Persuasion With a Motivation

Seryez made it a mission to catch up with Nadya quickly. By the angle of his brows and lips, it seemed as though the thoughts and doubts racing through his mind were weighing him down more than was necessary. Making his way into the Hyacynth manor, he caught voices coming from the room he was in moments before Aleynah burst through it. Inside he saw Nadya embracing the twins as tears streaked their rosy cheeks.

“Nadya, ladies Gwendolyn and Guinevere, we were able to catch Aleynah.” Seryez sighed upon entering the door to the room.

The twin sisters let out a huge sigh of relief at Seryez’s words. The twins jumped up to him and tugged on his sleeves.

“Seryez, how is she? Is she alright?!” The twin seemed deeply troubled by their sister’s episode.

“She didn’t really mean to run away did she?” Eyes similar to Aleynah’s glistened up at him.

Seryez laid both of his hands on their shoulders.

“I believe Aleynah is in a state of shock at the moment. It’s best if we allow her some room to rest. She might just need some time, especially after the incident.”

He quickly looked up at Nadya. In that quick exchange of looks, he saw a glimmer of shame in her eyes before looking away. He clenched his jaw. The twins sobbed some more tears and nodded solemnly.

“Where is Madame Natalya, is she alright?” Nadya’s voice seemed to ring louder than the sobs of the twins.

“Mother took her to her bedroom. She hasn’t woken up.” Seryez patted the youngest twin on the head in an effort to comfort her.

“Lady Gwendolyn, please don't let it weigh too heavily on your heart. I suggest you both rest in your rooms for the evening. It’s going to take time for everything to calm down completely.”

“But Seryez, what should we do about Aleynah? Do you really think she lost her memories?”

Seryez swallowed at the thought.

“It’s best to contact the family physician. Have you sent someone to notify him?”

“Yes, our house butler sent for him. He is to be here any moment. He is residing in town temporarily in case we need him to tend to Aleynah.”

“Good. Now, it's best to go on and rest. It’s been an exhausting week for everyone.”

“Thank you Seryez, we deeply appreciate your family for coming and helping us. Especially my mother, she’s been heartsick… she hasn’t been well.”

“It will be alright, trust that we’ll be here to help.” The twin with brown eyes looked up in gratitude through a bundle of tears and smiled at him. With a few more consoling words to each other, the twins made their way out in each others’ arms. As soon as the door clicked closed, Nadya walked to Seryez from where she was.

“Is she really going to be okay Seryez?” Light eyes dared him to spill more than what she was asking for.

Seryez rested his hand on her head, soothing her with soft caresses.

“Let’s hope. She doesn’t seem to recall what happened which is worrying. Nevertheless, we should consider it a miracle that she’s still with us.”

“Oh Seryez, I feel so horrible about everything.” Worry changing the usual smile from her face but never her beauty.

Seryez took her face in both of his hands and looked into her eyes. Clear frustration shown on his face.

“Nadya, there’s no need for you to say that. None of what has happened is your fault. Aleynah… hasn’t been well since the news. None of us knew she would take such drastic actions. What she decided to do shouldn’t weigh on your mind. Neither you nor Maksim should blame themselves.”

Nadya carefully shook away Seryez’s hands with a pensive gaze in her eyes.

“Where’s Maksim?”

Seryez looked away.

“He was able to calm Aleynah down enough to take her back to her room.”

Nadya looked down with sadness.

“I can only imagine how hard it must be on him. The way Aleynah became hysterical and claimed to not remember him… it must be destroying him.”

Seryez clicked his tongue.

“I know Seryez, I know. You keep telling us, but I can’t help but have us take blame for what Aleynah did. Both had this arrangement since they were fifteen! And then Maksim… broke it off for me…”

“If he broke the arrangement, it must have been for a reason. Whatever happened is between them, and Maksim ultimately made the decision. It doesn’t excuse Aleynah’s behavior towards the two of you. It seems you’ve forgotten what she has done and tried to do to you too.”

“Yes, I know. I just… I can’t help but feel guilty for all of this. And regardless of what has transpired between us… she was still my friend Seryez…”

Seryez furrowed a brow.

“Nadya…”

“She was the first person to lend me a hand when I first arrived, Seryez. No one was willing to accept me into society until Aleynah brought me into it. I’m sure you’re well aware of that.”

