Part One: The Perfect Punishment
"It's so nice you could stay with us this summer," Mrs. Douglas was a kind woman in her sixties. Her hair was graying and pulled casually back into a bun while her brown eyes glistened youthfully. Her husband of forty-two years sat at the head of the long dining table slurping his soup.
"It is, even under the circumstances," Mr. Douglas attempted to keep in a chuckle until his wife silenced him with a stare. His hair was already grey and depleting quickly from the top of his head; however he looked younger than his wife.
Cara Carson sat in front of Mrs. Douglas and smiled a bit embarrassed. The 'circumstances' that Mr. Douglas had mentioned were not a laughing matter, at least not to Cara. The young girl of seventeen and a half was a bit of a mouth, and her unruly gabber had finally sent her parents over the edge. It was her father's idea to leave his youngest daughter at Hallow Hill with his friends the Douglas' while the rest of the family toured around Europe for summer vacation. At first Cara had thought that the punishment was no big deal, however she quickly changed her mind. The only people who resided at Hallow Hill were the Douglas' and a few of their hired help; none of these people were under the age of forty. Also, the guest house, or the Lodge as they had called it, was very much the same as it had been since the nineteen hundreds, except of course for the few modern touches such as lighting and indoor plumbing. At the Lodge, an old housekeeper lived and she was by far the meanest, most compulsive person Cara had ever had the misfortune of meeting.
"You've become so beautiful!" Mrs. Douglas smiled as she tried to distract Cara from her goofy husband. Cara blushed a bit. "I bet you have a boyfriend! What's his name?" She cooed like a teenager and raised her thin eyebrows. Cara squirmed in her chair. She had only recently broken up with her older, college boyfriend, whom she had been dating behind her parents back.
"Oh no," She responded. "I'm too busy with soccer to date." It wasn't a complete lie, so she thought God would forgive her. Cara gave the couple her most sincere, innocent look, and by the looks on their faces, they believed her.
"That's a good girl," Mr. Douglas chuckled as he gave her a friendly wink. "You don't need to date until you're married." He laughed at his own joke while Mrs. Douglas ignored him and happily continued her chatting.
"You're hair is so lovely! Do you use anything special to make it so volumized?" Mrs. Douglas knew that her husband wouldn't dare enter into a conversation regarding hair and makeup. Cara gave a nervous laugh; this small talk was going to kill her. Normally the girl wouldn't have any trouble making conversation with people, even strangers, but this couple was just a little too strange.
"Nothing special," She muttered. "I just blow dry it and tease it a little." Mrs. Douglas seemed content with her answer.
"What about your skin? It's so smooth! You must go to the dermatologist often." Cara focused on the food on her plate for a moment. This was getting more awkward by the minute and she could feel her smile waver for a fraction of a second. Mrs. Douglas didn't appear to notice, even though her eyes were glued on the younger girl.
"Uh, I just wash my face with this really good acne cream then I put on foundation to even out the color…" Cara bit her bottom lip. Her face was starting to flush from the unwanted attention of the older woman and she knew she had to change the subject from herself somehow.
"Oh and don't get me started on your eyes!" Mrs. Douglas went on, completely oblivious to Cara's more than obvious discomfort. "What a darling shade of brown! They look almost like honey." Cara nodded her face the brightest hue of red it could muster.
Before Cara could respond to the woman's praise, Mr. Douglas broke into the conversation and effortlessly changed the subject. Cara glanced over to the older man and mouthed an unspoken gratitude. It was true that the young girl was very pretty by most standards. Her long, light brown hair was fashionable cut and her curvy yet athletic body made her the envy of many, however all the talk about her daily beauty routine had made her anxious.
"Have you seen the tree circle behind the Lodge yet?" He asked while looking over the rims of his thin glasses. "It's certainly something!"
"Tom!" His wife shrieked, "The girl only just got here two days ago! And she has been sleeping and unpacking all of today, of course she hasn't seen it yet." Cara silently sighed. She wanted to hear what Mr. Douglas had to say and the Mrs. interrupted whenever she could.
"Well she's up now!" The man chirped. "What time is it in California anyways? 4 a.m.? You should be wide awake now!" He chuckled again. The seventeen and a half year old blinked, confused.
