#eirwen's sister is in another house

[denoumenc]

@spoiledendings liked this for a starter

“I know that face.” floating across the room, Eirwen sat down next to River, a sympathetic smile on her lips. “It’s usually the one reserved for the poor soul who has to deal with my sister while I am out. What did she want?”

[frstbiitten]

cw: death mention, torture, drug mention

"You just can't die, can you?"

Rose's voice woke Frost from her dreamy state, there was no point in counting the time that passed between her attempt to escape the house and ended up with a bullet lodged in her thigh. She remembered the pain of such an event and it continued to become a grueling echo throughout her body, hasn't seen the state of her leg nor did she care to see it. Opened her eyes as wide as she could, Rose was a blur blended with the shadows of the basement. Frost had half of her face against the hard concrete floor, saliva escaped from her lips, observed her mother with weary eyes.

"I said: you simply refuse to die."

Frost didn't answer with words, just a few guttural noises coming from her throat, her vocal cords were perhaps somewhat damaged, she didn't want to cause them any more harm. Listened to Rose's footsteps going from one side to the other, didn't follow her with her eyes as the effort made her feel even more tired. Rose sat in a chair in front of her, clearly with a notebook and a pen in hand, subtly listened to the swaying of the woman's wrist reflected on the paper with the blue ink, she was curious to know what she was writing.

"Do you want to know some good news? When my son caught you, your temperature was at 57°F, if a human reached such a body temperature he would most likely be dead, it was like touching a corpse, but good news! Your current body temperature is around 89°F, it means that I am helping you to get rid of your powers, without them you will no longer be a danger to the world. From now on this house will be your house, you won't have the same academic opportunities but I'll take care of that later, I'll keep an eye on you all the time. At least, if you refuse so much to die after all I have given you, that will be your future from now on, understood?"

Frost didn't answer, didn't look her in the eye, didn't even focus on Rose. The woman left the notebook and pen on the chair and approached Frost's almost inert body, with a push of her right foot, she managed to turn her body around, her arms were chained against her chest, the chains encircled her neck at the same time. It was the hunting trophy of the century.

"I shot you once, but I'd be more than happy to do it again." Felt the sole of her shoe against her neck, her blurred vision focused on her, that dark-eyed woman with a heavy regret in them, Frost didn't care about her reasons for keeping her locked up here, confinement was nothing new to her. "And I would do it again, but I'm not like you."

She knew what Rose meant by that comparison. Part of them was the same, both with the same blood almost, part of them came from the same place, the same chain, and Rose couldn't tolerate it. Frost knew it well, that was her biggest problem, that's why she wouldn't kill her even if she wanted to. Rose had the chance to finish her off all this time and instead, she left her to her fate while she waited for time to take over. Rose was a somewhat impatient woman, she knew what she provided Frost, she knew it could be lethal to a human, but Frost wasn't subject to the same biological rules as a homo sapiens. It was almost unfair. Rose shot not at her head but her thigh, knowing that she would survive the day and night even if she looked in a similar state to Snow White. Her face almost resembled that of a still fresh corpse, with cheeks somewhat sucked in and eyes almost sunken in.

Frost would have to be dead, but what Rose saw was a being desperate to keep breathing instead of taking the chance to let herself give up, and she wasn't giving up. She didn't want to give up. She respected and hated that about Frost. She knew how to stand up for herself at a great cost that others had to pay. Rose knew this wouldn't bring Dahlia back in any way, for this was her offspring, and some features were sculpted into the young woman's face, it was like looking at a disfigured photo but without major changes. This wasn't her sister, this was her niece, but she was a murderer, a disgrace to her blood and her ancestors. She pressed her foot even harder against Frost's neck, had the upper hand, she bit her lower lip as if resisting a pain she was oblivious to, if she pressed for a few more minutes, her trachea would begin to compress.

But she didn't see Frost, she saw Dahlia under her foot, her mind had replaced the young woman's face with that of her sister when she was a teenager, a girl without any worries. Saw her brown eyes wide open and frightened, her brown hair strewn across the floor, her hands clutching her ankle and her voice sounded shaky, begging for her sister to leave her. Rose turned and paced around the basement in surrender, crouching for a moment and let out a cry of despair. She couldn't, she wasn't like her niece.

After a few seconds, she gave up.

Had the keys to the padlock that kept the chains around Frost connected to the cement post, was going to use them, Rose would probably regret it later. The padlock was left on top of the washing machine but she still had the keys. She released Frost from the chains but not quite, let the chains fall to the ground.

"Get up Eirwen, we have things to do."

