Horror Fan Fiction ❯ Anette: Testimony of Lives ❯ Act Five: Truth and Psuedo ( Chapter 5 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: WalkingDead 
In Which I am Enlightened to the Unfortunate.
Miscellaneous: Horror Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Horror | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.31.2009 | Pages: 2 | Words: 4.1K | Visits: 144 | Status: Completed
In Which I am Enlightened to the Unfortunate.
Miscellaneous: Horror Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Horror | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.31.2009 | Pages: 2 | Words: 4.1K | Visits: 144 | Status: Completed
Act Five: Truth and Psuedo
In Which I am Enlightened to The Unfortunate
By now you are problably looking on my testament with irritation, wondering aloud to yourselves, "What is this girl and her misfortunes? We've read tragedies worse than hers before! And such depressing thoughts for such a fortunate child, for crying out loud!" Of course. I haven't meant for this to be a comedy, otherwise I would have simply thrown in an, "I got you!" and made it turn out good. And if you assume that I'll never be happy, stop and read the next paragraph. Carefully, lest you lose my message.
My happiness is only means so much to the Fate that I served. As of the moment, the path that had been set for me seems unhappy and filled with tears, hardships, and complete abandonment. Things you would only see in a sad tale of a poor city boy stealing apples to live. But mark me when I say that my happiness was eventually found: You just haven't heard it yet. You see, most people simply imagine that happiness is handed to them on a silver platter and cooked to perfection. This is not one of those stories, for my happiness had to be achieved. Again. If you hadn't already noticed, at one time I did indeed seem to have found a sliver of happiness. And the next day, and the day after that, my small six-year-old self pondered the happiness I'd hastily shoved out the door with words that abandoned the original assumption that I was too young to understand anything.. Of course, my actions that followed those days, and then another four days, equalled that mentallity as well. In my depression, I had childishly refused my meals and denied company entrance to my room, despite my broken door (which was fixed eventually to hide my bed-ridden form). To be honest, I reveled in my bed and chose the path of self pity. At the time, I could think of no other way to mourn our parted ways. Until one rather bright morning someone burst into my room as I lay still and cried, "ENOUGH is ENOUGH, Young Miss!"
So surprised was I that I managed to once again fall out of bed with a shrill cry of surprise and pain. I dug through the covers and cowered at the tall form of a very, hairy man. Whereas I'd though Paul was hairy, this man had him well beat. His beard was far longer, angled in such ways he'd have to had some kind of trick to it. It joined with the hair trailing up the side of his face and to the top of his head, which was the only place he looked to be balding. This gentleman had dark brown eyes that gleamed in the morning light filtering through my room as he towered in the doorway.
"Young Annette, I will not have you starving yourself to death and jepordizing your health." His deep voice carried. "Now you will eat this morning's breakfast and have a walk with me outside in the gardens behind the mansion."
That being said, another woman entered. She looked vaguely familiar.. Ah! She was the maid who had assisted me to my room before, carrying a lavish breakfast of scrambled eggs, German sausages, and toasted bread covered with strawberry jam. The smell alone would make anyone's stomach rumble, and with the state I had put mine in, it groaned helplessly for the food coming my way. I stubbornly stared at the tray then back up at suit-clad man, who had his hands tucked behind him expectantly as he eyed me over a pair of thin-rimmed spectacles.
"Come on now. Eat up!" He ordered.
"I-"
"No arguing. I will shovel that food down your mouth myself if push comes to shove." He growled. I couldn't help but lean back and stare at his spirit once more before cautiously crawling back up onto the bed. The food gleamed on the plate like heaven, my stomach singing praises to the main as my mind cursed him. I hesitantly plucked up a sasusage and took a small bite. And that did it for my stomach. Now it was in charge of my body, demanding my hands move as fast as humanly possible to demolish the breakfast before it. I wolfed down the eggs without salt, crammed in the other three links of sausage and devoured the toast with zeal that seemed to amuse the old man. When I finished, I took a few gulps of the fresh orange juice they had placed on the trunk and looked over at the highly pleased man."My apologies for such a vocal first impression, but I was tired of waiting for you to buck up to introduce myself." He said with a warm smile. "The name is Jacob Del Vwella, or Sir Del Vwella. I am the master of this mansion, and your guardian for the time being."
"Pleased to meet you.." I answered, sarcasm dripping into my tone. It seemed to take no effect on the man for he simply nodded his head and bent at the waist.
"Now I'll have Miss Liza help you dress into some of the fine garments we purchased for you while you were moping in bed. I expect you to be ready no later than thirty minutes."
