1829

Daniel pulled harder, gathering all his strength to haul the filled bucket out of the well. Despite having grown the last couple of years, he was still very lean. Just as he was about to pick it up, he was startled by a sudden lack of sight as something covered his eyes; he accidentally let go of the rope, and the bucket fell all the way back down to the bottom of the well.

"Guess who!" a female voice said.

He soon realised that the thing covering his eyes was a pair of small hands. Daniel slouched his shoulders, a smirk tucking at the corner of his lips. "Oh boy, I don't know… I am well acquainted with a lot of girls…" He felt a hard slap to his arm and burst into laughter.

"That is not funny!"

Daniel turned around to face his friend, "You are early."

"Happy birthday!" Serena beamed, showcasing the basket she always brought on this special day.

Daniel turned back to the well, grabbing the handle to pull the bucket up again. "I am not kidding. You shouldn't be around these quarters, we arranged to meet on the meadow as usual."

"Oh, but I wanted to see where you live! And I must say, it is quite charming," she said, eyeing the fairly large cabin a little distance away from the well.

"That is not where I live," Daniel mumbled, knowing that his house wouldn't be as impressive.

Serena didn't catch it. "It is about time you show me around, Daniel, we have known each other for four years now!"

Daniel grabbed the bucket and turned around to face Serena, "And what do you suppose the peasants would think, seeing a daughter of a wealthy industrialist wandering around the murky part of town? Not to mention your mother."

"You are such a mood killer," Serena complained, "Can I at least see your house?"

"No," Daniel said without second thought, "And that is not my house."

Serena immediately snapped out of the longing gaze, she had sent the cushy looking cabin. Daniel started walking down the path. "We'll meet back at the meadow. Now get out of here before anyone sees you!"

She pouted. "Fine, then!"

Serena was waiting by their usual meeting place; the Blean forest. She sat in the grass, eating a muffin contently. Daniel smiled and waved at her. As he came closer, she said, "So, how old are you now? 32?"

"Very funny," Daniel said while she giggled, "I'm 12."

"You certainly don't act like a 12 year old," she said, still amused.

"Well, you will be 10 by the end of this year, and you still act like a five year old."

She stopped giggling immediately and glared at him, but he simply reached out to grab a muffin from her basket. She rapped his fingers away, "I don't think you can have a cake before you apologise!"

Now it was Daniel's turn to glare. "What exactly should I apologise for?"

"For insulting me like that!"

Daniel tried hard not to laugh. "I was merely addressing your immaturity, Miss Serena," he explained.

She pouted once again – it seemed that it had become a bad habit. "Don't mock me!"

"Can I just have a cake, please?" Daniel begged, growing increasingly tired of the trivial argument.

Serena finally gave in, also laughing now. "All right, all right."

Daniel grabbed the basket and removed the cloth covering it, only to be surprised. Not only was the basket filled with cupcakes, in the middle lay a square parcel. "Open it!" Serena said, excitement twinkling in her chestnut eyes.

He looked at her with bewilderment. "Did you … actually buy me a present?"

"Of course! You get presents for your birthday, don't you?" She rolled her eyes. "You are such a dummy sometimes, Daniel!"

Daniel wondered what could be in the package, still feeling somewhat baffled. He had given up on trying to convince Serena not to give him anything a long time ago, though, so he didn't bother to complain about her generosity.

"What are you waiting for? Don't you want to know what I got for you?" Serena asked.

Daniel stayed silent for a short while, still lost in his own thoughts. Suddenly he smirked at her, "Truth be told, I am actually worried. You might just have gotten me something horrid. I better leave it wrapped, so as to not have my illusion of this being something nice be ruined."

He received yet another slap. "Ouch!"

"I did not buy you something horrid! In fact, this is actually something you really want."

"Is that so?" Daniel said, curiously eyeing the gift. He began carefully tearing at the paper, never having unwrapped a present before.

Serena was ever so impatient. "What are you doing? Just tear it up, already!" She practically had to do it for him. The children unwrapped the package together.

Daniel's eyes widened in revelation. "Oh God, Serena..."

"I hope you haven't read these before," she said, warmth spreading in her cheeks and colouring them pink, "They were some of the more expensive ones."

