Gianna was back at Sir Nickols cabin. The crisp night breeze gave her chills. She felt around feeling a hard surface under her. It was a stone slab; she was laying on a stone slab, the same one the woman was murdered on. She heard a door slam and footprints come closer to her. It was Sir Nickols. She looked down at her hands and saw that they were bound. Sir Nickols men followed him, greed and lust shown on their faces. No. It can’t be; I was just at Opal and Amethyst’s cottage. How am I back here?

Sir Nickols stood before her with a blade in hand. Soundlessly he plunged it into her heart. Taking her shaking hand, she attempted to take the blade out. It wouldn’t budge. The blade seemed stuck in her heart, causing excruciating pain.

“It should’ve been you… It should’ve been you…”

“Why wasn’t it you?”

“You should have been the one to die.”

The voices rose and fell in a disjointed manner. Sir Nickols face, as well as his men, became a blurry mess. Looking down at her chest she could see the knife resting. She tried to speak, to breathe out a cry but found that she could not open her mouth. It was as if her lips were sewed together.

Too much to her dismay she did find them to be threaded together. Taking her shaking fingers, she slightly pulled on the end of the string. A burst of pain shot through her at that moment. Beads of sweat were falling from her chin and her body was shaking. Finally, she was able to pull the string out, unsewing her mouth.

Looking down at the blade she quickly and seamlessly pulled it out, letting a gasp out as she did.

The scenery changed at that moment. She was now standing where Sir Nickols had stood earlier. There was a woman, the same woman as before. Her terrified expression, her exhaustive state. All of it was borne out. As Gianna gazed down at the blade that had been plunged in her she saw it was clean, no blood in sight. She stepped closer to the woman, her cries intensifying. No… No… Don’t make me.

But it was too late. Gianna’s blade pierced into the woman’s heart. As she felt the life drain from the helpless woman’s body a resounding “please” sputtered out of her lips.

Gianna looked down at her hands, now caked in the woman’s blood. “It can’t be! I did not mean for this to happen!” she cried out in anguish. It was too late though. The woman’s limp body was spread across the stone slab. Her curly hair was caked in blood from all the beating she had to endure. Gianna tried to pull the blade out, to save the woman, but it was to no avail.

She heard a twig snap behind her and whirled around. Sir Nickols was gone, along with his men. Instead, there was a stump with a snail perched on top of it. Gianna slowly made her way to the small creature and picked it up.

The cosmos. Beautiful stars of the night sky were depicted on the shell. As she looked at back at the woman her face contorted. The night sky. The woman was looking up at the night sky when she died.

“You might see a future you never intended to see, but a future nonetheless yours.” The strange, disembodied voice came from the snail. “It shall come to pass all the same. To the cosmos, back again. A leaf that did not fall will eventually.”

***

Gianna woke in a cold sweat. Her breath was hoarse and her mouth dry. She felt bile lining the inside of her throat. Leaping from the bed and stumbling her way about the room, she noticed a small bathroom with a latrine in it. Bending over the toilet she threw up. Her body was shaking all over. Her hands gripped the sides of the bowl as she felt another wave of vomit come out of her.

Wretched. Completely and utterly wretched. Her hands felt clammy and her head dizzy. The nightmare had felt too real to her. After retching for a while, she sat back, scanning her chest as she did. There, in the dream world, she had felt every inch of that blade piercing her heart, draining her of life. But now there was nothing there, as if she had not dreamed of such a horrible thing at all.

She shivered, bringing her knees to her chest. As her mind cleared, she realized that she did not know where she was. Oh no… Not another nightmare, she thought. She pinched herself, feeling the sharp pain that it brought on. Good, I am not dreaming after all. Bringing herself up she slowly made her way out the door and into the room she had been sleeping in. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she noticed a stationary desk next to a queen-sized bed. Sitting neatly on that desk was a candle.

It took a bit for her to find a matchbook and light the candle. As she walked about the room with it in hand she took in her surroundings. Besides the bed and the desk next to it there also was an oak wardrobe and various paintings hung up on the wall. She brought her candlelight closer to them, scanning every detail of the painted canvases. They were of different sizes and lengths. The authors of such paintings must have enjoyed the romantic era, as their strokes were quite light and airy. Some depicted garden scenes, while other young women and children dancing about. One showed two figures, children, in a garden knoll, one of them dressed in an elegant suite and tie, and the other a dirtied white dress. The two seemed to be playing with wooden swords, appearing gleeful as they acted each other. She couldn’t help but feel like she was somewhat familiar with the two children in the painting.

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The painting next to it stood out even more. It was just that of a young woman with various fabrics draped over her naked body. The young woman must have been around nine and ten. Her dark blonde hair was exceedingly long, longer than any hair Gianna had ever seen. Her eyes were light brown, like that of almonds. Hints of red and pink blushed the surface of her cheeks giving her an unusual glow. Gianna would have looked longer but her trance was pulled away by a loud noise.

