Character Prompt 1: Another Life

Character Prompt 1: Another Life

Your character has succumbed to a sleepwalking curse! Tell a story about their subconscious adventure, while under this most malefic influence!

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Iliae sat upright in her bed, her ear giving a slight twitch as an odd, foreign sound echoed through the estate, at first too quiet to distinguish.  It began to grow louder, then louder still until the robust melody seemed more distinct than her own thoughts. Slipping out of the large bed, she wandered over to her desk and instinctively snatched up a letter opener before leaving the room and descending the stairs.

As she reached the bottom of the staircase, the music became so loud that it seemed to be coming from all around her, the long marble hallway unforgiving in it’s acoustics. Moving aimlessly, she pushed open door after door, finding each room just as empty as the last. Turning on her heel, her eyes swept in every direction, panic building in her chest as the tempo rose.

Turning round again, she stopped. Behind her, a great light shone through the cracks of the double doors to the ballroom. Flipping the makeshift weapon to face downward, she moved forward and smashed the blade into the chains that held the doors shut. Prying and pulling with all her might, she let out a grateful sigh as they shattered and fell to the floor.

Iliae wasted not a second; she pulled the doors wide open and rushed forward- only to stop in a moment of pure shock.

The cobwebs and gathered dust were gone, the furniture shams had disappeared, and the long abandoned room held a gathering  the likes of which she had not seen in years. Taking a hesitant step forward, she narrowed her eyes as she tried to distinguish a face in the sea of elegant twirls and practiced steps.

Each face was empty, a mask lacking any emotion or outstanding feature…all except one. Behind the piano, Xynrael’s familiar smile greeted her.  Moving toward him, she saw him stand, the music continuing just as it had as he closed the distance between them.  In strange gesture, he gently took her hand and lifted it to his lips. “A pleasure, Miss Duskryder.”

It wasn’t until he looked up at her that she saw the difference. His eyes were no longer the familiar ice-touched blue, but mirrored the sky instead. Even his demeanor lacked the distinctive heaviness that she had come to know.

Standing at full height again, he smiled. “Forgive me, I’ve forgotten my manners, I am Daeyn Skysong.”

Coming out of her stupor, she spoke, quite a bit more sharply than she had intended. “I know that.” Pulling her hand back to her, she crossed her arms.

“Of course you do… Lord Duskryder wouldn’t have his own daughter be oblivious to the guest list.” He gave an odd chuckle before holding out his hand again, “Perhaps I can make it up to you with a dance?”

“I’m hardly dressed for such a thing.”

He perked an eyebrow, his eyes taking an evaluating sweep over her form, as if he were placing her on a measuring stick in his mind.  "Miss Duskryder, while I can imagine only one state more flattering, your dress is only slightly less lovely than y- AH!"

Iliae’s hand instinctively lifted and smacked him across the cheek; only a moment later did she seem to realize what she had done. “Oh Light, I’m sorry! I don’t know why I did that… ” Her brow furrowed a bit as she looked at her hand like it had just betrayed her.

He laughed a bit, “No, no… Quite alright. I’ve probably done -something- to deserve it, though I'll never again tell someone they hit like a girl."

“Well… yes, you did.” Looking off to the side, she caught her reflection in one of the many large mirrors that lined the ballroom. No longer was she wearing a comfortable nightgown, but instead, an elegant dark lavender dress that she had sworn she’d thrown out years ago. Looking back at him, she spoke awkwardly, “So, a dance then? It’s the least I can do.”

Daeyn smiled, looking as if he had just made some small achievement as he offered her his hand again.  She took it, and he led her to the dance floor, placing his free hand on her side, in a respectful manner. “I’d say so; I’ve been struck many times in many places, but never on the middle of a dance floor.”

As he spoke, Iliae couldn’t help but notice how odd it was… How unfamiliar he felt, almost new, as if she had just met him. Smiling a little bit, she looked up at him. “I’m sure that’s not true.”

“And she’s intuitive as well as brassy.” He teased, leading them in perfect step with the music. “Aren’t you an odd one.” He knelt down and picked her up, turning in time with the couples around them.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve attended a social function, I suppose I’ve forgotten my manners. Would you prefer that I nod along and let you get away with lying?” She grinned outright.

“No, I think not.” He grinned back, “At least you’re not twirling your hair or agreeing with every word I say… That's annoying, and this is refreshing..” As the music faded, he took a step back from her, “We’ll have to do this again sometime, Miss Duskryder.”

“Is it over?” She looked around the ballroom for a moment, noticing that no one else had stopped dancing.

“No, but you need to wake up, Iliae.” With a bow, he faded away, taking the elegant vision with him.

“Illy?” Xynrael asked again, grabbing hold of his wife’s shoulders as her eyes opened. “Illy? Are you alright? All the doors are open and I saw that the chain had been broke- UMPH.”

Iliae moved forward and interrupted him with a kiss. “You’re a horrible dancer, you know.” She whispered as she pulled away, an odd look of admiration in her eyes.

“Really? I always thought I was pretty good.” He grinned, lowering his arms and taking one of her hands, before placing his other hand on her hip.

Smiling, she allowed him to playfully spin her around the room, trails of dust dancing with them in the air as they moved about the room.  When he finally stopped, she moved forward and rested her head on his chest, a content sight escaping her lips.