Ember

By midday, we were still making our way through the forest, and I was enjoying the sun and Rosaline’s arms around me.

A gentle breeze swayed the branches, creating beautiful patterns in the shadows. I could hear the birds singing, and saw the occasional squirrel running through the trees. It was a beautiful day.

As we went through a gap in the trees, the sunlight blinded me for a moment. Sundancer kept moving forward, but my brain stayed back there in the light.

“Rosaline, I thought sunlight was bad for vampires? Like getting burnt up and all that,” I asked, turning in the saddle.

She smiled and shrugged. “No more than any other person. We’re more susceptible to getting sunburnt, but we won’t explode. That’s just a myth.”

I turned back around and we sat in silence for a few minutes.

“So, um, tell me about your family,” I said, and then immediately wished I hadn’t.

Tell me about your family? Dear, you’re making a fool of yourself.

“Okay,” Rosaline said, tightening her arms around my waist. “My fathers’ names were Jasper and Oliver, and my mother was Alethea.”

“You had two fathers?”

“Yeah. We’re pretty flexible about mating arrangements,” she replied. “I know it isn’t really that way for humans.”

“Definitely not,” I said, glancing at a bird that took off through the trees.

“I had three brothers and four sisters. We were all pretty close,” Rosaline continued, “given that none of us were born more than a year apart.”

“Woah,” I muttered, “That’s a lot of siblings.”

“Actually, not really,” she responded, “The average number of kids was about twelve.”

“Dear goodness,” I muttered, turning my attention to the path in front of us.

“Tell me about your sister,” Rosaline said, placing her chin on my shoulder.

I sighed and turned my head slightly towards her. “Well, her name is Violet. She takes after my father. He was almost as light-skinned as you.”

“And?”

“And…” I trailed off, the memory of my little sister’s bright smile stuck in my head. “And she was the biggest blessing of my life. I love her very much. It broke me when they took her away.”

“You haven’t seen her since?” Rosaline asked, but it was like she was far away. Her voice was muffled.

“Ember? Ember!” is the last thing I heard before I blacked out.

Rosaline

Ember's eyes rolled back, and I thanked the stars that my arms were around her to prevent her from falling off.

I adjusted her slightly so I could hold her in place and hold the reins, having her lean back against me.

We continued on in silence. She didn't wake.

After a couple of minutes, she suddenly awoke with a gasp.

And then she screamed.

Birds flew from the trees around us in a panic, and I even saw a couple of deer bound away.

"Are you okay?" I asked, putting my arms back around her.

She gripped my arms so tightly I thought she was going to leave scratches.

"No, I'm not. I just...a memory...so overwhelming," she gasped, taking in air faster.

"Hey, you'll be okay, you're here with me, I won't let anything happen to you," I replied, tightening my grip.

Ember held onto me and leaned into my chest, and I kept her in my embrace.

It'll be okay.