Evangeline Almora's Story

Evangeline Marie Almora

Eva stared at the gaping portal. It was so bright it hurt her eyes, but she found she could not look away. The Princess was hypnotized by the light and that fact that it would be the thing to take her away from her... Home? That did not feel like the right word. This place, the castle, was not really a home to her. It was a residence, the place she had lived in for twenty-one years, but not a home. To Eva the word home evoked warm feelings of acceptance and love. Here the only love she had ever received was from her brother and still the entire place had been cold and empty. Her only happy memories were with Fisher as the two played, or she watched him train. Eva's parents had mostly ignored her for her entire life, and as such she had no feelings about missing this place.

Speaking of Fisher, Eva turned her head to see her brother. He was, at the moment, speaking with their parents. He looked quite serious, but then again Fisher usually looked serious. After all, he would be the King of the Nymphs someday and as such had been trained for the position in every way possible. A tiny smile spread across Eva's face at the thought of Fisher in charge. He would be a good King and he would keep peace with the races. That's what he wanted now, anyway, an end to the war and with him in charge the peace they would hopefully achieve now would continue. Well, that's what Eva predicted for him anyway. Suddenly she felt a pincer like hand grasp her shoulder.

"Off into the portal with you," the woman snapped. Eva turned her head to see it was the cook that held her shoulder tight enough to bruise. The way she spoke epitomized how Eva was viewed in this place. Everyone knew that her parents weren't considering her for Queen, and that she was ignored by them most of the time. Plus there was the fact that Eva never complained to anyone. She would simply accept the disrespect of the slaves and keep quiet, not wishing to cause trouble. So they'd all learned that they didn't have to do as Eva asked, and they could simply skip over her room when they were cleaning.

Eva hesitated, glancing at Fisher and their parents once more. She wanted... Eva didn't know what she wanted. Perhaps for them to glance at her? Maybe wave? But she knew that was silly. What Eva didn't want was to go through the portal alone, without her brother next to her. Eva always felt stronger when Fisher was by her side. Still, she knew it was not right of her to wait for him. It would be best if a representative for the Nymphs reached the mansion as soon as possible and Fisher might be busy talking with the King and Queen for a while. Besides, even now the cook was steering her towards the portal with a steel grip. Eva didn't resist, allowing herself to be guided in front of the light. If it hadn't been for the slight push by the cook, Eva might've frozen right then and there. As it was, however, the girl stumbled through the portal to the other side. She felt the ground give way slightly and looked down to see sand beneath her feet. She glanced around and felt fear thud through her veins at the amount of people on the beach. There were so many... Too many. Eva had the sudden urge to dive back through the portal, but she was frozen where she stood.

Although Dezzy did have rather sharp hearing, the way her brother came up behind her and embraced her made her jump with a startled squeak. "Ash!" she protested as her feet were lifted off the ground. Luckily it only lasted a moment, and she felt earth under her. She grasped his arm and gave it a squeeze before turning around to faace him after he commented about her being 'moody',

"Okay, first of all, I am not moody. I just don't like being told what to do." she corrected. Jeez, people just didn't understand the difference these days! "And second of all..." she started and playfully pushed his shoulder with a sly grin and a laugh of amusement. "... who are you calling little? I'm pretty sure we have the same, exact birthday." Desiree looked around, her feet guiding her in a 360 spin as she took in her surroundings. Yep, she was lost. If Desiree was horrible at anything, it was directions. She's lucky to find her way home let alone some mansion she has never set foot in before... especially with other... species.

Desiree's wavy long brown hair cascaded down her shoulders as she spun in a smooth 360, taking in her surroundings. Yeah, still nothing but beach and trees. They most likely had to follow a path. And Desiree was right. A small stone path led into the woods, and when she peeked through it, she spotted a huge mansion.

"Never mind... I think I found it..." she mumbled in awe.


Fisher patiently spoke with his parents, but honestly, itched to get away. He was getting tired of them piling on things to do, and things not to do. And about two minutes after his sister left, they sent him off. With a relieved sigh, the quiet man turned and strided towards the portal, and walked into it with no hesitation. When he regained his footing, he saw his sister, Eva, and a large house. A mansion.

"This must be it..." Fisher told himself quietly and caught up to Eva, placing a protective hand on her shoulder.

