Once Upon A Chance

Chapter Five~ Anya

Olivier came so close to kissing me. His mouth was only mere inches away, his hands on my hips, getting ready to pull me closer...

"Follow me," he breathed, his accent now back to French as he took my hand and stood.

I stared at him in awe, letting him lead me into the next room.

A blue comforter adorned the bed, the rest of the decor following the same color scheme. The shade reminded me of Olivier's eyes, and I let myself wonder why I craved his kiss so badly. I hardly knew this man. He could've been a rapist for all I knew. But... If he wanted to rape me or something, wouldn't he have done that already? The doors were somehow all closed, and it's not like anyone was in the rooms we were in. I felt like I could trust him. In way too many ways...

"Mary," he breathed. "Come."

I started to smiled, but stopped almost immediately. "Did you just call me... Mary?"

He laughed. "Don't be crazy, Anya. I think that story's gone to your head."

Doing my best to attempt a laugh, I internally chastised myself for being so... I don't even know. This man was getting to my brain, and I needed to turn it all down a notch or two before I put my heart at an even bigger risk.

"Anya," he laughed, sensing me zoning out. "Come on."

I smiled, taking his outstretched hand and following. Maybe it was just me being me. Maybe he really didn't call me Mary.

The next room was green, and I got the impression they were all color-schemed. Passing room after room, I saw various colors. Magenta, orange, silver, et cetera, et cetera. The last room, however, was the deepest shade of purple I'd ever seen, and I completely forgot about whatever paranoia I'd originally had buried inside me.

Olivier smirked as he sat me in a chair in front of an old vanity. "An extension to the legend," he breathed, crouching beside me and reaching for one of the cracks in the wall, "is a story of Eliza's unknown daughter. She bore three children with another Knight; two twin boys and a daughter.

"Her daughter, Stasia, hid a necklace that she charmed to show Mary's line. You see, what no one knew, was that Mary dabbled in witch craft, and passed her secrets down the line. According to the stories, the secrets stopped being passed down only three generations ago.

"The necklace was supposed to be a way to make sure none of the secrets got out of their bloodline. Whoever showed signs of knowing the same secrets was tricked into wearing the necklace. If they were family, the necklace would glow red. If they weren't, it would glow a deep purple.

Olivier smiled up at me as he pulled a necklace out of the wall. How he knew it was there, I had no idea, but it still amazed me nonetheless.

"Would you care to test it out?"

My weak, girlish smile grew, and I nodded, watching as he unclasped the necklace and draped it around my neck.

It was a very lacy design, with a black layout and dark grey jewels stuck across it. One teardrop-shaped jewel hung from the middle, giving the piece a simple yet elegant look.

Within seconds, the grey color began to bloom into a blood red shade, and I gasped. "Oh my..." I breathed, oblivious to Olivier's triumphant smile in the mirror.

"Well now," he laughed. "Maybe you were destined to be my queen."

I smiled a little bit wider, catching his eye in the mirror. "You never did tell me the Knight's name, you know," I whispered.

"You never did tell me what I'd get if I told you," he teased, letting his hand slide down to my shoulder.

Shivers ran across my spine, and my skin felt ready to burn off. "What do you want?"

"That all depends," he breathed.

I matched his seductive tone. "On what?"

Olivier turned his head to catch my real eyes instead of their reflection. All humor gone from his face, he slowly let his gaze slip to my mouth. "On how long your be willing to stay with me."

My breath was coming in small, shallow gasps now, and I had to fight off the burning desire to kiss him. "How long would you want me to stay?"

His gaze snapped back to meet mine, and I noticed the alarming blue of his eyes burn a light shade of purple, almost as if red was doing its best to break through. "For ever and a day," he breathed.

I noticed us slowly drawing closer together, our mouths only a breath away.

"My love," he breathed. "I know you're in there."

What the-?

"If you remember me," Olivier continued, his gaze still fixed on my mouth, "please, mi amour... come back to me."

With that, Olivier kissed me, his touch searing hot against my skin. Before I could question his words, I felt a sharp pain in my gut, almost as if something was trying to break out of me.

The sound of bones cracking filled the air, but I seemed to be the only one capable of hearing it. My screams harmonized with the breaking, causing me to pull away from Olivier and fall to the ground, writhing in pain.

What was happening to me...?