When Savenna made her way to the front porch, dusk had already settled. Located at the outskirts of town, the Trafalgar estate was surrounded by a large park that touched on the southern border of Flevance forest. An elderly, shriveled-looking butler took her bags while she stared at the white, gabled house with a single pointy tower rising up into the night sky. "Not so much peasant after all…" she muttered to herself.
At the door, the woman she remembered from the party gave her a welcoming smile. She, her black pantsuit and the tight hair knot at the back of her head were just as ordinary as the last time they had met. Savenna smiled in return, despising every step she was taking toward her new home.
"I really have to say your mother has a talent for parties. You have to let her know we all enjoyed the evening very much," the woman said, as she guided her over the threshold.
Her mother. How long until she would see her again? But knowing what her mother would say, Savenna sobered. "I will, Dr. Trafalgar."
"Please call me Mary." But something was still bothering the woman, coating her voice in motherly concern Savenna had little experience with. "You don't have to pretend. I know about your sickness so if you need anything, don't hesitate to tell me."
"I… will." Savenna tried not to flinch. She would have preferred Law's mother to be an ugly tyrant. Like Magellan or Blackbeard. Big Mom's cousin would have been an acceptable option. That way she wouldn't feel so guilty for hating her and the whole situation as much as she did.
Mary took her gently by the arm and led her down the hall. Out of habit, Savenna waited for cooks to usher into and out of the kitchen, for maids rattling with silverware and the uncorking of a bottle of Jaya wine. But the only thing she heard was silence. If the faintest smell of food hung in the air, it was overshadowed by the scent of disinfectant emanating from the medical practice in the back.
It got worse. Two dismal shapes were already waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Law and the plain, heart-faced girl to his right had the gait of broomsticks in a shop window. Savenna wanted to ask who had died but suspected it was what passed for casual in this genepool.
"Law, there you are!" Mary smiled before turning to Savenna. "He's been waiting for you all evening, you know."
Creep. Slightly distraught, Savenna forced herself to stare down the shadows following her from under the rim of the fungal hat. The situation didn't improve with the watery-eyed girl squirming and hiding behind Law's back.
Mary cleared her throat. "Lamie, remember what I taught you about greeting your guests?"
Lamie, less ominous but undoubtedly less nimble than her brother, turned red before managing a shy curtsy. "Welcome…"
"That's right! Now, I know this is hard but Savenna is quite sick." Here we go. "She suffers from a very special illness so I need you both to be kind to her. She will be staying with us so that your father can take care of her until she gets better." Savenna grimaced at the tears welling up in the little girl's eyes. Perfect. A creep and a crybaby under one roof. This was going to be even more fun than she'd anticipated.
"Also she won't be able to attend school for the next few months so I would appreciate it if you could make sure she gets her homework, Law," the mother requested. Yeah, he must be feeling good about himself now, Savenna figured, expecting a flashing grin from under the mushroom hat.
But when he looked up, his features had hardened. "What happened? Are you not feeling well? What is the diagnosis?"
For the first time there was substance to his disembodied voice. He even attempted a step toward her. When Savenna tried to back away her feet didn't move. "I…"
"Where are your manners, young man?" Mary interrupted. "Stop asking personal questions."
"But I…"
"Savenna's health is your father's job. Now stop embarrassing the poor girl."
Law stepped back with a half-hearted excuse, but Savenna could feel his eyes on her as she was shooed up the stairs. What was wrong with her? She should have gotten him to shut up, and brushed Mary's hand off her shoulder while she was at it. Instead she now stared confused into the heavily draped room that was going to be hers. The canopy bed, woolen carpets and dressing table suggested it was the best one in the house. Usually Savenna welcomed displays of guilt in her favor, but even as the butler unpacked her suitcases in the wrong order, she kept staring into the large, unfamiliar space.
"Dinner will be served in a half an hour. I hope you brought some appetite." Mary cracked a window to catch the cool evening breeze.
