The
dress was immaculate, a splendid shade of white intertwined with tulle fabric and lace embroidery. It was not overly posh, but it captured the essence of Tristram’s love. He could imagine how it would fit her thin figure ever so perfectly and his added touch of exposing her shoulders would not only make her feel sophisticated but also bring out her femininity. Her glowing skin was smooth as silk, her gaze reminded him of the mesmerizing green fairy of a french liqueur, and her irresistible, light pink lips belonged to him, untouched for as long as she walked Mayweather when she was fifthteen. The dress would only enhance the beauty that was Eliana Lovelace. Oh, how he hoped she loved it! That she would cherish this wonderfully crafted fabric and dream of her wedding day like he did for her! There were few better gifts his future blushing bride could receive, were there? After all, he had sunk a pretty penny into this endeavor.
Smirking gleefully, the modestly tall man carefully displayed her gift upon her diligently made bed. While his love was away, he'd stayed the night in her room, sleeping in her bed and taking in her scent. How wonderful it was… How sweet and succulent, like a tantalizing field of ripe strawberries. It was almost as if he could feel her lithe body next to his, so close to her alluring aroma. If his sweet fairy’s scent was this celestial, then how did she taste? He could only ponder. The sensations and roaming questions drove him crazy and his want for her expanded a thousandfold. He craved her- Nay, he
needed her. If only possessing his divine prize was so easy…
Unexpectedly, the blonde nobleman’s ears picked up the sound of his beloved’s door unlocking. It was not quite yet time to reveal himself though! He wanted to fertilize her heart with his kind deeds until the time was right, until she was so enamored with him that there was no way she'd say no! Then she would collapse into his arms, exclaiming her love, and there would be no more need for these games. They would live a glorious life without pain or suffering, a life that minstrels would sing for ages. This was Tristram’s dream, something he would stop at nothing to achieve.
Laying a note upon her gift, he quickly got underneath her bed and felt himself fade into the ethereal, the plane between reality and the void. A barely visible specter, camouflaged by his abilities, his brilliant azure eyes awaited her reaction. The suspense was killing him! But he knew she'd love it. She had to! How could someone not bleed out their heart when another expressed their love in such a raw expression?
The previous night Eliana and Amelia had taken a detour and stopped at her room to get a change of clothes, since the following morning was the start of classes. If Ellie were to fall asleep, she didn’t want to risk rushing to her room to get ready. They watched quite a few Disney flicks, she was partial to
Beauty and the Beast,
Mulan, and
Hercules. Primarily because of the female roles. Fortunately, Eliana did get two hours of sleep. Huh. Maybe it was this blossoming friendship she was obtaining with Amelia? She didn’t know and hell, she did feel god awful since she’s only gotten two hours of sleep in the past couple of days, but the fact that she did sleep was all that mattered to her. Her new friend was kind to lend her shampoo and soap, so her usual scent was covered with the fragrance of another woman. Her
outfit was yet another simple one: black pants, a gray sweater, and ankle strap pumps.
The time was 3:18 PM and she needed to pick up her gym bag just in case her mother wanted her to do more than a display of her magical powers. From what she knew of these meetings, it primarily was a session where you were told nearly everything you needed to know about this year’s tournament. There were rumors going around that her mother rigged the pool, pulling out her daughter’s name, but why would her mother care to do that? Most people, at least heroes, feared the tournament and if people knew the system, it was the Headmaster and Headmistress’ job to pick the participants. Every year there was always something different, something modified, that would surprise the students involved, so Ellie was curious how this year would separate itself from the rest.
When she saw her mother in class earlier today, the stress was quite apparent in the older woman’s expressions. Today didn’t seem like it was the best day for her mother, so Eliana could not afford being late. If Mrs. Lovelace was harsh with any student for being right on time in her class (the saying goes early is on time, on time is late), imagine if her daughter was in the same position. Her mother could be merciless when it came to her children abusing their privileges as a child of a teacher. Ellie only used her mother’s key card to get access to the Library and Auditorium at night. Other than that, she would never abuse her mother’s power.
Sighing deeply, Eliana cracked her door open to peek in to see if her roommate was home. No. Thank goodness. She didn’t know where Brooklyn ran off too, since most nights she wasn’t here, but Ellie wasn’t going to complain. No roommate meant complete and utter peace for her. Gently pushing the door open, she strolled in, her short heels pressing into the carpet of the floor, as she made her way to her desk and placed her backpack on it. Not having anytime to take in the silence and peace of her room, her chartreuse green orbs trailed to her bed where there was an elegant and costly looking dress on it. Not just any kind of dress, a wedding dress. Suddenly, she felt on edge as the sea of anxiety curled into her stomach. Why was there a wedding dress on her bed? Was Brooklyn getting married and she so happened to leave it on her side - by accident?
Her gaze trailed down the fabric until she noticed the note. Her expression was unreadable - she didn’t know how she should feel. Cautiously, she walked closer to the dress and grabbed the parchment paper…
To my future wife,
Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods, or steepy mountain yields.
And we will sit upon rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.
And I will make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant poises,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;
A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;
A belt of straw and ivy buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs;
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me, and be my love.
