Triwiccan Wars Part III

Chapter 13

‘ I'm guessing that none of you know anything about weaponry, do you?’ said Merrick as Cedar, Ella and Sam walked into the room. It was eerily dark, like a hot summers night. A musky smell tickled their nostrils and in the distance, they could hear the dull sound of metal hitting metal. The room was full of shelves. These were split into separate compartments and in each one there was what looked like a long and narrow briefcase. Most of them were leather clad, but Merrick was leading them further into the room, where the briefcases were starting to turn into leather bags. He lead them further in still, to the three oldest looking bags of the room, they were merely a large satchel, with a leather shoulder sash and a small symbol on the back. Our symbol, Ella realised. ‘ These weapon bags have been here since before any of us were born. They are said to have been the weapons used by your ancestors to defeat the first detah over three ages ago, of course they weren’t magical then, but in there age, they have grown to become the most powerful weapons that the erup posses. The only problem is that nobody really knows what they are, not even the erup, because we can’t touch them, only you can, nobody quite knows why.’ Whispered Merrick, his hands trembling ever so slightly, as he handed each of them, one of the satchels.
‘ Its because of our blood.’ Said Cedar in a matter of fact way. Ella looked at him before realising what he meant. ‘ Yes! Of course! On mums letter’ She pulled it out of her pocket, she had changed here clothes since they had left the house but was still carrying it around, almost like a good luck charm. Unfolding it she read ‘”If in doubt trust in the bondage of blood” That’s what she meant isn’t it. Our ancestors must have made it so only our bloodline could touch the weapons.’ She looked around at Merrick; he was staring at the floor with a puzzled expression on his face. ’That would explain a lot.’ He said as her stared up at them. ‘ Now. There are four main things to test for when trying to find the perfect weapon. Style, blade, weight and battle readiness. Once you have found a weapon that has an good feeling to all of these components, then you know that you have found what your looking for.’
Ella opened up her satchel first. Cautiously she put her hand in and pulled out a large bow. She looked down and saw there was also a sack of arrows with blue tips, accidentally she pricked her finger on one, she gave it a quick suck. She placed these on the floor and pulled out quite a large sword that was in a silver sheath. Pulling it out she found that the blade was midnight blue, with a sparkling silver tip and a small narrow strip of bronze along one of the edges. Well she thought to herself, I certainly like the style. She felt the weight of it in her hands; the handle and the blade seemed perfectly balanced. Ella took a swing at something from over her shoulder and as the blade collided with it, she felt a rush of adrenaline coarse through her body. Yes, this was her weapon; an extension of her own arm, made for a soul purpose…to kill. She took another swing at the tall rock, her heart racing, and her body in battle stance.
Merrick let out a small gasp, as he stared into Ella's eyes, all he could see was hatred, pure loathing, mixed with a hint of anger. He coughed quietly, forcing Ella out of her own world, and back into reality. Her eyes finally met his, unclouded from evil thoughts and he saw that they were now full of hurt and pain. ‘Ella … Ella what is it?’ he said confused.
She looked up at him as she brushed a tear away, she looked at his lips, they looked so soft, so kissable. This was strange, she didn’t feel upset anymore. She only knew that she couldn’t think of him like that; he was more like a brother to her, than, well…a boyfriend. Yet her mind still played tricks one her, it kept showing her images of things that she had never done, She was in the armoury talking to Sam about checking out the archery range, practice her aim, when she looked down. She looked up and Sam wasn’t there. Merrick was. “Merrick!” she said, and he put his fingers over her mouth. He kissed her. She was filled with a strange sort of happiness she had never felt before. His tongue pressed against her closed lips. She wouldn’t let it through, but he persevered, and she let him explore her mouth. It felt good, so she returned the favour. She put her hands on his shoulders, then moved them down to his waist, down to his hips, down to his …“Oh, my God,” she said to herself. She ran out of the armoury and into the bathroom and splashed some cool water on her face, and stared at herself in the mirror, wondering why in the world she had an erotic daydream about Merrick, for heaven’s sake.

