Everytime (American Horror AU 5)

Prologue

The two girls held each others hands as they made their way down a stone hallway. The walls looked as though years of masonry had been spent on them, and attached to them were iron placements for blazing torches. Their eyes looked around in wonder as a strangely-dressed woman held open wooden, decrepit double doors for them. As they stepped into a large room filled with mostly women, one man made his presence known by standing up from what looked like a throne-it was none other than their father, Chase.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, it's me, Clara," he said happily with a smile across his youthful face. "And you brought Amy, too!"

The dark-haired little girl looked to her left to see her exquisitely gorgeous, blonde younger sister let go of her hand to run up to where their father was standing. Her natural, soft ringlets bounced as Chase collected his youngest daughter in his arms, holding her close.

"Daddy," Clara heard the girl whisper along with a puckering sound-she had kissed his cheek.

"Come sit down," he offered, sitting down on the throne with Amy on his lap, adjusting her soft, golden curls with his severely deformed hands. "One of the ladies here taught me a song. Another lady had to say it against so I could understand."

"A song?" Amy asked with curiosity.

"Yeah, I'll sing for you," Chase said with a smile that shined brighter than the golden sun.

When he cleared his throat, he began. His colorless, gray eyes peered down at Amy's intense blue ones as he sang-he was a bass. It sounded richly mature unlike his speaking voice, and it spellbound both of the girls:

"Small and bright and beautiful...

Moving through the darkness...

A breath of blue, embracing you...

You shimmer with the secrets of life..."

Suddenly, the sound of female voices, both of operatic mid-range and soprano, faded into the song Chase had been singing over and over like a chant. Clara looked over to see four blonde women fade into view as they lent their voices to the tune. Two were recognizable, as they were the faces of their aunts Julie and Eleonora, but the other two were faces she had never seen before. One was a platinum blonde beauty with fiery eyes who reminded her somewhat of Amy, and the other paled in comparison; while still lovely in her own way, she was shorter by a few inches, unrealistically petite in size, and her golden hair was up in a crowd braid. As the singing went on, it went into an entirely different key, and heard Julie singing softly:

"Where you are and where you go...

Sky above you, earth below...

You will read more than you can know...

But no matter where you go...

You will know..."

As the operatic voices continued to sing in her head, Clara fluttered open her eyes to the darkness of the bedroom she shared with her sister. Sitting up against the pillows as she pushed her fingers up through her smooth raven hair, she flicked on the lamp on the table between the twin beds and pulled the covers off. Her sister groaned with distaste as she covered her own head with a pillow to block out any hints of light.

"I was sleeping," she snapped. "Turn off the light."

"I'm sorry, Amy, I just..." Clara looked over, biting her lower lip in thought, "couldn't sleep, I guess."

"Why not? We kinda need sleep," her golden-haired sister replied with her voice muffled between her pillows. "It's a long-ass ride from here to L.A."

"I know," her older sister said, dangling her feet back and forth off the edge of the bed. "I just had a dream. It wasn't bad, though. I...actually saw dad."

"Oh, c'mon, not again," Amy groaned, taking the pillow away from her face and turning so she could face her sister. She propped an elbow up on her pillow, her intensely azure eyes staring at her sister long and hard before she spoke; her golden curls were a disheveled mess. "It was just a dream. Go back to sleep."

As the younger sibling turned off the lamp switch, Clara shook her head and felt a chill as she tucked her feet back beneath the bedspread and pulled it over her. She heard her younger sister by three years sigh, but she still continued to share her experience. Amy's attention was not always easy to grab unless it had to do with her or something she really liked or hated, but this was different.

"I saw Aunt Julie and Aunt Eleonora, too," Clara added. "And two other ladies I've never seen before. Maybe you have, though?" Clara's light blue eyes stared into the darkness at the outline of her sister's bed. "One of them had really light blonde hair, even lighter than Eleonora's, and her eyes were like amber stones. Kinda like the ones Julie wore-"

"I'm sleeping now. Good night." Amy sounded rather cross, but Clara continued.

"I'm not finished," she said. "What did I tell you about cutting people off?"

"What are you? My mom?" Amy replied sarcastically.

"I'm serious, though," Clara said, turning her head so that she looked up at the darkened white ceiling. "I also saw dad and this other lady. She had a bun that was like a braid. Have you seen anyone like her? You were in the dream, too."

"I was?" Amy asked, opening her eyes.

"Yes," Clara said. "Dad sang to you, and then Aunt Julie sang to me. The music was beautiful."

"Yeah, yeah, I remember. Dad sang to us when we were babies," Amy sighed. "You're probably just remembering it, now go the hell to sleep."

Doing so, Clara closed her eyes-they had a long day ahead of them following that night. The drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles would be a long one, and it was only best that they got their rest now.