Chapter Six

I DARE YOU TO LOVE ME

           Lillian had gotten home shortly before sundown. Her father was in the study, smoking on a pipe. He called her in to announce some big news. 

           “Lord Ralf has started work on your wedding!” her heart sank immediately. That was it then, no hope of getting out. She had prayed every night for Dante to come to her, confess a love for her that she wanted him to feel. But it seemed she was destined to be wed to a man whom she did not love. She put on a fake smile to appease her father. The feeling of it upon her face felt alien to her. She headed up stairs and laid down in her bed. Immediately her eyes began to water. She sat up as if it would help her to stop crying, although she knew it wouldn’t. She lay awake for hours staring up into the shadows of her ceiling. Everything in her life had gone to hell. Her mother passing, her father selling her into a marriage she did not want, and just when she thinks she finds the man of her dreams, he leaves her to this fate. 

       “It’s not fair! It’s just not fair!” she screamed into her pillows, as to not alert anyone in the house. 

       Every now and then, she would wake up from her sleep. It seemed that Dante still plagued Lillian’s mind, liven in her dreams. Every time she closed her eyes he is there.  She awoke to the sound of Dante’s voice calling her name. 

        ‘I must still be dreaming’ she thought as her eyes focused to the darkness of the room. There he was, looking rather nervous and shaky. 

         “Dante, what are you doing here?” she asked “Lillian,” he said, 

          “You know what I do and yet you still wish to see me. Why? I kill for money, I have slain countless people. Some good, some bad. Society views me as a monster, but not you. All I know is that I love you!” and with that, Dante pulled a tiger lily out from his sleeve, 

          “Lillian, do you dare love me as well?” Lillian paused for a moment as she was unsure if this was real or not. She went with her heart anyways, praying it was. 

          “Yes Dante! Yes! Yes! Yes! I will dare to love you!” at this, Dante preformed a minor sigh of relief and kissed her. 

        “Goodnight my lady and thank you.” he looks at her one last time before disappearing into the darkness once more. Lillian falls asleep dreaming about what her true love could be possible up to know.

Author's Note

I wrote this Chapter, (Rememeber my poem THE MEANING OF THE TIGER LILY? This is the chapter its based off of)