Long ago in a little town on the side of the Great Forest, there was a girl who lived with her brother, Shainen, and father, Hiveden. The girl’s name was Sadie, they lived in a quaint little cottage next to a stream. Both her brother and her father were gone to town to sell the vegetables that grew in the garden, next to her mother’s grave. One day while Sadie was out doing laundry she heard a strange sound, at first it sounded like a growl, but then she realized that it was the moan of an animal in pain. Sadie always was very compassionate to animals and people alike. She got this, along with many other traits, from her mother, from whose grave the sound seemed to be coming from. Sadie walked up to the tree which had grown next to her mother’s cross. At first she didn’t see anything in the shade of the tree, so she sat down and prayed to her mother as she did every day. When she finished telling her mother about her exploits of yesterday, it was twilight and much easier to see through the shadows, she went to stand up when she noticed something slumped in the bush sitting next to the tree.
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The pack was quickly closing in. To a human it would be silent and the forest would seem still, but to Shane every shadow that moved in the dark forest was thirsty for his blood. Earlier his older brother, Malachite, had tried to kill him, with pride as his only reason, and Shane had been lucky to get out without having to kill his brother, or letting himself get killed. Unfortunately he hadn’t been lucky enough to lose the hunting pack that Malachite had sent after him. He was most lucky that the pack hadn’t caught him yet. But as the shadows moved closer Shane’s luck was running out, so he ran through the brush as quick as his legs would carry him, until he finally broke through, in his hasty celebration he ran smack into a tree, his legs buckled, and he collapsed, broken from all the beatings he had sustained within the last twenty- three hours.
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Sadie approached the creature with great caution; she knew from experience that injured animals could be more dangerous than the angriest old widow, when she got close enough to make out what it was she froze. It was a wolf, and a black one at that. She looked around to see if there was anyone, or anything for that matter, around. When she was sure that the coast was clear and that the wolf was going to be out for a while she got a blanket and wrapped it up so she could drag it into her bedroom. Sadie pulled the unconscious black wolf in between the wall and the side of her bed that faced the window, so that the wolf would be hidden by her bed from the door. As soon as she was sure that the wolf was secure she went and got some water and some greens from her mother’s garden. Sadie put the food and water in front of the wolf and went back out to finish the laundry so that she could hurry and start dinner. Sadie knew that they wouldn’t be home until moon rise, but it was sunset so she knew she needed to hurry, not that they would be angry, but she hated making them wait.
When the men got home Sadie was proud to just be putting supper on the table with the clothes on the line hanging dry. “Hello, how did it go?” she asked her voice full of sunshine. “It went perfect, just like your greens always do, good job.” was her father’s smiling reply. As her brother and father sat down for dinner, the regular conversation of whether they were going to try and start raising animals came and went, the guys asked Sadie what she had done today. She, as usual, replied that she had done the laundry, dishes, and cleaned the house. After dinner Sadie went in to check on the wolf as well as to change into her night clothes, she saw the wolf was faintly awake but unaware that she was there, and had eaten all the greens but there was still a little water left, she decided to wait till her father and brother fell asleep to go get something more for the wolf to eat, and get it some more water. As she walked back into the living room her father had a far away look in his eye’s, which meant that he was getting ready to tell a long and winding story. Just like old times, Sadie thought. She listened intently as her father told one of his famous wizard stories, the ones in which there were always two wizards, one good and one evil, and the good one always won.
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Sadie woke up partially when she felt her brother’s cautious arms carry her to bed and lay her gently down. Only after he left did she even remember that the wolf was in her room and that it was probably very hungry, it looked half starved with its ribs sticking way out. Sadie waited to hear her brother’s door close, she was sure that her father was already fast asleep, he always fell asleep right after a big story like tonight’s. When she heard the soft click she jumped up quietly to check on the wolf, it had fallen back to sleep. As Sadie set the bowls in front of the wolf again she realized that it seemed to be pretty beaten up, so she went and got her supplies and doctored the wolf as best she could for its non-compliant state.
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When Shane woke up he realized that he was very warm and his wounds seemed to be the warmest parts of his body. He tried to roll over but realized that he was wrapped up tight in a little blanket and that his wounds were wrapped up and tended to as if by a doctor. So he settled for looking around himself, and he immediately saw that the two little bowls, one filled with garden greens the other with water, had been refilled. As he finished the water he shook the warm blanket off and stood up gingerly to take in his surroundings, when he stood up he was shocked at where he was and what was next to him.
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Sadie turned towards the window that faced the river as was her routine in the morning and was shocked to see the wolf staring straight at her, at first she thought that it looked disbelieving, but then she realized that it was just a wolf and it was probably just waiting for more food, because as she looked down she realized that both bowls were empty. Sadie listened to see if anyone else was up, when she was satisfied that no one was, she took the bowls and got some of the meat that had been left over from last night and put it in the bowl and filled the other with water. The wolf gulped it down quickly and immediately began slurping up the water from the other bowl. As the wolf was drinking Sadie assessed the condition of its wounds, and was shocked to see that they had healed remarkably just since last night, but as she checked its legs she realized that it wouldn’t be able to walk around for quite some time. Sadie cooed to the wolf trying to get it to lay down, "your so pretty, I bet your leg hurts, why don't you lay down?" but the wolf just looked at her like she was crazy and kept drinking. She eventually gave up and went to start breakfast for the guys. As she was finishing up the breakfast she heard Shainen wake up and start downstairs. She sang out, “good morning dear brother!” he just nodded in response, as was his norm; he was not a morning person. Moments later their father, walking slightly like a bear, hobbled into the kitchen and sat in his seat, he, like his son, was not a morning person and also nodded as Sadie sang out, “good morning father!” Sadie on the other hand was always ready for anything as she practically danced around the kitchen putting dishes of food in front of her father and brother. After the guys had finished eating Sadie started to clear the dishes off the table when her father asked a question that made her stop halfway between the sink and table. “So what was that sound that came from your room last night?” Sadie tried to figure out what he meant, hoping that the wolf hadn’t made a sound that had woken him, so she simply said, “I didn’t hear anything what did it sound like, because I did get up in the middle of the night, I had to go to the bathroom.” “Oh” he said, “I thought I heard something growl as if it was in pain.” “Oh!” replied Sadie, “I had twisted my ankle when I got out of bed and I growled to keep from waking everyone up, but its fine now.” she smiled to make her point and then finished clearing the table. The guys got up and started getting everything ready for their daily trip to town.
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Shane waited as he heard the males in the house getting ready to leave, he figured his best way out was to wait until the girl was alone and busy, and then sneak out the backdoor, which he had heard open and close as the girl went in and out from the garden. As soon as the men left he limped to the door of the girl’s room and tried to find the girl, with no luck, then he heard humming outside the window. Assuming that she wouldn’t try to stop a wolf from leaving, Shane, limping horribly, started towards the back door. But sure enough when she heard the door open she ran over and stopped him. That was when he decided he would have to change in order to get some respect from her, so he took on his human form.
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Sadie was trying to stop the wolf from going out and getting hurt so she grabbed it around it’s waist, and the next thing she knew she was holding onto a man’s waist, and with great embarrassment she realized that he wasn’t wearing any clothes and that his body was very warm. As she looked up shyly she realized that he was scowling at her, and that was when she jumped back, she realized that this man, that seemed to come out of nowhere, was the wolf. He simply looked at her and scoffed, and then he tried to start walking towards the woods so he could leave, but when he took a step his left leg buckled under him with excruciating pain. As he sat there hovering over his leg he realized that he was alone. Then he heard shuffling in the house, as if someone was looking for something. And he thought to himself, Are you serious? Is this girl really going to help me after what I just did to her?!?!? A few seconds later as if answering his question, Sadie came out with a little bag and a bucket of water, then Sadie looked away and blushed, remembering that he wasn't wearing any clothes, so she ran back into the house and grabbed some old clothes of Shainen's that she figured he wouldn't miss. When she brought the clothes to him, he laughed at her expression, and put them on while sitting down, and rolled up the left pants leg so that she could get to it. She sat down next to him and opened her bag and put a washrag into the bucket of water.
