House of Shadows

by Melissa R. L. Simonin

  “How about Rapunzel?” asked Miles. “After Flynn cut her hair?”

  “Oh. I wonder if I could get my hair to do what hers does.”

  “You better believe it, sister,” Jenny said with certainty. “That’s what mousse, gel, wax, and hair spray are for.”

  “Okay then, so what about you?” I asked Miles.

  “Flynn Rider, of course,” Miles smiled. “Or Eugene, if you prefer.”

  I smiled back. I liked that. I had good memories of watching that movie with him. The first time, he was semi-transparent, and I was envying Rapunzel her happy ending. But then I got my own happy ending.

  “That’s perfect,” I said. I turned toward Miles, and kissed him.

  That didn’t last long.

  “Time!” shouted Jenny and Xander, without even turning around.

  “What is with you guys!” I exclaimed in annoyance. “You’ve got eyes in the back of your heads, and can see in the dark too?”

  They just laughed.

  Chapter 11

  Study group was over. The other students chatted as they gathered their things, and began to drift toward the door of our apartment.

  Miles, Xander, and John stood talking, and I noticed Trixie planted firmly between Miles and Gina. For a golden retriever, she had an awfully cold look in her eyes, as she stared Gina down.

  I love that dog.

  I helped Jenny straighten up as we talked about the Halloween party, and the costumes we were planning to pick up in a couple of days.

  “You’ll be too cute as a brown-eyed Rapunzel,” said Jenny. “I called my stylist like you asked, and she can get you in on Friday afternoon. You’ll completely look the part when she’s done.”

  “You already look your part,” I said, glancing at Jenny’s beautiful, curly red hair. “I’ve always envied you your hair.”

  And her figure, and her height… she was gorgeous. But Miles thought I was beautiful exactly the way I was, and told me often, so it didn’t bother me anymore that I was short with straight hair, and had an athletic build rather than, well, curves like hers.

  “You’re kidding!” said Jenny. “It takes so much work to make my hair look halfway decent.”

  I stared at her like she was nuts.

  “Are you serious? I’ve never seen you look anything but a hundred percent ready to hit the runway.”

  Jenny laughed as if I said something terribly funny.

  “I’m not kidding,” I said flatly. “I am completely serious.”

  “That’s so funny,” Jenny laughed again. “We’re too hard on ourselves. The truth is, if you looked just like me, then you’d find plenty of things you’d want to improve.”

  “You’re right,” said Annette. “When I think of the most beautiful actress in the world and imagine looking just like her, then I start seeing things I’d want to change, when just seconds before, I thought she was perfect.”

  “It’s a frame of mind,” said Jenny. “If we aren’t able to accept ourselves as we are, we can be sure we wouldn’t be satisfied no matter what we looked like.”

  Interesting. I thought about that for a minute.

  “Well, you’ll make a great Giselle,” I said. “Can you imagine me in that part?”

  “Oh, you’d make an adorable Giselle,” said Jenny, “escorted by Captain Miles T. Kirk.”

  For some reason, we thought that was funny. We were laughing, when I noticed Gina standing beside us.

  “Did you need something, Gina?” asked Jenny.

  “Oh… no,” said Gina. “I heard you talking about costumes. So I guess you’re going to the Halloween party?”

  “Yeah, we’re all going as Disney princesses,” said Annette. “Are you going?”

  “I might,” Gina said. “I haven’t decided who to go with.”

  If she’d lay off trying to steal my guy, she’d have a better chance of getting a date.

  “So what are you going as?” Gina asked, as she glanced at me. There was thinly veiled hostility in her eyes.

  Annette threw her arm around my shoulders.

  “Anika is going as Giselle, accompanied by Captain Kirk,” she said.

  I laughed. I didn’t know what possessed her to say that. Jenny laughed too.

  “Jenny is going as Rapunzel, Xander as Flynn Rider, I’m Belle, and John is Captain Jack Sparrow. Hey Anika, we’re both being escorted to the ball by captains!”

