wow! there something going on but I feel like Lucia is just missing all the clues, ya know. Something about jareth isn't right. How is he always showing up when Lucia needs help? He seems to always be in the same place she is and always with an excuse about how he got there? loving the update.

Another great chapter, can't wait to read more!

Actually, I'm beginning to hate Lucia, because her sim has 0 nice and neatness points (and she was born in game :confused: ) and is really hard to work and play with, so don't expect her to be clever. :laugh:

I'll post a small update this evening. It's not a part of the 4th chapter, rather some kind of extra update, and is already finished, but I first I have to finish watching Stanley Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon" and resize the pictures.

I was doing a photo-shoot for the 4th chapter and ended up with these pictures. They kinda… appeared out of nowhere, because they haven’t got a lot to do with the actual storyline (the best things come unexpected, don't they?). However, I liked them too much to keep them in my outtakes folder, so I thought that I could think of a little story behind them and post them there, and here we are.
This.. teaser tells some new things about Jarreth (who's the narrator) and a new character is introduced.


Jack tossed a coin into air and with a brilliant move caught it before it could land on the table. He had been playing this stupid game a whole evening. When Jack finds a new toy, he can go on for hours. “Boys will be boys”, would say Rose and she would be damn right.
- Would you please forget your toy for a second and listen to what I say?
No answer. He raised his hand again, hesitated for a moment and then tossed it again. I tried to catch it first, but he noticed my move and overtook me. Our smart Jack, he is always one step ahead you.
A slight grin crossed his face.
- I heard that our football team is playing against BSG this evening.
- This town has a football team? You must be joking,- I snarled.


- Sure we have. Didn’t all those rides with William teach you anything? I thought that you two were close and football is all he ever talks about. With the exception of motorcycles. Yeah, at least William’s good at motorcycles, otherwise he would be completely useless. An useless waste, - added Jack with another grin.
What’s wrong with him tonight? This is so different from the usual friendly and laughing Jack.
- You shouldn’t be so hard on him. There’s not better mechanic in this town, and if he wouldn’t have been willing to help when…
- Sure, sure. You see, my friend, in this world, money is not enough to make you worth a crap.
- Look at me, do I look like someone who values money?
- Oh yes, yes, sure you do. You’ve just pledged your last shirt for money, my dear. Or do you simply like to feel the chill on your skin?


I sighed. Jack was obviously playing some kind of game on me, but I couldn’t figure out what was this game about. Yet.
- We both know that you hate William not because of his money. What’s this all about?
I leaned ahead and stared into his eyes. It least I tried to, because Jack had now closed his eyes and was unsuccessfully pretending to chant some kind of ancient chant in a low voice. This made me feel like an idiot, even if he was the clown.
- Is it because of Rosaleen?
This name caught his attention, but…
- We both know that this is not about Rose. Not only about Rose,- he grimaced.


- Rose is a long forgotten business for me,- Jack’s voice sounded sadder. I was right – this name caught his attention, and the old, warm and caring Jack seemed to be back.
- But William thinks otherwise,- I mumbled.
- He can think what he wants to, but it’s you who’s a winner, Jarreth. Not him and not me. She’s his sister, for shit’s sake! If only you had the same impact on poker as you have on women…
- If it’s not about Rose and not about his father’s money, then what’s it about?
- There’s no point to tell you that, because soon the whole world is going to see the truth anyway,- the grin came back.
I took a deep breath.
- Remember our rules, John? No secrets. There’re no secrets between any of us. And that implies to everyone. ..
- No secrets, huh? But you do have secrets. Let’s make a deal, eh? Truth for a truth.
I nodded. Somehow this offer didn’t look very promising. Jack hesitated for a moment.
- Let’s begin from... well, have you two ever made love?


I leaned back and sighed. It was obvious that had prepared this ultimatum ages ago, always one step ahead, our smart Jack. This is “teeth for a truth”, not “truth for a truth”.
- Is this what you call long forgotten business?
- All right, let’s try another one. That new girl, that brunette.. What's her name? Lucia?
It was his turn to catch my attention. What could I say to him? That she’s crossed Peacock Stream last night, that she’s seen their camp, that she's been in those woods, that her cousin... How would he react? That’s something that none of us could ever imagine, that’s worse than my worst nightmare...
- See, Jarreth?- Jack grimaced. My confusion must’ve caught his attention, even if he couldn’t understand the real reason behind it. – Now listen close, my boy, I’ll tell you a secret. Each of us has secrets.
- Oh, CRAP!


- Oh, it seems that you’ve lost the game again, poor thing. Do you have anything else to pledge, or can I have your soul already?- grin, grin and even more grin. – The sad thing is that we can’t ban gambling games from our party, because that would result in economical crisis in Ksnyatin, as if they don’t have enough financial problems already. Had I ever told you that this poker table is also a winning?
- Wait a minute, why didn’t they call us? It’s way past midnight.


- Did you remember to turn on the damn phone?
- You were supposed to do that,- I mumbled.
- I w... whatever, let’s go, we can’t miss the gathering.

“The phone is ringing”.
This was my first thought that morning. I jumped out of the bed and hurried to answer it.


- Hello?
- Good morning, is Emmanuelle at home?- a voice asked, male voice.
- Yes, she is, - I mumbled into the handset and then shouted for my mom: “Mom, the phone!”.
Then realization struck me. If my mother would have been at home, she would have answered the phone. There wasn’t a single sound coming from her bedroom – I was still alone. And Eve wasn’t at home too. With shaking hands, I picked up the handset, whispered an excuse into it, and hanged up.
I walked through empty rooms – my mother’s bedroom, the bathroom, my room, the living room, and it seemed to take ages, even if our apartment was tiny. “Eve isn’t at home. She didn’t come back. And for some reason, mother didn’t come back from work last night too”, I kept thinking to myself.


