Playing With Fire (16 page)

A
drop of blood fell onto my face, but it was not mine. With wings spread out
like a shield, Vaze stood over me panting, trying to keep himself as close to
me as possible.

“Sorry
to disappoint you,” he said, trying to keep the pain from his voice while
holding the gashes in his midsection closed. “But I can’t let you hurt Scarlet
anymore.” The She-wolf cackled as she flicked the blood off of her claws.

“I’m
surprised you can still move after the beating you took from my minions,” she
growled. “But it makes no difference. You will die because you tried to save
this useless life.”

“I
don’t plan on dying here, or letting anyone else die here either,” he replied.
Vaze drew his dagger with one hand, keeping the other on his wound. The She-wolf
laughed again. She seemed to have a sick pleasure hurting people.

“You
are a fool, young prince,” she howled with sickening laughter. “You risk your
life to save this one girl, when you could save more lives by staying alive.”

“I’d
rather die trying to save this one girl than live one day without her,” Vaze
said softly. The black wolf scoffed.

“I
loathe feelings of kindness and love,” she spat. “It is a false feeling, and
can quickly be broken. The only true feelings in life are hatred and pain.
Those who embrace hatred feel no pain, and those who feel pain breed hatred. I
will teach you what true pain is.” The She-wolf charged at Vaze, and I was
still too shocked to do a thing.

She
attacked without mercy, cutting him up even more and adding broken bones. Vaze
countered, but his blade seemed to do no damage. The beating I took from the
She-wolf was nothing compared to this. Slash after relentless slash, the
She-wolf was cutting Vaze like meat. Each was shallow enough to avoid vital
organs, but he was still losing a lot of blood.

And
yet he wouldn’t give up. He kept trying to attack her, and only managed to make
three shallow wounds. Panting and bleeding, Vaze held his stance. The She-wolf
snickered and cut deep into his arm and he collapsed with a cry of pain as he
dropped his dagger. He grabbed onto his wounded arm with his good hand and
winced in pain. His face got paler and paler as his breathing became shallow.

“You’re
just as boring as my little sister,” she said emotionlessly. “Scum like you
doesn’t deserve life.” The She-wolf raised her claws over her head, and I
snapped out of my trance with anger and desperation. I wasn’t going to let him
die. Fire began to engulf the ground around me as I stood up. I tossed my
dagger, embedding it into her paw that was about to kill Vaze. The She-wolf
whined in pain and whipped her head around to me as she cradled her paw.

I
dashed towards her, being fueled on the thought that we would all die if I
didn’t do something. Geysers of fire burst from the ground, separating her from
Vaze. The She-wolf swiped a mighty paw at me, but I ducked underneath it. I
stabbed her chest with my second dagger, but I knew it didn’t go deep enough.
She swiped at me again, but I dodged.

“Arrgh!”
she growled, trying to remove the dagger from her chest, but her clumsy paws
couldn’t grasp its nimble hilt. “Why do humans try so aimlessly to save one
another? It’s pointless. You all just die eventually!”

“A
heartless beast like you wouldn’t understand,” I fumed. “When somebody hurts my
friends, I get angry. And in this case, when I’m angry, creeps like you die.” I
shot out one hand towards the dagger, and strip of flame pointed like a sword
appeared out of the other side of the She-wolfs back. She looked at me in
disbelief as her eyes glazed over.

“I-Impossible!”
she stuttered as she took a lumbering step towards me. “A mere child like you
can’t defeat me!”

“And
yet I just did,” I hissed while closing my fist tight, and the She-wolf
shrieked as she burst into flames. Fleeting images of her changing from a wolf
to a woman and back to a wolf again could be seen as her body turned to ash.
Soon the only thing left of her were her black ashes. I didn’t stop to admire
my handiwork. I dashed over to Vaze.

“Vaze,
can you hear me?” I pleaded frantically as I ripped a sleeve of my shirt off
and tied it tightly around the wound on his arm. Vaze nodded his head as he
panted, but his eyes focused on nothing. They were wide and in shock. His good
hand grabbed mine.

“Don’t
leave me,” he whispered. “Please, don’t.”

“I
won’t,” I said, trying desperately to cover the wound on his stomach. “You’re
an idiot.” Vaze laughed, but quickly stopped by coughing up a little bit of
blood.

“Are
you alright?” he asked.

“Of
course I am!” I replied, not believing he could even think about that when he
was so close to death.

“Then
it was worth it.” He smiled and his eyes slowly drifted close.