I was less than thrilled to say the least. Mister Del Vwella was a polar opposite to his wife. Whereas she was quiet and cunning, he seemed loud and stupid. I growled my disaproval at Liza, whom had first helped me to my room.
"I can dress myself, thank you." I mumbled, snatching the clothes she offered. She seemed taken aback by my terrible mood, but I hadn't the heart to apologize. I simply blushed at my behavior and shooed her away to stew in my own self-imposed misery. In the pile was a small pair of undergarments, a pretty little yellow sundress for good outside weather, a pair of lace frilled socks, and a pair of matching white-leather shoes. Something only the most well-endowed little girls wore in those days. I slipped all of the clothing on and opened the door Liza had shut so I could change, my eyes on the floor.
"You look fantastic, Lady Gisterre!" She commented brightly, despite my earlier rashness. I blushed and muttered a thanks.
"And please call me DeGarcia." I continued softly, still too ashamed of myself to meet Liza's eyes. "I don't even know Baroness Gisterre, and will not be called by her name."
Liza was silent for a moment.
"Very well, Lady DeGarcia, please follow me. Master Del Vwella wanted me to take you to the gardens."
I simply nodded and followed her shoes, eyeing the household as it went by. We went back down the stairs and back through the expensive tea-room, before heading towards a small hall that seperated from the tea room from a dining room. Passing about three doors, the hall stopped at another door and opened up to a bright room. The hardwood floor stopped and was replaced with a white stone tile, the walls painted purest white as the windows on the left in the room went from the floor to the celing. Four white lounge chairs sat in lazy fashion around the room with a black-wire framed glass table for each.
What held me captivated were the roses beyond that glass, standing tall in full bloom. Suddenly the darkness of the house was brightened by the beginnings of a garden I had yet to view. Perhaps I would enjoy it. Completely beside myself, I walked up to the glass and put my hand to where a blood red rose was pressed againsted the glass.
"I'm sure you would much rather pick one for yourself, little one."
I started at the sound of the voice beside me, whirling to my right where Jacob DelVwella stood with the glass door open. He silently motioned for me to come to him and offered me his arm. From there, he introduced me to a world beyond the dark house. The garden's paths were set in light red stone, evenly spread on a bed of sand as it rounded fantastic plants that made the garden seem ancient. Dinosaur ferns towered over the both of us in some areas, shaded by tall pine trees that cleansed the air and made it fresh. Dozens of wild flowers grew along the pathways, in vibrant yellows, oranges, and golds, blues, purples, and even white and pinks. As Lord Del Vwella walked me around silently, eyeing my ever changing expression, he would point out odd sculptures placed in the gardens.
The first we stumbled across was a wolf, stairing with yellow glass eyes that glinted in the sunlight. His back hairs were raised but he showed no teeth, only looking on guard for the opponent behind us. If not for his concrete gray colour, one would have been mistaken that he would jump off the wide, brass-rimmed pedestal he stood on and taken a nip at you.
"He's my favorite." Senior DelVwella said unexpectedly, drawing me from my perusal of the wolf. I once again gazed at the statue before looking questioningly at Senior DelVwella. He chuckled.
"He was given to me by an old friend of an artist. He takes a likeness to me, don't you think?" DelVwella teased with a light jab with his elbow. I blinked, a small brow creeping towards my hairline. I looked between the two.
"Both of you have gray hair?"
A burst of jovial laughter came from the man beside her.
"Well, thats one thing we share." He gave another snicker, before clearing his throat and turning his expression back to tender seriousness. "Annette, do you know why you were sent here?"
I cocked my head at him curiously.
"Did I have a choice?" The man rumbled his laughter again.
"I suppose not, but now that you are here, you might have heard one or two things about re-training you, as well as a new last name."
I continued along the path ahead of him, absently bending down occasionally to play with the flowers, and pluck the petals off.
"What kind of training? Like school?"
The tall man nodded, now his face taking on a serious nature.
"You are the Second Lady Gisterre, daughter of Her Ladyship Baroness Gisterre. You were meant to take her place when she left this world, and you had. You didn't reign for long, and you left many things undone. In the few years you've been gone, the things you fought to accomplish have crumbled."
I placidly sat among the rocks and listened. It was something that I'd heard before, but now needed to relearn, and the sooner I learned, the less time it would take to regain what I'd lost.
"There are two very different worlds that you had learned about as the Second Lady Gisterre. Both were spiritual, mind you, but one was darker. Here, you will relearn you fate as the Baroness Gisterre had originally taught you to." Jacob said softly, bending down and resting his elbows on his knees. He studied me for a moment as I squirmed uncomfortably under his perusal before taking my chin in one hand as Petros had done.
