Till Death Do Us Part

There weren’t enough words in the world to describe my embarrassment. When I woke up, Nicolæ was still asleep. Unfortunately, I had no idea how to figure out the washroom so I put on a robe and began to wander the halls. It was then that I found the piano.

My father was my piano teacher. He loved music almost as much as his family. He and I would play for hours until my mother would stop us to eat or to tell me to do my chores. I cherished that time with my father. He understood me like no one else has, or ever will. Playing this piano brought me back to those days and I experienced freedom from my dark life for the first time in such a long time.

I didn’t think Nicolæ would come looking for me.

I was still nursing my fingers when I reached the kitchen. Terran was inside preparing dinner. She was a plump blond haired woman with a good natured face. I had met her very briefly when I nipped in for breakfast.

“Hello,” she said, smiling warmly at me.

“Good afternoon,” I returned. “Do you have cold water?”

I showed her my fingers and she clicked her tongue before heading over to a well that was set in the back corner. This was new for me.

“Did they build the house around that?” I asked, standing beside her as she pulled on the rope lifting the basket up.

“Yes, ma’am. They also have a very intricate system they call ‘plumbing’ that runs through the mansion.” She laughed a little. “It’s the most complicated thing I’ve ever seen. They have someone to tend to it, though, so I don’t worry about it too much. What happened to your fingers?” she asked as she poured some of the water into a bowl.

I sighed in relief. The cool water felt amazing on my burning fingers.

“I closed them in the piano,” I answered with a sheepish smile.

Terran laughed and went back to her vegetables. “You remind me so much of my daughter.”

“Does she live here, as well?”

Terran sighed. “No, I’m afraid she doesn’t. She died of the fever several years ago.”

“I’m so sorry,” I breathed.

She gave me a reassuring smile. “Thank you but it is ok. I’m glad to know she’s not hurting anymore and she’s in good hands.” Terran lifted her head upward and smiled. “She’d be your age. Do you have any siblings?”

“Two sisters,” I said, now drying my hands gingerly on a towel. “One older and one younger; we weren’t very close growing up.”

“Why not?” she asked, tipping the chopped vegetables into a large pot.

“Our house was very divided growing up. My sisters preferred my mother over my father. It broke my heart. My father was such an amazing man; I never understood why they treated him with such disdain.”

“And your mother?”

“She and I have never gotten along. It got even worse when my father died. It was almost as if I reminded her of him so much….”

Terran was watching me sadly. “You know, my best friend growing up was a lovely woman named Elisabeth. Her father was not a family man. He preferred to order his wife and daughter around and sit, doing nothing all day. Elisabeth had to work as a maid to help pay for their upkeep. He didn’t care about them at all. They were just slaves to him. When he died, Elisabeth, it’s sad to say, did not miss him. Everyone is flawed,” she finished. “It’s heartbreaking when it happens within your own family.”

I nodded mutely. Part of me wanted to tell her the rest of the story but the other part remembered what happened the last time I did that. I ended up just thanking her, grabbing some bread, and walking out into the back area to think some more.

There was a small pond with ducks swimming about and I smiled. I surely didn’t expect a duck pond behind this mansion. I sat on a stone bench beside the pond and tore up the bread, tossing it in a little at a time.

It was true, I had finally escaped my prison. And as grand as this mansion was, I still wondered if I hadn’t just been traded into another one. While my mother- and father-in-law were warm and welcoming, Nicolæ didn’t seem to be very interested. Why then, was I chosen to be his bride?

The sun was setting and it was getting a little cold outside. I tossed the last bit of bread in and watched a baby duck gulp it down. Clouds were forming and threatening rain so I hurried back inside. I could smell Terran’s delicious cooking so I went to change.

I was still preoccupied and just opened the door without thinking only to find a very shocked and mostly naked Nicolæ frozen in the middle of the room.

“Oh my God!” I gasped and covered my eyes. “I’m sorry! I didn’t even think!”

He was hurrying to dress. “You gave me a heart attack!”

“Why didn’t you lock the door?” I retorted.