"I think I will stay upstairs tonight. I don't feel so good…"
"Is it the mark? Are you in pain?"
"No, it's all right. I just want to lie down."
"Right… Just call if you need anything, okay?" The girl nodded and the moment the doctor closed the door behind Trafalgar Mary, Savenna threw herself on the bed and screamed into the fresh linen.
She couldn't stay here. Not now. Not ever. Not in this dreadful house. Not with these strangers she'd never wanted to see again. Suddenly she missed everything about home. She missed Magdalena's yelling and her father's stories. She even missed getting up in the morning to make fun of kids at school. The parties, the music, the dancing… She wanted it back, she swore she would appreciate it more this time.
But it was too late now. Thanks to Amber Lead she would never get out of here. Too many people had too much to lose if she did.
For the first time Savenna felt truly sick. A throbbing sensation invaded her temples and the room started spinning. Mouth dry and limbs heavy, she couldn't care less if the poison killed her that instant. But instead the canopy turned dark and she fell asleep.
Savenna woke up late. Strange dreams had been haunting her all night, none of which she could remember. She groaned at the sunlight falling in through the wide windows, and rubbed her temples with a curse. She used to blame Magdalena for the cruelty of morning light but turns out it was just as bad when she wasn't around.
Sullen, Savenna stared up at the ceiling. No bloodthirsty pirate had kidnapped and brought her home overnight, as she'd hoped. She hadn't died either, which would have been less preferable but still a solution. At least the part of her heart where homesickness sat, felt a little better in daylight. As was her annoyance, which to her satisfaction, had returned in formidable abundance.
Savenna decided to pull back the covers and swing her legs out of bed. Her father had never run from a fight, and she wouldn't either. It was a new day and she was ready for a new battle.
Brushing the explosion of hair out of her face, she lumbered toward the mirror to examine the enemy. The Amber Lead spot had grown around her heart like an ice floe. The edges were dry and itchy, and some of the skin was peeling off. Savenna made a face but decided not to mind it. At least it hadn't gotten bigger, and the rest of her looks seemed to have survived the diagnosis.
Before getting dressed, she flung the window open and leaned over the ledge. The Trafalgars didn't live in the busiest part of town but there was still the occasional morning traffic collision and the watch-where-you're-going shouts to keep her company. With a sting of jealousy she spied at the women in their lavish dresses, expensive hats and clic-clac heels heading into town. Determined, Savenna steadied herself.
Most wars were won through successions of smaller battles. First, she would teach Law and that shivering little sister of his not to mess with her. Amber Lead or not, she was still the prettiest and most powerful girl in town.
One hour passed until Savenna admitted to herself that nobody would come to help her dress. Spitting a long line of curses, she finished unpacking her suitcases by herself. Of course those peasants weren't able to take care of her needs. She would send for a personal servant first thing this morning. Her self-confidence didn't fade even before the pitiful attempts to make herself presentable without Magdalena's help.
"I swear I will make you suffer, you pathetic, little…" she swore while tearing the hairbrush through the vicious morning knots before rage-tossing it into the cold fireplace. A messy braid, two zipper massacres and a torn dress later, Savenna had convinced herself that she looked more dashing than ever. Hoping to make a glamorous appearance she swayed down the big staircase ready to be received.
The hall was empty.
Refusing to admit defeat, she sneaked through the dining and living room but her hosts were nowhere to be found. Turns out both doctors had already rushed off to work and the children attended school during the day. Only Sophia, the sour-faced kitchen maid, was the only one left under the Trafalgar roof.
"Then why weren't you there to help me dress this morning?" Savenna asked pointedly but the woman was even less impressed by the girl's complaints than Madgalena at her best. "I'm here to take care of you in case you feel sick and the doctor's not here. The rest is your problem."
How rude, Savenna thought. This would have never flown in her household. "When can I call for my own maid, then? I'm sure the doctor would want me to feel comfortable."