"Your first lesson will come from second Corinthians four: eight. 'We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.' It seems that experience has already taught you this." Jacob said quietly. Taking my hands, he helped me up as he continued. "What do you hear in this piece of scripture, Annette? What does it say to you?"
I brushed the back of the white dress of carefully as I pondered the obvious answer.
"Though things are bad, they could be worse..?"
Jacob gave me a slight of applause before smiling.
"Good. Of course many things can be derived from scripture, and meanings can be twisted and made what one wants. But today, I do believe this is what you needed to hear. You see, He who gives, takes away as well."
I paused as I looked carefully over DelVwella.
"He being God."
DelVwella nodded.
"And you knew Him well at one time. That is what we mean to get back as you live here."
We began down the path again, taking one of the right paths. He walked beside me quietly as I continued going over the words he said. Whereas my body was gone, I had a chance to start over. Wheareas Petros was gone, I now had a chance to become focussed on regaining what I'd lost. I was recognizing and beginning to see pros and cons, learning the abilities and disabilities I'd been presented. And the more I'd thought about it, the more I realized there was absolutely nothing I could do to change my circumstances for the moment.
In seeing I needed the time to regrow myself and submitting to it, I'd given my instructor the footholds to my soul.
"So you are going to teach me what I've forgotten?" I asked. Jacob gave a paused step as his eyes looked thoughtful.
"More or less." He finally admitted with a small smile. "I'll be teaching you the basics of what you used to know."
He huffed, almost flabbergasted as he continued with a perilous toss of his hands.
"By God, you knew much more than I did in my prime when you were only 18! You're younger in your training now, so I can only imagine what the finished product will look like this time!"
We were nearing the house again, its steepled roofs and the roses were coming into view. This time, there were yellow and white roses planted along the side of the house, clinging alongside the home like they ment to sheild it from something. Delighted at the sight, I couldn't help but go forward and reach out to pluck one of the delicate white flowers from its place. As I grabbed one of the slender green necks and tugged, a thorn broke through the skin of my finger.
"Ah!"
I quickly pulled away with the shock of the pain, only making the wound bleed profusely and widen into a long scratch at the tip of my finger.
"Annette!" Jacob DelVwella's voice barked. Startled, I turned quickly stared at the gray haired man. He had stiffened, standing a little more than six feet away poised to run if need be as though he were frightened with me. "You will go inside, go into the bathroom just next around the corner of the first hall and clean your finger up."
His voice was almost hoarse, husky-like as his sudden predatory gaze narrowed to the blood on my finger. I stared at him, wondering how he'd so quickly seen that I'd scratched myself and why his mood had so quickly changed. Was he offended by the sight of my blood?
"This instant! I will speak with you later this evening at dinner. Be ready at 6:00." He said, turning on one heel before stalking back down the way we'd come. I bit my lip, worried I'd done something wrong. Perhaps I wasn't to pick the roses? But he'd said before we left that it would be alright to pick one with him by my side. I found the glass door and stared at it for a moment, trying to figure out how it worked and finding before long it slid to the side. Following Senior DelVwella's directions, I found the small wash room with ease. A small rack beside the toilette provided soaps and washrags, one of which I took and began to dampen to clean off the blood that was now dripping off my finger. Grimmacing at the sting in it, I dipped it in the cool water before wiping it off with the little wash rag and began construction on a makeshift bandage for it out of the napkins placed beside the toilet on the rack. I held it to my finger and pushed the door open before staring around at my surroundings. The house had completely changed, somehow looking nothing like the house I'd been in.
Of course it was problably just another wing of the house, but I was still learning the first wing. As I stared around at this wide hall painted a beautiful maroon red with oakwood panelling, its portraits and collectibles sporting along its walls gracefully, I couldn't help pout in exhasperation. It seems I would be discovering the DelVwella Mansion on my own today.
Now that I look back, roaming that house on my onesy was problably the most fun I'd ever had as a child in either body. As a child in the Baroness' home, I'd been taught not to do anything demeaning, such as crawling under coffee tables and . My mother loved me, I never had want for anything I assure you. But fun wasn't her particular specialty. I suppose that would be one reason why she was nicknamed the Iron Maiden. Duty came first, hobbies came last. Fortunately, I was alone and in a mansion... With many hiding places for one of my size. As I'd been walking down the hall and out of one of the many sitting rooms, I came upon another flight of stairs going down and stumbled into what seemed like an armoury. There were six suits of armour standing erect for their masters, and I remember giggling at the sight as I bowed low to one of the suits, for the sake of silliness.
