Camille Ellison had six sisters, but each one died. One after another, each on the full moon of the first six months of that year.
She believed the first was accidental, the second, third, and fourth could be passed as coincidence; But as the death...
She'd died of poisoning. A poison death didn't sound accidental in the slightest, yet Vera and Ruth hadn't seemed to wonder about it.
"Do you think her death was an accident?" I'd asked them a week before the funeral service. They had just smiled sadly as if I was having trouble understanding something. They paid me a second of attention before going back to talking to each other.
Nobody dies of poisoning accidentally, and I knew it. Everybody with the proper schooling would know it as well.
The smell of rain washed in, pulling me out of my thoughts. Homeowners in the town square began putting out rain barrels, earning curses from the merchants selling products out on the streets. Children disappeared inside for few moments at a time, returning with cloaks and boots, presumably to stomp in puddles with.
Eventually, the merchants gave up with the rain barrels in their way and packed up their kits before returning to their flats. They wouldn't want their product to get damaged.
A merchant can make good money in the streets of Astrea, Especially around this time of year. With the Masquerade Ball and week of events before that, Astrea was usually swamped with off-islanders.
Every once in and while I would buy something from one of them, especially if one looked like they could use the money, yet somehow whatever I bought would always end up missing.
"Excuse me." A smooth voice says, startling me once again out of my daydream as we step apart after bumping into eachother.
"Apologies sir," I glance up, tucking my hair behind my ears in an effort to see the person I clumsily ran into.
He was tall, quite a bit more so than myself. A small mole sat right above his lips, which had curved up into a small smile. His skin was tan, with almost a translucent glow that I couldn't place, yet his hair was a striking white mess atop his head.
"The fault is all mine." He said, smiling like a gentleman once again. "I must have busied myself with the upcoming storm. It's causing quite the chaos amongst the streets." A low chuckle emancipated from his throat. "It really is my bad."
I watched it bob forward before replying.
"Maybe the rains will bring in the summer weather."
"We must pray. The coldest has gone on for far too long."
I grinned, feeling a bit more comfortable. He seemed about my age, "It seems as if the cold months grow longer and longer every year. It gets quite dull."
The first drops of the rain fell, splattering the pavement and catching in his lashes. The boy had the longest lashes I had ever seen, and as the rain turned into more than a little shower the droplets began to fall down his cheeks, staining paths of nature. The tears glistened like gold as they dripped off of his jawline.
"Was there a specific reason you were in the market today?" He asked, pulling off his cloak and wrapping it around my shoulders. I seemed to have forgotten mine today.
"Looking for answers and hiding from questions." I peeked up at him and found a thoughtful expression settled onto his face. "You?"
"I was looking for a dear friend of mine. She has seemed to get a little lost."
My heart fell to my stomach, pausing to think I may have gathered the wrong intentions from his sincere smiles. Perhaps he was already smitten and truly was just a gentleman. "Apologies sir, but I have not."
"Ah, don't be worried. We will all find each other one way or another." He paused, and then opened his mouth to speak again, "do you have somewhere you are planning on taking shelter, or shall we just spend all day out in the rain. I think it would be quite interesting to say the least."
I sighed, the moment of tranquility shattered into tiny pieces, washed away by the rain. "I suppose I should walk back to my flat. Wouldn't want to catch a cold."
He nodded, and then took my hand to stop me from turning around. "It would be rude of me to end today on such terms, do you enjoy cider?"
I nodded, trying to put a damper on the rising hope in my chest. Perhaps I would finally have a friend, even if he already had a partner. Yet since when do friends with partners ask people to have a cider with them?
"I'm quite busy today, finding my friend in all, but does tomorrow suit you?" He asked.
"Of course. Same time I presume?" I said, slipping off his cloak.
He pushed my hands back when I tried to give the black fabric back to him, "keep it until tomorrow, you need it more than I do. By the way, I didn't catch your name, what was it?"
"Camille. Camille Ellison."
"It was lovely meeting you, Camille. I'm Luc," he smiled once more and then wash off, twisting his way through the people, rushing to get to their homes.
Walking back home, empty of answers, but swirling with questions I realized that was the first person I'd talked to in several years. Possibly a decade, and it felt lovely. He must not be around here, or else he'd know not to speak to me.
Even if it will most likely kill me, I'll risk the chances anyway. There's only so much time one can go alone before they begin to go crazy, and I think I was just on the very cliff edge.
***
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Chapter two is finished! I was really pleased with the way this turned out, and I hope you are as well. This chapter was relatively easy to write, which makes me worried for the upcoming chapters because those are the ones I tend to experience massive writer's block during. Anyway, I'm beginning to love Luc and his form of speech! It makes him sound like an important prince from somewhere in England or France. Tell me what you think!
have a wonderful day! -Elle
This piece is completely written by me. If there are any references to any characters, places, or themes, it is purely coincidental. This novel is exclusively on Wattpad so if you notice it anywhere other than here, it has been illegally stolen. Please notify the author right away if this happens.
