The moonlight shone through the thick leaves of the trees, illuminating the path. Fluttering just out of reach, the butterfly flew deeper and deeper into the woods, beckoning him to follow.
He HAD to follow. Something wonderful waited in the thicket up ahead. Quickening his pace, he broke through the line of trees into the clearing and stared up at the moon. He wasn't cold anymore.
The butterfly gently circled his head. He smiled softly, dimly aware of a multitude of butterflies gathering around him. Smiling gently, he lifted his arm to feel the soft wings beating against his clothing, his hand, and landing on his coat sleeve.
Coat sleeve…. did he own this coat? He couldn't remember…it LOOKED like his, sort of…it didn't matter. Nothing mattered at the moment.
They were joining together now, slowly spiraling around him, forming what seemed to be a face in front of him…. then hair….
She stood there in front of him, smiling, offering her hand.
"Victor…"
Offering him death….
"Come with me…""AAAAAUGH!"
Victor sat up, sweating. He checked his pulse. Nope, still alive. Shuddering, he glanced over at his window, walked over, and shut the curtains. He couldn't face the moon, not twice in one night. Victor sat down on his bed again. That blasted dream! This was the third time this week he'd waken up screaming. Sighing, he shook his head. Why? Why was he dreaming about it, and why NOW, of all times? The more he thought about it, the less it made sense. Nothing in the dream meant anything to him, and he couldn't hold onto the woman's face long enough to tell who it was before it slipped away into the farthest reaches of his subconscious. He felt like he should know her…
The sound of footsteps jarred him from his thoughts. Sighing wearily, he laid back down. He knew who it was before she even knocked.
"Victor?", his mother whispered, "Can I come in?"
Victor sighed and rolled over, burrowing his head between the pillow and the comforter. "Sure," he mumbled.
His mother walked over to the bed and sat down. She stroked his back soothingly. "Are you alright dear? I heard you scream." Victor just sighed loudly and burrowed deeper into his sheets. "…It's the dream again, isn't it?", she whispered as she patted his head gently. He merely nodded. She smiled gently and hugged him quickly. "Dear, you know you can talk to me about anything that's bothering you, right?"
Under the pillow, Victor smirked. "The fact that I'm grounded is bothering me. Does that count?"
She smacked his head playfully. "You deserve it and you know it. No amount of adorable will change my mind." Giggling, she stood up and walked out. "Good night, dear."
----
"Ok ok, tell me AGAIN why you're grounded?"
Victor sighed and rolled his eyes. His best friend, Stephen, could be so annoying sometimes. "I already TOLD you, I mouthed off to my grandfa—WILL YOU STOP LAUGHING ABOUT IT!"
Stephen rolled over on the ground, howling with laughter. "S-Sorry mate! C-Can't help it!" He snickered. "Of all people to talk back to, why your granddad?"
A redheaded girl next him punched his shoulder. "Shut up Stephen! It isn't funny!" Turning to Victor, she gave a disapproving look. "Honestly, can't you go through a family gathering without getting into trouble?"
Victor sighed and sat down on the grass next to them. School had just let up, and the three of them were sitting in front of the building, doing their homework together. Stephen was still laughing too hard to concentrate on his calculus. Victor scowled. "'Ey, leave me alone you two. Especially you, Em. You're supposed to be my girlfriend, after all."
Emily.
They had met in homeroom their first year of high school and had hit it off right away. It wasn't long at all before they had started dating. Victor smiled to himself. He loved everything about the fiery redhead sitting next to him. She was opinionated, passionate, and extremely kind. The fact that she was drop-dead gorgeous didn't hurt either. Victor shook his head. Yes, she was beautiful. Just as beautiful as…as…oh, who DID she remind him of! He'd never been able to place exactly who, but he knew he'd seen her before…
Emily rolled her eyes. "Well, it's your own fault." She frowned. "What exactly did you argue with your grandpa about?"
Victor groaned. "Oh, that stupid story he tells every Halloween, what else?" He idly picked a blade of grass up and stared at it. "I'm really sick of being the only one in my family who listens to logic."
Stephen looked at him quizzically. "What's your problem with that story, anyway? It's not harming anyone."
Sighing, Victor rolled onto his back. "I don't know, alright? I just…don't like it. It makes me feel uneasy, to say nothing of how illogical it is." He laughed quietly. "Huh, I'd LOVE just to prove, once and for all, that I'm right."
Stephen and Emily shook their heads. "You WOULD, would you?" Stephen said, playfully punching Victor's shoulder.
Victor sat up indignantly. "I would! In fact, I will!" He grabbed his backpack and stood up. "I'll show you, my family, and the whole TOWN that the van Dorts are normal, respectable people, not insane necrophiliacs!" He hadn't gotten more than a couple steps before Emily stopped him.
"Wait, where are you going?"
