Acasia was paralysed, as if in a dream-like stance; she seemed unable to move any of her limbs as her brain shut out the rest of the world, along with her body to fully concentrate on what lay in front of her. Even if she had tried, she would not have been able to tear her gaze away. Away from the mass of colours, swirling into each other so subtly that it seemed impossible to differentiate where one colour stopped, and the other took over.
The darkly mysterious shades blending in together perfectly to create a background so splendid, no words known to Man could do it any justice. Yet it wasn't that which held her so captivated; it was the two figures in the foreground that held her mind, body, and soul at ransom.
She had never in her life seen such a sight, and she very much doubted anything else she came across from now would be worthy enough to be compared to this. It was so very surreal, and yet nothing had ever seemed more real to her; it was a paradox to itself.
She would let herself stare at the image for several minutes, absorbing it down to the very last detail, then shut her eyelids to store the impression in her memory forever. Yet every single time she re-opened them, she would be surprised beyond belief at the image- the vividness of it completely consuming then leaving her breathless, as she choked on her instinctive need for air.
"Are you completely deaf, woman?" She certainly was, not to have heard any movement from behind her- but then again, she had been rather preoccupied. Guideless, now that she was thinking somewhat clearly again, she jumped up from her previously kneeling position, turned, then spread her arms out in a desperate attempt to cover the object in question. "Of course, I guess it's all these wretched paint fumes that are giving you the high." Indeed, she was so high that only mere minutes ago she had forgotten how to breathe.
Acasia narrowed her eyes at Raen, letting a mixture of anger and annoyance, darken her features. "Get the hell out of my room dumb-ass! How many times do I need to forbid you to enter, or at least have the decency to knock upon the urgent need to do so?"
She should have been grateful for the interruption for it brought her back to the real world- but her heart was still pounding too hard for her brain to register minor details of the current situation. She turned away from her sister and trying her best not to look directly at the canvas, covered it away from prying eyes.
Raen was watching her, and it bothered her far more than it should have. All the mockery had been dropped from her face, all that remained was a terribly sad smile. "I did knock, Cassi. You just didn't hear me. You really have to stop dreaming quite so much." Raen had stopped smiling, and now she just looked young- young, and vulnerable. She wasn't hiding anything, and her warm brown eyes seemed to be saying 'You're my big sister, and I don't need to be scared of being myself with you.'
Acasia couldn't do the same thing though. Only one person was allowed to unload all their problems at a time, and the other would have to listen and console faithfully. Acasia made sure that her job was always the latter.
She went up to Raen, and softly brushed away the fall of brown hair that seemed to be forever in her large chocolate eyes. She attempted at a smile- she knew it didn't reach her eyes. "I can take care of myself; you don't need to worry about me." She kept her voice guarded- one of them had to. "Dreams are all I will ever have."
"And your paintings?" Raen asked in the same soft tones as earlier indicating to the canvas in front of her, freshly covered with black cloth. "Don't you have them?" She looked up at Acasia, and then a knowing smile lit up her face. Her voice dancing with mockery she continued - "You seem to have already formed a bond with the latest one. Now, I wonder what the painting is of. Or should I say whoit is of." Acasia started to cut in, but Raen continued on hurriedly- "Don't paint anything too…mature by nature. You know how our darling mother can be about things as such."
Raen was laughing now, unafraid of her older sisters' reaction as she knew that Acasia could never hold a grudge against her for too long. She exploited that knowledge in far more ways that thought imaginable.
It was of course only natural that their mother's clear voice ring out, at that exact instant to call the girls down or they would be late for school. Acasia winced inwardly, and in turn her sisters' laughter stopped altogether. All of Acasia's compressed anger flooded back to her memory, and she made no attempt whatsoever to hide her expression. It was common knowledge that she didn't 'get along' with her mother.
She made for downstairs, grabbing her schoolbag and muttering- "And that children, is the infamous dragon lady putting an end to all happy thoughts" under her breath. From behind her, she heard a half-laugh/ half- sigh, and then gentle tutting. Poor Raen, she just couldn't understand.
But, maybe that was a good thing.
