Magic Awakened: A Paranormal Romance Boxed Set

by K.N. Lee

  Chapter 10

  Christmas Eve marked Anais fourth week in The Manor, and there was still no sign of Winnie or Aldrich. Nobody seemed to know where they were, although there was little concern shown by the house’s inhabitants. When Anais asked, she was told that the parents often went on extended trips and not to worry. Anais was beginning to worry, though. She was anxious to see Winnie again, she missed her. Winnie was like family to Anais and she had so much to tell her. To take her mind off it, she persuaded Aethelu to go to the nearest town for a Christmas shopping expedition. Aethelu had confessed to almost never leaving the manor, so scared was she of touching anyone and giving them a shock, that it took a while to persuade her at all. It was Alex, who often left the manor and so had mastered The Light, who finally got Aethelu to acquiesce to the trip.

  He’d invited himself along when he overheard Anais pleading with Aethelu to take her. Aethelu had been totally set against the idea, but when Alex had said he’d take Anais, she had quickly changed her mind.

  Anais had expected to get a bus to the local town, so she was pleasantly surprised when Alex led them to the double garage doors in the outhouses. He opened them up to an amazing sight. The garage was bigger than Anais had realised and actually housed five cars, two motorbikes and a camper van. Despite growing up in LA, where everyone drove, Anais had never owned a car, nor had she seen so many amazing vehicles in one space. She knew very little about cars, but she could see that these were not your average cars. All but one of the cars looked like very expensive sports cars. The one on the end was a big car with seven seats of the type a large family might own. Alex jumped into the nearest car, which he told her was a black 1964 Corvette Stingray.

  “It’s American, I thought you’d like it.” He winked at her.

  Aethelu shot him a look and then climbed into the back seat. Anais was going to climb in after her, but Alex had already reached across and opened the passenger door for her, clearly expecting her to sit in the front next to him. Not wanting to offend him, she took the offered seat, sitting on beige leather.

  “I thought Corvettes were only ever made with two seats,” mused Anais.

  “They do usually. Arcadia knew one of the big execs of Chevrolet in the sixties. He had this made especially for her.” Alex rolled his eyes.

  He started the car and raced out of the garage, screeching tyres as he went. Anais was glad she’d put her seatbelt on as he drove round corners much quicker than she’d have thought possible of a car of this size. Thankfully, all the roads they travelled on were gritted and clear of snow. She doubted that this car would get very far otherwise. They hurried down the long driveway, through the trees and out into the village, Aethelu, complaining all the while about the speed. Alex laughed it off and Anais was a little nervous, but was enjoying the thrill of the ride. She was glad to be finally out of the manor’s grounds. As much as she loved it there, it was nice to be out in civilisation. Once out of the manor’s gates, which were opened electronically, Anais watched the scenery as it passed. They passed the playground she had seen hints of when Aethelu had taken her to the tramway. The tram itself, was hidden in the woods, but Anais could see the large snow-covered path that led to it. They drove through the village, which looked like a winter wonderland, every house, snow-covered and white. The snow at the side of the road had turned to brown slush, which spoiled the general effect and the heavy grey sky dulled everything and made the white snow appear dreary.

  The brother and sister bickered all the way into the nearby city and Anais was glad when they finally arrived. The shops were bustling with people doing last minute shopping before Christmas so it was difficult for Aethelu not to touch anyone, which only aggravated her bad mood. Even with her gloves on, she accidentally shocked a couple of people, who jumped and looked around and then complained very loudly about static electricity. When Alex suggested she just take her gloves off and “accidentally” touch the people in the queue in front of her to make them leave the queue, she did, much to the surprise of Anais. Their little scheme worked for a while as people, not knowing where the shocks were coming from, assumed it was an electrical fault under the floor and went to use other tills. Aethelu’s mood began to lift, now that she had found a way to occupy herself. Anais caught her giggling quietly at her little game, and Alex, obviously, also thought it was hilarious.

