WINDOWS: A BROKEN FAIRY TALE (11 page)

           
‘This
sounds too good to be true’, Sarah brooded.
 
If life had taught her anything up to this point it was that things that
sounded too good to be true often were.
 
She cringed when she remembered the contract she had signed with Mr.
Jackson.
 
“What are the downsides?”
 
She was more than a little wary but decided hearing
the whole offer wouldn’t hurt.

           
“We’d
be known as a subsidiary of Chandlish International.
 
Chandlish has the right of first offer on any
of our ideas.
 
Sis can come and go as she
pleases.”

           
Sarah’s
ponytail swished the nape of her neck as it shook.
 
This contract sounded too simple and straight
forward.
 
She wondered out loud why such
a huge company would be willing to let them have a contract so obviously one
sided.

           
Raven
beamed and Sarah pointed out a bit of spinach stuck in the otherwise perfect
teeth.
 
Raven sucked it off with her
tongue before explaining.
 
“Because it’s
not really a business contract per se.
 
As one of four Chandlish daughters Elspeth is not about to let me fall
into rack and ruin.
 
This contract is
simply a way for her to help us legally if necessary.”

           
“So
when do we have to decide?”

           
“Liz
is drawing up the papers today so we can sign whenever you want to-- if you
decide you want to.
 
We can run over to
her house tonight and she’ll go over everything with you in detail and see how
things go from there.”

           
Sarah
nodded and they finished their lunch in silence.

CHAPTER
9: A GRAND OPENING

           
The fireplace cast its warmth over the stone
chamber and light streamed through the windows, bathing the pale redhead in a
soft glow.
 
She seemed to be focused, standing
very still and muttering a strange incantation under her breath.
 
She was so intent that she failed to notice
one of the pictures adorning the wall move.
 
The picture was of a blonde girl in a pony tail.
 
It slid silently over the stone, finally coming
to rest just to the right of the three pictures over the hearth.
 
The name on the plaque changed as well, the
letters rearranging themselves to spell out the name, “Lil’bit.”

           
In the dark half of the room, the
shadow slumbered, only occasionally sending out a tendril that smoked and
shriveled as it hit a patch of light.

           
Three
days later Raven looked up from the sword she was busy inscribing.
 
Sarah leaned against the door way, curling
her lips into her mouth to keep from laughing.
 
The redhead was wearing a pair of bifocals that enlarged her eyes to
gigantic proportions making her look like a carrot topped, purple insect.

           
“I’ve
decided to sign that contract.”
 
Sarah
snickered as Raven took off the glasses.

           
Leaning
her chair back on two legs, grinning happily, Raven asked.
 
“You sure about this?”

           
Sarah
wiped her face with a towel.
 
Soot
smudged one cheek blushed with honest labor.
 
In Raven’s opinion, life in Valentria was really agreeing with her
business partner.
 
“There’s really no
downside that I can see.
 
We can get out
of it with no cost to ourselves plus we’ll need some advertising to get the
business started.”

           
Raven’s
smile grew so wide Sarah thought her face would split open.
 
“Let me be the first to welcome you to the Chandlish
Rose Corporation.
 
If you want to, we can
go sign as soon as I finish up this sword.
 
It’ll make a nice gift for Stephen.”

           
“I’m
going to take a bath, alright?”
 
Sarah
was distantly annoyed that Raven, though working just as hard as she was,
wasn’t coated with sweat and grime.
 
Maybe it’s from being born an aristocrat, she thought, always looking
perfect.
 

Thirty minutes
later, Bryson gently touched down at the steps of Chandlish Castle.
 
As she slid from his back Sarah asked, for
the tenth time by Raven’s count, if they had to sign at the castle.
 

           
“Since
Elspeth is the president of the corporation, yes.”
 
Raven pointed out for the tenth time.

           
It
wasn’t that she disliked the castle or anyone in it but Sarah was used to
working in a small shop without a lot of money.
 
The magnificence of Chandlish Castle
was still more than a bit unnerving for her.
 
She figured she would get used to it sooner or later though.
 
After all, this was the fifth time she’d been
here and each time it was becoming less uncomfortable.

           
The
doors opened at the first knock and the maid greeted them with a bow.
 
