Beyond the Prophecy

Sleep for me that night didn’t come easy. Whenever I dozed off, flashes from my night terrors haunted me. It was like watching someone charge towards you under a strobe light, and it repeated itself throughout the night like a broken record. Dolls jumping off their display in my room; crawling across the floor; climbing onto my bed; pulling out slicer knives and raising them up…then me waking up and screaming just before the knives could slash my arm again. Some of the screams weren’t loud; in fact, most were silent half the time, but that’s because I stopped myself before it could get too loud and wake anyone.

My heartbeats came so fast that it felt like my heart nearly shot out of my chest. Tears poured out of my eyes and ran down my cheeks, which already had dried tears on them that made my skin firmer. I knew my eyes were puffy without looking at them. They played tricks on me; every shadow in my room seemed to move on their own. Needless to say, I was too alert and anxious to sleep.

I nearly leapt out of bed when Leda jumped onto it. As she chirped, she moved towards me and curled into a ball. Though I was still panting, I petted Leda to help calm me down. Her purrs ticked my fingertips; it was comforting.

“I’m losing it Leda,” I said in a shaky breath.

The long scar on my arm caught my attention. After all this time, I still couldn’t believe I scratched myself that badly while I slept. My trembling hand reached for it, but a knock at my door almost made me jump out of bed for the second time. Leda beat me to the door, so I watched her behavior before approaching it, in case the one behind the door wasn’t friendly. She stood up on her hind legs and brushed her paws against the door with a chirp. Releasing a deep breath I didn’t know I was holding, I wiped away the tears on my face, combed my fingers through my hair and adjusted my crooked clothing. Then walked the rest of the way, picked up Leda, and opened the door to see Chris on the other side of it. Leda moved from my arms to his while I avoided contact, so he wouldn’t see any tears that I might have missed.

“What is it?” I asked, my voice a little hoarse.

“I heard your screams from the kitchen. Are you all right?”

“What were ya doing in the kitchen at…” I began, just before glancing at my bedside clock and then back at him, “…5:00 in the mornin’? Ya have an early meetin’?”

“No. I couldn’t sleep, so I went to the kitchen for a snack.” He reached for my arm and turned it, exposing my scar. “I see you’re having trouble sleeping as well.”

“Yeah,” I said, swallowing back a few tears. “Those nightmares of mine were more traumatizin’ than I thought.”

With a slow nod, he handed over Leda and said, “Don a pair of shoes and warmer clothing, and then meet me downstairs. I want to show you something.”

“Now? I just want to sleep.”

“You won’t get any at this rate, and I don’t think I will either. This trip may benefit the both of us.”

“Trip?”

“You’ll see.”

Ten minutes later, dressed in several layers of warm clothing, I met Chris in the living room. “Okay,” I said with a yawn, “where are we goin’?”

Instead of telling me, he took my hands and teleported us to our destination. My head pounded while my vision blurred. I placed my hand on my temple until I stopped seeing double. That is, until a cold gust hit me hard, like oncoming traffic, and froze me inside and out. Chris took my hand and led me through the trees that surrounded us. I could hear the squishy sound if sand beneath our shoes as we made our way closer to the surf. The icy breeze carried the scent of salt water and something fowl, like rotten eggs.

“Is this the Hudson?” I asked. “It smells like it.”

“The estuary ahead is the Long Island sound. We’re near the edge of the island.”

“Couldn’t ya teleport us to a place with a heater?”

We stopped at a tree closest to the surf. “Wait here. I’m going back to get something.”

“Sorry?

He teleported back and I stood in place, stunned. I couldn’t believe he left me behind. How was being at the edge of the island supposed to help me sleep? With hypothermia?
Chris came back with a plush blanket in his arms. We sat beside the tree, but I nearly stood up right away because of the cold sand. He covered me in the blanket, but I moved part of it to cover him too.