  I had no idea what got into her, but I went with it and laughed, and so did Jenny. As we continued talking about costumes, and the upcoming party, Gina finally left.

  Annette watched her go.

  “Considering every time that girl looks at you she glares as if you’ve got something that belongs to her, I hope you’ll forgive me, but I didn’t think it was any of her business what costume you’ll be wearing.”

  “Don’t worry about it, Annette,” I said. “I won’t be a bit surprised if she shows up at the Halloween party dressed as Giselle herself, now.”

  “You’re probably right,” said Jenny, looking toward the door through which Gina disappeared just moments before.

  “Miles and I wonder if she has something to do with the weird things people have said about Miles’ past lately, and that phone call I got.”

  Annette considered that for a moment.

  “I wouldn’t put it past her if she thought of it, but she doesn’t seem that… I don’t know, well thought out. She doesn’t seem that subtle, or patient enough to go to that much effort.”

  “I have to agree,” I said, thoughtfully.

  But if not her… who?

  Jenny, Annette and I, located costumes in a city near Glen Haven. We didn’t just want costumes, we wanted nice costumes, real dresses, not the kind with Velcro closures that might not even last through being put on.

  We three girls drove to pick up our dresses, and try them on. They were perfect! I couldn’t wait to go to the party now. Miles said he would manage his own costume, so I didn’t worry about that.

  We spent the rest of the afternoon shoe shopping and picking out lipstick and eye shadows, to complement our Princess personas. Miles is my best friend, but it’s fun to have girl friends, too.

  Our apartment was a flurry of activity the Friday afternoon of the party. Hair, makeup, nails, it was a regular salon.

  My hair was longer than Rapunzel’s, but a trip to Jenny’s hair dresser fixed that. I loved my new haircut, and the hair dresser did an expert job styling it. I couldn’t wait for Miles to see.

  Annette couldn’t be mistaken for anyone other than Belle, and Jenny made a most gorgeous Giselle. We spun in front of the long mirrors in our apartment, and laughed and chatted and pretended to be our characters, as the boys wandered in one by one to pick us up.

  Miles was the first to arrive. He did a great job with his costume, I hardly recognized him as Miles, though he was unmistakable as Flynn Rider.

  Miles held out his arm for me, then stopped and touched my hair in surprise.

  “You’re looking very beautiful tonight, Rapunzel,” he said. “I really like what you’ve done with your hair.”

  “Why thank you, Eugene,” I smiled back, as I ran my fingers through his hair. “You’re certainly looking the part this evening. How long will it last?”

  “I’m hoping it will be true as advertised, and come out in one wash,” he said. “Why, you like it?”

  I laughed.

  “I love my Miles. But, Rapunzel loves Eugene, so—this’ll do very nicely for tonight.”

  “Good, then. I have something that belongs to you…” Miles opened the leather bag that went with his costume. He took out a crown like Rapunzel’s, and held it out to me.

  “Oh my goodness, where did you find this?” I asked in amazement, as I studied the extremely nice tiara. This was not a piece of junky costume jewelry.

  “Well you see, I borrowed this from your parents’ castle, where it was heavily guarded—”

  I laughed, and interrupted his story with a hug.
>
  “Thank you, for returning it,” I said, as I stepped in front of the mirror next to the front door, and placed the crown on my head.

  “Perfect,” Miles smiled.

  “Good evening, me hearties,” in swaggered John, and he held out his arm for Annette.

  Then Captain Kirk walked in, hair appropriately colored and styled, looking very captain-ish, and in charge.

  We watched with wide eyes as he approached Jenny, and held out his arm. She blushed a little, and took it.

  Maybe, finally, those two were ready to be a couple!

  We all adjourned to our various vehicles, and proceeded to the party.

  Once on campus, we followed the purple and orange lighted path to the Student Center, where the party was taking place. Jack o’ lanterns lined the walkway leading to the entrance, and Halloween themed organ music, howling, cat yowling, and thunder, sounded loudly from the hidden speakers.

