hey y'all, my name's Ashlyn! and this is one my best vampire solo stories! i started writing this story about 5 months ago and yeah you see the improvement as the chapters progress. reviews are strongly appreciated.
Dark Nightingale
By: Ashlyn Kitao
The only light that was able to enter the large study was from the moonlight that poured in through the black laced curtains that kept the sun light from seeping inside. He sat in a small cupboard like room that was hidden in a dark corner behind a painting. The boy was no older than fifteen, he sat with his back pressed hard up against the cold brick wall, his knees firmly against his chest and his face buried in his arms as he cried quietly, trying not to give away his hiding spot. The sound of foot steps entering the study made him sit up straight so he could hear better. The boy tightened his around his knees and listened to the approaching footsteps. He brushed back a strand of his auburn hair from his face as he started shaking from the cold hiding spot and from the fear of being found.
Leigh took in a deep breath as he squeezed his eyes shut; the footsteps seemed to be right in front of the painting he was behind. But would whoever or whatever outside no to look behind for a small door? If they did it would have to be some one who knew the castle, no outsider would. Leigh closed his eyes again and images flashed through his mind, less than an hour ago he had witnessed his parents' brutal murder. And now, he was stuck in a small space hiding so the men who killed his parents wouldn't find him... hopefully.
When he opened his eyes, he noticed that the footsteps had died. Did the person outside give up and leave? Or was he still out there listening for any sign that there was still someone in the castle? Leigh could feel his heart pounding hard against his ribs as he pressed his knees even tighter against his chest. A shiver slowly ran up the brunette's spine as the little space he was crammed into got unreasonably cold.
He wrapped his arms tightly around his bare shoulders and curled as close to the wall as he could as the sound of heavy wood sliding across tile filled his hiding place. This was it... he was going to die and there was no way of escaping it. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly again, a few tears trailed down his pale cheeks as a loud sound of mental breaking in half made him cringe. Then suddenly the door swung open and he was blinded by the brightness of a lantern.
"Sir..." said a woman's voice as Leigh shielded his eyes. "Oh thank god in heaven you are alright." She said as she held out her left hand. At first the boy hesitated, was it safe now? Once he placed his hand in the woman's hand she pulled him to his feet.
"Are they gone?" he asked as he closed the cupboard door and pushed the painting back over it. She looked into the brunette's hazy blue eyes. "Andrea?"
"Yes, my lord... they are gone..."
The boy looked into Andrea's dark brown eyes; he could tell she knew about his parents. So what now? He was all alone... "W--" was all he managed to say before he got dizzy and passed out.
Leigh opened his eyes to find himself in his room; he was panting and covered in sweat. Andrea quickly walked over to the boy and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "A-are you okay sir? You were screaming."
Leigh took a deep breath before he sat up and tried to catch his breath. "I--I was having a nightmare..." he panted as he buried his face in his hands. "About... last night...."
"You mean last week." She corrected him.
"Last week?"
"You've been asleep for nearly six days my lord."
Leigh slowly looked up from his hands. "Six days?"
"Yes... Six days..."
Leigh took a deep breath as he slowly moved to the edge of the bed and briefly closed his eyes. "So what happens now?"
"Sir?"
"I mean.... What happens to me now? I'm officially an orphan."
Andrea wrapped her arms around the boy and held him. "You need not to worry about that, you will have everything you need."
Leigh looked down at the floor and let out a soft sigh. "That's not sure... not everything...."
"What do you mean Leigh?" The red haired woman asked as she sat on the corner of his bed.
"The only thing I want -- I can never have... its gone and there is so way of ever getting it back.... Never."
Andrea placed a comforting hand on Leigh's shoulder put her quickly pulled away. "I'm sorry Leigh, but yeah... That is one thing you can never have back."
He let out another sigh. "I know...." Andrea watched as the boy walked over to the bay window and starred a t the falling rain drops that cascaded down the cold glass. "Leave me Andrea, I wish to be alone for the moment."
"If you need anything sir, just call." The woman did as she was told, slowly closing the door behind her.
Leigh turned slightly so that he facing his reflection in the full length mirror that hung on the back of his large wooden door. It revealed a boy with auburn hair that hung a few inches below his ears with dark storm blue eyes. He sighed at his reflection and turned his attention back on the window. What am I going to do...? I can't live like this... and besides, I'm not like my father. I can't take care of this place... the rims of Leigh's eyes filled with tears, but instead of brushing them away he let them collect, then slowly fall down his cheeks before he even came close to wiping them away.
It was near midnight when Leigh pulled himself out of bed, he was curtain everyone in the castle was asleep, so no one would catch him. He quietly opened his bedroom window and walked out onto the balcony, it wasn't a very far jump from his window to the ground. He took a deep breath before jumping over the railing and falling into the cold, frost covered grass below.
He stood up slowly and looked up at his window. I'm sorry I have to do this... but I have no choice he thought started running towards the castle gates. Once the palace was at least a quarter mile behind him, he leaned up against a large brick wall to catch his breath. The late December air was abnormally colder and Leigh shivered as he looked down the road he'd be walking down in just a few minutes. He could see his breath in the air and knew that if he didn't get somewhere warm fast he was going to be in trouble.
He shivered again as he started running once more, When he reached town, he was surprised that there were still lights on in a majority of the shops. He quickly stumbled into the closest one and fell to his knees.
"Sorry we're closed." Said a voice not too far from him.
Leigh looked up to find a young man about seventeen or eighteen standing behind the counter. He had black hair, hazel eyes, and stood six feet tall. "Oh... s-sorry."
The dark haired man rolled his eyes and walked over to Leigh, holding out his hand. The boy looked up into the strangers eyes and placed his hand in the older man's. "I--I'm Leigh by the way...." He said as he was pulled to his feet.
