by K.N. Lee
“Sorry.” she murmured.
At least most of the bathroom was clean, the main mess being reserved for the bedroom. The bathroom was tiled all in white, which matched the white bathroom suite. Above the oversized sink stood a vanity area which was crowded with numerous bottles and lotions, most of them missing lids. There were at least three half-empty tubes of toothpaste, one of which had dribbled its contents over the sink. It was not this that shocked Anais though. It was the sight of herself in the mirror. She looked paler than usual in the harsh light which made the black circles under her eyes all the more prominent. Her blue striped pyjamas were splattered with Raphael’s blood, as was her face. Little spots of red made her look like she had caught a particularly virulent strain of chicken pox, which had extended from her skin to her clothes. Her blood stained hair was matted and limp and clung to her face. She heard the sound of the bath taps turning and gushing water behind her.
Aethelu gestured for her to have the first bath which she was grateful for. The bath was an old fashioned roll top bath which was filling deeply with water. A little yellow rubber duck bobbed around merrily on the surface. Anais wondered if Aethelu was going to leave, she was not comfortable getting undressed in front of strangers. On the beach at home she always wore the most covering swimsuit she could find. It probably came from the fact that all her friends were 5 ft. 5 and had perfect bodies. At 5ft 9 she stood out no matter what she wore. She needn’t have worried though, as Aethelu left through another door in the bathroom, which Anais had assumed was a cupboard. As Aethelu had not immediately returned, Anais had to change her assumption. It must be an adjoining room, possibly another bedroom. Anais started to undress, folding her pyjamas neatly and placing them on the toilet seat. She tested the water carefully with her foot. It was hotter than she usually took a bath, but in her desperate need to cleanse herself of Raphael’s blood, she jumped in regardless. The hot water almost burnt her skin, leaving it tingling pleasantly with the heat. Letting out a sigh, she closed her eyes and lowered her whole body into the water.
Hearing a noise, she quickly opened them again. Aethelu had walked back into the room carrying a folded blue towel.
Anais quickly drew her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around them. Aethelu didn’t notice Anais’ discomfort. She was too busy rummaging through a cupboard under the sink and idly whistling a Christmas tune. Producing a bottle of shampoo and a bar of soap from the cupboard, both unopened, she placed them on top of the towel on the floor next to the bath. Aethelu’s eyes lingered on Anais a little more than Anais was comfortable with, and she was glad when Aethelu turned towards the door to her room still whistling.
“Look after Mr. Quackers,” Aethelu called through the open door.
Anais picked up the little duck and balanced it on her knee. She waited a minute to see if Aethelu would come back through the open door. Hearing movement coming from the room, it sounded like Aethelu was tidying up. Deciding that she was safe, she dropped her legs back down, sending Mr. Quackers on a tidal ride around the bath. She picked up the soap and shampoo and did her best to wash herself and her hair. She was used to showers and there was nothing here to use to pour water over her hair, so she submerged her hair under the water, keeping her face above the waterline. A few seconds later, she took a big deep breath and then, closing her eyes, submerged her whole face. The sounds of whistling and cleaning were now muffled, but she could clearly hear the tap dripping a beat on the water. Tap tap tap. The lack of visual and sound stimulation allowed her to clear her mind, emptying it of thoughts of the horrific scene from the kitchen earlier. No matter how much she tried, though, flashes of blood and the strange sneering look of Raphael’s face came back to haunt her. She held her position under water for as long as she could, holding her breath, eventually giving up and resurfacing for air. The water had a gruesome pinkish tinge to it from all the blood. She made a mental note to have a shower as soon as possible because as much as she had enjoyed the feel of hot water on her skin, the thought of washing in bloody water was repellent.
Once out of the bath, she wrapped the huge fluffy towel around herself. Like everything else in the house, it was luxurious, thick and soft and had a lovely clean laundry smell. She checked her reflection in the mirror and was relieved to see her normal self, peering back at her.
The long, black hair, inherited from her mother’s side of the family, was now clean and beginning to twist into its usual ringlets that formed when it was wet.
She quickly rinsed the bath of any last remnants of blood and put her head around the door to Aethelu’s room. The room looked remarkably tidier than it had when she had walked through it earlier. The clothes had been removed, the bed made and the vanity table cleared. Aethelu was now singing the same Christmas tune she had been whistling earlier whilst returning piles of books to their proper places in a bookcase. She stopped when she noticed Anais.
“Feel better?”
“I feel much better, thanks. Can I borrow some clothes, please?” Anais felt very embarrassed standing in front of Aethelu with only a towel to cover her modesty.
She hoped that the reds and pinks of the wall behind her would mask the fact she was blushing. If Aethelu noticed, she made no mention of it.
She placed the last book on the shelf and turned to Anais.
“I laid some out on your bed. They should fit pretty well.”
Anais mentally plotted out the route from this room to the room in which she had been imprisoned. There were two corridors and a flight of stairs. She didn’t fancy making the journey in this unfamiliar house in just a towel and was surprised that Aethelu expected her to. She still didn’t know how many people were in the house and she thought that if she happened to bump into anyone on the way, they might not take kindly to a strange, naked girl wandering the corridors.
