by Auriane Bell
In any case, there wasn’t that much that needed to be prepared. As the unwelcome guest or maybe even prisoner she saw herself treated as, she had never possessed many dresses. The ones she owned had been handed down from the headmistress or her niece, Mrs Enderby’s daughter, and already old, worn out and modified by the time they had changed their owner.
Again she was feeling a surge of anger.
Why should she take those dresses with her? Wasn’t she – the bride of the immortal – supposed to wear fine gowns instead of these rags? Where was her material reward for bearing with the hardships for all those years?
On a whim she decided to only take her undergarments and one dress with her and to leave the rest behind. Instead of the heavy trunk, she was planning on using a small suitcase that was just big enough to hold the neatly folded belongings.
At any rate, there was nothing she really cared for except the pendant she never took off. As Mairin raised her hand to touch the heirloom her mother had left her, she noticed that the small trinket was gone.
Panic was welling up in her throat.
Taking into consideration that she wasn’t allowed to leave Sunflower Garden, the pendant had to be somewhere nearby and although Mairin knew that finding the trinket was only a matter of time, she was panic-stricken and frantically started looking for it as if every second counted. After turning her quarters upside down to no avail, Mairin rushed out of her room. Unsure where to turn she stopped abruptly and threw a glance down the corridor to the right, then to her left, trying to trace her steps. There weren’t many occasions on which she left her room – art lectures and meals that weren’t brought to her being two of them – so there was a high chance that it was close to the dining hall or the kitchen.
Without losing any more time, Mairin lifted the skirt of her dress, just as much as necessary for being able to move freely, and started running. She ignored the few girls she encountered in the corridors and on the way downstairs, certain that her curious behaviour encouraged at least some of them to hurry back to their room to spread gossip about it.
At the moment she couldn’t care less.
Mairin didn’t slow down until she had gotten closer to the kitchen, where she wanted to try her luck first. Her dress rendered her unable to search the floor on her knees and so she only slightly bent them to get closer to the floor. Like that she continued looking for the pendant, carefully scanning the ground, afraid that she might accidentally overlook her treasure. Still heavily influenced by the adrenaline rush and the short run, she almost tripped over her skirt and had to hold back her tongue not to add to her improper behaviour.
Her eyes were jumping from one place to the next as if they were trying to take in all the information at once.
What if she couldn’t find it? What if someone had found it before her?
Then she spotted it near the skirt board.
Mairin hastily retrieved the small trinket and sank down to the floor, clasping the treasure with her hands. Relieved she closed her eyes and with her back leaning against the wall of the corridor allowed herself to calm down and recover her breath.
After a few moments had passed, Mairin opened her hands to admire her favourite jewellery. A link of the necklace was broken but it was nothing that couldn’t be fixed. Most importantly the pendant was still there, the small blue crystalline drop which was surrounded by tiny circular gems of the same material, both embedded in a silvery metal. Mairin didn’t know if the jewellery was valuable at all but to her it was absolutely priceless.
“… it has to be tonight, I tell you! Tomorrow she’ll be gone and then we won’t be able to have any fun, eh? It’s not fair that he should have all the fun. Isn’t being immortal enough as it is?”
Loud and resounding laughter followed.
Without yet fathoming why, Mairin had a lump in her throat when the male voice she heard through the open kitchen door tore her back into reality. What in God’s name was he talking about?
“Sheesh, I don’t want to have anything to do with that! How do you plan on getting away with it?”
Mairin slowly got back on her feet, doing her best not to produce a sound. She had recognised one of the men by his voice; it was one of the servants around her age whose daily duty it was to lock her in when she had to retire to her room for the night. As much as what the other party had said – and the fact that she was the subject of the horrid plot – scared her, she was relieved to hear that his reply hadn’t been supportive.
“Look, I know your duties, you have access to the key to her room and don’t you try denying it. Just hand it over to me after locking the door if you aren’t man enough to join!”
Mairin clutched her fists, unable to do anything while the two of them were discussing her fate. By doing so, the tip of the pendant pierced her skin, yet she neither felt any pain nor did she take notice of it.
“But there’s no way they won’t find out. I mean…”
“Alright, alright, we’ll just tell them that you lost the key, lad. And I swear after tonight she won’t be in the mood to talk. I’ll convince her that she’s… let’s say… not suited to be the immortal’s bride anymore and open the main gate for her so she can run away.”
Again laughter followed.
“But-”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk! Listen, the way I see it you don’t have much choice. Either you cooperate or I’ll have a nice chat with the headmistress about your darling Anne – and you know the rules in Sunflower Garden: no relationships between servants, even less with students!”
Although the man’s evil laughter made Mairin feel sick she forced herself to stay and listen. There was still the faint hope that the servant would resist, but the silence that followed the laughter told her otherwise. She was certain who had won and when she spotted one of her lecturers companied by a kitchen maid come around the corner at the end of the corridor she reacted without thinking twice. As inconspicuously as possible Mairin turned around and slowly started walking back to her room. The last thing she wanted was anyone to know that she had been warned.
