Page 62 of Curse of Immortality
Maybe with time spent in Orenda, away from humans, they could get to know this new version of one another and rekindle the sisterly love that they’d once shared.
Straightening up, Althea stopped herself from having too much hope. She had already lost Maeve once. Setting her hopes too high was foolish. Losing her sister again, or even the dream of what could be between them would be all too painful for her traumatized soul.
Althea’s heart was working at double speed when she went to knock on the door of the fancy home.
After delivering her message that she was here to see her sister, she waited another long while until the butler returned and led her inside a grand entrance and up the stairs to a lavish tearoom. The grand room had tall windows overlooking the busy streets of London below. Some of the windows were open, letting in a cool breeze and the noise of people in the streets. Everything oozed money, with the carvings on the doors, the double-layered silk curtains, and the thick carpet on the floor. Althea took in the many decorations that looked like they had been imported from around the world.
Not having spoken for half a century, Althea had no idea what to expect. Would her sister be happy to see her, or would her eyes still glimmer with hatred just as they had when she’d burned down the town and killed everyone that day Rose died?
When she heard footsteps outside, she stared at the door and held her breath.
Maeve entered with an expression that didn’t reveal much. Closing the door behind her, she stood for a moment watching Althea, puzzled to see her sister after close to five decades. Slowly she walked closer without either of them speaking.
At first, Maeve wondered if her mind was playing tricks on her, but as she studied details on Althea’s face that she had forgotten, memories rushed back. Althea still had the freckles that Maeve had counted when they were children and her abundant untamed orange curls that Maeve had loved to let her fingers run through. Looking into her sister’s eyes it felt like an eternity since she had seen a person with such beautiful blue and green eyes. There was no hostility on Althea’s face – nor was there joy.
“You haven’t changed at all,” Maeve said and broke the silence.
“No?” Althea asked in a sad tone. “You have. I hardly recognize you.”
She saw only a few similarities between this elegantly dressed woman and the loving sister Maeve had once been. She had been blessed with beauty from birth, but her perfectly shaped eyes that had once shone with kindness had lost their sparkle. Though her body had not aged, and her lips were still perfectly curved and full with a cute little nose above them, she no longer looked like the girl who had run barefoot through the forest with careless giggles.
An urge rose in Althea to reach out and free her sister’s red hair from the neatly arranged hairstyle that didn’t leave a single strand to bounce freely. The bright orange color she remembered had changed into a darker auburn. It still seemed a crime to contain all that gorgeous, long hair in a hairstyle that looked to entrap the essence of Maeve’s free spirit.
The sisters had grown up wearing dresses made of cheap fabrics. Althea still wore a simple, practical dress that left her with room to move and forage. It was a far cry from Maeve’s fashionable gown that complimented her every curve but didn’t look comfortable. “It’s been a while,” Maeve said with a slight upper curve at the edge of her perfect lips.
Seeing Maeve cut off from nature, in her lavish home that reeked of material wealth, made Althea sick to her stomach. Everything about Maeve represented the life she’d been so eager to live with James that it had cost them both everything, and yet it was still the path Maeve had chosen. Almost fifty years had passed since Rose died, and yet in that moment, Althea felt a wave of resentment wash over her.
Maeve, who had been staring into her sister’s eyes, remembering how happy they had once been, saw the shift in Althea. She had come close to embracing her sister in a tight hug, but the moment she saw how Althea’s gaze turned disapproving, Maeve fell back on her usual cynical disinterest. She didn’t need or want her sister’s judgment.
With a tight emotional shield pressed to her chest, she asked in a sharp tone, “What are you doing here?”
Althea was thrown off by the change in her tone but decided to follow through with the plan she’d entered with instead and answered, “I’ve come to talk to you.”
Maeve breathed noisily and gestured toward the two opposing sofas in the middle of the room. When they went to go take a seat, Althea was surprised Maeve didn’t sit in the seat next to her but instead took a seat across from her.
“You changed your hair,” Althea pointed out while pulling at her own curly orange locks.
“The orange reminded me of you,” Maeve answered honestly with a stern face.
Althea nodded, trying not to take the insult to heart. “It suits you,” she replied after a silent moment and tried to muster a polite smile.
“You would be surprised what potions can do if you experiment a little bit.” Maeve barely blinked, and though her face looked cold and her eyes bored, her emotions were spiraling out of control behind the shield where she hid them so well. “But then again, you’ve never been one to take any risks, have you, sister?”
Althea sucked on her tongue to stop herself from scoffing. Maeve wasn’t subtle about her condescending tone, but Althea chose to ignore it. Maybe Maeve was rude and off-putting because she had been surrounded by humans too long. Orenda would be healthy for her and hopefully bring out the old and kind Maeve.
“I’ve taken risks plenty of times and I’m sure that you’ve been through just as much in the past decades as I have,” Althea said, using her hands to underline her words as she spoke. “I’ve come to talk to you, Maeve, because I think it’s time we find our way back to one another. We both lost Rose, but we handled our grief differently. To me, it was heart-wrenching to lose my aunt, the woman who raised and loved me, but it was even harder to lose my twin.”
Maeve cocked an eyebrow. “Then maybe you shouldn’t have abandoned me.”
Althea drew back in her seat and stared at her sister in astonishment. “Abandonedyou? You were the one who tried tokillme!”
“After you chose to protect humans instead of avenging Rose,” Maeve accused and raised her sharp jawline, which made her throat appear slim and long.
“Do you truly believe she’d be proud of you for murdering a town full of people? You think it wouldn’t disappoint her to see what’s become of you, Maeve?”
Scoffing, Maeve folded her arms in front of her. “You and Rose never had any ambition. You were content living in fear and poverty out of sight. But if Rose were still alive, it wouldn’t matter what she thought about my choices because those choices are what have created my success. Did you know that I’ve built an empire with mines in Africa and extravagant jewelry stores across Europe? Five minutes from here, you’ll find my largest store. Just look for a sign that says ‘Intoxicate’ and you’ll see the most luxurious jewelry shop in the world.”
Maeve avoided her sister’s judgmental eyes and looked toward the open window, feeling the cold breeze against her face as she spoke. “I could have taken care of Rose and offered her a life of wealth and happiness. It’s too bad you betrayed me, or I would have extended that offer to you.”
