The Garden of Reflection- Ch.1- Blood

by EllyMae in

This is a story i have been working on for some time and this is the first draft of Chapter one. This chapter contains mild horror; if you are not comfortable with it i advise you not to read it. Feedback would be appreciated:

CHAPTER ONE - BLOOD

I awoke, my brow glistening with sweat and my heart pounding. I kept my eyes tight shut, afraid that if I should open them I would be splattered with the blood. I took several deep breaths as the lingering dream faded. It had been so real.

I heard someone enter the room and opened my eyes. Jun-Faye stood by the window, her hands on the flimsy, indigo drapes. She pulled them open so the room was flooded with light. I was faced with a bright, Copne Cration morning; the sun beating down on the sloped, tiled roofs and a cloudless, perfect blue sky. In the distance, I could hear the merchants proclaiming the wonder or their goods in the market place and the bustling, chattering voices of all those who shopped there.

Jun-Faye turned to me, her long, ruby red hair was braided into a neat plait and her dark eyes sparkled in the morning light. She was quite young to be my waiting maid, no older than I was myself, but she was more than a servant girl to me… she was my best friend.

“Morning, Lady Diena,” she said, smiling politely. The smile slipped a little when she noticed my sweat drenched hair and troubled expression. “Are you alright?” she asked, “You look like you’ve had a rough night.”
“I’m fine,” I said, rubbing my temples, “I had the dream again.” She sat down on the edge of my bed. I noticed her hand was gripping the cotton sheets tightly.
“Again? That’s the twelfth time in a row,” she looked worried. I could tell she was tense. These dreams seemed to worry her more than they worried me.
“Thirteenth,” I corrected her. She sighed, standing once more and motioning for me to do the same.
“Come on, you can tell me about it while I get you ready.” I looked up.
“Get ready for what?” She gave a little laugh, as though she thought I was joking.
“Didn’t your father tell you? The Royal family are coming for lunch. The Empress wishes to meet you before she agrees to the marriage between you and Prince Anae.” Jun-Faye leaned a little closer and said, in barely more than a whisper, “Basically she wants to check you out.” I groaned as I remembered. Jun-Faye just smiled and pulled me out of bed.

I stepped into the bathroom, the smooth white floor already warm from the late morning sun. The room was long; a row of tall, glassless windows lined one wall, and light spilled into the room in floods. At one end, was a large and round marble bathtub, half hidden behind a billowing white curtain of silk. Jun-Faye pulled tasselled cord that hung near the bath and a small fountain of warm, scented water spouted from a whole into the wall and began to fill the bath.
“It’s all yours,” she said, turning to me. I smiled gratefully at her as she stepped back from the bath. I pulled the silky curtain across, hiding me from view, slipped off my night robe and stepped into the bath.

“So,” Jun-Faye said through the curtain, “Do you remember anything else about the dream?” I picked up a glass jug from a little wooden table that stood by the curtain, filled it with water from the fountain and began to pour the water over my body.
“Nothing new,” I replied.
“Nothing?” she pressed. I cupped my hands and filled them with water. I tried to remember, but every time I thought about it, the details just trickled away, like the water in my hands.
“No, only the same things as before,” I sighed, “All I remember is a woman and a lot of blood. It’s strange; whenever I wake up, it always feel like I’m covered with her blood. Or could it be my blood? I’m not sure.”

Jun-Faye was quiet. “What do you think, Jun-Faye?” there was no reply. I craned my neck around the edge of the silk curtain, only to be faced with an empty room. “Jun-Faye!” I called, wondering where on earth she could have gone. Then, something caught my eye. A shimmer of something red, splattered on the floor. I stared at it, leaning over and taking hold of the curtain to get a better look. I stopped. There was something smeared on my hand, something that looked a lot like…
I lurched back, leaving a bloody handprint staining the white silk. My whole body was trembling. I leaned far back from the edge of the bath, and felt something splatter my neck. I turned to see the fountain that had filled my bath now spouting, not water, but…
I screamed as water around me began to turn red and cloudy. I tried to scramble out of the bath, but my foot caught on the rim and I fell. I hit my head on the wooden stand and heard the glass jug fall and smash as the world dissolved into darkness.