Love Is Never Ugly

Chapter 16

Days turned into weeks and soon a routine had developed for Charlotte. She would wake up, Niffty would bring her breakfast and start her bath, she would then dress herself in one of the gowns and pairs of slippers Anthony made, go through through the art gallery and admire the work, do some reading in the library, have a small lunch, play the harpsichord in the music room for awhile, chat with Niffty, Vagatha, or Anthony for a bit if they ever had free time, take a walk in the castle to familiarize herself with it, go to dinner where she would chat with the unseen Alastor, check in on her father using the mirror in her room, and end the day by going to sleep with sweet dreams of the silent, mysterious yet handsome and gentle young man.

To her surprise she found herself feeling very content with this routine after awhile. She loved being able to read and make music again. She also enjoyed spending time with Niffty, Vagatha, and Anthony who proved to not only be good servants but good friends. But what she thought to be the most surprising of all was that she began to like talking with Alastor. He always asked her how her day was and if there was anything she needed to make her more comfortable, promising that it would be hers without any complaint or hesitation. He sincerely wanted to be hospitable to her and it might have been her imagination but he almost sounded excited when he conversed with her. She wondered why that was and then one day as she was thinking about how the atmosphere of the castle responded to the feelings and wishes of it's master, she figured out the answer to his riddle.

When she arrived at dinner to give him the answer she found a little surprise waiting for her at the table. As usual there was a delicious candlelit meal with silverware but this time there was also dessert which was a small plate of petite fours and next to them was a lovely yellow rose. She sat down at the table and inhaled the fragrance of the rose before popping one of the tiny cakes into her mouth.

"How sweet." She said out loud.

"Are you pleased by my little treats?" She heard Alastor ask.

"Yes I am. Thank you very much." She replied. "But what is the occasion?"

"No occasion but I always assumed that a lady likes to be given sweet things once in awhile."

"You really are a gentleman aren't you?"

"I try to be." He said. "How was your day my dear? Tell me all about it."

"Actually I'd like to try something different tonight if you don't mind."

"That depends. What is it you want to try?"

"We always talk about my day and what I did but we never talk about what you do. How you spend your time. Will you please tell me what you did today? I am very anxious to know."

"I was far away." He answered. "Hunting."

"For people?" She shuddered.

"I do not target humans directly. I just hunt whatever possible food substance enters my domain. But I imagine that you'll be relieved to know that it has been very long since I've last taken a human life."

"Do you do anything besides hunt? Do you not read or make music?"

"I used to find pleasure in both but as time
went on I lost interest."

"How does one lose interest in music and reading?"

"When one realizes that there is no audience to entertain with the music or no equal to share your views on the book you've read."

Charlotte smiled proudly because at that moment he had all but confirmed that she had the right answer to his riddle.

"I do believe that I have finally solved the riddle you gave me."