I woke up screaming out of bed and Ciel came bursting through the door. He ran at my side and Dimitri and Sebastian were behind him. I was sweating and staring wide eyed at my hands. No fresh bruises, no cuts, no wounds. Completely wound free. I shivered and held myself.
"Aurora, I'm here." He took my hands and held them and dragged me into a hug. I cried into his shoulder. Why was I having these nightmares again? I almost tore my brother's shirt off with the way I was grabbing it. He was rocking me a little; back and forth but it wasn't helping. He pushed me back and a bit to look at my tear-stained face and lifted me cheeks to look at me better. "You're having those nightmares again aren't you?" He said sadly. I didn't say anything but I sobbed into his chest. He laid me back down but I wouldn't let go of his shirt. He held my cheek and asked Sebastian for a towel.
"Understood." He left to the bathroom. Dimitri stood there and stared sadly at me. He didn't know what the cult was or what they did to us. I forgot about that. When my brother touched my hands, I let go and looked down. Sebastian had come back with a small towel and gave it to him. He took it and wiped the sweat off me after he laid me back down. My eyes were closed and I attempted to keep my breathing at an even pace.
"Please calm down." He told Dimitri to make tea and for Sebastian to make something to eat. I looked out the balcony window. It was only the afternoon. The rest that I desperately needed gave no energy to me and my head was spinning. All the beautiful paintings on the ceiling, that I had just noticed, rotated in a full circle and I couldn't see anything clearly. In a matter of seconds, Sebastian and Dimitri were both in the room with a tray of tea and food. Ciel sat me up, took the cup and held it up to my mouth. I took light sips but then I gulped it down fast. "Are you better?" He asked. I pulled the covers off me and went to the bathroom without saying anything. I leaned against the door and held my head. Why is this happening…?
There was a knock at the door and I jumped up. The door opened and I saw Ciel; he grabbed my hand and brung me out on the bed again. I sat and watched him bring a chair across from me. The entire time we didn't say a word until…
"C-Ciel?" After all the silence I gave, my first work was my brother's name? I should've said something more intelligent than that; I wanted to bash my head against something. He didn't keep his eyes off me but I only fiddled with the blanket anyway.
"Are you more settled?" He asked after he gave me a long look; I nodded and bit my lip. "Did you dream about it again?" I nodded and looked at him, fighting tears again. He hugged me and took a tissue from the night stand next to us, just in case.
"I'm sorry." I said. He looked at me as if I was some alien.
"For what? You did nothing wrong Aurora." He held my cheek and looked at me sadly. I didn't see Sebastian and Dimitri with us so I assumed they went out or just in the living room area. It was strange not having them here with us. It's where they always were.
"I made you worry." I said.
"Don't worry. I'm here now. Nothing can hurt you." He rested his hand on my head.
"I'm still sorry, don't worry about it. I can handle it." I got up. "We have priorities to deal with for this whole week." He took my hand.
"You're my first priority Aurora." I smiled and kissed his cheek. "Do you honestly want to ignore this?" I nodded; he sighed. "Ok, but if you have it again, we're definitely talking about it." He said. I knew I would have the same dream again soon; I wouldn't tell him though. It was bad enough that I was worried about him getting sick from stress and wanting to do work. I would endure it for the rest of the week even if I had the same dream over and over. I won't let this ruin our vacation. I can deal with this. I can…
"Alright." He stood up and kissed my forehead.
"What do you want to do?" He asked as we walked into the living room and we saw Sebastian and Dimitri playing chess. They were scrutinizing the board so thoroughly and I was wondering whose turn it was. It was so quiet that I just had to sit next to Dimitri and asked questions about chess.
"So how many spaces do the bishops move?" Simultaneously, they slowly turned their heads to me and a smile spread across their lips. It was really creepy. I looked back shyly and waited for one of them to talk. Dimitri was the first.
"The bishop can move any number of squares diagonally, but may not leap over other pieces." His smile was gentle when he spoke to me. I nodded as he allowed me to make a move for him. He took my hand and switched places with me; Sebastian switched with Ciel. The butlers sat next to both of us as we took where they left off. I eyed the bishops and pawns. Pawns were always used first whenever I played against someone. I remembered my drawing and imagined little people statues of everyone we knew or ever came into contact with.
"Try not to think about it too hard." I saw him smiling and leaned his chin on his hand. He was always better at chess than me but eventually I would win, give it a few thousand matches and I would win to be precise. My fingers took the pawn and moved one space forward. He took his turn quickly and moved his bishop a few spaces up, cornering my pawn. So I moved my knight and captured his bishop. He scowled.
"Everything alright?" I asked. He nodded and moved his king a couple spaces back. Exactly what I wanted. I moved my rook up and his king was trapped by my knight and pawn. His king took my pawn and moved up. He scowled again.
"You seem to be getting better at this." A brow was lifted. I smiled.
"I had a lot of time to come up with strategies." I looked at Sebastian; he smiled and nodded. Next move…I chewed on the food that I didn't touch yet. Dimitri was holding a napkin and wiped my mouth; I thanked him and moved the bishop up to the queen. She was all by herself, I bet she needed some company. I smiled with approval. What are you going to do now? He moved his queen and took my bishop. Yes! My knight took her queen. He was chewing on his lip and moved his rook back. I smiled maliciously. Thank you. My knight moved again and made it to his king.
"Check mate." Ciel looked at me like he got slapped in the face. I was pleased with my victory and I watched him trying to figure out how I beat him.
"How the hell did you beat me?" He stared at the chess board. I am so amused by this. I shook my head.
