Written for the Halloween contest by TheCRYPTIC_

This story was a runner-up in the aforementioned contest!

Spirits of my past

The broad moonlit surroundings, that lay bare to the sharp biting wind, which flew through its own course, was adorned with the clear night sky, the moon seeming to be engraved as the sky's most precious jewel. 
But on the other hand, opposite to what lay around me, my mind possessed a completely different stature, trying to seek comfort and solace. 

I was profusely sweating, with sweat wrapping my body with fear and my heart couldn't cease from pulsating wildly. My inner instincts were clearly telling me, that they were coming for me.

Coming to stake my life at the doors of death. 

Again.

Nonono, I thought. Not yet, not now that I was so close to finally finding her.

Shadows curled around my ankles, reaching for me with invisible fingers. Darkness itself seemed to be hot on my heels. 

I hastened my pace, not daring to even turn my head around, listening for the tiniest intake of breath behind me, dreading the sound of their approaching footsteps, their grip on my shoulder...

But all I heard, was the gravel crunching beneath my own boots, sending sprays of grains flying around with every step I made.

Relax, I tried to tell myself, tried to calm my frightful heart and my heavy breathing. I stopped for a moment to catch my breath, to take a look at my surroundings.

Relieved - there was no one behind me, no one following - I took in the scene before me.
Yet still, the fear remained. I knew it would be just a matter of time before they would find me, before they realised what I was up to. How close I was to finally completing my mission.

Tombstones were protruding from the ground all around me, mementoes of the people once wandering the grounds of this city. Now it was as if the cemetery was a city of its own, with headstones made of marble and statues of weeping angels lining the path like houses and skyscrapers. 

I stepped out from underneath a tree and I couldn't shake the thought that, with its scraggly branches spreading like a spider's web against the dark sky, bare-branched and withering away in the chilly autumn air, even this tree looked oddly sad. 

Leaves rustled and crumbled beneath my feet as I slowly made my way deeper into the cemetery. The soft fog that was clinging to the night air broke and dissolved as a breeze picked up and I was able to finally see what I had come for.

There it was, at the end of the pebbled path, half hidden behind evergreen hedges and framed by heavy wrought iron: a mausoleum.
I passed the small gate, letting it swing shut behind me with a squeal.
Three big strides brought me right in front of the small structure made of slabs of once pristine granite that were now blackened by pollution and covered in moss. Two columns held the roof, both were overgrown with vines and thorns, covering them in an intricate web of greenery, making the structure blend into the nature around it.

I sucked in a breath, breathing in the scent of woods and roses, readying myself for what was to come.
So many cities, so many graveyards. So much digging and looking, so much poking in earth holes and half decomposed coffins.
When all this time, she had been right before my eyes, right where it had begun.

Home.

The door, sealed so carefully ten decades ago, gave away easily under the weight of my body and the impact of my power and I entered the small room.

Unsurprisingly, it was pitch black and it smelled... of dust and flowers.
The perfume of roses hung heavy in the atmosphere, surrounding me from all sides, attacking my nostrils and awakening the memory inside of me.
Of strawberry blonde locks dancing in the summer breeze, of amber eyes and the rustle of ballgowns, the wisps of a song fluttering across the gardens.
And my heart rate picked up once again, beating twice as hard against my diaphragm as before.

It's her. It's her. It's her. Was all I could think.

I was so sure it had to be her, that I had finally found her, after all these years. I could smell it in the air and feel it on my tongue with every ragged breath I took.

A snap of my fingers and the candles scattered across the floor and walls lit up, casting the tiny room in golden light and flickering shadows.

I took another step into the tomb and that was when I saw her, lying in an open coffin, on a bed of silk and roses, cheeks as rosy as I remembered them, lips as plump and red as ever.

"Death, that hath sucked the honey of thy breath, hath had no power yet upon thy beauty,*" I murmured.
More accurate words were never spoken, because despite being dead and buried for a century, she looked alive and lovely as she had when she had been walking the earth.
But then, she wasn't exactly dead either.

I drew nearer and stood there for a while, too entranced by the sight before me, overwhelmed by the fact that I had finally found my lost love. After all these years of searching and longing. It was almost too good to be true and I had to remind myself that this was not one of my dreams.

A crackling sound broke the silence all of a sudden and tore me out of my reverie of balmy nights and breezy days in the gardens of Versailles.

I froze, eyes flying to the open door, beyond the golden glow of a dozen flames, out into the cold darkness of the graveyard.
Adrenaline pumped through my system and the dread came rushing back to me all at once.

Had they found me? Had they come to condemn my soul back to the abyss, the shadows?

