Soliloquy

"...Twas a very long time ago, I imagine. I've not actually been told when exactly. Well it must have been in the early sixteen hundreds, for that was the time of witches, I suppose. I'm not so sure. All I know is that it was back when there was a creek behind the manor and manor was only called Wainwright Manor. It must have been vogue back then to name your home, however, the Wainwrights were obviously not very creative." At this, Alphonse cracked a smile to me and I smiled back. The moon from his small window cast a bright, silvery glow all about him, so he did not look quite so ill. "The creek behind the house was also unnamed, and had been like since the first people to ever live here had stumbled upon it."

Alphonse paused to take a white ribbon from his bedside table and tied his hair back expertly with it. His hands were strong and able as they tied and his face was a one of cool collectedness, so I knew he must have done this many times. "It started when Nicolas Wainwright, a married man with two children, one a small baby boy, started seeing in secret Mary Morgenstern. Mary was the husband of the very powerful Olivier Morgenstern, and they had one small boy, aged about three years, I believe. It was a very trying time for all, I've been told. A village only a few miles away, that doesn't exist anymore, had exectued three or four witches by that time. So there was some hysteria here, if you can believe." He looked at me quickly and I smiled a small smile. "Nicolas loved Mary very much, however, he was a very violent man with a hot temper. When she finally left him to return to her husband, he was...well you can imagine how angry he was."

My eyebrows raised in disbelief. "Angry? Why, shouldn't he have been heartbroken?" I questioned.

Alphonse considered this and shrugged. This action occured to me as quite child-like. I wondered how far he'd actually gotten in that etiquette book. "Well, he had a ranging anger inside of him, and the one woman he loved, because of course he did not love his wife, wished to be back with her husband. In the pinnacle of his anger, he lured Mary's young child from his house, and drowned him in the creek behind Wainwright Manor." Alphonse paused for dramatic effect, an effect that was well recieved. My eyes were already wide open in shock.

"He...drowned their child?" I asked.

"Yes," Alphonse answered. "The creek became known as The Creek of Death, and the manor, Deathcreeke Manor. Not only that, but when Mary accused him of murder, he accused her of witchcraft. The Morgenstern family was already rumored to dabble in the black arts, and it was said that somehow, they'd discovered the secret of life and had created artificial humans."

I nodded at this. "Your parents told me that story. The story of how the Morgensterns had gained power by teaching, and how Nathaniel Morgenstern had been commissioned to create a human, but when he finished the creation, he realized that it was too perfect and had defied God's wishes, so he killed it, hid his knowledge and ran away to America," I answered.

"So you can understand, there were already so much gossip about the nature of the Morgensterns money and power, the wealthy of the region, even those who did not live in Huntsville, were very eager to accuse Mary of witchcraft. She was charged very easily. However, because she was wealthier, the judge allowed for her to be hanged instead of burned to death. They believed it was a more natural way to go, even if they accused her of witchcraft." Alphonse snorted at this. "That time was very strange, I think," he said to me. He took a deep breath. "Right before she was hanged, she lay a curse upon the Wainwright family. She said that every third generation of Wainwright boys would die a very slow and terrible death at age eighteen." With that, Alphonse grinned, but the smile did not meet his eyes. "Old enough to be loved but too young to really live," she said and this quote struck me as what Mrs. Cross had said when I'd looked at the portrait of Roger Wainwright. He must have been one of the first to die.

But that had to mean..."So the Morgensterns really do practice black magic?" I asked.

"That is the reason that no one knows I exist." I didn't understand what he meant, so I let him continue. "The Morgensterns have gained so much wealth, power and respect throughout the land, if we were to expose them for cursing us, it would be...terrible. I know not much of the family, but I understand they are quite frightening." This didn't quite make much sense to me, but Alphonse seemed to be speaking the truth, or at least, speaking all he knew.

I considered this story. "You will die, then, at eighteen?" I asked.

Alphonse had lowered his head and now looked at me from under his eyelashes. "I will. I will die in one month." For some reason, my body felt very strange and hot. I stood up quickly and curtsied to Alphonse.

"Thank you, for telling me this story. Twas most informative," I said.

He looked sad that I was leaving. "I'm sorry, I did not mean to frighten you, or make you sad...I just have never...I'm sorry. You may go, I have kept you too long anyway," he said to me. I nodded carefully, but made no move to leave, strangely enough. Alphonse looked at me once more. "Will you, um...come again?" he inquired.

