Donovan Castle Chronicles: Volume 1

Chapter 6: Sasha

CHAPTER 6

SASHA

We race down the corridor, looking all around for Lady Heather. It seems many castle residents arrived while we were occupied. Many startled residents point us in the direction she went.

We approach the door made of dark wood, rivets, ornate carvings, and iron of a sitting room. Every door to the sitting rooms in the castle looks exactly the same.

I grip the curled iron bolted to the outside of the door and push it open.

We find her in the middle of a large sitting room, just...hovering. She no longer looks white and furious, but forlorn.

She glances at her surroundings in quiet astonishment. She brings her fingers up to her mouth as she ponders her thoughts with worried eyes.

Selene motions for us not to approach her. I close the door behind us to ensure no one else comes in.

Lady Heather floats back and forth, pacing as she fidgets. Her normal crisp composure, broken. When she hears us, her head darts towards us, her eyes wide and her body shaking.

So much changes over a decade let alone centuries! Oh no! She's gonna be in for a major shock when she sees the rest of the castle and technology! Everything has changed. Gosh, it's hard for grandparents to adjust to technology, let alone her! I can't imagine what is going through Lady Heather's mind at the moment.

She pushes at the air with her hands as she shakes her head. Frustration shows on her face with her brows furrowed and lips pulled between her teeth.

"It's changed," Lady Heather murmurs. Her confused gaze travels back and forth. She glances at a flat screen TV on the wall. Then to the recently-installed bookshelves. Finally, the electric chandelier hanging above as she takes everything in. "It's all changed."

We remain silent, simply watching her pace.

Lady Heather turns her head to the window, floating toward it, staring out at a thick oak tree. "My word. That tree was but a sapling when we planted it to mark the first anniversary of our wedding. And now...it's...," she turns to us, "How much time has passed?"

Selene approaches Lady Heather cautiously. Her elbows bent and palms turned upward in a non-threatening gesture. "Just keep calm, Lady Heather; no one here is going to hurt you, I promise."

She stops and looks at us with worried and impatient eyes. "Please, I insist you tell me. How long have I been absent?" Her voice shakes like how her whole ghostly form shakes like a small, scared dog.

Selene looks pained and takes a long moment to answer. "Centuries," she finally reveals.

Lady Heather's eyes widen as her mouth falls open. If she was alive, her cheeks would've become ashen. "No. You speak of falsehood!"

"I'm sorry, Lady Heather, but that's the truth," Selene says absolutely.

Nesaia and I nod in agreement.

There's a long moment of feelings flicking across Lady Heather's face. We see shock, panic, doubt, denial, confusion, anger, and acceptance.

Lady Heather shakes her head and runs her hands over her pristine hair that floats about her head. "I can't believe my eyes. I had no idea it had been so long," she says quietly, looking crestfallen.

"Trapped in the pitch-black void, I had no sense of the passage of time. If what you say is true, then...," realization severely assaults Lady Heather. I watch as she shrinks into herself, "...everyone I know is gone...and this...this is no longer my home."