Eternity

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Eternity

Hear the sledges with the bells-

Silver bells!

What a world of merriment their melody foretells!

How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,

In the icy air of night!

While the stars that oversprinkle

All the heavens, seem to twinkle

With a crystalline delight;

Keeping time, time, time,

In a sort of Runic rhyme,

To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells

From the bells, bells, bells, bells,

Bells, bells, bells-

From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.

The Bells-Edgar Allan Poe

          The three sisters sat in silence after seeing the human girl. They were stunned; how could she have gotten into this very castle? Tamsin spoke first after almost fifteen minutes.

          “I told you so.”

          Devodie sprang out of her chair and Sable followed suit, leaping in front of her sisters. “Stop,” she commanded, “listen.”

          Then she pointed to the ceiling, and the room grew silent. They stood quietly, looking at the ceiling.

“I don’t hear…” Tamsin started but Sable interrupted her.

“Shh!”

 A bell twinkled, quiet at first but growing louder by the second.

          “Marit: she must be ringing the bell for Lysander, to let us know to come up.” The queens hurried to their sister’s room.

          Marit was sitting by the Spring Queen’s bed, frantically ringing the tiny copper bell and trying to soothe her at the same time. Lysander moaned and thrashed in the large bed, her blond hair fanned out on the pillow. She shook violently, her whole body trembling.

          “Lysander,” Sable whispered, her eyes wide. She clutched her frail sister’s hand and murmured reassuring words in an attempt to calm Lysander. The Spring Queen still hadn’t opened her eyes; the beautiful bright blue irises remained hidden behind thin eyelids. She was breathing hard; her fragile body was covered in cold sweat. She shivered and moaned, curling up into the fetal position.

          Devodie stood at the end of the bed, her body rigid. Fear shone in her silver-blue eyes as she clutched the wooden bedpost. Tamsin stood opposite of Sable on the other side of the bed. Her breath came out a little ragged and she covered her mouth with her hand in horror. Marit paced behind the queens. She wrung her hands nervously and watched the Spring Queen with careful eyes.

          Lysander lashed out again, flinging blankets and pillows around the room. Suddenly, she stilled. The silence hung in the air; Lysander’s body was rigid. Her tense form remained still for a few breathless moments before she sank back into the blankets. She exhaled slowly and relaxed, drifting back to her comatose state.

          Her sisters slumped where they stood, disappointed. They had been hoping she would awaken, but it seemed there was something she had to battle inside first. Lysander would be asleep for a long time. Sable stood and the others started to depart. Marit assumed her position next to Lysander.