Chapter Three The Cold Shoulder

A loud Thud can be heard all to well by Kara and immediate pain. This would be from her body hitting the ground after Gabriel dropped her from his shoulders.

" Now you can throw a tantrum if you'd like" he scoffs at her as she raises her head, to check her surroundings only to realize she is no longer in her mother's kitchen! " Where the hell am I?" She demanded with an authority in her voice that at this point, she no longer hid beneath her fear.

" We are in a house " He answered sarcastically as he placed the compass like item back in his pocket, much to the dismay of Kara who could tell that much from looking at her surroundings.

They were indeed in a house. An old one from the look of it. Most of the furniture didn't look as though it had been used in years and the floorboards were covered in a blanket of dust and filth that she could only guess was something akin to a carpet at some point in its first creation.

" I can see that, but I want to know where we are! Why the hell did you take me away from my mother? Who the hell are you really? And what the fuck is going on? " Kara demanded to know as much as she could. She had waited for too long to not receive any true answers and she was going to put her foot down this time. She deserved to know more than what she was being told.

" Okay fine, sit down and I will tell you as much as I can and then we have to keep moving. You are obviously not safe and I would prefer that I don't have to listen to you nag at me the entire trip" Kara moves over to an old wooden chair that creaks when she crawls onto it as Gabriel sits down across from her on an old couch, a cloud of dust flying up as he does so. She wants to keep as much distance as she can from Gabriel despite how much her mother put trust into him.

" So. First of all, you are not human. The woman you lived with, she was a guardian for you until you reached the age of 18" he started off strong but continued " Now before you ask me what I mean about you not being human. There are some things that should be explained. First, the place we are in now, is not earth. This is a whole different realm separate from earth. We like to call it the Underworld because technically it exist In a layer beneath the realm of reality as you know it or what most people call ' Earth". Kara is confused but Gabriel continues before she can ask anymore questions " And in this world, whilst it looks similar to Earth, there are beings that you might think are ' Only in movies' but we do exist. We are not monsters. We are not evil..or at least some of us aren't and we deserve the same respect that humans do " He crosses his arms " But I'm not going to explain all the creatures that exist here. You'll meet them over time but for now, all you need to know are the three most important ones. The Witches, Guardians over magic in all forms and are the watches over this world. They have fought to keep the peace for centuries, trying their best to unite the creatures of this world. The next, are the Vampires. Who are the opposites of the witches. They seek the destruction of the world and they do their damn best to go to earth as much as they can to feast. Vampires might I add, are not harmed by sunlight or wooden stakes to the heart or garlic or any of that crap in the movies. They are tough and hard to kill. And they are viscous and cannot be trusted. Vampires possess a charm that is unmatched by every other creature that they use to get weak minded individuals to do their bidding. And last but not least. Are the lycans, or what you know as werewolves. We do not change by the full moon, and we more than capable of being in control of our wolf forms" He explains but Kara interrupts " So you were the giant black wolf that I met in the street and attacked Jack..?" To which Gabriel nods. " Yes. And I'm getting to that so hold on" Gabriel takes another deep breath.

" My people have been doing our best to protect the witches and help fight against the Vampires for thousands of years. So much so that my parents, King Tarren and Queen Wenivoe, aided Queen Aurora, the queen of the witches in everything they could. Which, brings me to you. You, Kara, are Queen Auroras Daughter. Around 18 years ago, there was a massive war here in the Underworld and the Vampires were out to hurt your family along with anyone that opposed them. And so your mother sent you to earth to protect you. That is where Margerat comes in.

She was a human that could be trusted enough to be your guardian. But for extra protection, I was sent alongside you to ensure your safety and bring you back once you reached the proper age. Which, might I add, is why I attacked Jack who was waiting to attack you on your way home. Which you have already seen since he pretty much admitted it. But I stopped him. So, I feel like that is sufficient enough information for the time being. So if you don't mind, I would like to be able to get moving so that we can get you back to your mom on time "

Gabriel breathes a sigh of relief after finishing his long winded story but Kara is not satisfied.

