The night was running slowly.
Sonya was in her room in the attic compartment and Auntie Caroline had gone to bed a few hours later after she finished her story about Rose Duville.
Sonya inhaled she had spent an hour reading a book that she borrowed from the library but she couldn’t close her eyes. At the time she looked at Lassie, the German shepherd dog had already cowered underneath her feet.
Sonya inhaled and got up from her bed. She saw a music box on the table next to the bed that Uncle Elbert gave her on her fifteenth birthday.
‘A ballerina girl music box!’ she smiled as she examined the music box that still looked being kept up well.
Gently, Sonya scrolled the key to play the music box. A lullaby song was played as Sonya returned to the bed and reclined herself. She tried to close her eyes and enjoyed the lullaby.
Within a few minutes, Sonya found herself in an empty large hall as she tried to get up from her reclining position. Her eyes captured a slightly opened door that was painted in maroon and its structure was so highly vertical as the door of some mansions or castles had.
‘Where am I?’ Sonya wiped her nose and she felt impulsively strange with herself and the building. She could sense something unusual was happening. She found herself wrapped by a sheer fog. She sensed that she was awakening in subsequent trances.
Sonya stepped into the corridor hall as the door was opened. Every time her bare feet touched the floor surface, she shivered as coldness assaulted her skinny toes.
She gasped. ‘What are those white rose petals for? Why are they scattered on this cold grey marble floor? I sense that these scattered petals were arranged to point something!’
‘What damn is all about?’ She breathed in deeply as she explored the surroundings with her eyes.
All that she could see the place was designed romantically for a purpose. There were candles in flares put on along both sides of the corridor. The scent of roses was furnishing the atmosphere and the light was dimly operated with a condition to construct some tender ambiances.
‘Who’s that man? Why is he standing with his back on me? Does he try to conceal his face from me? And those petals directed to him?’ Sonya stopped to drag her steps and quietly stopped to walk.
She tried to say something to that man but her mouth was locked. She felt shivering as her eyes gazed at the back of that tall well-built figure.
‘Why is he wearing the costume of a nobleman in an old era?’ Sonya took a long inhale.
The man, after all, turned around and confronted her with his glaring eyes Sonya sensed an unnerving feeling was to crawl inside her as her eyes captured a pair of piercing dark blue eyes. His appearance seemed pale, cold, and untouchable.
Sonya sighed and threw her eyes away from that man’s glare.
“Sonya Duville!” He mentioned her name with a wide smile on his full thin lips.
Sonya wrinkled her forehead as she saw the face of that man. ‘I thought I knew him, but where and how?’ She tried to remember but it seemed that she got her brain fog.
“Thank you for accepting my invitation!” His voice sounded cold and deep.
Sonya felt her throat was dry enough as her heart started beating faster than its normal rate. “Where am I?” she asked him and her voice declared her anxiety.
She remembered that it was some minutes before she was in her room, sleeping with Lassie. Her ears still captured the lullaby from a music box from a distance, otherwise, the lullaby sounded more miserable.
“In my place!” The man, again, smiled at Sonya who was observing her surroundings, and panic slowly but surely attacked her.
“Who are you?” Sonya returned her gaze to that man again.
“You don’t have to know my name!” He smirked coldly and walked to a table around the corner as he poured some wine into two different glasses.
The man offered Sonya a glass of wine that she rejected with her toss against that man’s hand.
‘His skin is so pale and cold as there is no blood flowing into his veins!’ Sonya bit her lips in the same way as she saw the skin texture of that man. She drew her hand and folded both her hands to her arms as that man already made her scared enough.
That man winced as he felt some pain when Sonya’s hand-tossed his hand and rejected the wine that he offered.
“So, you’re protected!” He smirked and took some sips of his wine arrogantly.
He stared at Sonya who was standing with a panicked expression. He smiled coldly as he walked to the table and put the two glasses on.
‘Damn. I believe he is evil!’ Sonya took her sight around to find a way from that man. ‘I need to escape from this place!’ She wheezed and tried to stay calm.
She turned around but her feet couldn’t be moved. She turned her head to the man who smiled at her coldly.
