Dead...Or So We Thought

Chapter Two

Victoria always fell asleep after a story.  After closing the door softly behind her, Elizabeth walked to her room, thinking about the letter.  Who could have sent it?  I haven't heard from Radjedef since I left.  Although, she remembered, I did write to Georgiana just last week.  Perhaps it's her reply was her final thought before she caught sight of the writing on the envelope: Elizabeth. Clutching her hands to her breast, she screamed, a sound full of pain, a wound ripped violently open.  She was knocked to the floor with the strength of it.  Who knew the amount of pain one single word, only nine letters long, could bring! A few seconds later, the door to her room flew open.

"What is it, Elizabeth?  What's wrong?"  Charles asked frantically as he rushed in.

Attempting to calm herself, Lizzy realized just how scared and hurt she was.  "Charles," she said, her voice shaking, "Tell me, does the handwriting on the envelope look familiar at all?

Walking over to the desk, he picked up the envelope and looked at it for a few moments.  There's no way this is possible, the resemblance is remarkable if it's not from Darcy.  "Vaguely, but I can't place where I've seen it before," he lied.  "Why do you ask?"

Taking another deep breath, Elizabeth turned to Georgiana, who had just appeared in the doorway.  "Do you recognized the handwriting at all, Georgie?"

Flitting over the desk, she plucked the envelope from Charles hand, only to drop it in shock.  "There's no way, there's no possible way this can be.  It looks uncannily like my brothers handwriting, but he's dead;We held him as he died, Lizzy!"  Georgiana was aware that her voice was becoming shriller in her agitation, but she was helpless to stop it.  "There's no way this is possible.  I must be seeing things!  Yes, that's it, that's the only logical explanation.  I'm seeing things.  It's not really Darcy's handwriting at all, just my imagination."  Georgiana went on, seemingly to herself rather than to anyone in the room.

"What's going on in here?" came a soft voice from the doorway.  "Oh!  Hello, Georgiana.  How are you?  Charles, what's wrong?  Why does Lizzy look so frightened?"  Jane asked as she walked into the room.

Cradling Lizzy to his chest, Charles explained about the letter.

Walking over to the envelope where it lay on the floor, Jane picked it up.  After giving the name on the front a curt glance, she moved to flip it over.

"No!"  Lizzy wailed, lunging from Charles' arms.  Reaching to grab the letter from her sister's hand, Lizzy collapsed to the floor, gasping and crying.

Dropping to her knees beside her sister, Jane set the letter on Elizabeth's lap.  Lifting her head from her hands, Lizzy stared at her sister with tearful, frightened eyes.  Smiling sadly, Lizzy plucked the letter off of her lap and slowly turned it over.

"Well," Lizzy stated, her voice breathy, "This seals the deal.  Look, Georgie, it's the Darcy crest."

"Come on, Lizzy, open it!  What does it say?"  Georgiana asked, almost frightened of what she would hear.

Opening the envelope with care not to crack the wax seal, she scanned the contents.  Lizzy grew more confused with each word she read.  Slowly, she explained what the letter said.  "It says that he never really died.  Some one cam and saved him. 'Go to the fountain in the middle of the square the day after you receive this letter.  I can't tell you who will meet you there for fear this letter may be intercepted, but I promise you that you'll know him.  You will not know his name, but you'll know he's there for you.  He will meet you at 10:30 A.M.' Well, we know he's a vampire or a ghoul, then, if we're meeting him at 10:30 and we'll know he's there for us."

"How do you know that?"  Georgiana asked, confused.

"Because Darcy, if that's who really wrote this, says we'll know him when we see him and hardly an vampires or ghouls are out that early," Lizzy explained.  "Come on now, if we have to be in the square by 10:30, we should get some sleep.  Good night, everyone,"  Lizzy said as they followed her advice and walked out of her room and into their own.

Closing the door behind them, Elizabeth was glad they had left her alone.  How is this possible?  Georgiana and I held him as he died.  We were there when they lowered the casket into the ground and when they buried the casket.  I went and visited his grave everyday for three weeks after the funeral and the dirt was never disturbed.  It was a closed casket funeral, now that I think about it.  Maybe he wasn't even in the casket for the burial!  That would explain why the ground was never disturbed.  The casket would have been heavy enough that his missing weight never would have been noticed...

Elizabeth's thoughts were spinning around in her head so rapidly, she thought she'd never get to sleep, but slowly, she did nod off.