Til' Death Do Us Part

Chapter Seventeen

    Later through the hour, when most of the dancers started to leave, hundreds more of people began to filter in and I decided to take the only chance I might have had.

    "Hey, uh..Charley?" I asked as I fiddled with some of the clear cloth that wrapped around my arms. The bells around the cloth around my legs jingled quietly as I walked and I could feel anxiety pile up in my chest as I made my way to her.

    Charley turned around and I admired the kind of tan she had. It went well with her costume which bore white and blue stripes and was absolutely beautiful with her complexion and smile.

    "Yes, Elizabeth? Are you feeling alright, do you need to take a minute?" After a half minute of me not responding she looked at me dumbfounded and slightly confused before motioning to me once again, "The dancing. Has it made you tired or something?"

    "No but I have a question for you."

    "About the dance? Well, usually no one can fully master it by the first day or even few days but I'm sure you'll learn, it's pretty easy once you become accustomed to it."

    "Not that. Charley, what really is this place? I've seen..a lot of women leave with horrible bandage and cover up jobs on their necks and since I've been here..in the past twenty minutes really, I've seen twelve of them in counting. And in their conversations-Rome's and Ms.Percy's. Is what they were talking about true? I probably sound really stupid but-"

    "Yes." Charlie interrupted me, "You would sound pretty stupid if I didn't know what you were talking about but there is only one thing I will tell you. Figure it out the hard way or the easy way. Keep your mouth shut and do research, there are too many people in this place and I wouldn't be able to cover the material correctly. Or even really at all unless you'd be okay going out with me."

     I hadn't thought it would be this easy. Even though researching was probably the first thing I should have done. I nodded in thanks before Charley smiled at me, signaling for me to follow her.

    "I'll help you out of that but once you do all that researching. Once you know about it for yourself, I'll try and help you decipher truth and tale and afterwards you speak not a word of it until you're asked. Do not act foolishly here because it has and can kill women like you."

    I nodded, careful not to say a word until she was done. If I did, she could completely stop on the track she was on and I didn't want that to happen so soon.

    "When you get back to Romulus, act like you did earlier."

    "Why do you and Ms.Percy call him Romulus? Is Rome his abbreviated name?"

    "What did I tell you Elizabeth?"

    "Right." I took the hint and only followed her, waiting until we were in the dressing room to learn how to take this damn costume off. Her entire demeanor had changed since I'd asked and I hadn't expected it in the slightest.

    So now here I was after my part time still reading the same pages and sites and wikipedia's I had been since I'd gotten home as I had no idea what to read and what not to. It was past four in the morning and I was still awake, carelessly playing with my own health in the process of learning someone else's. There was no answer in my mind. I'd held his hand. There was color in Rome's face. He was only nineteen and yet he looked like he was in his late twenties.

    There was an air around him that made him different-he talked like he was of noble stature but he wore the same trenchcoat and hat everywhere. He certainly looked it but he didn't act like he was stuck up, he seemed humbled which was something I hadn't seen in a long time. From almost anyone. Not even from Dr.Harvey-he'd seemed disappointed and upset but at the same time he'd acted on edge and like he had to act that way.

    Word Count: 742