Soliloquy

The tiny pitter patter of rain became clearer and clearer throughout the small yet lovely supper that Wren had asked her guests to stay for. It had been something that that surprised me just a bit, for I had not imagined Wren to be so hospitable. Despite my prejudices with her, though, she seemed like a fine young lady. The invitation to dine with her and the rest of the Morgenstern family made me decide to think about Wren differently from now on. It was obvious that the cooks had known they would be having more guests that night, for supper had been carefully prepared. There was the pumpkin bisque, the roast pheasant and then the cherry tart, which left the entire party feeling happy and slightly lazy.

Although the other members of the Morgenstern clan had not joined us for the party, they had for supper. I watched them carefully, already sickly obsessed in each other actions. Lucy Morgensten, the small yet voluptuous one with flaxen ringlets, chatted with the dashing young Leo Herston in an innocent manner, however, as I subtly watched her actions, I saw the desire that smoldered in her dark eyes and the flirtatious way her red lips pouted. Greer, the one who looked like England's beloved Queen Elizabeth, was speaking very quietly to Sloane Morgenstern, and I noticed had the audacity to wear a choker of blue with a single teardrop diamond on it. Greer's knuckles were adorned with expensive rings and her gown looked straight out of the pages of La Belle Assemblee.

Nobody seemed to mind that Greer, an unmarried woman, was wearing so much wealth on her person, so I decided not to take much note of it. Instead, my eyes wandered from her to Sloane. He was sitting back in his chair, talking lazily, taking large sips of the dark red wine that swirled in his glass. Everything about him seemed dreamy and soft, and as I watched him, he turned his eyes from his relative to me. I looked away, but not before I noticed that his hooded eyes sparkled at me seductively and his lips had curved in a wicked smile.

My eyes looked past Sloane and the blush on my cheeks faded eventually. I eventually landed on Ennis, Sloane's older brother. The older brother still had the uneven complexion and was eating his cherry tart with a strange sort of satisfaction. His head was turned towards me but he seemed to be looking at something just on my left. I looked and realized that it was Victoria who was sitting next to me. She was chatting with Lord Rollings, an older yet handsome bachelor. Ennis watched Victoria, his black eyes almost jeering at her beautiful and trim frame. With a shudder, I turned my head away from them. My eyes fell on Glenn Morgenstern. He'd finished one plate of tart and was now working on the second. His lips were stained red with the candied cherries. He talked softly with Wren, who sat next to him. Wren was eyeing his eating habits with disgust, but I noticed she wasn't saying anything.

Prince is looking at me, was the first thing that ran through my mind when I finally cast my gaze to the head of the table. He was staring at me intently, head raised high. His aristocratic features flickered in the dim candlelight that illuminated him. He smiled, and his smiled said everything. He knew what I was doing, he knew I was looking at his family. Prince raised his glass of wine just slightly and tipped it towards me before taking a long drink. Flushing, I turned back to my half eaten cherry tart. As much as I wanted to eat the rest, I knew I shouldn't. It was unlady like to finish all of ones desert, especially in company.

Instead, I nudged Victoria. "Did you know that Ennis Morgenstern is looking at you?" I questioned. Victoria sent a surprised gaze towards me, her eyebrows almost in her hair. She turned to head to look, but I elbowed her in the side. "Don't look, idiot!" I whispered.

Victoria furrowed her brow and leaned in towards me. "But how I am supposed to know if he's looking at me if I don't look to make sure?" she asked. I snorted. Victoria shrugged and turned back to her tart, but I watched as her gazed turned to Ennis, who was still watching her with a sly smile. When their eyes caught Ennis bowed his head slightly and turned to an older woman sitting next to him. Victoria turned back to me with a blush on her cheeks. "My goodness! I believe I've attracted the attention of one of the Morgenstern boys!" She sighed with a giggle. "It is completley unsuitable of course. Even if it was Prince, my mother would have an absolute fit if I got seriously involved with one of the Morgensterns."

