Snow Heart

by Knight, Arvalee

  Rusuto sighed overdramatically before saying, “Oh. Woe is me. Whatever shall I do?”

  Alric stared into the wooden surface of the table. “How about: get the hell out.”

  “Why I never—” Rusuto gasped and turned to leave the room but an overly-eager Angel pushed him back inside and out of her way.

  “Who is this?” asked Aunty, slightly unfamiliar with Jacob and Angel. She knew Eliza from short visits from the little girl but she had never seen Jacob or Angel in her life. She also had never met the next person to walk into the room. “Who is that?”

  Rusuto leapt at Dan, wrapping his arms around him. “My child prostitute.”

  “What the hell!” Dan shoved him away quickly. “Like hell I’m a prostitute.”

  Angel laughed, kneeling onto the ground next to Aunty. “I am Angel. Rusuto has told us so much about you. By the way, I just love your hair.”

  Aunty of course smiled at the compliment. “I like her already.”

  “I apologize for interrupting,” a man said in a cool mellow tone. He slowly walked to the door’s entrance and gave a look to Alric—asking permission to enter. Alric gave a nod and turned his head away to catch sight of the star-struck Nieves. Apparently she remembered the man from the night he kidnapped her from Boris’s house.

  Alric used Leon for small tasks and missions. He was one of the Cursed and one of the only ones who didn’t get abused. Leon was like a tamed kitten, doing whatever Alric asked without a second thought. To other people Leon was a puppet but he was much smarter than that.

  Being at Alric’s side had benefits—freedom outside of Macter land.

  “Alric,” Leon stated in a soft tone then began to gently whisper in his ear.

  The Head Macter’s face became all too lifeless, as if blocking out all emotions that would come to mind. He lifted to his feet and proceeded to follow Leon to the door.

  “Where the hell do you think you’re going?” asked Aunty with full authority.

  Alric looked over his shoulder at her. “Out. I’ll return when I choose.”

  †

  “Rusuto,” Nieves asked as he led her back to the room. “Where is Wilhelm?” She still hadn’t learned of his whereabouts—even though she heard from Bartolemé that Wilhelm wasn’t allowed to be murdered.

  The smile on Rusuto’s face wavered only a little. “It’s his cursed-night.”

  Nieves’s felt confused. “His what?”

  “The Cursed-Ones turn into foxes at night according to a certain pattern,” Rusuto explained. “Tonight happens to be Wilhelm’s night. He’ll be in fox form until… well, sometimes it’s a day and sometime it’s a month.”

  “An entire month!”

  He laughed wholeheartedly, sliding open her bedroom door. “Yes. I’m afraid so. There’s no reason to worry about it. Wilhelm has lived with the curse for twenty-five years.”

  A certain feeling of sorrow welled inside of her but she pushed it aside until Rusuto left. The room Aunty gave her was not as large as Alric’s—for his was an entire apartment. Nieves slid onto her bed thankful it wasn’t a Japanese futon. In fact her room didn’t hold anything Oriental at all.

  A barren desk sat next to the bed while a small one-person breakfast table sat in the corner across the room. Nieves glanced around and saw that there was a single window that held a window seat to it. To her surprise, small stuffed animals sat patiently waiting for their owner to return—an owner that Nieves was oblivious to.

  “Nieves,” called Aunty who tapped her knuckle against the door. “Is it safe to come in?”

  “Oh. Yes.” Nieves rose from the bed and headed to the door but Aunty was already sliding it open. The shoji door was the only thing in the room that gave hint to the Oriental house.

  Aunty gave a smile, her sunglasses atop her head. “Feel like taking a walk?”

  Nieves suddenly felt all her tensions disperse. “Yes. Thank you.”

  The two of them were heading down the hall chatting about the origin of the Oriental style of the house. She explained that the curse had originated from the fox-maiden who had traveled from Japan to the European countries.

  “The house was built by her fox Demons to honor her. Each Demon was granted its own room amongst the house but the largest and highest room of them all was given to her—their maiden queen.

