Girl In The Needle
Page 14
His intuition told him that the answer, whatever it might be, would flatter him. He was a singular figure in her life, he knew, and a great enigma to the world because of it.
She stood alone on the marbled floor at the edge of the Arc’s central area. Without a crowd filling it, its vastness stirred up a nameless emotion in him. He wondered why she loved this spot so much; standing there, she looked more alone than she'd ever been.
Light from high above diffused to cast shimmering patterns on the building’s interior. Geometric arrangements of light floated along the Arc’s marble floor like an ethereal decoration for its prized guest, courting her but retreating when they got near her.
Dugan’s life had never developed in him an appreciation for art. Nonetheless, he was rendered dumbstruck by this spontaneous, perfect moment.
“If only I could paint…”
He realized, with a start, that he was standing beside her without having consciously walked over to her.
The Empress opened her eyes and turned to him. Her expression softened at the sight of him.
“You would paint me like I was just now?”
“You looked like your mind was a thousand miles away, Elyse.”
She smiled ever so slightly but said nothing.
Dugan gave her a soft hug, allowing her to pull him in tighter.
Author's note:
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. If not, it was free...all you lost was time, which I'll admit is precious. Just Google “time-saving tips” and you can recover some of that lost time.
This novel was a pleasure to write. If you want to say things about it, I'd like to hear them.
Email: joshuarenneke@yahoo.com (and it'll maybe go to my Junk folder, so that's the worse option. Why did I list it first?)
Twitter: @anabur