by K N Thompson
Hilda pulls the set out and my jaw drops. The bracelet is a leather band with brown and white lace attached to either side. The same gold flowers line the leather with white and cream pearls affixed to them and it ties with a peach ribbon. Going up from the bracelet is a chain of orange and white flowers on gold bases, ending in a ring with an orange flower on it. Pearls adorning each flower.
I pick up the choker and a zinging feeling vibrates through my body. My mouth parts in shock as the feeling of home settles over me. I didn’t think I would like these, but I can’t imagine anything else being mine now. Aunt Nellie helps me affix the choker then bracelet, and the zinging intensifies.
“Oh! I almost forgot, there’s more to this set,” Hilda claps her hands together, a grin on her face.
“There’s more?” I ask in disbelief.
She nods her head as she pulls out a dark wooden box. As she opens the box, there are ten fingertip claws laying inside the red velvet-lined box.
“Wow,” I gasp.
The claws are an antiqued gold with an opal on the tip, a cream-colored pearl below it, and a second opal below that. I place them on my fingers and they just cover my nails.
“What does my jewelry mean?” I ask, wondering why the device picked this exact set for me.
“Well, you have opals and those help with disordered energy. More than likely your powers need a strong focus. They are also considered good luck,” Hilda winks at me. “The pearls are used to help learn and provide peace and serenity. Hmmm, your cameo is made from orange coral, so that would provide protection against evil. Whoever made this set intended it for someone very important to wear. I expect to hear great things about you in the future.”
“Are you sure this is meant for me?” I ask my eyes growing wide.
“The device is never wrong,” Aunt Nellie says.
“Is there a mirror?” I ask, wondering how it all looks.
“Right over here,” Hilda says, leading the way.
I follow and gasp when I look at myself. The set looks very Victorian, but somehow works well with my red hair.
“They look as if they were made just for you, Whisper,” Lydia says from behind me.
“They feel that way too,” I reply, still staring at myself in the mirror.
“Just charge these to my account,” Aunt Nellie winks at Hilda. “We have more shopping to do.”
She herds us out of the store and back onto the busy street. I feel self-conscious of my large jewelry pieces as people gawk at us.
“The larger the jewelry, typically the more powerful the Nightmare,” Aunt Nellie whispers in my ear.
I shake my head. There’s no way I will be powerful. I’m just your everyday oddball girl.
“Should I not wear them in public then?” I ask, but not really wanting to take it off.
“Nightmares wear their focus jewelry all the time,” Aunt Nellie explains. A sigh of relief slips through my lips. Even though I hate the stares it brings, it almost feels like a piece of me. Like it’s a part of my very soul.
10
As Aunt Nellie leads us to the next store on her list. We stop in front of Taylor’s Tailors, Aunt Nellie opens the door and the bells that hang above jingle.
“Welcome to Taylor’s. I will be right with you,” comes a cheery voice from the back of the store. While we wait, Lydia and I browse, taking the chance to look at the different house uniforms up close before ending up in our own section. Our section is nothing but black, black scarves, hats, and gloves for the upcoming winter. It seems the only color we get is in our focus jewelry. I turn to look at my aunt and she is already speaking with the tailor.
“Whisper can you come over here please. I believe Ms. Taylor is ready to take your measurements,” she says in a sweet voice.
Lydia and I walk over and follow Ms. Taylor to a section of the store that was more private.
“Whisper, will you please take this dress and step into the dressing room and put it on?” she says, handing me a long flowing black velvet dress.
I take the dress and walk to the dressing room. I was expecting a room with a curtain, but I found an artistically carved rosewood door that had a gold-inlaid plate with a fancy T on it. I open the door to find a round room with mirrors on three walls and a rosewood chair with red velvet cushion. I slip out of my shoes and clothing. Then I quickly put the black dress on and turn to walk out. I glimpse myself in the mirror and stop dead in my tracks. Although the dress is beautiful and easy to move in, the top of the dress is cut in a v and off the shoulder. I don't mind showing a little skin but this was much more than I'm used to. Not to mention the black against my pale white skin and fire red hair will make me stand out in the crowd.
