ASTURIAN ISLAND
08.01.8462 - 2:05 AM
Lélia was repeating that nightmare. She, who had become a strong and controlling woman, found herself at the mercy of her nightmares. That particular one had haunted her for over thirty years: a nightmare that was nothing more than a memory of a terrible night that she had lived in that same Manor in her old bedroom.
It was a specific day, almost three decades ago. The day had been busy for Lélia, who had joined CriSPe for just a few years. She spent the day organizing a massive event at the Asturian Manor for several agents and Chief Representatives. In her dream, Lélia remembered receiving and accompanying several Chief Representatives throughout the day and ensuring adequate meetings. The dream was very vivid. She could even feel a heaviness in her belly and the back pain. A few sympathetic representatives' faces flash through her dream when suddenly everything changed, and Lélia found herself lying on the four-poster bed in one of the rooms on the fourth floor of the Manor. The room had three open windows, letting in the moonlight. She looked worriedly around the room; something was not right. The two existing mirrors, the one on the dressing table and a large mirror hanging on the wall, were completely covered with sheets. Lélia made sure that no part of any of the mirrors was uncovered, and then the searing pain returned to afflict her. She screamed and put her hands to her stomach. A tall, black-skinned woman in a blue turban entered the room hurriedly.
"Lélia, my dear! How are you?" She asked in a docile voice but without disguising particular concern.
"Anna, my friend. I fell down the stairs... ah" Lélia screamed again, putting her hands to her stomach once more. "Ah, I don't know if everything is fine with Joaquim, my water just broke ...."
"Shii, calm down. Everything will be fine, trust me," Anna ran her hand over Lélia's forehead, wiping away the sweat. "Van and Richard followed Oswaldo's idea and already covered all the mirrors, correct?"
"Yes, ahhh, they covered. Oswaldo himself is here in the Manor and covered them," Lélia replied while Anna placed her hand on Lélia's belly.
The woman smiles at her:
"I'm feeling Joaquim; he's fine. Everything will be fine, I guarantee it."
Sleeping, Lélia writhed on the bed. She could perfectly feel all the childbirth pains, which lasted for several more minutes in the dream.
"Lélia, he's coming," said Anna.
Lélia was spread-eagled, lying on the bed, and screaming. She took another deep breath for strength, but she was too tired to make it. She continued to breathe with her eyes closed. Her head already turned to the left side; she felt like she was going to faint.
"Lélia, you need to push; he is almost here," said Anna; this time, her tone was imposing.
Lélia took another breath and then began to push, she opened her eyes, and her heart froze. It was like she had died in that instant. Her whole body went cold in a second, and the distance between one heartbeat and the next felt like an eternity. Lélia watched a small light coming out of the half-open drawer of her bedside table, the moonlight reflecting through a hand mirror kept on her bedside table.
"No!!" Lélia contracted her entire body, but it was too late. Anna was taking the baby out, and as soon as Anna lifted the baby, a silvery light strongly illuminated the entire room.
Lélia woke up stunned; the nightmare/memory was over. The bed was soaked with sweat. She sat up, resting her back against the suede headboard, trying to calm herself, breathing slowly when suddenly she heard the doors in the hallway slamming loudly. Instinctively Lélia drew her eyes to the lock on her bedroom door, casting a spell that made it lock automatically.
And then a scream echoed through the halls of the Manor.
ASTURIAN ISLAND
08.01.8462 - 2:03 AM
Mila was beginning to come to her senses, but everything was spinning; she felt the icy marble floor on her face, her adrenaline soared, and her heart raced when she realized she was still alive. Blood began to flow faster from her belly, warming her fingers as they tried to stop the bleeding. 'I need to calm down,' she thought, then starting to focus on her heartbeats and her breathing, trying to control them. She soon realized it was working; little by little, her heartbeats were returning to normal, as well as her perception of the environment was increasing. She pressed her hand harder over the cut, which was strangely no longer hurting, and then started to get up. She looked at the broken glass on the floor, and another fright took her: 'where's Scarlet?' The thought gave what was left of encouragement to the girl who got up at once and left the kitchen. She then started climbing the stairs that led to the entrance room of the Manor.