Seryez looked off uncomfortably. Guilt riding over him.

“Thanks to her help and influence, I was able to lift my family up. Now, however, it’s gone back to how it was since I accepted Maksim’s proposal.”

Seryez walked towards a shelf, away from Nadya. Nadya clasped her hands and tugged on her fingers nervously. She looked away from Seryez.

“I shouldn’t have accepted his proposal. They always acted like friends. She never got jealous. Maksim told me himself they never harbored feelings for each other. But I should have known.”

Nadya bit her lip.

“Those were things that needed to have been communicated… but what Aleynah did to you was unforgivable.” Seryez looked back at Nadya.

The air tensed around them, quieting down to a drop. In a shaky exhale he clenched his hands.

“I still… the offer-”

“Seryez.” Nadya kept her head down, seeming to not want to let Seryez continue that sentence. Registering her body language, Seryez stepped back and looked forward. His eyes once warm now shadowed over with indifference.

“I think I should go check on both of them.” Nadya pointed out.

She picked up her skirt and tried to quickly make her way past Seryez. But as soon as she made her intention clear, Seryez caught her by the arm.

“Don’t. It’s best if you don’t. I’ll go.”

Nadya looked up with a hidden sadness while he simply stared her down. Yet, like always, a wave of weakness exposed him to her through his cold gaze.

With that, Seryez made his way out. Nadya stood still for a few more minutes before having tears fall from her eyes. She bit her lips and walked to the couch to sit on it. She looked out of one of the large thin windows, contemplating her own involvement.

.

.

.

“Seriously… I’m fine, I can walk.”

“Just let me.”

I wasn’t even sure where I was at anymore with my emotions. A part of me was still in disbelief but the other part of me was on high alert.

(I’m being carried by a really good-looking man. And he’s holding me as if I'll fall any minute… which most likely is the truth since I’m not exactly light-weight, but that’s exactly the problem here!)

After panicking in his arms through what seemed like a long walk, we reached the bedroom door. It seemed we had been walking in an endless maze since each hallway looked the same. For a second there I had hoped that it was a weird ending to this nightmare. Except it wasn’t. It opened to the same room I had woken up in just moments ago. Once again a wave of nausea flooded me. The discomfort of it all had been getting to me and no eye candy was helping.

Maksim laid me down in bed, taking his time to tuck me in. All I could do was just wait for his reaction, but there was nothing there. He had avoided looking at me. His thoughts were clearly visible as they ran across his face. My thoughts were probably the same as his, jumbled and confused. Whatever his questions were, my thoughts had to be the answer to them.

But this wasn’t my world or reality. I wasn’t sure what was going on anymore or whether I should insist them about me not being their Aleynah.

Just how long was this dream going to last?

“Aley-… you had mentioned you weren’t Aleynah earlier, what did you mean by that?”

Maksim had sat down avoiding my gaze. It was hard to settle on an answer. My thoughts were all over the place. And I couldn’t quite pin them down on what would be the best thing to say.

Regardless of whether this was a dream or not, they thought I was losing my mind. And if I was in some kind of time swap where medical advancements were minimal, then it was best to maintain a certain level of composure. There was no telling what my fate was or whether I would experience it. No outburst was waking me up from this mess.

Still trying to choose the right words, I began to lift myself into a sitting position when I felt a sharp pain course through my toe and ankle. I hissed in response.

“Is something the matter? Did you hurt yourself?”

I nodded on instinct.

“My ankle. When I fell… I think I twisted it.”

His crisp suit showcased an air of superiority, one I wasn’t acquainted with. It seemed to encapsulate his form in the best way. His gloved hands indicated that he was from some kind of high class in this world. He gently pulled back the covers he had just fixed and brought his gloved hands to my ankle. I flinched and so did he.

“I’m sorry. I’ll just touch gently and you warn me if it hurts.”

True to his word, he simply laid three fingers and pressed down just enough for me to confirm there was pain there. The way he carried himself was charming. He had an air of melancholy but behind his red eyes, it seemed there was something bothering him. Almost as if he had a secret he wanted to share but couldn’t.

He got up and made his way to a vase with a small short bowl and a towel thrown over one of its edges. He dipped the towel in the bowl and began to squeeze the water out.

