The original dream returned. The one that had presented itself to me the most. Yet, this time it was the clearest it had ever been before. No longer fragments, incoherent bits of dreams, but small moments pieced together to create a bigger picture.
The young man with the blurry face from before stood in the doorway of the castle, the large hand carved doors looming behind him, face as clear as day. He was a young version of Adam.
The woman's voice belonged to a tall silver haired woman with the same amber eyes I had seen in the tree line of a previous dream. It was all starting to fuse together, and I had begun to understand what these dreams were trying to show me.
I did not think it possible for me to have been able to see things that had happened without me even being present, yet for some reason everything felt real. Perhaps I had just conjured up the images from things I had heard from Devolle, Madame and even Adam. He had not long ago explained to me what happened to him the night the Witch cursed him.
Though, it did not explain how I dreamt about the woman in the snow long before Madame had found out and sent me the letter about my mother, and how I saw the castle in my dreams long before I had even actually seen it in person.
I needed more information; I needed the complete sequence of events to realize the purpose, to be able to tell if the dreams were real or just figments of my imagination conjured up from hearsay. I wanted to know what they were trying to tell me and why it had become clearer since I had gotten to the castle.
It felt as if something had been beckoning me to the castle for quite some time, and it called me still.
The sun flooded into the room from the uncovered windows, forcing me to cover my eyes. I had no recollection of ever going to bed the night before, and when I opened my eyes, I realized that there was a reason for that. I had not made it to the bed, in fact I had slept on the love seat the entire night.
I went to sit up, but something weighed me down and I couldn't move. I squinted trying to adjust to the sunlight as I peered down to figure out what was so heavy. There, wrapped around my waist, laid an arm that was connected to a sleeping Adam anchoring me to him. The two of us slept the entire night tangled up with one another on the love seat. Which, I must say, had been more comfortable than the bed I used to sleep on at home.
His face looked so smooth up close, as if it were made of porcelain, and his eyelashes were much longer that I thought, as they almost rested upon his cheeks. Several strands of his soft blonde hair had fallen onto his face, and when he breathed, they would move just ever so slightly.
I had never seen him so relaxed, so comfortable, and something in me wanted to reach up and carefully brush the hair from his face, but instead I did nothing but silently admire his beauty.
A few moments past and I started to feel awkward about the whole thing. I questioned if it was odd for me to continue to stare at him while he slept, because I myself would have found it rather unsettling.
I went from happily enjoying the closeness to becoming nervous and internally questioning everything and repeating things like, 'What in God's name was I thinking?', 'How did we end up like this?', and 'I cannot believe I slept next to a man without being married.', to myself.
My face started to feel hot as the embarrassment started to seep in. However, oddly enough, I had not woken up drenched in sweat because of the dream, nor did I ever feel like my blood was boiling. I was unsure if it was because Adam was next to me all night, or if it was just because the dreams had started to become whole and flow more smoothly.
Out the corner of my eye, in the middle of my existential crisis, I saw him slowly open his eyes. He like I, shielded himself from the blinding sunlight, and after a moment he looked up at me. I watched as his face lit up, and a small smile started to form in the corners of his mouth. But as soon as the realization hit, I felt his heart begin to hammer into my back and he started to pull away from me.
"Good morning, Adam." I probably could not have said it in more of an embarrassing way.
"How?" His breathing was shaky. "Why?"
He released me, then we both sat up and scooted away from one another leaving a small gap between us. "I am not sure."
"I am so sorry. This-this was very inappropriate of me. I do not know at what point I fell asleep, but I should have just come here this morning rather than intrude on you in the night." He was panicking, trying to fix something that was not broken at all just because of how anxious he was. "You are a lady, and I have insulted you by putting you in a situation that could call for speculation. I am so sorry Isabelle, this is not how a gentleman should act, let alone any prince."
"Adam, all we did was sleep. Please, calm down and just breathe. Nothing happened between the two of us, nor will anyone find out." I placed my hand on his shoulder to reassure him, despite me finding him to be quite adorable in such a panicked state.
