2003
"Daddy!" Bianca cried, running towards her father as he stood in the doorway.
Jeremiah Lawson dropped the bag he was holding to the ground, crouching down and scooping his young daughter up into his arms.
"Hello sweet pea," he said, standing and lifting her off the ground, balancing her on his hip as he picked up the bag from the ground again. She threw her little arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "Lyn."
"That didn't take you long," Bianca's mother said, her hands on her hips as she looked at him from the hallway inside their house.
"Never does," he responded, shrugging casually.
"I thought you would be gone for days," Lyn said.
Jeremiah smirked. "I thought you would have had a little more faith in me."
"I do, but…" she drifted off. His expression changed to one of concern.
"They didn't drop by, did they?" he asked quickly.
"No."
He glanced at Bianca who was fiddling with the collar of his shirt. "Good, cause I don't want them getting Bianca involved."
"She's going to have to learn one of these days," Lyn said plainly.
Jeremiah stared at her abhorrently, swinging Bianca back down onto the ground. "I don't even like the fact they keep getting you involved let alone our daughter. For Christ's sake, she's only a child!"
He crouched down in front of Bianca, taking hold of her small hand. He noticed she was curiously playing with the edges of his bag, wondering what exactly was inside it. He looked back up to his wife, her arms folded as she watched them.
"Well you're not going to like what I have to do then."
"I can already tell by your tone I'm not, so you might as well tell me," he said, annoyed.
"They want me to retrieve the Grimoire," she explained. He stared at her blankly, as if he couldn't believe what she was telling him. "Well not just me, but a few of us. It was buried in a mountain of rock in the West Andes over a year ago. So I'll be gone a few days."
"Why do you insist on doing what they tell you to?" Jeremiah snapped angrily.
"Why do you insist on rebelling?" she retorted.
His tongue pressed into the side of his cheek, he refused to answer her, simply picking up his bag again and moving into the living room. Bianca followed closely at his heels, her eye still on the bag in his hand.
"Come here, princess," he said as he took a seat on the lounge. Ignoring Lyn, he focused his complete attention on his daughter. As she stopped by him he lifted her up into his lap. She looked at him expectantly, wondering what exactly he wanted her for. "I brought you something."
Her eyes lighting up she watched as he lifted a present from the confines of his bag, pushing the package into her hands. He sat back, watching the smile spread across her face.
"For me?" she asked. He nodded.
Ever so cautiously she pulled the wrapping apart. Jeremiah watched impatiently, wanting her just to tear it open like any other normal child would, but instead she seemed to be savouring the moment as she pulled the wrapping off strip by strip. After staring at the empty spot where the two had been for a few moments in contemplative thought, Lyn followed them into the living room and took a seat across from them.
"I'm sorry, Jerry," she said softly, clasping her hands together. He glanced up at her. "But you know if I even attempted the things you do, if I stray that far from the rest of them, there will be consequences. We'll more than likely be exposed more, and I can't risk putting us all in danger. You don't want that for Bianca now, do you?"
"No," he replied, brushing his hand down Bianca's long dark hair as he watched his wife.
Bianca gasped as she uncovered the doll her father had bought her. It was one of those newborn baby dolls, completely bald, but wearing the prettiest pink dress she had ever seen.
"Mommy, look!" she cried out excitedly, holding the gift up for her mother to see.
"Yes sweetie," Lyn said, giving her a broad smile.
Bianca pushed the wrapping paper from her lap onto the couch and lifted the doll, hugging it close to her chest. Jeremiah reached out towards the paper she had tossed away, trying to scrunch it up with one hand as the other rested against Bianca's back.
"You do understand where I'm coming from?" Lyn questioned.
"Yes, I do. But I don't have to like it."
"We can't do anything about that." She paused, noticing he was giving her little or no reaction now. "I shouldn't be gone too long. You can spend some time with Bianca at least."
His eyes finally lifted to look at her upon mention of his daughter's name. Bianca shifted in his lap slightly as she played with the doll. He knew Lyn was only trying to point out the positives to make him feel better about the whole situation but it wasn't enough to make him forget it.
"Mommy, she's hungry," Bianca spoke up, lifting the doll again.
"Okay sweetie, c'mon, we'll get her something to eat," Lyn said.
Bianca leapt off her father's lap, Lyn standing and guiding her gently out the door. Jeremiah leant forward, his head low as he stared at the ground in front of him.
