The Day I Live

Chapter XXIV- The Alyssums

Everyone sat at the dinner table in the dining room. We were eating a fabulous dinner that some of the phantoms prepared. I finished chewing a bite. "I must say, Damian, Elwin, and Valerian are very talented," I complimented, scanning over the phantoms before my eyes met Adonis'.

I let out a chuckle as I noticed Elwin blush in embarrassment. Adonis softly cleared his throat, catching my attention again. "They are. By the way, Mora," he began. I looked at him when he said my name. "You've named all of the phantoms already?" He inquired curiously. I nodded in response and he beamed. "They speak so highly of you." He laughed. "Especially Valerian, as you call her. She loves having you around again," he stated.

My mind went blank at his words. It was like gears were jammed in my head. She? I glanced at Valerian who was playing with his- her food on her plate. I blushed in embarrassment, wanting to turn invisible at that very moment. I am a horrible person, how could I not notice until now? She was very thin and from what I could see, her facial features were very sharp and feminine. She wore heels as well!

I did my best to recompose myself. "Oh, that's um, very kind." If I was remembering my past lives, why couldn't I at least remember that little detail? I felt so bad about it. It didn't seem like she cared at all though. Had she even noticed? I just tried to focus on eating my dinner after that.

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I didn't feel like sleeping. So instead, I was roaming the halls. I've already gone through nearly every room on the second floor. The only ones I didn't bother were the phantoms' and Adonis' rooms. So I silently glided down the stairs.

However, instead of going through the rooms, I decided to go straight to the tall back doors. I made my way in between the stairs, my heels quietly tapping against the floor. I slid one of the doors open and slipped outside, gently closing it behind me.

My curious gaze found its way to the canopy of trees above the cobblestone pathway through the garden and pond area. I smiled as I made my way across the bridge. Things were definitely a lot different than before, but still, so many things were the same. There were less trees and the garden was cleaner now.

I felt a drop of water hit my hand and I looked up. Past the trees I could see dark clouds partially covering up the bright moon. It was such a sight to see. It looked like a canvas an artist would paint for a king.

I heard heeled footsteps approach behind me. I turned around and from what I could see, Valerian was observing the area around us as well. Her pale skin contrasted heavily against the deep blue of her eyes, especially in the dark of the night.

She stopped walking right in front of me before turning her head to face me. Our eyes made contact. It was like drowning in an ocean when I stared into her eyes. They were always so beautiful and deep. I could pause time and stare at them for an eternity.

Thunder cracked through the sky and I jumped in surprise. I bumped into her, my hands propped against her shoulders. Her hands didn't waste a second to wrap around my waist. I looked up at her in embarrassment and surprise. Her eyes caught me again.

It began to pour rain and I gave a small laugh, looking up at the sky. I gazed back at Valerian. She held a hand out to me. I took it without hesitation and we slowly started to dance. We were waltzing and of course there was no music for us to dance to. There was only the sound of the rain and the splashing our feet made against the growing puddles on the ground. I didn't know why we were dancing, but it was accelerating and I didn't want to stop. It'd already become so much fun.

I looked into her eyes behind her mask. They were beautiful and bluer than the bluest sea. We spun around the garden, sliding our feet in the growing water puddles. I grinned and I could see the slightest bit of a smirk underneath her mask.

She spun me around and my dress swirled along with the splashes of water that flew into the air at our movements. We continued to dance around the flowers for a while until she dipped me. And when she did, thunder and lightning clashed at the same time. It was... incredible and unpredictable.

I breathed heavily, looking into her eyes. Because of the rain my hair was stuck to my face and I could see some of hers stuck to her jaw. She slowly bent back up, but kept her hand on my back. She never looked away from my eyes. I raised my hands to her face. I felt her flinch in surprise at my touch.

I looked from my hands to her eyes as I slowly began to pull her mask off. It was like time slowed down just for that moment. The anticipation was intense. When the accessory was finally away from her face I looked up at her. I was stunned. She had the beauty of a goddess. Her face was mostly expressionless, but I could see the excitement and adrenaline in her eyes.

I steadily ran my hand along her cheekbone and let it rest on her jawline. My breath caught in my throat, but I couldn't explain why. It could've been the fact that this is the first time I've seen her face, the fact that she let me take her mask off, or maybe it was her beauty. She was the most beautiful person I've ever seen. Never in my life had anyone compared. No, never in all of my lives.

And I realized then. I have never seen her face before this moment. Not even in my past lives. She didn't look familiar at all. That made this moment all that more amazing and special to me.

A/n: My Artwork!(You have no idea how much I've changed little details in this piece😭)