Inside The Manor

Chapter Thirteen

For the first time in a while, I felt sure of myself. I wasn't shaking anymore. I didn't feel paralyzed or even scared.

Anne believed in me.

No matter how bad I could f**k this up, I felt supported.

Now, all what was left to do was tell Trey about the plan, and hope for his cooperation.

I could do this.

I breathed deeply and descended the stairs. My first destination was my room, but my attention shifted towards the guest room Claudia was staying.

Weird, I thought I had heard a noise.

I started at the door, but then decided I must have imagined it.

Until it happened again.

This time, with measured steps, I got closer to the door.

Clutching the bottle to myself I put my ear against the door, trying to understand the whispers.

"She's crazy!" echoed Claudia's whiny voice.

Silence fell.

"I know."

I stared at the door in disbelief, the sound of Trey's voice making me shudder.

"You can't leave me here. She'll kill me!" Claudia spoke again.

Truth be told, I was thinking about leaving this up to Anne, but now... I might just get rid of you myself.

"I won't let her hurt you." He assured her.

You won't get a choice, you bastard.

"You don't know her. She has gone insane. She's even calling me by another name."

"I know. And did you even hear her fantasies about those parallel worlds. Hell, she believes she's talking with the dead!" Trey almost shouted the last part, but Claudia quickly hushed him.

"This isn't real, you know that right?" Claudia asked him, sounding like she was in the verge of crying.

"I know, she's crazy."

Silence fell on inside the guest room, but on my side of the door, I could clearly hear the sound of my heart shattering.

Of course he didn't believe me. Hell, if I were him I wouldn't believe me either, but the bottle I was holding to my chest meant that I wasn't just making this up.

I could kiss goodbye to his help now.

I still had to get rid of Claudia, and I was going to do it. With or without his help.

Quickly going to the kitchen, I prepared three cups of hot chocolate.

Knowing that this time, it would be the two of them against me, I wasn't going to take any chances...

I knocked outside their door, holding the trey with the mugs with one hand.

Without waiting for a response, I opened the door and saw Trey at the end of the bed looking at me like a deer caught in the headlights. Claudia looked at me, gauging for my reaction.

Two can play at that game.

I looked at Trey again, faking sympathy.

"I'm sorry you have to spend the night. Here, I made us all some hot chocolate." I said lifting up the tray.

Claudia noticed the three mugs, and got a weird look on her face.

I noticed and let out a chuckle. Claudia's darkened even further.

"Don't like chocolate?" I asked in an angry tone. "Why, you used to love it, right? Camilla?"

Ok, maybe I went a little bit too far.

"Yeah, she loves it." Trey confirmed as he nodded to himself.

Claudia glared at me, but then smiled in his direction.

I handed Trey two cups, one for him and one for Claudia. I then grabbed my own, before I could sip it, Claudia did exactly what I had predicted.

"Can I have your mug, Elora?" She asked sweetly. "It looks more appetizing."

I looked at Trey to check his reaction, but the fool wasn't even comprehending the situation.

I licked my lips, acting nervous and then put the cup away from my face.

"Sure." I said.

Claudia looked surprised.

"I am not going to kill you. The cups aren't poisoned." I said slowly as if talking to a child and exchanged one of the cups with Trey.

To further prove my point, I drank from it gulped loudly, then sent a smirk her way.

Claudia still didn't seem convinced, but Trey had already brought the mug to her lips. Her face was filled with discomfort, but still she sipped a little. After assessing whether she could feel any type of poison, or not she drank hurriedly.

It occurred to me, she must have been dying of thirst.

Trey smiled at her. Useless bastard, could have ruined everything.

When she was finished Trey drank form his own cup.

I sighed in relief, hoping that it would go unnoticed.

After a long silence it was finally the time for me to act mental.

"Claudia, or Cam, I don't know at this point... Are you really Cam, my best friend Cam?" I asked and started sobbing.

"Elora..." Trey started to say. He came closer and engulfed me in a hug. By now, tears were going down my cheeks.

God bless those acting classes in high school!

"We forgive you, you know? We are all friends here?" Trey said while slowly rocking me back and forth.

"I can't... If she really is our Cam what was all that conversation before you shot her?" I said as I pushed him away and turned to Claudia with an accusing glare.

Trey blinked, as if he had completely forgotten about that and turned to Claudia as well.

"I was just going with it." She whined. "After all, Elora had already told me everything, and I didn't want to make her feel crazy."

I had never told her about the dimension.

Trey turned to look at me again.

"And the guns?" I backfired. "What were you doing with all those knives?"

"They were for self-defense." Trey answered for her.

Jesus, she had freaking brainwashed him.

Was I too late?

No, I had all the prof I needed.

Yet I kept my silence for a while longer.

