Bag of catnip: $7.99
New batteries: $4.35
Laser pointer: $12.79

Watching my cats run in circles chasing the little red dot:

priceless

Φ

Chapter Four: Fight, Fright, and Memory

Leah

I was fighting for my life.

As my attacker neared, I instinctively shifted to the left.

Sweat was dripping off my brow into my eyelashes, stinging and obscuring my vision. But I had no time to pay attention to such a trivial matter. After nearly two hours of uninterrupted combat, my brain was beginning to lose its sharp edge, leaving only enough power to continue one task. Defeat the foe.

Where my borrowed shirt was drenched in perspiration, my assailant suffered no more than a faint sheen on his face and heavy breathing. He mocked me with his resilience. I would wipe that smile off his face! All I had to do was exercise patience a little longer. He would make a mistake, and I would be ready. Step, shift, lunge, duck… With a low and frustrated grunt, he over extended his thrust. I seized my chance.

Pivot at the waist,

Adjust the stance,

Step,

A flick of the wrist,

And my foil fell perfectly into place!

Unfortunately, my counter attack had been anticipated. I found a small dagger at my throat. Surrendering, the blade fell from my sweaty palm. Resigning myself to defeat, I found myself the brunt of a cruel joke yet again. The victor's laughter ignited and released the aggression left over from this afternoon. I let loose.

All it took was one swift jab to his ribs.

The dagger dropped to the ground with a satisfactory clank. I whirled around to let loose the fury of my tongue. But one look at the expression on his face stopped me dead in my proverbial tracks. Gasping for air, he reminded me of the fish he had taught me to catch last summer at the lake.

I immediately dissolved into a fit of giggles.

"Ha! I drubbed you Henry! I thrashed you soundly!" I cried triumphantly in a slang that would have made Abuela positively livid, had she heard.

"Urmf… you didn't win, you cheated … you'll never beat me! Honestly Izzy…"

"Yes I will! And don't call me that!"

"Call you what, Izzy?" He asked so innocently I was tempted to laugh again. I barely kept a straight face.

"Ooo, don't make me hit you again!"

"Alright, alright, I give in! I don't dare brave the terror of your right hook!" My brother cowered in mock submission.

Our mirth was cut short by a respectful knock on the door of the fencing hall.

Frasquita entered with her characteristic quiet, marred only by a tiny grin.

"Senorita, your grandmother requests your presence in your bed chamber." She barely suppressed a chuckle as she took in my unkempt appearance. "But you may wish to change into something a bit more … presentable."

"Is everyone going to make fun of me today?" I threw up my hands playfully.

I knew that my nana was right. I must have looked a sight, dressed in one of Henry's hand me down fencing uniforms. It hung about me in billows of extra fabric, soaked in sweat. My hair was unkempt and slicked down, heavy with the results of my effort. I would most definitely have to change.

Unlike my mama, my grandmother was aware of my less that proper pursuit. But accepting my hobby and liking the fact that her granddaughter was desecrating the female ideal were two very different animals. It would be unwise to see her in my present state.

And even if I hadn't agreed with her statement, I probably would have done as she asked. Frasquita had been my nana since I was six. She was only ten years my superior, but I respected her judgment without question. She was like a second mother to me, sharing the role with my Abuela when Maman was so often absent.

"I suppose I shall need your help nana. Do you think you could smuggle me a clean …"

She merrily produced a thick blue dress from behind her back.

"My savior!"

"You are a mind reader!" cried Henry. "And I suppose that I ought to go now."

He gave me an affectionate kiss on my grimy head.

"Thank you, Henry. I was in dire need of the distraction."

"Don't you worry, Izzy. They'll come around. You'll be prima ballerina before you know it."

"Don't call me that!"

I felt a warm glow of pride as he left me to change. I would confirm his faith in me. Nothing would stand in my way.

Nana deftly helped my out of the soiled smock and the tight pants. A fresh pair of stockings felt sublime on my tired legs. A loose corset and minimal under things came next. She tenderly helped me wash up before I stepped into the inviting day dress.

I tried to avoid thinking about the near future. I knew it would not be pleasant, even in the best of possibilities. Abuela was likely to have a conniption trying to dissuade me from what I wanted. I felt a pang of remorse, knowing that my choice would likely shame her. I half prayed she would understand.

Nana still wore a small smile. What did she know?

I had no time to guess. She finished my last button and gave me a little push towards the corridor, then began to pick up my objectionable clothing.

I was as ready as I would ever be.

Φ

Her back was turned to me.

Quietly, I approached her with an anxious heart. I would go the academy, whatever the cost.

I could only hope it wouldn't be too much.