Then she looked at him kindly and asked in a sugary sweet voice, “So what is your name, sir?” he looked at her as he had when he had seen her sleeping so soundly with a wolf in her room. After a long astonished silence he realized that she was expecting an answer, and said in a deep voice, “My name is Shane, I come from the land of shadows.” Sadie laughed gently when she noticed that he had just realized that she had been talking to him. Then she set to work on his leg making small talk to keep his mind from the pain she thought he must be having. Shane answered her questions easily, and watched her small hands as they started to gently wash his left leg, which had cuts and bruises all the way up to his knee. After she had washed it off good she took out a bottle of blue goo, which she immediately began putting in the cuts, the goo was surprisingly cool. Then she looked up at Shane with pain in her eyes. “We’re going to have to put your bone back in place and put a splint in the cast so that it will heal right, but it’s going to hurt, a lot.” at the last part Shane laughed so heartily that Sadie jumped at the loud sound. “Nothing can hurt more than what I went through the day you found me, so you know what I say to your warning of pain? I say HA! Bring it on!” his voice was challenging and boisterous. Sadie nodded solemnly and went to get a long straight stick that would work for a splint, when she had found one good enough she headed back to find Shane at the stream getting a drink. She walked over to him and he accommodated her by moving over a little so she could sit with him. She sat next to him with the stick in a position so she could see if it would be long enough, it was, so she set it down and looked up at him only to realize he had been watching her since she had caught his attention by walking into the clearing. He smiled at her when she met his eyes, she couldn’t really recognize what she saw in his eyes, but it looked very inviting. They sat just looking at each other in this way for almost half an hour before his leg started to bother him, because he had been laying on it this whole time, realizing why he had looked away she got up and got the splint, gauze and the wrap all together and sat back down in a position to wrap his leg and she began to wrap a thin layer of gauze around the stick so it wouldn’t infect his open sores then she got ready to do what would pain them both, she took his left foot in her hands and pulled until she felt the bone slide back into place, then she hurriedly put the stick next to it and started wrapping the gauze around his leg and the splint careful not to jostle his leg, or look at his face, any more than necessary.
When she was done wrapping his leg she went inside and got her father’s crutches from when he broke his leg, they were a rusty red wood oak color, she gave the crutches to Shane and helped him stand up, and she then showed him how to walk with the crutches. He caught on quickly racing around her in a childish playing manner, that is until he fell and nearly hurt himself again, that was when Sadie noticed how late it was and that her brother and father would soon be home and she hadn’t even started the morning dishes, let alone even started making their dinner. When she told Shane about her worries he laughed and said, “And you aren’t even in the least worried about what they’re going to say about me?” Sadie smiled and replied honestly, “Just so you know you’re not the first stranger I’ve brought into our house and bandaged up, but you are the first that changed shapes. But they will let you stay on the couch, so that I can take care of you, because they know how much I hate thinking someone is in pain and that I could have helped them.” At which thought she picked up her little bag and handed him a cup of orange liquid, “Here, drink this, it will help with the pain, but it will make you very sleepy” she laughed at his worried expression and assured him, “I won’t let them hurt you” his expression became very serious at those words, and he nearly growled, “It’s not your brother and father that I’m worried about.” And he took the cup that she held out to him and drank slowly. The early side-effects of the medicine set in almost immediately, Shane started to sway, and Sadie glided to his side and held on to his arm to steady him. The two walked in the house, careful not to hit the door frame. When they finally got to the living room, Sadie helped Shane gently lay down on the couch, and as she started to walk towards the kitchen, he called out to her, “hey! I never got your name." Sadie half turned and laughed, "My name is Sadie." And with that, she turned back towards the kitchen to get started on dinner.
Sadie was just getting done with dinner when she heard Shane growl in the living room. So she kicked into her "Hyper" cooking mode. And she was just starting to dish up the plates when she heard the front door open. At this she sighed with relief, she had never once served dinner late, and she wasn't about to start now. Tonight dinner was her father's favorite, udon, Japanese noodles, with boiled beef. Her father walked in with his nose in the air, and smiled when Sadie walked into the doorway of the kitchen, but his smile didn't last long as his eyes fell on the man lying on the couch.
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The meal was much quieter than usual. Her brother and her father, kept looking towards the living room, but Sadie couldn't place the hatred that they had in their eyes. Sometimes she would look up and catch them mumbling angrily with each other, and then they would stop as soon as they realized she was looking at them. This confused her greatly. She had brought countless girls, animals, and guys to the house and put them on the couch as she had done with Shane, but there was obviously something she was missing. And then it hit her. Shane seemed to be about the same age as her, and that was the one exception to her colorful past of healing lives. The thought of them being the same age hadn't crossed her mind till now, her only thoughts had been about him being injured and needing help, but now that she thought about it, she recognized what she had seen in his eyes earlier by the lake.
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When dinner was done, the men went into the living room as usual, except, instead of sitting close to the couch, which is usually where Sadie would sit, they sat next to the fire place, where Sadie always sat when someone was on the couch. Sadie however, tried to stay in the kitchen as long as she could, so she could try and calm herself. She was very unsettled by the feeling that had run through her when she realized what had been bothering her brother and her father. She realized that the same feeling that had been in Shane's eyes, had been in her heart since that afternoon. She now realized that she couldn't even think about him without blushing. So as she was slowly finishing up the after dinner chores, which she would never let the guys help her with, she paused and realized there was a whispered argument going on. Sadie moved closer to the door leading to the living room, just to see who was arguing, and about what. What she heard made her heart feel as if it would burst.
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The males of the house stalked into the living room with looks that would kill if possible. The elder male, which Shane presumed to be the father, sat on the left of the fireplace, the side closest to the couch he was laying on. And the younger lad, who Shane assumed to be the son, and brother of Sadie, sat on the right side of the fire place, closest to the door to the kitchen. And all three of them could hear her shuffling around in the kitchen cleaning up. Both the father and the son looked intently at the fire, probably waiting for Sadie to be so busy that she wouldn't notice if they told him to get out.
Eventually they heard her starting the dishes, but Shane realized something that the other two probably didn't, he had heard her doing the dishes for almost a week now, and for some reason, tonight she was washing them extremely slowly. But he kept his observation to himself and continued to eat his meal. It was delicious, Shane had never once come across this food, and even though he was used to much finer dining, he found himself eating slowly, savoring every bite.
Sooner than he wished, Shane finished his food. He was very tempted to lick the bowl until it was spotless, but at precisely the same moment he finished his last bite, the father looked up at him, his son following suit without a second of hesitation. The father looked like he was about ready to jump up and slit Shane's throat, just for existing. Shane met his glare unaffected. He was sure that he would be able, even though he was injured, to take down both the father and the son. But then he realized something. He would never do it, because it would hurt Sadie, it would be his fault. And after he watched her wince every time he let even the faintest sign of pain show through, he knew that he wouldn't be able to stand the pain that killing these two would bring her. So he focused on the types of moves he could still use and disable them, but not harm them gravely. Then the father spoke with a grave voice, that was solemn and threatening at the same time, "What is your name boy?" Shane, unaffected by the insult simply answered, "My name is Shane." Then Shainen actually looked at Shane and asked a much more threatening question, "Why are you wearing my old clothes?" Then the father took in the clothing and his face went beet red, Shane knew that an argument was just around the corner, but he didn't know how much it would affect Sadie. The father didn't wait for Shane to answer before he shot his accusation at Shane, "What have you done to my daughter?"
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Sadie immediately burst into the living room, not giving Shane a chance to answer, because only she knew the safe responses to the questions, and a good way to explain the clothes. ", I found him on the outskirts of the forest, he was injured, his clothing was tattered and torn, so I brought him back, and I told him to wash off in the lake, and I gave him an old pair of Shainen's clothes that he can't fit into anymore." She said all this in a rush, but she knew that her father and brother had understood every word. Sadie then glanced at Shane and saw that the medicine was taking its full toll; he was barely able to keep his eyes open. Sadie walked over to him, and helped him lay down in a position that wouldn't hurt his leg. She could feel the eyes of her brother and father on her back, waiting for Shane to make one bad move so they could pull their daggers out and slit his throat. Sadie hated how ready her father and Shainen always were for a fight, and more so over her.
