Lost Carcosa

[Luned]

Mrs. Gould's lips pursed and her cool green eyes squinted a bit as if she didn't quite understand what Ania was saying. "Ah, but... you didn't know?" Suddenly her brows pinched, her face wrinkling in agitation. "I swear, that girl!" The woman reeled around in the doorway and stepped into the parlor, taking long and vindictive strides to reach the closed door that led to the small sitting room that was usually reserved for Charlotte's tutoring sessions.

She opened it and there inside stood the little girl, in her pajamas with a blanket over her shoulders, wide-eyed with a warm cup of tea clenched in front of her chest. Charlotte had been listening. She stared at Ania, registering her presence with less enthusiasm than usual. "Annie," she gasped, almost matter-of-factly. "You're alright." There was something strange in her expression, unreadable and foreign. Perhaps it was the trauma from the day's events that had her off-kilter.

"Walked home on her own," Mrs. Gould sighed, hand on her hips as the other still grasped the doorknob. "Didn't tell us you'd gotten hurt."

"I got scared," Charlotte's meek voice explained, eyes darting between her mother and mentor as if she wasn't sure which she should plead to. "Sorry."

The light in the parlor was dim, the electric lights casting a yellow haze over the vibrant furnishings, but there was something different about Charlotte's skin. Instead of a healthy blush residing under that fair skin it was a jaundiced pallor, her fingertips and lips almost the same pale matte gold as her hair. But it was getting late, Ania had hit her head, and the girl had been through a lot. Maybe it wasn't the world that was strange, it was just the events of the day coupled with Ania's struggling constitution.

[Olive]

Ania wasn't sure what she expected, but this certainly wasn't it.

"Oh thank god." She leaned against the doorway, the exhaustion kicking in now that all her adrenaline was gone. "It's okay Charlotte. I'm just glad you're fine. I was really worried, but you did good getting to safety."

She turned to look back at Charlotte's mother.

"I promised I would go to the hospital, but if you need me just call and I'll come right back." Ania gave Charlotte a smile, thinking that all the weirdness was just due to the craziness of what happened. And with that she waited outside for Seth to go get her head examined and see if dreaming of naked women was normal or not. Oh no, she suddenly realize a vision like that could mean something completely different. ahhh.

[Luned]

The Goulds let Ania go without fuss, Charlotte ushered silently back into her quiet room, and Mrs. Gould giving Ania a reminder that she was expected on time for work tomorrow (so much for sympathy).

Seth arrived soon after Ania stepped outside to wait. Despite his unprofessional appearance he still insisted on opening the front passenger door for her, a loaded notion: he was showing her habitual respect, but inviting her to sit in the front of the car with him when the backseat was available meant that they'd bridged the gap to friendship.

He took the news of Charlotte's mistaken disappearance and not-so-miraculous reappearance in stride. "Thank heavens," he replied with a sigh, leaning back wearily as he drove. His posture seemed to slacken, as if the good news was the last thing he needed to relax after the long day. Seth didn't seem to judge Ania's delusion, crediting her injuries to any amount of confusion that followed.

A doctor at the hospital diagnosed Ania with a minor concussion, gave her some light medication for any headaches to follow, bandaged up the scrape on her head, and sent her home so he could focus on the worse-off patients. Seth was there to drive her home.

The chauffeur was unusually quiet as they drove, but after some long moments he let out a sigh. "I'm glad you're alright," he said quietly. "Perhaps, if you're feeling well enough by then, would you be interested in coming out with me and some friends? One of our favorite bands is playing at a swell little place on Hanover Street."