Midnight's Song (35 page)

When it was over, at first neither of
us said a word. We quietly and reluctantly parted from each other.
Even though Aurelian knew that this was dangerous, he had let me
kiss him anyway. Even though he had forced me out; in saying
nothing it was as if he had welcomed me in. Soon the concoction of
hormones began to quiet down and logic took over. The reality of
the situation set in. We were clearly connected now in a deeper way
than just the physical world – but we were still apt to deny it all
we could.

“You must go now,” he whispered. “I
won’t let anything happen to you, I promise. But, you have to go
home now. No one can see you here with me.”

A bittersweet
feeling overcame me as I wished with all that was in me that I
could stay here with him forever. Of all the feelings I knew how to
decipher, this wasn’t one of them – but I knew that being here with
him simply felt right.
I didn’t quite take
into consideration anything that had happened today, nor did I
think that these powers were ones far greater than I knew I was now
dealing with.

“Alright,” I quietly nodded. “I will
see you again.”

We parted from each
other in a daze, and somehow I found my way back onto the path
without any problems. You might even have been able to say that the
path cleared
itself
for me.

“No, Winston. You
don’t understand. I
can’t!”
I exclaimed to him on the upstairs balcony four
days later.

Whenever someone asked, it was just
assumed that I wouldn’t say anything about what happened. Ever
since the day of the incident, a dark, shadowy cloud had been
looming over my life and the lives of everyone in the Estate. My
near kidnapping and the kiss that I had shared with Aurelian that
night seemed far off now – feeling as if it were a distant
dream.

Every day, the
Magistrate’s oppression over our household intensified. Every day
now he came on the radio to make a new announcement about his laws
and new methods that they would be using to punish the perpetrators
of witchcraft. The people in the house could only guess that their
days may have been numbered, but they couldn’t know exactly why.
But I knew that these new announcements had to be meant for
me.

“Celeste! Why must you be so
stubborn?” Winston exclaimed in return. “Why can’t you tell me what
my uncle has done to you? It’s no secret that something happened
between the two of you when you were alone in that
room!”

Although he was understandably
frustrated, he was ignorant. I couldn’t bear it any longer! I
couldn’t be seen with him anymore – not just because I didn’t love
him, but because I knew that it was my duty to keep him safe. I’d
told him that I couldn’t be seen with him anymore, yet somehow he
interpreted that as an invitation to come on to me stronger than
ever before.

“Winston, stop doubting
me!” I screamed. “You know just as well as I do that your uncle is
capable of doing many things. I can’t tell you what he did to me,”
I paused, on the verge of crying. “I cannot put you in harm’s
way.”

“Celeste –” he began, but I quieted
him.

“Stop calling me by that
name,” I demanded in tears. “It’s not my name! Don’t play stupid!
He knows my name, and so do you.”

He beckoned my name once again, but
this time I couldn’t stand it anymore. Concealing who I was didn’t
matter anymore. The Magistrate knew – and nothing could have been
more detrimental than that.

“Alright,
Elissa.
I will admit the truth to you –
I’ve known your name for a long while. But, it’s never mattered to
me. Because
I’m in love with
you!”

My heart dropped. I’d
known he was infatuated with me this entire time, but I’d never
wanted to think that he loved me. Especially not now! I looked into
his eyes and saw him convey a depth to me that made my spirit
understand that he wasn’t lying or saying the words with any type
of superficial hinge. As much as I had always resented the idea of
being with Winston, I still cared for him. I didn’t want to see him
get hurt. Remembering the warning of the Magistrate, I realized
that meant that he was in jeopardy now more than ever. This was my
worst nightmare.

“Winston…” I
whispered, tears now streaming down my face. “
No…
don’t say that. Please, whatever
you do, don’t say that –”

“Elissa, just listen to
me. I want you to know that as long as I am here, I will use every
ounce of power I have to protect you,” Winston reassured all too
proudly. “He will not hurt me, I am his great nephew!”

I shook my head. Even Winston didn’t
know the capabilities of this ruthless man. As much as I protested,
he wouldn’t cease. He gently took me by the wrists and pulled me in
closely. He did it with a tenderness I’d never experienced from him
before.

“Elissa…I brought you out here to
propose something to you. It’s an idea – just an idea. But, it has
been my intention to do this in the case that my uncle would not
approve of you all along. Well…it has actually been my intention to
ask you this regardless…” Winston was now clearly stammering,
approaching a question so large that he could barely make his way
to it. “But I wanted to ask if you would consider becoming my
wife.”

I opened my eyes and
shuddered.
No – this couldn’t be
happening!
Not now. The distress in my
expression could be clearly read the moment that I said it. The
feelings of hurt couldn’t be concealed any longer, and they seemed
to nearly overwhelm him.

“Just consider saying
you’re engaged to me for the time being. I know you’re not of age –
but if you say you are my fiancée it would at least give you a
small amount of protection. It’s one of the only things I can offer
right now.”

“Winston, I – I can’t. I can’t marry
you,” I stammered in response. “Not now.”

“You don’t have to marry
me in the end if you don’t want to!” He pleaded. “Only say that
you’re engaged to me right now, and promise me that you’ll at least
consider marrying me when you come of age. I love you, Elissa. I
only want to see you safe.”

I couldn’t stand it
anymore. Winston didn’t know – he couldn’t know – yet he
had
to be told the truth
if he was to understand. N

“Winston, it’s not that I’m not fond
of you…” I sobbed. “I have been told things that I dare not tell
you. If I tell you, he will do his very worst.”

