Awake - Book One of the Spinner's Curse

Chapter Twenty-Three: Transitions

  
  

Chapter Twenty-Three:
Transitions

A week has passed and there is still no sign of Phillip’s fairy. In the time sense my arrival I have seen little of my rescuer while Henry, William, and Winston have hardly left my side. Rosamund has ignored me and for the first few days Claudette followed her example but, with a little prodding, the twins have managed to get her to accept me. We all sit in the library, the place I first decided to take my destiny into my own hands.

I lean against the window, watching and waiting for Phillip’s mysterious fairy to walk through the gates. Winston, with his head in my lap and a book lying open on his chest, is asleep. Henry and William are sitting before the fire, a game of chess being dramatically and incorrectly played between them. Claudette has pulled up a chair beside my window-seat, the better to catch the light for the embroidery she’s working on. Everything is peaceful, quiet, and soothing.

Except I can’t seem to shake the feeling that everything is about to go wrong. Now that my anxiety over meeting my family has passed, all I can think about is how the last time I met with a fairy the spell wasn’t broken. Jack’s grandmother said it was impossible. The only way to get around a curse as powerful as mine was to wait a hundred years: a lifetime.

I press my head into the glass, trying to push the doubts away. A soft knock on the door surprises me. We all pause and turn towards it. Phillip stands in the doorway, looking directly at me. All week, he has been casually avoiding me, allowing me privacy while I’ve attempted to reconnect with this life: a thing I’ve been grateful for.

“Rory, may I speak with you for a moment?” I nod and carefully remove Winston’s head from my lap. Claudette eyes us warily from her seat but makes no move to stop me. I walk to Phillip, ignoring the curious stares of my brothers.

“What is it, Phillip?” I ask as he grabs my hand and leads me away from the library door. His lips purse and he tightens his hold on my hand but he doesn’t answer.

“We need to talk, Rory,” he says he pulls me into my room. His voice is husky with emotion and I go cold with fear. Here it comes; the news I’ve been waiting for, the crack in the ice of his master plan. The room feels as if it’s tipping and that I’m tipping with it. “I haven’t been...there are things…I haven’t been completely honest with you.” I nod, but I’m only half listening. In my head scenarios of everything that can go wrong are playing wildly. “Are you listening, Rory?” His voice goes high with frustration.

“Yes, Phillip, I’m listening.” I surprise myself with how calm I’m managing to sound. My heart is pounding with panic and yet there isn’t any trace of it to be heard.

“Good.” He lets out a breath and rubs his neck. “I don’t know how to tell you this.” He looks at me pleadingly. “I promise you, it wasn’t my choice, and I’m going to fix it, but I need to tell you all the same.” I don’t nod this time, I merely stand before him, waiting for my world to crash around my feet yet again. “Rosamund and I are…” He’s interrupted by my door swinging open.

“They’re here, in the courtyard!” Henry and William yell in unison. “Claudette noticed them as soon as you left.” They brush past Phillip and grab at my hands. Phillip releases his hold with a pained expression. The twins pull me back into the library and over to the window. Winston is peering through the glass, his hair standing up in odd directions from his nap.

“Do you see him?” I ask him. He turns to me and there is a broad smile on his face.

“Yes,” he points out the window towards three figures riding along the path leading to the stables. I watch them and feel the fear releasing its grip on my heart. This is happening. I might really escape this. I turn to the eager faces of my brothers and Winston.