Lissa tried to take it all in. Leo's demeanor was somewhat different. He was cordial to a point, not talkative, but cordial. He was sort of smiling at the conversations around him. He would nod at Jessica or Samantha and they would ask Lissa if she needed anything. He would nod to Mrs. Potts and she would scoop more food on Lissa's plate. It was like they had played this game so often that they knew what to expect from any of Leo's glances. The best part was that everyone was genuinely happy to have Lissa present.
"So Lissa, tell us about your family," Samantha said.
"Not much to tell really. It's just me and my dad. It's been that way for a long time. We live a pretty simple life. I don't really know what else to tell. What do you want to know?" Lissa asked.
"Everything, but I'm not going to ask insensitive questions," Samantha said.
Leo made a noise from his throat. It was apparent that he didn't need to clear his throat but wanted Samantha to drop the current conversation.
"What about all of you? I not mean to be insensitive myself, but let's face it this is not a normal situation. A prince, servants, an architectural mansion, this is not normal around here. I'd dare say this isn't normal in too many places. I mean a prince living in the United States and attending an American high school, how's that happen?" Lissa asked.
The long dining room table was covered in food and fruit. There were carafes of water and juices at intervals. Lissa wondered how many people could comfortably eat around the table. there were six of them and there was probably room for six less. The table itself was ornate. The wood was a dark mahogany and had carving all through it. The chairs had high backs with intricately carved designs and scenes of hunting and other sport.
The silence that fell after her question was palpable. Lissa tried to suck her words back in and change the subject. Like a bomb going off in the middle of a crowded town. The destruction was disturbing.
All eyes were on Leo and then on Lissa, who was opening her mouth but failing to make words. Leo laid his fork down next to his plate, wiped the corners of his mouth with the cloth napkin, laid it next to his plate, and slowly raised his head. For once his hair was actually pulled back in a loose pony tail and out of his eyes.
When he looked at Lissa, he wasn't angry. The look wasn't one of hurt at being asked but Lissa could tell there was a deep sarrow attached to the answer that might be about to be delivered.
"The answer is far to complicated to shared over a meal as nice as this and in polite company. Let it be enough to know that we were put off from our home and have taken refuge here. This happened many years ago and has yet to be righted. Nevertheless, I am confident that a happy ending will reveal itself soon enough," Leo said. He picked his napkin up and gently replaced it in his lap. Slowly he picked up his fork and returned to eating.
"Leo, I'm sorry, I didn't mean...I just...it's just," Lissa stammered.
"Think nothing of it. You are a guest in my house. You have a right to ask questions and it was a reasonable one," Leo said.
Slowly a hum of noise came back over the room. "Might I inquire as to where your ancestral home is located?" Lissa asked.
"Off the coast of France. The island itself has a rather unique history. One I would love to share with you after dinner perhaps during a walk through the gardens," Leo said.
"She's the one," Jessica said, elbowing Samantha.
"Stop it you to," Mrs. Potts said.
"What?" Jessica asked innocently.
"You can all stop with that kind of talk. Just because I don't often choose to speak doesn't mean there is anything wrong with my hearing," Leo said.
"What one?" Lissa asked.
"The one who will break the curse," Jessica said.
"What curse?" Lissa asked.
"The family curse," Chip said speaking up for the first time.
Leo stood hastily from the table and retreated from the table without so much as a word. Mrs. Potts reached out and cuffed Chip on the back of the head. "How many times have I told you not to mention the curse? That goes for all of you," Mrs. Potts said, looking around the room.
"What?" Jessica said defensively. "You act like you don't believe in it. You know you hope she's the one just as much as the rest of us and whether it's stupid or not, sometimes it's easier to believe in things than to accept that this is it. That this is the best it'll ever get. And whether she is the one or there is a curse is inconsequential. I hope for a better day. Let me have my hope."
"You can have your hope, and I hope too. But I won't play into this. You can't put this on her."
"I'm right here," Lissa said.
Mrs. Potts continued as if she hadn't heard Lissa. "It's not fair to dump our hopes on her shoulders. I won't be a part of it. Lissa, I deeply enjoyed your company tonight. You have been a boon to the mood around this place and for that I am eternally grateful." Mrs. Potts stood up, "But i won't sit here and listen to them fill your head with this superstitiousness. It's poppycock. There I've said it. Come on Chip. We can finish in the kitchen. I'll bring desert around after your walk."