  Eventually, Anais put a stop to the siblings’ entertainment. Knowing how amazing touching Aethelu’s bare skin made her feel, she was having pangs of jealousy at the gift being used willy-nilly on total strangers. It was something special between her and Aethelu, and she had no intention of sharing it any further. Of course, that’s not what she told Aethelu and Alex. She told them she was worried that Aethelu might accidentally give someone a heart attack; such was the intensity of the shocks. Aethelu looked suitably remorseful and promised to keep her gloves on, much to the disappointment of Alex, who had been having fun. Anais was thoroughly enjoying the shopping trip. The shops were the same high street shops she was used to, but they were all decorated for Christmas. Trees covered in lights and multi-coloured baubles twinkled out at her from every shop and everyone looked so happy. Many shoppers were wearing silly Santa hats, and she even saw some wearing novelty flashing earrings. Children excitedly ran through the shops, discussing their Christmas lists and wondering if they’d been good enough for Santa to visit them. Christmas songs blared out from every shop, adding to the general noise and mayhem and wonderful smells of chestnuts roasting filled the air. Alex located the source, a little cart, and bought them a bag of chestnuts each. Anais and Aethelu bought their presents together as Anais had left her purse at Winnie’s shop and had no money on her. For August, they bought a barbeque set. Andrew got a children’s magic set, which Aethelu assured Anais was a great present for him. Anais picked out a beautiful pair of diamond earrings for Arcadia, and for Alex they bought a book on supercars when he wasn’t looking. Raphael got a set of handkerchiefs with his initials embroidered on them. Aethelu picked out some slippers for her father, but Anais asked if she could choose a gift for Winnie. She found a beautiful shawl of pale blue and silver, which she knew Winnie would love. When they had finished their shopping, they went to a fast food place for lunch. Anais left Alex and Aethelu eating their burgers whilst she quickly went to find a present for Aethelu. She found a beautiful red cashmere jumper and bought a small silver broach in the shape of a heart with a ruby in the middle to go with it. She’d had to borrow money from Alex, who was more than happy to lend her some, knowing that Winnie would be back soon with all of Anais things, including the money she had saved up whilst working in the shop. By the time she got back to the burger joint, Aethelu and Alex had already finished and were just ready to leave. They packed all their bags into the car and drove home, under the still heavy sky which was just beginning to snow.

  “It’s been so long since I ventured out. I’d forgotten what it was like. It’s so much fun”. Aethelu stuck her head out of the open car window and squealed.” Anais laughed and held her hand out to her.

  Anais, once again, looked out of the window. The playground came into view which meant they were only a minute away from the manor. Sure enough, the big gates loomed and Alex pressed the remote control to open them as he got closer. The gates slowly started their journey inwards--too slowly.

  “Alex!” screamed Aethelu, when it became apparent they were travelling much too quickly and would hit the gates.

  Alex started pressing his foot furiously on the brake pedal to no avail.

  “The brakes aren’t working!”

  His foot had been taken off the accelerator which was slowing them down a little, but it wasn’t going to be enough. The car careened through the gates, causing them to scratch all the way down both sides of the car, with a horrible metallic screeching sound.

  Anais closed her eyes as they departed the driveway, straight into a tree.

  Anais’ heart was beating wildly as she assessed the situation.
Her seatbelt had kept her in her seat without injury, and when she looked round into the shocked faces of Alex and Aethelu, she could see that they were likewise unharmed.

  “What happened?” she asked a frightened looking Alex.

  “I don’t know. The brakes failed.” He unclipped his seatbelt and got out of the car.

  “My baby!” He was looking at the damage to the sides of the car, where it had scraped against the gates and the front where it had hit the tree. They had been going pretty slowly, so the damage to the car at the front was minimal. The tree had taken the worst of it and now had a huge gash in the side.

  “When did you last service this car?” demanded Aethelu, who had also got out.

  Alex looked sheepish. “Um, never.”

  “If you weren’t immortal, I’d kill you,” said Aethelu angrily. “That’s if you don’t get us all killed first!” and with that she stalked off up the driveway towards the house.

  “I’m really sorry,” said Alex to Anais “I don’t know what happened.”