“Vaze?”
I said shaking him a little. “Vaze, this isn’t funny.” Still he did not move
and I began to panic. I screamed his name and for him to wake up while shaking
him frequently. Tears fell down my face the longer I tried. A hand fell onto my
shoulder, and I turned my blurry eyes to find Kyra standing over me with Ed
supporting her. The wolf girl Yuki was slung over Ed’s other shoulder. Kyra
examined Vaze.

“He’s
alive,” she said finally. “But just barely. If we can get him to the camp soon
he might survive.” I nodded and took hold of Ed’s leg, but didn’t let go of
Vaze. We melded into the shadows and an instant later we were by the cart and
horse we used to get there. Ed looked exhausted, but helped put Yuki and Vaze
in the back of the cart. I held onto Vaze, refusing to let go. I cradled his
head in my lap as Kyra drove faster than usual. His soft hair bushed my hand
lightly and I cursed at myself. It wouldn’t have happened if I had just fought
right away. I acted like a coward and then Vaze was near death. I hugged him
close and wept.

“Don’t
die,” I whispered. “Don’t die, please don’t die.”

We
reached the camp shortly due to Kyra’s insane driving, but it felt like an
eternity. Vaze’s shallow breathing and rapid heartbeats kept me on the edge of
insanity. He stirred slightly a few times, but every time he winced in pain.
His eyes opened at times, but they were unfocused and glazed over. The only
thing that could go through my mind was I did this to him.

The
second we stopped in the camp Kyra jumped off of the driver’s seat and slung
Vaze over her shoulder. Without missing a beat she dashed to the medical tent as
fast as possible, even though she was injured as well. Ed jumped out and I
helped him carry the wolf girl Yuki. Despite the fact that Kyra had just gotten
Vaze into the tent, people were already frantically trying to save him. We
handed Yuki to one of the doctors to check if she had any broken bones, and I
rushed over to Vaze. Doctors were taking the crappy bandages off that I had
applied and began to sew his wounds shut. He winced in pain and tried to flail
in his sleep as if to escape. Some of the doctors had to restrain him. I had to
avert my eyes. I didn’t want to see him in any more pain. The king rushed into
the tent and looked around rapidly with fear.

“Where
is he?” he asked urgently. I shied into a corner. I really didn’t want him to
know I was responsible. His eyes spotted Vaze. His stitches were done but he still
looked like a dead man. The king rushed over to his son as his eyes began to
tear up. “Who did this?” No one answered.

“Who
did this?” he bellowed. “I swear when I get my hands on them I’ll rip them limb
from limb and feed the pieces to Shadows! Tell me who did this to my son!” My
entire body stiffened, as if I had turned into a tree. Kyra walked up to him,
looking a little afraid.

“Sir,
I take full responsibility for what had happened, I should have assessed the
situation better,” Kyra said trying to hide her fear. The king looked like he
was going to explode, making me feel horrible for Kyra. It was my fault for not
fighting back, and she knew it. “And I apologize in advance, sir.” Kyra slapped
the king across the face, causing everyone in the tent to gasp.

“Your
son is breathing and alive, as a father the best thing you can do is be by your
son’s side right now, not scare everyone to death!” Kyra scolded. “What you’re
doing will only cause chaos and confusion!” The king blinked in disbelief. Kyra
dropped to her knees.

“I
am sorry, your majesty,” she apologized with a shaky voice. “I accept any
punishment you wish to give me.” The king rubbed his face were Kyra slapped
him.

“Don’t
punish anybody,” a groggy voice said. Our eyes turned to find Vaze staring at
the top of the tent with his eyes hardly cracked open. “I did this so my team
wouldn’t die, and if it weren’t for Scarlet, I would be dead. Just be glad this
was the worst that happened.” The king’s eyes softened a tad, but hardened up
again. He turned back to Kyra.

“I’ll
overlook your behavior this one time, but only because you brought back my
son,” he said in a stern voice, and the room had a chorus of silent relieved
sighs. He turned and left the room, and I dared to breathe. I hadn’t noticed I
had been holding my breath until my lungs started to scream. Kyra looked as if
she had seen a ghost.

“Thanks
Vaze,” she said. “You really saved my hide there.”

“No
problem,” he replied. He turned his head slightly and winced in pain. A doctor
hurriedly asked if he needed help. Vaze shook his head.

“Scarlet,
can I talk to you?” Vaze asked hesitantly. He looked at Kyra, Ed and the
doctors. “Alone?” Kyra nodded and dragged out a very confused Ed. The doctors
were a little more resistant but eventually left, leaving me kneeling awkwardly
at the side of Vaze’s cot. Vaze opened his mouth to say something, but closed
it. I decided to speak first, in the most comforting way I knew.

