The New Power and an Ancient Contract

She stood up slowly as she her cell rang from across the room as a wake up call. She looked around and spotted the clock and, as she did, she note that she had only received about four hours of sleep. She grunted as she stumbled to the table and landed on the floor as she answered the phone. She yawned out an angry hello and found the voice on the other end not more enthused than she was thinking that the person would. She couldn’t keep the angry tone out of her yawn or the words she spoke as she wondered what it was that they would acquire about so early in the morning that couldn‘t have waited until a better time. She also wondered why the matter didn’t sound so pressing at the moment instead of the much required sleep that was needed in order to do the simplest of functions.
She listened as an arrangement of various thoughts came to her mind with each word she heard in the background, but still she stood up as best as she could. Her head was pounding and her world felt like it was spinning in circles with her as the center that was stuck in a steel box with no where to go. The more the voices continued to speak the more and faster her world spun and, as if without any reason at all, she collapsed and her phone went flying. She heard the faint voices call to her as she started to scream in pain, and before she knew it she heard her cousin’s voice as she felt someone lean over her.
It was a worried voice that she was hearing from her cousin as she attempted to help her up. She wouldn’t allow her cousin to go to any lengths to help her since she was making all the attempts to make a great party for her even though she hadn’t deserved to get one at all. She grabbed her head as she stood and was caught by her cousin who looked at her as if she was beginning to become more frightened than she had when she had found her lying on the ground. She looked at her cousin and just forced a smile with any concern being wiped away from her face. It made her cousin feel better, but the people on the phone were worrying more with each second she didn’t answer one of them. Her cousin grabbed her phone that landed on the other side of the room and handed it to her so she could assure them that she was all right now.
She smiled at her cousin, grateful she was busy try to straighten the all ready straightened room, and then proceeded to calm the others down. It took a bit but she eventually got it done. Although she wasn’t too fond of one of them they were still her friends and they cared about her more than anyone she had known thus far. That was what made her happy in knowing that they were calling to tell her that her little brother was fine and missed her. She smiled softly as she hung her cell phone up and tossed it lightly on the bed, making sure it landed on there and not the floor, before she turned her attention back to her cousin.
The blond hair of her cousin’s was short and pulled back into a small pony tail, but pieces still strayed in front of her face. She looked back over at the phone when her cousin turned to look at her. She glanced at the mirror and saw her eyes were still the red they had turned when she had been screaming. She thought about it and slammed her foot down in her head knowing that her cousin had saw that they weren’t the normal more orange than brown eyes they usually were.
“Are ya okay, Kriystalynn? Ya took a really bad fall and ya were screaming as if someone was trying to murder ya,” her cousin’s Irish accent filled the room with a mixture of the American one that her cousin had picked up from her. “Even yer friends were concerned for ya.”
“Yeah, I am fine now. It was just a Charlie Horse from stretching to far,” Kriystalynn said as she wondered how much her cousin would really believe in that lie. “I’m okay now. Honestly that’s all it was.”
Her cousin’s green eyes looked at her suspiciously before she said, “As long as ya are sure yer all right then I am fine with it. Are ya going to get dress or not?”
“Yeah, I am. Just give me a few minutes and I’ll be downstairs.”
Kriystalynn kept her back turned to her cousin as she listened to her walk out the door. Kriystalynn wasn’t too thrilled by her cousin seeing anything that had just happened when she had gotten up to answer her phone. She looked over at her cell and sighed as she thought about how much she missed being home, and seeing all the people she cared about smiling at her and making her laugh.
She flipped down a picture as she pulled out a box that held five presents that she had not opened yet. Four was from her old childhood friends from her home town and one from a guy her cousin had tried to set her up with, but they ended up just being friends. She looked at the five really beautifully decorated boxes, and she did a little how-to-choose before she opened a box. When she looked into it and found a beautiful dark Denim Princess Line Bustier and a light one. Kriystalynn thought they were cute and went to open another box, but remember she promised to open only one of them before the party.
She looked over at the flipped down picture as she put on the light one and a pair of bleach blue hipsters before looking for her custom design Vans shoes and heard her cousin hollering through the door for her to hurry up if she wanted to get to where they were supposed to be going in a decent time. Her cousin kept yelling through the door until Kriystalynn finally found them, grabbed them, and walked out the door without looking back at the picture.
Her cousin drove her pink sports car up to her house with Kriystalynn trying to hide in the front seat so she wasn’t seen willingly riding inside the vehicle. When Kriystalynn got out she looked the vehicle up and down before she followed her cousin into the house. Her cousin made her go into the kitchen and had her washing dishes while she hid what she didn’t want Kriystalynn to see. Once she was done they were back into the pink sports car that Kriystalynn couldn’t stand. She pulled out the bagel that she had taken from her cousin’s bread box and bit into it while her cousin stared her down.
“Ya really shouldn’t eat in MY car,” she said as she turned her attention back to the road. “It’ll get crumbs everywhere.”
