Chapter 302 - Meet the Hartfords
“Scarlett… Scarlett!” A faint, youthful voice pierced the fog of Scarlett’s consciousness as the world around her gradually sharpened into focus. From the indeterminate haze, vague shapes began to form, her senses slowly returning.
“Scarlett!”
She blinked, lowering her gaze to the young girl standing directly in front of her. The child’s soft auburn hair barely brushed her shoulders, freckles dotted her nose, and wide amber eyes glimmered with a hopeful gleam. In her hands was a worn, leather-bound book.
Scarlett stared, her thoughts feeling sluggish. Was that…Evelyne?
It took a few moments to catch up. The girl couldn’t have been older than five or six, her bright, eager eyes fixed intently on Scarlett’s face. She held up the book, her voice brimming with pride. “I learned it! I really did!”
Scarlett frowned, glancing around, trying to orient herself. She was in one of the rooms in the Freybrook mansion—she was certain of that much — but which one, she wasn’t sure. The decor felt unfamiliar, though she thought she’d been here before.
What had happened to Freymeadow, though? To Vail and Arlene? Her gamble seemed to have yielded some results, but what had it led to?
Her eyes drifted to a nearby window, partially obscured by drawn blinds and a thin lace curtain. Pale light filtered through, casting a dim glow across the room.
Had she simply been thrust into another Memory? The unravelling chaos of the last one hadn’t felt as if it was confined to just that instance, though.
“Scarlett?” Evelyne’s small voice wavered, her earlier excitement dimming. “I promise I’m not lying. Look!” The girl’s face tightened with concentration as she raised her hands, moving them in slow, gangling gestures. A muted, flickering red rune appeared above her palms, producing a tiny flame that danced briefly in the air before sputtering out.
Evelyne’s face fell, her mouth forming a distressed pout. There was a desperate—almost painfully innocent—determination burned into her expression. “N-No, I can do it! Look! I practiced all night in secret!”
Scarlett’s lips thinned as she watched Evelyne attempt the spell again, her small hands gesturing earnestly. For someone so young, conjuring any magic at all was a rare feat in this world — one that most would celebrate. But Scarlett wasn’t the right person for that.