"Uh huh..." The man said as he walked back over to the counter and pulled a book from a small compartment under it.
"Wait! Aren't you going to tell me yours?"
"Isn't it past your bed time kid?" he said looking up at the clock. One thirty.
"I-- Well...."
"You're pathetic.... and my name's Demetrii."
"Oh.... Well, nice to meet you." Leigh said as he walked over to the counter.
"Yeah, whatever." Demetrii said as he kept his focus on the open book. "What do you want?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.
"I... um... I kinda ran away from home...."
"Why don't you go back? I'm sure your parents are worried about you." The young man said as he finally looked up from the book and into Leigh's blue eyes.
Leigh broke the eye contact and looked at the floor. "My parents are dead."
Demetrii closed the book and sat back in a chair. "Sorry to hear that, but like I said, we're closed."
"I have no where else to go...."
"Then why the hell did you run away?"
"I don't know.... I crack under pressure...."
"Well... If you want... I guess you can come home with me." The dark haired man answered as he reached for keys in his pocket.
"Really?"
"I guess."
"Thank you." Leigh said as he looked at Demetrii and smiled softly.
"Come on then." He said as he walked over to the front door, turned the lights off and walked out of the shop. Leigh followed and leaned up against the building as Demetrii locked the shop door. The older man put the keys back into his pocket as he started walking away from the shop. "If you fall behind I'm not going to stay and wait for you. So walk fast." Leigh placed his hands in his pockets, why was this guy being so mean? He didn't do or say anything to him to piss him off so what was his problem? The two of them walked for what seemed like half an hour before Demetrii walked up to a huge wooden door and opened it. "Well..." he said walking inside and removing his coat. "This is where I live."
Leigh slowly walked inside and looked around; they were in a small room that looked like some sort of sitting room. There was a huge fireplace that took up a large portion of the far wall and on the other side of the room was a beautiful spiral staircase that lead up to the rest of the house. "It's awesome." The boy said softly as he walked towards the fireplace.
"Not really, I've lived here my whole life."
"Demetrii , is that you?" said a woman's voice from the top of the staircase.
"Yes Lenora, It's me."
A moment later a woman with long black hair and Demetrii's blue eyes appeared at the foot of the stair case. "Who's your friend?" she asked, noticing Leigh.
"He's not my friend, he's just some orphaned brat who ran away and has nowhere to go."
"Oh," she answered.
Demetrii rolled his eyes. "Fallow me... Leigh? Was it?"
"Yeah." The brunette answered as he followed the young man up the staircase and into a room.
"You can stay in this room tonight." He said as he leaned up against the door frame.
"Thank you for doing this for me." Leigh said as he walked over to the vanity in the far corner of the room.
"Yeah whatever." Demetrii said as he closed the door behind him and walked back down stair. Leigh looked around the room he was in, it was a pretty large room, not nearly as big as his room but pretty big. The bed had dark crimson red sheets, and black lace that hung from the top of the over hanging bars.
"I need to talk to you." Lenora said as she grabbed Demetrii's arms and pulled him outside.
"Ow, what the hell-?"
"What the hell are you thinking?" She asked as she leaned against the front door.
"What are you talking about?"
"Bringing some kid home with you, are you crazy?" she asked looking at her brother.
"Just because I felt sorry for him and am letting him stay here for a little while doesn't mean anything!" he said as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Lenora let out a soft sigh as she studied her brother. "Demetrii, I'm your sister, I don't want you to get hurt... That's all...."
"How the hell am I supposed to get hurt? Do you honestly think I like this... kid?"
"I don't know..."
Demetrii rolled his eyes. "Nora, don't worry about me, I can take care of myself." He said as he placed his hands in his pockets. "And besides, I have no intention of getting myself into a relationship at the moment... especially with him."
"Okay..." she sighed. "I guess I over reacted."
"I'd say."
Lenora wrapped her arms around her brother before walking back inside the house. Demetrii rolled his eyes again and leaned up against the wall, looking up at the stars. God, she worries far too much over me. He thought as he brushed back his black hair and let out a soft sigh.
When Leigh woke up, the room was still as dark as it was before he fell asleep, mostly because all of the windows were covered by thick, black curtains. He sat up and stretched his arms. Did Andrea know he was gone yet? He knew that once she found his room empty she would be worried. He was all that she had left, she helped raise him. Leigh stretched again before getting out of bed and pulling on a red robe that Lenora had laid out on a chair by the door for him. He let a sigh before opening the door and walking down into the hall.
He found Lenora sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee and reading a very large (and by the looks of it, very old) book. When she noticed Leigh was in the room, she closed the book and looked up at him. "Did you sleep well last night?" she asked with a smile.
"Better than lately." Leigh answered taking a seat beside her. "Ever since my parents' were killed I've had trouble sleeping."
"Yes, Demetrii was like that when our mother died, they were very close." Leigh starred down at the table. "Would you like something to eat? Coffee?"
"Oh... um... no thank you, I should probably be leaving soon anyways."
"Already?" Demetrii asked as he walked into the room.
"It was stupid of me to have run away... I shouldn't have done that." He answered looking up at the young man.
"Whatever." He said as he walked into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee.
Lenora rolled her eyes and leaned towards Leigh. "Don't take anything he says so personally, he can be a real pain in the ass sometimes."
"Well, thanks for letting me stay here last night." Leigh said as he stood up and took the robe off. "But like I said, I really should be getting back."
Lenora smiled at the boy and walked him to the door. When she returned, Demetrii was sitting in the chair that Leigh had been at and was holding his coffee. "What's your problem today?" she asked as she sat back down in her chair.
"I'm just not in the mood to deal with anyone today..."
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