She was just about to ask Aethelu to get them for her when Aethelu interrupted her thoughts.
“I thought that you could have the bedroom next to mine, the one at the other side of the bathroom. It belongs to Arcadia, my sister, but she doesn’t stay here very often.”
Anais had decided that she wasn’t going to stay. It was all well and good that she had been kidnapped by the most accommodating kidnappers in history, who just happened to be practically immortal, but they still hadn’t told her why she was here and what, exactly, any of it had to do with her. She decided that now was not the time to break the news to Aethelu. She would at least wait until she had got dressed and then calmly ask to be dropped off at the nearest railway station.
She turned and walked straight through the bathroom into the other bedroom. It was a mirror image of Aethelu’s room, with the same style four poster bed, velvet chairs (this time in pale blue), and a wardrobe. It was equally as lavish as Aethelu’s, but much less of an assault on the eye. For a start, it was perfectly clean and tidy. Not a thing out of place. The only clues to the occupant were the many photos, mostly of family members, she assumed, as many of them had the same silver hair and bewitching black eyes. She could recognise Aethelu, Raphael and August in some of them. An occasional celebrity appeared in some of the frames, usually with a stunning woman draped over them. In some pictures, the woman was a vibrant redhead, some a stunning blonde and in some, she had poker straight brunette hair. In all the pictures, she was gorgeous, whatever the hair colour. This must be Aethelu’s older sister, Arcadia. She was even more beautiful than Aethelu, but classically so. Somehow her perfection served only to make her seem less human. She was more like a doll or shop mannequin than a real person. Arcadia and Aethelu shared the same almond shaped eyes and flawless skin, but Aethelu had a sparkle about her that was absent from the photos of Arcadia.
The room was decorated in muted tones of beige and blue which gave it a much fresher and more relaxed feel than Aethelu’s. A vase of fresh stargazer lilies sat on the little table by the cabinet, emitting a beautiful floral scent that filled the room. Anais padded over to the large window, enjoying
the feel of the thick, pale blue carpet beneath her feet, and gazed out. It was her first chance to get a good look at the Manor’s immediate surroundings. The trees that encircled the house were bare having lost their leaves to the winter, but now were wearing a fresh layer of snow. This room, Anais placed at the front of the house, as she could see steps running up to what must be the main doors she had seen earlier, from the inside. At the bottom of the steps, a driveway curved past the house, with one way rounding the side of the house and the other disappearing off into the trees, to the main gates of the property. The drive widened at the front to allow for cars passing and giving space for cars to park, although no car was parked there at the moment. The drive and steps must have been gritted, as they were the only things not covered in a fine layer of snow. White covered lawn gardens at each side of the steps, sparkled in the pale winter sun. Green grass peeked through only where footprints had been left in the snow. They all led to a magnificent snowman complete with top hat and scarf. Charcoal eyes looked blindly out over his carrot nose. A couple of robins pecked at birdseed on a nearby bird table, seemingly oblivious to their freezing environment. The snow continued to fall lazily, making everything appear magical and fresh, even under the heavy grey sky and weak sun.
The trees were thick, even without their protective layer of leaves, but off to one side, Anais could just make out a hill, hiding between the branches. She could also see a house in the distance, possibly two or three. Something green flashed in front of the houses, which Anais realised was a car. It made her feel more at ease knowing that she was at least close to civilisation.
She could now hear Aethelu splashing around in the bath. Sweet Christmas melodies being sung at full volume sounded lovely and slightly haunting with the bathroom acoustics, even though her voice was muffled through the now closed door. Aethelu had now moved on from the contemporary Christmas tune to a more traditional Christmas carol. It brought back memories of Anais’ parents singing the same song whilst putting up the Christmas tree at home. Anais smiled a sad smile and turned her attention to the bed. A beautiful dress was laid out upon it, white, with a bold black pattern of flowers. It was slightly dressier than Anais would normally wear in the daytime, but it was so beautiful that she actually felt excited to put it on. She could see by the label that it was an expensive designer dress. It probably cost more than her entire wardrobe at home, but then she did spend most of her time in jeans usually. She dropped the towel on the floor and pulled the dress over her head. The dress had a zipper at the back which, no matter how she twisted and turned she could not do up. She also had the problem of a lack of underwear. The only other article of clothing was a small black cardigan. She picked up the cardigan and held her dress to her as much as she could. She knocked lightly on the bathroom door.
“Aethelu?”
The sound of the plug being pulled from the bath was followed by the sound of Aethelu getting out. Seconds later, she stood in front of Anais with a red towel around her and another one wrapped expertly on her head.
“I need a bit of help with the zipper.” Anais turned to show Aethelu her naked back.
“Ok, yeah, just a sec.”
Aethelu disappeared back round the door re-emerging seconds later with her black leather gloves on. She zipped up the dress which now fit Anais perfectly, hugging her curves in all the right places.
“Wow, you look gorgeous. It really suits you.” Aethelu eyed Anais up and down, making Anais feel slightly uncomfortable.