“Chill out, Cara, I haven’t gotten any crumbs on anything yet. Just chill out because your car is not something I want to be seen in or be seen eating in either. So it’s not like I am going to get anything in this car to signify that I have been in this car. Now get over it, Cara, I am not getting crumbs in your car.” Kriystalynn turned and gave a smile to her cousin and then looked in the visor mirror to see her eye color was back to normal.
Cara drove all the way to a house that Kriystalynn hadn’t seen before and when Cara pulled up to it Kriystalynn just stared at her in disbelief. It was on old Irish house that had obviously been restored to its previous glory by someone with money. Cara smiled at Kriystalynn as she marveled over the ancient structure that stood before them both.
“So do ya like it at all, Kriys? It’s still needs to be filled with people tonight, but I think that it is going to be a really good idea to throw it here considering I…well we…now own it.”
“We own it? What do you…we? I didn’t sign anything, nor did you slip it in with that shit you needed signed the other day?”
“Don’t be made, Kriystalynn, I thought ya wanted it and they wouldn’t give it to me if ya didn’t sign too.” Cara noticed that Kriystalynn didn’t look happy about it. “It’s not a big deal. It really isn’t.”
“How much?”
“More than you want to know.” Cara was shrinking away as Kriystalynn glared at her.
“Cara, if you weren’t my cousin I’d kill you right now. It’s a very good thing you need a place to live, because Ireland is a temporary setting for me. Or did you forget that?”
“I didn’t forget I just thought that if ya had a place to live then ya wouldn’t want to leave me here by myself.”
“I don’t want this house, so when it is fixed you will move YER shit in here and not mine. I love ya…Great now yer accent is rubbing off on me. Just stop talking and show me the inside.”
Cara walked up the stone sidewalk to the front door and opened it up. Kriystalynn was amazed by the inside and how it looked brand new, and despite the fact Cara hadn’t told her she was glad that Cara had used some of her money to help make it look this good. Cara seemed to be just as amazed at the inside as Kriystalynn was which made Kriystalynn laugh at her as if it was nothing more than another blond moment from her cousin, which honestly didn’t surprise her if it was.
Kriystalynn couldn’t help but think that she had seen a house similar to this one somewhere and opened her mouth to ask about it to find her cousin had run off to go look at a different part of the house. She glared at the direction she knew her cousin had left in and walked in the path to find her and ask the question that was tugging at her mind. When she caught up to her cousin, however, she found that she wasn’t going to get the question in unless she found so way of hushing her up about the house. Well, she didn’t have to find a way because Cara looked at her with questioning eyes as she tried to ask her cousin if she liked the place she had thrown in her lap.
“Cara, I love you. I really do. The next time you plan on doing something like this, however much you may think I‘ll enjoy it, don’t. Besides I can’t see myself living in a place where I am reminded so much of a movie.”
“Pride and Prejudice.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The movie ya are talking about it reminding ya of is Pride and Prejudice. We watched it together and ya remarked on how well ya liked Mr. Darcy’s place so I went and bought one that looked similar and decorated the inside of it to look just the same. I hadn’t figured that it would come out looking this good however. Please say ya like it.”
“I never said I didn’t like it,” Kriystalynn said as she heaved a heavily drawn out sigh, “I just meant that you shouldn’t have bought it and made it look so much like how I wanted it. I don’t plan on staying here forever. I need to go see my brother and spend some time at home; they are my family too you know and as much as it pains me to say it I am actually missing them all a little more every time I see such beautiful houses.”
“I feel a lecture coming on about how important family is or friends?” Cara rolled her eyes as her tone revealed that she had heard it all before.
“Look I am not going to say it again but it is true. The fact that no one loves you or shall be there more for you than family.”
“Does that include yer father?” Cara asked forgetting the line that she might be crossing is a hurtful one.
“Ok that is another subject that we don’t have time to get on or even need to trample upon. So where do we put the people who are ready to dance or to eat?” Kriystalynn asked to change the subject from her father to some other thing.
“Well this room should be big enough to put any number of people in it to dance,” Cara said as she showed Kriystalynn the room that connected to what was now an outside balcony. “Then we can put the food out on the new lawn on fold out tables under the tent that I have rented.” She looked over at her cousin and added, “With my money. That should cover it. Um…they are coming back later to finish the pumping so we can use the bathrooms. Are ya sure ya don’t want to live in here? It is a very beautiful house now.”
“So the bathrooms aren’t usable yet. That isn’t at all good for anyone, so are you sure they are coming back later today to finish them before the party?”
“Yes, I am sure. Are ya sure ya don’t want to live here?”
“Cara, I am sure. Ireland just isn’t the place I’d want to make a permanent home at, and it’s not that there is anything wrong with Ireland I just…Can I go back to the hotel now?”
Cara nodded and they made their way back to the car, and Cara headed back toward the hotel that Kriystalynn was staying at. When they pulled up in front Cara gave her cousin a worried look before she had gotten out of the car. Kriystalynn ignored it and just smiled her good bye before she walked up to her room.
