A New Estate - Crimson Peak

The Sister - Modern AU

It was still pitch black when I was jarred awake by a loud thumping sound coming down the hall, in my hazy sleep it seemed reminiscent of a dog running around and crashing into any obstacle in its way.

The noises were accompanied with what sounded like rushed talking and short outbursts of yelling, or at least screams of frustration that could be registered as human.

The hushed talking seemed to get more desperate the further down the hall the cries got and soon they were mere feet outside my bedroom door.

I throw the duvet away from my overheated body and languidly get out of bed, my head still pounding from the stomach bug that had kept me home from work that day.

My legs felt unused from my day in bed and by the time I'd managed to shuffle to the door, more yells and crashes had sounded from in the hall.

A hiss of; "Lucille, calm down," was whispered just as I pulled the door open and poked my head out, my head protesting at me even standing let alone trying to see through the darkness.

Another yell of outrage soon pierced through my already splitting skull and I was half tempted to step back into my bedroom, close the door and let Thomas deal with whatever was happening alone, but I knew that deep down I'd feel bad for leaving him to it by himself.

One of my hands felt along the wall to the right of the doorframe as I searched for the light switch, though I instantly regretted it when the bright light burst into the room and burnt my eyes to the point where I had to squint until they readjusted.

"Get out!"

My heavy and still adjusting eyes could barely make out any detail but a black blur of a figure mere feet away from me, but as they adjusted and I could finally open them properly I found myself staring at a tall spectre unlike anything I had imagined.

The pictures and descriptions I had seen of Lucille didn't match the twisted spirit she had become, the pitch black and ashen look complimented the horrifying tales I had read about her.

Her visage was a stark contrast to Thomas', it was almost as if they were representing opposite sides; yin and yang, dark and light, innocent and evil.

"Stay away from my Thomas!"

I barely had time to react as she moved towards me, her unnatural speed catching me off guard and had she not jittered back a step or two as she swung her knife it was sure to have imbedded itself into me.

The knife, much like Lucille herself, was ethereal, pure black and seemed to have ash rising from it, from where I stood I could clearly see that the blade of the knife hadn't sunk into the wall rather than seem to have passed through it, yet the thunking sound the wall made gave illusion to a real impact.

My heart raced with fear and anxiety, but I found myself unable to move from the spot I was frozen on, instead my eyes remained on Lucille as she turned to glare over her shoulder where Thomas had hold of her free arm.

It seemed as though he was able to grab her arm and pull her back just a little, at least enough to stop her from hitting me with her weapon just in time.

"Let me go," Lucille demanded as she tugged to free her arm.

"Lucille, you need to stop," he replied with a tone of wavered authority.

"Not until she leaves," she replied in a shrill and unstable voice, "I won't have her taking you from me."

Despite her tone, I could see that her posture had relaxed a little as she addressed her brother and the arm wielding the knife gradually dropped to her side.

Thomas moved to step in front of her, acting as a shield between us both before enveloping her into a tight and comforting embrace.

"No one is taking me from you, I am always yours, so please stop it."

Although I couldn't see his face, there almost seemed to be something scornful behind his words, not that Lucille appeared to notice as she relaxed into her brother's arms.

For a brief moment I could have sworn that their ghostly appearances flickered before my eyes and they momentarily appeared as alive as anyone else.

"Wow, she stopped just like that," I manage to gasp out, my already fatigued body still barely moving as I stared at the scornful look she was giving me over Thomas' shoulder. "She listens to you?"

"On occasion, we have a..." he paused briefly and glanced over his shoulder, the expression on his face becoming somehow sombre, unsure and yet comforted, "...connection."

I stare at him in a heavy silence, my sick mind slowly clicking back and forth in my tiredness before finally putting pieces together to a puzzle that I hadn't been aware was there.

The look of almost shame, her outburst of claiming him as hers and how seemingly resentful yet protective he was of her.

"Oh, alright," I nod slowly, clearing my throat, "I also have brothers and I have to say that the connotation in how you said that made it a bit weird."

Thomas' face fell a little and his eyes diverted away from me, his lips drawn into a thin line and instantly dashing my hopes of him denying the assumption I had managed to jump to.

Lucille had a twisted look of victory as she gave her brother a brief tight squeeze before evaporating into ash, gradually disappearing into the air.

"It's just-"

"No!" I hold my hands out and shake my head, "no, no it's fine, you do you man, it's not something I necessarily agree with but hey, I'm just going to go back to bed and ignore everything that just happened."

"I'd rather you stayed so we could speak about this," he almost pleaded, the look in his eyes tugging at my heart.

"I'd really like to get back to bed, I feel awful."

"Then I'll escort you to your room."

I felt as if I had no real choice as Thomas took a step forward, the horrible look of a kicked puppy who was still happy to see you making me feel terrible for even thinking of saying no.

So with a sigh of resignation I allow him to walk me the few feet back to my bed, which was probably for the best as the house was plunged into darkness after I'd turned the hall light off.

"What the hell was that?" I ask, rubbing the side of my temple to try and ease some of the pain as I sat back down on the mattress.

"She gets like that sometimes, it's as if she's reliving her final moments that were less than sane."

"'Less than sane'?" I quote with a faint laugh.

"I have no other way to put it," he shrugged with a wry smile, "but sometimes she gets stuck like that."

"Ah, a death echo, got it," I nod.

"A what?" He asked.

"I'll explain another time," I sigh, lying back down and curling up under my duvet once again, "right now I just want some sleep."

"You aren't well," he stated rather than asked.

"To put it lightly and I'd like to go back to sleep before I end up emptying my stomach again."

"So we also can't talk about..."

"No, Thomas, not right now."

The room fell silent, but even with my eyes closed I knew that he was still stood beside my bed and I had to tell myself to sleep and get better before delving further with the Sharpe siblings.