And then my eye caught a note on the kitchen table:

“Dear Lucia,
we had to leave to the city to visit my uncle Tom, who’s in hospital. We won’t be back until tomorrow’s evening.
Please take care,
Mom and Evangeline”

I could feel the rising feeling of relief as I read the text, but my head was full of minds. “So everything is alright, she came back home. Just as I expected, like the first time. Now it seems that this night’s events were just a dream – and maybe they really were? Everything was so surreal, that I could've imagined it. There’s no proof to state otherwise… No, of course there is! That stream and a peacock statue should be only ten minutes away from our home. It’s not deep in the forest or something, I could just go there, take a look at it, just to make sure, and then head home. I don’t want to go any further anyway. Of course, this is what I will do after breakfast. ”


I ate my breakfast without actually feeling the taste of food – I was anxious, because whatever I was going to see – or to not see – it had to be interesting. If that stream will still be where it was this night, then... What‘s wrong with Eve, what could she, a seven year old girl, had found in those woods? Or what did she lost there? Was she going to that camp – and does someone lives there? And what if won‘t find any stream and it all was a dream – would that mean that I am losing my mind?
Can a dream be so realistic?
Can reality be so dreamlike?


My curiosity began to fade when I came to a crossroad.
Last night I was simply following Eve and didn‘t notice that there was a crossroad at all, and, most importantly, now I had no clue of which way to go. Every direction looked exactly the same - a dark, endless forest, how else could it look?
I sighed and pulled out a coin out of my pocket. „ I‘ll let the coincidence to decide the way, since this situation is already weird. Well, there are three directions, and only two sides of the coin, but it doesn‘t matter anyway. So, if it‘s tails, I go to the left, heads – I go straight.“ I tossed a coin into air, waited for it to fall on the ground and... blinked. It was standing on its edge, stuck between the roots.
„So... I go to the right“. If your fate is to die by drowning, you can‘t be killed with a gun. Was it my fate to turn to the right?


It soon became obvious that that road wasn‘t the one which lead to the stream and I started to wonder for how long I was running that night until I reached it, it seemed like a few minutes, but it could‘ve been a lot longer, remembering how scared I was...

After some time, I started to recognize the road road in which I was walking. It was not so far away from our old house, I knew the way and could easily walk from there to it. It took ten minutes to drive from there to the new apartment by car, but it was a lot faster to walk on your foot through a forest, because this road was direct. Though it was obvious that nobody uses it.

When I came to where I thought our old house stood, there was nothing but an empty field. Maybe I‘ve mistaken the paths and there was never a house in this place. I sighed, because that day‘s expedition had completely failed.
And then I felt that I was not alone. I took a deep breath, turned around and...


It was a tree. A simple old tree.

But I could‘ve sweared that just a second ago it was further from me. A lot further.
I haven‘t ever heard of a tree killing anyone, but that wasn‘t the point. I felt that I was a stranger. Intruder. I was unwanted in this place. And I had to leave. „ I should have stayed at home. I mustn‘t enter the forest again, because it just... never leads to a good thing.“
And then I started to run.


I turned around to take the last look at the empty field, just to make sure that there‘s no house there, definitely not expecting to see what I saw – that there someone was running after me. A human. Male. And that he was wearing ragged clothes – that‘s all what I had time to see, because something else catched my eye then, something behind him.
A house.
It was there again.

I ran, and ran, and ran.


I didn‘t stop until I was in the main street.
I hated this town, but at that moment it felt like the most loved and safest place in the world. The further away the forest is, the better.

Who was running after me?
I knew that it was probably a simple tramp, maybe he lives in our abandoned house and all he wanted was my money, which I didn‘t have – what would had happened if he would‘ve overtaken me? He wouldn‘t had let me go, because I could tell everything to the cops. „Don‘t think about it, Lucia, it‘s all over now. Enough.“
Yes, Lucia, enough. You should think about that house instead, because no matter how hard to try, you aren‘t going to understand what happened. One second it wasn‘t there, and the other it was.

Though whoever was running after me, I couldn‘t get rid of a strange feeling that in some kind of way he was still running and won‘t stop soon, that someone was looking for me.
I was still tense and couldn‘t concentrate on my thoughts, so I got up from the ground and let my legs to carry me home.

oh getting so interesting. there doesn't really seem to be a difference between what's reality and what's a dream.

My legs carried me to Hole.
Maybe I was willing to find Jareth there. I probably was, because he always used to make me feel. And he even saved me when I was lost in the woods. It wasn’t late yet, but the place was full – a football match was going on TV. The crowd wasn’t usual young crowd, today there were more older people. Older men, to be exact.
It smelled sweat.


Jareth wasn’t there, but William was.
He didn’t seem interested in the whole football business – at first I even thought that he was asleep. He was sitting alone in a corner, with the same bored look he had the last time I saw him. Maybe that was his usual expression.
I sat besides him.


-William didn’t show a lot of interest in me as well - as a matter of fact, he beated all of my worst expectations by greeting me with a yawn. I sighed.
- Is Jareth there?- I shouted over the football noise.
- No, and I think that he’ll busy all day, - said William and a short silence fell between us. My gaze fixed on a half empty bottle in front of him. There were two glasses, maybe he’s with someone and I’m interrupting?
- Have you thought about what I told you the other day?
- I have,- I lied. – However, it‘s all forgotten now. I am sure that Jareth didn‘t .. drug me,- this time I wasn‘t sure if I was lying or not. I trusted Jareth. He wouldn‘t have a motive to do that. But there‘s always a „what, if...?“.
- Good, then,- grinned William and I could see that he lied too. He didn’t believe me.
- I’m glad to see that you’ve sorted that out.
A silence fell between us again, but this time it was a lot longer.


