Trails of Intertwined Stars: Chapter 74

~Chapter 35: The Dream and the Arrival~

It was a cold evening and Jiu made his way towards the river; ignoring the fog that blurred and distorted his perceptions of where each bump in the ground was. He was unnaturally aware where to avoid, even without said guidance; carrying himself in such a way that it'd be impossible for him to trip. He knew the garden like the back of his hand. He reached the edge of the bank and stared down at the murky water, his eyes wide; as he tried to make out the blurred reflection of himself upon the water surface. The fog danced upon the surface and sent a chill down his spine, despite the amount of clothes he'd put on. He spotted something odd in the bottom of the water, and squinted to make it out. When that didn't help, he crouched down; cautiously, trying to discern it. It was a dark shape that seemed to distort with each ripple within the water. It seemed almost hunched, and stiff. Thwash! An arm burst through, covered in reeds and sickeningly blue in pallor. It's horrible, yellowed and browned nails dug into Jiu's flesh; causing the general to yell and try to heave it off. It dug in, like a vice, as if it had some sort of death wish; abnormally stronger than him. The river churned. With a decisive tug, it tugged him so his face was only an inch away from the furious waves.
"Let me go-!" Jiu strained, gritting his teeth, furiously.
The muscularly horrific arm tugged him down; sending the general into the churning depths. Among the dark waters, he was met with the face of a begotten horror. It was blue and it's skin had the texture of a soaked sponge, hanging limply off the hideous, water eroded skeleton. Dressed in a red and golden jacket; with a black hat with a red feather perched on top, and a dismembered white wig. All of which had been tarnished and muddied by the river. Jiu tried to tug out of the soldier's grip furiously, as he felt the air leave his lungs and his own skin turn blue. And then, he heard a whisper.
"Wake up."

Jiu gasped, sitting upright in his bed; panting and heaving with effort. It had all been a dream; a horrific dream, at that. His sweat drenched physical form made the sheets cling to him in the sickly, pre-summer heat; a burning sensation in his throat. He glanced around his room, bleary eyed, as he clutched his shirt where the corpse of the soldier had grabbed him. It was the month of May, and when he glanced around the room, it seemed to be around about two in the morning. He paused, hearing the noise of a carriage scraping to a halt against the gravel of the drive. The ghost swung his legs out of the bed and shuffled over to the curtained window; gently peeling back the covers and casting his gaze out. He squinted past the slightly fogged up glass to see the carriage at the foot of the drive; the driver heeling the horses with steady commands. The carriage door swung open, and Jiu watched as a foot came down upon the gravel, and seemed to almost test it as if it would harm him. The figure stepped out; revealing a sullen man with greasy black hair and sallow skin; dressed head to toe in black like some sort of grieving widow. He glanced around the drive with a bitter scowl, searching it sternly with his black eyes, that had no warmth whatsoever. Dark and empty, like tunnels.

Jiu watched as the man made his way to the driver and spoke a bit, before setting some coins in his hand. The driver looked quite pleased by this and immediately sprung to his feet, getting off and making his way to the back of the carriage to heave out the luggage that had been stored at the back on the drive there. The stern man froze in his tracks, sensing something, before glancing upwards in Jiu's direction. The ghost cursed under his breath, swiftly shutting the curtains and stepping back from the window. Even without seeing him, he couldn't sense the man's cold gaze lingering over the window; trying to figure out whether he'd truly seen him. After a moment, Jiu peered out again, hiding a little more that time. The driver hauled the suitcases towards the door and the stern man followed after him; talking to someone. Jiu could only hear a distant hum of their voices, and the stern man sounded low and cold. He recognised the other voice to be Edward, who had probably opened the door to let the man in. This was, clearly, Leora's new tutor.