Aftermath

The aftermath of meeting Master Aro was difficult at best.  I wasn’t ashamed to say I was afraid of the man.  He was tall and imposing and with the blazing red eyes, no matter how used to them on others, it was downright scary on that man.  And that is all before my conversation with Lydia when she tells me how he had his own sister killed or some such, just to keep Marcus in line.  She still claims they aren’t Mafia, but I know they have to be something.  Maybe some kind of voodoo type clan, I don’t know. 

What I do know is that I miss Marcus.  Even though we never directly spoke, the loss of being allowed to communicate even through our game was saddening.  Not to mention the fact that I finally saw the men in person and I was even more intrigued, and attracted.  He was also tall like Aro, but with a firmer, more muscular build.  The dark hair fell in clean lines around his pale face and emphasized the red of his eyes. 

Those eyes of his looked at me and I felt like he’d pierced my soul, making me wonder again if it weren’t some voodoo clan set on stealing the hearts and souls of their fellow humans. 

But, as was my nature, I couldn’t leave it go.  I was compelled to contact him again, regardless of the consequences.  Perhaps I should not have, but to be honest, I don’t think I could not have.  I missed the contact so much that it felt as if a part of me was gone.  So I sent him a gift, a valentine on Valentine’s Day.

First, I drew and colored a card with a quote I thought appropriate from what he'd told me of his wife and what I'd heard of him from Lydia and others.

I also, on a whim, included a game.  I had seen an ad for it before and thought he would find it amusing if nothing else.  Besides, with all our talk of Dante, seeing the ad for the game seemed a bit...fated.

I had spent most of the next day making plans for a trip to Paris with Lydia.  She had been such a great friend and with all that had happened, she offered to take me to Paris with her while she explored and searched for her brother.  In a way, I was relieved at the idea, wanting to just get away for a while and clear my head of castle and the strange people here.  Of course, leaving the castle meant leaving Marcus and I wasn’t happy about that.

When I returned from an errand, I found the box I had given Marcus on my desk.  Opening it, I saw a small note of thanks from him, as well as a request for instruction on the game I’d given him.  I smiled then pulled out the velvet covered object.  Pulling the item from the sack, I gasped.  It was a lovely wood carving of a dancing woman.  

I hastily took the statue to my room and set it on the nightstand by my bed so I could see it and think of Marcus each night before sleep.  I smiled as I returned to work.