The Lady Ambrose

SEVEN

(Start of dream)
"Nesrin!" Eunoia giggled, her head popping out the field of sunflowers. "Come and find me!" She ran further into the field.

"Eunoia! Wait for me!" I giggled running in after her.

She giggled and called out my name from all over the field, it was impossible to find her. I continued fishing through the tall flowers looking for her, and soon she grew quiet.

What was once a bright sun shining day turned very quickly to a dark overcast purple sky.

"Eunoia?" I called out to her.

There was no answer. Just the flutter of wings and the caw of ravens as they take to the skies. Just as rapidly as the sky changed, the sunflowers lose their color and wilt, their petals floating to the ground and shriveling up.

"Eunoia! Where are you?" I shout, but again there's no response, and this time my voice bounces back at me.

"Nesrin." I hear Eunoia's raspy voice whisper somewhere nearby.

I move through the leaning dying sunflowers, to see a large porcelain bathtub in a clearing of more dead sunflowers. A few ravens rest on the side of the tub and on the arms of the scarecrow not far from the tub.

I walk hesitantly towards the tub, petals and stems crunch underfoot.

I close my eyes as the crows fly away and my hand touches the rim of the tub. I open my eyes and suddenly they are glued to the tub.

The water is a dark green, and trapped under the surface I see Eunoia. She doesn't move or blink, but her pearly white death kissed eyes stare into the pit of my soul.

"Nesrin." Her voice whispers.
(End of dream)

Startled by what I'd seen I jolted upright in bed and let out a scream. I was relieved to find myself in a bedroom and not in a field of sunflowers. The early morning sun was peeking through the sheer curtains and glowing on my bed. I pull my knees into my chest and hold them there trembling, my heart racing with fear.

After sitting for a while, I get up and begin getting ready for the day; taking my sweet time with it. A long hot shower, breakfast in my robes, tea and a book by the window, and lastly I get dressed for a day with Prince Eros.

All morning that dream kept reappearing in my thoughts, and every time I remembered her face I would get a chill. I found myself outside eventually, sitting on the steps to the back courtyard with a book in my hand.

I tried to drown out the sight of Eunoia's dead face with a good romance but it was no use. Eunoia became the face of every heroine no matter how I tried to push her away.

Soon the sun was high in the sky and I heard someone approaching me from behind.

"My lady." He says softly before sitting down beside me. "Your brothers said I might find you here."

It's Eros. I had been avoiding him, not wanting him to see me so depressed like this. I look down in defeat and close my book slowly before putting it aside. "I'm sorry, I'm not myself today." I explain to him.

"Is that why you avoided me?" He asks, to which I sigh and nod. "Tell me what's wrong." He says leaning towards me, trying to see my face.

I let my hair fall in front of it, blocking him from my view.

"Have you ever lost someone you cared about? A family member or loved one?" I ask him, trying to ease into the subject.

He sighs heavily. "Yes, I have. Is that what this is about? Have you lost someone important to you?"

I swallow hard as I nod. "She was my best friend." My voice cracks.

"How long ago did this happen?" He asks.

My breathing shakes as I inhale and reply, "Yesterday."

"Seriously?" He questions. "And you still went through with the ball."

"I didn't find out until afterwards." I sniffled a little, wiping my nose. "She was murdered on her way to the ball, along with her father and mother."

He sighs heavily and puts his arm around my shoulders. "I'm sorry Nesrin. I know how difficult that is."

"I had a nightmare about her death last night." I wipe a few stray tears. "I can't seem to get it out of my head. And I didn't want you to see me like this. Not when our engagement is supposed to be a happy time."

"Enough of that." He says to me softly but sternly. "You're human, no one expects you to just ignore this pain and move on without even taking time to mourn her. And if they do, they can deal with me, because that's not fair. I don't even expect that of you."

We grew quiet after that. He sat there holding me around my shoulders and rubbing gently with his thumb. I placed my head comfortably in the crook of his neck on his shoulder.

"I lost my grandfather, when I was a boy." He starts to talk and I just listen. "He died of old age, he passed quietly and painlessly in the night. I was with him when he went, his last words to me were; "never give up on her, she's out there somewhere; and it's up to you to find her."."

"Her?" I question, immediately thinking he had a lover.

"My future bride." He replied. "He and my grandmother were betrothed since childbirth, and he loved her very much. My grandparents both believed that they were destined to be together, and they believe that there is someone out there that their grandchildren are destined to be with too. He was encouraging me not to give up looking for her and not to settle for anything less than what I desire."

He grows quiet again for a while after that. It's a breezy autumn day and the sun is warm on my face. My tears were gone for the time being and I stared out into the fountain.

"Let's go for a walk shall we?" He stands and holds out his hand to me. "Some fresh air in the gardens with surely clear your head."

I smile gratefully and take his hand. He helps me to stand and then continues holding my hand as we walk together towards the gardens.

"When my grandfather was around," Eros began sharing more of his childhood with me. "We got into so much mischief, my siblings and I." He smiled deviously. "We'd pull pranks on him all the time, and if we pulled a good enough prank he'd give us a prize."

I chuckled at that. "You naughty kids." I tease him.

"It was all in good fun, none of our pranks were dangerous." He laughs in defense. "The rule was we were only allowed to pull pranks on him, otherwise we'd get in trouble with mother and father."

"I wasn't really a prankster growing up." I remark as we turn into the beginning of the maze. "But I loved playing tag. I wasn't particularly good at it but I loved being chased and being caught. Though I have no idea why." I giggled a little. "Eunoia and I-" I paused when I said her name out loud. I stopped walking and Eros turned to face me.

"Eunoia was your best friend, right?" He asks as I feel tears start welling up in my eyes.

"It's still hard for me to talk about her." I say wiping the corners of my eyes. "At any rate, we used to play tag here in the gardens with my brothers."

"These gardens?" He asks leading me forward into the maze more.

"Yes; that's right." I reply reluctantly following him. "The center of the maze was the safe spot."

He then spun me around until I was a few feet in front of him, with a smirk on his face he tugs on the cuff of his shirt and says, "I'm giving you a ten second head start, then I'm coming after you."

I stand there in disbelief for a moment. Confused.

"We're playing tag silly girl. I'm it, you have ten seconds. One!" He begins counting. When I realize it myself I take off running the other direction, kicking off my heels and giggling madly, like a child.

"Eight! Nine! Ten! Here I come!" He yells chasing after me.