Palindrome
Exodus 22 18:20

I woke the next day with something that resembled a plan in my head. If William wouldn’t let me talk to his father, then I would simply allow myself to talk to his father. I didn’t need his approval. This defiant mindset helped me keep the pain away, I needed to concentrate on the main issue here, not my broken heart. We`d been casual lovers for under a month, no big deal. I cringed at the use of the word “casual”. I knew well enough it wasn’t anything “casual” between William and me, but I had to at least try to convince my brain that he was nothing we should think about right now.

I took a quick shower and pulled on some black jeans and a thin sweater before I pulled my hair into a high ponytail. My eyes were grim in the mirror, focused. I liked it. I added some makeup as a defence and cleansed myself before leaving my house. I looked back as I pushed my bike down the driveway; the big, grey house comforted me —my safe haven, protected by the spirits of my ancestors.

I wasn’t scheduled to work today, but I had volunteered to help out. Helping my plan a long way; today was the day of George Adamson`s birthday party. I knew he had invited more family members, work-associates and even some people from town, so I was hoping he wouldn’t make a scene if I showed myself there.

The kitchen was very busy when I arrived, Mary putting the last touch on the trays loaded with food.

“It looks wonderful, Mary!” I had to raise my voice so she heard me, Paul had called in several people to help prep and deliver so the place was buzzing. The Pevensy-house wasn’t far away, a good thing since we had to take two turns to get all the food delivered. I smiled at Oscar, who was all flustered. I though about the small incident yesterday, “Are you going with us to deliver the food, Oscar?” He widened his eyes and shook his head, “No, no, I would just drop something or run into someone. Have you seen the house? It`s like serving the queen. No thank you.” He held up his hands to amplify and I had to laugh. He was right, the Pevensy-house could easily be called the Pevensy- mansion instead, it`s grey stone exterior gloom and impressive, the twenty or so dark windows seemed to hide secrets behind expensive velvety curtains. Why old man Pevensy needed all that room was out of my knowledge, it must cost a fortune to keep it warm in the winter.

Mary clapped her hands, making everyone silent.

“Right, it`s ready. If you mess this up, I will personally take you across my lap and smack you.” No one laughed, knowing it wasn’t an idle threat. She started directing people, telling them what had to go first and so on, and I patted Oscar on the back. “Well, wish me luck, maybe the King will behead me.” Oscar smiled back but I was shaking on the inside, knowing there was a chance this would end badly.

I took the bike and arrived at almost the same time as the first car. Paul handed me a big tray right away, I almost stumbled under the weight. “Holy mother, is this a whole pig?” Paul just waved me on, eager to get it all delivered. I stopped dead in front of the kitchen door we`d been told to use.

I felt an itch in the back of my head and looked up. Someone was staring at me from one of the windows, my palms started to sweat. I didn’t want to meet William right away, I wanted to be done with my business as soon as possible. It wasn’t William, I spotted long hair, too dark to be Belinda. Catarina. The stepmother. How was it to be married with a Beast? How much did she know? A random thought hit me, one I`d never had before. William was 500 years old and looked like he was under 25. I didn’t know how old his father was exactly, hadn`t William said something about 1200? And looking like he was in his fifties. Someone living with them had to notice they didn’t age the way they should, she had to at least suspect something was off. I tore my eyes away and stomped up the small stairs.

I was expecting a grand mansion, but the money had been used elsewhere than the staff entrance, it was low under the ceiling and smaller than it should have been. The people leaving had to press up against the wall to allow the ones coming in with trays to pass. I left the tray where I was directed and snuck away, hoping Paul wouldn’t come looking for me. You could easily tell where the area went from staff to residents, the stone-tiles were soon replaced with plush carpets and the lighting became better. I had absolutely no idea where to go, but the red carpet was worn, the hallway had to be used quite often. The doors on each side were all closed, stained wood revealing the age of the building. Old Pevensy hadn`t bothered to do much redecorating his last years. I walked fast on my toes so I could hear anybody approaching me, but it seemed safe. The hallway split at the end, leaving me with two options. Old paintings adorned the walls on each side, and there was even an armour in the left wing. What to do? My heart hammered, fuelling me with adrenaline. When I closed my eyes, I could hear noises from the kitchen and a clock ticking somewhere. I did like Gandalf and chose the one that smelled the best.

