Beautiful Curses: Book One

by J. Dorothy

  “She knows not what the curse may be, and so she weaveth steadily, and little other care hath she, The Lady of Shalott.”

  (Alfred Lord Tennyson “The Lady of Shalott” published 1833)

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

  'Beautiful Curses' is published by J. Dorothy and Amazon digital services, who can be contacted at: https://www.facebook.com/beautifulcurses

  Beautiful Curses is the copyright of the author, Jacoba Dorothy, 2015. All rights are reserved.

  The cover is based on a design by Jacoba Dorothy and is his copyright. All rights are reserved.

  All characters are fictional, and any resemblance to anyone living or dead is accidental.

  Dedication

  In memory of my lovely mum.

  You nurtured me in every way, including my love of stories.

  So my first story is for you, because of you.

  ONE

  Seven years ago ...

  Ostendium … Potenitala … Verumisa.

  Three words.

  Three words chanted in the dead of night.

  Three words she wasn’t supposed to hear.

  Three precious words that were going to change her life.

  Gabriella opened her eyes to bright sunlight peeking through the gap in the blue velvet curtains. She stretched her arms high above her head and flicked her fingers back and forth allowing the brilliant stone from her sapphire ring to reflect on the wall beside her bed.

  Her smile widened as she thought back to what she had witnessed last night. The magic had been so powerful. She had seen magic before, but nothing like that. She knew she should have been sleeping and not hiding under the covers, spying. But that didn't make it stop. And when Gabriella really thought about it, she didn't guess anyone, or anything, could stop it ... or Her. Rowellyn wasn’t as she said. She wasn’t just a distant relation of their estranged father, she was so much more.

  Gabriella stretched her arms even higher, ready to release a high pitched squeal of excitement, when the door creaked open.

  “Ella? Ella? Are you awake?”

  Gabriella smacked her lips together as she slowly rolled over to face her younger sister. Jo stood barefooted in the doorway, shuffling from side to side. Her faded yellow night dress hung low to the floor, her dull brown hair lay matted around her shoulders covering most of her pale face and big brown eyes.

  Suppressing a sigh, Gabriella silently watched her.

  Huh!

  She didn't believe Rowellyn’s words would have an instant effect. But they did. For the first time, Gabriella felt nothing for the mousy, ten year old girl, standing awkwardly before her. She could see now what she had never seen before. Her sister was inconsequential. Her sister meant nothing. She was nothing. Gabriella was the chosen one. The one everyone would love and admire. The mirror had shown her just how beautiful she would become. She wanted to grow into that beautiful woman. She wanted it more than her next breath.

  Squirming under her warm duvet, she watched her sister continue to dance on her bare feet, wishing she'd go away and never come back. But that didn't seem likely, seeing as they shared the same room ... although, after last night she could change that. She had just turned eleven and needed her own space. And thanks to Rowellyn, she had the power to change whatever she wanted. A bigger smile spread across her face as she pictured herself dancing around her own room, mimicking the light from her ring. She started humming as Rowellyn's words replayed in her head.

  “Feel the strength of your new powers. Let everyone worship and love you. The curse can only get stronger the more you embrace it .You will be one of us ...”

  The irritating shuffle of feet drew her back and she glanced up to see Jo staring. Realising her sister must have asked something, Gabriella scoffed, “What?”

  Jo cringed. "It's ... um ... Rowellyn. She's ... she's gone.”

  Gabriella shrugged and continued to play with her ring, purposely not responding to her sister’s supposedly shocking news.

  Jo's eyes widened. “It's like she vanished. She didn't leave a note or anything. It's kind of weird don't you think?”

  Gabriella shot her a quick glance. “She's a busy lady. She probably had somewhere to be.”

  “But ... she was the only connection to our father ... and now ... now we don’t know where to find her.”

  Gabriella narrowed her eyes. Jo's snivelling over their dear lost dad was a complete waste of her time. “I don’t care about him. I’m sure if Rowellyn wants to visit again, she will. She knows where we are.”