He turned his head and gave her an ice-cold glare. "Library, I've got a research project. Wanna come?"
---
"I saw that."
"Saw WHAT?"
"You yawned. You're bored, aren't you?"
Emily sighed and laid her head back down on the table. "No way, looking up useless information about the 1800s provides endless entertainment. Yes I'm bloody bored!" Victor continued to ignore her behind a rather old and dusty book they had found in the back of the library. Three hours had gone by, and they had found nothing to disprove the story (though they did find out how much a corset would've cost back then. Emily had been curious). Stephen had long since left, leaving them alone in the almost empty library.
Ordinarily, they would've enjoyed that fact, but Victor's head was somewhere else entirely today.
Groaning, Emily grabbed a book and idly started flipping through it. "What exactly are we looking for again?"
Though it wasn't visible, Emily knew that Victor had rolled his eyes. "I already told you Em, look for any references to my great-grandfather or to my family at all. Our family DID become quite famous once he started playing the piano professionally."
Her head jerked up. "You never told me your great-grandfather was a pianist."
Victor laughed quietly. "Yeah, he was. Quite well known, actually. Grandpa told me he once played for the queen, but…." He paused. "But…I don't know if can trust what my grandpa tells me." Emily gave him a sympathetic look, and he quickly turned his attention back to the book. He cleared his throat. "Well, never mind that. Let's just focus on the research, shall we?" He scanned the page. Nothing useful, just a list of important events in the town's history. Victor sighed. It would be so much easier if he knew what year the story took place. It would at LEAST list the union of the van Dorts and the Everglots, if not the actual events supposedly surrounding it.
A loud crash in the front of the library jarred him from his thoughts. Emily shrieked and fell out of her chair. "What in the world was THAT!", she asked, shakily getting to her feet again.
Victor stood and helped her up. "I have no idea. Something must've dropped." He craned his neck to get a glimpse of whatever it was, but couldn't see over the bookshelves. "C'mon, let's have a look", he said, grabbing her hand and walking towards the front.
---
"A piano?"
Victor ran a hand over the smooth mahogany mantle, looking the Grand piano over. "Who puts a piano in a LIBRARY?"
"It says here…" Emily said, as she handed him a bright yellow flier, "A famous pianist is coming here to play for the children on the 25th of November." She sat down on the piano bench and quietly played a note. "That's next week, so I guess they were getting ready for her in advance." She looked up at him and smiled. "I've heard of her, she's supposedly the best young pianist of the 21st century. Heh, I kind of want to come see that." She played a few more notes, then sighed. "I wish I could play. All I know how to do is 'Old Macdonald.'"
Victor laughed and sat next to her. "You're lucky you can play anything at all." He plunked a key aimlessly. "My great-grandpa, grandpa, and dad ALL played the piano like pros. It was completely expected of me to follow suit." He smirked evilly. "I never was one to follow tradition…"
Emily laughed. "No, you weren't." She giggled and started pressing different keys. A couple library-goers looked at them disapprovingly, which just made her giggle harder. Victor smirked and started fooling around on the piano as well. It really wasn't that bad, the piano. Why, exactly, had he never taken it up? Was it just because he was just too stubborn? It felt pretty good sitting there, his hands roaming freely over the ivory keys, hearing the different notes rising through the air and colliding together. All right, so they sounded awful, but that FEELING…the feeling of creating music was phenomenal. Maybe I could change my mind and ask for piano lessons when I get home, Victor thought. He didn't realize that his hand had stopped on a note, still pressing down as his mind wandered. "Victor? You alright?" Emily was staring at him intently, as were some of the other people there.
He looked up at her dazedly, eyes far away and glazed. "This note…it's how the song starts…" He turned back to the piano, head down, focusing only on the keys.
"How WHAT song starts! Victor, what are you---" She froze, eyes wide.
He could no longer hear her
---
His fingers curled expertly over the keys, poised. He knew this song inside and out, it ran in his blood, he was a part of it. Instinctively, he pressed the key again, letting his hand sweep over the gleaming ivories, lost in his own inner world. The tune was sorrowful and slow, rising through the silence and filling the air around him. It echoed in the massive room, enhancing the gloom of the Everglot manor. It was his song…his very soul rose and fell in time to it. He closed his eyes. Beautiful…. that was the word. He was truly free.
He didn't notice a figure behind him.
"V-Victor?"
With a yell, Victor snapped out of his trance and fell backwards off of the piano bench. Groaning, he held his head. What happened? One minute he had been laughing and fooling around with Emily, the next…had he fallen asleep? He remembered a song, and a large, gray room…He shook his head and looked up at Emily. She was just standing there, gaping at him. Confused, Victor looked around. The crowd had grown immensely since he last looked, and they all gathered around the piano, clapping furiously. Emily, however, didn't clap. She just stared at him in disbelief. "Y-You told me you couldn't play…"