“Well excuse me for using the bath,” he snapped. “Heaven forbid I actually use my room for its intended purpose. You can look now, by the way.”

I lowered my hands slowly. He was in a riding outfit. I could still feel my face on fire as I rummaged through the closet.

“No, my mother wants you to wear this,” he said and pointed at a dress on the bed.

I walked over and was taken aback. It was a black and gold riding dress with matching boots and a slip.

“I don’t understand,” I said, frowning at him. “It’s getting dark and it looks like it’s going to rain. Are we really going riding?”

“Yes.”

He was watching me while drying his hair with the towel. I caught myself staring at him and quickly gathered the dress before retreating into my closet. I dressed quickly. The outfit fit perfectly and I slipped on the boots while Nicolæ waited by the door. When I was ready, he offered me his arm again and I took it.

Despite the manner he put off, Nicolæ never seemed to be in a true hurry. But I enjoyed walking with him, it was true. Unlike my younger sister, he didn’t find the need to talk every minute of every day.

Instead of going out the front doors, he took me around the back. It was a cool night and there was a slight scent of rain. He led me to the barn where to magnificent horses stood, saddled and ready. One was pure black with a long glossy mane. The other was chestnut brown with a white mane and tail. There were white marking on its nose and around its eyes.

“This is Pitch,” he said, indicating the all black horse. “I’ve had him since he was born. The other is Daylight. She was born about a year after Pitch. Do you know how to ride?” he asked, leading me to Daylight. I nodded and he offered his hand. With his help, I mounted Daylight and held her reins loosely as he mounted Pitch. “Tonight I’ll just take you the normal route I take.”

He urged Pitch forward and I did the same to Daylight. She fell in step with Pitch and for a while we rode in silence. Lightning bugs were glittering among the trees as we entered a small forest. Somewhere there was a low rumble of thunder that didn’t seem to bother either horse.

“Why are we riding?” I asked after a while.

“Riding has always been a love of mine,” he confessed. “It was a way to be on my own. It’s tough to explain….”

“I understand,” I said earnestly. “After my father died, I would sit at the piano for hours and just play, shutting everything out until-” I stopped and cleared my throat. “Did you grow up here? All my life I’ve seen the mansion and I’ve never seen any sign that someone lived here.”

For some reason, it was much easier to talk to him out here than anywhere else inside.

“No. I grew up in the north, passed those mountains.” He pointed and I looked in that direction.

“But those mountains must be at least ten miles!”

“At least,” he agreed. “We moved here two years ago. My father knew the family that built the manor and they met to determine how to sell the property.”

We rode in silence a little longer before Nicolæ decided it was time to turn back.

“I don’t know about you,” he said, gazing up at the sky, “but I don’t fancy getting soaked.”

I was about to agree when it felt like the floodgates opened. We both froze for a second then I laughed, urging Daylight into a trot back to the barn. I could hear Nicolæ behind me, cursing, and I laughed some more. Finally we reached the barn and he slid off, Pitch, shaking his head furiously to rid it of water.

He reached up and helped me slide off Daylight. We looked at each other and started laughing.

“I told you it was going to rain,” I said when I had managed to get myself under control. I picked a twig out of his hair. “You should have listened.”

“Yeah, yeah, rub it in,” he grumbled but he smiled as we walked back inside under the cover of the trees. “Let’s clean up before dinner.”

“This is embarrassing,” I muttered, “but can you show me how the washroom works? I’ve never seen one so… complicated.”

He nodded and held the door open for me. It was another golden room with a large tub set off to the side. I walked over curiously while Nicolæ lit candles and the fireplace. There was a fountain that was continuously flowing but to where I could not see.

“Come warm up first,” he said, gesturing at the fire. “The water needs to heat up.”

“How?” I asked, moving into the warmth of the fire.

“I don’t know how it works, to tell you the truth. It’s definitely a positive, though.”

I nodded and rubbed my hands together. “I think I’m warm enough.”

“I’ll let you go first,” he said. “No bursting through doors this time, yeah?”

We chuckled a little and I hesitated, looking at him. I opened my mouth but closed it again and got prepared for my bath.