“Whisper, are you ok in there?” Ms. Taylor says from the other side of the door.
“Everything is fine. I was just on my way out.” I tell her, opening the door and stepping out. Ms. Taylor gasps and places her hand over her mouth.
“Whisper you look beautiful! With a few alterations here and there it will be perfect, and I can use your measurements from your velvet fall and winter dresses to prepare your spring and summer uniforms. Now let's get you up on that platform,” She says excitedly.
Aunt Nellie and Lydia watch as I step on the raised round platform, and Ms. Taylor sets to work.
“This shouldn’t take long!” Ms. Taylor says busily pinning the hem of the dress. I am so excited I inadvertently bounce on the balls of my feet and giggle. Then I feel this sharp pain in my right ankle.
“Ouch” I say as I pull my leg away from Ms. Taylor.
“Sorry dear, be still or that can happen and it will cause you measurements to be off,” she says curtly
Once she gets the dress pinned, it fits perfectly; she follows me back to the dressing room to help me remove the dress and leaves me to put my clothes back on. I find Lydia and my aunt standing by the front counter.
“Your uniforms will be ready for you by the end of the day. Stop back by once you have finished gathering the rest of your school supplies.” Ms. Taylor says, handing me a small white ticket.
“Thank you.” I tell her waving as we step back out onto the cobblestones.
“Where are we off to next Aunt Nellie?” I ask in anticipation,
“Well, I figured we would get all the serious things out of the way like jewelry, uniform and textbooks, then go shopping for room supplies,” she says.
Just walking through town is amazing to me. People on their way to and from the small shops that line the street. The smell of fresh bread from an open bakery door floats on the breeze making my stomach grumble.
“Aunt Nellie, do you think we could get a bite to eat?” I ask her, looking around, hoping to find the source of the smell.
“Absolutely, the time has gotten away from me. I’m so sorry girls. Let’s see,” she says looking around the town square.
“Oh! I know the perfect little place. It’s tucked back in the corner. They have the most amazing fresh bread, three soups to choose from, salads, and sandwiches. It’s right up here. I thought we could grab a light lunch. Before I take you back to the academy, I want to treat you to a wonderful dinner,” she says, her brow wrinkling.
“That sounds wonderful! I was trying to figure out where that smell was coming from!” I tell her.
We make our way down the sidewalk window shopping, letting our noses lead the way. After a left down a small alley, we stop in front of Mama Rosa’s Bakery; we open the door and step inside letting the aroma sweep over us. My mouth waters and my stomach growls louder than before. I glance at Lydia and she giggles, nodding her head in agreement that she was starving too. We take our place in line and browse the menu.
“Hi, welcome to Mama Rosa’s; what can I get for you?” the young, blonde girl behind the counter asks.
“Oh! I would like a bowl of cheesy potato soup in the sourdough bread bowl and water to drink,” I tell her and step to the side waiting as my aunt and Lydia order. We take our food and si
t on the patio since it seems to be a little less busy and a beautiful day out. We devour our food, making light conversation about our short time so far at the school.
After lunch, we head for the bookstore. “I still need to pick up my notebooks, pens, pencils, and binders,” I announce out loud to anyone listening.
“It’s ok Whisper. I called ahead and your books, writing utensils, notebooks, binders, laptop, cell phone, and tablet are already bundled and waiting for us to pick it up. Takes all the hard work out of book shopping.” she smiles, giving me a wink.
We reach the bookstore; inside the smell of books fill my nose. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. I could live here. A never ending supply of books to read means a never ending supply of worlds to visit and adventures to take. I am shaken from my thoughts when Lydia tugs on my arm and points to the new release section.
We pick out a couple of new books and return to my aunt’s side at the main counter.
