Reverie [Bruno Mars - Editing]

Chapter six

Chapter six

“What do you mean my mom's room?” I whispered.

“I mean exactly what I said, Adrian.” She said my name as if it was something disgusting she wanted to discard. “It's her room. Her design.”

Bruno's face was guarded. And when those dark eyes met mine, they said what are you waiting for? Josephine looked impatient. I took a few steps toward the door, closing our distance. I took a deep breath and tried it. It was locked. I banged my fist on the wood hard enough that my hand stung. “Mom?”

There was a clicking sound from the other side. The door was unlocking. I took quick steps back, far enough to avoid the door hitting me once it swung open. I took a step forward—

But a tall, dark haired boy slipped out, closing the door quickly behind him to obscure our view. All I saw were books in the room as the door shut. He looked to be around the same age as Josephine and was also dressed in all white.

“Mom?” His dark eyes swept over me and Bruno with amusement. “Josephine, do I have any children that I don't know about?”

Josephine looked annoyed. At least I wasn't the only one she didn't seem to like. Her voice came out warningly. “Joseph.”

“Well then who ordered the midgets?”

“Joseph.”

Bruno cleared his throat but I stepped forward. “Is my mother in there?”

“No.” He looked mildly surprised. “No mothers in there.”

I looked at Josephine incredulously. She wore a smug smile. I gritted my teeth, she knew my mom wasn't in there. “She said that's my mother's room.”

“You will be informed of your mother's whereabouts if you would follow us.” His eyes landed on Bruno. “and the reasons for you—the both of you—for being here.” He stepped forward, holding out his hand. “I'm Joseph a—a doctor, in your terms.”

To my surprise Bruno took it. They shook hands, twice hard. Bruno gave him a tight lipped smile. Joseph held his hand toward me. I glanced at Bruno, he closed his eyes briefly; nodding his head very slightly. Be respectful. I understood. We didn't know what these people were capable of, and it was best to be on their good side, if they even had one. But then I had no knowing of what they did to my mother, and I couldn't bring myself to even touch him. Joseph's hand dropped limply to his side. He flashed a smile and winked. 

Then the two of them turned and started to walk down the passageway, not even checking to see if we were following. I didn't like that. Like they expected us to follow, as though we had no other choice. Maybe we didn't. I looked at Bruno desperately. He was staring forward at the two disappearing figures. “We have,” he said, his voice steady and careful. “We have no other choice.”

Reluctantly, we started to follow them, following their hushed tones of their conversation more so than the sight of them since they were already so far away. “Are you still in pain?” I asked Bruno, speaking quietly. 

“A little bit. You?”

I shook my head. “Not anymore. What do you think they want with you?”

“Me?” Bruno laughed, bitter and sharp. It sent chills down my spine. I've never seen him like this—but look at our situation. “What do you think? What do I have to offer Adrian?”

“Um.” I contemplated. “Your voice?”

“My voice.” He chuckled and shook his head. “No. I think they want something else from me. But you? You have something they definitely want.”

“We both have something they want or we wouldn't be here right now.”

“Yours is more important,” he murmured. We took another hallway down to the left. The same darkness. The same flames on the walls. Did they not believe in light bulbs? “What's your mom like?” Bruno asked softly.

I shrugged, becoming guarded all of a sudden. Something about the idea of telling him what my mom is like made me slightly uncomfortable. Like if I told him about her, I would have to tell him everything, and I wouldn't be able to stop. “Just a normal mom.”

His voice was low. “There's something you're not telling me.”

“What about you?” I said, my voice rising a little. “You won't tell me anything. Like how you know this place?”

Bruno almost stopped walking. He looked at me, baffled. “What?”

We followed Joseph and Josephine to a door that opened to a black staircase that led upward. How big is this place? It must be some kind of labyrinth, confusing and as you made your way, you didn't know what you were going to run into. My heart started pounding. We couldn't see Joseph or Josephine, but we could hear their quiet chattering.

“Dear God,” Bruno whispered, gazing upward. “Up we go?”

“I have to find my mom.” I grabbed his arm. “Up we go.” We rushed up the stairs to keep up with them. I started back the conversation, trying to keep my breathing under control as we were almost taking two steps at a time. “I heard Josephine. She said you knew what she was talking about when you asked where we are.”

It took a moment before recognition slid across his face. “Oh—no,” he started, “that's not what she meant. She meant I knew who she was. Which I don't. But her voice. . .”

At the top of the stairs there was another opening that led to a wide and long hall. I couldn't help but feel astounded as Bruno and I stepped into the Victorian era. The walls were a somber gray and the ceiling was high and arched, dangling from it were golden chandeliers. The long rows of arched windows on either side of us were stained glass, reminding me of church windows with angels praying to the heavens and rays of sunlight streaming from their white, elegant wings. A long red carpet that was intricately designed with webs of gold led to grand wooden double doors at the far end of the hall, where Joseph and Josephine were waiting. For us.

Sunlight flowed through the stained glass windows, embellishing the room in soft sunlight. I felt alive all of a sudden, like I was floating and floating high towards the chandeliers that now looked like twinkling golden stars. All around me was sunlight and gold and red and gray.

“This is—”

“Incredible,” I breathed, feeling a twinge of pain in my stomach. My mother would love this place. Before she decided to refurbish the house more modern, our home was furnished with Victorian styles that my mom loved to collect and treasure. One day she just decided to redecorate our whole house, and got rid of every single piece of anything Victorian. I never knew why. She wouldn't tell me.

Bruno and I started down the red carpet, still staring all around us with wide eyes. “You should be used to this, walking a red carpet,” I joked despite our situation. Bruno laughed faintly.

We made it to the end where Joseph and Josephine were waiting for us. Two gargoyles stood on either side of the door: horses with wings that made it look like some kind of unicorn, but a snake like tongue dangled between their teeth, which went against the idea. Josephine spoke irritably. “Finally you got here. The Incurses do not enjoy waiting.”

“Sorry,” I blurted out, surprising everyone and myself. I stammered, embarrassed. “I mean, this place, I've never seen anything like it. Where exactly are we?”

Joseph smiled evenly and said, “You're still in The States. But this place is called Aegrimonia. It's Latin for—”

“We do not  have the time for a lesson,” Josephine snapped, cutting him off. “The Incurses. Now.”

Joseph's dark eyes were still on me until he had to help Josephine open the large doors. As they both started to pull on the handles, the heavy doors dragging open rather slowly, I swallowed hard and whispered, “Ready Bruno?”

He took a deep breath, running a hand through his dark messy curls. “Not at all.”

- - -

And that's chapter six! Really hope you all enjoyed. Comment and rate?