The Blood Witch

11

Scarlet stared into infinite darkness. There were no sounds or any other sign of life. She was alone, with nothing but time. What was she supposed to do? They had worked so hard to get her to this point and, truth be told, she didn’t know what to do next. No one had told her. Everyone had acted as if she would just known. Like there would be a big bright Las Vegas sign saying, ‘destiny’, or ‘this way’.

Instead, she stood surrounded by everlasting darkness and quiet. She was a little scared to move. What if she stepped off a cliff or ran into a brick wall? Could she feel pain in this weird place, or was she like a ghost? Determined not to go that route, Scarlet stood in place, waiting for something to happen. Nothing did. Tired of acting like a statue, she slid one foot forward and took a step. Arms outstretched; she took another. 

There didn’t appear to be anything else around, so she started to walk. After walking for a while, she stopped, noticing a change in the temperature. She was sweating and the tank top and shorts she wore started to feel restricted. Scarlet looked left, the right trying to find the source of the heat. There were no signs other than that, so she pushed forwards and called out.

The answer she got stopped her in her tracks. What she expected was a human voice and, preferably, words. Instead, so close that she could feel the breath on her neck, she heard a feral growl. It felt like a warning, low and deep. Scarlet gulped and froze, realizing there had to be an animal right next to her in the darkness. The animal brushed against her legs, a tail wrapping around them before sauntering off towards a light. 

Where the light came from, she did not know. Nor did she know where the large feline had come from, but it was there. She had felt, and she saw it. Was that her sign? She thought? Was she supposed to follow this large animal into the light? That sounded like death. Everything she knew about strange lights appearing out of nowhere meant death. No, she would not go into the light, she thought, backing away.

The cat turned and growled crouching low. Well, Scarlet thought, going into the light sounded way better than getting torn apart by a tiger. Then she was following the cat into the light. And out of it. The cat leaped through an invisible portal and onto grass. Scarlet started as she realized the cat was indeed big. Its sleek black fur covers a masculine frame. Paws the size of her face pawed through the tall grass, where only the top of his head was visible. It was a panther, and it was apparently still waiting for her to follow him. It stopped impatiently and huffed. 

“I’m coming kitty,” Scarlet said lowly. “Calm down.”

The panther gave a pointed stare, his green eyes looking at me as if she were mistaken. Yet Scarlet was talking to a huge panther and following it down into a field of weeds. Maybe she was tripping, but there was nothing else to go on. Nothing around for miles, but grass, flowers, and more grassy weeds. It was brutal. The grass cut at her legs and the sun was high in the sky and cast rays that felt around one hundred degrees. Her steps became sluggish, and she grew tired. However, her panther guide showed no signs of stopping. After what felt like hours to her but was only thirty minutes, a house appeared out of nowhere. She was unsurprised and went with it. 

It was a large house, three floors, white, with lots of windows. The second story was framed by a balcony that stretched across the front of the home. Large columns held the house up and the roof could have been another story or the attic. The road to the house was framed by trees that cast some shade and offered her some relief. She followed the panther to the back of the house. Scarlet was surprised that no one was around, but that thought fled quickly as the panther disappeared right there before her eyes, leaving her alone at the back door. 

Scarlet watched in wonder as the world around her came to life. People appeared, in the middle of working. Men loading wagons, children carrying bags of hay and buckets of water. Women carrying babies, and men holding guns and giving orders. It was all very surreal as they moved around her. They were all dressed in older clothes, hoop skirts, dress pants, and rags. Scarlet’s mouth hung open as she realized they were slaves. 

Scarlet watched as a talked caramel complexion woman walked through the crowd, without a care in the world. Her dark eyes fixed on her, unwavering with a hint of a challenge. This woman was dressed better than anyone. She wore a red and black gown that left her arms exposed and her hair was styled high on her head and adorned with jewels. Earrings dripped from her ears, red rubies, Scarlet thought as she got closer. A necklace matching the earrings sat delicately on her neck. She carried a fan, on one wrist and in the other a small purse.

The woman stopped right in front of Scarlet, and she realized that the woman and all the other people could see her. She looked down, seeing that she was now dressed in a plain white dress and heavy black shoes.

“Looking down today, are we?” The woman asked with a slight French accent. “That’s not like you at all, child. Are you feeling okay today?”

“I am.” Scarlet heard herself say. It was a surprise because she was so tongue-tied, she was sure she hadn’t said a thing. It was as if the words came from someone else. However, the woman's satisfied look told her it had come from her. 

“Good,” the woman said haughtily, “I shall require your assistance in a moment, as my maid has taken a chill. Lord knows how with this stifling heat; however, I’ve just checked on her and she is ill. I will send for you.” 

The woman walked away, leaving Scarlet with a chill. She did not know why, but that woman scared the s**t out of her. She hadn’t been mean, neither had she yelled, but there was just something about that lady that left a sour taste in her mouth.

Scarlet started again when a large hand came down on her shoulder. She turned to a heavy weighted black woman that looked like a grandma. She had a scarf around her head and her cheeks giggled as she said with wide eyes, “I been calling you for five minutes. Miss Lovey requested you to help her get ready for lunch. You best hurry up child.”

When Scarlet looked confused, she said, “Now none of that!” she yelled. “You will go, and you will be respectful. No matter what you think of that woman, she is the lady of the manor, and you will do what you must. It’s just the way it is.”

She dragged her the entire time she was talking. Through a kitchen, down a hall, up some stairs, and down another hall, to a double door. The large woman knocked and left, shooting Scarlet a stern look before descending the stairs. The door opened and Miss Lovey stood there in all her proud glory. She stood aside and let Scarlet in. As soon as she was through the door, the lady grabbed her arm and pushed her against the door.

“You been following me, little Charlotte.” She hissed.

That was when Scarlet connected the dots. This was not her memory or something from a past life. This was Charlotte’s memory, and this lady was Lovey. Charlotte’s teacher.