Chapter 5: The plan.
In the dark, lonely room, Irma lay on her side, eyes shut in slumber. She looked angelic, half covered with a thin sheet and hair spread around her head like a fan. It was perfectly still, perfectly silent.
And in that silence, 2 figures slipped into her room. They were clad in black, heads covered; in fact only their eyes were visible, and those were rimmed with black as well. The taller of the 2 figures looked around the room and narrowed his eyes at the plain, shabby furnishings and few personal belongings. The other one looked at him and rolled his eyes, then edged the door to Irma's room open.
The 2 strangers both approached her bed; but the slightly shorter one stopped and grabbed a bag and soundlessly began to stuff her bag full of her belongings. The taller one knelt beside Irma and gazed down at her. He touched her hair with a light hand, then looked back at the shorter one and nodded. Then he carefully lifted her without waking her and the strangers and Irma vanished into the night.
Meanwhile...
Irma's mother put down her coffee and looked at Will with arched eyebrows. "No, Will. Irma isn't here." She said pointedly. "In fact, she walked out about a month ago and I haven't seen her since then." The woman looked uneasily at her husband. "We figured she'd just stay with her friends until she cooled off."
Will fidgetted with her own cup of tea. Why do I have to be the one to tell them? She thought grimly. "We don't know where she is, either. You see, we all told her to go back home and that we couldn't support her with our families. I thought that she was here, but...when the teacher told me that a man called and said Irma had decided to drop out of school, I just thought I would check up on her." Will said softly.
Irma's father sat up straight. "What do you think happened to Irma?" He asked. "It isn't like her to quit school!"
"Do you remember Irma's abusive ex-boyfriend?" Will said as gently as she could. "I think Irma might have went back to him."
Irma's mother stood up and grabbed the phone. "Enough is enough! I'm calling the police. They'll bring our little girl home." She said impatiently. But after a moment her eyes went wide and she turned to look at her husband and Will. "The line!" She whispered. "The line is dead."
Irma woke up. Her head was on the fluffiest pillow she had ever felt, and sheets of soft silk, light as a kitten's breath, covered her. Hm. I must be dreaming. Irma thought drowsily. But the pillow didn't change into the flat, cheap, foam stuffed thing, nor did the sheets morph into plain cotton cloth. Slowly, she sat up and learned that her room was equally changed. Instead of grayish whitewashed walls, they were beautifully arched and a creamy alabaster stone. Tapestries graced the walls.
And then Irma noticed that, instead of cheap and all-ready faded pajamas, she was wearing a silk floor length nightgown. Her hair was arranged carefully to keep it from knotting, and someone had cleverly braided silk the same color as her nightgown into it.
A young girl walked in, carrying a long gown over her arm. "Good morning, my lady." She said in a voice remniscent of a nightengale. "Prince Phobos has sent me to help you ready yourself for your reunion."
Irma blinked at her. "Reunion? Phobos?" She said stupidly.
The girl made no comment and rather helped Irma out of her nightie and into a long, expensive teal dress. Irma blinked at her reflection. Just think, Irma. This is how you could have spent forever! This is how you could look-forever! Irma thought quietly.
Cedric walked in and bowed. "Lady Irma, I present to you...Lord Phobos." He announced.
Phobos walked in. His eyes searched her from head to toe, and then he smiled and produced her letter from some unseen pocket. "Did you mean it?" He asked softly.
Emotion made Irma's eyes well up. "Every word!" She cried, and she ran into Phobos's arms as Cedric quietly slipped outside the room and locked the door.
A maid reached for the handle, but he stopped her quickly. "Don't go in there. I believe Lady Irma and Lord Phobos will not want to be interrupted for quite some time." Cedric said softly.
The hall quickly emptied of all people to give them more privacy.
