Before the Last Snow

Chapter 7: El Beso ( The Kiss)

It has been quite some time since they went into Hedwig's mind. Maybe I should stop reading these beautiful books and check on them.

As I slowly keep the ancient textbooks that I have been obsessing over ever since I could read, I make my way towards the two who are still standing inside a circle of symbols. I can't imagine anything good would come out of touching or meddling with the drawings tía Maud has made, so I try my best to stay away from them.

My eyes turn towards Hedwig and his facial features, his confident posture, and the way his veins pop out of his hand just the right amount. His hair color was a mixture of cinnamon and oak brown, the texture was too fluffy and soft for me to not touch and I almost hesitated before realizing that I could touch him, I could only touch him. So, I rose my hand and brushed it against his hair, being ever so sneaky as to not disturb him. I continued to admire his heavenly seeming characteristics: his poreless skin, his uneven eyelids (one was monolid, while the other was double eyelid), and his dimples so deep that I could drown in them.

Pull yourself together, my inner voice said. I mean, it wasn't like me to just ramble on and on about anyone's features, let alone a man who is a suspect, but the clouds of mystery that surround him only make me want to reach out to him more. I was only pondering and overthinking as suddenly Hedwig and tía Maud opened their eyes, beams of light glowing from them. 

Within a matter of a few seconds, Hedwig's eyes went from lush green to cat-eye, and then almost immediately, his hands gripped on tía's neck, cutting off her air supply, I could hear her mumble something repeatedly. 

"Save Al..."

I wasn't able to make out her words after that anymore, but that didn't matter. I had to somehow save my tía who I have known since childhood from the youngster I was adoring a few minutes ago. I guess life never gives me a break, huh?

I try my best to remove his fingers, now marking red bruises on tía's throat, but to no avail. I think, for a moment, to call someone for help, maybe Lexon or Father, but I remembered that tía must have had them leave for some reason, so I go back to trying. Luckily or not, I was able to touch Hedwig, so I had a chance at saving her, but he was too strong. Tía's face was turning paler and a lighter shade of blue, which meant I had a minute, or less, to save her. The panic of losing someone so close to me filled my heart to the point my eyes became teary, but I had to focus.

Slowly melting with the confusion and panic, my breathing picked up. I was hyperventilating. I think I heard knocking on the door, maybe it was Lexon, maybe Nebula, my senses weren't working at their best. 

I tried again, with a different approach this time. Although I was still new to touching someone, I had seen people get slapped multiple times. I closed my eyes, lifted my right hand, swung it back, and then slammed it right at the very spot I was adoring. Nothing. No movement at all. I am sure that my first slap was hard, but he didn't even flinch.

Only one thing seemed right to do at this point, and I had to, to save tía. Time didn't pause, it just seemed a little slower, I noticed the smell of all the herbs and wildflowers in the room, the wind chimes tinkling, and my sweaty palms. Once again, my eyes wandered to Hedwig's little cleft in his cheek, and then to his chapped lips. Without thinking any further, I took a deep breath, shut my eyes, and in some ridiculous hope of helping, I let my lips touch his cracked ones.

Surprisingly, his lips that were dry enough for some blood to appear, became moisty as I kept pressing them. I sensed a tide of guilt come above me as I not only continued kissing him, but I began finding pleasure in it. The mere thought of this disgusted me, I was ashamed of myself, but I kept thinking "It's for your tía" and when I finally managed to pull myself from him, I stared at the two for any sign of relief. Maybe at any moment, he would get back to his senses and leave tía. Like those young girls plucking flower petals for their love, I said, she'll be fine, she won't, she'll be fine, she won't, she'll be fine, she-

My thoughts were quite interrupted, pleasantly, by tía gasping for air and coughing as her neck only had a necklace, no hands anymore. I ran towards her side, trying to touch her, maybe patting her, but she seemed better than dead.

I felt a strong tap on my shoulder, and as I glanced backward, it was Hedwig. His eyes were no longer gleaming with different shades of green and gray, like a cat, but they were back to their emerald green. He violently dragged me towards him, his one hand still on my shoulder as he twisted me to face in his direction, his other hand on my waist. His raspy voice no longer seemed decent, but dangerous, as he whispered, "How can you just pull back like that? I didn't quite get to enjoy that properly, Crystal."

Crystal? No Princess Crystal? He seemed intoxicated or seduced, perhaps drunk, but how could he step out of his limits in such a manner?

While keeping an eye on tía, I told him, "Hedwig, I did that with no intent of love. I was merely trying to save tía Maud. You were choking her! Now, let me go, at once."

He didn't let go. He gently cupped his hands on my face, then fiercely smashed his lips, forcing me to let him enter. Tía was seeing the whole incident unravel, but she was too weak to intervene. I couldn't let him do this. With all the strength left in my arms, I planted a powerful slap on his cheek, again. But, this time, it worked. He abruptly stopped pushing himself onto me and began taking steps backward. His eyes were roaming around as he only glanced downwards, keeping his head low, and all he kept saying was "I am so sorry, Princess Crystal."

Still taken aback by the happenings today, tía fell to the ground, she was still conscious, thankfully. Hedwig's red cheeks and lack of confidence brought me some content as I sighed in relief, everything seemed fine now. Or so I thought.

A/N

Hello lovelies!

So, a lot happened in this one, huh? Keep reading to find out more about Hedwig and Crystal's twisted relationships, why Tía maud wanted to save Alvaro, and why Oscuro believes that it's Maud's fault that Crystal turned out this way.

The following chapters are going to be one hell of a read, I promise. I am so thankful for all the comments, votes, messages I get regarding the book, it really brings a smile on my face :) So, keep reading, commenting, or voting if you liked this book! And if you're a silent reader, that's fine too ;)