Everyone watched as Mrs. Potts walked out trailed by young Chip. As soon as the door to the kitchen closed, Samantha and Jessica leaned in across the table towards Lissa.
"So the curse is a long standing family curse. I don't know how to explain it without going into too much detail, but it'll all make sense eventually. Basically a dark cloud of bad fortune and hard times have befallen the family, and--" Jessica began.
Cutting her off, Samantha continued, "And it would take a girl to break the curse."
"That's simplifying it to say the least, Sam," Jessica protested. "That's enough," Sam insisted. "Somethings with the curse, as with the misfortunes of the family, need to be revealed over time. It would serve no purpose and perhaps defeat a few to say too much too soon."
Lissa leaned back in her chair and rested her arms on the stately arm rests. "This is all so bizarre. I mean a few weeks ago, I had no interest whatsoever in boys, dating, any of it. I don't know what this girl has to be or do, but I'm not your one." Lissa read the disappointment on their faces as if it were written in an indelible ink.
"I'm not saying that the one is out there. I'm sure she is and that she's wonderful. I'm just saying that it's not me. I have other plans beyond being the one. Besides being the one is a lot of pressure and I've never been one to handle pressure well. I just learned to put on make up like last year and still don't ever wear like any. So umm I'm sorry and all really I am,and I hope things get better and the curse lifts and whatnot, but I don't think I'm who you must think I am," Lissa let the words tumble out of her mouth like a tower of blocks built one block two high tumbles to the ground, higher blocks crashing into lower blocks.
Lissa was more overwhelmed than anything. She didn't know what the one was supposed to be, but the one sounded too much like some idealistic blueprint that she had no desire to live up to. It wasn't so much as an aversion to Leo as an aversion to being "the" anything.
Leo actually showed himself to be a rather dashing and enjoyable dinner guest. The kid had some skeletons in the closet, but she was not one to judge. Her family certainly had its share of skeletons.
She was still hung up on the whole Prince thing. She had never met a royal. Leo didn't in everyday life seem like much of a royal to her, but then again, she didn't know what a royal was supposed to be like.
The house was amazing, the servants were varied and dedicated, and Leo was capable of a sophisticated air about him. But Lissa didn't know if any of that meant or said royalty to her. She never really put much thought into royals today. She saw stories about Prince William or Prince Henry, but they were like celebrities. Like Hollywood movie stars that you heard about and read about and saw in films and on television, but you never meet.
Samantha and Jessica had left Lissa to her thoughtful reflection. They weren't so much as disappointed as deflated. It was like all the wind in their sails was gone. They had come into dinner flying the flag of hope, but reality and skepticism had found their way in and set fire to the flag.
The three girls stayed quiet for quite some time and finished their meals without noticing that they had at some point continued eating. If they listened they could hear footsteps above them and Chip's voice asking questions in the kitchen. Life was not always fair or consistent, but then again no one really expected it to be. They just hope.
Samantha was the first to break the silence. She stood and took something between a bow and a curtsy. "Mademoiselle, if it pleases you, I will show you the way to the entrance of the gardens. I'm certain that Master Leo will not leaving waiting long."
Without knowing exactly what she should do, Lissa stood and picked up her plate. "Leave it," Jessica said, "I'll clear the table. It is one of my duties after all."
Lissa frowned and returned her plate to the table. She followed Samantha up two stairs and through a door right next to the door that led down into the kitchen. Behind the door lay a hallway with steps leading up or down at varying intervals.
The house was almost a maze with some levels or rooms being accessible from only one path, while others overlapped each other and could be accessed from many directions.
Lissa silently followed Samantha as she chose doors and rooms to pass through. The house seemed so complicated and overly difficult to navigate. But Lissa thought that if she were being fair she would have to admit that she wasn't very good at navigation even with a gps.
Samantha opened a door that led to the back porch and stood to the side to allow Lissa to pass. "You will find chairs and benches on and at the bottom of the porch. Please do not stray too far. I'm certain Master Leo will be with you momentarily. Thank you for your kindness and patience with us. We know that our situation is not a normal one."
