Chapter 1 - The Unfairness of Youth

It was spring and the air was calm and cool. The sky was a bright blue and clear, and birds could be heard chirping their mating calls in hopes to attract another of the opposite sex to breed. A young man of about 25 years of age wiped the sweat off his brow as he sat to rest against a large tree in the woods. He brushed his unruly black hair out of his face and took a drink from the canteen that he had brought with him. It was hard carrying all this wood back by himself, but he was the only man in the house now. His father had left when he was very little, leaving him to look after his mother and his little sister, Carrie.

“Big brother! Are you out here? Big brother!”

“I'm over here, Carrie!”

A young girl with dark, shoulder-length brown hair and beautiful blue eyes came running through the forest. She had just turned 16 that year and was growing into a fine young woman. She had a slender frame with flawless skin, a cute little nose that curved slightly and small hands. She had a gentle face that was kind and an equally warm personality. Her smile was enough to make even the rain go away, or so Lestat seemed to think. Carrie stopped, panting, before her older brother and crouched before him. She was wearing a lovely white and blue dress today that was, thankfully, long enough to hide her underwear in her current stance.

“Lestat, mum says to hurry it up. She wants to start dinner soon before it gets too late.”

“I'm going as fast as I can. That's a lot of wood for even me to carry by myself, you know.”

Carried smiled and crawled around to Lestat's side, laying her head on his shoulder. The innocent gesture made him blush, but he mentally slapped himself for even doing such a ridiculous thing. He felt disgusted at himself for even feeling that way around his own sister. He patted her head a few times and stared at the last mile of trail he had yet to cover before he reached the house. Carried lifted her hand and poked his nose playfully.

“If it's that difficult I could help you carry it back.”

Lestat puffed up and stood with the sack of wood, tossing it around his shoulder. He would not be made out to be a wuss in front of a woman.

“You could never begin to even lift this thing, Carrie. I've got it, let's get back to mum.”



By the time they reached the house, Carrie was supporting the bottom of the sack with her hands to attempt to take some weight off of Lestat's shoulders. The sun was starting to set and the sky had taken on a beautiful pink hue. They were glad when they were finally able to drop the load into the wood pile. Lestat was the first to enter into the house, the front room being the kitchen, and he found his mother getting together some vegetables to slice up. Carrie drudged in behind him and leaned on the wooden rocking chair that separated the kitchen from the sitting room.

“Mum, we're back.”

An older woman turned around and gathering her skirts, she went to greet her children. Her hair was a dark brown as well, only it wasn't so shiny and held a tinge of gray here and there. She had the same blue eyes that both Lestat and Carrie had. She smiled to see her children home and well.

“Welcome back, my sweethearts. Did you get the wood, Lestat?”

“Yes, mum. It's out front in the wood pile.”

Carried nudged Lestat sharply in the side which made him jump, then he added in for her sake.

“Carrie helped.”

The mother shook her head and instructed for Lestat to go outside to grab a few pieces of wood for the stove. After he had returned and made sure that his mother no longer needed assistance, he went outside and sat on the grass around back to watch the sunset. The air had started to cool down considerably and Lestat had brought the sleeves of his thin white shirt back down. It was quiet and peaceful out here in the country, and he liked it like that. The only thing he regretted was not being able to see all the women in the city. That brought a smile to his face. Women. He loved them almost too much. He had never had the pleasure of dating a girl or even getting close enough to one to fool around like he'd want to. He usually stayed at home while his mother and sister went into town to go shopping. There wasn't a whole lot of work to be done, but the house was always in need of repair and the gardens needed tending. He liked to drag out his work so he didn't push himself too hard, but he wasn't a slacker, either. He sighed as he let himself fall back onto the earth, his eyes closing as he imagined all sorts of pretty girls in their fancy dresses wandering about. Giggling, gossiping, batting their eyelashes at men, sitting at the park to soak in the sunlight. He had begun to loose track of time and was brought out of his fantasy by a sweet voice calling his name.

“Big brother, you have such a silly grin on your face.”

Lestat opened his eyes to see a beautiful pair of aquamarine globes staring right back at him inches from his face. He realized quickly how close they were and he pushed her head back with a finger. His face was turning red again.

“The face of an angel has awoken me from my dreams.”

Carrie playfully slapped him on the arm and sat beside him. He was surprised that she hadn't noticed how he blushed every time she came so close. He knew she meant nothing by it and that it was merely playful, but his body kept reacting in such a strange way. He mentally slapped himself again. That's your sister you pervert! He was once again angry with himself and hated every part of his being. Yet, he couldn't help but steal a glance at Carrie. The sunset cast a warm glow on her face that further enhanced her beauty. He had convinced himself that there couldn't possibly be another girl on this Earth that was as pretty as she was, and here she had this lowlife of a brother who looked at her in ways that he ought not have. She glanced over at him during his silence and caught him watching her. He thought he saw her cheeks light up as she turned her head around quickly again. Her voice took on a more serious tone as she stood.

“We should get inside, dinner is going to be finished soon. You know how mum hates it when the food gets cold.”

Lestat watched her as she walked back into the kitchen to assist their mother. He had offended her without meaning to. His little Carrie was in danger when she was around him, but he didn't have the heart to give her the cold shoulder to push her away. Even angrier at himself, Lestat forced himself to stand and he made his way into the kitchen to help set the table.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It was stifling hot the day that Lestat finally had to pick some of the vegetables from the garden. He had removed his shirt and tied it around his waist, the sweat making his skin glisten in the harsh light of the sun. He had attempted to tie his hair back but some of it still fell over his right eye. It was a hopeless mess that just couldn't be tamed. He stood and wiped his forehead with the back of his arm, dry dirt lightly powdering up to his wrists. He took a swig from the jug of water he had brought out with him and poured some over his head to cool off. At that moment Carrie just happened to be skipping down the trail coming back from her walk in the woods. She stopped and froze as she came to the garden's edge. Lestat was bent over gathering some radishes when he noticed his sister just standing there, watching him. The moment lasted longer than either of them wanted it to, and the silence that stretched seemed to last forever. Time seemed to move again when Lestat went to say 'welcome back', but before he could even finish his sentence Carrie had taken off running into the house. He watched after her painfully. He cursed as he crouched down to continue picking vegetables. None of this would be happening right now if they had lived normal lives in the city like every other person. He would have a girlfriend and Carrie would be with a great guy that took care of her...

For some reason that last thought sparked a twinge of jealousy.