The Librarian

Ten minutes to untangle my hair from its matted and dreary state with a small metal comb.

Ten minutes to scrub the dirt and dried blood as best as I could from my skin with water from the porcelain basin standing in the corner.

Ten minutes to remove my scorched and tattered dress and replace it with the only clothing I could find hanging in the near-empty wardrobe; a dress of gossamer cream that I kept tripping over in my bare feet. It was extravagant, too extravagant. Why would a creepy lady kidnap me then spend a small fortune on a dress for me? The soft fabric brushed against my legs as I tried to clean the wounds on my wrists in the now-bloody basin water. I shuddered.

The door opened faster than expected and Bill's rough hands guided me into the hallway where Nico was waiting uneasily in an old-fashioned tailed dinner suit, his hair wet and slicked back. For once, his downcast eyes were still visible. His gaze flickered up to me and a smile pulled at the corner of his mouth.

"Not exactly the ideal date setting, is it?" He joked dryly, offering his arm mockingly which I took with a laugh that was strained with uneasiness.

Bill shoved us forwards. "Get moving!" He growled, his foul breath wafting over us like the dizzy gas at the dentists, but lacking the pleasant sensation.

We followed the hallway into a small room lit with the blue light flowing in from portholes in the walls. A small table was set up with four places set around a platter of roasted vegetables and a ham. The woman sat in on chair already, her skin even more pale in the blue light. Next to her sat a man so beautiful that my breath was pulled from my lungs. His dark hair bounced in princely curls to his shoulders and his face was almost chiseled. But his features portrayed as much emotion as stone did and his beauty was marred by cold apathy.

"Please, sit." The lady said, waving us to the seats opposite her and the strange man.

We complied uneasily, Nico pulling my seat out for me politely. But his movements were rigid with tension and I knew he felt the same as I did.

"I don't think I've had the pleasure,' he offered his hand to the man across the table. The stranger smiled a dazzling grin that didn't show in his eyes and shook Nico's hand.

"Adonis." He said, his voice as smooth as honey. Heavily processed honey.

I turned to the lady. "I haven't quite caught your name, either."

She bowed her head slightly. "My apologies, my name is Leuce. Though most simply call me the White Poplar."

My memories began to throb with something Calypso had said what seemed like days ago now.

A little stuffy for my taste...

Totally two-faced...

Your friend one minute...

Your worst enemy the next...

Notes