N/A

This is just a WIP at the moment, but I wanted to have it saved someplace on the internet so I could come back to it eventually.

Everything was black.

I blinked my dream mes eye's, I wanted to speed this up and get it over with. I've had this dream too many times in the past 5 years.

That sped it along, to what I expected. A single light in the middle of the darkness. I walked towards it, and the faces started to appear. At first, they were my friends singing happy birthday to me. Then slowly they changed, it always started with the people I was closest too.

My dream version of my friend Andrea commented,”Oh, poor Pepper, you'll never look good.”

That one was nothing,the dream version of my neighbor Collin sneered at me,”You're a freak, you should just go die.”

That one stung, waiting for the next one, my cousin Katty,”Why does your mom keep you around.” She always pauses here,”Your dad hates you, the whole family hates you.”

“She's not my daughter, she's a monster, she has to die.” I shied away from my fathers words, I'd heard those a few too many times, in my dreams and in real life.

The last one just laughed at me, this one was my mom. But everyone laughed along with her, cruel, humorless laughing. I blew as hard as I could, and put out all 5 candles. Darkness again, and like normal I'm not prepared for the next part. I never am.

The lights dim back on, I'm in our family kitchen, and I can hear my dad yelling at my mom,”Why would you let her live?”My moms mumbled reply, I never heard,”I don't care, she's a monster, she doesn't even deserve to live. And now your making another one.”

He screamed out the door into the kitchen,”You are a monster, you're driving us apart. Since I can't kill you, I guess, I'll save us.”

He walked into the kitchen with a knife to my mom's neck, I couldn't say anything, and he just looked at me, his eyes cold and heartless,”Rot in hell you piece of s**t.” He pulled the knife across my moms throat, deep, and quick. Blood sprayed everywhere.

I screamed, then sat silently cursing him. Just staring at him.

He picked my mom up again, and he threw her at me, and yelled,”Look at what you did now, it's all your fault.”

He walked right above me without a word, and slide the knife clean threw his neck, I was covered in blood, as he fell on top of me.

I laid there for a long time, waiting, in shock. Normally I've woken up by now, but this time I didn't. I could hear the sirens coming, and they were getting closer. The sirens stopped outside of my house. I remember this part from real life, but I've never seen it in a dream.

I heard the door open slowly, and heard a single set of feet coming towards me. He cleared the doorway to the kitchen, and was to me in seconds. He looked about the same age as me, maybe 11, blonde hair kept swept to one side, and magical blue eyes, he shoved my dad off of me and carefully rolled my mom off of me too. He picked me up and cradled me close to his body. Then he touched a finger to my forehead and I passed out.

I awoke to a grassy meadow, with an ocean just off of the edge, the rest was nothing but grass. I walked around for a little while, then I happened upon a blanket on the ground, with a picnic basket on it. I reached into the picnic basket, and all I found was a note.

Wake up Pepper

I already knew I was still sleeping, but I figured I'd wake up in a little bit, I looked in the basket again. There was another note, I picked this one up, and couldn't put it down.

I will find you.

With a blood smear across the bottom, I screamed, and woke up.

I jumped up in a cold sweat, and looked out my window, it had already be noon. Why did Janelle let me sleep so long?

Right on cue,”Pepper, it's time to get up.” my foster mom sing songed up the steps.

Why did she like mornings so much. I trudged over to my closet and rummaged through my clothes, and had no clue what to wear, I looked out my window, it had snowed. Leaving about 4 inches in it's wake. I hurried and put on a tank top and a light sweater and some skinny jeans. I jumped down the steps.

I hopped into the kitchen, and Janelle was making herself busy making pancakes, eggs, bacon, coffee, pretty much anything I would eat for breakfast. I sat down at the table and watched her. Sometimes she tried to get me to help, but I always did something wrong, and it just didn't look right.

She hummed a cute little melody my mom used to sing to me all the time after my dad would beat me,”Pepper, a boy stopped and asked for you today.”

