The Well
Chapter One: Into the Fount
"WILLOW!"
The name was called loudly but, had a deadly tone to it.
Willow nearly spilled the well water onto the olive green grass. She looked up almost astonished to see Lady Valentine in a puffy pink dress. She looked more of a cherry than a flower.
"WILLOW! You come here!" Lady Valentine huffed.
Willow had no choice but, to quickly hurry across the backyard bare foot. She had begged and pleaded Lady Valentine for shoes for her aching feet but, all she would get was a piece of cardboard and string. Willow would either have to create her own shoe or buy one. Willow nearly laughed at the word 'buy'. She had no money at all. She was as broke as the men down in the alley.
"ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME GIRL?" Lady Valentine shrieked violently.
Willow was nearly shaken. She hurried along as swiftly as she could without yelling how much in pain her feet were. Willow took a deep breath of relief as she put down the buckets of clean water next to her. She was finally in front of Lady Valentine.
"You see this?" Lady Valentine said quietly. "My daughter's shoe has been worn! You see the mud," Lady Valentine had taken a pink pump from behind her. She shoved it into Willow's face, there was a spec of mud on the side.
"You think I did it?" Willow questioned softly. There was a shiver in her voice. She was scared and frightened of Lady Valentine.
"MEREDITH!" Lady Willow called.
Meredith appeared right behind her mother. She looked as if she had been eating too many scones and crumpets. Her chubby cheeks jumped when she opened her mouth.
"Mother. She did it. I saw her! She wore my new pink pumps around the yard! I saw her, mother!" Meredith kept chewing on a scone. "With my own blue eyes!"
Willow gasped and took a step back. It was useless arguing with Lady Valentine. Willow sulked. Her hands in fists. She looked down at her bloody toes and waited to hear her punishment.
"Punish her! She must get punished, mother! Punish her!" Meredith jumped. Her face now a tomato red. "I want her punished!"
"Relax, Meredith…my darling daughter. I know one way how to…deal with such a pig like her." Lady Valentine whispered as she hugged her plumped daughter.
Meredith gave Willow an evil glare and waited to hear her mother preside over Willow's punishment.
"You will clean the house, inside and out! You will cook dinner with my darlings favorites! You will trim the trees! You will clean the horses and their stables! You will clean the roof! You will clean our shoes and clothes! You will empty out the water closet! You will…do our hair! You will…you will," Lady Valentine's dark eyes flickered to the well. A smile formed on her face. "You will clean the inside of the well. I want clean water in there by morn. Chop chop!" Lady Valentine smiled deviously. "Come on pumpkin." Lady Valentine cooed at Meredith. "Who wants a slice of gooseberry pie?"
Willow's stomach growled loudly. She held it tightly and observed the trees and blue skies. She took a deep breath and looked at the well. This couldn't get any worse. Willow thought. She always tried to think of the positive things at a time like this.
Willow looked at the water in a bucket next to her. She groaned and picked the bucket up. She carried it over to the well and looked down. It looked like a dark hole that would never end and when you heard that plop you would enter Hell. Lightening had just struck in the sky looking as if it just cut the sky in half. The clatter of rain from the South was pulling it's way to the North. Thunder roared at her sounding vicious.
It was only seconds later the hard rain had hit Willow. Soaking her as if she were a piece of garbage. Her auburn hair stuck to her pale cheeks. She flipped her hair so it would stay out of her face. Willow's cold grey eyes searched for the ladder. When she touched the long wooden ladder that was next to the white fence. Lightening had been cackling at her for how foolish she was to do this during a storm.
As Willow's blue dress stuck to her like glue she had been sliding in the ladder into the well. She then felt something tug the ladder down. Willow was going to scream but, she was in too much shock too. She tried to pull it up but, another force down below began pulling on it harder.
"Let go!" Willow shouted.
The ladder then was being pulled upwards. Willow backed up away from the well when the ladder threw itself onto the wet grass. Her chest was juddering up and down as if she had just swam in a five mile swim non stop.
It had been five minutes and Willow was still on the ground, staring at the well. She gripped the grass near her tightly. Thoughts had been jamming into her mind, How? Was what every thought began with. Willow finally stood to see a grass stain on her dress. She took another breath. Her heart began to settle down. She took slow steps toward the well. She looked down and it looked the same. Silent, dark, and deadly. Possibly, this is my imagination toying with me. I haven't ate since yesterday…that's probably it. Willow thought. She grabbed the ladder and saw green goop on the end rims. What's in this well? If there is something dangerous down there then, I'll be a goner. Willow shook her head. She had to tell Lady Valentine.
Willow dropped the ladder and ran towards the house. She opened the door to see Lady Valentine feeding Meredith. "Great. What do you want?" Lady Valentine dropped the fork of gooseberry pie. "My my. What happened to you?"
Willow wanted to walk right next to Lady Valentine and smack her across the face. "There is something in that well." Willow said in a hoarse voice.
"And what do you want me to do? Not make you do it?" Lady Valentine snorted. "Go down into that well and clean up whatever muck is inside of it! I don't want contaminated water! My darling daughter wouldn't want to get sick now would you?" Lady Valentine threw her attention back to Meredith.
Willow felt hollow inside. Her heart was still…everything had slowed down. She stomped outside and slammed the door closed. The green goop on her hands was gone. It was as if it disappeared in thin air. The rain must of washed it away. Willow had picked up the ladder and made sure it was touching the bottom of the well.
"Alright, Willow. You can do this." Willow patted herself on the back and began climbing down the ladder with a bucket in her mouth. When she was right above the water she began cleaning the sides of the green muck. It was disgusting but, she was lucky it didn't smell. She began humming gracefully while she cleaned. She had heard Lady Valentine sing it in her awful voice but, Willow's improved it with her enthralling singing voice. Willow didn't like to sing at any old time but, only when she was alone and either cleaning or reading.
Suddenly, there was a harsh tug on Willow's dress. Willow looked down and saw nothing was there. She was acting paranoid now. She gritted her teeth and kept humming. A slimy hand wrapped around Willow's right ankle. Before Willow could react. She was pulled down into the waters of the well. Willow cried for air but, all she could see were bubbles coming from her mouth.