by Jessica Grey
Becca smiled broadly and Lilia looked excited.
“But,” Alex continued before they could say anything, “what will probably happen is a big fat nothing and that will disprove your theory.”
“I’m totally okay with that,” Becca agreed. “The point of scientific inquiry is to try to disprove one’s hypothesis anyway.”
“Let’s not mix science and magic, it’s too early in the morning.”
Becca glanced at her watch. “Actually, it’s almost nine. Which means the university libraries will be open soon. So Alex, I think you get a slight reprieve. Research first; well, call in sick to GeMMLA first; research second, magic training later.”
~ Chapter Fourteen ~
“I THINK I found something.” Becca’s voice came from several aisles away from where Alex and Lilia were sitting, cross-legged, on the floor in the university library. Alex had several volumes stacked in front of her. The student who had let them into the research section would probably have a conniption if he saw the books on the floor, but there was a distinct lack of tables in the research section, and Alex didn’t relish the thought of lugging the huge volumes halfway across the floor just to utilize one of the two wooden tables on the other side of the book stacks.
They weren’t even supposed to be allowed into the research section. But Becca’s persuasiveness and Lilia’s dazzling smile had worked on the young and obviously easily overwhelmed undergrad. His badge had proclaimed his name to be Frank. Alex would bet her entire geode collection that a girl of Becca’s caliber, let alone Lilia’s, had never even looked twice at Frank before. She’d also bet if anyone found out that he’d let three teenage girls rifle through the restricted research section he’d be out of his work-study job. She tried to feel guilty about it, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and an LA County Library card was just not going to cut it in these circumstances.
“What did you find?” Alex asked as Becca came around the corner of their aisle carrying a large book that looked to be about half her size.
“Well, it’s not much,” Becca admitted, “but there is a reference to Arraine, which is more that I’ve been able to find anywhere else yet.”
“That is wonderful!” Lilia said excitedly. “It is sad to see nothing about my country has survived to be recorded in these books, as if we never existed.”
Becca joined them on the floor and propped the oversized book up against the shelves. It was open to a photograph of a beautifully woven, brightly colored tapestry. The tapestry depicted an outdoor scene—women dancing in a field—and was surrounded by a complex braided and floral motif.
“It’s actually an art book,” she explained. “Look at the description: ‘This tapestry, dating to the early twelfth century, once hung in the palace at Versailles. Oral tradition says that it came from the Kingdom of Arraine, which scholars now believe may have been a fanciful term for a region in what is now Southeastern France. The tapestry, entitled The Sisters, is very intricate, utilizing colors and techniques not seen in other pieces from the same time period. It depicts a group of women participating in what appears to be a ritual celebration.’”
“Wow, that’s amazing.” Alex leaned forward to take a closer look at the tapestry. There were three women holding hands, encircling a fourth woman with flowing golden hair. “The faces are so clear; it’s more lifelike than any art I’ve ever seen from that time period. Not that I’m a huge art person, but the people always look too long and skinny to me, like they’ve been ironed.” She looked harder at the blond woman in the center. Something about her was extremely familiar.
“It is very similar,” Lilia agreed, “although, as I said I have never met my aunts, but the image of my mother is very true-to-life.”
Becca gasped and leaned in to look more closely, almost bumping Alex’s head with hers as they both stared at the tapestry. Alex squinted her eyes a bit. Lilia was right, the face was younger and less tired and worried-looking than the face that had looked back at Alex when she had held the crown, but it was most definitely Queen Liliana.
“If it’s called The Sisters, these must be Bryony, Violet, and Saffron.” Becca reached out and traced the images with her fingertip. “Alex, did they look like this in your dream?”
Alex stared at the three fae. They looked at first glance as if they were clasping hands, but a closer look revealed that they were actually holding a shimmering braided ribbon or cord of some kind and had encircled Queen Liliana with it. Alex peered closely at the braid, she couldn’t tell if they were holding it or if it was flowing out of their hands. The three younger sisters were all blond, although not the same almost-too-bright gold that Lilia shared with her mother. One had lighter hair, almost as light as silver, another like dark honey, and the third had hints of red in her blond locks. The group looked, thought Alex, rather like an ad for blond hair dye—in four gorgeous shades.
“In my dream it was really hard to make out what they looked like. They were in colored cloaks with hoods, and I couldn’t see their faces. It was almost like they weren’t completely substantial—not all the way there. It’s actually weird to look at this tapestry thinking I might have seen them before.”
“Look,” Lilia said, leaning forward and pointing near the edges of the tapestry. “The flowers worked into the side; lilies, Saffron’s crocuses, bryony…
“Here are the violets.” Becca pointed to the soft purple flowers climbing up the braided motif framing the main image.
“Well, that pretty much puts to rest any question of who they are—” Alex broke off. Near the top of the braided motif the other flowers faded, replaced by a very familiar tangle of thorny vines, studded with large red and pink roses. “Those are Briar Rose’s flowers,” she breathed, pointing.
The other two girls gasped.
“They are!” Lilia agreed. “It is called The Sisters so I suppose it makes sense that all five sisters would be represented.”
