An Unkeepable Promise

“Should we actually tell her?” Lena heard the muffled sound of her mom’s voice outside the door she and Mary painted.

“We should. I’m just not sure now is the right time, you know how she reacted when we told her mom died.” Lena flinched as her dad said the word ’died.’

“I wasn’t expecting that reaction out of her. Even more so considering your mom died before she was even born. That’s what has me so worried. You know how much she idolizes Mary.”

“Maybe we should wait until after the funeral, give her some more time to heal?”

“I…if it’s abbbout Mary I…I want to know! P…please tell me!” Lena squeezed Mary’s pillow harder and sat up.

Her parents entered the room. "Are you sure you'll be okay Lena?"

"Y..yes." She sniffled. "I... I want to know everything about Mary even if its bad." Lena's crying slowed down.

“We have never told you this… told anyone this before.” Her mom sat beside Lena and hugged her with one arm.

“But. There is something about Mary we have decided you should know."

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Mary entered Jesper’s penthouse. The brass walls gave the feeling of being inside an instrument. A brass inlaid, marble desk stood at the far wall of the massive room. Gramophone horns and doors were placed at precise intervals on each wall. A mural of a pointy-eared shirtless man with well defined muscles doing a victorious pose was etched into the brass-inlaid marble floor. A white-haired woman with pointy ears sat behind the desk as she lazily flicked a pencil. Each of Mary’s steps reverberated off every surface. The woman looked up then down again. She looked shocked as she jumped out of her chair. A wand flew out of her sleeve and into her hand. A pink light arced around the wand as she pressed it against her forehead. An unnervingly large smile stretched into her face.

Mary ignored her actions and approached the counter. “I need to speak with Jesper.”

“Well hello there. Unfortunately Jesper is a very busy and powerful man and will be unable to see you unless you already have a meeting with him.” It sounded as though she was ironically reading from a script. “Can I get a name please?” She lifted a clipboard from underneath the desk.

“My name will not be on the list, but I need to tell him something urgent about the forest.”

“I’m terribly sorry but if your name isn’t on the list I can’t let you see him.” She shooed Mary with the clipboard.

A crackly, faux seductive voice came from a gramophone horn behind the desk. “Vivi doll. How many times do I have to tell you? If a dame wants to see me… urgently.” He allowed the word ‘urgently’ to hang in the air. “…you need to let them see me darling, especially if it’s about a forest. Send her up the stairs. And to you Mary: I’ll be waiting, my unknown love.”

‘Vivi’s’ eye twitched. “I suppose mister Major Jesper will be seeing you now.” Her voice reeked of derision. She grasped at something beneath the desk. A spiral staircase ascended towards the center of the massive, bronze plated disk overhead. “He will be in the room straight ahead. Enjoy the climb.” She waved, making no attempt to hide how much she wanted Mary out of her sight.

“Thank you.” Mary began her ascent.

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“When Mary was as old as you are now, there was a girl Mary used to play with.”

Lena’s mood improved. “Mary already told me. The girl… the girl… she..” Her mood soured again as she remembered the story.

“It’s okay. We know. You don’t have to say it.” Lena’s mom rubbed her back. “Did she tell you what happened next?”

“The rangers investigated the settlement she was from?”

Lena’s mom and dad looked at each other, her dad was the one to speak this time. “Something else happened afterward. Your mother and Mary didn’t just find the girl, someone else was there.”

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Static segregated Mary’s thoughts as she climbed the staircase. I can convince him. I will convince him. Mary subconsciously removed a vial of a translucent, grey substance from her pocket. She coated two of her knives in it. She stopped trying to keep her thoughts in line. I do not need Jesper to save the forest. This world would be a better place without Jesper. But I made a promise to Lena. A promise I have already broken three times . And besides… Lena is not here right now. Mary’s speed walking turned to a full sprint. I should try not to break that promise more. A broken promise is a broken promise. Everything you could have lost has already been lost. The noise in Mary’s mind grew louder and her legs moved faster. There is still time to stop other people from losing everything. I need to do everything I can to stop that from happening.

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“There was also an armed man. He believed what happened to their settlement was the girl’s fault. When he saw your sister and Madeline, he blamed them as well. Madeline tried to reason with him… but he wouldn’t listen.” Lena's dad shook his head.

“Things got more heated than I would have liked.” Madeline stopped rubbing Lena’s back. “He just refused to listen and continued to get more aggressive." She stared at Lena. "Now Lena, your sister is, was, a problem solver. She saw a problem and decided to solve it.”

“W…what do you mean?” Lena loosened her death-grip on Mary's pillow.

“It all happened so fast. He reached for me and then I heard my gun go off. He fell to the ground and before I even recognized what happened it went off again.”

“So…Mary…” Lena’s face was blank. She struggled to process what her mother said.

“you sister kept insisting she ‘got rid of the problem.’ It looked like there was a chance it would have come down to that anyway, but it was your sister who made that decision when I had yet to deem it necessary.”

“She… She wouldn’t… She promised…”

“This happened before you were born.” Madeline hugged Lena. “I know now might not be the best time to say this, but do you think she would have kept her promise to you if someone put you in danger?”

“No… I… I don’t…” 

“Sometimes people make promises they can’t keep. Even your sister.”

"But... she won't break any promises again right?... Right?"

"Right." Her parents said in unison.

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Mary reached the top of the stairs. The walls were decorated with a variety of "cultured" art pieces and military accolades. She waited for her breathing to slow down. I need to see if Jesper cares about the forest for myself. The noise quieted in her mind as she organized her thoughts into a single conclusion. If he does not care about the forest, then I need to get rid of the problem. She gently opened the door.