Aerith [Original Story] [On Hold]

Chapter 19: In Which We Get Our Butts Out of Here

I was padding through a dark corridor, the sound of my footsteps echoing eerily in the silence. Though I was indoors, I could see my breath clouding in small puffs. I was looking for something, but the question was, what was it? I tried to remember - I knew that my goal had been something. Nothing came to mind though, so I kept wandering, wandering..........

The corridor was neverending. No turns, no stairways - nothing. After what seemed like ages, I finally reached a door, the first of its kind. I opened it to see nothing but an empty, black void. I was about to turn away, to continue my fruitless search, when the hole pulled me forward, sucking me in. The door slammed behind me, encasing me in the darkness. I groped for the handle and turned it, yanked it - all to no avail.

Something moved behind me, and I turned to see the deathly white face of Thaelia barely inches from mine. Something was wrong, though, terribly wrong. Her eyes were nothing but empty sockets, and thick, scarlet blood dripped from the voids and down her cheeks. And yet she was still smiling, but it was not a warm smile. It was a terrible, evil, wicked smile, the smile of one who knew that they were about to do something wrong - awful - and was thrilled by the idea. She held up something in her hand - her silver knife, which was also coated in the dark red fluid........

My mouth opened in a silent scream, but I was choking, unable to make any sound........

I sat bolt upright in bed, trembling. It took me a moment to realize where I was. It had just been a dream..........

Tom's eyes flashed open the moment that I stirred, and he too sat up. 

"Cosette?"

I didn't say anything - I was experiencing the same choking feeling that I had felt in my dream, like I was being drowned. The moonlight from the windows cast strange shadows along the floor, like someone was behind me, and I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was in the corner by the door. 

Then one of Tom's warm arms was around my waist again, pulling me closer to him, while his free hand brushed my hair behind my ear. He didn't have to ask what was going on, and yet he was whispering words of comfort to me.

"Shhhh, don't worry, Cosette, it was just a dream. Nothing's going to hurt you, I promise." He rubbed my arms, trying to keep me from shaking.

Why did I have to be such a baby? I wanted to be brave like everyone else, and yet here I was, unable to rid my mind of the image of Thaelia's bloody face. 

Tears traced their way down my nose, and Tom wiped them away from me. I buried my face in his chest, my lips pressed to the hollow at the base of his throat. He kept running his fingers through my hair while I evened my breathing out.

"I'm sorry," I whispered once I was able to speak again. 

"Don't be," he murmured, now rubbing my back.

His breathing and the movement of his hands were both rythmic, which started to calm me down, and I stopped trembling. I was as tired as ever now, but I was scared that if I closed my eyes, I'd have nightmares again. Tom seemed to read my mind.

"Don't be afraid." His voice was low, almost a purr. I pressed my forehead against his neck, listening to the sound of his heartbeat.

"Trust me," he breathed, and I could feel the warmth behind my ear. "I love you."

"I love you, too," would have been a meaningless response. I hated cliches - they were too insignificant. So instead, it was my turn to pull his face to mine.

The kiss was deep and full of passion. I didn't want it to end, so I felt pleasure when it didn't. We were entwined as much as was possible, our arms wrapped around each other as tightly as we were physically capable of. Mine were around his neck, but I moved one down to run my hand down his chest, and he let out a small, contented sigh.