04. Nostalgic.
Somewhere deep in the dark a howling beast hears us talk, I dare you to close your eyes and see all the colors in disguise. — yellow light, of monsters and men.
Eden was near the Christmas tree at the Midford manor, stared at the star at the top of the tree and raised an eyebrow as she faced the various christmas ball guests.
Her life as a true lady recently began, going to the balls was part of her obligation, making herself known to get a good marriage. Eden tried to explain to her mother about her minimal interest in getting married, but it was useless, Francis would drag her to all the dances she could.
Eden talked to her father, Marquis Midford, Alexis. Her father wouldn't go against her mother, and her aunts were also on Francis' side.
She wanted that dance to end quickly, she was angry and sleepy. Her nights were full of dreams with moments she never lived and which affected her deeply.
Her eyes widened as he saw the little children walk through the door. The two were adorable wearing matching clothes, Eden just wanted to squeeze them both in a hug.
"My little ones!" She exclaimed coming near them and lowering down a little to stay at the same level as the children's height.
"Hello, Eden!" They said at the same time, and Eden's heart was filled with warmth by the lovely action of the two cousins.
She hugged them, they laughed when she went on to kiss them on their chubby cheeks.
"Don't leave Eden near your children, sister, she'll steal them one day." Her aunt Angelina said, putting a hand in front of her mouth while she laugh.
"Aunt Rachel made them so cute," Eden wept messing up the grey hairs of her cousins still hugging them.
"You're squeezing me too much, Eden!" Her younger cousin laughed getting another kiss on the cheek.
"I'm sorry, it's just that you two are really cute tonight!" She stood up, staring at her uncles. "Merry Christmas, Aunt Rachel and Uncle Vincent."
"Look, she even talks like a lady now," Vincent teased wideging his eyes with a false unbelief, Eden pushed her lips forward.
"Why are you so mean, Uncle Vincent?" she joked.
"Stop teasing her, darling. Merry Christmas, Eden!" Rachel hugged her niece.
Her cousins and Lizzy ran out around the hall, his eyes shining with curiosity. As the new lady of society, Eden followed with futile conversations to entertain the guests of her parents, the dance began and everyone picked up their peers quickly, Eden stayed away feeling that his gloves too longs left his arms scratching.
She wished to be a child again, be considered a child to play with her cousins and her sister. No one cared how she behaved before she was considered a lady.
"Being a lady is horrible." whispered to herself, trapped inside her tight corset and her expensive pink dress.
"Excuse me, my lady, could you give me the honor of a dance?"
Eden raised her gaze and her eyes faced his uncle's blue eyes.
She smiled, behind her uncle and dancing with Edward, was her Aunt Rachel.
"Please, my lord, I'd be honored."
Eden put her hand on Vincent's, they were soon dancing.
"You've improved a lot, I remember your shoes crushing my toes when you were a child."
She laughed, deflected her gaze.
"And I'm still a child." She spoke in a low voice, honestly, she was a little tired of being treated like an adult.
Vincent turned her into the hall.
"Don't give me those sad puppy eyes. I know how hard it is to be forced to grow, but there's not much to do besides following the flow of things. You're doing well, and even if you have more responsibilities now, the important thing is that you know who you are and what you're not. In your soul, you can be a child forever."
It was simple advice, but somehow, her uncle's words left her heart warm.
"Thank you, Uncle Vincent. Even you can be an adult when you want to."
He seemed incredulous, but Eden saw the fun in his sapphire eyes.
"How terrible to receive such an offense after proving my ability to give advices." He bragged with a false frustration, Eden laughed and soon received a soft smile from her uncle.
Eden didn't like balls, but she'd always remember that one with affection.
Edward had offered to teach her how to ride, Eden had never been interested in learning before because she was always more interested in books and comfort indoors than in hunting with her father, mother and brother.
"Snow is tame," He ran his fingers through the white mare's mane. "You don't have to be afraid, I'll be here. It's always a little harder for beginners."
She tried to follow her brother's instructions, but riding the animal was as natural as breathing. She touched the horse's face gently and something occurred.
A scenario that seemed real.
Other hand replaced her alabaster hand, a hand tanned by the sun and with calluses by the effort of work, the hand of a young woman. Again, she was at that young hunter's point of view, and climbed the sealed horse.
She rode through space, the strong paws of the mare pounding the grass and the wind on her face.
At that time, she didn't take advantage of all those sensations, she had to hunt down and bring the food to her fragile sick mother and her two young sisters.
Eden shook her head, returning to herself completely stunned, she returned to Edward's close eye with upset eyes.
"If you already knew how to ride, why are we here? Very funny, Eddie."
