Up and down escalators, pennies and colder fountains
Elevators and half price sales, trapped in by all these mountains
Running away and hiding with you.
Yes, I dared. I wasn't going to do any dancing at that stupid ball, anyway. So I tucked myself into an alcove, beside a bust of a former principal, and waited as Violet cleared the area.
Okay. He was gone.
I glanced quickly to the clock on the wall - Past the ninth hour. Alright. Where on earth could he be going now? I slipped my shoes off my feet, and began to pad after him in my bare stockings.
I knew that there was something odd about him. And Jo, commenting that it was weird that he out of all the prefects would return to the school. Perhaps he was orchestrating something behind the scenes. After all, wouldn't someone of his position have gone straight to the ball, to cover his excuses for being late to dinner? Something was up. And I was going to figure out what it was.
The corridors started to get darker, more twisted as I crept after Violet. I always kept ten steps behind, staying close to the walls and keeping my head down. We passed no one else on the way, which made me wonder - where was he taking us? What was he doing? We turned down one last short corridor, so short that I hid behind the corner before following after Violet as the thick, silver door swung shut behind him.
Oh. God. The door was metal, and as cold as ice. Was this some sort of mortuary?
I stood there for a minute, or two, or five. Wondering whether or not I should go in. Maybe I didn't even want to get involved anymore. Why had I followed him in the first place? We'd only known each other a few hours. This was ridiculous, I was being ridiculous.
"I don't understand," he continued, picking up the page and slipping it into my hands, "Look at you. You're beautiful."
That was why. Of course.
Taking a deep breath, I pushed down on the handle of the door, and forced it open.
The room was almost pitch-black, but the air was curiously warm. As I advanced, I began to smell something strangely fishy; and then I realized. It was the salmon that we had eaten for dinner.
We were in the kitchen.
I touched the counter, and felt my way along the edge, being careful so as to not touch anything sharp or burning hot. Hm. This was going quite well so far -
"Why did you follow me?"
A shriek ripped its way up my throat, loud and coarse. Violet anticipated this; a hand clamped down on my mouth suddenly, cutting me off straight away. His other arm curled around my waist, pulling me against his body - and his lips were at my ear, and they were chilled, with the scent of sweet vanilla hanging off them.
"I'm going to let you go now, if you don't scream again," he said cautiously. "Promise not to scream?"
I nodded, and he peeled his hand away. I only realized that my breathing was absolutely racing once I heard it drift through the blackness.
"I... You said you'd see me at dinner. And then you didn't." I wiped at my face. "I wondered where you might have been."
"You were curious," he confirmed, and I nodded.
What was be going to do with me?
To my surprise, he gave a low, short chuckle, and released me. "Seems as though we have ourselves Scotland Yard's first female inspector, no?"
Oh, the relief! It crashed down on me like seawater. I swallowed. "I'm sorry. I let my curiosity get the better of me. I'm incredibly rude. It's not my place."
"It's healthy for someone to have an appetite for the strange," Violet murmured. "If you must know, I regret missing the evening meal. I was rather hungry, and I found a carton of ice cream in the deep freeze."
I couldn't stop myself - I giggled. "Is that why you smell so sweet?"
A pause. "I suppose so. Why, have I gotten it on my shirt?"
"No. I can smell it on your breath," I confirmed immediately. The weight of a man's arm around my waist was strange - heavy, yet comforting. I quite liked it. "Your absence was noticed. Jo was talking about it." A small lie, on my part, but what did it matter?
"Ah. Well, if I am perfectly honest, I don't really care." He let go of me, and I felt myself cool down, almost. "I'm going to finish this ice cream."
"Fine by me." I stepped back. "Are you going to come back to the ball, or...?" Despite how bold I had been earlier on with Violet, I was now suddenly shy. Maybe, maybe he'd want to -
"Of course not," he answered straight away. "I hate dancing. It makes my head spin."
Well. To each their own. Not quite sure what to do with myself, I stood there, swaying on the spot. "Uhm...okay."