He placed his hand on mine and it caused my heart to stop. "You're right, thank you for being there for me. I think I would have driven myself mad if I had not come and confided in you." He paused and looked over at me with sad but sincere eyes, "I'm just terrified of losing the only real human connection I have, and I feel as if it is this fragile little thing that I hold in my hands that could shatter at any moment if I am not careful. I do not want to lose the first friend I have made since the curse turned me into this thing. I don't want to be alone again. To lose your touch that grounds me to this plane of existence would be too earth shattering, and I do not think I could recover. To have something I had yearned for, for so long, taken away so soon after I had finally gotten to have it again, terrifies me more than death itself. For in death, I would not have to suffer anymore."
"I do not think there is anything that you could do that would cause me to abandon you. I trust and believe in you, so trust in me that I won't just disappear and believe me when I say I won't run away if something horrible happens." I looked at his lips, then looked away swiftly.
Him putting it into perspective like that made me wonder if he had been better off not experiencing it at all. I was sure the thought had come across his mind too. But, even if something were to happen and he would lose me in some way, I was sure he would cherish the memories we had made with one another rather than regretting ever having met me at all. Because at the end of the day he finally got to feel something other than sorrow after years of endless torment within these walls.
He finally got to feel somewhat human again.
"Yes, I trust-" Garna walked into the room and shut the door behind her quickly which caused Adam to stand up out of surprise.
"I am sorry to interrupt you, Young Highness, but there is a visitor at the door." She sounded uneasy.
"How?" He looked confused, "Who is it?"
"I think it better if you two follow me down to the foyer where they wait." She looked at me and flashed a worried look. "I can gather the others if you would like."
"No, the two of us should be more than enough. We need not involve the others until we know more." He held out his hand for me to take. "Come, let us not keep whomever it is waiting."
We followed after Garna down the stairs to the main floor quickly, hand in hand. The other girls were still in their room and would not have come out for quite some time since it was barely after sunup. I had this horrible feeling in my stomach, a familiar feeling I had started to forget.
Dread.
As we grew closer, the figure at the bottom of the stairs became clearer and it was masculine. No one other than the girls from the Offerings should have been able to make it to the castle, yet here he stood. I was sure I had not been the only confused one, because Adam had been very tense ever since we left the room.
I nearly choked on the breath I had sucked in so quickly at the sight of him. Sebastian stood in the Foyer fixing his sleeves as he waited for us to make our way down the stairs. My body went rigid as I became paralyzed with fear. Out of everyone it could have been, why was it him? There was absolutely no way he could have been there, he should not have been able to follow me there. My hands started to shake, and Adam glanced back at me then at Sebastian.
"It is wonderful to see you in good health, Prince Leroux." Sebastian wore a proud smile, though his body language said he was uncomfortable.
I watched as he looked both me and Adam up and down lingering on our conjoined hands. I quickly released Adam's, but it was too late. The look in his eyes, when he had realized we both looked as if we had just woken up, sent a chill down my spine. There was no way he could have known. But yet, there was this overwhelming feeling of fear that washed over me as his eyes burned with such a fire, giving me reason to think otherwise. He was angry, and I was the only one in the room that knew.
"Sebastian?" He cleared his throat, "How? How did you get here?"
"I took a horse, how else?" He continued looking past Adam at me. "I am quite hungry from the trip it took to get here; can someone quickly show me to my room so I can get settled first. After that we can all continue this conversation and catch up over Breakfast."
"Yes, of course. Garna, have the kitchen begin breakfast sooner than usual. I will show him to a room myself." Adam looked back at me and whispered, "Go, after lunch meet me outside in the middle of the courtyard. I have something I wanted to show you today."
Without a second thought I quickly made my way up to the fourth floor and before I knew it, I was bursting through Alveary's bedroom door desperately seeking asylum from the horrible news I had to tell.
"Al-Alveary." My breaths were coming too rapidly, and I felt like my heart was going to burst. My voice caught into a sob, "He's, he's here."
She shot out of bed, terrified from me startling her awake, then grabbed me by the arms and went down on her knees as mine gave out underneath me. "Who? Who is here, what is wrong?"
