The Red Wing Mansion

Chapter Twenty-Six

As I hold onto Claudius Fontaine's hand in this dance of ours, in his empty, rotting mansion – I might feel he knows what I know, but all the game playing suddenly leaves my mind when I just focus on the feel of his hand around mine, his touch on my waist.

I feel the change in him too, by the way he relaxes his hand holding mine up, and I feel myself step forward and rest my cheek on his chest, over his dark suit and grey scarf.

I breathe in his human cologne while our only music is the breeze of the light wind.

It's pretty cool tonight for summer.

But for once, the past doesn't matter.

Especially after feeling it.

Especially after hearing what he said to her... to me, from his past.

Almost like the fire of resentment went out, and all we were left with was this empty place, creaking floorboards and each other, both whole and both here, right now.

Nothing was taking this moment from us.

Dancing to the air.

It's kind of... god... it was almost tragically hilarious.

I start to laugh quietly, snickering as I keep my cheek against him, leaning more of my weight onto him, my hand slips from his, as I wrap both arms around him and squeeze him, while looking at the dust and the spiderwebs and the darkness... and that forsaken axe... and that white glove just withering away on the uneven floorboards.

"What's so funny?" Fontaine, my boss, and my... what seems to be, perhaps my soulmate... since we found each other... he sounds, for the first time, disconnected from buried emotion.

Now he sounds genuinely curious what I want – me, this me.

"This whole situation is rather grim," I say, very seriously, with tears in my eyes – from emotion, not negative or positive, just emotion.

Fontaine actually lets out a funny noise of agreement, like a gruff scoff, but still... he doesn't disagree. I squeeze him a bit tighter and he stiffens, so I loosen my hug, but still sway with him side to side, my toes occasionally stepping on his.

He is not annoyed enough to pull away, so I keep holding him, I just don't dare to squeeze out my obvious affection again. He seems to understand, that I understand his own apprehension about 'feelings' – yet every action he has taken is about his 'feelings'. I snicker again, as I think about how silly Fontaine is. But then I seem to really absorb, out of nowhere, that he did wait centuries... that's a long... awfully long time... to stay in the same place just waiting for me.

I sigh now, melancholy, "Wow," I murmur, "Why is love so painful?"

"Like you can talk," Claudius growls low over my head, "You just spirited away to the now. Didn't even feel it."

"Speaking of me... I can't imagine me, in the past, with no camera..."

Claudius loosens up a bit as he explains more to me, "When we first met, it was actually in the present, and I was a dead incubus. A demonic ghost. You were hired to clean the mansion. You would make videos about it... which I found every odd... however, now you take photographs, and now you're also a virgin..." he tries not to linger on that, "...so I guess something did change and you are a brand-new Alexandra," he murmurs this to himself... I feel him relaxing further, "Exactly the same but exactly not the same."

"...well... that's all very interesting but I'll admit, something felt wrong inside me... before I met you..." I admit this with genuine sadness, "All the nightmares I used to have felt like a tether to you, because I don't feel empty anymore... with you here, with me now."