Three

On the long journey to their secret destination, Jasmine meets new non-human friends that she'd never imagine had existed! One in particular shows her something that confused her even more.

THREE

 

The carriage arrived moments before dawn, driven by a small white haired man and two very large black steeds. Just enough time to get their bags in and be on the road before the sun came up. The carriage was peculiar in its own right. It had been perfectly made for vampires to travel during the day. For the most part, it looked normal. The only difference was that there were only two windows and both were squares just big enough to peek through. In order to see through them, Jasmine had to slide open a wooden piece that kept the sunlight out.

There were only a handful of occasions in which Jasmine and Darius rode in a carriage together and she couldn’t say that she enjoyed them. The rides were uncomfortable, boring and lonely. Darius was usually asleep for the majority of daylight and it just left her alone. This time, Darius had allowed Jenna the cat to join them. He didn’t have much choice when the cat jumped ahead of them into the carriage and made herself comfortable on the red cloth cushion.

Darius had explained, before falling asleep, that they were going somewhere far from home and the journey would take four days at the most. But they would be stopping by a partner of his and pick up a few extra people and relax and eat before leaving once more.

Jasmine sat across from Darius, bored and restless. They had been traveling for hours now and it was already the afternoon. Every once in a while, she would slide the wooden bar back to peek outside. They had long left the city hours ago. The road was nothing but gravel now. Her anxiety rose the longer they rode. And she was getting hungry.

The carriage came to a slow halt and Jasmine peeked out of the window to see why. She could see the small man hopping down from his seat. He came and knocked on the door. “Darius, sir. Lady Jasmine.” The man’s voice was rough as if he’s been a smoker, and also highly laced with a Scottish accent. “I apologize for the inconvenience but the horses need feed and water.”

There were occasions when acquaintances of Darius would refer to her as a lady. It always made her feel awkward at best. In most cases, she didn’t know how to respond. “Oh, it’s no problem.” She cracked the door open enough for her to slide through without the sunlight hitting Darius. “I need to stretch my legs anyway.” The old man helped her down and went about feeding his horses grain from a bucket he kept.

Jasmine stretched her arms out to the sky. “What’s your name?”

“Sorley, mum.”

“And what are you,” she asked bluntly.

“A dwarf, mum. Cloaked by a spell to look human until I return to my home.”

“Ireland? Scotland?”

“Now lady, why would I remove the disguise amongst humans. ‘Tis true, I reside in Scotland, but it’s not home.”

“Where are we going, Sorley?”

“To a friend of sir Darius’.”

“And after?”

“I’m sorry, milady. I’m not at liberty to say.”

Jasmine sighed. “I’ll know soon enough.”

Sorley cracked a smile. “Aye. Surely it’ll be worth the wait.”

Jasmine huffed her frustrations and hopped back in the carriage without Sorley’s help. She was too fast for him.

The night was just as dull as the day, even with Darius awake. She’d tease him a bit, get on his nerves, but the ride was so long that she’d lost interest and rode once again in silence. He’d left the carriage to find sustenance. He promised he would bring her back something edible, more than just the dried meats he had packed for her. He did as he had promised; bringing back a basket of bread, red grapes and a couple cheese wedges. She wasn’t disappointed of the lack of meat, but she couldn’t help but crave it. At the nagging request of the cat, she shared her cheese with Jenna.
            It was nearly sunrise when the carriage halted once more. Sorely knocked on the door. “Sir Darius, lady Jasmine. We’ve reached the Crowe household.

Darius had opened the door, leading the way into the pitch blackness. “Take care of your horses Sorley.” He nodded toward a large barn across the street. It was alive with the shimmer of lit lanterns and the sounds of farm animals. “Then join us for dinner.” He led Jasmine to the Crowe home, which seemed pretty big for a country house. Like many others in the country, it was made of logs and clay. But it was long and wide. About an acre behind it is where the woods started.

He didn’t even have to knock before the door was opened from the inside. “Darius! Jasmine! We’ve been expecting you.” A man, just a tad bit shorter than Darius, grabbed Darius’s forearm. “Please come in before the sun comes up.”

Jenna rushed in before the two, disappearing somewhere in the large house. Jasmine was in awe. The cottage was just as big on the inside as it had looked on the outside. Like an inner-city mansion, there were separate areas for an entertainment room, dining room and a kitchen. The entertainment room and dining room were open and decorated with plush furniture and glossed wooden tables and a large fireplace. The kitchen was separated, but she could smell a meal of likes of which she had never had before. On the far side of the entertainment room, she could see there was a closed room and then a hallway, but it stretched back a bit far. All she could see were the shadows of candlelight on the walls.