  Biting her lower lip, Jo hopped back on her bed and reached for one of her beloved books quickly ducking behind the pages, not uttering another word.

  Good.

  Gabriella smiled once more, glad her stupid sister had stopped talking about things that didn't matter. After what she heard Rowellyn do, and say last night, she wasn’t surprised she’d left. But she wasn’t about to share that information with Jo. She wasn’t about to share that information with anyone.

  From this day forth she had every intention of using her new powers. She didn’t care what the consequences might be. In fact, she didn’t intend to concern herself until the day Rowellyn contacted her again.

  A day she didn’t expect to see for the next seven years.

  TWO

  Present day

  Jo leaned on the wall next to the line of senior lockers. She closed her eyes and melted into the silence, pulling the short brown strands of her hair around her face. She had worked in the library for most of the last session as her economics teacher was away sick. Now she’d escaped to wait for her best friend, Beth.

  The band a few doors down started to play a classical tune that echoed solemnly down the hall. She remembered her Uncle Peter playing this on Sunday afternoons when she was little. He would turn the volume up so high it filled every room in the house. The only escape was to flee outside to her beloved swing under the old oak tree.

  Remembering that time instantly reminded her of that one particular Sunday. Rubbing the purple stone in the ring on her left hand, she clenched her jaw, as a cold shiver ran down her spine. The shrill sound of the bell made her jump, pulling her from those forbidden thoughts. Jo quickly inched closer to the wall as every door along the hallway swung open and crowds of students swarmed into every available space.

  Looking down the hall she spotted Beth walking amongst the crowd. Then like some kind of biblical event, the sea of people parted. Jo sighed, knowing who had caused the so called miracle. She waited for a few moments, and sure enough, her sister appeared from around the corner. The long black locks of her hair bouncing as she strutted down the corridor. Her army of supporters guarding either side, laughing and listening to every word she said.

  Jo watched as Gabriella passed, but she didn't yell out or wave. And Gabriella certainly didn't look in Jo's direction. They never acknowledged each other at school or in public. In fact, if they didn’t share the same last name nobody would even know they were related.

  Once Gabriella disappeared around the corner everyone sank back into the hallways and Beth smiled at Jo as she pushed her way to her locker.

  “Hey, how was English?” Jo asked as Beth put her books away.

  “Riveting as usual.”

  Jo grinned. Mrs Hayes, Beth’s English teacher made even the best novels a chore to study. Beth had only been at Jo's school for the past six months and had to take the classes that weren’t full, so she'd been stuck with her.

  “What did you d
o last night?”

  “Worked on my English assignment …” Beth stopped mid-sentence to pull Jo sideways as two young boys came crashing around the corner and almost knocked her over. Jo mouthed thanks, and Beth smiled while pushing the brown curls from her face. “Hey and I wanted to thank you again for watching Jack yesterday, saved me a whole lot of hassle. We don’t usually ask anyone to babysit. He doesn’t take well to everyone.”

  “No problem. Your little brother’s adorable. I’m glad Spencer came home early. I think he’s found a new friend."

  Beth shut her locker door, before dropping her gaze to fiddle with the buckle on her bag. “Um … It was kind of him to help me with Jack’s things last night.”

  “Yeah, he's a regular knight in shining armour.” Jo chuckled as they turned toward the lunch room. Most of the time Spencer was a charmer and got away with doing as little as possible around the house. But Beth hadn’t met Spencer before last night. She knew about their whole complicated relationship though. That Spencer's father had married her guardian, Aunt Sarah, when they were little, so they all considered themselves to be siblings rather than cousins.

  Beth squeezed her skinny frame through the crush of the queue in the lunch room and Jo slipped in behind her. “By the way, you remember that movie Ella wanted to see?" Jo whispered. "The one she asked Spencer to take her to.”

  Beth nodded and twisted her lips.