"Promise me something," he said, turning his head up towards Lyn. She stopped in the doorway to look back at him, Bianca running ahead of her to the kitchen. "Promise me you're going to do everything in your power to stop them from recruiting her. Promise me you're going to make sure she stays safe."
Her lips curved into a smile. "Jerry, don't be silly. Of course she's going to be safe. She has two incredibly skilled parents to look after her, and an extended family to watch over her. Nothing's going to happen to her."
He didn't respond, and he didn't smile. Again he appeared indifferent about it all, but as Lyn left Jeremiah sighed heavily, his gaze moving back to the floor. All the positivity in the world that she could come up with, as she was so apt to doing, and the beneficial excuses were never going to be enough to convince him that things were going to be fine, that no danger would befall the three of them. He was not so concerned about himself, even if Lyn thought he should be, but it was his daughter he cared most about. She had not been exposed to this world and he didn't want anything bad happening to her once she was. But he knew others of their kind had a different idea, that if you were born into the legacy then you had to follow it. Jeremiah wanted to break tradition; he wanted his daughter saved from this lifestyle. Hearing Bianca giggle from the other room it reminded him why he did the things he did, he didn't want his only daughter to lost that innocence and sweetness that she had now.
"This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home. This little piggy had roast beef, this little piggy had none. And this little piggy went 'wee, wee, wee' all the way home," Jeremiah recited, wiggling Bianca's toes and then running his hand down her foot and tickling her sole. She squirmed in his lap, screaming with giggling fits of laughter, wrestling herself away from him. He grabbed her underneath her arms and lifted her back up into his lap. "What's say we get you to bed?"
"Okay," she agreed, sliding off his lap. She walked over to the armchair and picked up her doll, clutching it to her chest as she paced back to her father. Jeremiah guided her out the door and up the stairs to her bedroom. She instantly jumped onto her bed, slithering under the covers as Jeremiah pulled them up and over her body. She cuddled the doll close to her as he tucked her in, kissing the top of her head.
"How much do you love me?" he asked.
"Lots," she replied with a grin. He sat on the edge of the bed, brushing aside the hair from her face. She looked up at him, watching him, her smile slowly fading. "When's mommy coming home?"
"Soon, honey, soon," he replied. His thoughts becoming more and more distant, he forced a smile to cheer up his worried daughter. Glancing up to the bookshelf he got an idea. "Want me to read you a story?"
"Yes please," she said courteously, nodding her head eagerly.
"Okay, let's see," Jeremiah said, walking to the bookshelf and browsing through the collection of books there. He selected one with a blue cover and returned to the bed, leafing through the pages until he came to the beginning. "Once upon a time there was a well loved king and queen who lived in the grandest castle in all the land. They wanted very much to have a child, and one day were blessed with a beautiful daughter. So overjoyed were they that they held an enormous celebration and invited all the fairies across the land. Each fairy decided to bless the newborn daughter with the very best things in life. They wished for her to be the most beautiful girl in all the land, to have the voice of an angel, to have a warm and good natured heart, and to be the smartest girl in the kingdom. Before the last fairy had a chance to make her wish, the evil fairy appeared in a puff of smoke. She was angry that she had not been invited, and because of this decided to curse the daughter so that on her birthday she would be pierced by a sharp object and die. The king and queen were instantly frightened to hear this, but the last fairy who had yet to make her wish assured them it would be okay. She could not reverse the curse the evil fairy had placed, so instead she wished that the princess would not die but fall asleep for many, many years until woken with a kiss by her one true love.
"As the years passed, the king and queen grew less and less concerned with the safety of their daughter, and quickly forgot the curse that had been placed on her. She grew into a fine young woman who was loved by everybody, even the animals that she played with in the forest. One day a young prince was passing through the forest when he heard the princess singing along with the birds. Curious about the pretty sound he guided his horse towards the voice and discovered the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. She was at first startled to see him, but relaxed upon seeing his handsome face and gentle manner. Before he had a chance to find out anything about her she was called away for dinner, for it was getting dark.