  Inside, the sound was replaced by music from the dance floor, which was crowded with costumes of all kinds. Jenny pointed to the food-laden tables all along one wall, and we headed in that direction.

  Every now and then the lights flickered, and the sound of thunder blared from overhead.

  There was so much activity going on in the room, along with the dim lighting and sound of thunder and loud music, it was somewhat overwhelming. I hoped none of my friends had epilepsy. I kept tight hold of Miles’ arm, I’d hate to get separated in this.

  We reached the food area, and filled our plates with Halloween and autumn themed snacks. I knew it would be good, since Jenny was on the committee, so I wasn’t afraid to try any of it.

  We declined the glasses of punch being ladled out of a foaming, smoking cauldron, and opted for bottled water, instead.

  Jenny led the way to a table, and we sat watching the goings-on around us as we ate. It was very good, Jenny knows her stuff. We didn’t try to talk much, it was just too loud.

  The music changed, and a slow song began to play. Miles stood and held out his hand, and I took it. Miles led the way to the dance floor, and I saw that our friends all followed.

  I’d never been dancing, the most I’d ever done was waltz through the ballroom with Miles, on our way from one part of the castle to another. I watched the other dancers, who all seemed to be swaying slowly back and forth. Well that didn’t look hard.

  I put my hands on Miles’ shoulders and he put his hands on my waist, and we moved to the music.

  “You are absolutely gorgeous,” Miles said, as he kissed me.

  The music stopped too soon, but then it began again almost right away. I laughed, as did Miles and all our friends. The song was from Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty, Once Upon a Dream. How appropriate for us princesses. I wondered if that’s why the DJ chose to play it.

  Miles smiled, and held out his hand. This was music you could waltz to! So we did. I love waltzing with Miles, he is excellent at leading, and makes me feel like I know what I’m doing, and am actually good at it.

  I began to realize that the floor around us had cleared, and we were the only ones dancing. We were probably the only ones who knew how to waltz!

  I saw that Jenny had her iPhone out, it looked like she was recording us.

  When the music ended, there was applause all around, and we looked to see what was happening.

  “I think they’re applauding us,” Miles said.

  We waved, and he bowed and I curtsied, staying in character.

  A new song began to play, and Miles and I wove our way between couples, and off of the dance floor. Xander and Jenny were right behind us.

  As we neared our table, a girl who was dressed like she belonged in an old western saloon, approached. She ran up to Xander, and grabbed his arm. She was talking in a raised voice, but the music and Halloween-themed sound effects made it difficult to make out what she was saying. The students standing near Xander and Jenny, had no problem understanding her. They were staring, and looking back and forth as if watching a tennis match. Xander was scowling at the girl.

  Miles and I glanced at each other, then moved closer to find out what was going on.

  Xander jerked his arm away from the girl.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about!” he exclaimed.

  “How can you say that, you were with me just last night!” she retorted.

  Jenny looked extremely uncomfortable.

  Miles pushed his way forward.

  “You need to find something better to do than give an innocent guy a hard time,” Miles said with authority. “He was not with you last night, and do you not see that he’s with someone else right now? What do you expect to accomplish here?”

  The girl didn’t respond to Miles, but turned to Jenny, yelling loudly to be heard above the noise.

  “You ought to know. It’s not right, your fiancé playing around like he is.”

  Xander looked stunned. So did the rest of us. We stared at the girl as if she suddenly sprouted horns, a tail, pink feathers, and whiskers.

  “What?” Xander exclaimed.

  The girl turned to glare at him.

  “That’s right, Miles Bannerman!” she shouted, as everyone around us stared. “It’s a shame the way you’ve been treating your fiancé, and I won’t have any part in it anymore!”

  She turned on her pointy heel, and was lost in the sea of costumes before any of us could recover.

  Xander looked around at the rest of us, and exclaimed, “What?!”

  Miles and I led Xander and Jenny to another part of the building, where it was quiet enough to talk.

  “What—in the world—was THAT all about?” Xander exclaimed.