- Are you with someone?- I finally asked.
- No, why?- William sounded surprised.
- Well, there are two glasses and only one bottle, I mean, if I’m interrupting something, I could…
- It’s water,- he made a grimace. – Keeps you from dehydrating.
“This is one of the most ridiculous conversations I’ve ever had”, I thought. But, if he’s alone, I could go on and ask him to explain what did he really mean when he told me to be careful with Jareth – there must be more behind it than his determined character.
- What was your intention when you warned me about Jareth? I thought that you two were friends.
- We are. Listen, I don’t think that we have much to talk about. You’re asking this only because you are suspicious with me, aren’t you?
And he was right again.


- I would answer you if you would be open-minded, but now it just doesn’t have a point. Besides, the football is going on.
- You don’t like football very much, do you?
His expression made me regret saying that. William did like football. A lot. Well, at least he didn’t say his thoughts aloud.
- Our team is losing,- he said and fixed his eyes upon a TV screen. – However, you can count on Jareth. He won’t let you down. It’s not about that.
The last three sentences sounded like an excuse for Jareth. It seemed that William was keeping a secret and he wanted to tell me it, but was feeling guilty.
Well, it seems that you can count on him as well.


I decided to leave William alone with his thoughts. Even if our conversation had failed completely, it still left some things for me to think about. It seemed that William saw straight through me… Did he saw straight through Jareth as well? The interesting thing was that it didn’t actually matter to me. I just didn’t want to listen to what he said.
I went straight home and, despite the stress I had that day, fell asleep instantly.

I was washing my face when I heard somebody heavily knocking on the door.
- Just a minute, I’m coming!- I shouted and bent down to rinse the soap.
Knock, knock, knock.
- I’m coming!- I shouted louder this time.

When I opened the door, I saw a friendly, though official, looking man in his late thirties.


- You must be Lucia,- he said before I could say anything.
- That’s right, and may I know who you are?-I asked.
- I am your mother’s old friend. We spoke on the phone yesterday,- a smile crossed his face.
- Oh, so that was you.
His voice sounded familiar to me. It didn’t sound familiar on the phone, but now I was sure that I’ve heard it somewhere.
- Have we met before?
- I am afraid that we didn’t. I would really like to chat with you, but I have no time for that, sadly. Is your mother at home?
Now I remembered where I’ve heard his voice. He’s the same man who probably bought our house. This thought made all my friendliness for him to disappear, and he felt that.
- Are you playing dumb? Is your mother at home?


- No, she’s not and she won’t be back until the evening,- I hesitated for a second. – But she’s also said that she might get delayed and stay in the city until tomorrow, - I lied, because I hated this stranger already, but that only made things worse.
- She’s not?! I don’t believe that. Do you think that you can fool me, you stupid kid? She’s hiding, let me through!
He pushed my out of his way and stormed in. He ran through our flat, opening every dresser and even some drawers in his way, maybe he thought that my mother might be hiding in a drawer? I watched the scene motionless – what could I do, anyway?
Finally he came back to where I stood.
He took a few deep breaths and opened his mouth:
- Well, it seems that you didn’t lie after all. I hope that the next time your mother will be there – you should hope for that as well. We’ll meet again soon.
The stranger slammed the door and left.


I collapsed on a couch. Maybe this man is the real reason why my mom left to the city for the weekend? Maybe she’s trying to run away from him.
I tried to call her, but her phone’s battery seemed to be dead and there was nothing else that I could do to contact her, to warn her… or at least to ask her to explain everything.

The only thing which used to make me feel calm and secure was painting. After we moved into apartment, I started to paint less, because there wasn’t enough light, space and privacy. Painting used to be a color therapy for me. I’d never liked painting paintings with concepts, I just liked to play around with colors.
I attended additional painting lessons at my school, also had a great relationship with my teacher and was allowed to enter our art classroom whenever I wanted and do whatever I wanted to do there, so I headed there because relaxation was the thing that I needed most and there just had to be some paint and empty canvases in the classroom.
The town looked orange and cozy under the setting sun. Just like any other little town, but this impression was false.
Luckily, the school was open even on Sundays.


Our classroom begged for renovation. It was dark, dirty and had WWII times political posters on the walls. There was also a lot of useless stuff lying around, like empty animal cages. Probably no one remembered how they ended up there and accordingly didn’t know whether somebody needs them or not.
There were two other students, and from their talk I understood that they were waiting for a teacher. They didn’t bother me at all, but after some time I started to listen to their conversation, because something in it caught my attention.
- I heard that a group of gypsies came to Ksnyatin last week,- said the light haired girl. – And that they have a camp somewhere in the forest.
- Came to Ksnyatin? Oh come on, gypsies do not travel around the world like that anymore, it’s not the middle ages .

Maybe this would explain what I saw on Saturday’s night in the woods? But that camp didn’t look lived in at all…


- Well, some of them don’t, and some of them are devoted to their traditional lifestyle. There even are some proofs that gypsies are in town,- she widened her eyes with a smile.
- Some proofs? What a hell are you talking about? This sounds a bit funny,- said a boy, confused.
- There was a robbery on Saturday’s night. My friend got robbed. She was walking down the street, when an old woman with colorful clothes asked her something… And the next thing she knows is that she’s standing in front of her house and that her purse is gone. No signs of physical assault, like she was… hypnotized, ya know. Gypsies can do that.

So I am not the only one for whom Saturday’s night was adventurous.

- Oh, come on, really. How can you know that this woman was really a gypsy? Maybe someone just dressed up as a gypsy, because they knew that they are in town, and…
- Danny, we are not in the movie, wake up! This is real life.
- Are you calling your story "very realistic"?


- Yes, because it happened to my best friend.

Danny sighed and shook his head slowly.

- They also sell their children, did you know that?
- Who?- Danny looked absolutely bored.
- The gypsy people, who else!
- Stop being superstitious!
- I am not superstitious, this hasn’t got anything to do with magic or something. Don’t you read newspapers?

