ROSE

Chapter Fourteen - Deal

Nicholas ran to find Elizabeth. He saw her from afar having a conversation with Kimberly. Elizabeth saw Nicholas running towards them, immediately she guessed that something was wrong; however, she awaited for him to reach her to confirm her thought.
 
When he finally reached them, he panted, trying to catch his breath. "Thomas-"
 
"What happened to him?" Interrupted Kimberly.
 
He replied, "He has been taken-"
 
"By who?" demanded Kimberly impatiently.
 
"Rose took him away. I don't know how she managed to coax him to climb the pole. She disguised herself as you, I guess that's one reason he was fooled. I only saw him halfway climbing down. I compelled him to climb back up, but Rose pulled him to the ground and disappeared after leaves overshadowed them."
 
Tears were visible in Kimberly's eyes, as her mind envisioned the worst for Thomas. She turned to Elizabeth. "Is he d-dead?" Elizabeth gave Kimberly a worrying stare. Kimberly couldn't read Elizabeth's mind.
 
Elizabeth inquired, "Are you forgetting that you have the answer to that question?"
 
"What do you mean?" Kimberly stopped as an answer flashed into her mind. "You mean the music box? The melody." She raced into the bedroom before Elizabeth could answer.
 
She stood motionless at the door: her ears haunting for the melody. The only sound she heard was the trees shaking. She gazed at the music box and wondered to herself whether the melody had played or not.
 
She was lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice Elizabeth's presence in the room. "What are you thinking about, child?" she inquired politely.
 
Flinching back to reality, Kimberly replied, "I am thinking about the melody. I didn't hear it. Does that mean that he's still alive?"
 
"Yes," assured Elizabeth. A bright smile creeped onto Kimberly's face. "Are you serious?"
 
"Yes I'm serious. But the choice of whether you want him to stay alive or not is up to you." She paused for a few seconds, "Yesterday I lied to you about your vision."
 
"What do you mean?" inquired Kimberly impatiently.
 
"In your vision, Rose did not fear the music box only, she was also afraid of you. She isn't aware of your weaknesses. That is the reason she ran into the forest."
 
"But she is still on my tail, isn't it?"
 
Elizabeth began pacing. "Imagine this,” she said softly. “You are in the field of battle, many of your soldiers have been wounded. It is crystal clear that you have been out numbered and will meet your end soon. But, in your moment of weakness, you discover that you are in possession of a complex tool that is capable of wiping out your entire enemies if used correctly. Unfortunately, you are too feeble to use it against your enemies. You decide to hand the tool to a child and persuade him to use it against your enemies without any lessons about its functionality. Do you think your enemies will give up and retreat?"
 
Kimberly thought for a while and guessed, "Yes. Because the child has the tool to wipe out the entire army."
 
Elizabeth chuckled. "Think again. Your enemies will stand firm, pour out all mocking insults to the child before bursting into laughter, furthermore, you will be attacked; because your enemies know that the child doesn't know how to use the tool. Understand one thing, child, never underrate your enemies, no matter how small or foolish they may appear. A good man and a bad man are similar people having different life objectives. That extends to you and your enemies; you are similar but hold different objectives, and it is never a wise decision to underrate them."
 
Kimberly shrugged. "What is your point?"
 
"Knowledge," replied Elizabeth. She walked over to the table and picked up the music box, holding it up close to her face. "If you had taught the child how to use the complex tool, then the enemies would have retreated in a blink of an eye. The similar thing applies to you: not until you know how to use the music box will Rose stop chasing you. But that won't help any of us because, eventually, she will return to haunt us once again."
 
She continued, "Harriet knew that if she explained all this to you, then you would have not come here, and we would have perished in the near future."
 
Kimberly gazed at Elizabeth. "In the near future?” she wondered aloud. “I thought you said that you had abundant ancient salt to keep out evil spirits."
 
Elizabeth stared at Kimberly for some time before she turned the other side as though hiding something. Kimberly was curious, she walked steadily in front of Elizabeth. "Are you hiding something from me?" probed Kimberly.
 
"No I'm not. You don't-."
 
"Do not lie to me," interrupted Kimberly. "I might not be as wise as you or peculiar as Harriet, but I know when someone is lying to me. And I can bet that something is troubling you."
 
Elizabeth's facial expression changed to furious, wrinkles formed, her pupils dilated. She barked at Kimberly. "Focus on your decision. It is not necessary that you know what is bothering me because it doesn't concern you." Kimberly, however, was not startled by the sudden change in Elizabeth's tone.
"Head out to Nicholas for your lessons," commanded Elizabeth.
 
Kimberly snatched the music box out of Elizabeth's hands and stormed out of the room, slamming the door.
 
 

*****

Meanwhile, at the Green Forest Resorts in the mysterious room, Rose was rocking herself on the chair and filming Kimberly on the gigantic mirror. Thomas, on the other hand, was floating in mid-air beside Rose. He was exhausted, his throat dry and breathing slowly, sweat drizzled down his face. He could hardly move his body, it was as though a force tied his hands and legs. He could not speak, his voice was caged, he could only groan in fear.
 
Rose stood from her rocking chair. She raised her right hand and lowered it slowly, making Thomas to float down until he touched the floor. She began walking around him. She spoke slowly in a monstrous voice, "How I desire to take your soul. Your fear is making my mouth water." Thomas's heart pounded hard, you could almost hear it. Goose bumps clothed his skin, he trembled in fear, his teeth chattered.
 
She continued, "By now you can tell that I don't prize my prey with life after hunting them. Your case is different, If I take your soul now then your friend will not come to me. If I let you live for longer, she will come here, and then I can take both your souls.”
 
She halted in front of Thomas. "I can grant you freedom like I did to another human if you agree to my deal. Surrender your friend’s fears and weaknesses to me and I will let you go. However, if you refuse or betray me, then I will make sure you are alive to watch me pull your soul out of your body."

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Authors Note: Cheers for making it to Chapter 14. I hope you are enjoying the story so far. Please don't hesitate to drop a comment and let me know your view, or you can give it a vote; otherwise I appreciate your support.