  “After our great ancestor betrayed their love, she cursed him to never leave her lands even after she formed herself into a tree—a silver glowing tree that is somewhere among this land. Not many have seen the tree and those who do can never remember where it was. Or how they got there.

  “But,” Aunty turned to her with a laugh. “Even if we find the tree, the curse will continue. I’m not a Cursed-One and I’m thankful for that, yet I wish just as much as them for the end of this family’s problems.”

  Nieves nodded her head. “I wish I could help.”

  Aunty nearly said, “You are helping” but she did not. She swallowed her thoughts.

  “Nieves,” someone called from the main entrance of the house. The two women hadn’t realized how far they had walked until that moment. The woman at the door stood there with a dead expression on her face. “Nieves,” she said again.

  “Erika?” Nieves’s heart leapt at the thought—her sister was truly alive.

  Erika turned from her and headed out the door. “We’re leaving. Let’s go.” Her sister’s expression and voice were still just as empty as ever.

  Nieves looked at Aunty then back to Erika who was heading down the steps. “Erika? Where are we going?” Were they leaving back to Boris’s house or were they leaving the Macter land forever?

  Erika paused on the last step, the rain falling down as she opened the umbrella at her side. “We are going back to the city. Now get out here so we can go home and pack.” She was dressed in a baby blue sweater—her outfits always included a sweater. She still wasn’t the Erika she remembered, but Nieves was relieved to see her well and alive.

  “Go ahead,” Aunty nudged her on. “Get away from this place while you can.” Aunty wanted to know what Nieves would do at the idea of leaving forever.

  Nieves nodded her head and headed out the door, onto the porch. The city, she thought mildly. She would once again walk among its streets, its alleys with small coffee shops and book stores. Nieves forgot all about everything in the world but the thought of freedom outside of the walls that surrounded every inch of the Macter estate.

  She trotted down the steps to Erika’s side. The feeling of having a sister again was irreplaceable. Her warmth was like fire and her soothing presence was like nothing else in existence. Erika, Nieves thought, was her sister even if she was dead inside.

  CHAPTER 15

  Leon led Alric to a small white phone that sat neatly in the center of a round dark cherry wood table. The receiver was placed delicately onto the surface meaning someone was on hold. Alric knew who was waiting but he could hardly think of a reason to speak with the person. After all, he was ignored by the person for over a decade.

  Alric lifted the cold receiver into his hand, taking in its smoothness. “Hello,” Alric said into the device.

  Leon melted away with deafly silence.

  There was static then a soft, “Hello, Alric.”

  Yes, he thought to himself. That was definitely her—he could never forget the soft gentleness of her voice. It was smooth like a spring wind and it held a witty touch that made her sound intelligent.

  “Sailles.” His eyes lowered to the floor, examining its texture.

  He heard her take in a breath and release it. “I… just arrived at the airport. I wanted to call you and let you know I’m coming over to visit you. To see you. And…” She paused unsure what else to say.

  “You’re coming here?” asked Alric with a dry tone.

  Sailles hesitated before replying. “Yes. I am.”

  “Honey,” a soft voice in the background said. There were many softer mumbles but this voice was closer than the others.
“The cab’s here.”

  “Who is that?” Alric asked in a low suspicious voice.

  Sailles gave a laugh like wind chimes. “You’ll meet him when I come see you.” Her voice slowly lost its cheer. “We have a lot to talk about, little brother.”

  Alric would have replied in a snappy manner but a child crying in the background stopped his words dead. His throat went dry. What was that, he wanted to ask, letting his eyes widen at the thought.

  “Alric,” Sailles called his attention back. “Please don’t be upset but I got married a year ago and… well…” She shifted the phone from one ear to the other. “I have a daughter,” Sailles said with a laugh. Alric was too absorbed by the sound of the child’s cry to think of what his sister had said.