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Shane was barely conscious of the small hands that helped him lay down on the fluffy couch, and shortly after that he heard a whispered conversation, but he was so sleepy that he only caught a female voice say one sentence distinctly, "What?!?! It's not his fault he was too near the forest, I'm not letting you throw him out, if he goes, I go." Shane felt remorse for the last part, but he couldn't figure out why, then he barely heard as the footsteps left the living room, and head up some stairs, and the faint sound of two people coming back to the center, and sitting down on the floor.
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Sadie was frustrated when she woke up, because she knew, that her father and Shainen had been in front of her door the entire night. She felt like she could just open the door and wake them up by making them fall and hit their heads on the floor, but then she thought about why they were sitting in front of her door, and she let it go. So instead she put some clothes on and jumped out her window, which had a little platform under it, for emergencies only, but she needed to go start breakfast, so she figured they wouldn't mind, what she saw startled her.
Sitting right next to the stream, with the crutches lying next to him, was Shane, he was staring out at the sunrise, or at the forest, she thought to herself. She hoped it wasn't the latter, but she couldn't be sure, so she joined him. He didn't look up, but he did speak, "So you weren't kidding about the medicine making me sleepy." She chuckled and said, "Nope, I wouldn't joke about something like that. I just wish my father and Shainen hadn't been so hard on you." Shane's face became soft and he looked at her, "They were right to be that way, you are all they have, and I do look like a predator, especially since I am very close to your age, and you are very appealing on the eyes. So they have a very good reason for being protective." And with that he shifted his gaze to the window she had just jumped out of, and she followed his gaze to see her father looking out on them, and she realized what they must look like. But, honestly, she really didn't want to get up. Before she noticed him even moving Shane was crouched in front of her facing the forest. She followed the direction of his eyes and realized with a jolt that her father hadn't been staring at them.
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All Shane could see was his brother, he hadn’t been sure it was him, but now it wasn't hard to tell that it was Malachite, he wished now that he hadn't drank that medicine, so that he would have sensed that it was him sooner, and could have gotten rid of him already. He realized that Malachite had waited to come looking for Shane, hoping that he would find him dead, and Shane saw the disappointment on his brother's face and smiled malevolently. The smile soon faltered when Shane realized that Malachite wasn't looking at him. He was looking next to him, at Sadie, and his eyes were glittering threateningly. Shane, without even thinking stepped in front of Sadie, and he heard her father and Shainen jumping down and running over to join him in protecting Sadie. Shane willingly stepped forward so that the two men could get a better angle of protection for her. She seemed glued to her spot though; she was sitting completely still, and staring at Malachite, who in turn smiled a "Wolf eats the sheep" grin. At that all the men surrounding Sadie stiffened, because right then, Sadie gasped and covered her mouth in fear. Shane knew that he had to draw Malachite's attention off Sadie, and the only way he could do that was to walk closer to him and confront him, but he also knew that if he did this, the men would be even less likely to let him stay in their house, near Sadie. Shane swallowed his fear, and did the only thing he could to keep Sadie safe.
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Sadie watched in horror as Shane walked over to the man hiding in the edge of the forest. She couldn't see him very well, but she could sense the absolute malicious air that surrounded him, and on top of that she had seen the fear on Shane's face as he started towards the man. As soon as Shane crossed the river her father and Shainen started getting Sadie up and hauling her towards the house as quickly as they could go. Sadie was quite reluctant to leave Shane, but she was still paralyzed from the man's stare, and she could almost hear Shane saying, "Go with them, and be safe." And so she did what she thought was right and let them take her to safety, at least for now.
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Shane waited till they were all out of seeing distance, he then, in an un-humanly quick way; he disappeared into the dark edge of the forest. Malachite followed him easily, but it took him a little while to realize what Shane was doing, then, Malachite stopped. Shane had assumed he would, and followed suit quickly. Shane was very glad though, he had gotten a good distance between the human household, and them. They were in a clearing a good way into the woods, so Shane was sure that there would be no onlookers. Shane was nervous at what could happen to him since he was so far away from medical and fighting aid. But he didn't worry about that too much, because more likely than not, if he were to die now, then Malachite would leave the humans alone, but the chances were only partially on their side. The words that came out of Malachite's mouth, however, caught Shane off guard and made him realize that the chances of Malachite leaving Sadie alone were more than highly improbable, they were impossible.
"Wow, she is very beautiful, I'm surprised that she fell for such a lowly one as you. And do you know what that means for me? Hahahaha, it means that she'll be all over me in an instant." Shane's expression went from shock to horror very quickly, he realized that the look that he had seen in Malachite’s eyes, wasn't just interest in a human willing to be near a demon, but complete lust for the girl. Shane was now completely determined to never let his brother near Sadie again. His fists balled up, and Malachite took notice, and a menacing smile spread out across his face, and Shane braced himself for the oncoming fight.
The fight commenced immediately, Shane was a good fighter, he had been since he was young, but Malachite was better, older, and it didn’t help any that Shane was still groggy from the medicine, but luckily for Shane, Malachite wasn't too much better and the medicine was starting to wear off quickly, as he moved around more.
The fight raged on for about two hours, both of the demons attacking and feigning in turn. Shane’s leg was starting to wear him out, and Malachite was smirking at his brother’s new weakness. But Shane was determined to make sure that Malachite would never be near Sadie, so he pushed himself to his limit, and luckily, he landed a good hit. But then, Malachite changed shape, he turned into a hyena, and charged at Shane, who in turn, threw off the clothes he had borrowed, and turned into the black wolf. It was always so invigorating to change, and Shane almost got caught up in it, but he was immediately rammed in the side by Malachite, and so he wasn’t able to enjoy it much.
Malachite was grinning, and baring bloody teeth, getting ready to deal the death blow, then out of nowhere comes a sharp steel arrow, it hits Malachite square in the shoulder blade. Malachite yelped, and jumped off of Shane, only to find a little silver fox cub, and a little boy carrying a bow and arrow. Instinctively, Malachite looked up, and, of course, he saw Malachi, his older twin. Malachite growled, but left without doing anymore damage, but Shane knew, though he had been saved, Sadie was still probably in danger, so he decided he was going to try to get back to her, if only to use his wounds to stay near her as long as he could.
Almost as if they could hear what he was thinking, they helped Shane change back, and put the clothes back on, and then Malachi carried Shane back to the little clearing behind Sadie’s house. Shane was very relieved to see Sadie run out with her medicine supplies. He was also glad to see that since his brother’s had arrived, the men seemed more, laid back. But that wasn’t saying much, especially since Max, the younger of the two twins by five minutes, could control human emotions quite well, even though he was still working on it.
While Sadie was, again, working on Shane’s leg, he kept catching her exchanging grateful glances with his brother’s; he decided that he would ask them about that later. But for now, he decided to just let Sadie work her magic on his leg, with her little hands working quickly, to reset his leg, and to clean and cover his worst wounds. Though Shane knew that even without her doctoring that his wounds would heal quickly, he let her work, and was grateful for her kindness. After Shane was completely bandaged up, everyone started towards the house, and Malachi helped Shane into the living room behind Sadie and her family. When Shane slowed down Malachi assumed that his leg was bothering him, so he slowed the pace, and when they were far enough behind the others that they wouldn’t hear the conversation Shane asked why Sadie had been looking at him as if he had done something for her, the response shocked Shane to his core. “We had come looking for you after we heard that Malachite had put a bounty on your head, because we were going to stand with you and make sure you were put back into your proper place, and we were walking by this little house when all of a sudden a maiden, or the girl you call ‘Sadie’, called to us from her window. We asked her if she needed help, and she asked us if we knew you, and we hesitantly admitted that we did, afraid that she was in league with Malachite, but then she explained how she had found you and taken care of you, and of course, of how you had just went out into the forest, to fight. That’s all we needed to know, we thanked the girl, and immediately headed to the forest, trying to stay out of sight of the humans in the house. And from there you know what happened.” Malachi explained with a somber, yet happy expression. And then he explained his expression, “We are grateful to this girl, yet we are curious as to why she hasn’t told her father and brother what we are, and I’m really surprised that she doesn’t seem the least bit bothered that she is almost completely surrounded by demons, I think right now, her biggest worry is how she is going to get dinner done for all of us quickly, while being a good hostess.” he finished up their conversation as they were entering the room, with a chuckle. Shane had always hated Malachi's ability to sense things like that, but right now, it kind of made him laugh, because, he knew, that was Sadie's biggest worry, she was the only girl that he had ever met that would be more worried about keeping people happy, than her own safety.
