Current...Past...Sin...Alexander...Forum...Notes...Survey...D-land

"As the World Falls Down."
2002-12-23 - 2:20 p.m.

Alexander stormed out of the room, leaving but one lasting thought on my mind: He doesn't love me.

My tears were so abundant that my vision was only a blurred red haze. My knees weakened, and I began to fall backwards, but Adhemar caught me before I hit the ground. He knelt down with me and cradled me in his arms tightly.

I couldn't think at all; my mind simply kept recalling all of the times Alexander had told me he loved me, that he wouldn't leave me, that he wouldn't hurt me�

"That bastard," Adhemar growled to no one in particular, and then said to Ella, "You said something to him, didn't you? To make him want to do this�"

Adhemar was seething. I tried to say something to calm him down, but my voice couldn't bring itself to work.

"If I had not, he never would have told Sindor!" Ella snapped. "Of course I did not want him to tell Sindor like this, but he had to tell him sooner or later!"

"You're the lowest," Adhemar hissed. "Alexander only cares about himself, and you only care about Alexander. You're both heartless!"

Before Ella could make a retaliation, I looked up at her with my tear-filled eyes. Ella, stop, please� I thought to her. Adhemar doesn't mean what he's saying� You're his princess, after all� He's only defending me� He'll be calmed down tomorrow, so please forgive him for anything he says now� He doesn't mean it�

She looked at me sympathetically and thought, I know. And I am sorry, Sindor, before slowly climbing into her coffin and shutting the lid quietly.

Adhemar sighed angrily and hugged me tighter.

I turned and buried my face in the crook of Adhemar's neck and cried, my tears full of desperation and angst, wanting only to be back in Alexander's arms. I sobbed Alexander's name over and over again, wishing that he would come back to me.

"He won't," Adhemar said, rubbing my back soothingly. "He's a self-centered prick who doesn't know the meaning of love."

I wrapped my arms around Adhemar and continued sobbing. "Why?" I choked out. "I love him so much� I only love him� why, Adhemar?"

"I know you only love him, kid," he replied. "You're too good for him."

"Is it normal for him to be with me, but only love Jay?" I sobbed.

"No, kid," Adhemar answered. "It's not right at all. �But sunrise will be here shortly. We've got to sleep."

"I want to die," I cried. "Just let the sun take me�"

"Stop that!" Adhemar said fiercely, pulling me to my feet. "He's not worth it, Arnon."

I wiped the tears off of my face with the back of my hand. "Don't leave me, then," I pleaded. "Please, don't leave me."

"I won't, kid," he said, his eyes understanding. "C'mon, then." He took my arm and led me over to my coffin. After I reluctantly got inside, he followed and laid down beside me.

I turned towards him and hugged him tightly, and started crying once more. "I can't live without him�" I said, defeated.

"I know, Arnon," Adhemar said with a sigh, draping an arm around me. "Just� I don't know, kid, give him a night to cool down. Maybe he overreacted."

"It was my fault�" I said. "It always is."

"It is not," Adhemar insisted, running a hand through my hair. "What happened? I only heard him yelling at you."

"I was scared," I admitted. "I accidentally killed someone, an innocent. I was afraid he was going to hurt you, or Alexander, or Ella, or Henmi, so I went to see him. I didn't mean to kill him, I really didn't, Adhemar. But he attacked me, and I was scared�"

"You shouldn't worry about that at all," Adhemar said. "If he threatened you, then he's just as rotten as a common thug."

"But he was innocent before trying to attack me!"

"No he wasn't," Adhemar said. "If he had the desire to hurt you, then he must have had evil thoughts before then. It doesn't matter if he's an innocent."

"�Have you ever killed an innocent?" I asked.

"Yes, several, and I have no regrets about it," he answered truthfully.

I sighed and closed my eyes. "I didn't mean what I said afterwards to Alexander. I told him it was his fault that I killed that man. What a horrible thing to say! It's all my fault that he left!"

"No it isn't," Adhemar said. "If he had half a heart, he would have realized that you were suffering and tried to comfort you. That's what people who love one another do."

