2. Dawn of Mistrust
A new land, a new neighborhood, a new life…those things weren't unfamiliar to the eighteen year old Ligeia Carlton. She's been on the road for so long, that she couldn't even remember which country she belonged to anymore, which city to call home. But despite all the instability in her life, the fact she was moving around so often didn't bother her at all. She loved meeting new people, discovering new places, learning new things and with time she came at peace with the thought that soon after she would have to say good-bye and start over.
First time she was old enough to realize the significance of a parting it broke her heart into thousands of pieces. It all came to her so fast and so sudden that her mother often wondered how she survived it all.
Ligeia was four when her parents divorced. She wished she could say she hadn't expected that to happen, that there were no signs. But she saw them, even at that small age, she saw them. Her parents were always arguing. Though not in front of her, she found it hard to ignore their loud voices cutting the silence in the middle of the night.
She wanted to be brave. She wanted to act tough, to be strong thinking that she could somehow pass it over to her parents and make them strong. But it was in vain. Her father left them in a heavenly morning in March. Ligeia could remember it perfectly, like it only happened five minutes ago.
She was happy. Her parents hadn't had an argument in almost a month and to her it seemed like things got better. She was woken by the soft smell of fresh backed nutmeat, her mother used to prepare for breakfast every morning alongside a huge cup of warm cocoa milk and some cherry jam and butter. Cherries were her favorite fruits, even now. And she loved her mother's home made jam so much that she would often eat a whole jar in a single breath.
But little did she know then that what awaited her downstairs wasn't a family breakfast but more like a soothing one. Her father's luggage greeted her when she came down and before she could realize what was happening her father swoop her up into his arms, hold her tightly at his chest, whispered a "I will always love you." and gone he was.
In that moment she wanted so badly to run after him and tell him not to go, but for some reason she couldn't. For some reason she didn't care. She thought it was because she was in shock. That's what her mother also thought. But when days had passed, and then weeks, and then months and she still didn't show any sign of pain, any sign of sadness or confusion her mother started panicking. So she took her to the only place she knew it could help her. She took her to her aunt's house. They got on a plane and after a ten hour flight they arrived at their destination.
Miss Amelia was a nice kind hearted woman. Her hair was the color of silver just like Ligeia's was, and her eyes a deep shade of blue just like Ligeia's were. If her advanced aging was visible on her body, on her wrinkle face, on her freckled skin, there was no sign of it in her eyes. Those were the eyes of a young girl in love …. In love with love itself. A woman free from all boundaries, a woman no force could bring to heel.
It was already dark outside when they arrived at the red-brick gable mansion. A thunder storm was raging outside and there was no man or woman in sight. To a stranger's eye the house seemed deserted, but to them it was warmer and more comforting than anything they felt in months.
That has been a night of revelations, of self-awareness. Ligeia came to know who she really was, what place her family occupied in the world, and what she had to do.
It was in that moment that reality struck her. Her father had abandoned her. She cried that night until the early hours of the morning. She cried like she never cried before and never cried since.
When they left the mansion it felt like she left a piece of herself behind with Miss Amelia. She wanted so much to stay with her but she somehow knew she couldn't. They all had their own paths they needed to follow, although it was painful to see that they didn't lead them in the same direction.
Ligeia went with her mother. She was reborn at the age of four, a new life ahead. Since then she traveled all over the world along side her mother and now that she thought about it, there wasn't any other place in the world she would rather be.
The alarm clock buzzed as the big tongue showed six. Ligeia had already been awake for an hour now. It had been her first night spent in their new house, well kind of, for they only arrived five hours ago and decided to take a small nap before unpacking. They were going to start early in the morning as there were a lot of things that needed being taken care of.
Ligeia got up and took a look around. The house seemed empty without Miss Amelia despite the two new inhabitants. The house had gotten used to the old lady and found it hard to get used to with the two young ones. She felt sorry for it, after all it lost its heart a month ago. She thought how hard it must have been for it to witness Miss Amelia's death and not being able to do anything about it. It has been hard for her and her mother, too, when they found out.