An unexpected smile broke over my face. "Of course I will," I asnwered. Alphonse grinned and this time, the smile did go to his eyes. I curtsied once more and Alphonse nodded to me. I turned quietly and left the room as quickly as I'd come. I felt strange an I'd just done something I knew I shouldn't have. Death was surrounding me, and I didn't want to deal with yet another encounter with the terrifying cloaked man. How could someone so innocent as Alphonse be dying? What had he done to deserve his fate? Nothing. He was cursed, though. It sounded so strange...curse. And yet, I'd seen portraits of previous Wainwrights who looked exactly like Alphonse. There was no way this was all just one coincidence. And if the only explanation was a curse, then that would be the explanation that I took.

My footsteps were light and soft as they darted out of the North Wing and up the grand staircase. My heart was beating fast, but I knew the reason was not only because I did not wish to be caught. I looked at my hands, they were still stained red. I wanted to laugh, but refrained. As soon as I was in my room, I poured the pitcher of water that was in my room into the basin at the other end of my room and scrubbed my hands and face until they were raw. When I finally climbed into my bed and put my head on the pillow, I felt more exhausted than I ever had. I thought it would take me a long time to fall asleep, but sleep came swiftly and easily with nothing but darkness until daybreak.

The morning was very foggy, but the sun broke through around noon. The carriage ride from Deathcreeke to Criewulf was hazy and a little bit nice. It was better than the strange days of only fog. I watched Lily carefully as we rode, though. She talked animatedly about how much of an honor it was to to recieve an invitation from Wren Morgenstern to attend one of her parties. They were always lovely affairs. When I asked if the Morgensterns had a nice garden, Lily explained that because of the strange weather, it was hard to grow anything up around here, but Wren had one of the best conservatories in the whole of England. I did not quite believe that, but let Lily go on and on about it. I watched her eyes, and I realized they were very far away. As she discussed Wren's conservatory, I drifted off, wondering what it must be like to know your one and only child is going to die. And what it was like to shut up your one and only child to a room for their entire life.

It must have been Alphonse who was ill yesterday morning, I was sure of it. Lilly's stricken face must have come from the fact that her son was getting sicker and sicker everyday. And from the fact that in one months time, he would be but a memory. At that thought, my heart unexpectedly squeezed and I felt out of breath. My corset stays were tight, but not that tight. For a brief moment, I felt the way I did when my mother died. Like I'd just been kicked in the stomach.

The feeling passed quickly and I put the thought of Alphonse's demise out of my head. I refused to think about it. We neared Criewulf and a chill passed through me. I hadn't seen the conservatory, but I was sure it was beautiful. It was not the idea of the party that scared me...it was the idea of the family. I did not like that feeling of being alienated, and I did not want to feel it again. This time, I promised myself, I will not mess up. I didn't even know how I had messed up before, but whatever I had done, I vowed to never do it again.

Lily and I were escorted into Criewulf by stiff, powdered footmen. The entire estate was different in the daylight hours, everything felt a lot less ominous. And as soon as we stepped in, I saw a flash of golden hair and a twirl of a perfectly beautiful and perfectly boring dress. Victoria was here, and I was supremely glad. At least if I was ostracized, I would not be so alone. I looked at Lily. "Do you mind if I go say hello to Miss Victoria?" I asked her and Lily smiled at me, which I knew meant no. I quickly took off after Victoria and met up with her quickly.

"Miss Faerie!" she said when she saw me, embracing me in a girlish hug.

I smiled back, relief flooding through me. "You have no idea how glad I am you are here, Miss Victoria," I told her and she nodded in agreement profusely. "I would not want to bear Wren's gaze on me alone," I added in hushed tones.

Victoria lowered her head. "Oh I do know what you mean. I was just shocked when I recieved this invitation. I really believed that Wren hated me, you know, for being so interested in Prince and all." We nodded together and Victoria led me to the conservatory, which I hadn't been familiar with. I was a little surprised that she knew where it was, but she explained that she had been here once before for a garden party...that was the day, she said, that she realized that Wren did not like her very much. Victoria introduced me to more of the community that I hadn't met the other day or at the other party of the Morgensterns that I'd been to. There were a few handsome young men that were very kind to me, but none that made me feel anything.

When I saw Prince again, he was with Wren, who was greeting people. I wanted to turn away, but he looked to me and our eyes locked before I had time to pretend I'd never seen him. His mouth curled into a smile that I knew was supposed to be charming, but I felt scared of. Our eyes never left each others as he leaned into his sister and whispered something in her ear. She looked at him carefully, then looked at me and the finally let him go. Prince was at our side in a moment, being the gentleman he was supposed to be and bowing to us. "Good day ladies. You are looking quite beautiful if I do say," he greeted, all smiles and charm. Victoria was instantly smitten once again. He gave her an extra debonair smile. "Miss Landry, if you do not mind, I must borrow Miss Brighton for just a moment, please." I looked at Victoria. She was so stunned by his handsome smile, that she had lost all of her words.