  “Spencer thought it’d be a good idea if we all went. So, do you want to come?” Jo knew the last time Beth went out was for her eighteenth birthday a month ago and even then it took a lot of convincing.

  “I’m not certain what shifts Mum has, I can check. Um ... but what about Gabriella?”

  Jo glanced at Beth, wondering why she was asking. They had never spoken about Gabriella before. Her and her sister's relationship was complicated. Even she didn't really understand why they were so distant with each other.

  “Er ... she wants to see the movie, it stars Lance Rivers and she loves him.” Jo rolled her eyes and made a gagging noise. “So I guess she won't care. Anyway Spencer likes us to all hang out when he’s home.”

  “So it'll just be the four of us?"

  Jo shrugged. “Um … Spencer’s invited a couple of friends from London to stay over the weekend, so they might come.”

  Beth stayed quiet for a moment, as if weighing up her options. “Well, I can't make any promises, but I’ll check with Mum. What night?”

  “Probably Friday. You could come home with me after school and have some dinner before the movie. Peter might make his specialty dish, Beef Medallions. They’re really yummy.”

  “Yeah, Friday should be good, Mum isn’t working.” Beth gave Jo a small smile as she grabbed a tray and reached for the cutlery.

  “Good,” Jo said. “I’ll clear it in with the others.”

  THREE

  Gabriella smiled to herself as she past her sister in the hallway. Denise was bumbling on about some gossip she'd just heard about Lewis Pimms, but Gabriella couldn’t care less. One of her many talents was pretending to be interested in what they had to say, but in actual fact, most times, she only tuned in when she heard something she could use to her advantage. Seeing her sister, and that friend of hers, reminded Gabriella of the previous evening.

  She'd opened the front door and smiled recognising Spencer's voice, pleased he had come home early for the Christmas holidays. In a rush to see him, she dropped her bag and flung her coat on the hall stand, but stopped briefly to examine her reflection in the mirror. She ran her finger lightly over her lips admiring the new tanned lipstick she'd bought to match her eye-shadow colour, then flicked her hair over her shoulders, before walking towards the kitchen.

  Everyone, accept Jo, looked in her direction as she entered the room. Her sister was busy ringing out a cloth in the sink and mopping up spilled water on the bench. The old kettle had obviously overflowed again. Gabriella side-stepped a wet patch on the floor, then sidled up to her brother, giving him a quick hug. “Hey, we didn't expect you till later in the week.”

  Spencer bent down to kiss her cheek, his brown eyes twinkling. “Well I hope that means you weren't planning on going to any wild parties before I arrived? You know I'd want to come!”

  She laughed. “Parties are never wild without you!”

  He gave her a quick smile, before he diverted his gaze to look over her shoulder. Gabriella turned her head and sighed inwardly, offering a tight smile to Jo’s supposed new friend. “So Beth, you’re out late tonight. Are you intending to stay for dinner?”

  “Um ... no. Jo um ... just helped me out today with my little brother. I'm heading off home soon,” Beth replied softly, and flicked her emerald coloured eyes down to stare at her clenched fingers.

  Gabriella resisted the urge to grimace, at the pathetic, shy girl, act. She was only being polite, because Spencer was standing there. Normally she’d just ignore her and pretend she didn’t exist.

  “Here you are, I'll go and get Jack,” Jo said as she handed Beth a cup of tea, before rushing from the room.

  Spencer still hadn't said much, which was unusual for him. He stood with his arms folded, gazing down at his long legs while Beth stared into her cup, her long brown, straggly hair almost touching the tea as she leaned closer and closer to it.

  Unable to tolerate the awkward silence any longer, Gabriella turned to Spencer. “What are your plans tonight? I've been dying to see that new movie, Poets on the Edge.”

  Spencer didn't respond and she had to nudge him for an answer. “Well?”

  “Sorry? What?” He said looking up at her, his eyes distant as he tugged at his short brown locks.

  “That new movie. Poets on the Edge. It had a couple of good reviews. We could go and see it.”

