Undeniable spark

He was standing in the shadows of a tree not far away from me.

It really surprised me that I hadn't noticed him before, I was certain that I was alone when I first went out here.

I looked at him in slight confusion as I tried to gather my thoughts from the previous stream of memories.

He was leaning against the tree, mashing the leaves with his weight before he finally pushed away and started moving towards me.

As he got closer to me, a strong scent of alcohol hit me.

Was he drunk?

It was when he was standing right before me, I noticed the clear signs of intoxication.

His eyes were dull and had turned into a color of dark grey that made them appear black.

His movements were graceful and gentle as always, yet clumsy and his voice had turned raspy from the strong effect of the liquor.

He leaned in slightly and whispered in my ear the previously unanswered question.

"What, are you doing out here?"

For some reason, I felt myself suddenly come to a loss for words.

I just stared out into the darkness behind him while I mumbled small parts of different excuses, by this managing to make the quite inappropriate situation even more awkward.

"I, umm... I just... I-I didn't mean to..." was all I managed to get out.

Finally, I felt him pull away from me, making it easier for me to feel at ease.

I shivered as he stepped back, now realizing how close he had actually been to me.

The heat from his body had kept the cool air from reaching the bare skin on my arms and kept me warm.

I felt his gaze on me as I turned my face to the ground while I hugged myself in an attempt to keep myself warm, which I soon realized was quite hopeless.

"Does the miss not find the party entertaining?"

His voice was rather cold, yet I spotted slight amusement in his words.

"I... No that's not it... I just felt like I could use some air since it got quite warm with all the people gathered in one place..."

Lies.

I feel like he didn't believe my words more than I did myself.

His response made it pretty clear, although he almost managed to hide his amusement.

Or was it anger?

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, considering how much time you've spent in your room, you don't strike me as the socializing type"

"I can be... When I want to" I argued vaguely

"Can't we all?" he said, scoffing.

"I suppose so..."

I suddenly felt his hand on my arm, which caused me to jump and quickly turn my eyes to his in surprise.

I suppose he sensed my discomfort and left for my sake but when I felt his hand move away, my heart started pounding and my thoughts went wild.

I didn't want him to go away, I wanted him to pull me close and keep me warm.

I wanted to feel his gentle touch on my skin and hear his soft voice in my ear.

I wanted to hear his voice say my name.

What was I thinking?!

That man was rude and arrogant and he kept me here against my will.

There's no way I could ever even like someone like him...

Right?

He cleared his throat and backed off with a slightly confused look on his face as he spoke, his demeanor suddenly formal.

"I must go and see to the guests since I have not yet been present during the occasion. Feel free to join the rest of us when you're done- cooling down..."

With these words, he walked off and left me alone again with my thoughts and confused feelings.

What was it that I had felt?

Had he felt it too?

I was unsure how long I had been standing there after he left, but my feet had gone numb from the cold and my hair clung to my face from the dew that now covered the garden.

I hurried back inside through the crowded ballroom, intentionally avoiding making eye contact with people as I headed back to my bedroom.

To my relief, I somehow managed to remain unnoticed.

I carefully closed the door behind me, before letting out a sigh of relief as I walked toward the mirror to look at myself.

My hair had gotten out of place so I removed the hairclip and shook my head, allowing it to fall into place.

My dark chestnut curls only just covered my shoulders, but I could tell my hair was getting longer.

My foster parents had always kept it relatively short as they did not want me to attract too much attention around the village.

Well, more than I already did.

I took off the dress as the last step since I liked the way I felt and looked in it.

I never really felt beautiful or comfortable, but that dress made me feel like I was some freaking flawless baroness or something.

I smiled at my reflection as I had now jumped into a pair of black shorts and a sweet V-neck top with a fine lace trim top.

I didn't feel like doing anything big out of my look since I wasn't planning on going anywhere, so I put up my hair into a messy bun.

After a while by just sitting by the mirror, I came to the thought that I hadn't read in a while.

I used to do that a lot around bedtime, as I always struggled to fall asleep.

It helped me redirect my thoughts.

I decided to call for a maid to ask for directions to the library since I was not quite yet familiar with the many rooms and corridors in the castle.

As the maid, whose name I had not been told, showed me the way, I did my best to memorize the way so I would not have to ask for assistance the next time I went to the library.

First, turn to the right and look out for a picture of a woman.

Next, turn to the left and walk through the second door right ahead...

