Water lapped between her chin and neck, each wave colliding to the beat of her heart. Violet had always admired the ocean. She’d been told stories of beautiful blues; stories of gentle waves glazing the sandy shores. However, none of those stories mentioned how the water could fill your body and infiltrate your lungs until the only thing left was the slow, seemingly never ending pounding of your heart.
“Violet!” yelled a voice.
Searching deep in her mind, she tried desperately to remember where she’d heard that voice before. Who it was and why they would be screaming her name.
Violent waves continued to thrash against her whilst she fought the current. She fought and fought until her whole body was shaking and she was pretty sure she could see blue at the tips of her fingers. Until a long rope splashed in front of her.
Violet could have checked who had thrown it. Maybe she should have. And maybe she would have, if it weren’t for the growing pain in her throat and the trembling that began at her neck and ended at her toes. So, she grabbed the rope and let it pull her to what she thought would be safety.
It was not.
“You alright there lass?” asked a man once she’d crawled out of the water.
He was a shorter, older man; grey hairs stuck out amongst the ocean of brown atop his head. One hand outstretched, he gazed up at her expectantly. She shook his hand - determined to get home. Except…
Where was home?
The question tugged at her mind until all the water had gone and it was the only thing left. Until a new question emerged.
Why couldn’t she remember?
“I’m fine I just-“
An overwhelming feeling of distrust overtook her. Something about this man scared her. It could’ve been his crooked smile. Or maybe it was his jacket with one too many pockets.
“You just what?” he asked; pulling her out of her thoughts.
“Where am I?”
Another thing to the list of what she couldn’t remember.
“You’re home darling” he replied in a sickeningly sweet voice.
She should have turned back. In fact, she almost did. But it was too late. He had his grasp on her. Her mind was his for the taking, and she enjoyed that idea far too much. No worrying or fearing. It would be bliss. Painful, ignorant bliss.
She suddenly couldn’t remember why she’d been afraid. She should have.
But she couldn’t.
If Estella didn’t find the diamond soon, she’d get caught. And so, she began her search again - adjusting her mask as she did.
The museum was magnificent. Intricate carvings lined every wall and artefacts lay perfectly still in their glass cages. On her right, she could see a vase painted with blue flowers. To her left, an ancient painting hung on the cream coloured wall. It depicted a beautiful young girl with blonde curls and green eyes sat on her bed. She wore a fitted pink dress and a matching bow in her hair.
Estella thought she looked much too prissy for a girl in a painting.
Carrying on with her search, she moved onwards to the next room. This room was filled with sculptures of all kinds of mythic men. She payed this room no mind, instead she carried on towards the next.
Then she saw it - the diamond. It was absolutely perfect. Each side shimmered and sparkled as she gazed at it. Suddenly, she noticed her reflection staring back at her. Her earthy brown eyes, her frizzy black hair, and, of course, her nose that was a little too big for her head. She hated it, her appearance. But that didn’t matter now she had this diamond. She could just picture the money. Enough money to fix her nose, to dye her hair.
A shivering feeling took her by surprise. Estella whipped her head just in time to see the knife as it flew into her stomach.
“Oh is that you Estella?” asked a voice, “Pity”
She crumpled to the floor; desperately gasping for air.
“You know, I thought I’d seen you come in. So, of course, I followed you. It’s such a shame I had to kill you but… well let’s just say you were going to take something from me”
Estella knew that voice. It was Ronan’s voice. But why was he here?
“And you also killed my brother so there’s that”
Killed his brother?
“Oh don’t look at me like that. You cant have forgotten!”
Estella took a deep breath, knowing she’d regret it if she didn’t speak now.
“I didn’t, I didn’t kill your brother” she croaked.
Then, nothing.
