Finding Heathcliff

Four

Astrid wished she could simply run out of the crowded room in pursuit of the strange man who had disappeared through the closed door. She needed answers.

It took all the self-control that Arabella had taught her over the years to collect her wits enough and curtsey to the young man who bowed to her at the end of the dance. Astrid even managed to excuse herself politely when he reached out to her as the musicians started to play yet again.

"I'm sorry, my shoes are new and... It's better if I sit down for a while," she said, waving her hand vaguely towards several chairs scattered along the mirror-lined walls. "No," she added, forcing her lips into a smile as he offered her his arm, ready to escort her wherever she chose. "Do stay and find another partner before they are all taken."

"But... Your Highness..." the youth stuttered, torn between what he considered his duty and his desire for entertainment.

"Do. Stay. Here. Please." Astrid repeated, letting her polite smile dissipate in front of his eyes.

He understood this time, his own smile abandoning his lips in response to her sudden seriousness. Finally, he bowed and turned on his heel, marching away and leaving her alone in the middle of the sea of dancing couples.

With one quick glance towards the mirrors, Astrid made sure that Orion noticed nothing and that Uncle Arcturus had not arrived yet.

It was now or never...

Taking a deep breath, she made her way towards the only door leading out of the room as fast as she could without raising suspicions. With one last look over her shoulder, Astrid reached for the iron ring serving as a door handle-- no one noticed her intention yet-- and pulled the massive door towards her, opening it just a crack wide enough to permit her to slip outside.

On reaching the other side, she was confronted with astonished looks from her uncle's guards, making her wonder if anyone had ever walked out of the Mirror Room during a ball before.

"I'm tired tonight, I wish to retire early," Astrid announced in the most queenly voice and manner she could perform, holding her head high while her sky-blue irises pierced through the four men until they all bowed without uttering a word of protest and let her leave.

The princess wasn't fooled, though. She could perceive their confused thoughts just like she could feel the cold of the torch-lit corridor-- it was gelid after the warmth of the Mirror Room. She didn't have much time; one of them would seek her uncle the instant she rounded the corner.

Astrid turned away from the guards and walked gracefully down the empty corridor, her sandalled feet carrying her silently across the stone floor, feeling the guards' eyes on her back for a long while.

The moment she caught a whiff of burning incense from one of the ill-lit side passages, she looked back to make sure that they had stopped staring at her, and found the men absorbed in what seemed to be a heated conversation. She broke into a run in pursuit of the ethereal scent then, the gossamer layers of her dress floating beyond her like tendrils of fog.

Tonight, she would finally talk to the mysterious man, she resolved.

The semi-darkness of the narrow corridor made her stumble countless times on the uneven stones covering the floor, but she didn't care about her bruised toes. She needed to find the stranger before he left-- because she was sure, somehow, that she would not see him again after tonight. And she needed to know, at least something... She was tired of the wall of silence she hit each time she asked a question beyond the history or geography of anyone loyal to Uncle Arcturus.

Absorbed in the thoughts racing through her mind as fast as her heart raced under her too-tight corset that made her gasp for air too soon, Astrid didn't notice where she was until she reached a floor-to-ceiling window covered by a thick black curtain, standing ajar.

She slowed down and approached it carefully, offering her face to the caress of the cool night breeze as she clutched at the curtain, trying to steady herself. Her head was spinning-- this was forbidden, all the doors and windows were supposed to be closed tonight. And yet the air streaming through the window felt so good, it was intoxicating, it smelled of adventure and freedom, and... burning incense.

Without another moment of hesitation, she slipped through the window, lured by the familiar scent. The balcony she found herself on, wrapped itself around the entire tower, her memory told her rather than her sight-- the night reigning outside was perfectly black. She was on the same floor as the library, just under her chambers.

Astrid focused on her crazily beating heart, willing it to slow down, while she let her sight adjust to the blackness that seemed to press against her eyes. Everything was fine, she was just breaking a rule or two, and with a little luck, no one would find out... She blinked a few times and moved farther from the window, her fingers tracing the cold, white marble railing glowing dimly against the night sky.

And then she noticed him.

Perched motionless on the far end of the long balustrade, the man looked like a statue. The sight of him crouched precariously on the thin piece of slippery marble as if he was prepared to jump, made Astrid's senses return in an instant and she could finally see him properly-- a black shadow cast by no light against only slightly paler night sky, he was there and yet he wasn't, not entirely. And she could hear the roaring waterfall, many meters down, that would swallow him without a trace in a heartbeat if he fell...

"Be careful!" she called, voice trembling.

Soft laughter reached her ears as she observed, stunned, a thin veil of black mist coiling around him, taking the shape of a huge pair of wings then dissolving into a flowing black cloak, and reforming again... She had never noticed it when they met inside the castle, but the dark mist was where the fragrance enveloping him originated, and at this proximity, it was making her feel lightheaded.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts, concentrating on his voice instead. For the first time, he was talking to her.

"I nearly killed you tonight, Lady, and you are afraid for me?"

"Why? Who are you?" Astrid forced herself to ask. There were too many things she wanted to know...

He dismissed her questions with a shake of his head, his white-blond hair emitting a faint halo around him. She couldn't see his face, but from the sound of his voice, she could imagine it turning dark, darker than the night, darker than the black fog shrouding him in mystery.

"You shouldn't be able to see me."

His cold and unfriendly words surprised her, and yet she wished he would tell her more.

"Don't go," she pleaded, guessing his intentions. "I need answers."

He stood up then, his face turned towards the black, roaring void beneath the balcony, his bare feet seemingly too large to keep him safe on the slippery balustrade. Astrid's heart skipped a beat-- he would fall!

As if he could sense her fear, he turned towards her again. The night breeze made the curtain behind Astrid's back quiver just then, allowing a sliver of faint light to illuminate his face.

A ghost of a bemused smile lifted the corners of his lips before he said, "You know nothing, Lady. I wish you'll never find out. It's safer for you this way."

One of his hands fluttered towards Astrid as if he wished to press it against her burning cheek, but catching himself at the last moment, he let it drop at his side.

And then he spread his arms wide and let himself fall into the darkness, vanishing from her sight and her life.