Eirwen. Eirwen... that name put her in the worst of moods and hearing it again, did nothing but make her rage, but silently. Eirwen was another woman in her body, a girl who had suddenly grown up. It was she who picked herself up off the ground, ignoring the pain in her leg or the lack of strength in her muscles. It was she who took possession of her bones, but in her head, there was nothing, except for spite and sadness. By nature or habit, the girl in the body of a woman obeyed the words of her aunt, it was the only thing she could do.

[janemarieroutledge]

Eulogy for Jane read by Peter Mansfield

Jane was an only child born on 13 September 1948 in Bath to John & Joy Howell. John was an aircraft engineer and Joy was a Clerk in the Admiralty at Bath. When Jane was 6 they moved to Amesbury, John had been working at nearby Boscombe Down for some time and they decided the family needed to be together. They move to a rented flat by the water meadows and Jane had an idyllic childhood near the river and going to the local Junior School In 1960 they moved to a detached house in Amesbury and Jane moved schools to South Wilt Girls Grammar. They were a very happy family in their new home. Jane loved the school and excelled in most subjects. During this time they would often holiday abroad which they all loved – Jane would be the one speaking the foreign language. Choosing A-level subjects was not easy since Jane was an excellent student but eventually she selected Maths, Physics and Chemistry – her heroine was Marie Curie. In the 1960s it was a little unusual for a girl to do such sciences and Jane was a first rate student, eventually getting an open scholarship to Birmingham University to read Chemistry in 1967. Although she only required 2 grade Es, she delivered straight As. Jane achieved these results despite terrible anxiety associated with exams and she was to be troubled by this at University. She lost her best friend (her father moved because of his job) and Jane was given the task of befriending Gill who had come from Essex and knew no-one. Gill wrote to Jane recently and said “You made a huge difference in my life and I am forever grateful. School actually became fun and I learned stuff!  Thank you for being a friend.” This was an early illustration of the generous nature of Jane’s friendship to anyone and everyone. Jane did a summer job at Porton Down one year and then at Gibs Mews Brewery. Jane and Alan met in November 1967  in the 1st. year at Birmingham – neither would say it was love at first sight, but an amazing bond was formed very quickly and the two were inseparable. Practical sessions in the Chemistry Labs, music and dances to go to and making friends amongst the other students. Three years passed quickly and Jane struggled to cope with the anxiety associated with the exams, but she passed with an Honours Degree – a 2.2 although everyone felt she was worthy of much more. Jane decided on teaching as a career and did a PGCE in Leicester for one year. In July 1971 Alan and Jane were married in Amesbury Methodist Church with the reception at the Officers’ Mess at nearby Boscombe Down. Teaching was hard for Jane, she was teaching well over 100 pupils in a school on two sites. Alan & Jane bought a house in St. George Bristol. It was renovated with the aid of a Council Grant and Jane left teaching to work at Acorn – perhaps the first Whole Food shop outside London. There Jane built on her interest in foods and cooking and used her knowledge to help people on special diets. Carrie also worked there and became a faithful friend. Sam was born in 1976, Carrie had a son the same year and Jane also met Claire at ante-natal classes – another life long friendship was born. Jane threw herself wholeheartedly into bringing up Sam and he had her undivided attention and encouragement as he grew. Jane even did an Open University course in Child Development so she could ensure she gave him the best possible chance in life. In 1979 Alan & Jane moved to Sandhurst in Surrey as Alan changed jobs Alex was born just after the move. Sandhurst was a happy home in a lovely location, but very soon Alan was offered the chance to go to California – so in early 1981 the entire family moved to Newport Beach. There followed almost 5 very happy years, making yet more life long friends in the process. There was an international circle of friends and Jane somehow found time to indulge two passions – craft (spinning and weaving) and languages (learning Spanish). Ian was born in 1984 and then in 1985 the family returned to the UK, moving to Flackwell Heath by pure chance. Jane enjoyed the village – making yet more good friends but was only truly happy when the family moved to Cibola House in 1993. During this time Jane did some more teaching eventually finding her real niche – personal tutoring. This was a one hour session after school with Jane and the pupil. The lucky pupils had Jane’s undivided attention, the immense benefit of her wisdom and a break in the middle during which they all enjoyed some home cooked treat and a drink. Jane kept up her interest in languages and studied A-Level French and eventually qualified through the Institute of Linguists in French – the equivalent of a degree. Jane was very active in and around the school, the Methodist Church, the Holiday Club and the Marlow Town Twinning association (in French of course) and Club Français with Carolynn. This led to an ever widening circle of good friends. Jane was a popular, valued member of the Evening WI, always enjoying the meetings even though she was “rarely early and often late”. Her performances with the drama group are legendary and she was always one of the first to volunteer for the entertainment.  When pushed she would deliver an excellent vote of thanks. The boys were growing up and life was very good with holidays abroad (often in France) and then in 1998 Jane was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. A “small” lump was removed, and after radiotherapy Jane began to recover – we were hopeful she had been cured. Every year since at Church there would be a Coffee Morning to raise money for Macmillan. Jane had more time for herself, so she did more craft, knitting, crochet and eventually Dorset Buttons. The boys remember Jane saving anything round just in case it had a use in some craft project. When Jane’s mother died, Jane wanted to know more about her family and another major passion was awakened. Jane mapped the family trees of the Routledge and the Howells. Of course, for Jane it had to be rigorous – nothing got in the tree unless she was really certain. In the course of doing this, Jane discovered Eirwen, a cousin she did not know, living in Adelaide. Jane was thrilled to meet Eirwen ultimately and spend two holidays with her – they became like sisters. Grandchildren arrived – first Iris and then Jude – a son for Alex and Natasha, followed by Lara three years later. Jane loved them so much and would do anything to help at any opportunity and took the greatest delight in all their developments. At this time she found the saying “If I had known how nice grandchildren were, I would have had them first” – this summed up Jane’s attitude perfectly. Grandma was never happier than baking, doing craft, reading or explaining something to the grandchildren. Jude in particular came to hang on Grandma’s every word – she never gave him the dumbed down version – he got latent heat of evaporation, gravity, friction, magnetism the full picture! Ian and Vic married three years ago, and have since had a daughter, Alice..

