Anna fell into her bed in a sobbing heap

Roger Reads

Chapter IV

Anna fell into her bed in a sobbing heap.

It had been a month since the children had come to Ms. Morpheus's Home. And it wasn't really getting worse… but it wasn't getting better either. Anna couldn't stand it anymore, she knew she had to get away from this place, knew she had to leave before her brain exploded…

There was a soft knock at the door. "Go away," she mumbled into her pillow. "Please, go…" Anna lifted her red-rimmed eyes. Roger was standing in the doorway, looking rather uncomfortable. "What do you want?"

"Why are you crying?"

Anna wiped at her eyes. "None of your business. I'm just fine, thank you." She attempted to compose herself.

"No you weren't," said Roger. "You were crying."

"No I wasn't," sniffed Anna, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Yes, you were. You still are," said Roger, stepping closer, and wiping the tear away.

Anna gave in. "Oh, Roger, it's so dreadful here! I try to imagine it away, but I simply can't be a Princess, not even Cinderella, like this." She held up a blistered and splintered hand.

"Who's Cinderella?" he asked, confused.

"You've never heard that story?" Anna asked, shocked.

"No." Roger looked embarrassed.

"That's right, I'd forgotten that you can't read," she murmured. Rogers cheeks tinged with pink. Anna wiped the last of her tears away. "Would you like to learn?"

"What, me learn to read?" Roger laughed, a bit shortly. "I can't, I'm too stupid."

"Who told you that?"

He shrugged, and looked away. "People…"

"Well," said Anna, brusquely, "anyone can learn to read. It's not that hard. Would you like me to teach you?"

Roger looked at her now, astonished. "You'd do that… for me?"

Anna shrugged back. "Sure. That is," she added, " if we can find any books in this place. I wonder…" she mused. If anyone knew where to find things around this creepy old house…

* * * * *

"Aidan!" Anna hissed. "Aidan, wake up."

"Whot's going on…" he mumbled, wiping his bleary eyes.

"Will you take us exploring?"

* * * * *

The three children crept down the hall on tip-toe. Aidan poked his head around a corner, and beckoned Roger and Anna to follow. Anna would have never guessed the house was this large, they seemed to have been walking for ages. Her train of thought was wrecked when Aidan's whispered pierced the darkness. "In here!"

They ducked out of the corridor, into a cavernous room. Anna's eyes adjusted to the dark. The room was rather poorly furnished, just a small desk and a chair, in the center of the room. A moth-eaten oriental rug completed the look. The walls were covered with shelves, but most of them were empty. A few held dusty bottles, full of murky looking fluid, and others held strange globes. "Check this out," hissed Aidan. He handed Roger and Anna a large globe that seemed to be filled with light. Aidan's pale face was illuminated in it. "They say you can see your future in it. Anna shivered and shoved the ball away.

"Let's just get the book."

Aidan looked a bit hurt, but came back with "creepy, huh?"

Roger examined the ball carefully before setting it back on the shelf. Anna crouched down by the few dusty books along the bottom. Roger picked out a heavy volume. "How about this one?" Anna looked at it.

"Most Potente Potions? No, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Told you Ms. Morpheus is a quack," said Aidan. He lowered his voice. "They say she murdered her husband," he looked at Anna's horrified face with growing glee, "and his rotting body is still somewhere in the mansion."

"Oh, come on," said Roger, "you don't expect us to believe that!" But he looked worried.

"Here," cut in Anna, "I've found one." It was a large, leather bound volume of fairy tales, good, but simple enough for a beginner. "Now let's get back to our rooms."

They started off down the hall in silence, Anna clutching the book. Aidan paused at the blind corner, finger to his lips. He peered around, then –

"Run!" he mouthed, motioning them frantically back. Anna heard footsteps approaching, quickly. The children ran to the nearest door. Roger got there first, and flung it open. Aidan shut it, but it failed to latch. The three children stood there, petrified, as the footsteps approached.