This was followed by a stream of funny insults and a lot of shouting.
I soon got tired of them arguing and decided to leave to the bathroom, though it seemed that I wasn’t going to find any quiet today.


The girl’s story was very stereotyped (that’s the word that Danny probably wanted to use instead of saying “superstitious&#8221, but I couldn’t get it out of my head anyway. There were too many coincidences. Maybe the camp was empty (was it?) when I got there only because whoever lives in it, they were committing that strange robbery? Well, “stereotyped” doesn’t mean “not true”.
I could ask that girl at what exactly time her friend was robbed, I could make up some stupid story about myself being robbed as well… The questions is, is it worth it? Maybe I am exaggerating. I didn’t even know what was I trying to solve. Well, let’s say that she was robbed the same time I was in the forest. And then what, what kind of conclusion could I make?
My thoughts were interrupted the same moment I entered the bathroom, because Maggie was there.


Of course she was there. Maggie was my classmate and she used to spend half of her life in this bathroom, smoking, even if there was a “no smoking” sign on the wall.
Maggie wasn’t from the friendly type of people, she was very bold and liked to sneer at others. And the fact that she was there on Sunday probably meant that she’s having some problems with her Maths teacher again, and it didn’t make me feel optimistic about her behavior at all.
- Lucia? You scared the shit out of me, I thought that you were a teacher and I am caught,- she nodded to her cigarette. – What brings you there on Sunday?
- I simply wanted to finish my painting,- I mumbled and turned to one of the bathroom stalls.
- Hey, please don’t get locked in there, I’m tired of being alone. Do you want a cigarette?
- No, thanks. I don’t smoke,- my answer made her to giggle.


- Yeah, I know that.
Suddenly her face changed.
- Oh, and there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.
- Well, go on,-what could Maggie want to say to me?
- I saw you in Hole yesterday, you were talking to William. It’s not surprising that you got into an argument with him. Actually, I am impressed that you made him to say anything at all.
- What makes you talk like that?
- You don’t know him well, don’t you? Well, he’s a total outsider. He lives in that house on the hill and I think that ordinary mortals just don’t interest him. The fact that he talks to you means a lot, believe me, - she giggled. – And I have to admit that William is cute. Jeeez, while he was still in school, I had a crush on him.
- I’d never thought about his looks,- I muttered.
The famous manor on the hill belonged to the richest man in the whole town. I didn’t know that he had a son… So it turns out that William’s family owns like… half of Ksnyatin?
Maggie lit another cigarette.


- But this is not what I wanted to say. I saw you with Jareth as well, so it’s like, well, you are in that gang now, aren’t you?
- I don’t know anything about “that” gang.
That made her to laugh again.
- No, of course it’s not a real gang. It’s just that I’d never thought that you hang out with people like that, I thought that you were dull… However, if you’re with them, we can be friends.
That was an interesting offer.
- So, we are friends now, aren’t we, Lucia?
- Well, if you want it, then it can be this way.
- That’s great, so… see you at school tomorrow?
- Yes, sure,- I mumbled and walked out to the corridor.


So my new friends, if I could count William as a “friend”, were influential as well. If only I knew why…
Somehow I didn’t feel like finishing my painting and decided to walk straight home. When I was on my halfway, I remembered that I wanted to talk to that girl in the art class about her friend being robbed and all that, but going back seemed like a ridiculous idea.

Later I got to find out that Maggie was wrong when she described William as smug, but that’s another story.
“I wonder what is he doing at this exact moment”, I thought.


P.S. Any kind of comments is really appreciated. (:

I love how your pics contain so much emotions in them. why did that goy barge into lucia and her moms apt in the first place. there' a lot of weirds things going now that I bet are realated to each other in some way. What I don't get is how could maggie know so much about jareth and william when lucia doesn't.

It was already dark, the weather was moist and I was walking fast, curious to get home, because I hoped that my mother was already back from the city. We had a lot to talk about. I'd decided to tell her about Eve's walk in the woods, because that could help to prevent her from leaving home at night. She was only seven, it would have been stupid to think that these walks can be related to something important.


I passed a couple of practising fire dancers.
Stuff like that was popular between the youth of Ksnyatin - juggling, the devil sticks, hooping... It was a great way for a teenager to earn some money, because the part-time jobs were hard to find there. However, for most of the performers, it never crossed a line between the hobby and the profession. A good performance was a rare thing to see, but a lot of people used gather to watch them anyway, since in this town you just don't have anything better to do sometimes.


But these guys seemed to be a bit older than teenagers and their tricks were a lot more interesting than those I used to see usually. It must've been years of practise.
I even stopped to watch them and the longer I watched, the more familiar the attitude of one of them seemed to me, though I didn't dare to say the name out loud, I wasn't sure yet... Until one of them turned his face to me. It was only for a moment, but that was enough. Ksnyatin can be so small sometimes.
- Jareth!- I happily shouted and ran to greet him.


- Lucia! Just when I was thinking about calling you. Is your cousin alright?
- Yes, it was some kind of misunderstanding,- I felt like this wasn't the right place and time for telling the truth. I could tell him it afterwards anyway.
- Great, then,- he looked at me strangely, but said nothing about it.
- How long have you been doing this, fire dancing, I mean?
- It's been a while. Four years, I think.
- Is that what do you... live from?
- Yes, - he laughed,- and the income is better than you think. And it's way more interesting than any other job I'd done.
- It's a bit weird that I haven't seen you dancing before.
- How can you be so sure when you know me for only three weeks? Maybe you did, but didn't pay attention.

Well, if he wanted to be modest, he had a right to.

We sat on a truck in the silence for a while, and then he spoke:
- Would you like to go somewhere?
- Where, for example?
- Well, I don't know, we could just make a fire somewhere by the river.
That would be a good chance to talk everything out, to tell him about William, about the house, about Maggie...
- Yeah, let's do that.

