A man ambled on a marble floor, his hands clasped at his back, beside him was a shorter man carrying books that seemed too heavy for a person of his stature.
Soon, they reached the man's office where the short man felt a slight sense of relief as he placed the books on the man's desk.
"Arnold, show me this year's student list" The short man took out a paper from the stack of books and handed it to the other man.
He looked over the list for a few seconds and handed it back.
" Good. But for that person to change his class to A"
"Are…are you sure about that"
"Certainly."
"Understood, Headmaster " He got ready to leave.
"Oh, and Arnold?"
"Yes?"
"There is one more student I would like to add to this year's batch"
********
She felt hot.
It pricked her skin…
It was as though a thousand needles were embedded in her skin, going deeper and deeper as the seconds ticked by. Her wails and shouts seemed to be muffled by the thundering rain.
Suddenly, a hand with ghastly long nails yanked her down and Blossom's eyes fluttered open. She was breathing heavily with her palm placed over her chest. Small beads of sweat had formed on the crown of her head and proceeded to trickle down to her chin.
She poured herself some water. She had placed a jug of it on the nightstand, Hilda had lent her a few nights ago. She had also met the Village Head that day.
After calming down, she lay down on the bed. It was still night and most of the village was asleep. She stared at the ceiling, unable to fall back asleep. She feared that dream. Ever since Nicholas left, the dream had become a repeating guest star in her sleep. She didn't know what prompted the dream or why it started to happen right after Nicholas left. All she knew was that after her first time with this nightmare, she had lost one of her valuable friends again. She felt uneasy without her, she wouldn't be able to—
A bright light flashes and spreads itself across the entire ceiling.
" He is almost here…" In his letter, Nicholas stated that he would send a signal through the ring to inform her how much time till he returned. The brighter the light, the sooner he was to return. A sense of relief washed all over her.
"It seems he is arriving in time for the merchants' departure". The merchants had arrived days ago and were about to leave in two days not be caught up in the chaos that happened on the Act.
Cautious about disturbing the rest of the family, she changed into one of the dresses Hilda had lent her and snuck out of the window to the restaurant.
It was pitch black inside and there was not a single sign of life. She walked away from the restaurant and turned to a small path that led to a nearby brook. The moon, reflected in the waters, cast a magical glow creating a serene atmosphere.
A small gust of wind blew, lifted up her dress and made her black hair dance in the wind.
"Hey…"
************
"Bloss, I have another fry order" Mr Porter yelled though it was still quite difficult to hear his voice over all the laughter and chatter. Though muffled, Blossom was able to hear and proceeded with due efficiency. The restaurant or The Black Bottom Inn had gotten quite busy over the past couple of days. Business had greatly improved which prompted Mr Porter to give to brand it.
Done with the order, she wove through the crowds that had assembled by the kitchen door, searching for Mr Porter among the masses. She found him, surrounded by cheerful patrons, talking enthusiastically to one of them.
She approached them with a smile.
"Uncle Tom, the order"
He noticed her and immediately a smile blossomed on his face.
"Ah! Bloss! Give it here, I will give them now" He took the plate and handed it to the gentleman who he was chatting with earlier. She knew him; he often came around at midday for lunch. He was also her ticket to the capital, Decker Ruin, captain of the Active Merchants.
" Miss Blossom, it is a pleasure to make your aquantaince again"
"Likewise, Captain"
"We are set to go. All we are waiting for is you"
"I know. Don't worry Captain I assure you I will be ready soon"
" If you say so but be warned I am only you giving you until the day after tomorrow "
" I know" she sighed.
"Well I am off" He waved at her before disappearing into the crowd.
She got back to work and was busy the whole day till they served the last visitor of the day.
"Thats a wrap for today" Mr Porter said after finishing cleaning the tables and chairs they had bargained from the Captain.
Blossom walked out of the kitchen ready to go back to Hilda's home.
