Eternal

The next week or so was spent passing time talking to Lily and getting to know her. The Witcher came out of her shell more and more. I spent half my time with her, and half my time getting weird looks from the boys as I ran between the tower and the castle. Our conversations would start rolling, she would mention something, and I would have to go to the castle to get something else and show it to her.

One time, Lily mentioned about a certain book, so I spent the next ten minutes searching in the library for it. I did anything to make the girl more comfortable and feel more at home.

I got to know about her personality and what she liked or disliked. Lily Erebos was stubborn at times, but fiercely loyal to those she cared about. Her voice always rose with excitement whenever she talked about her family. Lily was more timid than I first expected. I loved her nonetheless.

The woman loved storms and the ocean. She always grew up near the shore and would constantly run along the shoreline as a child. Lily loved the color green, birds, and books. Her favorite spot was near the fireplace, curled up on the floor. The woman had a habit of changing positions while she read so she could be more comfortable. In the space of an hour, she could go from on the chair to sitting in front of the fire place, seven feet away. At least, that’s what she told me.

Lily hated liars, hot days, and anything purple. She could make exceptions to certain shades of the color, but not the hot days.

Today, I had already run back to the castle three time in the past four hours to show her a collection of items. We were sitting in front of the fireplace. It was lit for heat. Tonight was going to be cold. I put boards in front of the windows to keep the light from spilling out. Closing the trapdoor to the roof, we were enclosed in the little tower. I made sure the door was barred as I took up the steps. Sitting down next to her, I crossed my legs on the rug. The small fire crackled. It wasn’t too smoky in the room, which was perfect.

“So tell me, Alan, what do you do in your free time?” She laughed, munching on a piece of bread. I thought and smiled, leaning back on my arms and absorbing the heat from crackling sticks.

“Hmm….I play with the night hounds, read many books, and talk to pretty girls.” I chuckled, not really joking at the last part. She turned back to the flames, blushing.

“Aren’t you just a charmer?” She mocked. I rolled my eyes. We sat side by side. A blanket was pulled around her side. The stone fireplace was an expert at keeping the fire contained. Besides, there was a little raised ledge so she wouldn’t roll into the heat.

“I try.” I teased, shrugging my shoulders. The night was growing older outside. I had been out and it must’ve been about midnight. I felt like I should let Lily get sleep, but I dearly wanted to talk to her. Her eyes looked tired, but she kept on talking.

We chatted further about the night hounds. She raised questions every once in a while, but stayed silent as I spoke. It seemed as if she was trying to soak in every piece of information like a sponge.

“Tired?” I asked her as she stifled a yawn. Her head bobbed quietly as she shifted her position. Lily now lay on the floor with her head on my lap. I don’t know if this was intentional for her or not, but neither of us made the other move. My breath caught as I watched her eyelids flutter closed.

“You’re warm, you know that?” She murmured. I chuckled and patted her shoulder. She smiled a little.

“I think that’s just the fire. I’m pretty cold.” I told her softly. A pang of longing filled my chest.

The flood of memories raced back to me. I used to be so warm, so filled with heat. Now I was a cold shell of my old self, literally. I was cold and couldn’t feel any biting breeze. I felt little warmth, but it was mostly just from outside sources. There was no way she was feeling my body heat.

“No, I’m pretty sure it’s you.” She snuggled closer as I stroked a piece of her silky brown hair. Happiness soared through me, like an eagle catching a warm air draft. It made my heart, dead and not beating, start to flutter. This beautiful girl was finally trust.

I was ecstatic.

“You’re just sleep deprived.” I teased. Her arms hugged my legs closer.

“Am not!”

“Are to!”

“Am,” She yawns midway, “Not.” With that, her argument is destroyed. I tangled a piece of hair around my pale finger. It was like a brown vine around a white fence post.

“Just go to sleep, Lily.” I whispered to her. She smiled for the last time and started to drift off.

“Goodnight, Alan.” She murmured. I ran my fingers through her hair as she finally fell away from reality.

“Goodnight, Lily.” I whispered softly. She was dead asleep within minutes, curled underneath her blanket. I continued to play with her hair. It was like a therapeutic session for both her and I.

Picking up the book, I tried to entertain myself, but I still felt happy to have this girl closer to me. Setting it down, I started to hum a little tune.

“Don’t go, I can’t do this on my own!” I sang out, feeling the pain of the past get to me. I shivered a little from the song.

What I didn’t notice that night, was that a board had fallen down from the windowsill, exposing a little bit of the night. A cold gust had blown through, but I never felt it.

A falcon had perched on the windowsill, listening to the song with wings burdened in heavy memories.

Notes

Wow! Two chapters in one day! Thanks everyone for your wonderful comments and for rating this story! It's been great so far. I hope you enjoyed a little cuteness in this chapter ^-^ I'll try to update more tomorrow!