The Fangclaw Inheritance: The Eye of Half Blood

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The Fangclaw Inheritance: The Eye of the Half Blood

Copyright © 2012 Justin Marasigan

All Rights Reserved

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It’s like one of those moments when the world has no light – It was darkness, dismissing any signs of happiness or joy. This day was one of them, for darkness loomed over the cemetery of Langdon City, Landeng. A mistress by the name of Annabella Fangclaw attended the funeral of her butler who had died of old age. Everyone present, including her, dressed in black while the umbrellas protected them from the pouring rain coming from the sky.

The cemetery was solemn and desolate. The crosses and grave markers were shadowed by the night. The grass was also colored; however, the full moon slightly illuminated the attendees of the funeral. There were no intruders, no unexpected visitors, only those that had been invited for this mourning day. Whispers rang among those who were at the funeral, deciding who would be the one to take care of Annabella now that the butler had passed away.

She ignored what they were saying; rather, she was focused at the burial procession. After the priest had gaive his final blessing, the casket, containing her previous butler, was laid in the brown soil. Then, Annabella’s butler was buried in a well-deserved rest.

Despite the dreary atmosphere, the girl was rather unmoved by the passing of her loyal servant. To her, the other servants of the Hughsworth Household were merely toys that gradually deteriorated over the decades.

Annabella felt a remote gaze rest on her. Turning around, she discovered a young man wrapped in a black robe balancing at the pointed end of a dome crypt. His smile was alluring, drawing her closer. Within a second, he vanished, only to reappear beside her. With his black coat tails flapping in the rain, he told her in a calm voice, “You are quite interesting, my lady.”

She turned around, funeral gown rippling in the wind, only to find that the mysterious stranger had disappeared into the hazy twilight of oblivion. Her blond hair whipped in the wind as her blue eyes scanned the vincinity. She searched in vain. Annabella chose to ignore the encounter, dismissing it as a figment of her imagination.

It was silent again. Suddenly she gasped at the sound of rustling grass. It only appeared to be the umbrella, which hovered over her head since the last few hours. A maid in black gravely advised, “It is time to leave, my lady.”

Nodding, Annabella allowed the maid to lead her to the carriage which awaited her return with a horse shaded of midnight tethered by a metal coil. She saw the other attendees leaving to their homes as well, mounting on their individual coaches. It was as though the funeral of her butler was of no importance. They were there due to pity for the man. They had no grief towards a man who was loyal to Annabella. On the inside, this made her exasperated. The thought of attending a funeral due to pity insulted the memory of the man she respected most.

She kept that inside her, as the carriage moved through the night. Slowly the cemetery disappeared from view. Now it became an empty space. She stared at the abyss, wondering when her time to die was approaching. She never had these thoughts before, but knowing that life was limited – there had to be a point when it was her turn to start on a new journey. Her maid kept an eye on her, watching as Annabella continued to ponder at the dark space.

Annabella saw a number of silhouetted trees, but something seemed off. She saw a dark figure jumping from one tree to another, catching her attention. She kept on a look out for the moving object, but it had disappeared. She turned to her maid, asking, “Did you just see that?”

“See what, milady?” Her maid asked, clueless.

“Never mind,” Annabella said, continuing her original thought.