[Distraction, Heal]
It was a dark and stormy night.
“Rose, That’s the tired cliche of an opening line you are going with.”
“I’ve been waiting all my life to use that line. It’s a classic, it’s a classic for a reason, it evokes a fearsome mystery. Jaq, I will replace you in a heartbeat and even if I don’t replace you an author can always put a character through literal hell, even if the author doesn’t believe that such a place exists.”
“Fine Rose, you're the big ‘author’, I’m just the main character who’s been hitchhiking around Europe for the last three years but what do I know?”
“If you have something to say you say it off page, you don’t interrupt in the first line. I understand that this is your first story as the main character so you’ll learn as you go. Alright?”
“Yes Rose, go ahead.”
The Disappearing Tower of Tregaron
It was a dark and stormy night, the driver who’d picked me up in Lampeter. Dropped me at the base of a dark dirt road. He was a nice middle aged guy named Fred. He didn’t hit on me once during the thirty minutes we spent together, nor stare at me and no suggestive stories of his days hitchhiking across Europe. It was a refreshing change from numerous other drivers who see a young woman hitchhiking and think fresh meat.
Fred even apologized that he couldn’t take me up that muddy hill. This old beater would sink in that mud ten meters in. Want me to take you to town, you could get lodging there and come back here tomorrow in the daylight and hopefully dryer conditions. I thanked him for the ride and the concern, I knew my way. I knew the road, it’ll be fine. I’ll stay to the sides out of the mud. Besides, I had no money for lodging.
I grabbed my duffel bag out of the back and started up the hill. I knew it was at least four kilometers to the mansion at the top of the hill. I’d walked about one hundred meters when the road took a sharp ninety degree turn and became even steeper. Another couple hundred meters and I heard the first howl of a lone wolf.
I wanted to get away from the dark forest I was walking along the edge of, to avoid the mud. So I started across the muddy morass. Sinking in a good ten centimeters. More than once the mud sucked my boot off, as I was crossing the road. When I finally finished crossing, I heard the howl, once again.
This time it sounded like it came from this side of the road, I’d fight a wolf before I went out into that mud again. I looked around for a convenient staff. Why is there never a convenient staff when you need one? I continued up the slippery slope. I vowed to get rid of the stylish cowboy boots and buy myself a real pair of hiking boots.
The thunder started when I was about halfway up the winding road. The lighting held off until I’d made it maybe three quarters of the way to the top. I was counting the seconds after the lighting flashed, and thunder struck. They were getting closer together, the storm was almost upon me. As I made the last ninety degree turn I could just see the mansion with its medieval looking tower that I’d loved playing in as a little girl, one day the princess, the next her knight. The lighting flashed just as the thunder roared, close to where I stood and at the exact same time. Then another tower, a mirror image to my tower appeared on the eastern side of the mansion.
***
Tired as I was, I ran for the house enveloped in darkness. Ten minutes of banging on the door finally produced a light inside the place, then I heard footsteps across the marble foyer floor. The door creaked open.
“Collins, thank god, I didn’t think you’d ever answer. I’m catching my death out here, let me in.”
“Just who are you?”
“It’s me Jaq, you haven’t forgotten me have you. I received word from granny that the Colonel, granddad. Was missing or lost, it didn’t make much sense. Anyway, let me in you poor excuse for a butler.”
Finally he did, without a word of welcome.
“Is everyone in bed already, isn’t that strange for an artist colony. I’d expect round the clock antics from artists.”
“The power went out if antics ensued; they are being conducted in their own rooms. I’ll show you to your room in the tower.”
“So you do remember me, fondly I hope.”
“I remember.”
“When do you add the second tower?”
“What”
“I said when did you add the second tower?”
“We didn’t there is only one tower, the tower I'm leading you to.”
“I guess it must have grown out of the ground during the storm, well we’ll see it in the morning, won’t we.”
“I think not Mistress Jaq, the storm played tricks on your eyes, it happens. Here’s your room. Good night.”
