Monster

18. Seven Lies

                                                I need you to see 

                                                            There's not much innocence 

                                                                                in the imposed darkness 

                                                ---Disappearance of the girl (Phildel)

1832 February 27th

Ten minutes after four O'clock in the morning

Seven Lies

Elsa missed sleep. Seven hours of it. Not the sleep that would soon overtake she and Nicholas in seven months' time, for seven years. She lay in the bed however, thinking about she and Nicholas in the dusty sheets. She smiled to herself. It wasn't something the human Elsa would have done, no. In a secret way, she liked who she was now. She was careless and distracted. 

But was she also callous and evil? 

She could not help what Sven had done to her. 

The curtains were open and moonlight filtered in, bathing her old room in silver. In that moment she felt calm. Calmer than the forest in its slumber. And with that peace came Nicholas's voice, clear and soft, as though he spoke from right beside her.

It is okay to feel human inside, Elsa. To weep, to want, to hate... to love. 

The clear memory of Ronan on the cobblestones came to her. The taste of sweet rust in her mouth. The weeping wind as she trekked away. A sharp sensation seized her heart for a second and she blinked. What was this feeling? She was not sure she had ever felt it before. 

Sliding off the bed, she felt for her dress and found she did not want it, but a new one, as it was too torn and dirty. Her closet empty, she knew she needed to leave the house to fetch one. The sun would not rise for another three hours, she mused, skipping down the stairs. She was out in the moonlight in a second and racing down the deserted street to the nearest boutique. One she had dreamed of from afar but never spent a zloty.

Standing outside one of the windows now, the veranda above grinning with icicle teeth, she gazed at a beautiful, traditional gown, the collar and sleeves moderately ruffled to compliment shoulders and collarbone.

She could see that in the dress, it'd slope low on her back and envelope her waist, flowing down to her feet like a river. She wanted it. Glancing both ways, she marched to the door, found it locked, and then darted around the side of the boutique in a murky alley. She elbowed the window and it shattered, then she climbed through it, snagging her already ruined gown on the jagged shards around the frame. 

Despite the shadows in the shop, Elsa could see as well as a cat, and she moved through the stands and tables, taking up lovely little pearl necklaces, hair brushes, an elegant pair of slippers, a few other gowns that caught her eye, and a lovely feathered hat. Lastly, she ambled on over to the window and stripped then and there, replacing her old, torn garment for the new one. Her long hair tumbled down her bare back and she turned, peeking in the mirror, smoothing the dark material against her frame. It was the perfect fit. She placed the hat on her head before taking up the rest of her stolen goods and unlocking the front door to leave. 

Outside stood at least four SKS members, their weapons pointed at her. One held a sword, its blade catching the gleaming moonlight like a shark's fin. Elsa could pretend to be a mere human, leaving work as late as early morning, but her blazing copper eyes and snowy skin gave her away. She stopped, leaned against the door frame, and smirked. She was a bit thirsty.