Sorry it took so long to update, but here it is at last. The next chapter…
"Ann!" Felicity shrieks the minute when enter a posh upper-class brownstone, running off into an unknown room to look for her. I look left and right as I take in my surrounds. My, my, Ann surely has come a long way from being a runaway governess. At that moment, Ann enters, as if my thoughts had called her from across the house. The minute I see my old friend I run to embrace her for the first time in four long years.
"Oh Ann, I have missed you so much. You must tell me what you have been doing these last years," I smile at Anne with tears of happiness running down my face. When I look up, I see matching tears running down Anne's as well.
"Gemma, Gemma. I am not the one who had many stories to tell. How was America! And the children, have you brought them?" I take a step to the side to reveal Kali and Kiran who are hiding behind my skirt.
"Kali, Kiran, this is your Auntie Ann. Children say hello," I am completely baffled at their quietness until I spy a man standing in the corner of the room.
"And who might this be?" I inquire tilting my head toward the corner where the mystery man stands chatting with Felicity and Charlotte.
"That's Charlie, my husband. You two have met before, but it was quite a long time ago," Ann says with a blush on her face. Oh, of course. Our dreadful trip to the city for Ann's audition. I still try to forget that day, almost as much I as try to forget those awful fake names we had come up with.
I step forward to greet Charlie, when I realize that the twins are still clinging to my skirt. Ann shoots me a questioning glance at me and then the twins. Even Felicity is eyeing my children strangely.
"I am sorry if my children are acting rather strange," I whisper in Ann's ear, "but they don't have much interaction with grown men." I bend down to the twin's eye level and reassure them that everything is alright and that the man is a friend of Ann's. After a minute or two, Kiran lets go of my skirt and walks over to where Charlie is standing.
"Hello," Kiran says in a faux deep voice as he reaches up to shake Charlie's hand. I cover my mouth to stifle a giggle as I see Kiran try to act the part of a grown man. Charlie looks over at me for a moment, with amusement written all over his face, before he shakes Kiran's little hand and starts to make conversation.
"Well how about you and your sister come with me and Charlotte to see our backyard," Charlie says loudly, "We have a swing set." Kiran and Kali's faces lit up at this notion and the two dashed from the room with Charlie and Charlotte hurrying to keep up.
"That was very nice of Charlie," I say to Ann as Felicity, she and I sit down to talk.
"Well he knows that we have a lot to catch up on," Ann says beaming, "and he is rather good with children." I smile at Ann and her new happy life. I had been afraid if she would ever give up her hopeless one-sided romance with my brother. I wasn't surprised to find myself happy in Ann's happiness. But I was surprised to feel the familiar pull of envy tugging at my heart. After all, both Ann and Felicity had their loves, and I was the odd woman out. But hopefully, not for much longer.
"Well, if you don't mind. I was hoping we could skip that for now and go straight for the plan I have." I said looking at both their faces. Ann looked eager, but a bit annoyed. Felicity looked as if she would faint if she wasn't informed in the next minute. And because of that I counted to fifty before drawing in a breath.
"Well, what the devil do you have in mind," Felicity screeched. I smiled and took another breath, just for her benefit, before continuing. And I told them everything that I had kept secret. From my first meeting with Kartik, to our secret affair, to our intimate moments in the Cave of Sighs. I told them of my dream the previous night, and the nightmare it had ended in.
"I need to get him back. And I will need your help to do it." I took another deep breath to calm myself before finishing. "I believe the dream has a clue to it, and I want to try to get Kartik back. I can't condemn him to a life in the awful tree. He died trying to save me, and I am willing to die trying to get him back." I sighed as I looked up at my closest friends. Their expressions were carefully guarded, and I had no idea what they thought of my plan.
"Well, I'm in, Gemma. I know I haven't made my displeasure of Kartik a secret in the past, but he means a lot to you. And you mean a lot to me. I remember how much Pippa meant to me and if you felt one tenth of the love I felt for her, then I will do everything in my power to bring him back to you." I smiled at Felicity's fierce loyalty to me, and then frowned at Felicity's mention of Pippa. Could she still be hurting after all this time? Even with her new love. I looked into Felicity's deep eyes and knew my answer. Yes, yes she could.
"What about you Ann? I know you have your new life here, and I won't ask you to risk your life for this. Especially when you have Charlie."
"Like I would sit on the sidelines while you two have all the fun." Ann smiled at me and it brought back memories of us when we were innocent roommates and we shared every pain we had. "Besides who could pass up a trip to the realms."
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