Frank

When the sun started to come up, Gerard was still awake. We both were. I’d never been outside in the light of day before. I’d never seen the sun rise before and I’d rarely seen it set. My body clock was the same as a vampire’s and I was nocturnal. The world was getting lighter and the light in the sky was changing. The night was blending into the day and the stars were beginning to fade.

The process of it was beautiful. I’d never been as fascinated with sunsets as I was with sunrises. Sunsets were so much more popular, but I found no real interest in watching the sun sink beneath the horizon.

We were sat outside on the huge balcony outside of Gerard’s room, the two of us sat silently as the night changed into day. The only to describe it was with the word peace. It was silent and although I’d expected sun rise to be full of anticipation, it wasn’t. I’d always imagined it to be exciting, watching a new day start before my very eyes, but it wasn’t.

It was soothing in a way I couldn’t describe.

The sky was a pale blend of colours, the softness of the fading stars lingering through the air with the glow of gentle light on the horizon.

I turned to look at Gerard, who was watching the scene before him with a slight sadness.

“Don’t you want to go back inside?” I asked him gently. “The sun…”

He smiled slightly. “No. I like watching the sun.”

“But it hurts you,” I pointed out in confusion.

“I don’t care. The day is something I never get to experience, not really. Not like you could. I like seeing it. It makes me feel like I’m a little closer to something I can never really have.”

We watched as the light sharpened and the world stirred. The sun rose, making its way upwards slowly and elegantly, majestic in its climb through the sky.

“I’d swap the night for this any time,” Gerard breathed quietly. “Even if it was just for one whole day. Just one whole day of not having to hide in the dark. You’re lucky Frank. You could have all of this with no cost. If I spend too long in the sun, I die.”

“I’ve never been outside in the day,” I told him.

“Of course not,” he murmured quietly, sighing. “You’ve never done many things because of them Frank. You’ve not lived yet, but the worst part is that your life is so short compared to mine. So little time and so much to do with it.”

I didn’t want to think about it. I didn’t want to think about everything I could do but would never get to do, because to someone like Gerard who would live forever, my life would be over in the blink of an eye.

We were both quiet as the world around us awakened and then garden below us came to life, the trees shifting in the wind and the birds singing throughout the canopy of golden and red leaves, the grass glistening with thousands of drops of dew.

“I have to leave you alone for a while today,” Gerard said suddenly, still watching the garden.

“Where are you going?” I asked, trying to cover up the disappointment in my voice.

His face twisted up in annoyance, rolling his eyes. “Some stupid meeting thing my father’s dragging me along to. He says it’s important to attend these sorts of things so I can start learning about being King. I don’t know.”

“Are humans not allowed to come?”

He sighed. “No. It’s strictly vampires or something. Everyone that’s going is meant to super important or something. I don’t really pay attention when dad goes on about stuff like this. I have no interest in it.”

“Is he still mad at you?”

“Haven’t spoken to him. He’s been avoiding me. He’s just pissed because I took off without telling him and came back smelling of wolf.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. Just some girl that I ran into whilst I was gone.”

I bit my lip to stop myself questioning him further and decided that if it was important he would tell me everything.

“Do you need to go back inside?” I asked him, worried the sun was beginning to hurt him.

“Hmm. Probably,” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. “I’m tired. I think I should probably get some sleep.”

“I’m glad I saw this. It’s beautiful,” I told him, glancing out at the sun again, in awe of its glowing brightness.

“I wish I could stay out here longer, but I’ll end up falling asleep and getting burnt,” he grumbled, standing up slowly. “You can stay out here if you want. I thought it’d be nice for you to see what the day is like.”

I smiled at his thoughtfulness. “I’m pretty tired too. I think I should get to sleep too. But thank-you. It’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me.”

He held out a hand for me and I took it. He helped me stand and smiled at me gently.

“It was nice having someone to share this with,” he whispered.

Feeling brave, I brought my lips up to kiss him hesitantly. He smiled and pressed his lips back against mine softly before leading me back inside.

“Stay with me,” I whispered against his neck as I hugged him.

“You sure?” he asked, stroking a hand down my back.

I nodded quickly and he kissed the top of my head. Lying next to him in bed made my heart flutter rapidly and I couldn’t stop the huge, stupid grin spreading across my face as he rolled over to look at me.

