Someone else nearby laughed, and she frowned. “So I know it was true love’s kiss that woke me up,” she said, “but since I was under the spell I don’t remember it. When he looked back down at her, Darcy gave him her best smile. Finally, he said, “She’s awake,” and looked away, at whoever he was speaking to. He blinked, several times in rapid succession, and his brow furrowed.

His eyes, too, were dark, and not just in color, she thought, and suddenly she knew exactly who he was. It was a handsome face, with a scruff of dark facial hair to match the long dark hair that hung to his shoulders. It filtered back slowly, growing in volume as well as variety, until she could discern separate voices, as well as loud clanging that sounded like a village bell.Ī village bell? Something about that thought seemed to…itch somehow, as if it wasn’t quite comfortable, but that’s what the noise reminded her of, Darcy reasoned to herself, so why shouldn’t it be? Perhaps she was just still fuzzy from being…asleep? Unconscious? What had happened? Where was she? It didn’t feel like her bed.ĭarcy opened her eyes, and the fourth thing she became aware of was the face of a man, leaning over her.

They were warm, she noticed, and maybe a little rough from callouses. The second thing Darcy was aware of was the touch of someone’s fingers on her neck – checking for a pulse? They pressed against her throat, then patted her cheek gently.

It wasn’t harsh, didn’t try to press itself against her closed eyelids and force them open it was soft, gentle, like looking up at the sky through a canopy as she struggled back to consciousness.

Woke up like this movie