"I'm going to return to my room. But I can accompany you to yours first, if you like." His mouth sounded full, and I figured that he'd started eating ice cream again...
"That would be very kind of you." But I want to see your rooms. "Where are you staying?"
"My old dormitories." There was a snap, metal against metal. "I felt rather nostalgic. Found some of my robes."
"How nice." The air was suddenly awkward, and I didn't like it. "We best be getting back soon, I would say, before my family notices I'm gone."
"As you wish." A dull thud, as something hit the wall, and my surroundings were chilled. It was the blast freezer, being opened again. Violet took my hand unexpectedly, and it was cold and damp.
"What are you -"
"I have good eyesight, for the dark. I spend a lot of time in it, after all." He began to slowly lead me away. "Wouldn't do for you to hurt yourself."
"Right." Christ, he really was strange.
The hinges of the heavy door groaned as we shuffled out into the gloomily lit hallway, and I saw Violet as he came into the light. His dark hair was ruffled underneath his hood, lank locks of white hanging over his forehead. There were black circles around his lavender eyes, as if he were exhausted, and his expensively cut shirt was crumpled. There was a soft, white substance crusting his lips.
"You have ice cream..." I fisted my sleeve in my hand, and wiped his lips gently. "There."
"Thank you," he said quietly, his soft eyes boring into mine as he studied my face. We stood there for a moment, in complete silence.
Then he spoke again.
"We should go." And his voice had taken on the low monotone that I'd heard him use with most. Violet had gone again.
"Yes."
I didn't notice that my hand was still entwined in his until he was pulling me down the corridor, through the small maze of the bowels of the school. It was a good thing he had a hold on me - with the pace he was walking at, and the darkness of the corridors, I probably would have gotten lost.
When we re-emerged back into the foyer, the sky was dark, and spat across with glinting white stars. I wasn't staring out the window for very long, however. Violet had stopped, becoming completely transfixed by the sight. And the reflection of the constellations shone in his vision, as if the stars had forgotten about the stratosphere and abandoned it for Violet's byzantine irises. The blush of the silver light on his pale skin made him look otherworldly - like some sort of dark angel.
"I like the sky," he mused softly, seemingly to himself.
Then, we were out in the air.
It was a lot colder than it had been earlier on, with the sun having slunk behind the clouds. I rubbed my spare hand over my arm to try and calm down the goose bumps there.
Violet's shoes crunched briskly along the path as we neared our destination. He appeared to be a man with a mission, almost - and that mission was to deliver me to the Scarlet Fox House, safe and sound. And he did just that in a grand total of less than ten minutes.
The windows of the house were dark. We stood underneath the porch, glancing up uncertainly at the high, ivy-covered walls. I didn't really want to go in by myself - not with Violet out here, anyway, refusing to join in the festivities.
"So," I mumbled softly. "Are you going to tell me what you were doing out so late?"
He stared down at me, his gaze blank. "No. I don't believe it's the sort of topic that would be suitable for a lady to hear."
His tone of voice was...cold. Very cold. I swallowed.
"Alright. Forgive me for asking."
"It's not a problem. It is only natural that you should wonder."
If you agree, why won't you tell me, then? "Yes." A small pause, on my part. "Please, be careful when you are walking back. You could trip and injure yourself."
"My nocturnal eyesight is remarkable, Miss Grace." He took my hand again in his cold fingers and raised it to his lips, brushing the skin softly. "Good night."
"Good night, Violet," I mumbled, straining my eyes to pick out the sharp, haughty features in his face.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
It would mean so much to me if you guys could comment on this chapter! I would really love some encouragement to keep going, as the boring bits where I get bogged down before the romance is usually where I stop writing. ;-;
I know that this is just all in one day and I'm sorry if you feel that the story is moving too fast, but as this is going to be a short story, I'm struggling to kind of fit my intricate plotline in. I would say expect 15-20 chapters, and be prepared for a massive time skip in the next chapter!
Aoife cx
Also, this chapter is dedicated to @violinfreakk because of the absolutely stunning job she did on the new cover and the cover for POE :D