“The nice man behind the counter has gone to the back to get your things then we will be ready to hit the bedding and clothing store. Did you two find anything good to read?” she asks with a twinkle in her eye, like she know what books we are reading when we are not studying. I can feel my cheeks grow warm and I can't help but smile.
“It’s ok girls; you are young women, almost adults. I know you will be responsible in your choices. I used to read books like that when I was your age, but now they are a little more involved, if you know what I mean,” she says in a soft voice while wiggling her eyebrows at us.
The man behind the counter chooses this moment to return with the biggest stack of items I have ever seen. I can hear the audible gasp of the surrounding people. Aunt Nellie looks at me and smiles.
“Whisper if you could take these three boxes and Lydia you take these three, I will grab the last two,” she says, like this is an everyday occurrence for her.
“Ms Jackson would you like me to put this on your account?” ask the man behind the counter.
“Yes, thank you,” she says, turning and leading the way out of the bookstore.
Once we are outside, my aunt looks at me with her hands full
“This will not do ladies, we can’t carry all of this and continue our shopping trip. So everyone gather close and take my hands,” she tells us.
“Um, Aunt Nellie, our hands are kinda full at the moment,” I look down at the boxes I’m carrying.
“Oh my! I didn’t think of that. I’ll call Gordon and have him come collect your things and deliver them to the school,” she says, setting her boxes down to retrieve her cell phone.
Gordan appears and takes the packages out of our hands and disappears in a cloud of tendrils.
As soon as he’s gone we are off again, stopping in front of a store called Bed, Bath, and Nightmare. I laugh out loud. My aunt looks at me with a grin on her face.
“I know what you are laughing at, Whisper, and I didn't name the store, but it has what you need,” she chuckles and pulls the door open.
Once inside, the store is broken into sections, bath on the right and bed on the left and in the far back are the sections color coordinating with each house.
“Aunt Nellie? Do we have to decorate our room in the house colors?” I ask, hoping to decorate it with whatever colors I want.
“Oh no dear, you can decorate your room however you please,” she says, nodding her head towards the baskets.
Lydia and I grab our own baskets and bee line it towards the bedding. I choose a black and purple bed set, curtains and coordinating colored bath towels and rags, I grab two standard size pillows and a few throw pillows to complete the set. I look over at Lydia and she has black and red everything stuffed into her cart. I give her a huge smile and we walk back to the front of the store where my aunt is waiting for us at the counter.
“Find everything you needed girls?” she asks.
“Yes, we did. I hope it's ok that I had Lydia pick up some things she needs as well?” I ask her, hopefully. I didn't ask Aunt Nellie before I told Lydia to go nuts.
“It’s fine! I didn't expect her to come along and not get something. That would be rude of me, and we are not rude,” she says smiling at us both.
This time we purchase our items and walk out of the store.
“Last stop girls! The clothing store then we can eat dinner and get you back to the academy. We don't want to be out too late; you have your first full day of classes tomorrow.”
11
We walk around the corner, and approach a row of stores with random names. Victoria’s Era, Sock Hop, and Human Trends, to name a few.
“What’s your style?” Aunt Nellie asks, tilting her head as she looks me over.
“Um, I’m a basic jeans and t-shirt type of girl,” I reply.
“Human Trends it is then,” she chuckles.
As we pass by the other stores, I glance inside them. Each one seems dedicated to a different era of clothing. I guess it makes sense, since Nightmares are so long lived. Some people must really get set in their ways.
When we enter Human Trends, I make a beeline to the jeans section, Lydia on my heels.
“How about these?” Lydia asks, holding up a pair of skinny jeans.
I make a face when I imagine trying to squeeze myself into the tight things. “No way,” I shake my head.
I find a pair with bootcut legs and grab them in my size to try on. Walking around, I find a skirt that’s cute and grab it, thinking of Shadow. It’s totally something she would have forced me to buy. We browse for a while, grabbing different shirts, and then I go into the changing room and try everything on.
