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11: Ruby Dreams For a moment, I wondered if I should even go back; I felt that I belonged in the Immortal realm, but all my things were in London, and it wouldn't be long. On top of that, I couldn't just stop writing stories, especially not this one. Yes, this adventure was a whopper. Besides, who in the world had ever written a TRUE science-fiction story, anyway? Certainly not anyone that I knew of. I sighed, feeling as though the night had gone on forever, which in truth didn't affect me; I was only weary from traveling, and it occurred to me, in the gray darkness of the soaring tent, just how long it had been since I had truly rested. I sighed, lying down and dreamily recalling that brisk, clear night, upon which Fang had lain down beside me, and lulled me to sleep with his lilted voice, the sky's gems shining down on us. I was beginning to fall off in to a velvet sleep, when Fang-quite awake- said, "You know, you remind me of a girl I once knew." I sat up, propping myself on one elbow curiously. "Who's that?" He looked out in to an unseen distance, smiling with a certain glaze in his eyes. "Her name was Ruby. She was my first true love, you know," Fang said. I nodded encouragingly, feeling a slight, odd pain seize at my gut. "Yeah, there was never another... She was just a lot like you, that's all," Fang looked down at his feet, sober once more. I wanted to know this girl, to understand what true love felt like. I didn't know or care why; I just once, in my entire life, wanted to feel this thing that so many people had known. "What happened to her? Are you still-?" I asked, feeling that quick, dull pain again. Fang grew solemn, his head bowed in an almost religious way, and I knew that I had brought up something that I outghn't have. "Oh, I'm so sorry-" I began, feeling dreadfully awful, but Fang shook his head, turning his eyes to me. "No, it's all right. I think you should know; there shouldn't be secrets, like you said." Fang said, sitting up all the way, in contemplation of his next words. "Ruby and I; we used to go out and stargaze together, every night, and back then it didn't matter whether or not the moon was full, because I hadn't been bitten. One night, we were sitting out on a lakeside dock, way out in England somewhere (It's been so long that I can't remember). I remember that the lake was clear as crystal, and the moon was in full bloom, reflecting on the water. It was peaceful, and we were about to, " Fang paused and blushed a bit, "Share our first kiss, when I heard something stirring back in the woods behind us. There had been rumors of bears and wolves, so I thought we should get out. Well, we got up to leave, but as we were walking, a bush by the roadside leading out started moving, and a deep growling came from inside." Fang's eyes grew clouded; with memory or tears, or even both; I shall never know. "I-It all happened so fast, I really don't know exactly what happened; Ruby screamed, and a giant, black beast jumped from the bush and attacked Ruby. I couldn�t stop it; I was frozen with fear... It tore Ruby's heart out, right then and there, and I can never forget, even out of everything else that time may take away, the sight of her, dead, frozen forever." Fang stopped to look right in to my eyes, a true flutter of emotion flowing through them. "It wasn't right, Keara. It wasn't right for someone so good to die that way- I thought that the worst was over, but then the monster turned on me. I tried to run, but my legs froze- I know that sounds old, but believe me, that's what happens; your legs freeze. They just don't move at all. "It only bit me, but I wanted it to rip my heart out, too. I didn't want to go on without Ruby; I couldn't. ...From then on, I spent my life as a werewolf; hated by everybody, feared and hated. Even if I had really finally moved on from Ruby, I knew that no girl would ever fancy me; not when I'm like this." I put my hand on his shoulder, briefly forgetting my vow to avoid physical contact. "...Fang, I had no idea. You lost everything...I'm so sorry." I faintly remembered, too, what it was like to lose someone close; my parents died when I was seven, or so I had been told. Now I wasn't sure if I had a past, or if I had been brought here to make my own past- I was Immortal now; I had a long time to make my own life now. "For what it's worth, I'm not afraid of you. In fact, I-" I began, but abruptly stopped. I had no intention of saying what I had been about to say. No, I told