I sniffed and blinked the tears out of my eyes. "�I lied when I said you weren't right for Henmi, Adhemar. You're perfect for him. I know you love him more than anyone. And you do love everyone."

"That's not always a good thing, Arnon," he admitted. "It's getting harder and harder to resist others. I've taken to feeding from the elderly to quell my cravings."

"Why won't you just� with Henmi?" I asked.

"He's not ready," Adhemar stated. "I think I've finally gotten him comfortable with kissing in public, though." Adhemar laughed slightly.

"You really shouldn't do that, though," I said. "You could be hanged for it."

"Hey, now," Adhemar said. "There aren't too many law officials hanging around the tavern, you know."

I snorted in amusement. "I'm afraid they would have to arrest everyone in the tavern if they did come there." I sighed in partial contentment. "You're always so good to me, Adhemar."

"I try, kid," he answered.

The sun had gone up several minutes ago, but I was unable to sleep.

"What are we going to do�?" I asked Adhemar vaguely, but he understood completely.

"Well, tomorrow evening, we are going to wake up and feed together, and then go out and get you a new outfit, as I really tire of this work uniform," he answered. I smiled, and he continued, "And afterwards, we are going to go see your darling brother. Ah, but before that, I'll have to do your hair, too, perhaps braid it. And at the tavern, we will help Henmi work for a while. And, oh, I forgot, didn't I? Henmi's been telling me about the theater your father built. Perhaps we could go there, don't you think?"

I nodded and then kissed him on the cheek gently, a brotherly gesture, before he continued speaking.

"And we'll think nothing of Alexander for a whole night," he continued. "And after we�re finished, we'll come back here and sleep, and then the next night, we'll feed, and then seek out Alexander. Fair enough?"

"Alright," I agreed, feeling much better than before.

"Good," Adhemar said. "It's settled, then."

After that, we both remained silent and fell asleep, I more at ease in Adhemar's arms.

When I woke up the next evening, Adhemar was no longer next to me, but I could hear him outside of my coffin, speaking with Ella, asking her forgiveness, which she, thankfully, gave to him.

After she left, Adhemar opened my coffin and said smiled, saying, "�you eavesdropper, you."

I smiled and pulled him down into a tight hug.

"C'mon," Adhemar said, pulling me to my feet. "I'm starving."

Before we left to feed, I washed any traces of yesterday's tears off my face, making an effort not to think about Alexander.

After we fed, Adhemar took me by the hand and led me to the house of a woman named Peri, a little Turkish woman who had come to New Orleans about a year ago from Europe. Adhemar said he had visited her many times, as he thought she was the best seamstress in town.

When he knocked on the door, she answered, none too surprised to see Adhemar. She sighed and said, "You again, deary, I just saw you a few nights ago!"

Adhemar smiled. "It's not for me, this time," he answered, pulling me forward to stand in front of Peri. "We need a new outfit for my friend here. Can you help us out?"

"Of course, love, I just wish you wouldn't come at night, you know," she answered, moving aside so Adhemar and I could come into her house.

She showed us into her sewing room where several stacks of clothing were scattered around the room.

"Now, let's see�" Peri said, rummaging through the clothes. "What color are his eyes, Adhemar, dear?" she asked.

"Hazel," Adhemar answered. "And red hair."

"I don't suppose blue would look very well, then," she answered.

"Perhaps dark brown, you think? Too much white wouldn't look right at all," Adhemar replied, beginning to search himself.

"No, not white, dear, but perhaps brown," Peri said. "Or black, of course."

I smiled to myself, watching the two search for an outfit for me.

"I like this black jacket," Adhemar said, pulling it from one of the piles. "What do you think, Sindor?"

My eyes widened. He said my name� "I� yes, I like it," I answered. It was exotic-looking, and had various black-threaded stitched patterns on it. "It looks a bit long, though."

"I can hem it up, deary, no problem," Peri answered. "How about these pants and this shirt, Adhemar, love?" She held up a pair of mostly black pants (the bottom six inches or so of each leg was brown), and then a brown collarless shirt with a black ring of color at the opening at the top of the shirt.

