Solemnence E-Book

Aleksi Karvonen

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Seitenzahl: 45

Beschreibung

Solemnence - Sisters in Melancholy. The tale of two sisters in one; Perennial Sophia & Eternal Deliria.

Leseprobe

Solemnence

Contents & Author's NotePerennial SophiaEternal DeliriaCopyright

Contents & Author's Note

Solemnence

~ Sisters in Melancholy ~

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Perennial Sophia/ Eternal Deliria

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Author's Note:

Whistling in the wind.

Perennial Sophia

Perennial Sophia

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I leaned against the wall and listened to the pleasant sounds of party echoing throughout the wealthy ballroom - the mild chatter of guests, warm cracking of the hearth, mellow ticking of the grandfather clock, the occasional clacks of the billiard balls. There was a curious mixture of different fragrances in the air, perfumes of ladies mixing with the respectable odours of the older gentlemen, forming a feeling of old and youth adjoined, heightening my earlier feel that I was a bit out of place in such luxurious circles, despite my unquestionably considerable status.The grandfather clock near me started chiming, and lacking anything better to do at the moment, I counted the strikes. Eleven - so the party had gone on for quite a while already, and despite the pervasive boredom, time had hurried by surprisingly fast. Most of my participation had consisted of simply observing the various people, attempting to see how many of them I'd be able to recognize. Unfortunately, being quite new in these parts, the only familiar faces had been that of my host's - who I'd not seen after my arrival - and his personal butler, who, contrary to his master's absence, made constant rounds amongst the guests, always receiving a warm welcome, apparently enjoying quite a high status despite his servitory nature. I didn't think much on it, since, as mentioned, I'd only recently arrived in this region and the local customs, as I'd come to understand, were obviously  largely different.As I continued my observation of the guests, taking note of the joyful nature in their conversations - especially a particular group of older gentlemen, who were gathered around a silvery billiards table, laughing and chatting quite openly despite the often strictly enforced etiquette - I happened to spot a singular, striking young lady wearing a curious dark-purple dress, a fair distance from me, facing a large iron-framed window. With her back to me, her curled golden hair was in full view, emanating a curious illusory visage of soft, horizontal lines of waves slowly traversing along the silky, otherwise unmoving surface. She seemed fixed in a firm vigil at the window, unaware of the party undulating around her, as if keeping watch of something.I kept my eyes on her, wondering what she was looking at. It was obvious she wouldn't be able to see anything since it was pitch black outside, the dark autumn having already consumed last remnants of the lingering summer. I shifted my weight and took a sip of whiskey from the glass I'd been holding on for quite some time. It was quite curious how none of the other guests seemed to take notice of her, most of them holding a fair distance - from her, and the windows in general, I now realized. When I observed the row of tarnished iron-framed windows along the northern wall, it became apparent they formed something akin to an invisible barrier between themselves and the guests - excluding the mysterious young lady, of course.The situation proceeded thus, apparently with no change in sight, and so I started growing restless. I made another glance around the room - the group of gentlemen at the billiards table still laughed, conversing in the previous manner, the butlers still made their arounds... and the few, elderly gentlemen farther away in their own corner still concentrated in games of chess, occasionally enjoying sips of whiskey... and the ladies, of course, having their own table near the center of the room, sitting around it like a flock of birds gathered for juicy gossip or engaged in other feminine business I had little interest in.And yet, the lady remained fixed at the window. I doubted she'd forsake her vigil anytime soon, and so I thought to myself I might as well try approaching her, since there wasn't much else to do. Thus, I got another full glass of whiskey from the tray of a passing butler, and started walking towards her. The ballroom was quite sizeable, and so it took some time for me to reach her, but when I finally approached the windows, a curious shift in air seemed to occur around me, as if the temperature and pressure had shifted slightly - not much, but just enough to make it noticeable. I wondered if this curious effect was caused by the ethereal barrier... or the lady herself.For some reason I hesitated for a second, halting my movements a few paces behind her. She still remained unmoving, gaze firmly fixed into the outside world through the great window in front of her. I looked to my left and right - I seemed to be standing in the middle of this invisible barrier now, my view unrestricted to both directions up to the western and eastern walls. I exhaled, and was surprised to see a cold, misty cloud form in the wake of my breath. I ignored this ominous sign and took the remaining steps - and soon enough I was standing beside this uncanny figure.My body beside hers, I could now examine her facial features. Her face smooth, striking, youthful and quite pale, she obviously had only recently entered adulthood - perhaps this was her first time in a luxurious party such as this. I figured it might explain such queer behaviour, perhaps she was simply nervous, unfamiliar with the other guests, unsure how to behave in this new, foreboding environment. She still took no notice of me, despite the fact she couldn't have missed my approach, and kept her eyes fixed at the window... those green, most extraordinary eyes, which held a hint of exotic nature within them, were strangely unfocused, as if she was looking through the window at something very particular, yet fleeting, in the darkness outside.