The Secrets of Darkling Manor

Ten: Alina Starkov

Ten 

There were dead birds hanging from the ceiling. Three of them. They were strange little things, with golden beaks and golden sunbursts on their chests. But other than that, they were completely black. Except for the blood that was coming from them. They had been tied up above the bed with red string.

The door burst open, and Aleksander was there. "Alina!" he called out. "What's the matter?"

Wordlessly, she pointed to the birds hanging from the ceiling.

"Darklings," he muttered, "well now I know where she got the blood from."

Alina glanced over at him. "What are you talking about?"

Aleksander shook his head, and waved his hand. "Genya. She's acting out. She's upset."

Alina frowned. "About me?"

"Yes," he said, his face falling. "But don't worry. I'll take care of her."

"Can you take care of the birds hanging above our bed?"

He smiled and walked over to her, wrapping her in a hug tightly and kissing her on the top of her head. "Yes, of course. I'll take care of the dead birds above your bed. I'll go get some gloves."

Alina shook her head. "I was going to rest, but I don't know that I can now. Not after seeing that."

"Why don't you go for a walk?" he suggested. "Perhaps some fresh air will do you good. There's a little pond not too far, and if you follow the path you can find it. Take your sketch book with you. Go and draw for a bit."

Alina took a deep breath. "I think that might be a good idea. Are you going to be okay to remove this by yourself?"

Aleksander nodded. "Don't worry. I'll have Ivan help me, and I'll wear gloves."

"What are we going to do with them?" she glanced up at the dead birds.

Aleksander sighed, and ran a hand though his hair. "Don't worry. They will be handled appropriately."

"Alright," she said. "Gosh, I'll need to unpack my stuff. I haven't even done that yet. I brought my suitcase into this room but everything is still in there."

"Well," he said, "once we deal with this mess, that can be your next project, hmmm?"

"I like the sound of that. Alright. Good luck with the birds, Hitchcock."

"Gladly, Dame Daphne."

She went to her messenger bag that was off to the side. She grabbed her sketchbook, a pencil, and her headphones. Aleksander had headed out to go to get something to clean up the mess of the birds. Alina glanced at them one more time. They were dead, deader than dead but she saw a bird ruffling its feathers.

Hesitantly, Alina walked over to take a look. It was probably from the air conditioning or something. She squinted, and the ruffling stopped. Shaking her head, she muttered, "Creepy," and left the room.

Baghra was downstairs, cleaning what must have been the family portraits. "Hi, Baghra," said Alina, "was everything alright with Genya?"

Baghra coughed. "Poor thing lost her parents. Hasn't been quite right sense. But rest assured, the master will handle everything."

"He's off getting things to clean up the mess in our room?"

Baghra nodded. "And dealing with Miss Genya right now."

"Wait.... he doesn't think that she was responsible, does he?" Alina asked. Alina's heart clenched. She knew what it was to be an orphan and have someone blame her for something she didn't do.

Baghra paused. "He'll take care of it. He's very good with her."

"Genya! I'm doing this for you! Why would you do that?" he demanded. "Do you not know what will happen if we don't have her?"

Alina could hear his voice coming from what she thought was the kitchen. She saw him standing there through the crack in the door. His fists were clenched, and she could see Genya standing there.

"We don't need anyone else," Genya said defiantly.

"Aleksander," Alina said.

He glanced up at her, closed the kitchen door, and locked it. Alina frowned. She went to knock on it thinking that maybe he hadn't heard her. But when he didn't answer, Alina let out a frustrated groan then went outside.

She found the path that had led to the pond. It was tiny, and as she walked there were little ducks that were headed to the water following their mother. She smiled when she saw them. Alina had never had a permanent home before. It was strange that this was her home. She glanced around at the house. She had no idea how big Darkling Manor was. Perhaps she would make it her project to go around and sketch the whole property.

She could give it to Aleksander as a present for Christmas. It was a bit premature, thinking about that. But it would take up whatever time she wasn't using to tutor Genya. Aleksander was busy, and she was certain that he would be away often once she was recovered from her concussion. She would need something to take up her time.

She found the small pond by following the ducks. On this part of the property, there was a chill in the air, a grey fog hung over the water. There were dead leaves all around, despite it being Spring. It was as if nothing had really grown there for quite some time.

There was a giant willow tree that stretched out over it, and she went to go sit there to use the tree for back support. When she sat down, however, she could feel something underneath her. Alina stood up to look at it. Through the leaves, she saw a bit of something grey. It must just be a rock.... but there was something that looked like writing underneath.

She bent down and wiped the leaves that were covering it up away. It was a grass marker. A flat tombstone. Alina saw the name Luda Kirigan engraved on it, with the date of 1987-2016. There was also a smell coming from somewhere, something wrong that filled her nose making bile rise in her throat.

There was something black and spindly sticking up through the leaves. Alina hesitated. It was probably a bad idea, searching through the leaves for something that she didn't know what it was. But she kept on searching, until she saw there, in the dirt and the mess, a dead darkling.

Alina screamed, and then she ran.