“Do you want to leave me, my love?” He asked Sonya.
Sonya didn’t answer his question and she desperately attempted to move her feet. Suddenly, she felt her two feet were unacceptable for movement. ‘What happened to my feet?’ She held her feet and tried to move them.
Sonya’s ears could capture the sound of thudding steps as that man walked to approach her. ‘Urrghh…’ Sonya still attempted to drag her feet and run away from that place.
That man stood behind her and it seemed that he kept a distance from the reach of the seer fog that covered Sonya.
‘I wish I could move my feet and clash him with the seer fog. I am sure that this fog has some powers to protect me as I saw him look painful when he clashed with the fog through my fingers!’ Sonya thought restlessly.
“So, now, you think that this fog could protect you from my reach, dear Sonya?” the man gazed at her as if he could read what Sonya was thinking about inside her mind.
Sonya swallowed her saliva. “What do you want?” She asked the man.
She felt her energy was drained and an unknown power forced her to cower on the floor. Sonya was shivering, her fingers clenched, she sensed the coldness of the floor surface deliberately penetrating her skin pores.
“I don’t want you to hurt me!” Sonya looked into the man’s eyes. She threw her face off as she sensed that those eyes were trying to hypnotize her and drain her courage to confront him.
The man moved his fingers as if he were trying to uncover the seer fog away from Sonya. He grimaced as he tried to handle some pains that Sonya believed the power of the seer fog tried to make some defense movement.
Sonya was still in her cowering position at the time a spiral wind whirled in front of her and that twist came out from that man’s palms. The wind gradually smeared off the fog and made it dimly disappear, vaporizing into a gloomy air in the hall.
The man smirked again and made Sonya dreadfully afraid to see his face. “Now, you’re less protected!”
“Stay away from me!” Sonya tried to speak with her panting breaths.
The man stared at Sonya and smiled coldly. “Do you still reject me after many years?”
“What are you talking about?” Sonya wiped her nose again and her eyes were busy to find a way to escape.
‘What is he doing?’ Sonya saw the pale fingers of that man trying to reach her waist and lift her from her cowering position.
“Dance with me!” The man grabbed Sonya’s waist and made her lean on his arms.
‘His eyes…they commanded me to do whatever he wants me to do!’ Sonya gasped and was startled by that man’s action.
‘What is he going to do then?’ Sonya still felt numbness on both of her feet as she struggled to get away from that man’s strong grip on both sides’ waist.
The face of that man was getting closer and suddenly, Sonya heard something growling outside the room.
The man discouraged himself to put any uncomfortable actions on her and released her from his grip.
His eyes were directed at something behind the opened door. Something was still growling Sonya could hear its steps approaching her and that man.
‘Urrgghh…’ Sonya tried to lean up her body with her two arms and stared in the same direction as the man did.
Something big was appearing behind the door as it kept growling.
‘A wolf!’ Sonya closed her mouth with two hands as she figured out how big the size of that wolf was. ‘It’s three times bigger than me!’
The man walked backward as the wolf stepped into the room.
‘What kind of pendant that the wolf is wearing!’ Sonya gasped and she saw that the wolf was staring at her for a moment before it glared at the man and growled again.
‘His eyes looked at me softly. Does it try to protect me from that man?’ Sonya followed every step that the wolf made with her eyesight.
‘Now, it’s standing next to me!’
The wolf’s pair of eyes became reddish and sparkling as it warned the man to back off.
The man smirked and Sonya could see some lines of discouragement on his face as the wolf kept walking toward him.
“It’s not over, Sonya!” The man covered his face with his arm as he disappeared in countless haste.
The wolf became less fierce as the man disappeared. Its sparking eyes were staring at Sonya and it tried to convince the young woman that everything was okay.
Sonya gasped. “Thank you!” Sonya let the wolf approach her and it sniffed her. It didn’t bark or make any voices but its eyes kept staring at Sonya.
Sonya let the wolf caress its forehead on her cheek.
“Oh, God!” Sonya panted and opened her eyes. She found Lassie sitting next to her.
‘What happened to me?’ She got up from the bed and reached out a bottle of mineral water from the table. She took some sips.
