Timeless(37)

"I'm sure," Nina said. "She woke when I was dressing her, and she wanted me to tell you that you did everything you could. She wanted you to know that."

Alexandria nodded. "But in the end, everything I did wasn't good enough."

"You got her out of there, don't you ever forget that. If you hadn't heard her, gone to her, who knows how long she would have suffered in that dungeon."

Alexandria placed Matilda's hand back down gently on the bed. "And now she's dead. Gone. Just like that, and we don't even know if there was anyone out there that loved her, or she loved them."

"Everyone dies, Alexandria. Whether they're loved or not."

"You didn't exactly die though, did you? You're a vampire. How old are you, anyway?"

"I was seventeen, the same age as you are now, when I died. The girl that I used to be all those years ago, she died, and I am what is left, a monster that barely tolerates the rays of the sun, and feeds on blood to survive. Some say that is not living at all, and most days, I would have to agree."

"How did you die? How long ago did you die?" Alexandria asked.

"I think that is a story for another day. Tonight is about Matilda, not me. We should probably go downstairs," Nina said. "We have guests and a feast to prepare for. The Rivenfell people believe that there is only one celebration that is more important than birth and marriage, and that is the celebration of death. You see, the Rivenfell people see death as a new beginning, not an end, and with every new beginning, there must be a feast. And if the smell coming from the kitchen downstairs is any indication, you are in for one hell of a feast."

"I'll be down in a moment," Alexandria said. "I just want to sit here for a little while. I hate the thought of her being alone."

"I can assure you she will not be alone. One is never alone in the Witchwood House."

Alexandria nodded. "I'll be down soon."

"Okay then. I'll be downstairs, helping Andrew and Mindy with the food and other preparations."





Chapter 17 – Let Her Go.





Alexandria could never recall the house and the grounds looking so beautiful, other than Christmas, when her mother would go all out and decorate the house from top to bottom. When had all this been done, she wondered, and by whom?

"We have our ways," Aunt Mindy had simply said, tapping the side of her nose and giving Alexandria a wink as she hurried off to get dressed.

As tradition demanded, Alexandria, Andrew, Nina and Aunt Mindy were all dressed in white, the mourning colour of the Rivenfell Clan, and their feet were bare. The women wore garlands of forest flowers in their hair, except for Nina, who wore red roses, as was the custom of the Rosenberg clan. Alexandria thought it strange, seeing Nina dressed in anything other than her customary black. The white fabric of her floor-length lace gown made her look even more pale than usual.

Even Andrew looked handsome dressed in a white, long-sleeved button-up shirt, a hand-me-down from Alexandria's father's closet. He did not wear a garland on his head, but rather a yellow wildflower in one of the buttonholes in his shirt.

At the stroke of midnight, the perfect witching hour, they all stood at the base of the gazebo, waiting for their guests. Matilda, the esteemed guest of honour, looked beautiful lying on a bed of flowers in the gazebo, and illuminated by candlelight and a million tiny fireflies.

The forest gentry arrived first, the mystical folk that inhabited the forest: fairies, pixies, sprites, dwarfs, and the elves, the tallest of the motley crew. Mysterious and mischievous, they all hailed from the far corners of the mystical world. Some flew, their transparent, rainbow-coloured wings making a musical humming sound. Some arrived perched on the backs of deer and foxes. Others walked, carrying musical instruments or pushing tiny timber barrels of liquor. Some carried armfuls of beautifully crafted wreaths made from forest flowers, which they laid on the ground around Matilda's altar. No matter what their kind or clan, they all blessed Matilda with a kiss on her forehead. Those not blessed with the advantage of height were quickly lifted up by someone taller.

Aunt Mindy leaned across to Alexandria. "Don't stare, Alexandria, it's rude," she whispered.

Alexandria turned to whisper back, "I just wasn't expecting one of my childhood storybooks to spill open and all the characters come to life. Are these the Rivenfell people?"

She was trying not to stare, but how could she not? This was the most amazing thing she had ever seen. Even Andrew had to concentrate on keeping his mouth shut and not staring.

"Kat is going to be so sorry she missed this," Alexandria whispered into Andrew's ear.

A few moments later, a beautiful white wolf trotted gracefully into the clearing, then walked up and sat down next to a stunned Alexandria. She edged closer to Andrew, away from the wolf, and wondered if it was the same wolf she'd seen on several occasions, including the time a wolf had knocked over that poor little photographer at the cemetery, the first day she had arrived in Ferntree Falls.