I closed my eyes and tried to breathe slowly; in through the nose, out through the mouth, in through the nose, out through the mouth. Although this was an exercise meant to calm my mind, it did nothing more than increase the level of agitation I felt, causing me to burst out.
“How the hell can I do something if I don't know what I'm supposed to do?” I shouted, punching the couch, except that my fists did not touch the soft pillows. There was no need to open my eyes to grasp that I was no longer on the living room's couch.
I knew where I was.
“You’ll make wrinkles before time if you keep frowning like that.”
“I suppose you don’t have those kind of worries,” I said sarcastically.
I looked at Leah, who was floating among the stars beside me. She had a playful smile, but her eyes were just as sad. Without wanting to, I noticed that her dress was different; now it was coffee-coloured and much simpler and more conservative than the one before, and the hair was tied in a back knot, making her look much older.
“How do you do that?” I asked.
“Do what?” she answered puzzled.
“Your dress is different, and so is your hair.”
“Easy . . .” She smiled.
Without adding anything else, she snapped her fingers, and the whole look changed instantly. Her dress was now blue with low shoulders, and the hair was arranged at the top of the head in a sophisticated style.
“Hmm, or maybe something a bit more modern would be better,” she said to herself.
She snapped her fingers again and this time changed into a pair of flared trousers and a greenish blouse, with her hair undone and wearing a bandana on her head. The style was more from the '70s and '80s, but considering the period she came from, I think it could be called modern.
“Oh, wow! Leah, that’s amazing!” I clapped my hands.
“Wait, that’s not all. I can even change your clothes and the scenery,” she continued, thrilled.
“Really?” I was amazed.
With another snap of her fingers, I woke up dressed in a ball gown, seafoam-coloured, with crinoline and a tight corset around the ribs, which barely allowed me to breathe.
“This is not very comfortable,” I said.
In a split second, the tightness from around my waist and chest disappeared, letting me breathe with ease. Relieved that I could breathe again, I didn't realise that the stars had vanished and now we were both in a garden, by the edge of a fountain.
“Where are we?” I asked, looking around.
“Back at the manor. I have a very dear memory connected to this fountain.”
Something on her face made my heart struggle. The sad look? The nostalgic smile? Or maybe it was the way she played with her finger in the water without even disturbing it.
“Leah?”
“Hmm?”
“What am I supposed to do? Some time ago, you said you need my help, but I don’t know how.”
The magic dissipated instantly. We were back amid the stars, and I was dressed in my regular clothes.
“I will need you to be there for me. More than anything else, I’ll need a friend.”
“But how am I supposed to do that? We are separated by about two hundred years, and it looks like I can’t travel whenever I feel like it, and you can’t get in touch with me when you need me. So, tell me, how am I supposed to be there for you with such a great wall between us?” I blurted out, frustrated, in one breath.
“But you can, Scarlett,” her tone was understanding. “There is only one condition you must fulfill. Keep the connection open at a minimum level, at all times.”
“But how can I do that? And especially how can I do it without constantly having red hair?”
She grabbed my head between her palms and stuck her forehead to mine. Her skin felt cold and soft, and I felt as if a weight has been lifted off.
"I've learned a lot since I came here. That should help."
"What did you do?"
"A slight adjustment," she told me, smiling. "The ability you inherited has not been used for several generations, and that is why your body didn't know how to adapt. That's why you felt exhausted, and that is why you had a hard time releasing the flow at will."
"I think I understand most of what you tell me, but what about my hair?"
"Your hair will have a constant reddish glow, but nothing more as long as the energy used will be minimal. But you don't have to worry. Laura has something for you."
"Oh! You are right; Laura said she would help me."
"I just hope to hurry; she doesn't have much time on her hands."
"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked, confused.
"It is not for me to say, but you'll find out when the time comes."
Before I could say anything more, the view changed. We were in a small, dimly lit room. In one corner, behind us, was one of the maids.
"Go to her, Scarlett . . ."
I approached the young woman and noticed that it was Leah. A younger Leah, with red cheeks, who was applying a cold compress on her right forearm.
I looked confused from one to the other. The latter did not seem aware of our presence, and the other did nothing but watch as it changed its compresses, revealing briefly some long red cuts that bled here and there.
"What’s the meaning of this?" I looked in horror. "What happened?"
"It's just the beginning . . ."
Closing her eyes, she became unseen, and I felt drawn into the viewer's place inside Leah.
“Scarlett, you scared me!” Leah jumped.
“Were you waiting for someone else?” I tried to joke, though I’m not sure how convincing I was.
“No, not at all.” She laughed.
“Leah, what are those marks on your arm?”
“I broke something, so I had to be punished,” she said dismissively.
I bit my tongue to say nothing while she spread some kind of ointment over the wounds, and wrapping them in a bandage, she let her sleeve down.
“Why are you angry?” she asked as she walked out of the small room, and down the corridor.
“How often does this happen?”