A clinking sound came from outside the door, startling Gianna. Steading herself she walked out, candle in hand, and found a long hallway. Walking the stretch of it she became more familiar with her surroundings. This must be Opal and Amethyst’s place. I made it back. She sighed in relief and stepped into the living room. A yelp came from in front of her.

“Good gods, Gianna! You startled me.” Amethyst was in front of her. The two would almost have collided if Amethyst had not seen the light of Gianna’s candle. “What are you doing up? Good gods you look pale. Why don’t you go to bed?” Amethyst brought her hand to Gianna, wanting to guide her back to her room.

“I had a nightmare. I can’t go to sleep now.” Gianna pushed the witch’s hand away.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Let me make you a cup of tea. Are you hungry?”

Gianna’s stomach grumbled at the thought of food. “Famished,” was all she said.

Amethyst seemed bubbly this morning, bouncing about the kitchen like an excited hare. Her hair was pulled back in a taught braid, showing the roundness of her dark skin and her big hazel brown eyes. Her wide hips swayed back and forth as she hummed a tune. Her hands working tirelessly at kneading dough.

Gianna was sitting on a bar stool, staring at the witch cook, a tea in hand and a stomach full of porridge. She swung her legs back, humming along with the witch.

“How did I end up in that bedroom?” She brought her lips to the cup of tea as she asked.

“Marg carried you in there after seeing you passed out on the couch.”

“Oh…” Gianna stopped swinging her feet. “Then what about you? Marg must have gotten back late. Why are you up so early?”

Amethyst stopped kneading the dough. Grabbing her rolling pin, she began rolling it out across the kitchen counter. “I couldn’t sleep, just like you.” There was a glimmer of sadness in her eyes as she said this. “We all wanted to stay up, especially Phillip.”

“You met Marg when she was 16 right? You all must be very close.”

“That’s one way to put it. It is as you say, Marg came to our coven when she was 16. She had no home, she was lost, and desperately confused. Who wouldn’t be? Opal and I had her stay with us. No one would’ve expected Phillip to come trudging after her months later.”

Gianna took another sip of her tea. “So, you took care of them both. Phillip and her… what exactly is their relationship?” She tried to keep herself from blushing at this question.

Amethyst raised her right eyebrow at this. “They grew up together but…” She paused briefly, unsure whether to continue. “They are half siblings you see... Phillip had learned this after she had run away. He was destined for the throne you see but never wanted it to begin with. Moreover, he had fallen in love.”

Gianna felt her breath hitch with this statement. “Half-siblings?...”

“His mother, Queen Ann of Austria, had an affair with Margery’s father. It wasn’t the only scandal unveiled within the gates of Versailles, but it was one that severed the relationship between Ann and Louis, Phillip’s father. You see, Phillip, having many vengeful and arrogant siblings, felt out of place, and moreover, without a friend. Ann, seeing this, and having such a close relationship with Margery’s father, made Marg and him playmates early on. They’ve known each other for a very long time. I’m not sure if you have any siblings, let alone friends like that, but they could not part with each other. Phillip could not part with Margery. They may be royalty, they may have been well fed, but both came from ruthless family backgrounds. They survived together…”

Gianna was quiet for a second. “Then the one he loves?...”

“Ah, now that is a different tale entirely.” Amethyst seemed giddy now. “You see, it happened when Phillip had reached the age of five and ten. He had gone out horse riding one day with Margery. The two were having an intense race when he suddenly got lost. Coming to an open area he discovered a tall, cobblestone tower. Not only that but he heard someone singing, a woman singing. Taken aback he went to the tower and called out to the person. Seeing a beautiful woman peeking out her head he became shy and rode off, only to come back the next day around the same time. From then on, he went horse-back riding on a regular basis.”

“So, she’s the one he fell in love with? Did she feel the same?”

“That…” Amethyst trailed off, hearing a distant sound of someone shuffling their feet.

“Of course she does.” Phillip had his hand up, supporting himself against the wall. A cloth was wrapped around his eye sockets, blood soaking through them. “Who wouldn’t? Look at me.” Although he joked Gianna could tell he was dejected.

“Good grief Phillip, how is it soaking through again?!” Amethyst rushed over, taking her hands caked in flower and cradling Phillips cheeks in them.

“Ah! Could you not?! You are going to cause an infection with those dirty hands of yours.”

Amethyst slapped the back of his head, surprising Gianna. “You boy! You’re the one not taking the medicine, aren’t you?! Come here, what am I to do with you?”

Gianna felt a twinge of pain seeing Amethyst cradle Phillip’s cheek. Ah… She thought. I miss mom.