“Finally, you’ve come”, he muttered while kissing me. “I’d hoped every day.” But he couldn’t say more as I leaned into his kiss and requested more, with interest for the months of missing out.
Our lips parted for a moment and I pulled my head further back, I needed to see him. His hair was longer than I remembered, not much, but longer. “Don’t let it be a dream. Please be real.”
He shook his head. “It isn’t a dream.”
“But it’s impossible.”
“Not impossible, see it as a courtesy of your father.”
“If that’s not a dream, why are you wearing this outfit?”
He let go of me and turned around his own axis. “I know, I look ridiculous. I miss my hoodie, but it’s impossible to get one here. You don’t like it? I told Tat it’s too formal.”
“Tat?”
“Yeah, she chose the outfit the other night, when we were shopping.”
“Tatiana was here?” I screeched.
“Of course, she comes here almost every day.”
“How the hell is she getting here?” After all, portaling into this world didn’t work. Only those with demon blood can open a portal into this dimension.
He took off his hat and scratched the back of his head. “Astral projection. Wasn’t easy for her as it is voodoo magic and this means teaming up with Boban Sinclair. You know about her objection to both, the art and him.”
“Oh, how nice of her mentioning it to me. Do you have any idea what I went through? I am a wreck, for months that is! Since the night you… you died in my arms!” I was proud of me making it sound like an accusation. I swallowed and didn’t waste a second to continue with my tantrum. “Since then, I’ve horrible nightmares, but what is worse, I fear one day the nightmares might stop and then I won’t remember you anymore. Every night I watch you die and she’s coming here every day for the purpose of shopping?!? That’s outrageous. I even considered suicide if I would have known it would bring me to you. I’ve never thought of the Other Place. She could have told… me… this is what BFFs do…”
“Take a breath, Izzy. You’re nattering again.”
“I… do… not. Why is everyone saying… I natter?”
“You hyperventilate too.”
“Don’t you dare change the topic, Dimitri. You’re in trouble, big trouble.”
His glance went to my feet. “She told me about the dreamcatcher, but as you didn’t turn up, she assumed the experiment failed. She promised to find another way for you to get here, but didn’t want to give you false hope.”
“Dimitri.” I made a jump forwards into his waiting arms. “Are you telling me I can see you every day, every night, whenever I want?”
“I most definitely request so.”
I had him back. He would wait for me here. Every night. My heart took a leap of faith. I relaxed in his arms, slung mine around his neck and kissed him vigorously.
“I take it, you come more often here then?” he muttered during a short pause.
“You bet I do. After all, that’s what girlfriends do. Get used to it.”
He giggled and lifted me up princess-style and walked me up the stairs.
“Where are we going?”
A mischievous smile settled on his face. “That’s a surprise, because that’s what boyfriends do.”
— THE END —
A Note on Elisabeth’s World
The Romanovs were murdered in the Ipatiev House, aka the House of Special Purpose. The location, the characters involved and the events during the night of their murder have been adjusted to suit the story.
The town, Beacon Hills, is pure fiction and so is the Highway, where Elisabeth encountered Death for the first time.
The mentioned prison cell of the Winter Palace does not exist in our realm. Neither does the basement compartments, the library, the spiral staircase and the Consul’s office. The same might be true for the Blue Room of the Catherine Palace. On the other hand, which palace doesn’t have a blue room?
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