In the package were wrapped three large books on history dating back to the ancient Egypt, and Serena was right – it was some expensive, rare editions, Daniel would never be able to get his hands on by himself. "Thank you so much!" Daniel said, already turning the pages of the one about classical antiquity.

Serena leaned against his shoulder. "Can you read it to me?"

Daniel nodded. One of the things, he really appreciated about Serena, was her interest in his knowledge. Every year, Daniel taught her the things he knew about various subjects, and Serena herself was surprisingly interested in many aspects of history. They both frequently enjoyed reading a book about it together.

"Plato was a Greek philosopher as well as mathematician. A past student of Socrates', he became a very influential figure. One of his many famous texts spoke about a foreign utopian island called Atlantis..."

Later that evening, Daniel and Serena were chatting eagerly, having decided to watch the sunset together. "Can you imagine," Daniel sighed, looking to the horizon, "Me becoming an archaeologist and travelling across the world, discovering forgotten places and ancient artefacts crucial to the development of mankind and life as we know it!"

Serena lay on her back, her eyes closed. "It sounds like a fairytale."

Daniel turned his gaze towards the grass, raking some straws up. "It is my dream. If I dig up something truly extraordinary, something never seen or heard of before, I might just be able to make enough money for Hazel to be cured."

"Does she even need to be cured? I thought it was just a regular lung defect?" Serena said, sitting up.

"It has gotten worse," Daniel mumbled, "Doctor Tate said that the inhaler will only do so much. It's keeping her alive, but she will always be in risk of suddenly having a stroke. Unless she gets the right treatment, but there's no way we'll be able to afford that."

"I never knew that her condition was so critical!" Serena said, astounded by the information, "And you have been taking care of her all these years! You must be exhausted!"

Daniel shook his head. "Hardly. Keeping my sister alive does not exhaust me. Watching my father being careless around her, now that exhausts me."

"With all due respect, your father does not sound like a pleasant man," Serena murmured, having heard a number of stories about Daniel's father over the last couple of years.

"It doesn't matter," Daniel said, draping his arms over his knees and resting his chin on them, "Hazel is all that matters."

She gazed at him with a sympathetic look in her eyes. "I could try to bring you more money?"

"No, you shouldn't," Daniel said, offering an appreciative smile, "I need to handle this myself."

Serena nodded, knowing that she wouldn't be able to get him the money anyway. "I think you should chase your dream," she spoke softly, turning her gaze towards the setting sun, "It would be fantastic, really. You could move to London, and take your education there. Then we could see each other every day!"

Daniel grinned, "I think it would be a whole lot harder meeting up in London where everyone knows you, without me having to marry you."

"Who cares what they all think," Serena snorted, "We should be able to be friends without everyone turning their heads! I do not like how superficial our society has become."

"It has always been superficial." Daniel followed her eyes to the horizon, "You are just growing up." The two friends didn't say any more. They silently sat beside each other, watching as the sun lowered behind the trees, dragging its light and hopes and dreams down with it.

Daniel returned home late. The house was silent as usual; the boots were not present, so Father must have still been in the studio. The boy kicked off his shoes, then walked into the room he shared with Hazel. It was located directly underneath John's bedroom. There was a dim light inside; the lantern was almost out of oil.

He smiled, knowing his sister remembered that he wasn't fond of the dark, and thus leaving the lantern burning. The small girl lay in the shabby bed, John and Daniel had built her in the studio. There was barely any space in the room for both of the siblings' beds, but there was no other place to have them. She breathed in peacefully, once in a while rasping was so softly it barely was evident.

Daniel had brought Hazel a cupcake, but he obviously had returned home too late as she had already gone to bed. He decided to save it for tomorrow, and started undressing for bed. Unfortunately, he hit the drawer in the cramped space by accident, making the heavy history books borrowed from the local library tumble down onto the floor.

Hazel moved. "Daniel?" she peeped, rubbing her eyes.

He offered an apologetic smile, whispering, "I'm sorry, Hazel, I didn't mean to wake you."

The five year old girl sat up, obviously still drowsy. Tufts of dirty blonde hair stuck out in every direction, making it look like a bird had built a nest on top of his younger sister's head. "Did you have fun with Serena?"