In the end, I just confused myself.

I wondered if I would ever be able to remember the way to anything but the dining room.

Finding my way around in new places, or generally just anywhere, had never been my strong suit.

Even as a child, I always had to be accompanied when going somewhere, in case I lost my way.

I was always too distracted to keep an eye out for certain parts to remember the routes by, and I seemingly had not grown out of that.

My thoughts came to an end when my head hit something hard.

"Ouch!..."

I whimpered as I rubbed my forehead and raised my head to look at what I had hit.

The maid was looking at the floor, obviously trying to hold back her laughter.

Well who was I to blame her.

I would not have been able to keep my composure if I had seen someone walk straight into a door like this.

She was clearly trying to be discreet about it though.

I personally had a bad habit of laughing at the wrong times, talking to myself, and speaking my mind without hesitation.

Throughout my life, I had been told on numerous occasions that I was a bit of a lost cause on that front.

Honestly, it did not make much of a difference to me.

I shook my head at my thoughts and sent off the maid once I was done feeling sorry for my self-embarrassment.

When I opened the wooden door, I was almost expecting to hear a loud creak.

I was very disappointed when the large door did not make a sound, not even when I had pulled the handle.

Damnit...

Once in a while, I did enjoy my entrances to be scary or at least mysterious.

It somehow added a little extra to my otherwise dull life, but this time nothing happened.

I sighed and entered the room, letting the door slam behind me with a grin.

Well, dramatic exits work about as well. I thought to myself.

I walked around the room, dragging my feet lazily as I searched for something that perhaps I would find interesting.

I stopped in my tracks when I came to a little nook in the middle of the room.

A fireplace brought light to the small area that was hidden between some bookshelves and a couch had been placed in front of the fireplace.

This was as perfect a place as any to relax and unwind with a good book.

The room was warm and cozy and there was a pleasant smell of firewood and pine in the air.

When I moved to have a closer look at the area, something made me freeze.

Mason's brother was standing by the fireplace, leaning against the wall with an arm placed above his head as support.

In his other hand, he had a glass of something that most likely was scotch, judging by the color.

I was not much of an expert, but I had seen the men in the village drink something that looked similar.

His hair was a mess and his shirt was open, revealing his well build upper body dimly lit up by the fireplace.

It was as though something in the air changed as he suddenly turned his gaze in my direction.

Crap!

I hid behind one of the bookshelves in the hope that he hadn't seen me there.

Then I heard the sound of glass breaking, only a few seconds before I felt him behind me.

I felt his hands on my sides as I was pulled back and placed with my front against a wall.

Something about this was making my thoughts run wild and I was unable to ignore how close he was standing to me.

I would have sworn that he could hear my heartbeat at that point.

He wrapped his arms around me, keeping me between him and the wall as his breathing slowly came closer to my ear.

It sounded slightly ragged and I could smell the strong liquor on his breath.

To my great annoyance, I found it both unnerving and attractive.

Something about his presence was just as alluring and tempting as Mason's, yet something was different.

I felt drawn to him in ways no words could explain.

It was as though both my mind and body threatened to betray me.

I stood there for a while, contemplating what to do, before I gave in to my instincts.

I reached back to let my hand move to the side of his face and then up into his hair.

When I tilted my head slightly to the side, I felt his breath tickle my ear, which sent sweet shivers through my entire body.

It was almost electric.

I moved my hand through his hair and back along his neck, softly tracing his skin with my fingertips.

"Stella... What are you doing to me..." he groaned quietly as he instinctively seemed to lean in to me.

I felt his body tense under my touch and not long after, he pulled away from me, leaving me breathless.

I felt his gaze on me but I refused to move or even speak before he had done or said something, afraid to ruin the moment.

What he did next both confused and surprised me.

He picked me up as if my weight was nothing and began carrying me back to the little sitting area.

He then sat me down on the edge of the couch before he walked to lay down on it himself, soon falling asleep.

I just sat there and watched him in silence as his facial expression turned peaceful and his breathing calm.

After a while like this, I felt my eyelids grow heavier with each breath and ended up laying down on the floor in front of the couch.

Just as I was about to fall asleep I noticed blood dripping from his hand and shards of broken glass stuck in deep wounds in his palm.

When I looked around, I noticed bits and pieces of glass strewn about the floor where he had been standing earlier.

What happened...?

[Author's note: Please don't forget to vote and leave a review if you enjoy my novel <3 Thank you!]