  “You…”

  “I have a daughter,” Sailles said trying to keep her chipper tone.

  Alric nearly threw the phone away in disgust—his sister, his sister gave birth to a child. She had a husband. After all these years she had finally come to see him and… she never told him one piece of that information. Sailles never bothered to tell him she had found someone. Sailles never invited Alric to the wedding—even though, he would not have been able to attend she never bothered.

  But still, Sailles was his sister…

  “Um. I have to go,” Sailles interrupted Alric’s thoughts.

  He slowly replied, “Of course you do.”

  “I’ll see you as soon as I can.” The phone clicked and then silence.

  Alric dropped the receiver and turned away from it like a child would do to someone who had stolen his favorite toy. He couldn’t stand the thought of her.

  Why would she come now after all these years?

  He took note that she hadn’t said the usual “I love you” as he’d seen other family members do with each other. In fact, through all the years of his life, only Aunty had ever said those three words. A pain in his heart shivered. Sailles hadn’t talked to Alric in over a decade and now she was coming to see him with a husband and daughter. It made him angry and disgusted.

  Aunty was standing off to the side, shifting from one foot to the next. Her concerned expression explained something had happened. She slid her fingers through the strands of her hair, looking as innocent as possible.

  “What?” Alric narrowed his eyes.

  Aunty opened her mouth then stopped to smile.

  Alric took a few daring steps forward in a way to show he wasn’t in the mood for games. His heart’s ache slowly faded as his mind focused on the new problem that arose. “Well?” his cold voice asked.

  “Well,” Aunty said confidently, shrugging a shoulder. “Erika came and took Nieves. They’re planning on leaving to the city.”

  The pain came again—Nieves was out of his control and out of his grasp. This bothered him more than his sister’s actions. In fact, it bothered him more than anything else had ever done. His parents abuse towards him was nothing compared to the empty space carving its way through his chest.

  “Nieves,” he muttered as if hoping she would turn the corner to smile at him, and claiming it was all just a joke, but there was no sign of her.

  †

  “The city,” Nieves told her black shirt that she was now tucking into the luggage.

  She’d slipped out of the kimono as soon as her clothes were in view. The kimono almost reminded her of someone but she pushed the thought aside. The idea of the city seemed to clutter all her being; a wall that was blocking out anything and everything else.

  The gray spaghetti-strap shirt suited her well. The white skirt and the black leather jacket also felt like home again. She longed for the blackberry bushes outside of her grandparent’s house. She missed their smiles and the way they kissed her goodnight.

  Nieves laughed, folding the rest of her clothes and stacking it inside the suitcase. She zipped it up after placing the few picture frames into its belly. The sight of her mother made her heart cramp.

  “Mother,” Nieves whispered. “You’re so beautiful.” A tear slid down her cheek and splashed onto the luggage-frame. Angrily she wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand. “No use crying about it.”

  Her bedroom door swung open. It slammed against the wall. Nieves jumped for her life, spinning around to see what had happened.

  “Are you ready, yet?” asked Erika who was bitter about something which was the first time her sister had shown any form of emotion.

  Nieves nodded her head and turned to her suitcase. She pulled it off the bed and rolled it to the door. “I’m ready.” Something about Erika had changed but she was still a lifeless shell. “Why are we leaving anyway?”

  Erika didn’t reply. She left her little sister standing their confused.

  “Alright then,” Nieves snobbishly replied in thought to her arrogant, snooty sister.

  Erika grabbed her things and opened the front door then froze in mid-step. Nieves was too busy slipping into her shoes to notice the very irritated Alric in the doorway. She did happen to catch sight of the straw slip-ons—the ones he’d given her—which made her think of Alric.

  The wall that blinded her earlier was now crashing into pieces. Alric. She couldn’t just leave without saying good-bye. “Sis,” Nieves blurted. “I think—” As she looked up her eyes caught hold of him gawking right at her. “Alric.”