"I can't believe four weeks has already passed and you are now set to leave me"
"Dont fret Uncle Tom. You will do well. After all, you have learnt from me"
He chuckled. " Yes, I have"
"Regarding that how about you finally allow me to pay you more"
"Uncle…"
"I know you are unwilling but I am really indebted to you"
She sighed. The way he said made it seem as though she had done a huge thing when she wouldn't have helped lest she had something to gain from it which she did.
"Don't trouble yourself" She smiled and left without giving him the chance of a rebuttal.
She walked past a few villagers who waved and stopped her for a chat. Soon, she was back to what she had called home for past couple of weeks.
"I am home!"
"Bliss! Tori, look Bliss' back!"
Blossom found herself hugged by two children who barely reached her knees.She patted them on their heads. Hilda walked out wearing an apron with her son, the Village Head.
"You are just in time for dinner" Hilda smiled heading to the dining area. An unfamiliar warmth embraced her as she watched the family to sit down. It had been a while since she had seen a scene like this.
"Yeah, I am" She sat down and began eating the generous spread that had been placed before her.
"I can't believe you are already leaving us" Hilda sighed.
"Yeah, I am going to miss you and your stories," said Tori mid chew.
" I will come back soon, promise" Blossom held out her pinky and pinky promised.
"Hilda, I will give you the clothes before I leave"
"Nonsense! Keep them lasse. Like I would let you walk out in that horrid place with those clothes that attract money vultures" Apparently, her clothes were only bought by those in the upper class which impeded her initial intentions of lying low on her travels. It was especially dangerous for her to walk about during the Act as based on the comments from the villagers, it was when the most chaos happen. Though she was aware, she felt bad staying at their home longer than intended and did not wish to inconvenience them more.
After much deliberation, she agreed to only take five sets. After dinner, she found herself surrounded by Hilda and the twins in her room, eager to help her pack.
Hilda lent a sack for her to pack her clothes in and another separate sack to store the food she would get from Mr Porter. Soon, they were done as there wasn't much to pack in the first place. They had also packed the clothes she had arrived in, though they were wrinkled, as there wasn't an iron available in the village.
The twins left for bed soon after, leaving Hilda and Blossom alone in the room.
"Lasse come sit on the bed" After she sat, Hilda grabbed a hairbrush and carefully brushed her hair while she hummed. Hilda then braided her hair into a French braid.
" There" she said satisfied with what she had done.
" Hilda, you didn't have to do that. It will get ruined when I sleep"
"Don't fret about that dear.You will be gone the day after tomorrow, so-"she patted her head,"I wont be able to do this for you again".
"Its not like I am leaving forever. I will come back"
Hilda chuckled." They all say that but they never come back"
" Your son is still here so are the girls."
" The girls are too young to leave me her and be is my son in law"
Blossom was surprised. "Is it fine for me to ask what happened to your daughter then"
"It is. I don't know what happened to her. She went missing after the twins were born"
"I am sure you miss her"
"I do. But you remind me a bit of her"
"How?"
"I am not sure how. All I know is that taking care of you these past weeks has made me relive some of my fondest memories of her."
" You also helped me remember some long forgotten memories" Blossom said with a smile.
Hilda left for bed. Blossom got ready for bed as well.
Done, she laid in bed staring at her ring that glinted in the moonlight that spilled into the room.
" Where are you, Nicholas?" She was worried the light that usually shone at night stopped a couple of days ago and there had been no word from Nicholas. She would have sent a message to him if she knew how to. She didn't know how much longer she could stall for time till it was time to leave. She wondered if she should just set off on her own.
Suddenly, she saw the emerald gem shimmer slightly. Surprised and curious, she moved it closer to the window and soon several star like symbols appeared on the emerald. She traced the stars with her finger, connecting them like a connect the dots game.
A bright light burst out and filled the entire room. The sudden burst caused the ring to split in two which destroyed any other hopes of contacting Nicholas.After a while, the light dissipated and the room returned to normal leaving Blossom still shocked at the fact that the ring broke…