𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙎𝙄𝙓
— it is solved by walking
RHEA COULD LIVE AND DIE HAPPILY IN WILTSHIRE. It was the one home she had ever known surrounded by the only people she had ever — and probably would ever — love. The white flurries of snow stuck to the ground and landed in her hair as she walked through the town. She pulled her fur trimmed dress tighter to her body when the chill of the cold December air touched her skin before stepping inside the bakery.
Warmth flooded her senses and the smell of baked goods wafted up to her nose. She had certainly missed Stubbin's Bakery during her time at Hogwarts. Stubbin's was one of many shops that had been affected by the Muggle war. There were no more white loaves and the only type of bread that had been able to be sold for the past year was the National Loaf. Rhea thought the bread was horrid; it was too coarse and dry, but she always found herself stopping by the bakery whenever she was in Wiltshire.
"Rhea," Old man Stubbins said when he caught sight of her. A kind smile formed on his old face as he hobbled around on his cane. In the years she had known him, Rhea found that the old Muggle man had injured himself during another Muggle war that occurred before Rhea was born. "I see you're back from that fancy little boarding school of yours."
A small smile turned the corner of Rhea's lips up at that.
"I can't stay for too long. I'm expected back soon. I only came to get a few of your buns. Oh, and your famous rhubarb and apple jam." Rhea said. Stubbins grunted and went to get her items.
Rhea's eyes drifted to the pictures on the wall of Mr. Stubbins family. His wife, who passed away a decade ago, was on all of the walls in still photographs that captured her with him, or her with their children. Rhea's eyes turned to the two boys in some of the photographs. Her heart beat faster than it had in a long time as she stared into the face of young Eddie Stubbins, Mr. Stubbins youngest son, who had passed away two years ago.
"Here ya go." Mr. Stubbins said, handing her her items after she paid him.
"Thank you." Rhea said weakly. She took the basket and took one last look over at the picture. Mr. Stubbins noticed where she was looking.
"My boys, Eddie and Andrew." Mr. Stubbins said glumly. He looked at Rhea with eyes that held more sadness than Rhea could ever imagine. She had only felt that grief-stricken once in her whole life and she vowed to never feel that way again. "Eddie died a few years ago in an accident. His old treehouse in the woods caught fire."
"That's horrible." Rhea said. She put as much sympathy in her tone that she could muster but she felt the chilling numbness overtake her.
The bell over the door chimed and Rhea looked over her shoulder. A rather tall boy with dark hair and eyes the color of moss stepped into the shop. Rhea recognized him despite the fact that they'd never formally met before. This was Andrew Stubbins, though Rhea didn't know what he was doing here. As far as she knew, he was supposed to be serving in the Muggle war.
"Andrew!" Mr. Stubbins said cheerfully. Andrew glanced up and Rhea could see the way his curious gaze lingered on her, as though there was something familiar about her. His stare slid back to his father and he didn't look nearly as happy as Mr. Stubbins was. "I don't believe you've met, Miss Hel. Rhea, this is my son, Andrew."
Rhea could hear a hint of eagerness in Mr. Stubbins tone that made Rhea well aware that the man was trying to play Cupid. She didn't blame him. It was well known amongst the Muggles that the Hels were the richest family in this side of Wiltshire and the rumors that surrounded how their family had amassed its fortune were never ending. It was always different or wild, which is why Rhea wasn't surprised to see the recognition flash on Andrew's face when his father said her name.
There was a tightness in Rhea's smile when she looked at Andrew and the rigidness of her shoulders certainly didn't go unnoticed by him.
"Pleased to meet you." Rhea said politely, bowing her head ever so slightly at him while he inspected her, looking for any sign that would explain why she seemed to be familiar to him. She turned to Mr. Stubbins, her curls fanning her face. "Goodbye, Mr. Stubbins."
"Goodbye, Rhea. I put a little something in there as an early Christmas and birthday gift." He said with a wink. Rhea cracked a smile at him and turned to the door.
She wasted no time brushing past Andrew and stepping out into the cold air. She closed her eyes and looked up at the grey sky, letting the snowflakes fall on her face.
She would walk; for hours she would walk in the snow, in the cold. She'd do anything to avoid going back to Hel House when tensions were high between her brother and father. They had been at each other's throats at every meal. Rhea knew what, or who, her brother had been thinking about and why he was lashing out. Caliope. Everything always came back to her.
