Chapter 11
Rosa and Felicity trudged through the snow back to the larger cottage where Rosa lived. Kennedy and Demitri were waiting inside. Rosa walked over to her spell book and turned to face Felicity, putting her hands on her hips.
"Alright you guys, this is how this is going to work. Demitri, Kennedy, you can watch if you want but you have to stay where you are. I need Felicity to stay where she is. You can't move around too much or I might hit the wall instead of you and that wouldn't do anybody any good. There may be some tingling, but the spell shouldn't feel too painful. All spells are different and some are really elixers and some I need my wand for. This time I don't need anything except myself. Are you ready?"
Felicity looked from Rosa to Demitri and then back to Rosa. She was nervous and skeptical, but this was her best shot. She nodded slowly. "Okay. I'm ready."
Rosa smiled. "Just relax, everything will be fine. It's been a while, but I've done this before. I promise you'll be okay. I'm going to get started now." Rosa closed her eyes,taking some deep breaths before beginning to chant softly. "Ut eruat te ab inimicis eaque. Sit vis reddam vobis nocebit eis invisibilium. Hestia deam arula te incolumem custodiat. Hestia, ignem de foco des Olympo." *
Rosa smiled. "Just relax, everything will be fine. It's been a while, but I've done this before. I promise you'll be okay. I'm going to get started now." Rosa closed her eyes,taking some deep breaths before beginning to chant softly. "Ut eruat te ab inimicis eaque. Sit vis reddam vobis nocebit eis invisibilium. Hestia deam arula te incolumem custodiat. Hestia, ignem de foco des Olympo." *
Rosa's eyes flew open and suddenly there were flames flickering above her palms. Her gaze was intense. She was facing Felicity. Felcity shivered. Rosa was looking at her and at something beyond her at the same time. Rosa continued to chant, her voice crescendoing as she went on. "Flammam do vobis felicitas dea Hestia donum. Et sapienter uti, salva custodiret. Te sine lacus. Cum eam fueris invisibilium." **
Rosa thrust her hands forward, sending the flames at Felicity. The force of the impact knocked Felicity to the floor. Her legs were weak and her whole body was tingling strangely. Felicity didn't feel any different. She watched as Rosa's expression returned to its normal cheerfullness. The witch clapped her hands together in excitement. "I think it worked!" She said, beaming down at Felicity.
As the tingling disappeared Felicity realized there was something around her neck. She reached up and touched the green pendant. It was warm and in the light it seemed to flicker.
Felicity hauled herself to her feet, looking around nervously. "So that's it?" She'd been expecting something... bigger. "This necklace will keep me safe?"
"Yep!" Rosa replied cheerfully. "Technically it's an amulet and it contains your ward. You can't take it off but if someone manages to remove it you'll be in trouble. When you no longer need it I'll remove it myself and until then you'll be stuck here with me so I can restore it periodically. You're probably tired so you and Demitri can head back over to the other cabin. If you get hungry there's some food in the fridge."
The sun was already beginning to set as Felicity and Demitri headed back over to the guest cabin. It was cold outside, though Felicity's amulet remained warm. She wondered if it would always be like that. The warmth of the guest cottage was welcome. Demitri asked her if she was hungry. Felicity wasn't. Demitri was acting strangely, avoiding eye contact with her.
She didn't have to ask Demitri what was wrong. Demitri took her hand nervously, dropping it almost immediately. What was bothering him so much? Felicity had never seen him this nervous. "Felicity, there's some things we need to talk about." Demitri said, finally meeting her eyes. "First I need you to hear me out, okay?"
Felicity looked at Demitri with concern, waiting for him to continue. Demitri took a deep breath before he began to speak.
"I want you to know ome things about me. I have been a vampire longer than I care to think about. The time I spent as a human is not clear in my memory because it was so long ago. When I first became a vampire I enjoyed it. I had heightened senses and immortality, and for a while, that was enough. I lived in a coven of vampires who followed the old ways. I killed people and I enjoyed it. As time past I became disillusioned with that lifestyle. The emotions I felt were fleeting except for the guilt. I left. My life was been solitary. Kennedy has only been around for the past fifty years or so and never permanently. I ate and breathed and did my best to stay occupied, but it was never living. I never felt anything. I discovered I had a brother, Jackson. He invited me to stay with him and I accepted. I had nowhere else to go and any companionship was welcome. Our bond was never very strong. Jackson and I are very different. He being a vampire while I was indifferent. He started keeping pets, though none of them lasted as long as you did. I remained indifferent. I didn't like what Jackson was doing, but I didn't care enough to try and stop him. Then I met you and everything changed. You were unlike anyone I had ever met. You were stronger than any of the others. At first I pitied you, but then we started talking and you woke up emotions that have long been dormant. I wanted you to be safe and happy. I craved your companionship, though I didn't think you would want mine and then you did. You accepted me when you had every reason not to."
