|25|~A Mural of Tales ~

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

Edited.
Claire POV.

When we first walk into the library, I go rigid. The view takes my breath away, stopping me right in my tracks. There are rows and rows of books placed in beautiful and tall oak bookshelves all around me. Followed by several gold world globes, fancy gadgets, and ancient artifacts, it's a room filled with antique treasures.

I'm totally stunned. And my heart skips a beat when I stare up at the ceiling. A mural of different events throughout history is painted above me, stretched in between each part of the vaulted ceiling. The artist did an amazing job. He or she has truly taken the time to create and tell the stories, as they are all told in great detail.

There's portraiture, of a very fair fiery red-headed woman. She's wearing gold armor and a golden crown, slaying her attackers with a golden sword.

She was a queen, fighting alongside her men. They conquered their enemies by an ocean that held at least a hundred ships. The queen was victorious. Her crown was secure.

There is another story on the left side of the arch, about a man who fought with great skill. In the end, he was defeated on a smoky battlefield, left to bleed to death.

He has inky-black hair and chilling ice-blue eyes that are strikingly similar to Xander's icy irises. Over the top of the man is a boy whose skin is as white as snow. He has glowing red eyes and sharp pointy fangs. The boy isn't a boy at all; it is a vampire in his true form.

The vampire boy's fangs are plunged into the human man's skin, leaving a trail of red blood in his wake. I study the green paint that is used for the grass as it smears faintly with the red paint that creates blood. The artist painted the perfect picture with a swish of his paintbrush, somehow managing to express the pain that came along with this story.

My favorite part of the mural is the section that I can relate to the most, the Awakening. This portion of the painting puts my species' reality on full display. There is a beautiful girl with chestnut hair and coffee-colored eyes. She's the most attractive female I've ever seen. There is something wild and gentle about her, blending together as one.

She is standing over top of a man holding his heart, which she suddenly crushes and red paint slowly drips down. The man stands to his feet and walks into a room with four scary vampires and a raven-haired man sitting on a throne. He leaves with another man on a horse and eventually meets up with six more. The men ride together on the day when the sun is covered. They take millions of humans. They rip off seven men's heads after countless days of torture. I'm quickly able to identify that the men with no heads were our human world leaders.

As the story goes on, you see humans painted with a rainbow of colors, and their offspring are born in silver chains. My generation. Humans running for their lives are blended with Irish-green and electric-blue paint. The eclipse swallows the sun, burning yellow and swirling to life, with jet‑black ink. A cage of werewolves and other creatures is the highlight of the story. They are all locked away with eight vampires holding the keys with smiles on all of their faces. The kings.

My emotions run wild and my heart rate increases by the second. The detailed colors bring each story to life. I can feel the mood behind the brush, the feelings of the artist. There's a deep connection. I can't explain it, but it's there. I know for certain that the artist was excited, thrilled, and satisfied while painting the Awakening portion of the mural. My species's downfall brought forth happiness with each stroke.

That fact gives me chills. I shake my head and continue to admire the work of art. To be honest, the artist did a fantastic job of capturing the viewer's attention. The blend of colors running together forms a horrific reality that captivates me. Every painting makes me feel like I lived during those times, experiencing each story with my own eyes.

The sun shines brightly throughout the room, a golden light beaming through the glass.

"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but most vampires are not affected by the sun," Xander says quietly, extending his hand into the ray of sunlight.

"I'm aware." I sigh, drawing in a deep breath.

I figured that out long ago. Some myths are just myths. Sunlight doesn't hurt all vampires, neither does garlic, a wooden dagger, or silver. I once tried to use the golden light against one of my teachers back at school. Who would have known that one simple miscalculation could cause you so much?

* * *

Once upon a time, I longed to feel that golden ray of light beaming down onto my skin. The teachers at our school rarely allowed us to soak up vitamin D. They kept us caged up like animals, leading me to believe that they were afraid of the sun and the myths were true. (Some  of them are, but not all of them.)

Anyway, I wanted my freedom. I felt like the sun was my chance. So, I used that to my advantage. Well, at least, I thought I did. I snuck out and spent a day in the sun. I tried to escape using the sun as my protection. That was the day I lost it all, the same day I lost my innocence. It was the first time my reality really settled in. The day I lost a part of myself was the day I decided to die because that had to be better than living under their rule.

* * *

That was the day I've been trying to forget for the past four years.

I close my eyes, forcing the images out of my head.

Please, go away. I don't want to remember.

"If the sun is not your interest, what is, brave one?" he asks, thankfully staying out of my head.

I turn to face him with a forced smile.

"The painting," I say shyly, leaning my head back to view the mind‑blowing piece of art once more. "It's really amazing. I could stand here and view it all day."

Xander crosses his arms behind his back.

"It took the artist three years to complete one side of the mural, another five years to start on the other side. Twenty years to finish the mural completely," Xander informs me, as he admires it alongside me. "He would always say that something was missing, not enough red or not enough blue. He spent hours to perfect his craft, and I must admit his hard work paid off.'"

"Who?" I ask, turning to face him. "Who is the artist?"

Xander's lips curl into that devilish smirk.