I shook my head,”How could a boy ask for me, I don't know anyone.”

She gave a titter,”Well he asked for you, he must know you.” I just shook my head,”Oh also he left you a note.”She pointed to a note sitting in the middle of the table I hadn't noticed until then.

I opened the note, and gave a small whimper.

I've found you.

Janelle turned towards me,”What's wrong?” She actually sounded worried for me.

I set the letter down,”Oh nothing, don't worry about it.”

I turned to leave the kitchen, and she called me back to her,”Pepper? The papers blank.”

I spun around and looked at it. Was it just my imagination. I decided I'd just go with that, it was my imagination. I shrugged at Janelle and walked out of the kitchen. I sprinted up the stairs to my room, and ran to my window. I looked out at the road, all I saw was a single person path leading to my house.

I breathed a sigh of relief when there was no one in sight. I slowly walked to Janelle's room at the back of the house and look into the backyard. The snow was perfect, not an imperfection in sight. Another sigh of relief.

I walked back into my room to grab something, and I felt like I was being watched. I walked to my window and looked down. Starring straight into my window at my eyes was a boy, about a year or two older then me. His blonde hair was cut short, and his eyes looked mean, not magical anymore. A piercing blue, instead of soft. I knew this boy, in a way at least.

I gasped, not loud enough for Janelle to hear, but I did. And he laughed at me, but just stared harder, like if he stared hard enough he could hurt me, or force me to come down there. I sat down under my window and crawled under my bed. I stayed there the rest of the day.

Well until Janelle brought me food,”You missed breakfast, what are you doing up here?”

I slowly climb out from under my bed,”The boy that asked for me, was he blonde with blue eyes?”

She looked away,”Yes, why do you ask?”

“He was standing outside starring at me through my window,”Should I tell her about the dream.

She straightened her back, and walked to my window,”There's no one there now.”

I looked away,”That not the only thing. You know that recurring dream I have, right?”She just nods,”Well in the end, I didn't wake up when I normally do, instead I laid there, and instead of the cops showing up, he showed up, and picked me up and I don't remember much after that.”

She raised an eye brow at me,”Even if you dreamed about him, and then you think he's starring at you doesn't give you the right to hide in your room for the rest of your life.”She rubbed my shoulders, and I relaxed a little bit.

“Thank you Janelle.”

She paused,”We've talked about this, you can call me Jen, or Mom, but not Janelle.”

“I'm sorry, but your not my mom, and I just don't like Jen all that much.”I thought,”Can I go with Elle?”

She smiled,”I guess.”She handed me the plate,”Eat up.”

She left the room, and I ate happily. Then laid down for bed, I can't believe I went a whole day with no food.

I woke up the next morning when someone was banging on the door. I jumped up quietly, and got dressed and crept down the stairs making sure to stay out of sight.

Janelle whispered angrily to the person at the door,”Nispon, what are you doing here, I told you not yet.”

He laughed,”She seems old enough now.”His voice wasn't very deep, but it was melodic, and I enjoyed hearing it.

Janelle got angrier,”She isn't ready. That it, now leave.”

“I have to see her, I'll decide for myself if she's ready.”

“She doesn't even know about it yet, we're going on a walk then I'm going to tell her everything.”

“Even who her father is, what she is, what she needs to do. Jhanandra, I don't know why you think you can protect her from us?”

She scoffed,”I changed my name when I left the realm, it's Janelle now.”

“Yea yea, whatever, the kings dieing, we need her.”

“She isn't ready.”

“But she called me in her dream, she's come of age.”

“Her dream was the same one she's had for years, leave her alone.”

“The kingdom will die without her, I know someone of your race wouldn't care, but it's important to everyone else.”

She sighed,”It's not that I don't care, she wasn't ready yet, yes she may be ready now, but she still knows nothing, give me a few days.”

I heard him chuckle,”Well maybe I should inform you that she's a lot stealthier then either of us expected.”he tsked at me a couple of times,”Have fun then Janelle.”