Now I was truly stuck. Even if I tried to hobble my way out of this maze of a fever dream, there was no way this man would let me go.

(Not that I would really mind but well, priorities.)

Without a word, he began to administer some kind of first aid to my swollen ankle. He laid the cool wet towel over my foot, wrapping it around and putting slight pressure. Not a word was shared, but I had known at that point that he wasn’t really wanting to talk. Or if he did, there were no words he could have used to communicate what he wanted at that moment.

“Maksim, right?”

He looked up at me with slightly wide eyes. His eyes fluttered as he nodded.

(I mean duh right, but what do I say?! Think, spidey, think…)

I was only able to thoroughly have a complete thought some time ago, but my situation was clear to me. From what I gathered I was in some kind of accident.

By the way everyone was reacting, it seemed my accident was a touchy subject. This person's family members were beside themselves with my 'condition'. And strangely enough, her 'best friend' was now before me with concern lacing each gesture. 

I felt bad. But this… was not my world. It’s not my life. Whatever glitch in the matrix or witchcraft caused this can only exist in dreams. The only explanation I could conjure up was that I was stuck in a strong lucid dream.

This storyline must have been a collection of my memories. Things I would gather throughout the day. Then again… something did happen.

Before I fell asleep I could swear something happened. My distant memories were faintly recalling some sort of event that took place.

(Had I fallen and hit my head? Was this the second hand effect of a brain swelling? It must be. But if it is… my god… I’m on the verge of life and death aren’t I?!)

As I looked around the luxurious room and passed a glance through Maksim’s expectant gaze, my mind made a decision then and there that I needed to play along. At least for now. Somehow deep within me I knew that was the answer to this madness.

“I’m really sorry if I’ve made a mess of things. From waking up, seeing all of you… I don’t recall anything. Neither your faces or what happened before I fell asleep. For the life of me, I swear to you, I don’t remember anything. I don’t even know who you are.”

As I tried piecing together a story for him to follow, I could notice that the last line of my speech was what finally provoked a reaction out of him. It seemed that what he mentioned before was true. He said we were childhood friends, it's only natural for him to feel sad that I don’t remember him.

“And I hope it’s okay to ask you but… do you know what happened to me? Could you tell me?”

His fists clenched up and that’s where he pulled his gaze away and down from mine. He took a minute to respond but when he did, he only shook his head lightly.

“It’s best not to bring that up at this moment. We still need the doctor to come and examine you. You have been asleep for two days and if you can’t really remember anything, it’s best not to force you to remember something so traumatic.”

(Dammit…)

“Right… you’re right.”

A sigh escaped my lips. The frustration and confusion subsided somewhat, but as I looked out to the mirrors to capture the scenery, only one thought was dominating my mind.

(What happened to me?)

Not just to this person but to myself as well. It seemed too coincidental that the person in this world lost her memories, while I myself lost memories of what happened before I woke up in her body. The only thing helping me create a spark of memory was the woman I saw in my dream.

It was surreal. As my mind continued to wander, I felt a gentle touch run through my pinky only to have my hand be encapsulated in warmth. As I turned towards the sensation, I caught Maksim’s hand cradling mine.

He didn’t look up at all, but there was something in the way he was looking at our hands that had my mind tickled with curiosity.

There was something else here. More than what happened to me or what happened to this person, he knew something else.

“I never would have wanted this for you.” His eyes looked up at me with a dark gaze. Those surreal ruby eyes pierced mine. Having him so close to me was intimidating. Yet my heart began to beat rapidly against my chest. Somewhere in the closeness I was becoming lost.

“What happened… it changed us all. You are very dear to me, you always have been. To see you like this… I’m so sorry Aleynah. I never ...” His hand squeezed mine. His chest heaved up and down. He lowered his eyes again but I could only imagine by the sound of his hoarse voice that there were tears being unshed. And again, something within me restrained my chest from breathing.

“I can only hope you’ll feel better and be the Aleynah I knew.”

His friend was gone. And I had taken her body. Possessed her in such an ignorant manner. Whatever lines wrote this story seemed tragic and I knew all too well that my heart had begun to feel sorry for dreaming this already.

Tragedies were never my favorite, and now I was stuck in one. One where I had no control it seemed. My heart clenched at the sight of his sadness.

