A gentle breeze kissed the curtains. The ephemeral cloth ghosting over the polished marble floors. A hallowed hall of elegance and grace. A cradle of fine works from hailed masters; portraits of worship and softly-sculpted beauties. Priceless treasures resting in loving care.
But true beauty, the real masterpiece, lay not in Mona Lisa's smile; could not be found in the ripling stature of David. Instead, true art laid in the quiet passion of a man. His long, tapered fingers whispering over ivory keys, heavenly music quivering in the air.
It was art, from the cry of the crescendos to the sighs of pianissimo. The sunlight reflecting from those wire frames perched so delicately on that handsome nose. Deep, brown eyes hidden by the glaring glow.
And music, sweet music.
Dancing notes in the still silence.
Ringing. Ringing. Ringing.
It's yesterday once more...
Augustus woke up.
Relentless reality piercing through the haze of sleep. Awareness sinking in as Augustus surveyed his surroundings.
Oh. That's right. They had made camp. If you could call it a camp. In truth, the boys simply selected a suitable area. A tiny plot of earth devoid of rocks, not too muddy but not too hard. It wasn't exactly an ideal resting place, but they've had worse. And besides...
Augustus gazed blankly before him.
Twisted, metal skeletons rising from the earth, abominations of Mother Nature where death doth lie. Total destruction before a backdrop of eternal, blue sky. Murmurs of sorrow greeting the dawn, a new day born in the far horizon.
Anything was better than to approach the crumbling ruins, even sleeping on the cold, hard ground, vulnerable to the elements.
Augustus swallowed.
But still...
He was so curious.
Beside him, Alexander laid sleeping. Lost in the land of dreams, oh how Augustus envied him. So peaceful, so oblivious... He envied him so much.
His chest tightened, breath coming out in short, quick bursts. A hand, his hand, reached for the leather pouch. A quick flick of the wrist popping it open, revealing the make-shift knife. The stains from the earlier kill still fresh on the sharpened stone.
And Alexander laid sleeping. Dead to the world.
Oh, how Augustus just envied him. So carefree, so open.
So arrogant, so powerful
"So foolish..." So very, very foolish.
Augustus could just-just take the sword. Yes, the sword weighing heavily in his hands. The metal gleaming in the sunlight. And plunge it deep into the chest. Bury it into the heart. Twist it for good measure.
And the crimson blood flowed down the marble steps. A red river cutting a path through the burning city. The screams of the dying serenading its path.
Alexander stirred, moaning a little as he curled into a fetal position.
Augustus dropped the knife. His arm still raised, poised to attack. Poised to stab. Poised to kill.
Oh god.
What... just... happened?
He almost...
Augustus scrambled back, placing as much distance between him and Alexander. His jaded-green eyes forced wide-open by the very reality of his intent. His intent to murder.
And oh god.
He needed to get away. He didn't know where. Just away. Far away. Away from this place. Away from Alexander. Away from himself.
His feet brought him to the ruins. Carrying him over carpets of ash, past the broken buildings. Down the winding, asphalt streets as the cars roared by. Ignoring the calls of starving pedlers, gas lamps slowly being lit. His feet pouding against the dirt road as wooden cottages dissolved into trees. Augustus ran on.
Deeper and deeper.
Turning back the hands of time.
It's yesterday once more.
Augustus ran on.
The miles melted together, the scenery flying past. Fatigue dared not touch him, his heart a steady, pounding beat. His legs pumping ever harder, ever faster. He wasn't escaping anymore. He was chasing.
Chasing that man, just beyond his reach. The man with the chocolate hair so perfectly coifed, dark eyes blinking behind silver spectacles, and long, tapered fingers of smooth ivory. That man he saw in his dreams. He was so close. So close. If Augustus could just reach-
He stopped. His feet carried him no further.
Beyond him, a black ring of death, the soil watered by the blood of innocence. An all-encompassing flame, burning everything, sparing nothing. The fragile remains of humans. People. Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers... sons and daughters. Scattered about. Worthless tossed trash. Forgotten by the world. Here they laid. Resting in pieces.
