A small shard of glass that shone a pretty green in the sunlight, a smooth golden coloured rock, and a tiny silver bell. She didn't try and understand her need to keep those items. They had meant absolutely nothing to her, but the need to keep them was still there.
Drizdan's hand tapped sharply on her face, jarring her out of her thoughts and back into reality.
Looking up at him, she tried to recall what he had been saying but she had been so caught up in her thoughts of the tiny collection of items that she had been completely ignoring him.
"Did you hear what I said?" he demanded, looking angry.
Shaking her head, she flinched back as his hand collided with her cheek, sending her already confused mind reeling all the more.
"You will listen when I'm speaking to you, Etani," he snapped, glaring down at her.
"Yes Drizdan," she mumbled, a new anger burning inside her at his actions.
"Get dressed, we will be returning to the compound until it's time to leave."
Nodding, she pushed herself to her feet and headed slowly for the bedroom. Pausing at the scene, she stared in horror at the sight of her ruined bed.
There was a large amount of blood on it, her sheets had been ripped and the bloodied sword was still on it. Along with that was a small collection of knives and a gauntlet with sharp, talon-like fingers.
Deciding not to think about it, she headed for the dresser and held onto the wall to keep from toppling over. It didn't work and the thud of her shoulder hitting the wall drew in Drizdan.
"I'll get you something to eat," he said, disgust evident in his tone.
Nodding silently, she pushed herself upright once more and dragged on her underwear.
Setting the robe to the side, she looked up at the quiet click of the door to her suite. Her mind was sluggish, but it was coming up with a plan.
She needed to be stronger to handle him, and what was the quickest way for her to get stronger?
A grim smile pulled at her lips. She needed to die.
Giving up on trying to get dressed, she pulled on her robe and tied it off. Her movements were slow as she shuffled across the room and picked out a leather thong, using it to tie back her hair.
Satisfied, she looked once more around the room and lifted her finger. Biting into the tip, she filled her mind with the thought of escape and drew the line in the air, stepping through into freedom.
***
She had heard long ago of a place that was overrun with odd humans, many of them having darker skin than the ones she had seen in the places she had visited. She had been curious about them, wanting to know more but had never gone. The people there were not the deciding factor for her however, the deciding factor was a different detail and it the place would serve her purpose.
The vampires had enough blood to keep them going for around a month, that gave her time.
Slipping easily through reality, she stepped out into a place she had never seen before.
Looking around, she frowned at the scenery. It was exceptionally dark and the mist was thick.
She assumed she was in heathen territory and her skin crawled, the mist seeming to brush her.
She had never been able to see into Spring because of mist and she had never wanted to try and get in.
The trees were enormous, twisted and claw like with no foliage at all. They looked dead but she thought they were still alive, she could hear them whispering.
A movement caught her eye and she turned to see a dark, richly brown coloured figure moving in the trees.
Frowning, she tilted her head and moved in the direction of the figure, wondering what it could be.
It giggled and she went still, squinting. It was a young dryad, small and skinny.
It saw that she had stopped and so it had stopped, moving just enough to catch her attention and try to draw her in and that alone was very odd. Dryads were all females, that meant they only tried to lure men but here she was being lured by one of them.
Clicking her tongue gently, the little creature flitted forward, fascinated by the sound. She clicked her tongue again and the dryad crept closer.
She was shocked to see that the little creature was male, naked with big brown eyes and odd, triangular markings on his skin.
She was still trying to figure him out when she realised he wasn't a dryad and she looked up, seeing an enormous black spider above her. The sight of the giant thing had her wanting very badly to run away, but that wasn't a good idea.
He was a lure alright, a young spider in human shape that was drawing her in to the web for consumption.
"No," she said simply and the spider froze, seeming confused. "You will be wasting your energy, I'm immortal," she explained and the spider considered.
The young male creature approached her, touching the blood on her robe that she hadn't noticed had soaked through, and tapping it against his tongue. He looked very disappointed.
"Better luck next time," she said, giving the boy's hair a ruffle before she moved away.
Predators understood predators to a certain extent and she was glad for that. She was also very glad to be away from the spider.
Making her way through the creepy black forest, she decided to head back to the human world, not wanting to come across any other monsters from that place, or a member of the court.
She pictured the location in her mind and bit her finger, drawing the line in the air and stepped out onto the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.
She had no idea how she had come across the location, she had never been there before but she wasn't going to complain at her success.
She was standing atop a cliff, a stream rushing past her into a sharp fall. The roar of the falls was tremendous, but that was nothing to what she saw.
The forest was so enormous she couldn't wrap her mind around it. It stretched on for an eternity and beyond. She had to think this was the entire world and everyone was inside it, but she had never seen this cliff before. She looked down and smiled, the height making her dizzy.
She was certain it was enough to do the job.
She spent the day there, just watching and listening to the world live and she shook her head at the magnificence of it. There were no thoughts she could come up with that could describe that place.
She watched the sun set and it was breathtaking, enough to steal her heart and she was in love.
Once the sun set, she got up and moved back away from the cliff face, turning back to it and taking a running leap off the side of the mountain.
She fell for an eternity, ten seconds and then twenty and thirty, falling and falling and finally she hit the stone and everything was no more.