Claire Read online

  After a while, she managed to get the tangles out. She frowned though, because no matter what she did she could not get his hair to be un-messy. It was straight and glossy black, and fell in seemingly random directions around his head.

  At least brushing it made it soft. She ran her fingers through it, enjoying the way it felt. She looked down at the back of his head and neck, her small hands settled on his shoulders. She smiled fondly. He wasn't really all that scary.

  She leaned over his shoulder and kissed him softly on the cheek. He turned to her. "Thank you for being so patient." She said. "I'm done now."

  "Giving up?" He asked her.

  "I know when to quit." She sighed heavily, leaning on his shoulder. She wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him from behind. "Do you mind this?" She asked.

  "Not at all." He said. He leaned his head back, looking at the ceiling. "I need you, Claire." He said quietly. His expression was as blank as always, but there was something in his voice, something she couldn't place.

  "You saved me and brought me here." Claire told him, hugging him tighter. "I need you too."

  ***

  Claire walked down to the kitchen. "Mrs. Kennie?" She asked.

  "Call me Mary, child." Mrs. Kennie responded.

  "Mary, how come I haven't seen anyone around that's small, like me?" She asked.

  "Children your age are usually in school during the day." Mrs. Kennie responded. She was frying something at the stove.

  Claire frowned in confusion. "School?"

  "It's a place of learning. There are teachers there that show you how to read and write. It is also a place where you learn social interaction, how to get along with your peers." She moved the contents of the frying pan to two plates.

  Learning to read? That sounded incredible to her. If she knew how to read, then she could look up whatever she wanted on the computer, instead of having to ask Beast to read everything to her.

  Claire tilted her head to one side. "Could I go to school?" She asked hopefully.

  Mrs. Kennie shook her head. "Only registered Silver and Gold District citizens can attend school. You don't have any papers I could register you with. I can't get you papers either, since I am not your parent." She walked over to the small kitchen table, setting the plates down. Claire joined her.

  "I want to go to school." Claire said sadly, picking at her food. "I want to learn how to read, and meet more people." "If there is a way to get you into a school, I'm sure we will find it." Mrs. Kennie assured her.

  After lunch, Claire decided to go see Beast. He was probably up on the roof. She found that as the weeks went by, he let her be on her own more. Though, he never went far, and was never away from her for more than a few hours.

  She walked through the Main Room, to the fire exit. She pushed the door open and headed up the fire escape to the roof. Beast lay on the rooftop, looking up at the sky. “You like hanging out up here.” Claire commented, sitting next to him.

  “It's peaceful.” He said simply.

  “And, you are saying that I am not?” Claire asked him, frowning.

  He looked at her. “It's not a word I would use to describe you.” He answered.

  Claire scowled. “Excuse me for breaking into your private time.”

  “I appreciate your company.” He said, looking back at the sky.

  “But you just said I wasn't peaceful.” Claire fumed.

  “You're not. But, it doesn't mean I want to get away from you.” He said.

  “Then why do you spend more and more time up here?” Claire asked him, frustrated.

  “There are two reasons. One is that Mary Kennie does not trust me.” He stated.

  “And the other reason?” Claire asked.

  He paused for the barest second. “I don't want you to get bored of me.”

  Claire laughed, her frustration drained away. “That's never going to happen.” She pushed his side with her hand. “You're being silly.”

  He gave her a dull, dry look. “You say that because you haven't seen me that much. And we only met a few months ago. Wait until more time has passed.”

  “But there is still so much I don't know about you.” Claire said. “I want to know what you are, how you ended up in the junkyard, and what happened to your arms. I don't think I will find any of that stuff out any time soon.” She paused. “Unless you remember something?” She asked hopefully.

  “Nothing coherent.” He said. “Bits and pieces are coming back. When I can understand them, maybe I can explain them to you.”

  Claire nodded. “Okay then.” She lay next to him, her arms folded behind her head. She looked up at the sky with him. “Do you like looking up at the sky?” She asked him. “I see you doing it a lot.”