Chapter 14

As she re-entered the room the boys all stood staring at her. Apparently, Merrick had decided that they’d better continue and had asked Cedar to check his weapons. Cedar stood there with a magnificent Black sword held in his hands. A yellow bow and arrow lay next to a black sheath on the floor. ‘You ok now?’ he asked simply, she nodded. He turned back to Merrick. ‘This is defiantly my sword.’ he said balancing it on the palm of his hand.
Merrick turned to Sam who was already eagerly fishing a red bow and arrow out of his satchel. He pulled out a large sword covered by a gold sheath. As he pulled it out he saw that the blade was tri coloured. Gold, silver and bronze strips were plated down the ridge, and the tip was sharpened wood. The weight, battle readiness and style were all right, but he was upset about the blade. Sam looked up at Merrick, clearly disappointed. ‘ Why is the tip wood? How am I supposed to kill anyone with a wooden sword!’ he stared at Merrick with an incredulous look in his eyes. ‘Sam! Why an earth are you complaining! You have just received The Eternal Sword! I never thought it really existed, I have only ever heard stories of the mass vampire deaths, that were by this swords power. The tip is wood because a tree is the closest thing we have on earth that is an eternal life! Besides it is plenty sharp enough.’
He haphazardly lowered his hand to the tip of the sword and made a quick movement underneath it. He let out a small gasp, as he held up his hand for Sam to see. Blood was trickling down his palm from the fresh cut he had made on the sword. Ella gave a small squeak and scurried forward to Merrick. She quickly took of the bandana she was wearing and wrapped it around his hand, covering his wound. Sam grinned sheepishly ‘Ok. I’m sorry point taken.’
‘That’s fine’ said Merrick as he glanced at Sam from under his silvery blond hair. He took a deep breath and smelt Ella's perfume, it was like vanilla and rose petals all rolled into one and he loved it. He looked at the clock on the wall. ’ You can go to lunch if you want, we’ll meet you there in a minute.’ Cedar seemed reluctant, but Sam grabbed his elbow and pulled him out of the room. ‘ I think we should leave them to be alone’ he said knowingly.
As Ella gently bandaged the wound with the bandana, Merrick’s hand caught hers. He pulled it close to his mouth, gently kissing her fingertips. Her breath caught in her throat. He was kissing her… but did that mean he felt the same way for her as she did about him? Their foreheads touched each other, and their lips met. His tongue crept from his mouth and entered hers and explored it freely. She gladly joined in. Slowly, Ella willed herself to pull away from him, her gaze lost in his. Her head was resisting, they were going to get caught, something about this didn’t feel right, but her heart and soul were willing, wanting to carry on. ‘ Merrick we can’t…’ she began but Merrick stopped her, he didn’t think, he was magically drawn to her. Slowly, and gently Merrick brought his lips back down onto Ella’s. She didn’t pull away, or flinch. Majority rules right? She thought to herself, as she ran her fingers through his silky hair. If Merrick wasn’t mistaken, Ella was actually melting in his arms. Her lips were warm and smooth as he caressed them with his own. Merrick wanted to hold her in his arms forever…

Chapter 15

Ten minutes later Ella and Merrick were both sat down in the corner of the dining room next to Cedar and Sam. Neither had said a word about what had happened a few moments before, but they had no desire to. Lily was sat two tables across, staring at her brother intently, something had happened between him and Ella. About time she thought to herself as she stood up to address the room. ‘Sword practice.’ She called and with a scrape of chairs everyone headed down to the armoury to collect their weapons.
As Ella went back down to the armoury to collect her sword, which she now knew was called The Mystic Sword, Merrick had told her, she gave a small smile, whilst she remembered how safe she had felt in Merrick’s arms, so protected, so…so. Her thoughts drifted off into meaningless mutterings as she picked up her sword and satchel and headed out into the arena.