The owlet had been announcing her death weeks before.
She fetched a sigh. It was pretty early in the morning and looking at her mother's sleepy figure beside where she slept she thought it wasn't the end of the world to let her sleep a little longer. Just until she makes some green tea. Ok, until she makes breakfast.
Her mother, Marianne Rose was a well-know anthropologist and it was because of her job that they had to move around often. She had shoulder-length chestnut hair, and emerald colored eyes. She was forty but she looked much younger. That was a family mark for all the women in her family. They all looked younger than they actually were.
She was a responsible, mature and hard-working person, but unfortunately not a morning person. And Ligeia, knowing her mother all too well, went to the kitchen to prepare some energy-boost- drink for the oncoming day.
As she was going down stairs towards the kitchen she couldn't help but admire the great photographs hanging from the wall. They were quite old but looked so alive, and looking at them closely she almost had the feeling of being sucked into their world, their time; the glamorous roaring years of the 1920s.
That was another thing she and Miss Amelia had in common. They both loved photography, but while Miss Amelia's photographs focused more on locations, Ligeia's focused more on people. She always believed that a photograph could catch a glimpse at one's soul, and she enjoyed having such a connection with the people.
Ligeia' s thoughts found themselves drifting away to that night fourteen years ago, when she last saw Miss Amelia. She wished she didn't have to go. She wished she'd still be here, be happy together.
A black shadow crossed her way and a white porcelain vase with lilies almost fell to the ground if it was not for Ligeia's quick reactions.
"Thetis! How often do I have to tell not to sneak behind my back! You almost broke the vase." She took a match and lit a half-way through burnt candle and as its light shone the room, the figure of a grizzled cat with white stripes appeared in front of her. She was doing her toilette and seemed not to be too bothered at her master's harsh words.
She picked the cat up. "Where's Charley, by the way?" she asked in a curious tone, and Thetis understood her words because she jumped from her tight embrace and went into the living room where, at the feet of a dusty crimson dressed armchair, lay a dog. He was a Blue Lacy of age two in human years.
The poor thing was writhing and kicking with his paws. The gloomy atmosphere of the house was giving him a 'haunted' time, but Thetis immediately rushed by his side and began to nurse him. At this, Charley immediately calmed down and drifted away to sleep in the embrace of a meat- filled dream, Ligeia childishly thought.
They found Charley two years back in a bush by the side of a road while traveling through North Carolina. He was badly wounded, the victim of some immature kids' joke. Blood was running down from his right ear and he was in danger of going deaf. His left paw was broken and had countless bruises all over his small body. When they took him to the doctor's office he said that he had small chances of recovering.
The entire night they never left his side, and by morning he already started showing signs of recovering. They then decided he will become the newest member of their family and named him after John Steinbeck's dog. He always considered his small partner a strong and prideful being and cherished him more than he did most people.
It was at that time that Thetis discovered her motherly instinct. He cared so much for the pup, which was pretty unusual since she was a cat and he a dog, and they should have hated each other like … cats and dogs do. But that didn't happen. Not even when Charley grew. He would always run to Thetis when he was sad or upset or in some kind of trouble like for example tipping over the garbage dumpster or chewing on Marianne shoes.
With time he, too, came to realize his role in the family and as such he became over- protective on the other members, especially on Ligeia. He never let any one go near her. And when saying no one … meaning literarily no one. He once jumped on poor old Mr. Schutz while Ligeia was helping him carry the bag of groceries inside the house. He didn't bit him or anything, he just gave him an odd look. Ligeia could only laugh at the thought of what he would do if she ever had a boyfriend and they'd become close. Charley would probably chew one of his arms off.
Poor Mr. Schutz. And it wasn't even his fault. He was so scared after that unexpected encounter that he'd step out the house five minutes early before Ligeia would, just to be on the safe side.