With that she closed the door and disappeared through a door that led up to the very top level. She found Leo right where she expected to, in the torrent. The house with all its slabs and towers had a medieval castle torrent built into the back on the top level. It couldn't be seen from the front of the house, but it had a great view of the back yard, the gardens, and the surrounding mountains.
It was a stone tower complete with the alternating high and low blocks. Leo stood between the higher blocks looking out over his back yard. He had his back to Samantha, but he knew she had entered his space. He raised a hand over his should to signal that she should not speak. Samantha had been in his service long enough to obey his requests without question.
She approached him slowly and glanced over the edge. He was watching Lissa approach and retreat from the entry arch to the gardens. "She will not love me," Leo said more to himself than to Samantha.
"Monsieur, you don't really believe that do you?" Samantha asked not making eye contact or attempting to look at him at all. It was too painful to see the hurt and disappointment in his eyes. Samantha had practically grown up with Leo and then raised him.
Samantha was Leo's age now when they moved to the United States. She remembers the conversation with her father about the opportunities for her in America. She could go to college and be anything she wanted to be. And she did. She majored in event planning and returned to the family home to take over where her father had left off when he retired and moved back to Europe.
She had grown up caring for Leo, and she felt a strong allegiance to him. Nevertheless, she hoped he would be more open to people in general. She worried about him. "Monsieur, I know that you will find love and that this house will ring with rejoicing. I know that no amount of love or affection will replace all that you have lost, but you must open yourself to the possibilities of love or you will never find it. Don't shut off all access when it is what you need." "Silly, really. Look at me," Leo said turning to Samantha and signaling up and down his body, "This is me in a cleaned up more friendly state. It is not very inviting at all."
"Monsieur, time will heal and time will tell. You cannot ever learn a language if you do not choose to speak it," Samantha said placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Go talk to her!"
"I will, but it won't matter. She thinks I'm a beast," Leo said turning and beginning his decent.
"You are not a beast," Samantha called gently after him.
Leo weaved his way through the house and out the back. Lissa was sitting at the bench right outside the garden's entrance. The entrance was marked by an archway covered in flowering vines and a cast iron gate that seemed to be more for look than to keep anyone out.
The front of the garden was made up of a wall of shrubbery over ten feet tall. Lissa was very much looking forward to the walk and the history lesson. She looked up and smiled at Leo as he neared her.
"I do apologize for my earlier behavior. I sometimes seem to have a lack of judgment when I become enraged. I don't mean to be so ugly, but occasionally, I am struck by situation or words in a such a basically emotional way that i struggle to process the signals my brain are receiving. Shall we?" he asked pushing the gate open.
What was on the other size of the gate could have been a new world. The area was systematically segmented into plots that were themed and organized. Lissa wanted to call it an English garden, but she couldn't be sure. She loved taking trips to the Botanical Gardens.
The Botanical Gardens paled in comparison to Leo's back yard. The plants were so beautiful and well kept. There were everything from fruit tress to vegetables to flowers. Each plot had neat meticulous rows of plants. There was one square with low growing shrubs grown and cut into impressive patterns. In another plot, there were tomato vines full of plump ripe tomatoes.
As they strolled through the garden in silence, Lissa took in the irony of it all. Leo's outward appearance was so haphazard and sloppy, even now being dressed up a bit and with his hair pulled back. And yet his garden was perfect, neat, meticulous.
Lissa stopped and stared at a plot full of hedge animals. Horses reared up on their hind legs and giant bears were sitting only a few feet from an amazing rhinoceros.
"So tell me about your country?" Lissa asked.
"Where does one begin with things such as this?" Leo asked, rhetorically.
"My dad always says it's best to start at the beginning," Lissa said smiling up at Leo.
"A wise man your father, perhaps occasionally he can be presumptuous and overbearing but wise nonetheless. My homeland is a small island off of the coast of France. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you that I was but a few years old when we fled. But the history of our island dates back to before the Roman conquests of the Guals and Celtics tribes in England and modern day France," Leo began.
"So are you French then?" Lissa asked.
"No, I would not say that. Though I was at my father's urging taught to speak French before I learned English or any other language for that matter," Leo continued.
"How many languages do you speak?" Lissa asked as they continued their walk.
