by K.N. Lee
“Morning!” Aethelu sang. She let Anais go and then continued in an almost breathless voice “I came up to get you. I thought we’d have breakfast together.”
Anais laughed at her enthusiasm. It was the same level of enthusiasm Anais would reserve for winning the lottery. Aethelu was practically bouncing on her feet. Anais took Aethelu’s still gloved hand and followed her down to the kitchen, still in her pyjamas.
Over bowls of cereal and toast, Aethelu told Anais she had a surprise for her, a surprise which would involve a trip into the woods. As Aethelu could barely contain her excitement, Anais thought it must be something pretty wonderful.
After breakfast and after they had both got dressed, they once again met up in the kitchen. Aethelu opened the big oak door and beckoned Anais outside. The snow was floating lazily down in big soft flakes, which reminded Anais of white cotton candy. She enjoyed the feeling of the snow falling on her before she followed.
Aethelu through the gate and into the woods. Once they were under cover of trees, the snow thinned out and in some places, barely made it to the ground. They followed a path that Anais had not been down before. It skirted the dry stone wall boundary to the right of the property. The wall was approximately a metre high and had odd metal posts sticking out of the top every ten metres or so, which reached another metre into the air.
“Invisible electric fence,” explained Aethelu, “similar to those that dog owners have to keep their pets in the gardens except this fence doesn’t require the wearing of a collar.”
“Andrew’s design?”
“Spot on! Daddy asked him to make the house more secure after Alist...your dad died, and this is what he came up with.”
They walked for quite a way further, much further than Anais had ventured before. Suddenly, Aethelu stopped. Anais looked around to see why they were stopping, but this bit of woods looked much the same as everywhere else.
Aethelu said, “Watch this,” and quickly climbed a nearby tree, jumping from branch to branch as she went.
Anais wondered what Aethelu was doing, but then she spotted a large branch overhanging the fence, much higher than the tops of the metal posts.
Aethelu shimmied along the branch, over the electric fence and leaped to another tree on the other side of the fence. She then dropped down to the ground and performed a little bow for Anais sake, before beckoning her over.
Anais expertly climbed the tree and followed Aethelu’s route until she dropped down, landing right next to Aethelu. They were still in the woods, although on this side of the fence, it was much denser and there was no path in sight.
Aethelu started walking through the trees, with Anais following close behind. Aethelu obviously knew where she was going, as she picked her way through the leafless trees, following an invisible route to an unknown destination. Eventually, after fifteen minutes or so, they came to a wide path or cycle track, which had been concreted over. Anais could tell it was a popular route through the woods, because of the multitude of tracks worn through the snow. The path made its way up a steep hill and was extremely slippery; indeed Anais could see where people had slipped by the marks on the ice. She decided it was safer to walk at the side of the path, the part that wasn’t concreted over to avoid slipping herself. Aethelu led her downhill for almost ten minutes until she could see light amongst the branches and the way out of the woods. When they reached the woods edge, Anais could see a wide stretch of grass ending with a children’s playground. A road, visible just behind the playground, was empty. Nobody was braving driving in the current icy conditions. Anais expected to head towards the road, so she was surprised when Aethelu turned left. She had stopped at a metal gate and was trying to turn a key in the lock. As she did, Anais read the sign above the gate.
Shipley Glen Tramway
Closed for the winter
“This is the oldest cable tramway in Britain if you don’t count cliff lifts on the coast. We’ve been riding it for over a hundred years.” Aethelu finally got the key to turn in the lock and the gate creaked open.
“Is it yours?”
“No, I think it belongs to the local council now, but I know the guy who runs it.” She winked at Anais.
Through the gate, a little ticket kiosk and a small building stood, which Aethelu told her was an old fashioned sweet shop. Anais could see metal signs advertising products from days gone by. To the left were a couple of tiny platforms and the quaintest little tram Anais had ever seen. All open except for a canopy that covered the length of it. Vibrant red paint decorated the back (no wonder Aethelu loved it), and a white star painted right in the middle finished the look.
Aethelu strolled to the front and manoeuvred the seat to face it forward. She told Anais to get in.
Once Anais had sat down, Aethelu made her way back to the little ticket office and rang the bell that was attached to the wall, very loudly.
Anais heard a similar bell answer its call from a distance, way up the hill and then a little jolt told her that she was moving. Aethelu ran and jumped onto the slow moving tram, climbing over the seats until she found her place next to Anais.
Anais had grown up in California, where some of the biggest and best theme park rides in the world are, but this little tram was thrilling her much more than any rollercoaster she’d ever ridden. It was so slow that she could have easily kept up with it if she had run, but it was the magical passage through the woods in the snow and the amazing Victorian engineering that captured her imagination. The tracks followed to the right of the concrete path they had walked down earlier and now she could see a couple with a dog braving the slippery path. Aethelu waved with such enthusiasm at the couple that they laughed and waved back.
Anais looked up into the distance and could see something coming towards them. As it got closer, she could see that it was another tram, identical to this one, heading down the hill on the other track. Aethelu waved at the empty tram as it passed, and when Anais asked her why, she simply answered “Tradition.”