" Well first of all, I'm not a witch. I don't know any spells and have never shown signs of magic. Second of all, does this mean you've been watching me all my life? Because that's kind of freaking creepy and also, maybe, if it was your job to protect me..you would be a little kinder. Drop the damn attitude " Kara leans forward in her seat. Gabriel smiles and leans forward as well. " Well for your information miss know it all, your powers don't manifest until your 18. Secondly, yes I've been watching you all your life. Which means I know all your dirty little secrets. Every time you've chickened out on asking a guy out. Everytime you've coughed to cover up the fact you farted in class. All of it. And also, I don't have to be nice. I have to protect, not be nice. Those are two separate things" Gabriel stands up and heads out of the room and yells back to Kara " So here are your two choices. You can stay in this house, and pout about how things are or you can come with me and maaaaaaaaybe survive " Gabriel peaks outside the tiny window on the front door to check and see if anyone is around the area.

"Fucking fine. I'll come with you. But only because my mother seems to trust you. And btw, Margerat is my fucking mother so stop treating her like she isn't. She has raised me my whole life and she deserves some fucking respect dammit" Kara barks at him and then pauses.

" But I need to know she is going to be okay. I need to know that Jack isn't going to harm her " Kara's Bravery wavers at the realization that Jack is probably still alive and now her mom is there all by herself without anyone to help. She doubts that Jack would've died from the stabbing considering Gabriel had broken his neck earlier and that seemed to last only for a few minutes before he was ready to cause more harm.

Gabriel Sighs at having to be the one to inform her of this but she needs to know the truth." If I'm being honest, she is probably already dead. I know that you love her and care about her..but she had a purpose and she fulfilled that purpose. And as much as it sucks, she is a causality of all this. I'm not a fan of it either "

Kara walks over to him and raises her hand, slapping him with all her strength across the face. " If you are so fucking concerned then why the fuck did you leave her and not take her with us " Kara growls at him. Gabriel turns to her, almost unphased by the slap and stares deep into her eyes.

" Because humans can't survive her. It's just how this world is. If they were to travel here, they would instantly die. Their bodies are not built the same as ours. And while that sucks..that is just how it is Kara. Humans aren't meant to traverse these lands. And I'm sorry...for that and for being inconsiderate about not calling her your mother. I know she means alot to you. And she was a very good woman." Gabriel seems to show real sympathy and this calms Kara down slightly.

" But.." Gabriel leans closer to Kara so that they are almost face to face " If you ever slap me again. I'm going to break your hand. Again, my job is to protect you and make sure you are alive" his threats sink deeply into Kara like the knife he used on Jack.

She knows he easily could but has a hard time believing he would actually follow through it. He had plenty of chances to hurt her and has yet to do so. " Can we just go now" Kara pushes Gabriel out of the way and opens the door and is greated with the the sight of absolute doom.

A blizzard, so thick that she can barely see 3 feet in front of her is suffocating the land before her eyes. And whilst beautiful, there is surely no way he expect them to travel in these conditions. Kara had never actually seen a blizzard before so this was new for her.

" A blizzard..well..I guess that means we are stuck here doesn't it " Kara smirks as though she has won some small victory over him. She turns around however to see that he changed yet again into his wolf form. " No...it doesn't. What it means is..I forgot to tell you to bring a coat "

Gabriel kneels down and motions with his head twitching for Kara to climb on his back. " Oh hell no. That is not happening. I'm not going to ride you..I mean..ride on you..I mean " Kara fumbles over her words as Gabriel grows more and more impatient. " Either you get on..or I make you get on. This Is wasting our damn time " He growls at her with his razor sharp teeth showing.

Kara reluctantly walks over to him and grabs onto his fur and pulls herself onto his back and holds as tightly as she can. She is surprised at how comfortable he is as she adjust herself on him. His fur is soft and warm and his breathing is soothing in a weird way.

" This means nothing by the way. I'm only doing this because I don't want to walk in the damn snow and you are impatient as all hell. And don't fucking knock me off or something" Kara maintains her focus on the door way leading outside. And without another word, Gabriel runs through the door way at a pace that Kara was not quite prepared for.

He had to be going at least 40 miles per hour and this speed made it difficult for her to hold onto him. And even though she was struggling to hold on, his speed was just increasing by the second .

The harsh icy wind and snow hitting her face did not help either as she could feel herself slowly freezing to what she assumed was her death.She wasn't entirely confident she would survive this but she grit her teeth and held tighter onto his fur.