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Sadie turned when she heard the soft chuckles, and she recognized the one that looked like the man on the edge of the forest that Shane had went off to fight. She knew however that he was not the same one, she could feel the difference, but then she heard what her father and brother had been trying to hide by talking in boisterous voices, the growl of a hungry stomach.
She danced her way into the kitchen, unaware of the two little shadows that were following her. Max and Mike were attracted to her; they saw her as the mother figure that they had never met. When Sadie turned around to place the pot on the stove she saw the two little ones. She smiled gently and asked, “What are you two doing in here? And what are your names?” the twins looked at each other and replied in unison while pointing to each other in turn, “We’re mike and max, and we want to help you cook dinner!” Sadie laughed; she had never seen two little boys dote on someone like this in her life. And it was even more surprising to her that they were doting on her, of all people, she had never seen herself as someone worth it, but obviously these two little boys thought otherwise. And so, with the little boys tagging along behind her, and staying out of her way skillfully, Sadie made lunch quickly.
When Sadie and the twins brought lunch out all the men took a plate gratefully and ate to their hearts content. The twins and Sadie ate small plates, in order to leave plenty for the men if they wanted more. The meal that Sadie had made was a nice beef stew with rice on the side, though they all mixed their rice and stew.
When they were finished Sadie went out to tend to the garden, and, as she suspected they would, the twins tagged along quietly. The boys helped Sadie pick the ripe vegetables, and pull the weeds, and also carried the basket of vegetables into the house for her. Sadie was very grateful of the help, and was liking the idea of having them around, because she had never been able to take care of someone younger than herself, and she had always wanted a younger sibling, and here were two, who she guessed wouldn’t mind staying with her as long as they could.
The realization that if they stayed then Shane would stay, hit her quickly. Sadie realized that the only bad thing with that would be, that her father and Shainen, would always be tense, and they would never leave Shane alone, they would watch his every move, to the point that he would, more than likely, become uncomfortable. And that was something she wasn’t willing to make anyone go through.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Shane was distracted during the entire conversation between his brother, and Sadie's little family. He kept hearing Sadie's tinkling laughter, and then clips of her conversation with the twins would float in. Shane knew that Malachi sensed his distraction, and strangely enough, said nothing. Shane was grateful of this, but it made him wonder what Malachi's underlying reasons were, but that thought only lasted until Sadie's next laugh, at which point Shane's mind immediately pulled up the image of Sadie's face, and Shane again was lost to the conversation in front of him, to images of Sadie as she sat next to him laughing at his silliness with the crutches.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When Sadie walked back into the living room, while the food was cooking, she noticed that Shane had a far off look in his eyes, and she wondered what he was thinking about that had captured his attention so thoroughly. Then, strangely, Malachi moved over a little and patted the spot in between him and Shane. Sadie looked at her father and Shainen, only to discover that they were still talking to Malachi, because he had never looked like he had even moved at all, and he had kept the conversation going. And still Shane was oblivious to it all, that is until Sadie shook him from his reverie by sitting down. Shane looked at her and just stared like a blind man seeing his kind, beautiful wife for the first time. This startled Sadie at first, but then she realized that she didn’t mind it too much, it actually made her want to move closer to him, but she knew that if she shifted any closer then her father would definitely notice.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Shane had zoned out again, when all of a sudden he felt Malachi shift slightly, and a new body sit next to him, and suddenly he was pulled from his stupor. He was staring into the gentle, yet strong eyes of the young woman he had just been thinking about. He only realized that he was actually looking at the real girl when he noticed a subtle, yet cute blush spread quickly across her face. Then he did what most would call suicide, and what he would call, worth a couple bruises. He carefully slipped his arm around Sadie, she immediately responded by straightening up slightly, and unintentionally, which brought Shainen’s attention to them. Shane paid no attention to him though; he was going to hold onto Sadie as long as he possibly could. Then, trying to avoid a confrontation, Malachi casually took Shane’s hand off of Sadie, and Shainen seemed to relax, but his eyes did not leave Shane for the rest of the night. Even when Sadie got up to go finish dinner and start dishing plates.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sadie was ashamed that she had ruined a perfectly set up moment, Shane had wrapped his arm around her and had started leaning into her, and of all the things she could do, she jumped. And of course she immediately regretted it, when Shainen looked over at them with a look that could kill, and then she heard Malachi sigh quietly next to her, and then, with a movement that seemed, to Sadie, as slightly more forceful than necessary, Malachi removed Shane's arm from around Sadie. And she knew from that moment on, Shane wouldn’t have a moment of peace from Shainen. And from that moment on she decided to do her best not to even look at Shane for as long as it took for Shainen to ease up on his watch, even though she knew it would take a while, but as she was setting the plates out in front of everyone, Sadie realized that the twins weren’t around, she was just about to ask Malachi when they snuck in through the back door, seeming to just be regulating their breath right after a long run. She looked questioningly at Malachi, doing her best to avoid looking at Shane. And he just looked at her as if nothing was amiss, so taking the hint quickly; she kept her mouth shut and continued setting the plates out. When everyone was eating and conversing comfortably, Sadie watched the men, reading their expressions, and in turn, their thoughts. What she was trying to get from the faces was where the twins had been, and why no one had said anything to them when they came back in.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Shane noticed quickly that Sadie was avoiding looking at him, but he wasn’t sure why, he didn’t know what good it was doing since Shainen was watching him like a hawk anyways. He wished she would stop avoiding his gaze and let her beautifully deep field green eyes fall upon him, and let that cute little blush that she always had upon her face when she looked at him reign. But he knew she wouldn't, because it would get Shainen off of his back. Though she looked a little suspicious when the twins came in, and he saw her look to Malachi for a wordless answer, and even though he gave her an innocent look as if nothing was wrong, he was sure she would ask later.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sadie continued with the nightly routine as if nothing was wrong, and finally when all the men were talking and sitting around the fire, Sadie went to go do the dishes, and as they had earlier, the twins followed her. Sadie had been expecting this of course, but what she didn’t expect was Malachi to stand and offer to help her with the chores. When the words came out of his mouth Sadie stopped dead. She did not allow any man to ask to come into the kitchen to help her, that was the way her mother had always run the kitchen, and Sadie was not about to change that now, the boys had not asked, they had just assumed the position of helpers.
When Sadie turned it was very hard for her to keep the bite out of her voice, for she had been certain that it was obvious that the men didn’t help her, and they never, ever, asked to help her, either they did on their own accord, or she asked for help, period. And she said, “No, it’s fine, the boys are very helpful, and I don’t like my guests to feel like they are required to help me. If you’re uncomfortable with the boys in the kitchen, which you shouldn’t be, tell me. But otherwise, it is a rule in this house, that you do not ask to help, you can ask to be helped, or you can help, that is all.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Shane was trying to keep his silent laughter from being too obvious, but then he realized he wasn’t the only one snickering at Malachi, Shainen and Sadie’s father were also laughing, though Shainen looked like he had never seen something so funny, he looked as if he might just roll off the hearth. Malachi on the other hand looked like he had never seen anything so scary; he looked like he was looking up at father. . . His Hand came down hard and fast…the pain was almost unbearable… the night that Tommy had been born. The taste of blood stinging in his mouth as he recovered from blacking out.