"Well I speak three languages, four if you count Latin, which I do not count because the language is dead and rarely ever used in conversation anywhere. I am proficient in French, English, and German. I can read some Old English and Latin, as well as, Greek. They are all things my father felt I should know and that my teachers and mother made sure I learned," Leo paused and looked out at the trees in the distance.
"This has always been my home since I can remember really. Nevertheless, I desire to take my place as the King of my island. The ancestral call is very strong within me," Leo said.
"So how did you get to be the Royal whatchamacallit anyways?" Lissa asked.
"By birthright, and through an arduous process that I am more than happy to relate to you," Leo said. "The throne has been passed down from father to eldest son for generations much like the English monarchy. Unlike England, my family has been governing our Island not just a figure head or ceremonious leader."
"Until whatever happened, happened," Lissa added.
"Exactly. When we were forced to flee our Island and take refuge, my mother and I along with our servants moved here. It was an acceptable enough locale, especially considering that we fully anticipated being reunited with my father within a year at the most. However, that was not to be so. Of course now I am telling you what is obvious. Shall I return to the early history of the island?" Leo asked, signaling to a bench under some willow trees.
Lissa took a seat and said, "Please do. I hope you don't find this tedious. I find it all a so fascinating."
Leo joined her on the bench and said, "No, not at all. In fact I am finding it quite therapeutic to talk about it. The island had probably been inhabited marginally by an indigenous people who were genetically similar to the other Celtic tribes found throughout the British Isles and western Europe. My family, descended from the marriage of a druid princess from Gual who fled persecution from invading Franks and a Briton who was fleeing his country as well. He was of royal descent and set adrift as a result of tribal infighting. Each was guided by the stars to the other. While they had both intended to reach the shore of the other, they never did. In the midst of great tempest, both the vessel that the druid princess was in and the vessel of the British youth, of royal descent himself, were destroyed."
"Wow," Lissa chimed in. "This is all so Romeo and Juliet." "It is isn't it?" Leo laughed. It was a sound Lissa had never heard. The melodic effect it had was quite calming. She didn't know that under the surface of this dark and brooding kid was so much, so much everything. She was suddenly taken by a great deal of emotional connection to him. It wasn't anything in particular, but his laugh, his words, the story he told all had woven themselves together, making him more human, if that even made sense.
"Well, shipwrecked and at the mercy of the gods, they were cast upon the rocks of our island. Ryanne was the princess and first queen of our Island. Leon the fierce was her King. They didn't find each other at first on the island. In fact they each had established a settlement of sorts on opposite sides of the island before eventually finding each other. The history of the other people on the island is not complete. It would seem that no one inhabited it or that few did. At any rate, Ryanne and Leon eventually met and fell instantly in love with one another. I owe both my given name and my sur name to Leon. He was said to be such a fierce defender of his island that he quickly became known as Leon the Savage, which would later be adopted as a sur name."
"And so the rest was just a hand off of the crown for generations until you came to be here?" Lissa asked.
"Not exactly, but more or less yes. There were years when my ancestors waged war on either side of th channel and had to defend their freedom. Even today France will claim our island as one of its own properties. However, we have dominion," Leo said staring off into the distance.
"So what stands between you and your thrown?" Lissa thought the words seemed odd even as they came out of her mouth.
"Much," Leo said in nearly a whisper. "My father was killed not long after my mother and I fled. My mother returned to defend our land and home, leaving me here in the care of the servants you have met. I have been learning both history and military tactics as I prepare for my eventual return to the thrown. I will be sure that he did not die in vain."
"What of your mother?" Lissa asked reaching out her hand and placing it gently on his knee. She did not know how to process this level of information or this type of unbelievable story, but she understood one part without a doubt. While the situations were very different, Lissa understood loss.
She knew what it was like to not have a parent in your life. She appreciated all her father had done for her, but not having a mother was a wound that would never heal properly.
"Is your mother," Lissa's words trailed off. She couldn't bring herself to finish.
"Enough," Leo said harshly. He flew to his feet and in that moment a breeze that was unseasonably chilly made Lissa's skin tighten.
"Whoa, bipolar much?" Lissa said half under her breath. She looked up at him and cringed at the rage in his eyes. She knew she had hit a vein that went deep, but he had encouraged her questions.