“Not too often,” she tried to avoid the answer.
“How. Often? And don’t try to lie to me because I can feel when you do it,” I warned her.
“Once, maybe twice a week, but that’s only my fault since I’m so clumsy.”
“Oh, Leah . . . why did you want to come back to this place? Now you could’ve been somewhere far away, safe.”
“I’m happy here.”
I felt that she wasn't lying, and that is precisely why I couldn't understand. How could she be happy in a place where she was physically punished even for the littlest mistake?
For one thing, I was sure; Leah was strong.
We stopped in front of a pair of black doors.
"That's not . . ."
"It is. These were Lady Jubilee's rooms," she said hesitantly. "The Earl ordered the doors to be painted black and that no one is allowed to enter. Nobody but me, who has to clean them."
Before we entered, I heard a male voice shouting at Leah, and from behind a corner, no one other than Chance appeared.
"Leah, can you give me control for a little?"
"Sure, but what do you want to do?"
"You will see, only for a few minutes, please."
I didn't even finish the sentence when I felt the door handle in the palm of my hand, and the marks on my arm, burning and pulsing. I looked at Chance once, then entered the room, leaving the door open for him to follow me. I could say he fell straight into a trap.
He came into the room, closing the door behind him, but he didn’t get to turn before I gripped the collar of his coat, and pushed him as hard as I could, slamming him against the door. I heard Leah screaming somewhere at the back of my mind, but I was too angry to care. With his big eyes and opened mouth, I could read the surprise on his face, but I couldn’t care less. He’d made a promise and broke it.
“Scarlett! Just as delightful and violent. What’s the reason for this lovely meeting?”
“You are a liar,” I said between gritted teeth, squeezing the fabric in my clenched fists while pushing him harder against the closed door. “I can’t believe I trusted you.” My blood was boiling, and my hand was throbbing even harder because of the effort.
“Scarlett!”
“Stay out of this, Leah! Please, stay out of this!”
His tone changed from surprised and playful to serious, grimacing.
“Scarlett, what is going on? You don’t make any sense.”
“Of course, I don’t . . . You promised! You promised you would take care of Leah! You broke your word!”
He grabbed my hands to stop me from pushing, but when he touched my hurt arm, I felt like a thousand needles pierced through my skin at the same time, making me scream in pain. With teary eyes, I pulled back, putting some distance between us.
“Scarlett, what’s wrong?” he asked, worried.
“Just stay away, don’t come near me!” I shouted.
Ignoring my words, he came by my side, holding my face between his hands, so he could look in my eyes.
“Tell me what happened.” Despite his pleading voice, this wasn’t a request.
His hands smelled pleasant, like paper and ink, but this wasn’t the time to be distracted. Aggressively, I pulled up the sleeve and undid the bandage, revealing the wounds on my forearm.
“You promised . . . you promised you won’t let anything bad happen to her.”
Sadness and guilt brushed his face, disarming me of all my anger, leaving behind only the disappointment of a broken promise.
“Chance, what is happening in this house?”
He didn’t have an answer to give me, but he pulled me to his chest, hugging me and stroking my hair. I could hear his heart beating strongly, and I could feel mine beating in the same rhythm. We stayed like that for minutes, but in the end, he had to leave.
“Until next time, my sweet Lady.”
With a small bow, he vanished behind the black doors. It felt weird when he was doing that, is not like I was some sort of big shot.
Leah started giggling, reminding me of her presence. Now that I thought about it, it was kind of awkward that the whole scene happened the way it did, but it was too late to change anything. I retreated, giving Leah back the control over her body; I’d made enough stupid things, for now.
“You like him . . .,” she said friskily.
“Don’t be silly . . .”
“Then, you hate him? But I don’t think you hug someone you hate the way you did.”
“I don’t hate him.” I rolled my eyes
Hearing my answer, she started chuckling again, while wiping the dust.
I didn’t hate him, and most certainly, I didn’t like him; at least not in the way Leah implied. It would have been stupid to let myself be captivated by someone who lived in a different century. Who cared about his diamond-shaped face and the firm, sculpted jawline; his copper-brown eyes and the short hair of the same colour; his broad chest; or his strong arms wrapped around my shoulders . . . or his warm smile . . .?
Stop it, Scarlett! These kind of thoughts aren’t helpful.
“Scarlett . . .”
“I don’t like him!” I snapped unintentionally, but luckily, Leah behaved like she didn’t mind me.
“Can you hear it?”
“Hear what? I can’t hear anything.”
“A ticking. A clock? But there isn’t one in this room.”
“What are you talking about?”
She walked to the farthest corner of the room and glued her ear to the cold wall.
“It’s coming from here.”
“Leah, I can’t hear anything. Leah?”
Without answering me, she began to feel the wall. Gently moving her fingers on its surface, she noticed that the wallpaper was cut with a very thin blade, making it almost invisible. She tried to push it, and to my surprise, a piece moved, leaving a mouldy smell entering the room.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Leah grabbed a candle and stepped into the dark tunnel.
