Deadly Vault: A Halloween Vault Collection ✔

009 | The Key to Death

When I was nineteen, I was arranged to marry a rich, wealthy young man who owned a beautiful castle and a stable with many horses. I dreamt of living a happy life with him, riding through the countryside and singing and dancing all the time.

I have to admit I was excited when I actually got to marry him. He was a soft-spoken, well-mannered and caring man. His dazzling charm attracted me to the point that I was looking forward to moving to his place for the rest of my days.

He was said to own a magnificent palace with dozens of rooms and a grand hall. He also had a stable, where he held ten purebreed horses, one better and stronger than the other. Last but not least, there was also a beautiful garden where roses, lilies and other beautiful flowers shined among the green.

I felt like living in a dream. I mean, I never thought I'd be happier, especially with that gorgeous man by my side. He was always smiling, never raising his voice; and, most importantly, he treated me like a queen, granting every single wish of mine.

Still, there was a mysterious aura surrounding him. I knew from the very start that he wasn't exactly an open book, but I didn't care so much for he was so gentle to me. Moreover, he had big life projects to share with me, including starting our own family. I was overjoyed as he revealed that, as I truly love kids.

***

One day, he told me that he had to leave to sort out some unresolved issues with his business; therefore, I'd be at home alone. I decided I wanted to clean the house, so I asked him to lend me the huge bunch of keys that could open several locked doors, including the basement, the attic and his wardrobe. Those rooms needed some cleaning, since they were probably dusty.

Even though he was suspicious at first, he accepted to lend me those keys, but only with one condition: I had to be careful and not lose even one of them; also, I shouldn't nose around and just clean up as I said. I reassured him, "Don't worry, these keys are in good hands."

As he left, I wondered whether I should start opening some doors to find some magnificent treasures or just an excuse for cleaning up. Still, I preferred waiting since I believed that he could come back home, claiming that he had forgotten to bring something. Fortunately, he didn't show up; I still chose to act cautiously, though.

I waited for a couple of hours before starting opening those doors, so I just resorted to cleaning the halls, the dining room and the bathrooms for then. In particular, I was satisfied with the job I did with the mirrors, which shined bright like diamonds after my intervention.

Later on, I moved on to the garden, removing dead leaves and thorns and checking that roses weren't damaged: it was a perfect excuse to take a breather and feel the fresh breeze tickling my skin. Lastly, I headed to the stables, cleaning off the manure and brushing horses.

Suddenly, one of them, a black purebreed mare, neighed at me, which prompted me to approach her. I gave her a carrot, which she munched happily. Anyway, I was surprised to hear her speak like human beings. She said, "You're a lovely and trustworthy girl; this is why I want to tell you a secret."

I made a jump back, almost tumbling on the hard floor. Fortunately, I recomposed myself and approached the mare again, who said, "Listen, Arienne, if you want to find out his biggest secrets, you have to open that door next to his room."

Before I could even ask why she knew my name, she explained, "He told me a lot about how you are so in love with him. Believe me, though: you may not like what's there behind that door." I gulped, stuttering a little bit. However, remembering what the mare had just told me, I left the stables and headed back to clean the other hidden rooms before he came back from his business trip.

As I finally reached the door next to my husband's room, I extracted the bundle of keys from my pocket and opened it. I slowly closed the door behind me, hoping not to hear any suspicious noise, and walked down a set of stairs, guided by nothing but my instinct since there were no lights.

When I finally got down every step, I found myself in the middle of an empty room where the only light source consisted of a chandelier on top of which there were candles. I stopped for a while to admire it; then, remembering what I was supposed to do, I found a broom and brushed the floor vigorously.

I stopped next to a tall, huge wooden wardrobe; struck by curiosity, I opened it, but then I made a huge step back, barely retaining a scream. I was more than sure that my husband would be back soon, so I tried to close the wardrobe, to no avail.

A green hand got out of it, making me jump and scream out of fear. Then, a greenish face with long black hair, resembling one of a female, came out. I was paralyzed and didn't know what to do. As the entire figure showed up, she approached me and held my hands.

"Wh-wh-who are you?" I cried, trying hard not to raise my voice tone further. Then, I overheard a noise of steps coming from upstairs, much to my increasing concern. The noise got closer and louder, which clearly meant that I had been caught.

It was my husband, who was fuming of anger. He yelled at me, "You're nothing but a filthy liar! Now I'm going to kill you!" He extracted a magic wand from his pocket and shook it, threatening to kill me with its red ray. I tried to run back upstairs, but more rays were to hit me; plus, the creature was still holding my hands. Therefore, she had to follow me.

As we got out of that horror palace, we sought for a refuge in the stables, but he still followed us, attempting to hit us with his black magic. The black mare noticed that I was in trouble, so she made me and the creature the sign of jumping on her back and running away from that place.

So, we left towards the woods, finally finding a proper refuge in a hut after hours of riding. Taking advantage of the darkness and the general absence of living beings in the surroundings, the creature approached me and revealed, "I was his first ex-wife. He harassed me and poorly treated me. One day, as I attempted to run away, he hit me with his magic and killed me. As I was buried, something grew inside me, and I left the underground world. But, now, I'm ready to get my revenge on him."

As I heard those cruel words, I realize that the gentle man who gave me everything and treated me like a princess was just a disguise. I was just a servant to him, a victim of his black magic fury.

[1226 words]

This is a story I wrote for the contest by _Once_Upon for Halloween Vault.