"Where is the… tree circle exactly? I might as well look around a little bit before I go back to sleep some more."
"Oh good, it's magical at this time of day! You can see all the stars." Mr. Douglas seemed pleased the young girl was taking an interest in what he had to say. "Right behind the Lodge is a small, but steep, hill. At the top is the tree circle. Actually, a lot of people believe that that very hill is why this estate is called 'Hallow Hill'." He looked towards his wife who was thoughtfully sipping her soup. She apparently didn't care much about the topic. "And they say that goblins and elves built it and they—"
"Tom!" His wife interrupted again. "Don't tell her those old legends. She's a young lady, not a little child. Don't bore her with that rubbish." Cara pursed her lips. She wanted to hear the rest of the story but it was clear that wasn't going to happen as long as Mrs. Douglas was around.
"Oh fine," Mr. Douglas muttered with disappointment. "Experts are pretty sure a religious group called druids built it as a place of worship because they regarded this land as holy." Cara liked the goblins and elves story better, it created some adventure. She stood up from the table (her plate had already been cleared away by an elderly butler) and politely excused herself.
"I think I'll go look for it right now, thanks Mr. Douglas." She said. "Thank you very much for the dinner, I'll see you both of you tomorrow night."
"Wait, Cara," Mr. Douglas stood up and grabbed something from one of the many wooden tables. "Take this with you." He handed her a large, metal flashlight. "Just in case." He added in a fatherly tone. Cara clasped her hand around the thick handle and nodded. Mr. Douglas was more like a father to her than she felt her own father was. Without another word, the seventeen and a half year old walked from the room and finally out of the Hill altogether.
Cara didn't mind the walk from the main house to the Lodge. The path was paved with loose gravel and twisted and turned with the country side. The summer air was cool and refreshing and the air smelled like firewood and pine needles. The forest surrounded the land on three sides and cast long, black shadows over the grassy fields. Cara couldn't help but feel uncomfortable around the daunting trees, and even though the sun was just disappearing from sight she had the flashlight turned on and focused in front of her. Something didn't feel exactly right, but Cara quickly shook the feeling. She focused instead on the soft crunch of the gravel and the sound of animals scurrying to find shelter for the night.
"Heehee!" Cara jumped and turned promptly at the sound of the laughter. She couldn't see anyone on the immediate path, and therefore she dismissed it. The Lodge was now within sight and she quickened her pace to a light jog. Now that she looked at it, the manor was still very grand in appearance and reminded her of a home that would've been used in a Jane Austen novel.
She went around the back of the imposing house and started to poke around until she found the path Mr. Douglas had told her about. Slowly she climbed the incline, her flashlight scanning the nearby brush for animals and insects, until she made it to the top. Towering oak trees formed a perfect circle around the top of the steep hill and through the gaps another layer of trees just as grand could be seen. Through both the layers of trees the inside was hidden, almost like a secret meeting place. Cara smiled to herself as she squeezed her way into the center.
The clearing in the middle of the tree circle had thick and lush green turf across the foundation and the oak trees surrounding it towered so high the flashlights beam couldn't reach the top. Cara chuckled. "Well Mr. D, you were right. This place is very magical." She said to herself as she turned off the flashlight and laid down in the soft grass. "Maybe this summer won't be so boring after all," She added.
She remained there, calm and still as she looked up at the full moon and billions of twinkling stars. I've never seen so many stars before, she thought, the country has its advantages. A sudden wave of drowsiness overtook the young girl and she jumped up quickly to shake away the feeling. She enjoyed being inside the tree circle, but she didn't like it enough to sleep there. Cara grabbed the flashlight and turned it on again before trudging back down the hill to continue her exploration of Hollow Hill.
There were many fields stretched out for miles in front of the two manors and the untamed forest surrounded the other three sides. She remembered someone telling her that the forest had never been cut down or investigated because it was said to be 'haunted', but that was a load of rubbish to the seventeen and a half year old.
The moon was rising higher and higher into the night sky and Cara thought it would be a good idea to head back to the Lodge for the night; she could finish her adventure the next day. She hadn't wondered too far from the guest house so the return trip only took her a few moments. When she arrived there all the lights were off except for the light in the living room. Cara opened the door (which was never locked) and walked into the room. Much like the outside of the house, the inside was straight out of the nineteenth century. Thin lace curtains covered the large windows and the furniture was made of dark-stained wood. It looked more like a museum than a house.