"You need to leave now," Leo said with his back to Lissa. Had he been facing her, she would have seen the tears in his eyes.
"Fine, I need to go anyway," Lissa said. She walked toward the house leaving Leo who had walked off in the opposite direction of the house. "He was the one who wanted to spend time together, he invited me here, he encouraged me to ask questions. If this is what hanging out with boys is like, then I don't think I've been missing anything," Lissa grumbled.
Lissa continued to grumble under her breath as she wandered her way through the garden. At least it wasn't a maze she thought to herself. It was fairly easy to navigate thanks to the separate plots of flowers and shrubs. She just had to keep the house in her sites until she got closer to the wall of shrubs that hid the house from the garden.
She walked under the arch and up the stairs in through the back door. Now would come the difficult part. She had to remember the pattern they had made to get to the back door and then do it in reverse.
She was doing well she thought. Lots of familiar looking rooms and passageways. She wondered if she'd ever learn the story of this messed up house. It was like the architect was on crack and having a weird medieval slash nineteen seventies vision. The hallways had arching doorways throughout and in some places a wood paneling lined the lower half of the walls.
In some places in the house, it was very industrial and in others it was modern. It was very schizophrenic.
The whole evening was more than Lissa could quite handle. The set up, invitation, the welcome, the curse, the list just seemed to go forever. How could you make sense of this much fantasy and fairytale?
Lissa turned right when she should have turned left and found herself in a darker section of the house. The walls were painted a deep violet, which made it seem even darker. The only lights hung on the walls in torch holders. They gave off the faint glow like cheap solar lights that lined the walkway up to her house. They never got enough direct sunlight to fully charge them and in return they never got bright.
Lissa knew she was in the wrong place to find her way to the door, but her curiosity was more powerful than her conscience. She figured that a part of the house this dark was the perfect place to hide your darkest of secrets. If Leo wanted to be all crazy and weird, she could be a little crazy in a different way.
Looking around in someone's house seemed normal enough. Most people at least peek in a medicine cabinet or cupboard of some sort when they visit people, especially people who they don't know that well. It was like getting a brief biography from a person in symbols and signs.
Medicine was more revealing than most anything else you might stumble upon, but you couldn't and shouldn't rule out the possibility of stumbling upon something important. Lissa slowed her pace carefully scrutinizing everything in the dim light.
The hallway arched around a corner, which Lissa found to be odd since most houses did not have curved hallways. She could hear the trickling of water and as she neared a door at the end of the corridor, the sound go louder.
There was water inside the house and it was running like a stream from the sound of it. Lissa neared the door and tried to still her heart. She wasn't sure why it had suddenly decided to start beating extra loudly, but it had. She knew if this had been a movie the music would be building to a crescendo.
She was half expecting a voice to call out just has her hand touched the glass door nob. The door itself was a site worth taking in. It looked like the entire thing was made of a frosted glass. The handle was nearly just an extension of the door. Lissa couldn't see any hinges; although, she knew that they must be there somewhere.
The door was cool, like the bathroom floor always felt when you were sick. It didn't matter that it was the bathroom. There was comfort in that coolness when you were buring up with a fever. The sound of water was so loud that Lissa fully expected to find that the door led outside to a stream.
She took a quick peek over her shoulder and then a deep breath. Much to her surprise the door opened. She eased it open and the sound of water engulfed her. There was a waterfall in the house. The room was surrounded on three sides with large picture windows. The outside was just on the otherside of the glass. It must have been some kind of meditation room. The parts that weren't flowing water were mostly sand with large stepping stones.
There were also large rakes and the sand had patterns drawn in it. Everything seemed to be perfectly placed and in harmony. It had a real calming effect on her. By the far wall, there was the most amazing rose bush Lissa had ever seen growing bigger and fuller than any rose bush Lissa had seen anywhere.
She eased her way across the room. The stepping stones were strategically placed and while the bush was not the only place that could be reached by them, it was certainly a central one. She tried to imagine Leo in his cumbersome boots and trench coat gingerly walking through this room. She couldn't.
No if Leo used this room, it wouldn't be so neat and orderly. Lissa leaned down to smell the roses and laughed at how cliche the situation was. This was the kind of thing that only happened in movies she decided. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.