"It was on one of these days when the princess was playing in the forest that she discovered a path leading to an old tower. Curiously she followed it until she came to the doorway, pushing it open and walking inside. She heard a spinning sound coming from upstairs and followed the stone steps up to discover an old woman with a spinning wheel. The princess had never seen one before, her father having long ago banished them in the kingdom, and the old woman encouraged her to try it. Reaching out to touch it, she pricked her finger on the needle and fell to the floor. The old woman cackled, thinking she had killed the princess and revealed her true identity as the wicked fairy. But as the good fairy had wished for, the princess only fell asleep. Once she was discovered, she was lain out on the bed in the tower, her parents so distraught that the good fairies set about putting them and the townspeople to sleep. When word arrived in the young prince's kingdom about the princess' fate, he immediately rode out towards the tower. Upon arriving there he found the place covered in brambles. Pulling out his sword, he hacked through each steadily and persistently as he tried to get closer, not realising that the brambles closed around behind him. Only he would be able to get through. Having succeeded in this task he raced up the stairs to discover the princess sleeping. She was as beautiful as the day he had met her. He took her hand in his and found he could not wake her. Leaning over her he bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Her eyes fluttered open and she found her one true love. The sleeping spell was instantly lifted from the townsfolk, and the prince took her back home to her kingdom where they were soon married and lived happily ever after."
Jeremiah glanced up to see Bianca was soundly asleep. He leant forward, kissing the top of her forehead.
"Goodnight, princess," he whispered. He stood, walking towards the doorway, giving a lingering glance back towards his daughter as he silently closed the door behind him.
Bianca woke up in the darkness, her throat dry. She wanted a glass of water and saw her father had forgotten to leave one by the bed. Wiggling around she managed to push the covers from her body, sliding off the bed with her doll gripped tightly in her hand. Her little feet made soft shuffling sounds as she moved across the floor to the doorway. She reached up, barely grasping the doorknob, and pulled the door open. A steady ray of light flooded in from the upstairs hallway, and Bianca rubbed the back of her hand across her eyes as she tried to adjust them to the brightness. Being able to see enough, whilst still squinting, she walked into the hallway and headed for the stairs. She wrapped her hand around the banister as she stepped unsteadily down to the next stair. She heard a noise behind her and stopped, looking back down the hallway.
"Daddy?" she called.
She heard more noises and decided he must be upstairs. She stepped back onto the landing and traipsed down the hallway in the direction of her parent's room. The door was wide open when she got there. Her father was inside the room, standing just before her facing two darkly dressed men. Bianca stopped in the doorway, rubbing her eyes again.
"Daddy?" she said tiredly.
One of the men looked past Jeremiah towards her, a sardonic grin spreading across his face. "Ah, there's the little cherub."
Bianca squinted as she looked at him, the lights far too bright for her in this room. Her father took a step back towards her, his eyes still on the two men in front of him as he waved his hand back at her.
"Bianca, honey, go back to bed," Jeremiah said.
"But I'm thirsty," she complained.
The second man tried to walk around Jeremiah then, not only to get a better view but to get to Bianca as well.
"Hey, little girl, want to play a game?" he asked, crouching down to level himself at her height.
She watched him warily, not answering but instead taking a step towards her father, raising her small hand to the leg of his trousers and tugging on it gently. Jeremiah swept a hand back across her shoulders, keeping her close to his side.
"Keep away from her, and leave her out of this," Jeremiah growled. "Your dealings are with me and me alone."
The second man placed his hands on his thighs, glaring at Jeremiah as he pushed himself to a standing position again. Bianca peeked around her father's body to see the first man firing up a ball of flame in his hand.
"Very well," the second man said.
"That's just inviting trouble," the first man agreed.
Jeremiah's eyes switched from the one closest to him to the first man, further away but a larger threat at the moment. The flame ball came hurtling towards them and Jeremiah quickly turned his back, pushing Bianca around roughly and cowering over her. His body jolted forward slightly with the impact of the blow as it hit his shoulder. Jeremiah unwrapped his hands from around his daughter, trying to straighten but grimacing at the pain.
"There's more where that came from," the first man said.
Jeremiah breathed out heavily between gritted teeth, infuriated with the threat. The second man, heedless of Jeremiah's warnings, began to advance on him and Bianca again. Bianca shrank back into her father, her eyes turned up towards the second man.
"Bianca, go," Jeremiah said in a low voice. She looked up at him, confused. The men both came closer and Jeremiah began pushing her towards the door. "Run, baby, run!"