When they arrived at the top a few minutes later, an old man was waiting for them. He was wearing a conductor’s uniform and his face sported a big grey bushy moustache which curled at the end and warmed his top lip. Anais placed him in his seventies.
Aethelu!” He came over and gave her a hug.
“Anais, this is Mike, Mike, Anais.” Aethelu introduced them. “I called him up this morning to show you the ride. Mike has worked here for...how long now?”
“This will be my fifty-sixth year.” Pride filled his voice.
“He knows all about us.” Aethelu turned to Anais. “He was the only non-Guardian to know until you came along.”
“Yup!” Mike wiggled his moustache “Kept seeing the same kids riding the tram, only they never grew up. Knew something fishy was going on!”
“We were hardly kids, we were older than you when you started.”
“You were older than everyone when I started, but I know what you mean.”
“Mike here sometimes lets me ride on the tram when it’s closed and in exchange I volunteer in the sweet shop at the bottom,” Aethelu explained.
“One day he’ll get over himself and let me work the cables,” said Aethelu, giving Mike a cheeky look.
“Not whilst I’m still here!” he said cheerily to Aethelu before turning to Anais.
“You girls heading up on to the moor?”
“Not today, Mike,” answered Aethelu “We are just here for the tram. We are heading straight back down.”
“Did you enjoy the ride?”
“It was magical!” answered Anais honestly.
“You should come back in the summer. It’s beautiful when all the flowers are out.”
“Thank you, I will.”
“Well it was nice to meet you Anais. It’s always good to see a new face.”
Mike headed back to the lever that operated the tram, as the girls headed to the front of the tram.
They both got in together this time and waved a cheerful go
odbye and thanks to Mike, who pulled the lever to make the tram make its slow descent through the woods.
They spotted no one on the path this time, but Anais waved just as enthusiastically as Aethelu at the empty upward moving tram that passed them at the halfway point.
“There used to be all kinds of amusements up at the top, but over the years they have all been dismantled. Only the tram and some dodgems remain although the dodgems haven’t run in years. It’s a shame; it was a real tourist destination in the Victorian era. It was only in the last decade that oldest roller coaster ride in the UK was demolished.”
“It sounds wonderful.” Anais was fascinated with the history of the place.
“It was; it still is. I miss how it used to be, though. Mind you the moors are lovely in the summer. I’ll bring you back when the tram opens to the public in April.”
When the ride finished the pair got off and made their way back through the woods, remembering to lock the gate as they left the tramway.
Aethelu climbed a tree and jumped to the overhanging branch that would lead her back to the manor’s grounds. When Anais had successfully got to the other side, she asked Aethelu a question she had been wondering about all morning.
“The road you could see at the other side of the play park, wouldn’t that take us back to the manor?”
“It would.”
“So why didn’t we just walk down the road? Surely it would have been easier than climbing the trees?”
“Yeah, but not as much fun,” she grinned.
“You’ve got a strange idea of fun,” said Anais who had ripped a hole in her jeans on a branch.
“Honestly, that’s not the full reason. Ever since your dad died, the security in the house has been way over the top. There are cameras everywhere and it creeps me out. I like having a way out of the grounds without anyone knowing that I’m gone. Plus, I like being with you and not having to worry about who might be spying.”
“Oh? And why’s that?”
“Because of this.” She put her hands on either side of Anais face and kissed her hard.
Anais felt like she was exploding with pleasure as she kissed Aethelu back.
Even though they had been practicing holding hands and touching without the electrical impulses shooting through Anais, it still felt like every cell of her being was electrified, concentrating on her mouth and shooting bliss throughout her whole body making her shiver.
Anais was still shaking when they got back to the house. Aethelu apologised, but she did it with a big smile on her face, which made Anais laugh.
That afternoon Aethelu told Anais she was going to the studio to work on the painting of her, and that she was not, under any circumstances, allowed in.
Anais begrudgingly agreed not to go to the studio. She’d had such an amazing morning that she didn’t want it to end. Being apart from Aethelu for just an afternoon was enough to make her feel a pang of disappointment. She missed Aethelu when they weren’t together, even an afternoon apart felt like too much. Still, she was desperate to see her painting, so mentally chiding herself for being so silly, she thought of something to do to while away the afternoon.
Anais thought back to the Alice in Wonderland book and decided now was a good time to check out the manor’s library, something she had wanted to do ever since Aethelu had first mentioned it.
The Library was a large room with massive windows filling it with light. Books filled shelves from the floor to the ceiling. A set of ladders leant against one of the bookshelves and in the middle was a coffee table and two red leather chairs. A circular Turkish-style rug was the only decoration in the austere room. It had a huge open fireplace, perfect for sitting and reading in front of on a winter’s day, although Anais knew it couldn’t be good for the books.
She loved it. Libraries were Anais favourite places, and all the more so when she had one all to herself. Huge gaps along the shelves showed her where Winnie had acquired her stock for the shop. She looked at the books, finding them to be in alphabetical order of author’s surnames. Following the books until she got to C, she looked for Lewis Carroll but there were no books of his on the shelf. She wondered if Aethelu had been mistaken in thinking they had two copies of Alice, but then, she noticed that her copy was also not here. She hoped Aethelu had listened to her and put both copies away somewhere safe.
