Did It Hurt? (bxb)

XV

Simon's adrenaline was running even before he hunted down the deer. That's what he chalked it up to at least. There was no other way to explain the way his heart skipped a beat when he saw Olivia. He had never met her before today, and from the stories Oliver had told him, he'd assumed that she was kind of evil witch with the sort of look that told you everything you'd need to know. When he saw her though, he couldn't imagine that this was the same girl. Simon knew that being turned into a vampire amplified a person's looks, and he didn't get a chance to really look at her before her change, but she looked flawless.

Ignoring the rabid hungry look in her red eyes, her blonde hair was long and glistening. The overload of makeup Oliver told him that she always had seemed to disappear. Her skin looked smoother and her lips were full. Her figure was beautiful. She had curves that made anyone jealous. 

Simon couldn't help but feel uncomfortable as he brought the deer back to the group. He couldn't figure out whether it was because Olivia was a vampire now, or his newfound feelings. Oliver frowned at him when he eventually emerged from the woods. "It's about time!" The look on his face and the tone of his voice was frustrated, but the look in his eyes was grateful. Simon didn't reply. Instead, he knelt down and set the deer at his feet, his eyes wide in horror as he looked at Olivia.

His brother had her pinned beneath him, her arms held back and his knee in the middle of her back. Olivia began thrashing wildly at the smell of two new sources of blood. "Simon," Oliver said. Simon snapped his head up. "I need you to go into the woods. If Olivia finishes the deer and decides that she's still hungry, you'll be the next best thing."

Simon looked back at Olivia. "Are you sure she'll be okay?"

Oliver gave him a look, but before he could say anything, Mikaela stepped between them. "I'll go with you," she prompted. "While she feeds, I'll relay to you what I told Oliver."

"But I already know about Angel." Behind Mikaela, Oliver winced. Simon frowned at the ghost. "What more is there to tell me?"

"For starters, this location's history." Without another word, she started to float away. Simon cast one more look at Olivia, who was still thrashing. His brother was staring sadly at the back of her head. Turning, he followed Mikaela into the woods.

___

"Okay, so what is it that you wanted to tell me?" Simon asked once there were out of range. Mikaela hadn't said a single word as they trudged deeper into the wood, and he couldn't help but feel suspicious. Maybe she had picked up on his attraction to Olivia. But that quickly... If she had... Simon considered himself impressed.

But instead of asking about it, she said, "There's a dark energy lurking around here." Mikaela faced him, a deep frown on her face. Simon raised an eyebrow.  "I may not look like it, but I know a lot about history. Having died on the Titanic, I learned a few things about the time periods." Simon was quizzical, but watched her as her talked. "Over the years, I learned a lot. The facts. People, places. But I also learned about some legends. And with those legends, the curses and the rumors." Mikaela gestured deeper into the woods. 

"Where we are camping now is at the edge of Yolanda's forest." She crossed her arms at Simon's doubtful look. "The legend goes that a witch named Yolanda was practicing magic in these woods, but she suddenly lost control. The spiral was so great that it killed her." She took a shaky breath. "The magic Yolanda was practicing was ancient time magic, thought to be lost over centuries ago. Now, this forest is cursed, and so is the town that resides at its center. We go in there, and it may seem like a week has gone by for us, and we come out of the forest, a whole month has gone by in reality."

Simon's eyes widened. "Well..." he said. "It's a good thing we don't have to."

Suddenly Mikaela looked embarrassed and rubbed her arm. "Actually, when your mom hijacked our bus, and Angel ran off, he went straight in this direction."