The hall darkened the farther I went in, and soon it was too dark to go any further. The paintings on the wall were shrouded by darkness, suits of armour disappearing as I paused in the wake of another hallway that was lit only by the light of the bulbs in the hall before it. Curious, but frightened by its ominous nature, I took slow steps towards the darkness beyond until a sound stopped me cold. A low purring sound behind sent electric jolts of fear up my spine and made me shake. I turned a hestitant head towards the sound and trembled at what was standing in the low light of the Armoury Hall.
Covered in dark grey fur was a giant of a dog. Its headed ducked down as its bright yellow eyes glinted at me intelligently, sniffing with its gray muzzle in short snorts of breath. The low rumble of a growl was aimed at me and made me shudder as the wolfhound put one big paw forward. I couldn't move under it's brilliant perusal, for fear the even a flinch would draw its wrath.
It wasn't quite.. well.. weird then, as it is now, but upon finding that enormous hound I'd come to a conclusion about myself: I drew odd characters from the woodwork. As I studied the animal with faint recognition for his breed, I began to notice something even odder. The wolf was shaking his head at me in the negative! I looked back at the darkened hall and then to the wolf.
"No?"
Then its head stopped its wagging and began bobbing. I blinked and looked closer. Yes. It was nodding!
"Why?"
The wolf simply sat on its haunches then, one ear twisting back and forth. If I hadn't known any better, I would have sworn that the dog had raised one of his fuzzy silver brows at me as if to say, I'm a wolf, silly. I can't speak. He gave me a gruff bark and stood again, nipping at the edges of my sundress.
"Fine fine, very well. Though I don't think you are even supposed to be in here." I snipped, following the wolfhound who'd turned tail and trotted back down the hall and turning the corner.
"I bet you aren't even..." I paused, looking around the corner for the big dog and finding an empty sitting room. "I must be losing my mind!"
It was an exclamation to myself, which was ridiculous enough to prove I was indeed insane. Oh! How I knew this already. The disappearing wolf was simply proof of it. Later that evening, when I'd joined the DelVwellas for dinner, I sat at the lavish table furnished with fine china plates and silver that gleamed in the light as crystal goblets of wine, grape juice, and water twinkled on the table and questioned them extensively about the castle.
"What about other houses on the land? Are there any summer houses?"
"We have one on other land somewhere in England that we visit only once in a long while to vacation for a few months. Perhaps we'll visit this year, now that we have company."
"What about stables?" I prodded.
"Isn't someone inquisitive today. I'm supposing you're better today, Lady Gisterre?" Lady DelVwella seemed to snark. I couldn't be completely sure, but she'd been rather smug as the week had gone on, or so I'd heard from Liza.
"Quite. And I insist you refer to me by DeGarcia until I understand Lady Baroness Gisterre a bit better." I answered, calmly. The title couldn't have been better than a fired bullet as the tiny smile on the Lady's face dropped like a dead fly. She took a sip to cover her displeasure, but the gleam in her eye said otherwise.
"So what of it? Stables, I mean."
Senior DelVwella furrowed a brow.
"I believe we have stables in the back, though I'm not sure all those horses are suitable for a six-year-old to ride. Those horses are enormous."
He must've seen the look of calm before the storm, for he immeadiately explained himself.
"You see, for someone with as small a body as you, we haven't any sadles or bridles. We can look into it if you'd like."
I took a bite of the unusually raw steak, chewing carefully as to savor the sea-salt sprinkled over it and washed it down with a sip of the juice they'd provided for me.
"Please don't trouble yourself on my account. I only wanted to know what kind of animals live around the grounds."
A loud clank startled me out of my next bite of steak, and I looked up to see Lady Lady DelVwella picking up her napkin and dabbing the corners of her mouth delicately. Even Senior DelVwella looked a bit flustered by my question.
"Well, most of the wildlife here is relatively generic. Possums, racoons, deer, the occasional coyote and fox, and if you get extremely lucky, a wolf. Though most big predators don't usually come past the gates." He said, smiling plasticly. I thought momentarily, wondering if the dog I'd seen was perhaps their pet, and they'd forgotten to mention it.
"Do you have any pets?" I asked. Senior DelVwella shook his head in the negative, swallowing before speaking.
"Should we look for a puppy to accompany you in the house?" He asked. "I hadn't any idea you were so fond of animals, Lady DeGarcia."
I shook my head and smiled. If that huge gray wolf were to reappear, he'd problably eat it.
"No, I just wanted to know so I wouldn't be surprised by a cat on the bed or such."