‘Right everyone, now today we are just going to be practicing some one on one combat. So pair up with someone you know. I’ve found that if you can keep concentration when fighting a friend, then its very easy to do so with an enemy.’ Shouted Merrick across the cobble enclosure. Ella watched as everyone paired up, she realised Cedar and Sam had made the last pair, she looked around. ‘It’s ok Ella, I’ll go with you’ said Merrick as he gave her a quick nod. Willow tapped her on the shoulder ‘Good luck Merrick is the best swordsman here.’ She gave a nod of thanks to Willow and determined turned back round to face him. ‘Right now I want you all to just try some simple block and attack moves. Cedar, just try and copy what the others are doing, if you need any help give us a shout. Right everyone begin!’ called Merrick as he turned to face Ella. ‘ When you want to block someone, you use the flat of your sword like this’ He swung the blade round in slow motion showing her what to do. ‘ If you want to attack you use the edge, or point, so you can cause lots of damage.’ He swung the sword again in slow motion, only this time it was the edge of the sword, which glistened in front of her eye. He brought his sword above his head edge first and she realised she was supposed to block it. She pushed her sword flat side up, knocking his back. ’Good Ella, now you try attack me.’ He said with a small grin. He didn’t expect her to move as quickly as she did, and was caught off guard when she aimed for his chest at full force, hastily he blocked it, sending a slight vibration down his arm. He looked at her with a mixture of shock and annoyance. ‘What, didn’t think I’d have the guts to hit you.’ Ella said smirking. She found herself briefly finding it amusing, that one minute you could be experiencing the most passionate kiss of your life, and the next you could be fighting like worst enemies. She looked into Merrick’s eyes and found that she was able to anticipate his next move. She turned quickly before blocking him, her senses alert, willing him, daring him to attack again. He did. Again and again, he came at her with full force and each time she blocked it almost effortlessly. She came down at him with a hard attack, which he dodged, but barley. He swung down at her and she blocked it and lunged forward at him trying to get the sword off balance. She missed, but she saw a change in his face. Merrick’s eyes narrowed and he started to fight her with more force. He thrust down at full force and she clumsily blocked, causing his sword to slip down her own and leave deep cut on he forearm. She heard a small cry of pain escape from her mouth, before she refocused her goal, instead of trying to block Merrick; she was going to try to disarm him. The sword was starting to grow heavy in her hand. The balance wasn’t right anymore. She knew it was only a few seconds until Merrick knocked her down. She figured what the hey! She tried a disarming move, one that she had never been taught, but her muscles seemed to remember, as if from a past life. Her blade hit the base of Merricks and she twisted, putting the whole of her weight into a downward thrust.
Clang.
Merrick’s sword rattled against the stones a few feet away from him as he fell backwards hitting the hard floor. The tip of her blade was an inch from his undefended neck. Everyone else fell silent, staring amazed at what had just happened. She lowered her sword; the wave of adrenaline that had swept through her had vanished. Realising that Merrick was still looking scarred she muttered a small ‘Um…I’m sorry’ before dropping it. She felt like a piece of dirt, had she really almost killed someone.
Merrick got to his feet hastily brushing himself off. ‘What are you saying sorry for, that was some of the best fighting I've ever seen.’ he whispered to her gently so she was the only one that could hear. He bent down to pick up her sword for her, before realising he couldn’t. Standing back up he held out a hand, indicating for her to pick it up. She did, before Merrick turned round and said quietly ‘meet me out here tonight at eleven’ he faced everyone else before adding out of the corner of his mouth, ‘don’t bother to bring your sword.’

