Jasmyn by Alex Bell

Author:Alex Bell [Bell, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Orion Publishing Group
Published: 2010-11-19T17:58:36.938000+00:00

14

Swan Princess

In another moment, she was gone - slipped past the window like a ghost, leaving me with my heart hammering wildly in my chest as I stared up at the castle.

‘Did you see that?’ Ben said, in the same tone of voice as if he had just noticed a deer between the trees rather than a woman who appeared to be my double gazing down at us from the window of the castle.

‘I saw her,’ I gasped, feeling cold with horror and quite unable to look back towards the window. The lovely enchantment of the setting had been broken and now I felt nothing but dread. Suddenly I was stupidly afraid that Ben might walk away and leave me here so I grabbed his arm to stop him from going. ‘What can it mean?’ I croaked.

Ben frowned down at me as if disapproving of my fear. ‘Calm down—’ he began, but I cut him off.

‘Don’t tell me to calm down!’ I hissed. ‘I just saw myself up there in the turret window - I have every bloody right to be anything other than bloody calm!’

My fingers dug even harder into his arm as I glared at him but he just gazed back at me, looking puzzled. ‘What,’ he said, ‘are you talking about?’

‘You . . . you did see her, didn’t you?’ My anger dropped away and I spoke almost pleadingly. I couldn’t bear the thought that Ben might look at me like I was mad and declare that he hadn’t seen a thing.

But, to my relief, he said, ‘Of course I saw her. But she wasn’t you, you daft woman!’

I still gripped his arm but said nothing as I tried to recall her image. She had only been at the window for a moment but she had most definitely had long white hair, just like mine, and pale, pale skin . . .

‘You think there’s another albino woman here?’ I said, desperately hoping that was the case but struggling with the gross improbability of it.

‘I don’t think she’s an albino,’ Ben replied. ‘Go and knock on the door. I’ll wait here.’

‘What? ’ I looked at him to see if he was trying to make some sort of joke but he appeared to be quite serious. Suddenly I felt like a child creeping up to the castle to play some kind of truth-or-dare game. ‘Why don’t you go and knock on the door and I’ll wait here?’ I said. ‘There’s a white woman in there! Did the sight of her really not send a chill down your spine? What are you - made of iron or something?’

‘Look, you told me so yourself,’ Ben replied. ‘Lukas said you were the one who had to come here. I don’t think she’ll answer the door to me. Of course, you don’t have to try if you don’t want to. We could just go back to the guest house if you like. If that means something bad happens later on - well -

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