Chapter 4:

The huge oak door closed with a light click behind me. I exhaled; I had been nervously holding my breath since I left the ballroom. Making it out of there the second time wasn't as bad as I had imagined. As far as I knew, no one had seen me. All of the guests had been occupied by dancing with their lovers. Just before I'd left the ballroom, I quickly glanced back, and my eyes found Fredrich dancing in the middle of the floor with one of the twins. From that distance, I couldn't tell which twin was awkwardly bent over so that they could be closer to Fredrich's eye level. He seemed satisfied, although his hands barely touched her waist, even when he was reaching. The other pink-haired twin stood by and giggled before switching places with her sister. I smiled, glad that they were having a good time.

Before arriving at my hideout, I had snuck into the kitchen to try and find the strawberry turnovers I was craving. The full tray I held now was enough to say how successful I was. I continued to lean back on the door for a moment longer, acting like a sort of barricade in case anyone tried to come in after me. When I was sure I was alone, my feet helped me push off from the door, and cross the lush carpet.

No matter how many times in a day I came here, the stain glass room never ceased to impress me. The whole wall across from the door was built into a mosaic of coloured glass; the wall being separated into thirds by marble columns. Only moonlight lit the room, and the rays of it changed colour along with the glass it fell through. With both hands still holding the tray of pastries, I walked silently towards the right side of the room, where a fireplace, two chairs and a table sat. The forest green leather chairs were angled to each other, both sharing the small wooden table. I set down the tray on the table with a small clang. I stood for a moment, hands on my hips, wondering what to do next. Only when my body tensed into a shiver, did I realize how cold it was in here. Within a minute, I had retrieved a box of matches from the mantle, and lit a fire in the space below it. Slowly and steadily, the fire roared to life. I smiled at my own handiwork, before going back to the chairs to relax.

I sat back into the coolness of the leather, crossing my right leg over the other and holding my head in my hand. The heat of the fire was now reaching my face while my fingertips played a soft beat on the chair arm. I was waiting. Questions appeared and floated through my mind:

How long would I have to wait here?

Would someone come along and find me? Was this just a waste of time? What if I'd given up too early, and I was missing out on finally meeting someone for me?

I was becoming overwhelmed, but my mind wouldn't come to a halt.

Would Minnie and Mandy have noticed my disappearance by now? Had father? Why was I being so childish? Why couldn't I just be the man my father had wanted me to be? Why didn't I just give into the years upon years of pressure?

Why

Why

WHY

I stood up with a start. My legs, suddenly becoming so straight, pushed back the chair so the feet dragged backward and tugged on the carpet underneath. My fists were clenched so my nails dug into my palms, and my face was sweaty. I was furious with the way I had acted. My mind screamed out from the inside, though I made no sound. All I could hear the distant ticking of the antique wall clock. It was only then that I realized how long the old, real me had been dead... It was too hot in here. The fire was flickering intensely. I needed air. I needed some air... Without a second thought I ran towards the outside door and out onto the balcony.

The summer night's air was hypnotizing. As soon as I had desperately opened the door to the balcony, it came in like a wave. I was now leaning cautiously over the balcony railing. My mind was numb from the dropping temperature, but the numbness eased the heat from only moments ago. My elbows, propped up on the railing, supported my chin. I sighed in defeat. I didn't even know who I was, or what I was trying to be anymore. I stood, shifting my weight back and forth anxiously. One of my hands left my face so my fingers could run through the waves in my hair. It was silky and blonde, just like my mother's had been... This was actually the longest it had ever been in a while, hanging a little past my ears. As Icontinued to comb through my hair, I loosened a lock that was tucked behind my ear, and it fell into my face. The strand dangled over my nose, and my eyes became crossed just looking at it. The end of it started tickling my skin, so I carefully blew on it, just enough so that it would hover at eye level then drop again. I snickered to myself. God, I was so easily amused. I felt like a kitten playing with a ball of yarn. I tried adding a bit more hair, just to see if it had the same effect. I let out a quiet chuckle when it did, over and over and over...

"Need to get a haircut soon, I suppose?" A woman laughed softly from behind me.

Startled, I spun instantly to face my confronter. The woman, now in front of me, had lilac hair that was tied into a long braid down her back. Her dress was baby blue and accented with a pattern of pink roses. Her hands nervously tugged on the hem of her corset, before one lifted to her head to tuck a stray bit of hair behind her ear.

And that's when I noticed her face. Flawless fair skin, a small nose, a kind smile, and sparkling emerald eyes. After years of feeling dead, I felt my heart begin to beat again.

Hey everyone! I am soooo sorry that I haven't uploaded in like a week _ I've been really busy with school assignments, plus suffering from writers block, so I wrote like all of this yesterday. I feel like it was kind of crappy at the beginning of this chapter, but I'm not too sure. Please leave your comments in the reviews, I would really like to know what you guys think of the story so far and younger Anton and such :P Thank you very much to everyone that has favourited this story, it makes me very happy! Well, I have to go now. I'm in Technology class, and I'm not supposed to be in FanFiction! Talk to you all soon! –MrsCliveDove

ps: I apologize for any mis-spelled words. I type the whole thing from notes on my phone!