Chapter 16

It was dark when Ella left her room that night. She had made sure that her note was in a very visible place for Cedar to find. She didn’t want to worry him, like she had last time. As she walked out of the door, and over to the arena, the trees seemed to be whispering. The wind blew the leaves so they chased each other at her feet. Walking across the cobbles her shoes echoed loudly. Ella gave a small shiver, it was cold and she hadn’t even thought about bringing a jacket. In fact she had completely forgotten about it, she had thought of almost nothing except Merrick, since she had last seen him over ten hours ago. In the distance, across the other side of the arena she saw a figure emerge and she instinctively stepped back into the shadows, until she could see it was defiantly Merrick.
She had to tell him, it had been lingering at the back of her mind for a while now , ever since she had seen it in her mother’s diary…or what ever that spell book was called, she would have to ask Lily later.
‘ Ella?’ Merrick whispered. ‘ Are you there?’ She stepped forward into the light so he could see her. She looked amazing as the breeze blew in her hair it danced around her shoulders playfully. Her eyes sparkling from were they had become moist from the cold. They both started talking at once; Merrick smiled and held up a hand, defeated. ‘You go first.’ He said smiling. She smiled back. ‘Listen Merrick…about earlier, you know with the kiss and everything.’ She was glad it was dark and Merrick couldn’t see how red her cheeks were becoming. ‘ I…I think it was because of the arrows.’ When she had first started talking Merricks smile had lingered on his face, he had loved that kiss, he loved her. But now she had mentioned the arrows, he was crest fallen. Why hadn’t he remembered, he felt so stupid, thinking that she had liked him too. She was walking closer to him; he could feel the warmth of her breath on the breeze flowing over him. She had a small black book in her hands, thumb in a page. ‘ Um…you see Merrick; these are my arrows, from The Blue Incantation of Love Bow and Arrow. And if you read the little paragraph underneath, it says, “If the blood of an enemy is drawn by these arrows, then they shall simply die. However, if the blood of a soul mate is drawn whilst the other is in close proximity, then an ancient web of love spells will create hidden passion and lust between them, and will continue to do so, until the thread is short enough that they’re hearts become one, allowing them both to, if necessary, save their soul mate from the doors of death itself.”’ Even as Ella read this out loud, she could feel her heart breaking. Was that all the most beautiful kiss of her life had been…artificial lust. She was merely a puppet, attached to some ancient magical strings. She felt a small tear escape from her eye, they seemed to be doing that more often, ever since she had come here, or was near Merrick, she quickly wiped away the tear hoping that Merrick hadn’t seen.
But he had. And he felt hurt. Hurt because it had all been some joke, no love had really existed between them. But he now knew one thing; Ella was his soul mate. And that meant that he would have to keep her from harm, any harm. Because he knew, that if he didn’t, his heart would cease to beat. It would keep pumping, yes, and keep him alive, but he would exist only as an empty shell, cease having feelings and emotions, and cease the ability to love.
Ella felt her voice cracking as she turned to Merrick. ‘ So what was it you wanted to see me about?’ he looked up from wear he had been staring, he couldn’t tell her now. The worst way to love someone was to be stood right beside them, knowing…you can’t have them. When he spoke again, his voice sounded like it had been through a grinder. ‘Oh…’ he said wildly inventing quick lies. ‘ I was just thinking…earlier on in sword practice, you have a lot of raw talent, and it seems to have been going to waste over the years, so I thought that if you would let me, train you up more, with some one to one lessons. You know, teach you some more advanced attacks, blocks, disarming moves. Because anything that can be done with a sword can be done with a stick, which could come in useful if you have to fight the drowning angels or something.’ Not that I’d let you. He added silently as an after thought.
Ella stood for a moment, thinking. She really needed these lessons, but wasn’t sure she wouldn’t keep getting distracted by Merricks good looks. But deep down she knew that this could be important to keeping herself alive in battle, and right now that mattered more than Merrick. ‘ Sure, I’ll have these lessons with you, I want to be as well prepared as possible when my brothers and I have to fight the Apocorite.’ She nodded her head enthusiastically. Merrick gave a small grin, but inside it saddened him that she had accepted that she would have to fight and might die saving the world. ‘ Ok. I’ll meet you out here at seven every Monday and Thursday.’ He noticed that she had let out a small shiver. ‘ Do you want to head back in? You’re shivering. Here’ He pulled off his leather jacket and draped it over her shoulders. Ella pulled it tight, and with a grateful ‘thanks’, they both walked back inside.