Shane shook away the memories, and went to stand next to Malachi who had gotten up and started walking towards the kitchen before he had asked the question that had gotten the whole room going. He put his hand on Malachi’s shoulder and smiled at his brother and said jokingly, “Hey, I’m glad you made that mistake before I did!!” Then, as he had hoped would happen, all eyes in the room shot to him, and glared at the bad joke, Shane smiled, having saved his brother and went and sat down.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sadie was appalled by the joke that Shane said, that is, until she realized that she had scared Malachi, and that when she had turned on him, he hadn’t moved an inch, until Shane came up and put his hand on his shoulder. She wasn’t quite sure for the reason he was so scared, for she was sure that she didn’t look that scary to a grown man, but she had a feeling that she would learn the reason later. She felt bad now for saying all those things, but she hoped that he understood that he had hit a button that hadn’t been hit in a while, that she had never learned to control. But she was now determined to learn to control this emotion that she had just exhibited.
Sadie was just finishing dinner when Malachi came up behind her, she wouldn’t have noticed if the boys hadn’t backed out of the kitchen and he hadn’t cleared his throat to get her attention. She turned to see who it was, when she saw Malachi she nearly jumped out of her skin. When she was calm enough to speak all she could think to say was, “I’m so sorry for what I said earlier, but my mother never let anyone ask for help, and she raised me to do the same.” Malachi smiled and said, “Its fine, your father already explained it to me.”
“Oh.” Was the only response she could think of, then she blushed with embarrassment and went back to finishing dinner, Malachi meanwhile skillfully helped her finish up dinner. Tonight Sadie was making chicken and dumplings, which was her brother’s favorite meal. Sadie wasn’t sure if it was her or Malachi that took a misstep, but one of them did and they bumped into each other, and she nearly dropped the pot that she was moving, as it was slipping from her hands Malachi twisted quickly, and caught the scalding pot with his bare hands and set it down on the table for her. Sadie just stared as she caught a glimpse of his hands and she saw the little pink lines disappear before her eyes.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Shane was a little concerned when Malachi stood and headed towards the kitchen, but he saw the determination in his eyes and decided not to try and interfere. Sadie’s father had just got done explaining why Sadie snapped like she did, and it made perfect sense. So now Shane assumed that Malachi was going to go apologize for his unknowing stupidity, though Shane knew, as well as Malachi did from reading her emotions, that it was pointless, and that she was madder at herself than at Malachi.
Shane jumped as a scuffle too quiet for human ears came from the kitchen, luckily though, neither of the human men took notice, the boys heard it as well, and they looked at Shane with fear hidden carefully in their eyes, as they snuck off to go see what happened. Shane personally wished he could do the same, but the men would notice and he couldn’t have that.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sadie watched the twins slip into the kitchen and look questioningly at Malachi, and at first she wondered why they came in here, and then Malachi nodded at the pot on the table, and it clicked that they must have heard the little slip, and had come to see what had happened. Then another thought occurred to her, Shane must have heard it too, and was probably wondering if she is ok, so she decided to go out and announce that dinner was done.
As Sadie entered into the living room she saw the relief as it crossed his face as he took her in wholly. She smiled at him and then announced that dinner was ready, and she nimbly side stepped as Malachi came out to help Shane to the table. Sadie saw them exchange a look that she thought looked a little like quizzical disbelief on Shane’s part. Sadie decided to just ignore it so that she didn’t forget her main question. And she was determined to get the answer soon.
As soon as dinner was done Sadie started clearing the table, she was so wrapped up in clearing the table that she didn’t notice that Malachi was washing the dishes until she nearly plowed him over with the pot, that she almost dropped earlier, in her hands. Luckily though she saw him in time to move over and put the pot to the side. She then turned and started helping Malachi with the dishes not complaining because she was glad of the help to make the chore go faster, then she turned around to go wash the table off only to see the twins just setting the washrag into the bucket of clothes to be washed tomorrow.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Shane smiled as his brothers bustled around the kitchen helping Sadie, he hated it that he was unable to help as well, but as soon as he could Sadie wouldn’t have to do any of the chores by herself, that was something he was going to make sure of himself. But for now he had to be content just being the one that she would talk to, in order to get information.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sadie headed into the living room expecting to find her father sitting on the edge of the fireplace on the opposite end of Shainen, but instead, he was sitting in his story telling chair. But this isn’t what shocked Sadie, in front of her father the twins were laying at his feet, ready for the story that he was about to tell. Sadie smiled to herself, and then she noticed something else as Malachi walked past her and sat down on the far right side of Shainen, who was sitting on the left of the couch, a little ways from Shane, who was smiling up at her, motioning for her to sit next to him. Sadie paused, taking in the situation, and then she moved and sat between Shainen and Shane. Shane languidly wrapped an arm around her and Sadie immediately glanced back at Shainen he looked, like he would love to whip out his dagger and rip Shane’s arm off, yet like he had been told not to, by father. Sadie then turned to her father, and he smiled gently at her and began his story.
Sadie was trying her best not to get wrapped up in the story so that she could remember her question, but she soon found herself in the realm of wizards and dragons, and evil witches and evil kings. And not too long after that she could do nothing more than listen and lay her head gently on Shane’s shoulder who, in turn, shifted so that his back was flat against the couch and she could scoot closer to him and sleep more comfortably.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Shane was very pleased when Sadie’s father, who had told the boys to call him Hiveden, gave him permission to not only sit next to Sadie, but he told him that he could also put his arm around Sadie as long as she seemed okay with it. Shane at first couldn’t believe his ears, and then Hiveden turned to his son, whose name Shane found out was Shainen, and said, “And I don’t want you to do anything unless Sadie looks uncomfortable, do you understand?” Shainen looked as if he would die with that order, but nevertheless he responded, “Yes, father.” And with that the twins came running in and Hiveden moved to a big plush chair, the twins sat on the floor before him with much enthusiasm. Shainen, with one last glare of warning in Shane’s direction, which of course Shane ignored, sat down at the far left part of the couch and Shane, wanting Shainen to feel slightly more in control, sat in the middle, leaving room for Sadie to sit between himself and Shainen, and room on his right for Malachi.
Shane listened carefully, waiting to hear the gentle footfalls that would foretell the coming of the young woman whom he was waiting for. Eventually he heard Malachi head in and that’s when he turned beaming up at Sadie, patting the space between himself and Shainen, who looked like he wanted to rip Shane’s arm off in that instance, but Shane was positive that he wouldn’t.
Shane noticed that Sadie hesitated at first, she looked from him, to Shainen, to Hiveden, and when Hiveden smiled at her, she sat down. Shane knew it was probably very foolish, but he wrapped his arm around Sadie, and pulled her close, she in turn looked at Shainen, then sighed and laid her head on his shoulder and listened happily to her father. When Sadie started to doze Shane chuckled softly, deciding to tell her everything in the morning, because he was sure she would forget to ask, Shane felt that she had a right to know what was going on, and just how much danger she was truly in.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The next morning when Sadie woke up she was very comfortable. She slowly lifted her head and looked up and realized why she was so comfortable, she had been laying on Shane’s shoulder, and she smiled as he sat there sleeping, Sadie had given him another dose of the orange medicine, so that he could sleep easier. She started to ease off the couch only to find the twins in her lap, except they weren’t little boys, they were foxes.
(Next page)
Sadie didn’t expect to wake up to a couple of foxes on her lap, but she wasn’t frightened, she thought that they were very cute, she didn’t know which one was which, but she was sure she would be able to figure it out. Then she noticed something that was quite obvious, Mike had blackish hair with silver streaks, just like one of the foxes in her lap, while Max had red hair like the other. Sadie smiled as she finally found a way to keep them straight, both as boys and as foxes. She sat there for a second, trying to think of a way to move them without waking them, unable to think around it she simply picked them up and gently laid them on the couch where she had been sitting. She was disappointed though when Mike, the older of the two by five minutes, which Mike had proclaimed one night when Sadie had asked, started to wake up.
