Give me Wings - Prologue

The weather changed so suddenly. She wasn't sure if it was because she had traveled farther north, or some other unnatural phenomenon. Just a few miles south of the small village the sun had been shining, there was a slight breeze, and the air around her was warm. Now, as she enters the town, she pulls the hood of her cloak over her head as far as it could go, not just hiding the blistering winds and freezing snow hitting her face, but also hides her face from the curious world outside. No one here needs to know who she is, for if they knew, they might scorn her and toss her away.

She's been here before. She knows where the inn she's looking for is located. She had received a note from a messenger from that inn; the man she has been searching for was spotted in this town. She didn't have to go to the inn to know this is true - just the sudden weather change was proof enough - but she still wanted to check in, make sure she had a place to stay in case the man wasn't around.

She enters the inn, stomping her feet and shaking off her cloak, ridding her body of the snow that had clung to her. She approaches the front desk where the innkeeper sat, reading a book. She places a small bag of coins on the counter, the innkeeper looks up at her, and nods. He grabs the bag of coins, hands her a small, rusted key, and points her in the direction of her room.

Nodding her appreciation, she walks off in the direction the innkeeper sent her. The inn was silent at this time, nothing but the sound of the blowing winds outside hitting the walls. She didn't scorn the harsh weather, like most did. No, she welcomed it. The sudden, unpredictable presence of harsh snow storms could only mean that the man she was looking for was somewhere in this village.

Stopping in front of her door, she looks around, making sure no one followed her. She had made it safely into the middle of town without seeing a single person; the man must know that she's here already. He could be watching her from anywhere, waiting for the perfect moment to pop out. Of course! He's already inside her room, waiting for her to close the door and become completely alone.

Too easy, she thinks with a grin. With one hand inserting the key, and the other hiding inside her cloak, she slowly opens the door, sure to make as much noise as possible. She's normally much more careful than that, but she knew he was hiding in that room. The innkeeper gave her this room specifically because he knew the man would be here.

But would the man be able to discern her actions in time? Would he know that she was being noisy on purpose? She wouldn't put it passed him, he did know almost everything else, after all. He knew the way she thought, the way she came to conclusions, her feelings...He knew everything about her, and yet, she knew very little about him.

Pushing the door open all the way until it hit the wall, she stood there, staring at the dark confines of the bedroom. From what she could see, there was a single bed to the right of the door, a window right in front of her, and a desk to the left. Not much, which meant there wouldn't be many places for him to hide. Where would he be? Under the bed? Under the desk? Hanging out of the window?

She tossed her bag on the bed, and stepped in. Once her feet were fully in the room, she closed her eyes. No other sound than her own beating heart, as expected. No scent, other than that of the aging wood, wet glass from the window, and a faint musky smell emitting from the bedding. That wasn't uncommon for a small town inn.

If he was here, he had perfected his hiding skills since the last time they met. No, not perfected - he was already perfect. He was testing her, making detecting him more difficult. That was perfectly okay with her; she'd been getting stronger since the last time they met, and if he was holding back, she'd feel offended.

Upon opening her eyes, she took a moment to stare out the window. The wind was blowing harder, the snow flying sideways. He was definitely near. She took a deep breath, allowing herself the tiny luxury of enjoying the cool scent of the wet glass, then turned around to slam the door shut. As soon as the door was closed, she was pushed to the ground.

She knew it! He couldn't fool her forever!

No, now isn't the time to get excited - he'll kill her if she lets her guard down even the slightest bit. She retracts her hand from her cloak, thankful that he fell on her at an odd angle, pinning her free hand and her lower body, but completely missing her hand still inside her cloak, and her legs. Just as she was pulling her arm free, however, he lays down completely on her, trapping her arm between their bodies.

"What are you going to do now, Shi?" he whispers to her.

She grinds her teeth together as his white teeth gleam at her in what he calls a smile. She tries to struggle underneath him, but he's too strong. Was he going to win this time? No, she's been in this situation before, and she now knows how to get out of it. He's pushing against her arm, his belt cutting off the circulation just above her wrist. She was trapped, but not immobile.

She tries to twist her wrist and finds that she can still move it. She clutches the small sharp implement on her belt, and twists her wrist so the blade pokes at him from under her cloak. He twitches, and she smiles at him. In a split second she's able to take her leg and try to knee him. She wasn't aiming for any spot in particular, but she knows that once a knee - or anything for that matter - comes close to between a man's legs, they'll flinch, no matter who or what they are.

