Chapter 9: Yuliana’s Grandmother (1)

Chapter 9 – Yuliana’s Grandmother (1)

Moments later, a young servant with red hair entered the room. She politely curtsied and introduced herself as Bellin. She had brought three dresses for Gris to try on and insisted not only on helping her dress but brush her hair and finish her makeup.

Gris didn’t realize that Stephan was still in the room until she heard him say that Yuliana loved the color yellow. He went a step further by telling Gris in no uncertain terms that she should wear a yellow dress for the first meeting.

As he left, he picked up a yellow hair tie and threw it at Gris.  That action felt the same as if he had thrown a knife at her.  Was this a challenge to go through with the deception? At that moment, as Gris picked up the yellow hair tie and dress, her earlier thoughts of running away disappeared.  She knew she had to accept the challenge and make the best of this bizarre situation.

Immediately, Gris knew there was a problem with the dress – it was too tight around her chest. She reached for a piece of cloth in a vain attempt to tie them around her breasts to flatten them, but Bellin knew it wouldn’t work. After a couple of minutes of wrestling, they managed to get her into the dress.

Gris couldn’t breathe but knew that the dress fitted her superbly, and with her tiny waist and full breasts, she looked, quite simply, stunning. Bellin quickly eased the seam around the bustline, and Gris nodded contentedly.

After doing her hair and putting the final touches on her dress, Gris was ready. She  followed Stephan along the endless corridors and when they reached the last room on the right, Bellin knocked on the door and announced,

“Madam, Yuliana is here.”

Her voice echoed in the cavernous room with high ceilings. Gris gripped her skirt as she heard the mellifluous voice reply,

“Come in, Yuliana.”

The butler slowly opened the door to a room that was like a burst of sunshine.  It radiated warmth, and Gris instantly felt welcomed. splendid oriental carpet in myriad shades of yellow covered the floor, and a tall bookshelf full of books stood against the left wall.  The centerpiece of the room was an ornate lady’s writing desk placed just in front of the bay window surrounded by armchairs and sofas.  Hanging on the other two walls were still life paintings of flowers and fruits in iridescent colors.

A thin but beautifully dressed woman sat on the sofa.

As she entered the room,  she sensed that time had ceased to exist in this quiet and odd room exuding such warmth. Gris held her hands together demurely, and promptly curtsied.

There was a heavy silence in the room that added to Gris’s nervousness.

“So you found Yuliana… where did you find her?” the old grandmother asked in a very direct manner.

She asked without showing any emotion, speaking softly, but in a way that Stephen knew that an answer was expected immediately.

Familiar with his grandmother’s manner, Stephan replied eagerly.

“I found her in a cabin owned by Chancellor Estru, near the Byrenhag woods where she first went missing.”

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“… So you have,” she replied dispassionately.

“Aren’t you happy I found her?”

A heavy silence fell in the room again. Feeling unsure of himself, Stephan attempted to explain.

“The elderly couple living in the cabin found Yuliana, abandoned in the woods, and raised her like their own daughter. Unfortunately, they died three years ago, and Yuliana was living alone when I found her.

Gris became increasingly nervous. Where he found her, the people in her life—these were all lies. He told his lies so blithely that even Gris was drawn into the deception.

Stephan looked sideways at Gris and saw that her growing discomfort with the way he fabricated the story. He sneered at her, wondering what she would say next, what she, as a prostitute, could say to disagree with him.

Gris felt herself falling into a dark hole and drowning in a pit of vipers. She wanted to scream for help but felt frozen. The darkness reached out for her, and she just wanted to let go when Stephan’s grandmother asked her the question she didn’t want to hear.

“Are you Yuliana?”

The wind howled outside. She yearned to open the window and disappear with the wind into a far distance.

As Gris remained silent, Stephan glowered at her. But the word ‘yes’ didn’t come out of her mouth. Her mouth was dry, and she couldn’t speak.  Stephan stood up and tried to placate his grandmother.

He said, “Yuliana fell from a cliff and hit her head. Her memory and speech are still patchy but fortunately, she is recovering steadily. And I will stay beside her and care for her.”

The room fell silent again, and she sensed the threatening body language from Stephan. I really do hope you are Yuliana.

Did this mean that he would kill her if she didn’t play along with his game?  Why did he want her to be Yuliana?  She began to think of the brothel as a safe haven and almost longed to return there safely.

But Stephan could still pursue her, he could send men to rape or kill her or torture her to death for his unknown purpose.

The more she thought about her prospects, the more her hands and feet grew cold. Her face was becoming white with fear.

The grandmother did not look pleased and cleared her throat as she rose to her feet. She did not want to be bullied by Stephan, who was intruding in her private conversation with this girl that he claimed was Yuliana after all these years.

“Stephan, give us a moment please,” she insisted as she picked up a blanket from the chair furthest from the fireplace and slipped it around her bony shoulders.

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