PRETTY BONES

THE TENANT

so  if  you

might  just  let

me  i  could

be  the  tenant

to  your  love

Chapter 3 Part 1 : Deal With The Devil

They say, dusk is the time of which creatures from all disturbances of the world shall appear, and be brought to light of the moon.

These particular creatures, they feed in the night like the the rest. The norm. If you are unlucky enough to cross their paths, praying will not help you. Do not heed the olden teachings of those money driven priests that only wish for your funding and corruption, for they have not your best interests at heart.

Their perfectly balanced skin, sparkle and shine in both versions of the earth's lights.

Their stone cold temperatures that represent the lifeless flecks of undead motives that run beneath that skin.

They move too quick for the fragility, and relatively late tracking human eyes, they blur as they may cross your path.

Their eyes gleam of colors you would never in your life have imagined, royal blues, high yellows, sparkling pinks and colors behind the spectrum.

God save you, forbid you see them within the wicked moonlight. They trick the eyes, the mind, the soul, and eventually, the body.

How many peculiar things have you seen tonight? Many, I'm sure.

"Take heed, girl." An older preacher nodding the girl's way. It was late in the town of Toram, very late. A church at such an ungodly hour? Why yes, this particular woman struggled with her grips upon reality, or so the people here would say. She walked with a worn petticoat, borrowed from her elder sister. Her family was not that of high status, nor were they of low. They remained in the dead of aristocratic and peasantry. 

When you go mad, it's believed the church will help you. Do their bidding and you shall be cured. Saved. Albeit, nothing seemed to take to the visions she'd had.

Much like her elder sister, she'd been casted away, yet to find a suitor from recent news. Rumors flew that she'd been deranged. In fact that their whole family had been. There were already speculation that none of the ladies residing within her household were born within wedlock, that it was a nothing short of a brothel, a mix of harlots, delusional, and claiming they were related by blood.

Said things were far from the truth.

The delusions the sisters suffered from were coherent with one another. Walking in the dead of night, whether it be from the church or the bakery, they'd seen a creature. A beast of the night. What one could only be described as fascinating. Teeth sharp as the needle used to sew their clothes, eyes that gleamed red specifically, a corpse at their side being drained of it's soul. Stealing it's life.

She walked into him again, and had her dirty blonde tresses been flowing freely she'd have grasped them in horror. If only there were a way to capture this moment.

"Another, of the Haven bloodline, yes?" His accent was thick, as if he'd never been to her place of origin. The Haven bloodline belonged to her, yet she said nothing. Frozen in fear, yet her feet seemed to attempt to push her backwards. "D-Do I know you sir?" He was dressed in what seemed to be a trench coat, perfect for the weather. He stood tall, not an inch was moved. The moon's light played along behind his figure, shadowing his features. Yet, the gleam of ruby failed to be hidden under the darkness. "Perhaps." The girl began to walk backwards, away from the direction of her household. Where would she go to escape this delusion? The entities her preachers had warned about, the beings that haunted her dreams and tore apart her family's reputation with just a glance. A glance was all it took for her sister to be entranced. Was the solution not to partake in eye contact with this man?

She was never taught that.

The fact prevailed as she continued to be wrapped in the entrancing color of blood flooding his eyes.

"Dare I ask for your name?" Her legs nearly weakened in pure terror at his words. He stepped further towards her and continued his capturing string of speech, "You're much different from your sister yet, you share the same demeanor. Pardon one's extensive rudeness, I am the 3rd count of the town of Toram, Count Leon."

She nearly lost her mind, was this truly a creature of the night or had her mind truly been ruined with delusion and false memories? He'd introduced himself as the count for heaven's sake! Perhaps the heavens had fated them to meet? She was getting ahead of her self, and certainly ahead of her sister.

"My name...is Ava Haven, youngest daughter of the Haven family, pleased to meet you." He must have sensed her fear, he takes his steps backwards, and bows with a chuckle. "The pleasure is mine, lovely maiden. Alas, I'd accompany you home, as it's dangerous for beautiful maidens to wander alone during these hours but I've seemed to have dirtied myself."

Slowly, Ava's crystal blue eyes traveled from his hypnotizing ruby orbs and onto his trench coat with a poet's shirt beneath. The overshadowing moonlight made it difficult to pin point many of the stains upon his attire yet, she'd not missed the droppings and smears of now drying blood that seemed to paint his high quality shirt. How could she have missed it the first time?

The wind happened to pick up, sweeping her wavy dirty blonde hair up in it. "I-I see...well, I must be going now. It was very nice meeting you, Count Leon." She bowed, hoping her quick departure wouldn't be seen as rude. She's known how important manners are for people of this age. Especially those of higher class. Get the hell out of there. Is what her mind tells her, and so she follows.

"As it was you, Lady Haven." He dipped his head, slowly tilting it upwards once she began to turn around. He watched her from behind, smiling almost maliciously as the next words would leave his mouth.

"Do bid Molly a hello from me, I've been dying to see her again."

Ava's blood ran cold. Blue eyes the color of the sky widened to saucers. She froze in her tracks. She knew what she'd seen the first night, yet she'd not been able to confirm it was the count that she'd seen draining the life out of that corpse. Yet now, she was sure of it.

But, as she turned to look at the man, he'd seemed to vanish within the night. Leaving nothing but a waft of the nightly air in his presence. 

Ava ran home, praying that awful tenant of the night would never come into her sight again, wishing safety for both her and her sister. 

She could feel him watching her. Somewhere.