The shepherds’ swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love.
Love,
Yours truly
“
Christopher Marlowe…” Her eyes couldn’t look away from the refined cursive to the words: my future wife. Was… was this some kind of joke? Was Lucas intentionally trying to creep her out? Don’t get Ellie wrong, she loved poetry more than most things in this world, but this was taking the prank too far - even going out of the way to find a realistic wedding dress? That can’t possibly be a REAL wedding dress, right? Turning to her desk, she placed the letter inside one of her novels, she chose:
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. As much as she wanted to freak out about all this, she didn’t have the time. Her mother would
kill her if she was late.
Hurriedly, she picked up the wedding gown, but when she did so, she froze and dropped it on the bed near immediately, out of fear. It… felt extremely real. The fabric wasn’t something you’d find at a cheap costume store.
Just brush it off, Ellie! Her heart was racing with the thought of Lucas going this far to freak her out. But why would he? He was in the infirmary all week, right? Maybe this was her paranoia. Maybe it was actually her roommate’s dress and her fiance left a lovely poem for her - assuming her bed was Brooklyn’s. For the time being, Eliana would believe that theory. Going to her closet, she took a dress bag out that held a red dress in it, from her aunt. A dress given to her to wear at the winter formal… something extremely daring for her style, but for her aunt’s sake, she would wear it. She wasn’t going to take the time to examine the red satin or how the dress would reveal her shoulders more so than the wedding ‘gift’. Bringing the bag to her bed, she unzipped it and tried her best to fit both
extremely expensive dresses together in one confined place. After a minute or two, the bag was zipped once more and she scurried back to her closet, hiding it away deep, deep, deep in the back of her closet. Going by her dresser, she bent over to pick up her navy blue, gym bag. Honestly, most people would not assume an action like this would be seen in a room they thought to be alone in.
Oh, so she did love it! The look of absolute astonishment resonated on her visage, a silent scream that harkened a tale of joy. Tristram felt as though tears would cascade from those perfect green orbs of hers, and, consequently, his own. Though she knew nothing yet, the hidden man could already see his bountiful fantasies unfolding before him. This proved to be especially true when his awe inspiring vixen bent herself over to retrieve her gym bag, in reasonable haste to get to the Arena. Tristram’s heart beat sped up to a rapid pace, fixated on the scene that took place in front of him. The subtle curve to her petite body made him yearn, so much so that he forgot to concentrate on maintaining his intangible state. Raising his head ever so slightly, the back of his skull hit the bed’s metal frame. The sound of the impact was clear as daylight, not to mention the loud
oof he emitted. Panic settled in his stomach, realizing his cover was about to be blown if he didn't do something fast.
With a wave of his hand, the woman phased out of existence and reappeared in her closet, one of her many articles of clothing now where she once was. Before his darling could react, the closet door slammed on its own, as if guided by an invisible hand. While he could have vanished and left her in a wave of confusion, a better idea floated into his head. Something that could get him and Eliana closer… Deftly, he scurried from underneath her bed and tossed any object he could find at the closet door, all the while beckoning for her dresser to swap places with that object. Entombed in such a small space, his poor fairy had nowhere to go. She was trapped until a hero came to the rescue. Tristram had every intention of being that hero. Grinning maliciously, the impish man disappeared into nothingness, arriving just outside her dorm room. Now to wait for her screams!
Things happened so fast. One moment she heard a loud noise by her bed, the next she found herself in her closet and the door shut on its on! Was she being haunted now!? Jostling the doorknob of her closet, Eliana realized she was trapped… and everything was completely dark since the lightswitch was outside the door. Fear crept inside of her and she couldn’t breathe.
Calm down, Ellie… it’s just dark… dark… With as much power as she could muster, she started slamming her shoulder and arm into the door. Over and over again. Not only was her mom going to kill her but she felt like she was going to pass out in this hellhole. Her arm hurt, it would surely have a nasty bruise after this. Checking her body, she tried to find her phone… but she didn’t have it.
Oh no, I left it at Amelia’s! By now, she was freaking out. Not one to usually yell, she shouted with her melodious voice at the top of her lungs, “
SOMEBODY! I’M STUCK!” She wanted to give up. Just drop to the ground and cry, but she couldn’t, she needed to figure out how to get out of this situation. “
Please…” she muttered.
As if on cue, Tristram could hear her distant cries, and although his first impulse was to barge in right away, he waited for a few minutes to let the despair really sink in. Not only that, but coming in right away might attract suspicion. Counting down silently, the clock ticked zero and it was time to act. Tristram Cringe, glorious saviour of Eliana, shouldered himself back into her room like a frantic ghoul.
“Hold on, I'll get you out of there!” His voice was reminiscent of someone riddled with anxiety mustering up the courage to do a courageous deed, though it was all an act. His feet planted themselves in front of the dresser, and with a mighty heave, the blonde began pushing the heavy furniture out of the door’s path. Being a rather feeble man, the task ended up tiring him out more than he had expected. By the time his sweet Eliana escaped from her prison, he was panting and doubled over in an attempt to catch his breath, as if he had just finished some Herculean feat that required all of his strength and stamina. This, unfortunately, was not part of the routine that Tris had planned.
