Dark Intentions
I'll always remember that day of course. I would never forget the day that my love was split away from me so cruelly.
It was odd, and out of time to fall for someone so…wrong, yet it didn't bother me one bit. I had been sat at my usual seat, in my bedroom, in my little rocking chair at the corner of the room, when my love was busy tidying up after my aunt.
My Mum and Dad had died, and I had to stay with my aunt as she was my only family. Seth-my young Brother-was sent away from me to live with our other aunt.
My love had taken care of me when I was dying of typhoid fever, but luckily somehow-though I thinking it was because of her-I survived.
She was at my side at all times, helping me get better, and as I slept; praying for me to get better.
And I counted my survival lucky, because I got her, my own, personal angel; Alice. She was a servant, though an amazing Nurse. She had told me once that she had trained to be a nurse, pretending to be a boy for a year as she studied the work at Chicago College-this was because she was a Girl and it would be soon outrageous for her to be a Nurse-but she was found out, and got kicked out.
And then after I got better, it happened. I wasn't sure how and we had only pronounced our love for each other, but we were in love; there was no doubt about that.
And the small affection she showed me daily was enough to encourage that fact. And as soon as my Aunt was downstairs she would always come and see me in my room; enjoying our little time together.
And this was the same as today.
She shut the door behind her as usual, and bounded up to me happily, as she always did. Her short, unusual, spiky-hair jumped with every graceful movement of her legs. And her beautiful, wide brown eyes drank me in the chair.
I noticed that she had one of my favorite dresses on. It was pink and frilly at the top and had a small, white belt wrapped around the middle so that it fit perfectly with the white dress underneath the pink.
She looked so pretty today in a feminine dress. She didn't look as poor as she always looked. I hated to know that she was suffering with money, and I planned us to run away-expecting no-one to understand us-and give her all the money and all the dresses that she wanted in the world.
She took my hands in her small, frail ones automatically. 'Emily, my love,' she pulled me smoothly from my rocking chair and into the safety of her feminine, tiny arms that wound loosely around my arms. 'Oh, how I have missed you!' she kissed my forehead once, and pulled away to seek my response to her affection.
She took my face gently in her soft hands, and I watched her as a sweet smile replaced her anxious expression a moment earlier. 'Each hour that has gone by, has seemed like days rather than hours!' she exclaimed sadly.
I laughed with her. It felt like that for me too. It was too good to know that she missed my presence in the same way that I missed her.
'How I have missed these simple gestures,' she carried on. 'To not be able to hold you in my arms, and truly know that you are safe just because you were simply not here with me!' she exclaimed worriedly.
I chuckled to myself now, unable to keep my laughter in any longer. She watched me anxiously again.
'I'm sorry, love,' I apologized automatically. 'I swear that I was not laughing at you. It's just that it is nice to know that you were so worried too. You have no idea how much I longed to just be near you. How it kills me to be away from you!' I used the same panicked tone as her, not realizing that I was even doing it now.
Because I truly had been worried to be away from her, she had a calming nerve that I absolutely loved about her.
She smiled again; and I traced her perfect smile carefully. 'Oh Emily,' she sighed; drawing me back into her warm arms carefully.
'Alice,' I sighed too; taking in her wonderful scent that was her hair. It always smelled so delicious, and today was no exception. It smelt of cherry blossom; a usual shampoo that she had brought a long while ago, and which I had now come to love about her; because it was a part of her.
'I had another vision last night.' She whispered conversationally. I felt her press her head gently into the top of mine.
Alice was a very special person, and not just because I had the luck to call her mine, but also because she could see visions of the future too.
'Really; what did you see?' I asked; always more than thrilled with her amazing talent. It just made Alice that much more special to me. She was so unique, quirky, and beautiful, that I wondered what I had done to deserve her.
'You and me…away in New York,' she admitted; her voice hiding a happy emotion somewhere.
'Hmm; that's the same dream I had last night.' I admitted.
I often had dreams of the same sort of vision as her. I thought it connected us in a strange way. Whatever she saw; I saw.