"There was a river here." Augustus stated. Alexander standing beside him. In his gleaming, golden armor and fluttering, red cape, Alexander stood beside him.
Oh, how he envied him...
Raising one delicate hand, a finger pointing straight and true. Across the imaginary river. To the center of death. The eye of the ring. Augustus pointed.
"You found me there." He whispered, his far away gaze falling on Alexander. Emerald locking with amber. Augustus whispered.
"You found me there. R-"
Alexander opened his eyes, the blazing sunlight prying him from sleep. He groaned. Had it all been-
"-a dream?"
Alexander blinked, turning to look at Augustus. His companion calmly stoking a fire, what looked to be a small bird already roasting on a spit. Good, god. How long had he been asleep for Augustus to have caught and prepared lunch? It had been a long, standing tradition between the both of them, that they were in charge of getting their own food. If you didn't wake up early enough to get the early bird, you'd go without breakfast.
Alexander sighed. The chances of him getting a decent meal this late in the game was pitiful. He truly was tempted to simply forego breakfast... But breakfast! He wanted to eat!
There was a slight thump, a decent-sized bird leg lying on the ground before him. He gazed quizzically at Augustus.
"Take it or leave it." The boy merely replied.
Alexander inspected the free meal. It didn't look too bad, at the very least it wasn't diseased or poisoned. And besides, it wasn't as if Augustus was completely devoid of a heart. It was just buried somewhere deep, deep inside. But it was there. Shrugging, Alexander slowly sat up.
His legs were on fire. He honestly had no idea he could be this sore. He had bruises in places he didn't know existed! He let out a painful yelp, seeing Augustus smirk out of the corner of his eye.
"You totally knew that was going to happen, didn't you?" Alexander snapped.
Augustus merely bit into his bird.
Muttering about abusive companions and their sadistic tendencies, Alexander picked up his food and began nibbling away. It wasn't much. Augustus, of course, laying claim to most of it, having been the one to actually hunt and kill the poor creature. But Alexander convinced himself that it was enough. At least keep him on his feet until lunch time came around.
"You had a bad dream?"
Alexander blinked at the sudden inquiry, glancing up at Augustus. "I-What?"
"Thrashing a bit. Muttering things under your breath. Couldn't hear you clearly." Augustus elaborated.
"Ah well..." Alexander rubbed the back of his head. "It's stupid."
"And so is just about everything you do."
Alexander pouted. "Hey! Give me some credit! I'm not a complete moron!"
Augustus stood up, the bones of the bird clattering on the ground. "Then explain this!"
Gesticulating wildly, he brought Alexander's attention to their surroundings. Alexander never one for observation had not paid close enough attention, food being the biggest issue at hand. But now, with starvation beaten back, he could function more clearly. And damn it. He kinda wished he was as stupid as Augustus made him out to be.
At least then... At least then, seeing the devastated remnants wouldn't hurt so much. Seeing the disintegrating skull and not seeing the face of its owner. Seeing the deteriorating structures and not seeing the warm homes. At least then, he wouldn't realize just how deep, deep in shit they were.
Oh, that's right. They decided to venture into the Forbidden Forrest.
"In my defense, I was going to turn back but you made us go on." Alexander meekly offered.
Augustus looked ready to snap, but much to Alexander's surprise, simply hung his head low and flopped back into his seat. Blond bangs hiding the look of despair Alexander knew would be there.
"I suppose." Augustus hesitantly conceded.
Alexander blinked, his hand reaching for his newly acquired weapon. In one smooth move, he aimed the staff right at the blond's throat. "Alright! Who are you and what have you done with Gus-Gus?!"
Augustus twitched, calmly slapping away the staff. "Will you quit that? It's me, you moron!"
"Prove it."
"There is a scar. Right over your left collar bone. You usually hide it with your dumb sweatshirt."
Alexander huffed. Seeming to pout as he crossed his arms.
"Did I pass?"
"...Sure, whatever."
Augustus smirked.
"You're Augustus alright. Nobody else could be such an ass."
"Tell me something I don't know."
Alexander glared at him. "Danube."
