With the sun rising in the east, the village slowly began to wake up. Gavin walked out of his house, grinning from ear to ear. He turned his head, and looked to Levana’s cottage. The sun was peaking behind it, leaving the front of her house almost completely in shadows. He began to strut, slowly and proudly, towards her front door. He knocked loudly, and smiled at the man smirking on the other side of her house.

“Levana,” Gavin yelled when no one answered the door. “Open up, Levana!” His patience was growing thin. When the door refused to open, he slammed his body against the wood and entered uninvited. The house was empty. Gavin checked every room, every closet, every hallway... but Levana was nowhere to be found. He paced her living room floor in disgust. She was gone, and with her was valuable information that could be the very downfall of her people. After almost an hour of pacing and thinking, Gavin walked outside of her house. He roared, which echoed through the forests trees. Birds flew into the air, grounded animals went into hiding, and the Malvirians came out of their homes to see what was wrong.

“Gav’n, whut te HELL i’s wrong wit’ y’u??” One of the women shouted as she fussed with her hair. “Y’u out ‘ere scre’min’ like  th’s, whut i’s te po’nt in it, eh?”

“It seems as though we have a traitor missing.” He replied calmly, though his face was red with anger. “Levana came to me last night, loosened me up so that I would tell her everything about us, and then left with the humans to bring us down!”

“That tramp!” another man called from the crowd.

“I knew she be trouble,” a woman said slowly. “Ever since she be comin’ ‘round here actin’ like she be one of us. She’s not one of us, and she never will be!”

“I say we hunter her down and kill the wench!”

“Yes! Kill her!”

The crowd broke out in yells and screams. “Kill her!” they chanted, again and again. Huge search parties parted and searched all around the village, through the forests, and around the nearby cities. Word was sent out to every Malvirian village in Europe about the threat, and immediate actions were taken all over the main European continent to assure she would be found. Detailed descriptions were given to each of the village leaders, and lookouts were stationed around all villages at all times of the day. Levana had nowhere to hide.



Arianne... Levana thought as she tightened her grip on the cloak she wore as she boarded a small sea vessel. Do I even know who that is anymore? She peered around the side of her hood as she watched human men pull ropes and hoist the rigging. She watched the distant sky as the sun’s glow peered over the horizon. The sun is coming... I should head down soon. She watched as the waves moved slowly west.

“Go’na be a nice time sailin’ today,” one of the deck crew said to her with a grin. Levana didn’t return the smile, refusing to show her fangs. She turned away and began to climb down the stairs when she was stopped. Another member of the crew pointed to a scribbled on piece of paper saying that all guests were to remain on deck until night fell.

Levana began to curse in her head as she went above deck once more. She sat on the deck, facing west away from the sun, and made sure her hood covered her face. She sighed as she played with her thumbs. The crew bustled all around her, until one of them stopped by her and began talking. She looked up, it was the one who had been talking when she first boarded the ship. She smiled at him, not parting her lips. He asked her questions and gave up when she wouldn’t respond. He went back to work, assuming she was mute or stupid.

She was on her way to Ribadeo, Spain, hoping to gain a new start at life away from her village. She’d live on her own if that’s what it took, away from society. She remained hidden and silent for days. Six days after the ship left port, the men began to grow shifty around her after one religious man screamed about the evil aura surrounding her two days back. She tried to stay away from them for as long as possible, for it would be a while before they were to dock in Spain. The day was ending, and Levana was heading to the stairs when a group of the crewmen blocked her. Their arms were crossed and their brows were creased, Levana knew what was coming next. She sighed deeply.

“We don’ let whores sleep do’n wit us, ya hear?” the man in front of the group said.

“Sir,” Levana was surprised at how easy her native language came to her after all these years. “I am not looking to cause any trouble. I just want to get to Spain.”

“Whut for?” the one who had been kind to her the first day questioned. He shifted the candle in his hand to try and uncover her face from the shadows. She turned her head. “Whut’s t’e matter? Dun wan’ us t’ see ya?”

“Why should you hide your face from the likes of us?” another man said. “Afraid we’ll learn about who you really are?!” This must be the man who accused me of being evil, Levana thought to herself.

She snorted. “Like I would let you see my beautiful face, you ungrateful pig.” The man came forward and slapped her. Her head jerked to the side and her hood fell and she closed her eyes. The men gasped as they saw beautiful, long black locks fall around her fair skin. Her perfect scarlet lips curved into a grin. Silver cross earrings gently swayed as she brushed her hair behind her ear. The candle flickered and the flame blew out as a wind passed. The crewmen and Levana were in darkness, but her white skin could be seen glowing in the moonlight. She lifted her eyelids and looked at them, standing in awe as her dark gray eyes pierced through their hearts. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go to bed.”

“Not so fast, witch.” The captain had been watching the whole thing. His boots stomped down the stairs and he grabbed her shoulder. “I refuse to have a dirty Malvir on my boat.” The men stood silent as they watched their captain beat the woman senseless. He threw her on a small rowboat and lowered her to the sea. “Don’t you ever think that you can trick me, wench. The only reason I brought you on this ship was to get you away from France.” He spit at her. “I know it was your kind that killed my friend and raped his wife to death.” He then walked away from the side of the boat and ordered everyone to guard the deck until her boat was completely out of sight. “If I find any of you helping that ... that monster, I swear by God’s green earth I will make sure you are trialed for treason and hanged!”

The crew decided it best to take shifts to watch for Levana and make sure she didn’t board the ship once again. One by one they stood guard until it her ship was almost a blotch on the horizon. Levana watched the ship go, and lowered her head. So much for a new start... She looked up, and saw a shadowy movement at the stern of the ship. She squinted, but couldn’t quite make out what was going on. Suddenly, she saw the figure jump into the air and was diving to her. He landed in the water about halfway to her, and she gasped, covering her mouth. He swam towards her, fast and unaffected by the chilling water. When he reached her, she moved over and let him climb in. It was one of the crewmen, and he brought a paddle.

“What are you doing here!?” she hissed as he began to steer the boat around.

“Nice t’ see you too, miss,” he laughed. She shook her head in disbelief as he spoke smooth words in the Malvir tongue.

“Who...are you?” she breathed as he began taking the boat north.

“My name is Brennan,” he said. “And who are y’u?” Levana was silent. “Don’t ‘ave a name, then?”

“I don’t know anymore,” she turned her head, watching the boat slowly fade away.

“Ah, I see,” Brennan smiled. “A runaway.”

“I did not run,” Levana replied. “I escaped.”

“Mind telling me why then?”

“Yes.” She said tartly.

“Ah, I know why.” He laughed. “Y’u ran away ‘cause no ‘ne liked you.”

“That is not it at all.” Levana snapped.

“Then tell me.” He gave her a friendly smile, one she hadn’t seen in a very long time. She felt safe, and didn’t know why. She hadn’t felt truly safe since she was human, so why was this man making her feel so comfortable? So at home? She sighed deeply, and began slowly going over the details of her last days with the Malvirians. He stopped rowing and looked at her in horror. “Y’u’re a Malvirian!?” He began to panic, causing the boat to slightly sway.

“What do you mean?” She gasped, beginning to worry.

“I mean y’u’re an evil wench ‘s what I mean!” He brought the paddle out of the water and smacked her across the head, rendering her unconscious. She fell into the boat, her body hanging out of the boat slightly. Brennan continued to row, only this time he rowed faster and didn’t stop.