Chapter 11

It was days before Lukas saw or heard word from Matthias again. The weather had been gloomy, too. It matched the mood of everyone in the castle. Even Charles seemed gloomier whenever he brought Lukas his meals.

"How is Matthias?" He would ask Charles. The older man shook his head and said, "I cannot say, sir."

Then he would leave and that was that. Lukas accepted it early on, but on the fourth day he couldn't take the curiosity and he set out towards his room, building his courage with each step.

Each day felt like nothing to Matthias. It only felt like hours passing. When he woke up after the days had passed, he wasn't sure what the date was or if it was dawn or dusk. If he hadn't heard someone moving around outside in the hallway, he would have thought it was dawn, but the sun had just set and the night hadn't even begun.

The man stood up and walked out into the hall. Whoever passed by was gone now. It might have been Lukas, but Matthias doubted that. He'd probably frightened him away. But surely Charles hadn't let him go.

That's when he remembered the window downstairs. Matthias had completely forgotten about Lukas' words in his dream he'd had. There was something about a window downstairs being unlocked. Matthias didn't believe that dreams were prophetic, and he wanted to prove that belief by going back to his room, but something was compelling him to check, on the off chance that the dream had been correct.

The floor was freezing. Matthias wished he would have put his boots on. He walked past a few servants and into the biggest storage room in the castle. It was the only one with a window. A few of the servants gave him odd looks like he didn't belong, but the looks didn't linger. None of them were brave enough to stare.

The window had a curtain over it and no light was streaming in. Matthias stood up as high as he could, opened the curtains, and looked at the dusty glass. It hadn't been cleaned in years. Nobody opened the window for any reason anymore, although there was a handprint on the side. Well, almost a handprint. It was more like someone had slid their hand over the glass. There was no dust gathered over the new mark yet. This was in no way reassuring.

As for the moment of truth, Matthias wasn't sure. He checked the lock on the window. He didn't know anymore which way was locked and which way wasn't. He pursed his lips and tried to push on the glass. When the bottom popped out after a hard push, he slowly closed it again. He stepped away from the wall, not believing that the dream had been true.

First, he reached up and locked the window again, afraid that Lukas already knew about it. Second, he closed the curtains and turned to go. Lastly, he ran into one of his maids.

"Are you alright, sir?" She asked, stepping out of his way and walking over to the window. "Is there a problem with the window?"

Matthias shook his head. He was a little upset, but not enough to be angry at a maid who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He started to leave, mumbling under his breath as he slammed the door shut behind him. "Charles?" He yelled.

The man came down the hall with a tray of tea and offered a cup to Matthias, who refused. "Charles, check every window and door."

Charles eyes shifted up to his masters and he raised an eyebrow. It was almost as if he knew something. Matthias stepped closer with a dangerous look in his eyes. "The window in the storage room was unlocked. You wouldn't have something to do with this, would you?"

The butler looked at Matthias, but didn't budge. "I checked every window and every door, sir," he replied. Matthias looked him over again, but decided to trust the man. After all, he'd been with him for so long. Although his dream being accurate frightened him. It was such an odd coincidence. Had anything else been real?

"Ah. Back to work, then," he murmured quietly, walking past him and up the staircase again. What else had happened in the dream? He tried to remember other things besides touching Lukas. He recalled checking on his arm. And then, of course, he remembered holding him. But what had he said? What words were spoken in the dream?

While Matthias was thinking, he didn't notice that Lukas had stepped out of his room and he ran into him. Lukas winced and dropped a candle he was holding onto. Matthias stomped out a small flame that ignited on the carpet and pulled him up by his arm. "Are you alright?"

Lukas gulped and nodded slowly. He was sure he'd be yelled at, but Matthias was actually trying to give him a small smile. It took him off guard, but he was glad it wasn't an ugly, displeased frown. "Sorry, I was not trying—"

"No, it is absolutely fine! I mean, it is fine. It is very good to see you," he said. With hesitation, he extended a hand for Lukas to take. It was meant as a polite gesture, a symbol that everything was going to be alright, and Lukas clutched onto his hand. It wasn't a warm hand. It was cool. Not completely cold or painfully so, but it was significant.

Matthias caught Lukas' eye and didn't know why he was suddenly looking shifty. "Ah, I should eat with you tonight," he suggested. Lukas forced a little smile, then took his hand back.

"You look like you're better."

Matthias let out a quiet chuckle. He was trying not to be an ass. It wasn't quite that he was better, exactly. But he knew that he'd have to face Lukas sometime, and it might as well have been now. He turned on his heel and went downstairs. Lukas was following behind.

When they sat down at the table in the dining hall, there was a thick silence between the two. Neither knew how to start a decent conversation. Matthias traced the edge of his glass with his finger as he thought of something. "Lukas?"

The other perked up faintly, glancing over at the man. Matthias cleared his throat and poured himself a glass of wine, saying, "Do you believe in prophetic dreams?"

Lukas stared at him, then down at the wooden table. He rubbed a smudge on it from where his glass had been, although he was just trying to distract himself from the question. "Prophetic dreams," he repeated in a whisper. Prophetic dreams? What kind of dreams could Matthias have been talking about?

"I think they might be real. I think they are normally associated with witchcraft."

Matthias was quiet when two servants came into the hall and set down plates of food in front of them. Once they disappeared again, he said, "Are you familiar with witchcraft?"

He reached out, grabbed a roll, and cut it open gently. He took a quick bite, then looked over at the wall. "I haven't tried to do magic in a while. Just when I was younger I would try to do spells and burn candles."