Eden meant to her brother that she had never ridden on a horse before, but she just shrugged her shoulders, suddenly feeling scared.
Nothing seemed to make sense.
"Why do you desires someone as simple as me? You're so bright, so incandescent." She wanted to touch his wings, wanted to touch him, but all they felt was a violation against the heavens.
"I'm just greedy, no matter how much I have of you, it's never enough." His voice was like thunderstorms, she felt them all over her immaterial body.
How could it be? All her being was asking for him and yet it was impossible to be with him. She wished they were physical, that they be matter like everything else in the universe.
"You make me sin every time."
The affable and tender sound that was echoed were her laughs.
"It's my pleasure, Starlight."
The wind came through the window and reached Eden's blond hair, her eyes were fixed in the field outside her house while scenes of the most recent dream passed on her mind again, everyone was asleep and the dark sky next to silence could be daunting.
She wasn't scared, she was burning.
Burning with curiosity and confused, she was completely attracted to the idea of the non-human being who inhabited her dreams. 'She,' the feminine being within the dream, seemed to float in 'his' presence.
They always seemed very passionate, although the word love was never given at any time, Eden would just like to know who they were and why all her dreams were in 'her' point of view.
"They're angels." She murmured to nothing, noting her only certainty about that world in which she lived in her sleep. "Why am I dreaming about angels?"
Angelina observed her niece, Eden had a distracted look and the rice powder on her face did not cover the dark circles very well. Her niece was attentive and worried, she had been in her home almost every day since she found out angelina was pregnant and her presence was a refreshing one.
Angelina just wanted to understand what afflicted her niece to the point of her being so distracted lately.
"Is everything all right, honey?" She asked the younger girl Eden was staring at a book in her hand, but her eyes were standing at a fixed point on the page and she had not turned to the page she was on for about twenty minutes.
"Huh? Oh, yes, I'm sorry, Auntie. Did you say anything? I was distracted."
"You seem especially more distracted lately, is it something I can help?"
She closed the book and put it on her lap, opened her mouth and closed again, Angelina waited patiently for her niece to leave the moment of distress and saw her sigh for once more that afternoon, looking frustrated.
"Auntie, do you believe dreams may have some... Meaning?"
Angelina's eyebrows rose.
"Well, it's a little hard to answer. There are people who believe that yes, I once read somewhere that dreams were manifestations of memories."
"Memories?"
"Yes. Everything you think during the day becomes part of your dreams at night." Angelina told you, and then gave her a smile. "Is that the reason for your concern? Are you having nightmares?"
"It's nothing, Auntie. Don't worry, thank you for helping me."
Angelina meant she hadn't done anything special, but her niece seemed more thoughtful.
Young people were hard to understand.
Eden asked the coachman to stop the wagon, the man stopped in front of a huge library. Eden looked at the monument from the outside, the cold air turned into smoke when she breathed, rubbed each other's gloved hands and straightened the cape over her shoulders, beginning to climb the stairs.
Maybe science people had already found an answer to her afflictions, she just needed to know what was happening to you to go back to sleep quietly again.
She decided to look for the answers in the books.
Her feet were almost leading her into space when heard a sour laugh. Eden looked to his side, from where laughter had come from, and frowned on the whole man dressed in black, he had a hat on his head and a very pale skin, his hair was too long and white, a long bangs covered his eyes.
"Excuse me?" She asked with her eyebrows attached.
"So, it's you." The man murmured behind the long sleeves of his robes hiding his hands.
Eden tipped her head to the side.
"Do you know me?"
"Hehe ~ Of course I know you, but you don't remember anything, do you?" He gave another of his strange laughs, Eden raised his eyebrows. "You told me it was happening."
Eden knew she had never seen that man in her entire life, and at the same time, he seemed frighteningly familiar to her. It was a scary feeling, she feels like she was about to say something and suddenly forget.
"How do we know each other?" The question left her mouth before she had control over it, the man shook his head from side to side.
"I don't want to talk to you right now, we'll meet again when you remember. It's going to be more funny."
He raised his chin, the wind drove away the bangs from his face.
Eden saw the man walk away and deflected the look of his figure, finished climbing the steps trying to forget that nightmarish greenish eyes.
Answers:
guest anonymous: Thanks for the comment! I'll try to keep it that way!
Manon: I'm glad you're keep following the story! I'm really trying not to comment on grammar errors, feel free to point that out! 3
Reo-kun: I really like that readers can have a different view of the character, yet another original character. I'm a little afraid to miss Eden's personality because I'm still trying to improve my english, it's good to know that everything is in order! Thank you for reading and give your review!
[Author's note]
Thank you all for reading! Don't forget to leave your review!