‘What a nightmare!’ Sonya wiped her lips.
She looked at Lassie, that dog seemed quite worried about her.
“I’m glad it’s only a nightmare, Lassie!” Sonya put the bottle on the table and hugged the neck of that German shepherd dog. “Thank you. I know that you’re protecting me!” Sonya whispered in the dog’s ear and caressed his neck gently.
Lassie woofed at Sonya and sniffed at her.
‘You’re okay, Sonya!’ that throaty man's voice appeared again.
Sonya wrinkled her forehead and stared into Lassie’s eyes. “I know you’re talking to me, Lassie!” she smiled and caressed the dog’s forehead.
Sonya strived to go to sleep.
‘What is that?’ She grabbed something on her left sole.
‘A white rose petal!’ Sonya was startled as she took a look at a fresh white rose petal.
‘Wasn’t it a dream?’ Again, Sonya had to swallow her saliva as she started becoming dazed by what had happened.
‘Was it the wolf’s furs?’ She wiped some furs that weren’t Lassie’s from her cheek.
‘The golden brownish furs of the wolf?’ Sonya got confused, she turned her head to Lassie. “What do you think about it, Lassie? I’m scared enough!” She reached Lassie and hugged the dog to recline next to her.
Lassie woofed and put his paws to Sonya’s cheek as he tried to calm her down and protect her from any worse situations.
Sonya cowered and sneaked her face into Lassie. She tried to close her eyes and forget about what happened to her.
“So, Mr. Jackson will return and stay in the cabin again this evening?” Sonya poured some coffee from the coffee maker into two different cups; one cup of Auntie Caroline and the other cup was for her.“No. He’ll be back in three days!” Auntie Caroline chewed some green salad and almond chunks that Sonya had prepared for their breakfast.“In three days?” Sonya lifted her eyebrows and stopped eating her toasted bread with peanut jam. “Why does it take so long for him to take a break?”Auntie Caroline took some sips of her coffee before answering Sonya’s question. “I think he has some business to do in his hometown!” She reached for a piece of toasted bread and crushed it into crumbles on her salad.Auntie Caroline’s answer triggered Sonya’s curiosity to get to know Mr. Jackson, a poker-faced man. “Does he celebrate the full moon festivals like us?” Sonya too
“So, are you going to settle in this village?” Clayton looked at Sonya as they were walking on the small path.Sonya inhaled, uncovering her sight from any hair strands that were blown away by the morning breeze. “It’s a good place to contemplate and restructure my life again!” She smirked and glanced at Clayton.Clayton nodded and put his two hands into his jean’s pockets. “Yeah. I understand. A new beginning in our life needs a lot of effort and struggles but that’s life. Life needs us to transform into our new chapter, don’t you think so?” His hazel eyes stared at Sonya.“Auntie Caroline told me about what had happened to you. I mean she is concerned about you a lot!” Clayton shrugged. “Please, don’t think that I am too nosy in your personal life!” He stopped walking and looked into a pair of Sonya’s brown eyes.Sonya smiled. “Of course not. I knew tha
“Have you got anything that you’re looking for?” Auntie Caroline sipped the camomile tea that Sonya made for both of them.They were having dinner for the second night of the full moon festival. The dishes were served differently in a paradox set of main courses for the Duville and the Stein.Clayton paused slicing some chunks of half-cooked red meat on his dinner plate. “Some, Auntie. I need to continue doing tomorrow.” He sipped his wine.The candles were lit up in a chandelier and were put in the middle of the dining table.Sonya looked at Clayton through the candle lights. She saw his eyes were sparkling under the light reflection. She kept chopping some vegetables on her plate with her fork.“Are you going to stay in the cabin tonight?” Sonya reached for some dried raisins from the bowl. She saw that Clayton had anything green or fruits on his plate unless his chewy red meats were cooked half-done and served in a raw dish without any ingredients.Clayton nodded. He wiped his lips