I wondered who all the people in the paintings were, had Pevensy wanted to be a lord so bad he had put up random portraits on the wall? I reached an area under refurbishing and tiptoed around paint-buckets and some equipment. Catarina was a beige kind of person, by the look of the new carpet waiting to be rolled out. I knew I busied myself with mundane thoughts to help me calm myself down, the truth was I was terrified. George Adamson killed witches and here I was, walking right into the lion`s den, without preparation. All I had was a firm believe that I was right.

I stopped dead when I heard talking, a woman`s voice calling out orders.

“No, no, no. Not there. I need the flowers to hide that hideous hole in the wall. Damn George for dragging me along on this trip, I should have stayed here and supervised the redecorating.”

Catarina was stressed. I must have been close to the hall, where would George be now? Probably not helping, so either a study or a library of some sorts. Maybe in his room, getting dressed. I envisioned William in a suit and swallowed, wiping the image off my brain—no time for that.

Now the hall widened and most of the doors to the rooms were open. I had to sneak up to the door and check the room before darting past, I wouldn’t want to get caught now. The third room I looked into was a library and I stopped for a second, listening after people. No sound was heard. I glided in and left the door ajar so I could see if someone was coming. There were so many books in there, in all sizes and colours — I could spend a week in here just looking at the covers. When I got further into the room, I saw it wasn’t only books. Manuscripts and scrolls filled the wall at the back of the big room. My mouth went dry, scrolls in a room belonging to Noah`s grandson? The possibilities. Thousands of years of wisdom and research. I closed in on one laid out on a plate under protection, the writing was hard to decode but something like “In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni”. I crunched my nose, I hated Latin. Dad had tried to teach me, but it never stuck. My feet were soundless against the floor as I roamed the library, using way too much time. There wasn’t anything I could use here, I looked longingly back at the shelves when I closed the door.

I could still hear Catarina yell at the staff, helping me determine where she was. I didn’t know how long my luck would hold up, so I picked up speed, manifesting that everything would go smoothly.

“Hannah?”

I bit my cheek instead of screaming, tasting blood in my mouth. Belinda looked behind me like she was expecting more, I had to think fast.

“Belinda, hi! I`m here to help deliver the food to the party, and I… I got lost on my way back.” I talked way too fast, but she didn’t scream for help, so I hoped she believed me. I didn’t know how much William had told her about yesterday.

She raised an eyebrow but smiled short and pointed the other way.

“Kitchen is back there. You`re telling me that William never gave you a tour of the house?”

I looked down at the floor, “I haven’t been invited. This is the first time I`m here.” Did my voice sound bitter? Maybe, but I didn’t give a fuck.

“Tsk, tsk, bad William. He`s too afraid of daddy, afraid that he`ll smell you. But if he hasn’t picked up the smell of you on him yet, it`s on him. Come, let me show you.”

To my horror, she linked her arm under mine and dragged me towards the hall, making it the first time she`d touched me.

“So, you aren’t invited to the birthday-party?” She laughed merrily, “Imagine dad and grand-dad if they had a witch at the dinner-table.” My heart skipped a beat, “Grand-dad? How many of your relatives are coming today?”

Belinda`s eyes swivelled around the room we were entering, alerting me to the fact she was nervous.

“Oh, not that many. Maybe ten.”

Ten. Ten extra Beasts. I hadn`t thought this through. I tried to pry my arm loose from Belinda, but she kept a tight grip. “I have to go back, they`re probably wondering where I am. Can`t we have a rain-check on the tour?”

Belinda didn’t let go. “Hannah, I hope you understand that Father, and Grand-Father, just did what was expected of them. Times are changing, but it`s hard for them to keep up with the change, you see?”

I didn’t want to have this conversation now, but maybe I could use it to my advantage.

“I understand, maybe I could talk to them, tell them that they`re wrong? We don’t have the potion, or whatever they think it is.” Belinda furrowed her brows to me. “Talk to them? No, I don’t think that`s a good idea. I`ll just lead you to William, he was so sad when he came home yesterday, I was sure you had broken up.”

Why was she talking so much? She was almost chatty, making me nervous. The rooms we walked through were all magnificent, like straight out of Downtown Abbey. I could stop her with a spell, but I`d come this far, I might as well continue.

“You know, I`d never though I would say this, but you aren’t so bad. We have tales of witches that would scare the bejesus out of you…” She didn’t finish the sentence; a man was standing in front of us. Belinda gave a kind of bow to the man, who looked like he could be in his early sixties.

