Not Afraid of the Dark

Dani sat playing the piano like her parents requested of her every night. She had to play the piano every morning after she woke up and every night just before she went to bed. Around this time Katie was always over and painting. Dani couldn't understand why Katie's parents didn't like it when she painted, but she didn't dwell on it too much. She had better things to think about. One of those things was figuring out how to stay off the radar of all the single men. She hated being pursued because she didn't want to settle down just yet. Her parents were worried about her, she could tell, but she just wasn't ready. It wasn't proper to wait this long until marriage, but she wasn't ready to tie herself down to one man just yet.

Her fingers gracefully flew across the piano as she let the music surround her and her best friend. She looked out the window as she played and soon stopped at the site she saw.

"Dani, what's wrong?" her best friend, Katie asked.

"Have you ever wondered what's so bad about the woods?" she asked as she continued to stare at them.

"Oh, Dani, don't start with this again. Please, just finish playing for the night," Katie pleaded.

Katie hated the subject of the woods. She was like Dani in so many ways, but when it came to the woods she didn't want anything to do with them. Young children turned up missing all the time because of those dreadful woods. They always turned up missing at night and that frightened her the most. She turned back towards her drawing when she heard the piano start up again. She was glad that Dani wasn't pressing the subject, but she had a feeling that it wasn't completely dropped.

The music stopped again and the sound of the piano covering for the keys lightly touching the piano indicated that Dani was done playing for the night. Katie finished her drawing and then tucked it away in the box that Dani's father had made special for her and her artwork. She felt like Dani's father was more of a father to her than her own, but that didn't mean she didn't love her father because she did. She just wished that her parents were more open to her choice of hobby.

"Katie, are you staying here tonight?" Dani asked.

"If that's all right with your parents," she answered softly.

Truthfully, Katie didn't want to have to walk home alone. She knew that Dani wasn't afraid of the dark. Dani wasn't necessarily afraid of anything for that matter, but that didn't matter.
She still wouldn't want her best friend walking home alone.

"I wouldn't see why it wouldn't be all right with them," Dani said.

"Okay, that's good. I just don't want to walk home alone and I don't want you walking by yourself either," she told her friend.

Dani smiled. "You'll have to get over your fear of the dark at some point, Katie," Dani teased.

Katie narrowed her eyes at her friend. "I do not," she said hotly.

Katie knew that Dani was only teasing. It was part of their friendship. They would bicker and fight all the time, but it wouldn't mean anything. Their friendship was strong and they relied on each other for just about anything.

"Girls, time for bed," Dani's mother, Lady McCallister said, walking into the parlor.

"Okay, mother," Dani acknowledged.

Dani helped Katie pick up her art supplies and put them away in the special box. Once everything was put away the two girls walked up the stairs and into Dani's room. Dani's room was quite large and held a separate bed for Katie whenever she slept over. Two maids entered and helped the girls undress from their corsets and beautiful gowns. They slipped on their nightgowns and then climbed into bed. Lady McCallister and Sir McCallister entered the room and bid the two girls goodnight.

*****

Outside under cover of darkness two males walked side by side. They were best friends who loved to travel together. They had arrived in London recently, but decided that the city was just too much hustle and bustle for them so they decided to go to the nearest village just outside of London. The journey wasn't long, but it was pretty bumpy.

Once these two young gentlemen arrived in the village they checked into the small inn. They were now searching for a good place to build a house since the inn couldn't be a permanent address. Both men loved the surrounding woods, but when they asked the townsfolk about them they got mixed responses. All the townsfolk seemed to be afraid of the woods. They claimed that the woods took young children who played too close to the edge and these children were never seen or heard of again.

This puzzled the two men. They were considered explorers, but their real job was a secret. They hated people prying into their personal lives and it seemed as if the young women who had caught glimpses of these men were already trying to think of ways to make the men like them. It was pathetic in the eyes of the two young gentlemen. They did not come to London or the village to find a significant other. They came for business and were going to leave as soon as that business was completed. They were wealthy, that much was obvious.

"Micah, this is a lot more serious than we anticipated," the lankier of the two men whispered.

"I know Riley," Micah answered.

"What do you suppose we're going to do about the problem?" Riley asked.

"We're going hunting tomorrow night. Make sure to bring extra clothing to change into," Micah instructed.

"Do you think that would be a good idea?" Riley wondered.

"It's the only thing we have going for us at the moment," Micah replied.

"All right," Riley agreed.

Riley was the more sensible of the two. He trusted Micah's word as the truth and would do anything for him, but sometimes he couldn't help but question his intentions when it came to working. Both men preferred to work under the cover of darkness since it kept their secret.

They couldn't risk being discovered working because it would ruin everything. Micah glanced at his best friend and let out a soft sigh.

"I know it sounds risky going out when we just arrived, but if we are going to get familiar with these woods we must go as soon as we can," he said.

"I know, Micah, I understand," Riley said.

Micah clapped him on his shoulder a few times before heading back towards the inn.

"Come, we must get some sleep. We'll need it," he said.

Riley just nodded his head and followed Micah back towards the inn. He stopped though when he noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye. Micah continued to walk until he noticed that his companion was no longer next to him.

"Riley?" he asked turning around.

Riley looked at his friend with wide eyes. "Maybe we shouldn't wait until tomorrow night," he whispered urgently.

"What are you on about?" Micah asked.

"I just saw something dart across towards the woods," he said.

Micah smiled. "You're tired Riley. Come on, we must get some sleep," he answered.

Riley wasn't sure if he was seeing things, but he felt a cold darkness in the air that he didn't like. He'd listen to his friend tonight, but tomorrow would be a whole different story. He was ready to go hunting and he wouldn't stop until he and his friend found and killed what they were looking for.