Wanting to reach out to him to give him some sort of peace, I flipped my hand and grabbed his. He looked up at me with alert eyes. All that I had in my weakened state was to simply shake my head softly and smile at him. Reassuring him somehow that it would be okay.

(Even though… it wont.)

“Please don’t feel sad. Whatever happened, if what drove me to such a horrible event only brought about sadness then maybe it’s a good thing I don’t remember. If we were close then I hope we stay that way. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t afraid right now.”

“Aleynah-“

“It’s fine though. Now I know that someone cares for me the way you do. Regardless if you’re a stranger to me now, I’m sure with your kindness my memories will come to me soon enough.”

His eyes seemed to glow at me as his tears gleamed. He squeezed my hand harder this time and I reciprocated. All the time keeping my smile to comfort him.

Ever so slowly, he leaned into me until his forehead touched mine. The pain on his face made the pain in my chest worse.

(I should be the one being comforted but I can’t just allow him to feel what he’s feeling. Regardless of this situation, it’s hard to ignore those feelings that are so evident. I hope he feels better. More than me at least. Even if it is a dream.)

His thumb was slowly rubbing against my hand. No words were exchanged but there seemed to be an air of understanding that enveloped us. He slowly opened his eyes and in the closeness of our faces, his soft breath crashed into my cheeks. It seemed as if the pain was getting to him.

“Aleynah… I’m sor-”

Before he was able to apologize once more, a loud voice cut through the moment.

“Maksim.”

There stood the dark-haired man from before, with displeasure permeating out of him. His face scowled straight at us.

Maksim seemed to catch on to the man’s discomfort as he let a small sigh escape. Before he let his hand slip away from mine, I felt one last squeeze.

“Aleynah will be resting for the rest of the day. Let’s go ahead and inform her family to wait till the doctor arrives to enter her room.”

Maksim said as he got up with swollen eyes. Yet that didn't discourage him from standing face to face with the intimidating man. Both men stared at each other without exchanging a word. From where I was sitting, the slight surprise in the dark-haired man's eyes seemed to voice something within me. 

(Oookay. I take it that was inappropriate for us to do.)

Which made sense since this appeared to be in a historical era apparently, there was no doubt the rule of propriety applied here.

“Then we should get going.”

The intimidating man simply stared at Maksim as Maksim went about in fixing the bedsheets at my ankle. Then he gently laid a hand on my leg as his dark eyes looked at me softly.

“Get some rest, I’ll go ahead and let your family know that you will be sleeping so as not to bother you.”

“Thank you Maksim, I really appreciate it.”

In the corner of my eyes I saw Seryez’s brow lift just enough for me to take the hint.

“We’ll be back to check on you tomorrow and your family.”

With that he left through the door as Seryez took a moment longer to linger his stare on me. Feeling awkward I decided to give him a smile too.

(Kill them with kindness…)

“Thank you again… I’m really sorry for earlier.” Seryez simply focused his gaze but this time he seemed to soften his posture.

“It’s only understandable. Better take Maksim’s advice and rest. It’s been a long day for you. If you need anything, please feel free to ring the bell beside you.”

Not waiting for a response he left. The bell he mentioned sat obediently on a nightstand close by. To have to use that to call someone was a little too much.

Sighing I rested back into the plump pillows at my back.

(This is one hell of a dream.)

If I really was in some sort of coma, then this must be a dream induced by a brain hemorrhage. My body shivered in fear.

My body sagged with exhaustion. It seemed my panic had subsided slightly. Soon enough sleep will take over me.

(That’s right! Why didn’t I think of it? Most likely all of this is just a very long dream and now I’m finally going to get out of it. Thank the heavens above in all that is holy!)

Hope bloomed in my chest.

This dream had gone on for far too long. Seeing my body in the mirror was interesting to witness myself as a different person. Especially one that was very pretty.

(Whatever story you have, I’m sure it’s not one that’s easy to carry. I’m sorry if my memories made a reflection of your story and feelings. But rest assured that the moment I go back to sleep, so will you and everything that went on will be gone soon.)

With those thoughts I adjusted myself to curl around a fluffy pillow. Stretching my body languidly I closed my eyes in a pleasant moment of relief and relaxation.

(Soon, we’ll both be asleep only to wake up back in my apartment with the mourning doves outside my window and the train whistling in the distance. Soon enough, it’ll be all gone… Aleynah.)