“Leah, we shouldn’t be here.” I raised my voice.
As if she couldn't even hear me, she continued to advance as if hypnotised toward an unknown destination.
As it deepened, the tunnel split a few times, forming a maze that may be stretched for miles, but nonetheless, Leah continued her journey without any hesitation, as if led by an invisible force.
The whole place was giving me the creeps. The stone walls seemed ancient, but even so, there wasn't any sign of any living creature through the cold and damp tunnel; no sound of rodents, no spider canvas, and especially not even a trace as if someone had passed through there for tens or maybe hundreds of years.
A bad feeling lingered at the back of my head.
The steps led us to a room made entirely of white marble. Columns, like those of Greek temples, and later taken over by the Romans, supported the high ceiling, from where, carved in ronde-bosse[1], Zeus looked down. The walls were adorned with similar sculptures, which viewed in the right order, told a long-lost story. But this was not the time to let myself be distracted by the place's architecture, as Leah moved with small steps towards the centre of the room.
On a pedestal, in a glass box, sat a small pocket watch, which seemed to throb, resonating at every step Leah made toward it.
“Leah, you’d better stop now.”
I could feel her heart beating, and her breathing became heavy.
"Leah!"
She reached for the small object, and when her fingertips touched the cold material . . .
"LEAH!"
. . . an overwhelming pressure was released suddenly, throwing us all the way to the columns which began to vibrate.
“We need to go back. Now!” I yell at her, frightened.
She got up from the ground, but instead of taking it toward the tunnel, she approached the box again, which now had a small crack.
“Leah! Stop it!” I kept shouting.
She stopped in place for a few seconds, struggling within whether or not to touch the box again, but before she could make a decision, thin threads of electricity began to quickly cross the transparent material of the box, bursting into a lightning storm that hit the walls and ceiling.
Suddenly, I woke up in control, and without thinking, I turned on my heels and fled to the tunnel, trying to ignore the sound similar to the chirping of a thousand singing birds made by the force with which the lightning struck the air.
I didn't stop running until I got back to the room where we were safe.
When the thin soles of the shoes touched the room's carpet, my knees gave way, and I rolled to the floor, fighting to regain my breath.
Sudden pain in the back of my head made me lose consciousness, but before that, I saw clearly in front of me a pair of shoes and some black trousers . . .
. . . and a cold, gruff voice said . . .
“I found you . . .”
Chapter 13
I looked confused at the little twine hanging between my fingers. I didn’t know what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t a friendship bracelet. I glanced at Laura, who was sitting in front of me, avoiding my eyes, squeezing her right arm absent-mindedly.
“I know it doesn’t look like much, but it should do the trick, at least for a while.”
“For a while?” I tilted my head, puzzled.
“Sorry, sweets, but my powers are limited.”
Trying to ignore her continuous disconcertedness, I asked.
“So, how does it work? I tie it on my wrist, and that’s it?”
“Well, more or less. You need to fix it in your hair.”
“That’s it?” I raised my eyebrows.
“That’s it.”
The thin twine, made out of silk, had the same colour as my hair, so it shouldn’t stand out. I tied it on a hair strand at the back, making sur
e it wasn’t visible. Checking myself in the mirror, my hair looked completely black, without the reddish glow caused by the constant energy flow. I arranged a few more rebel hairs and turned to Laura, who had a pale smile. I had no idea what the conditions were for a successful spell, but looking at Laura's dark circles, I realised it was probably a pretty consistent effort, and she made that effort for me.
“I don’t know how long the effect will last, but during this time, I hope you’ll find it useful,” she added.
“Thank you, Laura!” I hugged her. “You have no idea how much this means to me, and how relieved I feel knowing I have you by my side.”
“You’re welcome, sweets. I’ll help you as long as I can.” She patted my back.
Something in her voice was bothering me. She seemed; distracted?
“Are you alright?” I gathered the courage and asked.
“Yeah, just a bit tired.”
I was one hundred per cent convinced that it was something more than fatigue, but if she didn't want to tell me, I couldn't get my nose in it, and besides, I had no other way to find out.
“Laura!” I called her before she managed to get out the door.
Still facing the other way, she didn’t answer, but I knew she listened.
“Maybe you should go home today. You look like you’re about to fall off your feet. I’ll talk with the Director if you want me to, after all, you did the same thing for me not too long ago.”
“I’ll be fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”
Maybe she said that, but I couldn't help but get the impression that if I let her go now, I would never see her again. She would disappear among the shadows as if she had never existed.
Stop it, Scarlett! Laura is just tired. She will not transform into smoke and disappear into the wind.
A week off, filled with fantasy books, hadn’t helped my mind stay connected to the real world.
“Scarlett?”
Laura's tired voice took me by surprise. I didn't even realise that she was still standing by the door.
The Curse of Time Page 8
