A/N: Wow, I'm on a roll tonight... Hope this satisfies for a bit!
My dreams were plagued by a faceless figure and my sleep was uneasy. I kept waking up off and on throughout the night. The next day was miserable; when I woke up I noticed huge purple bags under my eyes and Jess mentioned that I was irritable and groggy all day long. I grudgingly agreed.
Finally, after an uneventful day, bedtime came again. I said goodnight to Jessica and walked down the hallway to my suite. I went through the motions of my nightly routine robotically and crawled into my bed. I had left the window open so the cool sea breeze could find me while I slept and hopefully lull me into a deep, dreamless sleep.
I had hoped for too much. My eyes flew open. I looked over at me bedside clock, one a.m., no! Not again; I wanted a normal, fun day of exploration tomorrow, not another sleepless night! I groaned and padded over to the bathroom, not bothering to close the door all the way. Finishing up I flicked the light back off and climbed back into bed. I took one last look around before pulling the covers back over my feet and legs. Wait… something was not right…it wasn't the same. What was it? I looked around again. The window, it had been wide open before, but it was very nearly closed. Had I done that? On my way to the bathroom did I close the window? I couldn't remember. It was too blurry.
Just as I was about to give up and lie back down I thought I heard a sigh come from the direction of the bathroom. I froze. That noise definitely came from inside my room…not the little living area, or the kitchenette, but the bedroom or bathroom. My heart thundered in my chest. I was at war within myself over whether or not to get up and look around or just call out from the safety of my bed, covers ready and waiting to cover my head if necessary. Coward that I was, the bed won out.
"Hello? Is someone here?" No answer…slight relief flooding through my mind made me a bit braver than before. "I know you're here; I can hear you breathing… I'm calling the concierge, they'll send up a policeman." I made a big show of reaching for the phone, safe in the knowledge that it had just been my imagination; I planned to pick up the phone, listen for the sobering dial tone and easily go back to sleep. My plans were shattered when he spoke. "No, I won't hurt you. I'll go." His voice was soft, barely audible, as if from a distant dream.
I froze again, my body stiffened completely. Fear began to flood my veins as cold as ice water as it ran from my barely beating heart and trickled through every extremity I possessed. I reached, somehow, for the lamp beside me. "No… leave it off. I swear no harm will come to you, just don't light…keep it off, please." He whispered, I obeyed, but whether out of fear or some morbid fantasy induced curiosity I do not know.
"Who are you?" I croaked the darkness surrounding me seemed to creep into my vocal chords, shadowing them with the thick blackness of all that was the night. I sensed movement to my left, the area near the closet; in the dim moonlight I could see the figure of a man moving from the deep shadows that the corners of my room created. He moved as if one with the darkness, a shadow himself.
"I am no one, no one you would know, no one you would want to know. I am nothing that should concern you; not anymore at least." The last few words were barely audible, surely he did not mean for me to catch them, but I did. I decided to call him on it, if I were about to die, I was surely entitled to at least know everything I could about my attacker.
"What do you mean, not anymore?" I asked. I heard him laugh to himself… it is amazing how well your hearing is enhanced when your sight in encumbered. "Nothing; You have nothing to fear from me now. Lie down and sleep if you can, I'll not come here again. I promise." He said as he moved slowly in the shadows around my bed, his movements were fluid, graceful.
"Again? Have you been here before?" I asked, not able to let well enough alone; here my would be murderer was offering to leave me in peace and I just kept egging him on. Another chuckle, "Yes, I was here last night as well, I thought you would have caught me then, but sleep over took you and I left. You called me Eros." I could hear the amusement in his voice and for some reason it angered me. How dare he laugh at my expense!
"I had been dreaming! I thought you were part of my dream. Why were you here?" I asked. I was not about to let this stranger think me some silly child full of fantasies…even if that's exactly what I was, there was no need for him to know it. "I told you, it doesn't matter now. And you were not dreaming, I know; I was watching you sleep. You needn't be embarrassed, it's a common mistake." He said easily as if we had met on the beach or in a club. "A common mistake? So you think yourself comparable to Eros? You're quite conceited." I said; what was wrong with me?! What the heck was I doing provoking a possibly dangerous, murderous man who had obviously the skill to break into my well secured hotel room?
He laughed out loud now, a beautiful deep, glorious sound, like the warm south wind rushing through the trees in the forests back home. "I didn't mean it like that, no I do not think myself comparable to Eros; I've met him, it's truly no comparison. I simply meant that my kind have been mistaken for his kind for a long time. In fact, it is my kind who gave birth to the legends and myths of the gods in the first place." I was utterly confused now; it seemed the more the stranger in my room talked, the less sense he made.
"What do you mean by that? Who are you?" I asked, not really expecting any sort of a comprehensible reply at this point; something deep inside me, for some unknown reason, did not want to let this stranger leave; I feared I would never hear his beautiful voice again…and some part of me simply could not handle that fact.
"I should go. I'm sorry to have troubled you, Bella. I sincerely ask your forgiveness." He said and I could see his form move quickly to the window. "No! Please! Don't leave… or come back tomorrow night. Just don't say good bye." I yelled. I could see his form silhouetted in the pale moonlight that shone through the curtains. He turned slowly to face me, the light from the window illuminated what seemed in this dim light to be iridescent white skin. He stepped slowly toward me. "Are you sure, Bella? Do you know what you're asking?" He said, his voice held a serious tone I had not imagined possible. "Yes." I replied confidently, hoping he would not see though my steady voice to my mind screaming the opposite inside my head.
"Alright, tomorrow. Get some rest, Bella." He replied and with that he simply vanished. I did not see him move to the window, nor did I see the window open. I heard nothing, but I knew he was gone; when he left an emptiness I had not known in all my life before this night descended upon me like a cold, wet, heavy blanket.
A/N: Mmmhmm, how you like them apples? Yeah I'm getting into this story kinda quickly for me; but I have SO much I want to do with this one! I hope it turns out like I want! -Yes, when I start a new story I have NO IDEA how it's going to end; I let the characters decide that.-
Please review, I LOVE hearing from you!