It was a beautiful evening and nobody, nobody wished to die.


Jarreth said that we had to go to his garage at first, because there was something wrong with one of his tires.



It was obvious that this garage was used by a few people, not only because there were two other motorbikes, but also because of the amount and variety of stuff in it.
These people probably used to gather there on weekends, to sit around and talk, watch movies, play music... to have fun. There was no females in that company, you could easily say that from how the garage looked, except...
- Jarreth?
- Well, yeah, that's my name.
- Whose is this pink moped?
- Oh, it belongs to William's sister.
- So you do have girls in your motorbike club?
- No, it's not like that...



- Do you want some beer?
- Well, if you're offering some....
He opened a bottle with his jacket's metal buckle. I would'd never managed to do that.
- Rose bought her moped just after William bought his motorbike. She totally worships her brother and they're always together. Sadly, their father didn't like the idea of his only daughter riding this monster, so it's hidden there now.
Jareth leaned over his motorbike and began changing the tire. I curled up besides him with my beer.
- So I figure that William had already told you about our motorbike club. Or was it somebody else?

- No, you're right, it was William,- and he had also told me that they were involved in some kind of "other activities", but I decided not to touch this topic... for now.
- Good, then. You see, there are some bad rumours going around, and I wouldn't want you to hear them first...
Jareth cleared his throat and continued.
- There's a bit more behind this whole... club mask. We are not allowed to tell anyone about it and it's usually inherited, I mean, passed from father to the son, so it's a closed cycle, but I decided to break the rules and tell everything to you, because...
- Good evening, chelloveks!- I jumped. This voice wasn't Jareth's.



- How did you get in without making a single sound?- Jareth was catched unawares as well.
- Through the dveri, my drūg, as we don't have windows there.
- Well, you should start wearing a bell around your neck, like a cow... or at least start wearing boots.
- Oh no, no sapogi for me..
- Shut that language, please!
- ...they're plokha for my chakras,- he grimaced.
- What?
- Oh, zabivat that,- he moved to me.



I realised that I was watching this scene with my jaw open.
This guy walks barefoot and claims that it is good for his chakras, he talks in a mix of English, Russian and nadsat and he smiles like a madman. Well, Jareth has some interesting friends.

- So this is the devotchka you told me about,- he threw an asking look at Jareth, but he didn't answer.- You are Lucia, right?
- Well yeah, - I silently said, unsure about how should I act.
- Excuse me for my awkward language, I didn't realise that you were there,- he grinned. - I'm Ivan. A taxidermist.
Did Ivan still hadn't realised I was there when he called me devotchka?


- Jack,- spoke Jareth. - Not Ivan.
- John, actually, but that's the same name, just in other language. And I don't think that language should be the barrier.
Jareth sighed, looking absolutely despairingly.
- However, you can call me Mike, if you want.
- I'll call you James, if you're ok with that,- I decided to play his game.
- Yeah, that's ok, if you're more comfortable with "James".

It took him two minutes to introduce. I decided to not ask Jack whether he really was a taxidermist or not though I doubted that a job like that would be good for his chakras.
Anyway, he decided that our talk was finished and moved to the punchbag in the corner.


Jack continued changing his tire and I continued sipping my beer.
The only sound which disturbed the silence was a rhytmic bumping coming from the corner. Jareth didn't continue telling me about what he wanted to tell, and I knew that there could be only two reasons for this: either Jack didn't know anything about that thing, or Jack was involved too and Jareth didn't want him to know that I know.
We did just as Jareth wanted to - made a fire by a river and sat by it talking. I told him about what happened with my old house, that it had disappeared for a moment. That interested him a lot.
- You know, I believe that this is the way things work in Ksnyatin Point...


- They're there while you need them, and then they disappear. Your house has finished its task for you and it's not there anymore, but it's there for somebody else, maybe some tramp lives in it now. This way, nothing really exists in this town. I bet that you couldn't see Ksnyatin from helicopter, you would see a forest...
- That's scary.
- No, I don't think that it's scary. I think that it's beautiful. A lot of problems would be solved if it would also be like that everywhere else.
I hesitaded.
- So that's why you're always where I am - I mean, why do we always meet in the forest?
- No. I think that I should continue with that story I was telling you before we were interrupted by Jack.


He took a deep breath.
- I was following your cousin last night. And that time when she disappeared for a whole day. That's how I found you.
I froze.
- But... for what purpose... would anyone do that?
- Let me begin at the beginning. You'd probably noticed that there's something deeply wrong in those woods. Anyone who lives in Ksnyatin understands that sooner or later, but most of them choose to ignore... However, for every single thing, there's an antipode. A force which can... stop that thing or something like that. There was no antipode for that strange angst in the woods, so, ages ago, somebody created it.
He sat on the ground besides me.
- I don't know how to call it, but...
- I think that you can call it a secret society,- I smiled.
- Yeah, a secret society,- he smiled as well. - That's right.



He stayed stilent for a while, probably looking for right words to continue his story, and I used this opportunity to ask him something.
- Is Jack in it as well?
- Oh yeah. And William, too,- a shadow crossed his face.- We used to have a captain, but he passed away in a traffic accident recently. Things have been a bit messed up since then.
- And what do you exactly?
- We do the strangest things, from helping the police, to... Well, you see, we are supposed to fight for everything good and unspoiled... What was that sound?
He looked tensed.
- What sound?

Everything happened very quickly.


- Oh my god, Jareth, is he dead?
- I'm afraid that he is.
Is that what their society does? Do they kill people?
- Lucia, calm down.
I started crying.
- Calm down. He was pressing the trigger. If I wouldn't had done that, you would be dead. We both would be.
- You didn't have to kill him, you could...
- I had no time to aim my gun. I just had to do it. It was a matter of life and death.
- Please drive me home.
- Sure. Don't worry, everything is alright. It was an accident.

