The Secret Muse (#1)

Chapter 20

Her hair is a fiery red. Her skin is pale as the snow. Her smile is radiant but now it's gone. She lays down on the ground, broken and alone. The looming darkness emerges, ready to take her soul.

I can feel my body in pain. Too dizzy to see my surroundings. I can hear the faint crashing of metal, and the screams of agony as the grassy ground tickles my skin.

My left hand feels itchy but I'm too weak to scratch it. With more determination, I open my eyes to see my hand bleeding. Past my hands are men fighting against each other. One with a cape and armor, the other wearing a tunic and chainmail.

Someone suddenly yanked me upright, to see a woman with red hair and pale skin wiping something from my face. I could barely hear her but her eyes started to well with tears. When she buried her face in my neck as she cried, I saw someone standing a few meters away from us, wearing a white robe that covered most of her face.

It's her. Her lips turned up into a cryptic smile then pointed to my right. When I slowly looked over my shoulder, I saw standing stones being destroyed. One of them bears a familiar symbol. It's the symbol. A knot in a circular shape.

I sat up abruptly, jolting my head to move forward. Panting, I try to calm myself by breathing deeply while wiping the sweat around my face and neck. My mind is in a complete blankness. I could barely remember my dream even then, I could feel the fatigue in my body.

I then look at my hand, I can barely close it but there's no mark whatsoever. Confirming that it's just a bad dream. Sighing, I get off the bed and walk towards my window. The wind caressed my cheeks, cooling me down.

This nightmare is rather different from the ones I usually have. It's almost sunrise. The sky darkens the city. The view is exquisite. No electrical lights in view, giving way to the illuminating light of the starry sky. This is something I can never see in the 20th century.

"Madonna, your bath is ready," Franzia said. I took off all of my clothes, pooling around me as they fell on the floor. I step out of them and carefully get in the warm bath Franzia has prepared for me. Feeling calmer, I closed my eyes in relaxation. When I opened them again, the water turned red with blood. Jolting upwards, making me scream. Franzia immediately came toward me with concern. "Antonia, are you alright?" She asks. When I look back down, the blood disappears, only to realize that it might have been my hair I mistook for blood.

Massaging my temples, I nodded my head yes and said, "Yes, I'm fine. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Despite confirming that I was all right, Franzia's concern only grew. "You're so pale. You look as if you have seen a ghost." She said, checking my temperature with the back of her hands.

"I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind is all." I lied. Whether she believed me or not, she chose not to say anything.

After dressing up, I immediately went down the stairs and towards the parlor for today, we go to church. Every Sunday, the church will be filled with Florentines to hear the homily.

On the first pews, the great families sit including the members of the Signoria. My Aunt Simona and I are seated a few rows back from the Medici pews.

While everyone was silently listening to the homily, I couldn't help but think about the dream I had followed by the vision that I saw as I bathed.

I can sense that my Aunt knows something's on my mind, she holds my hands and tightens her hold to reassure me that she's here for me. I look up at her and smile in gratitude.

When the mass has ended, everyone slowly exits the church. My mind was still wandering about my dream when someone called my name. When I turned to my left, I saw Giuliano's tall form smiling at me. "Good morning, Simona." He said, nodding towards Aunt Simona who smiled at him. "Antonia." He continued, shifting his eyes towards me from my Aunt.