“What are you smiling about?” he asked, a grin of his own appearing on his face when he saw me smiling.

“I’m just happy,” I answered honestly. “You make me happy.”

His smile widened and he opened his arms in an offer of embrace. I wriggled my body next to his, my arms resting around his shoulders as his own arms hugged me to him.

“I’m glad,” he whispered, watching me as his head rested against the pillow, his burning hazel eyes boring into mine.

I rested my head against his chest, listening to our slow, quiet breathing. The was no beat from his chest where I rested my ear, which only reminded me more of how much time he had left and how little I had.

“Will you be here when I wake up?” I asked.

“If you want me to be,” he answered.

“I do.”

*Time Lapse, ‘cos I can and you don’t want a running commentary of two people sleeping*

The light was gone when I woke up and we were back in darkness again. The room was shadowy and I could still feel Gerard next to me, an arm draped around my waist. I felt like I was floating in warmth and sheer happiness and when I looked up see Gerard looking back at me, my heart melted.

“Hey,” he whispered, smiling sleepily.

I smiled back. “You’re still here.”

“I said I would be, didn’t I?”

I just grinned and snuggled into his chest, humming in content as he played with my hair.
My stomach growled at me, ruining the moment.

Gerard laughed. “Someone must need breakfast.”

I rolled over suddenly so that I was straddling his hips, smirking at his shocked expression. “Well here I am.”

He rolled his eyes at me. “Very funny. I meant breakfast for you Frank, not me.”

“You are no fun, you know that?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? I’m no fun huh?”

“Nope. None at all.”

I gasped as I felt myself being flipped over onto my back and feeling his weight on top of me, pinning me to bed. He had a firm grip on my wrists, holding them down on the pillow above my head.

“I can change your mind about that Frankie,” he whispered huskily.

I bit my lip, grinning in excitement. “I don’t think you could.”

He responded by leaning down and licking from my chin, down my neck and over my chest to finally stop before my belly button. He started planting soft butterfly kisses all over my body, his lips making my skin tingle. I watched as his mouth moved across my entire torso, not leaving one patch of skin un-kissed. He stopped at the hollow of my throat, pressing his lips against the skin there gently.

“You’re beautiful Frank,” he breathed against my skin, goose bumps rising all over my body.

“I’m not. You are,” I told him, blushing deeply.

“You don’t see yourself clearly Frank. I think everything about you is amazing.”

I didn’t reply and just let him carry on kissing every inch of my skin. My stomach rumbled again
much to my embarrassment but Gerard just smiled and rang down to the kitchens, asking for my breakfast.

When it came, there was a timid knock at the door. Gerard slipped out of bed, dressed only in a pair of black boxers and opened the door. The girl looked barely sixteen and blushed intensely when she saw Gerard, holding out the tray to him and looking away quickly.

After she’d left, Gerard climbed back into bed with me and began feeding me. He grinned suddenly and held a strawberry between his teeth and his face came closer to mine teasingly. He wiggled his eyebrows at me suggestively and I burst out laughing, making him grin around the strawberry he held carefully between his teeth. I leant forwards and sank my teeth into the end of strawberry as Gerard let go of it, his lips pressing firmly against mine as soon as the strawberry was in my mouth.

He pulled away, smiling. “Tastes of strawberry.”

I rolled my eyes, grinning at his amazement. “No shit.”

He just laughed and carried on feeding me, occasionally putting items of food between his teeth for me to take off of him with my own teeth, always kissing me straight afterwards, the two of us giggling.

When I was full, he set the tray aside and got up. I watched him move around the room, unaware of his natural grace and elegance. I watched as he started pulling clothes on and I pouted at him.

“Leaving me already?”

He looked at sadly. “I’m sorry. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

I tried to hide my disappointment and sighed. “OK. Hope it all goes well.”

He smiled gently at me. “Thanks. I’ll be back before you know it, alright?”

And with that he swiftly made his way over to me, kissed me firmly on the forehead and left.

