Chapter 24
My footsteps echoed quietly in the corridor, every now and then I would think the echo was another's footsteps. But I knew I was alone here. I pushed through the rummage of rubble and refuse that littered the floor at my feet. I knew this place from dreams past, although voices and the eventual image of my parents, along with Marius used to emerge. Not now, I entered this place alone, and unlike in the past, I knew I was completely alone, no feeling of the eyes on me and no haunting whispers that sent the sense of urgency running through me, telling me to get to the end, because ultimately, that's where I would find my parents. Of course I knew they wouldn't be there waiting this time. Yet, I was still in this place looking for something, what that something was, I had no idea but my heart pounded, telling me to search, no matter what stood in my way. Each room, more decrepit than the last, although no doors were in the corridor, large smashed windows looked into the rooms. I knew where to find the only door and I knew that it would lead me to the stairs and what I was searching for was there. But as usual, I woke up before reaching that door.
As soon as I became conscious I knew I had been dreaming, and maybe the dream should have disturbed me, but a dream without Marius was nothing that could scare me now. His absence was a comfort, especially since learning of his Dream Walking abilities. I smiled as I opened my eyes, directly my gaze to the single suitcase that sat in front of the dressing table. Right were I had left it the night before, after Michelle had volunteered to help me pack up all the things that had come to be mine during my stay. I sat up in bed to look around the room, at the familiar pattern of the wallpaper, the path of sunlight from the window across the high pile carpet, the delicate patterns carved into the mahogany furniture - the environment I had woken up to everyday for the past seven weeks. This being the last I should wake to such opulence, I intended to savour it. I stretched out in the bed, sprawling out my limbs and not even touching the bed edge. I knew I would miss this bed.
After I got dressed, in the only outfit I had left out, I sat on the chair set in front of the dressing table. At the side of my head, the hair stuck out, as it always did before I got to styling it. I'd taken to parting my hair at the side, so that it covered the scab and disguised the short hair behind my ear. At first, there was no hiding it, the hair stuck out no matter how I styled it, but then it started to grow and was easier disguised. I fixed my hair as best I could and went for the door. The hallway was quiet, not unusual for this time in the afternoon, everyone would be at lunch or sleeping. I had two hours to kill before leaving and I wanted to do so with a full stomach. I'd just reached the stairs when I bumped right into someone that had been coming up. We both jumped and I almost laughed until I saw her face. Her tight dark curls framed her pale round face, her bottom lip was quivering and tears soaked her eyes. "What's wrong Calli?" I asked her softly, kneeling down so that I was level with her. She pulled back slightly and sniffled and I sat back on my heels to give her some space. My action must have assured her that I meant her no harm because she wiped her tears and told me, "Daddy is sending me to school."
I waited for her to go on, explain the reason behind her tears, but she didn't. I thought children were excited about starting school, it would seem I was mistaken. "You'll like school, its fun. You get to play and learn and meet new friends." I told her, trying to sound as optimistic as I could. She shook her head, making her curls bounce about. "I have to go and live there forever." Oh. Achlys had explained the schooling system for vampires, briefly, probably like boarding school, something I wasn't too familiar with. "Don't worry" I said, "it's not forever, just a few weeks then you'll be home. And when you stay there, its like a big sleepover, do you know what that is?" She nodded and so I went talking it up as much as I could, hoping what I saw in movies with boarding schools, was mostly true to life. When I had finished, Calli actually seemed excited about starting school.
"Can you play with me?" She asked as I rose to my feet. I didn't know how long I had sat with her already, twenty minutes maybe, and there was still things to be taken care of. Without giving me a chance to refuse, she wrapped her hands around my waist, "please, just five minutes. Nobody ever plays with me." Her rueful plea couldn't be ignored, maybe I was just a sucker for those liquid blue eyes. "Okay then" I said, rolling my eyes at myself, as she eagerly grabbed my hand and led me away. "Just five minutes though. I have lots to do." She stopped outside a door that had golden calligraphy style writing, 'Calliope', it read. I followed her into the room, maybe I shouldn't have been suprised, but I was, pleasantly so. In my mind, girls rooms are pink, pink walls, pink sheets, pink carpet pink everywhere. The walls should be covered in finger-paintings and posters of their favourite cartoon characters. This room was like what bedroom showrooms try to imitate. The walls were papered in delicately patterned ivory, lace and silk curtains framed the two windows, every piece of furniture was ivory coloured and the bed was something between a crib and a bed. It was white, shaped like a crib, only bigger, and the sides were raised only enough to stop the child from falling from bed, a white lace canopy hung over the top end, the quilt and pillows were extremely frilly and I wanted to jump into them. Calli didn't stop in the room, she walked through another door that was in place of where the door to the bathroom was in my room. I held back before following her in.