Eventually Mairin reached her quarters and shut the door behind her. Bereft of all her strength she sank down on her bed. She felt thoroughly drained and knew that she was meant to be scared but the state of panic she had experienced when she had noticed that her precious pendant was gone didn’t return. Instead she found herself in a trance-like state that slowed down the process of realisation and kept her from noticing the raindrops that were fiercely pattering against the walls and windows of Sunflower Garden.
It was already noon when Adrijan finally reached the woods that surrounded the artificial town. Due to its natural barrier Traumstadt was even more of an inescapable fortress, unless of course, he had given orders that a certain individual was to be released. The immortal’s servant was glad to know that he would be able to get out of the carriage soon. The almost two hours it had taken him to get past the city gate and through the vast fields to finally reach the borders of the immortal’s small model town in the pouring rain had worn him out. Traumstadt certainly was a playground that required high maintenance. There weren’t many people in the world who could afford to own a town like that. The expenses for security and administration alone were immense, not to mention that there were many other estates beyond the forest that the immortal owned and had to be tended to as well.
Although the town had been built after memories of the immortal’s past, Adrijan had allowed himself to make some adjustments. Most of them concerned hygiene and the health sector since he was neither planning on delivering the immortal a bride with bad teeth and breath-taking body odour nor to take the risk of creating new viruses and bacteria. In his eyes it was a thoroughly reasonable and essential measure and improved the standard of living tremendously. It couldn’t be argued that there still were the poor and the less fortunate in Traumstadt but thanks to the immortal and some funds of science projects at least all of them had a way of getting by.
Bes
ides the regular population of the model town there were also those, who were working for him and volunteers, who were tired of living in the modern world and lived their simple lives in Traumstadt – under certain conditions of course.
The coach halted in the driveway and at last allowed the exhausted traveller to climb out of the antique vehicle. Adrijan signalized the coachman who was jumping to his aid that he didn’t require any help and went straight to the entrance of the plain cottage, leaving coach and horses in the hands of his subordinate. He didn’t mind the weather so much now that a dry shelter was right before his eyes but its promising sight, the pleasant thought of warm water on his body and delicious hot tea running down his throat motivated him to increase his speed even further. Adrijan entered the house, impatiently slipped out of his muddy shoes and continued his way upstairs past the elderly charwoman.
“Welcome back, Father Adrijan.”
The immortal’s servant nodded. “Thank you, Ms Sophie. Please bring a towel and some dry clothes to the bathroom.”
He felt that going to see the girl had earned him at least a shower and getting some rest.
“Oh...” Adrijan had reached the top of the stairs and turned around. “And if you don’t mind please prepare some tea as well.”
Without waiting for a reply he proceeded into the small ante room and closed the door behind him. The wet clothes felt heavy and were sticking to his skin so that he couldn’t wait to take them off. Before heading into the adjacent bathroom Adrijan neatly put them on top of the laundry basket to let them dry and avoid being scolded by Ms Sophie for more than the traces of mud on the hem of his cassock. Again he closed the door behind him, this time to prevent his charwoman from fainting, should she be so unfortunate to bring him the required items at the wrong time and spot her favourite priest naked as god had intended. Furthermore it was of course also a precaution to hide this private luxury of the modern world from her. Under no circumstances was Ms Sophie allowed to enter this room and what his authority couldn’t deny her curiosity so did the lock on the door which could only be opened with the key card that was in his possession.
The hot water of the shower warmed and revived him while at the same time making him more tired, relaxed and drowsy. Adrijan had given Traumstadt the modern toothbrush, water closet and the basic understanding of hygiene, but this was his treasure. By no means would he resort to the use of water pitcher and bowl and resort to washing himself in the old fashioned bath tub the people of Traumstadt were used to. He didn’t quite understand why anyone would prefer to soak in their own dirt but seeing that they didn’t mind he hadn’t bothered to make it his mission to install showers for them as well.
Invited by the pleasantness of the moment, his thoughts started to wander. Perhaps he was putting too much work into the small town. Adrijan was aware that he couldn’t be everywhere at the same time and had noticed that trying to do the impossible had weakened his control. In the end he had needed help here and there and had been forced too often to rely on some of his staff.
The water streaming down his body, the fragrance of the soap and the privacy he had come to value over the years fulfilled their purpose well and helped him clear his mind. Unwound like this he could even enjoy the soundscape of the downpour and the thunderstorm that accompanied it. Not even the noise of the charwoman entering the anteroom and leaving soon after managed to disrupt his well-earned break, until without warning and for a reason he couldn’t yet grasp, an unsettling feeling overcame him, a feeling that forced him to wake up, tearing him away from the soothing drunkenness the warm shower had inflicted upon him.