When Rhea passed by the woods on her journey, her mind wandered to what Mr. Stubbins had said to her about his son's old treehouse in the woods catching fire.
She could hear the echoes of laughter filling her ears . . . the sound of two girls singing sweet melodies at the foot of an old tree . . . a boy with eyes the color of moss. . .
And, suddenly, the scenery around Rhea drifted away and she was right back to where she was eight years ago.
"You're like a princess!" A Muggle girl laughed as she and Rhea spun around the base of the large oak tree. Rhea giggled, feeling free as she twirled. The warm summer air touched her skin like a gentle kiss as she and the Muggle girl, Lizzie, skipped around.
Rhea didn't have any friends besides her brother, Pluto, and he was too busy following their mum around to notice her lately. There was her mother's friend, Mr. Fawley, who was always kind to her and would sneak her treats when her mum wasn't paying attention. But, with her father away and her mother not caring or taking a particular interest in Rhea, she would sneak away from Hel House and make her way into the woods. It was there that she stumbled across Lizzie, a girl from town. Lizzie would pick flowers at the base of a tree and offer Rhea a crown of daisies to wear.
Lizzie was Rhea's first friend — her only friend.
Lizzie would sometimes invite Rhea back to her house to play with her brothers and sisters, but Rhea would always decline out of fear of retaliation from her mother. Occasionally, Lizzie would ask Rhea why she couldn't visit her house, but Rhea would ignore her and hum a tune as though she hadn't heard a thing.
"Yes, I suppose I am." Rhea giggled. The sun beamed down on her from the opening through the trees. She lifted her head up to the sky and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of the sunlight hitting her skin. She thought she could spend the rest of her life feeling the Wiltshire sun. There was no other place in the world that made her happier.
"I should get going. Mummy wants me home for lunch. I'll be back tomorrow and I'll bring my toys!" Lizzie said. Rhea didn't open her eyes or speak a word to Lizzie as the girl ran from the woods and back to her home. A home filled with a large family that was waiting for her with food. Rhea would find herself becoming jealous of Lizzie's family and, when she closed her eyes at night, she would pretend that she was born into a normal, Muggle family with parents that would bake her goods and read her to sleep.
Rhea breathed in the sweet smell of nature and focused her hearing so that she could hear everything. It was her own secret magic trick she had discovered — a spell of her own creation.
She could hear a woodpecker hitting a tree high above . . . the steady stream of water coming from a creek not too far away . . . the sound of birds chirping . . . the snapping of a twig under heavy feet . . . whistling . . .
Rhea's eyes snapped open at that.
Whistling.
It hadn't been far away, but it was coming near her. She knocked the flower crown off her head and tossed it off to the side, burying it underneath leaves and branches as quickly as she could manage.
"Ouch!" A loud voice cried out in pain. Birds fluttered away from the trees at the nose and Rhea turned her head around when she heard someone's soft cries. Hesitantly, she walked in the direction of the crying with her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
Who could this be?
Sitting at the base of a wooden treehouse was a young boy. He clutched his arm to his chest and big, fat crocodile tears streamed down his face. Rhea tilted her head curiously at him. He was a muggle, she could tell that instantly. And even though she was four years from getting her acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Rhea had a bit of magic and spells that she had learned from reading the many books in their family library.
"What happened?" Rhea asked.
The boy turned around and looked at her with wide eyes the color of moss. He sucked up his tears instantly when he realized he was no longer alone though his bottom lip still trembled. Rhea blinked her eyes at him and she stared at him as though he were some sort of foreign creature.
"I-I fell . . ." He admitted ashamedly. He quickly stood up from the ground, his father's voice repeating in his head telling him that boys don't cry and that he needed to suck it up. "It's nothing . . . just a scratch . . ."
Rhea's eyes narrowed even more. She could snuff out a liar from a mile away. She didn't understand why he was lying to her.
"I can help." Rhea held her hand out. He looked at it warily.
"My mum's a nurse." He squeaked out. "I'll go home and have her help . . ."
He trailed off because Rhea didn't know how to take 'no' for an answer. Before he could stop her, she was grabbing his hand with such force that he cried out again and tried to rip his hand away from her iron grip.
"Hey! Let me go!" He said but his words were drowned out as Rhea began to hum a soft melody. The boy found a wave of calm wash over him and he stopped struggling as she hummed the tune softly. His eyes glazed over and Rhea glanced up at him to make sure it had worked.
