Demon World

by Balvir Bhullar

  Ever since she was a child, she remembered her grandmother rarely showing up for family occasions, but when they really needed her, she was there in a flash. Even though she loves us, I wonder why she chooses to stay away so often. Maybe I’ll ask her...

  Grandmother Angelique was the mystery woman of the family. This would also be a wonderful opportunity to find out how her grandfather was doing. He too, was a man of mystery, and wherever her grandmother went, he followed like her shadow; consequently, he had not been around much, either.

  CHAPTER 21

  Rowanne found herself at long last outside of Gloucester Gate in the Regents Park area. She pulled up in front of the beautiful, white, stucco terrace houses. The buildings looked old; possibly dating back to the 1800’s.

  Excitement built within her as she walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. She heard footsteps rushing down the stairs, and a moment later the front door opened.

  Grandmother Angelique stood grandly, her beautiful golden hair swept up in a sophisticated updo. The women in her family had good genes, one of which was that their hair colour did not fade with time but rather aged beautifully to a deeper shade; her mother was definitely a testament to that.

  Remarkably, there was hardly a wrinkle on her face, and she could easily have been mistaken for a lady twenty years younger, Rowanne wondered what her secret was. Her eyes captured everyone’s attention, for they were the most beautiful shade of deep violet. Her grandmother was tall and graceful, and radiated an ethereal aura.

  Grandmother Angelique coughed to get Rowanne’s attention, a bemused look on her face. ‘Well, are you going to stand there all day, or will you do me the honour of coming in?’ She opened her arms wide, and Rowanne obligingly stepped forward and hugged her grandmother tightly, who appeared fragile. She was afraid of hurting her, and not to mention she felt awkward, as if she were not used to being hugged.

  Her grandmother didn’t seem to notice as she shut the door behind them and guided Rowanne into the living room, not letting go of her, as if she would run away. The room had a high ceiling from which hung a glass lantern above the marble floor.

  Grandmother Angelique invited Rowanne to sit on the chaise lounge next to her. ‘You know, I can’t quite believe that you’re here. I have to pinch myself.’

  Rowanne hung her head in shame, ‘I am sorry, I’ve been so neglectful-’ her grandmother cut her off.

  ‘There’s to be no talk of apologising while you are in my house, put it behind you. You are here and that’s all that matters to me,’ she said kindly, still holding on to Rowanne’s hands gently.

  Rowanne began to feel more comfortable, and could not believe that she’d missed out on getting to know her family. Work had always seemed more important, but she wondered if secretly she was trying to avoid her own insecurities.

  In the last week, Rowanne had begun to enjoy the wonder of getting to really know people, not just as colleagues, and consequently, her world had opened up in more ways than one. She shyly squeezed her grandmother’s hand warmly, feeling better inside herself.

  ‘Would you like tea, or is it coffee you’d prefer?’ asked her grandmother.

  ‘Tea would be lovely, thank you,’ replied Rowanne. Her grandmother went into the hallway, no doubt going to the kitchen.

  Rowanne got up and wandered about the living room, looking at the various antiques her grandparents had collected on their travels. Amazing, some of these items probably belong in a museum.

  There were antique books in the glass cabinet that appeared very old and fragile. Some of them were written in languages that she could not recognize.

  There was a door slightly ajar and Rowanne could not help but take a peek inside. It proved to be the study: there was a deep mahogany buttoned leather sofa on one side, and adjacent to it, facing the door, was a desk in a beautiful burnt autumnal shade.

  Cabinets lined either side, filled with the most curious artefacts she’d seen in a while. What are they? she wondered, as she looked at the monstrous creatures: some were winged, and had faces, whereas, others had faces missing. They were made in various materials: gold, silver, and wood, as well as burnt wood that appeared almost ivory white or silver.

  Rowanne was delighted, and next time she’d insist that they take her on their next adventure, as she was curious to see what they’d turn up with next. Thankfully she had not received any of these as gifts. She would not know where to put them; never mind the fact that any of these would give her sleepless nights.

