TUS NUA - ch 2

TUS NUA – ch 2

New Beginnings – Mia and Midnight

(*)(*)(*)

Finola heard a soft knock on her front door and upon opening it saw Tauriel and Dara holding several packages.

“Oh, may the God and Goddess be praised! Tauri and Dara, what a pleasant surprise but what on earth are you doing here?”

Tauriel giggled, “Finola dear cousin, Alistar made such a ruckus when you called, we heard him, clearly down the street, bustling about and wondered what the fuss was. So, we grabbed his thoughts wondering if he or Evie might need help. Hope you don’t mind but we decided to use our mirror and see what you might need. Dara and I went shopping and brought some items of clothing your guests.”

They placed the bags and boxes on the floor near the staircase.

“I’m sure you know how really happy I am to see you and these gifts. Oh my! They’ll be more than well appreciated. Mia and I were just about to release the girls from the effects of the drug they’d been given. However, as long as you’re here, let me introduce you first. Come!”

She walked with them to the dining room and said, “Ladies, you briefly met my cousin Alistar. He’s the man who built this wonderful house for your recovery. You’ll see more of him in a few minutes. In the meantime, these are his sisters, Dara, and Tauriel, whom we call Tauri. They’ve brought gifts for you.”

Although the young women looked at Finola, their minds, still under the influence of the drugs given to them by Tony Moretti didn’t allow the fog to lift from their eyes.

Finola nodded her head and advised them, “I’m going to lift the fog from your eyes and minds but first, please know that you’re perfectly safe here. No one will harm you and the Moretti’s are long gone and will never return. You’ll have many questions, and we will answer them all, completely and honestly. Do you understand?”

Numbly, as if hypnotized, they all nodded.

Dara exclaimed, “Oh, Finola, these poor girls. I don’t want to invade their thoughts so can I ask you what happened to them?”

Julie stood. “Aintin, can I interrupt a minute?”

Finola looked at her and nodded.

“Since, well, since, if I hadn’t escaped, only the God and Goddess know what might have happened to me, but since they’ve been through the same nightmare as I did and probably much more, I consider them sisters. So, please, if it’s alright with you, as soon as you, well, I guess you could say, wake up’ my sisters, I’d like to sit with them and have Tauri and Dara join us. I’d like to be the one to explain everything.”

Finola walked the few steps to Julie and as she wrapped her arms around her said, “Oh Jules, mo stor, what a wonderful addition you’ve made to our family. Thank you.”

Finola indicated that Julie should sit at the head of the table with Tarui and Dara in the first chair on each side. The rest of the family took seats against the wall.

Finola sat at the opposite side of the table from where Julie was seated. She asked, “Jules, mo stor, are you ready?”

Julie looked to Morena and asked, “Aunt Morena, are you ready in case one or more of them need you immediately?”

Before anyone could say another word, Midnight let out a very loud screech that Mia understood was, “Hey, let me in. What’d you close the door for?”

Mia, with a grin on her face opened the door and watched her cat proudly strut inside, followed by ten black and white kittens.

Mia uttered, “Midnight, what the heck?”

“Hey, don’t panic, mo chroi (my heart). Each kitten is for each girl. They’ll need a bit of comfort.”

Midnight led each kitten to each young woman and encouraged them to leap into each lap. Instinctively, the women began stroking the feline’s backs. With the new kittens settled, Julie asked Finola to tend to the young women.

Finola outstretched her arms indicating the group and said,

The drug you’d been given immobilized your will.

It caused your independence and thoughts to still.

When I blow you a kiss, you’ll all be free.

This I command; so, mote it be.”

With that, she pressed her fingertips to her lips and waved her kisses towards the group. Julie watched as each young woman shook her head as though they’d awakened from a deep sleep.

It didn’t take long for the fear and confusion to begin, and Julie seized that opportunity to rap her knuckles on the wooden table and call out. “Ladies, sisters. First of all, please calm down. I’ll explain everything, then we’ll answer your questions. But you need to quiet down so you can hear what I’m about to say.”

Hesitantly, they looked at each other, then quieted.

Julie began. “My name is Jules Diehl. Before I came to Ireland, I was known as Julie Hammond. Like you, I was seduced and then drugged by one of the Moretti’s. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I’d become pregnant.”

The women gasped and quickly looked down at their own stomachs wondering if, they, too were pregnant.

Julie continued. “I didn’t realize Tony was drugging my meals and beverages. All I knew was that food was making me feel horribly sick, sicker than what I thought I should be due to the pregnancy. I started watching everything I ate and also ate very little. It was at that time, Tony began hitting me. He said he’d get me to eat, one way or the other. One day, luck was on my side. I slipped out of the house and went to the bank. After taking out the money I had put away, I went to the pharmacy and asked if there was a mild aid I could take that would help me sleep at night. The pharmacist was very helpful. One night, I mixed the drugs in Tony’s whiskey. He’d come home drunk enough so he never noticed the different taste. When he fell asleep, I grabbed my backpack and a cab, then got on the first available flight to here where I knew my friend Mia would find a way to help.”

One of the women raised her hand and asked, “Please if you don’t mind, can I ask if you weren’t afraid that he’d find you and come after you?”

Julie looked at the young blonde. “You’re Liz, right?” The woman nodded.

“He had his hired man, Monty find me. Once he did, he sent for Tony.”

Finola watched as each set of eyes that were just about glued to Julie’s face, widened as they gasped. Another woman almost whispered, “Oh my god! What did you do?”