  His eyes moved from her to Erika who was still standing in the doorway. He was drenched from head to toe in rain water. His hair was flat upon his head, trailing down the side of his face—for once it didn’t look untamed.

  “Excuse me,” Erika said emotionlessly. “We’re leaving.”

  Alric’s body tightened with hate. “Like. Hell. You. Are.” His eyes narrowed as a snarl began to break from his lips.

  Nieves lost hold of her luggage because she was leaping forward to hug Alric. Nieves’s grasp tightened around him. She could tell that his tense muscle relaxed. For some reason she calmed him inside.

  “Erika and I are leaving to the city,” Nieves explained, pulling away from him. “I almost forgot to tell you but I remembered at the last minute. It’s good you came here so I could—”

  Alric took hold of her jacket with a tightened fist. “You are not leaving.”

  “What?”

  Erika took a step forward. “Yes she is. I want the money my parents gave her.”

  “Erika?” Nieves looked at her confused. She’d just remembered the other person that had lived in that house—Erika’s husband. “Where’s Boris?”

  Alric smirked, turning his head away. “I murdered him, of course.”

  Nieves gasped. Her hands slid over her mouth as she tried to imagine it. Alric was cruel but she never thought he would sink so low as that. She wished Bartolemé was there to say “Oh. Boris is a Cursed-One. Alric can’t kill Cursed-Ones.” But there was no Bartolemé. There was just Alric and Erika.

  Erika snatched hold of Alric’s arm—the same arm that was connected to the hand that had its hold on Nieves’s jacket. “Let my sister go. We are not staying here any longer.”

  “I’m afraid you’re wrong,” Alric replied. His eyes were becoming darker and his voice growing icy enough to make the air stale. “I own her. She is mine. She will remain here with me.”

  Her head began to spin. Nieves wanted to pull away from them both. Her heart was being ripped apart—perfect halves that were being tossed onto the ground. “Stop it!” she screamed, feeling her lungs relax at the release of tension. “Just stop!”

  Alric’s hold on Nieves loosened enough for her to pull away. She couldn’t stop herself as she ran out the door. The soggy woodened steps of the house felt like foam beneath her feet. Her legs wanted to go faster—faster until something happened. She wanted to run until she met the edge of the planet or until she met the edge of time. Nieves didn’t care where she was running to or what would happen when she got there but she knew she wasn’t going to look back.

  Nieves had to get away from everything.

  “Nieves
!” Was that her sister or was that Alric calling out to her?

  CHAPTER 16

  Alric, in his rage, destroyed the shoji door of his bedroom. He’d swung it open too hard, snapping the wooden squares to pieces. Splintered wood crashed onto the floor, missing the confused and concerned Aunty by a hair.

  Alric raised his hand and threw it about the air lifting objects and tossing them about, slamming them into walls: a vase, a chest of drawers, zabuton pillows…

  He was just about to toss the meat-eating plant when it made him think of the one person he was trying his hardest to forget. He released a breath and crashed down onto his messy disarrayed bed.

  “What happened?” Aunty dared to ask now that he was calm.

  Alric breathed heavily for a moment. “She ran.”

  “Into the forest?”

  Alric nodded, not noticing Aunty’s fearful tone.

  She snatched hold of his upper arm and spun him until she could stare into his eyes. “You have to bring her back. You idiot, Wilhelm is out there. Since she’s not part of the family he’ll kill her.”

  “It’s his night?” Alric asked.

  Aunty was ready to slap him but he pushed her away.

  “Why should I care?” barked Alric. “I was planning on killing her anyway!” He got to his feet and walked to the garden doors. “It’ll just be easier this way. If Wilhelm doesn’t kill her then I will.”

  Aunty balled her fists. “You dumb-ass! She cares about you but… Ugh!”

  Alric listened to her pounding feet as his aunt stomped out of the room. She stepped onto the broken shoji door then continued down the hall, grumbling and cursing under her breath. He didn’t mind at all. His aunt might want that girl back but he didn’t. Her presence was too much trouble.