Candles and a Bath
Cordelia had an awful dream. Truly, awful. She had dreamt of a scene that not even she had ever seen before. Not once in her life did she recall standing out in the pouring rain, alone and shivering in the bitter cold. And though the thick layer of fog made it a challenge to see her own two feet on the ground, Cordelia could still hear perfectly. The sounds of distant…chanting…was it? It was storming, thunder booming, yet why was it that she could hear so many different voices? Both curious, and incredibly lost, she had followed the sound of the voices until she stumbled across an entire crowd of men. Hooligans, surrounding a little red haired girl. They all stood together, huddled in a large ring while crouching, their bodies forming an arena for the little girl performing in the center. From standing at her full height, Cordelia was immediately repulsed by the horrifying sight. The water droplets flowed down gracefully across the girl's pale skin whilst the crowd of inhumane beings all yelled "Dance!" in a greedy, and desperate manner. Covering her mouth with her shaking hand, she stumbled back and dashed off into the opposite direction.
"Surely, surely that wasn't real…surely I…I must be quite tired! Ha! YES! That's it!" Thought she, a wry, and nervous grin appearing on her face. Endless moments of her own voice whispering, lost wishes and unheard pleas only being echoed right back to her whilst the heels of her stressed boots loudly clacked against the stones. But wandering mindlessly with her shaking hands intertwined and held in front of her rapidly beating heart, proved to be more than just useless. The very sight she had only wanted erased from the depths of her mind, had come crawling back out, and displayed itself before her very eyes, in a most cruel and taunting fashion. This time, Cordelia wasted no time to even spare but a glance their way and just kept running, and running, and running. Over and over again, she came upon the crowd, unaware of the salty tears falling off the ends of her face, blending in with the very rain droplets drenching her hair.
Three times, then another five, she saw it and at a certain point, where running off had finally become known as no more than a waste of time, Cordelia fell to her knees. Her head was placed on the ground, her freezing hands tugging on her hair like her life depended on it. Though, it wasn't really her life she fought to cling to, but her dignity. Her eyes were wide as saucers as she almost glared at the ground; she hummed a made-up tune in an effort to drown out the noise and perhaps, bring even an ounce of peace to her dangerous mind, but to no avail. The chants hadn't died down, but stubbornly, cruelly, continued on. If anything, the voices grew louder, and the tones worsened to being utterly pathetic.
…
Cordelia woke up late that next day from a broken rest, her body jolting upwards with perspiration stringing beads on her forehead. Her rest had not done her good at all as she woke up disturbed, pale, and looked with terror at her room. Mahogany orbs dart back and forth, from the silk sheets covering her legs to the mirror of her vanity across the room. Even with the distance, she could see the dark bags under her eyes. Her reflection showed not of the young, beautiful woman her husband claimed to love so dearly, but instead, showed nothing but a shaking rat. Fear diminished and only hatred glazed over her eyes; her arm moving on its own to pick up the lamp by her bedside, and aiming straight for the mirror which now shattered into hundreds of pieces, littering the floor.
"I look far too out of place here…my face is pale as loose-leaf paper…and my hair is hanging in shame, stringy and lusterless…" Her head tilted off to the side limply, her hair pinched between her thumb and index finger while she observed the dark strands, "A bath would suffice...surely." With that settled, she immediately moved to crawl out of bed and walk into the restroom to freshen up.
"What on earth was I dreaming of...? Have I gone mad already...when I've just barely begun...when things have only just now, begun...?" She thought, peeling off her thin nightgown until it hit the floor, circling her feet. For whatever reason, perhaps she suddenly felt the urge, Cordelia began exploring the bathroom as if it were a vast jungle; eyes scanning the area and wondering if anything, anything at all, stuck out to her. The bathroom had been recently cleaned, the citrusy scent still wafting through the air. Not very subtle, but not so overpowering either. It was perfect. As expected from the staff of the Hockley Manor. A large room with cream-colored walls, freshly painted every other year, with thick white trim elegantly lining the edges. At the very front, was a large mirror in the curved shape of a headboard, and a large marble counter sticking out. To the left of the sink, was the tub in the corner, square windows on two walls, showing of the greenery outside. Forrest had most of it all custom, gold and crystal accents in every room. Had she thought it worth the money? She never spoke her opinion of it so clearly, but it certainly didn't hurt her.
Bored of watching silently as the water rose up in the tub, she busied herself by lighting all the different candles she found in the cupboards. Candles weren't her favorite. She understood why others found the different fragrances so calming, as if lighting a candle had really been some portal to an oasis where anyone near it could finally relax their tense shoulders and take a deep breath. So regardless of her petty feelings, it sounded to be exactly what she needed, but she would have to be quick as it was getting late and she had no doubt that her husband would soon be checking in to see how she was doing.
She slowly put her feet into the water, then fully slid into the bath, the warm water embracing every part of her body comfortably. She let out a deep breath, and allowed her eyes to close, enjoying the moment.
…
"AH!!"