  “I don't particularly enjoy it.” He said. “But it's easier to sort my thoughts when I am looking up at it.”

  Claire spotted movement out of the corner of her eye. “What's that?” She asked, turning her head. Beast had already turned his head towards it.

  A small black shape stood crouched at the edge of the roof. It looked at the pair warily with slitted green eyes. “It has eyes like yours.” Claire said softly. She didn't speak loudly in case the creature bolted.

  “It's a cat.” Beast said. “It must have slipped away from it's owner. They are too rare an animal for there to be any strays. If you hold out your hand low to the ground, it may approach you.”

  Claire followed his instructions. The cat looked at her for a long moment, then slowly walked over to them. Claire kept her hand still and the cat rubbed it's face against her hand. “It's soft.” She said in delight. She looked over at Beast. “How do you know about cats?” She asked. “I've never heard of them.”

  “I have spent a long time around various parts of the city.” Beast answered. “I know quite a few random things like this.”

  The cat began to vibrate against Claire's hand. She giggled. “Do you think it likes me?” She asked Beast.

  “Most likely.” Beast answered.

  The cat paused in it's purring, focusing it's green eyes on Beast. Suddenly it crouched down and leaped over Claire, landing on Beast's chest. It curled up there and laid down. Beast merely looked at it, then back up at the sky.

  Claire started laughing. She wasn't sure why, but there was something insanely comical to her about watching this little cat sleeping on Beast's chest.

  *** He was in a dark, smothering place. He could not move, see, speak, hear, or smell. A thick liquid filled his mouth and nose. There was a terrible pain in his shoulders. Pain did not bother him anymore, but he knew that he should be troubled that he could not feel his arms.

  He also felt that there was something he was supposed to be doing. It was important. It was his responsibility. He had started something. He must make sure that the consequences affected only him.

  These were all things his brain nagged him with. But he found himself not caring about any of it. He found himself not caring where he was, or even who he was. He didn't care if he stayed in this crushing blackness or not.

  He could have been here for centuries, and he did not care. He did not know how long things had been this way. To him, time was irrelevant.

  A shiver ran through him. He could feel something stirring. Malice. Hate. Anger.

  It was far detached from him though. As if he was feeling it all through someone else.

  Something was happening. Killing. Murdering. And he knew suddenly that he had to stop it. It was his fault. He had to get out of here.

  *** Beast woke, opening his eyes slowly. He looked around the small room, but it was a long time before he actually saw it. A nightmare? Or was it a memory?

  Parts of his mind that had slept while he had been unable to move were waking now. Bits of memory was surfacing randomly. But he wasn't sure what was real and what was imagined.

  He looked over at Claire. She lay sleeping in her little bed, under the window. Pale sunlight poured through, bathing her in it's glow, setting her
hair aflame. He watched her breathing deeply.

  Whatever lay in his past was unimportant now. He had thrown it away. He had buried those memories. But it was important that he continued to move. He didn't know why, but he could feel something coming, drawing closer. He needed to be prepared for it. He needed Claire with him.

  Claire opened her eyes sleepily and yawned. "Breakfast." She mumbled, sitting up. Her hair was a messy red cloud. She pulled herself out of bed and dressed. Her eyes were only half open.

  "You don't have to get up yet." He told her. "It's still early."

  "Breakfast." Claire mumbled again, insistently. She had the appetite of a small pony. He wondered where she kept that sheer amount of food she took in everyday, because her skinny frame was still skinny, even after filling out some. She finished dressing and they headed downstairs together.

  The three of them sat around a small square table. A plate of food sat in front of each of them, but only Claire was eating. Beast merely sat there, unmoving as always. Mrs. Kennie was staring at him, her fork in her hand. The silence stretched on and on, till she broke it suddenly. "Don't you ever eat?" She asked in exasperation.