Bianca ran back towards her bedroom, the second man shimmered in in front of her blocking her entrance to the doorway. She screamed as he caught hold of her, wrestling away from his loose grip and running back towards the stairs. Frightened, she raced down them half-blind, almost expecting to stumble and fall as she did so, but thankfully luck was on her side and she reached the bottom safely. She glanced at the door thinking the best way to escape would be to leave the house, but she knew the door would be locked, and even if it wasn't her parents wouldn't let her go outside at night. If she had managed to get out, she wouldn't know where to go. They weren't exactly friendly with the neighbours. Her parents were always in and out and she didn't know anyone else.
She heard the heavy footsteps of the man pounding down the stairs behind her. She knew her only option was to hide. She looked around quickly, contemplating where to go, finally dropping to her hands and knees and crawling behind the couch that sat against the far wall of the living room. She moved as fast as she could, not stopping until she reached the corner. She turned herself around and curled her knees up, hugging the doll tightly as she closed her eyes and listened to the man walk about the room.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are," he called. Bianca didn't move, didn't even make a sound. "You know I'm very good with games. I'm a genius at hide and seek. I know where you are."
Bianca whimpered, burying her face into the back of the doll to muffle the sound. He was scaring her all the more. All she wanted was for him to go away and leave her and her parents alone.
Eventually he did. He had continued to rant for at least another five minutes, Bianca sliding her hands up to her ears to block out the nasty things he was saying. After he had given up on trying to convince her to come out he continued to search all the downstairs rooms in silence, but did not find her. It became quite clear that the other man had joined him once they struck up a conversation – one distracting enough to divert his attention from the very place she was hiding. Bianca could feel herself dozing off again as she waited for them to leave.
Lyn arrived home to find the front door wide open. She stepped inside, wondering why the door was open yet the hallway was in complete darkness.
"Jerry?" she called. She stood at the base of the stairs looking up, waiting for a response. This time she increased the volume, shouting up the stairs. "Jerry!"
She glanced at the living room doorway, expecting him to walk out any second complaining that he had been coming, but nothing happened. She climbed the stairs to the top landing and began walking down the hallway. Passing by Bianca's room she noticed the door was slightly ajar. The room in darkness, Lyn surmised that she was fast asleep, but perhaps earlier had been a little restless and afraid of monsters in the dark – hence the need for a sliver of light to scare them away as it cast its brilliant glow in a narrow line across the room.
Arching her body at the tired muscles in her neck, Lyn continued up the hallway wishing for nothing more than a long, hot bath. Heading for her bedroom where the greatest amount of light was coming from, she stopped and smiled at the sight of her husband's discarded shoes lying just inside the doorway. Bending to scoop one up, she stepped further inside the room.
"Jerry, what are you…?" She let out an involuntary scream, seeing a foot still embedded in the shoe and immediately letting go of it as if it had burnt her hand. Composing herself quickly she glanced up and saw the remains of her husband spread across the bed. Her body convulsed as her stomach flipped, and she felt the bile rising in the back of her throat. Dashing for the bathroom she was only just quick enough to reach the toilet, emptying the contents of her stomach into the bowl whilst resting her hand against the rear. Having settled enough to think concisely, she brushed the back of her hand across her lips and remembered her daughter.
"Bianca," she said softly. Pushing herself upright again she flushed the toilet, turning on her heels and racing back to her daughter's room. She pushed the door wide and flicked on the light switch. "Bianca?"
The room was empty. The sheets pushed back to the end of the bed. There was no sign of her daughter anywhere. Nothing was misplaced. If anything it looked like her daughter had been abducted right out of her own bed.
"Oh god, no," Lyn said, staring at the empty bed, thinking the worst. She turned, hurrying down the stairs. "Bianca? Bianca!"
Entering the living room she saw for the first time the disarray it was in. Lamps lay broken on the floor; books were thrown about with pages ripped from them. Every cupboard was open; almost every piece of furniture had been upturned. There were marks on the walls, on the coffee table, even on the floor. It chilled her to the bone when she recognised some of them as bloody handprints.
"Bianca?" she called, softer now, her voice trembling a little.
Bianca lifted her head from the wall, waking up after only lightly dozing in mild REM just in case she was discovered and had to make a quick exit. She heard her mother calling her name and shifted a little, brushing a hand across her face to get the hair out of her eyes and wipe away the few tears that had settled there.
"Mommy?" she called back quietly.
