Melody of Blood and Night

Four

He gazed into her sharp, Elysian eyes, completely mesmerised. They were blue yet green like the ocean. A perfect combination swirling in them, flecked with the most vivid iridescent colours. It seemed as if the light of the sun was trapped in her upturned eyes forever, just like the little rainbow that would bounce off the waves in the sea under the sunshine.

They sparked within him, a feeling of warmth and comfort. His eyes couldn't help but take in the rest of her beauty. Her prominent cheekbones, visible even from beneath her mask and lusciously full lips that complimented the perfect elegance of her face.

His gaze cruised her bold curves and slender waist, utterly awestruck. He had seen women who possessed exquisite splendour, but she was different, somehow familiar. Her strikingly divine eyes made him feel like he could tell her anything.

-----

Images, memories flew past her eyes. Two Kings and two Queens. Their children playing in a beautiful garden on a lush carpet of soft grass.

A boy with disheveled hair the colour of polished mahogany, his remarkable violet eyes sparkling with laughter. He ran past two pretty girls. Twins. One ivory like the moon and the other, ebony like the night.

They sat on the verdant ground, cross-legged, giggling as the girl with eyes as opalescent as the moon, braided her sister's untamable midnight tresses into an elegant braid. Picking a vivid coloured flower from the pile beside her before weaving it within her twin's hair. A smile full of love playing on her tiny, cupid lips.

She blinked. Hard. Burying the past deep down into the dark voids of her mind. Then, flashing the Prince a dazzling smile she answered, "Depends."

"On?" He probed, eyes sparkling with playful mischief.

"On who I am to escape with." She replied, mirroring his expression.

The Prince chuckled, revealing a wickedly distracting dimple in his left cheek. "Fair enough. Then, would you like to escape with me?" He offered.

"I was half afraid you would ask me to dance." She confessed, her voice low and heavy as she took his outstretched hand.

"Oh, I will. Just not here. Not to this melody."

They stepped out onto the unoccupied balcony, through elegantly constructed glass doors, just as the piece ended.

The moon had bathed the checkered floor in soft, silvery light as the crisp winter breeze caressed her cheek.

Aedlyn gripped the railing, tipping her head back as she closed her eyes, every other sound faded in the background, except for the soft music that began to play in the ballroom and the evergreen melody of the night.

-----

He watched her, utterly enchanted by the way she glowed under the Oak Moon, admiring the way its opalescent light shone upon her face. His almost forgot to breathe when she turned, her dress catching the moonlight's silver glow, shimmering like the stars twinkling in the night sky above them.

He couldn't believe that he had been so fortunate as to gain the company of this intriguing woman. He had been dreading tonight for almost a mouth. After all it was he who had to deal with all the smiling, two-faced aristocrats. But she wasn't like them.

Ever since he had laid eyes on her for the first time from across the room, he had know she was different. Special. She looked Royal. More than Royal. But the way she made her way through the crowds.....its was graceful. Elegant, like the night. It had taken him a considerable amount of effort not to lose her amongst the swarm of nobles.