  ‘I see you have discovered my dark secret!’ said Grandmother Angelique in a theatrical voice, scaring the living daylights out of Rowanne, who spun around guiltily to face her. ‘That look on your face is priceless,’ she laughed.

  Rowanne put a hand on her heart, ‘I must say, Grandmother, you have a rather remarkable choice of collections.’

  Grandmother Angelique walked into the room. ‘They are rather beautiful and ghoulish at the same time,’ she replied, wryly.

  ‘This must have taken you years to build up?’ Rowanne gestured towards the cabinets.

  ‘This is but a trifle, you should explore the rest of the house, not to mention, what we have held in storage,’ she smiled broadly at the look of astonishment that passed over Rowanne’s face. ‘Come on, let us have tea.’ She went back into the living room with Rowanne following closely behind.

  They sat sedately on the lounge, drinking tea. ‘So, how is Grandfather doing?’

  ‘He’s back in china visiting family.’

  ‘Next time, I think I’ll go with him.’

  ‘That would be wonderful. We haven’t really gone on holiday together before,’ replied her grandmother.

  ‘Grandmother, speaking of family, I have a few questions of my own that I hope you won’t mind answering,’ said Rowanne, suddenly feeling like a child again.

  Rowanne knew that it was a sensitive subject, and twisted her hands together nervously in anticipation of her grandmother’s reaction.

  ‘It’s alright, Rowanne. I am not suddenly going to break down. I’ve lived with this my whole life, and time has offered me some perspective.’

  She gently held Rowanne’s hand, immediately feeling the tension drain out of her granddaughters shoulders as she began to relax.

  Grandmother Angelique had a faraway look in her eyes as if recounting troubling memories. She gathered her courage and said, ‘I remember it being a cold day, and the rain lightly tickled my cheek. Somebody carried me, perhaps my mother, I don’t know... I like to think it was, even though... it was the last time.’ She began to choke up, and her grip unconsciously tightened on Rowanne’s hand.

  ‘Grandmother, if it’s too much then we should stop-’ she was interrupted by her grandmother, fervently shaking her head.

  ‘I want to remember. I was left in front of a big beautiful white house. The person who’d carried me had bent down for one last look, but I can’t now recall how she’d looked, I wish I could. I remember the sound of a doorbell and her footfalls as she ran away.’

  ‘What happened next?’ asked Rowanne gently. She could feel the sorrow emanating in waves from her grandmother, who held her head in her hands as she tried to revisit her memories from seventy years ago. How on earth she’d remembered these small details was remarkable in itself.

  Grandmother Angelique turned to Rowanne. ‘You know, I often wonder, did she hide somewhere close by and wait to see if I was safely taken inside? Or, did she simply run away never to look back?’ She didn’t add the fact that she often wondered whether she was loved and wanted, and why she’d been abandoned. She smiled at Rowanne, though her eyes betrayed the turmoil she felt.

  ‘Do you know why Great-Grandmother chose that particular house to leave you at, was there perhaps a family connection?’ asked Rowanne.

  ‘I had asked them many questions in my youth, when I was trying to track down my mother and father, but to no avail. And as far as I know, there is no family connection. I was brought up in a
large family, amongst my brothers and sisters, and they were all wonderful. The Knights are like kindred spirits to me, and if I could choose a family, it would be them.’

  Rowanne watched her grandmother’s face light up at the mere thought of her adoptive family. The second part was going to prove trickier, as no one in Rowanne’s immediate family had ever met any of Grandmother Angelique’s adoptive family. It had always been the elephant in the room that no one acknowledged, out of great respect to her.

  Rowanne had often wanted to ask but was always shut down by her parents, who’d insisted she respect her grandmother’s privacy, and that when the time was right, she’d bring it up herself. They knew that grandmother had a close relationship with her adoptive family.

  Rowanne looked at her grandmother awkwardly, ‘Erm... can you tell me about your family?’ she asked hesitantly.

  Grandmother Angelique looked at her knowingly, ‘What is it in particular that you want to know?’ she asked.