"Morning, hon, what time is it?" the figure of her mother appeared in the living-room's door and Ligeia nearly screamed for fear.
"Jesus, you're going to give me a herz attack. It's six thirty."
"Why didn't you wake me up?" Marianne was still wearing the clothes she wore last night when they finally arrived at their new home after a ten hour flight and another two hour road trip. She wouldn't have believed that the roads in Domino City were so full at that late hour of the night. Busy people.
"I thought I should let you sleep in for a while longer. Just until I would make breakfast." Ligeia was still wearing her dark- blue jeans and a green blouse. It had been pretty cold last night, despite the fact that they did turn on the heat. The old heater thing protested for an half an hour or so, but it finally gave in. They would have to replace it though. It was getting a bit to 'old-fashioned' for the 21st century. Actually, there were a lot of things that needed to be replaced or repaired or redecorated.
"Thanks, hon. But you know I always make breakfast."
"Well, since I love you so much and since I didn't save any money for your birthday, consider this your birthday present." Ligeia was taking out some rye bread and some cherry-jam from their luggage. They haven't had time to unpack their things yet seeing that they got home so late last night, and it was sort of difficult to track the little bastards down. The green tea, they couldn't find, but that was no problem since Miss Amelia also liked drinking it, so there was a lot of its sort in the small kitchen bins.
Soon the house was filled with the smell of fresh tea and toasted bread, a too familiar sent for both of them. It's true: home is where your loved ones are. It didn't even felt like they were in a new house.
"Why don't we turn on the TV. See what's new." It seemed like the small antic TV was something else they needed to replace. Sure it wasn't an 150inch plasma TV, but at least it worked on the only program it run on: Japan's national channel.
The usual news were running: politics, world economy, elections in America. Nothing worth jumping off the chair. But then something caught their attention. News regarding a new and improved digital version of the well known Duel Monsters game and Ligeia's heart jumped a bit as its creator, the CEO of KaibaCorp appeared on the TV screen.
He was wearing a dark-grey suit and a blue shirt, an attire quite different from his usual white trench-coat. He was interviewed by a young dark-haired reporter, who was so obviously flirting with him, but to her dismay he didn't answer her with the same attitude.
"The new and improved version of Duel Monsters will allow a more real holographic representation of the card games…" his words were flying through Ligeia's years, but she couldn't take them in. Her thoughts drifted away to her life five thousands years ago … to the life of Kisara, as memories from back then came flashing back.
It hasn't been easy for her to deal with all that. And despite the fact that she was a person who lived in the present, she still couldn't ignore her past no matter how hard she tried. There were times in which she wished to forget all the dreadful things that happen to her previous self, and times when she wished she could relive them. The truth of the fact was that she was confused. Confused about who she was back then; confused about who she was now; confused about him and what she felt about him.
Living one life was hard enough for any person. She, unfortunately, lived two.
"Hey, look, Ligeia! Your boyfriend's on TV."
"He's not my boyfriend!!!" Ligeia shouted so loud that Thetis nearly tilted over the bowl of milk from which she was drinking. Face red as a crab, Ligeia started to fold back the dishes.
"You shouldn't be ashamed of having been the mistress of the High Priest, of Egypt. You could have been worse. You could have been the one who washed his feet." Ligeia frowned. She knew what was she was doing. She was pushing her to the edge. Marianne always told her that she needs to accept her past, or else she wouldn't be able to live in the future. But Ligeia still found it hard to identify herself with Kisara. True, Kisara was a part of her, but she wasn't her completely. There were living in different times, different societies, they were having different families and different believes. There was practically almost nothing more keeping them together than the way they looked.
"And besides he is kind of cute if you really think about it. Though I wouldn't consider him my type."
"Of course you wouldn't" came Ligeia's ironical remark "you, after all, like European blood-sucking noble men."
It was Marianne turn to blush. "Oh, it's that how it's going to be, is it now?"
"You started it."
