Traces Of Magic

~Chapter 27~

I weave my way through the tall sunflowers. Their big petals block out most of the sunlight, but every now and then I stumble upon a small patch of sunlight. The scent of roses leads me deeper and deeper into the field. "Mandy! Where are you?" I hear Grayson's voice in the distance. I ignore him and continue through the field. Suddenly, the smell disappears into the air. I try to find it again but fail. I look around me and try to figure out where I am. All I see are what seem like miles and miles of sunflowers.

I crouch down on the ground, making them seem taller. I smile, letting a little bit of my inner child out. "Mandy please come out!" Grayson's voice is closer. I look over my shoulder and barely see him at least a few feet away from me. My inner child gets the best of me and I remain silent. "Come on Mandy! This isn't funny anymore!" He moves a bit closer to me. I hear him sigh as I try my hardest not to giggle. He starts to go by me, and I can't resist the temptation. I stick my leg out, making him trip and fall.

I burst into laughter as he falls into the dirt. "Mandy! What the hell?" I continue laughing as he stands. "You really think it's this funny to give me a heart attack by making me think something bad happened to you?" I stop laughing and stare at him. He glares at me, his blue eyes filled with anger. He grabs my arm and pulls me up. "Ow! Grayson! You're hurting me!" He ignores me and drags me out of the sunflowers and to the car. He lets go of me and gets in, and I follow reluctantly.

There's absolute silence as we drive back to my house. He stops in front of my house but doesn't put the car in park, like usual. I climb out of the car. "Aren't you coming Grayson?" He sighs as I look back at him. "Listen Mandy. I think it would be best if you slept in your own bed tonight..." I stare at him. "...alone." I frown. "But...but Grayson..." He cuts me off. "I'll see you tomorrow morning Mandy. " He drives off, leaving me alone in front of the house. A few tears fall down my face, but I wipe them away roughly before they fall to the ground.

I walk up to the door and stick my key into the lock, but as I turn it, the key snaps off in the lock. "Shit..." I curse under my breath as I kick the door. I sigh before getting off of the porch and going around to the back. I trip over Adam's tricycle, falling and skinning my knee. I curse under my breath again as I pick it up and toss it father back into the yard. It hits a tree and bends as one of the back wheels is torn off. I climb up the stairs that lead to the back porch. I lift up the back mat and take the key out from under it to unlock the back door. I put the key back before entering the house.

I slam the door shut behind me and lock it again. I go through the dining room and into the kitchen. I open up a cupboard and grab a glass. I go over to the sink and get some water. My hand shakes as I take a sip. The glass falls out of my shaking hand. It shatters as it makes contact with the tile. I sigh and lean down to clean it up. I stop mid lean. Something on the table catches my eye. I stand up and walk over to the table. On the table is a big flat box, a note that sits on the top of the box, and a sunflower. I pick up the note.

Yellow looks really good on you, especially with sunflowers. Meet me by the forest. Wear this. I have something special in mind... ~J. 

I knew he was in the sunflower field!

I place the note down by the sunflower and open the box. Inside is a beautiful yellow dress that resembles Belle's dress from Beauty and the Beast, but without the gloves. I take it and the sunflower up to my room. I close the door and set both of them down on my bed. I look down at my knee and see it's bleeding. The blood almost drips down to my ankle.

I sigh before leaving my room and going into the bathroom. I grab a hand towel and wipe off my knee. It's worse than I thought. All of the skin has been scraped off. I open the cabinet and grab the bandages. It stings a bit when it makes contact. I wince as I wrap it around my knee. I pin it and put them back before going back to my room. I take off my cardigan and dress and hang them back up before putting on the other dress. It fits me perfectly, as if it was tailored specifically for me. I swirl around, watching its reflection twinkle and sparkle. I look back on my bed to see a pair of yellow heels with another note.

Almost forgot these Hehe. Wear these too. See you soon. ~J.

I sit down on my bed and slip them on. They're really comfortable for a pair of heels. I wobble a bit as I stand up. It's been a while since I've worn heels. I grab the doorknob to steady myself. I grab on to the railing as I attempt to walk down the stairs. Eventually, I get to the bottom without breaking anything. I make my way outside through the back door. After checking to make sure I locked it, I leave and set off to our rendezvous spot.

The sun is halfway down the sky when I finally see Jarron. He smiles as I approach him. Excited, I run to him with my arms wide but get one of my heels caught in a crack and fall forwards. He reacts quickly and catches me in his arms. My cheeks turn pink as I stand up before I embrace him tightly. "I knew you were still alive! I knew you wouldn't leave me!" He chuckles as he brushes the hair out of my face behind my ear with his fingers. "You don't give up easily, do you Princess?" I giggle as he kisses me. I am surrounded my the wonderful scent of roses. He parts his lips from mine and smiles. "Shall we go now?" I nod my head. He scoops me up into his arms and takes me into the forest.

Soon, we come to the cave. He takes me inside with no hesitation. The door at the end is wide open, throwing soft light into the cave. He sets me down as we near the door. "Okay Mandy. Close your eyes. I want it to be a surprise." He takes my hand in his as I close my eyes and leads me into the room. "Okay. Now you can open your eyes." I open my eyes and instantly fall in love with what I see. Instead of being in the main room of the base, I am in a massive ballroom. In the front is a beautiful stained glass window of Jarron and I dancing.

I look over at him. "Jarron, did you do this?" He blushes as he looks down. "Of course. I'd do anything for my Princess." I go over and kiss his cheek. "Thank you." He smiles and rubs the back of his head nervously. Suddenly, the room is filled with magnificent ballroom music. I look around, expecting to see an orchestra somewhere, but I don't see one. I look over at Jarron, who's holding his hand out.

"May I have this dance Mandy?" I giggle before taking his hand. "Be my guest." He smiles and leads me to the center of the dance floor. He places his hands on my waist as I wrap my arms around his neck. We slowly waltz to the music. As we dance, I feel all of my stresses disappear. On the third song, Jarron pulls me closer. He rests his forehead against mine. "Hey Mandy." "Mmhmm?" He sighs. "There's something I've been dying to tell you..." He looks up. "What? What did you want to tell me Jarron?"

Panic flickers in his eyes. "It's too late now. It's midnight." Instantly, there is this loud chiming as the clock strikes midnight. As that happens, I am hit with an intense pain. Every time there's a chime, the pain intensifies. At the sixth chime, the pain sends me to the floor. I look up at Jarron, but by the eighth chime, my vision has gone blurry. By the tenth chime, he looks so far away from me. I reach out for him. "Jarron..." The twelfth chime echoes through the room as my arm falls to the floor with the rest of my unconscious body.