"Really, Agatha, don't you think it would be wise to remove some of the chosen before he turns us in?" Anna recognized the voice. It was Mr. Rooksnort, mopping at his forehead as he passed, attempting to keep up with the black gliding figure of Ms. Morpheus. Her cold voice came back at him.

"Humphrey, there is no cause for alarm. We will not be turned in, I have made sure of that." Anna shuddered, thinking of the horrid things she now believed Ms. Morpheus capable of. The three listened closely as the footsteps faded down the corridor, turned another corner, and were gone. Four sighs of relief came pouring out.

Four?

The three children jumped. Roger let out a small yelp, and Anna dropped the heavy book with a thud. Standing behind them, motionless, was a tall, thin man. "It's Mr. Morpheus," Anna thought crazily, "back from the dead to seek revenge." She felt as if she was going to faint, until she noticed Aidan shaking in soundless laughter.

"The look on your faces," he managed to gasp, "Priceless!"

The old man raised a bewildered, bushy white eyebrow. "Adrian?"

"It's Aidan, Mr. Sniktaw, sir. Don't worry, he's harmless – just senile," he muttered back at Anna and Roger. "Allow me to introduce my friends. This is the fair lady Anna Moon, and the kind sir Roger…" he paused.

"Don't have a last name," Roger muttered, embarrassed.

"The kind sir Roger Roger." Roger scowled at him.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," the old man said. He turned back to Aidan, peering at him through thick glasses. "Young master Quimbly…"

"He got that part right," Aidan muttered, aside.

"Do you know where I could go to find a bit of guano?"

"Guano? As in bat dung?" Once again Aidan's sides shook silently. "Well, up in the rafters of the belfry, I suppose, sir."

"Thank you, young master Quimbly. Now you and your friends may continue on your moonlight stroll." Mr. Sniktaw began humming a piece by Vivaldi. Anna realized the old man was clad in pajamas, a dressing robe, and scarlet bedroom slippers. She put a hand to her mouth, attempting to stifle a laugh. "A good day to you, Miss Moon," he added, bowing eloquently. "Now if you don't mind, I'm off to London to have tea with the Princess Margaret." He strode out the door, and down the hall, still humming.

Anna and Roger looked at each other, and burst out laughing.

"Shh…" Aidan hushed them. "We don't want to get caught now," he said crossly. "But yes, Mr. Sniktaw is a barmy old fruit-bat, isn't he?"

They crept back to the east wing, and bid each other goodnight. Anna, for the first time since she had been at Ms. Morpheus's, fell asleep smiling, and dreamt no awful dreams that night. Perhaps it was the comfort of holding a precious book in her arms as she slept.

* * * * *

Over the next few weeks, Anna snuck up to the room where Roger and Aidan worked every chance she could. Roger had somehow managed to get a stash of food, which he had hidden away in a drawer. They would sit there, munching on apple and crackers, while Roger read. Anna sat, listening, and would correct him occasionally.

"…and the prin-cess kissed the hand – the hand –"

"The handsome," Anna interjected.

"Handsome prince. His eye – sight was res- res-"

"Restored."

"Restored. And they lived happily ever after," he rushed the ending. He looked at Anna, and crinkled his nose. "Why? Why do they always live happily ever after?"

"Because silly," Anna laughed, "who wants to read a story with a sad ending? I suppose sometimes it's all right, like in 'The Little Mermaid', but why would you want to read about unhappy things? People have enough unhappiness in their life as it is."

"No, not people," responded Roger morosely. "Just us. Anyway, why can't we read some story that isn't mushy? Don't you know any stories with action in them? I mean, c'mon, girls don't go around being abducted by wicked witches, and throwing their long hair down. Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your long hair," he mocked, with eloquent hand gestures and a serious face.

Anna stiffened and collected her books. "If that's the way you feel," she responded quietly, turning to leave.

