My head tips back as I study the building, trepidation washing over me. "Are you sure we should go in..?" I flinch slightly, realizing I sound pitiful. "I mean, are we allowed to?"
Willy shrugs, bounding up the couple steps leading to the doors, tugging me with him. "No one's going to stop us," he points out, excitement edging his tone.
I end up on the step below his, and out of habit, I tug my hand free and begin twisting my hands together as I stare up at the faded building.
Willy glances over at me. "It's going to be fine, Ember." He turns back to the doors, curiosity and excitement evident in his frame as he presses on the door. It swings open with a soft screech. "See!" He cries triumphantly.
My own curiosity spikes and I slowly step up beside him and peer into the dark interior. I squint but can't make out anything. My hands continue to twist at each other as I blink.
He steps toward the door, his ever-changing eyes gleaming. At the moment, they're gleaming blue. "Come on!"
My stomach drops sharply. "Wait!" I yelp. "Are you sure it's...." I scramble to recover from the amount of fear my voice released, "safe?" I twist my hands together so hard it starts to hurt. I can't tear my gaze from the dark interior, and I know my eyes are wide, but my heart won't stop thumping harder and faster.
Willy pauses, twisting in place to look at me again. "Why wouldn't it be?" His question seems genuine and I have to take a soft breath at his apparent lack of observation skills.
I can't seem to tear my eyes from the dark interior, my breathing speeding up and my heart drumming a merry tune. "Well..." I rack my brain for a reason he might understand, "it's probably old. The structure might not be sound anymore."
"It's still here, isn't it?"
I can almost feel the blood draining out of my face, and I take a shaky breath. I nod in acknowledgment of his words, not fully succeeding at keeping the movement steady. I can't seem to prevent a small general tremble from creeping up my legs either. "That doesn't mean it still will be in 5 minutes," I say softly, my eyes darting upward.
An image of the two of us inside the warehouse flashes through my mind briefly, the roof falling in on us.
"All the more reason to use what time we do have!" He reaches over and grabs my hand, tugging me towards the door.
My eyes widen and I resist his pull, unwilling to be pulled into the warehouse. "W-Willy," I gasp out softly, not proud of the note of fear in my tone. I lift my free hand and put it on top of his. Unfortunately my tremble has made it all the way to my hands.
He pauses, looking down at our linked hands. "What?"
I take a deep breath trying to control my shaking. "I'm.." I start, trying to find something to say, but then the truth slips out, "scared."
Willy blinks rapidly. "Scared?" He gapes at me. "Scared of what?"
I can't help my widened eyes as I stare past him into the warehouse. "I don't know," I lie softly.
He gives me a lopsided smile, his eyes softening. "Ember, it's okay." His eyes shift, gleaming green as he meets mine. "Everyone gets scared. But you don't have to be scared."
I stare at him for a moment. He's so sweet. But he's wrong. My eyes slide past him and into the warehouse again as I fight the memories. "Don't I...?" I whisper.
"You don't," Willy says firmly. He squeezes my hand which is apparently still clasped in his. "Because I'm here with you." His eyes sparkle with certainty. He believes that with all his heart.
My heart melts a little as my gaze slides back over to him. And... maybe it will be okay. Maybe... Maybe I can do this. "Okay, Willy," I say softly. "Lead the way."
I can see the genuine excitement light up his features. "With pleasure!" He steps into the warehouse, tugging me after him.
I take a breath, blinking in the dim light. Only it's not nearly so dim. Long, slender windows circle the roof, letting in sunlight which fills the inside of the building. The ceiling stretches out far above us, neat rows of beams supporting it.
My head spins side to side as Willy tugs me along, trying to notice everything. The warehouse stretches out in every direction as far as I can see. The walls are faded but don't look rotten. But out of every detail I'm taking in, the one that makes me gawk is the boxes.
They're everywhere! Stacks taller than Willy and I put together, lopsided towers made up of crates of different sizes. Boxes that lie in the shape of a stack, but a long fallen stack. Short stacks up to my waist of crates. Piles of crates spilling over each other. Lining the wall, creating corridors, haphazardly pilled.
"That's... a lot of stuff," I murmer, raking my gaze across the building again.
Willy slowly stops, his gaze flying around the room. "What do you think is in these?" He asks brightly.
I glance at the boxes and crates again. "I really have no idea."
He perks up, twirling his golden walking stick. "Let's find out!"
I stare at the golden rod of metal. "Where did you get that? Didn't you leave it somewhere....?"
Willy glances down at the walking stick. "Don't everyone's walking sticks have a travel size?"
"What?"
I blink and when I open my eyes he's shoving a much smaller rod of golden metal into his coat. "Uh-"
He smiles widely, tugging me along again, striding towards a pile of crates with barely contained excitement.
I let him drag me over, my fear still simmering under the surface. This place is bringing back so many memories.... memories of m-
"Wow! Ember! Look at this!" Willy exclaims.
I glance down to find him rummaging in a crate. He pulls out a yellow scarf with a black pattern of lines on one side and some odd looking circular pattern on the other side.
He looks at the scarf with such obvious joy it makes me smile, if only to have a taste of his joy. He reaches up and tugs off his current scarf, a white one with red and blue patterns that overlap each other. There's stars on it but also swoops of solid color or swoops of stripes. He hands it to me absent-mindedly and ties on the golden yellow one.
"What do you think?" He spins on his boots, his worn, velvet coat flapping out behind him.
I smile, holding his scarf in reverent hands. "It looks nice."