“Her Grace is waiting for you in her office,
Lady Branwyen, Ms. Petty.”

They wandered through
a labyrinth of halls with Raven leading.
 
Sarah considered dropping breadcrumbs incase she needed to find a way
out but cursed her unpreparedness when she realized there weren’t any.
 
She’d just promised herself to bring some
string next time when Raven pushed open a heavy wooden door and strolled
inside.
 
The other members of the family
were gathered and looked up with warm smiles.
 
Raven rushed to join Bekah on the couch.
 
Felicity motioned for Sarah to join her in front of a large desk.
 
Lady Chandlish stood and extended her hand
which Sarah shook politely.

           
When
she sat down, and motioned for Sarah to do the same, Elspeth began speaking,
“There is normally a much larger meeting than this, Sarah, to witness a merger
between ourselves and another company.”

One of the hardest
things Sarah experienced since moving to Valentria was conversing casually with
Duchess Chandlish.
 
She mustered enough
courage to say, “Yes, Your Grace.”

           
It
seemed the right thing to do because Elspeth continued.
 
“However this is a different set of
circumstances.
 
Normally a small start up
company would not even be noticed by us but you are going into business with my
step-daughter.
 
It would not be prudent
for me to allow your company to fail.”

           
Another
expectant pause, “Yes, Your Grace; I thank you for the opportunity to become a
member of Chandlish International.”
 
Sarah repeated the words that Raven taught her on the way from the shop.

           
“You
are aware that we hold the right to match any offer another company makes on
your products?”

           
Sarah
nodded as Elspeth handed her the contract to look over.
 
She did so and saw everything was just as it
had been when Liz explained it.
 
Sarah
gave it back to Elspeth who reached for a pen sitting in a small ink well.

           
“So
we have reached an agreement?”
 
Elspeth
signed the papers.
 

Felicity stood and
pointed out where Sarah and Raven were to sign.
 
After that was done, Liz stuffed the papers in a leather briefcase
sitting beside the desk.

Elspeth gave a
plastic smile.
 
“Welcome to the Chandlish
Rose family, Ms. Petty.
 
I’m certain that
our association will be mutually beneficial.”

           
The
day of the grand opening dawned bright and cheerful.
 
Sunlight streamed through Sarah’s curtains,
rousing the young woman from a deep sleep.
 
The smell of bacon and coffee twitched her nose as she sat up,
stretching the stiffness out of her muscles.
 
It had been hard work the last three weeks to get ready for a day that
was here at last.
 
Today they could start
making money.
 

           
After
putting on her make-up Sarah opened the door to her room, expecting to see Raven
sitting at the kitchen table.
 
Raven
always awoke before she did despite going to bed much later.
 
This time, instead of a pesky redhead, Sarah
found huge platters of food spread out on the kitchen table; pancakes,
biscuits, bacon and a bowl of sausage gravy covered nearly every inch of the
wooden top.
 
The few places that weren’t
loaded with baked goods held small jars of various jams and jellies.
 
Sarah grabbed a plate from the cupboard and
filled it.
 
Raven decided to learn how to
cook since she wouldn’t be living at the castle anymore and, like everything
else she did, threw herself into the undertaking with gusto.
 
Nobody would confuse the culinary concoctions
with that of a chef but it had progressed nicely from inedible to quite tasty.

           
As
she ate, Sarah heard muffled thumps from downstairs.
 
Probably just Bekah coming over to offer
support to Raven, she figured.
 
At least
they were fighting in the shop this time instead of the store.
 
Then Mandy’s high pitched giggle joined the
chorus and Sarah thought it was nice how close the Chandlish girls were.
 
But when she heard Felicity scream “Catch
it!” at the top of her lungs, Sarah decided it would be a good idea to go see
exactly what was going on.

           
Surveying
the scene from the top of the stairs, Sarah could come up with no reasonable
explanations for the scene below.
 
Liz
and Mandy stood on a table by the forge, giggling at something.
 
Bekah leaned against the wall wearing a
bemused expression.
 
At the center of it
all, naturally, was Raven.
 
Covered in
dust from the shop floor, hair in total disarray and glistening with a thin
layer of perspiration, Raven appeared to have been in quite a scuffle.

