The King's Persecution

Chapter Seven

Music is "I Will Protect You" by Masaru Yokoyama. 🥰

Mother passed away on a cool spring day, surrounded by her children: my sisters and I, her stepdaughter and husband. After her funeral, my stepfather showed more affection to my sisters and I, which surprised us, because we had never experienced it before, since Mother and Father never believed in such things and discouraged it. But after Mother's passing...we children sorely needed it. My stepsister, however, disliked not being the center of her father's world anymore and resented us because of it. She would often throw temper tantrums and stayed in her room sulking whenever her father gave us gifts or took us out riding.

It was through one of his gifts, actually, that I discovered the long lost art of transfiguration. He was a merchant, so he would often go out in search of rare artifacts and merchandise to sell at a highly inflated price. How the man stayed in business I'll never know...because he's dead now. When he brought back a collection of books one day, he allowed each of us to pick one to keep for ourselves. I found an ancient book, full of curious spells and guidelines. Edgar said it was full of nonsense from ages past, but I found it fascinating...

"Well...now I wait." Joshua said out loud to no one in particular. He drifted from room to room, passing through walls as if they weren't there, taking in the familiar rooms as he searched for any secret rooms he had missed before. Midnight was fast approaching and so was the voice's next visit. After overpowering it the night before, he was sure the voice would be back with a vengeance tonight.

Please, Maker, at least help her listen to my warnings.

Peering through bookcases and fireplaces, he had no luck in discovering another hidden room. In his searches before, he had discovered a small closet in the sitting room, presumably for eavesdropping on conversations, but had found nothing in it.

"Is there really no other secret room inside this mansion?"

There had to be. Damon had conducted his research inside his home, he was sure of it. He couldn't have known he'd be sending Joshua here on such short notice...

Or could he? The blasted man had thought of everything. He tried to kick one of the tables, wishing for the millionth time that he would feel something, anything to remind him of who he once was.

Even pain was welcome at this point.

He probably wouldn't find anything unless that man had wanted him to find it. To taunt him with it. To show him no cure existed for the curse he had placed him under. Still, even clues such as those would help him feel like he was making progress, to bring his world back into some state of normalcy.

Joshua paused in front of a long, floor-length mirror in the room he was sure belonged to the usurper...years ago. When he had first arrived, the tempered glass had come alive with visions of flames dancing through the barren streets, stone walls crumbling into the night's abyss, and smoke rising into the night sky. But these days, the mirror remained dim, reflecting only what it saw on the other side.

"What...is your purpose?" he asked, reaching out toward the glass pane, as if to touch it. "I thought he placed you here just to show me what is happening on the outside, but...you seem to have a mind of your own..." Great. Now he really was going insane. Talking to inanimate objects like they had feelings...and were real. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary reflected in the shimmering pane, he left the mirror to reconsider its decision to hide its secrets from him.

He stopped passing through walls when he came to the room Eliza had occupied that night. Was she still there? What was she thinking? Sure, he had bared his soul to her, as much as he could without revealing the true extent of his downfall, but...she hadn't said anything in reply.

Wait...is that...crying I hear?

Getting as close to the wall as he could without passing through, he could pick up muffled sounds of sobs coming through the barrier between the rooms. She's crying? Was it something I did? Probably. I mean, look at me.

She probably had held it in until Joshua made his dramatic exit through the floor. Wishing he could do something about her tears, he left the room into the hall and hovered outside her door.

Should I call out to her? Does she need to talk to someone? Other than me, but there's no one else...

Finally, after debating with himself for a few minutes, he kneeled down outside her door, resolving to stay until midnight approached...when it would no longer be safe for her. Just...to be there in case she ever came out.

When the moon cast its rays onto Eliza's pillow, she woke with a start. "Have I really been asleep for that long?" Hopping off the bed, she glanced around the room, to make sure she was alone and safe from any assailants, for now... Seeing no one, she pulled off her cloak and opened the wardrobe doors. After enduring the hedge ripping apart the skirt and blouse she wore now, she was willing to try on any other outfits...even if said clothes needed a good washing first.

Picking through the fur-lined skirts and coats, she finally spotted a dark blue trench coat, with pockets! Nearly tearing it from the hanger, she tugged it on and sighed. A little long; her hands were covered by the sleeves, but she would make it work. Heavens knew that she needed more places to store her weapons...just in case.

Retrieving the simplest skirt, one without any ribbons or ruffles, she gathered her treasures and made her way outside the room to find a source of water to wash these nearly ancient clothes.

And walked right through the monster, who appeared to be sleeping...if his body was capable of that at all. She shuddered, nearly dropping her pile of clothes on him, then paused. What was he doing out here? Was he...waiting for me? She paused, watching his chest rise and fall at an even rate. So his body still mimicked normal human functions...as much as it could anyway. Curious.

Casting one last glance at the phantom, she walked to the stairs and down to the lower levels, looking for the kitchen. Surely that room would have a big enough trough for scrubbing clothing.

Until she remembered this was a mansion. Made by people who were rich...presumably. The kitchen was definitely outside in its own separate building.

Wishing she hadn't left her cloak upstairs, Eliza walked to the front of the mansion and stepped outside, lugging her bundle behind her. Just as she stepped foot outside the mansion, she heard a bell begin to chime. It didn't seem to come from any direction in particular; the harsh clanging rang out all around her.

Dong.

Dong.

Dong.

Stepping outside didn't help her escape it either. The bell rang out not one, not six, but twelve times. Still searching for the source of the sound, she set off toward the lone building near the back of the mansion.

And stopped short when she noticed a ghostly figure floating in the lawn, waiting for her to draw near.

You ever listen to emotional music and wish you could write stuff that moves you to tears as much as that? Yeah, me too. I hope someday to do that...

Also, I'm waiting till I can put real emotional music with each chapter. It's coming, oh it's coming. But for now, I'll content myself with the Fruits Basket OST...

Anyway, still unsure about that flashback at the beginning, but maybe I'll end up getting rid of the entire idea anyway. Tis a work in progress, this is. :))))

And now, the meme, as promised. Two of my favorite things combined. 😜