His face lights up with excitement as he opens a second crate, rummaging through the fabric inside.
I lean closer, jumping back when Willy exclaims wordlessly. "What?" I lean to the side. "What is it?"
He leans back, pulling a swath of deep red fabric out.
I gasp as the material falls down, settling into the shape of a dress. "Willy-" I breathe, staring at the fabric.
He turns to me, holding out the dress. "Red is still your favorite, right?"
"Yes," I murmr, my eyes latched onto the swaying fabric. I almost reach out to touch it but think better of it, clutching Willy's scarf like a lifeline.
He waits for a long moment, his arms stretched out towards me, the dress tantalizingly close.
I fist his scarf even harder, fighting the urge to reach out and touch the dress even though my eyes won't leave the soft looking fabric.
"Ember, my arms are getting tired."
"Huh?" I tear my eyes from the dress and meet his.
"Take the dress. It's for you." His lopsided smile dances on his lips.
My lips form an 'O'. "I... I can't take that." My arms have other ideas and they slowly start to lift towards the dress.
"Nobody's using it. Nobody's going to use it. Take iiiitt." Willy draws out the last word in such a pleading tone.
I want to argue with his logic, but the warehouse has been abandoned ever since one on the other side of town burned down. I swallow, reaching out and taking the dress finally.
I gasp. The fabric is so smooth and soft and light. It has little sleeves and it's simple, but I can tell that somehow despite its simplicity, it's going to be so elegant.
"Oh, Willy," I breathe.
"Try it on!"
I gape at him for a moment, but the protest on my lips dies when my eyes dip back to the deep red. "Well.... okay," I say softly. "I guess I can do that."
Willy beams at me as I hand him back his red and blue scarf, my eyes latched on the dress. I only look up to skim the room for a stack of boxes tall enough for me to change behind.
I wind around crates and boxes, leaving Willy rummaging through another box. I stop behind a tall stack, checking to make sure he's distracted before I tug off my dress. I shiver in the chilly air, it's winter after all. And the warehouse is only a little warmer than the air outside.
I slip the new dress over my head and underclothes. I shiver again as the soft, cold fabric hits my skin. The skirt settles against my lower legs and I brush my hands down the side of the dress. It's just so soft and smooth. And it's light.
I gently twist side to side, watching the skirt swirl against my legs. I can only look down at myself, but already I can feel my cheeks warming. It's so elegant. But it's a relatively simple cut as far as I can tell.
I reach my hand into my dress's pocket, pulling out my pouch of sovereigns. Only there's something else in there too.
I pull my hand out. My eyes stare at the teal teardrop of chocolate. Holes in the teal outside reveal yellow beneath the outer layer. Willy used a little pipe of some sort to make the outside open and close.
I hesitate for a long moment. I almost want to eat it. I love chocolate. And what would it feel like to fly...? I squeeze my eyes shut as the memory of the last time I was up high slams into me.
~🍫 👗 🌹~
"Get up there, girl." Mrs Roderick glared at me, hand pointed up at the roof. "Come on, I ain't got all day."
I stared up at the roof, heart plummeting. "Yes, Ma'am." I ducked my head scrambling over to the ladder leaning up against the inn.
"Faster, girl. Patch the hole why don't you."
I swallowed hard, tucking the hammer, nails, and roof tile against my side with one arm. "Yes, Mrs Roderick." I climbed up the ladder, moving slowly. If I wasn't careful, I knew my muscles would freeze up in fear.
I heard her let out an aggressive huff but I finished the climb at my own speed, cautiously pulling myself onto the roof. I stood up gradually, trying to keep my entire body from trembling. "Where's the hole, Ma'am?"
"Over the guest suites. Hurry up. I have better things to do than supervise you. Come on then."
I flinched. "But the guests suites are on the second floor," I whispered, tipping my head to look up at the roof above me. Already my breathing was shallow and my knees were weak.
But I knew I had no choice. So I very slowly walked up the incline of the roof to where it met the second story's roof. My jaw started to tremble with the effort I was putting in to keep from clenching it.
I lifted one foot up, putting my knee on the second roof and crawling up. I squeezed my eyes shut. I knew I couldn't stand. If I stood my knees would give out. And if my knees gave out I would fall. And if I fell, I'd die. Or worse, break a bone.
So I crawled along the roof, fighting my stiff, freezing muscles. I found the hole and slipped the tile on top, slowly hammering it in place. I was unable to use big, heavy swings because I knew if I did that I'd loose my fragile balance.
By the time I got back to the ground, Mrs Roderick was gone. And that was wonderful. I let myself collapse in a heap. I wanted to just breathe and I trembled so hard. I was too weak to move from that corner for a long few minutes before I forced myself to stagger into the kitchen.
~🍫 👗 🌹~
I clench my jaw with a heavy breath. It's okay. I know it's okay. My fist clenches around my other dress as I force myself to breathe. In. And out. In. And out.
Okay. Ookay. I sigh softly. The memories are always so real. It's why I fight them.
I glance at the Hoverchoc again, slipping it into a pocket on the side of the red dress alongside my sovereign pouch.
I shiver slightly in the cold, rubbing my hands up and down my bare arms as I step back around the crates.
Sort of an odd stopping place I guess, lol. I'll proofread a little too so please forgive any typos/errors. Autocorrect can be annoying sometimes, lol.
I hope you like it, and I hope I'm raising your curiosity about Ember's past :3
Have a good day everyone 💜
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