  “Don’t worry. It’s just a good thing it happened when we had slowed down. She shuddered to think what would have happened if the brakes had failed earlier in the journey. At the speed Alex drove, she’d have certainly been testing her half-immortal blood. She gave another shudder and with a quick ‘bye’ to Alex, who was now tinkering under the bonnet, ran up the drive after Aethelu.

  When she caught up with Aethelu by the entrance to the manor she noticed another car in the driveway, one that she had not seen earlier. It was a blue hatchback and was parked at the front of the house unlike the others.

  “Daddy!” exclaimed Aethelu, immediately looking worried. “He’s going to kill me!”

  “Don’t be silly. Of course he won’t,” said Anais, although, from all she had heard about Aldrich, she wasn’t sure just how severe he could be.

  Aethelu smiled, but it was a forced smile. Anais could tell Aethelu was extremely uncomfortable. So much so that she walked up the steps to the big entrance doors without holding Anais’ hand. Anais hesitated a couple of minutes before she followed her. Still in shock from the crash, she was scared that she’d finally have to meet the man who had ordered her to be locked up. Eventually, she made her way up the steps. She heard the voice of Aldrich before she saw him. She held back around the main doors and listened.

  “It was highly irresponsible of you Aethelu, what if she’d left?” Aldrich’s voice was calm, but there was an edge to it.

  “But she didn’t, Daddy. She likes it here; she wants to stay here, with me.”

  “And that’s another thing. Arcadia tells me you are having a relationship with her. You know this is unwise. You know why she is here.”

  “Actually Daddy, I don’t know why she is here. You just told me to keep her locked up until you got back.” Aethelu’s voice cracked. Anais could tell that she was on the verge of tears.

  “Yes, a simple task which you could not even manage.”

  “Daddy, it was barbaric keeping her locked in that room.”

  “Where is she Aethelu?” Another gentler voice spoke. It was a voice that Anais recognised and it made her heart leap. She couldn’t hide anymore. She ran out and threw herself at Winnie. Just seeing her friend again made her cry.

  “Anais, darling, I’m so sorry. I put some of Aldrich’s herbal sleeping mixture in your milk. I had to.”

  Winnie was now crying as much as Anais and hugging Anais ferociously back.

  “I know about Jago killing my parents, and I know you were just trying to keep me safe.”

  When she finally tore herself away from Winnie and wiped the tears from her eyes, she noticed Aldrich looking at her.

  He was not as tall as she’d expected, but then he’d taken The Light elixir at a much older age than his children. He looked like any other man in his mid-fifties, with lined skin and grey hair. Unlike his children, his hair, already grey at the time, had remained the same just like Winnie’s. He retained the good looks of his youth and reminded Anais of an older version of Alex.

  “It’s nice to finally meet you, Anais.” He held out his hand which Anais shook with some trepidation. Here was her real captor, the man who had ordered for her to be locked up whilst he went on a holiday. He was, however, being civil and Anais was not one to be rude.

  “I’m sorry about the unfortunate circumstances of your arrival here.”

  So the kidnapping of her from her own bed was an ‘unfortunate circumstance’ He made it sound as if she’d suffered no more than arriving in the rain.

  “We’ve not been back long and need time to unpack,” said Winnie “We will catch up later at dinner” She turned to leave with Aldrich following close behind her up the grand staircase.

  The meal that night was a muted affair. Aethelu was seething with her father, who in turn, was angry with her. Winnie had taken over in the kitchen, demoting August to sous chef, which although he was pleased, had upset Baker, who knew his food stealing days were over.

  After dinner, Aethelu had said a quick goodbye to Anais and retreated to her room. They had kept their own rooms, which Anais was glad of. It made that one night with Aethelu special but it also meant that they were taking their relationship slowly, which Anais thought was for the best. Plus, even though the whole house knew about Anais and Aethelu, she didn’t know them all well enough to know how they would react if they were flaunting it in their faces.

  This night. though, she really missed Aethelu. She contemplated going down to her room, but Winnie had wanted to catch up and apologise over and over again about drugging her.

