Untangling Aella

Chapter Sixteen

Life followed a set patter for the past 7 days. I would send a load of laundry and collect it in the morning and again in the afternoon to late evening. After I finished my daily chore, I would help with the cooking. Despite my initial muscle aches, my body has grown accustomed to the strenuous exercise.

I had grown used to waking up and having breakfast with the Helots and laugh with Dimitra over Nola and Costa’s antics. They would rile each other up and I swear Nola had an O.D.D. (Oppositional Defiance Disorder) complex whenever it came to him. She would automatically take the opposite argument to find ways to argue with him while he seemed to relish it, as much as she frustrated him. It was cute…in an semi-aggressive way.

Despite my hardly noticeable bump, in private times I cradle them and send happy thoughts as I gently careless them as they rest under my heart. I coo to them as I walk alone in the fields and sing lullabies (if you count Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd songs) to them as I go.

“If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you. If mountains crumbled to the sea, there would still be you and me…”

I relished singing “Thank You” by Led Zeppelin to my little ones and tried not to remember that this was our song…mine and Chase’s

I wasn’t to know that the revelation would assail me so quickly today.

Growing bolder, I ventured towards the Greek encampment with my laundry cart. Thank fully, the camp seemed to be empty at this time of the night. No doubt celebrating their major come back. Tugging my cart with me around the side of the building towards the back, where their laundry would most likely be, I spied a window open on the second storey.

Placing my cart against the window, to break my fall in case I needed it. I looked up at the window in trepidation. There were no railings or drain pipes that I could climb.

I sighed and shook my head. I had one more trick up my sleeve but I didn’t know if it would work.

“It’s now or never” I whispered aloud with resignation.

I closed my eyes and summoned every ounce of control. I thought back to the last time I had to levitate … up the Amazon’s jet. That was a fluke for sure and it was when I felt more carefree. I hadn’t tried it since then as being a worried mother to be has given me an elevated fear of heights.

“Come on you idiot,” I spoke to that worried part of myself. “Its not like were going over 2 miles into the air. It’s only a couple of feet!”

Calming myself, I suddenly knew that it was going to be ok. I felt my feet go light and knew that I was slowly rising to the window. When I was sure that I was a couple of feet off the ground I looked up and realised I was in arms reach of the window. Grasping it as I neared, I peered through the curtain to check if the coast was empty. Sure enough it was.

I paid careful attention to make sure that I wasn’t making a sound and started checking rooms.

Ugh, they were such guys. They had a maid service, but scraps of clothing lay in messy piles and it stunk … badly.

Knowing that the girdle would most likely not be in the room of their foot soldiers, I headed to the room at the end of the hallway.

I entered the large door and realised I had hit the jackpot. For the most part, the room was cleaned. So I had free reign to check the largest room of all.

Just when I had gently closed the door, I heard heavy footsteps and voices growing louder as they moved down the hall.

Panicking, I looked for a place to hide. Not wanting to be cliché and hide under the bed, I ran for the only place I could think of…the walk in robe.