"I'll let you know that Vlad was nothing than a gentleman with me, despite what people thought of him. And I was and always will be in love with him." Marianne said in a playful tone while she headed upstairs to get change, Ligeia not far behind her.
"You do realize that your great true love is Dracula, right?"
"Vlad was anything but that. He was a little … eccentric, but nevertheless a good man."
"No mom. Picasso was eccentric, Van Gough was eccentric. Ozzy Osbourne is eccentric. He was just playing vampire."
"Please. He wasn't like that at all. He was a good strategist who was cursed with a lamentable faith and even more lamentable friends. He just was naïve enough to trust the wrong persons. And, for your information, he never drunk or bathed in blood."
"Ok, so why do they call him Vlad the Impaler?"
"Well, being the great strategist who he was, he knew how to make others fear him. He used to impale his enemies to impose fear and respect. He actually impaled some of his own men. There were some who had injuries on their back. That was a sign that they tried to flee the battlefield, to desert their commander and their companions-in-arms, and he had no time and patience for cowards. Oh, and his 'name' Dracula has absolutely no connection with the devil. His father received the Order of the Dragons, hence the name Dracula. He was actually quite a romantic. He once took me in the middle of the night by the side of a lake where he arranged a date by the candle-lights. You should have seen them, Ligeia, there were hundreds of them."
Marianne was too absorbed by her sweet recollection of the date, to notice the face Ligeia made. Talking about falling in love with a bad-boy.
They were both brought back from their space-out moment by the sound of a bell. The cluck downstairs struck seven. Ligeia headed for the window, while her mother was running through the luggage in search for something to wear. Outside there was a strange looking boy who was sticking around the house with what seemed to be a photo-camera around his neck.
Ligeia motioned her mother to come to the window. They both stared at the odd looking boy with blond hair, almost amused at his attempt to climb over the fence.
"I don't think he knows someone moved in. I don't think he's that stupid to try that knowing that someone was inside. That's trespassing." Her mother replied. "We have the legal right to shoot him, or better, let's give him pimples. That's worse than death to a teenager."
"Now, what kind of good witches would we be if we did that? I better go downstairs and talk to him before he causes trouble … or sees something he shouldn't" Ligeia said while heading down the stairs. She was trying to adjust her clothes, at least to show some sign of decency, but she was a far cry away from that, seeing that she hadn't had the chance to brush her teeth, wash her eyes or comb her hair.
People have always had suspicions regarding Miss Amelia. They always considered her to be a witch especially because she had such a strong effect on men, but the truth of the manner was, that although she did possessed magical powers, like all the women in the Rose family did, she never put them to practice against people. That was something that was forbidden.
She just had that magical charm about her that had nothing to do with potions or spells, but which still drove people crazy.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Joey Wheller was on the road to get revenge. He's been the mock of the others for five years ever since he saw old Miss Amelia at the window, but the other boys didn't believe him. Not even his friend Tristan didn't believe him and he was determined to prove to that back-stabbing friend of his that he was right.
As far as he knew, the mansion was deserted. He wasn't exactly the type of guy to read a newspaper, so he had no idea that the whole neighborhood was expecting two new inhabitants, nor did he know that the house had already been occupied.
After some effort and some scratches on his face he had finally made it pass the fence. He was all prepared: camera around his neck, snickers in his feet in cause of an emergency get-away, bravery in his heart. He got across the front-yard and headed over to the back kitchen. He was actually pretty satisfied with him self that he made it that far. From now, he thought, it was all just a piece of cake.
Joey was ready to open the kitchen window and get in when the figure of a cat jumped right across his face. The poor boy got such a fright that he roll over his back and fell head first into a pile of mud. Charley was not far behind Thetis, and before Joey could get up and run for the hills, Charley already found a comfortable spot right in front of him, allowing Joey a front-row glimpse at his drawn teeth.
