Mystery School Of The Goddess
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“The goddess is the mother and father of us all, she is a force for good in nature that helps to guide us through our lives. It’s time we learned more about this mysterious creature.”
A woman who introduced herself as Sister Rose said with great enthusiasm. They were sitting in a circle on mats made from animal skins, surrounded by candles that gave off a sweet smell of honey. Everyone around them was dressed much like they were, except most had on brightly colored robes or scarves.
Only two men and one older woman sat among the twenty-six women and teenagers in attendance – a young man in his twenties and an old man, probably over sixty. Both of the men looked uncomfortable and out of place, so they must be new students here at the mystery school.
Sister Rose went on, “This will be my second year teaching here at the school. I am a nun from another order but have recently been asked to take over running this school. I’m sure you’re all wondering how that happened? Well, let me tell you a story…
“In medieval times there lived a man called Brother William who worked for King Edward III as part of his personal staff. He was known amongst those close to him as ‘Old Bill’ because he was such an old man at thirty years old. His job was as the royal librarian where he organized and cataloged all books held within the castle library.
One day a messenger approached him, telling him that Queen Isabella wanted to see him immediately. At first, he thought it was a mistake, until the messenger repeated himself, saying that she needed to speak with Old Bill right away. So the young lad left to find him and soon found the king standing before the throne room doors, waiting impatiently.
When Old Bill walked in, the queen turned around and pointed a finger toward him. Then she spoke…”
***
“The goddess is the mother and father of us all, she is a force for good in nature that helps to guide us through our lives. It’s time we learned more about her.”
Sister Rose said. The room became deathly still as everyone sat forward, listening intently to what she had to say next. She went on: “As the royal librarian, Old Bill knew many things about history, but his knowledge of magic wasn’t very extensive. But one thing he did know well was that there were many secrets hidden in these walls, some of which he could only imagine existed.
As a result, he often used to sneak into this building when nobody was looking and exploring its rooms. This is exactly what happened that day, just as he was leaving he overheard something quite strange being said between two of the servants. They were arguing over who would do a particular task for King Edward.
One of them wanted it done and told the other they’d have to ask the queen. And while he was passing down a corridor, the first servant saw someone hiding inside a closet door. They shouted to the person in there that they wanted them to do a certain task.
The response they got was a voice from behind the door asking who they were and then laughing before saying, ‘I don’t know’. After that, the voices stopped, leaving no clues as to who they might be.”
“…the first servant saw someone hiding inside a closet door. They shouted to the person in there that they wanted them to do a certain task and the response they got was a voice from behind the door asking who they were. The response they got was a voice from behind the door asking who they were…”
“When Old Bill returned to his desk, he started thinking about what the voices he heard meant. As a priest he believed there must be an answer, otherwise, why would the goddess allow it? So he put together what he thought was an explanation.
He came up with the idea that this place must be the center of the kingdom’s secret occult practices that had been kept hidden from public eyes for centuries. In fact, this entire building may hold the answers to every question people have ever asked.”
“He also wondered whether any of the information held here could help him solve the mysteries surrounding the disappearances of young girls over the last fifty years. So he spent the following weeks studying the old records in his spare time.
What he found surprised even him – he discovered that not a single child has disappeared from the area around London, since a young boy had vanished back in the eighteenth century. Not one.”
“So he began to think that it was possible that the reason for the disappearances lies somewhere on the grounds of this house. Perhaps the goddess is protecting them, perhaps it’s the same entity that protects the young boy. But whatever the case may be, she seems to have chosen to use him as a messenger instead of using the children.”
“After months of study, he learned more than he expected to, including details regarding the disappearance of Sir Richard Grosvenor’s daughter Mary during a visit in 1689. He read how her body was found, washed ashore near the Thames river. That is until he found something rather unusual in the records…”
Sister Rose said. Her voice became quiet and serious as she continued: “There was no sign of Mary anywhere on the island of Jersey. A week later, her body was recovered by fishermen off the coast of Calais, which led him to wonder how such an event occurred.
He realized that if Mary was taken from the mainland, she must have been brought by ship to the Channel Islands. But where would you hide a missing girl from public eyes on a small island like Jersey?”
***
It took several hours of careful searching before they discovered anything. The three of them worked their way through hundreds of books in the archive rooms. Sister Rose and Tom searched in silence for most of the afternoon, taking turns at each desk and shelf, while James stood outside and watched out for any signs of intruders.
When they found nothing, James left and headed towards the kitchens, making sure he didn’t get lost along the way. He walked quickly to make it to his destination before anyone else spotted him or he got distracted.
His stomach growled as he reached the door to the kitchen. He knocked softly on the door, waiting for someone to open it. After several minutes, he knocked again. No one answered, so James tried opening the door himself, hoping it wouldn’t be locked. To his relief, it opened easily. He entered, walking through the busy kitchen as everyone moved around him and continued working.
“What’re you doing in here?”
A gruff male voice asked, causing many heads to turn in his direction. It happened simultaneously with all the other voices, except those in the room fell silent when they saw him enter.
“Uh…I need some food,” he replied quietly, unsure of what else to say. The chef approached him as he stepped into the room, blocking his entrance. There were two other men standing nearby. Both of them were wearing grey uniforms and looked older than him.
One of them was tall and thin and the other was shorter and stockier. Their faces were covered in scars, as was their clothing. James noticed that there were several other chefs and butlers moving around the kitchen, though they mostly stayed away from the newcomers.
“Sorry, we’re closed until dinner time. If you don’t mind, I’ll have to ask you to leave.” The taller man blocked his entry to the kitchen, looking him up and down.
