Lonely

Chapter 27, Hanger

I wrapped my knuckles against the glass French doors and waited. Sadie was staying pretty calm at my side, which was keeping me calm. God, she was stubborn. Suddenly, the glass doors flew open and some one I was not expecting was standing there. It wasn't the blonde lady from my memory. It was a short, brown headed, thin women in her thirties. Sadie edged closer to me and looped her arm through mine. I wasn't quite sure how to proceed now.

The women looked at us with soft brown eyes and put her hands on her hips as if she was thinking about something. "Well, I was wondering when you two would get here." She said suddenly in a soft, musical voice. I looked down at Sadie, who shrugged. She knew we were both coming?

"You know who we are?" I asked. She looked surprised. "Of course I do. Oh, where are my manners? Come in." she said and ushered us into the house. I was too shocked to do much except make sure Sadie was next to me. The house was massive, and beautiful. It was going more for the rustic look, with soft tan couches and wooden tables, a stained wood floor, and other fancy furniture. The ceiling was not soaring like Sadie's houses was. There was a loft that took up half of the ceiling, and the rest had shelves lined with all sorts of trinkets. Down a hall were several doors lining the hall, and I knew we were only in a fraction of the house.

The women continued studying us. Suddenly, she sighed. "I'm sure you're both very confused. Let's sit down, shall we?" she said and pushed us towards the couch. She Sat in a small chair across from us. "Hanger, and Sadie. I have been waiting." She said, then laughed suddenly. "Oh, doesn't that sound ominous?" she smiled and stared at us as if expecting us to say something. Her yes suddenly stopped on our hands, which were still twined together. "Now, there's an unexpected surprise." She murmured, then looked back up at us.

"I see your both very suspicious. Rightly so.Any one would be if they felt an odd sensation to come to a certain spot and now they were talking to a strange woman." She laughed again. How on earth did she know all of that? "Well, I suppose I should get to the explanations. My name is Arianna. You came here because when you were both very young, I put a....what would you call it? A spell, I suppose. You would both come when the time was right. It just so happens this was the right time. For both of you. And you came together. What a coincidence." She let that sink in. Suddenly, Sadie piped up.

"I knew I recognized you. Ari, that nanny I had." She said slowly. Arianna smiled widely. "So glad you remember. Hanger, on the other hand, it's a shame really. When Sarah got to you, I'm afraid there was no stopping it." She shook her head sadly.

"Sarah?" I repeated. Arianna nodded solemnly. "I'm sure she planted some memory of her self in your head. Probably a nice one." Arianne said with a snort. "Actually, yes.A blonde woman. She's the only memory I had from before I was six." I said. Arianna nodded. "Yes, well, I am very sorry about that. I tried to stop her, I did, but she was a great deal stronger than me at the time. I'm sorry to say I can't get your memories back. I can give you some back ground information, if you wish." She suggested. I nodded, even though I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to know.

"Well, your parents died when you were just a baby. An unfortunate accident with a incantation, I'm afraid. You bounced around from one magician to another before landing with her. They never even named you because you were always moving around. A silent boy, you were. Had a fetish for dragons, if I remember correctly. How did you get you of the castle, anyways?" she asked me. It took a minute before I came to the awareness she was talking to me. I smiled, unexpected even to my self. Even Arianne looked surprised."Sadie stumbled in, and I helped her out. I went with her." I explained. Sadie smiled up at me, then looked at Arianne, all business. "Why are we here?" Sadie asked, leaning forward. Arianna's smile faltered. "We will discuss this, but first, you two need sleep. And something to eat." Sadie shook her head. "No, we need to discuss this now." She said sternly. Arianna smiled. "Just as stubborn today as you were then. Sleep, and then all will be explained." I felt suddenly tired, and felt Sadie lean against my side, feeling it to. I was unable to keep my eyes open and drifted off to sleep.

I woke up in a warm room, on a squishy bed with Sadie curled up next to me. The pillows were soft under my head, and I never realized how comfy a bed was. The comforter was balled up under us. I looked around the rustic looking room with a subtle fanciness to it. It was nice, but rather plain in a way. Beside the bed was a really shiny wooden night stand with a clock and a beautiful lamp. Light filtered in through green and white checkered curtains. Sadie's hair was tangled around her face, and as I watched she sighed and stretched, then froze and shoved her hair out of her eyes. She sat bolt up right and looked around, panicked. Finally, she noticed me leaning against the head board. She relaxed and looked around.

"She did not just make me sleep." Sadie said sarcastically. She hopped off the bed, towing me behind her and opened the door. I inhaled deeply. The most delicious smell that had ever come to my senses filled my nose. "Mmm. Eggs, pancakes, potatoes, and baken." Sadie said, naming everything. We wandered down the hall towards the scent and walked into a large room with a long oak table laden with all kinds of foods, but mostly what Sadie had said. Arianna was sitting at one end of the table, staring off into the distance. When she heard us come in, she looked up and stood.

"Its about time you two got up. I have breakfast prepared. Sit, please." She said, pulling tow chairs out that were on either side of her. Sadie and I exchanged glances then sat down. Arianna was watching us expectantly, so we dug in, filling our plates. "I expect you have had a long journey. What is wrong with the little red creature?" she asked, cocking her head. I coughed, almost spraying crumbs every where. "Rex? What's he doing?" Sadie asked. Arianna looked surprised. "You named it?" I coughed again to hide a laugh. Sadie narrowed her eyes at me.

"Yes. He followed us out of the castle. He doesn't like Hanger very much. What's wrong with him?" she gave me a wry look. We followed Arianna's gaze up to the ceiling, where Rex was perched on a rafter, watching Sadie with interest, his beady black eyes gleaming. "Rex," Sadie cooed, "come down, you idiot." She said, standing up and putting her hands on her hips. Rex fell to the floor and landed on his feet.

"Now that's all resolved, shall we talk?" Arianna asked. Sadie and I locked eyes. This was going to be....interesting.