“Do you think she’s actually represented?” Becca asked. “Or just through flowers?”
The girls were silent for a moment as they searched the picture for the fifth sister.
“There,” Alex pointed. Near the edge of the field, a few scattered trees, getting denser as they faded off into the distance, told of a forest. Leaning against one of the outlying trees, barely visible in the shadows, was the outline of a woman. Her long dress was so dark red it appeared almost black and it blended with the trunk of the tree. Her hair, almost the same gold as the queen’s but shining with a dull, burnished sheen, like a golden coin, spilled in large ringlets over one shoulder.
“She is as beautiful as my mother,” Lilia whispered in awe. And it was true. As they leaned forward to see better, they could tell her face was almost perfect. But it was beautiful in a fierce and proud way, whereas Queen Liliana’s beauty was softer and sweeter. There was no doubt that the two were sisters; in fact, their features were so similar they could have been twins. Briar Rose’s light eyes were full of loathing. They gave the appearance of staring at her four sisters and yet also being out of the picture at the same time, almost as if she knew she was being looked at.
“Have you ever seen what she looked like before?” Becca asked in a whisper.
Lilia shook her head. “No,” she whispered back. “I suppose I did, as a baby; they were all present at my christening after all. But I, of course, do not remember anything about it.”
“Why are we whispering?” Alex asked, although she too had lowered her voice. “I don’t think she can hear us, it’s just a picture.”
Becca laughed nervously. “I don’t know. It’s kind of weird to get a look at her.”
Alex reached forward and closed the book firmly. Becca and Lilia both started at the small sound it made as it closed.
“The good thing,” Alex said, “is that we’re on the right track. We’ve found Arraine once; there have to be other references. The palace of Versailles was built hundreds of years after the kingdom disappeared, so the fa
ct that there would still have been people who had even heard of it is a great sign.”
“True,” Becca agreed. “Maybe we should be looking in French history books as well, really paying close attention to any references to Southeastern France; that’s where the stories would have been strongest.” She looked thoughtful. “You know, this art book is great, but what we really need are old books. Any references in newer books are going to be like this one, not telling us about Arraine, but what scholars think the references meant.”
“Where are we going to find really old books?” asked Alex. “Let me rephrase, old books we have access to? We barely got in here.”
Becca grinned. “What about the Museum Guild’s Historical Society?”
“I repeat: old books that we have access to,” Alex frowned. “The Historical Society people are scary. Nazi scary. They aren’t going to let us within spitting distance of their records without an official request from GeMMLA.”
“They don’t have to know,” Becca said.
Alex groaned.
“We haven’t let little things like rules get in our way in the last twenty-four hours; why should we start now?” Becca argued.
“What are we going to do, knock someone out?” Alex asked rubbing the bridge of her nose.
“I can,” Lilia pointed out. “It worked okay with that Nicholas creep.”
Alex and Becca looked at each other.
“Oh god, she’s picking up slang.” Alex muttered. “And from you apparently, because I’ve never called Nicholas a creep.”
“You should have. It’s probably his middle name, Nicholas Creep Hunt.”
Alex rubbed the bridge of her nose harder. She wondered if she pressed firmly enough she could push away the headache she felt brewing at the back of her skull.
“Okay, so our plan is to knock out whoever is on duty at the Historical Society? Do we have any other options, like maybe a different Plan A? Maybe magic sleeping spells could be Plan B, or even C, or D.”
“I’m open to discussion,” Becca offered. “But it’s Friday, so likely it’s either Evelyn Craist or Paul, and honestly neither of them seems like they’d be open to bribery.”
“How are we going to hide, or heaven forbid, explain another comatose body?” Alex asked.
Becca bit her lip. “That’s the only flaw in my plan,” she admitted. “I was kind of hoping that Lilia would be able to put a finer point on the spell.”
“Make it more specific?” Lilia asked. “For a certain amount of time? I do not think I am that good.”
Becca sighed. “Well, we are just going to have to think on our feet,” she said. “If all else fails we pull the fire alarm and run.”
~
The rain was light compared to the deluge of the previous day, but it was still wreaking havoc on the city. Whole intersections and freeway onramps were completely impassable. Huge rivers of water rushed swiftly through several major intersections, carrying away, just as swiftly, anyone who was stupid enough to drive into them.
The bottom level of the museum guild parking structure had partially filled with rainwater. A few haphazard sandbags were stacked near the entrance, but the water just created a new path around the bags and continued on its merry way down into the structure, in effect halving the available parking spaces by leaving only the top level open. Luckily, the weather was keeping most people at home, and Becca was able to find a parking spot that only required a few moments of rain exposure as the girls dashed to the covered walkway that led from the second level into the pathways between the buildings. The only other cars visible belonged to staffers at the various museums.
The Historical Society was housed in a small roundish building that was attached on one side to the art museum. The architect had probably had some soaring artistic vision, but Alex had always thought it looked kind of like the art museum had a growth, like a huge zit or wart, sticking off of its side. She had mentioned this once to Becca who had answered. “Oh, I always thought it looked like the art museum had a burr stuck to it.” Alex had been comforted that someone else had similar thoughts, and she wasn’t the only one completely lacking in artistic taste.
