The Cursed Girl, #1

by Maria Vermisoglou

  “You are kind, but in this society, people like you don’t belong either.” I smiled sadly. “You are too kind for this. Royals want only power.”

  “Then we will make a society of our own. For all the poor people. Me, you, and Jonathan.”

  “Oh, no. He has a society of his own: the society of the stupid.” We laughed. “Alec, I think you are an idealist.”

  “Maybe, but if that fails, I can always find a job among the peasants.”

  “You? A job among the peasants? Right.”

  He tapped my hand. “Why not?”

  “You barely walked on your own before I came to help you out in this new peasant world. And you are going to live in it?”

  “I can hire someone to do the cooking...”

  I waved my hand in his face. “See? That’s what I mean. If you are poor, you can’t do that. Poor people can’t hire people to do their work. That’s the rich people’s doing. We do our own work.” Meow.

  Alec turned. “How did she get up here?” he asked when Midnight settled in my lap.

  “She is my cat, of course, I taught her how to climb, but cats are naturals in this.”

  “I see, and why did you call her Midnight?”

  “Because she was brought to me at midnight.” I petted her as I stared at the moon.

  The moon was full tonight, but it was unusual. It was silver like a silver melting coin.

  “So, you named her after midnight?”

  “It’s nice to have a cat like her. When people speak badly to me, she kicks them out. It’s good to have a little tiger every now and then.”

  “I don’t think she is a little tiger.” He laughed. “And she has too many abilities to be just a cat, just like you. You think you are just a girl, but you can do whatever you want no matter what people tell you.”

  “But I do what I want. That’s why I don’t like rules. They confine you and make you feel small, whereas each one of us can be whatever he wishes and not just one thing.” I sighed. “I am sorry I was so sad, but I guess there were many things these days...”

  He ran a hand through his head and laughed. “You think? If I was in your place, I might have been sad all day, and I would have cried. But you are so upbeat and cheerful and patient with us... you taught us many things, and you hid us when others would have turned us in. You are a miracle, like the moon.”

  “You can’t compare me to the moon, and you would have been good too, maybe better.”

  “The night you made Jonathan and I sleep in the same bed, I thought it couldn’t be a more shameful moment in history, but that’s when I understood people better. They don’t always have the luxury of beds, do they?”

  “Sometimes they don’t have the luxury of houses either, but I haven’t seen it in Spain very much. Everything is a luxury when you are poor, the parents don’t eat so the children can, children go to work for a piece of bread...”

  He inhales sharply. “I had no idea this was happening.”

  “You don’t know what really happens outside these golden walls and inside carton walls. Even if you go for walks outside, you just graze the outside. You have to be in their places to actually feel it.”

  “If we can sell everything—”

  “You would have done harm, not good. It’s like giving them food, but when the food is gone, they starve because they don’t know how to cook or don’t have money to obtain it. You must solve poorness first.”

  “When we go back alive, we will deal with this. Everything.”

  “Oh Alec, such an idealist.”

  “I will do it.”

  “Is that a threat?” I grinned.

  “Time for dinner, come,” he said and then looked down.

  “Don’t tell me you thought you were sitting on the ground all this time?”

  He shrugged. “Well, umm...”

  I put Midnight on my shoulders. “Come, I will help you out.” I showed him where to put his hands and feet.

  “How can you climb like this? Like a squirrel.”

  When we were back on the ground, we headed toward the house. When we entered Jonathan’s room, he yelled, “Where have you been? It’s been hours. I was thinking to go and search for you.”

  “It was not an easy task finding her. It’s easier to find a needle in a stable.”

  Jonathan looked at me. “Where were you?”

  I started preparing the food. “In a tree.” Meow.

  “Midnight climbed the tree too,” Alec added.

  “What? How did you climb a tree, Alec?” Jonathan looked shocked.

  “And then I didn’t know how to get down... Fortunately Eva helped me. She climbs like a squirrel.”