'How…unusual,' she managed; kissing the top of my hair.
'Hmm.' I agreed; winding my arms tighter around her.
But then she held me away again quickly; and scanned down on what I was wearing. 'Lovely,' she murmured quietly to herself in a sweet sigh; glancing back at my face; with the most angelic smile ever.
I was wearing my golden dress that was extremely detailed, and very beautiful. It had too much design in it to really be necessary for just casual wear, but because Alice liked this dress the best; I put it on happily. My hair was naturally curled, and I knew how much Alice liked it when it was down, and flowing, so I left it like that too; all for her.
But now as she watched me with those piercing, brown eyes-they reflected my own-I couldn't stop the color that I could feel already staining my cheeks.
She slowly lifted her hand, and rubbed my right cheek gently with the back of her hand. I couldn't help but fall into her touch the tiniest bit. Her hands were always so soft that it made me tingle with excitement whenever she touched me.
'I love you.' she murmured quietly; loud enough for me to hear.
'And I-'
'WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON?!'
We both gasped in union as my aunt Mary's screaming entered the room. She had caught us in our embrace, and now I was sure as hell that we were going to pay for it.
'Get out of my Niece's room, now!' Mary bellowed at her.
Her rage filled her face; staining it with furious red; echoing her unusual, flame red hair that hung like tight curls at her shoulders.
'I am so sorry Ma'am. Please forgive me.' Alice bowed in shame, and as she did; she shook in nerves.
'No, stop it, Alice!' I exclaimed; pulling her up roughly by my hands. I took her hands in mine, after flexing them out properly; noticing how shaky they were.
She looked up at me in shock, before shaking her head. 'Do not do this to yourself Emily. You've been through enough.' She warned me.
Now I was beyond baffled to what she was talking about. 'What do you mean Alice?' I asked her bewilderedly.
Mary might as well not have been there; because all I saw was me and Alice in that moment. That was all that mattered to me in that moment. We would just have to run away sooner than what we thought.
But it was Alice that pulled her fingers away from mine, leaving me cold and empty. It was her that ignored my bewildered stare, and looked back to Mary, and it was her who threw her life away a minute later when she began speaking.
'I'm so sorry Mary, this is my entire fault. You see; I have been taking advantage of Emily.' I gasped as her words filled the room.
How could she say such things?
'Alice, don't be so silly, tell the truth, she'll understand!' I begged; taking her face in my hands. She stared into my eyes coldly; no emotion flicking in her dark eyes.
'You're safe now. I am so sorry.' She looked so heartbroken in that moment, that my heart broke with hers. 'I have also been seeing visions.' She admitted.
I gasped. 'No Alice, don't, you know what they'll-'
'-I won't ask you again, miss. Get out of my Niece's room now!' Mary bellowed, before she stormed wildly into her room, and grabbed hold of Alice's arm roughly.
'No, let her go!' I begged; trying my hardest to pull Alice back to me.
I couldn't let this happen. I wouldn't; they would kill her. I had no doubt about that.
'Don't be so silly Emily; unless you want to follow her into that asylum.' Mary warned me; taking Alice easily from the room.
'No, no, you can't.' I fell onto the floor as realization hit me. Alice was going to be put in an asylum and it was my entire fault; not hers.
The last word that Alice mouthed to me was sorry; before the door swung closed behind Alice. I knew for sure that that was going to be the last time that I saw her. She wouldn't have a chance to make it out of a place so horrible.
It was true; this was my fault.
'Oh god, I'm so sorry Alice!' I banged my hands down onto the wooden floor; not caring that it hurt. I had sent her away into a mad house, and she was all alone in the world. We only had each other, and now she was gone, she was taken away from me.
'Please, please send her back to me.' I begged anyone that could be listening to my pray. But no-one answered obviously.
She was gone; forever.
The word echoed in my ear, making it hard to hear anything else. I couldn't even hear my own sobbing over the constant repeating of that one word.
I had lost her.
***