I smiled. "I believe Lily would love it if I became involved in Prince," I answered.

"Well he certainley does seem infatuated enough in you. He's looking at you now, did you know?" she asked.

Sighing, I did not turn around. "Yes, I already caught him looking at me. Or it might have been that he caught me looking at the rest of his family. I couldn't help it, though! They're all so...strange." Victoria nodded at this, and was about to say something when we heard the chink of silver upon glass. Our attentions turned to where Wren was sitting, to the right of Prince. She was standing now, and smiling the perfect hostess.

"If you would, please," she started. "Let us ladies head to the drawing room for coffee and the gentlemen to the study for a brandy." With that, footmen came to take the messy plates away from the now chattering diners. The ladies hooked elbows and leaned into each other, already starting the gossip that was sure to continue in the drawing room. Victoria looked at me and held out her elbow. I was about to take it with mine when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Wren Morgenstern standing with a smile that did not reach her cold eyes. "Miss Victoria, I was wondering, would you happen to mind if I borrowed Miss Faerie?" she asked.

Victoria smiled. "That would be the second time today this is happened!" she mused. "Of course not." Victoria curtsied to us and we curtsied back. The young blonde turned away and met up with the girl with mousy hair and freckles from the other day, the honorable Miss Olive Abbott. I let Wren take my elbow with hers and I was about to walk with the others to the drawing room when Wren held me back.

"Let us let the others go first," she said, her voice like silver silk. I swallowed but nodded graciously. Soon the dining room was all cleared out and Wren and I walked slowly. She turned to me. "My brother," Wren started, anger thinly veiled in her voice, "has done all in his power to get some answers from you, however, I believe his methods for inquiry are quite..." with this, she looked over me strangely, "useless. He is convinced that by asking you any serious questions, it would only frighten you. So it is my job to get the truth from you once and for all."

I could not conceal my shock. "The truth?" I asked. Wren nodded and took us down a corridor. "Where are we going?" I asked, a strange fear washing over me.

Wren rolled her eyes. "Do relax. This is an alternate route to the drawing room. It will give the ladies more time to say snide comments about me, or whatever it is they do." There was some hurt in this sentence, I could hear it.

"You are quite an intimidating person," I told her, for it was all I could think to say.

A rare smile passed over Wren's lips. "Yes, thank you," she answered. A little confused, I said no more. My comment was not exactly meant as a compliment. She then took a deap breath. "Now please, answer me this once and for all, do you know of the child of Lily and Charles Morgenstern, the young Alphonse?" she asked. We stopped walking and our footsteps, which had been echoing through the hall, suddenly became a loud abscence. Fear and surprise and shock surged through me and a million different things ran through my head. What was she going to do? I didn't want to answer because I had no idea how she'd react to my answer. Trying to cover, I opened my mouth, but no words came out. "I just need to know. I will not do anything to you, if that's what you're thinking."

I nodded yes slowly. "I do know of..." at this, my voice quieted, "Alphonse Wainwright."

Wren nodded. "This is good news, very good news." She turned to me and we stood quietly, the same height, in the hall. "Faerie," she said, startling me by the use of my give name, a familiarity that I wasn't so sure I wanted, "You are this families' only hope. You must show Alphonse the world, you must instill within him some kind of hope to live. You must show him love and light. You cannot let him continue to lead in shadow."

A sort of sadness mixed with a beautiful happiness clutched at my heart. "So the curse...it can be broken?" I asked.

Confusion passed over Wren's features, but it dimmed after awhile. She sighed and looked away. "A curse. Yes, that is how I would describe it." Turning back to me, her eyes were full of determination. "You must not let him fall to the plague."

"Why such cryptic words?" I asked the young woman. She opened her mouth and struggled to speak, but couldn't. Anger flashed through her eyes and she turned away from me. She let herself be consumed by the darkness in the hall, but I saw her back heave and push. I backed up, feeling fear within me. "...Wren?" I asked.