"Sebastian." I choked out.
"What?" She pulled me in for a hug, "Oh, why can't that retched man leave you alone. How did he even make it up here without being attacked by the beasts in the forest? I thought only castle sent horses and carriages were the only things the wolves leave be."
It took me a few moments to calm down enough to actually hold a conversation. Just seeing Sebastian sent a rush of terror through my body, reminding me of the words he left me with the day Papa died. It was like all of me remembered him and all he had put me through so vividly all at once. It was more than enough to shatter my nerves and destroy any confidence I had acquired from being away from him. It was so unexpected. I thought I was safe from him, I genuinely believed that he could never reach me at the castle regardless of how badly he wanted to give chase.
How wrong I was. It seemed nothing was going to be able to stop Sebastian from getting what he wanted. One of us had to die for me to be free of him, and I had rather it had been him, but I knew deep down it would have had to have been me.
"I cannot escape him no matter how hard I try." I muttered into her shoulder.
"If you tell Adam, I am sure he will protect you." She insisted while stroking my hair, trying to comfort me.
"He already has too much going on at this time, I need to help him find a way to break this curse-" I instantly realized I had said far too much.
"What do you mean help him find a way, I thought he already had a way." She pulled back out of the embrace to look me dead in the eye.
"I. . . it is nothing you should worry about." I knew she wouldn't stop until she found out.
"No, you will tell me this instant what you mean. I will not be left out of the know, Isabelle, I refuse." She glared at me.
"I do not believe what the Witch told him is true. I think if I do some extensive reading in the library with Adam, we might find some sort of book to help inform us about magic and Witches." I sighed, "Adam told me far more than he disclosed at dinner, and I refuse to tell his truth. It took so much out of him to open up to me that I don't want to go and just start spreading it around like I could care less about his feelings."
"I understand. Just, tell me, is he alright? Better yet, is there hope for him to reverse whatever that demon did to him?" Her eyes held so much worry and sadness.
"I think there is still time to find a different way, a real way to end this misery. I just need to find it. Though, I fear Sebastian now being here will hinder my search greatly." I rubbed my forehead.
"Isabelle," She looked at me funny, "Why are you still wearing yesterday's clothes, and my God your hair."
"Oh." I awkwardly looked down, trying to avoid her scary suspecting eyes.
"Oh? Do tell." Her eyebrow was raised, and she became rather intimidating in a matter of seconds.
I exhaled and shook my head. "After you left last night Adam came to speak with me. After he confided in me and I comforting him, we ended up accidentally falling asleep on the love seat." I paused, then closed my eyes as I added, "Together."
"Oh, my, goodness. Oh, my goodness! I knew you two liked each other, but to fall asleep in each other's embrace is so romantic. I think you two are just soulmates at this point." She was bouncing up and down in excitement. She became quite childish when it came to romance.
"That is not it." Even I did not believe myself, "He was confiding in me, and I was just being a good friend that is all."
"Mm, I am sure. Good friends, yes. Do not let Sebastian see the two of you being, good friends. Jealousy is one of the leading causes of duels between men that can end in death."
"I believe it is too late for that." I muttered under my breath, then cleared my throat, "Let us put Adam and romance to the side for the moment, for we have much worse things to deal with right now, such as breakfast with Sebastian."
. . .
"Oh, Duke Merlae." Justine called out when we four entered the dining room. He sat at the very end of our side of the table, just the opposite of Adam. "How wonderful it is to see you again."
"Why are you here?" Lottie added, leaving formality behind.
"I came to see my old friend since I found out he was alive." He cut his eyes at her.
"We all know you're here for the poor girl." She rolled her eyes in response. I had to give it to her, she was not intimidated by Sebastian by any means.
"You know Mademoiselle Lafleur?" Adam interjected. He looked quite confused and slightly nervous.
"Yes, we have been acquainted for quite some time now. But no, Mademoiselle Macleay, she is not why I am here." He and Adam stood up as we were about to take our seats, then we all sat down together. "My business is with our dear Prince."