myself, don't say anything about your feelings. It's not wise to get involved with anybody. "I know," Fang said, the brief swoosh of air fluffing his dirt-blonde hair. "That was the rule of the curse, anyway; all I had to do was find somebody who... Er, somebody who cared about me enough not to run away. Thanks." There was an almost awkward silence, in which a thousand words were exchanged, but none were truly spoken. I was grateful, then, for all that Fang had shown me, and I was even grateful for what Juniper had brought me in to. At first, I had been mad at her, and in a way I still was, but I had to give her credit for her bringing me in to the Dark Woods. The rest, however, had surely been mere fate, although I'd been a light skeptic of fate all my life. I felt the same old drowsiness overcome me, and I settled back down on to the tent floor, a yawn escaping my lips. The floor was soft and bedded, a great comfort that embraced my aching body. Fang had his sight fixed on me, as though he was entranced, fixated on something just out of the mind's reach. That was the last thing I noticed, and then I slipped in to a dark, dream-filled sleep, which in turn embraced me, too. The moon was a spotlight high above, emanating its white light on to my body, reflecting itself upon the smooth surface of the lake water below the dock. The willow tree above me swayed gently in the midnight breeze, and beside me, my kindred sat, embracing me with tenderness unknown to any holy being. This, I thought, must be what I have needed. And it shall be all that I will ever need. This is joy. Then, through the silence of the peaceful eve, there rang a noise; distant, yet impending. In that one moment, the joy was broken, replaced with a fear which drove us to flee from the spot. We sprinted as the wind, hearts pounding in a clamor, as one. From the grove nearby, the vegetation stirred, and in one moment, everything began and ended at once... The vile beast which leapt from the shrub growled in a deep, guttural way, bearing its deadly maw. A horrified scream arose from deep within me, and in that instant, the thing had its heavy body against mine, its dank breath as heavy upon my face as the perfume of death. It sank its teeth in to my flesh and feasted off my life. The cries of my love rang out in to the cold, clear night air, being the last thing I heard, and the moon sat perched above me, being the last thing I ever saw. ....... "NOOOO! Cody, run! Cody, please..." I started, beaded in a cold sweat, breathing hard. I felt my chest, relieved at finding no wound. My surroundings became more clear as I sat, on the verge of terrified sobs, but unable to blink out a solitary tear. I then noticed Fang, who was unusually close to me, holding me gently, shushing me as a mother would to comfort a restless babe. I would have slipped away, as a normal reflex at this point, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead, I just sat there, sinking in to his sturdy arms appreciatively. I could recall with grim detail every part of my nightmare, as though it had been a memory. I shuddered, remembering the angst-ridden expression on Cody's face, the horrid pain, the blood.... "Ruby, ruby...That poor girl..." I whispered, without fully realizing it. Fang's eyes widened, and his grip loosened. "Ruby? What about her?" He asked, looking at me expectantly. I knew that I couldn't say anything of comfort, and so I told him the truth. I recalled the dream, piece by piece, until I reached the brink of my recollection. As I finished, Fang's pale green eyes lined with tears, although he blinked them away quickly, and hid his voice strangely. "I...I don't understand." That was all that Fang could manage. I drew away from him, despite my body, which ached for the safety of his arms. I didn't want to give him the wrong impression, and I didn't need to give myself one, either. "I suppose it was just from the story you told me, but..." I didn't continue, because I knew that he would grow sadder still if I told him how I had felt as though I had been Ruby once, long, long ago. Perhaps it was a ridiculous thought, but the ill logic of everything that had happened so far led me to keep on believing in the theory, though secretly. However, it seemed that Fang had grown to the same idea, and he expressed it freely, being Fang. "It could be a memory, you know. You could have been her in a past life...." He paused to look intensely in my eyes, blushing. "I feel like I know you...And it would explain why you don't cower from