Hellbound Heart

"Amazing!" Lilith suddenly burst out. Her eyes widening with awe as both her hands shot out and she clutched Elle's hands. "I didn't know you had such an amazing ability!"

Blinking in utter confusion, Elle replied. "Uhm... I think I should be the one telling you that, Queen Lilith."

"Oh dear, you should really know that you're the only one who managed to sneak up on me for around two minutes undetected!" she stressed on that last word like she still found it unbelievably amazing. Her excitement was obvious from the way her eyes were sparkling.

But while the witch queen was still busy being all amazed, Elle was just getting more and more confused.

"I've already heard about you from Lady Alicia, but she had never once mentioned that you actually have this kind of incredible ability! You truly had caught me off guard..." Lilith trailed off, seemingly finally realizing the genuine confusion in Elle's expression.

"I..." Elle awkwardly spoke to break the silence between them. "I don't think I have any... unusual ability. Well, I do know martial arts and am quite proficient at it. But that barely counts as an ability in this place... I mean against supernatural beings... like you."

Elle herself could hear the tinge of helplessness coloring her voice as she stated her last sentence. Well, it was a fact and there was nothing wrong with her admitting to it. She did not know why Lilith was saying all these, but she knew herself. And she knows she does not have any special abilities like what this queen was claiming that she does.

"Also, I... I wasn't trying to sneak up on you. I'm actually... err... lost." The last word came out from Elle's lips with a sheepish lopsided smile.

The awe was back in Queen Lilith's eyes again. It even twinkled a bit and she could almost see the words 'then that's what makes you even more amazing!' flashing across her face. Honestly, Elle was beyond surprised at this queen's attitude. She had thought the witch queen Lilith was... well, someone who was unreachable and insanely powerful. She actually was powerful. She had felt and seen it with her own two eyes and she knew that what she had witnessed was just the tip of the iceberg.

However, what surprised her was the fact that she had such a down-to-earth vibe when communicating. A down-to-earth angel inside and out! She just felt really light-hearted around her even though she had literally only just met her.

It was not the same feeling that she felt with Abi. It was like with Lilith, she could instantly feel that they could be the best of friends despite their obvious differences.

"You are lost..." Lilith repeated, her voice obviously in disbelief and one beautiful brow ached elegantly in question.

"Yes. And while I was trying to find my way back, I saw a really bright flash of light and decided to look for the source. This is how I ended up here. You are... so terrific. Nothing less than a real life beautiful warrior angel." She finally blurted out the praises she was meaning to shower her with. "Watching you made me feel like I'm watching some sort of a powerful magical dance."

"Thank you..." Lilith almost sounded a little shy accepting the compliment. It was as though she was not used to getting such compliments at all. "But that was actually just me, doing my normal training routine."

Elle's lips formed an 'o'. "It didn't look normal to me at all. You're really amazing, Lilith... oh, I mean, Queen Lilith."

"Oh, you can just call me Lilith." Lilith flashed her a sweet smile. "Do you want to take a seat or should I accompany you back to Lady Alicia's?"

"If you don't mind, I'd like to stay for a bit and watch you perform your magic. It's mesmerizing."

And with that, Elle watched Lilith continue her training. She was secretly thrilled that Queen Lilith was not opposed to having an audience as she was running through her training routine. She knew she should not have requested it, but Lilith's swordplay was too enthralling that she just had to watch it again.

When it was done, Lilith did not make her sword disappear this time. Instead, she handed it over to Elle, sword handle facing her, so she could touch it since she noticed her eyes staring at it so curiously and longingly.

Elle stared at the sword in her hand. It was as though her eyes were the sky and countless stars had filled it up. "It's so much lighter than I thought! And it's so lovely! Like it's made of light ice! Can I try swinging it?"

"Of course."

Thrilled, Elle moved back to what she perceived was a safe distance from Lilith and swung the sword. "Wow. It even feels awesome. I wonder if... this can kill vampires."

Lilith stared at her with eyes stretched wide and Elle fell silent as well after realizing exactly just what she had said. She could not believe she had blurted that out loud! She caught her lower lip between her teeth and worried about it.

"It can." Lilith responded in a quiet voice. "The truth is... most of the witches' weapons were made to kill vampires."

The information had Elle keeping her silence. She remembered that in the books she had read in the library, it had stated there how the vampires and witches were never recorded to ever have been in a good relationship. That the two races had been enemies since a long time back.

"I want to..." Elle started, looking down at the beautiful hilt of the sword in her hand. "... to be able to at least defend myself against enemies that are targeting me. It's frustrating... being so helpless and always needing others to rescue me."

The sword in Elle's hand shattered and disappeared into smoke right before her eyes. She was momentarily awed by the display before her gaze flew to the witch queen's face.

"I don't think it's a sword that you need, for you to do that." Lilith said in a serious tone, causing Elle to crease her brows a little.

"What... are you trying to say?"