Celestial (Book One)

Chapter Six: Virgo

15/03/2016 - 11:28 am

Virgo drummed her fingers against the desk, sighing. She watched the clock hung on the wall impatiently, awaiting the arrival of Miss Florence Jones. At 11:30, on the dot, there was a sharp rap at the door. Virgo stood and straightened out her outfit. 

"Enter!" She called out. The door opened and a teenage girl walked in. She shut the door behind her and approached the desk where Virgo stood. She stretched out her hand, "Ms Heatherby?"

"Yes. That is I. You must be Florence. Please, take a seat." Florence smiled and sat down. Virgo followed suit, pulling her chair closer to the desk, resting her hands on top. "I'm going to cut to the chase. You have been deceived. The university interview you came for does not exist, but you are still meant to be here.  I'm sure you are aware of the zodiac signs? For instance, you are a Virgo. Since earth came into being, there have been 12, or 13 if you count Gemini separately, celestial beings who have watched over this planet. I am Virgo, one of these beings. Lately we have come across a problem we can't fix, so we are searching out our descendants who will inherit the powers of their signs in order to train them to eliminate the threat. You are my descendant. Your family has had the task of upholding my values and securing the future of the Virgo bloodline. I am here to collect you so you can meet the other descendants at HQ. The future of this planet rests in your hands. Will you come with me?" Virgo finished the speech and offered out a hand to Florence.

Florence looked into the woman's eyes, her own grey eyes settled in acceptance. Something about this woman made her believe that she was telling the truth. Their hands met halfway across the table with a firm grip from both parties . As their palms touched, the room went still, the only sign of movement was a wind blowing the two of them. It gradually grew stronger, whipping loose strands of Florence's long dark ginger hair out of the french braid going down her back. The wind blurred the room, melting it into one large swirl of colour, before settling the two down in a different place.

Florence scanned her new surroundings with a look of mild confusion on her face, then turned to Virgo for an explanation. "Where are we? And how did you just do that? Is this the HQ you were talking about earlier?" She asked in a voice which hinted at a posh, country upbringing. She let go of Virgo's hand.

"Yes, this is HQ. Welcome to the Mourne Mountains, Northern Ireland, however this is technically a different dimension for celestial beings. As for how we got here, I teleported us here with celestial magic. Any other questions?" Virgo finished with a smile and a small gesture to follow her into the large farmhouse before them.

As they walked into a large open plan area, Florence nodded. Due to her inquisitive nature, her head was already brimming with questions about everything that had just taken place. "Does time run differently here?"

"No, time runs parallel to the other world. There is no time gap or time zone difference between the two. We do have to turn the clocks back off course, but that's more just to keep the two times in sync." Virgo replied. The two continued on like this until they got to a sofa leaned up against a bare wall with a tapestry covering it. "This is the living room. This floor is the ground floor. The kitchen is over there with the dining table and there is a quieter room on the other side of that archway with books. That sums up this floor, let's move on to the next floor up." 

Florence looked at the massive kitchen and an oak dining table big enough to easily seat 20 people. They walked across the room and up a grand spiral staircase Florence had somehow failed to notice before. The stairs came up onto a landing before continuing on up to another floor. "This floor has the training room, I'm sure you'll get to know that room very well over the next couple of weeks. Should we go up to see your room now?" Virgo explained.

"Okay. Up the stairs again?"

"Yes, but skip the floor just above this one, that's just for planning and research."

Florence took the lead and headed up first. She passed the planning floor, catching a glimpse of bookshelves and yet another huge table dividing the room almost in two. After another minute or so of walking, Florence and Virgo reached a floor with a long corridor on either side of the staircase. Along both sides of the corridor were equally spaced doors. On each door knob was an engraved sign of fire, water, air or earth.

Virgo lead her down the corridor, to the fourth door down on the right hand side. The door handle was engraved with a leaf. "This is your room." 

Florence pushed open the door to find a large bedroom. It was spotless, and everything was perfectly organised. The walls were lined with shelves, some filled with books, the rest with other trinkets and bits and bobs. A large, four poster, queen sized bed stood in the middle of the room. The covers were a crisp white and a grey and tan tartan blanket was folded perfectly over the end. Silk, embroidered throw cushions were lent against the pillows, with a grey, beaded owl cushion resting at the front. The bed frame itself was wrought iron, shaped into tree branches with a birch finish reaching up to around eight foot high. Above the headboard, a vintage world map was framed and hung on the soft, grey walls. 

She turned around, admiring every detail. A large, white, faux fur rug across the whole floor; A large oak desk, painted powder blue, with an iMac and copper desk lamp. Neon post-it notes, a small collection of pencil pots, all with different contents, and various other stationary items were neatly arranged on the desk. She opened the desk draws, finding stacks of paper, an iPad, chargers and notebooks. A large chest of draws sat under one of the giant windows, a window seat under the other. A soft white blanket and a dozen pillows made the window seat a cozy place to sit. Over each window was a pair of heavy, blue, embroidered satin curtains. 

Florence smiled. It was perfect.