Above the fireplace, she looked curiously at an immaculate painting of a royal family. The curious thing about it was that it wasn’t of the England royals. There was a woman of copper skin tone sitting in a large purple and gold chair. Her hair, nearly the same color as her skin, was full of curls that grew down her back and over her shoulders. She wore a silver dress with gold thread of beautiful intricate patterns, a purple sash wrapped over her shoulder. Atop her luxurious locks was a plain silver crown adorned with a single sapphire. Her eyes sparkled like the blue gems in her grown, her lips tilted up. Behind her, a tall, broad man, lightly tanned and rusty colored hair, stood proud, a hint of a smile in his green eyes. His white gloved hand rested on the woman’s shoulder and the other rested behind his back. Like the woman, he was dressed in a silver and gold vest and breeches, the same purple sash over his shoulder. His crown was made the same as the woman’s, only it was gold with a ruby.

Jasmine was focused on the infant in the mother’s lap. A little caramel colored girl dressed like her mother. She had reddish-brown curls on her head and her father’s eyes. The child was happily smiling, showing off two small bottom teeth.

“Jasmine.” Darius’s voice brought her back from her thoughts. He walked up to her, Mr. Crowe and three others behind him. “Let me introduce you to the Crowe family. This is Damien.”

The man who had welcomed them, moments before bowed his head and smiled. “It’s an honor to finally meet you, Jasmine.” He stepped aside and outstretched his arm to a young man, a young woman and a small boy. “These are my children. The twins Alec and Annalise, and my youngest, Eliot.” The two boys bowed at the waist and the woman made an eloquent curtsy. The family had the same wide bright hazel eyes and slightly wavy blonde hair, all except for Eliot whose eyes were more narrow and grey and his hair, auburn and straight.

“This trip is getting weirder and weirder,” Jasmine commented. “It’s nice to meet you guys, but I’m no one special for all this bowing and “my lady” nonsense.” The Crowe’s laughed as if she’d said a joke. Even Darius looked slightly amused.

There was a knock at the door and Damien opened it, welcoming the carriage driver, Sorley into his home. “Come, my guests, my friends. Annalise made a wonderful dinner tonight.”

A rectangular glossed wooded table was set with fine lightly decorated white china and actual silver silverware. Damien and Darius sat at the heads of the table. Jasmine sat at Darius’s right and Sorley at the left. Beside Jasmine sat Annalise and then Eliot at his father’s left. Alec sat on his right next to Sorley.

Each wine glass had been poured actual wine. The whole thing astonished Jasmine and made her uneasy. Damien raised his glass in a toast. “To the future,” he stared. “May we succeed and prosper.” The rest of the table voiced their cheers. Jasmine, on the other hand, feeling out of place amongst everyone who seemed to know each other, only smiled sipped her wine, which tasted heavenly sweet and tangy. It pared well with the large ham, scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes and buttered rolls.

“You look distraught, Jasmine. Is something the matter,” Damien asked.

Jasmine shook her head. “I’m just wondering how you and Darius are friends and he has us living in some abandoned warehouse when we could be living like this.”

Everyone laughed, besides Darius. “He could, my dear. He chose the simple life for the two of you.”

“You’re already a brat,” Darius piped in. “I wasn’t going to turn you into a spoiled one.”

Once again, laughter rang about the table. Jasmine stuck her tongue out at him and he gave her a look of warning about her manners.

The rest of breakfast went on with idle small talk and praises over the wonderful food. Afterwards, Darius had excused himself to sleep for the day, disappearing down the hallway. Annette and Alec took the liberty of cleaning up, not allowing Jasmine to help when she offered. Damien stood from the table. “I’m sorry to be rude, but I have some business to attend to. Eliot, be a good lad and show Jasmine around.”

“Yes father.” Eliot took Jasmine’s hand. The boy was quiet and stoic. His demeanor made an almost uncomfortable atmosphere for Jasmine as he led her from the dining room. “The house isn’t really very big.” He led her to the hallway which was no longer lit by candles, but by the rising sun. The hallway was longer than she thought. Going down, there were four doors, a window after the first two. “The first bedroom is our parents,” he started.

“So your mother is here,” she inquired.

“No,” he stated simply. “The next three doors belong to us siblings in order of birth. Annette is older than Alec by two minutes…” They stopped briefly at the last room. “This room is mine.” The hallway took a ninety degree turn where there were another six doors along the left wall and six along the right and one at the very end of the hallway. To Jasmine, it seemed as if there rooms circles the social areas of the house. Each door was another bedroom, spare rooms. This house was a resting place for travelers of non-human species’. At the end of the hall, Eliot mentioned that the last door to the left led down to the basement. At that moment, Darius was there sleeping. The door at the end led outside.

He opened that door, letting in the bright rays of morning. The air there was clear, clean and fresh, unlike the polluted city air in which she and Darius had made their home. She admitted to herself that she missed the dank little warehouse, but she wasn’t ready to go back. From what she’d gathered so far, they were far from going back home yet.

