Fates Entwined - Chapter One

Instructions

May stopped outside a tall, crooked building, small windows leaking yellow light that split the gathering dusk like sunlight. The market sellers were starting to pack away the various trinkets and jewellery that was left after the busy shopping day. The uneasy feeling that hung across her shoulders still weighed down, but the sight of warmth and light had eased her worries. The small door had a bell attached to a rope; May stepped forwards tentatively, and gently pulled on the rope. A clanging sound echoed from inside the higgledy-piggledy house, reverberating off the other houses crammed onto the cobbled street. May stepped up onto the top step, unconsciously adjusting a daisy hanging on a green frond near her face, swiping her auburn fringe out of her beautiful blue eyes. Her ears twitched at a muffled clicking of a lock, and a few moments later, the door swung open onto a warm, bare but homely decorated hallway. Standing on the frayed red carpet was an elderly porcupine, her spikes tipped with grey. Silver spectacles perched precariously on her snout, and an orange shawl flooded from her stooped shoulders like a colourful waterfall. However, when she spoke, her voice was calm and strong, like that of a school mistress. "May I help you?" May cleared her throat. "Yes. I would like a room to stay in for a few months." The elderly porcupine pushed her glasses further up her snout, and beckoned for May to step inside. The carpet was thin but warm under her toes. The porcupine bustled on ahead, opening a thick dusty book filled with unintelligible scribblings. "Ah, let's see now. Aha! Yes, you've arrived just in time. We have one room left for rent. I require the first two months' deposit, and the charge rate is fifty silver coins a month." May nodded. She had been prepared for this, and already had a pouch filled with gold and silver coins. The room cost barely nothing compared to what she expected some of the other apartments in the city. She reached into the leather pouch hidden behind a tangled vine and pulled out a few shining pieces of metal. The porcupine nodded, and stashed them away in a tin on the hallway table. "I'm Mrs Lee. I hope you enjoy your stay here. We have a few other customers with whom you will share this house, so I ask you to please respect them. There will be silence after midnight, and I will collect and wash your laundry every week." "Thank you." May murmured. She could feel the day's long journey weighting down her legs, and she swayed a little on her feet. Mrs Lee glanced at her, her expression gently concerned. "I see you've had a long day. Come, I'll show you to your room." ****************** The room was small, and sparsely furnished, but May fell in love with it at first sight, when Mrs Lee set her bags down beside the small door, then shut it behind her. Most of the bedroom was taken up by a bed quilted with a beautiful sewn blanket; by the window a table and chairs sat. Adjoining onto the bedroom was a tiny bathroom. However, the window was what May loved the most. The glass doors opened out onto a metal railing, so that one could enjoy the fresh air without falling. May rushed over to it, thrusting the windows open, and leaning on the railing. From here she could see nearly every house in the city. Most of them had trickles of smoke drifting from the chimneys; she could even see some animals sitting on their flat-topped roofs. She sighed, breathing in great gulping mouthfuls of air. In front of her, outlining the tall, cramped houses was the moon, pulling itself up behind the buildings. Pale, ghostly light flooded through the window and fell onto the floor of her bedroom, some laying on the bed, some on the table. Slowly, May drew herself away from the window, and flopped elegantly into bed. The moonlight that dripped across her face was soothing and peaceful. Soon her eyelids closed, and she fell into a deep, dizzying sleep.