Dispersing the Darkness

Chapter 1

A deep sigh echoed through the room, breaking the silence. It was followed by an awakening. Sophie's eyelids fluttered like a butterfly's wings on a flower, revealing the dark room, where the morning light barely seeped through a crack hidden in the folds of the heavy curtains. Her breathing gradually became steady. Resisting weakness, she propped herself up on one elbow, rubbed her eyes with a free hand, and slipped out of the warm bed. She needed to open the curtains and let more light and air into the single, small room of the house. Her bare feet slapped against the stone floor, her thin arms reached out and sharply pulled one of the curtains aside, revealing a view of the summer garden shrouded in mist. There were two windows in the house, but the one facing the noisy street was shuttered from the inside and almost never opened. The flood of light outlined the tiny silhouette of the girl dressed in a light, silk nightgown. She filled a glass with water from a carafe and took several greedy sips. She needed to get to school early to deliver the message from the Goddess that came to her in a dream. This meant there was no time for breakfast or heating water for washing.

Unlocking the heavy oak door, Sophie, still in her nightgown and barefoot, stepped into the courtyard. The garden was enclosed by a high brick wall, so she never worried about anyone seeing her, even if she decided to dance naked.

In front of the entrance was a wooden deck with a garden table and two heavy benches where the girl usually ate or entertained a friend, except in winter when it became too cold to sit outside, even with their climate. A little off to the side stood a second house with the kitchen.

Closer to the garden stood a large wooden barrel, one meter by one meter, filled with clean water. Sophie scooped some water into a metal basin and took it back into the house, placing it on her vanity. Not heating the water for washing was a good idea since her eyes were swollen from a poor night's sleep, and only cold water could reduce the puffiness. With a deft movement, her thin, light blonde hair was braided into a high hairstyle, exposing her slender neck and prominent collarbones.

Instead of the nightgown, she put on an underdress of milky color, over it a matching corset, and on top of that a light linen dress of earthy color. Sophie grabbed her bag with textbooks and school notes, closed the house door, said a short prayer, and left through the garden to the street.

The street immediately surrounded the girl with a flurry of sounds: the clatter of horseshoes, the creaking of wheels on the cobblestones, the cries of boys selling newspapers. The school was not far away, and she could cut through a small grove, which she did. Sometimes, she walked in this little forest, gathering herbs, inhaling the smell of moss, listening to the birds sing. But today, there was no time for that, although Sophie did notice a couple of spots she would definitely return to in a month to collect berries.

Ahead, a small, white mansion covered in ivy appeared, with an adjoining greenhouse and a small summer area densely planted with trees along the perimeter, so that the heavy branches of some could touch the tops of passing students. Some of her classmates had already gathered on the platform, and as Sophie walked closer along the path, she noticed her friend Taya.

Taya was animatedly talking with someone from another class, whose name Sophie didn't even know. That was Taya; she managed to get along well with everyone, without exception, and that was why Sophie so desperately needed her. No one, except for childhood friends, wanted to get close to Sophie, although the reasons for this remained a mystery to her. But Taya seemed to ignore societal opinions, even though she belonged to the aristocracy, but her family was so large that all that was expected of her was to marry reasonably well to meet the family's demands. However, this was not a difficult requirement, as Taya was born a true beauty. Even now, the sun played with golden and honeyed highlights in her chestnut hair and gave her skin a delicate pink glow. Taya laughed unabashedly, her smile spreading across her entire face, making her sapphire eyes sparkle.