Chapter Two
Emily's eyelids flutter open. Where is she, exactly?
Her eyes wander around, taking in the scenery. Tall, spindly trees stretch and reach towards the sky. The ground is soft and covered in sparse amounts of grass. A stream rushes by, carving a path through the dirt, flowing into wherever its end will be. Crows fly by overhead, cawing. This was where she was before, when she was still buried in the ground, waiting for love. But how? All she could remember was wishing to explore this world more fully, and then suddenly she was falling through the clouds. Could this be a second chance to live that dream, even as a corpse?
She pushes a stray lock of strawberry blonde hair away from her face, the strands silken and warm between her fingers.
Wait a moment… blonde? Her hair hasn't been blonde since…
No, it can't be.
Her eyes flicker down to her hands. Creamy white, soft skin covers what once was bare, rotting bone. Her dress, no longer ragged and torn, is smooth white lace once again. The same cream colored skin covers her legs and her face, her cheeks full and warm. She reaches up to touch her crown of flowers. Withered and dry no more. She frees a small petal to see it seemingly glow a vibrant powder blue in the moonlight, the white veins drawing intricate patterns within. She allows the gentle breeze to blow it out of her hand and carefully presses her fingertip against her right eyelid. It stays in place. She crawls over to the stream, looking into its reflective surface. Bright, pale blue eyes stare back at her. There is no trace of death anywhere.
She is alive.
"Victor, you've barely touched your plate." Victoria gazes at him across the long dining table. "Is something the matter?"
Victor continues absentmindedly pushing his potatoes around on his plate, the fork scraping the glass occasionally, not really hearing anything. "Mmm, yes dear." he mumbles.
"Victor!"
Her voice is alarmingly close this time. Victor's head jerks up, startled. Victoria is clutching his arm, worry drawn across her face.
Victor blinks at her, still partially floating within his thoughts. "Yes?"
Victoria's eyes are searching. "Where are you?" She tries to appear firm but only succeeds in looking as if she is about to cry. The tears are already forming. "You're so far away all the time!"
Guilt worms its way into Victor's heart. He places his hand over her trembling fingers to attempt to still them. "Victoria, I'm sorry." And he is. This isn't fair to her. He holds her gaze. "Please, don't be upset."
Victoria rips her fingers away from him, true rage contorting her features as tears finally begin to spill down her pallid cheeks. "Don't be upset? How can I not be upset?" She begins to pace, fingers curled into tiny fists. "You're hardly ever home, and when you are you're always shut away in that awful study of yours! I practically never see you!" She whirls on him. "Why?"
Victor doesn't know what to say. He's never seen Victoria angry before. Actually, he's never seen Victoria anything but placidly happy. He doesn't want to hurt her.
"I don't know."
He rises from his seat, unable to stay, unable to think. He doesn't know what to do. "I need to step out for a moment."
Victoria's lip curls, trying to conceal any quivering. "There you go again! Always leaving!"
Emily pushes herself up onto her feet, trying to get used to the weight of new flesh covering bone. She stumbles and nearly falls twice, but she is slowly starting to get the hang of this.
Right, left, right, left.
This is silly. Her movements are clunky and robotic. It's not as if she's never walked before. She giggles at the absurdity of it all and begins gain confidence with each steady step. Soon, she picks up the pace, the soft thumps of bare feet padding along the ground music to her ears. The wind plays with her long, silky hair, blowing it behind her ears. The cool air feels wonderful on her skin.
Emily is so lost in the thrill of being alive once again that she doesn't notice the thick, gnarled root jutting out of the ground at first. By the time she does, it's too late. She trips and falls, instinctually sticking her hands out to break her fall.
Expecting to hit the ground, she is surprised when she collides with something lean and sturdy. She straightens up and finds she is gripping the forearms of a man. Her eyes travel up to his face, and she gasps.
"Victor?"