She sighed when she got there and plopped down on the bed and starred at the ceiling. She hadn’t put anything on the walls to make it feel more like home; because they said the more she left it like she found it the more money she gets back as a deposit. She stared at the lines that the paint had made in the ceiling and saw the outlines of what was starting to look like Bradon. She shook her head and closed her eyes as she faded away to sleep, and she hoped that she wouldn’t go to that place again with the cryptic message. Alas she got what she wanted this time and was taken back to before her father moved her and her brother to Washington state, and back when she was as happy as she could ever want.
She heard the cell ring as she slowly awakened from her nap and moved to get up. She felt as if someone was sitting on her stomach as she made her way to roll off the bed to get her up more. She answered the phone slowly and heard Cara tell her that she needed to be up soon. She glanced over at the clock and read the time as fifteen hundred through a blurry vision and bunched up numbers.
Kriystalynn slowly stood up as she braced herself for the headache that she thought she would get. When it didn’t come she just walked over to the closet and pulled out her costume that she had decided she’d change into when she got to the party. She laid it out carefully on the bed before searching for the cute white tie up sandals that she had picked out to go with it. As she searched around she spotted the picture she had turned over earlier and felt the tears rush to the brim of her eyes before they threatened to fall.
She spat a Scottish curse that her recently deceased grandmother had taught her at a young age before she just about tripped over the sandals she was looking for. She looked up at the door and saw that there was a tall male with short brown hair that was spiked up a bit in the front. His brown eyes pierced her mostly orange with light brown coloring ones as she stared at him for the longest time. She turned away and smiled at his image in the mirror that seemed to be smiling at her.
He was just the way she liked her males; because he was about 5’11”, muscular, and was so sweet to her. She watched him walk up behind her and spin her around once as she laughed along with him. When he had stopped twirling her he picked up her costume in the protective dry cleaner bag before he requested her to take his hand so he could escort her to the party. She smiled and let him walk her all the way to his car as she carried her sandals in her other hand. She watched him open the door for her before getting into his car and driving to the house that her and her cousin now owned for the upcoming dance.
When they pulled into the driveway and the car was turned off she reached for the door handle to leave, but was stopped by him and gently forced to face him before he just said, “I shall have the first dance with you, Kriys, may I?”
He spoke with an American accent so well that it often threw her when she was talking to him but she looked at him with a smile as she said, “As long as you insist upon it then the first dance you shall have, Collin.”
Kriystalynn slowly grabbed her stuff from his car and then headed inside to go upstairs to change into her costume. As she finished putting it on she twirled slowly around once as she inspected it in the full length mirror that Cara had put in the room that she had told Kriystalynn was her room for when she wanted to stay as she walked in the house and was met by Cara. She noted that there were slits on the sides that weren’t in her original dress plans, but she liked them because that gave her more opportunity to wow the guys and show off her shoes to all the envious girls downstairs. She found that the pink faded into an almost candy apple red and that was much better than the plan pink one that Cara had told her that she had gotten instead of the blue one.
Kriystalynn turned around abruptly as she heard a knock at the door and saw that Collin was standing in the doorway and looking at her as if he has just seen a swimsuit model strip off her clothing. She let out as small laugh as she walked over to him and made a jester for him to close his mouth this made him aware that he was gawking. He smiled down at her and kissed her hand as he led her toward the stairwell. She spotted Cara standing near them and she stopped them to inform Kriystalynn that after she left someone made a mess out of her room and that they want her out in less than a month. Cara apologized but noticed that Kriystalynn didn’t seem to care.
Cara exited and made her way back to the party as she left them at the top of the stairs. Collin started to make his way down the stairs and then turned around to bring Kriystalynn to walk down beside him. Kriystalynn knew what he was doing and she wasn’t interested in him, but she let him do his charming anyways. As they came into the room that Cara had created into a ballroom everyone stopped and stared at them. Kriystalynn laughed and smiled at Cara as everyone slowly went back to what they were doing.
Collin danced with Kriystalynn most of the night and danced with Cara a couple of times also and noticed that Kriystalynn had taken a call on her cell phone that made her look quite upset. Cara went to walk over to her, but was stopped by Collin who shook his head and stood beside Cara as Kriystalynn made her way to the balcony. Once on the balcony Kriystalynn looked around before she folded her arms over the railing and placed her head in them as tears formed on the brim of her eyes once again. She cried into her arms as she felt her cell phone slip out of her hands.
She heard someone’s footsteps behind her and stood herself up as tall as she could manage. She waited for whoever it was to say something, but the person walked over to her and hugged her. It was then she knew it was Collin and she couldn’t help herself as she broke down and cried into his semi-bare chest. It was all she could do now that her ‘make them all envious’ day had come to a halt and brought her a birthday party from hell.
Collin wrapped his arm around her waist and comforted her for a few minutes before he picked her up and carried her through the crowd that didn’t seem to pay much attention to the birthday girl. He placed her in the passenger sea of his car before he got into the driver’s and drove her back to the hotel. He looked over at her and saw that she was curled up into a ball fast asleep. He smiled over at her and kept his deepest thoughts to himself as he picked her up out of the seat and carried her to her room, where he received assistance from the maid with opening the door. The maid watch him place him on the bed and then escorted him out as Kriystalynn turned over to cuddle a brown bear that said something as she held him closer to her.