  They laughed, and I took a plate to Jonathan who couldn’t walk. Again. Why was he always the one who got injured?

  Alec took his plate and sat on Jonathan’s bed, but I sat on the floor. “Why do you sit on the floor?” Jonathan asked.

  “Because I like it.”

  “I know we don’t have many luxuries here, but you can use a chair, we won’t arrest you.”

  I scowled. “Don’t make fun of me.”

  “Why not?” He laughed. “It’s fun when you argue.”

  I ate my food silently, and I remembered something he said before he had died. “You are pretty when you are angry.” Why would I remember something unpleasant? Or maybe it wasn’t unpleasant. Maybe it was something cute like Ritta said. I guessed it was, but I never cared much about boys, and that was why I never noticed his feelings toward me. His feelings were clear as the rain; I was the one who didn’t see them because I hadn’t been paying attention.

  I had always been defensive toward him, always “attacking” him with words, but he thought I was nice and good; he liked me even if I was awful to him, but why? I remembered he had told me, “I like you because you are being yourself.” He thought our arguments were funny although I took them seriously. Maybe he was nice, and I just had not noticed. He was gentle, nice, and true to his word, and I guess he was funny too, but I didn’t know if I could love him. Could I?

  Because the only reason I had not been impressed was because I was holding myself back, but we were at war. I didn’t want to love someone that would be killed afterward and make my heart break into pieces. And that person had a lot of near-death experiences and had been killed once. After the war, we would see. If we all survived, then I would give him a chance.

  A knock at the door startled me from my thoughts. We all stopped eating and stared at the door. “It’s me, Alicia. Do you want to come down?”

  “I was so scared. I haven’t heard a knock since we left...” Alec said, and I went to the door, “Yes?”

  Alicia beamed. “Hi, Eva. My mom said that dinner is ready.”

  “Dinner? What dinner?”

  “The dinner for you to eat.”

  “But I thought you provided just the lodging...”

  She laughed. “No, it’s the food too.”

  I was at a loss. “But we have already eaten,” I said, embarrassed.

  “Oh.” Alicia’s face fell. “Aren’t you hungry anymore?”

  I turned and looked at Alec and Jonathan. They certainly looked like they could use another meal—especially Jonathan. “We will be right down.”

  She jumped and clapped her hands. “Perfect. See you downstairs,” she said and left.

  “I am sorry, but I couldn’t decline.”

  Alec smiled. “Don’t worry. You certainly look like you need another portion.”

  I glared at him. “So do you two. Her cooking skills are certainly better than mine.”

  Jonathan waved his hand. “No, they are perfect. They kept us alive all that time.” He always had a good comment for me.

  “Can you stand?”

  “I can try.” He tried, but it was too soon. Alec helped put him on my back once again, and we descended the stairs.

  “Oh my goodness. I thought he was well enough to walk again, or I wouldn’t have called you down,” the healer
said.

  “I am in heaven,” Jonathan whispered, and he was right. The table was set. There were many different foods: meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, and sweets. Even my cat came down, but my cat goes everywhere if fish is included.

  “It’s all right. But you shouldn’t have made all these things for us, madam,” Alec said.

  I deposed Jonathan in a chair. “Manners,” I whispered to him and he smiled. “Will you sit next to me?”

  That is a bad idea, Eva... but I sat next to him because Alec sat across from him, and there was nowhere else to go. I watched the family: two children, one mother, and the father who survived the war like the mother and the aunt. The children had blond hair. Alicia had blue eyes, but the boy had green eyes. The mother had blonde hair with blue eyes, but the father had dark hair.

  “We wanted to thank you for saving our daughter,” the mother said and smiled, “and for everything you have done for us.”

  “Dear, don’t bother them too much. It’s over and for now, we can be happy,” said the father. He turned to me. “Where are you from?”

  I preferred the previous subject since it was less dangerous. “Spain,” I said carefully, and I prepared for the worst.