A bolt of lightning lit the entire Ballroom of the Manor, making the statue lamp at the end of the railing of the stairs eerie. Mila stumbled into the room, her vision began to blur again, and then she waved with both hands, full of blood, and all the doors that led from the landings of the stairs to the corridors of the rooms swung open, making a great noise throughout the Manor. The girl then, shivering, gathered as much air as possible in her lungs and screamed, a scream that lasted only 5 seconds before she passed out again.
As soon as Lélia heard Mila's scream, without hesitating, she jumped out of bed and ran to the door, her heart racing: 'what had gone wrong?' She opened the door with her hands, magically unlocking it, and ran to the Atrium closest to her room; she looked down and saw nothing, the scallop echo from there, but 'where was the source of it?' She then ran down the hall towards the stairs. When she reached the staircase, she looked at the four floors below.
"RICHARD! HELP," Lélia desperately screamed when she saw Mila passed out on the floor of the Ballroom. She looked at Richard's bedroom door, just in front of the stairs on the fourth floor, when Mário came out through the door of the same corridor, while on the opposite side, Vaughan appeared through the hall of the west wing.
"What is happening?" He questioned, looking at the railing of the Stairs Atrium.
"Oh my God," Mário had done the same and screamed in horror when he saw his sister on the floor. He started down the stairs, jumping four steps at a time. "MILA, MILA!" He screamed.
Lélia and Vaughan also started down the stairs, skipping a few steps. The doors to Richard's room opened, and he left, stunned, to see Lélia and Vaughan running down the stairs and the figure of Mário already in the floor below; what made him wake up at once, just when Fernand also appeared on the fourth-floor landing. They exchanged glances and then started running down the stairs. The last to emerge was Nair, who watched without understanding the others running down the stairs.
Mário was the first to arrive in the Ballroom and dropped to his knees beside his sister. He placed a hand on his sister's pale face.
"Mila! Mila! Wake up."
Mila shook her head slightly and sighed. Lélia, Vaughan, and Richard arrived shortly after; Lélia took the lead and knelt beside Mila.
"Mila, what happened?" She gently turned the girl's face to her side.
"Someone attacked me, Scarlet... she ran away, she went out the kitchen door, hurry... go after her," said Mila slowly
Lélia looked up at Vaughan and Richard, who were standing with wide eyes. Nair had just approached the group.
"Van, Richard, go after Scarlet. Hurry up; I'll help Mila," Lélia said.
Vaughan and Richard ran across the hall towards the door that led to the kitchen on the lower floor.
"Scarlet? What do you mean? Where is she? What happened?" Questioned Nair
"We don't know Nair, Van, and Richard went looking for her, do you want to go too or help me with ...," Lélia hadn't finished the sentence, and Nair was already going through the door that led to the kitchen.
"Mário, let's take your sister to the library. While I take her there, get a mattress from one of the upstairs bedrooms."
Mário got up and ran to the second floor while Lélia opened her arms over Mila, making her float.
"Lélia, I'm not feeling any pain. I'm just dizzy and weak," said Mila.
Lélia quickly observed the hole in Mila's nightgown and frowned.
"We'll see what happened, Mila. Calm down now; everything will be fine," Lélia passed her right hand over Mila's forehead, and with her left hand, she waved and opened the door that led to the living room.
"No need to try to calm me down. I'm feeling drugged, all relaxed. You're the nervous one," said Mila.
As they entered the library, Lélia heard Mário's footsteps running.
"Here, Mário. Place the mattress on the conference table," said Lélia. With just a look, she made some of the sheets, books, and pens on the table float in the air and land on a sofa next to a gigantic fireplace.
Mário placed the mattress on the table, and Lélia made Mila land lightly over it. The girl adjusted herself on the mattress while Lélia noticed that the library was all dark, she made a small sign with her hand, and all the lights came on. Mila covered her eyes with her hands while Lélia unceremoniously lifted her nightgown; the girl had no underwear. Lélia did not notice the girl's nudity, placing her eyes directly on the cut on Mila's abdomen. Mário put his hand to his mouth, the blood clotted around the cut, making it look much more prominent. Mila lifted her head and seeing the cut, she fainted again.