Sadie decided to just go start breakfast and hope that he would fall back asleep. She wasn’t in the least bit surprised when she heard a little yawn come from behind her, and she turned to find Max wiping the sleep from his eyes, while Mike was beaming up at her waiting for her to tell him what needed to be done.
Sadie was just starting to rinse the vegetables that the twins had brought in, when she heard someone come into the kitchen. She turned and to her surprise Malachi was standing behind her, he smiled and said, “Well good morning, did you sleep well?” with his final words a huge grin spread across his face, and Sadie felt the blush rush into her cheeks as she replied more calmly than she felt, “Yes, I slept very well, how was your night?” Sadie noticed that Malachi stiffened when she mentioned the night, but she didn’t think much of it, she always knew that her brother and father never talked of what happened when their eyelids closed, she supposed it was because of their “manliness” but she couldn’t be sure, so she let it slide. Instead she smiled and turned and said, “Breakfast will be done in a little while; it would be very nice if you could take the bucket there and go get some water for me to boil for laundry.” Malachi turned and went out to do her bidding, looking glad to leave, Sadie thought. Shrugging it off, she went on getting breakfast ready, with the boys helping her greatly.
When Malachi came back in, Sadie had breakfast done, the clothes ready to be washed, and was starting to dish up the food. It took Sadie a little while to realize that Malachi was panting, and his hair was wet. At that moment Sadie remembered the question she had forgotten to ask Shane before she fell asleep. She turned to ask Malachi why his hair was wet when she noticed her father and brother sitting at the table, with Shane sitting next to her father talking to him like they were old friends. Then as if he could feel her gaze Shane looked up at her and smiled, forcing her father to look away too, he also smiled at her, and then started on his meal, seeming to talk to Shane under his breath, who faced him and conversed freely.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Shane was glad that Hiveden was talking to him at all, not to mention he was talking to him as if he were his own son, even Shainen seemed to be warming up to him, which Shane had thought was quite impossible. Shane was also glad that Sadie seemed to have remembered the question she forgot the night before, the questioning gleam was back in her eyes. Then the trouble came, Malachi sat next to Shane and gave him the news that wiped the half-hidden smile right off his face, Malachite had returned last night, Malachi had stayed out and kept him away from the house, but he had been back nonetheless, which meant one thing, and one thing alone, if they left, Malachi would come back, and he would kill the men, and take Sadie for his own.
Shane could no longer look Sadie in the eye, he had brought this upon her, he was the reason that malachite had noticed her; he was the reason that her life would either have to be uprooted, or ended.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sadie had never seen Shane depressed, she didn’t know why he was depressed, but she didn’t like seeing him this way. Sadie was moving quickly trying to get the chores done, since she had already eaten, happily the twins were helping her, every now and again the boys would look at her worried expression and look at each other questioningly and they would both shrug.
Sadie noticed the boys’ concern, but was sure that it would be bad if it was brought up in front of her brother and father, so she decided to smile reassuringly at the boys until her father and brother left for town, then she heard someone clear their voice as if to make an announcement, so she stopped washing the pot and turned to see Malachi standing, he smiled at her and said, “Your father and brother have been very kind and have invited me to go with them to town, I was wondering, if there was anything you need from town, for I do have money with which I could bring you meat or something, I was just thinking it is only fair that I try to ease your burden as much as I can seeing as we have been staying in your house for some time, yet we are not paying you for your meals or your hospitality.” Sadie smiled and blushed. “You don’t have to repay us.” To which her father clapped the young man on the back and smiled at her, “Sadie, sweetheart, just let the boy help and be happy. Honestly, we don’t need the help, with all the money your garden brings in, but I wouldn’t mind having a little extra money.” Then he winked at her, and started getting ready.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Shane waited solemnly as the others got ready to leave, he knew Sadie was waiting till her father and brother left before she asked him the question he was sure she was dying to ask, and the question that would probably make her hate him, or make her very angry at the very least. He was also very sure that she had noticed his depressed mood, but at this moment, there was nothing he could do.
He watched as Sadie continued with the cleaning after Malachi made his announcement. He figured it was just so that her father and brother didn’t suspect something being wrong. Once the men left she continued to clean, which confused Shane, but he said nothing. Sadie abruptly turned to him with a look of complete frustration. She looked like she was ready to explode; Shane bowed his head with self loathing. He didn’t look at her as he heard her move closer to him before speaking. She moved very close and whispered into his ear, “What is the matter? Why are you so upset?” Shane sat, silently begging her to take the question back, but he knew he had to answer her question, for it wasn’t fair to keep her in the dark.
When Shane finished telling Sadie everything that he knew and how much danger she was in he finally looked at her and was surprised to see a calculating, yet unafraid, expression on her face. He was glad that she wasn’t terrified of him or his family, but it made him believe that she hadn’t understood something. Shane tried to impress upon her the direness of the situation. She simply waved away his attempts and went back to cleaning, the twins watched her with looks of awe, wondering what was going through her head right now. They had all been sure that she would either start screaming, with either anger or fear when she was told how much danger that the demons being there had put her and her family in. But before they could start to ask questions Shane motioned for them to go out to the garden to get the vegetables.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sadie was utterly speechless, but she needed to try and figure out a way that she could protect her brother and father. She began to clean, for that was the only way she could think well. She had already started going through the motions of making dinner before she realized that there was no meat left to make for dinner. As soon as that thought went through her mind she heard the front door open and the men come in. She hid her worried expression and glided into the living room with a bright smile put into place, fooling her father and brother, but not fooling Malachi for even a second. Malachi simply looked at Shane, who nodded, and walked into the kitchen. Sadie smiled, seeing that Malachi had bought a very expensive looking package of steaks. She followed him quickly, releasing her mask of indifference, knowing that she couldn’t hide her feelings from Malachi even if she wanted to.
She watched as Malachi moved silently, waiting for her to tell him what she thought. Sadie sorted her thoughts out while she went out to get water to boil, so that she could make some dessert rice balls. When she came back in Malachi had gotten the steaks started and was starting to mix a dark brown sauce in a bowl, he looked up and smiled slightly when she walked in, then he went back to working on the sauce and Sadie set the water on the stove to boil. She then sat down across from Malachi and asked him, “Is it true?” Malachi was confused by this question, and so he looked at her and asked, “Is what true?” to which Sadie replied, “Shane told me that because you, well, he said it started when he came, that your twin brother, Malachite, has taken a liking to me, and that if you were to go, and leave me here, he would surely come, kill my family, and take me for his own.” She looked down in silence for a moment, thinking, “What he didn’t mention is what would happen if I came with you, and my father and brother stayed here,” at this point Sadie looked Malachi square in the eyes and asked, “What would happen if I came with you and your family?” Malachi wasn’t expecting her to have come up with this on her own, and was taken aback by the question. “What are you suggesting?” Malachi looked at Sadie carefully, as if he were trying to read her mind through her eyes.
Sadie smiled and said, “I’m suggesting that I come home with you, in order to keep my family safe, because one other thing Shane mentioned is that no matter how long you stay here, Malachite will find a way to get at me…..and I don’t want to be the reason one of you gets hurt,” and then she remembered a question that she had long forgotten, “where did the boys go the other night when they were almost late for dinner?” Malachi had to look away this time, “They went to scout the woods, to see if Malachite had been back yet.” Sadie looked at Malachi horrified, “And? Did they find him?!” Malachi smiled sadly at Sadie, “Well, they picked up his scent but it was a couple hours old, and they couldn’t trace it.” Sadie wasn’t sure how to react to this news, she was glad the boys hadn’t run into Malachite, but she was scared at the news that Malachite had come back, which meant Shane was right, that Malachite would never leave her alone. Sadie knew this should scare her, but her only fear was that her brother and father would be affected, and she didn’t want them hurt. “Oh... well,” as Sadie began to speak the boys walked into the kitchen, with the freshly washed vegetables ready for the pot, she smiled at them, pushed her worries to the back of her mind, and began chopping up the carrots and potatoes.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Malachi was shocked to feel no fear for herself emanating from Sadie, the only emotion he felt coming from her was fear for him, his family, her brother and her father. He understood the need to protect her family, however he could not understand how she was not only willing, but not even thinking about the consequences of putting her life in danger for him and his family. On one hand, if she did come and live with them she could, possibly, save her brother and father from Malachite’s wrath, however, she would have to live everyday with the possibility that a rouge demon would come into the palace and kill her, or that one of the younger boys could go into a rage and she might get badly hurt.
