(D)evil within

C H A P T E R IV

。・゜・Evelyn・゜・。

My first day as maid in Greystoke Manor started quite pleasantly. I woke to the sunlight gliding through the circle windows, cascading a beam of light onto the floor. Warmth spread the attic with a serene grace. I didn't feel like I was in a servants room, I felt blessed to be where I was.

I stood, the soft bedcovers fell on the bed harmoniously. I brushed my hands down my cotton night gown and gathered my thick ginger hair as I sat at my dressing table. I used my dainty brush to gather my coarse hair and tangled it into a bun that sat tightly on my head.

I put the brush back down, my hand brushing against a piece of white paper. Black ink was sprawled across the page artistically.

𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝓁𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝒷𝓊𝓇𝓃𝓈,
𝒜𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓇𝓂𝓉𝒽 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒸𝒽𝓊𝓇𝓃.
𝐼𝓉 𝒽𝓊𝓇𝓉𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝑜𝓊𝒸𝒽-
𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓁𝓎 𝐼 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒸𝓁𝓊𝓉𝒸𝒽
𝒪𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝓎𝑜𝓊.

I read the small poem over and over, allowing each word to indulge my brain bit by bit with its serenade. Folding the paper, I stuffed it under my pillow-knowing I'd inspect it further later.

My uniform was quite simple, a white lace collar that sat upon a plain black dress. The dress was naturally shorter due to me being a maid-it was more practical for kneeling and cleaning. I felt privileged, the master had even bought stockings that didn't cut off my circulation.

I slipped into my hard, leather shoes, I descended the stairs and found myself in a dark corridor.

"Good morning Evelyn, I trust you slept well. I expect you to go to the butchers today-that is your priority. Darcey is on the second floor, the third door to the left. She will take you. Don't let me down."

His voice fogged my mind. Goosebumps scattered my skin as my hair stood on end. The deep voice that ran over me as smoothly as water was probably my favourite sound-and yet I still hadn't seen a face to stick to the sound. 

My chest tightened, I felt his eyes crawling over me. His omnipresence scared me-but it fascinated me. I just wanted to see him-to see his build and his face and his eyes. I needed to know the man I was hearing. I needed to know I wasn't going insane-that the voices in my head weren't of my own imagination.

After searching and searching through seemingly endless corridors, dark shadows and locked doors, I found Darcey's room. I opened the heavy door and stepped inside.

The room was a sharp blue with sprawls of paper stuck to it with pins. The paper was scattered with drawings of animals and plants, especially small, scaly creatures that I didn't recognise. A gentle song caressed my ears as I stood still-it was violin based music that sang from the recorder.

Darcey was sat in the centre of the room, on the floor, with about twenty butterflies flying around her. Petit red and orange ones landed in her dark hair and nestled there like a nest. She was holding a small amphibian in her hand, it was a bright blue and black in colour.

"Stay still." She murmured quietly. "Move and you'll startle him, and I've got him in the perfect position." Her ink pen sketched violently against the paper as I stood still; frozen in place.

The frog itself moved and hopped off of her hand, a sigh of frustration rumbled in her throat and she scooped it up and dropped it in a glass box that was vented with small slits.

"What'd you want?" She asked, turning to face me. Her face was sad and lonesome; and yet she was aesthetically stunning. Her eyes held a strong sense of pain and distraught.

"The master told me to bring you to the butchers with me."

Her lips parted, "I'll come."

And with that, she led me to the carriage outside and accompanied me to the butchers. I had no idea what to say-how could I ask what I wanted to? Excuse me, but the last time I saw you, your eyes were black, why is that? No, it sounded stupid. I ignored my thoughts and climbed out of the carriage when we arrived. 

A long queue of people stalked the streets, the line falling to the entrance of the butchers. The building was wide, piles and piles of animals were hung in the windows-some skinned and some still with fur. The cobbled roads beneath the animals were stained red and a dark brown. Darcey stayed silent as she walked past the masses of waiting people and straight through the doors.

"Jay! We got any rabbit left?" A tall, lean man yelled. He had a youthful face-he was probably only twenty. His biceps clenched as he lifted a huge pig onto the counter with ease-he made it look like lifting a feather. He was wearing slacks and a blood stained apron which was tied around his slender waist. His eyes somewhat shocked me, they were luminously blue. They just seemed to glow.

As if he could sense our presence, he looked up and locked eyes with Darcey. His grip faltered on the leg of the animal as he dropped it on the floor. There was a rapid sound of continuous banging as someone else ascended from some sort of cellar. A boy with a smaller but muscular build stood in the arched doorway. He had a very feminine face, high cheekbones and a jaw that lacked shape. He had shapely eyes that glistened  blue like the other mans. He was quite short, only about 5'6, whereas the other was at least 6'3.

They had similar faces, apart from the contrasting masculine and feminine features. I felt the tension as the two lads stared at Darcey. It was like an invisible wire of electricity was attached to all three of them in a triangle of ferocious sparks.

"You here for the stuff?" The taller boy asked, stepping closer to the counter. He rested his hands on the counter and leant forward against it.

"Yes." Darcey murmured, staring at the other boy.

I quickly noticed how the other didn't talk, he just stood and watched.

"Jay!" The bigger brother muttered. "Get the package for the lady."

Jay muttered a quiet response before disappearing through the doorway. It was only then that I'd noticed Darcey's back was tense and rigid. Her shoulders were uptight and her hands were clasped tightly over her stomach. She stood with elegance and pride, but something in her eyes just reeked a struggle.

Jay came back up, his eyes glued to the floor as he handed over a bag to her.

"Thanks." She muttered before walking out.

Feeling an awkward aroma rise in my chest, I followed her. She practically threw the bag at me, meeting my eyes with a dark gaze, "Take these straight to the masters chambers."

I looked down into the bag. There was a thick piece of pork and an even thicker chunk of lamb. Reaching in, I moved the meat to find something quite peculiar.

Lying there, under the meat, were three bags of clotted, dark red blood.