Ezekiel barely mumbled the response but shifted slightly and smiled. He'd be asleep soon enough, whether he wanted to be or not.

As he began to drift off he entered into a dream. His dreams were usually based on fears and the future. He twitched slightly when she repositioned herself but made no other movement to do anything.

"Don't leave," he mumbled slightly before seemingly hugging his arms to his chest.

Verona couldn't help but to smile when Ezekiel told her not to leave him, at least even in his sleep he wanted her near him.

"I'm not going anywhere," she whispered, still petting his face.

Although, when he fell into sleep deep enough, Verona might go change as she thought minutes ago, she didn't want to sleep in these dirty old things.

Ezekiel didn't make any more movements after that. He was still for the most part but his faint breathing could be heard.

There was a light knock on the door and Helen creaked the door open. She was carrying a few dresses and what looked to be bed clothes. She placed them gently on the floor when she saw the two before sneaking back out.

(Sorry if it's short)

(No reason for you to apologize.)

Upon seeing Helen bring in the dresses, Verona smiled, scooting away from Ezekiel, and onto the floor.
She tried to be as quiet as she could while she mad her way to the dresses, and found two.
One was light pink, and one was light blue.

Verona remembered what Ezekiel had said about the color blue, and even if she didn't like it, she could always wear the light pink gown tomorrow, right?

Slipping out of her damp feeling clothes, Verona folded them, and set them out on a small desk.
She took the light blue dress into her hands, and slipped it over her head, and found that it actually fit quite nicely, and came down to her knees.

Ezekiel rolled over slightly and twitched again. He seemed to be agitated by something as he made a confused expression in his sleep.

The dream was complex but quote easy to understand. He was running from a figure, which was Eric, though he could not tell. Everything was deformed and ugly and gave him chills.

"I didn't do it," he said in his sleep. "Don't hit me."

(Sebastian?)

When Verona finished dressing, she spotted Ezekiel in his fearsome voice.

Moving to him, Verona moved next to him in the bed, and began to shake him slightly.

"Ezekiel," she whispered. "Ezekiel wake up!"

Pulling his head from the pillow, Verona could feel a cold sweat across his head.
She still shook him, trying to free him from his dream.

(Sorry, name mix up)

Ezekiel didn't seem to wake up at first but rather struggled for a moment.
When he seemed to recognize the voice he seemed to calm. The fear came back though and he awoke to look at Verona a few minutes later.

"I'm sorry," he muttered slightly. "Just a... bad dream."

He looked confused as he studied Verona's face, almost as if he did not want to remove his gaze from it.

(It's okay.)

"Hey," Verona said in a calm voice, letting Ezekiel have his face back.
"It was just a dream."

Crawling under the sheets, Verona smiled softly while beginning to pet Ezekiel like a dog again, since he liked it so much.

"You like my gown," she asked playfully.

Ezekiel was calmed almost immediately and he smiled when he saw the color.

"I was right," he said with a grin. "You do look good in blue. You should wear different colors more often."

He placed a hand on her face gently. It felt cool and warm at the same time and caused a slight confusion to him. He brushed a few strands of her hair away from her face, feeling the texture of her hair.

"You have soft hair," he commented. "I like it."

Smiling, Verona subconsciously ran her tiny fingers through her hair, as if to make sure it was still blond and soft as it was to begin with.

"Thank you," she giggled. "I'm glad you like them both."

Pulling her hand from Ezekiel's hair, she twirled with the collar of his shirt, that pleasant look still on her face.

"You know," she began. "I've never noticed what color your eyes are before."

Ezekiel smiled slightly when she commented on his eyes. It was part of what attracted some people, but he was completely unaware of that fact.

Seeing the pleasant look on her face had reassured him and he seemed calm now. He was happy for the moment, as if there were nothing to worry about.

"I don't always like the color of my eyes," he admitted. "They're different from the rest of my family and I feel awkward sometimes, it's an unpleasant feeling."
He thought it unpleasant at the time but before he frequently mull over the subject to distract himself and prevent a change from occurring.

"I-" Verona began. "-think you have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen."

Bringing her hands to Ezekiel's cheeks, Verona's face, and all of that hair hovered over his face, examining his features carefully.

"And the most addictive lips..."

Verona bent her face down to meet Ezekiel's slowly, kissing in in a soft manner, that soon turned a bit deeper, and then broke off suddenly.

"I'm sorry," she said with a slight blush. "I shouldn't do that so much.."

"Thank you,"Ezekiel said.

He was stopped suddenly when he was kissed and was a bit shocked. He smiled though and kissed her back. When the kiss was broken he let out a slight sigh.

"It's fine," he said. "It's... I just have a reputation I'm trying to break. I'm really sorry. I was stupid back then."

It was almost as if he'd forgotten she'd accepted what he'd done despite the fact that it disgusted her. He could feel a chill ride up his spine and he closed his eyes. He crawled under the covers finally and brought them up to his shoulders.

Flopping down beside Ezekiel, Verona wrapped her arms around his waist, her face at his neck considering her height.

