Empty Gold • d.meadowes

-06-

When Dorcas arrived at the Saunders household, Maeve was already there. With Jenna having to juggle several jobs – as she worked as a nurse in a local children's hospital, edited and proofread manuscripts of school textbooks, as well as sold simple hand knitted jumpers and socks – Dorcas was unable to come earlier, for she didn't want to leave her mother alone at home during the holiday. After she had managed to complete editing at least half of the textbooks and knit four jumpers and some mittens, she finally allowed herself to rest. Thus, it was only the day before Christmas that Dorcas grabbed her mother and Flooed her to Silver's home.

The Saunders family was rich, and their large house – with elaborately embroidered curtains and posh furniture, with heavy mahogany tables and chairs, and with numerous decorative artifacts lying on display on shelves – emanated a luxurious aura. Dorcas had been here before several times, but it never failed to take her breath away. She particularly loved the ancient artifacts that were kept encased in glass boxes, and every time she visited, she took some time to observe them, even though she had every one of their locations and descriptions memorised.

The room was empty, and when she stepped out of the fireplace, she found Jenna in front of her, teetering dangerously on her heels, looking highly disoriented. Despite having used the fireplace network before, she still was unable to get used to it. With a chortle, Dorcas went over and put an arm over her shoulders, helping her balance herself. But it was proved useless as the door suddenly flew open and her best friends dashed into the room, before crashing onto Dorcas, and in the process, knocking both her and Jenna backwards.

There was a tangle of confusion, but Jenna somehow managed to pluck herself out of the knot of three young adults, and Dorcas was left stranded between Maeve and Silver who, she was sure, were trying to strangle her to death. Patting Maeve's back awkwardly (for her hands were bent into impossible curves) she said, sounding breathless, "Guys, please let me breathe. I don't want to die young."

The girls let her go with a laugh, and before Dorcas could say something, her attention was caught by Silver's hair, which was now a silvery blonde, unlike her initial ash blonde. A small smile crept up to her mouth. "Living up to your name, are you, Silver?"

She frowned, as though not understanding her question. It was when Maeve laughed that she understood, and she pulled out the rubber band that held up her hair in a ponytail, and let the long strands of hair fall down past her shoulders, before she did a dramatic hair flip.

"My intention was actually to annoy my mother," she answered, flashing her a bright grin, "since she's always insisting on being natural. And then I thought dyeing it silver would add twice the bite."

"But Silver is a nice name," Dorcas said, not insincerely. She reached out a hand and took the long strands of hair, before letting them fall through her fingers like sand – she had always been envious of Silver's stick straight hair. The girl only scoffed in reply, but before she could come up with a proper response, Maeve beat her to it, and leaned toward Dorcas, grabbing her hands, looking excited for something.

"We have a surprise for you, Dork. For Christmas. You're gonna love it!"

Dorcas looked at them in confusion, sending an inquiring glance to Silver who nodded to show affirmation. She turned to Maeve again. "But why would you give me a surprise? It's Christmas, not my birthday."

"We are well aware, Dorcas," it was Silver who answered, patting her shoulder lightly in a comforting gesture. "But Christmas is a time for happiness, and we know it will make you happy."

---

It was quite early that Dorcas woke up the next morning, despite the three girls having fallen asleep late into the night, spending hours talking about things that never seemed to exhaust in their content. Silver mostly talked about her dreams of traveling to faraway countries in order to collect and study ancient artifacts, and learn more about the history of the world as well as the past civilisations and their development. Dorcas, although she didn't show much interest in history, had listened to her with genuine interest, especially when she had begun to speak about how she had made Benjy, her boyfriend, promise to go with her wherever she went.

"You can't do that, Silver!" Maeve had exclaimed with a laugh. "You can't force him to go if he doesn't want to."

"Oh, trust me. He'll go."

As Dorcas leaned over to the side, she found Maeve and Silver still fast asleep. Quietly, she crept out from underneath the warm blankets and placed a foot tentatively onto the floor, recoiling as an icy spark jumped through her legs and down to the core of her body. She shivered, and looked for her socks which she had taken off last night before falling asleep, and quickly put them on, realising a moment later, that each piece was from two different pairs. But as Maeve stirred in her sleep, she decided not to disturb them any longer and got off the bed as quietly as she could. The two socks looked quite good anyway.

Downstairs, she found her mother sitting at the sofa and reading from a magazine, Witch Weekly, while sipping on a cup of tea. Jenna tipped her head up and wished her a very merry Christmas even before she had stepped into the room, and as Dorcas flung her arms around her and pulled her into a loving embrace, Jenna gave her a curious smile. "Nice socks," she commented. "Do you want tea?"

"I couldn't find the other piece," replied Dorcas with a laugh. "And no, thanks. Tea ruins my appetite."

She pulled her jumper around herself and climbed into the sofa, snuggling beside her mother, who immediately wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer. Her eyes closed of their own accord as the woman ran her frail fingers, wrinkled and gnarled from overwork, through her hair, untying the countless knots that have formed overnight.

There were times that Dorcas wished for her father to be there with them, a small happy family with no dispute or suspicions, each one of them enveloping the others in a cocoon of warmth and affection. But then reality would crash in, bringing with itself disappointment, which Dorcas had learnt to cope with. She knew her father was happier now, with no one constantly pointing an accusing finger at him, and her mother was happier too, not having to fear anyone wanting to hurt her daughter. Dorcas didn't know if she herself was happier, for she didn't remember much of the days she had spent with both her parents together. But as long as she knew her mother and father were content, she didn't wish much else.

Unknowingly, Dorcas fell asleep with her head on her mother's shoulder and her body curled up by her side. She only woke up when Jenna pushed her gently, saying that her friends were awake, and she leapt to her feet, unable to wait for the surprise that they had planned for her, though she didn't admit it out loud. She remained patient, eating her breakfast with her mother, Maeve, and the Saunders family, a light chatter filled with happiness buzzing through the air and twinkling with the bells that hung from the walls.

After breakfast, they proceeded to open their presents. Aside from her mother and her friends, Dorcas had also received a card from her father, as well as a nearly painted picture od a forest from her stepbrother. But the best gift of them all still waited for her in the bedroom upstairs, and she didn't know of it.

Once the gift opening period was over, Dorcas was dragged by her friends up the stairs and into Silver's bedroom. She looked at them in confusion, wondering what kind of surprise they had planned for her, before Maeve brought out from the corner of the room a radio. She frowned at them.

"Your surprise begins at exactly 10 am," said Silver in a grin that made Dorcas want to slap her. She didn't want to wait.

Ten duly arrived, and the soft buzzing in the radio changed to a peaceful silence, which was, once again, broken by the host, who spoke in a clear voice. He introduced himself and his channel, before proceeding to introduce their guest. Dorcas's heart made a contented leap as the words Juliet Dearborn were spoken, and she stared in amazement at the radio, her hands tightening in her lap. A minute later, a soft, a very familiar voice filled up the room as Juliet began to sing, in her charming voice that never failed to stun Dorcas. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Maeve and Silver exchanging smiles, and Dorcas felt like she could soar in the air. Momentarily, she forgot about her father, about Juliet not returning her feelings, about her future, and simply allowed herself to be lost in the world that was owned only by Juliet, and she felt that she was the happiest person at the moment.

It was one of the best Christmases she had spent in her entire life.

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it's 2.30 am so there probably might be silly errors even though i've edited the chapter