"Bianca?" Lyn said, surprised to hear the faint voice. She headed in the direction she thought she heard it coming from, somewhere by the wall. She grabbed the edge of the couch and yanked it backwards, kneeling on it and looking over to see her young daughter sitting in the corner, staring up at her with wide eyes. "Oh, honey, come here."
She pushed herself up further, leaning over the back edge and reaching down towards her. Bianca climbed to her feet, pulling the doll up with her, and put her arms over her mother's. Lyn grabbed hold of her tightly, lifting her light frame easily over the couch and standing her on the cushion. Lyn pushed herself back from the couch, lifting Bianca up onto her hip and brushing her hair back. Bianca nestled the doll between the two of them as her mother kissed her forward.
"Are you okay?" Lyn asked, her hand resting on Bianca's cheek as she looked directly into her daughter's eyes. Bianca dropped her head, nodding slowly. "You're not hurt, are you sweetheart? Who was here?"
"Bad men," Bianca said shortly. Lyn looked around frantically.
"Are they still here?" she asked. Bianca shrugged, fiddling with the doll's hands.
"C'mon, honey, we're leaving. We're going to Aunt Kate's and not coming back," Lyn said as she carried Bianca over to the stairs. She dropped Bianca to the floor, lightly tapping her backside. "Go pack your things. Be quick."
Bianca reluctantly went back up to her bedroom, looking around fearfully as she walked inside. She put her doll on the bed, pulling out the little backpack her mom had bought her and slowly filling it with toys and clothes that lay nearby. She stared at the book on the bedside table, the one her father had been reading to her when she went to bed, and gently lifted it, shoving it into the bag as well.
"Hurry, Bianca," her mother said from behind her as she joined her in the room, pulling out a whole handful more of clothes and thrusting them into the bag also. She put the backpack on Bianca's back then took her hand, Bianca quickly grabbing her doll off the bed before her mother pulled her down the stairs and out the front door. Lyn grabbed her own bag on the way, tossing it over the top of the driver's seat into the back seat of the car. Bianca sat in the front passenger seat and watched her mother as she eased herself behind the wheel. Starting the engine the stereo blasted on: I'm not crazy I'm just a little unwell. Lyn changed the station: Where is the love? and speedily twisted the dial until it almost reached the end of the band: bid my blood to run. She slammed the radio off, glancing over to her daughter who was looking at her curiously. "Let's just leave that off for now, okay?"
The travelled in silence until they reached the apartment of Lyn's younger sister. Hurriedly pressing the buzzer, Kate eventually woke and let them inside. Greeting them at the doorway, she smoothed back her shoulder length medium blonde coloured hair. She looked down at Bianca and smiled as she clutched her mother's hand.
"What are you doing here, Lyn?" she asked, glancing back up at her sister. "It's so late."
"I know. I'm sorry. I need you to look after Bianca."
"Why?" Kate enquired. Lyn glared at her and Kate realised she'd left them standing out in the hallway. Quickly she ushered them inside. "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"
Lyn's gaze drifted over to the television. Kate had the music channel on, the volume up quite loud. Bianca followed her mother's gaze, but Lyn was quick to shield her eyes.
"Can you turn that off please?" Lyn said tiredly.
"Oh!" Kate said, realising what she meant and heading over to the television to turn it off. Bianca wrapped her fingers around her mother's hand, lowering it enough to see Beyonce barely clothed and shaking her booty on the screen before it went black. She turned back to Lyn, folding her arms. "Explain."
"I don't have time to explain," Lyn said hastily. "I just got home, the place was in shambles. They got to Jerry. Now I'm going after them."
"Lyn," Kate said, concerned.
"Don't worry about me. Just look after Bianca."
"Where's daddy?" Bianca spoke up, staring up at her mother. Lyn knelt down, taking her by the shoulders.
"He's gone, honey. You're not going to see him again." She glanced back up to Kate. "Look, I have to go. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Bianca's bottom lip trembled as she watched her mother. She felt arms being wrapped around her, her Aunt Kate trying to comfort her as her mother walked out.
"C'mon, sweetie. Let's get you to sleep," Kate said.
Bianca didn't want to sleep. She wanted her parents back beside her, watching over her like always. The tears beginning to trail down her face, she cried herself to sleep, clutching her doll tightly, waking momentarily before the dawn to find her mother sleeping with her, her arms wrapped comfortingly around her. Feeling more at ease with this soothing gesture, Bianca closed her eyes and fell back to sleep again.