Red Dress Dreams

Brit woke feeling disoriented. After several minutes of navigating sheets, she emerged to the side and tumbled to the floor. Ethan continued to rest as if dormant as she acrobatically extracted herself from his embrace. Pulling the sheet from her head, she quickly brushed her hair back from her face and peered at him blinking. The night before was mostly a blur to her.

The shower, she remembered clearly. Washing with the fine soap purchased on their most recent trip was pleasurable. She could still smell its jasmine-vanilla scent on her hair. The cotton towel sucked water from her skin before she rubbed the lotion with a matching scent lavishly into her skin. It was in the shower, she thought about what she and Ethan might do that evening.

Whenever Ethan rose, he would greet her and ask what she wished to do. Rarely did she have a response; and so she remembered the night before that she had decided to tell him that she wished to go dancing. Finding the red dress that he had commissioned from a seamstress while in France, she put it on. The dress moved even when she was quite still with its airy fabric that responded to the slightest motion of air. Rummaging through her trunk, she selected a pretty cross to wear with it and her black jelly bracelets. She almost tumbled in to the large trunk seeking her black ballet slippers with the ribbon bows that matched the black ribbon around the waist of her dress.

After dressing, she combed her hair in its usual style and found her cosmetics. One after another, Brit examined the lip tints until she found one that matched the dress perfectly. Following with the eye shadow and mascaras that Ethan had shown her to use, she examined herself in the mirror. She looked just as she did the night they went to the odd club while on their vacation.

Sitting on the mat in front of the mirror, she buffed her fingernails and carefully worked some oil into them so they would gleam while she remembered the club in France. The club was one used by kindred. It was very different then the dinner at the museum. Brit struggled for the word to describe it. It was elegant, but there was something animalistic about it as well. People seemed to wear all kinds of different clothing. Everything from Diesel chic to Renaissance court attire could be seen. Ethan dressed more contemporary casual in all black and dressed Brit in this red dress. He seemed to feel the seamstress did not follow his directives, but he placed a wrap around her and she wore it anyway.

There was no humanity in the room, Ethan had later said. At the club, others approached him cautiously and spoke in quiet tones. Brit noticed that he greeted some warmly and others he simply acknowledged. To all, he introduced her as his wife Brit. She did not notice the odd glances that were exchanged with her husband. At the bar, blood flowed as did a limited amount of libation for the humans in the room. Ethan rose from a round settee and took her to another location without reason, and Brit noticed that several rowdier kindred left a girl on the other side that did not seem to breathe anymore.

After much conversation, Ethan took Brit to the dance floor under the large chandelier and moved her through a slow tango. It was hard to focus on the dance. In this area, she could see glimpses of carnal behaviors that she had never encountered before. Ethan did not chide her not to stare. He simply danced with her and kept her focus primarily on him.

At the end of the third dance, a young man in a black leather jacket approached. Placing his hand on Brit’s shoulder, the man said, “If you are not interested in this meal, let another have her.” Ethan’s reaction was swift and Brit saw but a blur until she noticed that the young man was on the floor with his arm missing. Ethan said, “I will speak to your elder about your rudeness.”

The man screamed back sarcastically that the elders of his kind did not worry about the actions of their chylders, and so Ethan would be speaking to them all. Ethan leaned toward him and the man pressed back against the floor. Ethan said clearly, “I’ve spoken to you enough. If I see you again, I will kill you.” Nodding to a lady across the room, Ethan continued, “And I will inform the prince of this city that is an unfortunate possibility before I leave.” Friends of the man crowded around him and helped him leave the club. The crowd simply paused to watch. Some seemed amused, a few seemed confused and one looked clearly annoyed, but all went back to their business and play once the drama was over.

Ethan did speak to the lady who was called the Prince, and then they returned to their resting place. While there, a handful of people came to see Ethan. One remained talking amicably with Brit. Brit noticed that she drank and ate, and so Brit surmised that the one left behind was like her. Human. Ethan returned hours later with the group. All seemed in good spirits. After exchanging a few envelopes, the others left and Brit retired to the resting spot with her husband for the day. At sunset, they left to return home. In thinking of the incident, Brit found the memory clear, but dreamlike.

Her thoughts returned to the night before. Brit had looked up seeing a motion behind her as she prepared to go out. Turning, she saw Ethan who seemed surprised she was wearing the red dress. She rose and greeted him with warm kisses. Without waiting to be asked, she said, “I wish to go out to dance. I wore the dress you had made for me.”

His eyes traveled the neckline of the dress. Placing his hand on his chin, he said, “The weather is too cold for your dress, Brit. I wish you to wear it but we shall stay in. I do wish to dance. We shall dance here…in our home.”

Brit tilted her head in confusion. They had seen few of their friends since returning. “But,” she countered, “I wish to go…out…and I wish to wear the dress that…you…got for me.” Again, he told her that it was too cold and he would hear no more of it. Grabbing her cloak, she placed it around her shoulders. “There! Now I shall not be cold until we get where we are going.”

In a flash, her cloak was gone and was hurled over the boxes. Brit was pressed against them and Ethan sank his fangs deep into her throat gulping the blood. In surprise, she pressed back and he grabbed her closer to him embracing her more securely. She could hear the blood rush from her body as he drank deeply again and again. Her fingers and toes started to chill and she felt dizzy. Crumpling against him, he held her firmly and closely. Though not drinking of her once she crumpled, he continued to bite her hard until he felt her totally limp against him. Ethan then moved her arms to drape over his shoulders and her head against his chest, and he danced with her slowly.

Tonight, Brit sat with the sheets barely clear of her and stared at Ethan who was still resting. She felt bewildered by the unclear memories. Crawling to the mirror, she looked at her throat and found nothing unusual. She looked at her naked body and saw no marks. Touching her lips, she remembered the dancing and wondered if it was all just a dream. She remembered that she had also heard voices near while she dangled in his arms, and that Ethan had responded to them. Try as she might, she could not remember who it was or what was said. Dream-like. Perhaps it was all just a dream.

If it were not a dream, only he actually danced. In her memory, she remembered swaying like a rag doll in his arms. Did she really remember him carrying her back to their resting place? Or that he poured mass quantities of blood into her mouth as he pressed his body to hers? The memory seemed disjointed, but clear: He was telling her to drink more each time she turned away. Was it a dream? Looking about the room, Brit did not see her red dress or her shoes. She still wore her jelly bracelets and the cross necklace. Laid over the chest, Brit saw her cloak and the first dress he ever purchased for her. She looked a bit for her red dress, but it was not found.

Confused, Brit looked back to Ethan hoping he woke soon. She had so many questions. Brushing her hair back, her fingers caught in a knot and she pulled the hair forward. Upon examination, she saw that dried blood had matted a bit of her hair along the side of her face.