The Swan in the Water

Chapter Ten

Ten for one. Twenty for two. Liana tossed and turned throughout the night at the thought. A thought so tempting...she might just take it.

Liana woke immediately in a cold sweat. How far is she willing to go for truth? Liana then jumped out of bed, threw on her winter coat and shoes, and ran to the lake. The lake was no longer frozen but the water was still cold enough to freeze.

"Anaille!" Liana called out to the icy air. Almost immediately, a female figure emerged slowly from the lake.

"Dawn hasn't even fallen upon us," she began in annoyed tone, "and you choose now to call me?"

"Anaille," Liana repeated, clenching onto her coat from the breeze, "Take me back. I want to go back."

"Back where?" Anaille asked, "You have to be more specific." Liana then took a deep breath.

"Take me back to my mother and father." Anaille smiled.

"Twenty years isn't too much now?" She asked Liana, "It isn't too long?" Liana slowly shook her head. Anaille smirked and extended her hand. "Take my hand." Liana nodded and obeyed. Then Anaille slowly backed into the water, guiding Liana in it. The water was no longer freezing but now had a comfortable warmth that could lull one to sleep. Liana slowly descended in the lake until the water reached her knees, then her waist, then her shoulders, until finally, she was underwater.

"Liana! Are you still asleep?" Liana woke up in her room in her home.

"No, mother!" Liana replied back before calling for the chambermaid to get her dress. When she finished, Liana immediately ran down the staircase and greeted her parents at the dining room table.

"Someone's a bit hyper," her father commented as he sipped his tea.

"What?" Liana said as she stopped what she was doing. Her mother snickered.

"Your father said you seem hyper," Lucinda explained. "It's like your bouncing off the walls today."

"Oh." Liana didn't realized that she was being a bit more energetic than usual.

"Don't worry about it," William brushed off. "It's a sign of your youth."

"A girl her age might already be married," Lucinda pointed out. "Liana's no longer a child."

"True," her father said as he gave a solemn sigh, "but she's still very youthful."

"Did you ever send the letter?" Liana asked her mother.

"I sent it a long while ago," Lucinda replied. "I'm still waiting for a reply, if I'll get one at all. Perhaps we will get one today." Liana nodded and ate her breakfast.

After breakfast, Liana took a stroll through the garden, though it wasn't as lovely as she remembered. Of course, she realized a bit later that all the winter blooms are starting close or wither away. Winter is ending though it didn't feel like spring was beginning. The winter hue of gray still lingered in the afternoon sky. Liana walked around until she met up with her mother, who happen to be checking mail.

"Did you get a letter from Aunt Darcy?" Liana asked her mother. Lucinda flipped through the letter until she found the one she wanted.

"Yes, surprisingly," her mother as she showed Liana the envelope. Then Lucinda pulled open the envelope but was confused when she found a folded tissue instead of a letter. With an eyebrow raised, Lucinda slowly unfolded the cloth then dropped it instantaneously in disgust. "Ugh, she spat in it!" She screeched, stepping back from the condemned rag. "That insufferable little..."

"Mother," Liana interrupted, stoping her mother's rage, "what happened between you and Aunt Darcy?" Lucinda gave both a long and loud sigh.

"It's a really long story," her mother said.

"I have all day," Liana said, "I'm not going anywhere." Lucinda sighed again and started walking through the garden so Liana followed.

"Contrary to popular belief," her mother began, "Darcelle and I haven't always hated each other. I loved my dear sister and I will always love her, no matter what happened then but, at the time..."

"What happened?" Liana urged. Lucinda gave a broken sigh that showed her pain.

"We were both fairly young. I was twenty-two and Darcelle was seventeen..."

"Lucy," a young Darcelle said to her older sister, "you should read this book. It reminds me of you and William."

"At the time, I was betrothed to your father, who also happened to be really good friends with my sister."

"Is it a fairy tale, Darcy?" asked a young Lucinda. "You know how I love those..."

"Darcelle and I were probably the best set of sisters." Lucinda said as she reminisced. "We did everything together. We truly loved each other."

"What happened for that to stop?" Liana asked. Lucinda's expression changed to a grim one.

"Too many times I have walked in and found Darcelle and your father in positions that made me question their intentions," Lucinda painfully explained.

"Darcy! How...how could you?!"

"Lucy, I--"

"And on the day before my wedding day," Lucinda continued, "I found..."

"You choose today of all days to try to steal my husband away from me?!"

"...I found them kissing." Liana gasped.

"What?" Lucinda nodded slowly in acknowledgement.

"I rightfully got angry at Darcelle, because I saw her initiate the kiss, though after, I felt that my anger was blown a bit out of proportion. I have tried to apologize Darcelle a bit after that but she left to America. She eventually returned for your grandparents' funeral but she never accepted my apology every time I've tried..."

"Did she ever apologize for what she did?" Liana then asked.

"I don't remember if she did or not," Lucinda said, trying to recollect the event. "But if she didn't, she probably wouldn't. Not after this long."

"I see..." Liana then felt that her mother was reasonably angry at Aunt Darcy, not understanding why Aunt Darcy was angry at her mother. From Liana's and possibly her mother's eyes, Aunt Darcy was the one who tried to take her father away from her mother. Anaille claimed that Aunt Darcy was well justified. She was not! Aunt Darcy was a completely horrible sister who tried to steal her brother-in-law for herself. Her mother was being selfish? No, Aunt Darcy is completely selfish and deserved whatever anger her mother showed her. Liana was now sure that she did not want anything to do with her aunt.