"D-o-w-n b-o-y", Joey muttered in the most sweetest voice anyone ever heard. And if Tristan had been there he would have probably recorded him and afterwards post the video on Youtube.
Charley was anyways not impressed. The human dared to enter his family's domain. That had to be punish.
"It's ok, Charley. I'll tale care of this." Charley's face expression softened and he stepped further from the boy, but not far enough just incase the boy got ideas.
The girl saved his life and Joey could be nothing but grateful. For what he knew he could have been dead by now. As Ligeia drew nearer, he couldn't help but wonder why she looked co familiar.
"May I help you?" Ligeia asked in a soft kind voice. Joey stood a moment just starring at her like he was witnessing man's first step on the moon. She was so beautiful, she took his breath away. He never felt like that before. There was something about her that was mesmerizing him.
Ligeia heaved a deep sigh. She wished she didn't have that effect on people. It was a family's curse. They were all so … enchanting.
"Are you alright?" Joey was brought down to earth by her soft and kind voice.
"Oh, yes. Sorry I was trespassing. I didn't know anyone was here." He was trying to excuse himself, though he looked kind of silly scratching his head the way he did.
"It's still private property regardless if anyone leaves here or not." She was rapping his fingers, but her kind and gentle voice confused him to the point in which he didn't know if she was really telling him off or just mocking him.
"Errr…. Are you going to call the police?"
The boy was panicking and Ligeia regretted she made him feel that way.
"No." she said while smiling. Joey calmed down. That was a close one. "Come. We need to take a look at those wounds of yours."
Joey complied. Not because he really wanted her to take a look at him, though the scratches on his face did sting a little, or because he had the opportunity to spend more time with her, a thought which sent shivers down his spine, but because now he had the chance to look around the house, no one entered in twenty- five years.
"Thanks." As they entered the kitchen Joey noticed the huge pile of luggage and boxes. "You just moved in?"
"Yeah," Ligeia said while looking for some home- maid calendula cream to take care of the scratches. "We've just arrived last night."
Joey was looking around in search of some kind of evidence to support their suspicions that Miss Amelia was indeed a witch. The woman must have been over a hundred when she died. That wasn't normal, right? Well he guessed it was, if the respective person lived a healthy, dependency-free life.
Ligeia noticed him searching out the house and she felt a strong urge to punch the boy in the face. Maybe her mother's idea to give him some pimples wasn't that bad after all.
"Now, this won't sting, but your face will be greasy for a while." she said that while she was spreading the cream all across his face. That was hardly asked for, but the boy did deserve it after snooping around like he did. "I'll give you this cream to take home. You'll be good as new in no time."
Charley suddenly stumbled in, barking at the sight of the closeness between the two of them and Joey jumped for fright on the kitchen table. Ligeia couldn't control herself anymore and burst into laughter. The boy was really having a bad day. He must be an Aquarius, she thought.
Ligeia finally calmed Charley down in which she asked Thetis to play with him. She was always such a good distraction for the young dog.
"Hello, there." Marianne came into the kitchen. She had finally changed her clothes and was now wearing a grey willow sweater and some baggy jeans.
"Hello!" Joey replied while straightening himself.
"So you're the one going through our bushes." Joey's face grew red.
"I'm sorry about that." he said and his voice sounded sincere. Maybe he wasn't that bad, Ligeia thought. He then caught him taking a glimpse at Thetis.
"What? Did you expect her to be black?" she said in a mockingly voice.
"ehh… nooo. … I….I'm sorry. I have to go. I'm late for school." As he was rushing out the house Ligeia shouted out to him "I'm Ligeia, by the way."
When Joey turned to face her she was wearing that soft sweet smile that made him feel so happy and warm inside.
"I'm Joey." He wanted so badly to stay longer, to get to know her better, but his mobile phone wasn't on his side as it emphatically started ringing. It was Tea, no doubt, reminding him that he was going to be late for the third time this week. He should hurry, or else he'll end up in detention…again.
"Joey … it's nice meeting you."