Forgotten Monsters

Chapter 38- Dreams

For the first time in ages Tessa felt pretty. It wasn’t just that she had borrowed an old dress of Jade’s that fit her perfectly, or that her hair was freshly washer and braided with strands of silver ribbons, but that she was walking alone through the crowds of festivities. She finally felt free from everything that had been weighing her down for the past month.

The dress was gorgeous though, she admitted when she looked down at it. With sleeves that laced down to her fingertips and a skirt that swirled away from her hips when she spun, the gossamer fabric was as light as a feather against her skin.

Gray had assured her that he would meet her in the Town Square, where, for just this one night, the hangman’s noose had been wheeled away for the Shadow Festival. People around her wore masks of grotesque gargoyles or feathered birds. They glittered in the half light of the dimly lit streets. All around the city people would be lighting their lantern and hanging it along the roads to light up the night. Tessa tightened her own mask, the curved beak of a falcon obscuring her face.

Standing where he had promise to wait was Gray. He wore a wolf mask over his eyes and was standing next to a girl who had a half moon mask. As Tessa got closer she saw that the girl was shimmering with glitter so that when she moved, it fluttered to the ground in a haze of shimmering dust.

Gray’s eyes landed on Tessa and he immediately made his way towards her through the crowd. A girl ran between them, her light hair flying behind her as she shrieked with laughter. Tessa felt her breath leave her all at once at the memory of her sister, who last year had stood beside her in this very square.

“Did you have trouble getting here?” Gray asked her, breaking her out of her trance. The streets had been packed that night with the population of the city spilling out onto them, but Tessa had had no trouble navigating them.

“I was fine, who’s that?” She asked, gesturing towards the girl.

“Celeste, she’s a friend of mine.”

“Yeah? Are you sure about that?” Tessa teased. Gray frowned.

“No. Will you dance with me?” Tessa laughed and acquiesced, joining hands with Gray as the music picked up its pace. She loved to dance, Tessa realized, She hadn’t had this much fun in forever.

“You look beautiful.” Gray shouted to her over the music.

She smiled and was about to answer back when she spotted a painfully recognizable figure in the shadow of one of the buildings, Her steps faltered and she fell out of rhythm with Gray for as second as she glanced back at where she had seen him. But the man had disappeared into the shadows she had always thought he resembled.

Gray frowned and asked her what was wrong, but she shook her head and forced a smile as the song ended.

A slower song started and a few people trickled to the edges. Celeste tapped her shoulder, smiling coyly at Gray who gave Tessa a questioning look.

“Go, I’m fine.” Tessa backed away, and found herself surrounded by dancing couples. She turned to walk to the edge of the square when a stranger slid into the place Gray had been and tugged her body closer in a familiar manner. He wore a hawk mask, but she could never be fooled by such a flimsy disguise.

“Cain.” She whispered; her words lost in the music, but not to him.

“Unfortunately not.” He responded in a voice that was his, but somehow not his. She was reminded that this was The Queen, not Cain. “You’re probably wondering why I’m here.”

“I assumed it was to make my life more miserable.”

“My nephew really loved you.” Tessa stopped dancing, tears pricking her eyes. She pushed off of Cain’s chest, as wonderful as it had felt to feel his hand in hers she forced herself to back away.