"I'm sorry," said Roger quickly, "I'm really glad you're helping me, but aren't there other books that are…" he searched for the word, "less lovey-dovey?"

Anna sighed and shook her head. Boys. They just didn't understand. "Fine. Next time I'll bring something with lots of killing and blood and loss of life."

Roger grinned. "Now you're talking!"

That night the three crept back to the library. Anna quickly grabbed a few volumes, then motioned for them to take off. They made it back to the east wing, but as they turned to head to the bathroom, a soft, cold voice called out.

"Aidan? What are you doing out of bed at this hour?"

Anna and Roger cowered in the dark corner. Aidan stepped forward, his light hair gleaming in the light of the candle Ms. Morpheus was holding.

"Aidan, you know the punishment here for disobedience." Aidan swallowed and nodded. "Come with me." With a fearful parting glance, Aidan followed the lady in black back down the hall.

The next morning, Aidan was missing. Anna and Roger did not speak, but kept their heads low over their porridge. Anna worked 'til noon in silence, then snuck off to the room overhead. Roger was there, flipping through one of the books rather unenthusiastically. He set down the book, and looked up at her. "Anna? You know that time in the library, when you almost fell?"

She looked down at him and nodded. What was he getting at?

A frown crossed his face. "Have you done anything like that since?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

He shrugged. "Just wondering." He skimmed a finger across a row of books. "Have you ever been able to make other stuff happen?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

"Like what, Roger?"

"Stuff… like making things disappear, or appear… things like that."

She frowned. "Yes, sometimes."

"You know that's not ordinary, don't you?"

"Well, yes, I suppose…"

"Like when Ms, Morpheus could see Aidan last night, but not us? We were standing right there, Anna. How could she have not seen us?"

Anna had been wondering this herself. She just shook her head. "Maybe it was his light hair that she saw. I don't know." She turned to go. "I think I'd better get back."

"Wait…" he reached out sand grabbed her arm. "I want to tell you a story."

She laughed incredulously. "A story?"

"Yes." He looked serious, so Anna sat down, folding her legs beneath her.

"Go on."

"Once upon a time…" she smiled at this, but he looked very solemn, so she stopped, "there were two worlds. In the one world, strange things were normal. People could fly, and animals could talk. In the other world…" he searched for the right words, "everybody else lived normal lives. Now the normal world knew nothing of the strange one, but the strange one knew of the normal one. But they avoided it for the most part, because they had everything they wanted in their own world."

He looked at her. "Now here's the part you'll like. A lady from the strange world married a man from the normal one. The had some children, and were planning on living happily ever after. But then, a monster came from the strange world. He came, and destroyed the family. Only the one child survived. And this child was… strange." He paused, thinking of what to say next. "The end."

Anna avoided his gaze. "That's an odd story Roger. No details, no descriptions, no real plot…"

"You just don't like it because it doesn't have a happy ending," hissed Roger. "Besides, I don't remember all of it." He lowered his voice even more. "But you do Anna. You remember it, I know you do. You remember every story you've ever been told."

"I've never heard it before in my life," she responded coldly.

Roger threw the book down. "Fine! Ignore the truth. But you know… you know Anna…" he mouthed wordlessly, then gave up, turned around, and stormed off down the stairs.

Anna watched him go, feeling tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. He was being stupid. She wouldn't cry about stupid Roger. Even if he was her friend. Like Aidan… she thought of Aidan and the tears started flowing.

The remainder of the week was awful. Roger wouldn't even look at her, much less speak to her, and Aidan was no where to be found. Anna was getting really worried. She couldn't sleep. Saturday night, she lay in her bed and looked at the moon through the filthy, high window. She wanted to be free, she wanted to fly away from this place. She kept having nightmares, the same one, the one she could never remember when she awoke. Anna slid silently out of her bed. She stuck her head out into the hall. All was quiet. Anna ducked back into the room, grabbed her shoes, and was off down the hall. She crept down to a kitchen door – the front door would be too heavy and too noisy to use. Still, she held her breath as this door creaked open. Stepping outside into the chilly night, she shivered with joy. She was free, out in the night where she belonged. She could leave now, and never return, she told herself, ignoring the little voice of duty that told her she must stay and be strong, be the heroine of her little fairytale. A dog barked in the distance. Anna headed off into the night.

