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Ladykiller
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- Posted: Sat, 26 Jun 2010 00:53:13 +0000
Prologue: Reverse Déjà vu
My name’s Louis Sybelle Quinne and my memory has always been quite cloudy for as long as I can remember. Perhaps something is wrong with me. I live here in this place. It is a dark wooden place full of halls and rooms. There are other people who live here too, they change a lot. I’ve never left this place, this great thing that has no windows or doors leading outward.
I’m Louis and I’m with a boy named Sullivan now. I believe I’ve been with him for a while. I remember day after day talking with him in this room filled of puzzles and books.
When I look at these pieces of gleaming pictures all around the walls I see a boy. Sullivan tells me that it shows how other people distinguish me. I guess he is right, because when he stands alongside me I see him as I always have.
I look at myself in the oval and see blonde waves falling around my face. I see light, slate grey eyes that are iridescent and round. My face appears strange with low eyebrows that make me look upset even though I’m not.
Then I look over at Sullivan and see him. Sullivan has deep brown hair that is long enough to trace his jaw. It is delicate and curved and makes him look feminine. His hair is parted to the side with a lock of hair over one of his dark eyes. He makes me look skinny and disheveled with his round perfect face that holds a creamy white tone. Sullivan’s countenance is timid and sweet as he looks at me strangely.
I smile and look away apologetically. I always forget that it’s rude to stare.
Not very long after I realize that Sullivan must be mistaken though. These reflective pictures also show other people as well. There are people who are not here in the room with us that I see. Perhaps I shouldn’t mention it yet because Sullivan often gets angry when you correct him. I might bring it up at another time.
Sullivan laughs at the way I talk. He says it sounds uneducated and immature. I get angry a bit and say that he is wrong. A few moments later my face scrunches up and I reluctantly ask him what ‘immature’ means. Sullivan smiles and calmly explains.
“Immature is when you act like you shouldn’t act.” He confided in me quietly. “When somebody says you’re immature it means that you should be more grown up.”
I look at him blankly and bite my lip. If he thinks I should be more grown up, then he’s wrong. I don’t need to be an adult like my father and the others. Maybe Sullivan should think about being less insensitive and just being what he is without worrying what others will think. I think about saying this out loud to him, but I bite harder on my lip and smile.
Sullivan grins at me with a confused sentiment brimming at his eyes. Suddenly his face goes solemn and his features are drained of all color. I was afraid for a moment that he might have died. Then a whisper seeped from his lips as he clicked to life.
“…I’m a horrible brother…”
I was going to ask Sullivan what he meant, but before I could he dashed out of the room and into the halls. I was dazed by the change of things as I ran after him. I followed for what seemed like forever behind him. I was following him down the maze of passages and doors, occasionally exclaiming to him that he should slow down.
Sullivan gained a considerable lead and it became harder and harder to keep him in sight. My side began to pound with pain and I had to stop. With amazement I saw he finally ceased running to enter a doorway that was a couple of feet left out of my view.
A loud noise entered my ears and urged me to see what it was from. I ran to the door with tenderness still in my abdomen. When I entered the room all I saw was Sullivan down on his knees as if he had fallen there. His hair covered almost all of his face and I heard muffled sobbing. I dropped with a hollow noise beside him to ask him what was wrong. He pointed his lean finger out in front of him. A dread I had never known in my life entered me as I followed his outstretch arm and saw what he had seen moments before.
It was a boy who looked a lot like Sullivan. He had the same features but lighter hair and a much skinnier face. His skin had bruises covering it actually and cuts. He was bleeding. He was lying in a puddle of his own blood that was saturating his clothes and hair. He was soaking in the dark clotted substance. And the boy was dead. His lips were blue and his wrists were cut and he looked like his last breath was not long ago. The boy looked like he might just be sleeping, but his skin became whiter every second. His eyes were glazed and the cuts kept oozing with thick blood.
My heart thumped louder and louder until my chest hurt with my pulse and my head throbbed. The rhythm made my body curl like a wilted flower as I retched and vomited on the wooden floors. I felt the world turn in circles beneath me as I struggled to keep conscience. I heard my head hit hard on the floor as my eyelids became too heavy and the room went dark.