  “Why are you fighting your own country?” asked Alicia.

  “Umm... because it’s wrong what they do and...” I didn’t know what to do or say, so I turned to Alec and Jonathan.

  Alec said, “It’s difficult to explain, but you can’t be always with what your country desires. Sometimes you disagree.”

  “Alicia dear, we fight for our country when it’s for a good cause, but when it’s a bad cause, we are against our country,” her mother said.

  All the food I tried was wonderful: the vegetables, the fruits, and the fish. I didn’t touch the meat. Meow.

  “What’s that?” the boy asked.

  “Just my cat.”

  The family looked at me. “You have a cat with you?” the boy asked.

  “Yes, I can put her in the other room if she bothers you...”

  The mother laughed. “Of course not. We love cats. Put her on a chair so we can see her.”

  I put Midnight on my lap. “Oh, she’s so beautiful,” Alicia said.

  “Did you travel with her from Spain?” the father asked, and I nodded. “Amazing,” he exclaimed.

  Alec said, “That cat is a wonder. Sometimes you think it’s a human.”

  I tried to eat some fish, but Midnight ate the fish right off my fork. “Hey. What was that? Did I teach you that? No.” Meow. She looked at me as if to say “You ate, and now it is my turn.” That cat was unbelievable.

  The children applauded, and the boy said, “She’s so smart.”

  “No, she is being gluttonous.” We finished the dinner and then it was time for sweets and cakes.

  “Eva, what do you want?” Jonathan asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Don’t worry, they are good.”

  I scowled at him. “I can see that or they wouldn’t serve them.” Everyone laughed. “But I have never eaten any of these,” I said and the boys were silent because they guessed why.

  “I am sure Spain has other sweets, but those are good too,” the father said.

  “I haven’t eaten a sweet in my life,” I said.

  The family was quiet until Alicia asked, “Why? Don’t you like sweets?”

  “I don’t know if I like them since I haven’t eaten a sweet in my entire life.” She was a child in a rich country and couldn’t understand this.

  “But why?”

  I pursed my lips. “Because we didn’t have the possibility to.”

  She was confused. “But why?”

  I looked down, “I don’t earn much, and it’s a society of men after all.”

  The mother said, “Not here. Here we are all equals. You should come and live here. We all appreciate each other’s gifts. Women have the liberty to do anything they want.”

  I smiled. “I will think about it.” Jonathan had me try a small piece of a few different sweets, and he let me eat some of his. In the end, I had tried everything. “I liked the chocolate and the carrot cake. Midnight liked the caramel sweet.”

  “You have a weird taste,” the boy said, and we laughed.

  After thanking them, we went upstairs—I carried Jonathan upstairs, of course—and we settled in our beds.

  I tried to sleep, but I couldn’t. Whenever I closed my eyes, I saw the battle and the blood and heard the cries and screams. “Can’t sleep either?” Jonathan asked.

  “No,” I whispered so I wouldn’t wake up Alec who was sleeping peacefully. I envied him.

  “At home when we returned from weird incidents, my mother stayed with us so we could sleep. Sometimes she told us stories, and other times she sang.”

  I couldn’t see him in the dark. “I am not singing to you, so forget it.”

  “Why? You are bad at it?” His white teeth shone in the dark and I knew he was smiling.

  “Terrible.”

  He laughed softly. “There’s another thing you are terrible at.” He took my hand. “It was nice today. It reminded me of the old days where we used to dine all together: me, my brothers and sister, Mom, Dad, and Alec. It was nice and peaceful, but I haven’t had that in years, and I had almost forgotten.”

  I wondered what it was like for him growing up with royals. “Good for you. I never had that. It was me, Ritta, and my mother,”

  “We can do it when we return. We can dine all together.”

  “Yes, we can.” The night was about dreams and you believed everything could come true. We fell asleep holding hands.

