Danny

“Mrs. Bates… you are alive!” My voice is a bare whisper, yet the happiness in it is boundless. If I were stronger, I would have jumped out of the bed to hug her tight. As it is, I have to be content with just watching her with tearful eyes. My throat hurts with a sudden ache, my breath hitches as I take in my old housekeeper.

“How are you Mrs. Bates? I thought I’d never see you again.”

“I am fine, Ms. Diane.” She rushes forward to my bed. The hug that follows tells me I am not the only one who missed her. She sobs like a child, her hand caressing my face.

“Oh, Ms. Diane. I am so happy you are awake. I thought…I thought you’d never make it through this.” Her eyes flicker to my chest, to the left. Her hand rests on my shoulder as if to check I have really survived. I smile, wondering myself.

“Yes, Mrs. Bates. I am surprised too.” I close my eyes as my mind wanders back to that cliff. When I jumped, it was with the understanding that I’d never open my eyes again. My life was forfeit. There was nothing left worth living for. But here I am, talking to Mrs. Bates as if nothing was amiss. I do not understand how this came to be.

I push on my elbows to sit up again. Mrs. Bates rushes to adjust the pillows on my bed. The joy in her face is so infectious, I too get affected.

“Mrs. Bates. How come I am here? Did you save me? And who is the man I heard you talking with when I was unconscious?”

Her face loses its sheen by a degree or two.

“Go slow, Ms. Diane. So many questions! We have all the time in the world to talk. Let’s first get you comfortable.”

Her face tells me she is herself is not comfortable. She may have waited for my recovery, but now that I am better, she looks strained. There is lot to be explained, mainly how she survived and how she ended up here. What is this place and who was the man I sensed before? Moreover, what she knows about the supernatural world. A world that existed only in fairytales a few months ago but is clearly as real as my morbid curiosity.

Mrs. Bates knows much more than me. She knew about werewolves and that my grandfather was one. Grandma must have told her and that was why Mrs. Bates was not fazed by the prospect was seeing one. I now can understand why she looked so calm about everything when we reached the Silver Forest.

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“Mrs. Bates. I need to know.”

“Later, Ms. Diane. There are things I need to get done.”

She bustles about, straightening my bed, bringing me fresh towels and a vessel of warm water to sponge me clean. Gently she strips me off, cleaning my body, then slides me into the clean white dress after drying me off. She looks so relaxed doing it as if she has done it a hundred times before. Which she has. I feel like a baby again.

“Thank you, Mrs. Bates.” My eyes are raw again. She shakes her head.

“I am just glad to see you alive, Ms. Diane. You don’t know how scared I was. I never wanted to leave you and Ms. Olivia like I did after the crash, but I had no choice.”

No choice. Does it mean she was forced to leave? Taken? Abducted?

I watch puzzled as she takes the soiled water and clothes and leaves the room. Half an hour, she is back with a bowl of hot porridge. I gobble it up hungrily. My strength begins to return with every morsel. I slug it off with a glass of cool water before training my gaze on Mrs Bates.

“Now can you tell me?”

She sighs and shuffles to the chair by my bed.

“I know you want answers, and I am going to tell you everything. But before that, tell me, did you shift?”

My face falls, the eagerness being replaced by embarrassment. “Olly did. She turned into this magnificent white wolf at the Anadin Peaks. Everyone was amazed. They said she was the true heir of First Wolves.”

Her face cracks with a delighted smile. “Oh, I am so glad. Your grandma was right. Mistress always thought Ms Olivia will achieve greatness.”

Yes. Grandma always knew that. And she always knew I will never amount to anything. How right she was. Almost prophetic.

“And what about you, Ms. Diane? Did you turn?”

“Yeah, I did.” My voice becomes toneless as I turn to stare out of the window at the snowy mountains. “I turned into this sickly cur. Everyone was amazed by me, but for the wrong reason. But then you must have known already, Mrs. Bates. Didn’t grandma tell you about it?”

*****

I sound pathetic. As pathetic as the whimpering of my weak wolf that I cannot stand. I want it gone, but it stays in my head, mewling like a whining cat, annoying the hell out of me.

Why did I not fall and die? Why did I have to live again? Why did Mrs Bates or that mysterious man save me?

And come to think of him, where is he? He has not come to visit me for the past two days. It’s only Mrs. Bates, and now she too is gone.

Mrs. Bates has disappeared. She does not bring me tea or supper. Another maid tends to me, and I have nothing to talk to her except for asking for Mrs. Bates. The woman looks wooden, almost too scared to talk to me. It’s like she has been ordered not to engage with me.

I leave her alone and wait for Mrs. Bates. Two days later, she arrives bearing breakfast. I turn from the window, feeling relieved yet apprehensive.

“I am sorry, Mrs. Bates. I should not have taken it out on you.”

“It’s ok. Ms Diane. It was not your fault." The woman looks calm as she pours me tea. "And you are right. The Mistress knew your wolf would be poorly. In fact, she never expected you to shift. I’d say you have achieved a magnificent feat by just shifting into a wolf.”

Ah. So the bar is set that low for me. A bitter sigh escapes me.

“So grandma never expected me to shift.”

“No." Mrs. Bates smiles wryly. "The Mistress herself made it sure when she sealed your power. You should not have been able to shift into a wolf. That alone is a sign of your potential.”

***** *****