Chillingham's Curse

Chapter 2

Pushing the heavy, mahogany door closed, Briar stood in the foyer eyes closed, head down, and reflected on what just happened.  She might not recall walking up the tower, but she knew she wasn’t imagining things.  She heard a voice in her ear, and both Jiji and Salem sensed it.  She set the carrier down and opened the door, both cats moving like lightning, they ran out and stood facing their companion.  Jiji and Salem had short hair, but their tails were puffed up.  Briar knew they would protect her if they could, they were like familiars to her, at least that is how she saw them.  Jiji slowly approached Briar and stretched up towards his master.  Briar stood with her arms positioned as a basket held against her stomach which Jiji jumped into and laid against Briar.  Jiji had always been more fearful than Salem and would often seek comfort from Briar.  “Well, I knew coming here this place was haunted,” Briar said to Salem and Jiji, eyes still closed, trying to reassure her experience on the tower.  She may have known this fact, but she couldn’t help but feel sorrow for the presence she felt instead of fear.  She thought her sadness was hard to accept, but the despair she felt on the tower made her feel like her father had just passed; as if she hadn’t started to heal and it hadn’t been two years already.  

Having finally slowed her heart rate down along with Jiji’s, Briar opened her eyes to see Salem sitting on the cobbled stone floor beside her right foot slightly in front in the protective position he has taken many times before.  His tail was still puffed and wrapped around his body; Salem, as still as a statue, sat tall and scouted the area.  Briar bent slightly to rub Salem on the head which he affectionately accepted and stood up, understanding he didn’t need to be on the lookout anymore.  Jiji jumped out of Briar’s arms and stretched, then walked over to Salem and met him with a gentle brush of affection.  

Briar started to look around and saw a grand staircase in the middle of the foyer, a thick stone that must have been part of the original masonry.  It veered off to the right and left, creating different wings of the castle.  Tapestries were hanging from the walls, some with knights and princesses, others with creatures and house sigils.  On either side of the room, there were two suits of armor each one different.  One was your typical-looking black armor with a helmet and royal purple feather plume on top, another with a golden coloring and green kilt.  One wore a red cape and golden armor that had a ruby-red filigree pattern on the metal clamps holding the cape.  The last had rust that started to set in around the joints and had a dark ambiance.  This one was the scariest to look at.  

There was a hallway on each side of the staircase, but the right side had a rope sign with a piece of wood saying, “No trespassing”, right by the dark knight.  When Briar looked to her right, she saw a door slightly ajar and a window to the right.  Through the window, she could see Mrs. Hughes and her Mother talking.  Even though she told her mom she would go see her, Briar decided exploration was more intriguing at this moment.  She removed her left shoulder strap and opened her backpack to grab her headphones.  She grabbed her phone out of her right pocket and turned on Pandora, clicking on her Green Day station.  As Whatsername began to play, Briar started to make her way towards the corridor on the left of the staircase.  Jiji and Salem started to walk slightly before Briar as if they already knew her decision before she did.

Mrs. Regina Hughes and Juliana were sitting in the office that was made when the tours began years ago.  There was a light brown wooden desk neatly arranged with the materials Juliana would need to succeed.  Juliana knew this desk would not look the same after a week and would be in more disarray than her own mind.  There were three chairs in the office, one of which Mrs. Hughes sat in.  It was a red leather chair that had wheels attached for easy gliding.  Juliana sat in a similar chair on the opposite side of the desk, only there were pads on the feet to not scratch the wooden floor that was installed in this room.  There was a bookshelf behind the desk and Mrs. Hughes that had books all about Chillingham Castle and the history residing there.  Juliana knew she would eventually read and know every single one.  There wasn’t much else in this room, but Juliana knew she would make it homey once she added a nice area rug and plants.

“ I hope this isn’t too overwhelming for you Juliana, or Briar.  We know that Chillingham isn’t the place for everyone, but we knew we wanted to inquire about your assistance once Mrs. Wakefield read your book on haunted castles in England.  She said the way you described Chillingham gave her the feeling she has for it, a beautiful castle, with a macabre history.”  Mrs. Hughes' words snapped Juliana back to focusing on her instead of examining the room.  “Oh, thank you!  I have always been interested in the lore residing haunted locations.  It’s what made me decide to become a historian of haunted locations, castles mainly.  I think it has rubbed off on Briar too.”  Juliana stated with a slight chuckle at the mention of her daughter’s name.  Briar was becoming more and more like her mother as she got older but reminded Juliana of Leo when she looked at her daughter's face. 

 “Well, I will go ahead and leave you to it.  I shall be back in the morning to help walk you through the castle and how the tours are all set and function.  Try not to wander too much, just stick to the estate room I showed you and the few essentials like the kitchen and bathrooms.  It is easy to get lost in Chillingham.”  Mrs. Hughes said as she stood up and walked towards the door.  Juliana turned in her chair to face Regina, “Thank you, Mrs. Hughes-” Mrs. Hughes interpreted, “Ah ah, call me Regina, we are coworkers after all.” “Thank you, Regina,” Juliana said with a feeling of comfort as she stood up.  Regina exited the door and after the sound of her heels started to get quieter, Juliana heard the front open and close.  Juliana shut off the light in the office and closed the door behind her.  “I figured Briar would be inside by now,” she thought to herself as she walked to the grand staircase.  As she started to ascend, a light at the end of the left halfway caught her attention.

Briar was sitting on the stone island and looked around the kitchen.  There were cobble floors and wooden cabinets along the walls.  A giant stone sink sat against the east wall that had clearly been replaced with a modern steel sink sitting inside the stone and an old refrigerator sitting beside it.  An old wood-burning stove sat on the south wall with countertops surrounding it along with the entire wall.  Jiji and Salem had calmed down enough to feel playful and were wrestling on the floor below Briar.  A tea table sat next to the entrance with 2 chairs.  Briar thought how fitting it was for just her and her mom. 

Juliana entered and Briar grabbed her phone from her lap and paused The Ballad of Mona Lisa by Panic at the Disco.  “I’m glad you are here, I was worried you were still outside or lost,” Juliana stated as she walked and sat beside Briar on the island.  “No, honestly I was hoping some food might have been stocked…” Briar said as she swung her feet hanging.  “How about we order some food from the local pub,” Juliana said as she leaned forward to look at Briar smiling the whole time.  Briar smiled at her mom and said, “Okay, that sounds good.” Both Juliana and Briar hopped off the counter and started to walk out along with Jiji and Salem, Juliana turning off the light as they left.