I didn't know why I felt the way I did, but it was something I could neither explain nor understand.
It felt as if my body was suddenly someone else's, and I, a complete stranger watched from a distance.
The room was pitch dark save the dim flicker of a dying candle that remained as the last sign of brightness.
I lay still on my blanket, but like I said I didn't feel like I was in possession of my body. It felt like I was a phanthom that floated in mid air, I could see clearly, I saw the blanket of stars that had engulfed the sparkling cold night sky, I could hear the bicker of crickets and the ribits of the hopping frogs, the nocturnal creatures were out indeed, and for the first time in all my life I saw them in all their glory.
I stayed in my ghost like form floating above the trees and the darkness. The leaves bent at will of the wind, showing just how cold it must've been, even though none of it affected my senses.
I was neither scared of the night nor disturbed by the darkness, instead, for some reason unknown to me a great deal, I had welcomed it.The sublime beauty of the night and all that it represented.
It felt as though like one of the creatures I was. I was no longer a lady of a palace, with so many things expected of me, instead, I was like a child learning everything anew in a land I had only come to know for a night.
It was ravishing confusion and indeed it did ravish me.
But the dream I thought couldn't possibly be anything but a dream, slowly began to morph into a nightmare.
I stared at the far end of the trees, the once settled leaves suddenly looked disturbed and from the trees a visitor was on its way. What appeared as one initially soon became more, and more, then a kaw, its echoes so loud and so abominably terrifying.
The crows flapped and flogged the air, advancing at an increasing speed, they didn't look like they would stop or turn, they knew where they were heading for, they were heading for one thing, Me.
The closer I saw them come the more fierce and horrible they seemed, kawing in their wake, the dreadful sound that made me loose every shread of confidence, they were even closer now, their wings blowing the wind against my hair, a moment and they would come flying into me,
I pulled my elbow over my face to protect myself just as they prepared to launch at me, and then in a second that felt like a lifetime, they hit, claws, beak, feathers and all.
" Ughhhh " Dante shot his eyes open in a breathless struggle, he was having a dream, or better yet a nightmare, they were the same dreams he had been having days before he arrived at his brother's palace, this was the reason he came here in the first place. Something was wrong.
Without a moment to spare, he hurled himself out of bed, and hustled in the direction of Camille's bedroom.
As unprecidented as the hour would seem, making sure Camille was safe was the only thing that would pull him out of the anxious fright he was currently in, he finally got to her room, but what he saw next left him more bewildered than before, with his nightmare threatening to have been more than just that.
The door to her room was slightly ajar, but perfect for whatever it was he feared to have crawled in. He rushed in the next minute, flaring and ready to do battle with whatever it was that threatened Camille.
As ridiculous as his narration would've been if he had tried to give an explanation, he couldn't possibly ponder that now.
The room was almost completely engulfed in darkness if not for the lights cast by the full moon through the large windows that had been thrown open easily by the wind.
Dante quickly shifted his sights round the room, he could see to an extent despite the darkness, one of his many talents being the man he was.
He took one look at the curtains being thrown aside by the breeze, it blew harshly, and the open windows made it even colder. Camille let out a faint groan and adjusted herself under her sheets. It was obvious she was cold.
Having spotted neither threat nor friend, Dante finally regained his usual composure, he took a sigh of relief, and his eyes fell on Camille, she slept so peacefully amid the cold that she didn't even wake up to pull her windows close. If only she knew that she had been the reason behind her uncle frantic race through the halls a while ago, she might have woken up to give him a hug, or possibly make a good jest out of his behavior.
Camille looked so vulnerable lying fast asleep, it was as if he was back to the day he had held her in his arms, the very same day he had to leave her. But now like then, she was at the mercy of the world, a reality that no one could protect her from, not even him, still, that was a reality he wasn't ready to live with just yet, and the reason why he was here.
She moved again and the blanket fell away from her body even more, he took hold of it and pulled it ever so gently up her shoulders, it was a struggle not to wake her up.
He could've stayed and stared at her a little bit longer, but he saw her eyelids tighten, her lips moved, she was waking up.
Camille slowly opened her eyes and looked around her room, she had felt a presence a while ago, but now when she looked around it was obvious no other person was there, she brushed off the suspicions quickly and was asleep again as fast as she had woken up.
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Dante stood as silent as he could ever be, he had rushed out quickly before Camille opened her eyes. Seeing him in her room would have spurred too many questions, questions he was sure he wouldn't be able to answer in a good while.
He carefully dropped his hands from the door knob and retreated slowly, back the way he came, less in a hurry and more at ease.
He was ready to do that all over again if it meant protecting her, and unlike before, he wasn't going anywhere anymore, no one could make him do otherwise, no one, not his heart, and definitely not his brother.
Dante walked back to his room, careful not to wake anyone else, it was the dead of night, and even the slightest tud could tear the silence. Dante let out a sigh of relief once he entered his room, the nightmares had haunted his dreams for a while now, they were the same, Camille being attacked by crows with no one to rescue her.
He knew something was definitely wrong, but he didn't know what nor who plotted against Camille, did he hate not knowing what the dream meant ? the answer was yes, did he want to protect Camille at all cost ? hell yes, he was ready to give his life for her.
He dropped on his bed suddenly, resting his head on his pillow he gazed at the ceiling, one arm hung across his forehead, while the other rested on his chest, he stared intently at the ceiling, but only he knew where his thoughts had drifted, and soon so did his gaze, the intensity with which he had earlier stared lowered and in no time he submitted to his own exhaustion, and soon shut his eyes to sleep.
Silence now plagued the dark room where Dante slept soundly on his bed, but when there was darkness, many other things followed, and Dante knew that all too well. He shot his eyes open the next minute, jumping out of his bed, he grabbed hold of his sword and stared into the darkness of the room.
With his sword in hand, he was ready to face anything, including what or whoever it was that was currently in his room.
" Come out now while you still can, and I promise to make this as quick and as painless as possible " Dante threatened in a cold tone, his grip ever firm on his crystal sword, ready to lash out at his uninvited guest.
He peered a little more into the dark, then his eyes widened when a slender figure walked out of the darkness, he still couldn't make the face of whoever it was, the person had masked his appearance under the hood of a cloak and stood motionless, but not defenseless.
" Who are you ? come into the light " Dante ordered, he didn't seem the slightest bit surprised at having discovered someone else in his room, instead, he acted as though he was accustomed to it.
The slender figure obeyed, and slowly walked up to the window where the light of the moon made it all the more visible, then it pulled out a hand, it looked like that of a human, and slowly it pulled off the hood from over its head.
Dante's eyes widened even more, he stared at the figure in front of him, no longer with an instinct to kill but with one of total surprise.
" Good evening Dante " a feminine voice finally spoke, beautiful long hair fell down a side of her face as she kept her eyes locked on Dante. He knew he couldn't avoid her this time, she wanted answers and it was only a matter of time before she demanded for some.
They had agreed not to meet each other so as not to arouse suspicions, no one knew about it yet, and even though it made him hurt, he planned for it to stay that way. She didn't have a problem with it before, but then why was she here and why now ? Dante put his thoughts aside as well as his sword, she was no threat, not to him at least.
" Beatrice " he called, finally recognizing the person under the cloak, she was no stranger, in fact they were more familiar than I had ever expected.