Chapter 4: Withdrawn by the Past
Nodoff had shifted his shape back into Nadine and followed Morgana into the kitchen. The witch heaved a flustered sigh, getting slightly annoyed by Nodoff's trickery. Why the hell did he have to be disguised as a female for?! And he still did not answer any of her questions!
"I suppose you wish to outwit me in some beauty pageant contest?!" Morgana asked, half-joking with a hint of sarcasm.
"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it," Nadine replied, fluttering her eyelashes. Morgana heaved an annoyed sigh and impatiently motioned Nadine with her right arm to come by the kitchen counter. The herbs were already sliced and separated in bowls. Nadine's orange eyes shifted to the pot on the stove and she inhaled the scent that was coming from it. It smelled like noodles. At the same time, Morgana went to the sink and brought over raw chicken. She ordered Nadine to help her cut the chicken to which the ghoul obliged. As Nadine rolled up her sleeves and began to slice up one of the chicken thighs in quarters, her mind began to wander. She had expected to dwell on memories of Dream World and how sweet revenge would be. However, those were not the memories that had came to her as she chopped up the chicken. She began to hear a voice.
"Pietro ... Pietro ..."
Nadine paused momentarily to look behind her. No one was there. She shrugged it off to resume her kitchen duties.
"Pietro ... Pietro MacCawber ..."
"Did you hear that?" Nadine asked Morgana.
"Hmm? Hear what?" Morgana replied.
Nadine's large ears drooped sheepishly, disappointed and confused by Morgana's response. How could the witch not have heard that voice? It was loud enough. The ghoul sighed as she finished up slicing the chicken. "You don't think it's a little too much, Morgana?"
"What do you mean?" Morgana replied, unsure if she was going to like what Nadine had to say next.
"Unless you're expecting five or more guests to come later on," Nadine began, "I think this is too much chicken, even for yourself. You'll end up throwing away what is not eaten."
"As a matter of fact, Nadine," Morgana replied, "I am expecting some guests later on. They're a bunch of old colleagues I went to the university with. They'll be visiting much later on tonight." Soon after she had said this, Morgana's eyes fell on the chicken that the ghoul had just finished slicing up ... and was awestruck. The chicken was evenly quartered, not a single slice was uneven and the skin had been separated and put in a neat pile on the opposite end of the cutting board. Not to mention the witch was in disbelief at how fast the chicken was sliced. If it had been done by Morgana herself, it would've taken her half an hour, simply because she detested cooking and the processes that went with it. She only did it because it was less expensive than eating out, her parents were pretty strict about daughters needing to learn how to cook, and there were only certain foods Morgana could eat. But she also enjoyed spending time with her colleagues and didn't mind going out of her way to make sure they had an enjoyable dinner, even if she didn't like cooking. As for Nadine/Nodoff, Morgana was absolutely speechless by the ghoul's skill. It sort of reminded her of how ... but, that wasn't possible. That person has been dead.
"That'll be all for now, Nadine," Morgana told the ghoul. "Wash your hands and I will show you to your quarters."
Nadine abided by Morgana's orders, then followed the witch up the stairs. The two had stopped by a door in the middle of the hallway. Nadine's orange eyes widened when she spotted a small, yet noticeable gold plaque nailed to the door. In Loving Memory of Pietro, it read. But what mesmerized the ghoul even more was the room itself. The walls were painted an odd shade of orange, while the carpet was a dark brown. And everything else, including the blankets, pillow cases, and bed sheets were either red-orange, red, or different shades of brown. Everything in the room was touched with the colors of autumn. Although Nadine had never set foot in this room her whole life, she felt as if there was something familiar about it.
"This will be where you rest while you're here," Morgana told Nadine. "It's the only guest room my colleagues avoid for some odd reason, but I'm sure this won't faze you in the least."
"It doesn't," Nadine replied.
"If I need your help in the kitchen again, I will come upstairs and get you," Morgana had finished telling the ghoul. "In the meantime, rest."
Nadine nodded just before Morgana descended downstairs. The ghoul scratched her head. She wasn't sure why Morgana wanted her to rest, she wasn't the least bit tired yet. But curiosity got the better of her when she approached the bed to sit on it. Aside from the autumn colors of the room, there was also a toy chest across the bed. Clearly, this was a child's bedroom. And the bed itself was only five feet in length, she would have to change back to Nodoff if she wanted to rest here.
"The chest ... the chest ..."
Suddenly, Nadine's orange eyes held a blank expression and glowed. Before she knew what was happening, something had taken hold of her mind. She rose from the bed, though not of her own will.
"The chest ... Open the chest ..."
Nadine approached the toy chest in a puppet-like manner and began to open it. There were a different variety of toys, as one would expect a toy chest to have. But there was only one in particular that stood out among the rest. It was a plastic pail and shovel ... the kind young boys used to play in sandboxes and make sand-castles, sand-armies, and anything using sand. Then suddenly, a series of images played in Nadine's head like a movie reel. What she had saw was not herself, not even as Nodoff. What she had seen was a young boy duckling, playing in the sandbox after hours when he should've been in bed. The boy was laughing, clearly having so much fun. But then the boy began coughing ... and wouldn't stop.
"Remember this ...? This is your past ..."
"My ... past ...?" Nadine replied to the strange voice that she couldn't find the owner of.
"Don't you remember, Pietro ...? This was how you looked before you died ..."
No sooner was this mentioned than a horrifying image flashed before the duckling. The only features that were visible were a pair of red, glowing eyes, and a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth. A scream had escaped the boy duck's mouth, then the images disappeared ... before Nadine finally came to her senses. The ghoul began to sweat profusely and she panted for breath. Not to mention that she suddenly had this huge, splitting headache.
"What ...? What happened ...?" the ghoul uttered feebly as she rubbed her temples with her fingertips. Nadine placed the pail and bucket back in the toy chest and closed it before stepping backwards and landing on the bed in a sitting position. Suddenly, the ghoul wasn't feeling well. What happened to all that energy she had earlier? She woozily fell backwards until her head hit the pillow. Fatigue possessed her as did the mysterious voice from before. The only thoughts that remained before Nadine fell into a slumber was an array of Sleep Sand that Darkwing had spilt back in Dream World.