She turned to the full-length mirror in the room and was surprised to find that she did look pretty amazing in the dress.
Aethelu put her gloved hand on Anais shoulder, lingering there for perhaps a second too long.
Anais wondered if Aethelu had some kind of skin condition on her hands that would explain why she always wore the gloves. She made her mind up to ask, but there were more pressing matters at hand.
“Do you think I could have some underwear, please?”
Anais was feeling very naked, even though she was totally covered and could actually feel herself blushing once again. She made a big show of putting the cardigan on to hide the fact that her cheeks were burning. Honestly, what was the matter with her? She was only talking to another woman for goodness sake, and about much less than she had chatted about with her friends back in LA.
“The dress belongs to Arcadia,” Aethelu said “my sister,” she added, when Anais looked confused. “I think she’ll be ok with you borrowing her room and her dress, but lending you her underwear would probably make her flip out. Actually, lending you the dress would probably make her flip out too, but needs must. Just don’t spill anything on it. I sent August to town to buy you some clothes and undies. He should be back soon. I just didn’t want you to get cold waiting for him to come back.”
“Ok, thanks, but it’s not really necessary” Even as Anais said it, she realised it was very necessary. The only clothes she had with her were the pyjamas she had arrived in. She’d just take what she needed, and then they could take the rest back to the shop. She made up her mind to tell them she was leaving as soon as she got some new clothes. Aethelu grabbed Anais’ hand and escorted her back into her own bedroom. She sat her down on the bed and then walked over to her wardrobe.
“I’d lend you some of my clothes, but as you can see, my stuff is a bit higgledy piggledy,” she said, as she threw open the wardrobe doors.
‘Higgledy piggledy’ didn’t begin to cover it. There were two items of clothing hanging up on hangers; and the rest were in a messy pile at the bottom, all of which were red. Aethelu rummaged around in the bottom of the wardrobe searching through scarlets and crimsons. She was still wearing her leather gloves.
“Why do always have on leather gloves?” Anais asked her.
“Oh I’d forgotten I still had these on.” she said. She pulled them off and threw them haphazardly on the floor.
She pulled out a dress and threw it over her head quickly, pulling the towel out from under it. She extracted some panties from an equally messy drawer and slipped them on. She walked over to Anais but stopped short about a metre from her.
Anais looked at her hands. They looked perfectly normal. The nails were coated with red nail varnish.
“The gloves are to protect you,” Aethelu said.
“Protect me? How?”
“When we drunk the elixir there was one other funny little side effect. There is really no way to describe it so I’m going to have to show you. Put your finger out in front of you.”
“What?” Anais was confused by the command.
“Just point at me.”
Although Anais had no clue as to what to expect, she decided the easiest thing would be to go along with the strange command. She raised her hand and extended her index finger tentatively in front of her. She had no idea what was coming; but she really hoped it wasn’t a lame pull my finger joke that had been so popular one year in school, doing the rounds as silly crazes do, then disappearing in favour of another silly game.
Aethelu put her own finger out and brought it towards Anais.
When their fingers were within millimetres of each other Aethelu stopped.
She looked down at her fingers and chewed her bottom lip. Anais missed the gesture, as she was too occupied with wondering what was going to happen to her fingers.
When it did happen, she wasn’t ready for it. When their fingers connected, instantaneously her whole arm jerked back with a force so strong it took her breath away. It was akin to getting an electric shock. Anais wondered if this was what sticking your fingers in an electric socket felt like. Her whole arm tingled.
“What just happened?”
“Try it again, but this time try to keep your hand still.” Aethelu’s mouth started to curl up at the edges.
Anais wasn’t sure she wanted to try it again; she was amazed her fingers weren’t smoking, but she once again held out her hand.
Aethelu brought her finger back up to Anais’. Anais ste
adied herself. Their fingers connected; but this time, Anais was ready. The sensation in the end of her finger was immense. It felt like every nerve in her body was electrified all at once and the current concentrated on the end of her finger. It wasn’t an unpleasant experience, it actually felt amazing, but it was too much for Anais to take. She withdrew her hand quickly, and immediately the sensation passed, although her finger was left pleasantly warm and tingly.
“Now imagine if I’d have caught you off guard and accidentally touched your skin.”
Anais imagined that it would be similar to being struck by lightning, although she wasn’t sure if it would be an altogether bad thing. She’d never felt so much sensation and to feel it in the very tip of her finger was all the more extraordinary. She realised she had been holding her breath the whole time, and now she let it all out, exhaling in a big rush. A playful smile crept on to Aethelu’s naked lips. Anais realised that this was the first time she’d seen them without lipstick. They were as beautiful as the rest of Aethelu and Anais thought it was a shame that they had ever been covered up. Her own mouth was echoing Aethelu’s and beginning to turn up at the corners. She stifled a giggle, but watching Aethelu also struggling not to laugh was too much. She broke out into a huge roar of laughter, which was immediately followed by Aethelu’s. Both girls rolled around on the bed laughing so hard that tears sprang to both their eyes. It was an amazing release for Anais after her days of stress and uncertainty, and even though she was not really sure why, she was laughing; she felt so much better for it.