Reus (M-18)

Prologue


“No!!! No, I –”

There was a soft click. The woman’s eyes widened. She pounded onto the glass wall harder, but there was no one to hear her cries. She screamed and yelled and punched the glass but it would not give. Her eyes held desperation and fear. Finally, she stopped. Her frame slide down the glass and she fell to her knees. She wept.

“I–I didn’t… why will no one believe me?” she brought her hands to her face and sobbed into them. Her black hair cascaded down to the floor where they pooled monotonously in a tangled heap. “I didn’t…”

The room was dark but she could see clearly. Her dress was ripped and torn in several places; the lavish red that once covered it seemed to have faded away to a dull brown. Her arms and legs were chained to the wall but the chain itself was long enough for her to drag them to the wall separating her and freedom. She dropped her hands to the ground and lifted her face up to look at the ceiling. A tear dropped from her eye and hit the stone floor.

“Why…?” she asked sorrowfully. Slowly, she lifted herself up from the floor and walked to the back of the room. The chains jingled with her every step. She sat with her back against the wall and pulled her legs up to her chest. She buried her face into her knees.

“I believe you.”

The woman snapped her head up, eyes wide with fear. Tentatively, she spoke, almost afraid to answer the voice. “W-Who’s there?” she hiccupped.

“Don’t you think it’s unfair? Don’t you want to watch them squirm under your grip while they beg for mercy like you did?”

“N-No I –”

“Don’t you want to prove yourself innocent?”

The woman’s breath caught in her throat. That’s exactly what she wanted. No matter what the guards believed, she did not do what they thought she did. She should not be the one suffering in here because of the crimes of another. Curious, she leaned in just a bit.

“I propose a deal.”

“W-What kind of a d-deal?” she asked hesitantly.

“I’ll prove you innocent and get you out of here, but in return you must fulfill a wish of mine. Do you accept the terms of this contract?”

Suddenly, a paper appeared in front of her along with an old fashioned quill. The paper was yellow with age and crinkled lightly under her touch. The woman was hesitant, as she did not know what the voice’s wish was. But, she grabbed the quill with a fierce determination in her brown eyes, anything to prove herself innocent.

“I accept,” she said and there was a chuckle in the air. Without hesitation she signed her name on the bottom of the paper without paying any heed to its contents.

“Good girl,” the voice purred and the next thing she knew her world faded into black. “Now the fun begins…”

Chapter 1




There was the sound of footsteps climbing up the stairs at an impatient pace. The door opened to reveal a maid with a tray of tea and food items on it. "Young Mistress, it is time to wake up," she said cheerfully, closing the door behind her. Gentle breathing was the only reply she received. She walked over to the window and set the tray down on the table beside it, grasping the thick curtain.

"Young Mistress, it is time to wake up," she repeated, throwing open the drapes. Rays of light cut through the subdued light in the room, one in particular hitting the Young Mistress in the face. Her eyes fluttered open. She winced, groaned, and finally pulled the comforter over her head, muttering some unintelligible curse. The maid sighed.

“Please, Young Mistress, it is not ladylike to stay in bed like this,” she goaded. The lump under the blankets shifted, and black hair became visible over the edge of the blanket, but other than that, nothing changed. “You have a lot of work to do today, Young Mistress. Do you intend to sleep all day?”

Finally, the Young Mistress relented and sat up drowsily, a mane of black hair pooling over the sheets. The maid gave an approving nod and set to work, preparing the tea. “Today’s breakfast is poached salmon and mint salad. To go with that, I have prepared toast, scones, or an English muffin, what would you like, Lady Emily?”

Emily yawned and stretched like a cat. “Scone, please,” she muttered. “What is today’s schedule?”

A cup of tea was set on the table next to the bed. Emily accepted it and took a sip. “After breakfast is a visit from Mrs. Leyva to confirm the final measurements of your gown to the ball this evening, the history of the Roman Empire and Mrs. Hughes will be here for your piano lessons. Lunch will be served at twelve o’clock sharp and you will be fitted into your ball gown immediately afterwards. The horse carriage will arrive at six o’clock this evening,” the maid said with ease. She tied the ribbon on the back of Emily’s dress and bowed. “I will await you at the dining table.”

The door closed shut after the maid left and Emily stood up from her bed. She walked around her bed to the large glass window, her heels clicking only slightly after her. With just a glance to the forest below, she turned around and left the room, not noticing the flash of black outside.

* * *

“Excuse me,” a voice sounded behind her. The young mistress turned around to greet the person who called. It was a tall and obviously very well-built brown-haired man. His suit was black and seemed to shine under the chandelier above. Two rings adorned his calloused fingers, one diamond and one sapphire. Emily raised her brow at this – the lowest and the highest?

She curtsied in politeness and greeted him. “Good evening,” she said. The man grunted and gestured over to another person across the room. She moved her brown orbs slowly, almost painfully, across the ballroom. It was the guest of honor, the son of the Earl Wigner, Charles Wigner. The reason why there was a party was to celebrate his eighteenth birthday.

“He wants to see you,” the man’s gruff voice reached her ears. Emily sighed, and curtsied again before swiftly moving across the ballroom to hopefully get this over with. She and Charles have never met before, so she wondered what he wanted.

“Mr. Wigner, sir?” she addressed him politely. He was chatting with a couple of the guests, champagne class in hand. At the sound of her voice, he quickly dismissed the conversation and turned around to greet her.

“Ah, Lady Emily, yes?” he asked and she nodded. His blonde hair was shoulder-length and layered almost perfectly. The suit he was wearing was white and the jacket was a bit longer and flared more than necessary. “I would like to have a dance with you.”

As if on cue, everyone cleared a space in the ballroom and the musicians started playing. Couples found their way onto the dance floor and waltzed majestically with each other. She couldn’t refuse or it would be rude. “Yes, of course,” she replied, although strained.

He led her to the dance floor and they started. Emily let her body automatically do the movements by itself and paid no heed to Charles. She was glad it was over when the music stopped. Charles kissed her hand and she mentally vomited. However, something caught her eye. There was a glow of red that seemed to be everywhere.

KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL

Without thinking, she fled from the room and out into the garden. Why did no one else seem to notice this? She stopped to catch her breath near the fountain, watching her panicked reflection stare back at her. What was that?

KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL

She dropped her knees and covered her ears. “W-Who’s there?” she shouted. No one answered. She felt the fear pump through her veins. What the hell was this? Footsteps caught her attention and she looked towards that direction. It was the butler; she let out a sigh of relief.

“What are you doing out here?” he bowed politely and she stood up, brushing the dust off her dress. It wasn’t good to let someone see her like this.

There was a scream from inside the ballroom and she widened her eyes, looking towards the entrance. Before she could run to see what happened, she was stopped by the butler.

“What are you doing?! Someone’s –” she said but was interrupted as the butler lifted his head back up, revealing glowing red eyes.

“I request you do not go in there,” he said casually and Emily widened her eyes. She took a step back in fear. “It is dangerous…

…my fair lady.”