Anna Alexander: queen of fire

Chapter 8.

The ball – masquerade

My little world flipped upside down in the blink of an eye. I left the laundry room, uplifted by the anticipation of wonders, wishing to hold onto this feeling of lightness for the whole day. Within the walls where prejudices and fear reigned, my desire to attend the aristocrAtik ball was a rebellion. Azazel remained in the laundry, immersed in the routine of preparing the staff for the inevitable strictness, as she was an experienced mentor and knew how to give examples to each, how to calm unruly emotions, or smooth out unexpected rough edges. She reserved personal remarks for private conversations. No one but Azazel enjoyed privileges similar to those granted by the master of the house and his wife.

At that fateful hour, passing by her “cubby hole,” I was stunned by the explosion of voices, whose words pierced my heart like shards of glass.

– Don’t you think you’re overreacting and turning into a real witch? – Christina defiantly shot at Azazel.

A stifling silence hung in the air. It seemed that both had realized their blunder – the excessive demanding nature and punctuality that Azazel had so longed for!

– Well, hello, child! – suddenly came the voice of the master of the house, who was oddly leaning on one leg.

– Good day! I’m just leaving. I need nothing more here. With your permission, I will go prepare for the ball! – I replied, trying to maintain my composure.

– Of course, but you’re not planning to show up at the ball looking like that, are you? – he asked with a sly smile.

– That’s exactly why I’m planning to drop by to see Azazel. I hope she will help me! – I replied, trying not to betray my nervousness.

– Excellent! – his ominous laugh echoed, sending a chill down my spine.

I barely had a moment to gather myself when Lion grabbed me by the wrist, scorching me with his gaze.

– And yet, who are you to lord Lion? – he hissed, and an unhealthy fire flared up in his eyes.

I don’t know how it would have ended if it weren’t for Azazel. As if sensing trouble, she swiftly flew to me, grabbed my hand, and without saying a word, pulled me along, leaving Lion in confusion.

– Don’t talk to him, got it? Next time, just leave! – she repeated several times, looking off to the side.

Azazel was clearly frightened by such a harsh remark from “Lion.” She expected rudeness, but she could never have foreseen such a direct question to Anna.

“After all, the real Ivan would never have allowed himself such behavior, why did he act like that?” – my thoughts were bewildered.

I glanced at the clock. It was a quarter to four. There were only five hours left until the ball, and chaos reigned in the house. All the inhabitants of this enormous palace were agitated and bustling, but the speed at which things were being done even astonished the wizards.

“What is happening? Why is he asking such strange questions?” – this question would not leave my mind

– Azazel, does the master often ask such questions? – I couldn’t help but ask.

– This is not the master! And don’t ask any more questions. Better get ready for the holiday and tidy up the house. A lot of guests are expected today, and there’s so much to do! – Azazel cut me off, and her face immediately darkened.

– What do you mean – not the master? Then who is he? – I continued to press.

– Anna, this house conceals many mysteries and secrets. In time, you will learn everything! – Azazel replied coldly.

We did not return to this conversation. It was clear that my friend did not want to discuss either Leon or his family. She was extremely agitated that evening. A smile never touched her face; she was focused and angry.

And indeed, everything turned out just as Azazel had said. The paintings were not hanging in their places, the glasses were not wiped, and the tables were missing tablecloths.

In the hallway, I saw two maids carrying dishes – not in their hands, but as if they were levitating them in the air. It was no trouble for them to carry a huge amount of kitchenware, as they were confident in their abilities. I stopped them and asked where I could find tablecloths. Returning with starched linens in their hands, I got to work. Soon, two more girls joined me. And so, half an hour later, the table was beautifully arranged. A pair of candlesticks on each table, placed a decent distance apart, gave the hall a sense of solemnity and sophistication. The polished dishes shone with cleanliness, and the fragrance of flowers, arranged by Anastasia herself, filled the room with a distinctive atmosphere.

The candles in the chandeliers reflected in the porcelain, and a gentle breeze seeping into the room through the partially opened windows brought freshness. It seemed that the gods themselves would have wanted to be in this beautiful and cozy hall. Having finished the preparations, I went to relax on the veranda with a clear conscience.

When I was left alone, I heard a distant thumping, as if construction was underway. There was a smell of resin, and the sound of a hammer didn’t stop for a long time.

Peeking through the door, I saw an unusual sight – it was as if I had been transported to the past. Before me stood a small table, and behind it was a fountain. The very fountain through which I ended up here. I was scared to approach it, fearing that old man Arni would send me back to my parents, who were probably already worried about my long absence.