           
Sarah
considered, briefly, asking what was in the box but a month of dealing with
Raven and Bekah taught her not to do stupid things so she settled for inquiring
whose present that was.

           
“It’s
for the raffle.”
 
Raven panted.
 
Liz and Mandy noticed it was safe to come
down so gingerly lowered themselves to the floor.
 
Sarah simply nodded.

           
“Aren’t
you going to ask what’s in the box?”
 
Bekah grinned at Sarah, uncoiling from the wall.

           
“Nope.”

           
Suddenly
the box lurched sideways as whatever was in it tried to break free.
 
Sarah could hear scratching from the inside,
so it probably had claws.

           
“You
gonna help me carry this thing?”
 
Raven
bent over and grabbed the bottom.

           
“Nope.”
 
Sarah brushed past Bekah, hoping they
wouldn’t be sued on their first day.

           
Business
boomed throughout the morning.
 
The
fliers and newspaper ads brought a decent number of people of course but the
fact that Stephen Alexander was sporting a brand new sword forged in this very
shop was the biggest draw.
 
By lunch time
Sarah already received 15 orders for blades of a similar style.
 
All of the weapons and shields she made for
the day were sold.
 
One man even tried to
buy the demos they sat aside.

Raven’s
demonstration of the effectiveness of her runes was also a rousing
success.
 
She held an inscribed shield
over her chest while Bekah happily threw fireballs at it.
 
Then the sorceress invited people to try
breaking the swords, which none were able to do.
 
They gained another 10 orders for shields and
everybody who ordered a sword wanted theirs inscribed.

The best time of
the morning though was when Daniel Blackstone – the man Sarah danced with at
the ball – entered the shop.
 
To Sarah’s
pleasant surprise, it turned out that Daniel was a doctor who lived just
outside the city.
 
He ordered a sword and
shield with a promise to come by often to check on their progress.
 
Sarah was so busy day dreaming about those
visits that she accidently let herself slip into complacency.
 

At noon Raven
loudly announced that they were going to hold the raffle.
 
There were well over a dozen customers in the
store and each turned to face her.
 
Sarah
managed to block out the memory but dismay returned with a vengeance when Raven
struggled back from the shop carrying the large box.

She finally
managed to set it in the middle of the floor and produced a small glass jar
with a bunch of tickets inside.
 
Everyone
who visited the shop was eligible to enter the drawing and people who made
purchases or placed orders were given two chances.
 
Raven drew out a slip of paper and, after a
dramatic pause, announced that James Darby of Troy was their big winner.

Mr. Darby, a
portly man with black hair, waddled forward to receive his prize.
 
A few of the other patrons slapped him on the
back and some offered to buy it from him.
 
That is until the box shook violently and a loud skittering could be
heard from within.
 
Then the crowd took
one giant step back.
 
Mr. Darby looked
like he dearly wanted to join them.

As Raven fit a key
into the lock on the chains, Sarah heard Mandy whisper to Bekah in an excited
voice, “Oh man, this is going to be awesome.”
 

To her credit,
Sarah reacted quickly and decisively.
 
She leapt over the counter in a desperate bid to stop Raven from making
a huge mistake.
 
But there was no
time.
 
The chains clattered to the floor
and something huge and brown and… fluffy… erupted from the box, screeching like
a siren.

Mr. Darby
screamed-- somewhere amid the chaos Sarah thought it was a particularly girlish
scream for such a large man-- and the mob bolted for the door as one.
 
The furry thing, whatever it was, darted in
and out of the milling throng.
 
One of
the cases crashed to the floor, spraying glass all over the tile.
 
People stumbled in their hurry to escape,
jostling each other for position.
 
Raven stalked
Mr. Darby, demanding he take his prize.
 
The large barrel set up for garbage near the front door somehow fell on
its side and rolled into the counter where Mandy perched, knocking her to the
floor with a surprised giggle.
 
Bekah unhelpfully
decided to start yelling it was eating her leg.
 
This incited the small crowd into even greater panic and with a final
push they piled out of the shop, leaving a fuming blonde to glare undistracted
at the redheaded girls in the quiet aftermath.