Shane walked into the room quietly, he looked at Malachi, and tilted his head curiously as he saw his brother’s confused expression. He then turned to Sadie who was chopping carrots with a far off look in her eyes. Uncomfortable with the silence the twins had slipped out as Shane walked in. Shane wasn’t sure what was going on so he asked, “Should I be worried about flying utensils?” Happy with the topic change Malachi smiled solemnly and responded as lightly as possible, “Only if you decide to take the carrots from her.” Even Sadie had to chuckle at that one, “Very funny Malachi.” Shane smiled happily, sensing the change in the mood of the room. “So what were you two talking about?” Sadie’s smile immediately became a melancholy, look of deep thought. Shane, confused, looked to his brother, who was watching Sadie and monitoring the emotions of her thoughts. In this way they sat, no one talking for what seemed like years, until Malachi sensed a change in Sadie’s emotional vibes, she had made her decision. Silently Malachi got up with a sad look on his face and left the room, Shane wanted to follow, but was afraid to hear what Sadie had thought that had upset him, for it took much to upset his eldest brother, so instead he sat and watched Sadie who continued to cut the carrots with what seemed to be a renewed vigor.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sadie was glad when she finally decided what she was going to do. Her father seemed to like Shane enough that she figured that he wouldn’t think twice if she decided to leave with him, and she was sure that the boys were going to be announcing their leave soon, so now her only worry was how she was going to bring up the topic, while she thought about this new easier topic she quickly finished the stew and started setting the plates.
Caught up in her thoughts as she was, it took Sadie quite a while to realize that only Shane remained in the kitchen, the twins had disappeared, and she had noticed Malachi saunter unhappily out of the kitchen, however, she was too lost in thought to actually register it until now. “So I’m guessing Malachi does not approve of my decision.” Sadie said this in such a way that Shane was unable to become enveloped in her normally sweet and soft voice. “….no, he doesn’t….but I must ask, how did you decide?” “I decided when I realized how much my father liked you, and how much easier it would be to protect them if I leave them and force Malachite to follow me.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Shane’s mind began spinning; he grasped the table for support. “Why in the hell would you want to do that?!” he could feel his anger making his entire body shake, and his mind was blurring with pure hatred for the thought of Sadie being in danger, and worse, her putting herself in danger.
It took him a few minutes to cool down, and when he let go of the table there were indents from his hands, he took one final calming breath before looking back up at Sadie. She was standing there with a composed face. Her eyes gave her away, they flashed with the fear she actually felt beneath her mask of composure. “I’m sorry I screamed, I did not mean to scare you, however, I do think that it is not in your best interest to think that way, ….and I would love for you to come back with us, but I want you to know the danger you are putting yourself into.” Sadie sat next to him and focused on keeping her voice steady “Ok, then tell me what dangers I will face.”
After explaining everything to Sadie, Shane was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to change and curl up on the couch, but he knew that Sadie had just finished dinner, and he wasn’t going to go without even one meal that she made, no matter how tired he was. So he stood wearily and decided he’d go out to the river and splash water on his face to wake him up a little. As he opened the back door Sadie walked in and they collided. Shane being stronger and more balanced had stayed up as Sadie began to tip backwards with a bowl of fresh fruit for dinner. Shane moved quickly to catch Sadie, but he moved a second to slow to catch her properly, and he fell, with her on top facing him. Unable to control his animal senses with her so close Shane reached up and held Sadie as he moved and kissed her gently. He heard her suck in a surprised breath, and when he pulled back her eyes fluttered open and she averted her eyes and blushed deeply. Then her eyes found the spilt fruit basket and she sighed. Shane, following her gaze found the bruised fruit and let her go, and quickly changed and ran out the door to fetch more fruit, and run off some of the electricity pulsing through his body from the feel of her lips on his. He knew one thing for sure, he wasn’t tired anymore.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sadie stood there, with one hand to her lips, she had heard stories told by her friends about their first kiss, but she couldn’t remember them telling her that it was this magical, although she did remember one who was still with her first guy, and she had said that the first kiss had been pure bliss.
Trying to hide the deep blush, Sadie began to dish up the plates and set the table, her face finally felt like it was cooling down when her father and her brother came in, hot as if they had just went for a run, and a few seconds later Malachi and the twins came in and slammed the door behind them with haunted expressions. Sadie’s expression went from happy to concerned, “What’s wrong?” “You need to come with us now.” Malachi’s voice had so much malice in it that Sadie turned to go see if Shane was back.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Shane had just filled the bucket when he felt the chill fill the air. Shane sensed Malachite’s anger, and also a slim trace of his father. Slipping in between the trees quickly, he tried to make his way silently without spilling the fruit so that nothing would seem amiss for Sadie. But he could feel Malachite catching up so he dropped the fruit basket and all pretenses of being quiet and just took off at his top speed trying his best to out run his brother.
Shane felt like the first day he met Sadie was happening all over again, and he didn’t like it. Then, just like before, Malachite caught up. This time however Shane wasn’t injured and he also felt the twins and Malachi were on their way, he was sure that Sadie had told them that he had went out.
Malachi and the twins showed up behind Shane just as Malachite showed up in front of him. “I will not back down this time” Malachite’s voice sounded too much like their father for comfort. Then they noticed a bulge around his neck, it was their fathers spirit ring, their father had sent Malachite with extra power. Malachite smiled wickedly as he saw the realization cross their faces, “Yes, he is here with us. And this time I shall not lose!” with that he flung himself at the brothers and they all scattered, getting into fighting positions. Mike taking up position in a tree and beginning to focus for his power shots, Max shifting into the shadows ready to attack unseen, Malachi brandishing his double samurai blades, and Shane changing quickly, hiding on the other side of the forest from Mike.
Sitting there, waiting for the first move Shane began to get restless, he was starting to get nervous when a sound came from close beside him, he shifted silently getting ready to kill, when Mike appeared in human form crouched down low. “We have Sadie packing we also sent for a carriage to take her to the castle, we knew you would want to keep her, and we saw your energy on her like a perfume, so we knew she would not think twice about coming with us.” Shane sighed with relief knowing that soon Sadie would be away from here, he nodded his silent thanks to his young brother and resumed watching for Malachite as Mike changed back and moved back to his position.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sadie was horrified, she told the brothers as soon as she realized that Shane was in danger, and the first thing they told her to do was to pack her things to leave, with a nod from her father she followed the order and went to her room to pack her few things.
After she got done packing, Sadie kissed her brother and father good bye and went to sit out on the lawn to watch for the carriage, however after the first few minutes she decided that she would not leave without the brothers and so she turned and watched the forest with fear and anticipation.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Shane sat there waiting for what seemed like ages, but Shane knew better than to be the first to break cover. Then his mind began to wander, he was sitting next to the river with Sadie and.....there was a noise right beside him, a hand came down on his muzzle to stop his bites, it was Malachite, he had found him first. “I bet her pretty little lips are going to taste good, especially if I have the cook throw them in some stew, just like she would make it.” Shane’s rage flared and he felt a strange power begin to pulse through him, he ripped his muzzle from Malachite’s grip and snapped his hand, he felt bones crunch beneath his teeth, and blood begin to pour out. “What the hell?! Father said you wouldn’t be able to harm me!” confusion filled Malachite’s face as he stared at his bleeding broken hand, then Shane used the distraction to flee before more damage could be done, as he did so the other brothers followed suit quickly and quietly as Malachite sat there clutching at his hand.