Lots of updates for me to read today! I'm starting to get an idea of where things are heading, but I'm probably totally wrong!

Oh, please please please tell me what your idea is. I'm really curious about it, even if it's wrong... especially if it's wrong

Well, originally I thought it was something to do with vampires because she only seemed to see Jared, William etc at night, but now I don't think it is... I'm leaning more towards something to do with the trees... not exactly sure what though!

Actually, only an hour ago I was considering turning William into the vampire, because that Nightlife coffin was the only bed which suited in his room. :laugh: But the bed problem had finally been solved, so... he's probably staying human.

ok whoa! a secreat society would explain how jareth is always showing up at the weirdest times but I honestly think that something more sinister could be going on too.

Author's note: 1. I decided to divide this chapter into more than 3 parts. There'll be 4, probably.
2. Also, a question to my readers: do you think that Jareth did the right thing at the end of Chapter 4? Can he really be called guilty? He didn't have intentions to kill that man and if he had some time to aim his gun, he would have shot him in the hand or such. And that man was really trying to kill them, probably for money - or because he wanted Lucia.
3. Through the whole story, there is only one major character who doesn't have bad intentions at some point... All other have their ups and downs. It's probably too early to ask, but does anybody want to guess who he or she is? (: (list of major characters which had been introduced: Lucia, Eve, Lucia's mother, mysterious stranger with a hat, Jareth, William, Rose (William's sister), Maggie, Jack)


After.. after Jareth shot that man, he drove me straight home and none of us said a word on our way back. In my eyes, he took a shape of cold blooded killer, even if I knew that he saved our lives. But were our lives really worth such a price? If everybody's equal, and I used to believe that they are, does that automatically make two lives automatically worth more than one life - one life, which just went down the drain?
This sort of thoughts was running through my head while I gazed at the TV screen, waiting for my mother to come back from the city. I felt like I was the killer - because Jareth, the real killer, didn't show a single sign of remorse. He even tried to calm me down, saying that it was only an accident...


Morning found me asleep on the couch. Somebody had covered me with a wrap - that meant that my mom was back.
The day was only dawning, but I had to leave for school already - you can call me a geek if you want, but I had an extra lesson that morning.

The yellow light of the rising sun made Ksnyatin look surreal, like it wasn't enough surreal without that.
I decided that this day had to be great, or better than the day before, at least. After the school we had to visit my grandparents. I wasn't going to see Jareth. No more accidents like that.


He didn't smell of alcohol. He was dressed in good clothes. Yet he was suffering.
I saw this old man on my way to school, he was curled on the ground of garbage dump, mumbling something to himself, and his fingers were nervously clenched. Obviously something was wrong.
I took a step closer.
- Sir? Can you hear me?
He looked at me and the amount of terror in his eyes made me feel terror myself.


- Tell me, can you see my house?
"He probably needs some medication from there", I thought.
- Where is it, sir?
- It's right behind me. Can you see it?!
- But there's nothing behind you...
Suddendly I realised what was wrong and took a step back unconsciously. I knew what this old man was feeling.
He nodded his head.


- That's what I was afraid of. At least I am sane.
When he raised his head again, his eyes were pleading.
- Go! Get out of there! You didn't see me this morning, and there was never a house in this place...


He didn't need to repeat for the second time.
Before turning the corner, I took a glance over my shoulder and saw a girl leaning over him.


That's right. It would be a lot better if his grandchild would take care after him.
I didn't see this man, and there was never a house in this place, because I'd promised myself that this day is going to be a good one.

And I've never lived in a house either.


What a surprise - Maggie wasn't at school today. She was never at school on Mondays, because we had two Maths in a row.
Not that I missed her... not at all. I just needed to talk to someone. And Maggie didn't finish explaining me some things, we would be chatting about William's good looks and his money - or maybe she knows something about their secret society - and it would make me forget that man and his house and our little accident last night. I had no one to talk to, because my class didn't like me.
I could almost feel her absence physically.


The Beatles were singing in my earphones.
This lonely feeling didn't abandon me when my mom came to pick up me from school.
- Somebody was looking for you on Sunday,- I began. - The man with an old fashioned hat...


- Yes, he called me,- my mom interrupted me. - Yesterday's night he came to our place again, because he wanted to leave me a package, but he didn't find you at home, even if it was after midnight. Where were you, Lucia?
- Was it a bomb in that package? He didn't look friendly when we met, actually, he...
- Where were you?
- Nowhere, I... I mean, I was with my friend, you used to let me...
Why is she so suspicious? Could she know the truth?
- Well, from this second, I forbid you to leave the house in the evening. Somebody was murdered last night. It's not safe.
So the body was already found.


- And don't you dare to talk about that man like that again. He'd done a lot of good to our family.
- Mom, he pushed me, and he...
- Shut your mouth, Lucia, you're too young to understand. All he wants is to make our lives better.

I sighed.
That was an interesting perception of the word "good", whoever that man was.

To answer your questions:
2. I don't think he did the right thing, shooting the man should have been a last resort not the first thing he did.
3. I don't think I know enough about the characters to guess yet

Another intriguing update, can't wait to read more...

Hmm, but, as Jareth himself said, the man was actually pressing the trigger, and if Jareth would have reacted slower by at least a second, he would be dead himself.

I tried to make this situation a bit controversial, and I don't know if I succeeded, but I myself can't decide what I think of this.. accident.
:einstein

poor lucia. she really needs to face up to reality and kinda grow up to me. I understand that she's traumized and all but jareth did save her life. what the heck is going on with her mom? she's never spoken to lucia like that. I think lucia mom is sleeping with that guy or involved in some really shady stuff. great update.

