Amoureux by Brainne K (best books under 200 pages TXT) 📕

startled I through up my hand intending to slap my dream world intruder. I was expecting to feel the stinging satisfaction of a successful slap to the cheek, but it never came, I never made contact. A sharp pain went through my wrist and I turned gasping in surprise. The face that looked down at mine looked hurt and just as surprised as I was.   

 “Did I startle you?” his voice was kind, full of concern. I stared blankly at him not knowing what to say, when I didn’t answer he said, “I’m sorry.”    

 I stuttered not expecting an apology, “N-No, sorry,” I took a step back and stepped on something I didn’t bother looking down. “It was just a reflex, I’ve been jumpy since I got here.” I tried to smile but only managed an awkward grimace. Why can’t I think strait? He released my wrist, and I realized it didn’t hurt so much as tingle…  

   “You must be new,” smiling he let my wrist go and looked me directly in the eye. “New people are always jumpy, don’t worry it goes away after a while.” His violet eyes,(they were more of a deep purple) and my yellow-green, held each others company and refused to let go. It were as if they looked deep inside me and read part of my unpleasant past as if reading an open book. I drew in my breath and nodded, panic running wiled through my blood. My wrist ached for the tingling sensation he left on my skin, it was familiar as if we had touched before, something in the very recesses of my mind was calling to be sent forward, but nothing came. I foolishly ignored it.   

 “My name is Bren, Bren Ramses.” The way he said it made me want to laugh, for no apparent reason. Bren, I thought to myself, what a strange name… He held out his right hand and said, “Its nice to meet you…” I realized he wanted a name so I said without thinking, “Isabelle”, I grabbed onto his hand with a small shake.    Of course it wasn’t my real name but names meant a lot to me, so I wasn’t about to give it away to the perfect stranger. Maybe under different circumstances but now was not the time. His friendly smile faded like he knew I wasn’t telling the truth, as if he were reading my mind. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but was cut short by a loud hissing noise and than an overly cheerful voice saying, “Alright everyone time for bed!” The voice was from a speaker just over us. My hand was in Bren’s, I hadn’t even noticed. He smiled sheepishly looking down at his feet.   

“Its nice to meet you Isabelle.” He looked up meeting my eyes, he was a whole head taller than me.   

 “You too.” I was almost certin my cheeks were as red as the sheets in my room at the mansion. We let our hands slip away from each other. With one last glance in my direction he glided slowly into his bed on the other side of me. As he covered and slumped into the pillow, the lights turned out suddenly. I was alone in the dark, being swallowed up by the emptiness I felt.  

   Moving my feet along the floor I felt something under foot. I reached down and picked it up, I felt the material in my hand, not recognizing it. I held it up to the little light that flooded in through the glass door and was surprised to see the two looming dark figures of the guards. They stood stationary, unmoving, the only way to tell they were alive was the slow and sure movement of their chests. Watching them closely I climbed into my bed, reaching to take off my hat… It wasn’t there. I panicked, what had happened to it? I felt on the nightstand for it, not there. Near my pillow, not there. Then I remembered the thing I had picked up, yes it was my hat.   

 I rubbed the rough material in my smooth hands, trying to scratch the feel into my memory. I didn’t notice it was gone. I needed my hat, it wasn’t a necessity for my life but it was just nice to have something to hide behind. I’m using it for myself, and as I closed my eyes, I decided. and I’ll use Bren too.

The dream

I was walking, walking fast. Voices echoed off the bright flamboyant walls of the second main hallway. I picked up my pace, almost running, my shoes click-clacking in the shiny black marbled floor. I looked down following the cracks in the marble, I felt the cold radiating off the floor and a small chill ran up than down my spine. My family was a rich one, in fact the richest family in all the land of Elric. My father and mother both had a taste for expensive art and other earthly objects, but mostly art. There was many pictures and many statues and vases, that my parents had decorated our mansion with. As I stopped to admire the multi-colored floral vase sitting on a white pedestal I heard the loud swish of skirts and the soft slap of bare feet on the smooth floor.   

