Crystal Key

Chapter 5

Friday April 12th

            I am woken up by myself, for once.  I had fallen asleep so early last night.  I had been in a complete bliss, barely present, and (forgetting to pick up Alice) had plopped down in the bed and fallen asleep no later than eight o’clock.  I was woken up at nine when Alice was dropped off, along with a bit of scolding.  I couldn’t have cared less at the moment, I really still don’t care. 

            I look beside me and see Alice smiling, her eyelids fluttering as she dreams.  I smile down at her, but don’t dare to touch her, or she shall be cranky for the rest of the day.  I decide to just lie in bed, thinking of Daniel.  I can still taste his lips, see his eyes like he is standing in front of me, smell his sweet perfume, like nothing I’ve ever smelt and feel his hands on me.  I smile, and surprise myself by physically laughing in joy.  I look over at Alice to see if I woke her, but she is still in her dream world. 

            She wakes up slightly over two hours later, and she’s glad to see that I am awake before her for a change.  I dress myself quickly, pull a dress over her head, and we are out the door.  Her shoe doesn’t seem to be on properly, for she is limping.  I pick her up and put it on correctly, but she won’t let me put her down to actually walk. 

            We take a few pieces of fruit again, eating it on the deck.  I am alert, watching out for Daniel.  Perhaps he will come up behind me and give me a kiss.  I am barely paying any attention to Alice, who is leaning over the rail and singing.  I only come back to reality when I hear, “It would be fun to jump off here.”

            I immediately snatch her away from the rail, “It would not be fun to jump off.  You would probably die.  Do you promise me that you won’t ever even think about that?”

            She crosses her heart, “I promise with all my heart.”

            “You know I love you more than anything in the world, don’t you?” I give her a kiss on the nose. 

            “Do you love me even more than the handsome boy?” she asks, merely curious. 

            I don’t even think about it when I answer her.  As much as I had been dreaming and thinking about Daniel, nobody could ever replace my little sister.  “I’ll always love you the most.  I love you more than any boy, even Daniel.”

            “You love me more than Thomas, and Richard, and Mother, and Father?”

            “Of course I do.  Don’t be ridiculous,Alice.”

            “I love you too, Cara,” she wraps her arms around my neck and kisses the bottom of my chin. 

            “I think we should be off to eat now,” I tell her, now that the sun has lit up the entire sky with a light blue.

            We are waiting outside the dining hall for ten minutes or so before they show up.  “Finally, you remember something,” Richard rolls his eyes.

            “How could you forget your own sister?” Thomas scolds me.  I know this is just revenge for forcing him to take her yesterday.

            “One can forget a little chore every now and again,” I insist. 

            “It’s easy to forget something when you’ve been kissed, isn’t it?” Richard smiles cockily at me.

            I look down at Alice in my arms, playing with her fingers.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

            “I saw you last night, Cara.  There’s no need to hide it,” he gave me a wink.  I kick him in the shin.  He kicks me back and admits, “We all knew that you two were kissing anyways.  You’ve been completely in love since you first got on this ship.”