Finally, they seemed to magically appear once more. She curtsied and dropped my arm. "Oh no, Mr. Morgenstern, it would be my pleasure." She stumbled through that sentance and seemed all too happy when it was over and she was allowed to just curtsy and remain a small, unimposing figure once more. I looked at her and then at Prince, who had held up his arm. I took it and let Prince lead me away. Turning my head back to Victoria, I saw her grin brilliantly to me. I knew she would want the full story later.

The conservatory was large and had very high ceilings. The panes of glass that adorned the walls were very large, and I knew this must have cost an absolute fortune. I wondered if Wren even liked plants. Something told me that this was all part of the house before she became its mistress. I smiled then, secretley, to myself. That must be why she hated all the pretty girls who were interested in Prince. She must not like the idea of anyone taking her place. Prince and I wandered away from the party goers, and I had a feeling of deja vu wash over me. This had only just happened, and I'd messed it up before. I would not do it again. I looked at Prince, who seemed serene. We came to a small fountain with a formation of cherubs in the middle. Their mouths were spouting up water. This must have been murderously expensive. Near the fountain was a long clear table which had strange and quite ugly plants sitting on top of them.

"What are those?" I asked Prince pointedly. He dropped my arm and went to the plants, inspecting them carefully.

When he lifted up his head again, he was grinning wickedly. "These, my dear Miss Brighton, are Mandrake Plants." I shivered in response. Were they really growing human beings, and why would Prince tell me this? "Do you know the legend of the Mandrake?" he asked.

I nodded carefully. "Yes, my grandfather had a soft spot for alchemy and told me the tales," I said breathlessly. "You are not really growing humans, are you Mr. Morgenstern?" I asked, trying my hardest to sound nonchalant and even a little flirtatious.

Prince laughed. "Oh no. The story of the Mandrake root is only that. A story." Secretley, I was relieved, but I did not say so. A look of curiousity spread over Prince's face and he took a few steps towards me. "Say, tell me, Miss Brighton, what stories have you heard so far of the family Morgenstern?" he inquired.

Suddenly, I really felt like I could not breathe. I attempted a smile, but I knew I only probably just looked scary. "Not much, I must say. I have heard the legends, of course." My breathing was becoming just a bit more even. "You know, of how the family somehow gained power because they unlocked the secret of life," I told him.

He smiled a quiet smile and a glint shone brightly in his eyes. "Yes. That is true. There are many stories like that about the Morgensterns. No one really ever knows the truth," he told me.

"Except you," I answered.

It took a long time for Prince to answer after that. "Possibly..." he said vaguely. I looked at the fountain. The water gurgled quietly and I wondered what Prince could mean. Was there such thing as the Philosopher's stone? It seemed like such a fantastic idea, that I did not even want to go into that territory. I had already discovered that the 'ghost' of the North Wing was nothing more than a sick boy. Or...cursed. I wished to ask Prince about the curse, but I had no idea how he'd respond. He might not even know about it, because of what Alphonse had said. The Wainwrights, ever since the Morgensterns had become powerful, did not wish to let the family know that their ancestor really had cursed their lineage. I certainly did not want to be the person who told them. And of course, I'd feel really very silly if this curse was not a curse at all, but instead some kind of family illness that passed on through the line...I did not know how that would happen, but I was no scientist. Alphonse's sickness could be explained...couldn't it?

I'd been so wrapped up in my thoughts, I didn't even notice Prince moving closer to me until his breath was right at my neck. It was cold, and it send a shiver down my spine. "Miss Brighton," he said casually and I turned quickly. Prince and I were closer than I wanted. "Tell me...have you heard anything...strange during your stay at Deathcreeke Manor?" he asked, but I only half heard what he was saying. My entire body felt numb and somehow alive. I did not know what to say or how to react. Prince merely smiled and his questioned registered somewhere, far off, in my brain. My mouth wouldn't work when I tried to answer him, though. I could only stand there in front of him feeling like a fool while he watched me carefully. His face seemed to get closer and closer to mine.

"Faerie?" I heard my name being called, quietly, and quite far off. Prince snapped back though and I did my best to regain my composure. Lily appeared out behind a few plants and looked at Prince with a very stern face. "Now Mr. Morgenstern, you know you cannot escort a young unmarried lady away from company without the permission of her guardians! You could have caused quite a scandal if it wasn't me who found you," she said and Prince had the decency to blush. My body still felt disconnected from my brain, so I didn't know what to do. Prince and I had almost...

"I am sorry, Mrs. Wainwright. We would not want a scandal on our hands." Prince bowed but when he came up, he looked at me with a rougish smile. He walked away casually and Lily took my arm, guiding me away from the fountain, the mandrake plant and the strangest few moments of my entire life.