Familiar

She sat statue-still in the armchair, staring out the window, hair put up messily, clothes put about her thin figure in a way that suggested she was not dressing herself...ill fitting slacks and a poorly tucked in blouse. The TV was on, but nobody was paying attention to it. Evelyn sat at the table squinting at figures on papers, her glasses piled on top of her head as though she had forgotten them.

Victoria turned her attention instead to the moat as she sat in the armchair. It was easy enough to pretend not to know what was going on, it was not like they had no other problems Bills, the castle falling into disrepair, struggling to make do. It’s not like it’s easy, the twins living with their mentally unstable younger sister. Victoria had long since been a hopeless case, she could never remember anything, not since that night. But the twins, Adelaide and Evelyn, had never given up hope, and continued to care for their younger sister.

Adelaide bustled in from the kitchen. She tapped Evelyn on the shoulder as to remind her to clean up the mess of papers she had made.

“William will be here in a couple minutes, dear, he’s taking a tour of the castle..” She paused and looked around. Seeing nothing wrong with the room, she headed out down the hall towards the entrance of the castle. She soon returned, with a young man in tow.

“This is William Burchill, Evelyn.”

The young gentleman smiled warmly and held out his hand. “You can call me Will if you want to. I’m very pleased to meet you.”

Evelyn smiled shyly at the visitor. “I’m pleased to meet you as well. Welcome to Hever Castle. Do make yourself comfortable.” She laughs and mentions for him to have a seat.

Just then, Victoria turns, ever so slightly, but enough that they all notice. She looks William straight in the eyes and utters the words “What are you doing here?” Her voice is unhinged, trembling, unsteady, like she is remembering who she is for the first time in ages. She seems to know William, although it is certain she has never met him - goodness knows she doesn’t get out much anymore- and yet she speaks with a certain familiarity, like she has met him before and hates him with a passion.

Will starts slightly, and starts to explain himself when Victoria speaks again. “What do you think you’re doing here?” Her glare is distinctly unwelcoming now. Inside her mind, memories are whirling about and she is remembering something, something terrible and cruel and awful, something to do with Will? But it couldn’t be! She tells herself that she’s being crazy, she’s never even seen WIlliam before, and yet she can’t shake the feeling of disgust and apprehension and regret she has when she looks into Will’s deep dark green eyes.

The twins exchanged a glance and Adelaide takes William’s arm and leads him out of the sitting room.

“I’m sorry dear, our sister isn’t well. It has nothing to do with you. She can be rude sometimes, but it isn’t her fault. She has dementia, she suffered a terrible tragedy, a long time ago.”

“There’s no need to explain,” WIll said.

“Very kind, but I feel I must. At least a little. She doesn’t do well with strangers, she can get confused. I hope you don’t feel unwelcome. At least allow me to take you on a tour of the grounds while Evelyn calms her down. After all, the castle does like to be visited.”

Back in the sitting room, Victoria is struggling to pin it down, what she found was so frightening about Will, why she felt such a violent repulsion towards him. She finds that it is too much for her to take in at once and she passes out against the faint blue and white checkered pattern of the armchair she is in.

    But deep inside Victoria’s mind, something stirs. A long forgotten memory, rising from the recesses of her mind...

It is dark. The night has laid a black sheet across the woods, so all that lay beneath it can sleep in peace. And yet it is not quiet. The trees of the almost black, dark wood, are shaking and rustling their leaves. The sly wind, snaking through the woods, whispering, alerting whoever happens to be awake that something is going to happen. After all, who would know better than someone who has seen it before?

There! See - the sleek, mud filled moat lies still no longer. A bubbles rises to the surface and pops, a mere suggestion of what is underneath.

But such sights are not for you, and so we turn our attention to a high, high tower of the castle.

    A young girl tosses back her covers. She has been put to bed hours before, her twin sisters snore nearby. But the young girl, who would hate to hear herself called that, has awoken. She pushes her frizzy red hair out of her face and reaches for her glasses, setting her feet on the cold, hard floor of her bedroom.

    There is no moon to see by, and yet she is drawn to the window, for outside lies everything she has dreamed of. She climbs up her bookshelf, disregarding the piles of stories. They are childish, and she is not a child. She is grown up, modern, and she hungers for escape from this lonely place. The castle may have contained her when she was younger, but now she longs to be free. After all, the world is out there, just waiting for her.  

She sets her face on the cold glass and sighs glumly. She silently watches the night around her, the smooth moat of the castle, the gentle curves of the hills that surround her. She has almost fallen asleep, curled up into a ball on the top of her bookshelf, when she perks up. She has heard something. Victoria sits up groggily and listens intently. And that’s when she hears it. A long, drawn out moan, an unnatural  moan, guttural and frightening. She scrambles back, knocking books off the shelf that slam to the floor.

Outside her little world, we can see it. The creature, climbing the tower impossibly fast, unnaturally fast - surely no man can achieve such a feat? Victoria stares out into the night, confusion and terror written on her face.

He arrives at her window. They are face to face. She sees him through the streaky glass, a grotesque muddy beast. She opens her mouth to scream, to call out, to do something, but nothing comes out. For in that moment, everything changes. Before her very eyes, it changes, shape-shifts. The hideous face transforms into one that she knows, recognizes. Her own. Abruptly the face changes again and she sees through the layers of mud to a face that she did not know, a forgotten face, but a face of such devotion and yearning and beauty, and with such beautiful deep dark green eyes, that she unthinkingly reaches out to unlock the window. To bring him in from the cold, cold night.