Calypso's Curse ✓

1.

« Charming, don't overdo yourself. » I said as I stopped a constantly winking Tom. « I'm just making sure they're having the time of their lives, Felix. You know how much I care about the well-beings of my parents' friends. » He chuckled once more and continued welcoming the guests.

At the last minute, a group of five men entered the now almost empty hallway. They were accompanied by a girl, who stood next to who seemed the leader of the men. Of course she sprung out, being the only female in that assembly. Unlike all the other girls I had seen that night, she seemed the most natural and normal one. She was wearing a very simple, deep green dress, from which the see through, big sleeves came back together at her wrists in bright golden bracelets. Her dark brown hair leaned against her shoulder to reveal one side of her tanned skin. A small curl escaped the braid but she didn't seem to notice. Slightly confused, Tom stalked towards them.

« Welcome to the Rovers Mansion, gentlemen. You'll have to excuse me, but I can't quite picture you. » He bowed and looked back up, eyeing all of the men individually. The leader of the group stepped to front and mumbled something to Tom, who frowned when the man held his elbow. He gave him a deathly stare and stepped towards his father who had come to see where we were staying. His father looked up as soon as he heard what his son said to him and scanned the great hall. When his eyes found the man, a smile broke through his otherwise stern face, revealing small wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. « Dickens, old man! To what do I have the honor to welcome you in my home? » He said and the two men stepped through the doors and joined the other guests. The others followed casually and strolled towards the garden. Tom's eyes rested on the girl.

« Who was that? » I finally sighed, glad the tensed feeling from earlier had left as soon as Mr. Rovers recognized the man. « Dickens, a friend of my father. They met when my father got ambushed by pirates. » He shrugged and walked back to the party, his mind now only focused on the number of girls desperately waiting to see a sign from him. I too, did shrug the entire incident off and joined the party whilst mixing with the guests. Soon I found myself at the edge of one of the terraces, holding some rose wine and overlooking the scenery of hundreds of guests wandering through the beautifully decorated garden.

A bit further away, the mysterious girl in the green dress was talking to one of the men. I realized the group was sticking together, everyone taking a drink every now and then of the wine. Her gaze followed the ranks of plants against the wall from the rooftop to the ground when she had to pass me on her way to the soil. She smiled when I caught her eye. I rose my glass towards her, and she returned the gesture before taking a large sip from the crystal glass. To see a girl drink was as unusual to me as to see her being fierce about her tanned skin. She had returned to the conversation not giving me any more attention. Just when I had decided to approach this Mystery Girl, a servant declared the dinner to have started and the crowd stumbled towards the walking dinner which made it impossible for me to reach her.

But somehow she had found her way to me. « Crab, salmon and tuna? A little fish eater are we? » a soft, unknown voice spoke from my left. Mystery Girl stood next to me, her face a few inches away from my shoulder. I looked down at her plate, which was filled with meat and vegetables. « Everyone their own taste. » I grinned. She complimented me on the party « You're parents did a great job with this party. It must've cost a fortune. » She said as we passed the walking dinner occasionally scooping some of the delicious food on our plates. « I'm not the son, I'm just a family friend. You aren't from the neighborhood, are you? » Whoever did not know who I was, or who the Rovers family was, must've been from almost the other side of the world. « No, we just arrived at the port today and rumors were spreading about this party. So when Dickens heard about who hosted it, he immediately wanted to come and see his old friend. » « How did they actually meet? » I wondered out loud, while guiding us to a less crowded space at the entrance of the garden. « One day, the trader's ship of Mr. Ravens was attacked by pirates. The governor, whose ship was in the closest harbor and able to see everything happening, didn't come to help him. That's when the Captain decided no man should be left to the mercy of those criminals and they helped them out with the grace of the Serena. It must've been pretty spectacular, but they made it out alive. » I listened to her as if I was enchanted. Her voice seemed to be a melodious sea with waves of sounds hitting my ears every now and then as she emphasized certain descriptions. « And how did you end up with them? » But Mystery Girl only frowned. « What do you mean? » She seemed attacked and distanced herself from me. « A young girl like you, you're pretty, why do you want to sail the wild waters with all these men? »

« Are you doubting my morals? » She asked, immediately shoving her plate on the nearest table. « Excuse me. » And with those final words, she left me astonished leaning against the terrace railing. Taking another drink of my glass, a soft hand was placed on my shoulder. Most of the guests were getting pretty intoxicated, but as soon as my eyes landed on the angelic features of Maud, I had already forgotten the unpleasant turn the conversation with Mystery Girl had taken. She hooked her arm into mine. « Let's go » she whispered and pulled me inside, up the stairs. She quickly ran to the first floor. « What are we going to do? » I dared to ask her, my heart beating a thud faster. She turned around and brought her pale finger to her fiery red lips « Shhh. » She was about to open a door but froze in the midst of her actions. « What's that? » She whispered, pointing at a small light coming from underneath her brother's bedroom door. I listened closely but heard nothing but vague movements. I pushed Maud beside me and gave her the same sign she only gave me seconds ago. « Shhh. »

Silently, I opened the door. I thought maybe it could have been one of Tom's romances getting a bit out of hand but when I noticed the familiar green dress near his desk, I knew that wasn't the case. In a small bag I saw some of his most precious belongings disappear. « Hey, what are you... » I started saying while walking up to her, ready to take a firm grip on her. Unfortunately, she thought different about it and I didn't see the bag, which was filled with heavy jewelry flinging at my head. Maud gasped in the entrance and ran downstairs. For a second I was dazed and I saw Mystery Girl coming up to me, quickly pushing me down and giving me a punch on my cheek. She took one of the curtain ropes and pulled it down. « Don't think you can handle me. » I thundered, ready to attack her. « But what if I do? » She frowned and smiled devilishly before giving me a deathly glare and running up to me. With one kick I was knocked down and laying on the cold woorden floor. I focused on the figure looming above me. Some of her hairs had escaped the nonchalant braid and with that slightly bewildered look she hovered above my face, binding my hands together with the rope. I couldn't deny she was pretty... pretty evil. I cursed while trying to escape the knot she made in the rope. « Good luck with that, handsome. » She said before taking off.

Downstairs I heard a lot of noise, but when I finally got there, the hall was filled with stunned guests and a wide open door. No sign of the men, Dickens or the Mystery Girl...