Both DelVwellas chuckled at the mention.
"Neither of us take to cats much, so no surprises there."
We all laughed lightly. The rest of the conversation that evening was flat, and with the DelVwellas interesting reaction to my simple questions, I assumed it was safe to say that the wolf I'd seen inside the house didn't belong there.
In Which I am Enlightened to The Unfortunate
By now you are problably looking on my testament with irritation, wondering aloud to yourselves, "What is this girl and her misfortunes? We've read tragedies worse than hers before! And such depressing thoughts for such a fortunate child, for crying out loud!" Of course. I haven't meant for this to be a comedy, otherwise I would have simply thrown in an, "I got you!" and made it turn out good. And if you assume that I'll never be happy, stop and read the next paragraph. Carefully, lest you lose my message.
My happiness is only means so much to the Fate that I served. As of the moment, the path that had been set for me seems unhappy and filled with tears, hardships, and complete abandonment. Things you would only see in a sad tale of a poor city boy stealing apples to live. But mark me when I say that my happiness was eventually found: You just haven't heard it yet. You see, most people simply imagine that happiness is handed to them on a silver platter and cooked to perfection. This is not one of those stories, for my happiness had to be achieved. Again. If you hadn't already noticed, at one time I did indeed seem to have found a sliver of happiness. And the next day, and the day after that, my small six-year-old self pondered the happiness I'd hastily shoved out the door with words that abandoned the original assumption that I was too young to understand anything.. Of course, my actions that followed those days, and then another four days, equalled that mentallity as well. In my depression, I had childishly refused my meals and denied company entrance to my room, despite my broken door (which was fixed eventually to hide my bed-ridden form). To be honest, I reveled in my bed and chose the path of self pity. At the time, I could think of no other way to mourn our parted ways. Until one rather bright morning someone burst into my room as I lay still and cried, "ENOUGH is ENOUGH, Young Miss!"
So surprised was I that I managed to once again fall out of bed with a shrill cry of surprise and pain. I dug through the covers and cowered at the tall form of a very, hairy man. Whereas I'd though Paul was hairy, this man had him well beat. His beard was far longer, angled in such ways he'd have to had some kind of trick to it. It joined with the hair trailing up the side of his face and to the top of his head, which was the only place he looked to be balding. This gentleman had dark brown eyes that gleamed in the morning light filtering through my room as he towered in the doorway.
"Young Annette, I will not have you starving yourself to death and jepordizing your health." His deep voice carried. "Now you will eat this morning's breakfast and have a walk with me outside in the gardens behind the mansion."
That being said, another woman entered. She looked vaguely familiar.. Ah! She was the maid who had assisted me to my room before, carrying a lavish breakfast of scrambled eggs, German sausages, and toasted bread covered with strawberry jam. The smell alone would make anyone's stomach rumble, and with the state I had put mine in, it groaned helplessly for the food coming my way. I stubbornly stared at the tray then back up at suit-clad man, who had his hands tucked behind him expectantly as he eyed me over a pair of thin-rimmed spectacles.
"Come on now. Eat up!" He ordered.
"I-"
"No arguing. I will shovel that food down your mouth myself if push comes to shove." He growled. I couldn't help but lean back and stare at his spirit once more before cautiously crawling back up onto the bed. The food gleamed on the plate like heaven, my stomach singing praises to the main as my mind cursed him. I hesitantly plucked up a sasusage and took a small bite. And that did it for my stomach. Now it was in charge of my body, demanding my hands move as fast as humanly possible to demolish the breakfast before it. I wolfed down the eggs without salt, crammed in the other three links of sausage and devoured the toast with zeal that seemed to amuse the old man. When I finished, I took a few gulps of the fresh orange juice they had placed on the trunk and looked over at the highly pleased man."My apologies for such a vocal first impression, but I was tired of waiting for you to buck up to introduce myself." He said with a warm smile. "The name is Jacob Del Vwella, or Sir Del Vwella. I am the master of this mansion, and your guardian for the time being."
"Pleased to meet you.." I answered, sarcasm dripping into my tone. It seemed to take no effect on the man for he simply nodded his head and bent at the waist.
"Now I'll have Miss Liza help you dress into some of the fine garments we purchased for you while you were moping in bed. I expect you to be ready no later than thirty minutes."
I was less than thrilled to say the least. Mister Del Vwella was a polar opposite to his wife. Whereas she was quiet and cunning, he seemed loud and stupid. I growled my disaproval at Liza, whom had first helped me to my room.
