A/N: Another chapter up and ready to be read.
Late Night Discussion
Narcissa comfortably seated herself upon the couch as Seras slowly stood to her feet, the book clutched in her arms. The young police woman scowled at the other's comfortable attitude in her home, though for now she was more curious than angered.
"Did you do this?" Seras asked, casting a suspicious glance at her unwanted quest.
"Have you truly looked at the handwriting, little one?" Narcissa replied, smirking at her hostess. "You insult me with such an assumption."
Seras silently admitted her unwanted guest had a point as she opened the book and glanced upon the pages. The scroll resembled that of a child's, with the exception of a few old terms and precise wording for the descriptions of the area. She was puzzled by the appearance of words in the formerly empty item, but at the moment she needed to be more focused on the visitor at hand.
"So this is what you're after?" Seras questioned, looking up from the pages to peer at the woman on her couch.
"Precisely" the guest answered, a hand picking at a loose string of the couch as if bored. "However, something unexpected has caught my attention" she added as she turned her eyes upon the young police woman. "You present quite the puzzle, little girl."
"What do you mean me?" the kitten asked, a confused expression upon her face. "I don't know what you're talking about, but if it's this book you want you can have it" she spoke, holding out the item in offering. "And then you can leave and never come back" she finished as she gestured a hand toward the door.
"You're truly giving it to me?" she asked in surprise, a look of elation spreading across her face. She eagerly held out her hand for the item, but her expression quickly changed as she shook her head in dismay and pulled back her arm. "No, I'm afraid it won't work that way. You see, you were given the book for a reason, and I am here to find that reason."
"Then I'm afraid I'm going to have to force you to leave" Seras threatened as she quickly took her gun from its holster and pointed the barrel at her intruder.
"I'm afraid that won't work, girl" Narcissa replied as a smile drew across her lips and her eyes seemed to glow with an unearthly light.
Seras' eyes widened as her fingers froze upon the trigger, her body disobeying her commands to move as Narcissa rose from the couch in a fluid motion. The woman chuckled as she stood before the police girl, a slim, pale hand coming up to slide across her shoulder. She began circling the officer, her fingers gliding upward and following the length of her neck.
"I honestly don't see what is so interesting about you" she commented as she moved once more to face Seras. "You have a weak will, too weak to disobey me, but you were given charge of such an important object." She took a step forward, her eyes boring into her frozen hostess'. "But perhaps I shall find the answer to my question" she spoke as her hand came up to cup her cheek. "Sleep."
Seras felt her eyes close the moment the command was spoken and her mind slipped into the world of slumber. She had scarcely seen darkness, however, when her world seemed to open up before her into another place and time. The young woman found herself lying upon the ground, her uniform still on but her gun noticeably missing.
Seras looked about her surroundings in wonder as she slowly rose from a cold stone floor. Instead of the forest of darkness which she expected to find, she was standing in the midst of a giant domed room filled with Islamic scripture and shining walls. The only familiar portion of the dream was the moonlight which streamed down through the stained glass windows nestled high above where she stood, illuminating the gold trim on the columns and walls.
Seras took a single step and flinched as the sound of her footstep echoed noisily in the area. The sudden sound of angered voices and hurried steps alerted her to the approach of a large group of people, and she frantically looked about for a place to hide. Her attention was caught by a small noise, as if someone trying to catch her notice, coming from a small alcove in one of the walls.
To Seras' surprise she noticed a young boy beckoning to her from the shadows, his gesture one of urgency as the voices grew louder. She followed his advice and quickly sprinted over to where he stood, her expression one of confusion and growing fear. He, however, appeared composed and merely turned to walk deeper into the alcove, which from her new angle was revealed to be a small, hidden passage.
Seras hesitated for a mere second as the boy disappeared into the darkness of the walkway, but looking over her shoulder and catching a glimpse of clothing forced her mind as she stepped into the area. With baited breath she placed her hand upon a wall and began following her guide, his light footsteps barely heard above the din of the people behind. To her relief, though, they appeared not to know about the passage and with each step their voices grew fainter.
Soon the way ahead grew brighter with the flickering light of a candle as she soon stepped out into a small room. She looked around in curiosity as the walls appeared, their space filled with torn book pages dotted scribbled over with black ink and splattered with red ink.
"What is this place?" she asked the solemn youth, her eyes finally resting upon the boy who stood behind a table in the center of the room.
