William's POV
Eliot!
A gasp tore through the quiet room, my eyes wide open. Air scraped into my lungs in shallow breaths. An arm rose toward the ceiling, reaching without understanding why, driven by a desperate need to hold onto something just out of reach. Rising up felt like a battle, as if my entire body were sinking under a weight that threatened to drown me.
When I finally forced myself upright, the movement was slow and heavy, as though I were lifting my body out of deep water. My hands sank into the sheets for balance, arms trembling slightly before the world steadied around me. I covered my eyes with a trembling hand and swallowed the lump in my throat that had been suffocating me.
A tear slipped from my eye, leaving a single dot on the sheets. The room fell into a heavy silence, deceptively calm compared to the turmoil tearing through me. My chest tightened as the dream replayed in my mind, each memory clawing its way back. Tears streamed slowly down my cheeks, burning my eyes, and I let out a sigh that felt too large for my lungs. I closed my eyes, wishing I could erase her from my thoughts. Why can't I just forget her…?
I wiped the last of my tears away, forcing myself to stop, though my chest still felt tight and my hands trembled slightly. I was far from okay but I needed to move. Slowly, I pushed myself up, my legs unsteady under the weight of my body. The curtains glow caught my attention, it was glowing orange in the fading light. My sleep schedule was a mess.
"I slept until evening, huh…" I murmured my voice barely more than a whisper. My eyes felt heavy, still exhausted, but I was too afraid to sleep, haunted by the dread that she might appear in my dreams once more.
Sleep didn't matter anymore. Each time I woke, the cruel reminder hit. I was still alive, and the world expected me to live through it, day after day, caught in this endless cycle of longing and loss. What I truly wanted… was to never wake up.
I stood there for a long moment, letting the quiet sink into me. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, my body obeyed. I walked to my closet and reached for a blouse, my fingers brushing the soft fabric before I lifted it from the hanger. I slipped it over my shoulders, the open neckline falling naturally without trying to shape me. The collar covered the nape of my neck, giving a subtle structure to the otherwise loose fit. The sleeves ended in delicate ruffles that fluttered slightly with every movement. When I tied the small ribbon at the front, it rested just below my collarbones, completing the blouse's look.
I walked over to my drawer and pulled it open, my fingers brushing against the familiar edges of my belongings. I took out my book, a dip pen, and a small bottle of ink, the glass cool and smooth against my palm.
I carried them to the chair by the table and sat down, feeling the solid wood beneath me. I placed the book gently on the table, its cover was smooth, worn in the places my hands had often held it, and smelled faintly of old paper and ink. I looked down, each page was a different story of my past thoughts. Some were neat, with words carefully lined up in rows. Others were messy, with scribbles and crossed-out sentences, tangled together like storms captured on paper. There were smudges from the ink, faded marks where I had pressed too hard. As I turned each sheet, the soft rustle of the paper filled the quiet room.
Finally, I came to a blank sheet. I rested my hand on it, the paper cool and smooth under my fingertips, my pen hovering above the waiting page. I hesitated, the silence around me pressing in, and for a moment, I felt unsure if the words would come.
I unscrewed the cap of the ink bottle, a gentle wisp of its strong and sharp scent rose to meet me. I held my fountain pen carefully, dipping its nib slowly into the dark, glossy ink. The tip drank it in, a small drop clung to the edge of the pen as I raised it, dripping back into the bottle, ready to spill onto the paper. I paused for a moment, words in my mind ready to be written on the page.
The beauty of her face has come to haunt me yet again… My pen glides through the paper.
Even as centuries passed, every memory is still as clear as the day it happened. It's as if the heaven relishes on my suffering, is it my punishment? Punishment for what? For feeling our bond shatter the instant she chose another, tearing apart the souls that were once entwined and leaving mine in fragments. For choking on a thousand unspoken pleas as she stepped willingly into his arms.
And when he turned on her, I watched as he sank his fangs into the throat I once kissed, watching her lose her beautiful color as the world went silent. My body refused to move. Rage roared in me, but grief strangled it. The remnants of our severed bond held me like chains, forcing me to witness every trembling second of her death.
I stood there, trapped between fury and heartbreak, watching the light leave her eyes… and knowing the universe would never let me forget it.
My hand stopped writing, my face twisting into a frown as I let out a dark chuckle, my voice deep, echoing through the room. Tears slid down my cheeks, spilling onto the page, blurring the ink.
"I'm a mess… How can I forget her when I continue to write thousands of pages about her…"
My gaze lifted to the shelf above, lined with books I had been writing for centuries. Each page a fragment of memory I could neither let go of nor fully hold onto. The weight of all those words pressed down on me, heavy as the silence of the room.
My eyes drifted to the curtains. I hadn't noticed that the warm orange glow they once had earlier, had vanished. Night had finally fallen, casting the room in shadow and giving the space a hushed, almost sacred quiet. The faint silver of moonlight slipped through the edges of the curtains, painting the floor with thin, cold lines. Time had moved while I was lost in my thoughts.
I leaned back in the chair, my hand covering my eyes as I breathed, trying to calm myself. Then, a soft melody floated from a distance, freezing me in place. I stayed still for a moment, trying to focus, to confirm if I was really hearing music.
The melody lingered, gentle and familiar. It was a piano. I froze, my mind drifting to a late memory of Eliot playing the piano. Confusion washed over me, leaving me uncertain about who might be playing now. I drew one final, steady breath.
I have to see who is playing… I thought, standing up without hesitation. I left my things behind, not bothering to fix them.
I reached for my boots, fingers brushing against the worn leather before sliding into them.
I stepped out, following the melody as it drifted through the corridors. The notes were soft but insistent, flowing through the corners of the hall and drawing me forward. I had realized not long after that the melody led me to a part of the castle that I had long avoided, I hesitated, unsure if I should continue following the sound, but the mix of anticipation and unease knotting in my chest pushed me forward. My footsteps echoed quietly against the floor, mingling with the piano's gentle resonance.
The walls here were lined with faded tapestries, their colors dulled by centuries of shadow. The closer I drew to the source of the music, the more I could feel the vibrations of the piano through the floorboards beneath my feet.
When I finally stepped into the room, I froze. A woman sat at the grand piano, her long black hair cascading down her back.
The melody she played was soft and sad, each note clear and flowing smoothly into the next. It carried a quiet, gentle feeling. The sound filled the room, wrapping around me, pulling at something deep inside. Even though it was simple, it had a way of reaching into me, stirring feelings I hadn't felt in years. Every note seemed to float through the air, gentle and steady, making the room feel alive with the music.
It was beautiful. It had been so long since I had heard a song played on that piano, and the sound stirred something deep inside me. For a heartbeat, hope surged inside me. My lips parted, and I spoke, "Eliot?" Could it really be her? My voice trembling slightly as it echoed through the vast space.