“If we’re both goin’ to brave the cold, then we’re both goin’ to use the blanket.”

“I’ll be fine without it.”

“Grand, but we should still share it.” I huffed and shook my head when he pushed it away, but then I threw part of the blanket over him.

“If you insist, then very well.” One of his arms snaked around my back, while the other moved beneath my legs. He pulled me onto his lap before I had a chance to resist.

“What are ya doin’?”

“If you truly want us to share the blanket, then this is the only way to do so without struggling to remain covered by it.”

As he adjusted the blanket, I fought a smile. The last time we were this close was in Aciago’s grotto, trying to get oil from his staff with my fire power. Speaking of fire…

“Maybe I can use my fire power to keep us warm.”

“That’s a bad idea. You’re still in a vulnerable state, and you need to practice using it first. The last thing we need is for you to accidentally burn us alive.”

“Ah, Jaysus you’re probably right. Why’d ya bring me here anyway?”

“Whenever I need some time to think, or when I just want a moment to get away from everything without going too far, I come here. Since we were both having a rough night, I postulated that coming here might help.”

“Ya come even when it’s this cold?”

“Yes. Though the weather has been unusually cold for the autumn season.”

“It’s New York. Are ya really surprised?” As my head rested on his shoulder, I said to him, “I can kind of see why you like it here. It’s peaceful. Except for that smell. Why couldn’t you sleep?” I asked after turning my head towards his.

“Because of what we discussed by the piano.”

“Something tells me it has nothing to do with what I told ya and everything about what ya told me.” His silence said it all. “Do you miss her?”

“Yes, I do.”

“What was she like? If ya don’t mind me asking.”

“She was beautiful, inside and out,” he began while staring up at the sky. “The only time she was able to put me in my place was during the piano lessons. Sometimes, when I didn’t listen to her instructions, she’d actually strike the back of my hands with a ruler.”

I laughed. “Ya let her do that? Did ya hit her back?”

He chuckled. “Truth be told, I wanted to grab a yardstick and hit her harder, but the strange thing was that I respected her more because she had the audacity to do it in the first place.”
Smirking, I teased, “Oh I see how it is. Ya like it rough.” We laughed. “Wait, how come ya didn’t respect me every time I stood up to ya?”

“Simple. Her intention was to teach me something I wanted to learn. As for you, you were just being a tremendous pain in the ass.” He laughed when I jabbed him in the stomach.

“What did she look like?”

“She had blonde hair that went a little passed her shoulders and blue eyes darker than mine. She was of average height. Her smile could light up a room, and her glare could set it aflame. Figuratively. She was…always doing crossword puzzles, but would spend every moment playing the piano if she could. She always said the phrase, ‘The plot thickens…,’ whenever an opportunity arose.”

“Do ya think…you’d ever be able to fall in love again?” I asked hesitantly. “I mean, she’d want you to, wouldn’t she?”

“She would. But part of me believes it’s impossible to find someone that would replace her.”

“Ya wouldn’t be replacin’ her, Chris. When ya love someone, that doesn’t really change. When ya love someone new, ya make room for them in yer heart, even if there’s a piece of it that still loves the one ya were with before. So, do ya think there’s enough room for someone new?”
His arms moved around my stomach before he held me closer. “It’s a definite possibility,” he whispered.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and fought a smile. My heart pounded quickly in my chest for the millionth time that night, but this time it wasn’t tied to the nightmares. He must’ve know the effect he had on me. Every move, every look, every touch, even the sound of his voice, drove me craze. I wanted more. So much more than he’s given me.

With any other guy, I would’ve been so tired of waitin’ that I would’ve made the first move already. This was different. He’s the only guy that’s ever rejected me. Granted, he was merely rejecting my blood when I offered to let him feed from me, but it still bothered me. I never get rejected by guys. It sounds terrible, but it’s the truth. And although we’ve flirted with each other, and even sort of kissed, there was still that rejection hanging over my head. It’s why I wanted him to be the one to initiate a relationship between us. Based on how he was acting with me tonight, I knew we were getting closer.