"I like," Adhemar said. "But does Sindor like?" He looked up at me with a smile.

I smiled back and nodded gratefully.

"Good!" Peri said excitedly. "Here, deary, try these on behind the screen there, won't you?" She handed me the set of clothes.

I did as she asked, and everything fit very well, except of course, the jacket being too long, but Peri had promised to fix that.

When I emerged, Peri knelt down in front of me and began to sew up the bottom of the jacket a few inches.

Adhemar asked her, "Do you have a hair comb, Peri?"

"Yes, dear, on the table over there," she answered.

Adhemar retrieved it and began brushing my hair gently, getting all of the tangles out. When he finished, he pulled a piece of string out of his back pocket and held it between his teeth while he braided my hair, leaving two locks of hair in front to frame my face. When he was finished, he took the piece of string and tied the end of the short braid.

Soon after, Peri finished hemming the jacket up. "There we are, love, all finished." She then fetched a mirror and set it up in front of me. I gazed at my new clothes in the mirror. I looked�

"Magnificent," Adhemar said, smiling radiantly at me in the mirror. I blushed slightly and smiled back at him.

"Oh, one more thing, Adhemar, dear," Peri said, fetching what looked like a chained necklace from a small box on a table. "I noticed your friend likes jewels, deary, especially on his forehead, there. This one has a chain, though, so he won't have to paste it on." She carefully removed the jewel I had on my forehead and then placed the chained jewel around my forehead, clasping it at the back of my head. A small amber jewel rested in the middle of my forehead.

"Very nice," Adhemar said approvingly.

"But� It's too much, Adhemar�" I stated.

"Don't worry about it, kid," he said. "It's on me."

"Adhemar� thank you," I said gratefully. I really did look spectacular.

Adhemar then paid Peri, who then swiftly pushed us out of the door, insisting that it was way too late for an old lady like her to be awake.

Outside, I took Adhemar's hand in mine again as we walked to the tavern. "You really didn't have to do this, Adhemar�Thank you�"

"No problem, kid," he said, squeezing my hand affectionately.

When we arrived at the bar, Henmi greeted us at the door, saying, "Adhemar! Where have you b--Wow, Sin, you look� handsome!"

"Th-thanks�" I said.

Adhemar released my hand and kissed Henmi quickly, then said to him, "Sindor's come to help us work tonight, pet."

"Really?" Henmi's eyes lit up. "Great!"

We worked for about half a dozen hours together, serving drinks and the like, before we sat down to talk to one another.

"Hey, love, do you think we could go to the theater tonight?" Adhemar asked Henmi. "They'll be no show, of course, but I'd like to see it all the same."

"Can we really, Adhemar?" Henmi asked excitedly.

Adhemar nodded. "Sindor said he'd come, too."

"Great!" Henmi said. "I'll tell Christian to watch the bar for us while we're gone." He stood up and ran over to Christian, who nodded in agreement.

We then went over to the theater. Mr. Renold was on night duty at the theater, and I'd remembered him as one of my father's friends, so I was certain he'd let us inside.

"My, is that you, Sindor, my boy?" Mr. Renold asked. "I haven't seen your face in years. And you there, Henmi, last time I saw you, you weren't taller than my knees."

"It's good to see you," I said. "We've come tonight, myself, Henmi, and our friend Adhemar, to, if we could, see the theater. We've never been inside. Father would tell us all about it, but we never got to go�"

"My gosh, lad, you haven't seen it?" he asked. "Well, no harm in looking, I suppose. Go ahead in, but hurry back, now."

I thanked him and walked inside with Henmi and Adhemar beside me.

The theater was immense. It looked exactly like the plans I'd seen that my father drew up for it. It was amazing.

We walked around aimlessly for quite a while, before Adhemar said that we'd best get Henmi home so that we could go back to our coffin before sunrise.

Once we took Henmi back home, who was very happy from our outing, we walked back home and got into my coffin together and slept.

*All the rights to Sindor (the graphics and text included) belong to Leah Jenner. No reproduction or republication without written permission.