This went on for 2 hours before they finally reached a small abandoned village where Gabriel finally decided to slow down stop and rest. The moment he did actually stop however, he took the opportunity to shake her off of him as well as the snow that had turned his fur white.

Kara crashed into the snow and looked back up at him. " Ya know. I fucking told you specifically to not do some stupid shit like that " She glares at him though he simply chuckles.

" I don't remember asking what you are tired of. There is a house over there. Go inside and get yourself warm. This village is abandoned. If you know how to start a fire then do so in the fire place. I'll be in a minute "

Kara did not need a second invitation as she jumped up and made her way inside the house and closed the door behind her. The snow and ice had powdered her dark brown skin and hair but she relieved to be out of it for a bit. She looked around and noticed this house was about in the same condition as the last house they were in. But there was a fire place and she managed to find some matches and could get a fire going. Luckily there was already some wood in the fireplace and though it was old, it should still burn.

Kara started the fire and could immediatly feel the warmth from the orange glow of the flames, making her body melt which was the first damn good thing that had happened today for her.

It was at this time that the door swung open and Gabriel walked in with a backpack which he layed on the table. " What is that? " Kara asked. " Its a backpack" Gabriel responded sarcastically. " Why does everything with you have to be so difficult " She groaned and turned her attention back to the fire In a pout. Gabriel ignored her and opened the back back and began laying out some food on the table. " We have allies who left us some supplies. Enough to last us for a few days " He answered. " A few days..how long will it take to get to the Queen?" Kara had not been expected a supremely long journey. " About a week or so. This land is very harsh and massive. We had to drop in at a location that was neutral enough where Noone could really get to us or find us. Which unfortuently is super far away from our Destination" He prepares the food on the table and sits down and begins eating. " There is food if you are hungry" he snarls but Kara didn't feel hungry. She had lost so much today and she just wanted closure. She wanted to go back in time before all this happened but she couldn't. She couldn't wake up for this horrible dream " Why can't we use the stupid compass thing you used to teleport us here? " Kara asked as she continues warming herself by the fire. " Because it has to be charged and I don't have any way to charge it right now" he answered. " Well why couldn't we have just teleported to the location itself instead of so far back" Kara asked, rubbing her hands together and breathing into them. " Didn't have enough charge to do it. This was a prototype and used alot more power than anticipated originally. So this location was chose instead"

"So you came to earth...to protect me. That sounds kind of boring that your one single job would be to protect a person you had no interest in at all. You could've stayed with your family " at this point, Kara felt like trying to have a conversation, a reasonable and less argumentive one would have to start with her first.

" I didn't get a choice. My parents had to stay and protect the kingdom. And I was the only one they could volunteer to give up that long of their life. I was very young at the time " He answered as he scared down what seem to be some type of meat although Kara could only tell this from the sounds he made as he ate.

" So you didn't get a choice in this either..guess we are in the same boat on that. I'm sorry that you missed out on your family for me " Kara did feel bad to some degree. Of course she was distraught and upset but this is also apparently something that has effected his life too. " yeah. Well. Thats how things go I guess" Gabriel did not seem to have any interest in discussing this topic further. Which makes sense that he wouldn't want to discuss his life with her. They didn't really know each other that well Kara thought to herself.

" Come. You need to eat to keep your strength up. " He tapped the chair beside him. " I'm not hungry" Kara responded, not taking her eyes from the fire. " You need to eat dammit. Look, we don't have to like one another. But you still need to eat" Gabriel puts down his food and turns to her. " I said im not hungry " She says as she slowly becomes intranced by the flames which has somehow kept her calm from his aggressive tone. " Fine " Gabriel stands up and walks into another room and lays down on what Kara can only assume is a bed judging from the squeaks of springs.

" Dammit. How the hell did I end up In this mess. " Kara shakes her head and stands up and tries to look around the house in hopes that she can find some warmer clothing. After showering for an hour or so, she does find some long sleeve shirts and coats but only manages to find one coat that fits her properly. And from there, Kara returns to the fire and lays down in front of it, not bothering to seek out a bed. The fire was the only comfort she had or really wanted right now. It reminded her of her mother's kitchen, something she missed terribly and would do anything to be in again. Maybe. Maybe someday.