“The reason you had trouble sleeping,” he began while exposing my scar from my long sleeve, “was because of how you got this scar, wasn’t it.”

I tried not to let my eyes water, but I couldn’t stop my body or my voice from trembling a little. “Yeah…The nightmares kept coming back to me every time I fell asleep. How strange is this…I’ve been attacked by vampires, giant animals, and an incubus. But a dream about dolls is what shakes me up. It’s silly, isn’t it? Being this afraid of a dream, I mean.”

“Phobias are no laughing matter, regardless of what kind they are.”

“Still, you won’t judge me on it, or crack joke with Damien about it?”

“No I won’t pass judgment. As you said earlier, ‘the ballroom is Vegas.’ Nothing we discussed will leave it.”

“But we’re talkin’ about it now. Doesn’t that go against it?”
We were silent for a moment, until he broke it. “Touché.” Both of us laughed.

“In that case, we will be Vegas instead. Anything we discussed in the ballroom stays between the two of us.”

“Ya got yerself a deal.” The weariness of staying up all night hit me hard as my idle eyes glanced at the sky. “It’s gettin’ lighter up there. The sun’s goin’ to rise soon.” I took a deep breath and quickly realized what a mistake it was. “Man it stinks here,” I stated with a cough. “Smells like sweaty gym socks and dirty diapers. Are ya sure it’s not the Hudson?” We both laughed. “How are ya not cringing from it?”

“No idea. After living here for so long, I must be immune.”

I laughed harder. “That’s so sad!” When I stopped laughing, I said to him, “Ya know, my ma and I used to wake up before sunrise and sing to the sun. She said it was a way of invitin’ it to the new day, to let it know that it shouldn’t be afraid to rise, and that it’s always welcomed here.” With a lazy smile, I stared off into the distance. “I loved those mornin’s. At first, she’d be the one to wake me, but after some time, I’d be the first one up.”

“Is that what made you interested in music?”

“Yeah and no. My ma brought out the singer in me, but it was my da that introduced me to instruments.

“When I was seven, I heard him playin’ the piano one night when I got up for a glass of milk. He used the basement as a recording studio. I saw how much joy making music gave him and wanted to learn how to play the piano too. ‘Oh, no, no, no,’ he told me, ‘the piano, right now, isn’t for ya.’ He handed me a guitar and said, ‘But this is’.” I don’t remember his exact words, but he said somethin’ like, ‘Ya have a nomadic spirit, one that lives for an adventure. I know, because I’m the same way. A free spirit like yours needs an instrument that can be played anywhere.’ He was right. Da taught me how to play the guitar himself. He…promised to show me how to play the piano by my thirteenth birthday, but he never made it…”

This time, I let any tears that formed flow freely from my eyes. “God I miss him. And my ma…” I whispered.

“Was the unfinished song you presented to me today originally composed with a piano?”

“Yeah,” I said with a sniffle. “My da played it but we worked on the lyrics together.”

“You should hire a professional to help you finish the song. I can ask around and find the best one for you.”

I scoffed. Then I rose to my feet and turned to him with a glare. “Ya don’t get it, do ya? If that’s all I wanted, I would’ve hired someone years ago.”

Chris stood up quickly and walked right up to me. “What do you want from me? I told you that I couldn’t play the piano.”

“Yes you can! You just refuse to play it!”

“Fine then, I refuse.”

“Why? Because it reminds you of Jocelyn?” Moving closer to him, I placed my hands on his shoulders. “Ya told me that she loved playin’ the piano, and ya must have loved it too. That kind of passion shouldn’t be wasted. She wouldn’t want ya to – ”

“How would you know?” he spat in defense.

“Um, hello? I lost my music instructor too! There were sooo many times I nearly quit music because of it.”