Kristian Weald hated dreary and damp weather, especially since he was unfortunate enough to be in the company of a 5 year old infant who made it his official duty to jump on every opportune puddle, splashing him with far more muddy water than necessary. He honestly didn't know what he had ever done to deserve as harsh a punishment as this. This was indeed pure torture, and not even the highest need to save his dignity would stop him from informing the next unlucky victim of what treacherous time in hell they had agreed to face.
"Come on! Kris, look at this Froggy! How will it look if I squish it?" Kristian has never been the type to go around preaching at everyone that animals had rights too, but the thought of a little child so intent on killing a less powerful creature disturbed him more than just a little. He hurriedly grabbed Griffin, who was by now in full swing of excitement, by the shoulders and hauled him over the murky puddle which currently held his undivided attention. He was completely oblivious as to why he couldn't transfer some of that attention on something more useful.
The young boy was shouting now, crying and shouting at the same time and red-faced from the effort of both. Kristian really felt like damning Griffin to an eternity in hell with Satan, but restrained himself. The brat would probably have a great time anyway, because from what he had seen today, he was convinced that Griffin was the devil's spawn.
"Awww….Kris, why did you do that?" How much lung capacity did this kid have? He really couldn't understand how Griffin was even able to continuously cry, and wail out the question in an ear-piercing screech, both at the same time.
"Because, kiddo," he attempted to hold on to one of the boy's arm to keep him away from his fascinating puddle matters, and continued "it's not nice. How would you feel if someone jumped on you?" He bent his head to look at the boy and almost smiled at the thoughtful expression he saw.
Though he hated to admit it, Griffin was indeed a sweet kid- with that mass of blond curls, bouncing with each step, and his clear blue eyes, anyone would say he looked like a little angel descended from the heavens. It was a shame that this illusion was so quickly shattered, as Griffin stuck out his tongue, and ran headfirst into the oncoming old lady leaving her sprawled on the floor as he continued running, unaffected by a single thing.
The day was definitely getting worse by the minute, he really was going to strangle that kid as soon as he got his hands on him- what more, he was going to enjoy every last bit of it. Kris quickly walked over to the discarded lady and helped her up, resulting in him being whacked at by the old crone by her handbag, who was muttering something about the youth of today having no respect whatsoever for their elders.
It was amazing how much they fit the stereotype that Hollywood created, he wouldn't be surprised at all if the lady's bag really was filled with bricks. He gave up on the crone, who was still ranting off on how rude and undisciplined youths were today, and started off in a sprint towards the direction in which Griffin had headed.
Had he been part of a cartoon strip, you would have been able to hear the sound of tyre screeches, as he came to a halt. There stood Griffin ranting away to a total stranger about the 'mean man' he had run away from, oblivious to the fact that he may not want to be listened to. Yet that wasn't the reason which caused him to stop so abruptly; no, it was the person who he was drowning out his problems to who caused his halt.
She was just standing there, her hand clutched by the young boy in front of her, looking around desperately for this unusual child's parents. She was wearing an expression of utter helplessness as if she didn't know what to make of this bizarre situation- that is until she met Kristian's eyes.
A look of relief and recognition registered on her face, but was instantly replaced by an expression of confusion. There was absolutely no way for her to know him, and him her. He was absolutely sure of it, and he was seldom wrong about anything.
So why the hell did he feel as if he were wrong this time?
A/n: Well,I knowI took a hell of a long time to update- but, finally here. Bear with me till the next one, might be a long time to come. The ammount of coursework due this week is amazing. Thankyou for all those who reviewed, you just made my day! ;-)
Incarnated soul- Darling, you are fabulous. you seriously have no idea what great things you do to my ego.
Untilhellfreezesover- I woundnt dare not bring out the next chapter. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you like this chapter too.
Dark Angel's Blue Fire- Thanks for reviewing, heres more.
Jez- Im estatic that you thought my work was good. Thanks for the advice, I'll definetly keep it in my mind for future references.I just needed to show both viewpoints for that particular scene, but constructive critique is always good.
Iceheart161- Im glad that you liked it. Cant tell you why she killed him just yet, have to wait a few more chapters for that.
Twichy- Hey, the nicknamejust stuck. I'm glad that you found the prologue hilarious, although I'm not sure that was my intention. And leave my spellchecker out of this- it has done nothing to deserve your spite. Also, I would not care to share why she killed him. You'll just have to wait like a patient little bunny for the chapter it comes in. MADIGAN!