It's controversial in that Jareth acted very calm and nonchalant about the killing.

Does anybody remember that Lucia mentioned that she's going to visit her grandfather after school? The same grandfather which is mentioned in Prologue? No? Well, you do remember now.


The smell of cooking turkey was unbearable. I don't eat meat, because basically it's just eating corpses. Eating dead bodies.
Dead, dead, dead... What does this word reminds me of?
- Lucia, won't you bring me some water from the well?- my aunt's voice spoke.
- Why, is there someting wrong with the water-supply?
- Don't protest, Lucia,- my mother whispered through clenched teeth.


"...and don't question things when you're there", she probably thought, but didn't say that aloud. The relationship between two sisters wasn't the best. My mother was hip. Outgoing. Educated... Her sister, Maria, was old-fashioned and lived in isolation. She had a nice face and could've been beautiful, if someone taught her how to, but, sadly, nobody did.

I was now standing in front of the well.


"It must be the neighbour kid".


"But there are no neighbours within 5 kilometeres."
- What are you doing there?
Find a completely empty room, stand in the center and ask: "Is there anybody out there?".
That's how my voice sounded then.

A moment later, I heard the door behind me open with a loud bang.


- Eve?
- Couldn't you hurry up?!
Even now, after a lot time had passed, I'm not sure whether she addressed this to me or to that being.

...to that being, which was there only a second ago.


My vision was gone.

Was that a bad or a good thing?
Differently from the other strange things I'd seen in Ksnyatin lately, this vision didn't scare me. I wanted it to last.. longer and longer and longer. I remembered the night when I thought that I was drugged. For a tiny moment, I felt that feeling again - the world had no secrets, and, out of nowhere, knowledge came to me.
Then it went away.


- You've been gone for water for 10 minutes and your mom's getting nervous!
It was time to act.
- Eve, I've had enough. I know that you know something about this. And I want you to tell me everything. I followed you on Saturday's night... Where were you going?
Not only it sounded pathetic, but also...
- What are you talking about?- Eve was looking suspiciously at me and I could say that she really had no clue what was going on.
- Didn't you see... him? A few seconds ago?- this was my last hope.


- I might be younger than you, but if you think that you can fool me with jokes like that, then you're a fool yourself,- she clenched her little fists and ran into the house.
"But a dream within a dream", I murmured to myself and bent down to pick up the bucket.

whoa that's just creepy now. lol great update.

OK, so... I spent a lot time in front of the computer this weekend, but, IMHO, it was worth is, since I was a bit ill anyway.
Chapter 5 has 5 parts, not 4, as I expected. It's just more comfortable to me this way.
And I got bored of small pictures soooooo much! Even if bigger pictures = slightly worse quality.

- It's a bit cold there, isn't it?
I closed my book and stood up to close the window, but, to my surprise, it was already closed, and I could swear that I felt the wind just a moment ago.
However, I think that I should finish telling you about our visit at my grandfather's house. There's nothing to tell, actually. The dinner went boring.


I couldn't hear almost anything of what was said, because my eyes were fixed on a newspaper.
"A nameless man found dead"
"It's been two years since somebody was murdered in Ksnyatin"
"There're no traces left, but we will find the killer."
These and many other things were written in that article.

Conversation's topics were mainly the same. My previous vision made me forget the last night's events for a while, but this newspaper made them alive again. Sometimes my grandfather would ask me something, then I would answer something utterly stupid and drown in my thoughts again.


"Maybe I should give Jareth away to the police", said Lucia.
"You need to talk to him at first", said another Lucia.
"And how would that help?"
"Talk to William", said the third Lucia and she was right. He was in that gang, like Jareth, he could finish telling me the truth about it. William had something against Jareth and now I had something against Jareth as well.
But, if I wanted to look his phone number up in the phone book, I had to know his surname, and I just couldn't remember it. Maggie, which probably had his name and surname scribbled on her notebook, didn't show up at school on Tuesday again. After the school, I went straight home and relaxed on a couch with my favourite book, Trainspotting and I read it until the dark, and until I felt the wind and stood up to close the window.


I picked the phone book and skimmed through its pages. William... There probably were hundreds of Williams' in Ksnyatin. William mentioned that poet when we first met... William Blake.
B.
Robert Blahčynski
Moňtgomer Blaintowski
Arthur Blake
Abimelech Blandischmènt

No William Blake. But Arthur might be his father.
I dialed the number. Maybe, maybe...


- Good evening, this is the Blake manor. With whom would you like to speak?-spoke a feminine voice.
- Eeergh... um, is William... at home?- there's only one manor in Ksnyatin, and it belongs to Williams' father.
- Could you introduce yourself at first, please?
- Well, I am.. Lucia, I am his friend and uh...
- Wait a minute, please.

A minute lasted slitghtly more than a minute.
- Lucia? What makes you to call me?- William sounded amused.
- Uh, William? Who was that woman I talked to?
- She's the administrator - is that why are you calling?
- No, I want to ask you a question. A lot of questions, actually. I.. I've changed my mind.
He didn't say anything.
- And I don't want to ask that over the phone. It would be great if we could meet somewhere as soon as possible...


- I suggest that we don't meet anywhere...
- W..what? You do?
- Yeah, the rain is terrible. It would be better if you would simply come over.
- I could.. when?
- I dunno, now?
- All right, then.
- And I guess that you already know the way.
- Yeah, sure.
- Well, if you get lost anyway, lookout for a manor on the hill. It's the only hill in Ksnyatin and the house is visible from absolutely any part of the town. That should help a bit.
- Thanks, I will.

- I will accompany you to William's room. We spoke over the phone.


