Part Thirty

Aggie sat and watched her children embrace. It had felt like forever since they had seen each other, and to be together again was something special. Devon saw Aggie over his sister's shoulder. "How?" he asked walking a couple steps absent-mindedly towards the gazebo.

She sat happily inside the gazebo and smiled at her son. "I had nothing to do with it," she said simply.

"But I didn't-," he said and then caught his sister's eyes. "You?" he asked. She said nothing. "But how did you-?"

"She found me," said Agathea with a wide spread of her hands.

Devon looked back to his sister. "Where have you been all this time?" The woman's face changed, her eyes losing their sparkle a little. "Aiyana?"

"Someplace dark," she replied and then wrapped her arms around her. "And cold." Her arms fell loosely to her sides, her head falling forward some. "Alone. For so long." Devon turned to Agathea who rose from her seat and moved closer. "Mind plays tricks," Aiyana continued, her tone quiet and wan. "Things there not really there." A sharpness tweaked her eyes when she said, "And then she came."

"Who?" asked Agathea.

"She put me there," she said, then her mouth turned into a slight snarl when she added, "and left me there." The older woman was closer now, standing a little further from her children than they were to each other. "Alone," she mumbled. "But then..."

"What?"

"She came back," she whispered. "I thought I was dreaming. I did that a lot. The darkness melted the day together." She brought a hand to her head. "And then she was gone, but something was different. Something... pulled me away..." Her hand dropped and turned toward the gardens. "Where are they?" she asked. "The little ones," she said eagerly looking about.

Devon stood by her side. "Little ones?"

"I think she means the girls," said Agathea stepping up beside him.

He nodded. "They're asleep," he said. "I checked on them earlier."

"My girls," she said quietly. "My angels." Her hands slowly curled into fists, her nails digging into her palms. A small growl escaped her lips as she muttered, "How dare she keep from them."

Part Twenty-Nine

The girls slept soundly in their separate chambers, their bellies full from dinner and their walk with their father. Eyelids heavy, the barely made it into their nightgowns before collapsing into bed, their hand maidens tucking them in before leaving them for the night.

Blue dreamed of mirrors and doorknobs.

Georgeanne dreamed of dark rooms filled with forgotten things.

*******

The Queen left her husband asleep in their chambers. The day's events had left a bad taste in her mouth and a sour ache in her belly. Clad in her nightgown and black velvet robe, her slippered feet stepped soundlessly across the stone floor as she walked through the castle.

She thought best on her feet.

Moving like a shark through water, she passed the library and paused. She turned the knob and pushed the door open, remaining in the doorway. With her hands clasped before her atop her stomach, she entered the room recalling how the princesses seemed to have miraculously been here the entire time.

Spying the spot where the girls had been found, she recalled how Marcella said she had checked the room before but then immediately apologized for not being thorough and missing such an obvious display. Staring at the area which had long since been cleaned up, the Queen's brow furrowed.

The younger woman could be dim at times, but not that dim.

The Queen turned and left the library.

*******

Stealthy as shadow, he crept through the castle. A sense of worry had filled him after his run-in with the King. He thought he'd overdone it a tad with the roses, but the King seemed to love it.

The Queen... not so much.

He was on his way back to the gardens to clip some herbs and collect seeds and berries for Agathea when he couldn't help but check in on the girls. A few seconds at each of their chamber doors, he heard the calm rhythm of breathing and then slipped out of the castle and into the dark. He'd collected several samplings of bark, some leaves as well as a few flowers when his name sang through the air. He turned and saw the gazebo some yards off. But then a silhouette formed in the shadows and took a moment for his eyes to adjust. As it continued to advance, he stood ready and said, "Aggie? Is that you?" The silhouette then slowly stepped into a small patch of filtered moonlight which didn't completely illuminate the person, but was enough light just the same. His eyes began to water, a smile spreading across his face, as he stepped forward and hugged his sister.

Part Twenty-Eight

She moved through the darkness slowly, her hands out cautiously before her as she blindly followed her senses. Her mind had become obsessed with the idea of a door, and her gut led her forward away from the room that had been her prison for so long. Slowly and steadily she continued on, guided by the idea of freedom but more for another reason, another feeling.

Her girls needed her.

The floor below her began to ascend, the incline moving up and up, slowly at first and then grew steeper until she thought she could no longer keep her balance thinking she might slip and fall backward into the blackness of the room below.

Then her hands met something solid... or very near to it. Palms flat, she pressed, and what she thought was a wall started to give way, pushing in, stretching, bending to her insistence. The further she went, the more she felt swallowed up by some cold thick material as if she were walking through a wall of mud. Almost completely covered, she wondered if she would suffocate in whatever unknown thing she was being surrounded by. Preparing for the worst, she took a deep breath in before pressing forward with all her might.

And then it was gone.

She still stood in darkness, but she was someplace new. Even though she couldn't see anything, she knew she was no longer in the limbo forced upon her by her sister. With a wave of her hand, a soft glow filled the room. Squinting, she turned slowly, looking around her and realized she was in a section of a lower level of the castle used for storage. In every direction were odds and ends from various parts of the castle - the girls' cribs from when they were little to artwork to wooden trunks to all sorts of other things.

When she had come full circle, she found where she had come from - a standing oval mirror, the drop cloth that had been covering laying in a circle around its base. She stepped toward it, curious about its working, wary of touching it fearing it may bring her back to the place she'd just escaped. In the dim light, she caught her reflection and thought herself a dreadful sight. Tears tickled the backs of her eyes but did not fall. As she inspected her face, her hair, her manner of dress, she heard a noise from somewhere in the room. Quickly, she turned trying to hone in on the sound, preparing to pounce if necessary. A silhouette began to emerge from one corner of the room where various vases and bookcases were placed. Her eyes narrowed as she watched this silhouette take shape and then when it came into view. She blinked several time and almost pinched herself to see if she were dreaming.

