Holy War: Two Worlds and an In- Between

Chapter 1: Sleepless Nights

"You've got to be kidding me!" I whisper yelled as I saw the dull glow of the sunrise through the dreary England clouds.

The seemingly endless rain was depressing enough to excuse the redness of my teary eyes or the dark circles beneath them, but that wasn't entirely true. This time, I couldn't blame the endless droplets of rain pouring on the windows for my demise as I had grown so accustomed to.

The culprit stood quietly against the eggshell colored walls. Their wide menacing body stood tall without a single movement from it. Their light brown frame was accentuated by its somewhat curved shape. The doors that never opened taunted me more than the wardrobe itself that night as it stood there refusing me access to the inside.

I grunted at the now silenced piece of furniture as it presented itself as just that, a piece of furniture. A perfectly handcrafted piece of furniture that tormented me night after night.

The melody of a muffled music box filled the closed wardrobe throughout my sleepless nights. The incessant sound filled my ears almost as though it was mocking me. Daring me to free it.

A soft knock beat against my closed bedroom door, "Diana," Scarlett's light feminine voice chimed from behind my door, "time to get up, darling!"

I'm sure that she heard my tired groan through the thick door but chose to ignore it as she did whenever I was in a mood. I had to appreciate her dutiful patience for me and my brother, Michael.

I was sure that working from sunrise to well into the night, a woman so young would be too tired to function never mind being a good sport to my mood swings. She always gave us service with a smile.

I went about my normal morning routine by brushing my teeth in the shower and listening to music as I did so. Things like brushing my teeth and showering would often make my mother remark that I was "So lazy that it was almost genius." I, on the other hand, just thought of it as saving time.

My mom and grandma insisted on letting me know just how special I was. During my first soccer game, my mom told me that I was amazingly fast and gifted. The problem was, I didn't score a single goal. I'm pretty sure that I never even had the ball.

I got out of the shower and left the perfectly clean bathroom. With its white tiles and utterly fabulous white carpet in an altogether too big bathroom that was too much for a girl my age, I felt as though I was enveloped in the perfection that my grandma thought I deserved.

I entered back into my connecting bedroom and put on my ridiculous school uniform. The heavy navy blue blazer covered the white button down long sleeve shirt. The skirt I wore covered my ankles and my knee high socks gave the illusion of the perfect Amish teen. It goes without saying my teachers didn't appreciate the term "perfect Amish teen".

"Diana, come on! It's time for breakfast!" Scarlett's overly British voice commanded through my door.

I rolled my eyes with a small smile. I knew that she was trying to sound stern, but I wasn't sure that she had it in her.

I attempted to trace my eyeliner. I had successfully drawn a squiggly line on my eyelid before I gave up like I do every morning. I never understood why I was so bad at makeup. It seemed like something that came so naturally to girls. Those girls had to be superheroes to draw on such a thin line with such super sharp precision.

I stalked over to the door with my school bag in hand. I pulled open the door and was greeted by Scarlett's pale hand curled into a fist ready to knock again.

"Did you need something, Scarlett?" I asked smiling slightly with a tilted head.

She cleared her throat, "Well, your grandmother is waiting for you."