The servant shrugged. "The Trafalgars may be rich but they don't act like it. They never ask us to tend to any of the children. I doubt an exception will be made for you," she said dryly, before putting a plate of scrambled eggs in front of Savenna. "Consider this my service for today."
Repulsed, Savenna looked down at her plate. "No way I'm eating my breakfast in the kitchen!"
Sophia couldn't care less. "I'm not setting the big table just for you. If you want to eat in the dining room you have to do it yourself."
Savenna's eyes narrowed. Then she did what the daughter of the wealthiest merchant in Flevance, the center of society, one of the most sophisticated people in the North Blue would do: she stuck out her tongue and left. She most certainly wouldn't give that woman the satisfaction, even if it meant going hungry.
Savenna's day was a lonely one. She read medical journals in the living room until she got bored. She felt like dancing but the butler hadn't played a piano key in his life so she ended up playing the waltz herself, to the annoyance of Sophia who, lacking all talent or appreciation for music, chose to operate all heavy kitchen machinery at the same time.
Savenna slammed the lid shut and stomped upstairs.
Fine. If the Trafalgar residence wouldn't provide entertainment, she'd find some for herself. After all, not everything inside that wretched house could be that bad. The first room she explored was Lamie's but Savenna didn't spend much time in it. Children's toys bored her even more than Sophia's meat grinding.
The medical practice was locked so pinching the maid with needles was off the table, but the parents' bedroom finally put a smile on her face. The decor was plain and unsurprising. Savenna headed directly to the wardrobe. Bingo!
Trafalgar's clothes were less extravagant than her mother's and way less expensive, but Savenna didn't exactly have other options. She spent the next hours working herself through the closet trying on different shirts, dresses and nightgowns. Spinning in front of the mirror to the rhythm of an imaginary piano, she sent kisses to her invisible audience, cautious not to smudge stolen lipstick number five. At least one of the Trafalgars knew how to have a good time.
Giggling to herself, she was about to pull out another drawer when her eyes fell on a narrow staircase on the other side of the landing. It looked like the ladder Madgalena used to climb to the attic but Savenna hadn't seen anyone go up there.
Seized by the spirit of adventure, she abandoned the looting. The hem of the oversized nightgown gritted between her teeth for safekeeping, she started climbing. A trap door waited for her at the top. It wasn't locked.
Carefully she slipped into the dimly lit attic and froze. The wooden walls of the attic were papered with sketches of skeletons, herbs and what she unmistakably recognized to be human organs. Despite herself Savenna advanced inside. A row of test tubes occupied the floor, glowing threateningly in the dark, illuminating the shelves and narrow bed that were covered in books.
Uneasiness progressed into nausea when she reached the occupant's desk. Next to the suspiciously sharpened pens and shiny flat knives, lay one of the squirrels she had seen in the garden. Its empty eyes stared up at the ceiling, the insides of its stomach exposed through a fresh incision.
Savenna swallowed. Magdalena was right. When she looked for trouble she always ended up finding it. Everyone in this house was either horribly rude or clinically insane. Just as she was contemplating the faster way off the property she noticed something odd.
The candle next to the corpse had burned down and melted into a puddle of wax. Whoever was terrorizing local wildlife must have worked through the night. Why would anyone do something like this?
"Father filled me in on your illness." Savenna flinched so hard, she almost stumbled over her own feet. Law stood in the doorway, mushroom hat in his hands. She hadn't even heard him enter. That downward smile that she'd found irritating before made her shiver. Would she be next? If squirrels were murdered in cold blood, what was the household treatment for trespassers?
Law put his backpack down and scratched his neck. Surprisingly, he didn't seem angry. "Don't worry, it doesn't look very serious."
When he approached, Savenna forced herself to stay calm in case he could sense fear.
"That squirrel, did you kill it?" she wanted to know.
The boy tilted his head to the side. "Father said the ecology of the island is making you sick so I wanted to see if it did the same with animals. Didn't help much, though…" He hesitated. "I caught another one today to try again. We can cut it open together if you like!"