We walked through the endless corridors and I was feeling uneasy. The house was old and grungy, but you could still feel the luxury. Every single painting was probably worth thousands.
Finally the corridors began to look simplier and I understood that this part of the house was not supposed to be shown to the guests - the family lived there, so we were almost at Williams's room... And I secretly hoped that it was less luxurious than the rest of the house.
The woman spoke so suddenly that she made me jump.

- William himself is outside, but I'll announce him that you'd arrived. You won't have to wait long.

Great updates, that little boy is spooky!

I'm still creeped out. I don't know why I expect something bad to happen.

(Finally it's finished... Took me longer than usual)



"Twenty three, twenty four..."


"Three hundred and six, three hundred and seven... There's so many scratches on that tapestry.

I bet that the blonde woman forgot to tell William about me and he doesn't even have an idea that I am sitting on his sofa and going insane from boredom. Maybe he decided that I am not coming over after all and is having fun at "Hole" at the moment. I hope that "Hole" closes earlier on workdays, otherwise it's going to be a long wait..."


"I don't know what makes me think that William can say something that would be worh waiting. Or that he's going to talk to me at all. Why did I come here at all? All I want to hear is that their society was created to save the world from giant spiders or cyborgs... or little mysterious boys... and to keep houses from disappearing.
I really need some explanations. Maybe they could help me to stop thinking about Jareth as a killer -"

"- do I really still think about him this way?
I also have another king of feelings for him and they're slowly taking over. One part of me wants them to win and the other is screaming that it would be deadly wrong - being in love with a killer.
With a wolf."


"If only tonight I could sleep.

I wish there was somebody in this room with me. It's too silent, too dark and...
Who is that?!!"


"No, there's no one there, I guess that it was only my imagination."


- Wake up, you sleepyhead.


- I am sorry that I made you to wait,- said William, but his voice didn't make me to believe that he was really sorry.
- It's OK. I had a great time.
- Good, then, - he chose to ignore the real meaning of my words, - So, if I got you right, you came there to listen to my rants on Jareth. What made you to change your mind? You were on his side when I saw you the last time. Not on mine.
- Well,- I began. There was one thing I was certain of - I wasn't going to tell anyone what happened, that Jareth had.. killed. So I decided to lie. - A few days ago, something happened, and we...
- Broke up?- added William.


Is that what really happened? Did we broke up?
- Well yeah, kinda.
- What did exactly happen?
- Well, he,- I hesitated, because I didn't know what to say. William noticed that and leaned a bit closer. I wasn't planning to tell him anything, I simply wanted to ask what do their society do, but everything went wrong. Think, Lucia, think... - We were together and somebody.. called him. And Jareth got really mad at that person. He even threatened to kill him or her... And he also said that he's going to tell everything to "others". I paused to take a look at William. He was tensed.


- And then I remembered that Jareth once said something about a gang , and realised what could be the real horrible meaning behind these words...
"Gang" was a term used by Maggie.

William bursted out with laughter. How could I expect him to swallow this nonsense?


- I am afraid that you got everything wrong, Lucia. I can't know who was he talking to, but I can assure you that he's not a criminal and I am glad to know that he finally bought a new cell phone, because the old one accidentaly fell into a river during our last meeting. As a matter of fact, Jareth has a golden heart, but... But he's dangerous to you. Yyou are in a weird situation. Very, very weird situation.
William paused. He seemed ashamed of the way he said these words - loud and nervour. When he continued, his voice was back to is usual sleepy tone.
- Don't go into the forest alone, please. There's a big danger there, much bigger than Jareth is.


- A danger? So... what else should I do do avoid it?
And I expected William to say something real. That was a naive wish.
- I don't know. Try throwing some salt over your shoulder. I can't say anything helpful.
Then why the hell did he mention this danger at all? I felt angry. And what did he mean by saying that he can't say anything helpful - that he's not allowed or...
- I think that you should make up with Jareth.
- You? You have been warning me to stay away from him, and...


- Yeah, I admit saying that and I'm going to tell you what I meant. Right now.
There was a knock on the door, a very feminine type of knock. This amused William, but made me surprised. Of course, there was a lot of girly things in William's room. Flowers. Magazines. A smell of perfume... Who is she? A girlfriend? Or a mother?
- And you might get some visual explanation as well...- he kept talking,- Come in!


- This is my sister, Rosaleen. Rose, This is Lucia, Jareth's new... girlfriend,- he looked at me demandingly.
So that was Rose. The girl to who kept her pink moped in the gang's garage because her father didn't want her to ride it.
She spoke first.
- Well, it seems that we have something in common, then,- was she talking about Jareth? That would make a perfect sense, but what could Jareth do to Rosaleen to anger William so much? However, she didn't wait for me to answer.
- William, the old fart wants you in his office, he says that it's Hostel related.


- Tell him that I am... dunno, asleep or dead,- William made a grimace,- and I let you to use your imagination, kill me the way you want to in the real life. I left him only fifteen minutes ago and I've had enought.
- Obeying his wills is the only way for you to participate.
Whatever they were talking of, it wasn't known to me.
- Well, you're probably right,- said William,- Lucia, I am really sorry for this, but I have to talk to my father. Rose will take care of your transport, somebody will drive you home.
And he stormed out. Well, at least he sounded really sorry this time.
Father. My mother had forbidden me to leave home in the evening. What time it was? Rose was already in her nighties.


- Have you heard about the project on which my father is working on?- asked Rose when we were walking through the hallway, but she didn't wait for an answer again,- It's the Hostel. My father decided that it could attract some tourists to Ksnyatin, ya know, if made into one of these funny haunted houses and if all the inhabitants would move out...
She hesitated. "It's impossible", I thought,- "they can't move them out so easily. Besides... no, they can't do that, Hostel is a real... danger".
-It's a secret,- Rose continued,- but they're signing the papers tomorrow.
Her voice was full of bitter. "Jareth lives there", I remembered. What kind of nightmare does Hostel remind to Rose? What did he do to her?