The jeans fit like a glove. I try on several of the shirts that Lydia picked out, most of them nothing I would normally wear, but I stick a few in the keep pile to try something new. Once I finish, I go back and grab a couple more pairs of jeans and we check out.
“Shopping has been fun, but I’m ready to sit down,” Aunt Nellie says as we exit the store. “Grab my hands.”
We grab her hands and black tendrils surround us then drop us at the edge of town.
“Where are we eating?” I ask, surprised to see we are by the entry point.
“We’ll have dinner back at my place. I live in Graymire, it’s the capital for the Dissidents,” she explains.
“Oh! Where is the entry point for it?” Lydia asks, eyes full of curiosity.
“I think I’m going to leave it as a surprise,” Aunt Nellie winks, her eyes full of mischief.
We walk through the portal. Moving through becomes easier each time, I now find that I barely notice the thickness of the air. As soon as we exit the other side, Aunt Nellie grabs our hands and black tendrils wrap around us. I feel like I’m folded in half and stretched at the same time, before I feel the ground beneath my feet again. It seems the further we travel, the stranger teleporting feels.
When the tendrils clear, my eyes open wide in amazement. The landscape is breathtaking. We are standing in a cove of trees on the edge of a small raised sandstone structure, surrounded by other sandstone tree covered spires. It looks like we are in the middle of floating islands.
“This is Zhangjiajie,” Aunt Nellie beams. “At night Legends see the spires glow.”
“That’s wicked!” Lydia exclaims.
We follow Nellie back into the trees until we hit the portal. As soon as we’ve passed through, we are once again on the edge of a larger town.
“Take my hands, my feet are killing me,” Aunt Nellie commands as she holds out her hands to us.
We take her hands and I can feel the all too familiar feeling of teleporting, and we pop out in front of a huge, gothic Victorian home. The house is black with large square columns lining the wrap-around porch.
“Aunt Nellie, this is your house?” I ask, astonished at how big it is.
“Yes, this is my home. It’s been in our family for decades, and it will one day belong to you. Now, let’s drop these packages in the foyer. I’ll have Gordon pop this stuff over to
the academy and deliver it to your room,” she says in a matter-of-fact voice, like she’s on a mission.
Aunt Nellie steps out of the room and we can hear her talking to someone down the hall.
“Lydia, is there something bothering you?” I ask, genuinely concerned. She’s not seemed as perky as when I met her.
“No, nothing’s wrong…” Lydia looks down at her feet. “I’m not used to the amount of money your aunt has and I feel as if I don't belong. I’m having a blast though. Your aunt isn’t the stuffy old lady type, she still has a lot of spunk in her step!”
“Girl, me either! I mean, we weren’t poor, but with seven girls we didn’t all get what we wanted all the time. This is just as new for me as it is for you. I really want you here with me,” I grab her hand as I explain. “It’s not like I have any money, but Aunt Nellie seems excited to spoil us, so just let her.”
I hear the front door open and turn around. In walks three men who stop dead in their tracks when they see Lydia and me. Aunt Nellie rushes back into the room.
“Oh, good you’re home! I received a call from the academy this morning. Meet my niece Whisper, and her roommate Lydia,” Aunt Nellie says a huge smile growing on her face. “Girls, meet my husbands.”
“Wait, husbands?” I ask my eyes growing wide.
“It may not be traditional, but it works for us,” Aunt Nellie giggles.
“I’m Rodrick,” the brown-haired man waves. I notice thick red and black streaks running throughout his short, cropped hair. He must be a fury.
“And my name is Ezra,” the man standing next to him says. He has a deep voice that rumbles like thunder, a youthful face, big deep brown eyes, but his hair and full beard is salt and pepper with bright silver and purple streaks. Tattoos peek out from above the collar of his tight white t-shirt and they cover his arms. His eyes are an intense deep brown. Aunt Nellie has good taste!