Augustus blinked, his breath catching in his throat. "What?"
Alexander blinked back. "I-I didn't say anything."
"Yes, yes you did. Just now. S-Something-something..."
"I think you're hearing things."
"And you're not?"
Alexander flinched. "W-Well...I-I..."
"And you're having dreams too. Nightmares." Augustus stated. Not a hint of doubt in his tone. "You see people. People you've never met before. They call you names you've never heard. But you chase them anyways."
"H-H-How do you know that?" Alexander inquired, awed.
Augustus regarded his companion carefully. His piercing gaze looking right through Alexander. "Tell me about it."
"Wh-What?"
"Your dream. Tell me about it."
"Bu-But you-!" Alexander threw up his hands. "Fine! I dreamt of this guy. N-Not in a weird way or anything. He was just playing the piano, y'know? He looked familiar. And then, I was you... I woke up, and I saw myself sleeping. except I didn't think it was me. Because, I-in the dream-I was you. I was Augustus. And-And I tried to kill myself..."
Augustus nodded, urging Alexander on.
"...Well, you, that is, I got freaked out. I ran. Right through that-that place over there." He paused, staring pointedly at the ruins. "It got really weird. It was like the place rebuilt itself and broke down at the same time. Not demolished like fiery, burning hell demolished. The building was there one moment, and then the next, it was just a pile of bricks. It was really, really weird."
"And then?" Augustus pressed.
"I stopped. At some point, I felt like I could see the guy. The piano-guy right in front of me. So I chased him. But then all of a sudden, I just stopped. Well, okay you stopped. I'm still you by the way. I'm still Augustus. And you-I-we stopped in front of this... It was horrible. Something awful happened. I don't know what, but you could just tell. I mean, the soil was black, Augustus. Not like reddish-brown. Actually black, black, black... And you could still see people. I mean, it was like they were alive just a second ago. And then all of sudden. Poof! They were all dead."
Alexander was breathing harshly now, rocking back and forth. A crazy gleam in his eye as he looked up at Augustus.
"And then I was beside you-me-us. Me, as in, me. I was older. Much older. Ha, ha, ha...I had a beard. And I was wearing armor. Golden, gleaming armor masterfully wrought by the best artisans. My cape was imported... straight from the East... silk...silk, I think... Made of silk. Ha, ha, ha... I looked powerful. B-B-But you-I-we didn't care. You just-you just looked at me. Pointed. Across the river. You-I-We said there used to be a river. A river..."
"Danube." Augustus murmured softly, barely coherent.
Alexander stilled all movement. His muscles relaxing, a huge weight lifted from his shoulders.
"Yes. I found you there..." He continued. "Across the Danube River. I found you there."
"What happens next?"
"You found me there. R-"
"Nothing." Alexander swallowed. "Nothing at all. I woke up."
Augustus merely gazed at him. Not speaking, merely gazing. Alexander shifted uncomfortably.
An awkward silence stretched out between them.
"Alright." Augustus finally announced, rising to his feet. "I believe you."
"You do?" Alexander asked, hope colouring his voice.
"Yeah. What's not to believe?"
Alexander smiled, for the first time that day. Struggling to stand as well, despite the pain burning in his legs. He shot a look at Augustus. "How come you're not sore?"
"I am. I'm just better at hiding it."
"Jackass." Alexander bit out, finally getting to his feet. "You still have to tell me about your dreams."
"Now, when did I promise you that?"
"Come on! It's only fair!"
Augustus rolled his eyes. "It's not as exciting as yours. It's actually boring. But I did see the same man you did. The guy with brown hair, wearing glasses and playing the piano. I woke up earlier than you did, so that's as far as I've got."
Alexander hummed in thought. He supposed it did make sense. Perhaps if Augustus slept in a little longer, he would've gotten the same dream as Alexander... Except... Something jsut didn't add right...
"Hey, Gus-Gus... What's a piano?"
Augustus blinked. "I... don't know. What are glasses?"
A/N: Hated this chapter... Formatting was strange. Might re-do. Please review and tell me your thoughts.