"Well? Do you have any more accusations?" Claudia asked sassily.

I remained silent.

Just for a dramatic effect, you know?

Trey exhaled loudly.

"Elora..."

"What about that night?" I asked. "Did you notice anything weird at the club?" I asked as I fished my phone out of my pocket.

"Elora..." Trey's eyes softened at the mention of the accident.

I didn't pay him attention as I kept scrolling through my phone.

"This is the date when it was taken." I explained as I opened the picture...

Trey verified the date and nodded, probably confused as to why I would bring this up right now.

"That's us, you me and Cam... And that, who do you think is that?" I asked him as I pointed to someone who was glaring at us, on the background of our group.

Same red hair, same piercing green eyes, same face shape... Same person.

I could the recognition in the way his eyes sparkled.

"Trey..." Claudia called out. "She's feeding you lies! Why can't you see that?"

She started fake-crying, and for a second I thought he would fall for her tricks again.

His eyes turned cold at the sight of Claudia.

My relief was extreme.

"Elora's not lying... Claudia." He spit her name as if it was poison.

"Whatever it is she's showing you, I can explain. You can't believe her! She's mental for f**k's sake!" By now Claudia was shouting.

"You can explain?" he whispered.

Oh my f*****g God!

How could he be so easily influenced?

"Yes." She whispered back.

"Go ahead, then. Explain to me, in detail... how can you be in two places at once?" he shoved the screen in her face.

Claudia's eyes took in the whole picture.

Me, Trey and Cam in the center and her in the background. Cam and Claudia were identical in hair, eyes, profile and even in clothes. The only difference was that Camilla was smiling the camera, while Claudia was glaring at Cam.

The Claudia standing across me was at a loss for words, and that made me feel good.

"Trey..." she tried calling him again in a soft voice.

"The heck you want, Claudia?" he snapped angrily.

I was doing a small victory dance in my mind.

Claudia rolled her eyes.

"Fine, whatever," she chuckled. "You were so easily to manipulate. It only took a couple tears and a few pet names."

She snickered.

"Anyway, what do you plan on doing now, Elora? We all know you can't kill me and I don't see Anne anywhere, so she must have refused to help you. Sad, isn't it?" Claudia was taunting me.

I simply smiled.

"You shouldn't worry about Anne so much, you know? Let the dead be, Claudia." It was meant to sound tired, but it came out as an order.

"You have no idea who she is." Claudia snapped. "She doesn't belong here!"

"Neither do you!" I snapped back.

Maybe I was being irrational in protecting Anne like this, after all I knew nothing about her, but she could've hurt me when I was feeling vulnerable, instead she helped me feel better. I felt like I owned her at least this much.

"I came on this world with a Royal permission, she came here as a refugee and decided to stay forever. She neglected her duties to the Council! She put shame on her mission! She didn't deserve to live!" Claudia yelled and pulled at the ropes.

She was acting like a trapped animal, forcing her way out of her cage. Trey took a couple steps back, and I probably should have done the same, but my curiosity took the best of me.

"What was her mission?"

Claudia looked at me distraught, then as if remembering something she began chuckling manically.

"Of course you don't know! But, I bet you must think of Anne as your new bestie, huh?" she kept laughing.

I kept staring at her. At least, she had stopped trying to free herself.

After quieting down, she started speaking normally again.

"She was supposed to collect a stone, supposedly hidden somewhere in this house."

"Did she..." I began speaking.

"Oh, yeah she found it alright." Claudia took a pause. "But, then she became selfish. She never returned the stone. She found it and kept it to herself."

It was starting to make sense. Claudia was a sucker for rules, while Anne couldn't stand them. Of course the two would hate each-other.

"So you went to take it from her?" I asked faking innocence.

I had been there when Claudia had gone to collect the stone. It was the same day, Claudia had killed Anne.

"I was giver the orders to retrieve the stone from her... But she tricked me!"

"So you killed her." I finished the story for her.

"She didn't deserve to live!" Claudia shrugged nonchalantly.

"Neither do you." I stated.

Claudia looked at me confused for a second, before understanding my hidden meaning.

Her breathing got labored, and cold sweats appeared on her forehead. She started shaking her head, likely begging for clarity in her vision.

"How... How did you do this?" she asked and then started coughing.

"When you drank the chocolate." I explained.

She coughed again. More harshly and then her breathing started sounding scratchy.

I moved myself forward, so I was kneeling at the edge of the bed and crossed my arms on the bed, close to her face, completely ignoring Trey.

"You didn't... You couldn't have known which mug I'd pick" She accused, trying to force herself to believe this wasn't happening.

"You're right, I couldn't have possibly known." I paused to stroke her hair. "So I poisoned all three."

Her eyes widened, before falling shut.

The last thing I remember was hearing Trey's body fall with a thud behind me.