The door opened. It was Lucia, Jonni's personal maid, and she was carrying a tray bearing food beneath covered dishes. One hand supporting her belly, a smile on her lips, Jonni set her book aside and struggled to a sitting position, eager for something to eat. Lucia shut the door behind her with one practiced bump from her hip. Making her way to the bedside, Lucia got the special tray set up and began uncovering the food. Finished, she stepped back exactly one foot and gave a little curtsey.
It was the fancy chicken dish she liked, so Jonni dove into the meal without hesitation. In fact, the food was so delicious it was probably three or four minutes before Jonni realized Lucia was still standing there. Lucia usually stayed in the room until dismissed, which sometimes was not for an hour or more. Jonni didn't have anyone to talk to except for her new husband and the maid he had appointed to wait upon her. Due to one of DeMorrell's wishes Lucia was mute, but she could smile or frown or nod, and she often did in response to Jonni's tale of woe. Alone out of all the men and women DeMorrell employed as guards and servants in his private palace, only Lucia knew that Jonni was not the willing wife and mother she appeared to be. She had listened to her mistress's every confession and complaint, offering a reassuring squeeze upon Jonni's shoulder or placing a ressuring hand upon Jonni's when the tears ran out.
Jonni turned to her faithful maid and gave her a guilty smile, "Oh, Lucia, I'm so sorry! You can..."
Jonni never managed to finish her sentence. Lucia leaned forward and her hand insistently flew to cover Jonni's mouth, stopping the flow of her words. One finger held up to her own lips, cautioning Jonni to stay quiet, Lucia let her hand drop. The maid's dark, mysterious eyes were wide with fear. Tiptoeing back to the door she carefully looked to make sure no one was eavesdropping. Next, she checked the windows, the spacious bathroom, and the walk-in closet. Coming back into the bedroom and turning on the high tech media player DeMorrell had given to his fiance, Lucia hit random and turned the volume up just slightly. Only then did she return back to the bedside, staring at Jonni with big, nervous eyes.
"Lucia, what's going on? What is...?" Jonni fell silent as the maid once more held her finger to her lips, the finger trembling with just barely restrained panic.
Reaching into a pocket on her tiny frilled apron, Lucia pulled out a square of folded up papers and a pen. Quickly, but neatly rearranging the plates and silverware on the tray before Jonni, Lucia made a clear space, unfolded the papers, and then set them down. They were blank. Jonni looked up in confusion, about to speak, except this time a stern look from Lucia served to silence her. Uncapping the pen, Lucia leaned forward and began to scribble something. Jonni was comforted to notice that the glimpse this afforded of Lucia's big, golden brown breasts tightly encased in the low cut, lace-trimmed top still drew her attention.
DeMorrell had wished that he was the only man Jonni was sexually attracted to, but he hadn't yet made it impossible for her to be attracted to a woman, and Lucia was certainly beautiful. Her lustrous black hair was pinned back in a bun, a few loose tresses spilling free to frame the exquisite oval face with its high cheekbones and huge dark eyes. She was tall for a woman, taller than Jonni anyway, and the swishy little skirt and ruffled petticoats beneath left visible quite a lot of two long, shapely legs sheathed in black nylons. She was obviously of mixed Spanish and Native American blood. Jonni wondered if perhaps she was from the same area where Granddad and DeMorrell had searched for the stone.
An irritated tapping brought Jonni's attention back from contemplating Lucia's body to what she was writing on the blank paper. Except it wasn't writing. It was a drawing and Lucia was tapping at it with the pen point. It was a picture of a grimacing little face with a nosering and weird curlicues spouting from its ears, the mouth had a forked tongue and fangs. Jonni regarded it for a moment, convinced she should know what it was and yet equally sure she had never seen it before. She shook her head, "I don't understand, Lucia. What is it? One of the people at the reception?"
Lucia shook her head in frustration and began drawing again. This picture didn't take half as long as the fierce, primitive face. It was round and shiny with a branching spiral pattering inside it. There were wavy lines radiating from it. Jonni gasped when she recognized the drawing, almost life size for what it was, "The stone? You've seen the stone?"
Lucia nodded in the afirmative. She smiled, somethign Jonni could never recall seeing her do before. Lucia was a surprisingly good artist. Jonni's maid put pen to paper again, but this was simple and straightforward. She put an arrow pointing from the ugly face to the stone.
"The idol!" Jonni said, suddenly understanding, "This is what the stone used to be!"
Lucia nodded again. Sketching again, the squiggly lines the maid rendered quickly became recognizable as North and South America. She put a star in a specific spot in the southern continent.
"Is this the country where you came from?" Jonnie ventured. Lucia sighed with an exasperated air and shook her head.
"Where the stone is from?" Jonni tried and this time was rewarded with a smile, "Okay, but where are we?"
Another quick sketch mapped out Europe and a star denoted somewhere in the south of France. Jonni thought that was where it was anyway. She was passably good at geography thanks to her grandfather's tutelage, but the sketch was crude. It could have been northern Italy instead. Either way she had something to go on, some sense of direction to root herself with. Lucia drew an arching arrow leading from the first star to a spot in the United States and from there another arrow leading to the star where they were presently located.
"I knew you were my friend, Lucia, but how does any of this help me? DeMorrell has me trapped! All those wishes he made have me pretty much locked into this new life," Jonni was close to tears now. All this information would have helped her if it weren't for everything that had happened since DeMorrell sent Nora/Granddad away, "I'm pregnant. I couldn't get very far even if I wanted to. He's made me want to stay, made me want to have his babies and raise them here!"
Lucia nodded her head sadly. She drew a new figure, this one very basic, a stick figure man. She drew another beside it, a stick woman this time, denoted by a triangular skirt and circles for breasts. An arrow pointed from the male figure to the female.
"Yeah, that's what he did alright," Jonni laughed bitterly, tracing a circle with her finger around where the stick woman's stomach would be, "Except you forgot the big belly."
Lucia smacked Jonni's hand away. Surprised, Jonni looked up, shocked out of her self pity. Lucia's eyes were angry. The maid pointed to the paper and began drawing again, quickly fleshing out the stick woman. She wore a little cap and a frilly apron, a feather duster in one hand. Jonni looked back to Lucia, understanding and confusion at war in her eyes.
"What? But - - you too?" Jonni swallowed hard, "Who - - who did you used to be?"
Lucia snatched up the paper she had been drawing on and flipped it over, slamming it back down on the dinner tray. She pointed, tears leaking from her dark eyes. The page was a photocopy of a news article in the London Times dated almost a month ago. The banner headline read, "CAR CRASH KILLS BILLIONAIRE'S HEIR IN LISBON!" Quickly scanning the first few paragraphs Jonni saw two names jump out at her. The first was that of her new husband, Lucius DeMorrell. Apparently, this new reality remembered him as a wealthy industriallist with his hands in many different concerns ranging from mining to agriculture to medical research. The second name was that of Lucian DeMorrell, the elder DeMorrell's spoiled son and member of Europe's elite jet set, an unrepentant hedonist and friend to many famous artists and musicians.
Jonni did some quick mental calculations. Her maid had first been assigned to her the very day of the accident. Her eyes widened, taking in the buxom, exotic beauty before her, "Oh my God! You're him! You're DeMorrell's son! You're Lucian!"