The young woman whirled on me and gripped onto my shoulders. Her face was distorted in rage. "I cannot speak the words...I am bound by an oath stronger than any black magic could ever do. I am bound by duty and rules and you, you sniveling little chit are the key to freedom. Now will you comply, will you help me, or will you stand there helpless while one person after the other is taken away by the Reaper?" I knew what she meant. The Grim Reaper.

"You can feel Death too...?" I asked carefully. Wren's hold on me did not lighten up, but her face did.

She took a breath. "Death is not just an idea," she said carefully. "Death is a place." Her face came close to mine. "Your mother was consumed by the frozen wasteland. You would let another die on your hands?" Her voice was a whisper. "Help us...I beg of you."

I could not answer, but suddenly, we heard footsteps in the hall. Wren released me suddenly and stepped away. Her distorted and animalistic features returned to normal and she was once again beautiful. It was then that I realized that I had been holding my breath and let it out in a long, hissing breath. My heart, which was still beating rapidly, started to slow down and I felt as if I'd just run for a very long time. My entire body was shaking and I could not bring myself to look at Wren. I did not know what had just happened, but something had changed Wren. What could she mean, her strange messages, her cryptic puzzles...was she really bound by an oath not to speak certain things? Was I really her families only hope? Why must I save Alphonse, and how could I in such a short amount of time?

Victoria and Miss Abbott appeared out of the darkness. Victoria grinned. "Oh there you are! You have been missing the funniest discussion! We were talking of Napoleon, and what he must be doing on Elba! Please, Faerie, you must join us," she said. I looked back to Wren finally, to see if she would join us, but she had dissapeared. I swallowed and ran up to my friends. I linked my elbows with Victoria and Miss Abbott and let them lead me away from the dark hallway.

Miss Abbott looked back at the hall. "I thought Victoria said that you had gone off with Wren?" questioned she. I looked at her quickly and wondered if my face gave anything away. Olive's plain eyes blinked at me vapidly. A relief spread through my stomach.

"Yes, I did, however, she started to feel unwell as soon as we were here. She apologized for leaving me so suddenly, but explained how to get back to the drawing room. I was just about to go there alone when you two arrived."

Victoria laughed a carefree laugh. "An unmarried walking alone? What a scandal!" she exclaimed and I laughed along with her, but my laughter was quite false. There was a nervous thrumming in my stomach and chest and I wished to go home to bed immedietley. But where was home? It was London no longer, and yet that was where my entire past and being was. My mother lay so far away and at that moment, I missed her more than I ever had. Tears sprang to my eyes but I willed them away. If I made pleasant conversation, it would all go away. But I couldn't help but feel that if my mother were here, she'd know exactly what to do. She'd smooth my hair and sing me lullabies from her childhood and talk to me in soft Gaelic. She'd pretend I was a princess in a far away land with magical creatures to keep me company. Or then I'd be a pirate, a captain of the fastest ship in the seven seas, with my talking parrot.

That was not home anymore. There could be no home in London without Mother. But was Deathcreeke home? It did not feel like much of a home to me. All the secrets and lies...that was not a family, that was not a home. How could they keep their son so closed off from the world? There was a chance he could live, there was a chance that the curse could be broken! How could Lily, who obviously loved her son so much, not try everything in her power to make him better?

The drawing room was light and warm as soon as we entered. I was given a cup of black coffee by a small maid and put a dollop of cream and two lumps of sugar in my coffee, stirred it quickly and took a sip. It was the perfect balance of sweet and bitter. Wren was right. When I entered alone, many speculated upon the other girls whereabouts. When they all asked, I told them the same story that I'd told Victoria and Olive, but the older women were not as quick to believe it. Lily asked what Wren had wanted, but I just took a sip of my tea and told her she wanted to know what London was like. Lily hardly looked convinced, but that did not upset me. Whatever Wren had meant by whatever she had said, I knew I should not repeat a word of it to Lily...or Charles, for that matter.

There was no one I could trust here. Everyone held a dazzling and smiling mask that hid ugly scars underneath. This I knew. This I would not forget.