Eden Forest (Part one of the Saskia Trilogy) Read online

  I was going to cry. Josh hugs me and lets me cry in his arms. We

  stay like that long after I’ve stopped. It is such a comfort to be

  held. I rub my eyes.

  Josh sits back. “Feel better?”

  “Yeah, actually, I really do.” I pick up a cushion and hug it

  to my body again. I always do this when I’m upset. “Thanks.” I

  look at him. “I really mean it.”

  “What are friends for?” I roll my eyes. This is Josh’s answer

  to everything he can’t answer.

  We talk for a while longer, losing track of time, but I don’t

  bring the Susan thing up again. When I look at the clock, it’s

  midnight. I stretch and yawn.

  “Okay, I get the hint. You want to go to bed.”

  I give him a little smile. “Finally, you get the message.”

  He throws a cushion at me and stands. “Good night,” he

  says while smirking. We say our good-byes and I head to bed,

  feeling a little better.

  The next morning, the house is quiet. It’s my day off, so Dad

  would have brought Jessica to school. I jump in the shower and

  wash the sweat from my body—another nightmare. I scrub

  shampoo into my hair. Maybe I should tell Dad about the

  nightmares. It’s the same one every night. Then I decide against

  it. What good would it do?

  I dress in my tracksuit, as I’m going to my yoga class later

  on and just lazing around until then. I’m heading for the stairs

  when I pass my parents’ bedroom. The door is slightly ajar. I pause, then push the door open fully and walk in. The scent of my mother still lingers in the air. I close my eyes and inhale the trace of lavender. After a few moments, I go to her dressing table and run my finger along her jewelry box, hairbrush, and perfumes. Her silk scarves are wrapped around the end poster of the bed. I take one and sit on the edge of her bed while wrapping the scarf around my arm.

  “Mum, where are you?” I whisper, tears stinging my eyes. I

  wipe them with the back of my hand.

  I know sitting here is doing me no good, so I start cleaning.

  First, the kitchen. The cooker has been used and neglected, so

  I pull on rubber gloves and start scrubbing with a Brillo pad,

  trying to get the burnt lasagna off the base of it. When I finish

  scrubbing the kitchen, I polish the rest of the house and put on

  a basket of laundry. My stomach grumbles so I make myself a

  sandwich. I check my phone. It’s five o'clock.

  I head for the car. I arrive at our local community hall.

  Christine and her friend Laura do yoga with me. I see them

  going into the changing rooms. I keep going into our yoga room,

  not feeling very talkative. I roll out my mat and sit cross-legged.

  Everyone is chatting waiting on our instructor, Linda,

  to arrive. She’s a very spiritual person-not in a way that

  she is religious; it’s more like a different way of seeing and

  understanding the world. Most of the girls think she’s really

  odd, but I like her weirdness. It’s not something I can put my

  finger on, and she reminds me of the ballet teacher I had all

  through primary school.

  “Good evening, class.” Linda arrives with a bounce in her

  step. She rolls out her own mat at the top of the class and sits

  down. She gives me a wink before she starts. “I want everybody

  to clear their minds and find your centre.” I take a deep breath

  and try to empty my mind, easier said than done. “Now

  today, we’re going to do something a little different. It’s like

  meditation.” I open one eye and look at Linda. She gives me a

  little smile and then closes her own eyes. “I want everybody to

  think of someone they love and try to picture them, maybe even

  try to picture what they could be doing right this moment.”

  My mother is the first person that pops into my head. I can

  picture her so clearly. She’s smiling at me as she watches me

  blow out my candles for my twenty-first birthday. Her curls are

  loose around her shoulders, her eyes full of unshed tears of love.

  I can still hear her gentle voice.

  “Happy birthday, princess. Make a wish.” My cheeks are

  damp with more tears. I don’t open my eyes, just wipe my face

  and try to hold on to her image.

  “Now try and imagine what that person would be doing right

  now.” Linda’s voice makes me lose concentration. My mother’s

  face dissolves away. I open my eyes and Linda is watching me

  carefully. She gives me a sad smile.

  After class, I stay behind as everyone leaves, whispering to

  each other how weird our class is. “Are you all right?” Linda

  sits down beside me.

  “I could see my mum’s face so clearly.” I let my eyes wander

  to my hands.

  “Did you try to picture what she could be doing right now?”

  Linda asks gently.

  “No, I couldn’t. Her image just faded.” I look at Linda

  sideways.

  She reaches across and takes my hand. “Why don’t you try

  again? I will help you.”

  I take a deep breath and close my eyes. My mother’s smiling

  face is there again.

  “Can you see her?” Linda asks in her calming voice.

  I speak quietly, afraid if I speak too loud her image will fade.

  “Yes.”

  “Try to picture what she could be doing right now.” Her

  face becomes less clear, as if the channel is going out on TV.

  I concentrate harder. The colour is fading. My mother looks

  grey, her eyes empty. She is lying on a floor, smeared in

  blood, crying. My eyes shoot open and I gasp for air.

