The Pawn [Imposter Sequel]

The Pawn | Chapter One [Nyctophobia]

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The Pawn

[Chapter One]

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Nyctophobia - Fear of the dark

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"Someday my Prince will come, some...thing, something something something, and away to his castle we'll go, to be something, something, something, once more...uh...Someday, when all my dreams come TRUUUEEEE!" I warbled the last word, slapping the wet rag on the table as I scrubbed furiously.

Some previous family with mutant kids had spilled soda and ketchup all over the table, creating a sticky mess for me to clean up. I was in charge of closing 'Lindi's' tonight-which meant scrubbing the tables, washing the floor and locking all the doors. Usually it took me about an hour or two to completely close-up and I'd be home by one, one-thirty if I was lucky. Tonight, other than the monster table, the restaurant looked fairly clean, so I figured that I would get home a little earlier than usual. That equaled more sleep for me, something I held sacred.

I finished the tables and floors and did one last visual sweep around the restaurant as I locked all the doors. Satisfied with the way things looked, I exited out of the employee's entrance, testing the handle to see if it was locked. My job done for the night, I glanced at my Mickey Mouse watch and smiled when I saw it was only 12:40 a.m. Pleased about the extra minutes of sleep, I started humming 'Someday My Prince Will Come' as I walked home. It's not like I believed in the song or anything, it was just a catchy tune. There was no Prince Charming in my life, nor did I expect one to come ridding in upon his white steed. That just wasn't a possible scenario in my life. Sure, I'd like to be 'rescued' but I had long ago given up on that happening. Now, I was simply resigned to my fate and content to make the best of it.

I wasn't even ten steps from the door when a large body turned the corner, blocking my way. The dim streetlamp was enough to let me see who was standing in the way. It was a tall guy, around 6'2" or 6'3" with electric blue hair, dark eyes and a wicked scar on his face. I couldn't make out the shape of it; I could only see that it was near his left eye. He looked dangerous-not the type of person to mess with-which was kind of a turn on. I'm twisted, I know.

"Ainsley Hartford?" he said in a dark chocolaty voice that sent shivers down my spine. Mmm, I could just eat him up-ignoring the fact that he was a stranger who had cornered me in the middle of the night...and knew my name.

"Prince Charming, I assume?" I responded cheekily, grinning at his confused look.

"Are you or are you not Ainsley Hartford?" he repeated slowly.

"What's it to you, sugar?" I drawled while cocking my hip. A muscle twitched in his jaw as he glared at me. I figured he couldn't be too dangerous or he would have grabbed me by now. My instincts were telling me to run, while my curious mind wanted me to stay and explore this god-like creature before me.

He made some frustrated noise and took a step towards me, but I backed up, sensing the predator on his prowl. "Answer the question," he growled.

"Ooh," I shuddered mockingly, "I'm so scared." I pursed my lips, tapping my finger against the bottom one as I watched him. "My spidey senses are telling me to say...no."

His eyes sparked in irritation and...arrogance as he regarded me confidently. "Funny," he said casually, "the picture I have looks remarkably like you." He pulled out a photo from his pocket, revealing a picture of me at work. I sucked in a breath, wondering where he had gotten that picture.