Eternity

by M.E. Timmons

  Chapter 24

  By the time Friday finally came around, it seemed like the whole school was getting excited for the show, probably because so many people knew Michael. There had only been two other shows in the ballroom throughout the rest of the school year, and Light's Kingdom seemed to be the most highly anticipated. The previous shows had included a dance recital and a play. I had gone to the dance recital, which I liked, but I hadn't bothered going to the play since none of my friends were going either.

  I peeked into the ballroom early in the morning before I went to class, and I was surprised by what had been done to the place. The band's equipment was already set up on the stage, and there were rows of chairs set up for the audience. I could see a few posters on the walls, and the windows had been covered by dark heavy curtains. All of the lights in the chandeliers had been covered in a transparent red material so that the light they cast on the room had a red glow. The overall effect of the change was that the room looked darker and more mysterious.

  After exploring the ballroom in more detail, I was almost late for History, but I managed to make it in the classroom at the last minute. Ms. Coleman was just about to start her lecture, which was about Isadora again. This time she was discussing her time in England a couple hundred years ago.

  "She was born the daughter of a respectable titled gentleman, who I believe was an Earl," Ms. Coleman told us. "She was the only child, and her mother died when she was young, so she was brought up by a nurse and then a governess. Her father remarried, but her stepmother had no interest in Isadora, and she ended up with a child of her own. When her father died, which was before she had come out in society, all of his money went to his young son, who also received the title. Because Isadora was a girl and because her stepmother was a cruel woman, she was left with absolutely nothing.

  "Luckily, she was good friends with her housekeeper, who took her under her wing and helped her learn how to take care of a household. After about a year, Isadora managed to find employment of her own with a wealthy Duke who owned a large property in the country, and who was recently married.

  "Isadora quickly learned that their marriage was not a happy one, and it was the Duke she felt sorry for. The Duchess was a frivolous and cold sort of woman who wanted everything and gave nothing in return, and she reminded Isadora of her stepmother. It was clear that she had married for the title and the money, while the Duke likely married for the sake of producing an heir, which was quite common in those days among such people.

  "After spending a couple of months in the household, Isadora made the worst mistake she could possibly have made under the circumstances. She fell in love with the Duke, who had been pursuing her for quite some time. She had resisted his advances because he was married and he was well above her station in life, and she didn't think that such a relationship would be proper. She didn't want to become his mistress. When she learned that she loved him, she knew she couldn't stay there and be happy. She left in the middle of the night without telling anyone where she had gone, which was back to London to seek new employment, which she found after a few days. Her new employer was an older woman with grown children who lived alone, since her husband, who had been a Duke, had passed away.

  "Meanwhile, in the country, the Duchess became ill quite suddenly and died shortly after. The Duke was left alone, and he missed Isadora greatly and he felt guilty about the loss of his wife, whom he had never cared for. One day a mysterious visitor arrived who was looking for Isadora. He wouldn't say why, but he said it was important. The Duke didn't know where she was, but he agreed to help the man look because he wanted to find her as well.

  "After a few months of searching, the Duke had to give up. He felt as if he had searched the entire country. The other man wanted to go back to London to meet with his employer, and the Duke decided to go there as well to visit his sister, who had recently had a baby.

  "Isadora had grown quite accustomed to her employer by that time, and she was a kind lady. She received news one day that her daughter would be visiting soon, and her son was likely to come as well. Isadora prepared the household for the visitors. The daughter arrived a few days later with her husband and baby girl. The child took to Isadora quite quickly, so she was charged with looking after the girl when her mother needed a break during her stay.

  "One day, when she was looking after the girl, Isadora heard a carriage arrive. She stayed out of the way, but she could hear a new arrival downstairs and figured it was the son. After a short time another servant came up the stairs to tell Isadora to bring the baby down, since the man wanted to see his niece.

  "Isadora and the Duke were both quite shocked to see each other, especially under the circumstances. He had been searching for her for months, and she had been working in his mother's home the entire time. The older woman was surprised that her son knew her employee, but she liked Isadora, so she didn't protest when her son drew her aside to speak to her. He told her of what had happened to his wife, and he asked her to marry him. Even though she had never stopped thinking about him, she refused. She didn't believe her circumstances were respectable enough for his title, and the death of his wife was still too recent.

  "The Duke brought the man who had been looking for Isadora to the house the next day. He informed her that her stepmother had had an affair, and her child was not actually the Earl's son. The incident came to light when the child's real father admitted what had happened. The boy had no real claim to the title or the fortune, which then passed to a more distant relative who was generous enough to give Isadora a large portion of the fortune that should have gone to her in the first place.

  "As you can imagine, this came as quite a surprise, but it gave Isadora the respectability she needed to be able to marry the Duke with the approval of society. I could say that they lived happily ever after, though that wouldn't be accurate. They did live happily together for a few years, but the Duke ended up being killed in a fight with the son of Isadora's stepmother, and Isadora, even though she was a woman, fought the man after he killed her husband. She didn't survive the fight either. Of course, she actually did live ever after, though perhaps not happily."

  Ms. Coleman paused at the end of the story.

  "That sounds like a romance novel," someone said, and a few people laughed.

  "Actually, it was written as one," Ms. Coleman said. "Isadora wrote the true story herself so that others could read it, though the ending was left out. There's probably a copy in the library, but I don't remember what it's called. It's a very good book, and much more in depth than the little summary I've given you."

  "Why isn't a famous book?" Melissa asked.

  "It was never printed in great numbers, and it isn't a genre that is particularly popular. It certainly isn't the only book she's written. I believe she is the author of a few popular books that came out about twenty years ago. Amun also has written many books, though he tends to write more non-fiction than Isadora. There are many books in the library here written by either of them. All of them are written under pseudonyms, but the librarian has a list of the names they've used if you're ever curious."

  "What were the books Isadora wrote twenty years ago?" someone wanted to know.

  "Again, I don't know what they're called," Ms. Coleman answered. "The most popular was a work of fiction about a group of tourists who find the fountain of youth in Africa. It's a very good book, and I've even heard rumours that it's a real place, but that hasn't been proven. It's apparently a difficult and dangerous place to get to."

  "You'd think someone would have found it by now if it was real," someone else said. "They'd have that water bottled up and shipped out in no time."

  Ms. Coleman laughed. "Nothing magic is ever that simple," she said. "There are always rules and restrictions."

  Later, in Calculus, I got to talk to Adrian, who was in a good mood. He told me that he should be out of isolation in a week if his therapist gave the
okay. He was looking forward to being able to go outside again.

  "Are you going to the show tonight?" he asked me as we worked on some questions.

  "Yeah," I answered. "I know the members of the band fairly well. Well, I've never met the keyboard player, and I barely know the bass player, but I know the others. I hope they play better now than they did the last time I heard them practice."

  "I hope I can't hear them from my room then," Adrian joked.

  "Would you go if you could?" I asked, curious.

  "I would go with you, but I wouldn't go otherwise. Too many people."

  I smiled. "You know, you're going to have to get over your fear of crowds eventually. You'll have a hard time doing anything in life if you're always isolated."

  "It's not a fear, it's a dislike. It's a noise thing anyway, not really a people thing. Of course, there are a lot of crazy people I'd love to avoid, but I can't have everything I want in life, can I?" Adrian said, smiling back.

  "I hope you're not calling me crazy," I joked. "I've worked very hard to stay sane."

  "Sorry Jules, I think you failed," Adrian said, trying to keep a straight face, but we both started laughing. Mr. Dawes had to tell us to be quiet.