Sometimes you forget that a dream is right there, before your eyes, within you, in your hands. But for some reason, we either do not want to, or do not see it, and with every step do not draw closer to it, but instead push it away? That’s why many of us are unhappy. We sift through memories of childhood and adolescence in search of the flaw that prevents us from enjoying this world, our lives, and the opportunities that the Universe offers. We send streams of energy to distant corners of our minds and wait for a miracle that may never happen. We begin to think and assume that everything is bad. But everything is just the opposite!

The world is so vast and multifaceted that every step we take is doomed to success. We, in turn, wait for some sort of mercy and therefore live our lives with difficulty, leaving it without having resolved anything.

“In my case, Lion, the wealthy aristocrat, was initially kind to everyone. Why has he changed so much? Maybe he intends to learn more about me than he knows? On the other hand, why would he need that? After all, I am only in his house for a short time, and I don’t need his favor!” – thoughts swarmed in my head.

I turned around and hurried to leave this strange place that was filled with cold, and I found myself back in the hall, where the guests fluttered like butterflies, where crystal sparkled on the tables, reflecting the purity of the decor.

– Anna, why are you standing there? Guests haven’t been seated in that part of the hall yet! – Azazel admonished me.

But I didn’t hear her words.

“I need to unravel the mystery of this house’s connection to me, and nothing else!” – pulsed in my head.

I had many questions, but I didn’t know whom to ask. I had no desire to ask Leon after his strange behavior, and it would be inappropriate to turn to the staff. The only person I could reach out to was Azazel. But my friend had been secretive and uncommunicative lately. She also remained silent in response to the colleagues questions.

“This girl clearly knows something and might be protecting me. But from what or whom?” – I wondered.

It was as if certain forces were on my side at that moment, and I was destined to witness truly wondrous things in this house, bright and incredible…

I heard someone calling my name just as I began to search for the housekeeper. And how surprised I was when Azazel, aligning herself with me, handed me a small napkin as if it were something precious that should not leave my hands until the end of the reception.

– Are you even listening to me? Where are your thoughts during such an important event? – I heard her dissatisfied voice.

– Repeat that again! – I asked.

She opened her eyes wide and sighed. After a few seconds of silence, she spoke in an annoyed tone:

– What are you planning to do? In that part of the hall, the guests are still not seated!

I straightened up immediately and saw that people were crowding together like ants, unable to move. I hurried over to that strange group, and within a few minutes, all the guests were seated, happy and content.

I didn’t perceive Azazel’s words as something offensive. I didn’t want to argue with anyone, especially not with her.

That evening, despite everything, I not only didn’t mention Azazel and the mysterious Leon, but I also managed to get into an unpleasant situation right at the celebration. After all, there is always a hunter looking to show off their catch, but in this case, the hunter was out of luck!

It all began like this. The guests, as if by the wave of a magic wand, started arriving in their luxurious carriages right at nine o’clock – just as true aristocrats should. The eyes were dazzled by magnificent tailcoats and top hats of various colors and styles, shoes polished to a mirror shine, modest bow ties, and golden pocket watches on chains, counting precious time. The ladies sparkled in rich dresses adorned with intricate embroidery, their lavish hairstyles seemed like works of art. Slender and stout, they were draped in jewels that sparkled in the candlelight. Many of them, to my surprise, managed to appear with umbrellas, although the sky had been flawlessly clear for two weeks. I was overcome with curiosity, and I couldn’t help but ask Azazel:

– Why the umbrellas in such wonderful weather?

– She gave me a long look and answered dryly:

– They seem strange to me too, but asking such important people about the reasons that concern us is the height of impropriety! And yes, Anna, I beg you, don’t bring up this conversation with anyone, at least not today! – and, without changing her gloomy expression, my friend dissolved into the crowd of guests.

I remained silent, although the feeling that Azazel was withholding something about these umbrellas did not leave me.

“Why trouble myself with the presence of umbrellas among the guests when today is such a wonderful evening?!” – I tried to convince myself.

Probably an hour passed before I, stopping to catch my breath from the stuffiness of the hall and the countless number of people, turned around and was immensely surprised.

Veronica was standing before me. The little girl was trembling all over from the cold, her huge eyes looked at me with such a plea that it took my breath away. Her unruly hair hung in strands as if she had been running for a long time, escaping from some pursuit, and was pretty sweaty. The bare feet were covered in dirt, and it was clear that the child had not been bathed and definitely had not been put to bed.

– Anna, I’m cold, and I want to go to my mother! – she repeated, looking at me as if I were a savior.

All my thoughts instantly focused on the child who appeared as if out of nowhere!

– Baby, how did you end up here and why aren’t you in bed? – I asked, trying to stay calm.

At that moment, Lion turned in our direction, and his gaze instantly froze on his barefoot daughter. A couple of moments later, Victoria came up to us. Unlike her sister, she was shod, but her appearance left much to be desired. I realized that both girls were very scared of something. Their palms were damp with sweat, and their eyes burned with fear. The clothes were stained with some kind of paint, from which an unpleasant, distinct smell emanated. I took their hands, and we walked quickly to the stairs leading to the rooms. At that moment, I heard a whisper behind me.

