Written by Claudia, Tue Oct 13 10:30:00 US/Pacific 1998
Part One
"Oh dear, it’s so nice to have you here!" the old lady said, as she held Grace. Grace smiled. "It’s wonderful to see you doing so well, Mrs. Knight!" Gabriel’s grandmother caressed the young woman’s face tenderly. "How many times do I have to tell you to call me Rebecca?" "I’m sorry… Rebecca." Grace sat by the table, as Rebecca Knight moved around the kitchen preparing everything for tea. Grace would offer to help, but she knew Rebecca too well to even try. Despite her years, Rebecca Knight was a strong and decided woman, who had become responsible for her grandson Gabriel after his parents died. ‘It must have been hard’, Grace thought. ‘He must have been a difficult child!’ As if she could read Grace’s mind, Rebecca asked: "And how is that grandson of mine? He called me two days ago, but through the phone is easy to omit some facts!" Grace felt like laughing out loud, when she saw the mischievous look on Rebecca’s eyes. She certainly knew Gabriel. "Oh, fine I guess. Haven’t talked to him in a while." The old woman sat in front of Grace and held her hand. "What happened, Grace? Why did you come back?" "Well, I thought it was time to get back to school.", Grace answered without looking at Rebecca. "Aren’t there schools in Germany? I mean, your German is good enough to follow the classes, isn’t it?" "Yes, I think so but…" "Gabriel didn’t ask you to stay, did he?", Rebecca’s voice was tender. From the first time she saw Grace, she thought that if any woman could "tame" Gabriel, that would be Grace. She was strong and feisty, and it took a lot to bring her down. And one had to be like that to stand by a Shattenjäger’ side. The young woman thought about lying, but she knew it wasn’t worth it. "No, no he didn’t.", Grace felt her voice tremble. ‘Oh Lord,’ she thought, ‘please, don’t let me cry!’ Rebecca nodded and smiled, sadly. "I thought as much, when he told me you were coming. He’s a fool, but I’m sure he’ll realise he made a mistake." "But maybe it will be too late." The pain Rebecca heard in Grace’s voice made her understand how badly Gabriel had hurt. It really wasn’t easy to bring Grace down, but Gabriel had managed to do it, by taking her for granted one too many times. "Well, dear, don’t worry about that now. I’m sure everything will turn out fine.", Rebecca said, trying to confort her. Grace smiled and leaned over to kiss the old woman’s cheek. "Yes, it will. Either way.", she said.
Gabriel had been tossing and turning ever since he’d gone to bed. There was no way he could sleep, no matter how much he tried. Something was bound to happen, he knew it. The castle was silent. Sometimes Gabriel wondered what secrets still laid within those walls. It had seen so much through the centuries! And Gabriel still didn’t know all the rooms in it. Probably there was a lot to be discovered yet. Suddenly he heard something. ‘Singing?’, he sat on the bed. What the hell…? Gerde’s singing at this time of night?’ He got out of the room and followed the sound. It took him to the living room. "Gerde?", he called. By the window he could see the figure of a woman. Her voice was low and sweet, and he hardly could make out the words. But he could tell it was German. "Gerde?", he called again. Gabriel felt chills running down his spine. It wasn’t Gerde, he knew that for certain. The woman went on singing as he came close. Suddenly, she stopped and looked at him, smiling. "Fool!", she said. Then she disappeared. Just like that. Vanished into thin air. Gabriel looked around, wondering if he had had anything too strong to drink that night. It was either that or he has just seen a ghost. Which wasn’t that strange considering what he did for a living. "Great!", he said, "Now I’ve got ghosts… ghosts who insult me!"
The next morning, Gabriel woke up with a big headache. He still didn’t know if what he had seen was just his imagination working overtime or if there really had been something there. He got dressed and went down. He headed for the kitchen but something made him turn around and go back to the living room. As he approached the window where he had seen the strange apparition, he saw something he had seen before. A sparkle on the window sill. There was the golden dust again, the small and sparkling pile of dust he had seen in Grace’s room some days before. Did that mean the woman was not a figment of his imagination? And if she wasn’t what was she? And why the hell did she come to torment him? And above everything why did she call him a fool? "Oh, Lord! Do I really deserve this?", he moaned. "What?", Gerde asked, coming out of the kitchen, holding the paper. "Hum? Oh, Gerde, sorry. I was just talking to myself…" "Did something happen, Gabriel?", she asked, when she saw the confused look on his face. Gabriel smiled. He really didn’t know what to say. "No. Nothing really, Gerde. I’m going out for a walk." He left the castle and decided to go down to the village. There was something he wanted to do for a while and this was just as good a time as any. What had happen the night before was troubling him. Some months before he wouldn’t hesitate to call it a dream and not give it any second thoughts. But now, after all he had seen as a Shattenjägger… he had learned to at least wonder about everything he saw. And there was the dust, the strange sparkling dust, which proved that what he had seen wasn’t just a hallucination or a dream. Or didn’t it? But it wasn’t that that brought him to Rittersburg. It was curiosity, really. Curiosity on something Grace had told him some time back. About a Tarot reading Mrs. Smith had done for both of them, during the time he was sick. Grace had never actually told him what it was she said that had left her so disturbed. ‘Guess it’s ‘bout time I find out!’, he thought.
"Gabriel! Sweetie!", Mrs. Smith held him tight in her powerful arms, nearly choking him to death. Gabriel gasped and gently released himself. "Hi, Mrs. Smith. How’ve you been doing?" "Just fine, sweetie. But sit down. How’s Gracie, that precious thing?" He clenched his fists when he heard the older woman mention the nickname he usually used when referring to Grace. She’s back on New O’leans.", he said, slowly. The woman nodded, understanding this was more than a friendly visit. "I see. Lovers’ quarrel, right?" Gabriel looked at her, surprised. "Lovers? Mrs. Smith, Grace and I are…" "Yes, yes… just friends, I know!", she said, interrupting him with a gesture of her hand. Grace told me that before too." "She did?", he became more interested. "Oh, yes. When you were… well, ill. I did a Tarot reading on both of you, you know. But I guess Gracie didn’t really believe the things I told her." "And what exactly did you say to her?", Gabriel was trying to sound uninterested but his curiosity was too strong, so he stop pretending. He had the strangest feeling Mrs. Smith could see all through him. Well, I told her what the cards told me. That at the time you were in danger… that there was a choice to be made, about a path you should take or not. But that you already know. I also told her there were two women in your life. One that was watching over you, a kind of spiritual guide. A guardian. The other was going to be your partner… your partner in life." "And which one was Grace suppose to be?" Mrs. Smith smiled. "Do I really have to tell you?" Gabriel let out a sigh. "No, no you don’t." A partner… a partner in life. Those words rang on his head for a long time after that. And they didn’t sound so scary as he thought they would. "But Grace didn’t believe that. Or at least she told me she didn’t." "Yeah, guess that’s Gracie.", Gabriel walked over to the window of the inn where the Smiths had been staying for months. Over on the hill he could see the castle. His castle. "It feels empty, doesn’t it?", Mrs. Smith asked, over his shoulder. He nodded. And somehow he felt the castle wasn’t all she was talking about.
If you have any comments, you can email Claudia at bfe2008@mail.telepac.pt.
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