Xeno

  

I was almost halfway through the fence when I heard a voice from below me. I was so absorbed in the idea of going outside that the manly, baritone voice surprised me from my intense concentration on climbing the thick vines. The sudden call took me off guard and I fell with a scream.

Strong arms caught me and I am glad it wasn’t the hard ground at all. 

“What are you doing?”

A pair of glinting golden eyes made my eyelids flutter in astonishment. His messy, wavy, dark hair almost covered his face as he looked down at me while I’m in his arms. His face appeared so rugged and unkind, the opposite pole to Phillius. Yet there is something in him that woke up my interest. I just love how his jet-black hair contrasts with his pale, paper-white skin. Then my eyes caught his pinkish lips and I cannot help but swallow down the sudden nervous feeling in me.

I quickly pulled myself away from him but he dropped me down without a warning! 

 I fell with a loud thud on the grass and my back hit the ground. “Ohhh…” I grunted in pain with a grimace and rubbed my hips with my hand. I cannot believe what he did to me! 

“What’s wrong with you?!” 

“I asked you first. What are you doing here?”

I gave him a sharp look and stood quickly, brushing away the dirt off my dress. “I don’t have to explain anything to you anything. I don’t know you.” I retorted back to him and gave him the same level of rudeness he deserve.

And why is he half-naked at this hour of the night? But then I cannot help myself and my eyes scanned his well-defined chest and chiseled six-pack abs. I felt like my blood rushed on my cheeks. I just feel so hot all of a sudden.

“You’re not from this world, aren’t you? I can smell you’re not an ordinary human. What brought you here? How did you meet my twin?”

He made slow steps forward, scaring me with his menacing yet sexy aura. His glare was too intimidating that my feet automatically flinched. He looks so dangerous yet I love it. I gasped and then bit my lower lip when I felt the cold wall against my back. Startled by his agitated moves, his hand pushed both of my shoulders, pinning me against the hard concrete. 

His face was too close to my face but his eyes went down my lips and then I saw him swallow. I inhaled deeply, suppressing myself not to close my eyes in front of him. I could smell the intoxicating perfume his broad body was emitting, making my heart ram against my chest. I lifted my chin and stared at Xeno’s curious eyes. I should be scared and screaming by now but I am too captivated by his breathtaking looks. His skin appeared silver under the light of the moon. The hair on his chest trailed down on his abs and down to…

My chest heaved heavily, Our ragged breath brushing against our lips.

“As much as I want to say anything to you, unfortunately, I can’t remember anything,” I answered him, my voice almost like a whisper as I look down at his lips. I am surprised that the words came out freely from my lips. I think am getting used to talking and I’m glad that I don’t have to keep all my thoughts to myself anymore. “And I don’t smell if that’s what you’re imploring. I just took a bath.”

“Don’t act too clever, Fae. I don’t trust your kind.” He growled at my face. But there is amusement in his eyes that I cannot fathom.

“My kind?! Do you know any of my kind? Can you help me see them?” I asked him with curiosity and desperation. I even forgot that he was a total stranger to me and placed both my hands on his chest. But his skin was so hot that I took off my hands away from him immediately, my skin feeling burned by his strange warmth.

He squinted his eyes and stepped back. I saw his jaw stiffen and his breath went heavy while looking down at me. I was hurt and embarrassed because I can confirm now that he really hates my presence in this place. I  tried to open my lips again to ask something but he turned his back away from me, signaling the two guards about my attempt to escape.

The two guards got upset that I manage to sneak under their noses and made notice to Anna and Hazel about my escape. The two quickly searched for me, pleading that I have to come back inside. With a heavy heart and growing vexation towards Xeno, I decided that maybe it was good that I should stay away from him from now on.  

My heart feels so defeated and I can’t understand why there was a feeling of rejection in me when Xeno stepped back away from me. I can’t understand why my feelings got hurt when he looked at me with hatred…

Maybe I should make myself believe that it’s the safest place for now while I still have no idea what’s waiting for me outside Clarkson’s Mansion fences. I also feel frustrated because I couldn’t release the purple sparks from my hands since the incident the other night. Is it maybe because I feel I’m not in danger anymore? But how could I emit such power in my hand? I better not use it again because the last time I did, I almost died. And probably have killed someone. And if it wasn’t because of Xeno and Phillius, I am probably freezing to death now, walking without direction around that forest.

Phillius is taking good care of me and I have to be grateful for all the good things he’s showing me. I promise myself I’ll repay all his kindness to me one day.

***

I opened my eyes and saw a place where everything was almost made of gold, silver, and jewel.

In the middle of the hall, I was standing close to a statue of a beautiful maiden carrying a vase of water. The sculpture was so detailed and meticulous that you could see even the smallest line in the corner of its eyes. I think I’ve seen this place before but I can’t fully remember. It appeared like I’m in the middle of the receiving hall of a palace, waiting for someone.

Five people suddenly entered the place, each coming from different kinds of doors. Each door was decorated with jewels and the one behind me was filled with sapphire stones. I squinted because I can’t clearly see the faces of the five people in front of me. Only their faces were blurred. They were murmuring things that I couldn’t comprehend and I am starting to feel scared. Behind me, the door suddenly transformed into a huge sapphire crystal, slowly cracking from the underneath up to the top, and until it shattered into many pieces, exposing a daisy flower that wilted when it got exposed to the air.

Puzzled and afraid, I tried to run away from the place but I was stopped by a huge black wolf with misty golden eyes. Another one came, a beautiful white one with blue eyes. The two wolves howled in front of me until both of them fought to death inside a crown made of giant bones.

“Miss…?”

“Miss, it’s time…”

Huh?

With a forehead full of sweat, I saw Anna’s worried face as she shake my shoulders, trying to wake me up. I looked at her for a few more seconds to absorb what she was saying. Time for what?

Then I remembered this is the day that Phillius's father wanted to see me. It made me wonder why he has to bother giving me a little of his time when I’m just a random stranger here in his house. Then I figured out it’s maybe because they believe I’m some kind of a faery and I have no idea what they mean about it.

I somehow feel nervous. I am going to meet the father of the twins.