Aunt Alina with a slender figure, still wearing a floral halter dress, and two slender fingers holding tightly to a nearly-empty cigarette that was blowing a grey smoke. She stood close to the window, her eyes filled with sadness, staring down at the street. Alina thoughtfully watched Sir Althelstan's back walk ahead and her little niece pulling a large suitcase right behind. She gently placed the hand holding the cigarette on the window and let out a heavy sigh as if she wanted to pour out a bucket of sorrow. The mist of cigarette smoke and the breath containing tangled threads are slowly blurring the glass of the small window; the clear picture on Sloane Street sadly fades away in the heavy eyes of aunt Alina.
*****************
The car was clean and jet-black, but the styling still looked like it was from the Victorian era. Selena sat hunched over in the backseat. The little girl looked up at the front seat, and she saw the driver wearing white gloves and a formal suit, just like the royal soldiers. Selena was trying to breathe as lightly as possible so as not to make a sound in that awkward situation.
"You are growing up fast, Selene!" Sir Athelstan, who was sitting in the front row, raised his eyes to the mirror on the side of the driver's head and met his eyes.
"I am Selena, Sir. But… I do not remember meeting you, Mr Headmaster!" Selena had to repeat her name when Mr Althelstan always mistakenly said "Selene". She rolled her round amber eyes and looked outside as if to avoid the teacher's gaze.
"OH! I am afraid Lady Smith has not told you much about the War God blood running through your veins… But that is okay because you will learn a lot more later, at Landcaster and Liam Patrick ".
"My aunt Alina? My aunt and I do not talk often… Of course, I cannot expect her to tell me stories every evening." Selena did not want to say much either, probably because she felt self-conscious about her parents being criminals – something Aunt Alina had said repeatedly in her ear all these years as she was growing up.
"Necessarily so." Lord Athelstan looked down suddenly at his beautiful necklace that hung on his chest and then back to the line of people in the middle of the boulevard. His attitude was like a thief being thwarted by childish nonsense, perhaps because he had known Selena's parents before, but he was trying to avoid the issue.
The strange car turned across the side of the road, leaving the busy boulevard behind and entering the main highway between the hills. It looks like they were away from the edge of London a long time ago. The car turned onto a narrow paved road, surrounded by only trees with flocks of birds because the engine's sound startled them. After a while, Selena looked around and saw from other directions several cars with precisely the same design as the one she was sitting in. They all come to the same point. More strangely, the common destination is a lake. No one would think that there is a large lake like this in the middle of the wild forest. But the cars still showed no signs of slowing down. Instead, they were just aiming for that lake and rushing towards it.
"Mr Althelstan, there is a lake in front of you, sir." Selena panicked, patting the back of the driver's seat and yelping.
"Fasten your seat belt, kid." The driver in front spoke to her in a very calm voice while Selena was in shock and could barely breathe because she still could not figure out what was going on. Initially, Selena only knew in her head that she was going to be transferred to a school in a strange place called Landcaster, but why was it so weird as if he was trying to be drowned. Selena looked at Mr Althelstan, who was clasping his hands together, his calm expression confusing her. The car accelerates. Selena was going to open the door and jump in to save her own little life.
Nevertheless, for a moment, the little girl chose to sit. Still, she told herself that her unlucky life should be challenged at least once in her life. Although it may be near the end, it is at least worth a try because it still does not know what lies ahead. Will the bottom of the dark lake bring that unlucky girl back to God, or will it open for her a portal to a new world where she can start all over again and discover new heaven? The beauty that it deserves?
"Sir Althelstan!" Little Selena hissed like her hot throat was about to burst as the car crashed into the water. Other cars from all sides also followed suit. Just speed up and go straight into the big lake. Selena only had time to see a splash of water when the front of the car crashed into the lake and a loud bang when the front glass of the car hit the lake with great force.
Selena could not hear the engine anymore; she closed her eyes tightly, holding her breath, her hands clutching her empty head with a black screen surrounding her mind. Her trembling lips kept moving the Bible. Quiet for a few seconds, he suddenly heard the rumbling of the water balloons; it was all too clear that the car had sunk into the lake. Her heart felt like it was going to jump out, and she could even hear its heart pounding in her chest. Selena was still mumbling the Bible, and she did not know if God the Father heard and enlightened her or, in fact, there was a bright light shining before her eyelids. Everything in Selena's field of vision was an area of deep water, surrounded by several cars, but from ahead was a bright light; she was pretty sure it was not the light of a series of car's headlights. The white light was as bright as a thick wall, covering an area at the bottom of the lake. The cars were still aiming for that bright wall and crashed straight down.
The closer Selena got, the more nauseous she got, just like every time she was stressed, her stomach would make him throw up. The wall of white light at the bottom of the lake is a gate. Dozens of cars passed through that light wall quickly into the back of the water-light wall just now. Selena tried to open her eyes wide and listen carefully. She rubbed her eyes a few times, and she fidgeted with her seat belt to sit close to the window. At the bottom of the lake, Selena saw a wall of light; behind that bright wall was another vast land. The water truck came up. The exploding white bubbles of water looked beautiful. Little Selena could not believe her eyes. When just a moment ago, the vehicle carrying it crashed straight into the bottom of the lake, but now it has surfaced in a different place. Selena also did not know if the car had "risen" or had to use the word "submerged" when another world was upside down with its London at the bottom of the deserted lake. Selena looked around; not wrong, the car was moving across the sea to reach the shore magically. The sea surface is clear blue, and even Selena can see the fish below. The little Selena looked up at the sky. The sky here is high, clear blue, and waves of large birds take turns winding behind the floating clouds.
"Welcome back to the Landcaster." Sir Athelstan turned back to Selena.
Furthermore, the Headmaster said it was "returning", not "going to". Selena was pretty sure she did not mishear, but she did not pay too much attention to the teacher, who often misspelt her name. Her focus from eyes to thoughts is now wholly absorbed by the scenery and animals here.
"Is this still England, sir?" Selena wondered when she could not really locate her current geographic location.
"No. This place is Landcaster. Nevertheless, we are still right here in England, not far away." Lord Athelstan laughed at Selena, "Indeed in the heart of London."
"But… I do not get it… Obviously…" Selena narrowed her eyes, her face contorted in confusion.
"This is just another space in London. As I said, you are a Bellatore. Moreover, this place belongs to you, Selene." Sir Athelstan was calm. "There are many other lands in this world, and you just do not know it yet."
Selena narrowed her eyes, blinked a few times, and then reached up and pinched her flushed cheek to make sure she was not dreaming. The car tilted, ran hard on the sand, and approached the busy inland road. This place is majestic, Selena thought. Towering mountains with pointed peaks. The sun looks a lot bigger here on Sloane Street, or because tall buildings have blocked the house on Sloane Street, Selena is not sure. She looked up and down as the car passed where the cobbled brick streets, the houses and shops here were not as tall as Sloane Street but solid and classically charming.