– They’re Lions’ daughters! How big they have become! Probably, they already go to the gymnasium! Look, who do we have there without shoes? – the whisperers wouldn’t be quiet.

The restrained laughter, rolling through the hall like an icy wind, made everyone turn towards us. Ignoring the curious gazes, I continued to climb the stairs, tightly holding the girls’ hands.

– Come on, girls, we won’t let these people mock our bare feet! – I urged them, feeling my cheeks flush.

– Stop, we need to take a look at them! Do you hear me?! – a harsh shout rang out, and I realized – that it was directed at us.

Barely had we taken another step into the corridor where the rooms began, when the harsh shout, like a whip crack, cut through the dimness that prevailed, blocking our path.

– She’s probably deaf, shout louder! – and laughter echoed through the hall again.

The woman’s words hurt me deeply. I couldn’t even imagine that grown and educated people could allow themselves such coarse and harsh expressions.

Both girls looked at me at the same time, and at that moment I firmly decided that the “deaf” would definitely show them that not only was her hearing perfectly fine, but so was her imagination.

I stopped and, not letting go of the children’s hands, began to search for that very “deaf” woman – a plump lady linking arms with a young man, who seemed to be igniting her curiosity from the unkempt children. The pale ginger mass of her hair was adorned with small polka-dotted flowers. I closed my eyes and mentally said:

– I wish to see her give a nickel before she apologizes to the children! – I whispered under my breath.

I don’t know how it could have happened, but at the same time, there were screams and laughter in the hall. When I opened my eyes, I saw in front of me that very woman with a piggy face, absolutely pink like a young piglet. She was either grunting or crying. Her squeal was audible outside, and the guests who hadn’t managed to get in on time burst into the hall as if caught in a snowstorm. Seeing such a scene, everyone started laughing, and all that was left of Leon’s aristocrAtik reception was just a name.

Anastasia hurried to us, while the hall continued to buzz, asking the owner of this abode who I was and where I had come from.

– What is happening here? – asked Anastasia softly, leaning down to the children.

– I don’t know, madam. But I know for sure that the children got dirty somewhere in mud, paint, and someone is even barefoot! – I hurried to respond.

– All clear! Would you be so kind as to take the children to the bathroom and then put them to bed? – asked the hostess.

– Yes, of course, I will take care of it right away! – was my response.

Anastasia, tenderly holding her children close and kissing them, hurried me along so that the children wouldn’t witness the further development of the story, which seemed to be just gaining momentum.

A true bacchanalia ruled in the hall. Everyone was swirling around, bombarding Lion with questions about me and the children. Someone even thought he did it on purpose to introduce his daughters to the guests. But apparently, there was not a single sane person in the hall who understood that Lion and his wife least of all wanted strangers to see their children. They protected them from prying eyes, believing that it would lead to nothing good.

A woman, as if pierced by shame, froze with a coin on her face, trembling with humiliation. She desperately tried to maintain some semblance of composure, but fear and disgust at what had happened tormented her. Barely had I dissolved behind the wall into the living room when Lion slipped in like a shadow.

– Where is she? Call her here, Ivan! – she kept insisting.

Madam Dupon, whose surname came from a noble and aristocrAtik French family, was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

– I can’t do it, Julie, she is busy with the children! – Lion said calmly, as if the previous woman, without a penny, was standing before him.

He desperately wanted to burst out laughing, but it would have been taken as an insult, and he was doing his best to hold back the heaving impulse. Laughter rolled in waves, and each time Lyon lowered his head even further, trying to avoid awkward glances.

– Great, I’ll wait until she is free! – her snorting statement rang out.

– As you say, Madam Julie, she will be with you soon! – Lion replied and hurried to distance himself, bowing his head in a respectful bow.

He suggested she sit in a small armchair that stood nearby the sofa, where the other guests were partially settled.

They, like a flock of sparrows, whispered to each other, quietly grunting in rhythm with her comments, and looked at her as if she were a peculiar jester at court. In some eyes, there was a flicker of pity, while in others – malicious triumph: it served her right for her quarrelsome tongue and nasty temper.

Only after a long forty minutes, or maybe even more, having assured herself that the children’s dreams were deep and tranquil, Anna, creeping like a shadow, slipped into the corridor. There, in the dim light, Lion was already waiting for her. Not expecting this encounter, she hesitated for a moment, but still moved towards him. Leon, with his characteristic nobility, asked her to restore Madame Dupon to her former self, and upon hearing her response, he froze in astonishment.

– She must apologize, otherwise the coin will stay with her forever! – I almost silently whispered.

