Chapter 19: Coincidence

Is life is a series of interesting events we name coincidence? No.
There are no coincidences. Life follows the path of our heart's own desire.

A Fool's Book of Wisdom

Helen sighed and pulled her bare feet onto the settee. She carefully tucked the afghan about her body and then turned to take up her cup of tea. With brooding eyes, she stared into the flames as she thought of the wasted years of her life.

"All of this loneliness because of one mistake ... just because I gave in and allowed my temper free reign during the worst moment of my life. Sometimes, I wonder why me, but that is a pointless thought to pursue. And, then there are the 'what if I had... ' thoughts. Oh, Khalid! When I think of the life that could have been, I feel so much despair, but this changeling's body could never tempt you. If you could only see past this horrible façade and see the true Helen that lies beneath it ... Aw, hell! The only person that ever could was Erik and he accomplished that only with the help of the bracelet. Ha! The bracelet helped the boy to see the true me and it was the bracelet which caused me to look this way in the first place." She paused to blow upon the steaming surface of her cup of tea then tentatively took a small sip. She grimaced slightly at the bitter taste. "Ugh! As with all medicines, I guess I must accept the bitter in order to receive the sweet relief from the pain." She took another sip. "Diamanté! Please take pity upon me and allow me a brief freedom from this walking prison. There is no one to see. Please? I wish to continue our conversation and hope that you would explain something to me."

The familiar heat emanated from the bracelet around her wrist and the brightness of the firelight seemed to dim before the radiance of the ruby's glowing surface.

"Very well, Helen. I shall take a chance and hope no one notices your transformation. I shall free you just long enough for the two of us to partake in the completion of our earlier conversation, but then you must return to your fleshy confinement. You must remember that I did not devise your punishment. I am simply the executioner of the writ or, perhaps, more accurately, the jailer whom holds the key to your cell. Arise from your prison of flesh! Stand and walk free, Mademoiselle Hélène Manon de Blanc!"

Quiet thunder rumbled far off in the distance and suddenly, a tall, lithe form leapt from the settee. The young woman twirled as her bell-like laughter tinkled throughout the room. After a moment, her hands ran up and down her slender, yet curvaceous form. She hugged herself tightly and sank to the floor where she quietly began to contemplate the fire. The flame light danced deep in the reflections of her deep sapphire-hued orbs, her flawless alabaster skin and curly, raven-black hair meshing seamlessly into the absolute whole of a stunning woman. She sighed and drew her long, coltish legs up to rest her chin on them.

"Thank you, Diamanté. It has been such a long time since you last allowed me to walk free. Thank you so very much! It is an amazing thing to be without pain. Thank you!" She murmured.

"I am not the beast you think me. It truly pains me that I must continue to punish you. Although, I am of two minds over how I feel about the thing you did because of the thing done to you. Yet, I am not the one that decided your fate and I must answer to powers higher than I am. You forget something about me or, perhaps, you never knew this about me. Once, I was a human woman and I am where I am now ... here in this stone ... as part of a punishment. While, I did not commit murder, I did something for which I could not find absolution. I disobeyed and betrayed my king. I rejected his attentions. I not only refused my king, but I had the audacity to love another. From the moment of my birth, my fate was to become consort to the king. My every whim instantly satisfied, my ego unbelievably coddled. I lived a life of privilege and thought that the king would indulge my every wish. At a young age, the king's wizard determined that my soul contained powerful magicks and he must train me so that I could control them and become a great power to the king. Unfortunately, despite the great difference in our age, my teacher and I fell in love. I first shared my body with the wizard and it was to him that I gave my heart. The king, when he learned of our betrayal, killed my lover by having him drawn and quartered before my very eyes. He then offered me a second chance. If I would willingly come to his bed and deny my love, he would forgive me. I could not. No, that is not true. I would not! In his rage, the king summoned his sorceress. She bound me in chains, which prevented me from summoning my powers. I was alone and I was powerless. The king could not bear the thought of destroying me completely as the power I possess would die with me, so he commanded that the sorceress destroy my body and imbue my power within a talisman. And, that is how I came to reside within the ruby contained in your bracelet. Obviously, this is not my story in its entirety, but it is enough for you to know that I understand what it is to be imprisoned. We are not so different, you and I."

Crystalline tears dripped and rolled from sapphire eyes to land glistening on Helen's flawless cheeks.

"At least you had love. Even if it was only for just a short time. I have never had love. Well, the love I found is destined to remain forever unrequited. At least you had your love. I shall never have mine. At least not during this lifetime. But, never mind this ... I wish to know how you intend to have Erik offer vocal training to Christine. I have often told him that he should take students, but he always demurred. What makes you think he will be willing to teach Christine?"