"My darling Aiyana," said the figure standing before her.

The tears now fell as she stepped forward, falling into their arms, and with a contented smile, she said, "Mother."

Part Twenty-Seven

The girls leaned back in their chairs, hands on their bellies, delirious smiles on their faces. Servants began clearing away dishes as well as coming by with pitchers of water and wine for anyone who wanted more.

The King looked at his girls and laughed. "Are you all right, my angels?" he asked.

"I'm stuffed," said Blue.

"I'm over-stuffed," said Georgeanne.

Then both girls took a deep breath and let out a large sigh of contentment. The King laughed again. "But you've only had one piece of cake," he said. "Surely you have room for one more slice." The girls protested sweetly and shared a smile with their father.

Meanwhile the Queen did not seem amused at all.

"The lamb was tasty," said Blue.

"The cake was yummy," added Georgeanne.

"Then I shall pass the compliments on to the cook," he grinned. He leaned back in his own chair and brought his newly refreshed goblet of wine up to his mouth but paused when he caught sight of his queen. "My dear," he said to her, "what did you think of the meal?"

"Delicious as always," she replied, her mouth small, the corner slightly upturned in some version of a smile. The girls were too stuffed to notice though the King did. Instead of causing a scene, he raised his glass toward her with a nod, and she replied with a nod of her own. Left alone for a second, the Queen found the girls rolling a small orange back and forth across the table. The joy on their faces made her stomach ache. "Shouldn't you girls get ready for bed?"

Their heads swung in her direction, their smiles falling from their faces.  Even though the question was posed to them, it was the King who answered on their behalf. "My dear," he said with a sweet smile, the girls' attention fixated on him now. "They're much to full to sleep just yet. I thought perhaps we could go for a little stroll about the grounds to walk off such a tasty and yummy dinner." That seemed to make the girls happy.

"You go on ahead, my sweet," said the Queen. "I'm feeling a little tired from the day. I think I may enjoy one more glass of wine and head to bed early tonight."

"Very well," he said. He gulped down the remnants of what was left in his goblet and stood from his chair. "Shall we?" he asked his daughters. The girls rose from the table, and with their roses in hand, headed out of the dining room with their father. The Queen watched them go. Once they were gone, she poured herself another glass of wine, and after her first sip, her eyes strayed to the rose before her. With her free hand, she picked it up and held it before her. Glaring at it, she recalled her husband's voice from before.

Aiyana.

Her eyes narrowed and the petal tips began to darken until they were black, the color spreading from petal to bulb to stem. When the flower was completely black, she squeezed it in her fist, but the rose had become nothing but dust. Her tiny smirk spread into an evil grin as she drank her wine.

Part Twenty-Six

The first thing the girls noticed were the flowers on the table.  They left their father's side and ran to examine the flowers more closely.  As they marveled at them, the Queen entered and stood frozen in the entryway behind the King.

"What is all this?" she exclaimed.

"The gardener outdid himself," commented the King.

"You're responsible for this?" she asked of her husband.

He nodded, turning to his wife.  "I saw them earlier today and instantly became smitten.  I told him I wanted some for the dinnertable, but this is above and beyond."  His grin made her teeth ache, but she was obviously outnumbered in the flowers' adoration.

"They're lovely," said Blue.

"Simply breathtaking," added Georgeanne.

"Aren't they though," he said stepping up to the table.  There was a large vase in the center of the table with a dozen decoratively arranged within.  Along the table, there were smaller bundles and at each of the four table settings was a single rose wrapped in a white silk ribbon for each member of the family.  "Aiyana," said the King.  "That's what the gardener called them."

"Gardener," mumbled Blue and shot her sister a look who returned it in kind.  Then they both remembered the Queen was in the dining hall and changed their faces.  They, however, in focusing on their own appearances, did not notice the Queen's displeasure at not only the flowers but of their name.

"I love them," said Georgeanne.

"Well then, after dinner, why don't you and your sister take the smaller arrangements back to your rooms."  The girls hugged their father thanking him for his generosity, and then they sat down for supper.  Several servants came in to tend to their needs and Georgeanne noticed Aggie was one of them.  She was in disguise again, but it was the eyes... always the eyes.  The Queen and King carried on some small talk as they were being served, the girls being ignored by her as usual.  Aggie came by and placed a platter before Georgeanne.  Blue recognized her as well, but her sister gave her a warning look, and she started to fiddle with the rose by her plate.  Aggie then served Blue, and Georgeanne couldn't help but peek up from her plate to look at the woman again.

And then she curtsied and was gone.

The girls stared at each other while their father said Grace... and then they began to cut apart their meat and concentrate on having a pleasant meal.

*******

The woman paced in the dark.  She wanted to scream, rip her hair out, but that would achieve nothing. 

She wanted out. 

She'd wanted out for a while, but her sister's last visit sparked something inside her that fueled a fire in her that had been simmering for a while. 

The need to be free was driving her mad, even more than she had become being locked away in some netherworld prison.  She needed out.  Now more than ever.  But what could she do?  All that was at her disposal was weak magic and despair which clouded her mind and her abilities.  But she couldn't give in.  She had to do something.  The need for escape was making her skin itch with anxiety.

Her fists pounded the sides of her head for clarity, and in one brief moment, she thought of a single word.

Door.