  In the morning I felt something warm on me, and I guessed Midnight was using me as a pillow, but when I opened my eyes, I almost screamed. Jonathan was using me as a pillow. I tried to get him off me, and he opened his eyes. “Do you think I am a pillow?” I pushed him away. “Use your own.”

  He smiled. “Maybe I didn’t like it that much.”

  I ignored him and stood, so I could get ready for the day. The door opened and Alec came in. “Where have you been?” I asked.

  “In the city.”

  I looked at him incredulously. “You can’t be serious. It’s dangerous. Someone could recognize you. You are not out of danger yet.”

  He looked down and said, “I am sorry, but you have to wait before yelling at me because I did something even more stupid than this.”

  Uh-oh. What can be worse than this? “What did you do?”

  “Well, it’s not entirely my fault. I went to Stefen to get some news, and there was a man who boasted that he killed the Red Death and—”

  I turned. “He did what?”

  “That’s what I said. I told him you did it and he said ‘I don’t believe it. Prove it.’ Then I said I saw you and then...”

  “And then what?”

  He looked uncomfortable. “He wants a duel.”

  My eyes widened. “Are you serious? He can’t stand on his feet”—I pointed to Jonathan—“and you make him duel?”

  Alec tilted his head. “No. Jonathan isn’t going to duel.”

  Excuse me? “But you said—”

  “You”—he pointed at me—“are being challenged to a duel.”

  I couldn’t believe my ears. “What? But I am a girl.” Never have I used that sentence before. But that was what people thought even if I hated it.

  He shrugged. “I don’t think it matters here. From what I learned, women have much more power here than men, and they are being heard.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “I like it. I think I am going to stay here after the war.” A country that appreciates women and their dreams...

  “You must meet in the afternoon in the big plaza. I am so sorry, Eva.”

  Jonathan smiled. “I think the man should be sorry. That I have to see.”

  “He wants a duel? Then a duel he shall have.” I smiled and turned to Alec. “Did he specify weapons?”

  He shook his head. “No, whatever you want
.”

  Someone knocked on the door and I knew it was Alicia. “Breakfast is ready. Oh, Father says you are being challenged to a duel. Is that true?”

  “Apparently.”

  “That’s amazing.”

  Yes, right... it’s amazing. I took Jonathan on my back and went downstairs with Alec.

  “I was going to help you. You didn’t need to do it,” Alicia’s father said.

  “I don’t mind.” As I put Jonathan in a chair, he said, “She’s very strong.”

  “I can see that.” The mother laughed, and we ate breakfast. There were eggs, fruits, cereals, milk, juice, and other foods I had never seen.

  “Oh, we put a chair and a plate for Midnight too,” said Alicia.

  “Thank you.” I was honored and I called Midnight with a three-tune whistle. She came running down the stairs. I put her in her chair, and she stared at me. She had never been put in a chair at the table with a plate in front of her before. I put some fish on her plate, and she ate it without further questions.

  “Can I pet her?” the boy asked.

  “Not now while she eats. She gets angry and she might scratch you. Afterward, I will introduce you.” The boy stared.

  “You need to be properly introduced for her to start trusting you,” Alec said, and the children clapped. After breakfast, Alec offered to do some work for the family, and they accepted so he was going to help the father to fix some wooden tables. I gave Alec a questioning look, and he smiled, I guess he knows how.

  I introduced the children and their mother to Midnight, and all went well. Midnight never had a problem with children. Since the mother had made a place at the table for her and fed her fish, Midnight understood that she was good.

  I went to take Jonathan upstairs, but he said, “Wait, I want to go outside.” I took him to the garden and put him in a chair. “I like it here,” he said. “It’s peaceful.”

  I smiled. These were my thoughts exactly, but I couldn’t tell him that.

  “Are you nervous?” he asked.

  “About what?”

  He pointed at the chair next to him, but I sat in the grass instead. “About the duel.”

  “It’s not the first time I dueled, nor will it be the last one.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Why? You don’t have enemies like royals do, and you don’t bother anyone.”