The Haunt of Danzig Ruin

The Big Sky: Leon

          "You never understood me. You never really tried.' Kate Bush- The Big Sky

Leon opened his eyes to the sound of a distant military shell blast. He sat up and blinked, then heard the sound of rolling thunder and more pouring rain.  Of course, it was only the storm, what else could it have been?
             Then he heard another shell blast. This time it could not be mistaken for thunder. Leon jumped onto his feet and looked about the stonewalls of the grand hall.  The others appeared to be sleeping soundly, nestled in their pallets. . . even their heads were covered. . .
No, something was wrong somehow, but Leon only had the dim light of the dying fire to see by. 
             He crept closer where he knew Fitz had made her pallet and reached down to pull the blanket away,  but before he could, Leon heard a very familiar voice coming from the far end of the grand hall.
              "Leon!"  it shouted in a whisper.
              ". . .Violet??" he answered back, not believing his own ears.  He could see a child cast in shadow at the far end.  He saw the shadow beckon him to follow, then turn and run up a narrow set of stairs.  A shell blast (lightening?) lit the staircase for one split second and Leon saw the tied back long silver blonde hair of who he knew to be Violet Evergarden.
                "Violet!" Leon then shouted and ran the length of the hall to the stairs that were part of a spiraling staircase. It seemed to go up and up forever until he finally reached the top and into a room with a great stone hearth. A decaying red sofa sat facing the hearth and a large cobweb covered throne of a chair sat to the left. Above the stone hearth hung the document tapestry. 
               Leon's mouth dropped open, awestruck as he stepped closer. 
               He then noticed Violet sitting on the sofa. She was but a child, no more than 10, if that, and in military uniform.
               "How are you here?" Leon asked, his own voice suddenly sounding younger than it should have. He did not feel as tall, nor as heavy. He looked down at himself and saw that he was in the robes of a novice astronomer again.
In the dim light, an older, teenaged Violet patted the seat beside her on the sofa. She no longer wore the military uniform. She wore the dress he had met her in at the observatory. Her hair was neatly braided and coiled into two perfect buns to the back of her head, just as Leon remembered her. How beautiful she was to him then, and he was quite certain if he were to see her now, she would still be able to take his breath away.
"Sit down, Leon," she said, "I want to show you something."
Leon found himself taking a seat next to her on the sofa. He could smell the next to undetectable floral scent of her hair oil she had used to keep her tresses shiny and smooth.
Leon could feel his heart squeeze exactly as it did the night they saw Alley's Comet together on the roof of the observatory, when there was still a glimmer of hope that she just might actually like him.
Violet, or the creature that replicated her, pointed up to the hanging tapestry. It was larger than Leon had expected it would be, a good four feet in height, and about 2 and a half feet in width.  The embroidery work depicting the crests of the Danzig falcon and Borjnheim-Easley bear, intertwined in the traditional symbol of two houses joining in a marriage alliance.  The filigree bordering the document represented the mountain flowers and other native species, all of it embroidered in fine silk like thread that could reflect the dimmest of light. Even the calligraphy for the text was of significance in bold golden thread.  To Leon's eye, its beauty far exceeded the more modern documents that were painted on parchment, and much more time consuming.
              "It is so very beautiful." Leon looked over at the dream Violet. "Just almost as beautiful as you."
              The dream Violet smiled sweetly in a way he had never had the pleasure to see before and her doll cheeks flushed a soft rose color.  "Thank you, Leon." she said, pointing up at the tapestry again, "Look now."
                Leon turned his eyes back to the tapestry. It was growing taller and wider, the threads of the crests, filigree and text began to rework themselves like a sea of  thin, bright and colorful snakes.  Watching it move in such a way, made Leon's eyes ache and he closed them, only to open them again to the vast night sky. Traveling slowly across it was Alley's Comet, just as it looked on the night of its sighting some 20 years ago. 
               Dream Violet sat beside him wrapped in a warm thick blanket. She had her face turned up to the sky watching the comet.  Leon gazed at her, somewhat knowing this was nothing but some vivid dream, and therefore resolved to tell her how he felt about her, as he should have long ago, but had been too immature, too angry, too low in self-esteem.
              "Violet. . ." he began.
               "I know how you felt about me." she stated simply.
               Leon stopped short and drew in a deep breath. "You did?"
               "Of course, I did." Dream Violet reached out and took his cold hands in her gloved ones. They were soft, and so very warm. . .and something was in them. "I'm giving you something."
               "What is it?" Leon asked as Dream Violet slid her hands away again.
               She leaned close to him and whispered, "Look and see."
               Leon opened his hands revealing a long, thin red hair ribbon coiled in his palm. He looked up at her, looking for the two signature red ribbons she had always worn around her braids. The left one was missing.
             "You're giving me your hair ribbon?"
              "Yes, you may use it to be with me forever and ever. Is it what you desire? To be with me?"
               "Ever since the moment we parted." Leon assured her, admiring the smooth ribbon between his fingers. "Is it charmed?"
               "Yes." answered Dream Violet, "All you must do is put it round your neck, and pull tight!"
              Leon's eyes shifted up to hers. Her sweet smile was no longer sweet. Her mouth smiled but her teeth were tightly clenched together. Her ocean blue eyes wide and staring.
              Leon recoiled away from her and looked at her hopelessly. "You want me to. . .harm myself, Violet?" he asked sadly.
              The menacing, teeth clenching smile faded into an expression of lovely tenderness as she would give a child she pitied.  She laid a gloved hand against his cheek. "But you know you can not have me in this world. I am already taken in this realm, by the only man I could ever love. I've given him a son. I've never known such happiness, a happiness you will never find here. Nobody will want to share your life with you here.  Your own mother left you behind not wanting to share her life with you, remember? Remember??"
               An unexpected lump rose in Leon's throat.  He tried to swallow it, strangling already without even having to use the ribbon. Tears came to his eyes, tears he had forgotten he could cry. 
             His rationality screamed out through the thick delusional fog of his mind. Wake up, you fool! This is a dream! Nothing but a dream! Stop crying! Put down the ribbon! Don't bring it any closer! WHAT ARE YOU DOING??
               Leon could feel the smooth satin of the ribbon at the back of his neck, and the crossing in the front. Little by little it was becoming tighter, and tighter still.  It was becoming painful as it threatened to cut off his air completely.
              The night sky reverted back into the room where he sat on the decaying sofa. Dream Violet no longer sat next to him, but the tapestry remained above the stone hearth. 
               To his eyes, which could certainly not be trusted, it was no longer a marriage document but a death document complete with an elaborate and beautifully embroidered grinning death's head. 
              The pain at his neck increased and he could no longer breathe, as his own hands pulled the ribbon (thread) tighter and tighter.