"They were his mother's," Samantha said. Lissa jumped and squealed out falling in a lump in the sand. "My apologies, ma chere mademoiselle. I did not mean to startle you. I heard the, well unpleasantness in the garden and when you did not return to the front door, I figured you may have gotten misplaced. If you wish, I will show you the way back to your car."
"Thanks," Lissa said rolling to her knees and brushing the sand off of her. Samantha offered her a hand, pulling her to her feet. Lissa was amazed by the strength in the woman's arm. It shouldn't have been because manual labor tended to produce lean muscle, but Samantha had seemed not so much a servant or laborer than an elite herself. She carried herself like a member of the nobility.
Without so much as a hesitation, Samantha led the way back across the stones and stream and out the door. She didn't once look back to see if Lissa was following her and she never hesitated at a turn. It was clear she knew the house well. When they reached the front door, the others, minus Leo, were waiting to say goodbye.
Lissa took in the strangeness of it. They were lined up like some Victorian servants waiting for inspection or orders or something. Lissa didn't know exactly what they looked like, but she knew it was odd. Seeing people who were not in military uniforms standing at attention was not a typical site.
Even little Chip stood stick straight with his chin up. As Samantha opened the front door she said, "His bark is worse than his bite."
Lissa stepped down the walk towards her car and debated with herself on whether she should chance a glance back. She did and saw no one in the doorway. But the window above the door revealed a silhouette. Leo was watching her go.
Lissa didn't what possessed her in that moment, but she was overtaken by an urge she had never truly felt or understood before. She looked up, cocked her head, raised her hand as if to wave, and shot him the bird. As quickly as the need to do it had come over her, the moment passed. She turned on her heals and didn't look back again.
She began to laugh hysterically when she got in the car. She careened down and out through the gates all the time laughing and banging on the steering wheel. She was nearly giddy from the crude gesture. She had never before felt so free.
She thought it was the strangest thing being so excited, feeling so alive, over such a simple gesture. She hadn't told him off or punched anyone, and yet she felt like she had. Her adrenaline was pumping and she was feeling invincible.
Her life had gotten so weird. She tried, unsuccessfully, to regain her composure. She looked up at herself in the review mirror and said, "Pull yourself together, young lady. This is a car you're driving. Lives are on the line." She started to mimic voices and as she spoke it sounded like a mix between her dad and that drill instructor who her dad knew from some Vietnam movie but she knew because he did all kinds of commercials basically as a drill instructor.
"This is serious," she said laughing at her failed attempt to be make a stern face.
She finally pulled off to the side of the road and exhaled loudly. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and set the radio to scan random stations. She stopped it when the Katy Perry song came on. She unlocked her phone's screen and looked for updates.
She had a few notifications on facebook, some regular email from online shopping sites, basically nothing odd. She didn't know what she was looking for besides normality and calm. She eventually got it. She pulled the car back out onto the road and headed for home.
She debated stopping at The Ice Creamery for some homemade, hand dipped ice cream. Cindy worked there part time. Maybe she should stop and tell someone what happened. Maybe she should just forget it.
Tiana worked at the Valley Dairy in town and that wasn't too far out of her way, but Lissa never felt like she knew Tiana. And showing up at her work would just be weird. Who she needed was Ralph, but he worked at a Cross Point gym. That place was just scary.
She stopped in the parking lot to the Ice Creamery and sent Ralph a quick text.
won't guess what happened to me :) ~Lissa
It didn't take Ralph long to respond.
got raped by a pack of rabid squirrels? ~Ralph
Ur sick ~Lissa
was that a yes? seriously what's up...i'm at work ~Ralph
I went to Leo's house for dinner :X ~Lissa
WOW! HOLY SHIT!! Who the Fuck is LEO? :0 ~Ralph
Leo, Leo Savage goes to our school, long hair, you know Leo...~Lissa
Keep going...not really ringing a bell...what class...how cute? ~Ralph
r u gay? ~Lissa
different conversation entirely...who is Leo????? ~Ralph
Wears the trench coat :r ~Lissa
You ate dinner with THE BEAST? 8-X ~Ralph
You call him THE BEAST? ~Lissa
evry1 does....answer the question....~Ralph
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