He flinches, and she uses all her strength to push her arm further between them, freeing her elbow so she's able to at least scare him into thinking that she has any chance of stabbing him with her small dagger at such an odd and painful angle. He moves back, allowing her upper body to come up, finally fully freeing her hand from inside the cloak. She slashes at him, but he jumps back. She pulls herself up to a kneeling position, and slashes at him again.

He catches her arm in mid swing, pulls her to her feet, then throws her onto the bed. It happens so fast she is unable to do anything to protect herself except hold onto the dagger for dear life. When she lands, he stands next to the bed, his wide, mocking grin still pasted on his perfect face. A perfect face that she will have to ruin in order for her life to be spared.

He moves to grab her again, but she holds up the dagger, holding it by the blade so the hilt faced him. He freezes in mid grab, unable to do anything against the shape of the hilt and the blessing it had received. She has gotten smarter.

He stands up and claps. "I admit, that was pretty smart thinking on your part," he says, running a hand through his hair. "I know I told you about my weakness, but I didn't think you'd actually believe it."

"I still don't," she breathes. Still holding the dagger out to him, she stands. "I think this is utter and complete bullshit."

"If you tried to kill me right now, you'd leave me an opening to kill you still, you might want to work on that for next time."

"Are we done, then?"

He nods. "For now, yes." He watches her lower her hand, and replace the dagger back into its holder on her belt. "You knew I was here." He crosses his arms over his chest. "Tell me how."

"Obvious signs." She removes her cloak and tosses the garment on the desk. She places a hand on her hips and smiles at him. "We humans gotta stick together in these troubled times. We'd rather trust our own kind than someone like you."

"Those are harsh words coming from you, little one."

He watches as she removes her belt, removing all threat to him on her person. The danger has passed, and she had no need for any of the expensive weaponry; he won't be attacking her again this night. He studies her for a moment, then lowers his arms.

"I suppose you want your reward, then?"

"I suppose I deserve my reward this time."

He smiles again and grabs her, holding her tightly against him. This was what she came here for. This is what she had been waiting for three months for. To feel his touch, to feel his hard body against hers. This is what they were meant to do, not chasing after each other, fighting each other. She shouldn't have to beg for his compassion like this. She rubs her face against his chest. He's fully clothed, but she can still smell the faint trace of his skin underneath all the fabric. His natural musk was refreshing, almost floral with a hint of pine.

He lifts her chin to look up at him, then gently places his lips against hers. Without asking, she opens up to him, allowing him to explore her mouth as much as he desired. She clung to him, reveling in the feel of having him so close to her, kissing her so passionately. Even as a child she would have given anything if he touched her like he did now. He was her everything - he saved her as a child, and now she pleads undying loyalty and love to him that the three months they had been away almost killed her.

Then again, three months wasn't as bad as the five years when this silly game first started.

He picked her up, easily as he was stronger than the average man, and held her against him. She wrapped her legs around his waist, wanting him with all her little heart's desire. She ground her hips against his, hoping to gauge a reaction from him, wanting him to move this along. It was her reward; she should be able to take charge of the pace however she wanted.

His hands pushed her butt against him, stopping her from grinding, but allowing her to feel how aroused he already was. She clutches his shoulders, holding him as close as possible...closer. She wants to be closer.

"Now," she breathes, breaking the kiss just enough to let that one word come out. He breaks the kiss and looks at her, a small smile on his lips.

"Now? Slow down, little one, don't you want this to last?" He removes a hand from her waist to brush a strand of hair that had made its way in front of her face.

"I don't want to wait. I need you now." She grinds her hips against him some more. "We can take it slow after."

He chuckles. Using his foot, he pushes her bag off the bed so he can drop onto the mattress. He let her go and sits up above her, taking a moment to study her. The moment takes too long for her, and she starts to remove her shirt. He takes her shirt from her, and finishes the job, tossing the clothing to side. He leans over her, running his hands against her sides, taking the fabric of her undershirt with him, also pulling that over her head and tossing it aside.

She's hit with a sudden blast of cold against her bare skin, sending goosebumps all over her body, erecting her nipples in the open air. He smiles down at her, and takes her breast in his mouth. The cold is quickly replaced with warmth, starting from his mouth on her breast and spreading throughout her body. She feels him play with her other bare breast, teasing the nipple in the same manner as his tongue was doing on the other one.