“Dude,
you look like crap,” I said with a half-smile. Vaze laughed hoarsely.

“You
don’t look much better,” he replied and I smiled. He sighed and tried to move,
only to cringe in pain again. I put a hand on his shoulder to keep him down.

“You’re
an idiot, you’ll reopen your wounds if you do that,” I said sternly. Vaze
scoffed.

“I
don’t care if I do, they’ll just sew them shut again,” he said back, and I
rolled my eyes. He could be almost as stubborn as I was. “I wanted to tell you
something.”

“What
is it?” I asked.

“I
wasn’t lying about what I said,” he said slowly, trying not to make eye contact
with me. I looked at him, confused.

“What
weren’t you lying about?” I asked curiously. Vaze’s eyes took a sudden interest
in the fire pit.

“If
you don’t remember, then that’s fine,” he said quickly. His eyes would look
anywhere but at me.

“You
can tell me Vaze,” I said truthfully. “Trust me.” Vaze’s blue eyes slowly made
their way to mine. I had never really noticed before, but they were beautiful.
I suddenly felt vulnerable. Slowly, Vaze pushed himself up with his arms. He
cringed as his arms strained, but he didn’t stop. I got up and put my hands on
his shoulder to ease him back down.

“Vaze
don’t, you’re going to hurt yourself,” I scolded, but Vaze took my hands and
shook his head. He sat up and pulled me down onto the cot and I sat next to
him. He held my hand close to his chest, and the warmth of his skin heated up
my hand. I felt the rapid beating of his heart as he inched closer to me.

“When
I said that I’d rather die than let you die, I wasn’t lying,” he answered. He
took one of his hands and stroked my dark hair out from my face. “I’d rather
die trying to save you, than live one day without you.” His eyes softened and
he slipped his warm hand into my hair. He moved his head closer to mine, but I
couldn’t move. It was like I was in a trance.

“Vaze?”
I whispered and he hushed me affectionately as his lips found mine. Warmth
flooded into my body as he kissed me, and I began to have a giddy feeling along
with a light head. He squeezed my hand gently as he retreated. My eyes
fluttered open as my cheeks turned red. Vaze smiled at me dreamily and stroked
my hair softly. A million thoughts rushed through my head, but I was
speechless.

“The
truth is that I love you,” Vaze whispered as he moved back in for another kiss.
I snatched away my hand and stood up quickly. Vaze blinked at me, with a
puzzled look on his face.

“Are
you alright?” he asked as I started pacing and mumbling to myself. I rubbed my
temples with my fingers. My mind was panicking. What Vaze had done was sudden, way
too sudden. I didn’t respond to him. Vaze looked to the ground.

“I’m
sorry,” he apologized like a sad puppy. “I shouldn’t have done that.” I didn’t
reply. Instead, I ran out of the tent as fast as I could, past a group of
eavesdroppers consisting of Kyra, Ed, and my brothers. I didn’t stop to scold
them, I just kept running. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I kept running
until I found myself deep in the forest that bordered the camp. Darkness was
everywhere, and only the faint silver light of the moon poking through the
leaves allowed me to see. I turned my gaze back to the camp. I could still see
the faint orange glow of the torches, so I turned and ran farther into the
forest, until I couldn’t see them anymore. With burning muscles and screaming
lungs, I finally stopped at a small spring that I had never seen before.

It
gave off faint white light as the moonlight touched it. I collapsed by the pool
taking in as much sweet air as my lungs would allow. I dipped my hand into the
cool water of the spring and tossed it on my face. The splash of cold water
sent shivers down my spine. I looked up at the cracks in the roof of the forest,
to the dark blue starry sky. When I started the mission today, I didn’t think
Vaze would almost die, but I could handle that much better than him kissing me
or him telling me he loved me. Honestly, I’d rather go up against Enzio a
thousand times than go back and face Vaze.

I
didn’t know what I felt when he kissed me, and it was a complete out of body
experience. What he said didn’t just freak me out, it also made me think. As my
mind began to wander, thoughts popped up…

 I
cursed myself for even suggesting it. It was stupid, absolutely stupid. I’d
never love anyone like that, especially not Vaze. I loved my brothers, but in a
family way. I sat up and stared at the spring, trying to think about anything
other than Vaze. My reflection stared back up at me. My grey eyes were so
light, they were almost white. My hair was so dark, it was almost black. My
skin was pale like snow. I had no idea why Vaze would have any feelings for me.
I wasn’t pretty like Kyra, or smart like Seth, or even girly. My head started
pounding as my brain stressed more and more over it.