"Wait up!" she told her with a sincere half smile that he could only give family. And mostly her sister. His kind brown eyes looked around and he took a rather nervous deep breath, letting the crisp morning air fill his senses, and the sound of the chirping birds dance in his ears. He could stay out here the whole times, and he'd be fine. BUt no, he had to go make friends with the other races. That he wasn't all too fond of.

WIth a heavy sigh, the Nymph Prince ran a hand through his matching brown hair, and rolled his shoulders, attempting to relax.... well, as much as a man could. His rather unfocused mind kept wandering back to his home. The lush green trees and their bush partners. The buzzing bees that relied on the colorful expanse of flowers for survival. Yeah, most guys thought nature was stupid. Flowers are girly! Tree's are pointless! Well, for a nymph, that was their lifeline. Their key to survival. Without it, there would be none. And their enemies could take advantage of that. One reason why them nymphs were rather vulnerable, easy to target. Although the other species thought they were the easiest to terminate, they never expect the happy-go-lucky, singing and dancing, eco-friendly hippies (had to put that reminds me of my geography teacher) to put up a fight, when in real life, they were lethal enemies. Some people just needed to live outside their heads sometimes....

But of all people, that's Fisher. Exhibit A, he daydreams about this crap all the time. Well, more like day-nightmares. Shaking the thought form his mind, he walked alongside his twin sister, grasping her smaller hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze of reassurance as they approached the Hollow House.

Evangeline Marie Almora

Eva still hadn't moved an inch since she stumbled through the portal. Even if no one was looking at her, or even talking to her, it was still terrifying to the petite girl. There were so many of them and she was going to have to live with them. For.. For however long it took to make the peace treaty. Eva had no idea how long that would take, and she didn't expect to be told about it. Things like treaties were for people like Fisher who were going to rule someday. If Eva was a part of the negotiations she would no doubt just get in the way. After all, the girl had no idea about these kinds of things and it would be entirely useless to put her there. Eva jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and a look of absolute relief swept over Eva's features.

"Fisher! Of course, I would never go anywhere without you," Eva responded happily. She watched as he smiled that half smile she saw only rarely. It was always wonderful when she did see it. Fisher's smile always put her at ease and she could feel herself relaxing. As long as Fisher was here, Eva knew she'd be okay. Her older brother would protect her from everything, Eva knew that. Ever since birth Eva had been taught to see her brother as the best at everything, better then her in every way. Perfect, strong, and brave, like every King should be. It had resulted in a hero-like worship of him and she could never seem to shake it. Not that Eva wanted to because from all she had seen of her brother it was pretty much true. Still, Eva also knew he was unhappy about this. She felt his hand squeeze hers and Eva turned to smile at Fisher happily.

"I'm really glad you're here, brother. I don't think I would be able to be here without you," Eva admitted. She leaned slightly against Fisher, letting out a sigh. She had a peaceful smile on her face, one that was rarely seen when she was out of the company of her brother. No one else had the power to make Eva feel so safe and at home, for as far as Eva saw it she had no other family. Her parents were like cold statues and they didn't count. Fisher was the only kindness she'd ever met in her life.

Who was born first? This guy!

Desiree merely giggled lightly at the words, her cheerful, and energetic persona leaking back into her. It was rare that she was grumpy more than a couple of minutes. Then, the next, it was as if nothing was wrong at all. Dez walked alongside her- apparently older -brother and lightly bumped his shoulder with hers, although her petite size looked delicate, she was rather strong, and that movement was hard enough to knock his steps out of place for a moment. Asher ruffled her long, wavy, dark hair, and Desiree teased him by making a slight woof noise. That has always been a little inside joke. Cause, you know, they were werewolves, and the woof was a dog.... Yeah.

The ecstatic girl felt a nervous, yet anxious and excited shudder pass through her body, and she swiveled neatly on her heel and pranced along backwards, so she could talk. It was as if she had eyes in the back of her head though, the way the placement of the stones on the ground seemed to change angle, she knew they were turning. Soon enough, stone gave way to soft iceberg grass and she stumbled, catching herself and turning around before she did a face plant in the soft stuff. She let out a startled noise and caught herself quickly, looking up to see a large, stone, yet modern, mansion.

"Whoa, that is a lot bigger than I thought it would be..." she muttered with an impressed half-laugh.







