"Don't!" A voice called out to Clint as he walked across the courtyard of Stirling Castle causing him to stop mid step -foot in mid-air- before a young girl with frizzy brown hair and green eyes ran over to him. She was dressed in a pair of black tights, black shoes, grey skirt, white shirt, blue jumper and a blue tie. "You were about to step on the spot!"
"What?" Clint asked while Natasha frowned.
"Look!" The girl squeaked while pointing at the ground under Clint's foot which was still in mid-air. Natasha nudged him with her elbow causing him to move his foot and put it down next to his other one. Both he and Natasha looked down at the floor and there in little light sapphire blue coloured pieces of mosaic was the name Una.
"No-one walks over this spot!" The girl said.
"Why?" Natasha asked kindly.
"It's where the witch was burned." The girl said, "But people say that when she was finished burning all that stood in this spot was a large black wooden cross."
Another night, another round of nightmares, screaming and running before another pray at the altar. Alba never had a single peaceful night sleep. She had sat at the base of the alter, in shadows of the chapel as she remembered the worst part of her nightmare -waking up after the feeling of burning finished- and after all this time she still couldn't live with the memories.
"Even after three hundred and fourteen years why do you still torment me?" She screamed at the darkness up on the connecting balcony. If she had anything at hand she would have thrown it at the item hidden in the shadows up above but she didn't and so she couldn't. So instead she cried until she fell asleep on the stone floor.
Now Alba awoke slowly with a contented sigh. Her eyelids had a gentle blue light shining against them. Opening her eyes she found herself lying on the stone floor of the chapel near the alter covered with a think tartan blanket with the translucent blues, pinks, reds, greens, and yellows from the stain glass windows shinning down on top of her. Her eyes widened with surprise as she sat up causing the thick tartan blanket to fall off of her slightly.
"Well that's a first!" She said while looking at her hand in confusion, "Not blue. That's another first!" She looked up at the doors to the chapel to find one open slightly allowing her to hear music being played from downstairs. "Gimme Gimme Gimme by ABBA?" She frowned as she thought about the song and how it could be playing. Only one thought came to mind that made her nearly jump to her feet and run to the chapel doors.
"There's only one person that would play that song!" She said as she ran down the stairs then the steps before running to the balcony overlooking the grand hall. She placed her hands on the railings as ABBA sung away from the gramophone upon which stood a pure white A5 envelope. This caused Alba to smile before she ran from the balcony to the spiral staircase and then down it before walking over to the gramophone as ABBA sung their chorus.
'Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight,
Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away?
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight,
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day.'
Alba sighed and shook her head as she reached for the envelope. On the front it had 'To Alba Wallace' in thin curly jade green handwriting. She turned it over and opened it before pulling out a black piece of card. She flipped it over and read the sliver writing on it.
'Miss Wallace,
You have been formally invited to the University of Saint Andrews' Masquerade Charity Ball on Friday the 15th of August. All money raised will be going to the charity; Help for Heroes.
Please send your RSVP to Professor Ken Morrison by Wednesday the 13th of August.
Please find address on reverse side.'
"That's today!" Alba said shocked as she remembered the date. She looked back into the envelope -as she knew who it was from- in hope of there being a note. Thankfully there was and it was written in the same jade green handwriting as the writing on the envelope.
'Alba,
Don't panic about the RSVP. I've sorted it out already for you.
Don't worry about Father 'You must be locked away' or my brother. I've got that sorted but we really need to talk.
See you on Friday, R.'
"Oh, you're going to get us both into trouble." Alba said while shaking her head but she couldn't help the smile breaking out on her face. She put both the invite and the note back into the envelope and ran back upstairs and back to her room. "I need to make a dress for the occasion!" She ran over to her faded light blue and silver vanity in her room before sitting down at it and rubbing her hands together.
"Pàipear." Alba said once her skin turned blue, her hair became wild, thick and black and her dark blue eyes seen a white glow came from in between her hands as she rubbed them together. She smiled before separating her hands causing the white glow to fall onto the surface of the vanity and there lay a sheet of pure white paper causing her to giggle to herself. She put the pads of her forefingers to the pads of her thumbs before putting them together.
"Peansail." She then pulled them apart in a straight line and a white line appeared in between her fingers. Then when she had her hands about seven inches apart the white line turned into a sharpened pencil and spun around so it was vertical in mid-air and she took a hold of it with her right hand. Now with the piece of paper and pencil she began to draw the design of the dress she was going to make along with the masquerade mask for the ball.
"Oh how Cinderella would be green with jealousy!" She smiled to herself as she be gain to draw.
Before either Alba or Bruce knew it Friday had come. Bruce spent the morning with Tony as Tony decided on which car -an Audi none the less- he would like to rent for the fundraiser ball while Alba cooked up a potion in return for the invitation to the ball from the thin and curly jade green writing 'R'.
In both the Audi and castle the air was filled with Frank Sinatra singing 'Singing in the Rain' and by the time midday came along Bruce was humming along while Alba sung. As the car glided along the roads and eased around the bends Alba was striding and twirling like a ballet dancer around the grand hall causing her white night dress to flow elegantly around her legs.
The ball was to begin at seven o'clock so by half past five Alba had begun on your brown hair. She had washed it earlier that morning and now it hung around her face and over her shoulders in beautiful elegant brown waves as she sat at her vanity. She put a small bit of natural hair oil -about the size of a pea- onto her left hand before rubbing her hands together and then running her fingers through her hair causing the little bits of fly away hair to disappear. She then applied a small amount of make-up to her eyes and lips -she wanted to keep it natural looking with smoky eyelids and clear lip gloss- before pulling some bits at the front of her hair to the back and clipping them there while the rest of her hair stayed free.
