Winter Storms Bring Unwanted Guests

Curtains around Amarante had long been closed, and the candles had long since died away, and yet sleep still eluded her. She lay in her bed, her hair fanned out around her, her covers high up to her neck, and she felt as if someone was in the room with her, like they were watching her. Her head was spinning and her heart was beating fast. She thought she heard her name, it was her name, being called again, this time it was not Amy, no it was a feminine voice, calling out to her...1

"Amarante, you dream." Said a familiar voice and a hand caressed her cheek.2

"Marius," Amarante choked. He lay beside her on the bed, holding her, his hands surprisingly warm. She felt tears fall down her cheeks.3

"A voice called to me, Marius, Amy's voice called to me. He cried out to me, help is what he cried. But it wasn't Amy, it couldn't have been." Amarante gasped and swallowed her tears. "Father is going to call the doctor, and he will put me in jail for sure, but I hear the voices, The Voices, they call to me. They tell me to join them, Marius, The Voices, They scare me." Marius's face was contorted, but in what? As soon as he saw Amarante looking to him, his face relaxed and he smiled.4

"Hush child, sleep now, for you are safe. The Voices cannot harm you while I am near, and you are weary." Amarante lay down, her head on top of Marius's chest, listening to his nonexsistant heart beat.5

"You believe me then? You do not think I am troubled?" Marius grimanced.6

"No, Amarante. I will stand for you, and I will make the voices go away."7

Amarante was near sleep, but she could still speak.8

"Are you sure, Master?"9

"Trust, Amarante, trust." And she fell in to a feverish sleep.10

Adelaide walked slowly to her bedroom, brushing her fingers through a long tendriel of her hair.11

'Is that all, My Angel? That is all you would have done to my poor, weak body.' 12

'That is it, My Child, and we would live together forever.' Came the reply in her mind.13

'But my children, my plantation. Now is not the time.'14

'Then I shall wait.' came the answer, and then silence.15

That morning Amarante woke to a knock at her door, and a tall, thin man entering her room. His skin seemed to hang on him, and his eyes, though slightly drooping, sparkled evilly. He carried a black bag, and the first thing he did was smile, all his teeth being black and green.16

"What is wrong with this child." He said to Acacius, though it was obvious he thought of Amarante as everythinh but a child. 17

"She is delusional, Doctor, and she hears things that no one else can." Thee docter frowned a bit then walked over to the side of the bed. Amarante immediatly lifted the covers higher, not wanting him to touch her, but he only grabbed them and pulled them down to her waist. He grabbed her arm, and pulled down her nightgown, revealing her shoulder, and part of her areola, and he made a few noises as she snatched her arm away and pulled up her nightgown.18

"I am afraid she is contaminated." Acacius mocked surprise.19

"No, Doctor!" He cried. The Doctor laughed wickedly.20

"I am afraid so. You know this means that I am going to have to take her." He said, and Amarante stared wide eyed in horror at both of them.21

"Father..." She said, but he only smiled at her plea.22

"Your contaminated, you must be put in jail." Even as he said this, two men stepped in dressed in suits such as a guard would wear.23

"Nooooooo!"Amarante cried as she jumped out of bed and tried to run, but it was no use, they grabbed her by the arms and were taking her out to the hall.24

"MOTHER, ADRIAN!!!" She cried out, and both her mother and brother came bounding up the stairs at the same time.25

"What are you doing, let go of her!" Adelaide said in a fury as she ran to attack the closest man, but her husband got to her first. He slapped her down to the ground.26

"Do not intervene, dearest Adelaide, I would hate for you both to be in jail." Adriasn stared in open mouthed fury.27

"Father, what is the meaning of this?" The men carried the screaming Amarante out into the cold winter snow.28

"She is contaminated, Adrian."29

Amarante was still screaming as they threw her naked into an open cage on the stage in the middle of town. The snow and wind was mercilous and she started to shiver uncontrollably. Sitting down on the cold stone floor, she felt her throught start to close from the screaming, and all she could do was whisper hoarsly. As the morning past, and evening grew, she knew that she would soon be gone, the coldness taking her and making her numb to nothing but pain. the few drunkards that did walk by, were meciless and reaching to touch her, and she always slapped their hands away, her heart pounding because she knew that if they decided to come in groups, the cage was to small for her to run forever.30

A carridge pulled up beside Amarante's prison, and though her back was turned, she could hear the unmistakeble footsteps of someone coming towards the cage, but she didn't turn. With her knees draw to her chest, and her hair like a blanket across her back, she was as warm as she was ever going to get.31

"Amarante," she heard the voice of Augustus, much colder than the wind that whipped around her. "What has happened to you, why are you here?" 32

She didn't turn or try to answer, she only sat in silence.33

"I can get you away from here." He said, and she turned, her eyes filled with much needed tears. But his eyes filled with lust and desire, and Amarante coulden't see it, for his hand traveled throught the bars to her shoulder, which he warmly rubbed.34

"Be my wife, and you shall have all your heart desires." When he said this Amarante stood, causing Agustus's desire to sky rocket as he looked at the gently contoures of Amarante's body. She turned, Anger contorting her face.35

"I would rather rot in this forgotten cell, have drunkards with gross teeth come and touch me in strange places, then ever marry you." And Amarante stood tall against the wind, and spit right in Agustus's snobby face. He turned red with embarressment, then anger.36

"You sick, ferment bitch. I shall have you whipped for that! You will be mine, whether you wish to be or not. And if not, you shall rot in you bloved cell for all eternity for all I care." He stomped back to his carridge and left Amarante in the bitterness of the cold night.37