  Beast looked back at her, saying nothing. "If you need help, Claire would be more than happy to assist you I am sure!" Claire looked up from her plate, first at Beast, then at Mrs. Kennie. Then she ducked her head back down to her plate quickly, though she didn't continue eating. She just moved the food around with her fork a little. "Perhaps you simply refuse my food?"

  Beast stayed silent, until Claire prodded his leg with her foot. "I do not need to eat food." He stated simply.

  Mrs. Kennie glared at him, setting her fork down with a sharp sound. "Then, what do you eat?" She asked tersely.

  Beast's eyes were as hard as marbles. "Why do you want to know?" He asked.

  She was taken aback. "Why, so I could provide it to you, of course. You are my guest here."

  "It's not something you could provide to me." He said, and his voice rang with finality.

  Mrs. Kennie hrumphed under her breath, but didn't say another word. Claire smiled a little at her plate of food and went back to eating.

  *** Claire hummed softly. Mrs. Kennie was brushing her long red hair. Beast, Claire's shadow, sat in the corner. He didn't seem particularly interested in the hair brushing. He was just there. Right now Mrs. Kennie was helping her get ready. The Sword and The Rose was holding a huge banquet for some important people tonight. She told Claire that she could look in from the doorway if she was especially good. And there was a chance that she might get to walk around a little.

  The thought made Claire excited. She had never seen anyone from the Upper Class before, but she had heard of them often. The Upper Class had something called money, something that neither her or her parents had. Even Mrs. Kennie had some money, but the Upper Class had a lot of it.

  Claire didn't really know what money was, but she heard that it could feed you, clothe you and give you a house. She had heard that the Upper Class had so much money, that they had huge houses filled with many things that they didn't even need. Claire thought The Sword and The Rose was quite extravagant, The bathhouse too. She couldn't imagine anything more extravagant. But Mrs. Kennie told her it existed, and Claire wanted to get a peek at it.

  Mrs. Kennie had an excellent computer at the Sword and the Rose, and Claire had been able to browse many of the magazines that Mrs. Kennie subscribed to. Even though she couldn't read the words without Beast's help, but all the magazines had such pretty dresses. Mrs. Kennie made all of her dolls clothes herself, and she got her ideas from those magazines.

  Claire was wearing some of the dolls clothes right now. They were just as fine as regular clothing and Claire found them cute. Mrs. Kennie said that she loved to dress Claire up even more than her dolls, because Claire could appreciate the clothes, while the dolls could not.

  In addition to the computer, Mrs. Kennie had an e-paper for carrying around magazines and books. Claire was fascinated by it and carried the thin plastic sheet around everywhere. She was going through it now while Mrs. Kennie brushed her hair. She paused when she came to an advertisement. "Mary?" She asked.

  "Yes, child." Mrs. Kennie answered. "How does this woman get her mouth and eyes so dark?" Claire asked.

  She looked over Claire's shoulder while placing some

  barrettes in her hair. "She wears makeup, child."

  Claire put two fingers to her own lips, rubbing them

  thoughtfully. She leaned her head back to look at Mrs. Kennie,

  who had luckily just finished placing the last barrette. "Could I

  wear makeup too?"

  The woman studied her face for a second. "Makeup is

  generally for older girls, child. But you could wear a little to

  make your lips shine."

  Claire lowered her head. "Why would I want them to be

  shiny?" She asked.

  "Why don't you try it and see how it looks?" Mrs. Kennie

  answered. She stood up and walked to a corner of the room

  where she kept her brushes. There were many vials and little pots

  and containers there as well. She hunted around a little. "Ah,

  here we are." She picked up a tiny glass pot and brought it to

  Claire. Claire sat still while she applied the smooth, slightly

  slimy stuff to her mouth lightly. "Go look in the mirror." Claire sat up and walked to the full length mirror on the

  other wall. She peered closely at her face. Her lips were shinier.