  “Um ... I planned to catch up with Matt and then spend the night at home,” Spencer said, patting her shoulder. “Maybe we could go another time and invite … some other friends as well.”

  Gabriella pouted and fluttered her long eyelashes. This usually worked with Spencer, but today it had no effect. She noticed he glanced at Beth when he mentioned going out with other friends. That wouldn’t be happening.

  Jo rushed into the kitchen carrying a small, blonde haired, blue eyed child chewing on a headband and gripping the collar of her shirt. Beth jumped up and took him from Jo and he quickly snuggled up into her shoulder, while Beth kissed him repeatedly on the cheek.

  “I'd better take Jack home for his dinner. Thanks so much for watching him Jo,” Beth said, smiling at the child.

  “My pleasure,” Jo said, rubbing the kid’s cheek. “Happy to help anytime.”

  Gabriella cringed. Having Beth here was one thing, but looking after her brother, particularly one who had special needs, was not her idea of a fun afternoon and Jo encouraging it, annoyed her.

  Beth bent down to pick up Jack’s bag, but Spencer intervened. “Here, let me help you,” he offered as he flung the bag over his shoulder.

  “Thanks, that’d be great,” she said, briefly meeting his eyes, before looking away and turning to Jo. “Um, thanks again, I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” Beth glanced at Gabriella, “Um …bye. Nice to see you again.”

  Gabriella gave a small nod, but didn’t smile or return any sentiment, she didn’t want Beth feeling like she could visit anytime she wanted. Turning to look out the window, she waited while they all disappeared. Looking down to admire her newly manicured nails, she couldn’t help flicking her fingers so that the light from her precious, sapphire ring reflected patterns on the polished steel sink.

  If her suspicions were correct, and Spencer was somehow attracted to this friend of Jo’s, it wouldn't last more than a week. She wouldn't allow it. After years of manipulating and controlling everyone, and everything, this new development wouldn’t present much of a challenge. More of a slight annoyance.

  Gently tracing her forefinger over the casing of her ring, she chuckled. Playing games always amused her. And playing around with Beth could
be entertaining. She smiled wider and then raced upstairs to her bedroom. She had plans to make. And coming up with one was always the best part.

  FOUR

  Jo scuffed her feet in the dust as she made her way up the gravel driveway to their farmhouse. Jo loved growing up here. The old stone house set amongst acres of green fields was surrounded by a neatly manicured lawn with various garden arches in amongst the dormant winter flower beds. The house had been converted from a barn built in the seventeenth century. The first owners called it Provins Rose Farm because of the fragrant roses growing wild in the hedgerows. The original wooden name plaque still hung over the large oak front door.

  As Jo drew closer she noticed an old green Peugeot parked next to Spencer’s two door Ford escort. Not a car she recognised. She sighed, assuming Spencer’s friends must have arrived. She hated meeting new people. Unlike her attention seeking sister, Jo was the total opposite. She always saw herself as a grey kid, someone who blended into the carpet and paintwork, someone whom no one was ever interested in or ever bothered about.

  Opening the front door, laughter and chatter came from the back den. Good, that would give her time to go upstairs, sight unseen. Silently she closed the door and moved through the hall. Baxter, their golden retriever sidled up to her and Jo patted him on the head as she admired the sun filtering through the house. Being a converted barn, most of the living rooms had high ceilings and large windows, which complemented the bright furnishings her aunt Sarah had chosen to decorate with. She wished she could flop down on the big red couch and read her new book, but Spencer would discovered her, and insist she be sociable.

  Sighing softly, she decided to creep upstairs, to collect her thoughts and suck up some courage. She opened her bedroom door and quickly hung her bag on the hook accidently catching her purple ring in the buckle. In a panic, she twisted her wrist back and forth, her heart beating rapidly as she struggled to set it free. Finally loosening the ring, she sank onto the floor, panting like she’d just ran a marathon. Checking her ring over and over she made sure the purple gem hadn’t moved from its normal position.