– Apologize? To whom, Anna? – Lion asked in bewilderment.

– In front of the children and in front of me! – the girl replied shyly.

Lion remained in such a state of astonishment for several dozen seconds more. He showed no emotions, as her words touched him deeply with their straightforwardness and sincerity.

– Come with me. Now we will see how Madame Dupon herself will react to this! – Lion said hurriedly, grinning widely.

We descended into the hall. In an instant, everything fell silent and froze. A ringing silence ensued, and the rhythmic ticking of a huge grandfather clock could clearly be heard. I braced myself for a deluge of nasty words, but I did not expect that the silence would be broken by Lion, who decided to untie the tight knot I had tied, but untied by a cantankerous woman in body.

– So, Madame Dupon, allow me to introduce you to Anna, our new maid. She is shy, but her heart is full of kindness, and I am sure she can’t wait to express her ‘respect’ to you! – proclaimed Lion, with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

Without a moment’s hesitation, as if possessed by an unknown force, I replied to her with words full of fury:

– If you do not apologize to the children and to me, your nose will forever lose its former shape! With each new insult, with each poisonous word, it will grow, like that of a fairy-tale witch, becoming grotesque with malice and hatred, turning into a growth on your face!

At these words, her hands turned cold. Her face blazed with a crimson flame, and Madame Julie instantly transformed into a real witch.

– Apologize… to you?! You are nothing but a poor ragamuffin, blown in from some God-forsaken village! How can I, a person of my standing, utter words of apology to an orphan like you?! – the woman hissed, like a snake, her smile laced with venomous malice, as each breath was accompanied by a contemptuous grunt.

And at that very moment, as the last word slipped from her lips, her nose began to grow uncontrollably. It didn’t just get bigger; it swelled, filling with the juice of lies like an overripe fruit, surpassing its previous size by twice as much. A piercing silence hung in the hall. The eyes of the attendees bulged from their sockets like snails from their shells, and their mouths opened in a silent scream of astonishment. Madame Dupon, consumed by rage, gazed with both eyes at her nose, which had grown to ridiculous proportions, feeling her face flush with shame and anger.

– Forgive me! I take my words back! Give me back my nose! – she blurted out, and in stomping her foot, she accidentally nudged the young man standing beside her.

The people froze as if struck by an invisible lightning bolt. Is Jules really capable of apologizing? Exclamations of astonishment rolled through the hall like the rumblings of a distant storm. And then the unimaginable happened: the upstart’s nose would stretch out forward or shrink to tiny sizes until, finally, beneath her fingers, it turned out to be… her old nose! Jumping to her feet, she raced like a whirlwind towards the exit, sweeping everyone aside in her path. Curses flew in all directions like sparks from the hooves of a mad horse. Declaring that her feet would never again tread in this house of betrayal and witchcraft, she, still boiling with rage, took refuge in her carriage and ordered the coachman to speed home, far from this cursed place.

Soon her carriage disappeared behind the gates of the house, leaving only clouds of dust and a soft whisper of gossip in its wake. The inhabitants of the house were stunned by what had happened and had no idea what Julie’s response would be. But they could not even imagine what storm she would unleash upon them, for her war had only just begun.

Chapter 9.

Family circumstances

Julie, excessively angry, hid in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike. In her eyes, cold sparks danced, reflecting determination and a thirst for revenge. She felt humiliated, betrayed by close friends, and that feeling burned her from within, fueling her fury.

Her plan was maturing gradually, like a fruit gaining sweetness before falling. Julie carefully considered every step, every word, every action. She studied her enemies, their weaknesses, their fears. She gathered information like a spider weaving its web.

The first blow was struck from the shadows, like a sudden bite in the grass. A small but painful loss for the family, undermining their reputation in the eyes of influential figures. Then followed a series of minor annoyances, like a swarm of exhausting and irritating insects.

The homeowners became worried. They felt that something was wrong, but couldn’t understand where the threat was coming from.

Julie watched them, enjoying their torment. She knew that this was only the beginning. The most interesting part was still to come. A storm was about to break. But nothing else happened. For Anna quickly guessed whose doing it was, and very soon, in a conversation with Lion, she shared her suspicions about Dupon. Lion thought it wise to limit her influence in his circles, which yielded results quite quickly. Julie vanished from his life, perhaps as suddenly as she had burst into it. No one heard from her again, nor was there any desire to, for it was clear what thoughts and actions the woman harbored.

On the other hand, during the time I had been away from my parents’ home, it seemed to have petrified, preserving the imprint of that fateful day when I did not cross its threshold. Germain and Sania were consumed by a burning, all-encompassing malice that poisoned the air and permeated every corner. The search began at that very moment, but it was in vain – as if I had dissolved into the fog. And soon the terrifying and final ‘sentence’ sounded: Anna had treacherously fled.