"Don't worry about it." I smiled but he was still confused about it. Too much chess with Sebastian does that to you. I reminisced about all the tactics he used on me; they were pretty impressive and I didn't see them coming. Sebastian seemed happy that I used one of his tactics and Dimitri was happy, probably just because I won.
"Hmmm. Ok, so what do you feel like doing today?" He asked. Haven't the slightest idea. I shruggedandmy brother got up and headed to the bathroom without saying anything. We heard the bathroom door click and the room fell silent. I still wanted to asked them about the boat and to be honest I didn't really care if Sebastian got mad at me. It involved my butler so I needed to know. I turned to Dimitri. My face fell to a serious countenance.
"What did you two talk about?" They knew what about too.
"What do you mean?" Dimirti asked.
"Don't play stupid and just tell me." I scowled. Sebastian sat across from me.
"We made an oath." Sebastian said casually. I looked at him weird. He took out the rose that was tucked inside the pocket of his tailcoat; Dimitri had the same one.
"What was it?" They both glared furiously at each other. I was so lost!
Dimitri replied harshly but he was more directed at Sebastian than me. "It refers more to you. Who's going to remain by you." He looked at me seriously. I wanted to know more.
"How does it refer to me? I'm only a human." I looked at Sebastian; he walked and kneeled in front of me, taking my hand.
"What I said was inexcusable. I was just on the verge of ripping out someone neck." Did I mention that he implied that in a sweet tone? It sounded creepy. "I really am sorry for what I said to you. I shouldn't have." He kissed my hand.
"You never make things easy for me." I said and rolled my eyes. Sebastian looked apologetic; I waved it off. "You're a demon and a guy at that. You wouldn't understand."
"I deserve that comment." He held his head and started putting away the chess board and its pieces. I looked at Dimitri who was gave me a childish smile. Cute. I took his hand.
"I really am happy that you're back." I wanted to hug him but he got to me first and wrapped his arms around me. He let me go before I could react to him; I got up and moved a strand of hair behind his ear and walked back into the bedroom, closing the door. I stayed there till for a while. There was small box on my side of the bed with a blue and black ribbon tied around it. I picked it up unwrapping the small object.
In it was a small device that my brother was telling me about a few days ago. It was called an mp3 and it could hold songs; there seemed to be songs on it already and there was also a note next to the box. To my lovely little sister, Happy Birthday. He never was patient about my birthday and it was a week away. By the time we would get home the next day would be the celebration. He always complained that I was growing too fast; I would always laugh whenever he did. I would be turning 18 soon and would become a real woman. Which means I will have to be betroth soon too. I scowled just thinking about it.
A few hours later, Ciel had told me he would go out and shop a little and it was already dark outside. I wished them both safety and watched them leave from the balcony. Sebastian had left with him and it wasn't a big a deal that he did. The wind was gentle against my face and I looked at the sky and saw the clouds slowly moving to the east in the darkness.
"My lady?" Dimitri poked his head in the door and looked at me. The room was dark because I didn't bother to turn on the lights. He could still tell where I was and I was in the balcony so he could see me perfectly. He came in and started towards me. "Is everything alright?" He stopped when he reached beside me. I was still looking out to the sky.
"Yeah, just trying to enjoy the night air, you know?" He nodded and looked out too.
"It's beautiful." He said and smiled.
"Isn't it. I love it when it's in full view and I never care what phase it's in either." I said.
"I meant you, Aurora." I looked at him and felt my face heat up. He took my chin and pulled me into a hug. I snuggled in his chest; Dimitri pulled me back to look at me. "You have no idea how much I've missed you." His eyes sparkled from the moon's light but slowly faded from his eyes closing. Out of nowhere, the radio that was in the room came on and played.
The man had a sweet voice. "Now our next song, a request from Vanessa Talbot, Kutless: Promise of a lifetime." The music started; me and Dimitri looked at each other with a smile. We listened to the lyrics.
"I have fallen to my knees as I sing a lullaby of pain. I'm feeling broken in my melody. As I sing to help the tears go away. Then I remember the pledge you made to me." I blushed after I heard the words that the band was playing. Dimitri was smiling gently at me and led me to the bed. He sat me down and kneeled in front of me, taking my hand in his. He started singing.
"I know you're always there. To hear my every prayer inside I'm clinging to the promise of a lifetime, I hear the words you say. To never walk away from me and leave behind the promise of a lifetime." He had the most beautiful voice I had ever heard. I stared at him as he sung the words to me. I squeeze his hand a little and he kissed it. I know this must sound really corny but I felt that I knew the words to it or maybe it was just the way he sang it to me.
"Will you help me fall apart? Pick me up; take me in your arms. Find my way back from the storm and you show me how to grow through the change. I still remember the pledge you made to me." I didn't realize that I actually knew the words and was singing until his smile became softer and I blushed. I stopped but he continued on with the rest of the song.
"I know you're always there. To hear my every prayer inside I'm clinging to the promise of a lifetime, I hear the words you say. To never walk away from me and leave behind the promise of a lifetime." I was amazed that he knew the song so well and he sounded so much like the actual singer too.
"I am holding on to the hope I have inside. With you I will stay through every day. Putting my understanding aside, I am comforted. To know you're always there. To hear my every prayer inside I'm clinging to the promise of a lifetime, I hear the words you say. To never walk away from me and leave behind the promise of a lifetime." By the time he got the end I didn't noticed I was crying till he wiped my tear away with an angelic smile. He stood me up and hugged me firmly and then stroked my hair, repeating the cycle. I sobbed silently in his chest and wrapped my arms around his waist. "My beautiful Aurora." More tears fell from my eyes because he was too much.