Adrijan tried in vain to silence his inner voice that was shouting at him that there was something he had overlooked, something important that required his immediate attention. When he finally started to realise, Adrijan clenched his fist, cursed loudly and pounded the wall of the shower. He leant his head against his closed hand, the lower part of his arm still pressed against the wall. How could he not have noticed?
Mairin’s dress had been old and shabby, her room too small, the furniture of poor quality. Those weren’t the items he had chosen for her. He could imagine it well, the fine gowns – not her size of course – being worn by the daughters of his agents, the furniture, improving someone else’s quarters.
Adrijan could feel that he was about to be overwhelmed by his swelling anger, anger about the fact that he had not been careful enough and therefore easily betrayed. He knew that the emotion was trying to take control over him and that he could not allow it.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then after a few moments of meditating, almost like a different person, he turned off the water in stoic calm, got out of the shower and stepped back into the ante room. Ignoring the fact that he was still dripping wet he slowly emptied the cup of tea that had been prepared for him. His mind was elsewhere, planning, scheming, weighing option against option. If someone had had the chance to see him in his current state – without a doubt – would have thought him a madman. After he had taken everything into consideration and had made a decision, he put down the now empty cup, made use of the towel and put on the fresh set of clerical clothing Ms Sophie had laid out for him.
Adrijan stepped out of the ante room and hearing noise coming from downstairs he leant over the staircase railing to look out for Ms Sophie.
“The tea was delicious as always, Ms Sophie, thank you,” he said with his firm voice and added in a way she couldn’t fail to hear that he would be in his study, working on his next sermon and that he didn’t want to be disturbed.
With a loud sigh the charwoman aligned the priest’s shoes as she heard him close the door to his study. They were once again perfectly clean now, lacking any trace of mud. She would go upstairs next to clean the bathroom and put away the things he had left there before warming the already prepared food for lunch.
What a curious time to ask for tea! She disapprovingly shook her head. What a peculiar young man he was!
Ms Sophie got up from the floor, supporting her back with one of her hands. Even though her employer’s loud, angry voice sounded through his study’s walls the heavy rain and rolling of thunder kept Ms Sophie from making out more than a few words. To her the content was clear though – there were sinners and they deserved punishment, the kind of punishment that made them wish they hadn’t committed the crime, the kind that would burn the lecture into their very souls.
Father Adrijan might not have been the first choice as her employer but at least he was able to convey God’s righteous wrath unlike many priests of his age.
What a delightfully fearsome sermon he was preparing!
Mairin was cowering on the bed, her legs drawn to the body, her arms wrapped around them. She was rocking herself back and forth, unable to decide whether she was the victim of a bad joke or starting to lose her mind. While being aware that she was wasting precious time, minutes that should be used to find a solution to her problem, she was unable to do anything about it. At first she had considered sharing what she had found out but lacking an ally in this hateful prison she had given up on the thought almost immediately. After all she had been through, it was easy to imagine them gang up against her instead of helping her get to the alleged safety by the immortal’s side. There was more than one person in Sunflower Garden who wished her evil, maybe a few who couldn’t care less about her but most likely not anybody who wished her well. Without having anybody to turn to she herself was the only chance she had and in her current condition that was close to nothing.
“Nothing” wasn’t good enough.
Mairin let go of her legs and pulled a handkerchief out of her left sleeve. Occasionally wearing dresses without pockets Mairin had learnt that that was a lady’s way to stay prepared. After unfolding it Mairin gently put the treasure she had still been holding in her hand on the piece of cloth. She then took its four edges and tied them together to a knot before putting the handkerchief back into its hiding place. If everything else
failed, she wanted at least the trinket to stay in her possession.
Mairin forced herself to get up from her bed and slowly walked over to the small dressing table where she had put an old clock Mrs Enderby had passed on to her. It was standing next to the mirror, and several scratches and the lack of varnish in some places bore witness that even a master and measurer of time couldn’t escape its clutches. Until this moment Mairin hadn’t been aware of the streaming rain but now the constant pattering of the raindrops against the walls and windows of the boarding school seemed to tell about her intricate situation, reminding her like the clock dial that she had to hurry if she wanted to have a say in the outcome of tonight’s events.
There had to be something else she could do, except abandoning herself to despair.
Of the few choices she had, none seemed to be better than the other. She neither dared to ask for help, nor to run away. There were no allies, neither within Sunflower Garden nor outside the boarding school and seeking shelter with her sister, whom she hadn’t seen for ten years, was out of the question. Besides, it was her duty to stay so her family would continue receiving financial support through the immortal.
Mairin was aware that she had led a somewhat sheltered life over the past years, but even so she could imagine what was going to happen to her if she stayed. Books had been her only friends and with the amount of time she had had on her hands she had read more than Mrs Enderby or any of her tutors were aware of – forbidden books included. Mairin smirked mirthlessly. Who would have thought that that kind of reading material was going to prove vital one day?