Author's Note: This story was posted on in 2003 under the name 'A Midwinter's Night Dream'. I have updated all of the chapters, revised- and basically resurrected the story. I am back ladies and gents- watch for updates soon! ;).
P.S.: Constructive criticism and suggestions are ALWAYS appreciated! There are some great writers, readers and editors out there- if you see anything that needs tweaking, or maybe even a massive overhaul, let me know- I'm always open to suggestions!
-Sacredheart
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Chapter I: This Provincial Life
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"Everybody seems to think I'm lazy
I don't mind, I think they're crazy
Running everywhere at such a speed
Till they find, there's no need
Please don't spoil my day
I'm miles away
And after all
I'm only sleeping"
- The Vines, I'm Only Sleeping
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Sarah shivered as she walker out of the clear glass doors of the auditorium with the rest of the student body. A blast of frigid, snowy air took her full in the face and she promptly slipped a woolen cap on her head and huddled down in her coat- after living her whole life in West Virginia Sarah still hadn't gotten used to the cold that came every winter. As bitter as it was, Sarah still took a deep, cleansing breath as she left her last final of the semester behind, and focused on simply walking in a safe manner on the ice-crusted sidewalk.
Christmas holidays only come once per year you wimp, she thought to herself sardonically. Stop groaning about the cold and be happy you at least get a break.
Slipping a few times- and narrowly missing a fall - Sarah reached her car in relative safety. She fumbled with her keys and after a few unsuccessful yanks on her frozen-shut door Sarah hopped onto the freezing cold upholstery of her faithful Honda. She turned the key and the engine sputtered, chugged and finally roared to life. Grinning, Sarah and leaned back a moment against the seat. Well, it may be cold, but at least this worked out.
After she finished scraping the inch of ice of her car, Sarah gingerly edged her way out of the parking lot and onto the busy street. She hadn't lived in Ashvale very long, but she thought it was a pretty place nonetheless. After graduating from high school she had been accepted into a university, which was only a few hours' drive farther north of her hometown. She had moved into a small apartment within a reasonable distance from the university, and was generally happy with the move.
The only thing she really missed from home was her little brother Toby. She hardly ever got to see him anymore besides times like these- holidays, when she could get time off from college to go and visit home. Sarah smiled a little at the thought, and wondered, with him growing so fast what he looked like now. The last time she'd seen him was that past summer for his sixth birthday during a break from classes. When she called home she was usually greeted by an elated "Hi Sarah!!" from him. For a brother and a sister with such an age gap between them, they were quite close.
Sarah sighed a bit and ran a decisive hand through her wealth of dark hair. She knew she should start packing for her trip down to her parent's house. But she found herself meandering around town, and decided that her packing could wait for a little bit longer. Sarah was going to do the same thing she did every holiday-, go and spend Christmas with her family.
This year Sarah's grandmother, Tessa, would be coming down to spend the holidays with them. Tessa had only been recently widowed, and the family had been devastated when Bob had passed away from his long battle with cancer. Tessa had dealt with his passing with the strong, calm grace that she had always exuded. Sarah and Tessa had always shared a special bond, and Sarah had been there as much as she could for her grandmother. The two both shared a strong imagination and a dreamer's mentality, and Sarah knew that it was from her that she got most of her dreamer's ways. Sarah always looked foreword to her grandmother's gifts at Christmas or birthdays, because Gramma Tess always knew just what to get her- be it a new book from her favorite author, or like one wonderful Christmas, tickets for the two of them to a showing of Phantom of the Opera.
As she drove down Main Street a glowing green and white sign pulled her out of her reverie, and beckoned to her like it had an actual voice. She made her decision quite quickly and pulled into the little parking lot and easily found a place to park. Before she locked the car she reached back into the backseat and grabbed her shoulder bag with the intention of doing some homework while she was here. With still numb hands she rushed across the street and into the welcoming, warm glow of the local Starbucks.
