The Harvest of Souls

PROLOGUE

ASTURIAN ISLAND

05.01.8462 - 07:01 AM

Jean Vaughan opened her eyes, bothered by the excessive luminosity filling her room, she had barely slept the night before, disturbed by strange thoughts. Through the four windows, a light breeze came in, fluttering the curtains in that morning. Grumbling and turning over in bed, Jean noticed that her bedroom door was open, allowing the wind to pass through. 'Why did I leave it open before going to bed?' Jean waved casually at the double doors that magically closed with a more significant thud than Jean intended.

The young woman raised her head slightly, her messy hair covering part of her left eye, and this time using both hands, she made the windows close as well as the heavy crimson curtains, causing the whole room to sink into a rich red color. As she turned her head to one of the many pillows laid out on the vast bed, Jean realized that the room was not dark enough.

Thirty minutes later, and a series of unsuccessful attempts to return to sleep, Jean decided to get out of bed; the pleasant rest would not return. She backtracked the entire process carried out a few minutes ago, but now without using her magical powers: she opened the curtains, the windows, and finally the bedroom door. She felt the cold breeze pass between her legs, making her silk nightgown brush against her skin; she loved that feeling: she had always found those the coziest square feet in the entire universe.

The girl took a deep breath and returned to the window; Jean was, as always, entranced by the sight of the tropical forest outside her room. The noise of the leaves on the trees and the animals gave a vivid tone to the landscape. That day she decided to spend a few minutes observing every detail: every little pebble that formed the road between the Manor and the forest, every branch, trunk, and leaf, some birds that flew and jumped among the tree branches as well as some small monkeys, she loved that place as if it were part of herself. The Asturian Manor, located to the north of the Asturian Island, was a house built relatively recently, referencing an old architecture reminiscent of eight centuries ago.

Jean closed her eyes and tried to recreate in her mind every detail that she had absorbed, opening her eyes to check if she had got most of it right. Still, as soon as she did, the beauty of the morning disappeared and gave way to a strange feeling that took over her: a shiver ran down her spine, and inexplicable anxiety raced through Jean's heart resulting in a grimace on the twenty–eight–year–old girl's beautiful face. She left the window behind and opened the door that led to her bathroom.

The girl was startled as she washed her face and looked at the reflection in the mirror; overnight, a huge weight seemed to fall on her shoulders. 'How many wrinkles,' She thought depressed, even though there were just a few wrinkles and the expression marks resulted from the girl's many smiles in her life. 'Gone are the days of innocence for Jeannie, I'm old now,' She stopped analyzing her wrinkles and began to examine her condition, trying to decide between taking a shower or simply going down to breakfast, opting for the first: she took off her nightgown. She stepped into the shower, even though the marble bathtub in the center of the bathroom looked inviting that morning.

The water was hot and turned Jean's white skin reddened. She began to run the soap over her body. On her breasts and genitals, she felt the small scars with her fingertips: the result of an adverse past, which the girl always kept alive in her memories. After a quick shower, she returned to the bedroom, wearing her beige robe as she dried her light brown hair. She admired every detail of the room as she crossed to enter the closet. It was one of the one hundred and twenty–six sumptuous rooms at the Asturian Manor, equipped with a minutely carved wooden desk. The same details etched into the desk were on two bedside tables and a tea table between the central windows of the room and the four-poster bed, which could probably accommodate six people sleeping peacefully.