Again Iliana woke up, knowing she had screamed. She listened to see if she had woken her mother, but no sounds of movement from the neighboring room came to her. Mother has always been a very heavy sleeper, she reasoned. Iliana laid back down, but she didn’t fall asleep right away.

Why did the face in my nightmare change to Dray’s? No wait a minute… She pictured the face again, and she realized that it was different than Dray’s. It was the eyes. They were still an incredibly deep blue, but in contrast to Dray’s bright, shining eyes, this person’s eyes were darker, and filled with a sadness she somehow knew she would never understand. What does this mean?

Iliana woke up early, again, and she laid in bed for only a moment before getting up to get dressed. I won’t make anybody wait for me today, she promised herself. She made breakfast and waited for her mother to wake up, but was forced to eat and get out the door before her mother had come out of her room. Iliana didn’t mind though. With her age, Rose was prone to sleep longer sometimes.

Iliana left the house on time at seven fifteen, and rode the trolley with Celsey. Her friend was more than a little happy to see Iliana arrive on time for once, and they sat in a contented silence all the way to Celsey’s stop. Iliana got off at her stop and was glad to see that it wasn’t nearly as crowded as the day before. In fact she could see the carriage, Kestral, and Dray before descending the steps of the trolley. Making her way over to them, Iliana wondered if she would have the courage to ask for answers to her questions.

“Good morning, Iliana,” Dray called as he caught sight of her. Kestral was again happily munching on some oats. “You look lovely this morning.” For a moment the face from her nightmare flashed through her mind, but then she caught sight of Dray’s eyes and shook the image from her mind.

It was just a nightmare, nothing more.

“Thank you. You look very nice today as well.” Dray’s smile widened and… Did he just blush a tiny bit?

“Kestral is almost done eating. I wasn’t sure when to expect you, so I fed her earlier today.”

“I’m trying to be better about not being late, so I should be getting off the trolley at this time from now on.”

“Excellent! Then we’ll have plenty of time to spend together.” Kestral snorted at Dray, indicating that she was finished with her oats. “Are you ready to go too?” Dray asked the Alumavi, taking the bag off of her head. Kestral let out another snort and bobbed her head, almost as if she was nodding ‘yes’. “Very good. Iliana, may I help you up?”

“Yes, thank you.” Once they were both situated on the seat, Dray whistled to Kestral and they were off to the meadow. Iliana looked out over the land and breathed in the clear air. Dray didn’t say anything during the ride, and when she looked over at him he grinned at her, then returned his attention to driving the carriage. Iliana felt a prick of worry that he thought her odd for not speaking very much during their rides together.

Oh well. I can’t really pretend to be more outgoing. 

When they reached the fields both Iliana and Dray got down from the carriage, and Dray held out his hand to her. A dash of panic went through her mind as she tried to figure out what he was trying to do. Does he want to hold hands? I can’t use my garden scissors if we do… and it’s much too soon to be doing that, isn’t it? Before she could say anything, Dray spoke up.

“May I carry your basket for you?”

“Oh. Right. Thank you.” Of course he wouldn’t want to hold hands, silly.

They left Kestral in a patch of grass as Dray followed her around. As she cut small bouquets of flowers, he asked her each time what the name of that particular variety was.  Iliana told him all the official names, if she remembered them, and the names she called them. When they came to the patch of Blue Jewels, she held the bouquet instead of putting it in the basket.

“I knew they were your favorites,” Dray remarked as they headed back to Kestral and the carriage.

“How did you know that?” Iliana asked suspiciously. The question seemed to have caught him off-guard and he fumbled for a moment, but then recovered.

“They were on the very top of your basket that first morning. And when I came to the shop, they were in the fanciest vase in the best sun-spot in the window.”

“And that makes them my favorite?”

“Yes… I was right, wasn’t I?”

“Yes, you were right. You know,” Iliana said. “You could just give me one now. Then you wouldn’t have to buy a bouquet.”

“But then I wouldn’t have an excuse to come by the shop,” he pointed out.

“Why do you need an excuse?” Dray seemed like the kind of man that could go anywhere he wanted. He thought about it, then shrugged.

“I guess I don’t… But I still want one,” he said with a grin. Iliana’s face flushed again, and she ducked her head so he wouldn’t see.

Iliana was a few minutes early when Dray dropped her off, and she was glad that it had worked out that way. In between the morning customers, Madame Suri would pull the girls into the back room one at a time, informing them of the orders that the Summer Palace decorators had placed and what their responsibilities were regarding those orders. They would start preparations the following Monday, since the shop would be closed the next two days for the weekend.

After lunch, every time the bell above the door rang in the shop Iliana would look up, hoping to see Dray sweeping through the door to simultaneously make her feel incredibly flattered and horribly embarrassed. Finally he did show up, and she couldn’t help but return the smile he gave her. He started building his meadow replica bouquet right away, and offered her the single Blue Jewel again after paying for it. Iliana accepted it before he could ask for a kiss, and she found herself wondering what he did with the rest of the bouquet.

“Iliana, I have been meaning to ask you something all day,” Dray said in a low voice, leaning forward over the counter. Iliana gulped.

“Yes?”

“Since today is the last day of the week, and the shop isn’t open over the weekend, I was wondering if I might ask you what your plans are for tomorrow.”

“Oh, um… well, I usually do my weekly cleaning and shopping on Saturdays. Very boring stuff.”

“So you don’t go to the meadow at all?”

“No, I do. I pick flowers for our house, but it’s only two or three little bundles.”

“I see. I would be delighted to accompany you to the meadow again tomorrow, if I’m not being too bold.”

“Oh, alright. Yes, that would be nice.”

“Until tomorrow then.” Dray plopped his top hat back onto his head and was gone out the door.

That night after climbing into bed, she stared at the tiny pile of no more than three Blue Jewels on her nightstand. What exactly was this new relationship that was blossoming? Were they dating? Was this just a flirtatious fling? What exactly were his intentions?

Why didn’t I ask him any of this today? I’m so painfully shy, I may never find out if he’s actually serious about me. But why would he be? We’ve only known each other for three days…

Iliana rolled over and snuggled down into her blankets and closed her eyes, hoping that she wouldn’t have another nightmare featuring either frightening face… especially the one with the bottomless black eyes.

            This girl… she’s just not taking a hint… has his hold really become that strong in such a short amount of time…? Maybe I’m focusing too much on her… he’s the real problem… he’ll regret ever bringing her into this… I’ll make sure of it…