Although separate from the others, the Historical Society didn’t quite qualify as its own museum and was more of an archive and resource for the staffers as well as other intellectuals throughout the city. Being on the board was supposedly very prestigious. However, Alex would bet good money that no member of the general public, other than students on the random school group tour that accidentally ended up there, had ever heard of the Historical Society or set foot in their weird looking building. It was known as the HS building throughout the Museum Guild, although most interns referred to it as the BS building.
Nonetheless, the staffers at the Historical Society felt like they were guarding the gates to some sort of intellectual paradise, and they guarded them very jealously. On the occasions when interns from the various museums were sent on errands to the Historical Society’s building, it was made very clear to them that they were second, or even possibly third-class citizens and barely worthy of a glance up from whatever reading material the gatekeeper was currently perusing. In the case of Evelyn Craist, it was usually a celebrity-obsessed magazine, so Alex wasn’t quite sure how the IQ totals were being tallied. Paul, a science fiction aficionado in his late twenties, was a little bit more polite to Alex and Becca. Alex’s working theory was that it was due to living in his mother’s spare room and never being exposed to women, unless you counted Evelyn. And Paul appeared to live in fear of her, so she probably didn’t really count.
The trio stopped a few yards outside the HS Building.
“I’ll go check it out.” Becca stuck her hands in her hoodie pockets and strolled casually past the concrete steps that led up to the glass front doors. Alex resisted the urge to roll her eyes. In the direction Becca was heading there was nothing but the Historical Society. Were they supposed to think she was skulking off to the alley on the side where the trash bins were stored?
Becca walked, even more casually, back. “It’s Paul,” she informed them, “which I think works in our favor.”
“Definitely better than Evelyn,” Alex agreed. “I was actually considering being in favor of Lilia’s putting the whammy on her if it was Evelyn.”
“Yeah it would have been either that or the fire alarm scenario, but Paul we can work with. I’ve come up with a new Plan A. We shall use our feminine wiles. Actually, Alex, you shall use your feminine wiles.”
Alex stared at her blankly. “I’m sorry, what?”
“You’re gonna go in and flirt with him, and while you distract him, Lilia and I walk by behind you and let ourselves into the archive research center. Then you get him to let you in.”
Alex continued staring at Becca. Her glasses were getting smeared by the small, stinging drops of rain, but she didn’t notice.
“Huh?” she finally managed. “This is a really bad plan.”
Becca smiled encouragingly. “No, it’s a brilliant plan. I’m quite proud of it actually.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to send in Lilia? Firstly, she’s hot. Secondly, Paul doesn’t know her, and thirdly, she’s got the whole, you know, blindingly-sparkly-smile thing working in her favor.”
Lilia flashed that same smile at Alex. “Thank you for saying I am hot, Alex. That is good, right?” At her nod Lilia continued, “But you are quite lovely yourself. I am sure you can distract this Paul fellow sufficiently.”
“Also, Paul’s got kind of a thing for you,” Becca informed her.
“What?” Alex winced at the sound of her own voice. It had come out somewhere between a screech and a strangled gasp.
“It’s totally true,” Becca nodded sagely. “He asked me about you the last time I was in there.”
“No, he did not.”
“Yes, he did, he thinks you’re adorable.”
“He didn’t actually say that did he? Adorable? Like a teddy bear or small animal?” Alex felt he
rself edging closer to horror every time Becca opened her mouth.
“No, you moron. As in cute, attractive…”
“Hot,” Lilia interjected.
“Yes, hot. So, instead of standing out here in the rain getting drenched, you’re going to go in and wow him with your hotness so we can sneak in.”
Alex swallowed miserably. “Do I have to?”
“Yup.”
“I, um, don’t place a lot of stock in my hotness, or my ability to flirt for that matter.”
Becca eyed her critically for a moment. “You don’t really see yourself all that well, do you?”
She didn’t answer. It was too uncomfortably close to the last conversation she’d had with Luke. “What should I do?” she asked instead.
“Smile a lot. Ask him about Star Trek or whatever it is he’s into. The trick is to get him to face away from the front door and the hallway to the left.”
After a long pause Alex finally gave in. “Okay, if I have to. If it looks like it isn’t going well send Lilia in to do the spell thing.”
“Sure, but hopefully we won’t need it. I have faith in your abilities,” grinned Becca.
“You and no one else,” Alex informed her, squaring her shoulders and preparing to head into the HS building.
“Wait,” Lilia caught her arm. “Take off your overcoat.”
“What? My hoodie?”
“Just do it,” Lilia insisted. She waited as Alex unzipped and removed her hoodie.
Lilia looked her up and down. “Turn around,” she instructed. She turned her back to Lilia, who promptly reached forward, grabbed a handful of Alex’s t-shirt and knotted it, stretching the soft fabric taught across her chest and stomach.
“Now put your hoodie thing back on,” she instructed, “but do not close it.”
Alex glanced down at her front, her assets, such as they were, highlighted by the now tight t-shirt.
