"How did you get in here?"
Elias asked in shock,his trembling fingers struggling with the latch to open the door but it didn't budge. It felt as though an invisible force was pushing against the door.
"Father, please forgive me" he muttered under his breath. "Protect me from…"
A soft chuckle cut through his prayer. "Humans" the man exclaimed, shaking his head. "They never change. Did you seriously think that one prayer is enough to chase me away?"
Elias pressed his back to the door,his eyes trained on the strange man… no, strange creature on his bed. His slender fingers toyed with the frail fabric of Elias blanket,a lazy smile playing on his lips. It looked as if he was having a funny conversation in his head.
"Return to where you came from" Elias said,his voice firm and steady. "I have no business with you. Stay away from me!"
That only made the smile on his face widen. He rose from the mattress slowly,the sleeve of his colourful robe slipping off his shoulder and in a sultry voice he whispered;
"Today must have been stressful. Go to sleep,my little saint."
Elias's knees buckled. He tried to fight the darkness, tried to hold onto consciousness but his eyelids grew heavy and the world dimmed. The last thing he saw before slipping into unconsciousness was a pair of fiery golden eyes gleaming in the candlelight.
___________
The sunlight spilled through Elias' thin curtain pulling him out of his slumber. The air smelt faintly of burning woods and he could hear the faint bell ringing from the distance signalling that it was time for prayers. Elias jolted awake,his heart racing in his chest. His eyes darted across the room but there was no one there.
Last night felt too real to be a dream. Doubt crept into his mind. He wondered if he might actually be losing his mind.
"Calm down, Elias" he muttered to himself, exhaling shakily. "You only had a bad dream. Just pray over it"
He immediately washed his face trying to push those golden eyes into the deepest part of his mind.
He quickly wore fresh clothes. He didn't want to give the others more things to gossip about. They already felt that he was getting special treatment, coming late would only make it worse.
When he was done, he locked his door before making his way out unaware of the two guys in the corner watching him.
________________
"I have the finest fabric, it'll look good on you" a woman yelled, pushing her clothes to Elias' face.
"Thank you. They are indeed the finest but I'm not here for fabrics" Elias said,a polite smile playing on his lips.
The market was usually very busy during this time of the year in preparation for the hallow ball. The smell of freshly baked bread lingered in the air causing Elias' stomach to growl. He hadn't eaten today since his brothers had finished the food before it could get to him.
"Maybe next time you won't let us do your own part of the work" they had said before laughing at him.
He turned to the right towards a lonely stall at the end of the trail. It was the smallest of the stalls yet it was the brightest, painted in different beautiful colours.
He tapped softly on the wooden door before pushing it open.
"Ah,Elias, you're here already. I didn't think you'd come this early." A woman said, smiling brightly at him. She looked young with shiny brown hair and freckled cheeks. "Father Gabriel's robe is ready. I made sure to take extra care with the stitch lines… just as you wanted. I'd honestly do anything you ask me to do."
Elias smiled faintly, his usual guarded demeanor returning. He always had a wall built up whenever he talked to a woman. "Thank you, Alina. You're so kind. You've gotten so much better since when you first started."
Her lashes fluttered seductively,her eyes running down his body slowly. She stepped closer making sure to brush his hand with her fingers when she passed the cloth. " Well I have you to thank for that. You made me… believe in myself." she said softly, leaning forward. Her neckline dipped just slightly revealing the top of her cleavage.
In the beginning,he had been oblivious to Alina's attraction to him and had only thought she was being overly kind to him but as tears passed,she kept getting even… bolder.
Elias quickly looked away, his cheeks turning crimson in colour. "Well… Thank you. I'll… I'll let Father Gabriel know… how good you are" he stuttered, trying to hide his discomfort.
She laughed quietly, the sound low and teasing. "I'd like that. You can come to me when you need new clothes. I won't charge you" she stared. " And… I have a gift for you. Just wait, I'll get it now."
She walked towards the shelf in front of them, reaching for something on the top shelf which made the hem of her dress lift exposing a smooth line of her legs. Elias swallowed the hard lump in his throat, forcing himself to look anywhere but at her.
He'd lived all his life as a church boy and barely had any contact with the opposite sex. Alina was the only woman he was close to. He could feel the heat crawling up his neck. He knew that thinking about Alina this way was a sin,one he needed to pray over.
"This is wrong. Stop it. This is wrong. Wrong" he repeated in his head. "Stop thinking about this sin. It's a stain on your soul."
But then…
A voice whispered just behind his ear, low and with a hint of amusement to it:
"It won't be that bad if you just felt how soft her skin was. I know you want to"
The words danced through his ears curling around his brain like smoke and every muscle in his body froze.
"Dont stop yourself."