It wasn't a bathroom but a nursery. It was decorated in the same way as the bedroom, and toys lined the walls of the room. They each looked staged, set up only for show and definitely not for playing with. A classic victorian doll house sat on a low table, it looked more like a collectors item rather than a toy, the sort every child dreams of having! Calli walked on to a miniature sized four-post bed and carefully lifted out a doll. "This is Lucy" she announced, presenting a tatty little doll, "she's my favourite." I took the doll from her with a sense of nostalgia rising inside, the grubby little cheeks, faded dress and slightly frizzing hair. Signs of well a loved doll. "You're mummy and I'm big sister" said Calli, taking the doll from me.
After a short play, the door to Calli's bedroom opened and a woman called "Calli?" before coming through to the nursery. "Oh there you are. Calliope, where have you been?" She clapped eyes on me and gave me a look as though I had hidden the child myself. "Just playing in here with 'Calia and Lucy" she answered, looking down. "Yes, well, come, its time for your lessons", replied the woman, with a scowl on her face, directed at me. Calli and I stood together and she carefully put Lucy back to bed. We all walked out together, Calli took a hand of the woman, who I assumed was a nanny, and myself. "It's almost two o'clock, Miss Pariter" said the nanny on reaching the door. "Don't go, we haven't shared secrets yet" she said, turning her wide eyes on me. I smiled down to her, "you can tell me another time."
"Will you come visit me?"
"I'll do my best."
"Asteria said you'll be back but I didn't know if you would, but Aristaios told her..." She stopped abruptly, shaking her head. "That was a secret, wasn't supposed to tell you any till next time!"
"Come now Calliope", urged the nanny, tugging the girl away as she waved back at me.
I was giving myself the 'once over' in the mirror at the dressing table, when the door knocked. "Come in" I called. The door opened and a man walked in briskly, going straight to my waiting suitcase. "Take it downstairs please Samuel." I turned to see Asteria standing at the door. When Samuel left us, she closed the door and handed me a shoulder bag. "Essentials", she told me, "identification, keys, money and a mobile phone - Thalia took it upon herself to set it up for you." A tingle of excitement ran through my veins as I took the bag from her. "Thank you for everything."
"Are you really ready for this?" Asteria asked for the hundredth time. "I really am."
"Have you heard anything from Marius?"
"No, of course I haven't! Why, have you?" Silly question, if she had, she wouldn't have even asked me that. So much had happened in the past eight weeks, Marius was becoming a distant memory. "All right then, let's go."
Aristaios met us on the way to the door, dressed in all black, as usual. It would be hard to imagine him dressed in any other colour. "I'll meet you at the door", said Asteria, slipping away and leaving me alone with him. I suspected that Asteria knew more about my feelings toward Aristaios than she probably should. Around Aristaios, everyone could probably tell of the way his presence affected me. "Hi." I tried to say as casually as I could manage.
"Was it today that you were supposed to be leaving?" He asked with a smile that made my stomach flip a little inside. I hadn't seen him much since the night of the party, at meals we didn't have to converse together, and when I braved a sly glance his way, he never even seemed aware of my being there. "You know it is, Aristaios" I said snarkily. He et out a quiet half-laugh and held out his arm for me to link my arm through, a very formal gesture that I wasn't too comfortable with. He raised his eyebrows, with a crooked smile as he processed my decline of the invitation. "Have you said your goodbye's?"
"Nope. You're the first."
"Guess I should bid you fairwell and good luck then?" I hadn't counted on having to say a goodbye to him, tings had always been a little awkward between us, made worse by my stupid drunken antics. "Well I'd thank you for the good times, but there hasn't really been any has there?" Now, I had meant that as a joke, but I cringed after saying it.
"I don't know, you did have your moments", he laughed, "I guess I should apologise for any misunderstanding between us."