I steadied myself with a cold hand on the mahogany doorframe. Silently I waited for her to finish whatever she was doing at the end of my bed. Her dove gray hair crowned her slender frame in a gentle upsweep. She looked as though she belonged in a quaint painting. Even to my untrained eye, her long lined frame and the soft white linen of my bed made artistic contrast to the rich red paneling of my bedchamber walls.

All thought drained from my mind as my Abuela turned to me with a dignified murmur of her full buttery skirts. I set my face with a steady determination. I would need every ounce of strength that I could muster to match wills with the strong woman who moved to stand near me.

And yet…

A glimmer of amusement graced her thoughtful countenance. Few people would catch the subtle signs, but I saw the good-humored curve of the graceful creases at the corners of her eyes. Perhaps I would not need to fight today.

I was a bit confused. I had come expecting to debate in hot tones with her, expecting a stern face to great me. Instead, there was laughter in her sweet, blue-gray eyes.

A tiny shot of irritation coursed though me. Today, it seemed that every one was privy to a grand, cosmic joke that I was not let in on. I quickly dismissed the foolish emotion, waiting with baited breath to hear what Abuela would say.

I did not wait long.

"Well child, it was good of you to finally come!" She asserted with mock rebuke. "But I am glad that Frasquita managed to get you into something a bit more tolerable than those dreadful bloomers you've taken to parading around in."

A heated blush escaped my cheeks until she continued.

"I hope you don't intend to defile all my careful packing by taking any of those awful things with you."

My eyes widened as she stepped aside.

She had been carefully concealing two large trunks behind her. I could barely breathe.

"Thank you Abuela! I don't know what to say!"

"Oh, I'm sure you'll think of something." She murmured lightheartedly.

I knelt down beside them in awe. I could hardly wrap my mind around what this meant.

"Are you giving me your blessing?"

"No Lealita, that I cannot give you," Her smile faded a little, "but I am willing to let you go regardless. You know what this will mean for you, don't you?"

"Yes Abuela. I know what I'm giving up. This is my dream and I won't ever want anything else."

"Only if you are sure."

"I am."

"Then I suppose I shall have to purchase season tickets. I won't say that I can bless you for your choice, but I am glad that you have the fire in you to chase your dream."

"Besides," she brightened, "I have wanted to see the subscriber's rotunda at the Garnier for ages. Now I have a good excuse."

I beamed up at her with adoring eyes.

"I will see this through. I won't give up. I promise."

"I know bebé, I have faith in you."

She gently embraced me and I twined my fragile arms around her chest. We stood there for a few moments, crying a few silent tears in our mixed emotions. The world around just left us alone for an instant in time.

Breaking away from my grasp, Abuela gently kissed her tears into my hair and ran her hands over my face. I was as though she were trying to memorize me from the outside in, catching every eyelash and stray hair in the galleries of her memory. I put my hand atop hers, trying my best not to cry again.

When we were both still, she began to speak again.

"Before you go off to your fame and fortune, nieta, there is something I want you to have."

She searched her skirts, fishing out a small silver chain bearing a single charm.

A tiny lead key.

I had not expected a gift! I stared in disbelieving curiosity. But what an odd gift!

Merely a simple key, it was not something I would have expected my grandmother to choose. Her taste in everything tended to lean towards the ornate, while this key was unpretentious in design and material. Somehow, I found its simplicity had an odd beauty of its own.

My quizzical look had not escaped Abuela's keen eye. She gave a short laugh.

"Perhaps I ought to explain. Come, sit next to me." She patted a spot on the pale green embroidered comforter. I complied, sinking into the welcoming down of my bed.

She reverently fingered the key, as though remembering something with loving care.

"This once belonged to your great great grandmother. It has been handed down from mother to daughter ever since then. I had been meaning to give this to you on your birthday, but I think you may be a bit too busy for a celebration by May."

"I won't ever be to busy for you!"

"No, not purposefully I'm sure," she said with an indulgent smile, "but I would just as soon you have it now."

"Thank you … so much …"

I felt a choking sensation in the back of my throat.

"Well, if you're going to tear up that easily, perhaps I shouldn't give you the other half."

"Other half?"

She bent down gently, retrieving a dark object from underneath the lacey dust ruffle. Then she laid it in my lap. A beautiful ebony box, inlaid with delicate veins of ivory and light stained wood. The hinged cover was decorated with a gracefully bending sprig of lilies of the valley. The fittings were silver, fragile and clean lined. I could tell that they had been fashioned to mimic the design of the key.

I couldn't wait to see inside. Looking up, I was about to ask Abuela to help me open it when she murmured to be still.

"I want you to promise me one thing, Lealita."

"What?"