The rest of breakfast was uncomfortable for every one of us but Sebastian and Adam. There was this tension between the two of them that filled the entire room, though it seemed Adam was unaware of the situation entirely. Sebastian clearly held some sort of prejudice against Adam and at times it seemed like he could hardly palate him.
Lottie was not allowed her time with Adam after breakfast because Sebastian had imposed himself on him, which made her annoyed but not as upset as I had thought she was going to be. In fact, she had stopped mocking me all together after the fight between her and Justine. It was like she had lost all interest in being there with us, and she did not look at Adam the same as she did when we first arrived.
The morning had been full of odd events, and I was sure it was not going to stop there.
I ended up having to wait for Adam in the middle of the courtyard for a while because he had a hard time getting away from Sebastian, which worried me. Not only because it was Sebastian, but I was sure him being around Adam was difficult because of the blood situation. I wouldn't be surprised if he had to have taken a break, before he met me, to calm himself down from being around Sebastian since this morning when he arrived.
"I'm sorry I am late." Adam had just appeared from behind a shrub. "Catching up with Sebastian took much longer than I expected."
To my surprise he did not look worn out at all. "How did it go, are you alright from being around him for so long, like you are with the others?"
"Oddly enough, he too is like you. Except he smells like, well I am not sure what the smell is, but I cannot smell his blood. I must say, I am quite thankful because if I could have smelled him, I think I would have been in a horrible position as of now."
"I wonder what it is about us that prevents you from smelling our blood." I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. I was slightly aggravated that I was not the only person who could be close to Adam anymore.
Was that what Sebastian meant when he said he knew something about me that no one did? I was so confused because if Sebastian could smell my blood, then what was he? So many twists and turns in one day had started to make my head hurt.
"Whatever it may be, I am happy the two of you have it. It really cuts down the smell of the other three's blood, diluting it to a tolerable level. But it is starting to become harder to restrain myself, and the thirst seems like it will soon be unquenchable. However, you make me feel more normal around the others." He smiled, "Shall we?"
"Where are we going?" I looked at him funny.
"Come with me and you'll see." He reached out his arm for me to take hold of as he escorted me out of the center of the courtyard, leading me towards the northeast section of the grounds.
We passed a light stain on the stones beneath the eastern tower, Adam not once glanced towards the spot, but I knew he was thinking about Camille because I felt the muscles in his arm tense up. Not too far past the end of the east wing side of the castle, was a gated garden.
"This is something I am sure you and the others have been looking forward to seeing. Though, I do think it will be somewhat disappointing." He pushed open the gates, "The renowned rose garden."
At first, I was confused to see that there were no red roses, that in place of what was supposed to have been a floral sea of crimson, was a dark sea of ebony. But then, after really taking the time to look, I found the black roses to be quite beautiful themselves. "What happened to them?"
"When the Witch cursed me, she tossed a black rose on me as a reminder, later I found out the entire garden was affected. Not one single red rose was left, they never wilt even if you cut them from the bush and have remained like this since that night."
"I think they are oddly beautiful." I smiled, "I am sure the red ones were pretty, but these show that even in darkness there can be beauty. Or at least that is how I see them." I reached down and broke one off to take back to my room with me.
"You have a very unique view on the world around you." He took a long look at me, then looked back at the roses. "I suppose you are right. I too am starting to believe the Witch was not being honest when she told me how to break the curse. There has to be a way to end it, but I'm unsure of what that could be."
I thought about it for a moment, going over everything we had read and discussed, but nothing was coming to mind.
"How do you stop magic?" I huffed.
"Well, my father was known for burning Witches at the-" He stopped, and we both looked at one another, simultaneously realizing the answer the question that has plagued us for what felt like months.
"We have to kill the Witch to stop the curse." We said in unison.
He picked me up and twirled me around out of pure excitement, then sat me down, grabbed my face and quickly kissed my forehead. We both stood there with wide eyes for a moment taking in what he had done.
He cleared his throat, "But how are we supposed to kill someone as strong as her?"