"I can dress myself, thank you." I mumbled, snatching the clothes she offered. She seemed taken aback by my terrible mood, but I hadn't the heart to apologize. I simply blushed at my behavior and shooed her away to stew in my own self-imposed misery. In the pile was a small pair of undergarments, a pretty little yellow sundress for good outside weather, a pair of lace frilled socks, and a pair of matching white-leather shoes. Something only the most well-endowed little girls wore in those days. I slipped all of the clothing on and opened the door Liza had shut so I could change, my eyes on the floor.
"You look fantastic, Lady Gisterre!" She commented brightly, despite my earlier rashness. I blushed and muttered a thanks.
"And please call me DeGarcia." I continued softly, still too ashamed of myself to meet Liza's eyes. "I don't even know Baroness Gisterre, and will not be called by her name."
Liza was silent for a moment.
"Very well, Lady DeGarcia, please follow me. Master Del Vwella wanted me to take you to the gardens."
I simply nodded and followed her shoes, eyeing the household as it went by. We went back down the stairs and back through the expensive tea-room, before heading towards a small hall that seperated from the tea room from a dining room. Passing about three doors, the hall stopped at another door and opened up to a bright room. The hardwood floor stopped and was replaced with a white stone tile, the walls painted purest white as the windows on the left in the room went from the floor to the celing. Four white lounge chairs sat in lazy fashion around the room with a black-wire framed glass table for each.
What held me captivated were the roses beyond that glass, standing tall in full bloom. Suddenly the darkness of the house was brightened by the beginnings of a garden I had yet to view. Perhaps I would enjoy it. Completely beside myself, I walked up to the glass and put my hand to where a blood red rose was pressed againsted the glass.
"I'm sure you would much rather pick one for yourself, little one."
I started at the sound of the voice beside me, whirling to my right where Jacob DelVwella stood with the glass door open. He silently motioned for me to come to him and offered me his arm. From there, he introduced me to a world beyond the dark house. The garden's paths were set in light red stone, evenly spread on a bed of sand as it rounded fantastic plants that made the garden seem ancient. Dinosaur ferns towered over the both of us in some areas, shaded by tall pine trees that cleansed the air and made it fresh. Dozens of wild flowers grew along the pathways, in vibrant yellows, oranges, and golds, blues, purples, and even white and pinks. As Lord Del Vwella walked me around silently, eyeing my ever changing expression, he would point out odd sculptures placed in the gardens.
The first we stumbled across was a wolf, stairing with yellow glass eyes that glinted in the sunlight. His back hairs were raised but he showed no teeth, only looking on guard for the opponent behind us. If not for his concrete gray colour, one would have been mistaken that he would jump off the wide, brass-rimmed pedestal he stood on and taken a nip at you.
"He's my favorite." Senior DelVwella said unexpectedly, drawing me from my perusal of the wolf. I once again gazed at the statue before looking questioningly at Senior DelVwella. He chuckled.
"He was given to me by an old friend of an artist. He takes a likeness to me, don't you think?" DelVwella teased with a light jab with his elbow. I blinked, a small brow creeping towards my hairline. I looked between the two.
"Both of you have gray hair?"
A burst of jovial laughter came from the man beside her.
"Well, thats one thing we share." He gave another snicker, before clearing his throat and turning his expression back to tender seriousness. "Annette, do you know why you were sent here?"
I cocked my head at him curiously.
"Did I have a choice?" The man rumbled his laughter again.
"I suppose not, but now that you are here, you might have heard one or two things about re-training you, as well as a new last name."
I continued along the path ahead of him, absently bending down occasionally to play with the flowers, and pluck the petals off.
"What kind of training? Like school?"
The tall man nodded, now his face taking on a serious nature.
"You are the Second Lady Gisterre, daughter of Her Ladyship Baroness Gisterre. You were meant to take her place when she left this world, and you had. You didn't reign for long, and you left many things undone. In the few years you've been gone, the things you fought to accomplish have crumbled."
I placidly sat among the rocks and listened. It was something that I'd heard before, but now needed to relearn, and the sooner I learned, the less time it would take to regain what I'd lost.
"There are two very different worlds that you had learned about as the Second Lady Gisterre. Both were spiritual, mind you, but one was darker. Here, you will relearn you fate as the Baroness Gisterre had originally taught you to." Jacob said softly, bending down and resting his elbows on his knees. He studied me for a moment as I squirmed uncomfortably under his perusal before taking my chin in one hand as Petros had done.
"Your first lesson will come from second Corinthians four: eight. 'We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.' It seems that experience has already taught you this." Jacob said quietly. Taking my hands, he helped me up as he continued. "What do you hear in this piece of scripture, Annette? What does it say to you?"
