If The Moon Fell Down Tonight

You heard footsteps after a minute of crying. You sprang to your feet and dashed down the stairs, desperate for a place to hide. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, you looked around for some place that would conceal you. Hearing the footsteps growing louder, you saw a small closet on the side of the stairs. Running over to it, you retched it open. There wasn’t much in it besides cleaning supplies and rags. Stuffing yourself inside, you shut the door, listening all the while. After a second, you heard someone walking down the stairs, and then sitting above your head.

Great. Just great. They just had to sit above me…

You listened, not daring to move an inch for fear that they might hear you. After what seemed like eternity, there was a low grunt as the person stood up, then a soft thumping as they trotted down the stairs. You could hear the sound of shoes on wood as they walked away, leaving the foyer completely silent. Cautiously opening the door, you glanced around before dashing across the hall and into another. You loped to your quarters, flinging the door open and throwing yourself unceremoniously inside. You ran over to the French doors and threw them open, running outside. You looked over the gardens and smelled the air.
It felt good to be outside, but you wished that you could get closer to the roses. There was nothing on the small landing, not even a chair; so you leaned against the railing, your arms laced across the balcony. You could see the workers walking around the grounds with big sun hats and garden attire. Some pushed wheelbarrows full of dirt while others kneeled on the ground, tending to the plants. Fountains dotted the landscape, and the lake that you had seen earlier was set off to the left of everything. From where you were standing it looked as if there was a waterfall flowing into the lake.

Quite suddenly you felt the presence of someone else in the room. You spun around to see Jake leaning casually against the door frame, looking at you. You looked at him with wide eyes, wondering what he wanted. This was the second time that he had come to talk to you in your room, and the last time you could hardly call it talking.

It seemed like a good 5 minutes before anyone spoke.

“So how do you like it here?”

You knew that you should have been expecting to hear his voice, but it still made you jump. He saw you flinch and chuckled.
“You don’t need to be afraid. I won’t hurt you,” he said as he watched you with piercing eyes; they seemed to dance with amusement.

“How do I know that? You’ve kept me here against my will,” you replied in a low murmur.

“Would you like to go outside?” Jake asked suddenly.

You raised an eyebrow, questioning if he was sane or not. After a minute of arguing with yourself, you decided that it couldn’t hurt and nodded. Besides you needed the fresh air anyway.

“Good,” Jake said, grabbing your hand and tugging you outside. “I have a surprise for you.”
You furrowed your eyebrows but followed anyway. Jake led you down the hall and then through a few other corridors and flights of stairs. More than once you tried to tug your hand from his grip but he just tightened his hold on you. It seemed as if he was desperate to touch you somehow. After a good five minutes of walking he went through a large carpeted room toward a small sliding door. He opened it for you and motioned for you to go through. You cautiously walked through the door way and he followed, shutting the door.

You were outside. Actually outside. Finally, it felt so good. A breeze ruffled your hair slightly as Jake put a hand on your back and gently pushed you forward. You walked, slightly dazed, toward the lawn that started when the patio ended. Your feet hit grass and your shoes sank a half an inch into the ground. There were walls that had green plants growing on them, some of them with flowers blooming on them. Jake took a little pink rose and planted it in your hair and you blushed. He beamed, very happy that he got a reaction out of you. He took your hand and this time you didn’t try to pull it out; you were too busy looking around you. He led you past several fountains and statues before stopping just outside of one of the walls. He reached down and took out a small, old looking key and moved aside some of the plants, fitting the key into the wall. There was a door in the wall!
The door swung open to reveal a small garden with a large tree in the center of it. Lining the wall were empty flower beds with rocks as rims, and in the corners there were large rose bushes. The tree was an apple tree and there were a few red apples hanging down low enough that you could grab them easily. Jake led you inside and you followed, completely in awe.

“This is yours,” he said. You looked at him as if he had three heads.

“W-what?”

“My mother insisted that you have your own place to call your own. So this garden has been prepared for you. There are tools in the little shed over there,” Jake pointed to a small grey shed that you hadn’t noticed before, located just to the left of the door. “You can come here whenever you want.”

“Really? This is really mine?” You said, completely shocked at what you were hearing. You slightly pinched yourself to see if you were dreaming and it hurt. This was real.

“Yes. Well, I’ll leave you to yourself. Here is the key,” he said, handing you an old skeleton key that he had originally unlocked the door with. “There are two, one for safe keeping incase you lose the other one.”

Jake handed you another key that was attached to a chain.

“You could probably find a hiding place for this one,” he added.

You took the keys, you mouth forming a small o. He smiled slightly before turning on his heel and walking out, softly shutting the door behind him. You stared after him in awe. Could he really be giving you this kind of freedom? Why? So many questions. But you would have time later to ask them. For now, you wanted to investigate this place. You padded over to the door and opened it, poking your head out. Jake was no where to be found. You made a mental note of where your garden was before heading out in the opposite direction of the mansion, exploring the massive garden. You were, however stopped quite suddenly when you heard a voice.

“Jacelen?”

You spun on your heel to face none other than Luke himself. You flew at him before he could blink his eyes, wrapping your arms around his middle and trying to squeeze the air out of him. It took him a second to react before he hugged you back, nearly twice as hard. He lifted you effortlessly into the air and swung you around before setting you neatly on the ground. You were grinning ear to ear. He grinned back before his grin faded and tears started to fall down his face. Your smile faded as well as you wrapped your arms around his waist again and looked up at him with a questioning face.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright. What are you crying about?” You asked.

“I-I thought t-that I lost y-you,” he sobbed, pulling you back into his arms, pressing your face into his chest as he slowly rocked you back and forth. “I w-was worried th-that you had b-been k-killed or something!” He kissed your hair as he tightened his grip on you.

“Come on,” you said, wiggling out of his grasp and taking his hand. You needed to get out of the middle of the garden before someone saw you. You retraced your steps to the door and inserted the key into the lock, swinging the door open. You pulled Luke inside, shutting the door softly behind him. He immediately caught you up in a kiss.

His lips were soft and warm. You kissed him back and placed a hand on the back of his neck and one in his unruly hair. He stopped kissing you and cradled your head in his hands.

“I love you so much.”