A simple spell, one of the many she found in the book her mother was working dutifully to finish. The tune she sang would cause him to feel tranquil and relaxed. Caliope had used it on Pluto when he was crying over wounds many times.
Rhea wrapped her hand around his wrist lightly. She could feel the place where the bone had snapped but she never stopped humming. Without a wand or any way of controlling her magic, Rhea had learned to exercise as much control as she could muster over her powers. She found that if she focused she could do plenty which was why she was able to get the bone back in place as though the break never happened. Her father always complimented Rhea's abilities, saying that she was an extremely gifted witch for her age.
"Wha . . ." The boy looked at his arm in shock when Rhea stopped humming and turned around. "Wait! Don't go! Who are you?"
She ignored the boy with moss eyes and walked away without another word. She returned to Hel House and snuck in through the cellar, passing by the house elves that were trapped downstairs as punishment.
"Miss Rhea," They swept into bows so low that their noses touched the floor at the sight of her.
Rhea smiled sweetly at them before taking the stairs two at a time. She reached her hand out to place it on the brass doorknob before the door swung open and she came face to face with Caliope Hel. Caliope had an angry look on her face as she looked down at her daughter and Rhea's expression fell.
"Where have you been?" Caliope asked lowly.
Rhea moved backwards as her mother stepped closer to her. Her tall figure loomed over Rhea and fear struck in Rhea's heart.
If there was one thing in this world that Rhea Hel feared, it was her mother.
"N-nowhere." Rhea said.
Caliope's fingers reached out and grabbed Rhea by the chin, squeezing it so tightly that Rhea was sure her long fingers would leave a mark. Rhea glanced at the sapphire necklace around her mother's throat and was surprised when she thought about what would happen if she pulled it so tightly that her mother began to choke.
"Don't lie to me!" Caliope yelled. Rhea glanced over Caliope's shoulder and saw Pluto peeking out from around the corner. His eyes were wide with shock and fear, but he did nothing. He only watched.
"I-I didn't do anything, Mummy, I swear." Rhea said. Tears began to stream down her cheeks and she tried her damnedest to keep them in. A look of disgust formed on Caliope's face at the sight.
"You're weak. You're nothing but a weak, scared, stupid little girl." Caliope gripped Rhea's chin tighter and the pain filled her. She cried out in pain as her mother reached into her memory and plucked out a memory of Rhea and Lizzie playing in underneath the oak tree. "No daughter of mine will be caught dead spending time with MUGGLES!"
Rhea sobbed as Caliope ordered the house elves upstairs. They rushed past her, keeping their heads down as they followed orders. Caliope let Rhea go so harshly that the girl fell down the stairs and landed on her back. Rhea looked up at her mother as she walked back up the stairs and took Pluto's tiny hand in hers.
"This will teach you a lesson," Caliope said. She looked down at her daughter's face, looming over her. Rhea sobbed. "Remember, you brought this upon yourself."
The light was sucked out of the room in an instant and the door slammed shut, leaving Rhea submerged in the dark, cold space of the cellar. Rhea rocked back and forth as she brought her knees up to her chest.
She always considered the cellar the heart of the house. It was where all of the darkness had gathered and latched itself onto, and being trapped in it was more terrifying than anything Rhea had ever experienced before. And this darkness was loud and cold.
"My name is R-Rhea Hel . . ." She cried, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She kept her eyes shut tight so she wouldn't have to see the scary faces of the apparitions in the cellar with her. "I am s-seven years old . . . and everything will be okay . . . My n-name is Rhea Hel . . ."
She repeated the sentences over and over again. It was the only comfort she could find trapped in that cellar as she cried.
Lizzie Porter and her family were dead by nightfall.
"Rhea," A voice said, snapping Rhea out of the memory. She blinked and glanced around when she realized she was no longer standing outside of the woods but she was standing in the foyer of the house. Pluto had called her name, a frown on his face, as he stared between Rhea and the open doors behind her. Cool air and snow swept into the house behind her. Pluto shut the door and looked at her with a frown on his face. "Are you okay?"
He reached out to place his hand on her shoulder, but Rhea pulled away from him. Any confusion she had on her face vanished in an instant and was replaced by a deep sense of loathing that gripped her to the core and was embedded in her soul.
Even in death, Caliope Hel was still tormenting her.