The Passing Hour

Chapter 5

          Cynthia was nowhere to be found when I left my room, so I took the liberty of trying to explore some of the yard. The yard had to be at least several acres, stretching very far off in the distance. There were scattered statues of various dangerous or mean looking creatures, over half of them being overgrown with dead looking vines and black moss. The vines that weren't completely dead in appearance looked to have purple leaves that resembled ivy on them. I noticed a circle of faeries hovering around one particular statue, so I walked over to them to see what they were doing. I thought maybe they would be dancing again, but it looked like they were talking. Although I was too big to really hear them enough to understand them, they hushed when I approached them. They had serious expressions, like they were contemplating a decision. It seemed they decided, because all but one flew off, and I looked at the one who stayed. He looked at me like he was sizing me up, then flew right up to my face to look me in the eye. My iris was bigger than his face, yet I found this little being really intimidating right now.

          He flew around my head a couple times, reviewing me in a full cirlce, then went back to the front of the statue where him and the other faeries were before. With a click of his fingers, the purple ivy vines covering this particular statue parted, showing a rather small and very well hidden stone with the shape of a door carved into it. It had no handles or keyholes, so I lightly pressed my hands against it. My touch created a spark through my fingers, the stone glowing red around my hands. A few seconds after, the light went away, and where there was a stone slab that looked like a door, there was instead a dark hole leading down a staircase. 

          The faerie went in it, turning back to look at me and wave his arm. I had a nagging feeling in my gut telling me I needed to see what he was trying to show me, but reason was telling me I would get into trouble for going into obviously secret places. Against my better judgement, I slowly put one foot in front of the other, taking the shallow steps into the dark abyss. As soon as I fully crossed the threshold, the light behind me vanished, and I whirled around to see that the door was completely gone. I could only make out the stone wall from the light the faerie was giving off, but it was enough for me to tell I needed to find a different way out now. Great. I went back to following the faerie, who was already considerably further down the staircase than I. It was a very simple yet unsettling staircase, with walls made of either clay or hard dirt. There were ancient looking cobwebs up on the high ceiling, but none came down far enough to give me grief. Eventually we reached the bottom of the stairs, and I breathed out a dusty tasting sigh of relief. 

          It seemed like there was still more to go, but I was glad there at least weren't anymore stairs. After a while, I could make out a dim light, so I picked up my pace toward it. As I got closer to the light, I could see it was flickering, like from a candle. Was there someone down here? I continued shamelessly, not feeling like I was doing anything wrong. I came up to a grand looking wooden door, with some sort of writing on it in a language I didn't recognize. I lightly knocked, but heard nothing. The faerie looked a little annoyed, and pantomimed opening a door. I grabbed the iron handle, and with one swift motion, I swung it open with unexpected ease. 

          It was a cluttered looking warm room. There was a desk in the corner surrounded by overflowing bookshelves. There was a rug covering most of the cold stone floor, with two plump velvet chairs with high backs that looked perfect for reading long books. There was a tall decorated fireplace, cold from not being used in what looked like a very long time. The light was coming from a small black candle on the desk. Why was that candle burning?I took a step into the room, but the moment my foot touched the floor, the fireplace roared with life. There had been cobwebs in that fireplace, but now it was burning like it was still in regular use. The more I looked around, the more stuff I found to look at. My eyes kept hovering over the weird knick-knacks on the bookshelves, desk, and mantel place. Finally my eyes rested on a huge oil painting above the fireplace. It depicted a very tall and slender figure, wearing an intricate robe that flowed into shadow. As my eyes made their way up to his face, I realized I recognized him. He was the one from that vision I had! 

          I had thought it was just from being a dream, or because I was scared, but it surprised me that he actually was a skeleton. No skin, or hair. Just bones, and the glowing red coming from the eye sockets. This seemed to be a formal picture, and he was holding items in his arms in the same fashion that old human monarchs would in historical paintings. He held a sythe in one arm, and was holding a leather book with gold on it in the other. He wore an amulet around his neck, and had a circlet with a black cut diamond in the shape of a teardrop on his skull. He looked regal, and like someone to be greatly feared. Although I had seen him in a vision, there was just something about him that seemed so familiar. I then remembered what Arden had said, about how Grims were connected to the Reaper King. This must be him. I share a connection with this guy. I just kind of stood there for a moment, staring, when it dawned on me that I still needed to find a way out of here. 

          I looked around, noticing that the faerie who led me here was still hovering outside the door of the room, watching me. I walked back to him, and without words or any clear indication, he turned and started flying in the other direction from where we had come. It didn't take as long to find the door out as it had taken us to walk down the staircase coming in, much to my relief. I had no idea how much time had past, and my legs felt like jelly. I was used to exercise, having helped with kids most of my life, so the fact that my legs were raw from the effort really meant a lot.

          We came out of a different statue, not even coming out of a stone door, but through a trapdoor on the ground right behind the statue at the base of it. I was very far from the manor, so I broke out into a brisk jog to try to get back before I had to go back inside. I was hoping to explore more, but Cynthia was standing right outside the manor, waving at me to come over. I was slightly disappointed, but not too much. I lived here now, so I felt no rush to discover everything about this place in one day. From what I hear, I will have a long time to explore this place. Cynthia wrapped me in a hug when I got to her, and kept an arm around my shoulders as we walked back indoors together. 

          "My my, where have you been all day?" She asked with a smile. She was just teasing, so she didn't expect much of an answer. I did notice that the light outside had gone from the bright magenta color from the morning to a deep purple. She explained it was already time for supper, and that she was excited to finally have supper with another person. Apparently Arden preferred to eat in his room most of the time, and she hadn't had a real meal with another soul for a long time, excluding the other magical creatures of course. I was excited too. My first real meal with a family of my own. Sure, it wasn't a regular family, but beggers can't be choosers. I felt very lucky, actually. This old lady, while scary looking, was nicer than probably anyone else I have ever met, and to top it off, I don't know any other kids that get the chance to be aorund magical creatures. 

           The dinner was just as unrecognizable as breakfast, but was also just as delicious. I ate pretty quickly, being ravenous from all the walking I did today. I must have had probably three helpings before she finished her first, but she was beaming at the sight. She told me some more minor things about herself and the manor, basic directions to the rooms I might find important or interesting. She admitted to me that one of the reasons she was so ecstatic to find out I was a child was because she had never been able to bear children of her own. Despite her renowned beauty, she never took a husband or seemed to have any romantic interests, denying herself the one thing she really wanted but couldn't have. 

          Before long, she stood up and indicated that she was tired, and observed I was too. I didn't protest like I had the day before, knowing full well I was exhausted this time. Probably too exhausted to bath, even. I can do that in the morning I thought to myself as she walked me up the stairs to my room again. I was sure I could probably find my way on my own if I really needed to, but I wouldn't complain about the company. This was a big building, and her presence was comforting in what would be an otherwise very lonely place. When we reached my room, she plopped a kiss on the top of my head and wished me a good sleep before decending down the staircase once more. I watched her ghostly figure drift down the staircase, wondering how someone so old could move so gracefully.

          I could see a couple of faeries were already in my room, dancing around the plants, but I didn't mind. I was tired, and the lights didn't bug me. They made almost no noise, either. I looked down at my clothes, wondering if they were dirty and if I should shed them before crawling into bed. I decided I didn't care, and landed spread-eagle on the mattress. It was soft, and warming up with my body heat fast. Before long, I closed my eyes as my mind drifted off into blackness, and I was snoring.