We walked in silence until we reached the front door. I could see Asteria and Achlys standing together chatting, further from the entrance stood Michelle, head down, hands clasped in front of her. "Alastor isn't here", I realised.
"Good, I don't think I could watch you break his heart", he joked, I scowled. Thalia's absence never surprised me. We were facing eachother, standing at the threshold. "Well... Goodbye." I awkwardly went forward to hug him, he returned the hug and his scent enveloped me, a woody spicy smell. I inhaled deeply, imprinting the moment to memory. "Don't lose yourself." He whispered in my ear.
Asteria stepped forward, "you're running late Accalia." I walked with her to Achlys, who I now noticed had dark circles under her eyes, like to shiners, making her pale skin look stark white. "Hey."
"Hi", she replied weakly.
"Are you alright?" I asked worried. I scarcely seen Achlys in the past weeks and compared to the way I had last seen her, she looked close to extremely ill. "Do I look that bad?", she smiled, "I'm just tired, I had to stay up to see you off."
"Aww Lyss, I'm glad you did. Thanks", I said, pulling her close to me, "you should go get some sleep though. I'll call you tonight." She had gone rigid in my arms and I let go. She bit her lip and her eyes darted to Asteria, who had taken hold of my arm and began steering me toward the waiting black car, complete with black tinted windows. I stopped when I reached Michelle. "Bye Michelle. Thanks for being my friend." She bowed down in front of Asteria and I, something she hadn't done before me. "It was a ll my pleasure Miss", she said with a wink for me.
The driver held the door open for me, I turned to face Asteria before getting in. "Can you tell Alastor goodbye from me?"
"Of course." I looked behind her, Michelle stood watching me with a smile, Achlys, grim faced and finally back at the door, Aristaios. I nodded and slipped into the car. Asteria dipped her head in, "take care and don't forget who you are." Forgetting who ia am wouldn't happen, trying to remember who I was supposed to be, that was the challenge. The condition on my being allowed to live independently was to go by a new alias. She closed the door and the car moved away, rolling down the long stretch. I settled into the seat for the long journey and watched the scenery whizz by, darkened by the windows, making the day appear twilight.
City lights came into view, finally after about 8 hours of driving. We had passed two small towns in between, the first had consisted of little more than a single shop, that also served as a post office and petrol station, and two sign-less buildings beside it. Around sixteen, maybe less, little houses surrounded the shop, each looking like it had been caught in a time warp, so ancient that I wondered how they still stood. The place looked deserted, a ghost town, until a movement inside the shop proved otherwise. I couldn't shake the feeling that there were eyes behind all the windows watching us, invisible eyes. I shuddered in the back seat, spurring the driver to ask if I was feeling okay, I assured him I was fine and we drove on without stopping. The next town was another three hour drive at least. At least this could actually be classed as a town, with several streets making up a town centre. The shops were in dire need of upgrading, paint flaked off the buildings and most of the signs were so sun faded that they had become unreadable. There were people in the streets here and my unease lifted even though they all turned to watch us as we drove past.
The car slowed as we pulled up to a petrol station. "We've still got some time on the road", said the driver as he watched me in the rear view mirror. We both climbed out of the car at the same time and I slammed the door a little harder than was necessary. People nearby all turned to look my way, some staring at the car in admirable awe, others looked suspiciously at me as I pulled my hood over my head and headed into the station. It was just as dated inside as it was outside, there wasn't a huge selection of goods to choose from and I resigned myself to settle on a Coke and share size of salted crisps. I waited behind a woman who chatted to the clerk and after throwing me a look of aggravation, she moved aside so that I could be served. None of us spoke during the transaction and the driver came in at my back, sharing in the looks I received. "People have become considerably more rude than I remember", I commented as we walked back to the car.
"Small towns. It's nothing personal." The driver replied, and that seized the conversation for the rest of the journey. Against the dull and dated town the car stood out considerably, no wonder they stared, talk about ostentatious!
He pulled up outside an apartment block, seven stories high and newly built. He opened my door, then went to fetch my suitcase. I fished into the bag Asteria had provided, that held, amongst other things, my address and keys. 102 George St, House 24. "I'll help you up with your case."
"Oh." I shook my gaze away from the keys in my hand, "thank you." House 24 was located on the fourth floor and I took my time in unlocking the door. With a final 'click', I pulled down the handle and stepped into my new life.