me; why you accept me for what I am." "I'm not afraid of you, Fang, because I'm not your average girl," I said, returning to the self with which I had greeted Fang when I had first arrived, forlorn, in the Dark Woods. "I am an Earth Guardian, you know." Fang laughed and nodded, broken from the chains of tension once more. The subject was temporarily dropped, and we were simply old friends again. I yawned at last, after a while of conversation. Fang finally yawned, too, although I knew by now that he was most active by moonlight. "Fang," I asked sleepily, lying down a ways beside him, "Are all Earth Guardians enemies to werewolves?" Fang turned over to face me, his warmth inviting in the cold atmosphere. "No, just the ones associated with Juniper, mainly. The one you saw was on strict orders to keep me away from any of the public places in the Immortal realm. I'm a big enemy in both realms, you know; my disposition isn't a pretty one.'' I smiled, fading away. "I wouldn't care if you were Jack the Ripper," I said, "I'd still be with you." Fang laughed dryly, grinning with his white fangs. "I am," he said seriously. I sat bolt upright, snapped back in to half-consciousness, hoping that he, too, had been joking. "What?!" "Well, you see, it's like this; that was my nickname for a while when I killed some people, but it was a bit of a dramatization by the time the media, government, and tabloids got all over it. Besides, I only kill men," he told me, reassuringly, which didn't completely help. "They have thick, juicy hearts. Most of them do. I don't really eat the..." Fang stopped when he saw the look of horror on my face. He grinned, eyes sparkling like a wolf's again. "If it bothers you, then I won't do it around you," he promised. "Anyway, it's not like I want to. When that full moon rises, it takes control. I can't help it." "I'm sure it's not your fault...I'm sorry. It's just that I-" Fang nodded. "You're still human, and your kind have better morals than most, though sometimes I wonder." I nodded somberly. I thought briefly of war, death, pollution, slavery (thank God that was in the past), and everything else that had riddled the planet over the centuries. I shivered darkly; more awake than I had been, and I knew that now I would have to talk with him some more before I grew tired again. "So," I began, leaning propped on my elbow once more, "What's Juniper's deal, anyway?" My God, I was beginning to talk like him. "What d'you mean?" I faintly remembered her flower shop, which I had been driven to through strange dreams. "Well, as you know, she's the reason I'm here," I said. "It just doesn't make much sense...Why flowers?" Fang's eyes widened, his teeth bared. "You didn't buy one, did you?" I quickly shook my head, feeling the brush of my tangled hair against my face. "Well, not exactly. I mean, she did drive me out of the shop pretty quickly." Fang laughed incredulously. "She threw you out?" "No, she just made me uneasy, with all her crazy talk about taking me away somewhere. I was scared!" I was growing defensive, although I can't entirely say why. Something about the way Fang laughed, I suppose. "Anyway, what was wrong with buying a flower? That's all I went there to do, and then...I ended up here." "Never, ever buy a flower from Juniper's shop. It's almost like a contract. If you can see her shop, then that means you're Earth Guardian material, because ordinary Mortals can't see it. So, you saw it, went in, and, if you'd bought a flower, she would have been able to project you right back to the shop." "How do you know all this?" I asked. "I know all about her sneaky little tricks, and I also know about her cruelty of leaving Earth Guardians in the Dark Woods. It's like they say, Chiquita, 'survival of the fittest...And only the fittest." All fell quiet, and the though the tent still bumped round, it was placid enough within the tent. "And I take it you help out Earth Guardians just to be nice?" I asked, with a hint of sarcasm that I instantly felt bad about. "Well, that, yes; and it pisses off Juniper something fierce." Fang's deep, British accent was soothing to my mind, and I wanted to hear more, and fall asleep in a pile of his words. Maybe he should get a job on the radio.... The words that followed were drowned in to one noise, and although I tried to make out what he was saying, my eyelids were sinking down, down.... Unconsciously, I fell in to Fang's lap, too weary to know it. The last thing I remembered was his golden laugh, and his slender hand stroking my hair.