I sighed and slumped back into bed, staring up at the canopy of sating curtains above me. I decided to close my eyes and try to fall back asleep, which worked, considering I didn’t feel tired at all. I woke up again pretty soon and tried to go back to sleep again but it didn’t work. I sighed and stared over at the clock before sitting up and stretching. I threw back the sheets and swung my legs over the side and got up. I got dressed and pulled back the curtains in the room, watching at night sky sadly, wondering what it would be like to spend a whole day out in the sun.

I decided to occupy myself with Gerard’s huge library and set off towards it. The room was freezing cold when I entered it and shivers ran up my spine. The drop in the temperature was odd considering the rest of the palace was a perfect temperature. The air was freezing and the entire place was eerily silent.

I shrugged my uneasiness off and set off into the library, hugging my arms around my chest to try and keep warm. The only sound was my echoing footsteps as I wandered up and down the endless aisles of huge towering shelves. My eyes scanned the books as I moved past them, none of them really catching my interest.

I sighed, about to give up until a slim red book tucked away in the corner caught my attention.
The writing on it was a fairly large, bold simple print.

A PROPHERCY.

I frowned and brushed my fingers over the smooth spine of the book, chewing my lip nervously. I pulled it out of its place slowly, stroking over the cover of it. I headed back towards the circle of couches and arm chairs near the dead, unlit fire towards the front of the giant room. I sat down on one of the couches, still running my fingers over the book in wonder.

I turned the front page and suddenly felt the temperature plummet even more, the icy air biting at my skin.

“I wouldn’t read that if I was you.”

I gasped, the book falling from my hands in shock at the sudden voice.

In front of me stood a woman, looking down at me with a raised eyebrow. She was tall and slim and had skin that was somehow paler than Gerard’s, except her flesh seemed to glow it was so pale. She wore an old fashioned Victorian dress, the colours a simple creamy tone. Her hair was a mass of thick glossy gold that hung at her waist in spirals and waves. Her eyes were a deep brown and her lips were dark.

“W-who are you?” I choked out, staring at this bizarre woman in shock.

She smiled and elegantly lowered herself into a chair opposite me. “No one of much importance. My name is Emily.”

I stared at her, lost for words. She studied me for a while, her mannerisms reminding me of a bird.

Her eyes drifted down to the book that lay at my feet still.

“What made you choose it?” she asked.

“I… I don’t know,” I answered.

“Funny you should choose this one,” she said, studying the book.

“I don’t understand,” I stated bluntly. “Who are you?”

“I told you, I’m Emily,” she told me again.

I gritted my teeth. “A name is not who you are.”

She grinned then, showing her bright teeth off. “It is, partly. You’re just asking the wrong question. What you really want to know is what I am, not who I am.”

“Fine. What are you?”

“A ghost.”

“A ghost?” I repeated. “What are you doing here?”

“Yes Frank, a ghost. I can go wherever I want to. Gerard doesn’t mind me spending time in his library.”

“How do you know my name?”

“I know lots of things.”

I took a deep breath before reaching for the book, only to find that it wasn’t there. I shot back up to see Emily holding it on her slim hands, her long fingers paging through the book.

“Tell me. Explain what you meant about what you said before. Why’s it funny I chose that book?” I demanded.

“The book is about you,” she said, as it were nothing, keeping her eyes fixed on the book. “But it’s filled with lies. It’s been changed and modified to suit the people who wrote it.”

“Me? Why would there be a book about me?”

She nodded. “It’s your story. Just changed to suit the writer, like I said. You’re important Frank.
That’s why someone wrote it down. You’ll make a change. ”

“I… what? How can someone have written what’s happened in my life if I’m not even dead yet? It doesn’t make sense.”

“It’s a prophecy. That’s how they know what’s happened.”

I swallowed heavily. “And… and what does happen?”

She smiled. “I’ve never been one for destinies and fate. A bunch of nonsense if you ask me. I believe you will find out what happens to you Frank when it happens and only because you make it happen, not because it’s been printed down in a book.”

And with that she vanished into thin air, the book landing shut on the floor with a loud echoing thud. I stared at it with wide eyes and my heart beating rapidly. I licked my lips and slowly got down to pick it up.

When I opened the book the pages were blank, apart from a sentence written on the first page in small, neat hand writing.

[i]Make your own destiny.[/i]

As I read the words over and over again they began to fade into the paper until they’d disappeared completely.