Paralyzed with fear, the animal he produced from behind his back looked even smaller and more miserable than the first one. He wanted to place it into Savenna's hand and almost dropped it when she screamed.
"Don't touch me!" Was he completely out of his mind? Savenna recoiled, eyes on the scalpels lined up on his desk. She needed to distract him, tell him something to keep him away for good. "I'm…contagious!"
To her disappointment, instead of imminent doom, his face lightened up with surprise. "Really? Interesting… I must tell Father." There it was again, the concerned, sorrowful tone in his voice. Savenna couldn't care less for it.
She backed away like chased by pirates and cried out when her back touched the adult and very much complete skeleton on the wall. Law watched her with deepening confusion. "It's not that bad, really. Everything is going to be fine. My father is an excellent doctor, I'm sure he'll cure you in no time… "
"Just stay away from me, you freak!" Eyes wild, she grabbed the frayed hem of her skirt and made a run for the stairs.
"Wait! What about your homework…?" Law called after her but when he'd fished the books out of his backpack Savenna had already disappeared.
All attempts at delivering her books were met with aggravated silence. Savenna pretended not to hear Law's knocks on the door, trying hard not to think about cold bones and dead animals every time she heard his footsteps in the hall. She'd never thought Law particularly nice-looking, but now she avoided him like a monster crawling out of a sea cave during a full moon.
But as it usually happened with Savenna, after three days of pressing her ear to the door she got bored. No fingernails were screeching at her window and no attempted murder had taken place. What the hell was Law doing with his time? Wasn't he supposed to be efficient? A wild thought crossed her mind. He wasn't actually studying Amber Lead, was he? Savenna snorted, not without amusement. No, his father was the doctor. The only thing Law might become was a decent villain.
The next day she was called into Dr. Trafalgar's office for her first routine exam. He was already sitting in his uncomfortable chair (she had tried spinning on it until she puked, she did not approve), head buried in paperwork. "Please take a seat, Savenna."
She did as she was told. He asked her how she was feeling, she told him fine, except for pre-comatose boredom and the chronic rudeness of the household staff. He thought that was hardly relevant. She disagreed but conceded to cough, stretch her arms and give him blood. He still didn't wasn't happy.
"Please stop making that face," she complained. "Am I getting better or what?" Instead of an answer he proceeded to scribble in his notebook. When her eyes were burning through the back of his head, he finally looked up. "It's time for me to make an appointment with your parents."
"What for?"
"To discuss your condition."
"I'm here. Why can't you just tell me?" Trafalgar looked at her, calculating. Then tired. Then he signed. "We usually don't tell young patients about this, but well… I guess you live under my roof so…"
Savenna nodded curtly, waiting for the verdict. She sat perfectly still when he took up where he had left off. "Your vitals seem fine. Sophia tells me you're eating well and with no fever or pain, you seem to be in pretty good shape." She stifled her excitement when she realized there was going to be a but. "I'm worried about the marks," he admitted. "They're spreading."
She knew about the first one. She had spotted it two days ago when climbing out of the shower. The mark over her heart had grown bigger and covered a large part of her chest in an oddly shaped circle. But as the doctor gave her a mirror she noticed with shock that the same icy color had spread over her lower back. "What does this mean?"
"The poison is spreading in your body."
"How long will it take until it's all white?" Into his silence she read that she might find out for herself soon. Confused, she tried to distract herself from this unfortunate conclusion.
"Is the same thing happening to my father?"
Trafalgar shook his head. "Not that I know of. Some of my other patients complain about headache and fatigue but to tell you the truth, I've never seen anyone's marks grow as fast as yours." He hesitated, as if trying to find out if she was going to cry. "I'll inform your parents as soon as I can, meanwhile…"
"What will happen to me?"
