Timeless Snow ✓

Ch. 21 - Mystery

Madama Amara's words trailed off into a defining silence. Your eyes closed, your ears returning to the sound of your beating heart in the place of her silky foreign voice. This was more peaceful than you expected, having attempted meditation before with no success. Then again, it could have been the comfort of your release from the loony bin that allowed you to relax. You relished in that inner peace, forgetting - for a split second - what you were doing there. Before the bolt of electricity that shot painfully through your chest at the utterance of one name-

"Samuel?" By the time Madam Amara's tongue hit the top of her mouth to finish speaking, simultaneously your voice clashed with Taehyung's as he offered a quick "Excuse me?". Speaking over him a little more exasperatedly you blurted out a quick "What?!" Your eyes snapping open without permission. It was comforting to know you weren't alone in your shock, despite the fact that it meant Taehyung was becoming very much aware of the 'Samuel' facade.

"Sam." Amara shortened it as she raised her emerald eyes up from the crystal glass and met your gaze. "Who is he?" Her tone was casual, though her brows frowned when she noticed the shock written all over your features. Her eyes widened slowly, realizing she had struck a nerve so quickly. You couldn't tell if she seemed excited, or worried about what her actions caused. Raising her ringed fingers from the table, Amara reached across the table. Her slender fingers outstretched outward to you as she reached out for you. Your body leaned back instinctively, as Taehyung's reflexes reacted the same. Quickly his right hand released your thigh and latched onto the Fortune Tellers wrist. He held her firmly while being mindful of his strength. His once honey brown eyes turned a few shades darker as his eyes hooded, narrowing as he set his sights on Amara.

"Don't touch her." His voice growled up his throat. Part of it was primal. The instincts breed into him through millions of years of evolution. He picked up on the apprehension of his mate, the flinch in your thigh muscles. The strain in your voice. You'd be willing to bet he even noticed the rhythm of your heart become abnormal. On the other hand, Taehyung was well aware of your mental state. Knowing how things could take a turn so quickly and land you back in the hospital before the night was over. One violent grab could send you into an uncontrollable hysteria that could only be controlled with sedatives and sleep. Especially after you 'attacked' Taehyung nearly a week ago in the cafeteria during one of those episodes.

Amara's frame froze in place, not moving in an inch while in Taehyung's vise grip. Only her piercing green eyes shifted slowly to her new target. In the corner of your eyes, you could see Taehyung's brow take a steep bend. She moved like an animatronic doll, causing a disgusting shiver to travel up your spine and distaste to linger on Taehyung's tongue. "You are." Amara said after a brief pause. "I'm what?" He asked cluelessly, his grip around Amara's wrist loosening. "Sam."

"Excuse me?!" This time, your words came out in perfect unison as you and Taehyung repeated each other's words. Amara yanked her hand back and away from Taehyung's grasp. His hand lowering back to his lap slowly. You could see the gears in his head turning, entranced by the ramblings of a madwoman. For a few seconds, he questioned the possibilities and for a single second, he truly wanted to believe it. With a flutter of his lashes and a tilt of his head, you saw realism return to those chestnut eyes. The inability to focus on the possibilities, you were his first priority. The worry in his eyes was real.

Lowering your head you needed a moment to breeze. With a deep inhale, all that was left with it was a burst of low and unsettling laughter. "No." Raising your head you gave it a firm shake. "No. No. You're saying he is Sam?" Persing your lips you were biting back the anger bubbling under the surface. Replace it with humorless laugh and rejection. "Yes!" Amara barked out, her hands slapping against the wooden table, causing the crystal ball to rattle on its brace. "No!" You shouted back with just as much virility as your eyes shot up and stared dangers over the glass ball. "We're not doing this." Commanding soon after to keep Madama Amara silent. Your words trailed off in a hiss, the inability to control your anger starting to slip from your grasp.

"Kasey." Snapping your head to the left, your bangs bounced against your forehead. Your eyes were large, staring blankly ahead at Taehyung's lips. "It's going to be okay." He reassured, at least you were sure of that. "W-What did you call me?" Your words struggled their way up your throat, unsure if you wanted the answer to the question. "Baby...?" Reaching his right hand out, he placed his hand lovingly at the end of your knee. Your body tensed at his comfort, feeling too unsettled to accept. Quickly you slammed your eyes shut, lowering your head down. Slowly you took in a breath, one slow breath and you could think.

"Kasey!" The name was repeated from Madam Amara's mouth as she shouted it in your direction. Her voice captured the collective attention in the tent. This was starting to feel less like a gimmick. Silence seeped into the thick air, you found yourself leaning toward the table. Visibly hanging onto her words as you wondered if you had finally found a sliver of your sanity. Whether it would prove to heal or harm was still unclear. "It was your name before."

"Before what?" Undoubtedly, the name had a familiarity to it that you couldn't quite place. It could have been a book or T.V, a character you had seen a few times with that name and that's why it was stuck in your head. A sudden flicker of the sporadically placed candles in the tent seemed a bit to unison. Shifting your gaze around, you caught sight of the nearest candle and focus on the flame. The once burning bright wick now burned low, as did all around them. Suspiciously, your eyes raised up to Taehyungs.

"He has a message." Amara said suddenly, her words seeming more haste. "Sam?!" You blurted out without thought, the idea surprisingly outrageous. "No." Thank god. Reaching across the table, Amara's fingers brushed the edges of the crystal ball. Her nails ticked against the glass, her emerald eyes staring into the blurred abys. You searched the glass back briefly, trying to find what it was she was staring at to no avail. "extremum vitae spiritum edere. mors vincit omnia."* Amara's voice dropped low and stretched out terribly slow as she pronounced each Latin word with care. Despite your status of wealth, you did not know Latin. That didn't stop the sinking feeling that whatever Amara had said, wasn't something delightful.

Your eyes ripped away from the glass ball as Amara had leaned over the table to latch onto your forearm. Her fingers dug into the fabric of Taehyung's borrowed lettermen jacket causing a deep hiss to suck through your teeth. "Death can not be tricked." Her words sink into you as deeply as her boney fingers. "Yoongi has found you." Amara pulled your arm above the table, reaching her free hand, she guided your own to the crystal ball and planted your flat palm against its surface with a slap.

Your eyes returned to the glass. Watching a milky fog consuming the center of the glass. In your mind, you began to place where you had heard that name before. You had only heard it once, in a dream. A dream that possessed such profound meaning behind your emotions, that you couldn't ever forget the fictional encounter.

"I'm doing what's best for the greater good." The audacity of this man to use such cliches, adding to your already flaring irritation. Your nerves were taut. You weren't one to resort to physical violence often but was this man making you want to change your mind.

"Fuck the greater good!" You yelled at the top of your lungs, your voice carrying through the street as that no one else could hear. "Each life has meaning, each life matters to someone. His life matters to me, and my life matters to him! That's reason enough to exist."

"How long do you honestly believe you can continue to live in a world of fantasy, Kasey!?" He closed the distance between the two of you a second time as he got within inches of your face. You could feel his heated breath brush across your cheeks so profoundly you could have mistaken the temperature of a mild burn. Everything about him radiated heat. He oozed a sense of intensity that if given the choice you wouldn't want to go up against, but you felt as if there was no other choice. "How long do you really think this fairy tale of yours will last?"

*Give up the ghost. Death always wins.