  In the parlour, they sat with cups of tea that Winnie had made. Pretty little cups and saucers crafted out of bone china, which Anais recognised from the shop’s apartment, were used. They had delicate pictures of roses on them, and gold decorated the rim. It was a change from the giant mugs that everyone else drank from. Now that Anais was alone with Winnie, she could see a marked difference in her appearance. The old-fashioned bun hairstyle, which she’d always worn at the shop, was now left down in a layered flicked-out modern style. The reading glasses, which were constantly either on her face or hanging from a chain round her neck, were absent, as was the ubiquitous little flowery dress. Instead, she was wearing jeans and a fashionable blouse. The biggest difference was her stature. In the shop, she had always stood hunched over and shuffled along from place to place slowly. Here she stood tall. The whole effect had made Anais think of her as a little old lady. Now she stood erect and confident and the difference was startling. It knocked years off her. In the shop, Anais had guessed her to be in her seventies. Now she could pass for late forties, easily. She was beautiful, as well. Anais had never noticed the high cheekbones and slim waist before. She could see where Arcadia and Aethelu got their beauty. If she dyed her grey hair black, she and Arcadia could almost pass for twins.

  Anais didn’t realise she was staring until Winnie spoke.

  “I know, different, huh? I guess my disguise worked well, by the way you are looking at me”

  “Oh sorry!” Anais lowered her eyes.

  “Don’t be sorry, we are here so I can apologise to you. I am so sorry for putting Aldrich’s sleeping draught in your milk.”

  “Why didn’t you just tell me the truth and then ask me to come to the manor?”

  “I wanted to. So many times, I almost blurted out our secret, but Aldrich’s orders were to keep you in the dark. Besides, you were happy at the shop weren’t you? I didn’t want to upset you any earlier than I had to.”

  “Yes, I was happy, but that doesn’t explain why I was drugged to get here.”

  “Aldrich has told me he will explain everything to you shortly, but please know that when I gave you the sleeping draught, I had no idea that Aldrich had ordered you to be locked up for so long. We only planned for you to be locked in that room for one night whilst we had something important to do. I assumed that someone would have let you out the next day. I really hoped to be there for you, to tell y
ou our secret myself, but unfortunately we were held up. I didn’t know that Aldrich had called home and told them to keep you in the room. I assure you I was very angry when I found out!”

  “That doesn’t really explain why I was brought here in the first place and where were you anyway?”

  “I’m sorry, Anais. I think it’s better that Aldrich fill you in. I’m afraid it’s late, and I need to get my beauty sleep.” She left the parlour taking the little tea set with her.

  Anais then realised where Aethelu got her knack of avoiding awkward subjects. Anais knew she would have to speak to Aldrich if she wanted all her questions answered. It was a thought that made her feel nervous.

  Over dinner, he had kept an eye on her, but since they met, he hadn’t said a word to her.

  His gruff manner and obvious disregard for anyone else put her on edge. Still, she wanted to know why she was here, so she would have to bite the bullet sooner rather than later.

  Eventually, she made her way up the stairs to her second-floor bedroom. She wearily wrapped the presents she had bought and then fell into bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

  Christmas Day dawned, with another fresh downpour of snow.

  Anais was woken up early by a very excited Aethelu running into her room and jumping up and down on her bed. She’d obviously got over her sadness of the day before. She pulled Anais out of bed and they both ran down the stairs, giddy as schoolgirls, still wearing their pyjamas.

  The rest of the family all sat around in the hallway, and they had obviously not waited for her arrival to begin opening the presents. Piles of discarded wrapping paper filled the big entrance hall, which Baker was taking great delight in running through. Anais handed her presents out and was surprised when Aldrich laughed when he opened his slippers, until Aethelu told her he’d received slippers for every Christmas for the past seventy years. August had made a batch of eggnog, which he was busy passing around and consuming rather a lot of himself, judging by his uncharacteristically rosy cheeks. Aethelu squealed with delight over her new jumper and broach and put them both on over her pyjamas as soon as she’d opened them. She ran over to Anais and hugged her. Anais hugged her back, but began to feel embarrassed when she noticed Aldrich staring at them.