Elements of an Ill-fated Romance
{A/N So this is the REAL chapter five. Please note that there will be a 'What-if' chapter five written specifically by request for Babyshan211 & Starshipper that will be posted separately.}
Playlist: House of Cards by Audiomachine
Chapter Five: Breathless Interlude/Did I Imagine You
Running a hand down the front of her dress she smoothes out the nonexistent wrinkles as she looks around at the people beginning to line up. Standing in the center of the stone courtyard flanked by the rest of the wedding party she can see the marble steps lined with ivory candles that lead up to the church where her cousin stands with his new bride. The ceremony had been gorgeous much like the bride. Rebecca is the epitome of beauty. Long jet black hair against creamy vanilla skin, slanted grey eyes, full lips and small frame… she's absolutely breathtaking… and if she wasn't such a royal bitch Bonnie may actually like her. The candles flicker ever so slightly and she turns away afraid she might set that pretty white wedding dress on fire if she stares any longer.
She looks across the way and gives her partner a smile. It's fake and it hurts her face. But she really can't help it. Her partner is a distant cousin, something like twice removed but he's staring at her like he's hungry and she's a ready-made meal. It's making her skin crawl. He's the touchy feely type that is looking forward to this dance way more than he probably should considering that on some level they are related… distant or otherwise.
She fights the urge to shudder and instead focuses her attention up above. The moon is bright and full, barely hidden behind a scatter of thin translucent clouds using the starlit sky as its backdrop. Something dark streaks across the sky illuminated briefly by the light of the moon and she realizes it's a bird… perhaps a raven...she can't really tell. It moves so quickly and is gone so fast that she's not even sure she saw it in the first place.
"Bonnie…" Her name is whispered and she looks over her shoulder at her father. He snaps the photo barely giving her time to smile. The flash is almost blinding and she shakes her head as he waves at her enthusiastically from his table. He's so excited about this moment that she feels bad she doesn't share his sentiment. She just wants this to be over so she can sit back, eat her full of that two thousand dollar cake her cousin foot the bill for and perhaps sneak a few glasses of overpriced bubbly champagne that she's too young to drink. But hey, it's a wedding so what the hell?
Her thoughts are cut short as she sees a familiar flutter of dark hair and a glimpse of pale skin but then it's gone and she's not sure of what she saw. Piano music fills the space and her hand is taken. She's gathered close to her partner as the dance begins, counting softly in her mind. His hand presses into her back and for the first time she hates that her bridesmaids dress is backless. His fingers are warm and moist reminding her of earthworms in the morning. She looks past him and inhales sharply when she thinks she sees Damon's face amongst the guests.
Blue irises reflecting the light of the moon catch her off guard. She turns her head to the left as she's spun and the image is gone. Dresses flying up and billowing out blocking her line of vision. She looks around even as her steps become quicker, as the tempo of the music picks up and at this point she no longer needs to count because she can feel it building. It's almost physical the way it beats inside her as if guiding her… moving her along.
But none of that matters because she's almost certain of what she saw… or who she saw… and just when she's chalked it up to being all an illusion she spots him again. This time he's on the other side of the room. He's dressed in all black… does he have a leather jacket on… or is it a tuxedo… is that a glass of champagne in his hand? The questions are coming almost as fast as her feet move across the floor.
They are spinning so fast now; and she can't tell if it's the music fueling them on or something else; something she can't quite identify yet somehow she recognizes. Finally she stops trying to figure it out as now she can only see flashes of color, glimpses of faces… lace overlapping with tuxedo tails and perhaps that's his smirk…perhaps it's her imagination. Nothing makes sense and everything bleeds together in a whirl of blues and ivory. And then all at once the music stops…
…the couples cease to move, the atmosphere is breathless and it hangs over the dance floor, almost like it's unworldly… supernatural. She takes in a deep breath and she can almost taste the difference. Her hand goes to her chest where her heart beats relentlessly against her ribcage and there is a tingle in her fingertips that she can't explain. She swallows hard as her head whips from the left to the right and back again. Her eyes sharp, looking…searching for him… but he's not there. There's no sign of him anywhere.
Did she imagine him?
She feels the slight tug on her fingers as she turns to face her partner. He bows and she goes low in a curtsey as the call of a bird echoes in the night air. Her eyes glance up just in time to see the fluttering of black wings streak against the night sky.
No…it's not a Raven…
It's a crow.