The land behind the house looked a little smaller than it did when it was dark. The grassy area between the house and the woods stretched for a bit over a half acre. The yard was surrounded by wheat fields. Off to the side was a small pond and a fishing deck. On the other side was a water well and clothes line. Closer to the back of the house was a vegetable and fruit garden. Jasmine got the impression that this family tried to supply as many varieties of food for their guests as possible.

She felt Eliot tug her hand, leading her into the trees. She wasn’t exactly comfortable following the boy into the woods and she had to admit that the child’s expressionless demeanor had her a bit intimidated. Ridiculous, she thought.

Not far into the woods was a treehouse built around one large Beech Common tree. The tree was magnificent with thousands of branches of every shape and size. The green was so thick that the treehouse was barely noticeable. Jasmine was able to reach the treehouse just by climbing the branches. A ladder wasn’t even built because it wasn’t necessary. The treehouse itself was large as well as advanced. Eliot had to use a key in order to enter the doorway. The whole this was built in a circle around the middle of the tree. The walls were at least ten feet high and the planks were so close to each other from the floor to the walls to the ceiling that not even a bug could crawl through. There were four windows which could be closed by shutters. To Jasmine, it looked more like a children’s fort or safe house.

“This place is pretty amazing, Eliot. Nice craftsmanship. Did your father build it?” Jasmine was tracing her fingers over an intricate wooden chest resting against the tree. It was also locked.

“No,” he answered. “It was built before we lived here. It was once used for humans to hunt here.” Eliot reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a gold chain.

“Oh, is that your mothers?”

“No.”

Jasmine fought the urge to growl at the boy. He certainly loved that word. Or perhaps she was asking the wrong questions. “Then who’s is it?”

Eliot held the gold necklace out. “It was made for your protection.”

Jasmine smirked. “Who made this? You know, I’ve defeated many creatures. I can protect myself.” She allowed Eliot to drop the necklace into her hand anyway.

As soon as the cool metal touched her flesh, a warm white light flashed before her eyes. She closed them and stumbled back. When she opened them, she was inside a dark moonlit room. It was a plain empty room, or so Jasmine thought. From the dark corner in which she sat, frozen, she saw a man on his knees, head in his hands, shaking as if he were crying. He was wearing a purple sash over his shoulder like the man in the painting. Just over him stood a dark feminine figure. The air around the woman swirled in the darkness. An unmistakable evil aura that made Jasmine sick to her stomach.

Another warm flash of light, and she was outside in the rain. She saw a woman wearing a cloak over her head. She was standing with a man taller than herself. This man had an uneasy presence about him, similar to that of the female figure. His face was blurred, but there was the undeniable silver crest on his jacket that she had seen on the messenger’s jacket. The cloaked woman produced a wad of blanket from beneath her cloak. As Jasmine stared at the cloak, she noticed that it was moving, and then she heard cries. It was a baby! She was handing the child over to the other man.

One more flash and she was back in the tree house staring down at Eliot looking up at her. She was speechless and it took a moment for her to relax enough to realize that she was squeezing the chain so hard in her fist that it was indenting into her palm.

“Eliot, Jasmine are you up here?”

Jasmine, feeling a bit on edge, jumped at the sound of Alec’s voice. The door opened and he let himself in. “Jasmine, you looked as if you’ve seen a ghost.” He notices the chain now dangling in her fingers and he swallowed hard. “Uh, let me help you with that.” He took the chain, flipped her hair over her shoulder and clasped it behind her neck.

“Eliot says it’s to protect me?” she didn’t recognize her own voice. It was weak and fragile.

Alec cleared his throat. “Yes. It was made to protect you.”

“Who made it?” Alec and Eliot remained quiet. Cautiously, Jasmine attempted to worm her way into Alec’s mind, but it was blocked.

“That’s an invasion of privacy, my lady.”

Jasmine tried to keep herself from blushing. “Sorry…”

Alec smirked at her, allowing one little dimple on the side of his cheek to catch her attention. “Let’s head back to the house.” Jasmine was the last out of the tree, only accepting help from Alec because her hallucinations still had her weak in the knees.

“So, if you don’t mind my asking, what are you guys anyway?” Only after asking, did she realize how rude her question sounded. But it wasn’t like her to be so polite. But then again, she’d never been around a group of Darius’s friends before.

“Ah, yes. We are shifters.” Alec laughed at the quizzical look on Jasmines face. “We can change our bodies into any animal of our choosing. But once we’ve changed, we can no longer speak as we are speaking now. It is strictly by psychic communication.”

“Oh!” Jasmine had never heard, let alone been in the presence of a shifter. “So your whole family can do this?”

“Eliot is still too young. We don’t usually acquire the ability until puberty.” He watched Eliot ahead of them. “But he’s not completely vulnerable. He was born with a special ability. Like an oracle, of sorts.”

“He can see the future?”

“More or less. I believe that his foreseeing’s are scattered, unorganized. I think that’s why he’s so quiet.”

“Interesting…” she wondered what other species and creatures she would meet on this adventure.

 

 

 

Author's Note

ignore grammar and spelling problems