The Secrets of Kyda

To my knowledge, she was the secret within the woods. The misfit, the outcast, the daughter of the witch long since banished from our settlement. I didn’t care. I didn’t believe in fairy tales or legends. I wasn’t haunted by the shadowy darkness. I was haunted by my impulse and visions of her wild beauty.

All my life, we had lived in the cabin up against the woods. I had been told fables of how the dark witch would lure children into the woods, trapping them in the darkness, and damning their souls. I was a curious child, a free spirit. According to the witch, I had the soul of one of her sisters, but it was masked and hidden.

Growing up on my father’s land with his small staff of people, I had grown up relatively unnoticed by many. I was just a fire-haired child, with a rambunctious attitude, and wild woman spirit. Today, my nanny had pulled my hair back into a thick intricate braid. I was an only child, the heiress to my father’s legacy. My mother had long since passed, but I didn’t let that stop my curiosity of the world and of the woods.

My father owned a large stable. On either side of the stable were twenty or more horses. My horse’s name was Jack. He was a thoroughbred chocolate brown delight with a black mane and tail. He was a beauty of a beast. One of my favorite pass times was taking time to ride, let my hair down until it became a tangled mess, and just be free.

Today was going to be one of those days. I would save my nanny the trouble of matting through the tangled curls and leave the braid, but I would run Jack and embrace the day. Once I was up in the saddle and ready to ride, the stable lad opened the gate to Jack’s stall, and away we went. Jack dashed forward and my heart jumped with exuberance and delight. Today was a beautiful day.

The sun was bright and slowly rising to its peak in the sky. Shadows lingered at the edge of our property. The woods were calling my name. I leaned down, closer to Jack’s mane and felt as his gallop seemed more enthusiastic. Jack didn’t scare easily. He was strong and bold. The whispering woods had nothing on my Jack.

Sounds assaulted us. Vultures screeching out, looking for their next meal. Wildlife scurried about, shuffling away from Jack and me as quickly as we passed. In the woods there was a different kind of life. Outside of the woods, the world was bright with sunlight and vibrant. Within the woods, there were shadows, darkness, and mysteries. There was so much I wanted to know.

Just the other side of a creek was a shack. A small mediocre dwelling barely large enough for a person, much less a family. The creek separates my father’s property from the wilderness. Once you’ve passed over the creek, have no fear. You’re taking the first steps onto the Witch’s land. She’s territorial and fierce, especially about the ones who belong to her.

Dark brownish-black hair, eyes ferocious and burning with an amber light, she was the wolf within the wild. Tala was the daughter of Witch. We were close to the same age, maybe a year or so difference. Tala was competitive, a trait that seemed to have blossomed within us both. We loved to have races through the woods. We were supposed to be enemies. She was the daughter of the Witch, after all. I didn’t care.

As we grew and raced, there seemed to be an even stronger connection forging our bonds. There were two things that we had grown up knowing, that we were destined to take the place of our fathers, and that we were growing to love one another. The sound of her laughter would carry over the air and wrap around my heart and squeeze my soul. The light glinting through the treetops would make her hair shine like a halo. Was she a demon in an angel’s disguise?

Ending the race in one of the patches of open space, the sunlight pouring down over us. I leaned back in the grass, took a deep breath, and closed my eyes. I invited the solace of the woods, the silent company of Tala, and took in my life. We were adolescents now, barely a bump away from being the adults we were destined to be.

Shadows scurried over my eyes. I squinted my eyes feeling fluttering assault me as Tala leaned in to kiss me. It felt different. It felt exciting to know the kiss of a woman. Her hair slid past her ear and tickled my face. Entranced, I reached out to brush the hair back behind her ear and absorb the smile she gave me. I wanted to cherish this moment forever.

“I may taunt you,” Tala started, “and act like there’s nothing between us.” She leaned in, until her body was against my side, and she half straddled me. “I’d be lying if I said you meant nothing to me.” She leaned in closer. I held my breath, frozen. “I’m in love with you.” As she leaned in for another kiss, I returned her embrace. Her voice was suddenly burned into my brain, a beautiful sound like the wind traveling through the trees.