"We can talk tomorrow, it's late," Daniel said, moving to tug Hazel under the covers again.

She immediately got a sulky expression on her face. "Yes, it is, and I demand to know what took you so long! What were you doing with Serena?" the girl said, demonstrating her best pout.

Daniel sighed and sat down at the bedside. "You're not going to let this go, am I right?"

Hazel nodded with a big, victorious grin. He smirked, "All right, then. Here, have your muffin." Daniel handed her the cake and she grabbed it at once, happily starting to nibble away at her treat; it was rare for both her and her brother to have anything as delicious as Serena's annual birthday cakes.

"So, what did you two do?" Hazel said with the mouth full of cupcake.

Daniel picked up the books. "She gave me an expensive gift."

Hazel's eyes turned as wide as teacups. "Fairytale books?"

"No," he chuckled, "History books."

"Oh. Well, that's also very fascinating!" She gnawed at her cake.

"And then we read them. We spent several hours just reading, so that's why it dragged on for so long, I guess... When we realised how late it had gotten, we decided to watch the sunset together."

"That sounds romantic!" Hazel cooed.

Daniel shook his head. "I guess it was. But we are just friends."

"I know, I know, you've told me hundreds of times!" Hazel rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, irritated by her brother's continuous repeating of himself. Something told him that it was most of all due to a lack of sleep, though.

Daniel wrapped the covers around the small girl. "All right, I've told you everything, now go to sleep!"

Hazel finally complied at last, "All right, all right..." She yawned and lay back down in her bed. Not unsurprisingly, she was out within minutes. Daniel smiled, and got up to continue getting ready for bed – as he had obviously been distracted shortly. The lantern was almost completely out now. A few more minutes, and the room would be shrouded in darkness.

He noticed the light becoming fainter. He moved to the bed stand, grabbing the oil can beside the lantern, but he stopped in his tracks. Thoughts were accumulating. He fidgeted a bit with the switch, turning it a bit so the light attenuated further. As the room grew dingier, he felt small droplets form on his face. Images came to his mind; a small boy crying, a monster hiding in the dark, a vast void of nothingness, nowhere to run...

Breathlessness, a deep, tormenting fear, an excruciating pain.

NO ESCAPE.

Daniel gasped and opened his eyes, only now realising that they had even been closed. He immediately grabbed the oil can and emptied it into the lantern. The light became stronger. The room was once again engulfed in a dim, warm light. He found that he had trouble breathing, as if he had just finished a marathon. He fell to his knees in front of the bed stand, trying to collect himself.

"Stop acting so foolish, boy, the darkness won't hurt you."

It was his father's voice. Words from the past.

"Give me that lantern, you're wasting oil. You're too old to sleep with the lights on, Christ!"

He struggled to keep his emotions at bay, but the anxiety was stronger; he tasted salt liquid. Thank God, Hazel was asleep.

Daniel wiped the tears away and gave himself a moment to come to his senses, then stood up to move over to his bed. As he lay down, he grabbed the little rosary he hid underneath his pillow. He clutched it tightly and closed his eyes, praying that he and his sister would soon see brighter days.

"... D-Danny... Dan..."

Daniel woke up to the sound of heavy rasping. The boy frowned, opening one tired eye. Hazel was making strange movements in the other end of the room. He sat up, trying to focus his blurry vision from the sleep. As he realised what was happening, he immediately rushed out of his bed, "Hazel!"

Hazel's eyes were tearing up and her mouth filling with saliva mixed with blood. The rasps turned into a dry wheezing. She grabbed tightly unto Daniel's bare arm. The boy tried his best to keep calm. Think, think, think! He flipped the younger girl to lie on her stomach and quickly grabbed a nearby cloth, placing it under her mouth, "Spit it out, Hazel!"

She did as she was told while Daniel floundered through the drawers in the vague light of the lantern. He finally found what he was looking for; a small bottle of laudanum. He moved to sit on Hazel's bed again. The small girl was barely conscious. "Danny," she whispered through rough breaths, "My head hurts... And my chest..."

"I know, Hazel, just drink this," Daniel said as filled the spoon up and fed her.

Hazel drank it all up. She grimaced at the bitter taste, "Oh, that is just nasty!"