  ‘Why did you decide to keep your maiden name after marriage?’ That was the other hot topic that ran in their family, and she’d often wondered whether or not she herself would change her surname after marriage.

  ‘The Knight family have loved me as one of their own, and the surname is more than just a name to me; I’ve embraced it as my identity, and it’s special to me. Your grandfather understood. And he has met my family,’ she added quickly, nervously glancing at Rowanne beneath her long lashes.

  Rowanne thought long and hard before she replied, ‘Well, I’m glad he met them, and how did it go?’

  Feeling relieved that Rowanne had not pursued it further, her grandmother continued, ‘Actually, they got on really well. Your grandfather comes from a noble background and he’s really down to earth. I’ve never known a kinder man or one more admirable.’

  Rowanne had only met her grandfather Hou on a handful of occasions, and she was ashamed to say that she didn’t really know much about where he came from. Part of the reason was that he was a private man who preferred to listen to others rather than speak about himself.

  Rowanne admired the way her grandfather’s eyes lit up every time her grandmother entered a room, it was like everything and everyone else melted into the background. She secretly wished to find someone like him, someone that made her feel treasured.

  ‘Is he really descended from Chinese royalty?’ asked Rowanne, deciding that this was the perfect time to find out as much as she could - why it had not crossed her mind before puzzled her. Every time she had thought of her grandmother in the past, the mere thought of just meeting her would cause her mind to drift, and as a result she had always felt like an absentminded granddaughter. But now, she wondered if there was another reason behind that...

  ‘Your grandfather’s ancestors ruled in Zhangjiajie, in the north western part of the Hunan Province.’

  Rowanne knew that there was a beautiful national park there, and she would dearly love to visit her grandfather’s homeland to learn more about her ancestors.

  ‘Describe it to me?’ asked Rowanne.

  ‘It’s like stepping into an enchanted world: it is a land of mountains shrouded in mist, the peaks stand magnificently, like sentinels guarding the land.’

  Rowanne was mesmerised by the pictures that were conjured up in her mind from her grandmother’s description.

  ‘Grandmother, I have to ask, were there any papers left with you? A letter perhaps, from your mother?’

  ‘There was nothing, only the clothes on my back and the blanket I was wrapped in, as well as...’ Grandmother Angelique tapered off, wondering how much she should reveal to Rowanne. Was it safe? There was a reason why she had kept her distance from the family all these years...

  ‘Please, Grandmother, you have to continue. Does it have anything to do with the necklace you gave me? You said it was ancestral?’

  Grandmother Angelique let out the breath she had not realised she’d been holding. She’d have to proceed cautiously. ‘That was the only item in the blanket that my family found, or I should say, my adoptive mother found. We thought my mother must have left it for me, but it didn’t point to any clues as to who she was or where she came from. It is priceless, that much I do know. I’m sure you’ve had the same feeling of wanting to protect it and not let it out of your sight... For me it was the last connection to my mother...’ Grandmother Angelique dabbed at the corner of her eye as a tear slid down.

  Rowanne looked down guiltily, her cheeks aflame. ‘I understand what you’re saying. I wore it at first because it was a connection to you, a symbol of your love. But later on I began to build a connection to the necklace itself... Grandmother, did anything out of the ordinary ever happen with the necklace while it was in your care?’ She probably thinks I’m a nut case. I can imagine being thrown out with an antique flying at my head, thought Rowanne.

  Grandmother Angelique studied Rowanne for a long time, who squirmed under her inspection, but at last she said carefully, ‘For as long as the necklace was in my possession, it never once to my knowledge behaved in any other way other than as an inanimate object. But I am rather curious to know of your experience with it...’ she said in an amused tone, trying to keep it light. But at the same time, she felt herself begin to tense.

  Rowanne watched her grandmother carefully as she wondered if she should tell her the truth. She desperately wanted to, but there would be consequences; it would put her grandmother in danger. What would Alexander do? she thought.

