Grenmoor

Chapter One

Kell sat tiredly in a red leather chair staring out of a high bay window. In her hand, she held a tall and thin champagne flute filled with a dense red liquid, taking sips of it rarely. She looked out the surrounding lands and the rolling hills that her manor house sat upon, watching as butterflies fluttered from flower to flower and as dragonflies zoomed past the window and skimming over the stream that ran down the hills.

Kell spent many of her days sat in the same chair, looking at the same things. Sometimes, the sky would be blue and cheery with only a few clouds rolling in front of the sun. On other days, Kell would watch in silence as rain and hailstones would clatter against the windows. She never moved, easing into the chair early in the morning and would get out in the middle of the night to get into bed.

"Mrs Lofgren?"

A timid voice called from behind Kell's chair. She turned her head to the side slightly, looking through the corner of her eye at the blurry image of a small maid who was twiddling her thumbs.

"Your wife has come home."

The maid announced, turning on her heel and leaving. She left the door open as Kell looked back to the outside world, bringing her glass to her lips and throwing back the rest of her drink.

Kell pushed herself out of the chair and rolled her shoulders, placing her glass down on Morgana's dresser and wrapping her shirt about her body. She moved away from the window and tucked her hands into the pocket of her jeans, her wedding ring getting caught on the edge of the pocket.

Kell looked about her room once and ran her tongue over her bottom lip, dropping her gaze to her feet and then turning around, walking out of the door and closing it gently behind her.

Morgana had left a few months ago and had been devastated. She'd not left Kell's side since the incident at Edenbridge, clinging to her wife and snarling viciously at anyone who got too near. Morgana had watched Kell's every step and had doctors and nurses on hand to treat the wounds that the Contessa had inflicted on her. They'd fixed Kell's wrist, repairing the bones and wrapping a tight cast about her hand for a few weeks. Morgana had called in a dentist to fill the gap in Kell's mouth and had been skeptical towards Kell's choice of a golden tooth. Kell had waved her away and had smiled, showing off her new look and letting the tooth glitter in the sunlight.

When Morgana found out she was being called away from home, she'd run from her office to Kell in their bedroom in tears. She'd wrapped her arms tightly about Kell's neck and didn't let go, sobbing into Kell's neck and holding her closer than she ever had done before. Kell remembered that her eyes had stung with tears, but she didn't let them slip from her eyes. She'd simply held Morgana to her and combed her fingers through her wife's hair and told her that it'd all be okay.

Waiting as patiently as she could in the lobby, Kell kept her hands tucked in her pockets and looked about the room, walking leisurely about to look at the art that Morgana had insisted be put on display.

Kell covered her hand with the sleeve of her shirt and wiped a smudge off of a marble vase that was filled with white roses. She screwed her mouth up to the side and glanced at the open mahogany doors, spotting a sleek black car that had pulled up at the driveway.

Kell smiled at the sight of the car, pushing her shoulders back and sauntering over to the porch, standing out in the open air and letting the wind wrap around her. She kept her smile as one of the back doors swung open and Morgana stepped out, adjusting the heavy sunglasses that sat across her eyes and snarling in anger at her driver who was too late to open the door for her.

Kell laughed at the display, shaking her head as Morgana snapped her fingers together, sending the driver running awkwardly around to the boot of the car. Morgana paid him no more attention than that, looking about the front grounds of Grenmoor and then up at the porch at where Kell stood.