James nodded and backed out of the room. He made his way to the front doors, passing through the corridor and turning left to head downstairs. He felt a presence behind him but couldn’t see who it was. Before he could react, his hands were pinned behind his back and he was pushed into a wall. He looked back to see one of the chefs holding his arms, forcing him against the wall.
“Let me go!” He shouted, struggling to escape the larger man’s grip.
The chef ignored his request, continuing to hold him firmly in place. “You’ll pay for trying to sneak into the kitchen. You’ll do what you’re told until you learn your lesson. Now, tell us where you went today and where you hid that bag.”
James didn’t know why they suddenly wanted to find out about the bag. He had no idea how the chefs knew anything about it unless they had been watching the whole thing. They could’ve heard him shout for help, after all. He thought better of speaking up and did as he was asked, answering their questions.
“Yes sir, the bag is still in the room upstairs, and I can bring you some tea if you like.”
They laughed loudly, slapping each other on the arm. James didn’t feel like explaining further, especially after being slapped by one of the men. Instead, he walked past the pair with his hands held behind his back. They escorted him to a staircase at the end of the hallway, leading to the top floor.
He ascended the stairs, not sure what they planned to do with him. The first door he came to was open and two men were arguing inside. He peered around the corner, catching sight of the two of them. Their clothes were rumpled and dirty.
One of the men wore a dark grey jumper with a black vest overtop and a white button-down shirt underneath. The others wore similar garments but a lighter shade of grey.
One of them was talking angrily to the other who looked upset and defensive as he spoke back. “That’s enough now! We agreed that this was our best option.” His tone of voice was low, calm almost.
“It’s too risky! And you know it. What’s to stop us from coming home late tonight, having dinner together with the rest of the family, and getting caught in bed with another man? That wouldn’t look good at all, would it?”
The man wearing the darker grey jumper sighed heavily. “We both know she doesn’t like him. I can talk her around if you’d prefer someone else.”
“No. Don’t waste time on that. She likes me.” The other man smiled at first, but the tension in his eyes remained. James couldn’t hear everything they said as it was muffled from where he stood but he guessed it was some sort of debate regarding him. It didn’t matter much – he wasn’t going anywhere near this room.
He continued along the corridor, passing through the second set of doors and finally arriving at a closed door. He knocked gently before entering.
“Hello?”
When there was no response, he knocked again. “Is anyone there?”
“Just a moment.” A deep voice called out, followed by a creaking sound as the door opened slowly.
James entered, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. The walls were bare, but the carpeting was thick and luxurious. The room had only a single window, which was covered by drapes and the shutters were closed so there was no view outside.
The ceiling was high and vaulted, giving the room an airy feeling despite its size. There were four desks stacked in a line, with one empty desk facing the entrance. At the far end of the room was a long sofa with three small wooden chairs. The furniture in this room was more modern than any of the others he had seen.
As the door was closing, he caught sight of a young woman sitting at the nearest desk. Her hair fell in dark waves across her shoulders, covering most of her face. She wore a short skirt and a light green blouse tucked inside an olive-green cardigan.
It was clear from her attire that she worked here; however, it was difficult to read her expression as she looked down at her hands folded in her lap.
She must have heard James enter because her eyes met his just before he turned to leave, then quickly looked away.
“Sorry,” James muttered as he moved out of the room. He didn’t understand what was happening. Why hadn’t they let him stay here? Or maybe they’d been planning to come back later and bring him food. Either way, he was hungry and tired so it wasn’t worth lingering around this strange space.
“Hey, wait!”
James stopped and waited patiently. If this was their intention, they’d make it very clear. But if they had been bluffing, they weren’t doing a great job of keeping their plan secret.
A tall man in a grey jacket entered the room, looking slightly amused. As he approached, he leaned in and whispered something to the woman beside him. She nodded and rose from her chair, moving over to join him. James assumed they were together, although he had no idea if their relationship was sexual or romantic.
After a few moments, she returned alone. She took off her cardigan as she walked towards him. When he saw her eyes were glazed with tears, he knew he was right about the couple being lovers. She reached into the pocket of the waistband of her skirt and withdrew a piece of paper, holding it out for him to take.
“…I’m sorry, Mr. Rafferty…I…”
“Don’t worry about it, I know this isn’t your fault. Just don’t go telling me you forgot again.”
With that, she walked past him and he followed her back through the door he’d originally arrived through. They passed through several more rooms, each filled with rows of desks. Most of them were vacant, but the one opposite the last was occupied.
This was probably where he was supposed to be sleeping tonight. The man sitting at the desk appeared to be busy, and James decided not to disturb him as he watched and waited. Finally, after almost two hours, the door to this room opened once more and a young woman came out.
She was older than the girl who had left, probably thirty or so. As she emerged, she held a stack of papers in front of her, as if trying to hide from the world behind them. Then she spotted him standing in the doorway and froze.
“Mr. Rafferty?”
“Yes?” He stepped forward and the woman gasped, dropping the files on the desk and turning away as though he were a ghost.
“You’re James? Is that really you?”
James didn’t answer, but he did step closer to see if his suspicions about the two women working in this department were correct. Sure enough, they both wore similar outfits: black pants and blouses tucked neatly into knee-length brown suede jackets with matching shoes.
Their hair was cut close to their faces, leaving them with the appearance of teenagers wearing their mother’s clothes. This meant that one of these ladies must have been the person who’d taken care of him during his previous visit.
They must be part of this mysterious organization, thought James, watching them nervously as they made their way out of the room. What kind of group ran secret prisons for lost souls like him?
Had they found out who he was and decided to help or did someone want them to find him, perhaps even as a threat against his family? And why would they keep coming back with him if they didn’t believe he belonged here?
It was all too confusing, but one thing was clear: James had better figure out what this game is soon, or he might never get home.
The End