Page 4 of Curse of Immortality
There was only one place for him to bring his daughters to safety and he had no idea how to get there.
Quieting his mind, he sent out his request for guidance to Zosia, praying that the spirit of nature would lead him and his girls to his sister.
He knew his request had been accepted when the birds in the trees began to communicate with him and lead the way. Galloping through the forest, he prayed that Rose wouldn’t be furious with him for what had happened the last time they’d seen each other six years ago.
CHAPTER 2
Deep in the Forest
The details would blur in their memories with time, but Althea and Maeve would always remember the confusion and sadness that weighed on their stomachs when their father rode the giant horse as fast as it could run through the woods. They had given up asking questions many hours ago because all John would say was, “It will be alright.”
It was the first time that Althea and Maeve left their village in the countryside of England. Traveling required time and money, which their parents had little of. While their father worried about the repercussions of borrowing a horse from his employers and how to explain everything, Althea and Maeve sat in a trancelike state holding on to the mane of the horse. As the hours passed, the horse and the girls became exhausted, but John was wide awake, internally focused on following the group of sparrows that seemed to show him the way. As the woods grew denser, he got off the stallion without waking the girls and walked for miles until he picked up on a lovely scent of freshly baked bread. Soon, they reached a clearing where wildflowers grew and a house that had seen better days stood welcoming them.
In the window, he spotted the face of his sister, but despite his relief that he had found Rose, his face was still paralyzed into a stern exterior when he finally announced to his daughters, “We’re here.”
The girls blinked their eyes open to see that they were deep in the forest. It had been mid-morning when they left their home, but the sun was already below the treetops and would be set in a few hours. Its golden rays shone through the tall trees and their green leaves. Althea squinted her tired eyes and took in the small cottage in front of them.
With a tree that poked through the corner of the roof, it was like no other house Althea and Maeve had ever seen. Either the cottage had been built around the tree, or the tree had grown through the cottage. The whole place looked worn down. And with moss growing on the uneven roof that had several bird nests lying around with chirping hatchlings inside, it was as if nature had taken over an abandoned house. The smoke coming out of the brick chimney told another story though. Someone lived here and took great pride in the small vegetable garden that was protected by a fence, and a small creek that ran along with the garden and passed the house. As they got closer, it became clear that the vines growing on the façade of the house were tamed and didn’t cover the open windows. But the biggest sign that someone lived here was the delicious smell of food that made Althea’s stomach growl.
John helped his daughters off the horse and for a moment all three of them took in how the evening sun gave the house a golden tint. All the colorful flowers on the ground and the walls stretched out towards the light to get the last glimpse of the sun for the day.
“Where are we?” Maeve asked. “And who is that woman?”
They all looked to the woman, who appeared to be around their father’s age. She stood in the doorway watching them with an expression of disbelief on her face.
Without meeting his daughters’ eyes, John instructed, “Take the horse to the creek and give him some of the apples from that tree over there. He needs to rest so let him graze while I go talk to Rose. If you’re hungry, eat as much fruit as you want, and feel free to play out here until we’re done talking.”
The girls complied and went to greet a black cat that lay on its back in the grass. When they looked back at the cottage their father had gone inside.
At first, there was a long and awkward moment of silence between John and his sister. They hadn’t seen each other since before the twins were born and the night that they separated had been distressing to both of them.
“I’m glad to see you found safety,” John said and took the seat that Rose offered him.
“Yes. I’ve moved around a lot, but two years ago I found this abandoned cabin and made it my own. I sell produce in the nearest town to support myself.”
Over the next twenty minutes, John told his sister the whole story in a rambling way.
Rose sat with her hands folded in her lap and her gaze hanging low. With grief and sorrow in her tone, she sighed. “I can’t believe they killed Ellen. She would never hurt a fly.”
“Please, Rose, I love my daughters and I need you to keep them safe. You can teach them to control their powers and maybe in time they can have normal lives like me.”
Her head snapped up as she locked eyes with John. “You mean to learn to hide who they are?”
“Yes.”
“There’s nothing normal about hiding your gifts from the world.”
“No, but with everything that’s going on, we have no other choice.”
Rose stood up and clasped both hands on the back of the chair she had just been in. “The cottage is small, but I’m sure we can make it work for the four of us.”
John dried his eyes and avoided his sister’s gaze as he slowly spoke, “Althea and Maeve deserve to know who they are, but I can’t teach them about their powers. Not when we live in the same house as Anne, and I don’t want to think about what would happen if she ever found out.” He shook his head. “You know how she is. She wouldn’t understand.” He paused when he saw how his sister flinched and removed her hand from the chair before pulling back a little.
“Anne has already lost so much. I can’t leave her too. But I know that my girls are no longer safe, so, Rose, I beg you, please protect my daughters and raise them as your own.”
In truth, Rose had felt lonely over the years. She had all her animals whom she loved dearly, but she missed the family she’d had grown up with and had always longed to be a mother herself. She was a kindhearted soul and there was no way she could turn her back on her young nieces.
“I will love them and care for them, just as our parents did for us,” she promised.