Daniel chuckled and gently placed a hand on her forehead, checking her temperature. "How are you feeling?"

"Dizzy," she said, still wheezing, "and I feel like my lungs are about to explode..." She did look awfully pale.

He stroked her hair, "Just relax and spit all of the slime out. Don't make any rash movements, all right? I'll go heat some water for your inhaler."

She merely nodded, pressing the cloth against her mouth as she continued coughing. Daniel put on his old shirt and a pair of trousers. There was no point in going back to sleep now.

Later in the evening, Daniel decided to move his sister out into the living room, so he could keep an eye on her while he did his chores. He was originally supposed to meet with Serena, but he couldn't leave the house while his sister was in this state. The seizure had developed into a scorching fever, and Hazel didn't do much other than sleep the whole day. She was still sound asleep when John returned home.

The man trudged in, halting as he noticed his son sitting by the couch with a bowl of water and Hazel sleeping. "What's wrong with her now?"

Daniel put the rag in the hot water, twisted the redundant fluids out of it and placed it on his sister's burning forehead. "She had a stroke."

John walked into the kitchen and grabbed a beer from his stash. "I thought you were going to work at the miller's today?" He sat by the dinner table and watched Daniel.

"I-I was. I have been."

"And you're already home?"

"The miller let me off early."

John didn't seem to buy it fully. He gazed at the boy with those glazed, grey eyes. Daniel held his breath, hoping that his father wouldn't notice how nervous he was. That he had work to do at the miller's today had merely been a lie to keep John from suspecting anything when he went to see Serena. But having John in the room always seemed to make the air somewhat strained anyway, so he guessed that nothing was different from the usual.

"And so... You just went home?"

Daniel jumped slightly at the sudden question. "Um... Yes, where else would I go?"

"You could've come help your old man in the studio."

Something about John's tone made Daniel's stomach squirm. "I... I had to take care of Hazel..."

John shifted in his seat. "Huh. So you already knew that she would have another seizure?"

"N-no! She had it in the morning, I left her sleeping at home while I was working." Daniel felt like he was being cornered. He silently prayed that the interrogation was over.

John didn't comment further for a little while. Another 10 minutes passed before he spoke again, "Why don't you just give up?"

This time Daniel didn't answer. He felt himself grit his teeth.

John patiently awaited a response, but as he didn't get one, he continued himself, "You know that she won't stand a chance." The implication of mockery seeped through clearly.

She would, if you gave her one.

"Aren't you exhausted? She keeps having those seizures. Do you remember last winter? I was sure she wouldn't make it."

But she did.

"She is weak. She is unable to work, and we can't afford to have her educated – and honestly, I don't really feel like wasting my humble fortune on such trivial things."

No, you'd rather throw it away on liquor.

"She's as good as dead to me, just like her mother. Your efforts are a waste of time!"

John jerked up from his seat, violently grabbed a new bottle and went to his room, slamming the door hard behind him. Daniel sat crouched by the couch without uttering a sound, gripping tightly onto Hazel's duvet.

The subject apparently wasn't only sensitive to the artisan's son.

Hazel remained unconscious for a couple of days, so Daniel thought it best to stay home and take care of her. She was fortunately feeling fine again after a week, so he decided to seek out Serena and apologise for not meeting with her as they had arranged.

He walked the other way around the meadow through the Blean. It was much faster taking this route to her house, when he wasn't walking from the mill. A fair distance from the mansion, he suddenly heard several voices chattering and laughing. He went around some trees and looked through a bush into a sunlit clearing.

A huge gathering sat together on a blanket, having a picnic. A few of them were servants, but these people were obviously wealthy – and Daniel recognized them instantly.

The blonde young woman, Regina, was combing Jemma's long dark hair, Jemma distracted by all the birds flying about. Katharina, the oldest one of the siblings, was reading a book, and Magdalena, the girls' mother, and Hilmar, her husband, were having a friendly conversation with their housekeeper and the governess.

And right in the middle of it all was Serena, chatting with her older sisters. She looked so happy and content. The whole group was undeniably enticing and attractive. The perfect family.

Daniel eyed the scene, increasingly feeling more dull inside; the expensive china, the fine garments, the several servants attending to the wealthy family. His heart dropped as Jemma suddenly jerked up, starting to chase Serena around the clearing while they all laughed.