Panting the brothers reached the little house at the same time as the carriage for Sadie, who was sitting out on the lawn watching for them to return.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
As soon as Sadie saw the boys she ran and hugged each of them in turn, with Shane last. She was almost in tears by the time she let Shane go, “What happened?” “Shane showed Malachite not to mess with a demon in love.” Malachi said with a wide grin as he nudged Shane forward. Shane’s face was soft only for a moment, then it went to the hard face of a strategist “The twins will stay with you, while Malachi and I follow behind in demon form. Now I need you to remember to keep the curtains closed the whole way there.” Sadie nodded solemnly and climbed into the carriage as the boys loaded her luggage, she waved to her father and brother who both nodded their sad good-bye, then she closed the curtains and settled into the plush red velvet seat of the carriage.
Soon after she got comfortable the twins came into the carriage, max with his bow ready, and mike in his demon form. Mike curled up in Sadie’s lap and Max sat on the other side with his bow next to him. Sadie began petting Mike’s soft fur and humming a tune that her mother had sang to her to put her to sleep.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Shane hated having to be strict with Sadie but he knew that until he had her somewhere truly safe, it was his job to make sure that all precautions were taken. As the carriage took off Shane and Malachi changed quickly and ducked into the shadows to follow the carriage undetected.
When they finally arrived at the castle, Shane and Malachi changed back and rushed to meet Sadie as she got out of the carriage. Shane held his hand up to help Sadie down, she accepted it and gently came down out of the carriage. When she did she stopped and stared at the huge castle in front of her. “Wow, you live here?!” Shane smiled and turned to look at what she saw as an amazing castle, and he saw as his regular everyday home. “Yes, we all have lived here since we were born, although the older two have moved out to their own castles, the younger ones and I live here, I will stay here forever. Eventually the younger ones will leave for their own castle, but this one is mine.” “Oh, it’s beautiful.” Sadie stared at the castle with what seemed like a new sense of wonder.
Shane made sure that all the preparations were made quickly since they hadn’t been made earlier as they should have been. As Sadie’s room and clothing and everything was made ready for her Shane took her around the castle showing her where the main rooms were, such as the library, the kitchen, the dining room, the garden, and the tapestry halls. Each room seemed to be a new exciting discovery, and it made Sadie look at each room with new and revived awe.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sadie could not believe her eyes, each new part of the castle was more beautiful than the last, but none out-shone the garden in Sadie’s mind, for the garden was the most beautiful thing in the whole world. Sadie wanted to see the garden closer, but Shane was very insistent that she see it later, “Your room and new wardrobe is ready for you, and it would be a shame if you don’t eat before you go into the garden, because the cooks are whipping up a delicious meal just for you.” Sadie couldn’t fight his sweet smile, “Alright I’ll wait.”
Sadie followed Shane to her room where he bowed to her and said, “I will come for you in a few minutes, there is a basin over there if you wish to wash up, and your clothes are in the closet there.” Sadie smiled, “Thank you.” Shane smiled back with just a hint of wickedness, “No, thank you.” With that he bowed once more then walked out and closed the door behind himself.
After Shane left Sadie went over to the basin he had pointed to, and washed her face and neck she then washed her hands. After cleaning up a little Sadie went over to the closet to look at the clothes. While she searched through her new full closet she found a beautiful blue dress, she slipped the soft silk dress out, tried it on, and decided to wear it for dinner. She decided she would also wear it to the garden so that she might be able to look as if she fit in more.
The second Sadie had her dress on and all the ties tied and her hair put up there was a knocking at her door, she opened it slowly, it was the twins. Sadie let out a slow sigh of relief, she was half afraid that it might be Malachite. “Hello boys,” Sadie’s voice was a little shaky after being startled. “Hi Sadie!” The boys were as chipper as ever, and they seemed they had something hidden behind their smiles. “Shane had us come to get you, he sends his deep regrets for not being able to come himself,” then mike said, “and we think he’s missing out” and max finished, “cuz your beautiful in that dress.” “What do you mean ‘missing out’? Isn’t he going to be joining us soon?” “Of course he will, but he doesn’t get to see you first.” The twins giggled mischievously as they held out their hands to Sadie.
Sadie followed the boys, down the long flight of stairs that led to the dining room. As they entered Malachi and a table full of food greeted them. Malachi smiled and pulled out a chair for Sadie in front of a plate full of food. Sadie sat with the boys following suit. Malachi began eating the twins then Sadie following. Then just as Sadie was beginning to miss the meals with her brother and father Malachi turned to her and asked, “Has everything been to your liking so far?” Sadie blushed and stammered, “Y-yes, this is a very nice castle. I’ve never seen a place this big!”
Malachi just smiled at her awe and said, “I’m glad you approve, unfortunately the rest of our family, Travis and Tommy, won’t be able to join us for a while.”
As he finished that sentence he looked at his nearly empty plate and grinned widely. “Welcome to dinner dear brother.” As Sadie began to puzzle over Malachi's comment, the doors leading to the entrance hall opened and in stepped a very regally dressed Shane. “Thank you dear brother, sorry to keep you all waiting.” at that he turned to Sadie, then dropped onto one knee and said, “My lady, you look absolutely ravishing tonight.” “T-thank you.” Sadie stammered and with one final bow Shane took his spot at the head of the table next to Sadie.
After dinner the twins drug Sadie into the large library, into a little side room full of very sort plush seats. They led her to a little red reading stool. Mike ran over to one of the shelves, grabbed a book, and came back to Sadie with the book at arms length. Sadie looked at the twins questioningly. “Our mom used to read to us from that book.” Both boys replied. “ok then,” Sadie read the story to the boys.
The twins were fast asleep when Sadie finished the book, so Shane and Malachi took them to their bed. When the twins were in bed and the house was quiet Shane took Sadie by the hand and told her to close her eyes, which she did, so all she knew was that he took her through many doors and passageways. Finally Shane told her to open her eyes, when she did she had to blink a few times to bring the moonlit scene into focus. Right before her was a magnificent white fountain, with a huge rose bush wall surrounding them. Next to the fountain was a smooth white bench with roses twining around the legs of the bench. This whole scene in its moonlit brilliance was reflected in the ever flowing water of the fountain. As Sadie stepped closer she looked down to find that they were standing in a field of sweet clover, for every time she took a step the sweet sent would fill her nose. “It’s amazing!” Sadie cried as she held her arms out and spun around. “I’m glad you like it.” Shane said watching her spin happily. “Like it? Pah! I love it!” Sadie giggled as she had to stop spinning for fear of falling over. Shane smiled widely and held his hand out to her like he did when he helped her out of the carriage, except this time they both knew that the gesture was different, in many ways. Shane spun Sadie around so that she was facing him. Shane then took his free hand and put it on her waist.
They danced around the fountain for almost three hours until Malachi came out and smiled at them, telling them it was midnight and that it would be best if they got rest for tomorrow. Merely obliging Malachi the two followed him back to the castle. When they entered the castle Malachi motioned to Shane who in turn bid Sadie a good night and went to see what his brother wanted.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Shane had never been as truly ecstatic as he was now after dancing with Sadie under the silvery moon, the hours had seemed like minutes to him. As he bid Sadie good night he couldn’t help but feel a new rush of electricity as he gently kissed her hand. Then he saw her gentle blush and wanted nothing more than to kiss her perfectly pink lips and feel the warm pleasure flood through him again, but he knew by the way his brother had signaled that something was wrong, so he let her go.
“What?!” Shane whispered furiously, “you said he wouldn’t be able to figure it out for at least a week!” Malachi was the picture of calm, “Well I didn’t know to what extent he was using father’s power.” “You’re the one who is supposed to know these fucking things!” Malachi started to get irritated at Shane’s accusing tone and whispered vehemently, “Don’t you dare try to pin this on me! And you better watch your tongue before I cut it out.” Malachi calmed a little, “I couldn’t sense anything. He was using father’s power to block my senses.” “That’s no excuse! You told me that you could sense his thoughts no matter what!” Shane was not calming down one bit. He seemed to be getting angrier for his voice kept raising in volume. “Hush! Before you wake Sadie and the twins!” Malachi whispered chastising, “Fine!” Shane closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm him, then headed off to bed.
