“A day in the life of…” – Part 1

Isobel

The dream always ends with a fall. Dark blue ocean and red-hued sky go end-over-end like an erratic mobius strip, twisting and turning in a descent into darkness.

There was a knock at the study door. Jaedin sighed and opened his eyes. Isobel, a small black cat, woke from her position on his chest, leapt silently to the floor, and disappeared under the desk.

“Come in.”

The door was edged open slowly, and a brown-haired boy cautiously stepped into the room, “Master Jaedin, I am sorry to disturb you…”

The vestiges of the dream lingered in Jaedin’s memory and left him feeling strangely vulnerable. It was not a state he was familiar with and it left him uneasy. “I have no doubt you are very sorry for disturbing me. I have visions of you scrubbing kitchen floors in the very near future.” The tenor in Jaedin’s words managed to keep the words soft but enough steel remained to draw blood.

And yet, you did not last long in Jaedin’s company if you were afraid of a little blood. Already well indoctrinated to Jaedin’s habit and manner, the boy ignored the threat with the armored enthusiasm of youth, “The Constable is here to see you.”

“The Constable?” Jaedin swept his feet off the top of his desk, the disquiet of his dream temporarily forgotten. “Finally, something interesting. The kitchen will have to do without your exemplary cleaning skills for a few hours yet. Tell Gerald to see the Constable into the library and then wake Kiera and tell her to pull a nice red from the wine cellar for tonight’s dinner.” On his feet now, Jaedin stretched and felt the rest of the tension from his dream slip away in the wake of burgeoning curiosity. “Oh, and Marcus – check on Evelyn as well. I’ve got her detained at the top of the lighthouse and she may be thirsty. Offer her some water to drink but do not otherwise distract her.”

There was a soft blur of brown hair as the boy nodded and then he was gone. Jaedin needed to gather his thoughts. The Constable would not be here without good reason; she had a history with Jaedin and was not in the habit of seeking his company for social reasons. He had to be prepared to deal with whatever had brought her to his doorstep. Jaedin crossed the room to stand before the study’s only window.

Tall enough to step through and a good four feet in length, the window provided an unobstructed view of the ocean. The lighthouse he lived in was built atop a cliff that jutted sharply out over the water. It was late afternoon and the setting sun was splashing orange and red across the horizon. Jaedin’s eyes drifted lower, to the shoals at the base of the cliff. They were scattered with the wooden bones of ships that had not heeded the lighthouse’s warning.

Perhaps…perhaps, Jaedin thought, the source of falling dreams could be found here, in this vision of dark blue so vast it became a sky of sorts. Jaedin closed his eyes and let the colors play out against his mind. He imagined the fall, how it would feel to step over the edge and find the freedom it offered. In this moment of release he found the stillness he needed and felt his accustomed self-control settle over him like a mantle.

He opened his eyes and turned to look back at the desk. There, interrupted by his dream, lay an unfinished letter. The last few lines remained fresh in his mind.

“…and it is here, at the cusp of necessity and desire, that I feel the danger in being too impatient. Moving too quickly or too soon and my prey is startled, or worse, indifferent.

You knew me so well. Prey and predator in one, and now, with you gone…”

Enough of that, Jaedin thought and moved to the door. There was business to attend to. The letter, and its recipient, could wait.