Chapter 17

Two months had past since Ella had meet Merrick about the lessons. Merrick had said she had improved, but Ella wasn’t so sure. She kept making stupid mistakes, she had let her guard down on more than one occasion, and Merrick had ended up injuring her. In fact she got injured so much that Zhin had taken it upon himself to attend the lessons, so he could heal Ella there and then, rather than her having to trail up to his room each time.
‘One…two…clang…one… two…clang.’ Merrick shouted as the swords met in their odd dance. The sword was starting to work the way Ella wanted it to. She swung her sword up to block Merrick; she didn’t want to get her arm sliced up again. Merrick had already managed to break her arm twice, cut through her forearm six times, and sliced her shoulder more times then she cared to remember. It was almost like Merrick seemed to think of her as the enemy. Of course, she had given Merrick his fair share of injuries too; she had managed a pretty nasty shoulder dislocation last week, but Merrick seemed to take it in his stride. He hadn’t complained once, but she still felt really bad. With a quick motion with her arm she disarmed him.
‘Good, Ella really good.’ Said Merrick wiping the sweat off his brow with the front of his black t-shirt. She caught a glimpse of his washboard abs and her knees buckled slightly. Ella quickly lent on her sword hoping he hadn’t noticed. He walked over to a nearby tap and turned it on, he reached down letting the cool water splash his face. He felt better. All he needed now was to get the knot out of his stomach, he had tried several times, but it wouldn’t go away. Every time he heard here laugh, saw a smile play on her voluptuous red lips, or even if he just saw her playing with her beautiful straight golden hair, the knot seemed to tighten. He loved her; he had done ever since the day they had first met. Back then when she was nine, just before he had had to leave, she had been so pretty, but now she was beautiful. He stared at her golden hair, which reached the small of her back. Her bright violet eyes sparkled as if hidden diamonds were behind her irises. Her pronounced cheekbones flattered her red rose stained lips. Her tiny waist, just inches wide, complimented her delicate bone structure. She looked so fragile, but Merrick knew, that although she didn’t look it, she was solid muscle; she could break someone’s arm, as easily she could snap a twig.
As Ella looked at him she saw his silvery eyes were shining, the way they always did whenever he came near water. The glow was so bright, she was sure that if even it were dark, they would still shine beams down on the surroundings. His silvery hair fluttered at the tips of his collarbone, his muscular body seemed so overpowering, yet she knew that when she touched him, these muscles, so tense and pronounced, would become nothing more than a quivering pile of jelly. She longed for Merrick to touch her, hold her, but knew she was just playing with dead fairytales. Merrick didn’t love her back. He saw her as another younger sister, concerned if she got hurt, praised her if she did well, but otherwise treated her the same way he would treat Lily. She felt his ‘brotherly’ love encircling her, protecting her from any harm, but nothing more. Maybe it was best that way, that way it wouldn’t hurt as much if she hurt him or worse, if her hurt her. She knew he was her soul mate, but right now it certainly didn’t feel that way. She suddenly realised she was thirsty, so lifting her palm upwards she blew, and a bottle of mineral water materialised in her hand. Unscrewing the lid she took a long drink, before realising that she had rudely forgotten to ask Merrick if he wanted something. ‘Do want some of this?’ Ella asked, her hand resting on her chest. Merrick stared at her with a quizzical look on his face. Ella suddenly realised what she had just said, she looked down at the ground, her cheeks flushing a neat shade of maroon. ‘I meant the water…you know do want some or I can get you a coke or something?’ Merrick let out a small sigh that was a mixture of relief and disappointment. ‘ No. I’m good thanks.’ He gave a small wave of his hand. ‘Maybe we had better call it a day. Lily said she wanted to meet with you and your brothers at five, and its ten too now.’ She nodded, a fake smile plastered across her face, she was so scared. Lily wanted to meet with Cedar, Sam and her to say she thought that they were ready to start their quest. She just wanted someone to hold her, comfort her, tell her everything was going to be ok, it was just a bad dream, she wanted her mum. She just wanted her mum to be there to support her. Her and her brothers.
