Darker Days Downward

CHAPTER TWO - Graveyard Run

“He looked into Belle’s eyes as she almost went out of her mind. Belle felt like she couldn’t see anything but this immortal beauty in front of her.”

Belle’s heart began to race madly; this was the point in her life where she found herself questioning reality from a dream. Just behind the teacher’s desk, fairly illuminated by the sun coming through the window was the most beautiful man Belle had ever seen her whole life. Cythare Elven was tall, equally lean with an untidy yet elegant bloody hair that waved gloriously behind his neck. His allure stood out all over the room, especially when his skin glowed angrily back at the sun. He was pale white, the palest person in the university as Belle had assumed. He had deep black eyes with faint shadows of purple underneath – as if he had not slept for weeks.

But it was not why Belle could look away; she constantly stared because no matter how she would face him, he was immortally beautiful. He looks exactly the same as the drawing from the book she had been reading; very much identical. How could this be possible? She thought.

Belle blinked, finally breaking away from captivation. She noticed that all the girls present in the classroom seemed to be hypnotized by his figure, which papers came falling from their grasp. While the guys were all of a sudden filled with envy at the kind of phenomenon their new professor brought along with him.

“Good morning class – I am Professor Cythare Elven,” greeted Cythare musically. His rosy lips were in perfect symmetry with his face the moment he talked. Belle shivered at this, quite shocked at the coincidence that he had the same name as the character of the fiction she read. “I think you are all aware that Professor Vane could not be coming to work anymore therefore you guys will be spending the rest of the semester with me.”

“I have been exposed to different aspects of history for quite a long time already,” Cythare began walking towards the students. “I assure you that we won’t be leaving any area of the past unturned.” He smiled; the whole class suddenly went into gasping and awe.

He came past Belle as she and Flannery quickly sat up straight. It was as if time had paused or moved so much slower than usual. She met his eyes; it was cold – and deep. He stared back at her; there was something that Belle thought moved inside his eyes. It was constantly trying to pull her in, but she resisted. She was gripping herself until all of a sudden the picture from the book flashed into her mind and it was as if a knot has been cut by a giant sheers. She jerked backwards, bumping to the back seat of her wooden chair. What had she just felt? It was so hard to explain. She watched as he moved gracefully past everyone, surveying each of his new students like a predator picking a potential prey.

“What happened to you Belle?” Flannery whispered, as Belle appeared to have just seen a ghost.

Belle was still distracted. She watched as their new professor was introducing himself now at the back of the class. How on earth could this be possible? Is the day playing tricks on me…? Her mind drifted back to the pages of Darker Days Downward…

…

It was the 17th day of October, 1743. This was the time of the year where the days are shorter and the nights are longer – very much alive. Father was troubled, the whole council was actually. News that a psycho killer is walking the very streets of Paris scattered a week ago after the whole family of Bellizare were found dead inside their dwelling. Blood was scattered everywhere with all their bodies drained from it.

It was actually strange for I never even laid interest to any one of them. This leaves me wondering whether it was my brother who did this foolishness. We should be more careful now that everyone is aware… our secret might be out and exposed. I could not imagine the look on father’s face if this happened.