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The docks weren't quiet.

Okay, they were mostly quiet, but tainted, in a way, with a very present Esmeralda. Disturbing the silent ocean and dark walkways with her gentle singing, her surprisingly good singing. As far as I knew she hadn't had anything to drink tonight (neither had I, for that matter) and was singing with a soft, but pretty voice. I didn't recognize the song she was singing and the language was, probably, French. Or maybe another Latin language, I wasn't sure.

I approached her as silently as I could. Her face was directed at the ocean, as were her tones. For a moment I imagined them carried over those tiny waves all the way to an island with her prince. For a moment I felt the beast rising, wanting to drain her and leave her to the waters. Let her body be carried to her dream prince far away.

When she turned around, I felt as if I was caught in the act of drinking her blood and draining her life. Even though I was still at least ten steps away.

"Hi Amy!" She spoke cheerfully.

The dark hid my blush. "Hey. Did you bring your bag away as well?"

She nodded. "I didn't see you at the Cathedral, did you put your bag elsewhere?"

First I looked at my back, but that one was still there. But of course, she meant the clothing. "Eh yes." I might as well tell her now. "I've found a new place to sleep. One a little more private."

She looked sad, her words were kind though. "Well you always did seem a little out of place in such a busy place. Can I see it? The new place?"

Tempting, but no. "Not the first night. I want to make it my own first. But I'll definitely invite you over soon."

Esmeralda thought about this. "Well, alright. So, anyway. I wanted to show you something."

"What?"

She smiled. "It's a surprise."

I shrugged. "So, where is it?"

She giggled a little. "Follow me."

While we headed along the docks and the ocean-side, we talked a little. "What were you singing? It sounded really beautiful."

"It's not really a real song. Just a text on a melody from a very pretty movie. I'm kind of singing what happens in it."

"So, what's the story?"

"It's about this girl who grew up without friends, with little school and very disconnected with society. But because of the way she grew up, she remains a lot of her childish spirit in her. She gets the idea to help people after she finds some odd memorabilia in her apartment and eventually tries to find her prince."

I smiled warmly. "Sounds like a nice story. Were you singing French?"

She smiled. "Yes. The language of the story. Do you speak it?"

I giggled. "French? No. Not really. We had some basic lessons at school, but I never got into it."

Esmeralda put her hand against my shoulder right after we'd deviated from the road to follow the water. "Okay, can you close your eyes and hold my hand to follow me?"

I closed my eyes with a smile. "Of course."

She led me onwards, through the shrubbery and over some rocks or something. At one point I got a small branch swept in my face which was annoying, but only added to the experience. Dutifully I kept my eyes closed though, wanting to give Esmeralda her full chance to surprise me. We stood still and she stood next to me, whispering in my ear.

"You can open them."

It was beautiful. From where we were, the moon reflected on the ocean in an almost ironic symmetry with the city. In front of us was darkness, with hardly any distinction between the curving landmass and the water. On the left was the wide ocean, lit by and reflecting the light of the moon away from the land. Then, on the other side, was the city with it's many lights. The silhouettes of the sailboats, the docks, the church and the high office, were drawn against the night.

From this angle, the sky ranged from a mild orange, as emitted by the lights of the streets, to a deep, dark blue that was only marginally lit by the moon.

"Wow."

Now that's a nice gift.