2 A weird girl

Duncan didn't know exactly what he was saying. It was embarrassing! It was the first time he talked to a human in ten years. His flesh felt nervous and his eyes darted on her silhouette like the crow he talked to in his spare time and flew over each time he called it. Her eyes kept staring at him that he thought of just going away and it was a long stare. A damn long one!

Her brown eyes almost insulted him. For a moment, they fixed him with the intent of murdering someone. He felt betrayed by his own futile behavior. He was an outcast, what made her different from the others?

He was an executor and he had to stay that way. Humans would only bring him troubles. He let his curiosity get the best of him for a few moments but now, he was back at being reasonable. It wasn't like if she died, her body would be buried.

He turned his head around resuming his walk downstairs until the sound of her laughter resounded from the roof. His eyeballs searched for her seeking what she was doing. Her arms pressed against her stomach as she laughed. The desire to know of the reason behind her laugh was strong enough to make him return.

He was part human so he didn't belong truly anywhere. Not the human world, not the vampire world… He was hated by both because of his mixed blood.

"How unpleasant!" she repeated again, this time the words came out loud and strong.

It felt for him like she wanted to punch him in the face like everyone else but she didn't do it, instead, she laughed. Her empty look shifted to something else, a somewhat amusement sparkled inside.

"You are weird."

The words were meant for him and he was confident about it. If you focus on the colourless part of the world, your existence will become torture for you, a gossip subject for others and suffering for the people that love you. When negative thoughts invade his mind, he sits down and tries to rationalize using his brain pushing away all kinds of emotions… Replaying all the events that led to it searching for the positive in them was also a part of all this to escape the cage he used to build.

Nevertheless, this time, he didn't know what to do. He intended to drink her blood if she died, to make her his slave if he saved her from dying… But not only she didn't suicide; she called him weird and talked to him.

"Did the cat swallow your tongue?" she moved to the door walking like a cat, twisting and twirling all around the fence then climbed back and jumped. "Did you stay a long time alone that you forgot how to talk?"

In that moment, she was like a wild cat in his eyes; a ginger cat. His lips twisted into a smile at the thought.

"I know how to talk."

"Here we go! Did you think I would just throw myself from there?" she giggled, showing a bright smile. A perfect façade she showed to everyone who talked to her, but she always retracted from gatherings and groups, as she didn't like crowded places.

"You were about to. Why are you talking to me? I thought we, the condemned, brought curses."

She darted next to him, twisting around his body like a snake, examining each part of his appearance. Her hand rubbed her chin then scratched her head. "Ammm… You don't have horns or something unusual," this time her hand touched his left cheek then his sleeves. "It seems I didn't catch anything. So, obviously, you aren't cursed."

She licked her palm as her eyes fixed his obsidian eyes then checked her hands again. "As I thought, you are a little salty."

He frowned then let out a laugh.

He hated the world he lived in now. The whole world was something he couldn't digest. For example, Dotoria was a land considered a heaven for humans but it wasn't; it was a land for slave traders to flourish. They were unthoughtful, rude and insightful… not in their appearance but in their inner side. They showed you a perfect innocent image while they were demons in disguise.

He visited it in the past but he didn't push it far. Non-humans there suffered a great deal; they had their bodies stripped of power and humans had the upright hand. Anyway, it wasn't his call for that. He was more interested in this country he was living in. People walked like puppets to the Empress and the rules that worshipped her existence.

He hated everything about the world but there was someone like her, unafraid of stupid rules. People like her left the world early and only the ugly stayed behind.

"You say I am weird but the word must be directed at you. Who talks to me? I am a condemned."

"I don't like that word. Don't use it in front of me! Come," she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her school bag, bringing out a lunch box she was supposed to touch at lunch. "Let's eat this!"

"Isn't that your lunch?"

"Of course. My neighbour cooks the weirdest meals but he holds the taste," she gathered the tips of her fingers then kissed them. "You won't hate it."

She opened the box under his unbelieving eyes. It had rice balls with raw egg yolk inside. The second division had a little bit of fried chicken and the third one had bread.

"I don't mean to be rude and I really appreciate your kindness but, isn't it still morning?"

"Who cares? Who said we couldn't each lunch in the morning?"

He threw his bad aside and closed the lunch box. He didn't want her to eat her lunch this early because of him. She was the one who wasn't normal. She didn't listen to the rules.

"You should stop ignoring rules."

"It's only between you and me. Since you can't talk to anyone, it means that all my secrets are safe and sound. You won't tell anything about me," her lips twisted into a smirk.

"What is I was the dangerous one?" the question was lost in the wind as she ignored it. She didn't mean to make him feel bad but the whole world was dangerous in her eyes. She let down her guard for a year and her favourite teacher was taken to the guillotine. The soldiers made all students watch the execution and they weren't even allowed to turn their heads away.

A reminder of the consequences of disobedience and the fate of the ones who strayed from the rules.

Duncan sat next to her, pleased by how a human didn't care about her life. His ears heard two distinct voices whispering and laughing silently as the human next to him kept talking; it was like she never talked in her life either like she was saving the words and unleashing them when she felt like it. She wasn't a condemned; her name wasn't in the list everyone had. So why did she keep herself away from the human touch?

He extended his gaze over the stairs; a special ability of his that made him look over buildings and creatures. The two girls were putting oil on a part of the staircase, containing their laughter hardly.

"Try not to put too much or she will scold us!"

"I don't know why I keep listening to her. She is such an eyesore."

"But we can't disobey her. She isn't someone we must offend. Anyway, I finished my part. When Sierra will come down, she will trip for sure."

"What if she dies?"

"Then it's her fault. I saw a condemned going up earlier. He will take the blame. It's funny how she has messy hair."

As soon as they finished their work, they hurried down and let out the laugh they have been keeping for a while. Duncan dismissed the mockery as his eyes turned to the still talking Sierra.

"I am Duncan."

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself I guess. I am Sierra Borges."

"Your father is the general."

"Yeah, funny, isn't it? He works a lot so I don't get to see him much. I know who you are. It isn't such a mystery as your name is on the list."

He tucked a strip of her ginger hair behind her ear as her legs finally gave up from crouching and she sat normally. She smiled but her eyes showed a sadness he couldn't forget. She was like him in this rusty country. The eye contact they shared at that moment seemed to tell more than what their mouth altered.

"You're right! I didn't have to introduce myself. I will head back to the class, even if I am condemned, I can't miss my courses. Will you go as well?"

"No, I don't think I will attend today. I usually stay here. I… can't really attend."

"Are you afraid of someone?"

"Sometimes, I wish I were a condemned. This way, I won't have to deal with people's gazes. Forget it! Go ahead! You have a long lecture ahead of you," Sierra straightened her clothes and climbed to the other side of the fence then sat down, gazing far ahead. Her eyes turned dull as he saw her before.

'This girl changes expressions as the day turns into the night. Such a weirdo! I guess I won't attend today as well,' he thought. His eyes turned to the sky as it turned grey with clouds. The sun won't show itself again. Another colourless day.

"If you go down, be careful. Who knows? You might trip."

"Don't worry!" she eyed him from the corner of her eye, smiling. "I won't fall in their trap. No matter how much she is creative, she won't get the best of me. I always find out where their trap lied and avoided it. Yet, I act like I didn't notice who did it. It's a way to not call out for the unexpected. Keep your friends close but your enemies closer."