What Ifs and Whatnots

Eight days had passed since that first banquet and my days had fallen into a ritualistic movement. Every morning I would wake up to a cup of tea and be dressed in a simple dress – always a lighter colour than I would have liked – and I would walk down the grand hallways decorated with dark, gloomy portraits that frowned down at you. Suits of armour gleamed on their pedestals as they lined the walls, their weapons sharpened to the point of sliding through a human body like a knife through butter. The velvet slippers I wore made no sound on the thick crimson carpet that ran down the centre of the dark marble floors. Flickering candles threw terrifying shadows onto the decorative pillars and intricate carvings disappeared into the dark shadow that loomed over the ceiling making it impossible to judge just how tall the halls were.

I would follow Vermentino down these halls into a large dining room where Red (the name I had given to my captor) would be standing by the fireplace looking down at the flames. The doors were closed behind me and an uncomfortable silence would fall upon the room as I stood there watching Red watch the flames. I think he did it on purpose, to remind me that I wasn’t a guest. It was only when Red turned around that Oswald would pull out a chair for me to sit on and breakfast would be served.

After a silent breakfast I would be escorted back to my room by Vermentino. Mrs Hett would be there ready to accept any orders that I had even though they all soon realised that I would never feel comfortable ordering them around. They would then leave me to do whatever I wanted to do while they went off to do the jobs they had to. Sometimes Luca would come in throughout the day, bringing me gifts that would distract me from my relentless inspection of my room. I wanted to know just what I was letting myself in for and the dressing room was so large that it took me five days simply to see ever single piece of clothing in there. Though I did notice that my old clothes were no where to be seen.

For lunch I would again be escorted to the dining room and the same protocol would be followed as breakfast. We would eat in silence and then I would be taken back to my room until dinner. This was a bit more complicated, I had to be in a different dress for dinner but I got to wear darker colours. Also there was a ball held three nights a week where I would be forced into more sparkly dresses. Yet as in the first banquet and ball the other guests would leave when dinner was served so once again Red and I would be eating alone, apart from Vermentino and Oswald who acted as waiters. Once again we would eat in silence but then the guests would return and more dancing would ensue. Some would even ask me to dance but I always denied them and not even the sharp gaze of Red could deter my decision.

It was just after breakfast and I had been taken back up to my room where Luca was standing waiting for me with a small grin on his face. He held up an emerald green cloak and brown leather boots. My eyes narrowed slightly as my lips stretched into a small grin and he nodded, understanding my silent question.

“Yes miss, it’s a glorious day and we all think that you’ve been stuck inside for too long. I’ll show you the grounds if you like.” Luca offered and I ran, rather unladylike, towards him and flung my arms around him. I had asked to go out before but a sudden snowstorm had prevented me from doing so. He offered the cloak and boots which I quickly accepted and ran over to the dressing table chair to put them on. I laced one boot up as unseen hands did the other one and as I stood up the cloak was thrown around my shoulders and fastened at my collarbone. I could hear Vermentino chuckling at my enthusiasm but I ignored him as Luca lead the way to the outside of my prison.

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The snow had melted away from the castle doors and he smiled at the thought of calling up a storm to keep her locked inside. She hadn’t made much fuss and from the reports he received from the walls she had spent all the time alone in her room, going over every single item in her dressing room and inspecting every single detail on the expensive clothes. It wasn’t like there was anyone else to wear them or he probably would have destroyed them long ago. It was odd sharing a table with someone again, but he could always revel in the tense silences he created before the meal. She seemed a very dainty girl which was disappointing. She had seemed to be tougher before…maybe he had been too hard on her…maybe…then again maybe not.

He watched as she walked across the grounds with Luca. The stable boy was talking a lot and she was taking everything in, wrapped in a warm cloak, her hands trapped in a fur muff. They were trying to protect her. He hadn’t got very much sleep last night, it was probably better for her to be away from him and his rages. Well let them hide her; it would only be more effective when she saw him angry for the first time. Technically she already had, that first night, but she’d been rather pathetic and had fallen unconscious very quickly. Still she would serve her purpose and keep him entertained for a while.

His malicious grin curled around his lips as he drew away from the window and let the murderous red haze fall over him.

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“Where’s that go?” I asked Luca, gazing at some stone steps. Two large stone urns flanked the rounded stone balustrade at the base and top of the steps. Luca glanced up at them and sighed softly.

“The old rose garden. It was beautiful, so many roses of colours you couldn’t even describe. But no flowers have bloomed in there for five hundred years miss.” Luca finished sadly. My smile slipped away as I glanced at him. He seemed genuinely upset about the rose garden, I had never really seen the point in flowers…yeah they were pretty but they didn’t really do much, apart from the ones that had healing agents. But they seemed to be important to Luca…maybe I would see them bloom and understand it. I smiled softly at him and nudged him with her elbow.

“Come on; show me the wonderful rose garden.” I whispered. Luca turned to me and I could feel the warmth in his eyes. We walked up the stone steps together and I took a deep breath of the waning winter air. Spring would be coming soon and hopefully it would be the birth of new roses, just for Luca.