Wonderlust

5:00

It was cold. The dream always started out like that. There was always the feeling of a never ending chill in the room. The next moment a pair of long, slender fingers was caressing my neck, as if to admire it. They would slide up to my jawline and then right back down. Then, the squeezing would begin. Those loving fingers would wrap themselves around my throat and squeeze with all there might, never relenting. Never letting go.

I could always feel the expensive carpet that I was laying on, or make out the blurry outline of the golden locket that dangled in my face. Were dreams suppose to be this detailed? No- not a dream. A memory. One that I tried so desperately to forget, but one can not be strong when they are asleep. Who knows what demons lurk around them when their eyes are closed.

I could hear the rain hitting the window pane as those icey fingers tightened their grip, cutting off my air way. I was gasping for air now, fighting to keep life. I scratched those hands and kicked out in defiance. Soon, my eyes closed on their own. I was dieing. I would not see another day. But before death could take me into his arms and steal me away from that house, I always awoke.

_____________________

I could hear voices.

"She finally stopped thrashing around."

"She was thrashing around like crazy just a few moments ago. Her fever has gone down but it is still high due to the large amount of imagination she is still holding in."

"How is your wound My Lord?"

"Its fine. I never expected her to burn me."

"That is actually frost bite."

"Pardon?"

"The ice that she created when she lashed out was so cold that it felt like fire."

What were they saying? I couldn't understand.

"She has been in Reality for to long. This can only be expected. The seal needs to be redrawn or else it might break."

"A second seal will be painful for her."

"Perhaps while she is in this state..."

This causes me to bolt upright without thinking. "What do you plan to do while I'm asleep?"

The three men in the room looked shocked by my sudden consciousness. Then, just as I expected, Ciel begins to laugh. I pause to look at his sudden state of glee. He looked... charming. I could not deny his handsome looks or the fact that his laughter sent shivers down my spine. The sound was deep and from the belly. This was the first time I had ever seen him truly amused- happy even.

"Allis, you are so dramatic." He grinned down at me and I could feel my heart pounding faster against my rib cage. "First you pass out and then you shock everyone trying to help you."

That's right. I had passed out. Ciel's burst of anger had frighted me to the point of causing myself to pass out. I narrowed my eyes at the master of the house. As if reading my mind, his smile vanished.

"Josh," He addressed his butler, who was tending to a vase of flowers by to door. "Perhaps Miss Riddle would like to have her dinner now?"

Josh bowed deeply before leaving. "As you wish."

Another man, who had been sitting beside the bed the entire time, cleared his throat, "Miss Riddle, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Dr. Mako."

I forced a pleasant smile. " It is nice to meet you."

Mako was a short man, shorter than even me, with greying chestnut hair that was cut short. He was not the sort of man that would stand out at a party. Even his brown eyes were dull, but I could see an undeniable kindness in them.

"As I was saying before, I think another seal needs to be drawn, but perhaps I should wait till tomorrow. It has gotten quite late and my wife will be looking for me. I can show myself out."

He picked up his leather medical bag and left without another word.

I sighed and laid back against the headboard. "How long have I been out?"

"A few hours. You missed lunch." Ciel took the doctors place in the chair beside the bed.

There was a long moment of silence. Neither of us wanted to talk about what happened in the garden. Just as the silence became almost to much to bare, Josh came back with a tray of food.

He placed it on my lap.

"Thank you." I say as I picked up my fork .

I was surprised to hear, " You are welcome." before he exited the room.

I looked over at Ciel to find him looking at a painting on the wall. It was one that I had studied often over the past few days with nothing else to do. It was a portrait of a woman. She had tanned skin and her hair was a strange color of blue. It was as blue as the sky that hung up above. It had been cut close to the scalp. It was not the haircut that a normal woman would usually ask for, but it did not make her unattractive. On the contrary, it made her look dainty and pixie like. Her face glowed with a smile and shining coffee brown eyes.

"Is the food not to your liking?"

I looked over at Ciel who had turned his attention back to me. "Ah, no. It is quite good. I simply got distracted."

"I see. I am pleased that you like it." The formal tone he was using seemed unnatural when directed at me.

"You seem to eat a lot of foul." I said as I cut into a piece of roasted chicken. "Yesterday we had quail. The night before it was dove."

"Well yes." He cocked his head as if he did not understand. "What do you eat in Reality?"

"Reality?" Now I did not understand.

"Were you are from." He amended.

"Oh, well," I said over a glass of water, "We eat beef and vegetables."

"What is beef?" He asked curiously.

"It is cow."

He suddenly looked horrified." You eat COWS?"

"Yes?" I was confused at his reaction. "Rabbits and Pigs, as well."

"But how?"

I blink for a moment."What?"

"I mean how do you eat something that looks so much like yourself?" His brow was knitted together and he looked bewildered by the idea.

He thought I meant...

"Were I am from Rabbits and pigs do not look like humans. I would never eat Tat."

He still did not understand. "I don't follow."

"Um, well, were I come from Rabbits are really small and furry. They don't talk."

"Then how do you ask it to join you for tea?"

My brow knits. What? I look up at Ciel, prepared to explain again, but he is grinning at me now. A joke. He was joking.

"We do not eat cows or rabbits but we do indulge in pork sometimes." He picks up my finished tray and moves toward the door. As he does, I notice a bandage wrapped around his hand. Though curious, I decide not to ask what happened. It is none of my business. "I suppose you would be tired now. I had a... educational chat with you. I hope you will join me for breakfast in the morning. Goodnight, Miss Riddle. "

"Goodnight, Sir Hatter."