Oh, God, I hate that smirk.

"I'll make you a deal. If you beat me in a game of chess, I will tell you."

Okay, that should be easy enough, I thought.

Boy was I wrong. Beating Xander in chess is a lot easier said than done.

Now, when you think about chess, the first thing that comes to mind is a little board and two players, but that's too boring for the vampire king of Antarctica. When Xander plays chess, he believes that chess is a real‑life game. His idea of chess is a life-size chess board with mega chess pieces. They are so big. I probably could ride the horse. And it doesn't stop there. Nope. It gets better.

The pieces move with a tap, and when you make the wrong move, your pieces die. Like boom! Explode and disappear, only to reappear on the sideline to remind you of your epic-day failure. For the past four hours, I have been too familiar with that feeling of failure.

"Pay attention, Claire. Your pawn is on the fourth space. Your entire strategy is offset."

He's been saying this over and over. We haven't moved very far forward with the game. I move left, he says it's a wrong move. I move right, he knocks my pawn over.

"You must learn how to move your pawns," Xander reminds me for the thousandth time. "Correctly!" he yells.

His pawn is on the fifth rank. I move my pawn two squares in a single move, —boom!—he captures my pawn, and the feeling of failure is back again.

I really think he is taking advantage of me. That's right. I think he's cheating.

"I'm not cheating. You just make it too easy. If you place your focus on the game, you may actually get somewhere," says Xander.

He has invaded my privacy once again.

I run to his side of the board and kick his queen square in the face.

"Pay attention to that, sucker. Checkmate!"

Now, he gets some of that failure juice.

"How about we take a break?" He laughs, jumping off the chessboard.

"How did you get a life-size chess set anyway?" I ask, like seriously. "And how the hell does it move?"

"Aurora," he replies, disappearing into one of the many rows of books.

Who is Aurora? I think, making a mental note to ask him.

I take a moment to look around the library once more. I'm intrigued by the grandeur of it and get lost in thought. I don't even realize it when Xander comes back, or that we have gained company.

"What are you doing here, Nicklaus?" Xander asks. "I didn't expect to see you for some time."

"I was just admiring the view," responds Nicklaus, stopping everything in the room.

The universe is frozen. His eyes are locked on me. Mine are locked on him. We are chained in place, staring at each other. He is all I see at the moment. I can see the fire in his eyes, telling me I have his undivided attention. He is just as beautiful as the mural overhead. He is so tall, muscular, and lean—cut to perfection.

Every time he walks into a room, it goes still. The couches, beds, lamps, and now even the books seem to go into hiding. The power that radiates off him is intimidating. I have never felt anything similar to be able to describe the feeling, but something is different about him, or about us. King Nicklaus has always been attractive to me. What vampire isn't? But this feeling is new, strange, and frightening.

I run my tongue over my lips like I'm about to sink my teeth into a slab of juicy meat. He is wearing black slacks that do little justice at hiding his toned and muscular legs, and a white T-shirt that fits him like a glove, hugging his well-defined six-pack. Yes, filet mignon indeed. He has never seemed to look so freaking good, and I can't remove my eyes off him.

He smiles, revealing his straight white teeth and pointy fangs.

Now why did he have to do that? My heart races as vision of the two of us in his soft silk bedsheets making sweet passionate love, in a dance of sex tango, rushes through my head like a flood.

What the hell! Snap out of it, Claire, right now! What has gotten into me? This is not our first meeting. I have seen this man on plenty of accusations. Yes, he has always been hot. He has always appeared to be dangerous of course, so why the hell am I dreaming about snatching off his pants or running my fingers down his well-crafted chest and screaming his name over and over for the entire world to hear? Why, why, why?

Freak! Snap out of it, Claire, right freaking now! He can read your thoughts, remember? Earth to Claire, come back to reality.

I finally draw the strength to turn away from King Nicklaus. I desperately hope and pray that he didn't read my mind. But all my hope is gone when his lips tug into a sheepish grin, followed by a look of amusement. Clearly, he is holding back his laughter. King Nicklaus's actions tell it all.

The asshole was in my head. Freak, freak, freak!

My embarrassment is unavoidable. My cheeks become hot and begin to burn bright pink.

"Now, that you two are finished eye-fucking each other," says Xander, adding more to my embarrassment, "What can I help you with?" He turns to face his brother.

King Nicklaus smiles charmingly. "Your governor has arrived," he announces, "Also, I came for my chosen."

My heart beats frantically.

I cannot be around him with my mind scrambling. Absolutely not. Hopefully, Xander will find a way to help me.

"Very well," replies Xander, switching his focus to me. "This is for you. When you have free time, I suggest you read this." He hands me a book titled The Vampire Studies.

Oh great.

"I promise, it is not as boring as it sounds," he adds, reading my mind. "Once you're finished with this one, you can start reading The Studies of the Supernatural. I shall have my chosen deliver it to your room."

Now, why would you do that?

"Thank you."

I choose to voice a different response, not wanting to sound rude.

Xander smiles and takes a bow before making his departure.

<🌚>

 Awake Fridays. Please Please Please don't forget to vote and comment.

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net