  “It’s okay, Sarajane. Relax your breathing.”

  I can’t. I feel sick. It was a gruesome image. Where the hell

  did it come from? I run to the ladies toilet and bring back up

  my sandwich. When my stomach is finally empty, I stop getting

  sick. I wash my face with cold water. I look as white as a ghost

  in the bathroom mirror.

  I can see Linda standing behind me. “What did you see? Did

  you see your mother?” I can only nod. Linda moves towards

  me and pulls me around to face her. “Where was she?” she asks

  urgently. She’s starting to scare me. She must see the fear on my

  face, as she lets me go and relaxes her posture.

  “Sorry, I just… don’t want to see you sad anymore.”

  I shrug. “It was just weird. She was crying.” I take a gulp of

  air. “And bleeding, lying on a floor.”

  “Could you see if she was in a room?” Linda asks. I shake my

  head. This is too much of Linda’s weirdness for today.

  “It was a stupid image I conjured in my head.” I walk away.

  “I’ll see you next week.”

  Linda doesn’t answer. I’m not too sure if she heard me. She

  looks lost in thought, and I don’t wait around to find out.

  Chapter Two

  Saskia ~ Present Day

  (Marta)

  The smell of dampness is overpowering. I open my eyes

  slowly. I am lying on a concrete floor, shaking with the

  cold. My wrists and ankles are badly bruised, my hair

  clotted with dry blood. As I start to get up, bile rises in my

  throat. Steadying myself against the wall causes the sharp,

 
jagged stones to hurt my back. I stumble to the iron gate of my

  cell. My lips are cracked and dry; my throat feels like it is on

  fire.

  “Please, could I have some water?” I rasp.

  The guardian sits there, no reply. I can see the tattoo on the

  back of his neck. Et Lux in Tenebris Lucet: And Light Will

  Shine in Darkness. It has been twenty-one years since I have seen it. I knew then I am back in Saskia.

  “I see you are awake,” Clive says with a cruel smirk,

  descending the stairs. His blond hair and white complexion

  look paler under the lights, giving him a ghostly air.

  I retreat farther into the shadows of my cell. He turns the

  key in the gate and enters slowly. His crystal-blue eyes never

  leave my face, soaking up my terror. I back into the wall and

  my panic rises. I know Clive is just like his mother, Bellona.

  Cruelty seeps from his every pore. I want to scream, but know

  it is pointless. Tears stream down my face.

  Please, God, keep my daughters safe. I know I will never see

  them again.

  Clive circles me with his hands grasped behind his back. He

  throws his head back and starts laughing. “So you are the whore

  who was sleeping with my father? A peasant with a king.” His

  face twists with rage and disgust.

  Clive pounces, grabbing my hair. I scream. The cut already

  on my head starts to bleed again, and blood trickles down my

  face. He throws me viciously to the ground. “You won’t escape

  this time.”

  I curl myself into a fetal position. Clive withdraws his leg

  and aims for my stomach. I can’t stop him so I just lie there,

  letting my mind slip to happier times. Memories pour in, mine

  and Morrick’s first kiss at my door. The first time we secretly

  met at the Amour Caves. Falling in love with him was so easy,

  but now I would pay the ultimate price.

  I blink. Pain runs through every part of my body. I look

  around through swollen eyes. I am on my own again with the

  same guardian on guard. I try to speak, but every part of my

  body is too sore. Darkness overtakes me.

  The next time I wake up, Clive and the Queen Bellona are

  standing over me. She looks at me with distaste. Her snow-

  white, hard face shows no other emotion. A white gown flows

  all around her, the ends soaking up my blood pooled around me

  on the floor. She doesn’t seem to notice, or maybe she doesn’t

  care.

  “Taurus, lift her up. I have many questions to be answered,”

  the queen says in a monotone, as if this is wasting her time.

  I open my eyes, but the light hurts. I close them again and can

  hear Bellona and Clive arguing in the hall. I can hear Bellona’s

  voice rising. “Are you pleased with your handiwork?”

  “Yes, Mother, I am,” Clive says with self-satisfaction.

  “You are just like your father, stupid and weak.” Clive tries

  to answer, but Bellona cuts him off with a slap. “Now listen to

  me. I need her alive, and beating her to death will not get us

  answers. Am I not correct?”

  “Yes, Mother.” Clive sounds like a five-year-old boy being

  reprimanded.

  Footsteps sound down the hall. When the queen speaks, she

  sounds irritated. “What, Taurus?”

  “Sorry, my lady, but the king is looking for you.”

  The queen lets out a sharp breath. “Clive, stay with her.

  He does not know she is here, and I do not need any more

  problems.”

  “Yes, Mother.”

  Footsteps sound at my door. I keep my breathing even so it

  looks like I am asleep. A chair creaks beside me. After a few

  moments, I open my eyes and Clive is looking at me. There’s

  a handprint on the side of his face. “Do you know the day my

  mother told me about you and my… father I didn’t believe it?”

  I turn my head away from Clive. I just can’t listen to him.