Something painful pinched the old, tired looks of his. "Savenna…"
"If the poison keeps spreading, what will happen to me?" she repeated. He would be honest with her. They both knew that she'd find out if he wasn't. Uneasy, Trafalgar cleared his throat. "I can't guarantee anything. But as far as my research goes, you might start feeling dizzy, lose your appetite, suffer occasional joint pain… Your body temperature might rise and you will have trouble getting up in the morning."
She nodded, remembering to uphold her mother's ancestral thin line on her lips as she pondered. Against all better judgment, she thought about Madgalena. She had always been horrible to her governesses. Madgalena was the only one not to walk away from the job, and Savenna'd made her pay for it. Still when she was at her worst, cruelty pouring out of her like rain from the gutter, she wouldn't leave. She'd stand over Savenna, praying, cursing and finally bribing her to finally go to bed but not a single time did she walk away. Maybe this was Savenna's time to pay.
The doctor's voice lured her out of her dream world. Behind the glasses, his eyes were feverish. "I made a promise and I will keep it. If there is a cure for Amber Lead, I will find it." He smiled awkwardly. "I said the same thing to my son, you know?"
"Why on earth would you do that?"
"You getting well means a lot to him and as stubborn as he is he will probably try to help you. He might seem a bit… odd sometimes but he has a good heart. So please, for his sake, remember what we talked about."
Savenna stifled a snarl. So Mushroom Head hadn't told his father about her lie or the massacre in the attic. Maybe he wasn't such a good son after all… When she was released with an arsenal of pills and a begrudging Sophia as her official nurse, she felt less strongly about squirrels.
Weeks passed and it was as if their conversation never happened. Savenna looked as pretty as always, going on about politics and town gossip at the dinner table. She'd found a dress to cover her marks and made sure to wear gloves for the sake of her self-proclaimed contagiousness.
In the dreary Trafalgar house, Mary soon became her favorite person. Warm, quick-witted and caring, Savenna liked to imagine she was her own mother, never judging or correcting her. But to be fair, there wasn't much competition. The doctor avoided eye contact when passing the rice and little Lamie, too shy to talk, did nothing but watch everything around her with big gray, aggravating eyes.
But as fulfilling their conversations were, no day passed without her pretend mother praising Law and his numerous achievements. How well he did in medical school, what kind of pathogen he'd bred into existence this time. Savenna tried to pretend it didn't bother her until she heard her own teeth grind with envy.
Law this, Law that. She was the one who was sick and needed attention! How was he getting everything she wanted? A mother who was proud of him, a home of his own and the possibility to go wherever he felt like. And the audacity to stare at her from behind the candles, as if she wouldn't notice him gloating! But under the gentle eyes of Trafalgar Mary, there was nothing she could do about him.
After dinner the children were expected to help in the kitchen. Savenna wasn't fond of this particular house rule and contented herself with leaning dangerously far out of the window for a pitiful bit of excitement.
"You shouldn't be standing here without a coat. You'll catch a cold." She could feel Law's judgmental stare on her back. Her smile soured. "Why don't you mind your own business? You sound like my mother."
He shrugged. "I don't want you to get worse, that's all." The dark look he shot her from under the mushroom hat suggested otherwise.
"I can take care of myself, thank you very much," she informed him, reaching for a towel for the glasses she didn't intend to polish. With the subtlety of a carrion bird he waited until Lamie was out of sight and said, "You should really take your condition more seriously. It won't help catching a fever now. Teacher said that if you don't turn in your homework, you'll be held back."
"Did she now?" Savenna pressed through her teeth.
"Yes, but I can help you if you like. I've already completed all the assignments."
Was he just giving her the responsibility talk? For Mary's sake Savenna had let his annoying comments slide before but suddenly she couldn't care less. "Don't you worry, I'll just tell Madgalena to do it for me so you can go back to your torture chamber."
"That was just an experiment!" She sensed anger in his voice. Finally. This was starting to get tedious. "Really? Do you tell that to all of your victims?"
"Funny. I bet you're just too stupid to understand."
"At least I didn't pick up my social skills at the morgue!"
