The second chapter of Envisioned Fancies. The answer to the confusion in the previous chapter.
Thank you to all those that reviewed and favorited! I appreciate that very much.
Read on, the answer lies within. Promise.
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"Kartik!" Gemma's voice is filled with relief. "Are you alright? You were a bit green..."
I fill my lungs with the cool spring air. It takes me a while to realize I was dreaming. The trees around us wave their branches as a breeze pushes past them. Tilting my head slightly, I see an impressive building in the distance: Spence Academy for Young Ladies. I lift my hands to my eyes: they are brown and calloused. Crossing my arms across my chest, I lean back and sigh. Splintery bark meets with my dark curls.
"What happened?" I am asking no one in particular.
Gemma looks flustered. "I'm sorry I was late, Kartik. I fell asleep and, well, I had the most awkward dream."
This bit of infomation catches my attention. "Oh?" I mumble. "What was it about?"
Gemma takes a seat beside me and also leans her head on the tree. I can feel her warmth radiating off her body.
"Well," she begins. "I was here, actually, in my dream. In the forest around Spence. And I saw..me there. But I wasn't... me, I was...you. You were me, and I was you."
I nod. Why is this sounding so familiar?
Gemma wrinkles her nose. "Well, that meant I was a man, and you were a woman. Someway or the other, I had this intention of heading towards the lake. And you followed me there. When we got there, I saw the Order and the Rakshana. But the Order was not the Order, and the Rakshana was not the Rakshana. In fact, they were opposites, if you know what I mean."
"Please continue," I say, my heart doubling its steady pace.
She takes a deep breath and lets it out in a sigh. I can feel her breath tickle the hair around my ear.
"The Rakshana joined hands, and then the Order did the same. They twirled towards each other saying, 'the Rakshana and the Order are lovers'," Gemma trails off into silence. Out of the corner of my eye, I see that she is blushing.
We sit for a while in uncomfortable silence. I look up to the moon, watching us in silence. I clear my throat, and whisper, "I fell asleep too, before you came, and -"
Should I continue? Would this embarrass her further more? Gemma shifts a bit in her place and also looks up to the moon, wayward red curls dripping onto her back. I have a sudden urge to feel the silk of those curls, to reach over and press her soft lips against mine. But I shake the thought away.
Her voice, when it comes in small whisper, says, "And?"
I clear my throat again. "I had the same dream. But I was you, and you were I."
Gemma gasps, and her face lights up. She speaks, again in the small whisper, "Do you believe that this had something to do with our dream, then? And it's occurences?"
I shake my head. "I don't know."
"This has to mean something," Gemma turns to me. I uncross my arms and face her, my eyes landing on her shining green eyes. There is something there, something very much like hope. My heart begins thumping wildly, as if I had been running for a long period of time.
"Gemma." I manage to choke out.
Her emerald eyes are clouded, her angelic face taking on a distant look. My eyes flick off of Gemma's face, settling on an object behind her. Cocking my head, I reach over and pick it up. I finger it carefully, thoughts confused and jumbled. A piece of yarn entwining a tiny flower. Gemma takes it gently out of my hands, glancing at me for permission. I nod in reply.
She stares at the tiny arrangement in interest, her lips parting just slightly, revealing the dazzling white of her perfect teeth. "Yarn and a flower?"
Her fingers stroke the flower carefully. "Kartik?"
"Yes?"
"This flower is from the realms, I can feel the magic in it." Gemma's face lights up with the thought of the realms.
"Oh?" I say softly. The realms?
"I remember vaguely, there was a pin, in the dream, pinned onto the women's dresses. It had knitting needles and balls of -"
"Yarn!" I interrupt, ignoring the annoyed look on Gemma's face. The pins, in fact, were the most frightening of all, in the dream, other than the fact that I was in a woman's body.
"Yes," Gemma nods. "What does this mean, then?" She lifts the flower and yarn up to her eyes.
I frown. "Well, the flower must represent the realms. And the yarn..." I trail off, partly because of the knowledge that Gemma's thoughful gaze turned on me, expecting me to enlighten her, and partly because I have too many suggestions floating about in my mind.
Gemma bites her lips gently. Lips I have always wanted to taste again and again after our previous, and hopeless, kisses. Her voice snaps me out of my trance, "The yarn should represent the Rakshana, considering our dream." The way she says our sets my heart fluttering.
"The realms and the Rakshana?" I say quietly. My gaze lingers on Gemma's wonderful green eyes for a moment.
A mysterious smile spreads on her lips. "How about the Order and the Rakshana?"
I can't help grinning. I see, now. "But I am not part of the Rakshana anymore, may I remind you?"
A blush floods Gemma's cheeks, and for a moment, I feel I have won. But her eyes flash, and her voice rings out boldly, "You would still be in your brotherhood, if you had not spared a stubborn, unsignificant, and hot-tempered girl's life."
Her eyebrows raise as I duck my head, embarrassed. "I - Well - I -"
"Yes, dear Kartik?" Gemma mocks, a triumphant smile spreading on her lips.
I clear my throat uneasily; so heavenly, yet so devilish. "Never mind me," I manage to choke out.
Gemma's smile widens at my pathetic croak. Luckily, she changes the subject, "Where did this come from, then?" She gestures toward the flower and yarn sitting on her outstretched palm.
I cast a glance around us cautiously, shivering slightly. "You are the only one able to enter the realms, am I correct?"
"Yes," Gemma replies slowly.
A sudden idea shines in my mind. "Didn't you once tell me that all dreams come from the realms, eventually?"
Gemma's face lights up. "Right. That meant I took this from the dream, from the realms?"
I smile. "The most logic explanation."
She returns my smile. I stretch my palm out, asking to hold the flower and yarn. Without another word, I tear the flower from the yarns tight embrace. I hand the yarn to Gemma with a smile. A warmth fills my insides as she takes the yarn, a growing smile playing about on her lips. The movement is so tender, and precious, so beautiful...
I am suddenly aware of Gemma in my arms, her wonderful lips on mine, her gentle hand stroking my hair, tangling with my messy curls. I don't know how long we sat in each other's charm; it felt like millions of years, and it felt like only a heartbeat, all at once.
"Gemma," I gasp when we finally break from each other. She buries her head into my chest, and I feel a sigh escaping from her lips. I lift her head, wanting so dearly to feel her lips on mine, a perfect fit. But I couldn't, it would be wrong. "Gemma," I say again. "It's getting late, you should be getting back to Spence." As much as I don't want this night to end, I undertand that I am doing the right thing, no matter how much it hurts.
Gemma's green eyes on glued on mine, pleading, but she rises, and I do the same. Her arms are about my neck, her breath against my hair. She breaks away, and I feel the chill of the night smother the warmth of the spot she left behind. And she is running, away from me, away from this night.
She will always be running away from me.
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Well, now. I don't know. The romance just jumped in. I guess I was feeling kinda mushy-gushy at the time. But hey, what's done is what's done.
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