  ‘Rowanne, sorry to interrupt your thoughts, but you’re beginning to worry me a little. What is it precisely that you feel you cannot share with me?’ Her grandmother was puzzled, and began in earnest to scrutinise her. There was something amiss with Rowanne; she was hiding something, but what could it be?

  Rowanne looked at her, helpless to say anything. But her grandmother was not being entirely truthful, either: she felt it in the way she only gave brief answers, never truly giving anything away.

  What was so terrible that her grandmother felt she had to lie? If she had attempted to tell her, then she might have understood, even if there was nothing she could have done. Rowanne was suspicious of the adoptive family: what if they really weren’t as decent as her grandmother portrayed them to be?

  Grandmother Angelique realised she’d have to make a decision as to whether to keep Rowanne in the dark, or to come clean. Telling her the truth was forbidden, and would put her in danger. She twisted her hands in agitation.

  The family would forbid it, as it would put them all in great peril. Not just her adoptive family, but her own, and that included her granddaughter. She felt her mouth go dry in fear.

  ‘Rowanne, I’ll be back in a moment,’ she left her and went to the kitchen. Her hands shook as she turned on the tap and poured cold water into a cup, drinking it slowly, finding it hard to swallow.

  Someone placed their hands on her shoulders, and smiling, she turned around. ‘You shouldn’t be here! I’ve told Rowanne that you are in China visiting relatives.’ She looked at her husband; she always got butterflies in her stomach whenever she was with him.

  Ju-Long was a handsome man with dark brown hair, so dark it could have almost passed for black. His green eyes sparkled as he looked at his beloved wife. His heart always fluttered in excitement whenever he was with her, he could never stay away too long. If his duties didn’t call him back so often, then he’d have rather preferred to stay in England, the land of abysmal weather.

  His smile lit up his eyes, ‘It seems I have come back at the right moment.’ She walked into his arms and he held her close, brushing a kiss on top of her silky head.

  ‘We’ve got problems!’ stated Angelique, as she stepped back to lean against the kitchen sink.

  Ju-Long closed the door with his foot, giving them privacy as well as advance warning, should their granddaughter walk in. ‘I just heard the last part. Our granddaughter is now a half demon!’ he proclaimed proudly, one eyebrow arched quizzically.

  ‘Don’t
look to me for answers, I’m just as baffled as you are. I didn’t even realise that she knew of our world. And all these years, I’ve sheltered them from and kept them out of the notice of Demon World by maintaining minimal contact,’ said Angelique broken heartedly.

  Ju-Long was instantly beside her and held her hand in comfort. ‘I know how hard it was for you,’ he said, looking her deep in the eyes with love and understanding. ‘All these years almost being separated from them, not even being in our daughter’s life that much, let alone in Rowanne’s.’

  ‘Do you know, she blames herself. The poor child thinks that she is the one in the wrong, as if she had a choice in keeping in contact with us...’ said Angelique.

  Ju-Long looked at her fiercely, ‘We decided together when we got married that if we had children, and they turned out to be human, then we’d keep them under the radar of Demon World Authority, that it would be the safest thing for them. And if it meant that we could not see our children as much...’

  ‘Hush, dear, we cannot blame ourselves for making that decision. We will always do that which is in their highest interest. And you know what? They never blamed us!’ said Angelique.

  ‘We’ve raised them well, and I’m proud of them, but,’ he said wearily, suddenly feeling the years, ‘I have missed them, and if there had been any other way, then I’d never...’

  She hugged her husband tightly, resting her head on his chest; she could hear his heart beating erratically, giving away his emotions even as he appeared outwardly calm. ‘I know, my love, but what should we do about Rowanne?’

  ‘Now that she has been awakened into our world, we must be the ones to initiate her safely into it. We can no longer leave her in the darkness of ignorance, and if she is to navigate our world and live, then we must also be her guides,’ replied Ju-Long.

  ‘Let’s go back in,’ said Angelique.

  Hand in hand, they went into the living room to the utter astonishment of Rowanne, who quickly got up and went to her grandfather.