  Morrick told me how cruel his wife and son were, how they

  would manipulate situations. Clive grabs my face roughly. “You

  will look at me when I speak,” he roars into my face, covering

  me with spit.

  The door opens then and Ancellia, a servant girl I had only

  met a few times before, comes in. She bows to Clive, but her

  eyes never touch me. “Prince Clive, I have come to bathe Marta

  as requested by the queen.” He flicks his hand towards me and

  Ancellia enters the room.

  Clive rises from his chair. “I will return later.” He looks at

  me and leans in close to whisper in my ear. “When I get back,

  you better give me answers or I will kill you.” He stands straight

  and leaves the room.

  Once he is gone, I turn to Ancellia. “Where is Corrona?”

  Ancellia ignores me. “Please, Ancellia.”

  She looks at me with anger. “You have dragged enough

  people into this. You will not drag me in as well.” She pushes

  me over roughly, hurting my side, and bathes my wounds. After

  she leaves, I lie there thinking of Corrona and the day I decided

  I needed to get out of Saskia.

  Corrona and Dominic were blissfully in love. She sat in her

  armchair beside the fire, rubbing her very large belly, while

  Dominic rubbed her feet. I sat and watched them and wished I

  could be normal like that with Morrick and not always hiding

  our love. My stomach fluttered thinking of him. Even though

  we had been seeing each other nearly a year, I still felt nervous

  around him.

  Corrona’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. “Marta, go

  get the maidens. I think my baby is coming.”

  Dominic stood up, his eyes wide. “Now, right now?”

  Corrona looked up at Dominic with a smile on her face and

  nodded. Then her attention turned to me. “Hurry.” She twinged

  with pain. I left and ran to the castle and placed my hand over

  my own stomach and smiled. Butterflies erupted in my belly.

  I reached the castle and raced across the courtyard, but just

  before I knocked on the large wooden door, it opened. I was

  faced with Bellona. She arched an eyebrow. “Yes?”

  I bowed. “Sorry, my lady, but Corrona needs maidens. She’s

  going into labour.”

  “Very well.” The queen beckoned two maidens and headed

  for Corrona’s cottage. Taurus followed just behind her and me

  after them. I felt sick the whole way back. I didn’t think Bellona

  would come also.

  When we entered, Dominic stood and looked at the queen

  in shock.

  “My lady.”

  “Please, do not rise.” She sat on the armchair that Corrona

  had vacated.

  Corrona lay on her back, sweat running down her face. The

  two maidens placed damp cloths on her forehead and face. The

  small cottage now smelled of sweat. I knelt down and took

  Corrona’s hand. Dominic held her other hand while telling

  her he loved her. Corrona’s swollen belly started to ripple. She

  screamed between pushes.

  “Shhh, child, there is no need for that. Be quiet,” the queen

  said, irritated. I looked at her and she smirked back at me,

  making me drop my gaze. Did she kno
w about Morrick and

  me? No. I would be dead by now.

  Corrona continued to push as the maidens directed her

  through her pain, and then the room was filled with the cries

  of a baby boy. The maidens handed the baby to Corrona. “Oh,

  my precious baby.” She placed a kiss on his head and cradled

  him to her chest. The room buzzed with a newfound happiness.

  Dominic was looking at his wife and child with pure love, tears

  sparkling in his eyes.

  “Marta, isn’t he perfect?” Corrona asked me while counting

  his toes.

  I laughed through tears. “Yes, he is.”

  Corrona looked up at Dominic. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you too.” He kissed her and then his son.

  The queen stood over Corrona. “May I?” She reached out

  her hands for the baby. Corrona and Dominic both looked up,

  startled. They had forgotten about the queen, as had I. Corrona

  hesitantly handed her baby to her. Tears ran silently down her

  face. The queen usually visited in the first month of a boy’s

  arrival, not straight away after the birth.

  Dominic rose; Taurus stood in front of him. We all watched

  as the queen placed a beautiful pendant with a purple stone in

  the centre of it over the baby’s head. Its little eyes followed the

  movements. I looked at Corrona. She was holding her breath.

  “It’s good news,” the queen announced. We all let out a sigh

  of relief. Taurus moved away from Dominic. “He has an air

  affinity.” The words slipped so calmly from her mouth. Corrona

  started screaming. She tried to get up to plead with the queen,

  but she was too weak to lift her own body.

  Dominic’s face turned white. “Give me back my son.”

  The queen looked at him with a scowl. “Taurus.” She turned

  to leave. Dominic pulled a small knife from his sleeve and ran at

  the queen. Corrona screamed when she realised what Dominic

  was going to do. Taurus swung the blunt end of his sword at

  the last minute, hitting Dominic in the side of his head. He fell

  to his knees, blood running down his face. I rushed to him.

  Corrona was still screaming, her arms outstretched, pleading

  for her son.

  The queen opened the cottage door to leave, but before she

  did, she turned to Dominic. “You are lucky I do not have you

  exiled for that.” She paused. “But I am a forgiving queen and