine was his name? How much more stupid could I possibly get? I fell backwards, resting my head on my bed. Why does this always happen to me? I guess I should go clean up that glass before I kill myself on it. I stood up and looked out the window again before I turned to go to the living room. Was that my stalker hiding in the bushes? It wouldn't surprise me if it was. Who know s how long ago he could have started watching me? Now that I knew it I would be watching for small signs like rustling bushes and other things of that sort. It was a weird feeling, knowing that someone is watching you, but not knowing where they are of how much hey know about you. I walked silently back into my living room to view the damage I had done before I cleaned it up. My God. It was a mess. Glass was everywhere, all the way from the door to the entry way of the kitchen. I didn't know I could throw that hard. I walked carefully through the room, avoiding the glass the best I could as I walked into the kitchen for my broom, dust pan, and a wet cloth. I guess that I could unlock my door now, it's not like that would actually stop my stalker. If he wanted to I'm sure he would find a way in if he wanted in that badly. I wrung out the rag I had soaked and headed back into the living room, carefully sweeping up the glass as I went. When I reached the door I unlocked it and stepped out onto the landing. The lights were still on down at the tavern, and I could see four figures sitting outside. I hope that isn't Will. I hope he's safe. What was it my stalker had said? 'Don't go out tonight, they're mad.' An involuntary shiver ran down my spine and the hairs on my arms stood on end. I cold feel eyes on my back, and I broke out in a cold sweat as I stood in the cool night air. I had to get inside before I had a panic attack of something like that. I took several steps back, reaching the entry way of my house, unwilling to turn my back on the darkness. I reached out a shaky hand for the door, and finding it pushed it shut softly. As soon as I was sure the door was shut I crept back to my room, unsheathing the dagger I kept at my waist. The window had been left open in my room and the thought scared me, especially since it was after dark and I was near the forest. My sharp eyes flashed in the moonlight that filtered in through other windows as I crept down the hall, my heart pounding against my rib cage all the while. My body stiffened as I heard a howl in the distance, and all of the color drained out of my cheeks. I was only a few steps away from the bedroom door when I stuck out my foot and kicked the door open. I peaked my head around the corner, and pressed myself up against the wall in fear. What if one had gotten in my room? I took several deep breaths before I threw myself into the dark room. As I hit the ground I rolled over to the window and jumped up from the ground. In one swift movement I slammed the window closed, clicked the lick into place, and spun around, my dagger held out defensively. When I was sure nothing was near me I inched my way over to the bathroom door and sent a small ball of magic at the lamp. The flames engulfed the wick at once and the small lamp cast a soft glow through the bathroom and my room. All clear. I glance up at the mirror, half expecting to see my stalker sitting on my bed again, but saw nothing. Now I had to go light the rest of the lights in the house. Why didn't I light them before I came back here? Slowly I made my way back through my room, lighting the two lamps there before setting out down the hall. There were no lamps here at all, leaving me completely open to an attack. Please let me be alone. Please please please. Something light and hairy brushed against my arm in the darkness and I screamed as I swung my dagger about blindly, backing into a wall as I did so. My head was spinning as I sprinted out into the front room and lit the lamp in there. Now for the kitchen. Where had I set that lamp at? I always moved it and then forgot where I left it ... oh well. I stepped into the door way and pulled open the drawer closest to me. I searched the drawer until my fingers wrapped around something cold and hard. I brought the clear stone up to my mouth and lightly blew on it. Slowly a light formed inside it growing brighter and brighter until I could see the whole kitchen. There it was, by the sink. It's white surface reflected the light from my spirit stone back at me, and I had to shade my eyes to see. I don't remember that being there before, at least not before ... Oh God, don't tell me he cleaned my kitchen for me. I lit the lamp that was beside the sink and threw open the pantry doors. It was my worst nightmare come true. It was clean. No, not clean, spotless. No, even worse than that. It was the peak of perfection. Why? Wasn't it bad enough that I had a stalker, but now he had to be a neat freak too? Aaaah! Why me? I blew on my spirit crystal and as the light slowly faded I set the crystal down with a slight clink on the counter. I bent my head over the counter and could actually see my reflection in the ceramic tiles. Why? What did I do in my past 300 years to deserve this? Karma sucks. I wish I wasn't alone in my house. It was especially creepy at night when you could hear the howls and know that there was no one there to protect you but yourself. Another chill ran down my spine and I glanced over my shoulder. I hope I hadn't pushed Will too far away from me this time. Why did I always have to fight with him? I threw open one of the cabinet doors and started to pull out a small bowl, but pulled out a bag of crackers instead. I looked at the package in surprise, and then threw them down on the counter angrily. "What the heck?! He completely rearrange my kitchen!" I slammed my fist down on the package several times before I threw it down on the ground. What gave him the right to come and rearrange my house? What gave him the right to even be in my house in the first place? I stomped mercilessly on the crackers over and over again, the anger inside of me growing larger and larger until I was jumping on top of the small bag of crackers. Pop! Awww damn it. The crackers flew across the floor completely blanketing the tile in crumbs. Just what I needed, another mess to clean up. Here, he wants to clean my house, let him. He can busy himself cleaning up after me like my mother. I picked up the rest of the bag and threw handfuls of crunched crackers around the room. Stalker Story Ch. 02 "You want to be my mother? Fine!" I threw the rest of the smooshed crackers down. I really hope he can hear me. I glared down at them from where I stood, and then turned my attention to the cabinets. I pulled everything out of all the cabinets and put them back the way they had been before. There, now I knew where everything was. I grabbed a bowl and made myself a salad for dinner before I blew out the light in the kitchen. The cracker crumbs crunched under my feet as I walked out of the room. I really should clean up that mess myself. No, he deserves to clean it. I never asked him to stalk me or to rearrange my kitchen. That's what he gets for messing with my stuff without permission. I walked over to the front door and clicked the lock into place before extinguishing the lights there and waling back down the dark hallway to my room. I curled up on top of my covers and fell asleep.