On the old-fashioned couch sat the housekeeper, Ms. Locke. She sat with her back to the door as she worked intently on the knitting project in her lap. "I'm back," Cara said as she closed the front door. Ms. Locke looked up, her sunken eyes showed her slight irritation.
"I can see that," She hissed, her voice uneven and sharp, a sound that reminded Cara of gravel in a blender. The old woman's skin held an innumerable number of wrinkles and her thin, grey hair was placed in a bun high on her head. She had high cheek bones that stuck out like handlebars and she was so thin she looked like she could snap apart at any moment.
Cara did her best to not roll her eyes at the old woman. For the Douglas' being so nice, it was strange for them to have such a horrid woman in their employment. "Well I'm going to my room then." She muttered, mostly to herself, not that Ms. Locke was paying any attention to her anyways.
So Cara climbed up the old, creaky stairs and turned into the first bedroom on the left; her room. A large, fore poster bed sat in the middle of the far wall and two wooden nightstands stood on either side. There was an old, elegant wooden wardrobe in the corner that held all of Cara's clothes and the wall opposite from it was covered in a single window. Over the window was a lace curtain, and over that, currently tied back, were thick black-out curtains. Cara sat down at the vanity next to the door. The mirror reflected back her tired face; she yawned.
The next thing she knew, something was slamming on her door. "Wake up!" An aggravated voice called through the door. "You're not about to sleep the day away!" It was Ms. Locke. Cara blinked drowsily. She had fallen asleep at the vanity and her pale cheek was now dark red from sleeping on the wood. She stumbled over to the door and opened it. The housekeeper greeted her with a glare as she took a wrinkled finger and shook it in her face. "Do you have any idea what time it is?" She barked. "It's almost evening! The Douglas' said they called you and called you and you never answered!" The woman took her hand out of Cara's face and placed it on her temple; she was obviously annoyed at having to deliver the wake up call. "Get dressed and go over to the Hill! It's time for dinner." With that Ms. Locke walked away in a huff and Cara was left holding in a slight chuckle. People's anger never ceased to amuse her.
Cara couldn't believe how long she had slept; her head was pounding from her awkward sleeping position and her back ached. She took off her clothes from the day before (she hadn't even bothered to change, she must have been more tired than she thought) and she changed into a simple pink shirt and jeans. She looked in the mirror, frowning at the ring of black makeup around her eyes. Quickly, Cara washed her face and reapplied her makeup before braiding her long hair and running out the door, Ms. Locke was again on the couch sewing.
Dinner was just as it had been the night before. Mrs. Douglas refused to stop talking and Mr. Douglas continued his lame jokes all while Cara nervously sat there picking at her food. She excused herself early again and leisurely walked back to the Lodge to grab her soccer ball because she decided to practice a bit before it was to dark.
The sun was already setting when she had retrieved her ball from the house and she practiced her dribbling and kicking in the dim light.
A branch cracked behind her.
She turned, surprised to see two figures walking towards her. Cara held the soccer ball as they approached, she was ready to throw it and make a get away. "Hello there," One of the figures said. Both were wearing black cloaks.
"Hello." Cara responded, eyeing them both suspiciously. She did remember the Douglas' mentioning gypsies wandering their land once in a blue moon (Cara didn't take them too seriously because she didn't think gypsies still existed).
"What are you doing?" The one who was speaking was tall and slender with a youthful voice that contradicted his intimidating appearance. Cara thought this boy couldn't be older than herself. The other was also obviously male but he was a bit shorter and more stout, both had their hoods pulled down over their faces.
Cara looked at the soccer ball in her hands and held it up for them both to see. "Um, I'm play soccer." She said, thinking it was obvious. Both the cloaked men chuckled to themselves and Cara could feel a bit of anger burning inside her, who were they to laugh at her?
"I see, I see," said the one as he took a step closer, one hand behind his back and the other reaching out to take hers in a handshake. "Well, Miss Soccer player," He chuckled with good-humor. "I'm Marak and this is my friend, Dosel. Mind if we join you?"