Trails of Intertwined Stars: Chapter 74 {Part 1}

~Chapter 126: Don't Torment Me~

"Now, you must be wondering about the manor... after all, why would someone like I, who wants everything, give up such a wonderful estate and give it all to my little sister. In truth, I lied about giving it to her out of love. I couldn't care less where she lived. No, the reason I was driven out...well, it was all Duncan's fault!"

As Leora and I grew older, I found that whenever I returned to the manor from my public school, things would be slightly...off. At first it was minor things, little unusual events that would fluster me a little, but I could easily bat them off as sheer coincidences. After all, I studied science, I loved the human body, mind and all; to me, anything superstitious was absolutely ludicrous. First I'd find things were displaced; things I remember putting elsewhere would disappear and return moments later. I dismissed it as the maids having fun. Then there was knocking on my doors when I was alone, only to find nobody was there. I thought it was Leora being immature. Then it was servants coming to my room, claiming the servant bell had been rung. I assumed I must have accidentally pressed it, or simply forgotten. They were all minor incidents that shook me up a little, but in truth, I felt no need to fear them. From there, they only started getting weirder. Books rearranging themselves. Chess pieces moving. Pianos playing by themselves. Rocking chairs moving. I thought they were merely my eyes playing tricks with me, and dismissed them yet again; though I couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy now. And then, with my dismissal yet again, they got worse.

Doors slamming by themselves. Nails scraping on walls. Slamming against locked doors. Crying from the floor above me when I'd sleep; the crying of a child. Horrible gurgling noises from whatever water I saw. My own pair of shavers, rose from the basin, and went to attack me. I grew mad in horror, as I could no longer just dismiss this as cruel tricks of the mind; it was all too real to be the case. I became paranoid in my own home, and felt as if I was being driven out. Can't you see? I'm the victim. I was a poor, tormented young man; who had lost their cousin, lost their parents...and now it was coming back to haunt me. I was rather disgusted at the time. I would have never killed them, had Leora not existed; so why weren't they targeting her? She was the perpetrator in all of this; living so blissfully unaware. I can't remember the last time I ever felt so sick. That's where I developed my nasty habits of smoking and drinking, they numbed the senses, and these hauntings were much easier to blame upon my intoxicated mind. That was, until the day of my sister's sixteenth birthday. I was walking down the corridor that morning, perfectly sober, till I heard this horrible cry. Usually, the cries would only happen at night, so you can understand it deeply upset me to realise it was haunting me in the day.

I saw a blur run past the mirror, and I immediately turned to see what had run past me. Perhaps a maid? But nobody was in that corridor besides me. I stumbled towards the mirror, quite terrified, and tried to make out any shape of a person from there. But there was nobody. Until I was met with the face of the screaming boy, slamming his hands furiously on the glass, as if trying to push through the veil. Duncan, of course. Back then, seeing my dead cousin, who had not aged a day since his murder; horrified me. I stumbled back, pale as a sheet, as he let out his terrifying wails and screams of anger, desperately trying to harm me.
"Vile spirit!" I cried, trembling quite profusely," Stop tormenting me!"
He hurled bloody murder at me, and I, understandably, snapped. From the nearby table, I grabbed a candle stick, and pounded it into the mirror till it shattered and his cries had vanished with it. I felt sick with terror. Duncan was going to torment me if I continued to live in Mohan manor, and would probably succeed in killing me if I stayed for my whole life. It was then I decided, what if Leora stayed and I didn't? If Duncan was such a vengeful spirit, surely he would kill her too? That way I wouldn't have to sully my hands. She could die, and I would be perfectly safe from Duncan's wrath. So, that day, I decided that Leora would become the inheritor.

I remember my sister rushing down to the dining room; beaming at me, as she sat opposite me.
"Happy birthday, Leora," I had muttered, reading my paper, my mind was lingering on Duncan that morning, and the desperate need I felt to escape.
"Thank you, dear brother," Leora giggled," I'm officially a lady starting today, which means I can finally leave this hou-"
"About that, Leora," I cut in, not waiting a moment, I couldn't stand it, you see, imagining living in that wretched home that Duncan had stolen from me," I've decided to hand the manor over to you when our grandparents die."
Leora frowned at me, she always frowned too much," B-But...I thought you're the-?"
"Yes, I know traditionally it's not the proper way to go about things, but we've never exactly been a traditional family, either. My life would be much better spent elsewhere, preferably London, I'm thinking of starting a surgery if sorts there. You, on the other hand, well, I mean look at you! You've never taken a step outside this place since you were eight, you aren't womanly enough, and you're the one in the family who has no use. Oh...ah, and I want to protect you as well, I forgot that part. But, anyway, it's the least you could do. Marry some rich idiot and stay in this house."
"Can I...at least leave the manor?" Leora frowned.

That idea of her leaving upset me. What if Duncan decided since she was absent, he'd find me in the meantime?
I decided to lie in that moment," No, why would you want to do that? There's germs. Just sit tight here. I don't see any need for you to ever leave either. In fact, if you do leave, you'll be in trouble."
"O-Oh..." Leora had mumbled, struggling horribly to conceal the fact it was actually a whimper," So I'll just-?"
"Stay here," I had shrugged my shoulders," I mean, you're good at doing that, at least; aren't you? After all..."
I smirked, darkly.
"... you've been doing it mindlessly for seven years; anyone else would have ran off to cause trouble."
I looked back at my paper, suddenly feeling extremely safe. I'd gotten my control over my life back, and Duncan wouldn't be able to torment me any further.