“Ugh.”
I moaned when my migraine got worse. I fell back onto my back and looked back
up at the stars. Seeing the twinkling lights made my mind slow down a bit. I
yawned like a bear preparing for hibernation, and slowly, my eyes grew heavy.
When they finally fluttered closed, I slowly drifted into a dreamless sleep.

~

Vaze
collapsed back onto the cot and cringed in pain. Thoughts raging through his
head scolded him, but his composure remained that of indifference. His mind
continued its scolding until Kyra walked in. He lay still, trying to look as
casual as an injured person should be.

“I
personally think that was a very nice attempt,” she said truthfully.

“You
were eavesdropping?” he asked in an emotionless tone, yet venom leaked from his
voice slightly. Kyra shrugged, and Ed and Scarlet’s brothers walked in with a
hint of guilt. “Does the word ‘alone’ mean anything anymore?”

“It
was his idea,” Kyra said while pointing jokingly to an innocent Ed. He shook
his head frantically, but didn’t dare to point out it had been Kyra’s idea.
“Besides, you were alone. We were just standing at a close-‘ish’ distance
outside listening.” Vaze rolled his eyes and covered his face with his hands.
Darren walked over to him while shaking his head and smiling. He sat down next
to him and laughed.

“Dude,
you are such a beginner!” Darren laughed, and Vaze looked at him. “First, you
don’t kiss the girl. You let the girl kiss you! And you shouldn’t go and give
the girl some honest crap like you did, you butter her up until she kisses you!
Just lie, like tell her she’s beautiful or some crap like that.”

“But
if I told her she was beautiful it wouldn’t be a lie,” Vaze replied, and Darren
laughed until tears came out of his eyes.

“Dude,
Scarlet’s gone, you can drop the act,” he said while rubbing the tears from his
eyes. Vaze only stared at him, and Kyra kicked him square in the crotch.

“Thanks,”
Vaze said to Kyra as Darren fell to the ground in pain.

“No
problem, I would have done it even if you didn’t want to,” she replied.

“Vaze,
don’t feel bad about it,” Al said. Vaze was shocked. The look Al gave him told
him that he could see right through his barrier. “If Scarlet didn’t hit you it
probably means she doesn’t hate you. She can get over anything, even though she
doesn’t seem like that, so just give her time. Who knows, she might even forget
you kissed her.” Vaze sighed.

“Alright,”
he said, but he felt like saying the complete opposite. Once again, Al saw
through this. He looked up to Vaze quite a bit, so to see him so depressed made
Al feel depressed as well.

“As
I said, if she didn’t hit you it probably means she doesn’t
hate
you, so
maybe that means there is a small chance she does feel the same,” Al paused for
a second. “A very small one.” Vaze sighed again and shut his eyes.

“Can
I please be alone?” he asked in a dead tone. Kyra nodded and corralled
Scarlet’s brothers and Ed out of the room, dragging the thick headed Darren out
by the back of his shirt.

“Sleep
well Vaze,” Kyra said as she poured water onto the fire. Kyra left, leaving
Vaze alone in the darkness with only the hole in the top of the tent to let
light in. Vaze stared up at the starry night sky through the small hole. Smoke
drifted from the extinguished fire. He was angry with himself, but his heart
fluttered with happiness. Not only had he kissed the girl he loved, he had also
been able to tell someone how he really felt, for the first time in his life.
Someone had finally gotten into his world after the five years that he had
closed it off.

“Now
I guess I’m not alone anymore,” Vaze said softly. Despite being borderline
rejected, he was happy. After hours of waiting, he was taken into sleep’s
loving hand.

I
woke up a really crappy way. For the first part, I was sore all over from
sleeping on the ground, and extremely cold from sleeping by water, which
unfortunately made mist in the morning. And on top of that, I was attacked and
thrown into the pond. Not my best wake up call.

I
was minding my own business sleeping, when all of the sudden,
BAM!
Somebody
tackled me into the pond. I woke up when the icy water touched my skin, causing
me to panic. I was never a good swimmer, and at the moment, I probably looked
like a joke. I was splashing and spluttering like a drowning cat. I only
stopped when I realized the water was just up to my knees. Up on dry land, my attacker
stared at me with intense, angry brown eyes. I crawled back on shore coughing
up water.