Bruce on the other hand had started a half an hour later than Alba had and was now stood in front of a mirror looking at himself dressed in a black suit, white shirt, a dark purple tie and a pair of smart black dress shoes. In his right hand was a plain dark purple mask that matched his tie. He didn't really understand why they all had to wear masquerade masks but it was the student's choice for a fundraiser event -or so he was told anyway.
"Bruce!" Tony called through the door of the hotel room door, "You ready?" Bruce looked at the door and debated about opening it or not but this had been his idea and they really needed the information.
"Yeah." He said as he unlocked the room door and opened it to see Tony leaning against the door frame dressed in a black suit, red shirt with the top two buttons undone and black dress shoes, "Where's your mask?" Tony then pulled out a pair of Aviators and put them on.
"Happy?" He asked as Bruce looked at him shocked.
"What if they won't let you in without a mask on?" Bruce asked and Tony smirked.
"It's all sorted." He said before pushing off of the door frame as he looked at his watch, "Time to go!"
"It's seven already?" Bruce asked while closing his room door behind him and followed Tony down the hall.
Alba on the other hand was smoothing out the fabric of her dress over her hips. Her fingertips brushed against the purple stitching as she smoothed out the satin fabric again just to make sure before her blue eyes looked up into the full length mirror.
She didn't even recognise herself in such a beautiful dress of the present time wearing black high heels sent to her by 'R'. She had never even seen her self done up so beautifully before. She thought she would look like a modern day doll but she looked more like the ladies that would hang happily on the arm of a Lord, Duke or even a King. Yet she had more sense and self-assurance than they did and she held that now in her reflection.
Alba heard the hands on the fading light blue and silver grandfather clock in her room move and glanced at it in the mirror as it began to chime away its song.
"Seven o'clock." She said to herself and turned to a coat hanger and picked up a thick purple shawl before leaving her room.
The ball -even though it was just beginning- was in full swing. Students mixed with teachers and guests as a group of musicians played in the background, Tony had been pulled aside by a group of female students who recognised him all wanting to talk to him, Bruce stood awkwardly not too far away from Tony and the group and Alba had just entered the hall and was looking around it in amazement.
The décor was in the colours of the charity Help for Heroes -dark blue, red and light blue. The tables were light blue with comfortable looking dark blue chairs and pure white plates bearing the University of Saint Andrews emblem upon them and silverware sat on the tables on top of red napkins. This was exactly what Alba expected of a high profiled fundraiser -though the last one she had been to was many years ago. The thought made her giggle to herrself.
Bruce turned around at the sound of Alba's giggle and seen her looking around with a large smile which he was sure would have reached her eyes only her black mask with purple swirls hid them from him at the angle and the distance he was stood at. Though he could see her long black cocktail dress with one purple shoulder strap over her left shoulder which curled under her arm and connected to the strap on the other side, she had a similar pattern of purple stitching in the shape of three circles going down her right side with the top one starting from under her arm and ending with one just above her right hip. He seen her long wavy brown hair flowing elegantly down to just above the middle of her back and her purple shawl around her.
Alba on the other hand felt someone watching her and turned around to look for them only to see who invited her sat at a table with their back to her not too far away. She walked over to them smiling as they played with a lock of red hair before she placed her hands on their slim snow white shoulders.
"You do realise how much trouble we'll both be in if Father Douglas finds out about this meeting." Alba said, "Don't you Rona?" She turned to look at her.
"Can't you have a bit of fun, Alba?" Rona MacDonald said while standing up causing Alba to remove her hands from her shoulders. Alba smiled as she looked her up and down.
"You've grown up." She said, "And had a bit of money thrown your way." She pointed to the strapless white dress and mask Rona was wearing.
"You haven't changed a bit, Madam." Rona said emphasising Alba's title while brushing her fingers over a pendant that looked like a clockwork dragonfly with a jade attached to its tail. Alba grimaced at her title but smiled at Rona as she said, "Have a seat! We must speak!"
"What about?" She asked as she moved her dress slightly to allow her to sit in the seat next to Rona.
"I guess you've heard about Edinburgh." Rona said suddenly talking all business. Alba nodded but Rona didn't continue.
"What about it Rona?" She said after a second of silence too long.
"You don't have any theory about it?" She asked shocked, "You don't have a theory about what happened?"
"Not that I'm sharing." Alba sighed annoyed. Of course Rona would want to know what Alba thought about it after all she was the only person that she knew to be a witch. "Why do you want to know Rona?"
"My brother asked me for all the files I could get on it." She said, "He was rather clear on mentioning that you wanted to look into this as well which got me thinking."
"That brother of yours!" Alba said irritated, "He knows that you have a job to do and that you want to keep it." She sat back in her seat as she thought about the trouble that Rona could have been in from Markus getting her the information that she needed from the rest of the world away from Ailsa Craig. "Does anyone know about you copying the files or about Markus, the Brotherhood or worse, you?"
"Calm down." Rona said soothingly while taking one of Alba's hands in hers, "No-one knows about the files or me." Alba watched Rona's body language change. "But they are looking into the Brotherhood and have spoken to Father Douglas." Alba let go of the breath she had held while trying to gather herself after taking in what Rona had said. She looked about her quickly and didn't see anything odd before looking back at Rona's worried eyes behind her white mask causing her to put her free hand over Rona's and smiled reassuringly.
"I'm fine." She said, "I'm just worried about this. All of this."
"Why?"
"Because I have an idea of what happened but I don't know for sure if I'm right. Plus, if I am correct then we're all in trouble. Deep trouble."