Fan Fiction ❯ Enchantment ❯ Her ( Chapter 1 )

Enchantment

Chapter One

He brought his motorbike to a stop outside a grand house in the outskirts of the city. The last traces of crimson red had melted from the sky to reveal tiny diamonds in a velvet sky, a cool wind whipping at his dark hair. Sighing, he turned the key slowly in the ignition, the hum of the engine fading.

He brought his long leg up over the seat of his bike and held the handlebars, pulling it forward into the shadows that surrounded the house. He walked into the front garden of the house, hiding the motorbike between the side of the house and the vegetation, thorns from the bushes digging into his hands. Then, in one long movement, he moved from the bike and up into the lower branches of the old oak tree, leaves and twigs falling from ut to form a carpet on the wet grass.

He waited in the tree, not moving or making a sound for hours. "12 Cinnamon Road," he said softly, his voice cutting through the stillness of the night like a knife. He glanced at the torn piece of newspaper with the address of the house printed on it and crumpled the paper in his hand. The soft paper folded easily beneath his fingers.

He didn't realise how dark it was becoming until he was enveloped in a dark sheet, surrounding him, the cool wind whipping around him and a faint mist growing. He had been searching for years, his whole life devoted to his cause. Now the folded piece of newspaper in his hand, given to him by the owner of the orphanage, was the most important link he had.

His head shot up, dark hair flying around his face as he heard the sound of doors opening. Slightly beneath him he saw the balcony that protruded from the side of the house, and the French doors that led onto the balcony were now open. Blinking, he looked down below him and his breath caught in his throat. Below him, surrounded by the faint mist, was a girl.

The first thing he noticed was her hair. It gently flew in the breeze, cascading down to her shoulders like a waterfall in streaks of gold, silver and bronze. The wavy locks shone in different shades. Her eyes were large and oval, framed by long dark lashes. They were velvet brown, soft and endless. Her lips were dark, slightly parted and curved in a slight smile. Shadows flickered across her face as she walked to the edge of the balcony. She was tall, slim, with long arms and legs.

It was her.

The same shining hair. The same dark, mysterious eyes. She looked so much like her grandmother that it was unnerving and he felt his throat constricting.

She stood still for a moment, a strange expression on her face. He held his breath as she spun around, realising that she knew she was being watched. Her hair settled on her shoulders as she stopped moving, and something sparkled in the moonlight, catching his eye.

It was the cross, the secret symbol known only by a few. It was small, about the size of a thumbnail, delicately engraved with the small image of a lily, hanging from a silver chain. The cross laid gently in the dip of her neck. It was made of crystal, reflecting the purple of her T-shirt onto the tree. In the middle of the cross there was a pearl, a deep blue one that held swirling blue mists and pinpricks of light.

It was her.

He had seen that cross many times before, and it has always belonged to the women of the Ramon family. Now he had found the last in the line of the sacred family, after years of searching.

She glanced around one last time, and then walked back into her room, closing the French doors behind her.

*

Lily stared blankly as the scenery of the rural town began to appear and fly past her window in flashes and blurs of green.

She ran a hand through her dark curls, the colour of ebony with traces of gold and silver that fell to her shoulders, and reached for the silver chain around her neck. She ran it through her fingers and then lifted the pendant up to her soft brown eyes. The pendant was a small crystal cross with a blue swirling pearl in the centre. Engraved in the glass was a lily embedded with tiny golden topaz chips. One of the silvery leaves bent over and a small diamond dew drop hung from the leaf. The engraving on the pendant was a small lily hybrid, also known as 'Enchantment,' and Lily's parents had had given it to her for her christening. She had always worn the pendant, she never took it off. It meant something very special to her.

"We're nearly there now, Lily," Mrs. Green said, turning to face her daughter in the back seat. Mr. Green nodded and took a hand from the steering wheel. He took off his floppy material hat and wiped an arm across his forehead.

"Are you excited? Our first real holiday," he said. Lily barely answered her parents. She nodded and carried on looking out of the window. Her parents were the stereotypical type. Her father liked fishing and watching television and was starting to go bald, hence the unattractive hat. Her mother wore aprons with flowers on, baked biscuits and thought everything was wonderful. Lily, on the other hand, was not an average seventeen-year-old girl. She had always felt as if she were different, as if she didn't belong. She loved the night, how it seemed so inviting and different. She loved to look up at the diamond stars in the sky. She loved dancing in the rain. She preferred to be alone. She often wondered why she was so different to her parents. Her father was quite short and had light brown hair, at least, the last few strands were, and her mother was just as short and had blonde hair. Lily, on the other hand, was the odd one out.

She closed her eyes, remembering the night before. She had been standing alone her balcony, thinking about the upcoming holiday, when she had sworn that she was being watched. That eerie feeling of someone's eyes on her had followed her.

"Damn motorbikes," her father murmured suddenly as a motorbike swerved dangerously close to the car. Lily frowned as she saw the dark haired cyclist riding past. He seemed strangely familiar.

Minutes later the car pulled up outside the reception and Lily got out. Looking around at the scenery she got a sudden feeling of deja vu. She felt as if she had been there before. She knew were everything was. Suddenly a feeling of fear began to build up inside her as she could hear footsteps approaching her from behind. Her heart began to pound. Taking a deep breath she swung around. Her small dog, Midnight, wagged his tail at her. Sighing with relief she bent down and picked him up.

"Come on love," Lily's father said, emerging from the small reception. He waved a small silver key at her and opened the back door of the car, gesturing for her to get back in. "We have the key to our cottage."

"Give it to me, love," Mrs. Green said, taking the key from her husband. "Number 13," she said, smiling. "Unlucky for some."

Lily suddenly felt very sick as the car pulled away from the reception and headed into the woods.

~TBC~