Fan Fiction ❯ Night Duchess ❯ Nice to Meet You ( Chapter 6 )

Night Duchess 6: Nice to Meet You

Russia: 2060

{Scene: Sasha and Shura are still in the alley. Shura has just told her the truth.}

Sasha: "Who?"

Shura: "I am the Night Duchess. The original Night Duchess from 1260."

Sasha: "No way. Can't be!"

Shura: "Then touch me if you don't believe me."

Sasha: "I never liked history."

Shura: "Now would be a good time to learn."

{She grabs Sasha's hand and Sasha sees her whole life story. How she got the medallion from Vladimir. How Kudram took over Gennadiy's body and Shura went to stop him. That she handed the medallion down to her daughter and how Shura died from scarlet fever. The images stop at her death.}

Sasha: "No way…you have the same power, don't you?"

Shura: "That is why we're related."

Sasha: "By a curse."

Shura: "Gift."

Sasha: "Gift?"

Shura: "It's true. It's in our blood and also in the power of the medallion. It can make you do so many things. Can you imagine what would happen if it fell into the wrong hands?"

Sasha: "I can't believe I've had it all this time and didn't know! I can't believe I'm adopted. How come my parents never told me? Do you know how they died? Did you see?"

Shura: "No, I only saw you in my vision. But I was told they died…oh…what was it…subway?"

Sasha: "A subway. My parents died in a subway. Who told you this?"

Shura: "The ones who created this medallion. They've been watching over my descendants while I was gone. They are my advisors."

Sasha: "So, if they're supposed to be watching over me, how did you come back alive? To teach me something?"

Shura: "Yes. How to become Night Duchess."

Sasha: "Me?"

Shura: "Yes. You're the next in line."

Sasha: "This is incredible! I'm the last descendant of the Night Duchess! I can't believe I never knew!"

Shura: "What about the ones after me?"

Sasha: "Yeah, there were new ones. They were different than you. And the guys were called Night Raiders. I'm sure we can research it in the library. You're like a legend around here."

Shura: "I'd like to research the past. How everything became…this…" {Shura glanced around the world.} "It was not like this in my day at all. When can we go to the library? Now?"

Sasha: "No. Right now, you desperately need a bath!" {She pinches her nose} "You smell like death!"

Shura {offended}: "How dare you speak to an Empress that way! Do you always speak to your elders like this?"

Sasha: "Only the royal ones that have been dead for 800 years. My parents aren't home right now. Come on."

{All the way home, Shura looks around at the new world and stops to get a better look and Sasha has to grab her hand and lead her to her home again. She gets her mail out of the mailbox and when she walks inside, she claps her hands twice.}

Clap. Clap

{The lights come on. Shura is shocked.}

Shura: "Sorcery! The light came on by magic!"

Sasaha: "It's electricity, not magic. See?"

Clap. Clap

{The lights go off again. Shura looks up}

Shura: "How did you do that?"

Sasha: "I just clapped twice. It turns the lights on and off."

{Shura claps. The lights come back on.}

Clap. Clap.

Shura: "Extraordinary."

Sasha: "Beats having to search for candles, huh?"

{Shura claps again. And again. The lights go in and out.}

Clap. Clap. {off} Clap. Clap. {on} Clap. Clap. {off}

Sasha: "THAT'S ENOUGH!"

{Shura gasps in shock and Sasha claps her hands to turn the lights on.}

Shura: "Oh, forgive me. I must've gotten carried away."

Sasha: "I'd say so. Let's get you ready for a bath. Or how about a shower?"

Shura: "No, a bath sounds fine."

Sasha: "Would you like bubbles and a massage?"

Shura: "Bubbles?"

{They come in the bathroom. She tells her how to work the water. There are different buttons. She points to them.}

Sasha: "Okay, if you want to take a shower." (She points to the button next to the showerhead.} "You press that button but since you want a bath…"

{Shura presses the button next to the showerhead and Sasha quickly presses the button.}

Sasha: "Would you please let me finish?"

Shura: "I just wanted to see what it would do if I wanted a shower…."

Sasha: "Well, you would press this button for a bath…DON'T TOUCH IT!"

{Shura flinches}

Shura: "I wasn't!"

Sasha: "And this blue button here on the right," {Sasha points to the button} "is cold water and this red one is for hot water. You can manage the whatever you would like."

Shura: "What about those?" {She pointed to the buttons on the inside of the wall.}

Sasha: "Bubbles and massage. Kinda like a Jacuzzi."

Shura: "What's a Jacuzzi? And what does 'Kinda' mean?"

Sasha: "A Jacuzzi is something like a hot tub. It's just really relaxing. And kinda is another world for 'somewhat.' You'll pick up a lot of slang here."

Shura: "Slang?"

Sasha: "Modern language."

Shura: "Oh. What about these, um, potions?"

Sasha: "Ha-ha! They're not potions! They're beauty products." (She picked up each battle and explained them. "Shampoo, you put this stuff on your hair after you get it wet. Just read the directions on the back. Then after you shampoo, you use conditioner. It makes it soft and silky. Bubble bath solution--just put it in while the water is running. To turn the water off you push this button. Got it? Okay, have a good bath. Would you like some music?"

Shura: "Yes, thank you."

{Sasha turns on a radio that is built into a wall and puts it on a classic station.}

Shura: "How did you do that?"

Sasha: "It's called a radio."

Shura: "Radio?"