Chapter I: Remember It
When I awoke I was in my father’s arms. His name is Marco and he is a lanky man with golden curls on his head and eyes identical to mine. I reached out and touched his face to tell him I was okay. Father’s face is angular and geometric in opposition to his flowing hair and he makes me think of a living sculpture.
He looked at me with an expression of pain on his face. I gasped for air as I remembered the vision of the dead boy and the events that had led to me being passed out. Father hugged me tighter and his eyes held a misery I didn’t understand.
“Everything’s going to be okay Louis.”
The paintings hung on the walls nodded in agreement. Marco raised his hand as if to grab something and the walls wisped away in a purple mist. My mouth opened to say how beautiful it was, but Father was gone.
Sullivan hadn’t ever stopped crying. His eyes were red and filled with intricate veins. He grabbed his head and whimpered like he might fall apart. I shook with fear and realized that Sullivan acting like this frightened me.
A white butterfly flew across the room like a piece of paper caught by the wind and landed on Sullivan’s right shoulder. The butterfly was weirdly shaped with long antennas and forewings much larger than the hindwings. The lines throughout the feathery petals were swirls and curves.
“Sully, look on your shoulder.” I spoke quietly so the butterfly wouldn’t be scared. Sullivan stared at me with tears still streaming down his flushed face. He slowly turned his eyes towards his shoulder to appease me. Sullivan glanced at me again with a mystified expression.
“What is that Louis?” He looked at it quickly.
“It’s a butterfly…” My mouth could barely form the vocabulary and I had to think about each word before I said it. Sullivan smiled a little as he talked.
“How do you know that?”
“I really don’t know.” I looked down with a blush tinting my skin. “How do you not know that?” Sullivan was going to reply but the butterfly flew away and absorbed his attention completely. I stopped and watched it too. Its beautiful wings carried it out into the corridors and past my view. My lips let out a gentle sigh as I noticed that Sullivan had finally stopped grieving.
bump
Sullivan followed me into another room and to both of our surprise there was somebody else already there.
She told us her name was Lilly. She had strawberry blonde hair that fell down in ringlets to her waist. It was almost as if her hair was made of a metal that was soft and pliable. Lilly’s eyes were an almond shape and a deep color of green that held blues and tones of yellow as well. Her irises were translucent and showed layer after layer of textures that looked like water.
Lilly wore a pink gingham dress that feathered out and bounced every time she moved. On her small feet were dark shoes that buckled on the side. She had a black ribbon around her head that was tied in a bow near one of her ears. The bow was beautiful and a ruby heart was pinned in the center of it like a treasure.
When Sullivan and I first met Lilly she was entranced with a puzzle. The puzzle was a silver square that had little blocks you could slide around in the frame. On each square there was a white line, pink curve, or both. The purpose of the puzzle was to make a picture out of all the little squares.
I assumed the puzzle made some sort of design and not necessarily a form. Sullivan said that the puzzle made a flower. I don’t see how he could know what it makes. Never have I seen Sullivan look at that particular one or better yet solve it.
Sullivan’s father came to bring him away for some time. His name is Tyrus and he has brown hair that was slightly spiky. Tyrus was angry. His eyes were troubled and filled with anguish.
“You couldn’t some see me?” Tyrus’ voice was low and livid. “I had to hear my son is dead from a stranger.” I cringed at the misery that was escaping him and entering my own heart.
Sullivan never answered and he didn’t look the least bit phased as his father took him by the hand and led him somewhere away from the room that still held Lilly and me.
I felt terrible when I had to leave her all alone. Lilly looked so fragile and I couldn’t stand the thought of her isolated and trembling.
Marco walked into the room much like Tyrus had except on a lot happier note. He never projected anything but positive emotions.
“Come on Louis, I have something for you.” I didn’t put up a fight at all and followed Father like a magnet. He stopped at a room that I’ve been in before. It was his room, and mine was across the hall. I hadn’t been into this section of the halls in a long time though. I thought quietly that I should come see this passageway more often. After all, I guess I shouldn’t spend so much time playing around with puzzles, games, and books.
Marco smiled and held out a dark blue box with a tag on it.