***
I went into the dark room, stripped out of my wet clothes, opened the duffel to find something dry to wear to beds and a towel to dry off. Everything in the duffel was as wet as I was. This was certainly not the welcome home that I’d wished for. I was starting to shiver so I stripped a blanket off the bed and rubbed it all over my wet, naked body. Then put the damp blanket back on the bed and crawled in. Eventually I stopped shivering. Why did Collins lie about the new tower, it didn’t make sense, I’d see it and explore it tomorrow in the daylight even if the power remained out.
He’d seemed completely out of sorts, maybe because I roused him from his bed. I must have looked like something from a horror movie after that muddy walk. I remember this bed being bigger and more comfortable when I was younger. I kept rolling from side to side, thoughts pinging through my head. The sounds of the storm were muffled by the thick stone walls of the tower. The lighting flashes still lit up the room from the lone window on the western wall.
Finally the bone weary effort of the walk forced me into a fitful sleep. I dreamed of my grandfather, the Colonel in his pith helmet, first making his way into a tower, then in a canoe fighting his way through the rapids, he finally ended up in what looked like an endless swamp, where the water didn’t move at all. He turned to face me from his canoe and said Hi, Jaq.
“Hi Jaq, Jaq we are about to have breakfast.”
I opened my eyes and instead of granddad, I saw a very well endowed topless girl barefoot in cutoff shorts. She appeared to be a little younger than me with long blonde hair and looked like she belonged on a California beach not my Welsh tower bedroom. She bounced her butt down on the bed, causing her oversize breasts to bounce around like pinballs out of control. I tried not to stare at her breasts, I wasn’t successful. Breasts had always fascinated me, hers were mesmerizing. Finally I dragged my eyes to her lovely smiling face.
“I’m sorry I have nothing to wear, is there anyway you could loan me a robe or something until I can get my things dried out.”
“Sure, we’re going to be great friends and friends lend each other clothes.”
I was so disappointed, she’d put me in the friendzone in her second sentence to me, twice and I was hoping for so much more. Especially after seeing her topless, an image I wouldn’t be forgetting any time soon. Not that I wanted to. She bounced off the bed and out the door, leaving it wide open, so I was trapped in the bed, unless I made a toga out of the sheet.
But she was soon back and disappointedly was wearing an Ozzy crop top. She had a matching Master of Puppets crop top and cutoffs for me. Being the shy, skinny, small breasted girl that I am. I dressed while I was still in bed. I may have been friendzoned, but there was always the chance that I could turn it around.
“Where’s your bedroom?” I tried to ask casually.
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“In the tower, third floor.”
“This tower or the eastern tower?”
“This is the only tower, silly. Come on, we don't want to miss breakfast.”
***
I finally got out of bed, Collins must have gotten to Frida, told her to play along that there was just the one tower. I don’t know what his game is, but as soon as breakfast is over I’ll have a look at the new tower with my own eyes. Frida spun around and sashayed out of the room, her butt was almost as impressive as her breasts. I have the perfect ask reddit question. “Is it still objectifying if the girl shows up topless in your room or do I get a free pass?”
Granny or Grandmama as she liked to be called was the only person still in the dining room, but evidence of other diners littered the table. They must have eaten and rushed to their artist endeavors. Frida and I were placed at the far end of the table, as evidenced by those being the only place with clean plates. I walked over and gave my very proper Grandmama a hug, and received a pat on my back for the effort.
Properly put in my place, I returned to the clean plate next to Frida and headed to the sideboard. I hadn’t eaten since lunch yesterday so I was truly starving. After loading up on eggs and sausages and beans and potatoes. I returned to sit next to Frida and discovered she had a good appetite as well. Hopefully not just for food.
“So Frida, how long have you been here?”
“Just for a few months, I came right after your granddad disappeared.”
“That’s enough Frida, I plan on telling Jacqueline the story properly after breakfast, besides aren’t you supposed to be modeling this morning.”
Frida popped up from the messy table with just half her breakfast eaten.