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"Sarah!" A cheerful voice hailed as soon as Sarah walked through the door. She grinned broadly and looked to her friend, who was waving franticly from behind the counter, the other hand holding a frothing cup of coffee under one of the odd apparatuses that seem to occupy every Starbucks.
"Hey, Felic! How goes it in the coffee world?" Sarah asked as she poked her head between one of the humming machines.
Felicity, a lively, strong headed girl with a shock of curly red hair and flashing blue eyes turned to Sarah and grinned. " Eh, as well as expected- except the heating thingy attacked me again", she said, holding up a burned index finger -which was wrapped neatly in a Sponge Bob Band-Aid- with a dramatic flair.
Laughing Sarah grabbed her hand and pretended to slobber all over it with kisses before Felicity, laughing, tugged it away.
"Hey! You're going to get me fired for contaminating the coffee!"
"I know you wouldn't mind, Sarah said sweetly, and dropped her voice to a confidential whisper. ..."Since we all know June hates you for whatever reason she's convinced herself with!"
Felicia chuckled and added a large dollop of whipped cream to the drink.
"Grande white chocolate mocha!" She bellowed, and set the drink on the side counter, were it was quickly whisked away by the waiting customer. Felicity turned back to Sarah and winked.
"Yeah, she hates me, as always. I swear that woman is out to get me fired. If she ever succeeds we all know that would just make her dour, catty day for sure."
Sarah nodded and shot her a look to be quiet as June came out from the kitchen area, and pinned Sarah with a sharp don't-distract-my-workers look. Sarah fought to repress grin. "Well Felic, she said, carrying her voice to make sure June heard."You look busy so I'll let you be for a while. I'll just sit over here at a table and mind my own business, k?"
"My break is in about fifteen minutes," Felicity murmured demurely.
"Gotcha", Sarah replied as she moved away into the dimly lit area of the seating lounge and sat down at a table. Felicity was really Sarah's only close friend, and the two girls could easily pass as sisters. The two had met in Sarah's last year in high school, and Felicity shared Sarah's love of fantasy and drama. Both of them by stroke of luck been accepted into the same college, and were both majoring in Drama.
Sarah reached down into her bag and pulled out her worn copy of A Midsummer's Night Dream. The theatre department was putting on the show, and even though Sarah had opted out for one of the main roles, she had decided to work backstage in tech instead. Her teacher had been greatly disappointed, but had ceded to Sarah's will and had given the role to the understudy- Felicity. Sarah had made the decision for a variety of reasons, but the main had been that Felicity always seemed to come in right below Sarah in the plays and such that they both auditioned for. Although Felicity was always a good sport, no matter how much she tried to hide it Sarah always knew that she was disappointed, so Sarah had decided to let her have this role. She knew that it was really important to her friend, and meant the world to her. Even though Sarah wasn't playing an active role in this play, there highlights and notes were all over the margins in Sarah's naturally graceful scrawl. Even though she had worked in tech during high school, she never thought it could be so complicated. There was so much to learn, and Sarah was really happy to have the opportunity to work.
"Grande cinnamon vanilla latte with whipped cream and caramel!"
Sarah smiled a little and looked up as Felicity set the drink on the sideboard and looked pointedly at her. That was Sarah's favorite coffee of all time and her friend knew it. Other people cringed at that sugar-loaded mixture, but to Sarah it was pure heaven. She walked over and grabbed the drink, mouthing a silent "thank you" to Felicity, who pretended she didn't even see her being under the watchful gaze of her supervisor, though a corner of her mouth curled up in a smile.
Sarah took her coffee to the condiments counter to add the finishing touches. She shied away from the door as it opened right beside her and blew a blast of frigid, snowy air onto her. This movement caused her to slop a bit of the coffee over the side of the cup, and all over her hand. Sarah hissed slightly and jerked her hand away from the cup. As she reached for the napkins a long slender hand was already there before her. A smoothly accented male voice spoke as she drew her hand away.
"Here, I'm terribly sorry. Let me help."
Sarah looked up with a murmur of objection, but the words died on her lips as she looked into a pair of very unique eyes.
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