Lily, Cedar and Sam were already waiting for them in entrance hall when they arrived. Lily had been teaching Cedar and Sam some more advanced moves when Ella had been having her lessons. They gave a small wave as Ella and Merrick stepped forward. ‘ Right I’m glad you’ve arrived, do you guys want to go to your room where it a bit more private or…’ Just then Ella got an idea. ‘Cedar, help me out here.’ She said as she started conjuring some beanbags. Taking the hint, Cedar copied her. After six beanbags were laid out on the dusty floor, Ella started conjuring walls as Cedar walked over to an old piece of wood and manipulated it into a door. When the four white walls were up, Ella conjured a roof for over the top and a plush furry rug for on the floor. Lastly she conjured a packet of candles and some glass holders, before walking over to the door and holding it open whilst everyone went inside. As she walked in she found the room in complete darkness and she stumbled around laying the candles on the floor. ‘Uh…Light?’ she called uncertainly, expecting the room to light up. ‘Ah…well, do want me to light these candles?’ said Lily. Sam and Ella nodded before realising that she couldn’t see them. ‘Yes please.’ Sam said politely. Lily made a sweeping motion with her arm and each of the candles burst in flame. Giving herself a satisfied grin she sank down onto a nearby beanbag. The others quickly copied. ‘ Well. I must say you guys your control over your magic has really improved. You just created a room, in less than thirty seconds, I’m impressed. Anyway you probably know what this is about. I think that you all have had enough training and practicing, and you’re ready to start your quest.’
Ella felt her heart sinking. Now she was really scared. She could feel her leg shaking beneath her. Had it got cold all of a sudden? She glanced at Cedar and although he too had a fake smile plastered on his face, she could see his pupils frantically darting across his eyes, as if trying to escape. Sam looked like he was about to be violently sick, and was a tinged shade of green, even Merrick said ‘ Dude, are you alright?’ Sam gave a small, unconvincing nod, before he became very interested in his thumb. Lily looked up at them with eyes that seemed tired and old, so unlike her own. ‘You best head back to your rooms and get some sleep, we leave tomorrow at dawn to go fight the drowning angels for the first bit of trident.’
Chapter 18

That night Ella lay wrapped up in her cashmere blanket, shaking. Although months ago, Lily had said that she and her friends would, ‘fight to the death’, alongside her brothers and herself. Ella did not find this a comforting thought. Death was precisely what scared her. Her parents had been ruthlessly thrust from them. How else was she to see it?
She pulled her blanket tighter around her body, in a vain attempt to keep warm, and she caught the sound of Sam’s soft snoring, drifting through her open door.
When they had got back from their meeting with Lily, Sam had rushed upstairs to the toilet and unceremoniously thrown up all over the floor. Cedar, sickened by the smell, had opted to take Sam to his bedroom, and left Ella to clean up the mess. She was so glad she had powers now, and could simply manipulate the floor, until it was clean. After conjuring a can or air freshener, and having given the bathroom a long spray, she had headed to bed.
As she sat there thinking of the night’s events, she realised how scared Sam was. Which in turn, scared her. Ella didn’t think she’d seen him so frightened since…well ever. Cedar had just stayed quiet, he had taken Sam up to his room, insisting that he try getting some sleep, and for once, Sam hadn’t argued back. Ella turned over rubbing her arms, trying to get rid of the goose bumps that covered them.