  Glossy, even. There was no practical purpose in it, but she did

  like how it looked. She turned to Beast, who was still sitting in

  the corner, though he was looking at her this time, rather than the

  room as a whole. "How do I look?" She asked.

  "Perfectly fine." Was his reply, as dry as sand in the

  desert.

  "Hmm." She reinspected herself in the mirror. She was

  wearing a full, lacy dress. It was cream-colored with touches of

  black lace. A black ribbon ran down the front of her chest, pearly

  white buttons ran along it. The skirt was full and went down to

  her calves. It was made up of three layers, each with a hem half a

  foot higher than the other. The hems were of black lace as well.

  The sleeves were long, going right down to her wrists. Then there

  were frilly black lace cuffs that fell over hands. Under the skirt

  was a frilly underskirt and slip. Her legs were clad in thick, pure

  white stockings and she wore shiny black shoes, with a slightly

  raised heel.

  She turned herself one way, and another, inspecting her

  dress from all sides. Mrs. Kennie had pulled back her hair from

  her face with a cream colored headband. It was edged in black

  lace and had a black satin bow on the right side. There were also

  three cute white barrettes on the left side of her head, holding

  back her hair.

  "Ready?" Mrs. Kennie called from across the room. She

  was waiting by the door.

  "Yep." Claire said. She ran lightly to the door. When she

  ran, her shoes made a light tap, tap sound on the smooth wooden

  floor. She looked back at Beast, but he was already standing and

  silently walking towards the door.

  Claire wondered how he walked without making any

  noise. His boots were huge and the toes were covered by a heavy

  metal plate. She remembered when she had removed them in the

  bath. She had dropped them, and they had made an awful racket.

  Her brows knit together as she watched those same boots walk

  closer to her without making a sound.

  "Hmm." She mused as she turned and walked out of the

  room.

  *** Claire stepped into the Sword and the Rose
's Main Room. This was the room that displayed the dolls. It also led directly to the kitchens. There was seating on the second floor, but the rooms were smaller and more private. The third floor contained Mrs. Kennie's apartment.

  The kitchens were already bustling, a dozen chefs and workers moving around hurriedly. The air was thick with steam as shouted orders flew overhead.

  The Main Room was silent and cool by comparison. The floor was smooth dark wood, glossed to a high sheen that was almost reflective. Outside the doors to the kitchens two long tables had been pushed together and were covered with a large cream colored cloth. The centerpiece was set here, a large ice sculpture of a sword set into a stone, with a rose vine wrapped around the blade. A large rose bloomed at the hilt of the ice sword.

  There was a wide, clear floor space after the long table, opening up the middle of the room. All around this space were small round tables each covered with their own cream-colored cloth. Each table was set with matching plates lined with gold, crystal wineglasses, and gold forks and knives and spoons. In the center of each table was a thin crystal vase containing a deep red rose in full bloom.

  Mrs. Kennie walked to the end of the room, to the first of the doll cases. There were two grownup sized dolls inside, while the dozen others were child sized. She opened the case, reaching in to one of the dolls. She pressed something behind an ear and the doll opened it's eyes. She did the same with the other. To Claire, these two dolls were so perfectly crafted that they looked real. They could have been waking up from a nap.

  They stood up and carefully stepped from the cases. They bowed to Mrs. Kennie. Claire saw that they were wearing the same dress. They both wore short black satin dresses and white apron. They each wore black stockings and shiny black high heels. They wore identical black ribbons around their throats. Their faces and expressions were the same, as was their hairstyle. Their faces were pale white with dark lips and black eyes. Their hair was long and styled in two large ringlets, one over each shoulder. But where one's hair was glossy black, the other's was shining gold.

  "These dolls are different than the others." Claire observed.

  "Indeed." Mrs. Kennie said. "My other dolls do not move like this. These are living dolls, androids." She explained. "My husband crafted their shells, and then sent them away to have the robotic parts and computers installed. They never get tired, as long as their batteries are charged. They do not eat food and they listen to any order I say."