Page 206 - The Grotesque Children's Book

“That's enough spinning. Remarkable! I shall compliment Allori on having found you.
Look at you, you're perfectly charming! Just like me five years ago. You're adorable!”

“No, your Majesty,” ventured Carola, adopting an equally friendly and casual tone, “It's
you who is adorable.”

“Shall we say we're both adorable?”
“Let's say that! Though I'll protest to my dying day you'll still win if there were a contest
for adorability.” Wish I hadn't said dying day. Carola gave a quick glance at the waiting ladies.
They were placing the locket where it belonged, next to the necklace of pearls. They're going to
say nothing, thought Bianca. They’re not going to charge me with any crimes.
“Has my husband seen you?” asked Bianca. “We should visit him together. He'll be
amazed!”
But just at that moment, Bianca's face changed color, roseating from her pale whiteness
to a sudden red flush...and she let out a scream, a loud, startling unsettling scream, “What is
that!”
Carola's first thought was that Bianca had discovered the locket out of place after all,
suddenly appearing out of nowhere, and there would follow a battle of lies and truth between the
waiting ladies and herself. But it wasn't the locket which Bianca was pointing at. What was
causing her to shriek was a small trace of the red powder where the locket had been before the
ladies had moved it. A few flecks, merely, thought Carola, nothing more; how could she have
noticed those two or three flecks? Bianca's pointing finger trembled. Her head also was
trembling. Her eyes went wide-eyed. And she shrieked.
“Filth! Dirt! I want this room cleared from top to bottom! Do you hear me, ladies? I
won't have any dirt in my chamber. I must have clean, clean, clean! Until the powder of the
vetch is distilled, sublimated, transmuted and vaporized and the Transmutation begins, there can
be no Impurity, no Impurity, ladies, or the Process will be unfermented Blood and the Stone shall
not be revealed.” She whirled on Carola, “I'm sorry my dear, what a terrible impression I must
be making on you. But you don't understand...I must make you understand! The reason is that
its innermost power and soul has become thrown out unto the outermost, and the hidden soul is
now revealed and shines through the pure body as a light through a lantern. Clean it up, clean it
up!” And she ran, fleeing from the room, in terrible tears.
One of the waiting ladies piped up meekly. “She doesn't like dirt very much.”
“We can't ever get things clean enough,” whimpered a second.
The third didn't say a word, but put the locket into a jewelry box and locked it with a key.

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