Suddenly a voice from behind her made her jump.
“What are you looking for?” She turned and saw Andrew sitting in one of the chairs. She’d not noticed him when she came in, as the back of the chair he was sitting in was to the door.
“Sorry, I thought the library was empty. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”
“Not at all.” He had at least a dozen books laid out in front of him and one in his lap which was open to a page that looked like it contained diagrams of circuit boards. “I’m just doing some research, boring really. What did you say you were looking for? Perhaps I can help.”
“I was just looking for a copy of Alice in Wonderland.”
“Didn’t Aethelu give you a copy already?”
“She did. She told me she was bringing it back down to the library, although it really should be in a vault somewhere. Aethelu mentioned there were two copies. I was just curious I guess.”
“Oh, ok.” He paused, “Try D.”
“D?”
“Lewis Carroll wasn’t his real name.”
“I know, it was Charles Dodgson... Oh, the books are in order of the author’s real name?”
She looked over at the D section and found both copies straight away.
“Only some of them, they are all over the place to be honest. Astrid did a marvellous job keeping this library, but when she opened the shop to look after you, it kind of went downhill. I’ll be glad when she comes back.”
“I can’t wait to see her again, too, although I knew her as Winnie.”
“Yes, well she prefers using her real name, but I’m afraid to me she’ll always be Astrid.”
“The chess set you designed is amazing,” said Anais, changing the subject.
“Ah, so you’ve played on it? I’m glad you enjoyed it. It was rather a labour of love. I don’t have much time for making fun things anymore since Aldrich got me upgrading security in the house.”
He then spent the next ten minutes telling Anais about all the security around the house and what else he was planning.
Anais was interested, but it sounded very over the top. She remembered what Aethelu had told her earlier about people spying, so she asked Andrew about cameras.
He seemed delighted that she was interested, as he pointed out a camera in the top corner of the library that she hadn’t noticed.
“I’ve got cameras in all the main rooms, by the main entrance and in various places in the grounds.”
She was not sure how she felt about cameras pointing at her everywhere, but then, she realised it was no different from anywhere else nowadays.
She sat for most of the afternoon with Andrew, more for his sake than hers. She guessed that the others didn’t spend much time with him. He seemed a very lonely character who just wanted a bit of company. She sat and listened and feigned interest on various topics, such as wiring and computers. When she could take no more, she made an excuse and stood to leave.
“Don’t go, I’ve really enjoyed chatting with you.”
“Me too,” Anais gave him a wide smile, “but I think Aethelu will be waiting for me.”
“Can you keep a secret?” Andrew looked at her in earnest.
Anais wondered if this was a ploy to keep her there, but she answered in the affirmative anyway.
“I have a girlfriend; the others don’t know about her.”
Anais felt bad for being sceptical, but she played along.
“Really, lovely!” She couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“She lives in Kenya. I met her over the internet. He fished a photo out of his pocket and showed Anais. “She’s called Judith. I’ve inv
ited her for Christmas.” He seemed almost giddy with excitement.
The woman in the photo was gorgeous. Ebony skin, golden eyes and a dazzling smile, her braided hair was piled up in an elaborate up do. Anais’ heart dropped. She had a suspicion that ‘Judith’ was stringing poor shy Andrew along or worse, wasn’t even the woman in the picture. She’d heard of people coming into the country, getting visas by marriage. She mentally kicked herself and smiled at Andrew. Anais hoped that she wouldn’t hurt him too much. Despite his rather geeky demeanour, he was a real sweetheart and she wouldn’t like to see him get hurt.
“She’s gorgeous,” Anais said before leaving him to his work and going to find Aethelu, taking a couple of books with her.
Aethelu was still holed up in the studio, so she decided to head back to her room to read one of the books she’d taken from the library.
Back in the room she sat on the bed and took her shoes off. Laying her head on the pillow, she felt something crinkle beneath it. Lifting her head up, she looked down but could see nothing on the pillow. Lifting it up, she found a large brown envelope which she had certainly not put there. Smiling, she wondered what Aethelu had surprised her with. She quickly opened the envelope, but when she did, she realised it was not from Aethelu at all. It contained photographs of herself and Aethelu from this afternoon, photos of Aethelu climbing the tree, of both of them on the tram and chatting with Mike.
She briefly wondered if they were printouts of the CCTV system that Andrew had been talking about earlier, but she quickly dismissed it. These were taken from the angle of an adult with a camera. Besides, the CCTV didn’t extend as far as the tramway. She turned them all over and checked the envelope for some kind of note or message, but there was none.
“Who would send these?” Anais spoke softly to herself, “And why?”
It was certainly strange.
Deciding to show them to Aethelu in the morning, she placed them by the side of the bed.
When Aethelu bounced into the room, cheerfully announcing breakfast next morning, Anais followed her, thoughts of the photos forgotten. She hadn’t noticed they had disappeared in the night.