I don't belong in her world.

Daniel unintentionally curled his hands into fists and left the scene to go home.

The sun was baking; it was early in the afternoon, and the last cart had been stocked. Daniel clamped the final bag of flour to the wagon and signalled for the coachman to go. Once the cart strolled away into town, the boy went to check the water flow. There had been some trouble with the mill, and the miller suspected that something had gotten stuck in the machinery. He walked around to the back of the large building and started rummaging through the small shed where the tools were kept.

"Where have you been?"

Daniel's heart skipped a beat. He turned around, but immediately relaxed when he realised who the voice belonged to. "Oh... Hello."

"You know, I waited for you for a whole hour the other day," Serena said, crossing her arms.

He pursed his lips, averting his eyes. "Hazel had a stroke."

Serena's eyes widened, "Oh my God! Is she all right?"

"Don't worry, she is fine now." He offered her a weak smile.

Serena nodded slowly, watching as he just went on with his work. He grabbed a crowbar from the shed and moved over to the water mill. "But you could at least have apologised," she mumbled.

"What?" Daniel yelled, unable to hear her any more due to the strong flow of the water.

Serena frowned, but then shouted back at him, "Never mind it. Do you want to meet with me after work?"

Daniel didn't answer while he fixed the mill. He seemed to struggle for a bit, but finally the crowbar let loose and the mill wheeled freely again. He put the crowbar back in place and looked at Serena. "Meet with you?"

"Yes? Like we usually do?" Serena said, feeling continuously more and more confused, "Is anything wrong?"

Daniel shook his head and averted his eyes. He tugged his hands in his pockets. Serena tilted her head, a deep frown furrowing her forehead, "Why are you acting so strange?" She looked down onto her feet and kicked a stone. "I missed you..."

The older boy suddenly turned his gaze towards her again. His facial muscles betrayed him as a small smile formed on his lips, "You… You missed me?"

Serena slapped his arm. "Don't make a big deal out of it!" She couldn't disguise the blush on her face either, though.

He laughed, instantly feeling a lot better. "All right, all right, I'll see you by the bridge at six!"

"Deal!" Serena beamed and turned to skip away. Daniel watched her till she was completely out of sight, a little smile apparent on his face.

Maybe she doesn't belong in her world, either.

Good things must always come to an end. Daniel and Serena spent her last day in Canterbury just talking about anything their minds would occasionally stumble upon. "Doesn't your mother want you to help packing?" Daniel asked while watching the clouds.

Serena laughed, thinking Daniel's question to be silly. "Of course not, the servants are packing everything."

"Oh. Right."

She turned around to lie on her side, just gazing up at him. He tried to ignore it at first but eventually he grew too uncomfortable and blurted, "Stop staring at me!"

She just laughed at him, apparently finding his annoyance amusing. Daniel couldn't help but laugh as well and turned onto his side, facing Serena. "So, are you excited for school?"

Her smile faded immediately and she merely shrugged. Daniel frowned. For the past few years, Serena had refused to talk about her school or much of her life in London at all. He usually just let it slide, but over time it had started to nag him for some reason he couldn't explain. "Is everything all right? You never want to talk about your school."

"London is just no good," Serena pouted and turned on her back again, watching the clouds drift slowly across the sky.

"What are you talking about? London is amazing!"

"Then maybe you should live there!"

Daniel was surprised at her sudden outburst. He sat up, his confusion evident in his expression. "What is going on?"

"Nothing is going on," Serena sighed, but her avoiding his eyes didn't fool Daniel. "I... I just think that London would be a whole lot better if you lived there. So we didn't have to be apart for so long..."

Daniel could tell that even Serena herself didn't think that excuse to be very convincing. He was flattered by her comment, though. "But what has that got to do with your school?"

"Nothing! It's nothing!" Serena dismissed him, "Let's talk about something else!"

Daniel couldn't help but feel that there was in fact something wrong, but he decided not to bother Serena any more – it was after all their last day together this year. She had to head back in the afternoon already, but when she got up to leave, Daniel didn't let her go. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a warm embrace.

Serena didn't say anything. She just sighed and held onto him tightly. Daniel never knew, but her eyes welled up at that moment.