Because I Love You✔️

Chapter 50: On the Road Again

Chapter Fifty: On the Road Again

When he opened his eyes, he knew for a fact that he wasn't awake. He didn't know how he knew, but he did. He blinked, feeling confused, and finally sat up. Connie was standing not too far away... but not the Connie he knew since she was wearing a medieval crimson gown.

Trees arched high above him, tips swaying gently in a fresh breeze.

He was also completely nude, but his mind couldn't seem to process it as being a bad thing.

"Greetings," she called, giving him an unfamiliar smile before curtsying. "How are you faring?"

"What do you want?"

His words were clipped, betraying the spark of irritation that had ignited within him.

The Connie that was not really Connie shrugged.

"You wound me," she sighed. "All I wanted was a smile. I thought you'd be happy to see me."

Scowling didn't even begin to cover the depth of Xaphile's expression.

"Where are we?" he demanded, looking around. "Tell me."

Connie stood at a respectful distance, solemn and without expression.

"Your mind," she said. "Or, rather, an image I put there in order to host this conversation with you."

With a frown, he stood up and headed over to the nearest tree, bracing his hand on the trunk.

The bark felt rough beneath his palm, signaling that something wasn't right.

"Who, or what, are you?" he demanded, not turning to look at the creature impersonating his late girlfriend's mother. "The last time I saw Connie's face like this, she wasn't real. A demon that feasts on the dreams of others took her shape. Before we continue, I want the truth."

"Oh?" Connie asked; a tone of cruel humor made her voice shudder. "And ruin all the fun? I think not... I'd rather keep you and all your little friends guessing."

"I don't play guessing games," Xaphile coldly informed the impostor. "Either you give it to me straight, or I don't bother with you. I'll leave the deciding to you."

Those eyes regarded him, then, with something that made his heart shiver.

"You're rather daring," Connie noted, smiling at him. "I will say this: the creature you encountered before was not me, but one under my command. And I was actually very surprised by how easily the Countess of the South came barging into your mind. It was unexpected."

That made him turn around.

"Why Connie?" he snapped, eyebrow twitching madly. "Why use her face, of all things? How the hell do you even know what she looks like?! Drop the charade and show me your real face!"

He didn't like what happened next. Connie's skin, like the skin of a shedding snake, began to peel itself away from her bones, falling in long ropes to the green ground below. The body grew shorter, more lithe, and her hair extended and lightened to a snowy white.

Pretty pink eyes emerged from the mask of skin like rising amethyst suns.

His heart palpitated when he saw her eyes smile behind her glasses.

"Hello, Xaphile," Ella Richardson crooned, fiddling with one of her long snowy braids. "It's been a while... how are you?"

Xaphile went cold all over, inside and out: his stomach started to heave, but he somehow managed to reign himself in before he could vomit.