His face was almost expressionless as he stared unblinkingly at his guest, his arms dropped to his side. The whole effect gave the young woman a chill and she took a step back, wondering if she had made a mistake in following him to this lonely room.
"They will find you" he suddenly spoke, startling her enough to force a jump from her body. "Then they will torture you without mercy."
"But why would they?" she asked, confused by his words. "I haven't done anything. And who are they?"
"What is your name?" he asked, completely ignoring her questions.
"Seras...Seras Victoria" she hesitantly answered, biting her lip in a nervous motion. "What's yours?" she questioned in turn, though she was disappointed when he merely stared at her without intention of responding.
Instead one of his arms moved to rest his hands upon a book on the table before his lean form, his eyes never ceasing their watch over her.
"You helped me before" he slowly spoke, as if addressing a child who would not understand. "So I shall give you a gift" he offered as his fingers suddenly pushed the item toward the young woman.
Indeed Seras did not comprehend what he was saying, but his figure and face were familiar to her memories. However, she swallowed her fear and confusion and stepped forward to look at the offered book. As her eyes set upon the cover, she was shocked to recognize the book she had been sent and which Narcissa held so much interest in. To her dismay, however, the lettering upon the front appeared blurry in this strange dreamland, disallowing her from reading the title.
Instead Seras opened the cover and read the first few familiar passages, her fingers flipping through the pages until she drew to the end. To her surprise she found much more written with the book, but a sudden noise in the passage distracted her attention from the reading.
Seras turned just in time to view a large group of armed guards enter through the hall, their faces angered as they rushed at both her and the boy. The youth jumped over the table and stood before her, what she could see of his expression unfaltering as the men fell upon them.
"Keep it safe" were the last words she heard from his lips as Seras was violently woken from her sleep, her eyes wandering about for a moment in confusion until she recognized her small apartment.
Rubbing her temples as she sat up from the floor, Seras noticed Narcissa upon the couch with the book open upon her lap. A strange expression was upon her face, one which could only be described as a mix of jealousy and intrigue, and her eyes held the same strange light within their depths. However, she soon turned her face upward from where she was staring down upon the pages, her face quickly turning to one of cool calmness.
"Well, I see you've had quite the time" she commented as she casually rose from the couch and almost gently deposited the book upon the coffee table. "That will be enough for tonight" she informed as she walked toward the door. However, she placed her hand upon the knob and stopped as she looked over her shoulder with a wide grin.
"But I'll be back another time" she informed as she opened the door and let herself out.
Seras was thus left alone in her quiet apartment, her memories and thoughts jumbled into a mass of confusion and infinite curiosity as her eyes slowly turned toward the innocent looking item upon her table. She unsteadily stood to her feet and walked over to the book, her hands shaking as they reached out to grab the sides and lift the item into her arms.
Seras then settled herself upon the couch where Narcissa had sat, half expecting to find a warm spot from the woman's body heat and thoroughly mystified when there was none. Mentally shrugging and sitting cross legged upon the cushions, she opened the cover and flipped through the first few pages involving the forest dream. To her amazement, as she reached the end of her first dream, the story continued as if a biography documenting a person's life.
She read as the boy she had comforted grew a few years older and was forced, through his father's poor management of their wealth and power, to become a hostage in a far off land. The boy and his brother were tortured unmercifully by their captors and the young child she knew grew to be a quiet and brooding youth. The imagery was graphic concerning the devices used, and she quickly skipped farther ahead to the final page of writing.
Then Seras came upon the scene of capture which had so abruptly ended her dream, and the tale also ended. She noticed even the handwriting had changed, from the scribbling of a child to the refined hand of a youth. Closing the cover and staring off into space with her thoughts, she was completely dumbfounded by the events of the evening.
The chaos at the police station which seemed to target her own area, the intrusion of Narcissa, the strange dream, and finally the book's writing of the events. All led to a large puzzle which she held only one piece; the book within her lap. Her thoughts, though, were soon interrupted by the sun rising in the horizon, allowing light into her apartment as she suddenly had to stifle a yawn.
The dream, though part of sleep, had apparently given her no rest and Seras' body demanded she return to the land of Morpheus. Without refusal she stood and placed the book upon the table, noticing the cover was strangely devoid of any area for a title, and wandered to her bedroom. As she put on her nightgown and slipped into bed, she could only manage one final thought before she began gathering her much needed rest.
Her world had gotten complicated, and it was only a matter of time before events worsened.