I brushed the back of the white dress of carefully as I pondered the obvious answer.
"Though things are bad, they could be worse..?"
Jacob gave me a slight of applause before smiling.
"Good. Of course many things can be derived from scripture, and meanings can be twisted and made what one wants. But today, I do believe this is what you needed to hear. You see, He who gives, takes away as well."
I paused as I looked carefully over DelVwella.
"He being God."
DelVwella nodded.
"And you knew Him well at one time. That is what we mean to get back as you live here."
We began down the path again, taking one of the right paths. He walked beside me quietly as I continued going over the words he said. Whereas my body was gone, I had a chance to start over. Wheareas Petros was gone, I now had a chance to become focussed on regaining what I'd lost. I was recognizing and beginning to see pros and cons, learning the abilities and disabilities I'd been presented. And the more I'd thought about it, the more I realized there was absolutely nothing I could do to change my circumstances for the moment.
In seeing I needed the time to regrow myself and submitting to it, I'd given my instructor the footholds to my soul.
"So you are going to teach me what I've forgotten?" I asked. Jacob gave a paused step as his eyes looked thoughtful.
"More or less." He finally admitted with a small smile. "I'll be teaching you the basics of what you used to know."
He huffed, almost flabbergasted as he continued with a perilous toss of his hands.
"By God, you knew much more than I did in my prime when you were only 18! You're younger in your training now, so I can only imagine what the finished product will look like this time!"
We were nearing the house again, its steepled roofs and the roses were coming into view. This time, there were yellow and white roses planted along the side of the house, clinging alongside the home like they ment to sheild it from something. Delighted at the sight, I couldn't help but go forward and reach out to pluck one of the delicate white flowers from its place. As I grabbed one of the slender green necks and tugged, a thorn broke through the skin of my finger.
"Ah!"
I quickly pulled away with the shock of the pain, only making the wound bleed profusely and widen into a long scratch at the tip of my finger.
"Annette!" Jacob DelVwella's voice barked. Startled, I turned quickly stared at the gray haired man. He had stiffened, standing a little more than six feet away poised to run if need be as though he were frightened with me. "You will go inside, go into the bathroom just next around the corner of the first hall and clean your finger up."
His voice was almost hoarse, husky-like as his sudden predatory gaze narrowed to the blood on my finger. I stared at him, wondering how he'd so quickly seen that I'd scratched myself and why his mood had so quickly changed. Was he offended by the sight of my blood?
"This instant! I will speak with you later this evening at dinner. Be ready at 6:00." He said, turning on one heel before stalking back down the way we'd come. I bit my lip, worried I'd done something wrong. Perhaps I wasn't to pick the roses? But he'd said before we left that it would be alright to pick one with him by my side. I found the glass door and stared at it for a moment, trying to figure out how it worked and finding before long it slid to the side. Following Senior DelVwella's directions, I found the small wash room with ease. A small rack beside the toilette provided soaps and washrags, one of which I took and began to dampen to clean off the blood that was now dripping off my finger. Grimmacing at the sting in it, I dipped it in the cool water before wiping it off with the little wash rag and began construction on a makeshift bandage for it out of the napkins placed beside the toilet on the rack. I held it to my finger and pushed the door open before staring around at my surroundings. The house had completely changed, somehow looking nothing like the house I'd been in.
Of course it was problably just another wing of the house, but I was still learning the first wing. As I stared around at this wide hall painted a beautiful maroon red with oakwood panelling, its portraits and collectibles sporting along its walls gracefully, I couldn't help pout in exhasperation. It seems I would be discovering the DelVwella Mansion on my own today.
Now that I look back, roaming that house on my onesy was problably the most fun I'd ever had as a child in either body. As a child in the Baroness' home, I'd been taught not to do anything demeaning, such as crawling under coffee tables and . My mother loved me, I never had want for anything I assure you. But fun wasn't her particular specialty. I suppose that would be one reason why she was nicknamed the Iron Maiden. Duty came first, hobbies came last. Fortunately, I was alone and in a mansion... With many hiding places for one of my size. As I'd been walking down the hall and out of one of the many sitting rooms, I came upon another flight of stairs going down and stumbled into what seemed like an armoury. There were six suits of armour standing erect for their masters, and I remember giggling at the sight as I bowed low to one of the suits, for the sake of silliness.