At the foot of the great hill, he paused. Where to go now? The forest looked dark, but promising. She'd be easier to spot, in these pale blue pajamas, in the field than the woods. She found a little stream and followed it to a large brick fence. She sat down on the fence to rest, pulling her knees up to her chin. That's when she heard it.

It was a small noise, pitiful, like a child crying. It seemed pretty close by. Anna followed the echo past trees and over roots. Finally, it led her to a clearing. A small stone hut radiated cheery light from it's windows, but the noise was definitely coming from there. Anna crept up, and peered in the window.

It was Aidan! Anna's heart skipped a beat. But wait – there was another figure. Two more, in fact. One was Mr. Sniktaw, the other, one of the ruddy faced ladies that's served breakfast. Should she chance it?

Anna ran to the front door and knocked. There was a pause, then the door opened a crack. A bright blue eye, set deep in a very red face, peered out. "Oo is it?"

"It's me, Anna Moon. I'm Aidan's friend. May I come in… please?"

The door shut, and for a moment, Anna thought she'd been shut out. But then there was the sound of a latch being unlocked, and the door opened. Anna stepped inside.

Aidan looked up at her, trying to grin. But it was more of a grimace. And Anna saw the marks on his back.

"Oh, Aidan!" She rushed to him. "What did she do?"

Mr. Sniktaw returned with another washcloth, and pressed it on the boys back. He looked up at Anna briefly, over the rims of his glasses. "Hello Miss Moon."

"Hello Mr. Sniktaw."

"It's Henry, please. I can't stand any association with this cruel business."

Anna was astonished. Was this the same Mr. Sniktaw, the loony? Aidan answered her question.

"He's not mad, he just pretends to be so that he can help us out."

"Yes, and enough is enough. Agatha and Humphrey are planning something, and I won't let them…" he cut off as though he'd said too much. He looked back at Anna with a piercing gaze. "So you're Anna Moon?"

"Yes."

"You are an orphan?"

"Yes. Aren't we all here?" she turned, confused, to Aidan.

"Actually, that's me Mum, in there," he beckoned with a painful jerk of the head.

Anna looked at him, shocked. "Then what are you doing here?"

He sighed. "Long story. My grandfather used to run this place. Henry here was his best friend. But he remarried, to that Agatha creature. And when he died, she took over, and brought in that flunky of hers, Mr. Rooksnort. Renamed the place. Used to be Quimbly and Sniktaw. She even took a new name for herself. Strange stuff goes on up there." He winced as Henry applied a new cloth to his back.

"But why don't you leave now? Leave and report her?"

Aidan's mother had entered the room. She strode over to Anna. "Dearie, we're bound by her." She pulled up a sleeve of her robe. "By this." She jabbed a finger at a hideous tattoo on her left forearm. Anna looked at it in amazement.

"What is it?"

Aidan's mum sighed. "I couldn' tell you meself. She imprinted it on all o' us. If I told ye, you wouldn' believe me."

"Yes I would," Anna nodded eagerly.

The lady raised her eyebrows. "Magic."

"Mum!" Aidan interrupted. He turned to Anna. "She's the barmy one."

"Don't speak of your mother that way, boy," interjected Henry. Anna turned, hoping he'd say more, but he continued his work.

Aidan's mother continued. "It doesn' seem to work like it used to. It used to get real painful. But since 'e was two o' so, it stopped."

Henry Sniktaw spoke. "Anna, don't believe everything you hear. But don't disbelieve it either. Someday, you will understand this better. Soon, you will be on your way. But for now, lay low. Everything will come together in time." He sighed and glanced out the window. "It's getting light out. You'd better go."

