Chapter 2: Chapter 1
Elisabeth Adison sat quietly in the small studio her college offered; a pair of earphones in both ears playing to Beethoven's Tempo D'andante piece. A small paintbrush in hand, she created a stormy seaside, its blues, and greys mimicking the emotions in turmoil just beneath the surface of her consciousness. The week had been yet another struggle as she tried to pass off her more recent bout of nightmares as nothing more than just that; nightmares.
She found the easiest way to do that was by sitting quietly with Beethoven, and painting whatever came to mind that didn't have to do with her dreams. At the moment, she was adding a few more touches to the rock wall which overlooked the sea from the right of the painting.
A tap on the shoulder made her jump and she dropped the small brush on the floor. She pulled the earphones out and looked up to see a tall boy of twenty with a full head of curly brown hair and deep-set brown eyes. His lips were now curved into a little smile as he stared at her amusingly.
"Did you forget I was dropping by to take you for coffee?" He asked.
She smiled back and bent to pick up her brush and wipe the splodge of brown paint off the floor. "I'm sorry. You know what I'm like. My heads all over the place nowadays." She put the brush in the water and stood up to give her boyfriend a hug. He kissed her on the cheek, hugging her back. "If you bear with me two minutes while I put everything away, we can go and grab a coffee."
He smiled and walked over to admire her other paintings which had been stacked into a neat pile in the corner. He'd seen them all before, having been the one who'd posed for a few of them. Others he recognised as places they'd been to, such as the old, worn down stone castle in Dartmoor where they went camping or the seaside from when they'd travelled up North to visit her family in Newcastle. A smile tugged at his lips as he remembered all their times together. Lis had had a hard life, always having to be careful due to her heart problem. Not that she'd ever let it stop her. She was as stubborn as a bull.
"I'm ready." He turned back to see her, bag slung over one shoulder and a portfolio in hand. He offered to take one but she shook her head, the wave of red curls falling from their bobble and instead took his hand in hers. "I'm alright." They left the building and came out into the grey skies and drizzling rain of London.
Pulling up their hoods and hunching their shoulders against the chill, they made their way down the street and a little further into town where they made their way into a coffee shop. Inside was quiet and almost empty, save for a few regulars.
"Latte?" Lis nodded and walked over to a window seat, taking over most of the settee with her bags.
Charles headed to the bar to order their drinks and came back quickly, announcing it would be brought over. "So, listen, I got accepted onto the internship at the local journaling office."
Her eyes lit up. "Charles, that's brilliant! I'm so proud of you!"
He shrugged. "Yeah, I got the letter this morning in the post. Mum's ecstatic. Probably just glad to finally have me out the house."
"Probably." She agreed, giggling. A young girl in a black apron brought their coffees to the table and they leaned back, enjoying the warmth spreading back through their numb fingers.
"How have you been feeling?" Lis looked down at her coffee with a small smile and shrugged.
"Same old, same old. I didn't really sleep all that well again last night but I suppose it's no different to any other night."
"Is it the dreams again?" He asked, studying the purplish bags which had formed under her green eyes, which suddenly seemed very stark against her pale skin and red hair.
She nodded.
"Have you tried talking to your mum or Zach about it?"
"Not mum. She'd go mental I reckon. I did tell Zach though but only because he was the one who woke me after I started screaming… apparently." She added noting the look of shock on Charles' face.
Taking a sip of his cappuccino, he asked, "So what did you dream this time?" In truth, he'd really rather not know, but he wanted to show she could depend on him.
Tentatively, she answered in a hushed voice, as if afraid she would fall straight back into the same nightmare by telling it aloud. "There was a girl, an inhuman like me, and I think she was sleeping. The same cloaked man from all my other dreams was there and he went in and just like all the rest, he killed her; smothered her, took a lock of her hair and then carved a cross into her chest. Those are the essentials, I don't really remember details, just the gist."
His eyes widened in surprise.
"What?"
He put a finger up, asking her to wait for a second, and pulled out his phone. A few minutes later he'd found what he was looking for. "Is this the girl?"
On the screen, there was a picture of a young girl with dark brown hair and blue eyes. Something tugged at the back of her mind, a vague notion of having seen her before. However, she soon realised it was the eyes which she seemed to be remembering. They once sparkled, she thought, with life. "Yeah, I think so. I didn't exactly see her in my dream though. I just remember the eyes from a photograph. What is that?"
"That, my dear Elisabeth, was the news, first thing this morning. It was on the BBC."
Elisabeth shivered inwardly, feeling a notion of dread creeping up her spine. "I don't like this Charles. Something's coming but I don't know what." He sat up and moved to sit next to her, putting his arm around her in comfort. She leaned into him, breathing in his familiar cologne.
"I'm here for you. Don't ever forget that." She nodded meekly. It seemed strange even now, after so many years, having him comfort her as he did. The man who now sat beside her used to be nothing more than a raging young boy out to annoy the world with his vulgar t-shirts and getting into trouble with the police, always needing some sort of a bailout.
They had met in year seven, she having been pulled in by his cute looks and his knack for getting himself into trouble simply to impress her. And she had been impressed. They became good friends. It was much later after she'd met him that she'd found out about her heart condition. She had aortic valve stenosis, a severe congenital heart defect. Her life had become much harder and it was him who stood by her, taking care of her and being there for her that had gotten her through the terrible news.
Now that they were older though, she couldn't help but notice how Charles had grown up; his eyes were deeper, his face less rounded. The once flat, thin hair had turned into a full head of thick curls and his lips, a more defined cupid's bow. His style of clothing had changed too. Instead of his unacceptable t-shirts, he wore plain black ones with smart jeans and nice jackets. His voice had become slightly deeper, his London accent more defined; sexier if anything, she thought boldly.
Looking up at him, she gave him a peck on the cheek and snuggled more closely to him, holding her coffee to her chest as if to ward off the dreadful, English cold.
He smiled and kissed her back on the head. "You know, if your parents are busy tonight, I could come over and we could watch a film..."
This time Elisabeth smiled. She was certain they would enjoy both the opening and end credits. "Afraid not sweets. Mum and dad are not busy tonight, not even Zach actually."
"The Council keep him pretty busy?" He murmured into her hair.
She shuddered at the mention of the Council. "Yeah, I suppose."
Charles remained silent after that, not wanting to upset her anymore by talking about the Council. He himself didn't know too much, except what Elisabeth had told him, but as far as he could gather, they were an elite group of old men who governed Inhumans like her. Innocents were killed every day and others put through much worse on simple suspicion.
With a final sigh, he sat and continued to comfort her as best he knew how.
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