Rell and The Rose

Ch. 20, To the City

Rell

The next morning I spent tending to weeds and brush that had crept into the yard. It was one of the "weekend" days, which I'd heard the other students talk of with much excitement, though I was yet to determine why. The sky was overcast again, but the rain held off, and while I worked I admired the fantastic shades of blue, grey, silver and black of the clouds. I approved of this work, as defensively it made sense to maintain a perimeter of open space around the castle. Thus far my suggestions to fortify the windows had gone unheeded. Poxel had changed back into his squirrel form, dashing across the yard and chasing strange fluttery beasts with delicate wings painted bright colors. I kept a careful eye to make sure he didn't set anything on fire.

A few hours later, I was crouched below some of the bushes, pulling weeds that I now regretted not letting Poxel roast, when the backdoor to the house opened. I looked up, surprised to see Bastien crossing the grounds, a book clutched in his hands. Despite the fact we'd been assigned partners, Bastien seemed to have no interest in our group project, and indeed, I alone had been working on an illustration for our project of several fairies, and a correction of the inaccurate portrayals of fairy life contained in the book.

Bastien crossed the lawn, walking to one of the smallest buildings set off the west Side of the lawn, and the only one Clara cleaned and maintained on her own. The only one I had no access to.

I hesitated for a moment, then turned to check on Poxel. I found him hanging upside down from a tree branch, swinging back and forth, in what I seriously doubted was normal squirrel behavior.

Then I followed Bastien.

Forest lined the yard, thick with underbrush next to the immaculate grass. I wove beneath tree limbs silent as a night elf. Bastien paused at the door, as if to change his mind, and then went inside.

After a moment of silence, I crossed the yard and opened the door, peeking inside. The hallway was empty; I eased my way inside. Somehow the room felt as if it were holding its breath.

The hallway opened into a room with a spectacular view of the forest, one of the walls almost entirely glass. Yet even with the view, there was something sterile and cold about the place, something that smelled like the buckets of chemicals that Clara mixed up before we cleaned.

I stepped around the corner and froze, Bastien's back turned to me. He was perched on a stool, back hunched, the book I'd seen him carry spread open in his hands. But for once, he wasn't the one who drew my eye.

A woman lay on a bed, utterly still, like an enchanted princess laid to sleep forever.

Except she looked like she would never wake up.

She was fragile as baby bird bones, with sunken eyes, yellowed skin, and clothes that swallowed her form. She looked as if she would break from a single touch. A blue knitted hat covered her head, but I guessed that she was bald beneath it. Bastien stood immobile before her, the book clutched in one hand. Then he carefully leaned forward, and kissed her forehead.

"Hi Mom, I thought we could start a new book today." The casual way he spoke didn't quite conceal the buried grief. "We're reading it in class... it's kinda stupid, but I thought you might like the fairies... you always seemed to like that stuff."

He sat on the chair beside her and opened the book, and started to read. "Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour, draws on apace; four happy days bring in another moon: but, O, methinks, how slow this old moon wanes!..."

The woman didn't respond, didn't move, and a deep, terrible knowledge suddenly filled me. She was alive, but she wasn't aware.

I shouldn't be here.

I took a step backwards, the shift in weight causing the smallest of noises of the flat, cold floor.

Bastien turned, and the moment where our eyes met lasted a lifetime. I saw a thousand different emotions there, but the cold hatred that dominated made me step backwards.

"Why are you here?" Cold fury built behind his eyes, like a storm rising.

"Bastien... I'm sorry, I didn't..."

"Get out." His voice cut like a cold wind. "No one wants you here. GET OUT!"

I turned to run, as his yells followed me "GET OUT! GET OUT AND DON'T COME BACK!"

I flung the door upon and sprinted across the yard, hearing distantly Poxel's worried voice. Rell? Rell! What's wrong? Rell! Come back!

But I didn't stop running.

I ran and ran, barely even breathing until I came to the black rock road far at the end of the lane, where the metal dragons roared back and forth down. But I didn't stop there. I ran further, letting each step take me farther and farther away. Why did it matter that he hated me? Why did it matter that not one person would talk to me at school? Why did it cut that no matter how I tried, I couldn't belong here? Was it such a sin to want to belong?

Maybe I didn't belong.

And maybe, no matter how hard I tried, I never would.

I forced myself to place my hands on my head and breathe.

All I needed was to return the Blood Rose, and slay the Beast. Then I would be considered a hero... in the Dark Realm. Why did that no longer seem like the most important thing? One week and I'd already forgotten my realms, bewitched by this world of color and light and technology.

Saving the Dark Realm is the most important. I kept that thought forefront in my mind, and then I began to run again, pushing myself until I stood in front of the strangest store I'd ever seen. A huge glowing sign read 7-11, and several of the metal dragons were parked in front. I stood there, breathing heavily, my hands on my knees, and though I wanted to forget it, once again Bastien's eyes, and their white cold fury, flashed through my mind. Why did it bother me so much the way he had looked at me, like he wanted to kill me? Like if he saw me for one more second he would die of revulsion?

"Hey darling, need a ride?"

My head snapped up. One of the metal dragons had stopped in front of me, a faded, rusted red, and a man with a cap and scraggly beard leaned out of it.

I hesitated for a moment. I'd found no sign of the rose or the Beast here. Time was ticking. Maybe it was time I widened my search. And more, I couldn't go back to the house. Not yet. The weekends here lasted two days. So I had two days until I needed to return to the dreaded high school... if I returned at all.

"I'm going into the city," he said slowly, as if he doubted I could speak. I looked back, at the sun setting over the trees, bleeding red over the world.

"Me too." 

(General PSA here: Don't get into cars with strangers...unless you are a Beast-Slayer from another realm and the world depends on it XD

 Thanks for reading, and don't forget to vote and comment if you enjoyed! New chapters coming everyday! -Hannah)