“Yes Lady Holland.” lower directed to me. “Let’s get to know one another tonight.”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
She happily bounced out of the room.
“Stay away from her, Jacqueline, she’s slept with every artist that’s come here to paint.”
“Call me Jaq. Grandmama.”
“I will not, you have a beautiful name Jacqueline, why should you wish to be known by some common boys name. I’ll never know, but I won’t indulge you.”
“Alright granny if that’s the way you want it to be.”
“You have a smart mouth just like your mother.”
My mother, I have almost no recollection of her, only that she was very beautiful. I look nothing like the pictures I’ve seen of her. At least I apparently have her smart mouth, good for you mom. She died when I was very young, about a month after the funeral my father fled to London for business, leaving me alone with a very cold granny and a warm and wonderful grandpa.
“Thank you, I only wish I had her looks as well. What’s happened to Grandpa?”
“I don’t know, a little over two months ago he disappeared.”
“What do you mean disappeared?”
“Just that he vanished, he went up to his rooms after dinner, and the next morning he didn’t appear for breakfast so I sent Collins to look for him. But he was nowhere to be found.”
“Well, what do the police say?”
“Nothing, I’ve said nothing to the police and you will not either. This family still isn’t over the scandal of your mother drowning herself in the River Teifi. Absolutely no police, do you hear me?”
“Yes I heard you, no cops. So I assume you’ve searched the house and grounds thoroughly, with no sign of him. What about his papers, has anyone gone through those?”
“No, his rooms have always been a mess; he wouldn't let a maid in to clean them, even Collins was forbidden to enter his sacred rooms.”
“Well, that’s where I’ll start then. First I need to do some laundry, I had nothing to wear and had to borrow something from Frida.”
“Good I take it you don’t dress like a tart normally.”
“I don’t know what you have against her, but I think Frida is sweet, it’s twenty twenty five granny, women should support each other.”
I pushed my plate away and drained my tea before standing and leaving the room. I went back to my room and gathered my wet laundry and carried it down stairs, threw it into the machine, poured in some soap and pushed start. Nothing happened. Suddenly a maid appeared.
***
“Sorry Miss the powers out. Usually when we have a big storm like last night the power goes out for days.”
“Thanks for letting me know, is it alright if I leave the wet stuff in the washer?”
“Sure miss, I’ll do your laundry as soon as the power returns.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Yes I do Miss, it’s my job.”
“Thank you, what’s your name? Mine’s Jaq”
“Aye miss, we’ve been warned not to call you that so if it’s alright with you I’ll keep calling you Miss. My name is Skye, Miss.”
“Skye, it's been a pleasure meeting you, and thank you in advance for doing my laundry.”
“You're welcome Miss, it was nice meeting you too.”
***
I walked from the laundry room, into the hallway instead of turning right to reach my tower. I turned left to get a look at the Eastern tower from the inside, but when I followed the hallway to where the tower entrance should be there was nothing but a blank stone wall. I turned around and walked back down the long hallway to the entrance to ‘my’ western tower.
Maybe the other tower has no entrance from the mansion as it is an addition, you must have to enter it from an external door on the tower itself. That’s fine I’ll just go out the front and look for the tower entrance.
However, just as I opened the front door, a slight Indian man in a turban stood there as surprised as myself as he was trying to open it from the other side..
“You must be Jacqueline, I’m Dr Mazoola Dakkar, but my friends call me Maz, so you must call me Maz. Then we can be friends.”
“I’ll call you Maz if you’ll call me Jaq.”
“It’ll be my pleasure Jaq, wonderful, friends already.”
“Are you an artist Maz?”
“Oh, no, I’m a mad scientist. Once the power comes back on, come to the barn and I’ll show you the wonders that I’m working on, you’ll be shocked, agog, really happy that you did.”
I laughed and accepted the invitation and we parted ways, him to the somewhere inside the mansion and me outside to the eastern tower. Except the eastern tower wasn’t there.
