The Charmer

I. A Long Drive

"It's going to be a long day, I tell you," Violet whined as they both stared blankly under the hood of their car. "We should have stayed in the cabin and demanded for our friends to drop everything they are doing and get their asses down here as they promised."

"Your friends," Valerie corrected, squinting against the sunlight. The storm had passed and the weather was back to its summer glory.

The black-haired twins jumped back when a hissing sound came from under the hood.

"We're going to die! We're going to die!" Violet started screaming.

"Shut up!" Valerie said. They had been staring at their car for almost an hour now with unreliable reception and no food. It was about time to give up, so Valerie walked to the side of the road and waited.

"What are you doing?" Violet asked.

"Waiting for a kind soul."

"Kind soul. Yeah, right. You mean psychopaths who feed on young ladies stuck in the middle of a lone road."

"I'd rather risk it than be stuck here without food. We've been stuck in grandma's cabin long enough."

"Reading her stories and eating canned goods. I want to eat a burger," Violet said with longing.

"I see a truck," Valerie said, jumping up and down, waving her arms over her head.

"Don't!" Violet said.

"Why not?"

"Have you not been watching the news? There are a lot of killers who-"

"You mean gray-haired couples driving a truck?"

Violet frowned as she placed her hand over her eyes. "Well, if they are a couple of old people, I don't see why we can't ask for help."

The truck stopped. The old woman in the passenger seat rolled down her window with a smile. "What are you two young ladies doing in the middle of the road?"

Her husband leaned over and asked, "You girls having trouble?"

"It's our car," Violet said. "We can't get a reception and-"

"It must be because of the storm," said the old woman. "There's a great stop not far from here. If you want, we can drop you there."

Violet and Valerie jumped. They have passed by that stop on their way to the cabin two days ago. "That would be great, thank you!"

They rushed to the back of the car and grabbed their things. Valerie carried the other bag full of their grandmother's books.

The old woman smiled at them as they struggled to get the books inside.

"Sorry," Valerie murmured. "I'm Valerie, by the way. And this is my twin, Violet."

"Patricia and Dave at your service," the old lady offered with a smile, looking at their bags. "It's the first to see someone on a trip with so many books."

"Oh, we did not arrive here with these books. We found them, actually," Violet explained.

"It seems our grandmother had a perk for writing stories. She wrote them," Valerie explained.

Patricia's smile widened. "It is interesting that young people are quite surprised to discover their grandparents can actually do something other than being...well, old."

"They are interesting, actually," Violet said. "And she has a memoir too, but we are saving that for last."

Patricia looked over her shoulder. "Will it be rude if we ask about them?"

Valerie turned to look at Violet. Her twin sister shrugged.

"It is kind of a weird set of stories, really," Valerie said. "So far they all take place in this place called The Town."

Dave looked at them through the rearview mirror, his face interested. His wife was almost facing the twins now, her eyes eager.

"The Town is located hundreds of feet belowground," Violet continued. "They live in our time, I guess, but they have actually managed to conserve some sort of an era-Victorian or Edwardian? We are not sure yet, but yeah... it is a place that lives in the past."

"That's interesting," Patricia said.

"We have read two stories so far and has just started with the third," said Valerie.

"I like the second one better, she likes the first one," Violet added, pointing at Valerie.

"How big is this place-The Town?" the lady asked.

"The books say it expands half of the continent," Valerie replied. "They have holes built aboveground, such holes are protected with walls. The holes give them ventilation, light for their crops. They also have hidden passages that lead aboveground and such passages are guarded by the Passage Guards."

"There are a very few individuals from aboveground who knows of its existence," Violet interrupted. "They are men of great power-and we're assuming they are the CIA or the presidents but we can never be certain-and have been in constant contact with some of the men in the Town who guard the Town's secrets and ensure their safety. These men from the Town are called the League of Founders and they are sort of like our CIA or NSA counterpart. Until today, as the books say, the Town is a well-kept secret, unknown to almost all aboveground."

A frown formed on Patricia's face, deepening the lines on her forehead. "Their life belowground sounds quite boring."

"I think so, too," Violet replied. "But they do have parks and woods with holes above them. They go there to bask in the sunlight, experience snow and rain, watch the stars and even hear the noise we make above here. But then these are the only things they know of our lives here. They've never seen the ocean or the mountains. They can read them in books and all that, but yeah...life there is quite boring."

"No, not really. The stories we have read so far are quite interesting. I really like the era they live in. It is quite intoxicating once you delve into the story, full of scandals and all that."

"Question," Dave said, breaking his silence. "If there are passages out of the Town, why can't they go up here and experience life as it is?"

The twins grimaced. "The passages are actually a secret to most of the townspeople-that's what they call themselves. But there are a few who knows of their existence and it's not as if they can just go right through the passages without getting killed. The Founders, the ones who built the Town, made it certain that they will forever be safe from the changes in our world. The Passage Guards are serious with their job and their police or detectives who call themselves Town Guards will make it impossible for anyone to even take the first step toward a passage if they ever find one."

"Oh, well, your grandmother sure did make things difficult," Patricia said, laughing.

"That's what we intend to ask her. Once we get to her," Valerie said, "Which we are going to do if we ever get out of here."

"I feel bad for those who want to go out of the Town," the lady said, looking at her husband. "I am sure it is suffocating down there."

The twins laughed. "Well, it is just a story," said Violet. "You are welcome to read the second book," she added. "We just finished it."

"I can?" Excitement crossed the old woman's features as Violet handed her the book.

"Of course. These books deserve more than two readers."

Dave stole a look as his wife opened the first page. "Read it out loud, for God's sake, Patricia."

The three women laughed.

And so Patricia read...

"There were still a few who still dared to dream of what it would be like to see the ocean or feel the breeze. Some knew there was a way out of the Town, while some had no idea at all. But they still dreamed to have a taste of something beyond what the holes could offer.

Yet they were just dreams and there was life they had to live underground. They had balls to go to, gowns to buy, callers to entertain, lands to cultivate, mines to dig, estates to furnish and the list went on. The world aboveground was but a mere illusion to the people below. It was a passing fancy that would cross a scullery maid's mind from time to time, or fill the dreams of a poor stable boy in the evenings. And when the lights were turned on all over The Town and the sunlight would shine through the holes, the dreams were forgotten and life would come back to haunt.

The Founders had laid the foundation, provided the holes and many systems to make The Town livable and safe in the event of natural and human threats. Buildings were erected, water was provided and bountiful, lands were cultivated and most of all, status was maintained.

The gentries, middle class and service people alike all had but one goal: live."

"Wait, they do not have nobles? Only gentries?" asked Dave.

Patricia looked at the twins for answer.

"Well, they do have like a general title for the gentries. They call them lords and ladies, but no specific title. It is quite confusing at first, actually," Violet answered.

"I guess the noble titles diminished throughout the time. They have lived underground for centuries and maybe the nobles who did come down with the Founders married down into gentries and so the status has changed. But then, the gentries in these stories have so much power that they can still be considered nobles minus the title. They don't have kings and queens. They have the Leaders as a ruling body."

"Continue," Dave said to Patricia.

Patricia winked at the twins before she continued. "And they all lived according to how the Founders envisioned centuries ago. They lived in a place frozen in time, a time long considered by the people aboveground a history. Yes, one could say they were history itself.

The Townspeople may be located hundreds of feet belowground, but they do have their own fairy tales to tell-stories of love, adventures and mysteries; of handsome and not-so-handsome lords; of beautiful and mayhap-pretty maidens. These are tales that could be as old as time and as old as love..."