His face softened. “What stopped you?”

“Like I said, passion like that shouldn’t be wasted. My ma and da used to tell me that. I didn’t want to throw away what they taught me, so I sought out to master it instead. To pick up where they left off. Every time I sang a note or played a tune, I did it for them. I did it to honor them.”

“So why ask me to help, instead of a professional?”

I smiled a little. “Because you knew them too. I want to honor their memory with it. I thought that, since you’d be playing the piano again, we can honor Jocelyn’s too.”
Through my peripherals, I caught the start of the sunrise. I turned to it with a bittersweet smile and stared for as long as I could before my eyes began to hurt. With my eyes shut, I could still see the light through my lids. The sun was warm, which was a nice change from the cold air that won’t quit.

“All right,” said Chris.

“All right what?”

“I’ll help you finish the song. We can present it at the coronation ceremony in a few weeks.”

My mouth hung open while I stared at him, stunned. I wanted to say something, but I waited to see if he really meant it, or if he would take back what he said. “Are ya serious?”

“Yes. But I still won’t make any promises—”

I threw my arms around him. I didn’t even think about it or even hesitate, I just hugged him and held on tightly. I half expected him to push me away, but I didn’t care. Finally, I’d be able to finish a song that would truly honor my parents, and I got to work on it with someone I cared about.
To my surprise, Chris hugged me back. Since he couldn’t see my face, I allowed myself to smile. Being in his arms felt amazing. All I wanted to do was to have them wrapped around me for as long as possible. I wondered if he felt the same way.

“Thank ya,” I uttered. “Seriously, thank ya,” I said in a louder tone. “Ya have no idea…no idea how much this means to me.”

“I have an inkling.”

My smile grew. “Still, thank ya.”

Slowly, I moved one of my hands to his cheek and gave him a gentle kiss on the other. It didn’t last long, though I kept the closeness to him and his face, even when he turned his face to look directly at mine. His gaze never left mine as his hand moved to cover my hand, which still touched his cheek. I thought he was going to remove it, but instead, he covered it and laced his fingers with mine. I could feel butterflies flapping uncontrollably in my stomach as I thought, This is it. He’s finally going to kiss me! Instead, he teleported us back to my bedroom in the manor.

My head pounded from the teleportation. “Awe, fuck Chris, warn me the next time yer goin’ to do that!”

He smiled and let me go as I fell back onto my bed. “Forgive me. You looked as if you were going to pass out from losing sleep. I wanted to return before that happened.”

Seriously? Was he dense? Those weren’t sleepy eyes I gave them; they were bedroom eyes! Surely with all his experience with women, he’d know that. Unless it was his excuse for not making a move.

“I’m not sleepy,” I stated, but my body betrayed me by yawning soon after.

“No, of course not.”

“Shut up.”

He sat on the edge of the bed and slipped off my sneakers. Then he moved onto my socks. He took his time to slip them off, teasing the skin beneath it with every gently touch. It felt so good. If only he knew what he was doing to me. Had his telepathy gone both ways, I’d be able to read his thoughts and see if he did.

“Do you sleep with this many layers of clothing?” he asked.

“…What? Oh, well, ya keep the manor pretty warm, so no. I usually…sleep in a nightgown. Or just my underwear.”

He smirked. “I’m not stripping you down.”

“I didn’t ask you to,” I said in defense. “Can ya help me with my sweater at least? It’s hard to take off hoodies when I’m this tired.”

Chris moved beside me as I sat up and raised my arms. He kept his gaze directly at my eyes while his hands moved to the hem. Leisurely, his hands slipped beneath it, using his wrists to lift my sweater. His cool hands touched my skin for a moment, making me tremble since we just came from outside, but the thought of his hands against my skin made me scarlet. Unfortunately, my t-shirt dropping between his hands and my skin put an end to it. Regardless, his hands grazed the sides of my torso as he continued lifting the sweater off me. Once the sweater came completely off, I noticed that the distance separating Chris and me shrunk down to a few centimeters.