"It's fine.. People may either think higher of you for being with someone like myself, or they look down upon me. Either way has its advantages. See, if they think that you chose me, people will think that you have risen your standards, and they won't think you so shallow.
And if they think that I chose you, they will not only think highly of me, but also highly of you for allowing someone such as myself to be a part of you."

That was how she saw it, in all of her complicated glory.

"You have a point there," Ezekiel admitted. "I wish I had met you sooner though."

He seemed to be on the verge of one of those long semi-speeches about what he was like as a child. He'd made them before as if in a reminiscent state of mind.

He seemed to pause for a moment though and looked into her eyes.

"When I was a kid I was actually pretty happy, most of the time. I got into trouble occasionally but I never let those things get me down. I think I was about five when this happened. I'd been out for a while that day and my mother was lecturing me about how too much sun is bad for someone of our social standings. I laughed at every word she said, which made her even more angry. I don't think I got dinner that night but I was so happy because I had the chance to see everything that day. I couldn't imagine a situation where I'd be happier."

He seemed to sigh slightly. He would have continued this estranged monologue. The days were gone though and it was difficult to think of that as a fond memory. It was more as a jealousy of his own past that drove him to actually speak on the matter.

As Verona listened to Ezekiel talk about his past, Verona twirled her fingers through his hair, down his cheek, just wherever in reach.

Things seemed to go quiet for a moment, but Verona kept her hand busy with hair as she watched Ezekiel glancing into space.

"Ezekiel, you love me..right?"

Not stopping with his hair, she continued.

"Do you think maybe we could... Maybe one day..."

Sighing, Verona found the words harder to say than she had hoped they would be.
Although she was almost positive she knew the answer.

Ezekiel seemed confused. Of course he loved her but what was she getting at.

If it was marriage, then the answer was a definite yes. He wasn't one hundred percent sure. He wanted to be with her as long as he could.

"I promise," he said softly. "Someday we will get married and you can wear whatever color you want."

He had slight smile on his face at that point. It was gentle in a sense but also held something in it, pure joy.

"I want to be with you forever," he said gently.

It was a very sudden, automatic feeling that Verona got, it was excitement.
The same little, fluttery butterflies filled her stomach as she smiled quite widely at Ezekiel.

"Really!?" She nearly squealed. "You promise?"

Certainly it was a sweet thought, knowing that he wanted to marry her, to keep her forever as his own.

Wrapping both arms around Ezekiel's neck, she held him tightly to her, so overjoyed, so happy..

"I love you," she whispered to him.

Ezekiel was glad that she was happy. He hugged her back, taking in her sweet scent.

"I promise," he said again. "And I love you too."

It was a peaceful moment for him and it seemed like his entire past no longer mattered, what he did shouldn't even occur to him now because he was with her.

No one could replace her, it was impossible at this point.

(Should we time skip?)

Giggling in a soft way, Verona left her arms around Ezekiel's body, closing her eyes and preparing for sleep.

Who knew how late it was by now.

And her last thoughts of the night seemed to drag on into her dreams, marriage, and a pink dress, or maybe it could be blue...
Her mind was so seemingly jumbled that most of her dream was one big blur to her, except for the dress part.

((all right))

Ezekiel had fallen asleep shortly after Verona did. When he woke up it was still dark out and he was confused. There was a stillness over the house that bothered him and he got out of the bed and made his way towards the stairs.

"Hello," Ezekiel called.

When there was no answer he decided to go downstairs to see if anyone was in the kitchen. When he reached the lower level he saw Helen talking to someone in a low voice. He didn't recognize the person and became extremely perplexed.

It didn't take long for Verona to wake up, and find herself alone.
She sat up after a second, and rubbed her head as she slipped out of the bed.

She began to quietly tip toe down the stairs, since everything was so dark and quiet, it must have been early.

Then she saw Ezekiel, who seemed to be listening in on something.
Helen was saying something to someone in a very soft tone, as if she were trying to be especially quite.
"Ezekiel," Verona whispered.
"Who is that..?"

"I don't know," Ezekiel whispered back.

He could barely hear the two talking but it sounded as if there was news from the city. Something about his mother and father. It was at the same point that the man seemed to be intent on leaving.

He stood up from the chair and nodded slightly to Helen before letting himself out. There was a silence after that and Ezekiel seemed almost overwhelmed with it.

He could see Sebastian now, who was coming up from the cellar and was just as confused as Verona and Ezekiel. He was carrying what looked like to be some of the vegetables that they'd picked the previous day.

Verona seemed to be just as puzzled about things as Ezekiel was, and they both had good reason.
Not only was it strangely odd, it was just, well, odd.

Her hand on Ezekiel's shoulder, Verona watched as well as he did, the stranger leave, and Sebastian enter with the greens.

"Should we go ask her," she whispered to him.

(Oh my! Teh short!)

"I don't know," Ezekiel whispered back. "I think the stranger was from the city though."

Helen had begun looking over the vegetables at that point and began to sort them into some baskets that had seemingly come out of nowhere. In reality they had just been hidden in a cabinet that was in the kitchen area.

Sebastian was just about to go upstairs when he noticed both Verona and Ezekiel eavesdropping. Before he made it all the way up the stairs he paused slightly.

"Did you hear anything," he asked in a whisper.