Felicity opened her mouth as if to speak, but Demitri stopped her. "You said you would hear me out," he reminded her. Summoning all of his courage, Demitri went on. "I love you. I want us to be happy together. I don't want to worry about Jackson hurting you. I don't want to live without you. I spoke with Rosa earlier and she told that there is a way for me to become human. It won't be easy. There will be trials and I'll have to do a lot or traveling. I will be away for at least a few months, though that could easily become a year. I think that we need some space though. We've been together almost constantly for the past three months and I think some time apart will give you time to decide if I'm really what you want."
Demitri fell silent, looking at Felicity nervously. She didn't say anything. Her mind was buzzing. Demitri loved her and he wanted to become human for her. He was willing to change himself completely for her, even though she couldn't do so for him.
Unable to contain herself any longer, Felicity lurched forward and kissed Demitri. "I love you," Felicity breathed as she pulled away.
Her demeanor changed quickly, worry creasing her face. Felicity took a step back, cupping Demitri's face in her hands. "What about you? Are you sure I'm what you want? Are you sure you want to give up being a vampire for me?"
Demitri searched Felicity's face with his eyes before replying. "I have lived for over a century and I have never been more sure of anything. Even if you decide that I'm not what you want I'm sure I want to be human. I don't want to live forever and I don't want to continue hurting people to survive."
"It sounds like you've thought about this a lot." Felicity said, confused. He had only just found out that becoming human was a possibility. Just last night he was offering to make her a vampire.
"I have. I didn't know that it was a possibility until today though."
"How will this solve our problem with Jackson? You won't be able to defend me against him if you are a human."
Demitri sighed. "That's something we're going to have to figure out. While I'm traveling you'll stay here with Rosa so she can make sure your ward is working. I don't like Jackson but I don't really want to kill him. We'll figure something out. I may find something while I'm traveling that will help us or you may discover something here."
There were lots of implied ifs in that plan, but it would have to do. Felicity nodded slowly. "Okay. I think I can live with that." She was silent for a moment, looking at Demitri as she thought. "When do you have to leave?"
Demitri looked at her solemnly. "Soon. The sooner I go the sooner I'll be back. Rosa will have to give me some instructions, but I'll probably be gone by the end of the week."
"It sounds like you've thought about this a lot." Felicity said, confused. He had only just found out that becoming human was a possibility. Just last night he was offering to make her a vampire.
"I have. I didn't know that it was a possibility until today though."
"How will this solve our problem with Jackson? You won't be able to defend me against him if you are a human."
Demitri sighed. "That's something we're going to have to figure out. While I'm traveling you'll stay here with Rosa so she can make sure your ward is working. I don't like Jackson but I don't really want to kill him. We'll figure something out. I may find something while I'm traveling that will help us or you may discover something here."
There were lots of implied ifs in that plan, but it would have to do. Felicity nodded slowly. "Okay. I think I can live with that." She was silent for a moment, looking at Demitri as she thought. "When do you have to leave?"
Demitri looked at her solemnly. "Soon. The sooner I go the sooner I'll be back. Rosa will have to give me some instructions, but I'll probably be gone by the end of the week."
Felicity's head was swimming. So much had transpired over the last three days. She learned she was still being stalked by a vampire, had an emotional breakdown, discovered the existence of magic, moved to a new town, confessed that she was in love, and then learned that the object of her affections was very soon going to embark on a mysterious journey to cure himself of vampirism. It was time to completely give up on having the kind of normalcy she had before Jackson completely changed her life. Felicity would have time to deal with everything later. Right now she wanted to make the most of her time with Demitri before he was gone for an indeterminate period of time. Felicity kissed him fervently, smiling at Demitri's surprised surprised expression when she pulled away. "We had better make use of the time we have," Felicity told him before crashing her lips to his again.
*May this spell protect you from your enemies. May it render you invisible to those you wish to harm you. Hestia goddess of the hearth keep you safe. Hestia, lend me a flame from the hearth of Olympus.
**I give this flame to you, Felicity, as a gift from the goddess Hestia. Wear it discreetly and keep it safe. Without it you will be vulnerable. With it you are invisible.
AN: I am not great at writing spells. :p
More importantly, I have two polls for you guys. One is a curiosity thing that *might* affect the end of the storyline and any sequel I might make down the road. The other is for a special I will write for you guys when this or a future chapter gets my website 100 unique visitors in 1 day. Baby steps.
**I give this flame to you, Felicity, as a gift from the goddess Hestia. Wear it discreetly and keep it safe. Without it you will be vulnerable. With it you are invisible.
AN: I am not great at writing spells. :p
More importantly, I have two polls for you guys. One is a curiosity thing that *might* affect the end of the storyline and any sequel I might make down the road. The other is for a special I will write for you guys when this or a future chapter gets my website 100 unique visitors in 1 day. Baby steps.