Worlds Together

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

I wake to find myself in a room unlike other I’ve ever seen, even in pictures, let alone woken up in. The walls are a pale yellow-cream colour, warm and comforting. Not at all like the stark white ones of my cell, or the damp peeling ones of my homes. These walls look looked after, and cared for. It’s surprising how much walls can say about a home, and ultimately, about its owner. Everything in the room is clean and well presented, but has character. From the dark wooden bed, to the patchwork covers, and the paintings on the walls. Even the floor has personality, with a thick, soft-looking fabric covering it so that you don’t get splinters when you walk around barefoot. We had no such luck back home, and splinters in our feet were a regular occurrence from the gnarly old floorboards. The sad thing is, that all of the stuff that makes this room so beautiful – I’ve never seen any of it before. It’s just what the people from my world tried to teach us, about a world we could never have. I wonder if I'm still asleep, dreaming.

The dreamy impression ends, however, when the wooden door flies open and a stony faced young woman storms in, holding a wooden plate and a metal cup. She stops abruptly when she notices me sitting up against the headboard, but quickly shakes the momentary pause. Slamming the crockery down on the small wooden table beside the bed, she shoots me one last icy glare before stalking off and slamming the door behind her. I wonder what’s happened to upset her...

My thoughts are cut short again when the door opens again, and I'm prepared to confront the woman about what her problem was, when I notice the woman who has just passed through the doorway is not the one who just left. Whereas the sour one was young, stick thin and hostile, this lady is larger, older and much friendlier looking. “Sorry about her – she didn’t wake you up, did she?”

I shake my head earnestly. “No, I woke up moments before she came in. Is she okay?”

She sighs at this and smiles sadly. “I'm afraid she- She doesn’t like the idea of you staying here.”

“Is this her house?” I ask, eyebrows furrowed.

“Mmmm, but mine too.”

“Well then, I have to go! I can’t stay in someone’s house if they don’t want me here...” I tail off because she’s shaking her head fervently, her expression troubled.

“It’s my house too, and it’s only a silly thing she’s upset over. I'm Rose, by the way. The grumpy girl is Fiona.” She finishes with an amused smile, obviously pleased by her own long distance teasing.

“I can hear you, you do know that!” Obviously not long distance enough...

“Yes, I know love.” She says brightly, almost laughing now.

“Why am I here?” I ask quietly, fiddling with a thread on the bed covers.

“Well, you need somewhere to stay...”

“No, I mean- I was outside. By the main building. With Kale and Jem. And then... We were talking... And then Jem- Jem... He...” And suddenly, it all rushes back. The heartbreak and the pain that fills every corner of the knowledge that Jem, my best friend, the man I loved as the only brother that didn’t die all those years ago, he never loved me like a sister. I was always just a mission to him. Befriend the girl from the other world, and then one day, when she trusts you completely, then we’ll bring her here, to our world. And then I can carry out whatever job they’ve brought me here for. Well I know one thing – if Jem only came to my world on a mission, then I'm going to do everything I can to ensure that it doesn’t get finished.

“Honey, are you okay?” As her voice softens, I can just hear the accent that the other men had coming through. I nod, somewhat cautiously, knowing full well that I haven’t convinced her of my okayness. “Hey,” she begins, smiling “do you want me to get one of your friends? Jem, maybe?” I shake my head vigorously, trying to relate to her with the panic in my eyes just how much I don’t want to see Jem right now.