Daring, Charming , Real

Ch. 26

Air had never tasted so crisp on my lungs before. I sucked in with every fiber of my being until I was coughing and lunging forward. My body was caught by a stone figure, being held tightly against their chest. It took some time for me to regain my consciousness but after smelling the reminents of pine and mahogany I was fully awake and now taking in my surroundings. I looked up at Thomas who appeared slightly panicked as i ran my fingers over his cheeks and into his hair . I soaked in every fleeting detail of the rugged trailer trying to ground myself. He huffed slightly before leaning his forehead against mine.

"I'm real. You are awake now, it's okay." He murmured softly.

I took a look around to see I was still seated on the floor but it was much darker now. The sun had gone down and Jon was loosely leaned back on the bench his eyes wide. Madam Vadoma was still in her chair , this time braiding beads and wire into bracelets quietly waiting for me to calm myself.

The air around us was dense with smoke and humidity. I could still hear the sparks crackling from the fire pit outside and the hums of voices from the people that surrounded it. Women were  singing low hymns while the men drank and carried on. Time had passed and it still felt like I had barely taken a full breath.

"How long was I out?" I questioned.

"All day. I got worried when I came home from work and you were missing. Finn informed me that Jon had came to get you. I knew exactly where you both were going." His jaw feathered.

"What the hell did I see ?"

"I don't know , what did you see?" Madame Vadoma spoke up and her wrinkled expression moved from her work to the floor where I sat.  She still had a gentle smile but her eyes paced over my expression trying to collect any clues as to what unfolded inside my mind. She was analyzing me as if she could see the vision i had experienced for herself . After the sites I had seen, I was unsure how she was so happy . Especially if she and Jon had seen the same thing.

Thomas helped me up onto the bench but refused to let me out of his embrace. He still held me tight , caressing my hair softly with his hand as I started explaining everything. My head leaned softly against him, listening to the soft thud of his heartbeat in his chest. The rippled reality seemed to play again in my head almost casting over my eyes. This time it was more like a faded memory than real life.

"There was an old house that was abandoned and a little boy. Then I saw Thomas threatening some men out by the junkyard. He was frantic asking about me and his-" I stopped swallowing thickly, "his son?"

"Go on." She looked back to her nimble fingers without skipping a beat. The beads made a dull clacking noise with each loop she made.

"Then Simon's warehouse where there were three men. Tied up and bagged. One of them was dead. But he spoke to me." I shuddered thinking over the words in my head as they left my lips, "in the bleak midwinter."

Thomas shifted awkwardly in his seat and I watched his eyes drifting over to Jon for a moment. They held each other's gaze tight as Jon started to sweat even worse than before.

"Then I was-" I thought about Angelica in the greenhouse. That vision seemed entirely selfish within itself. It was my subconscious pushing my jealous tendencies on me and nothing more. Thomas would be disappointed to hear me questioning him once again ."Then I was laying in pain and coming back here." I lied.

"Did you hear anything while you were laying there ? Anything at all?" Jon asked almost frantic.

"I heard a child say that I was in pain. Then I heard Thomas say 'she will learn soon enough what's to come.'" I looked over to Tommy as his expression fell almost to stone. His blue eyes began to sink almost instinctively as they darted away from my own , "Do you know what that means?" I asked him.

"I do not." He spoke suddenly , his words spilling from his lips like venom. It was almost a mockery not a statement. Like I was a child who had a bad dream and instead of comfort he was telling me why I was being unreasonable for questioning things in the first place.

I held my tongue as I looked back to Madame Vadoma who had stopped sewing her bracelets . She watched every movement in the trailer intently before letting out a small huff of air. Something told me it wasn't from exhaustion but to prepare for the chaos that was going to ensue once she spoke again.

The heat started to creep up from the wet thick grass below us, steam nearly rising in the moon light. It made my skin feel sticky to the touch and Thomas's shirt was already drenched against my body. Whether it was from the outside air or how perfusly he'd be sweating I wasn't sure , but from the stilled panic remaining in his eyes I knew it would only get worse.

"We should get you home." Thomas went to stand , holding my arm to help me balance.

"What does my vision mean?" I asked to the elderly woman who still sat watching.

"You aren't asking the correct questions." She said.

My mind spun as I tried to search for what to ask and how to ask it. Thinking over every possibility and outcome that I wanted to know but yet only one thing came to mind.

"Am I pregnant?"

Thomas rocked back on his heels nearly loosing his footing until he reached out and gripped the wood paneling on the walls. He swallowed deep also waiting for an anwser.

"No." Was all she answered.

"Will my husband die?"

"No." She raised an eyebrow at my blunt assessment.

"Who is she ?"

A deep cackle erupted from the woman's chest sending a chill over my skin and settling on my bones. I watched her eyes light up to match the flames dancing amongst the fields behind us.

"The Shelby blood runs thick."