The Harem- The Burning Beauty

Chapter One -The Burning Beauty

The Burning Beauty. Chapter one 

"He seeked me out in the darkness and stole my breath from the flames only to cool my flesh with the sweet copper flow of blood and the kiss of death."

-London

England, December 12th, 1816 DC

The air was impenetrable and the darkness created an uneasy sense of suffocation. No one in their right mind would think it safe to walk the night at such an unnerving late hour. Yet, there in the stillness, moved three things; the wind, the fog and Cassandra.

“Stephen! Where are you?” She called into the darkness. Stephen, her husband for but a few months had went to fetch fire wood to chase away the cold from their small cottage. He had said it would be but a few minutes, but a few minutes had long passed and Cassandra’s nerves had gone on the wing of his promise. So there she stood, her full bodice dress trailing in the frosty snow and her breath staining the darkened air in pale, wispy gusts. She tramped the frozen earth carefully in hopes that she would not step on thin ice or stumble in her house gown.

“Stephen! Please, come back…” She cried, feeling cold from fear more than from the dewy night. She looked behind her and saw that she was traveling rather far from home and nearing the profuse, dark forest. Considering the possible danger from wild beasts in that could be hidden from her eyes, she feared for both of their safety. Cassandra searched about her eagerly in hopes that she spotted a glimpse of auburn hair in the dark, yet she saw nothing. Again, she looked back to the cabin and cursed her self for not bringing the lantern with her, but she had gone too far to turn back now, and so, she carried on.

“Stephen!” She called again, hoping that there would be an echo of his voice answering, but there was nothing. Cassandra saw that there was no other solution; she must go in search of her husband. With careful feet, she made the final steps over the bushy threshold and pass rough slick barks.

     Twigs and branches pulled at her hair and clothes as if to trap her  and quickly she was reminded why she  always hated it there. She had told herself one time ago that nothing could will her into such an spooky place. Well, apparently Stephen had succeeded where her courage didn’t. She strode deeper into the shrubs and roughed bark trees, every now and then having to clear her waist length hair or pale blue dress from the branches that grabbed at her.

A chill ran up Cassandra’s spine at the sound of a whisper behind her. She turned swiftly and saw nothing but trees and snow. She was sure she heard a whisper, but perhaps she was projecting. Cassandra’s greatest fear was being alone in the dark; it was only her love for Stephen that urged her on.

“Stephen? Is that you?” She said in a hushed voice. If it wasn’t her Stephen, she didn’t want the wrong person catching her alone and vulnerable. No answer came, and no sounds were heard, so she rejected the thought that she had heard anything.

      Onward she went into the forest till she came to a clearing. She inhaled a quivering breath and was thankful to not feel trapped by the trees and shrubs any longer. Cassandra’s instincts told her that Stephen would never come this far simply for fire wood. She was more than convinced about that fact, so she looked about her again and made a step backwards.

“Cassandra…” She stopped sudden and so did her heart at the sound of a whisper behind her. The chill ran through her again but this time it raised all the hair on her body and tightened the muscles in her shoulders to a painful ache. Her cobalt blue eyes searched about her and once again she saw nothing. That was all Cassandra needed to know that there was truly someone there. She turned fully and lifted her skirts as she sprinted from the area. Perhaps Stephen had headed back to the cottage. There was hope for that, and if not, he could survive better than she could there.