He shoves his hand under the band of her pants, immediately going for her pleasure point. She whimpers as his fingers quickly work her opening, though it wasn't necessary. The combination of his fingers and mouth on her breast made her first orgasm arrive quickly, and within moments she's clutching his shoulders, crying out as the first wave of pleasure hits her. He removes his fingers, her body shivering from the aftermath, and quickly removed her pants.

She places the back of her hand against her mouth as he continues removing clothing, both hers and his. She can't believe they were together again, after three long months of not seeing each other. The last time they were together, it was for only a brief session, and she could hardly take his leaving her after such a short reunion. Tonight she's going to make him stay with her longer, if she had to pin him down with her dagger, by God he was going to spend more time with her before disappearing again.

Without warning he grabs her hips and pushes himself into her. It's so sudden, she cries out, but she quickly reverts to moaning for him as he thrusts in and out of her. He wastes no time, just as she requested, and within moments she climaxes again. He pauses for a minute to let her catch her bearings before continuing, but at a slower, more steady pace.

"You've gotten stronger, little one," he tells her. She can't answer, but she nods. As a vampire, his stamina far outlasts her own, so she doesn't know when he'll stop; he could go on forever, she really wouldn't mind.

He pulls her up, wrapping his arms around her, holding her close. She places her arms around his neck, hiding her face against the nape of his neck, taking in the odd scent he gave off, proud to be the only one who would ever smell his non-vampire scent, the only one who would feel his skin warm, not cold. She runs her fingers through his blood red hair, marveling at how easily her fingers slip through. Not many women she encountered could keep such fine hair. Then again, he is a lord, a vampire, a master.

She sighs, tightening her hold on him. "Thank you," she whispers.

He pauses for a moment, then continues. "For what, little one?" He takes the ribbon out of her hair, allowing her dark, raven hair fall down, falling down her back. He leans back from her, taking a handful of her hair in his fist, placing it against his mouth, gently kissing it.

"I'm stronger," she says. "I almost killed you, had you not stopped the fight."

"Mhm." He leans forward, his eyes closing as he takes in her scent, just like she had done a few moments before. He gently rests his cheek against her shoulder, breathing in from her neck.

"That means I can stay with you now, right?"

This makes him stop. He picks up his head to look at her. "You really think you're capable of killing me?"

"I obviously proved myself," she pushes. She clutches his shoulders, hoping she didn't start his discomfort, making him want to leave, not while she and him were together.

He gives her a small smile, laying her back down. He resumes his attentions at her neck. "You know, little one, angel's blood is the most desirable of any creature."

"I'm not an angel," she sighs. "Besides, you can't even stand angels."

He chuckles, sitting up. "That's very true." He crawls off the bed and immediately begins dressing, starting with his shirt. He's almost too fast; she scrambles to at least catch his arm as he turns to leave the room, his hand already on the doorknob. He looks back at her, her naked form on its knees before him on the floor, her eyes pleading him, tears already falling.

"Don't leave me tonight," she whispers. She knows his leaving eventually is inevitable, but their encounter so far has been too short. Who knows how long it will be before she sees him again? "Please, Master, don't leave me already."

He takes her hand, gently pulling it off his arm. He picks her up and holds her against him, allowing her to cry against his chest. He smiles down at her, though she is unaware of the tenderness he shows. She really is still a child, only eighteen years. How she became so in love with him, so attached to him, he'll never really know, but he's not complaining. All the years he spent raising her, all the years she spent serving him, they must come to an end at some point, and it will happen before she dies of old age. That's what he tells himself.

He pushes her shoulders gently, holding her at arm's length. "Darling, you still have much to learn." He wipes her tears off her cheeks, gently kisses her lips. "You have become stronger, yes, but not strong enough to fight me at my strongest. When you're able to kill me will we be together again." He kisses her again, and leaves before she can stop him again.

She falls to the floor, her hands clenching to fists. She ignores the splinters that scrape into her knuckles. He left her again, he told her she wasn't strong enough to kill him yet. She hiccups as she crawls back to the bed, climbing onto the rough mattress, grabbing the scratchy pillow, holding it tightly against her body, suddenly cold from lack of anymore heat.

"I don't want to kill you, Master," she whispers, closing her eyes and drifting to sleep.

Outside the inn, he walks down the road, heading out the way he came. He pauses, looks up into the sky, ignoring the raging wind and flurrying snow landing on his face. He smiled softly, again showing the tenderness that the girl will never see. He hears a soft murmur, a childlike voice among the wind. He closes his eyes.

"You don't have a choice," he whispers, answering her. He continues on his way, not once looking back, taking the wind, snow, and cold with him.