Suddenly she heard a small sound, like a rumbling, coming from Cedars room. Sitting up, she quickly pulled on her dressing gown, over her silk pyjamas and got up. Ella knocked quietly on his door and waited for an answer, none came so she went in. As she pushed the door open, she saw Cedar tossing and turning in his bed, his headrest hitting against the wall making the same rumbling sound she had heard before, only now it was louder. He was moaning in his sleep, cold sweat dripping off his forehead, his hands gripping tightly to his duvet. ‘ Ella! …Move!’ he suddenly called out and Ella knew she had to wake him up. ‘No…no…No!’ he was moaning, getting louder each time.
Ella placed a hand on Cedars shoulder, and shook him gently. ‘ Cedar, Cedar…wake up.’ He suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled it into a painful lock behind her back. He was now sat bolt upright. ‘ Ow! Cedar, that hurts!’ Ella cried. Realising what he was doing he let go of her arm quickly, before grabbing her shoulders and spinning her round to face him. ‘ Oh my god! Ella, thank god your alright…I thought…I thought…’ Cedar began before slumping down, that same spark of panic lit in his eyes. She sat down on the bed next to him, and gently rubbed his back. ‘Hey…hey Cedar. Its okay… it was just a nightmare. It wasn’t real… I’m fine see.’ Ella said soothingly, reaching up and turning his head to look at her. ‘But… it seemed so real.’ he confessed shaking his head looking away. Ella shuffled up the bed until she was right beside him and put her arm round his waist. ‘Everything’s gonna be ok.’ She said smiling, trying to convince herself more than Cedar. She stifled a yawn and wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. ‘Do you really believe that?’ asked Cedar staring at his sister intently. She looked so scared, but he could tell that she was trying to hide it for his sakes. He had to be the world’s worst big brother, not noticing how scared she was until now, when she was the one who was ending up trying to comfort him.
Ella nodded her head, too quickly to be convincing, biting her bottom lip. She always did that whenever she lied, and right now she was biting it so hard he thought it might start bleeding. He shook his head and gave her a weak smile ‘ No you don’t. Underneath you’re as scared as I am. I can see it in your eyes.’ He said looking straight into them, to find them sparkling in a pool of tears. She must be really scared he thought and he found himself puling her into a tight hug.
Ella was shocked at first. Cedar normally had the emotional range of a pinhead, but soon found she was crying into his shoulder. ‘ I’m so scarred.’ Ella sobbed gently. ‘I don’t want anybody to get hurt…or…o-or…’ she struggled to finish the sentence, but she didn’t need to. Cedar knew what she was trying to say. ‘Look, Ella I know this isn’t going to be fun, but so long as we stick together, then we’ll be ok, yeah?’ He said gently stroking her hair.
Ella mumbled something that sounded a lot like, ‘I hope so.’ into his shoulder but it didn’t matter, he could feel her shivering. He pulled his cover off the bed and wrapped it around her.
They sat like that for a long time. Until Cedar realised that Ella had stopped shivering. He looked down, and saw that her eyes were closed, and she had fallen asleep. A few tears still clung to her eyelashes, like dewdrops to a spider’s web. Gently unwrapping her arms from around his waist, he laid her down on his bed, and pulled the cover over her.
He hadn’t done this since she was about five years old. She had got scarred in the night, and come looking for him. They had sat and talked until she had gotten so tired, that she had just lain down, and fallen asleep, right there on his bed.
Cedar gave a small chuckle, as he quietly walked over to the door and left the room. He thought for a moment about where he could sleep, before realising that Ella’s room was free. As he walked into the room, three things hit him at once. First, the sweet smell of Ella’s perfume. Vanilla and rose petals he thought to himself. Second, how cold it was in here. No wonder whenever he saw Ella, she seemed to be shivering. And third, a large and heavy object, falling on his head.