She slammed the door, and spun and ran after me,”How long?”

I shook,”The whole time”

She looked around and thought about something very carefully, then she looked at me,”Your a princess, next in line for the crown, well only one in line for the crown.”

I took a step back, and tripped up the steps, she smiled,”That's not even the scary part.”

After 10 minutes trying to explain what she was talking about she went simple,”You are an elf. Your mom was a Sky elf, your so called dad was a Sky Elf, your real dad was the king of the Blood elves. You are the illegitimate child of King Sonian, and he is dieing, you are his only child, so you are the only one that can take the thrown. About all the magical things you can't see, I blocked your vision, and if you want me to unblock it, I will.”

“Unblock my vision.”

“Before I do this, I'm going to hand you a mirror, and remind you, you are a sub race called a Bloody Elf, so you don't look pretty.”

I nodded, she handed me a mirror, and touched my eyelids and chanted something that I didn't understand. I opened my eyes, and gasped. What stared back at me was me, but dark, with pure white eyes, crying blood. I opened my mouth, that was white too. My ears were extremely long, my hair was long too, but it was a white that faded to black then looked like it had been dipped in blood. I looked like I'd eaten blood and it was smeared all over my body.

I looked at Janelle, and she was about 2 feet shorter, and had giant wings and she sparkled, I opened my mouth to say something, but all that came out was a guttural noise, and then I started crying, even more blood, everywhere.”

Janelle, cleared her throat and reversed the vision,”I told you it wasn't pretty”

I continued to cry for a short period of time,”Can you turn it back on?”

She looked skeptical,”No, I don't want to right now, I'll let you calm down first.”

I got up and walked out of the house, she stayed at the door,”He's going to try to take you to the blood elf kingdom, the magic will wear off there and you'll be able to see them then, and you won't like that.”

I kept walking, and I could sense him well before I knew he was there,”Boo.”I turned and looked at him, and amusement filled his eyes, then he got angry, but not at me, he turned towards the house,”D****t Jhanandra, give her her sight back!”

Janelle screamed back,”No you just want to scare her, it's not happening.”

He waved her off, then back to me,”You have to come with me princess, your father requests your presence.”

I looked at him,”My father? How could a man that I only half an hour ago found out be considered my father, my father is the man who raised me, then killed my mom and himself in front of me.”

He rolled his eyes, and got in front of me,”Your birth father has requested your presence.”

I looked at him again,”No.”

He stopped me in my tracks,”Well you leave me no choice, I was going to let him explain it, but I guess I'll do it, your betrothed.”

I took a step back,”What do you mean, to who?”

He smiled,”Me, and your mother, and father, as in the one who killed your mom, arranged this, so you can't fight it, because King Sonian, your birth father, approved it.”

I took another step back,”Look you can come willingly, or I can force you.”He got an evil look in his eyes, as he grabbed my wrist.

Janelle ran out and hit him with a broom and shooed me back to the house, I watched through the window, she kept stopping to yell at him, and then would go back to beating him. I walked back out there and walked up to them.

Janelle stopped,”What are you doing here?”

The boy, whose name I couldn't remember was laying on the ground moaning,”What's your name?”

He looked up in surprise at me, and relaxed as he said his name,”Nispon, but you can call me Nisp.”He laid his head down in the snow.

I looked at Janelle, and asked,”If I go with him, can I convince the king to rid me of my betrothal?”

Nispon jumped up,”Of course, you just have to come with me.”

Janelle stopped him with a smack from the broom again,”No he won't, he'll make you get married on the spot if you ask. Lying sneak.”

Nispon grabbed my hand,”Please Pepper, come with me.”His eyes pleaded, and I looked to Janelle, she shook her head no as quickly as she could.

“Return my vision.”

She went to do it, and Nispon jumped up,”Don't if she see's me now, she won't go.”

“That's the point.”Janelle reached over and returned my vision.

I looked at him, he was still handsome, he didn't change much, but he did get darker, and the whites of his eyes were blood red.

“I'll go.”