The Ring

Part 3

Dominique awoke to the sound of her phone ringing, playing a merry Irish tune, which conjured images of people dancing and laughing. It was her mother, who had begun to worry, as it was now quite dark outside. She put her mother at ease and then proceeded to slowly and carefully negotiate the narrow path back up the hill, using her phone for additional light when needed, as the sky was quite dark and only filled with the faint light of stars and distant galaxies. Dominique mused on her strange dream that had almost seemed real. Of a time when the old manor house was in it's full glory. A time of carriages and horses, of stiff collared shirts, coats with tails and top hats and of course a time of great poverty and peasant farmers struggling each day to eke out their meager existence. Maybe it was a better world for some, but not for most. Then she thought about Frederick and how he looked at Dominique, and her heart skipped a beat. The dream played out like a story, but it ended too soon. Dominique mused about another life far from her reality and the other Dominique. Strangely, she seemed to have taken Frederick's perspective in the dream. She could feel the stirring in Frederick's heart after his meeting with this other Dominique. She smiled at that thought.

It was getting late by the time Dominique had returned to her mother's cottage. Gwendolyn had made a large pot of what she called bustle stew. When Dominique asked after the name of the stew, her mother simply said it was her own creation and that, because there were many different ingredients all trying to assert their flavour, the word bustle seemed appropriate. She was correct, there were indeed many surprising flavours dancing around within the stew, but somehow they all seemed to find a sort of harmony. It was not the sort of food that Dominique was used to in the city, but it seemed quite fitting for this wild country.

After dinner, Dominique showed her mother the ring that she had found. Gwendolyn's eyes widened as she beheld the wonderful ocean-forged ring. She agreed that it was a gift from the sea, and Dominique could see that the ring almost cast a spell over her mother. At that moment, Dominique offered the ring to Gwendolyn, thinking that it would probably be more suited to her and her rather natural bohemian lifestyle. However, at this point, the expression on Gwendolyn's face changed. She looked Dominique in the eyes and lightly taking her hands, told her that the gift was given to her and that any power that it might contain was meant for her. She told Dominique that the ring was not of this world and that it had a potency that went far beyond its rugged natural beauty. Dominique just laughed, but she couldn't help but feel a tingling sensation run through her body at the thought. Dominique loved her mother, as crazy as she seemed.

The next day, as Dominique sat on the warm soft sand of the little hidden beach, she cast her gaze far out to sea, searching for those wandering souls, and wondering just what lay out there, where the mists touched the sky. As her mind drifted she felt herself embarking on a journey. The little beach, nestled between two rocky headlands, felt more like a theatre house and a play was about to unfold before her eyes.