The Harem- The Burning Beauty

Chapter Two-Eternal Dark

 Eternal Dark

"I woke to the day with darkness dimming my sight
No sun to keep the shadows at bay
Nay, my sun gloweth only by night..."

-London

      It was a dream. It had to be even though it felt so real. She was still sleeping and all of this was a dream. Soon she’d awake beside her husband, in his arms. Yes…that was the only logic to what she was seeing and feeling. Cassandra remembered pure pain as she slept, she remembered a salty yet sweet taste on her tongue…then everything was numb and dark. Now she was surfacing from that dream, she felt it. Her eyes moved behind her lids and her lips parted slowly as she took a slow even breath. She registered quickly that there was no pain…in fact she felt wonderful. It was safe to open her eyes.

The room was pitch black in darkness…but she could make out a few furniture and other objects. Despite the dark, she knew that the bed and room she was laying in was not hers. She was not in her house, and when she looked beside her, there was no Stephen sleeping soundly. So where was she? Was she still asleep? No this wasn’t a dream…

“Where am I?” She whispered into the darkness. Her voice was so clear and almost enchanting to her ears.

She pushed at the heavy coverlet and felt that her clothing was gone. She was naked and alone in a dark strange room. This situation was becoming worst for her. She decided that it was best she stayed where she was till she found a nightgown or robe or something to adorn. But how was she to find anything in the dark?

Suddenly there was a sound from somewhere in the room. It sounded like a lock sliding into place. Someone was coming in. She clutched the covers to her chest and held her breath, praying that she knew the person who was probably turning the knob. Cassandra couldn’t be anymore vulnerable than she was right then, and that thought scared her but she had to be brave. She held her breath and waited for what felt like a year and a day for the door to crack open. A beam of light sliced into the darkness and slowly grew as the door was pushed ajar. She squinted but kept her eyes trained on the opening, waiting for a figure to come into view. She dared not to blink, not to breathe and most definitely not to move, but whoever it was they were taking their time in revealing themselves. Slowly a dark figure slipped into the light from the corridor and placed a shadow over the quivering frame of Cassandra. Still she held her breath and found that she had no turmoil in doing so a bit longer. She waited in a suspense that seemed to grow with every second that dragged by, for the figure to do something other than open the door.

“Awake I see…” It was a mild and silky voice that sounded like nightingales singing their lullabies. Cassandra finally released the breath and found that she still could’ve held it longer. That was odd to her, but now didn’t seem the time to dwell upon trivial matters.

“Who are you?” She asked as the silhouette of a petite woman stepped into the room. She kept her eyes on her and saw that she could almost make out a profile. When she’d inhale she tasted lilacs and magentas in the air. Tasted same to be the appropriate word because the aroma went beyond her sense of sent and left the sweet fragrance dancing on the buds at the back of her tongue.

“No one that you should fear little flower.” The voice sang again. Cassandra couldn’t help feeling a slight bit relaxed under the spell of that voice. It was as if her voice had a different message of its own to deliver than what her tongue had formed. It called out for Cassandra, willed her to be calm. So she loosened her grip on the comforter and sighed in the fragrance of her visitor.