“Grand-father!” I could tell by her voice that this wasn’t a part of her plan. The man looked at me, and I stared back. His eyes were dull, and he wore a robe. A robe. I had to bite my tongue so the laughter wouldn’t slip out. I couldn’t giggle in front of Noah`s son. Jafet, that was his name. As I stared at him, Belinda`s grip hard on my arm, I saw his nostrils flare.

When he spoke, it was with a brittle voice and on haltering English.

“Grand-daughter. What is this?”

Belinda looked bewildered, so I just held my hand out and said, “I`m Hannah. Pleased to meet you.” Like he was a normal person. To my surprise he took my offered hand, he didn’t shake it, just held on to it, his skin crisp and cool against mine.

“Hannah. What a treat you are.”

Odd choice of words, but his mother tongue was probably extinct.

“Tell me, daughter of Lil, how do you know Belinda?”

He`d spotted me, did my bones sing to him like they did to William? I decided to be honest. “I know her brother.” Jafet looked at Belinda and took a step closer to me, I had to force myself to stand still.

“Benjamin? He should be careful where he sows his oats, Gomer have been too kind to let him roam around and lay with witches.”

He overlooked me, but I was held captive. Belinda had my arm and Jafet still held my hand. Belinda swallowed, was she going to correct him?

“HANNAH?!”

I closed my eyes, this wasn’t happening.

William came towards us, almost running. Any other time I would have fainted by the sight of him in a tuxedo, but I didn’t have time for that now. Jafet finally let go of me, and I released my breath, creeping closer to Belinda. I would never have thought I would seek comfort from her, but this was strange times. William`s eyes darted between me and his Granddad, assessing the situation.

“William, is it you she knows? You know she is a witch?”

Will stopped in front of us, unsure what to do. He cleared his throat.

“Grand Father.” He made it sound like a title.

“Yes, I know her, and yes, I know she is a witch. She is the local witch, so I was hoping to stay on her good side.”

Jafet gave a snort and shook his head, making his beard swing. “Good side in a witch?”

I decided to interrupt this discussion of my sides, good or not.

“If I may, mister Jafet, can I talk to you?”

William looked desperate, but I was set on doing this.

“Talk to a witch? You never tell us what we want anyway, I don’t see the point.”

Men. If they would just listen.

“Please, I`ll be short, I know you have a party to attend to.”

Jafet struck out his arm, signalling me to follow him. I couldn’t believe I got him to talk to me, this was going far too easy. William hovered in the background, his eyes pleading me to abort my mission, but I ignored him. Belinda still held my arm, seemed they both were coming with me.

We walked down the hallway and reached the big hall where the front door was, the flowers covering all the things they were supposed to. Jafet walked up the stairs, the robe dragging the steps. We were almost to the top when I saw a large painting, it was three men and a woman, the woman grim looking. Over the painting was the words “Exodus 22:18.20”

I looked back at William, involuntary dragged back to the day at the lake.

Jafet saw me looking at the painting and stopped. “You like? It is the Witch of Endor.”

I looked at the woman, what had happened to her?

“And the bible verse? Is that the story about her?”

Jafet smiled without humour, but he didn’t get to talk. Someone interrupted.

“That is our family motto so to speak. Something we have lived by through all these years.”

George looked immaculate in his tuxedo, holding a glass of white wine in his hand. A servant followed with a tray filled with glasses which he offered around. I hesitated, and George smiled charmingly my way.

“Try it, it`s Falernian, originally from near Naples.”

Against my better judgement I took a glass and nipped at the chilled wine. It was sweet and rich, intensely flavoured but also strong. It paralyzed my tongue for a second, making me stutter.

“Th..Thank you, it`s good.”

George nodded his approval and turned to the painting, taking a healthy sip of his own glass.

“You asked about the verse. It`s from Exodus, as you can see. I don’t expect you to know the Bible, but we have several laying around.” He nodded to the servant, who disappeared into a room and popped out seconds later with a thick book in his hands. The man held out the book to me, it seemed old. I was confused, did he want me to read the bible?

George nodded again, motioning to the Bible. “It`s almost at the beginning.”

I could see William, he sidled closer, his body stiff.

The pages were thin and the letters small, but I found it easily enough. I`d heard the verse before, and the fact that I`d ended up giving my virginity to a man with this tattooed on him was comical in all it`s tragedy. I met George`s cold eyes, they were alight with anticipation. My voice seemed to echo in the big hall when I repeated the words.

“Thou shall not suffer a witch to live.”

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