Cabin of Axes - Bea Paige
Chapter One
“Welcome to Fairy Tale and Wine. I’ll be your waitress for the evening. What can I get you?” the pretty young woman asks, her kind eyes smiling as she takes in my dishevelled appearance.
“My memory?” I mutter, my gaze flicking between her wand-shaped pen and her sparkly fairy wings.
“Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that…”
“A margarita and a club sandwich, please.” It’s probably not wise letting her know I actually have no clue who I am or if the leather wallet, with the wad of notes stuffed inside my jacket pocket, even belongs to me.
“Sure thing.” She lingers for a moment. “Are you sure you’re okay? You seem a little… upset.”
“I’m fine. Just got caught in the downpour.” I plaster on a fake smile, hoping that it’s enough to keep her from digging further.
“Well, okay then. My name’s Cassidy,” she explains, pointing to her nametag which actually says Fairy Godmother.
“You sure about that?” I ask, quirking an eyebrow.
“Oh, yeah. I’m supposed to be the Fairy Godmother, but honestly, I’d rather be Cinderella.” Cassidy drops her voice conspiratorially, glancing over the other side of the restaurant where an attractive young girl with long, curly blonde hair, dressed in a ridiculously short dress that barely covers her arse, is standing. “Tammy gets way more tips in that outfit than I do in this one.”
“I bet,” I agree with a wan smile.
“Okay, well. I’ll place your order and be back as soon as it’s ready.” Cassidy smiles then sashays off in her own cute dress, that frankly, isn’t much longer in length than Cinderella’s. I watch her walk away, her long legs tanned and shapely, and wonder how old I even am. I mean, when I used the restaurant’s toilet a few minutes ago, I was still faced with a reflection I didn’t recognise. I’m a fairly attractive woman, with long blonde hair and big cornflower blue eyes that kind of slope down at the edges and are framed by thick, dark, black lashes. My eyebrows are full and perfectly arched, but also black, clearly hinting at my natural colouring. At a guess I’d say I’m probably in my late twenties. Not that I really care all that much about my appearance. I’m not sure the real me does either, given I’m wearing baggy mum jeans, a plain black t-shirt and mud covered work boots. I’d rather know who I am and why I’ve been drawn to some weird village in the English countryside. At least I think I’m in England, given everyone is talking with an English accent, including me.
Groaning, I rub my fingertips over my forehead, trying to massage away the headache that’s been pounding since the moment I stumbled into this restaurant ten minutes ago. I realise that I should probably have ordered some water, but fuck it, having zero clue who you are deserves a drink… or ten. I’m sure that should tell me something about my personality. Maybe I’m a drunk. Either way, right now alcohol is what I want.
“Food, water, shelter. That’s the key to survival,” a masculine voice inside my head suddenly says. It’s deep, rich, and molten like a nice glass of brandy over ice. It makes me feel warm, and slightly drunk at the same time.
“What the fuck?” I mutter out loud. Now I’m hearing things? I shake my head, dislodging the voice and the weird feeling of déjá vu. If I’m not mistaken, that was a memory and not me suddenly getting a split personality of the male variety. Well, at least I hope not anyway.
Chewing on my lip, I finger the letter I found in the inside of my jacket pocket and pull it out. At the top of the cream paper is a dark brown motif of three axes, one standing upright and two crossed over one another. Underneath in bold script are the words: Cabin of Axes. The motif and the name of the business is vaguely familiar. Every time I look at it a memory hovers just out of reach, but no matter how much I concentrate I can’t seem to make it form into anything tangible.
The letter itself is dated the13th July 2020, which is just over a week ago according to the newspaper left discarded on the table to my left. So despite the heavy downpour and miserable weather, it is in fact the middle of July.
When the heavens opened, I’d abandoned my aimless walk and found shelter inside this cheesy restaurant where waitresses are dressed up as