If you asked Jane which was her favourite grandchild she could not say, she had enough love for all. They were in fact without question the most important part of her life. There were coasters on the bedside table with Alice on them, each morning Jane would select a coaster and say “Good morning Alice” as she had her essential cup of tea and pondered what the day might bring for Alice. In retirement, Jane got great pleasure from holidays and short breaks – she loved her luxury and would always take “curious George” with her. You may wonder who “Curious George” is – he is a small monkey who is with Jane now on her final journey. She loved to eat out and when it came to selecting a dessert - she would love to have a “bit of each” - tasting plates were made for Jane! From the early days at Birmingham Jane enjoyed music, especially Folk Music – even going on singing weekends with some of her favourite musicians. She was especially fond of sitting in an outdoor venue singing along to one of her favourite bands. Jane learned the art of cooking – she got to University without having any skills but ultimately her repertoire was extensive – cheese souffles, pavlova, apple crisp and many more. She loved a good gadget: Ian always liked the Kenwood that was made before he was born. Above all Jane loved a party or family gathering. At one party, one of Ian’s friends viewed the array of desserts and said, with a glazed look “I am in heaven”. She organised a wonderful party for her Father’s 90th Jane found it hard to resist a bargain or a good deal and attention to detail meant she would recycle every tiny bit of metal, plastic or cloth, but oddly she was quite happy to agree to spend on Alan’s car. Jane did not play much sport, she grew to love watching Rugby and thoroughly enjoyed a trip to France to see England play. Jonny Wilkinson was a favourite – his picture was always on her bedside table. She was however, an evil Croquet player – you would NOT want her as an opponent! Last year starting in August, Jane struggled to recover from a bad cough, she had terrible pain which the doctor attributed to strains from the cough and it was only at Christmas that we finally understood that the cause of her excruciating pains was secondary breast cancer. The pain was almost unbearable and for some time Alan would administer liquid morphine every 4 hours day and night. Eventually neuropathic pain medication was prescribed and at last Jane was pain free – just as we received the terrible prognosis at the end of May. From that date on we had a succession of visitors who came to see Jane and share their reminiscences. Jane bore this terrible illness with great fortitude. She never once complained, was never angry or bitter – she simply was sorry she would not see her beloved grandchildren grow up. In fact on so many occasions she apologized for being a nuisance (which she truly never was). This all indicates that Alan has had a very difficult time over the last 12 months but he has cared for Jane in a loving and selfless way. It was a great but sad day when Jane came home to spend her last few days in the home she made and that we loved so much. Jude held her hand and said “I love you Grandma” – the last words Jane said were to reply “I love you” to Jude – how fitting. She died surrounded by her two loving sons and our wonderful niece Isi. We have lost a beautiful person, someone who made friends easily, never boasted of her many achievements, a gentle, loving and caring selfless angel.