The Count's Princess (Completed)

Dreams ... or Memories

I snuggled into bed and tried to get the moment I spoke to Carmichael out of my head. I closed my eyes and drifted off.

I woke up the next morning wishing for the silk sheets that accompanied me in my dream. I was dressed in such a lavish nightgown while lying in a Queen-sized bed. There was a voice reading to me and I felt the person's arm around me. I don't know what story they were reading but it was beautiful. It was warm. It was definitely a man's voice. It was also Romanian.

I woke up loving the dream and wished for another just like it when I go to bed later.

I went to work and for once tried to remember my life in Romania. I thought about the savings I've worked up over the past few years and wondered if I should try and visit the celebrity's home I stayed at in Romania. Throughout the morning I created a make-believe plan to go and visit the country and try to find out the man's name that had taken me in until my aunt picked me up. Carmichael's face made many appearances in my mind and I tried to ignore them the best I could. At lunch I waved at him and he smiled back. He didn't seem interested in sitting with me and I tried to not allow that to get to me.

I sat with Debby and Steve and we talked about summer plans for once the school year was over. We just had a week left and I was the only one who still had a boring summer.

The bell rang and we all three stood up.

"Oh, I forgot to ask you about a date later."

"Steve, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm just not interested."

"Until you say yes." I looked around the room and found Carmichael glaring daggers right at Steve. The look on the man was familiar but I couldn't recall ever seeing such a face on him.

"Bye, Steve."

"Bye, Mags."

After school as I walked to my car, Carmichael came up from behind and said hi.

"Oh, hi!" We hadn't talked all day and it was an oxymoron that we were saying hi as we were leaving.

"Are you and Mr. Shelver dating?" Carmichael was definitely nervous about asking that question. He definitely did not look like the guy who would get jealous over a girl like me or even a guy like Steve.

"Why would you like to know?" I gave him a mean grin and he looked taken back by it.

"Well," he looked away and stared at his interchanging feet. "There isn't any real reason. I was just wondering." I gave him a confused look and he made sure to avoid eye contact.

"Okay,"

"Bye!" And like that he was gone.

I woke up smiling again after having another amazing dream.

There was a giant, crackling fireplace in a grand stone hall. I laid up against a huge fur couch that felt as though it was breathing. I wore a red dress that defied all beauty with dresses of today and looked as though it belonged to a Queen from the dark ages. An arm was wrapped around me and the hand of it rubbed at my brachium. The hand of the man—and I knew it was a man because his long legs were outstretched in front of us with my red dress and he wore slacks and pointy shoes—were white but red from the fire light but also bore claw like nails at the end of his fingers. At first I thought the dream would be a nightmare but instead I snuggled up to the man and allowed myself to get lost in the moment.

Was it Christmas? Something inside me told me that it was Christmas.

The weather was nice today and there was a deep yearning for gloomy weather and fog floating above a lining of trees ... and ... a dark castle on a hill.

I shook my head as I walked into the bathroom and laughed to myself because I was just picturing my time in Romania.

I went to school and ran into Carmichael in the parking lot.

"Good morning, Maggy," he said with a tip of his baseball cap.

"Mornin', Carmichael," he wore a jacket that covered his neck and kept his pointy ears tucked into his cap. I glanced down to see if the man had truly covered every inch of his body and my assumptions were correct. He wore socks that hid inside his slacks. His hands were stuck in his pockets and I realized that his hands were always there.

"I want to do something the week after school gets out." Debby said as she bit into her lettuce rap at lunch. Steve was eating his ramen noodles and I my salad.

"Why not the week we get out?" I looked at Steve and let out a snuff of laughter at his slurping. Little droplets of yellow soup stuck to his unshaven chin. I had asked him last week why he started to grow it out and he claimed that he always had a good looking beard for the Summer.

His question had me thinking why he had only recently begun to sit with us. "Steve, why do you sit with Debby and I all of a sudden?" I asked.

"Well, I'll be honest." He leaned in and us girls followed. "There is now a very good looking guy here and I need to make sure I keep my pretty nurse all to myself." I scoffed and sat back. I looked at Carmichael and caught him turning his head from looking at me.

If the guy likes me so much, why hasn't he asked me out? I mean, he kind of acts like a creep. He is incredibly lucky that he's cute.

"Oh, and to answer your question," Debby gestured to Steve, "I actually really want to go to the hot pots. But when you have a bunch of kids getting out of school they right away go to that spot! And I don't want to have to share with a bunch of teenagers who might just be super gross or stupid."

"Fair enough." Steve said.

"Who'll be going?" I asked.

"Us three, ... John, ... Camden, ... Lucile, ... "

"We should invite Austin," Steve butted in.

"Austin, ... Annette, ... . That's perfect—makes it even." Debby held up four fingers on each hand. "Oh but I wanted to invite Antonio."

"Invite another girl,"

"I can't, everyone else is married."

"Then which guy can't go."

At the end of the day, I received a text from Debby saying that John and Camden wouldn't be able to make it. Instead she invited Antonio and Carmichael. For some reason I wanted to shrivel up and hide. I didn't want Carmichael to go. He's awkward enough as it is.

I tried to ignore the fact that he was going to be there with my swimsuit on and him in trunks but suddenly images of him being shirtless wouldn't escape my mind.

I went to bed wishing for another blissful dream.

I was on a ferris wheel. I was in London. It was night. There was someone across from me but I kept my gaze out towards the lighted city. I looked forward to steal a glimpse of the man in front of me but instead there was a concert and I was in a box seat. The sound of the orchestra was beautiful as they played below on the stage. My hand was squeezed and I looked at the cause. A man's large, white hand was wrapped around my own. I leaned my head on his shoulder and next thing I knew, I was being carried into a hotel room by the same stranger. He laid me down onto the bed and kissed me goodnight.

I woke with confusion, for the dream felt so real. And it didn't feel like a dream at all, but a once reality.