The Butterfly's Keeper

Emelda

The soft sunlight spilling in my bedroom window woke me the next morning. Although I guess I would have woken myself anyway. I'd only fallen off into an uneasy sleep at around four thirty that morning. My mind was racing with thoughts about the previous night. None of it could be possible, yet it had happened. I was sure of it. I knew because I could still remember the tingly feeling i had when Reese kissed me, and I could also remember the feeling of pure fear as it coursed through my veins and surged in my blood. I blinked and shook those dark thoughts from my mind. I pulled off the covers and stood up. I went straight for the bathroom in need of some relaxation and thinking time.

Stripping down, I stepped into the shower and turned the dial to hot. The hot water splashed onto my skin and I cringed as it burned me. I didn't turn it colder though. I gritted my teeth and made myself stand underneath the burning flow of water as it danced across my skin and trickled down my back. I felt as if I could wash all my troubles and fears away with the scalding water. Stupid, but somewhere inside me it seemed to make sense. As I started to get used to the temperature of the water, it didn't burn as much. I turned around and faced the shower head. Closing my eyes, I let the water splash onto my face and relax my body. Each drop was a little too hot on my face and it should have made me uncomfortable but i let it soak my hair and face and the burning sensation was therapeutic. I shampooed my hair and rinsed it thoroughly before using a small bit of conditioner and rinsing that out too. After a while, I turned off the water and stepped out. The icy air hit my skin but i didn't mind. The sharp bitterness of it had the same effect that the steaming water had. I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around myself. I noticed my skin was a light ,shade of pink from the water from the shower. I made my way back to my bedroom and set to work picking out my clothes.

First I rummaged through my drawers and picked out a black bra with simple pink lacing on it and a pair of blue and purple girl's boxers. Then I went to my closet. Sorting through my clothes, I didn't find anything that I felt bothered to wear. In the end I settled on a pair of plain denim jeans and a white tank top with a black zip up over it. I pulled on two random socks, I'm pretty sure they weren't matching, and stuffed my feet into a pair of plain black high tops. I just didn't care about my appearance today. I had too much to deal with, but I didn't want to think about much of it. I half dried my hair and pulled it into a messy, damp ponytail. Halfway downstairs, there was a knock at the door. I trudged down the last few steps and opened the latch. The person cleared their throat heavily before speaking.

"Can we talk?"
I looked him up and down slowly, taking in his loosely fitting jeans, his plain gray t-shirt and gray zip up, and those scruffy Converse he'd been wearing the first day he'd been at school. His hair was messy. Actual messy, rather than his usual styled mess. His eyes were dark and clouded over with sleep. He obviously had a rough night, as did I.
"Fine, one second," I sighed and ran back upstairs quickly to grab my cell phone. I picked it up from my beside table and went back downstairs. Tucking it into my pocket I called to my mom telling her I was going out and shut the door behind me. I stuffed my hands into my pockets and walked down the path in silence. Reese didn't speak either and I didn't want to be the one to break the golden silence. We continued down the path and around the corner, heading in the direction of town. Eventually we stopped at a park. We went inside and Reese led me to a quiet part of the park. We stayed silent the whole way there and it was starting to irritate me. We sat under a big leafy tree in the warm sunshine. I crossed my legs under me as I rested my back against the tree, with Reese sitting beside me watching my every move. It made me feel self conscious and I dropped my gaze to the floor and started idly picking at the grass beneath me. I could still feel his eyes on me and I rolled my eyes and sighed in frustration.

"Can you please start explaining?" I asked him, looking up from the grass. His gaze dropped from me to the floor and he buried his face in his hands with a weary sigh. He looked up to me and he seemed to be conflicted. His face portrayed a hundred emotions at once. I shuffled over to sit closer to him. Trembling, I slowly reached out and laced my fingers with his. I ran my fingers slowly over the soft skin on the back of his hand. We sat there for a second holding hands. I looked up to him and my face twisted in confusion. I thought I had calmed him but he seemed to be even more conflicted than before. His eyes met mine and he suddenly flinched away, slipping his hand out of mine and putting a small distance between us. My face fell with hurt from his rejection, but I shoved it to the back of my mind. This was hardly the worst of my problems. A cold shiver ran down my spine as the image of the previous night flashed in my mind again. I looked at him expectantly and he cleared his throat and finally spoke.