  “Well Xander,” I said with a straight face. “It would appear that you and Jenny are engaged, and that your name is Miles Bannerman.”

  Xander stared at me, stupefied, as the rest of us began to laugh.

  I laughed so hard I thought I’d bust the corset ties on my dress. Xander finally began to laugh too, but he still looked incredibly confused.

  As Jenny and I wiped away tears, Miles tried to explain what we knew.

  “Anika and I have been dealing with this all month,” he said. “A woman approached us on campus, and claimed we had a relationship, then Anika received a phone call during one of our classes, which pretty much said the same thing you just heard from that very strange girl at the party.”

  Xander still looked confused. Well, aren’t we all.

  “Someone’s been trying to cause problems between us,” I said. “We’ve no idea why, but after what just happened, there’s no doubt at all that we’re being targeted.”

  “Well why did she go after me, I don’t get it,” said Xander.

  I looked at Miles and Xander.

  “Miles doesn’t look like his usual self, tonight. His hair is dark, and he’s got a beard like his character does. Your hair is a lot more the color of Miles’ hair than his is, right now. That girl doesn’t know either one of you, so… did someone tell her what Miles usually looks like, or got confused and pointed out the wrong guy?”

  “She’s either friends with whoever’s behind this, or she was paid to do this,” Jenny spoke up.

  “And the question remains, why?” Miles wondered.

  We didn’t have enough information to figure it out, but as we stood there trying, Miles got a text from John. He and Annette were ready to leave, and wondered what the rest of us were doing.

  We met them outside, and on our way to the parking lot, we told Annette and John what happened.

  We drove to IHOP’s and had breakfast food, and talked about the strange things that had been going on all semester.

  “Anika…” said Annette. “Remember who thought you and Miles were going as Giselle and Captain Kirk?”

  “You’re right,” I said grimly. I set my coffee mug down with a thump, as I turned to Miles. “Gina. She knew. I mean, that’s what Annette told her.”

  “We need to get to the bottom of this,” Miles declared.

>   The six of us discussed how best to approach it. Should we girls talk to her? Should Miles and I? It was unanimous Miles shouldn’t talk to her alone!

  It was finally decided that me, Miles, and Jenny, would talk to her.

  “I’ll call her in the morning and either invite her over, or out for coffee,” said Jenny, and we agreed.

  After our very early breakfast, we met back at our apartment. Although the party was too loud for any of us to enjoy very much, we princesses weren’t ready to call it a night. So we played music, and Miles and I danced, and our friends did the best they could to follow along.

  “There will be waltzing at our wedding,” I informed them. “We have two ballrooms, after all. So practice!”

  Midnight came, and though no carriages turned into pumpkins in the process, our friends began to drift home. John and Annette left, Xander went next door, and Jenny went to her room. Rapunzel kissed Eugene goodnight, without interference from our self-appointed guards.

  “Time!” yelled Xander, from next door.

  “How does he know!” I exclaimed. Miles just laughed, kissed me one last time, and said goodnight.

  Since my family lived in Glen Haven, the same city as our college, I was able to see them quite a bit. Doreen was doing better, and had a blast joining me and Jenny for a sleepover at our apartment. We painted nails and watched age-appropriate chic-flicks, and ate pizza. It did my heart good to be able to connect with her again. She was sick for so long, we missed out on a lot. It felt good to be making up for it.

  Tryon was growing like a weed! He looked up to his new big brother Miles, and Miles was quick to stop whatever he was doing to play, and wear him out. Miles missed out on his younger brother and sister growing up, and having my siblings, who were about the same age, did his heart good.

  I had some free time, so I stopped by to visit with Mom. Doreen was well enough to be in school again, and Tryon was at a pre-school day-camp ‘studying’ dinosaurs.

  “Hi, honey!” said Mom, as she answered the door and gave me a hug.

  “Hi Mom,” I said, returning her hug as best I could, without spilling the two drinks I held. “I brought lattes.”

  “Ooh, nice!” said Mom, taking a sip. “I have some coffee cake in the kitchen, let’s go sit.”