Court Of Blood And Ivory

♤Undeniable Thoughts ♤

The steam from the water heats up my face as I draw my knees to my chest. "Miss, when you're ready to get out, please ring for me." A stout older woman says softly.

I give her a forced smile and nod. "Thank you." I watch as she leaves, leaving me alone to bathe. I close my eyes and sink down allowing the water to flow up to my neck. The tin basin traps the heat beautifully. They have thrown in lavender leaves and rose petals tonighg It's different each time.

Gruesome images of fangs and blood red eyes cut through the peaceful air of my bath. My eyes fly open as my breathing gets heavy.

I shake my head slightly and look at the petals floating in the water. Demons of the night do not exist.

That is something I have had to repeat to myself multiple times now. I have to say, it's getting harder to stop the thoughts.

Demons that drain you dry of your blood.  What kind of monster would be capable of such a thing? One with no soul...

A scream echoes through the once silent halls, faintly but effectively filling my ears. I stand quickly and grab my robe.

I tie it tightly around my waist and ignore the shock of the cold floors as my feet hit them.

Girls peek their heads from their rooms as I swimg my door open and pad down thw stairs toward the bone chilling cry.

A woman covered in blood kneels screamin in horror as she clings to a still form. Frantic eyes meet mine as her screams infiltrate the room.

They bounce off the walls and echo through the school. Though covered in blood, her hazel seem familiar to me. "Eloise." I whisper softly as my heart clenches.

Her screams soften into whimpers as she looks at me with pure shock and despair. Her tears create streaks in the blood as she keeps her eyes on mine.

"Athena!" Ms Elena looks at me then to the scene as girls observe from the perch on the stairs. "It's Eloise." I tell her softly. "My dear Eloise what happened?" Ms. Elena asks softly as she kneels down carefully next to her.

"It was one of them." She whimpers out. "It killed my Percy." Her lip quivers as she speaks.

Only now did I notice that her hand is  clutching his tightly. "What did?" Ms Elena asks once more. "A demon of the night. It ripped his throat out right when I saw it. It smiled at me." Her tears fall harder as her body trembles. "Athena, please get Eloise cleaned up. Don't let her out of your sight." She whispers softly.

I nod my head as I grasp my hands together to stop the trembling. I take in a breath and smile softly. "Come now Eloise, it's my turn to pamper you." I tell her softly as I extend my hand to her.

She looks at it a moment before taking it and standing slowly. She takes a glance at her love before turning away.

I opem my room door and lead her in. "Here, you can change into this. I hand her a spare night gown and smile softly. I change as well while she does before slipping my robe back on.

I grab a bowl and pour some hot water into it. "It's a good thing Mrs Rebecca ledt the kettle in here." I tell her as I grab a cloth. I sit beside her and wash her hands and arms.

She watches the wall numbly as the water slowly runs red. I clean off her face gently and smile softly. "There you are." I ring out the cloth and clean off strands of her hair that have blood in it.

"You never know how much blood the human body truly holds until it sprays you in the face." She whispers. "He ripped put his throat and left."

Her lip quivers once more. I frown and ring the cloth out again. "What did he look like?" I ask gently. "His face was shadowed. He truly lookes like a demon." She says as she turns to me.

I look down before looking back up and smiling at her. "Well then, it looks like your bunking with me tonight Eloise." I grin. "I could never. I'm your maid." She whispers soflty as a tear slips down her cheek. "You're also a friend. You stay with me tonight. I have a free bed." I tell her.

She grabs my hand softly amd gives me a forced smile. "Thank you Miss Athena." I place my other hand on top of hers and shake my head. "After what happened tonight, you get to call me Athena." A small smile plays on her lips, a real smile.  "Thank you Athena."

She settles herself into bed soon after that. I clean up and turn out the lights. Sleep, however, doesn't find me.

I lay there staring out the window watching the stars in the sky. I notice every single on I can lay my eyes upon. I watch each cloud float smoothly across the black sea we call night.

My mind feels heavy and alert. Poor Eloise has lost her husband and love. She has witnessed something tonight. Could demons really exist or are the rumors getting to her?

Eloise is a sound minded woman, she doesn't spread rumors or talk nonsense. She is like me. She believes in what she sees, in what she knows, in what can be explained.

Are the rumors really true? A chill caresses my spin and sends shivers throughout my body. The dreams, prehaps aren't dreams at all. If they aren't what I think they are, then what could they be? They must be trying to tell me something.

I roll onto my back and frown. Those dreams...must be just that...dreams. I feel as if I've gone mad, as if I've jumped down a rabbit hole and now im fallimg endlessly.

I put my thoughts to rest and finally close my eyes. Tomorrow will be better...will it?

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~scarletbride30