Sasha: "Yeah. I'm gonna leave you to yourself now. Please don't let the water run or anything like that." {She starts for the door} "Oh, and when your hands get all pruney, it's time to come out!"

Shura: "Pruney?"

Sasha: "Wrinkly, like a prune? You know…water does that to you when you're in it too long."

Shura: "Oh, right. Wrinkly, oh, I mean, pruney."

{Sasha groans and leaves the bathroom. Shura looks at the buttons in concentration, rubbing her head.}

Shura: "Which button was for the bath again? Oh, well, I might as well get in." {She pulls off her dress and sniffs herself.} "Oh, Sasha was right! I do need a bath!"

{She gets inside the bath and stares at the buttons.}

Shura: "I think it was this one." {She presses the button on the faucet and the plug pulls down automatically.} "What was that?" {She gets on her knees to see that the button is blinking. She then presses the cold button and holds her hand underneath the faucet.}
"My that's cold!" {She presses the red hot button and holds her hand underneath the faucet until the water becomes lukewarm. She reads the instructions on the bubble bath.} "'Smell like a fruit garden with our wonder fruit essence!' I wonder how they were able to fit a fruit garden in this bottle." {She pours the solution in the water and bubbles form over the top of the water. } "Mmm…smells nice. " {She picks up the shampoo bottle and takes a whiff.} "Smells like apples. I wonder." {She squirts some in the palm of her hand and licks it. Her face pales.} "Ack! Yuck!"

{Sasha, changed in sweats walks by the bathroom and knocks in the door.}

Sasha: "Shura, you okay? If you're going to be sick, use the toilet for goodness sake!"

Shura: "I'm fine. Why didn't you tell me I couldn't taste the shampoo?"

Sasha: "What? You tried to eat the shampoo? It's for your hair, not your mouth!"

{Sasha groans and passes the bathroom.}

Sasha: "Why me?"

{Shura puts the shampoo in her hair and massages it into a rich lather. She holds her breath and dunks herself in the water and comes out. Then she reads the conditioner bottle and puts it on her hair. She rinses her hair by dunking herself into the water. She comes back up and notices that the water level is getting too high and would soon go over the tub.}

Shura: "Oh no. The water is about to runneth o'er! How do I turn it off?"

{The water rises higher. Sweat beads across her forehead.}

Shura (thinking): 'She told me not to leave a mess! What do I do?'

{When the water reaches a quarter inch to the top, it automatically stops. She lets out a big sigh.}

Shura: "My, that was close. The water stopped all by itself!" {She sits back and relaxes.}

{While Shura is bathing, Sasha is researching what Shura had told her about her being adopted.}

Sasha: "There's gotta be some papers here somewhere."

{She digs through her parents drawers and boxes from the attic and garage. Finally, she found what she was looking for. Adoption papers.}

Papers: "The young girl was found wandering around shortly after the subway incident. She remembered nothing about what happened except for her name. Mr. and Mrs. Rimif adopted her the day of the accident."

{Sasha drops the papers.}

Sasha: "It's true! I don't believe it. I am adopted and they never told me!"

{She puts this aside and decides to check on Shura, who is dumping bath salts in the water.}

Shura: "Oh, hello."

Sasha: "So, enjoyed your bath?"

Shura: "The best bath ever had in my whole life!"

Sasha: "Well, it's time to come out now."

Shura: "But…my fingers aren't all wrinkly yet. And I have been dead for 800 years, you know."

Sasha: "Let me see them." {She takes Shura's hands and looks.} "Wrinkly enough for me." {She pushes the button on the faucet, the plug comes up and the water drains.}

Shura: "Why you--"

Sasha: "You were right. I just found the adoption papers." {She tosses her a towel that Shura puts around her body.} "I am adopted. Now I want to find out how my parents died in that crash and why I don't remember it. We'll be leaving for the library in a minute."

Shura: "Oh, the library, of course. I have a question."

Sasha: "Yeah?"

Shura: "The water stopped by itself. How did it do that?"

Sasha: "Oh, the timer! I forgot about that. You can time your bath and how high you want the water to go. I bet I was the one who used the bath last because I like the water high so I can see how long I can hold my breath."

Shura: "You can time your bath?"

Sasha: "Yup. The showers too. They just came up with the idea a decade ago. Good thing too, 'cause my dad used to take long showers and then he'd be late for work. He timed it for 2 minutes."

{Sasha takes another towel and dries Shura's hair. She squirts some styling mouse in her hand.}

Shura: "What is that?"

Sasha: "Styling mouse. It adds volume." {She puts it in Shura's hair and scrunches it."

Shura: "Ooh, careful!"

Sasha: "You'll thank me when I'm done." {She takes the hair dryer and Shura screams.}

Shura: "How dare you threaten me with a weapon!"

Sasha: "It's not a weapon. It's a hairdryer. It dries your hair. Would you rather sit in the sun until it dries?"

Shura: "Oh, I see. A hairdryer."

{Sasha turns it on and the hot air scares Shura.}

Shura: "That's hot!"

Sasha: "It has to be to dry your hair."

{She finishes drying her hair and gives her some street clothes.}

Sasha: "Feel better?

Shura: "Much."

Sasha: "Let's head for the library. Would you like something to eat before we go though?"

{Shura puts her hand to her stomach.}

Shura: "Yes, that sounds great. It's been so long since I've eaten…."

To Be Continued. Copyright by Haley Dale