Rushing out, she saw the blonde Asian trying to gain his composure from saving her. Eliana went to him and helped him up, “
Are you alright? Here, let me help you to my chair.” Her stare glanced over to the dresser. She didn’t understand anything right now. Were ghosts capable of moving an entire dresser in front of a closet instantaneously? After she helped him to her chair, her body still shaking from her near anxiety attack, Ellie thanked her colleague, “
Thank you so much! I-I don’t know how I got in that position.”
Eliana was…
touching him! Giddiness spread through the illustriously garbed man, washing him in a strange yet welcomed euphoria. Nodding to the raven haired angel come to life, he took in this moment and promised to relish it forever.
“I’m fine. Just out of shape, that's all.” he joked, tacking on a short chuckle as his breathing returned to normal.
“It's my duty to help others, so it's not a problem. I’m glad to see you're okay… Strange forces are at work here though. Do you have any enemies? Perhaps you were given a cursed item?” Tristram began throwing ideas out at her, even if they were farfetched to say the least. Suddenly, his head tilted and his stunning blue eyes widened in curiosity.
“Hey… You're Eliana Lovelace, right? I saw your name on the tournament roster earlier. Shouldn't you be at the arena? Your mom is… Well, you know.” Subtly, he hinted that she should get a move on, even if he honestly didn't want this moment to end between them. There would be more opportunities now though.
Eliana did have enemies. One in particular, but would Lucas use methods like these? She didn’t know him well enough or his connections to know how far he’d go on terrorizing her. We’re cursed items actually a thing? Before she could respond to the stranger’s first comment, the acquaintance recognized her and brought up...THE MEETING! Her eyes widened. Swiftly pulling away, Ellie apologized, “
I’m sorry I have to leave. Thank you so much again! Mind closing the door on your way out? I-I need to go.” She didn’t have time to ask for his name or anything. Once she grabbed her gym bag on the floor, Ellie threw her door open, letting it lightly slam into her wall, and ran like the wind. She prayed to some higher power to make her at least on time, even then that wouldn’t make her mother pleased.
Tris observed as his jubilant fairy took flight, off to confront her mother and the other contestants of this year’s tournament. It was doubtful she’d make it on time, but that was a worry for a later time. After all, he had his own meetings to attend. Unlike her, he had powers that forsook the normal standards of time. As she bounded down the hall, the door seemed to close by itself, manipulated by the blonde's powers. Sitting cross-legged in his chair, he thought about the White Room although the image of the Control Room flickered into his head as he wandered back to Eliana. Yawning and stretching his hands outward, he called upon his powers of transportation and was whisked into nothingness. A moment later, the yawning man was greeted by the sight of black panties ringed by a beige pencil skirt. Blinking exactly thrice, Tristram realized he wasn’t in the White Room. He was in the Control Room since that was the last place he was thinking about! Which meant… his head travel upward until he was met by the fearsome glare of Cecilia Lovelace. From one Lovelace to the next! He wasn’t sure if this was an unfortunate circumstance or not. Considering how his arms reached up and how he was sitting though, there was no doubt he appeared to be some kind of pervert.
”Uh…” He honestly couldn’t think of anything to see in this awkward predicament.
Fortunately, Mrs. Lovelace didn’t seem too upset about it. Tristram, or Charade as he called himself now and formerly the nuisance Blink Dog, and her had something of a history. When he was younger and before his supposed mental breakdown, Blink Dog was always doing antics to impress his friends, such as spying on the female teachers, especially Cecilia, in the bathroom; thus this was nothing short of a surprise to her.
“You shouldn’t be here, Mr. Cringe. Go. I’ll deal with you later.” she barked at him, ordering him to vanish from sight. The young man gulped and nodded in a panicked fashion, not bothering to glance behind him to see those who had watched his folly. Without another word, he banished himself from her sight.
Landing safely and soundly in one of the more comfortable chairs within the White Room, Tris spun himself around several times, faster and faster, before coming to a stop. No longer burdened by Mrs. Lovelace’s gaze, he gave a self-congratulating flourish of his hands to accompany his grand entrance. Had he had his parasol with him, his performance might have been made even more dainty. In the middle of the table, there was no doubt everyone was able to see this strange celebration. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he noticed he was actually a single minute early. Not surprising, considering he had the advantage of getting around faster than most of his peers.
”Ladies and gentlemen, is everyone ready for the greatest Snow Ball that Mayweather has ever seen? I’ve thought a whole lot about this, and, let me tell you… I’ve got some great ideas.” Without warning, he threw confetti from his silken pockets towards both sides of the room, making a great deal of a mess. Now this was fun! He'd planned that shocker last night, just before he had sneaked into Eliana's room. With a sweeping gesture, he motioned toward the tiny streamers that littered the area.
”Confetti! That is a must!” he demanded, even slamming a fist on the table to emphasize his point. Everyone had scarcely just arrived and the eloquent Charade was already leading the pack without any introduction to the meeting. There was sure to be some annoyance within the crowd today, but there never was any fun in a meeting without a little conflict. A few of them might hate him, but he was doing them a favor by livening up the place!
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