The hall darkened the farther I went in, and soon it was too dark to go any further. The paintings on the wall were shrouded by darkness, suits of armour disappearing as I paused in the wake of another hallway that was lit only by the light of the bulbs in the hall before it. Curious, but frightened by its ominous nature, I took slow steps towards the darkness beyond until a sound stopped me cold. A low purring sound behind sent electric jolts of fear up my spine and made me shake. I turned a hestitant head towards the sound and trembled at what was standing in the low light of the Armoury Hall.
Covered in dark grey fur was a giant of a dog. Its headed ducked down as its bright yellow eyes glinted at me intelligently, sniffing with its gray muzzle in short snorts of breath. The low rumble of a growl was aimed at me and made me shudder as the wolfhound put one big paw forward. I couldn't move under it's brilliant perusal, for fear the even a flinch would draw its wrath.
It wasn't quite.. well.. weird then, as it is now, but upon finding that enormous hound I'd come to a conclusion about myself: I drew odd characters from the woodwork. As I studied the animal with faint recognition for his breed, I began to notice something even odder. The wolf was shaking his head at me in the negative! I looked back at the darkened hall and then to the wolf.
"No?"
Then its head stopped its wagging and began bobbing. I blinked and looked closer. Yes. It was nodding!
"Why?"
The wolf simply sat on its haunches then, one ear twisting back and forth. If I hadn't known any better, I would have sworn that the dog had raised one of his fuzzy silver brows at me as if to say, I'm a wolf, silly. I can't speak. He gave me a gruff bark and stood again, nipping at the edges of my sundress.
"Fine fine, very well. Though I don't think you are even supposed to be in here." I snipped, following the wolfhound who'd turned tail and trotted back down the hall and turning the corner.
"I bet you aren't even..." I paused, looking around the corner for the big dog and finding an empty sitting room. "I must be losing my mind!"
It was an exclamation to myself, which was ridiculous enough to prove I was indeed insane. Oh! How I knew this already. The disappearing wolf was simply proof of it. Later that evening, when I'd joined the DelVwellas for dinner, I sat at the lavish table furnished with fine china plates and silver that gleamed in the light as crystal goblets of wine, grape juice, and water twinkled on the table and questioned them extensively about the castle.
"What about other houses on the land? Are there any summer houses?"
"We have one on other land somewhere in England that we visit only once in a long while to vacation for a few months. Perhaps we'll visit this year, now that we have company."
"What about stables?" I prodded.
"Isn't someone inquisitive today. I'm supposing you're better today, Lady Gisterre?" Lady DelVwella seemed to snark. I couldn't be completely sure, but she'd been rather smug as the week had gone on, or so I'd heard from Liza.
"Quite. And I insist you refer to me by DeGarcia until I understand Lady Baroness Gisterre a bit better." I answered, calmly. The title couldn't have been better than a fired bullet as the tiny smile on the Lady's face dropped like a dead fly. She took a sip to cover her displeasure, but the gleam in her eye said otherwise.
"So what of it? Stables, I mean."
Senior DelVwella furrowed a brow.
"I believe we have stables in the back, though I'm not sure all those horses are suitable for a six-year-old to ride. Those horses are enormous."
He must've seen the look of calm before the storm, for he immeadiately explained himself.
"You see, for someone with as small a body as you, we haven't any sadles or bridles. We can look into it if you'd like."
I took a bite of the unusually raw steak, chewing carefully as to savor the sea-salt sprinkled over it and washed it down with a sip of the juice they'd provided for me.
"Please don't trouble yourself on my account. I only wanted to know what kind of animals live around the grounds."
A loud clank startled me out of my next bite of steak, and I looked up to see Lady Lady DelVwella picking up her napkin and dabbing the corners of her mouth delicately. Even Senior DelVwella looked a bit flustered by my question.
"Well, most of the wildlife here is relatively generic. Possums, racoons, deer, the occasional coyote and fox, and if you get extremely lucky, a wolf. Though most big predators don't usually come past the gates." He said, smiling plasticly. I thought momentarily, wondering if the dog I'd seen was perhaps their pet, and they'd forgotten to mention it.
"Do you have any pets?" I asked. Senior DelVwella shook his head in the negative, swallowing before speaking.
"Should we look for a puppy to accompany you in the house?" He asked. "I hadn't any idea you were so fond of animals, Lady DeGarcia."
I shook my head and smiled. If that huge gray wolf were to reappear, he'd problably eat it.
"No, I just wanted to know so I wouldn't be surprised by a cat on the bed or such."
Both DelVwellas chuckled at the mention.
"Neither of us take to cats much, so no surprises there."
We all laughed lightly. The rest of the conversation that evening was flat, and with the DelVwellas interesting reaction to my simple questions, I assumed it was safe to say that the wolf I'd seen inside the house didn't belong there.