This was my secret. A forbidden love, awakened within the depths of shadows and mysteries. I was walking Jack, rather than racing him back home. My heart was racing enough for both of us. Jack nudged me. I bit my lip. I chewed annoyingly on the end of my thumb. I wanted time to think, time to wonder what it would be like to be with Tala. It was forbidden for someone of the same gender to love another. Even worse…she was supposed to be my enemy because she was feared by the townsfolk.

I smiled against the thoughts. Our fathers had tried to instill within us the notion to marry a good man…a man who would provide for and take care of affairs of estates. Neither of us wanted that kind of life. I didn’t want to be tied down to the ranch, to men with scruffy beards and attitudes, who couldn’t think past the appendage in their pants.

I was so distracted; I barely noticed the sound of hooves howling against the air and coming towards me rapidly. Black horses raced past us, like the horses from the stables. My heart began to race, my chest to hurt at the anxious feelings. I was so confused. Why would the horses be out here?

Glazed and blackened predator eyes beseeched me. The being was standing so near that my horse began to buck and whine hysterically. His skin was dark, like the natives. There were tribal tattoos scattered across his body. His short, cropped hair mohawk hairstyle made him look even more like a Native American. Hadn’t the natives been banished from the lands? He was looking down at me like I was his prey.

Devastatingly, this would turn out to be another secret of my life. Tall, dark, and brooding turned deadly as his fangs extended and his face shifted. My horse’s reins dropped from my hands as his teeth descended into my throat. His chilling body pressed into mine. His boney fingers holding my body up as he drank of my life. Darkness clouded over me. The woods had always been a place of refuge, but with this being, the darkness swelled overhead. The clouds darkened and a bristling of rain fell upon us.

I couldn’t fight him. I couldn’t stop his desire as he drank my until my eyes were leaden. I wasn’t strong enough then, but I am now. Life as a newborn vampire has it’s perks and privileges. I promised myself that I would one day overpower and kill him. I would destroy him for turning me into this monstrosity.

I’m not sure how much time passed. I continued to look over my family, but I refused to go back into the woods and see Tala’s broken heart on her face. I couldn’t risk turning her too. The Witch had passed. I knew that much. She had probably been the one to curse my name. Tala had emerged an angelic healing woman within the town. People still whispered behind her back, still feared the woman that she was. But she had emerged from that beautiful refuge.

My mother took illness. I hid in the shadows as Tala came to aid in her healing and peace. She spoke softly to my mother of her love for me, and what was left of my heart ached. Her words comforted and pained me. I missed her more than she would ever know. I would one day be like a vengeance coming swiftly on the wind.

The vampire returned, unable to stay away from those he had created for too long. He had created sullener damned. He knew I was coming. I had trained and honed my skills. The night my mother passed, I slipped away into the night, embracing the devil I had become. Taking Jack, now in his prime, I rushed across the land searching for my maker.

I took my time that night, savoring as I killed off his concubines one by one. I had been the exception. I had never laid with him, had even threatened to cut it off if he should ever come close enough again. I wanted my freedom. I let the fuel of it burn within me.

“What do you want, Kyda?” His words sneered at me.

“I want my freedom.” I steadied my body, readied myself for a fight. I would rip his wicked head from his body. I hated this thing that he had made me.

I killed him that night just before the creek. I destroyed his body, ripping it piece by piece, so that even in the afterlife, he wouldn’t return. With flint and stone, I burned the body pieces. When fire turned to ash, I left the peace settle on me. I didn’t feel strong anymore. I felt battered, bruised, and broken. I missed Tala terribly. Would she accept me as I was? Could she learn to love the monster I had been changed into? Would she shun away from my frigid touch? Late, nearing morning, risking death at the approaching sun, I reached her doorstep and was greeted by her beauty.

“Kyda,” she whispered. “I thought you, one with the dead.”

A sigh of a smile filled my lips. I wanted to be accepted by the woman I loved. I wanted something more.

Her eyes were brilliant even in the darkness, shining amber stones. She pulled the door open more, took a step back, and offered me a place inside. “We will find you peace, Kyda.” She whispered, as she opened her arms and offered her love. She was the Witch now. She had captured my heart.