 Looking back a small maid suddenly materialized in her plumb purple and white uniform, her apron starting to slide off her hips with her brisk pace. She was yelling my name, “Sylvia!” she sounded as if she was in a panic, “Miss. Sylvia!” I had never liked this maid, she was always looking down as if she were about to cry, Sandra is her name I think. As our eyes met fear soured through my body and my legs started moving without me telling them to. The small woman took after me running as fast as her maid uniform would allow. I was in a full panicked run now. I looked back expecting the pail expressionless maid to be close enough to grab me, but as I looked back I stumbled slightly when I thought I was going to fall my hands instinctively went out in front of me; but instead of hitting cold marble floor I hit a large smooth surface that rattled me to the bones. I rebounded off one of the many pedestals in the room and fell with a gasp of air. My head pounded and my eyes hurt as I looked up at my favorite vase, in the house, teetering on the edge of breaking. I felt the sting of tears in my eyes but did the best I could not to cry. The Picture of an angel with spread black wings seemed to be looking right at me.   

 “Sylvia!” The maid was close enough to grab the hem of my washed out yellow and white dress. I jumped up hitting the side of the pedestal with my shoulder it twisted me and than everything slowed down as if time was going to stop all together. I saw the maid put her hand over her mouth and muffled the scream that escaped her thin lipped mouth. The vase was falling, than I realized why the maid was screaming, I was directly in its path. I froze with fear, wide eyed and gapping. Than there was a sound that was almost like wind going through a field of flowers… I closed my eyes and clenched my fists tight to my sides, there was a loud crash, than nothing. I felt nothing.  

   I opened my eyes feeling no pain. I looked at Sandra, she who never showed or owned up to emotion, was looking at me completely horrified. She looked at me than the vase that was shattered into a million pieces, than back to me, her jaw went slack with astonishment, her face was a mask of disbelief. I turned around knowing I would be punished severely for what I had just done. I was met by another solid surface as I turned, this surface was not hard cold stone but soft and scratchy material. I looked up slowly as a pair of firm hands fell on my shoulders, tears were streaming down her face, and curios brown eyes looked down at her.

    I awoke, breathing hard from surprise. That dream has always been mine, but for unknown reasons, it always ended the same with myself looking in at the scene as if watching from a distance. I could hear the breathing of the two people in the beds next to mine. I rolled over stealing a look at the two guards by the door. Never moving never taking a break, and never talking. I snuggled deep into the soft sheets resting my head against my amazingly fluffy pillow. I didn’t feel like sleeping even if I was dog tiered. I thought about my dream, It wasn’t really a dream but a memory. I was around six, it was the year before my mother had died. I remember looking up into my fathers brown eyes, his face was staid but kind. He took a deep breath and chuckled, “What am I going to do with you?” He had smiled even though I knew he was mad. He knelt down to my level and said taking my hands in his, “Would you please go find Mr. Butler for daddy darling? We should clean up this mess before your mother notices…”  

   He looked up noticing Sandra for the first time, she was looking down and her hands were clasped tightly together over the middle of her chest, visibly shaken. Her cheeks were a dark red and she looked like a leaf chattering in the wind. “Sylvia,” he wasn’t taking his sight off Sandra. “why were you running from your maid again?” He looked down than back up to Sandra. “You know you aren’t supposed to do that, if mom finds out you could be in big trouble.” He looked at me now, tears were still running down my cheeks into my slightly open mouth. “Well?”  

 I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. “She didn’t want to wash for supper,” Sandra’s voice was quiet.  She looked up sheepishly, “sir.”   

 My father looked down at me, “Sylvi?” My fathers voice was kind but his eyes were harsh, “could you please go find Mr. Butler, and tell him that there is a mess that needs cleaning in the second main hallway?” I nodded my head and rushed off to find Butler, my favorite of all the house keepers.   

  I stopped to look at the damage I had done, the vase was shattered almost to the point of dust.  I took a step toward the shattered pieces of glass and clay, than I saw something wedged between a bigger piece of glass and the floor. I took another step forward. My dad and Sandra were talking silently in the far corner of the room out of ear shot. Taking a few more careful steps, I reached out my hand and very carefully slid a black feather out from under the ruins of the vase.  

 “Isabelle?” I opened my eyes it was