"So, last night. That dragon, it attacked us, that shouldn't have happened, they're not usually vicious animals, I mean they only attack when provoked but we didn't do anything to it I mean it just-"
"Reese."
He stopped babbling furiously and his eyes snapped up to my face. He growled to himself and took a deep breath and started over.
"Em," he began softly. "Do you believe in magic?"
I opened my mouth to reply but then closed it again and frowned. I thought I knew my beliefs.I thought I believed that magic was imaginary and not real. But last night changed that. Last night changed everything.
"I- I'm not sure anymore," I answered truthfully.
"Well would you be willing to consider it?" he asked.
"I guess so," I said, confused.
"Then let me show you," he whispered, that infamous smirk finding its way onto his features and lighting up his whole face. I was at a loss for words. I didn't know whether to agree or to run away calling him crazy. But I couldn't call him crazy, because I'd been there too, so I knew that crazy wasn't true. Nervously, I nodded my head, not able to talk for fear I'd make a fool of myself. He got up from the ground and hesitantly reached out his hand to me to help me up. I took his hand and he pulled me up from the grass, dropping my hand the moment I was on my feet. He led me away from the tree we'd been sitting at and out of the park.

We walked through town quickly until we stopped outside a big building. It was built of stone and had an iron sign above the round doorway, intricately designed with twists and flowers. I squinted in the soft sunlight and peered up at the sign. The word "Library" was formed in capital letters from the black metal bars. I frowned slightly as I didn't remember this being here. Although the street we were on wasn't one I visited particularly often. It was mainly just old, abandoned shops with run down appearances. In fact, from the weathered appearance of the rock and the peeling red paint on the thick, wooden door, this place looked like it was out of business too. I began to ask what we were doing here when Reese reached out and knocked on the door. We waited a moment until the little mail slot in the door was wrenched open quickly. A pair of inky blue eyes looked out from the slot in the door. The person looked up at us.
"Whoah, whoah, step back a bit there, I can't see the faces on you giants," the man said.

I frowned and took a step back, following Reese's example. There was a pause during which the man's indigo colored eyes darted up to us and then back down as he shut the slot with more force than necessary. After a few seconds of muffled grumbling from the other side of the weathered door, there was a clanking sound and the distinctive noise of metal chains rattling. The door swung open to reveal the man. He was short and stubby, with graying hair cropped into an awkward style on his head that looked like a crow's nest. His dark, indigo colored eyes stood out from his face, which had numerous crevices carved into his skin showing every expression ever to cross his face from joy to discontent. He looked at us with something much less than a warm smile and gestured rudely for us to step inside. We both walked through the door, Reese lagging a small distance behind me. To ensure he had his eyes on me at all times, I figured. The short, grumpy man shut the door behind us. We were standing in what appeared to be the foyer. The walls were made of rock and the ceiling was high and created an echoing effect. The walls were ornate with intricate designs carved into the stone. The ceiling was painted magnificently with murals of angelic faced cherubs and heavenly creatures, most of which, I did not know. The cavernous chamber was illuminated by the faint glow of several candles which were attached to the walls by detailed, golden fixtures. After observing all this I noticed the room led off onto seven narrow corridors, each ending in a door.

"Which way to Them," Reese asked the small, irritable man who had answered the door to us.
"Which way do you think it is?" the man snickered. Reese made a low, feral growling sound deep in his chest and i figured he was cursing the man inside his head. The man shook his head, rolled his eyes and sighed before looking up from his three days out of date newspaper.
"Its that one there," he said without a feign of interest, and pointed in the direction of the third door. Reese didn't bother with a thank you, and led me to the door that the man had indicated. He took a shaky breath as he reached for the handle, before wrenching it open. After five seconds without an attack from the other side of the door, he presumed it was safe and stepped through the door into complete darkness, taking me with him.