At Eva's comment about being glad he was here, Fisher lightly nudged her arm with his elbow and gave a laid back chuckle. "C'mon sis. You know I wouldn't leave you be on your own." he said rather matter-of-factually. Although Fisher considered himself quite a good brother, he had to do those.... brotherly... things every once in a while, right? So, he gave a teasing grin and looked down on her. "Cause, you know, you wouldn't last a day with your skittish nature." he teased with a kind hearted wink. The dark haired man finally saw the sandy beach give way to clear, open pasture, or meadow green, soft grass, and on the horizon, saw their final destination.

The Hollow House.

Although Fisher wasn't looking forward to the challenges and... arguments... of this place with all the races, he was anxious just to get it over with, so he took a breath, and the beginnings of a smirk tugged at his lips.

Bring it on... he thought to himself, competitively. He knew, that, he would have his allies, and his rivals And to choose each one carefully. Of all the things he had learned- or rather been forced to remember -that was what he would be able to use. The one and only Kingly type thing he could keep in mind and help this whole case go down, and get over quickly.

Evangeline Marie Almora

Eva smiled happily up at her brother, the kind of free, uninhibited smile that was rare for the timid girl. Despite loving her brother very much, Eva had never actually had the chance to spend a lot of time with him. She was usually playing on her own or taking lessons on how to be a quiet and obedient Princess as he learned how to rule. Even during both of their free time, Fisher had always had more kids to play with then she. Eva had been alone a lot of the time and although she'd enjoyed it, she still wished she could've spent more time with Fisher. Now it was them in a huge mansion! With eighteen others, yes, but Eva didn't anticipate speaking to anyone. Except, perhaps, introducing herself. Other then that she'd mostly be alone while Fisher negotiated, and then spend some time with him. It would be nice to be away from the cold castle for a while. As long as she wasn't forced into a confontation, Eva didn't mind too much.

"Like a mouse," Eva agreed happily. She let out a sigh before noticing Fisher's eyes turn to the mansion. She followed his eye line and stared at the behemoth of a house. She would have to live there, with eighteen other... people? That didn't seem like the right word. Creatures, perhaps? But that almost made them sound animalistic. Individuals? Yes, that was good. Eighteen other individuals that she would have to avoid at all costs. Once more she felt dread begin to fill her at the very thought and her steps slowed, her arm slipping away from Fisher as she did so. Eva did not want to enter the mansion. Maybe if she simply stayed out here, she wouldn't actually have to meet anyone?

"I-I think I might just go to the garden first," Eva stammered out, taking a step away from the building. She was not near brave enough to handle this kind of thing. Eva took another step back, sending a pleading glance at her brother. "You go ahead. I'll be in soon." Eva sent a reassuring, if wavery smile, his way and hoped Fisher would allow her to avoid the confrontation. No doubt everyone was arriving now and there would be so many of them crowded around the entrance hall. Crowds terrified Eva, they always had. She was not used to more then one or two people. One time a maid had commented that she was a freak, and Eva had no reason not to believe that. After all, no one else seemed to have this problem but Eva payed little mind to that. She didn't care if she was weird, she just cared about Fisher's opinion and he loved her. So Eva was fine with who she was, and she was fine with avoiding stressful situations.

"Please, Fisher?" Eva whispered with a pathetic attempt at another smile.

One second, Fisher's sister was her shy, yet happy, and fun-loving self, well how she usually was around him, and the next, she was tensed up, her eyes as wide as saucers when the mansion came into view. No way was she backing out of this now. He wanted her to be with him when they took their first step into the monstrous living space.

"C'mon Eve." he told her in a gentle, sooting voice that he tended to have. "I can't do this without you." and with that, he grasped her hand and guided her up the slope and soon enough they were by the front door, which was slighlty open from its last usage. It seemed as if people were already there. Good, I wouldn't want to be the first ones... he thought to himself in relief.

The Nymph looked down at his sister, and gave a reassuring half-smile for confidence, and walked in, pushing the door in front of him open all the way, revealing a large lobby room, place. (xD)

"Well, that wasn't what I expected." he muttered to himself, his brown eyes traveling around the house. He was expecting it to be less rand than it is. This mansion was unbelievable!

(creative juices are not flowing today xD)