Anna left the cottage, a million thought running through her mind.

That day was the longest Anna had ever had. Her eyes were drooping at noon, and by three, she was falling asleep over the signs she was supposed to be filling edges. When the bell rang for dinner, Anna thought she had never been more thankful in her entire life. She sat down at the bench, expecting her food. Instead, the cook stood up and delivered an announcement.

"The children who arrived in September will report to Ms. Morpheus in the dining room immediately." Anna glanced around the room worriedly. Heads began popping up, looking around. Her eyes met Roger's, but she looked away quickly. The children from Miss Marple's stood, and filed out of the room silently.

They were led, by the same gaunt butler, to the dining room. Ms. Morpheus sat at the head of the table. Her posture was as straight, and her face as composed as always, but Anna saw something in her flickering eyes. Could it be fear? "Sit." She swung a bejeweled hand across the room. The children sat. Anna had the feeling that this was not just a dinner party.

Ms. Morpheus rose to her imposing height, placing her slender white fingers on the table, as if to balance her thin frame. "You… children… were brought here from Miss Marple's Home for Abandoned Children," she began. "But Miss Marple was a fraud." There were gasps and whispers all around. Anna leaned in to the table, trying to hear better. "She collected you… rather special… youngsters to exploit you."

Roger stood up. "That's not true!" He was pale, and shaking, but there was a fire in his eyes that made Anna quiver.

Ms. Morpheus looked at him down her long nose. "Silence, boy. You cannot possibly understand what you are involved in." She turned to face the rest of the room. "You will all be packing to leave tonight."

"What?" Anna jumped up now. "Where are we going?"

Ms. Morpheus smiled rather cruelly. "Sit down, child. No need to worry. I found an especially nice place for you." Her voice rose again, as she addressed them all. "I am splitting you all apart, so it will be harder for this devious woman to find you and – "

She never finished the sentence. The door swung open, and there was Henry Sniktaw, wearing the strangest outfit. His long, deep purple robe swirled about him, and he held a stick of wood in his hand like a weapon. He spoke softly.

"Agatha, release them now, and you won't be killed."

She laughed, a cold mirthless laugh. "Hello, Henry. How nice of you to join us!" She looked at him, amused. "Put that thing away. We have guests."

"Agatha, they should be told the truth."

"And what will that get me, a cell in Azkaban?"

Azkaban? Anna, who had studied the old atlas at Miss Marple's thoroughly, had never heard of such a place.

"It doesn't have to be this way, Agatha," he whispered.

"No, Henry, it doesn't." And with that she drew her own stick out of her pocket. "Avada Kedavra!"

Anna felt a rush of wind, a cold wind, full of many voices, fly by her head. Green light blinded her. She fell to the ground, trembling. So had many of the others. She turned her head, to see Mr. Sniktaw. He was crumpled in a heap on the floor. Anna turned her head back to Ms. Morpheus, mouth agape.

Ms. Morpheus merely brushed off her black dress, and sat back down. She shook a lazy hand at the form of Mr. Sniktaw, laying on the floor. "Take him away," she said simply to her butler.

Then she turned back to the children with a smile on her face. Anna cowered, half under the table like the rest. Ms. Morpheus turned the wand (for Anna knew that is what it must have been) on the huddling group.

And with a slight smile, she whispered, "Obliviate."

A/N ~ Oh, dear, have I gone too over-the-top too soon? I certainly wasn't planning all this! Anna tends to embellish and exaggerate, I can never tell what happened and what didn't. Thank you all you kind peoples who doth review! And thanks to my message board friends; yes I have gotten enough feedback to feel *inspired* to continue. I have twenty some chapters planned for this book, but I have the first four years (so far) mapped out in my head. So we'll see how it goes. Yes, CLS, you'll have to wait quite some time to see where this goes. Sorry! J