“Looking for something?” a bass voice of a man tried to say something near Sonya’s ear.Sonya inhaled, getting up from her bending position as the man already made her clumsily stand in front of him. Sonya wiped her cheek with one of her backhands. She just tried to sneak into the hole in the wall of the mansion as she was curious to see that mansion from a reachable access, the mansion looked gradually maintained within days.“I think I heard a cat that got lost!” Sonya smiled at that man. ‘Damn! I wish he didn’t assume that I was sneaking into the mansion!’“You mean this cat? Is it yours?” the man smiled as his hands lifted up a black cat that was hissing at him. He was standing under the archway gate of the mansion.He was tall, a well-built man with a pair of dark blue eyes, and those eyes looked so captivating as Sonya tried to not look into them.He was wearing a casual sweater and navy jeans with a nice musk scent that accompanied his style that morning.Sonya nodded, reaching
“Clayton, wait!” Sonya tried to catch the rushing steps of Clayton. “I don’t know why you got salty as I told you about Richard, the heir of the Cardinals!” She explained but it seemed too ludicrous having Clayton stop his steps and hang on to what she tried to say. They were walking along the small path.Clayton kept walking and put his two hands inside his jeans pockets.“Listen!” She ran after and stopped in front of Clayton, making him halt from walking. “It sounds silly to you but I need to find out the history of Rose Duville, Wolf Hügel, and her relationship with the eldest son of August Cardinal!”She sighed as she found Clayton turn his head away and grit his teeth.“You can find it out by yourself through Uncle Hengel’s handwriting journals!” After staying in a few seconds of his pause, Clayton inhaled deeply and aimed his thrusting glare at Sonya who was standing in his way. He slid aloofly his body to move, trying to walk away from Sonya, and continued his stroll to the ca
"Why did I see Richard and the wolf fighting in my dream?" Sonya took a deep breath. 'The Wolf, I saw it a second time, it appeared in my dream!' The wild grassland was what caught her eyes as she sat on a huge rock with weeds dancing with the morning breeze. She covered her eyes with her hands as the sun hit her face and she could see the forest not so far away. Sonya moved off the boulder in a hurried leap and continued her jogging. The sun had spread its warmth. "Huft!" she bounced, pulling both hands as she heard a crackling sound from a spot above her. Sonya bounced down as she felt energy leap out from both palms and throw out a large branch of the tree. She saw the fallen branch touching the ground, not too far from her position where she leaned her back with two hands. She was taken aback and adjusted her breathing. "It almost killed me!" she wiped her nose and kept watching the branch and tree in turn. "What happened to me?" She put both hands in front of her gaze. She co
Miss Claudia came out from the other room; she took an old big book that was kept on the shelf inside the room where Sonya and Clayton were waiting for her. But then again, she returned to that room as she was busy mixing some herbs that she read from an old big book.As Sonya tried to peek into the room from her standing place, she could see some ancient herbs were put in some closed jars and some artifacts, some masks with various expressions to the most horrific expressions were put on the shelves, some dolls were kept in some glass cases and some of the unborn animals were put inside some closed jars. The light inside the room was fawningly dim. She took a deep breath. She glanced at Clayton.“How do you know this shop? Did Auntie Caroline tell you about it?” Sonya was drowned in her curiosity and made her voice in a lower tone. She didn’t want Miss Claudia to become more suspicious.“Uncle Hengel took me to this shop several times! When I was a teenager…” Clayton pulled down his
Sonya sighed as she put the medium box that she carried and it was the souvenir from Richard on the table inside her room. ‘I don’t have any ideas with this!’ She opened the box. ‘A beautiful cup!’ She inhaled, taking the cup carefully out from the box and examining it. ‘From its motives and texture, I can be sure its originality!’ She pulled the drawer handle of the table and grabbed a magnifier glass.‘The knights battle motive!’ She observed the cup through the magnifier glass. ‘It looks so incredibly artistic, but what’s that?’ She took a closer look to the cup. She sighed. ‘It draws about a battle between a knight…’ Sonya took a closer deep look with a magnifier glass. ‘What’s that?’ Sonya’s pupils dilated. ‘A monster in a knight’s costume?’‘Huh…’ Sonya gasped and tug the cup away from the magnifier range. ‘Was that a vampire?’She put the cup back inside the box and sticked the cover up. ‘What the hell is all about?’ She inhaled deeply and repetitively. “Was that the repres