"Sacrifices and things of that sort?"

Lukas choked on his food and took a drink of water, pressing a napkin to his lips. "Sacrifices? Matthias, I would never sacrifice anything. Even if I wanted to, it hasn't been allowed in the villages for three-hundred years."

"Are you sure?" He asked. Matthias, for some reason, looked more anxious than usual and he was leaning forward in his chair as if he had something more to say. Lukas looked down at his lap, removed the napkin from it, and said, "I am absolutely sure that I have made no sacrifices, Matthias."

He wanted to follow up with, "Why do you ask?" But couldn't quite bring himself to say anything more. Maybe Matthias was opposed to witchcraft. Or he enjoyed it. It could have been either, although Lukas hoped it was the latter.

Matthias looked convinced and gave Lukas a small smile. "You are saying, then, that you do believe in prophetic dreams?"

The other nodded, figuring that it could possibly be and he didn't want to argue with Matthias. "Why are you asking me about them?"

The man instantly paled and turned away, rubbing his neck like he was hiding a terrible secret. When he turned to face Lukas, he inhaled deeply and began to describe the dream he'd had with Lukas.

"I was in a garden. I saw you, actually." When Lukas was brought up, Matthias had to look at his plate. "I talked to you. I believe I apologized for hurting your arm, if you recall that accident. You were… happy."

Perhaps Matthias was being too vague about the dream, but it would have been worse to tell everything that he remembered from it. He didn't want to scare Lukas, but he felt like he needed to let the dream out to someone. Lukas gave him a peculiar look. The dream sounded all too familiar. Without thinking, he blurted out, "Did anything else happen?"

Matthias froze. He was on the defense immediately, shooting Lukas a harsh glare and scooting his chair further back. "I told you what I remember," he said bitterly. Lukas' eyes widened and he rested his chin on his palm, looking over at the door that he wished he was exiting through.

They picked at their food for a few minutes while the fire in the fireplace crackled loudly behind Matthias. Lukas would have liked the silence to end, but he was never the best with words, and didn't know what to say. He rubbed his jaw, looked at the wall, and sighed.

"Have you had any dreams lately?" Matthias asked with a slightly sarcastic tone. Lukas stabbed a piece of pork with his knife and shrugged slightly, not wanting to tell the man about the dreams he'd had of him.

Matthias was upset that he received no answer, and in a fit, he stood up and sat down right next to Lukas. "I am trying to be polite!" He said. "I know I am nowhere near as good as you are at being a saint, but I would like you to answer my question."

"My dreams are not your business," Lukas snapped, leaning away from Matthias, who was only leaning in. "They are personal."

"Well I am trying to understand… something!"

Lukas looked over at him. He didn't know what that meant. "Something? What something?" He questioned.

Matthias looked uncomfortable again, but he didn't move away. His eyes fell to the wooden table, he paused, then said, "In one of my dreams, you told me that the window in the servant's room was unlocked. You were sorry, I think."

Lukas' blood ran cold and he felt like he was going to be sick, as he had also dreamt that he'd told Matthias about the window. That dream had been a good one, but it wasn't one he wanted to share with Matthias.

"What's your point?"

The man leaned back in the chair, but still looked at Lukas. "I checked and the window was unlocked."

"Coincidence."

"Not a coincidence," Matthias argued. "I have the windows and doors checked frequently. And the dream was so real. I think it was prophetic."

"Do you know what that entails?"

"That the dream comes true. Of course I know! It has come true so far."

Lukas felt his face heat up and he was forced to look away again, afraid of how red he might look. If Matthias was suggesting that the dream was prophetic, and they had truly shared a dream, then the dream could come true, and in the end of the dream, he had ended up in Matthias' arms. The thought made him shiver, and he wasn't sure if it was in delight or annoyance.

"What happens at the end of the dream?" He asked the man hesitantly. Lukas' lips parted for a moment, but closed soon when he had to gulp. Matthias was silent, but Lukas could still feel his eyes on him, heavy as ever and incredibly focused.

"You can tell me what happens. You've had it, haven't you? I can see it."

Lukas shifted uncomfortably, leaned his head on his fist, and tried to stop shivering. He shook his head at Matthias, refusing to look at him or admit that he'd dreamt something like that.

Matthias wasn't pleased. He put a hand on Lukas' shoulder turned him, and leaned in far too close for Lukas' taste. He held his breath as he looked hesitantly up at his eyes. To his surprise, the man was smiling faintly. He was amused. "Tell me how it ended."

Now, with Matthias so close and talking about such a sensitive subject, Lukas thought he might be so embarrassed that his entire body blushed red. He swallowed thickly, shook his head, and moved his eyes downward.

"Lukas, I demand that you tell me. Now. Look at me and tell me how it ended."

Matthias' voice was suddenly harsh, and Lukas narrowed his eyes as he thought it over. There was no lying to him. There was no tricking him into thinking it was something different. His reactions were giving him away.

"You… were…"

"I was…?"

"You were… holding me. And…"

"And?"

Lukas suddenly buried his face into his hands and shook his head again, not wanting to continue. Matthias put a hand on his back, leaned in, and said, "Lukas," softly.

When he looked up again after a short moment, Matthias pressed his lips to his forehead. Lukas froze, but didn't move away yet. He traced the kissed area with his fingertips, stared at the man, and said, "You kissed me."

"I did."

Lukas took a deep breath, stood up so forcefully that he nearly knocked his chair over, and bolted towards the door. Matthias watched with wide eyes, surprised at the sudden action. He didn't follow him, but could hear his shoes as they clicked up the stairs.