Her Knight in Shining Armor

Chapter 1

Riane gazed up at the evening sky. Night was slowly beginning to swallow the land in darkness, bringing with it a handful of stars that at first only appeared in random places but later would decorate the sky like a sprinkled cake. Until then the sun let off its last beating rays, leaving waves of pink and orange to melt together and form the sunset. The moon was already upon the house yet not in full control of the light it gave off, for the sun still controlled the sky, drowning out the moons light, on the summer's eve.

Still, sleep began to over take her and she drifted off into a land she enjoyed to stay in. Throughout the summer and most of the last two years, Riane had been getting these dreams where she was reliving her life at the same pace as the real world. It was almost like premonitions but one thing was always different. Her dreams would never come true if Jason only existed in the there, not in the real world.

She remembered hearing people in movies and books talk about a "man of their dreams." Her mom even told her once when she was little that she dreamed of this perfect guy who could do no wrong, a knight in shining armor is what she called him; or so she said. Still, being 17 years old, Riane also had dreams of her knight. So during the day she would live her real life, then at night it was the same one, just with Jason.

Lately, however, he had been coming in different forms and appearances. From a black haired green eyed rebel to a blonde haired brown eyed snob. But he somehow still had the same affection toward her as if he couldn't escape it. Sometimes it was hard for her to realize it was him until later. Even though he changed on the outside, he was still the same on the inside, no matter what.

So as she slept on the deck outside her bedroom, in her pink and red striped lounge chair, she knew pleasant dreams were in store for her.

Riane woke with a start, her lounge chair shaking slightly in her wake. The Harry Potter book she was reading lay open on a small end table between her chair and another one. The one across from her was usually occupied by her mom and from the looks of it, she was there right now.

Riane saw her mom was asleep with a blanket, decorated with puppy paw prints, covering her entire body from head to toe, most likely to shield her from the cool summer's breeze. Light from the sun and moon were now mixed together but still emitted enough light for Riane to see every detail of her surroundings.

Slowly sitting up she lifted her arms high in the air, stretching out her back before swinging her legs over the side of the chair and placing them on the cold wood of the deck. She looked down and noticed a small glass of lemonade next to her book. Thinking it was her moms; she gripped it lightly and took a drink. The bitter yet sweet taste lingered in her mouth minutes after she had swallowed it. It was refreshing but unsatisfying.

She set the glass back on the end table and stood up. The wind picked up and swept across the deck, ruffling her short blonde hair. Taking a deep breath, she stepped over to her mom's chair and sat down next to her.

"Hey mom, it's getting late, we should head inside." All Riane got as a response was a small moan and grumble. Smiling, she reached down to shake her mom's shoulder.

"Come on mom get up." But as soon as she gripped her shoulder she realized the firmness of it. 'This isn't mom, mom is a weakling.' Riane thought as she quickly stood, a little startled.

She had no siblings and her father had moved to the other side of the state after he divorced her mother two years ago. So when she shook the person lying next to her and knew it wasn't her mom, the only other person in the house, but a strange man, panic steadily began to catch hold of her mind.

Trying her best to keep the fear out of her voice, Riane said "Hey, you, who are you? What are you doing here?" The unknown figure did not respond or even move. Angry at being ignored, Riane built up her courage and carefully gripped the edge of the blanket.

With one swift motion she whipped the puppy paw blanket off the stranger and jumped back. At first she did not recognize the tall guy lying in the lounge chair. His curly brown hair covered half of his tilted face.

He was wearing a loose t-shirt with the words "Sports-bum" written across the front and red and white basketball shorts. A tattoo of a rose with glistening thorns wrapped around his left ankle. Another was just below his collar bone, a small red dragon, no bigger than her palm.

A silver chained necklace draped across his lightly tanned neck, glittering in the low sunlight with the rise and fall of his chest. His breathing was slow as he slept silently, one hand at his side, the other drapped over his stomach.

Riane's breath caught at the beauty of the stranger. He was like something you saw in a magazine, but he was right here in front of her, and asleep of all things. Her trance soon lifted when he stirred. Still asleep he turned onto his side, his necklace sliding off his neck, and his arms wrapped around his toned body, obviously chilled after being exposed to the cold air.

Unsure of what to do, Riane stood there, clutching the puppy paw blanket, still warm from his body heat along with the paint scent of his cologne. She guessed it was Adidas because it smelt similar to her own perfume.

The responsible part of her wanted to wake him and demand an explanation as to why he was there, the caring part of her thought it best to put the blanket back on him and let him sleep, and the girlish side wanted to lay down next to him. Unfortunately, she wasn't given the chance to think it completely through.

The handsome stranger took a deep breath then was completely silent and unmoving. Soon after, he slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Riane. She tried not to let her mouth drop open as fierce blue eyes stared up at her. They were not only the bluest eyes she had ever seen but held a loving gaze. She thought she could get lost instantly in his gaze and never be able to escape their radiating tenderness.

For a moment they just stared at each other. Then he smiled and said softly "Hey." His voice was just as hypnotizing as his eyes when it reached her ears. The summer's breeze drifted past the deck, sending a chill down Riane's spine. Then all was calm and quiet.