I cursed under my breath, cursed all the Gods I didn't care about, for letting me down again and again. It was as if a black cloud was following my every turn.

I approached the opening, cautiously as if not to warn the wretched spirits of my presence. Heart racing, hands shaking, I peeked out into the yard.
It was eerily silent, one could almost say deadly silent.
I turned my head right and left, but saw nothing of the creatures that were no doubt screaming for my blood and my bones, that meant to torture my soul until it fell apart.

I shuddered, remembering things that should have rather stayed buried in the back of my mind, locked away in the dark recess of my brain.
But certain things could never be forgotten, couldn't be erased from the hard drives in our heads.

The spill of blood and the screams of agony, the churn of white-hot fire and the sound, the feel of skin burning and tearing, just to be mended again a second later were etched into my very being, the images were clinging to me like a dark halo.

It was funny how most people feared death, even though they didn't even know what awaited them on the other side.
Me, I feared death for a completely different reason. I feared it because I knew what awaited me, knew the terrors and the shadows that threatened to swallow me and tear me apart, bit by bit.

But I refused to let them get me this time, refused to give up.

The door flew shut with a flick of my wrist, sealed with a burst of magic.
I came here because I had a mission and I wouldn't let death ruin my plans again.

I turned, causing the flames illuminating the hollow space before me to stutter and flare, throwing nervous shadows across the walls.

The sleeping figure remained unmoving on her deathbed, a flower refusing to wilt.

I approached the casket, slowly, carefully, afraid to break the magic and silence of the moment with hasty movements. This was meant to be special, to mean something.

Leaning forward and looking into the face I had longed for and dreamed of for so long. I felt frozen in time. Seconds seemed to stretch into hours as I stood there, my eyes roaming the princess before me, admiring the way the light danced across the curve of her nose. How her lashes brushed her cheeks. How the gentle swell of her lower lip glistened in the candles' glow, almost as if she'd licked it in her sleep.

I bent down and brought my forehead down to hers, until we were almost nose to nose, lips only inches apart.
She smelled of love and roses as I buried my face in her rusty red locks and breathed in deeply, inhaling the scent of her. I could've almost cried with the familiarity of it all and the ache it brought to my heart when I thought of the centuries separating us, tearing us apart.

I lifted my head and brought my lips down to hers, softly at first, as if afraid to break her. My trembling fingers touched the side of her face, skimmed her cheekbone just as I felt her stir beneath me.
Her lips parted, like a flower opening to the sun's awakening touch and my heart skipped a beat.
My mouth pressed harder into hers, inhaling her breath and leaving an imprint of mine on her lips.

I heard her sigh, felt her slip out of a dream and when I finally pulled away, her taste still on my tongue and her scent still invading my senses, her eyes fluttered and opened.

I looked down into two pools of molten amber.

"Vivienne," I said in a hoarse whisper, I fought to stay in control, but the emotions got the best of me and made my voice crack at that single word.

She blinked, looking at me in confusion, then surveyed the room, the candles around us, the coffin beneath her.

"Do you remember me?"

She looked at me again, pupils widening, breath hitching in her throat, shaking her head in disbelief. When she finally spoke, her voice was rough and whisper-soft from sleep.

"You are the man, who cursed me," she said, murmuring to herself, "You should be dead... I saw Alexandre kill you –"

At this, I laughed, humourlessly. I still had the scar across my chest to prove that, still remembered the pain of bleeding to death quite distinctly.

"Well, here I am, as good as new," I told her, "But where's your beloved knight in shining armour?"
I pretended to look around, as if he could be hiding behind the potted plants in the corners of the room.
"Right, he's dead, he got wrinkly and old and left you alone."

I reached for her arm, wanted to put her face into my hands and stare deep into her eyes, down to her soul, make her see that I was the one she was meant to be with, that I had been with her all along. That it was me instead of that pompous bastard she had chosen to marry so long ago.

But she pulled away from me, scurried away from me in fear.

"Stay away from me, you... villain!" Her shriek sliced through me, tearing open my heart and hurting me in more ways than any sword could've.

I stepped away from the casket and that's when I heard it. The scratching of nails on granite, the knock of power against my wall of magic. They had found me.

It was the look of horror in her eyes that killed me then and there, the lack of softness and affection I had longed for so desperately.

So I just let go.

The door burst open and the spirits streamed forward, engulfed me in an embrace of shadows and cold wind, memories of dark rooms and broken bones.

***

 [word count: 1999]

*All credit for this quote goes to the brilliant William Shakespeare

That was a close call! I did my best and hope it's dark and thrilling enough.
If anyone reading this has an idea for a better suiting title, let me know please.

Thank you for reading!