“You’re doin’ it on purpose,” I said lowly.

“Doing what?”

“Teasin’ me. Ya didn’t have to slip my sweater off like that. I know you’re not dense, Chris. Ya have to ability to sense emotions, and mine is written all over my face right now.”
His shoulders dropped. “I can feel your desire as if it’s tangible. But does it stem purely from a physical attraction?”

“No. If you’d paid closer attention to my emotions then you’d know that.”

He looked away and said, “I should go. Get some rest.”

I let out a heavy sigh and fell back onto the bed. Leda came up to me and rubbed her head on my arm. That’s when my eyes landed on my scar. Seeing it reminded me of my reoccurring nightmare; all the negative thoughts and feelings that came with it bubbled to the surface. I shot out of my bed and ran out my room, hoping to catch Chris before he went too far. Luckily, he was still climbing the staircase up to the third floor.

“Wait. For tonight at least, could ya stay here?”

He didn’t respond; just looked at my had as it scratched my scar. I didn’t even know I was doing it until I followed his glance.

“Who knows,” I continued, “Maybe it’ll benefit the both of us,” I finished, quoting him earlier.

Chris gave me a tiny smile before slipping out of his coat and descending the stairs. “All right.”

Upon reentering my room, I slipped into the left side of the bed while he took off his shoes. Leda, who was still on my bed, curled up at the edge. I turned to face Chris as he pulled the cover over us. The comforter we used at the beach remained a crinkled heap besides my door.

“Thanks for stayin’.”

“No problem.”

I tugged on the hem of his blue t-shirt and with a smirk I said, “I’m surprised yer wearin’ this much clothin’ to sleep. Ya were in yer birthday suit when I saw ya sleepin’ last.”

“I can strip down to nothing if you prefer,” he replied, a sexy smirk coming on his face.”

Just the thought if that was a major turn on for me, and I nearly took him up on the offer. “Honestly, it’s absolutely temptin’ and all, but I won’t get any sleep with ya layin’ naked next to me.”

He chuckled, but then sat up and pulled off his socks. It wasn’t until his hands moved to the bottom of his shirt that my eyes widened. Jaysus, is he really goin’ to strip? I thought. My lips parted when he took off his shirt. Oh baby, keep goin,’ I instantly thought. Mind out of the gutter, Natasha. He can hear your thoughts! I saw Chris’s eyes widen while a smile formed. “Shit, ya heard my thoughts, didn’t ya?” As I hid beneath the comforter, he let out a hearty laugh.

“I can’t recall the last time I laughed this hard. Thank you for that.”

“Yea, sure, anytime,” I said with a titter.

He cracked up again. “We should really get some sleep,” he decided once his laughter died down.
Though he was under the covers, enough of his skin was showing to make me salivate. I stared at his muscular arm resting on the blanket the way a hungry dog stares at a steak. When I heard him chuckle, my eyes focused back to his face.

“If just my arm is keeping you from falling asleep, I can only imagine how late you can stay up had I exposed myself completely.”

“I know. Pathetic, isn’t it? I’ll try harder to fall asleep, starting now. G’night.”

“Night? Good morning.”

I glanced at the sunlight peaking between my curtains and smiled. “Yeah. Good mornin’.”

Chris didn’t utter a word after that. Within a minute or two, his eyebrows relaxed and his lips parted. The ends of my lips curled; watching him sleep peacefully, I knew it was the end of his sleepless night. Whether he finally dozed off because he was tired, or because he wasn’t sleeping alone, I didn’t care. I’m just glad he was able to sleep. Imagining myself waking up next to him seemed like a great way to start the day. I could only hope that the feeling was mutual.

Drowsiness washed over me before I knew it. It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep. The night terrors didn’t haunt me this time, but what happened next shocked me to my very core.