"I'm going to put this with your things," she loving took the jewelry box from my lap and laid it atop the nearest trunk, "but I want you to wait until your birthday to open it."

She smiled at the sight of my consternation. I hated to wait, and I had a cat's proverbial curiosity.

"Please, humor me just this once."

"You know I will."

"However, this part of my gift is something for you to have now."

I bowed my head as she slipped the chain around my neck. A single tear traced down a little groove in her cheek. "Whenever you look at this, you can remember how much I love you."

Looking into her caring eyes, I knew that I would never forget.

Φ

I held my breath until I could be sure that I wouldn't start weeping again.

I stared vacantly the last place I had seen them. Standing there, on the cool wooden planks of the floor, each golden white from years of sand scouring. Gazing at the weathered door set in the uneven oak wall. I was trying to burn each word, every expression into my memory. I knew it would be quite a while before I would have time see my family again.

The musty smell of my grandfather's cologne and the lavender scent that was my abuela's constant shadow. Nana's quiet words of wisdom. And mama's embrace, warmer than I could ever remember. The both of us had let out a few of our pent up tears, until Mama abruptly stopped. She rubbed my back and calmed me, speaking in a stern but gentle voice.

"Stop your crying bebé, I will see you again soon. Besides, crying is a sign of weakness. You are too strong for that."

We just stood there together, until long after everyone else had left. I would never forget how she had turned at the door and spoken so softly that I could only just hear her. Her last words would echo forever in my heart.

"Je t'aime, hija."

And then she was gone.

I had to find something to occupy the next few empty hours.

The winter season's first opera had finished only yesterday, so the academy was as still as a tomb. Everyone had gone home for the three day break or had gone out to enjoy themselves in the city. Even my new teacher was absent, this being her day off. Restlessly, I paced the few feet of floor space in the cramped dormitory room. I could hardly keep from bumping into something with every few steps. Much of the room was taken up with furniture.

My double bed was tucked into the corner furthest from the door. A second bed of the same size and style rested its headboard on the same wall, next to the door. Every piece in the room was crafted from the same creamy butterscotch wood, including the nightstand that separated the two beds. A polished hurricane lamp was perched atop it, next to a small stack of books that must have been my roommates'. The lamp was the only light I had bothered to ignite, despite the fading radiance of the sunset. The final pieces of furniture were a graying trunk at the foot of my roommates' bed and a derelict bookcase under the window. I noted that it was filled full of books and heavy paper folders.

My eyes fell on the trunks at the foot of my own bed. In contrast to the rest of the room's furnishings, they were opulent. Encased in rich leather and tooled in gold, the deep brown boxes were a bit embarassing. I didn't want my roommates to feel awkward if they weren't as well off as I. I decided to unpack immediately.

Well, before the end of break at the very least. My stomach had begun to rumble. I pondered locating the kitchens, but was hindered by a childish secret.

I was afraid of the dark.

Not even my mother knew, only nana. I had always asked her to light a candle at my bedside before I slept. Understandably, I was a little apprehensive about going out in the dark halls of the academy by my self, but my stomach was a much stronger force than my fear. I armed myself with a small candle that was sitting on the bottom of the washstand. Lighting it with the flame of the hurricane lamp, I stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind me.

The cleaning employee who had shone me to my room had mentioned that the dormitories had their own kitchens. I had not paid much attention to her mindless chattering, being rather focused on my family at the time. Now I was beginning to wish I had.

I had no idea where I was. Doorways and intersecting hallways were everywhere, like a giant shrubbery maze I had once seen on a trip to England with my Abuelos.

Without the shrubbery.

The only sound present in the shadowy corridors was the swish of my mellow green skirts. The flickering light of my candle cast eerie shadows everywhere. I was a bit frightened by my utter aloneness, and tiny noises began to grate on my already frazzled nerves. The shifting building around me creaked faintly in the wind.

It was as though I had been transported into a passage of an Edgar Allen Poe story. To make things worse, I had the unshakeable sensation that I was no longer alone. Could it be the same watcher I had felt the day of my audition?

Without warning, I was ruthlessly jolted from my discomfort by an unmistakable sound echoing all around me:

An ear piercing scream of terror!

Φ

Authoress's Notes: I've got the music from ALW's new musical, Woman in White, stuck in my head. That's what I get for letting a friend of mine drive... Last night, I went to see my first live Profesional football game (American football, not soccer). I had a blast!

Avid- Oui, tongue is an evil word! (thank goodness for spellcheck) And of course you can have cheesecake! You deserve every sinfully-sweet, bad-for-the-hips-but-too-good-to-resist morsel. I bequeath unto thee, double chocolate chip cheesecake, so have at!