Strangetown, Here We Come: Chapter Thirty-Four - part one

[strangetomato]

Warnings: overly casual approach to plastic surgery, much shorter update than usual.



Chapter Thirty-Four

Part One









Bella woke up to the sun shining into her eyes from the condo window. She rose from the bed without waking Don and left the room to walk out to the beach.










She found herself thinking about Pascal. Sweet, serious Pascal. He had always been so helpful to her, and now she had left town and left him hanging. It seemed wrong to have gone away without even saying goodbye.

Had she been too hasty in accepting Don's offer?






It was also troubling to her that she could no longer work on recalling her memories. Without the use of Pascal's noodlesoother, she didn't seem to be getting anywhere with them, and that was disappointing. She had been making some real progress. Now she'd probably be stalled the way she was, without any idea about her true identity.

She sighed, listening to the sounds of the waves, and resigned herself to the situation. The sun was warm on her face and the salt air smelled fresh. Why worry about it?




Then suddenly, she was reminded of the dream she had the previous night. It had been a terrible, frightening dream. A nightmare, really.




She had been in a dark room, lying on a bed or some sort of cot, with not even enough strength to lift her head.

There had been two figures in the room, and they had been arguing over something.

"No, that one isn't different enough!" bellowed the harsh male voice. "You need something that won't be recognized."




"What we need is something bland and nondescript." The woman corrected. Her tone was calm and controlled. "Something easily forgotten."

The woman picked up a book, and read the title aloud, "Making Faces: 28 templates for plastic surgery." The woman's hands flipped to the first page after the table of contents, and she read aloud, "Face one... small and round, with petite features. Pleasing and bland. Everyone likes this facial structure. You can't go wrong with face one."




"Sounds boring," the man huffed, "You should give her some distinction. A proud brow or nose, like mine!"

"No, this is perfect," she said. "She will blend in, beautiful yet unremarkable. It's exactly what the doctor, and the doctor's patron, ordered. Face one it is!"




The woman walked towards her.

"Rise and shine, dear," she said, with a syrupy sweet voice. "It's time for your makeover."

Bella felt a terror rising up within her and struggled to escape, but she was frozen. The woman towered over her, like the old hag of nightmares, ready to push the breath and very life from her.

"You know, I haven't done this before," she admitted, "but I'll assure you I'm a quick learner. If anything gets horribly botched in the process, I'm sure I can fix you up in no time."




Again, Bella struggled. She felt increasing amounts of fear rising up inside of her. She burned all over.

"Just a snip here... a slice here..."

The terror grew, consuming her. She struggled and struggled but could not move. The woman's laughter echoed through the room.

"It won't hurt a bit..."




Then she woke up.




It was just a nightmare. The old hag had come to smother her and take her. Maybe the dream had come from her frustration with not knowing who she was, of having a face that she didn't recognize as her own.




It was just a dream; nothing to worry about.

Just a dream.

Just a dream.

Just a dream.




Just a dream?

Samantha Cordial watched her niece and her thoughts in the depths of her cauldron.




She had been following her with interest ever since they had located her, and this new development was puzzling to her.

Had it really been just a dream or had it been a true memory?










Behind her, Kimberly materialized. "How is she, dear sister?" she asked.




"She seems to be doing fine," Samantha said, "and she does have amnesia, as I suspected, but it's not an enchantment. I can't determine what caused her memories to vanish. Now I'm getting readings of some sort of memories from her, but they're all very cloudy and indistinct. I don't understand them."

"Well, I am certain it will all be made clear to you, eventually."

"I hope so, sister, but progress is very slow." After a pause, she asked, "How is your work going?"




"Oh, it's going very well, I would say."

"Have you spotted him recently?"

"Yes, I have. He's been increasingly active."

"That's troubling."




"Not to worry! My cauldron has located him in the capital city. I'll be tracking him all day. I'll get to the bottom of this. Of that I have no doubt."

"Good luck in your travels."

She nodded in return. "And good luck to you as well." Without another word, Kimberly vanished.








With her sister gone, Samantha returned to her work.

---

Notes: I've had this small little memory scene written for ages, and recently came across it again. I think it's about time I let it out. I'm sure you've probably suspected as much. ;)

I'm sorry it's so short. Things are so busy lately that I thought a tiny update might be better than no update at all. I'm making progress on it, here and there, but it'll be a while before I get the rest of this chapter together.

Thanks for reading! ^_^






  (Continue to Chapter 34 - part 2)

Comments

[pixelcurious.livejournal.com]

I had to go back to Chapter 32 to grasp this (I missed the earlier update with the Cordial sisters). I love that Bella is related to them, and that she's now under their protection.

I'm now wondering if there will be a showdown between the Cordials and the Calientes... it seems perfect in a way... two pairs of strong sisters in combat over the fate of Bella Goth! Both pairs otherworldly and powerful in their own ways. My money's on the Cordials though.