Petals swirled in the whispering wind, grazing my skin and lifting the light robe that covered me. I stood in the middle of a hidden garden, a large pond filled with lotus flowers and lillypads lay in the center, a polished marble path leading somewhere behind the trees. I walked around, avoiding the long tendrils of leaves shadowing the area from the gnarled willow trees. As I turned the corner to the rest of the pond, a hidden pagoda of white marble pillars and a gilded coat of arms stood starkly against the thick vegetation. There seemed to be something glowing inside out of my view, for a dusky blue light spilled from behind the pillars, casting their shadows across the still water. I took slow steps toward the light, hand resting against the pillar. Everything became dead silent, as if all sound in the area had been stolen away. When I looked around the pillars, I knew I was dreaming.
A man was lying on a thick marble slab of the same pearly white, dark blue strips of cloth reaching out toward me and twining around my wrists. The man was covered by the twisting blue cloth, blue light spilling from the areas where the cloth gaped. I tried to take a step back away, but the cloth around my wrists shimmered and tightened, pulling me in. I struggled against it and cried out, but my voice as well had been silenced. More strips of cloth came to twine around me, unraveling from the man and pulling me closer and closer. The blue light was overwhelming now, blinding me as the next few inches between us closed and I stared down at the body.
The man was dressed in riches, expensive and ancient looking robes folded over his slowly rising chest and pure white furs adorning his broad shoulders. His long, dark eyelashes fluttered and the cloth covering his head twisted off of the slab and slithered up the walls, revealing long, lustrous black curls. I stared in awe and fear as his eyes opened, their color unnaturally emerald green. His eyes swiveled in my direction and he smiled, his pale, lifeless lips flushing deep pink and his hollow cheekbones filling in before my eyes. The man was handsome enough to be a god, with a straight, romantic nose and a strong jaw, but his eyes were disturbing, as they seemed to be lit from behind by green fire, his thickly arched brows heavy and determined. The man had a bloodthirsty aura about him, as if he were some great warrior, and the flesh along my arms tinged. I stood paralyzed, eyes locked with the demons.
"Not a demon." He said, his voice the only sound that could break through the spell of silence. He stood, our bodies inches apart. He was very tall, and his blue and gold embroidered robes fell from his shoulders, revealing a white frilly dress shirt that seemed to make him more intimidating, though it would look foolish on anyone else. The coat of arms, in the same blue, green and gold colors suddenly added up with the rest of the picture, and though I was scared stupid, the pieces clicked.
"Yesss." His voice was a low hiss, and it seemed to draw me to him, though it made the hair on my neck stand on end. "A prince."
And it was true. He had the aura of someone suited to rule, someone with pure blood and dangerous eyes.
"You flatter me." His voice was low. I asked him a question in my mind, as he seemed to be well aquanted to reading it. "I am here⦠For you."
He took my hand and I shivered, as his was bone-cold. Undead.
His eyes seemed suddenly gentle. "Wake up, my love. Come to me."
His hand skimmed my collar bone and his petal soft lips, cold and unresisting pressed against my own, throwing me spinning back into reality.
I opened my eyes to my own small apartment, the imprints left from his hands, his lips, still burning in trails everywhere he had touched. Something inside of me had changed.
