Silverton's Journey

Chapter 14

Ophelia's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Seeing her reaction, Isabella slowly put both of her hands down. As their skin made contact, Ophelia heard her voice again.

She's figured it out...

Isabella's lips did not move. Ophelia asked, stuttering, "What is happening?"

Isabella smirked. "Congratulations. You've just read my mind."

Ophelia's jaw dropped. She asked, "Is it that easy? I can't believe it!"

Isabella sighed as her smile faded away. "Yeah, you can read someone's mind if you touch their skin. So, you have to be careful not to touch me. Your powers are very... strong. I don't know why." She got up and headed to the front door.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to find work for you and me."

She went out, and Ophelia kept on reading her books.

When Isabella came back home, she had a poster in her hand. Her eyes were sparkling. Ophelia got up and asked, "What did you find?"

Isabella showed her the poster and said, "There is going to be a play in a few days. They're looking for actors and magicians. I can do the magic part; I just need to see if you're good at acting."

"Acting? Me? No, I can't do this," said Ophelia, flustered.

"Come on, at least try. You've got the looks and everything."

Ophelia was absorbed in thought for a moment. She was interested in the play since it was based on Nordlythian history. She looked at Isabella with eyes of hesitation and said, "Alright, then."

"Okay, so tomorrow we will meet Mr. Wallace. I've known him for a few years."

The next night, the two of them went out. Isabella took Ophelia to an old and small building within the busy roads. Ophelia could smell dust with every breath she took. They climbed up the stairs and walked towards the office of Mr. Wallace.

They met him in his office and talked about giving Ophelia a role. Mr. Wallace needed to see how well Ophelia acted, so he gave her a script to test. As for Isabella, she had already been chosen for doing magic. Ophelia had no idea what Isabella was meant to do.

Coming back home, Ophelia practiced the dialogue. She tried her best and Isabella pointed out her mistakes. It took her some time to do it correctly, but Isabella was satisfied with her acting.

Mr. Wallace, the casting director of the play, tested Ophelia a few days later. He said that she was hired for the role of Princess Lillian Celeste Delaneen. More people were hired for other roles. Ophelia got a script for the main play.

Ophelia realized that the script did not have that many scenes of the princess she was supposed to play. She found it relieving since she did not want to memorize too many dialogues.

The next few days passed as Ophelia rehearsed her parts. However, she still did not know what Isabella's role was. She wanted to know it but Isabella told her that it was a surprise.

Ophelia liked the way the story was written in the play more than the books. She realized the intensity of the danger of werewolves in Nordlys. The story reminded her of the task that Leon gave her: to destroy the kingdom of werewolves and save Nordlys.

The reminiscence of the foretelling made her heart feel heavy. She wondered if she would ever be able to accomplish the task without Leon's help.

***

The day came when the play was staged. Everything was going well. Ophelia was surprised by how the magicians dealt with different elements, such as snow, fireworks, rain, spirits, and so on. She suspected Isabella to be working on them.

When there came the act where Princess Lilian would meet Prince Adrian for the first time, Ophelia felt nervous. Something felt different about Tom, the man playing Adrian's role. His movements were perfect, unlike what she had seen during their rehearsal. It was as if the soul of Prince Adrian had possessed him.

Ophelia felt a tremor when he held her hand. She knew he was a stray human, but his hands were cold. The feeling was oddly familiar to her.

Tom's cold hands, his unsettling gaze, and the little shivers his touch gave her: Ophelia remembered how different he was before. She knew everyone in the play was human, but the coldness of his hands made her doubt it.

As their eyes met, Ophelia saw a flash of red in his soft brown eyes. She realized he was not Tom after all.

When Ophelia was done playing her parts, she restlessly looked for Isabella at backstage. Unable to find her, Ophelia went to the dressing room to rest. She could see that there was no one in the room. Little did she know, she was not alone.

Some squeaking noises were coming out from inside a closet. Ophelia walked to the closet in fear, and before she could open its door, Tom fell out of it.

Ophelia shrieked and jumped backward, seeing Tom's hands and feet tied up. His mouth was covered with a piece of cloth to prevent him from talking. He looked at Ophelia from the corner of his eye, waiting for her to free him.

"Oh, my goodness, Tom! Who did this to you?" asked Ophelia as she knelt before him and untied him. When she removed the cloth from his mouth, Tom took a deep breath.

"He looked just like me. I have no idea who he was," said Tom as he panicked.

Ophelia sighed. "It was a shapeshifter. Did he say anything?"

"Yes, he told me to stay quiet and not tell anyone about him. Otherwise, he would drink my blood and kill me!"

Ophelia nodded and asked, "Do you remember anything more about him?"

"He also said that I would get my money for the play. I still don't understand how a vampire that looks just like me exists."

She was starting to wonder if the man was Leon. "He's a shapeshifter, Tom," she said as she placed her hand on her forehead. She was tired of Tom's childishness.

Tom asked her desperately, "What can I do now? He'll be back anytime soon. If he knows that I told you about him, I'll be dead!"

Ophelia placed her finger on his lips and said, "Quiet. Just get back into the closet. I'll tie you up."

"What if someone else finds me here?"

"As long as you keep quiet, no one will find you. The other Tom is already there."

Getting back inside the closet, Tom looked at Ophelia nervously. As Ophelia tied his hands and feet, she said, "Don't worry." Getting the work done, she closed the closet door.