+Flesh and Stone: Chapter 3+

Silence. That is all I can hear. It is as if the world has stopped in place; but I know better. My eyes flutter open and, at first, I see nothing but darkness. However, after a few moments or so, my surroundings slowly come into focus. The very first thing I see is a dark figure lying next to me. Holding me securely with one frozen arm. Since I had just woken up from a who-knows-how-long nap, I am oblivious to the obvious, therefore I have no idea who lies before me. In desperate attempt to understand what’s going on, I look around the room as if searching for an exit. My eyes then freeze on another shadowy figure, this time in the shape of a bird. It turns its head so that its piercing red eyes are fixed on me. Wait. Red eyes. Black bird. Arma.

Of course. Everything is starting to make sense now. So that means that the person lying nest to me…. is Karl? I look down at then dark figure once again and lean my face forward so I can see it better. Yes, it is definitely him. He looks as if he is asleep, which is a good thing. He needs his rest; he has been using too much energy lately. What confuses me, though, is why is his arm around me? This doesn’t seem like a thing Karl would do. Then again, he probably has his reasons, so I won’t bother him by asking him about it. If he tells me, great; if he doesn’t, oh well.

I stare at his face for a long time, examining every feature. I stop at his scar, now starting to wonder. I asked him once about it, but he told me he couldn’t remember. I don’t believe that, though. It was probably due to a horrible incident, or something of the sort, and so he doesn’t want to talk about it. At least, that’s what I think. Poor thing. It’s probably what caused him to….

I shake my head to clear it of these thoughts, for the moment at least. It’s too depressing to think about right now. I then gaze at his scar again and, this time, run my fingertips along its side. I’m still getting used to this whole feeling thing, the one thing that I don’t really mind. It’s interesting, actually. I have never felt anything physical before, being a marionette and all. The only plus to being a human.

A thought then comes into my mind that I wish I didn’t think of. What if I….. press my lips against his? That’s what a kiss is, right? I think so. I was told that a kiss is a gesture to show affection for the other, and, to tell the truth, I care for Karl more than I ever thought I could. I don’t know what it is, but something about him stands out to me, even past the murderous intent and insanity. My thoughts pause at this point. Insanity. I sigh once and close my eyes, leaning my forehead forward so that it touches his. Was he always like this? Or did something happen to him?

I feel tears swell up in my eyes as I think of this. Damn it. Stupid emotions. I wipe my tears away as they roll down my face towards the ground, calming myself before I return my gaze to the sleeping statue. Alright, my mind is made up. I’ll go for it; I’ll kiss him. Just this once. I may not have another chance. I lean forward further so that my lips almost touch his….. but then I stop. I couldn’t do this; I have no right to kiss him. And what if he woke up? What would I say then? How could I even consider this? It’s such a…. human thing….

I shudder at the thought and look at his face again. I take it into consideration that it might not be a bad thing to feel this way, but then I mentally slap myself. I have never been loved, so why should I love anyone else? There is only one person that could of loved me, though, but….

“You’re awake, I see.”

I snap out of my thoughts as I hear his voice, seeing that he is staring at me. Unsure of what to say, I just simply nod, and he grins in response,

“Have a nice nap?”

Again, I nod, but this time I respond,

“Y-Yes… did you?”

I only realize what I said a moment too late and I can feel embarrassment overwhelm me. That was a stupid thing to say. Karl laughs, confirming that statement, but what he says catches me off-guard a little.

“Why, yes! I did! Thank you for asking,” He chimed before shifting to a sitting position and letting me go.

I instantly feel a sense of disappointment, but I shake the feeling off before sitting up as well. Arma then flies down from her perch and lands gracefully on the blond statue’s shoulder, still staring at me with her piercing red eyes. Karl rubs her little black head with his index finger, greeting the raven like he always does.

“Hello Arma~ Hm? Of course we can! But what about Rose?” He then pauses for a brief moment in his one-sided conversation with the shape-shifting raven, or what seemed to be one-sided, “Oh alright…” He turns to me, “Rose, Arma wishes for me to join her on a… walk-” That’s a lie. “-do you mind waiting here until we come back?”

As he asks me this, he holds my chin lightly with his index finger and thumb. I stare at him in awe for a second before responding,

“Uh… n-no, I don’t m-mind…”

“Ha-ha, good girl!” Karl grins and pats me on the head, “Be back soon, okay?”

With that, he stands up and hurries out the door, giving one last wave before disappearing. I now sit alone in the dark, only the sound of my breathing keeping me company. I wonder how long he will be gone; it’s kind of hard to tell. I start to drum my fingers on my arm, keeping a steady beat as I begin to hum. It’s a song that I learned from Mrs. Sakon, the wife of my….. owner. I ignore the thought and continue to hum, closing my eyes as I get further into the song. It’s a lovely tine; I even taught myself how to play it on the piano. I miss playing the piano; I could always feel better when I played it. The one thing I’m good at besides dancing.

My humming trails off and I finally let out a long sigh. Alright, I can’t just sit here and do nothing. I might as well take a look around and then get back before Karl does. What’s the worse that could happen? I climb to my feet, wavering a little until I get a good feel for standing, and then stride over to the double-doors. I slowly push one of the large doors open, cringing when it creaks, and I peer out. I take a moment to look around, making sure no one sees me as I slip past the doors and close them behind me. It doesn’t hurt to be careful, you know.

I walk down the street, wind blowing against me gently as I oppose it. I then look up at the sky at the nearly full moon. This is pleasant, despite how much I dislike this city. I feel a small smile spread across my lips as I think this. Perhaps not everything here was as bad as it seems. I look ahead of me and my smile immediately fades as I hear a loud crash. The source of this noise was in a shadowy area in between two buildings; another alleyway? I realize that I have stopped dead in my tracks, now staring at the darkness. How come I saw this coming? I groan in irritation and narrow my eyes, clenching my hands into fists in attempt to keep them from shaking.

After a moment or so, I hold my breath as I see someone stumble out into the street, falling to their hands and knees. As I get a better look at them, I can tell that it is a small female child. She struggles to her feet and dusts herself off before turning her attention to me. I blink once as I see the girl’s features. She had flowing, mid-length, reddish-brown hair, shining green eyes [or at least it seemed that way], a silver charm bracelet hugging her right wrist loosely, and she wore a cyan dress that reached her knees which only had one strap supporting it on her left shoulder, a fake, yet peculiar white flower pinned there as decoration. My eyes widen as I realize who this young girl is, my hands loosening as I breathe out,

“… E…. Esme?”