A case of Stockholm.

Chapter Ten.

It had happened two or three years previous. I was only a teenager. I wasn't aware of what I was doing. How this would affect my entire future. Callum and I had had an argument. I was planning on running away but Cal wasn't having any of it. We parted ways and I decided to blow off steam the way that always helped; I went to the largest house in the neighbourhood. The house had an eerie feel to it. The design was gothic, gargoyles outside the front steps. I walked up the large stone steps and found an open window to the left.

Lifting the window a little more I go inside. The entire house is dark which I thought would mean that the house was empty. I walk further into the room which I assume was some sort of drawing room, leaving the daylight behind. I decide to start upstairs to find the most valuable treasures. There's a grand staircase made of marble up to the first floor. I look up in awe. I'd been in fancy houses before but this was unbelievably grand, as though royalty lived there. As I reach the top of the staircase I see doors on the left and the right. I proceed to the left and find it locked. I walk towards the right door and find it unlocked. I decide to try and pick the lock on the left. The reason being that if it was locked then the most expensive stuff would be kept under lock and key.

I'm there for about five minutes unlocking the door. When I finally open the door it reveals a long hallway. I wander along to the door at the other end. There is a large wooden door unlike any of the others that I had come across, this intrigued me. As I get to the end of the corridor I reach out to open the door. The handle is dark and in the shape of a lion's face. As I enter the room, the first thing that hits me is a slight musky smell, the room is completely ruined. Paintings slashed and furniture broken and at the end of the room is an ornate red rose. I find myself making my way towards it. I pick it up and realise that it's glass. So fragile. I hear a door slam in the distance and panic. I put the rose in my jacket pocket and walk back through the long corridor until I reach the top of the staircase.

Shit. There are three people, two adults and a young girl. I walk back and go into the first room on the left. This must be an office. There's a desk in the far corner and stacks of paperwork sprawled everywhere. Now it's a waiting game. I hear footsteps at the door, a man's voice curses and I can feel myself shaking. I'd snuck into so many houses but this was the first that I hadn't pulled off perfectly. I was scared. These people were a mystery to everyone around here. They had no friends and didn't talk to anyone. They were recluses.

The door to the office opens and I stand as still as possible behind it. Footsteps sound and a large figure appears, whoever it is takes a quick sweep from the room not noticing the small boy behind the door.

I hear doors opening and closing further from down the corridor and when I hear what I think is the large wooden door opening, its hinges creaking slightly, I begin to make my way out of the office. I can feel the rose pushing into my rib cage. I'm incredibly conscious of how delicate it is.

Making my way to the marble staircase, I try to make sure the surrounding area is clear. The coast appears free from people. I run and stumble down the stairs.

"Trudy! Trudy! Come quick. Someone's taken the rose!" I'm not quick enough to make it to the door before he's at the top of the staircase. He appears to be in his late 30's, maybe early 40's. His hairline seemed to be receding. His wife rounds the corner to the left of me as I make my way as quickly as I can to the front door.

"You'll regret this boy. Don't take that rose from this house. I'm warning you. As soon as you leave this house you will cursed by having your emotions taken. You'll no longer be human." I didn't take this into account. For all I knew he just wanted the rose back. It seemed so expensive. That's the only reason I had taken it.

To this day, what I did still haunts my days and nights and now, I could no longer feel human emotions. He was right. I had been stripped of my humanity and yet, they're still after me. What was this rose really?

When Callum finished the story I sat there. Not moving.

"Gwendolyn, you can't tell him that I told you."

"Why not? Because he'd get angry? Isn't that a human emotion? I don't understand any of this. Are you saying the reason Elijah is such an asshole because of some curse? That's stupid. These things don't happen in real life. There's no such thing as curses. Next you'll be telling me that Santa is real and he's currently residing in a penthouse in New York along with the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny." I get up and move towards the kitchen. "Do we have any tea?"

Callum shakes his head. "Ran out this morning. Along with milk. Eli went out earlier to get shopping. He should be back soon though." It seemed ridiculous to imagine Elijah standing in Lidl with all the other normal people. "So..."

Callum looks at me and I can't seem to respond. This was all too much to take in. Magic roses and curses. It was like something out of a fairy tale. I stand up from the sofa and make my way to the makeshift bedroom to lose myself in a book. I sit down on the uncomfortable mattress and settle down to start 'A Game Of Thrones' by George R R Martin. Probably not the best choice for happy endings but at least magic had a place in this world unlike the real world. Then it hit me. If all of this was true, where the hell was this glass rose?