Chapter Fifteen: Will She Stay Or Will She Go?
'I have to get out of here!' Christine thought desperately as she pushed herself to her feet.
Her captor was a monster, his behavior just then had proven that without a doubt.
If she didn't get away now, she would most likely be stuck here with him forever!
The redhead shuddered at the horrifying thought.
Walking over to the window, she looked out.
After being left alone with a narcoleptic wardrobe, she had wasted no time in putting an escape plan into action.
Ripping apart the hideous dress that La Esmeralda had made her, she had used the fabric to create a makeshift rope, which now hung out the window, the end dangling about twenty feet from the ground.
It wasn't perfect, but it would do.
She had just taken a deep breath and picked up the rope when...
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"I told you to go away!" she shouted over her shoulder.
To her surprise, it was not her captor's coldly beautiful tones that answered.
Instead, the voice that replied was gentle, kind and maternal.
"Don't worry, dear," it said. "It's not the master, it's just Madame Giry."
A moment later, the door swung open and a serving trolley rolled inside.
Placed on top were a beautifully painted teapot and a teacup with the same design on it's side.
The teapot, Christine had to assume, was Madame Giry.
Quickly, Christine tried to block the rope that hung behind her, but Madame Giry had already spotted it the moment she entered the room.
It hadn't surprised her.
The redhead seemed like a clever girl, and the master had given her no reason to feel welcome.
Still, Madame Giry wasn't just going to let the girl leave...at least, not if she could help it.
And having lived with a notoriously stubborn individual for quite some time, she knew that sometimes the best way to make people do what they didn't want to do was to give them the chance to do it on their own terms.
"It's a very long journey, my pet," Madame Giry said gently.
"Let me fix you up before you go. I have found in my experience that most troubles seem a lot less troubling after a nice, soothing cup of herbal tea.
Isn't that right, Señora?" Madame Giry turned and addressed La Esmeralda, who was still fast asleep.
"Señora! Wake up!"
With a jolt, La Esmeralda awoke.
"What time is it?" she asked, sounding sleepy and confused.
"Did I fall asleep again?"
"Señora used to only sleep eight hours a day," the small teacup piped up. "Now she sleeps twenty-three."
"Elisabeth Antoinette Giry!" the teapot scolded, "How many times have I told you that it is impolite to discuss a lady's habits?"
Elisabeth pouted adorably.
"Sorry, Maman."
Madame Giry rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"And I thought Meg was bad with her infernal curiosity, always getting into things..." the teapot trailed off.
"Meg?" Christine asked curiously.
"My youngest," Madame Giry sighed, with a melancholy sigh.
"Forgive me for prying, Madame," the 21 year old began, "but why do you sound so sad?"
"Would you not be sad as well, my poppet," the teapot replied," if you were separated from your child?"
The redhead bit her lip awkwardly.
"Where is Meg?"
Madame Giry and Elisabeth both turned towards Christine's nightstand.
A nightstand, which she now noticed, held a beautiful crystal and gold music box in the shape of a swan, with a pair of dancing slippers painted on the side.
"Oh..." Christine breathed softly.
"She can't move, she can't even speak," Madame Giry said sadly, her voice catching on a sob.
"The only way she can communicate is through music."
Elisabeth whimpered.
"I want my sister back..." the teacup sniffled.
"What happened here?" Christine asked curiously.
"Is this an enchantment? A curse?"
Magic was the only logical explanation for the castle's oddities, in Christine's opinion.
The redhead had read many a story about such things, but she had never in her wildest dreams imagined that they could actually be real!
"She guessed it, Maman!" Elisabeth said cheerfully. "She's really smart!"
As she spoke, her mother hopped over and filled her up with tea, before nudging her over toward Christine.
"Slowly now, Elisabeth," she warned. "Don't spill tea. Or secrets."
Christine smiled despite herself as she picked up the teacup.
She was so obviously a little girl, yet somehow she was trapped in the form of a teacup.
'How sad it must be,' Christine mused, 'to be a little girl, yet not be able to do little-girl things...'
As if sensing what the redhead was thinking, Elisabeth asked, "Want to see me do a trick?"
Christine nodded, and Elisabeth took a deep breath.
Then she started to blow bubbles.
The tea splish-splashed inside her cup, making Christine laugh.
The sound echoed nicely through the room, and Madame Giry smiled.
"That was a very brave thing you did for your father, dearie," she remarked.
"We all think so," La Esmeralda said, nodding in agreement.
Christine's smile faded at the mention of her father.
"I'm so worried about him," she said softly.
"He's never been alone."
"Cheer up, my dear," Madame Giry said, trying to get back some of the earlier levity.
"Things will turn out alright in the end, you'll see. Now come on, you'll feel a lot better after dinner!"
Christine looked at the teapot and cocked her head.
"But you heard what he said! 'If she doesn't eat with me, then she doesn't eat at all!'" the redhead mimicked, making her voice sound as cold and ominous as possible.
Madame Giry rolled her eyes in exasperation as she fought back a groan.
The master really had made a bad impression on the poor girl.
"People say a lot of things in anger," she said. "It is our choice whether or not to listen."
As she spoke, she turned the serving trolley toward the door and began to leave.
Turning to look back at Christine, Madame Giry smiled.
"Coming, poppety?"
Christine watched as the teapot disappeared out the door.
Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast that morning.
'Fine,' she relented slightly, 'I'll go and have dinner.
But just this one meal. Then I am leaving...once and for all.'
A/N: Please review to unlock Chapter Sixteen...