“I think it might make you feel better and help to keep your mind off things.” Father smiled.
“Thank you.” I said softly and took the present into my hands.
“Go ahead, kid. Open it.”
The tag read “To: Louis” in poor handwriting that matched Marco’s. I took off the lid carefully and removed the shiny paper inside to reveal a necklace.
It has tiny silver links with a small clasp. On the necklace was a beautiful sapphire jewel that was carved into a beveled diamond. The many facets that were cut into the charm made it shine like glitter. My mouth was agape as I watched it throw rays of light around the room. I held the necklace carefully in my hands and skimmed my fingers across it slowly.
“Thank you.” I repeated with more meaning this time. “Thank you so much.” Father just smiled and took the necklace from me and put it around my neck with ease.
“It’s the least I could do. I haven’t given you anything in such a long while.”
I grinned and hugged Marco. The whole time I had this strange feeling that I would wear this necklace a lot and I knew my father would enjoy that quite a lot. I also knew that the gift was meant for distracting me. And it doesn’t bother one bit that I know these things.
I gripped my hand around the sapphire pendant and closed my eyes tightly. Mantras aren’t particularly my thing. But, the whole time I was repeating one thing over and over in my mind. Remember. Remember. Remember.
Chapter 2: Supposed Tales
The house whispers to me secrets of eternity. It whispers to me mutterings that I shouldn’t hear. Sometimes I wake up at night, screaming, and then crying because nobody’s there to hold me. I have horrible nightmares. One keeps reappearing during the dark nights. I hate it worse than what it contains.
I’m running after Sullivan down a corridor. The walls keep getting narrower with every step I take. My ears are filled with these murmurs. People are trying to speak to me. All the sounds are just nonsense though. I can never make out one word. Sullivan runs through a door on the left that is out of my sight. Not knowing what to do, I follow him into the room blindly.
He’s not there, like he ever is. Marco is sitting in a large chair reading a book with a golden cover and some white writing on it. He notices me and smiles. As he shows his teeth it becomes obvious that each one is black and deteriorating. He laughs a booming, insane laugh while his teeth fall out to the floor like rain. The dark teeth bounce around before dissolving into the floorboards leaving gaping holes like acid. I cover my ears and I scream.
Nicholas appears. He’s dead and he’s deteriorating and I’m alone. The death doesn’t scare me, though it should. It’s the horror of it all: the cold blood soaking through the wood, my trembling hands, and worst of all, the knowledge that I am the only one. I alone am haunted. I alone scream.
Afterwards I always wake up, contrary to my wish at times. And I am truly alone. Where is everyone? They are never here. Where else is there to go?
I wake up one night and find my father sitting next to me. His smile makes me calm.
“Louis, how ‘bout a story to ease your mind?” He laughed dryly and started talking before I could answer.
“There’s a kingdom somewhere. A silver castle embedded with gems is at the very center. There’s just a king though, never will there be a queen. There’s a boy there, the prince, he’s young and beautiful. Not related to the king at all, however he is the only heir. No one knows why. I think destiny.
The land he rules over is barren and scarcely populated. Desert and dry khaki plains is all the kingdom contains. The only building he can ever see is a large cathedral in the middle of a tan sea. Sedimentary rocks form the walls and ceiling. Layer after layer of smooth multicolored stone is mystifying.
In the church is said to be evil spirits who haunt the stained glass and statues. The king’s few minions are possessed by these phantoms and made to turn against him.”
Marco glanced at my bewildered face and frowned.
“Perhaps there will be no more for tonight.” His voice was shaky and forced. I nodded at that idea because I held the impression that this tale was not going to help me sleep at all. I rested my head back on a pillow as father disappeared into the air.
I saw Sullivan one day. He was in the shining room solving a puzzle with Lilly. I felt betrayed at first until I saw Sully’s face. From the center of his forehead going diagonal to his jaw was a red cut mark. It was straight and precise and made me flinch. I was going to ask him how he got it, but his eyes told me never speak of it. So, I never did.
Lilly was cheerful and her face was brimming with delight when she noticed I was there.
“I’ve missed you Louis!” She said without ever looking up. She looked at Sully and nudged him slightly. He sighed.