“Elissa, whatever he has said he will
do – please, just tell me! If you remain close to me, it would be
much more difficult for him to take you. I am within his family –
that would complicate whatever plans he has. Even the Magistrate is
not without the scrutiny of his own family.”

Winston gently
caressed my cheeks, acting as if he intended to kiss me. Now I felt
just a little bit of relief as I realized that his words might be
true – but I still couldn’t bear the thought of putting my family
in any more danger than they were already in. In my mind, I weighed
my options. Having him be unaware of what could kill him seemed
like an injustice all itself – I needed to warn him
somehow…but
how?
Finally, I made up my mind that I would take Winston behind
closed doors and tell him. I didn’t want to tell him the entire
mess – it seemed too dangerous. But, I would tell him just enough
to make sure he knew that the Magistrate would be scrutinizing
us.

“
Alright!”
I continued to sob. “I
will consider. But first, I must tell you the
truth.”

“Yes, please. Tell me anything,” he
softly told me in reply.

“…I can’t tell you here.
We have to wait and meet somewhere else.”

“Do you believe we may be
followed?”

“Yes. That’s why you
must tell absolutely
no
one.”

He gave me a cursory nod,
and we agreed to meet later that day. None of us knew exactly when
or where, but we promised each other that we would. I would send
for him when I was ready. I was unaware of it, but even among the
servants the Magistrate’s eyes and ears were everywhere.

“Alright, Winston,”
I whispered. We stood in the dark hallway of the servants’
corridor, our conversation lit only by a single flickering candle.
It appeared that we were alone, but even then we tried to remain
nearly silent. “I will tell you. But you must vow never to tell a
soul. And if they find out that you know it – don’t wait.
Leave
this place as fast as you
can!”

He nodded in silent agreement, urging
me to go on. I quietly explained to him what had happened to me. I
gave him loose details, hoping not to reveal anything that might
seem too blasphemous if the words would ever leave this room.
Though, even that was enough to condemn us both. After telling him
what he Magistrate told me about the fortune, I told him what he
had threatened. It was foolish of me to do it, even if there wasn’t
anyone there. But, I told him anyway. In the end, Winston was
astonished.

“Elissa…I don’t know what to say,” his
voice crackled. “I can only tell you…we must all be careful. I will
take this matter to the high court –”

“No!” I demanded. “Don’t
you understand? You can’t breathe a word of it! Promise me that you
won’t. Please!”

I was such a fool for telling
him!

“Alright…I
won’t.”

Even though life hung in the balance
now, for some reason he didn’t see this exactly the same way I did.
Maybe my details were too loose – or maybe he was too much of a
loyalist. Maybe he was just prideful or arrogant, perhaps just
stupid. Whatever the case, he didn’t see it as of big of a deal. In
his mind, I knew he meant well by thinking that he could find a way
around this. But, in reality it was all just fatal
arrogance.

After we were
finished, we parted ways. For reasons of safety, I insisted that we
left each other using different stairwells. As I made my way up
toward the entryway so that I could go to my room – I heard what I
thought were Winston’s footsteps going the opposite direction. For
some reason though, they didn’t sound like they could have come
from his big, thick feet. Instead of stepping, it was a nimble and
feminine
shuffling
.

I shuddered, praying that it wasn’t
anyone who the Magistrate was using as a spy.

I turned the brass doorknob and went
back into the hallway, letting out a small sigh of relief when I
saw that Beeti wasn’t standing anywhere nearby. Though, as soon as
I stepped out into the main hall I could feel eeriness in the air.
I saw what appeared to be the silhouette of a shadow shooting
across the corner. For some reason, it intrigued and entranced me.
I simply couldn’t keep myself from following it.

I turned the same corner and saw it
there, almost waiting for me. It moved again, leading me directly
into my room. As soon as I entered in, a gush of air pushed the
door closed behind me. The shadow disappeared, and in unison with
the door slamming shut my balcony doors flew open. Curiously and
cautiously, I followed the air and slowly crept out onto the
balcony. Now it was sunset, and the world outside beamed with a
radiant orange glow. I caught a glimpse of the fiery sunset, still
bright enough to blind me so that I would close my eyes. When I
opened them again, I saw Aurelian standing before me.

“Elissa, it’s me! Don’t scream!” he
cautiously whispered.

Instead of being pleasantly surprised
I was initially terrified. I jumped back, nearly slapping him in
the face when I realized that it was him. Then came the wave of
emotions. I saw his face and felt a burst of energy and joy, then
anger. Now my feelings and the memories of my feelings were coming
back all at once, and they were bubbling up in a fiery
explosion.

“Aurelian!” I exclaimed at first.
“You’re here!”

But in the next few seconds, I
realized where I was and shut myself up.

“Wait – you’re here?!” I suddenly
recollected in a loud whisper. “Why are you here?! Don’t you
realize how dangerous this is?! And how on earth did you get into
my –”

“Elissa, calm down!” Aurelian
interrupted in a hushed whisper. “I just had to see
you.”

“But – but, why here?” I argued in
response. “Don’t you realize that my entire house is being watched
by the Magistrate?”

“I had to see you
now
because
of
that! Your home and family are being watched by more eyes than just
those of the Magistrate. In these last few days I’ve tried to stay
away, but it’s only made things worse. I’ve tried to keep my
distance from you for a very long time, but now we’ve been pulled
into this together and there’s no longer any way that you will not
be involved in this.” He softly explained. “I’m sorry – truly. But
I couldn’t put it off. I had to tell you as soon as I
could.”

“Wait,” I spoke up.
“Are you saying that there are bigger things after me now? Bigger
than even the
Magistrate?
”