Timeless

Chapter 1 – Kiss Me Quick.





'Is this the beginning of the most perfect romance of all time?' Alexandria wrote in her journal before slipping it under her pillow and going to sleep that night, a wide, contented grin stretching across her face.





Forty-five minutes earlier.





His kiss was as gentle as a butterfly's wing brushing her lips. His fingers tousled her long, fair hair like a cool breeze on a midsummer's eve, delicately scented with jasmine. All around her, dozens of fireflies pulsated along with earsplitting sounds of crickets, frogs and night birds. Alexandria had never known a night so perfectly enchanting.

Then suddenly, as though sensing the window of opportunity about to slam shut, tearing away the magical moment forever, his kiss became more urgent, his hands more demanding as they slid effortlessly around her slender waist, drawing her body against his own, making her heart beat faster. The warmth of his nearness enveloped her like the heavy, warm coat she was wearing. Everything about him was intoxicating, delicious, Alexandria thought, like one of the rich puddings Mrs. Barnaby had made for her in winter, topped with lashings of warm brandy custard. She wanted more, so much more, that she ached for him.

Bran pulled away then, as though sensing her surrender, his hands sliding down her arms to hold hers. "My apologies for taking advantage, Alexandria. It's just that it is late, and I should bid you a good night." Then, in the blink of an eye, he let her go and was gone, as though he had become one with the shadows, leaving Alexandria standing breathless and alone on the doorstep of Witchwood Estate. She pulled the long coat he'd given her tighter around her body just as the wings of a raven flapped sharply overhead. She looked up to follow the path of the bird, and thought about The Count, who had been noticeably absent in the last couple of days.

The night sky was an endless, floating blanket of plush, black velvet studded with billions of tiny, sparkling diamonds as far as her eye could see. In the woods surrounding the house, a cacophony of forest creatures filled the otherwise silent night with a myriad of sounds. Deeper into the woods, she heard a lone wolf serenading the silver moon suspended in the sky. It was the most perfect night, she thought, the kind of night that made falling in love so easy, too easy. She sighed with wanting, then turned and went quickly inside, closing the door behind her with a quiet click. Instantly the old chandelier hanging above her head came to life, lighting her way up the stairs, then just as magically, it turned itself off just as Alexandria's bedroom light flicked on, leaving the downstairs room swathed in moonlight.

When sleep eventually found Alexandria curled up in her bed on the top floor of Witchwood Estate, the Sandman mischievously filled her head with visions of the glittering party at the Abbots’ mansion, of Bran, the boy, who in just one night, with just one look, had completely stolen her heart, then had promptly sealed the unspoken deal with a kiss.

That morning, when Alexandria woke, her head still spinning dizzily with thoughts of Bran, she remembered the words Mrs. Barnaby had said only days earlier. "Oh, how exciting," she'd said, looking at Alexandria over the rim of spectacles carefully balanced on the tip of her nose. "I see a journey, and a very handsome young man on a horse, who plans to ride off into the sunset with you. Careful he doesn’t steal your heart, young Alexandria," she’d warned. Sliding out of bed, Alexandria padded over to the windows and enthusiastically pulled back the drapes, welcoming the golden rays of sun into her room. Outside, the morning dew clung precariously to blades of long grass and every leaf on every tree, sparkling like tiny, flickering light bulbs.

A flock of gray doves took flight from the large tree standing like an old custodian over the weathered, weed encrusted pergola in the back yard. Cooing harmoniously, the birds banked, then one by one they disappeared over the roof of the house. Perfume from woodland wild flowers, and the jasmine vine that busily curled itself up the drainpipe outside her window as she watched it, filled her senses with the heady scent of springtime. The new day, overflowing with endless beauty and possibilities, had begun, and Alexandria, for one, her fingertips lingering lightly on her lips, was indisputably ready for it. Being in love, she decided, had heightened her senses to the world and its inhabitants around her. Taking her quite by surprise, everything she looked at and smelled resonated with a beauty and sweetness she had never experienced before. "Ridiculous," she said aloud to her reflection in the windowpane. "Impossible," she added, shaking her head, picking white jasmine flowers from the vine as it snaked its way through her bedroom window. Moments later, with her nose buried in hands overflowing with tiny jasmine blooms, she turned and walked away.