The City by the Ocean

"... We're here."

Henry stepped out of the wagon, their luggage in hands. He turned around then stretched his hand to her- Beatrice. That lady he stumbled upon, when first arriving to Frisco... him who surely want to expend his canned oysters business upnorth, he was not expecting to meet the person that would fall fool to the pendant's curse so easily. And yet, here he was.

Though he was alarmed that this young lady's parents would eventually find suspicions about his behaviour, he was thankful he could convince them to get her out of town. He will still have to pay for both of their expenses, the day he *would* send her to the hospice. But one thing at a time- and if anything, he still had a backyp plan with his current estate.

Betty stretched her hand to his and held it, so she would not trip on her dress and fall from the train. As she held it, she would instantly lost the warmth she would feel from that touch, but she could not pinpoint whether it was due to her fever or a sensation of coldness. Perhaps was it the sea breeze blowing against her cheeks. She still had to get used to it.

She barely arrived, and yet, she wanted to go back home already. It did not set right to her. It *never* did, since the day she was offered this pendant by her sweetheart, Henry. For a bit of a time now, she didn't stop having lucid dreams all over, every night, and every waking hour. It felt like the shadows were getting to her, tangling themselves around her body, and envelopping her body into them. It felt... rough... and sticky all of them. She hated that feeling. And she hated the fact she had to bear the burden of that feeling all day and night, all week long, even in this moment. At this rate, she might feel sick if she didn't act upon it.

She looked at Henry another time. Her eyes spoke volume- she was *knackered* by the journey they had in train, and she honestly wished they would arrive home soon. Henry glared at her, and even grimaced slightly to her, before blinking the next second, returning back to his usual façade. He now gripped her hand tightly in his, squeezing her fingers harshly, commanding her to follow him in silence. Betty obliged and followed, her white dress dancing around with her, along the wind. The last trace of innocence that would be left in her, before something terrible would happen.

-----

The couple called a cab to drive them back home, as Henry did not get his personnal vehicule to drive to the train station. As the cab hit the road, he and Betty would be found in the backseat, next to each other. The trajectory was quiet, an eerie silence would install itself now, the two of them being cradled by the engine's purring sound as it rolled away. In no time, Betty would be found lying her head against Henry's shoulder. Her eyes closed, as if she was trying to sleep, despite the road being bumpy.

The business man looked over her.

*Oh, fragile little thing,* he thought, staring blankly at her. *You shouldn't lean on me like that. I am a rose, with the bud but also the thrones that would prickle at your freckled face. Please, don't dare the devil by risking your beauty over something so pecuniary, like my shoulder. I will also let you know: you are not ready to leave the Shadows so quickly, now you entered. They are ever so strong, a concillient presance, looming over us with the care of a mother's lullaby, running in our ears. I am quite ashamed to say so myself, but I have found myself being quite fond of you, Beatrice. It would be a shame if your heart had to turn to waste so quickly, because you would begin to feel intimate with me. A waste, really... of time and beauty-*

The cab stopped abruptly, startling Henry ever so slightly, and making Betty jump of her sleep. She ended up falling alseep on the road, but despite all that, she did not feel rested. At all. The couple got out of the cab, and got their luggages back. Henry payed the driver as he left. They would now turn around to face the house.

They were both found by the shore, in a residential district of Ocean City, and the landscape around them was much more quieter than the hurly-burly, back at the train station. Betty looked at the house: it was facing the sea, had blue walls and white frames to fix all the wood together. The lines of mini, similar houses like his, were colored like the rainbow. Such setting would also remind her of the tale of her mother; when she would tell her about Barrington, and saw how it was like on an old postcard. The city back there, at the East, in which she got trapped by a twisted turn of fate. She wished, from the bottom of her heart, that she would not get to experience that sensation of being locked out of the world, ever. She loved the world too much, to not see it again, and she would still miss her family.

"So. Do you like it?" Henry's voice, sharp like a needle, popped into her ears, snapping her back to reality, her previous thought popping like a balloon. She blinked a couple times, and looked back at him.

"Oh... um, yes. I believe I do," she responded to him sheepishly.

He nodded at her with a small sympathetic expression. "You'll see. I feel like the sea air would refresh your mind. It worked wonders for me. I will lead you to the therms tomorrow, I heard water had health benefits. Maybe this would help you soothe both body and mind."

"I hope..."

Henry sounded incredulous this whole exchange, but truly, he knew just what would come next. There was no stepping back from him now. It felt too surreal, and he wished not to leave this fever dream he was set into, in his own mind.

*You are so easy to discern, Betty. You could have a target on your head, that I would not hesitate to aim Bull's eye. And even with that, you trust me... it is going all perfectly, as per the plan.*

He would blink at her a last time, before picking both of their suitcase, and walking towards the house.