"What social skills? The only thing you talk about is yourself!" he snapped. "I am way smarter than you and that's why you're always so mean to me. You're just jealous."
"Take that back!"
"Make me!" That he didn't need to say twice. She forgot her vanity, eager to protect her pride. She was on him in no time, pulling his hair ready to bury her teeth in his pale, anemic skin. Taken by surprise, Law lost his balance and landed flat on the kitchen floor. He didn't want to fight a girl but that detail was forgotten the moment her fist met his stomach. He tore at her braids, she bit his arm before they were rolling around the kitchen like animals vying for territory. Someone kicked out the leg from under the table, sending half of the Trafalgar's china smashing on the floor.
"What is going on here?" No one watched as Sophie's face turned an alarming shade of red. She needed the help of the cook and the butler to separate the two. Holding them at arm's length cost them another set of dessert plates. Savenna was about to toss a loaf of bread at Law's head when the maid caught her by the ear.
"From you I would expect such a behavior," she muttered, frowning at the bits of fried chicken in Savenna's hair. "But you!" Law was busy staring at his feet. "What's the matter with you? You're a nice boy. You should know better than to pick a fight with this one!"
Savenna bristled in Sophia's grip. "He started it!"
"Liar!"
"I don't care who started it! We're not among pirates here," the maid pointed out sharply. "The two of you will help me in the kitchen for the rest of the week to make up for this mess. Now go to your rooms! I don't want to see you again tonight."
Cursing silently, Sophia had already started picking up the pieces of the broken china when Law turned around in the doorway, fists clenched. "Why can't you just do as you are told for once?"
A bitter, mocking smile curled her lips. "Because I'm not mommy's little baby, that's why."
It was Law's turn to lose his patience. As if he hadn't heard anything the maid had said, he seized Savenna by the arm and pushed her. Eager for round two, Savenna caught hold of herself but just as she wanted to hit back the air was punched out of her lungs.
Somewhere inside her chest it felt like a needle was being driven into her heart. Savenna cried out and stumbled. She hit the floor shaking, Law's mushroom head blurring in front of her eyes. Sophia rushed to her side but Savenna slapped her hand away, gasping for air. She tried loosening the buttons of her dress but her fingers wouldn't obey. Pain seizing her from the inside, she barely saw the shock on Law's face.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to…" Kneeling beside her, he kept repeating it until he got pushed out of the way by someone Savenna didn't recognize.
Savenna's health began to deteriorate, as if the poison had just waited for its moment to strike. The marks spread over her entire back, both arms and neck. When the fever skyrocketed, they reached her face.
Despite the icy color, her body was burning up. Days passed as she slipped in and out of consciousness. Her parents came and left without her noticing. Sophia and Madgalena took turns watching her fever dreams and forcing water down her throat.
When she woke up, exhausted after a week that felt like a year, she was barely recognizable. For the first time Savenna looked as sick as she was. She'd lost weight, and the big, contemptuous eyes had retreated deep into her skull. The white skin itched in some places, turned sore in others and burned when she started throwing up.
The Trafalgar servants jumped around her without knowing what to do. The doctor couldn't explain what happened. Her symptoms were erratic and didn't resemble his other patients. There wasn't much he could do but knock her out before the pain got too severe.
Law saw a different picture. Wrestling guilt and shame, he hid in the hallway trying to catch a glimpse of Savenna every time someone entered the room. But even if he'd had the courage to see her, his father wouldn't have let him in.
Law was kind and patient. No one understood why he was waiting for someone like Savenna or how she'd managed to infect him with her bad temper. But he saw it the other way around. It was all his fault. If he hadn't provoked her none of that would have happened.
He watched the door day and night. His father was the best doctor he knew and he always found a way to make things better. Only this time it was different. He was helpless, running around, skipping meals and browsing through his books. Law tried being disappointed but at the end of the day he was just scared. Scared of waiting and scared of having caused a death instead of preventing one. Savenna was the closest he had to a friend. He swore that he wouldn't rest until she was pretentious and terrifying again.