#217: Ring/Book
It has been years since I wore a ring. Not a wedding ring, because as Heaven knows, I have never been married. But it is not unusual to wear a ring that is simply for ornamental purposes, one worn simply because one likes it. A few of the other detectives tend to wear their class rings, if nothing else. But not I. Oh, not to say that I have not gone to the University… I have, under a variety of names. But I have not worn a ring of any kind for millennia.
In fact, I can give you the exact date. June 15, 1054. It was the day that I woke from my… slumber. That is to say, the night of the full moon that brought me back to life. Needless to say, waking up in a coffin left a bit of a mark on me… to this day, I am still a bit claustrophobic, but that is another story.
Once I was out, the feelings and thoughts that ran through my mind were endless, and filled with contradictions. Part of me wanted to return to the people I had considered family for my entire life… but the other part of me remembered that they were the ones that had put me in the ground in the first place. My heart ruled over my head, and I found myself returning.
There was much debate that night, largely about whether to keep me alive or to kill me once more. But as I proved to them that I was in control of my mind, they came to an agreement with me. I was to leave, never to return, and they would let me live. Everyone outside this room was to think me dead, including the very closest people I had ever known. While I verbally agreed with them, I knew I could not do such a thing. I had to do one thing before I left.
Just before dawn, I returned to the building that had been the Vindicis’ sleeping quarters, climbing the walls so no one would catch me roaming the halls. I do not know what I was thinking, I was half out of my mind with all the events that had taken place. I climbed into the window of what had been my room, and much to my shock, found none other than the one person I had wanted to say goodbye to laying in my bed. Soundlessly, I moved around the bed, careful not to wake her. I looked around for a note, some paper… *something* by which to write out a few words where I could say my goodbye. I could find nothing. I was starting to grow desperate when I heard her stir. Terrified of what would happen if I were to be caught, a gleam of metal caught my eye. I slipped off my ring and left it on the countertop of the lone table in the room, leaving nearby the lit candle.
Before she woke, I left.
I never knew if she found it or not.
Muse: Michael Hunter (Gabriel Veritas)
Original Character
Word Count: 514