CHAPTER 18
If one would walk west from the castle until they reached the small stream, one would fine the small building that stood over an even smaller graveyard. The simple stone house, with one door and three windows, stood watch over the twenty aging headstones. And, on that too-beautiful day, two new graves stood among the rest. On of the new graves lay a bundle of flowers.
Only four individuals stood over the graves and only one felt true sorrow. Yes, Iris and Catherine wept, and Brett put on a mourning face, but only Aden's heart hurt. Only Aden's heart pumped anguish.
The headstones read "Eric Obsidian" and "Diana Obsidian." The two family members lay by their third, "Deirdre Obsidian."
Aden kept his stoney face despite his grief. Brett et himself sell his grief, perhaps too much. But all but Aden wee successfully fooled by the facade.
They didn't say anything to honor those who died. It was in silence that they stood, watching the grass grow over the freshly displaced dirt, undoubtably by Brett's hand.
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The castle’s air steeped in silence for many days. The halls stayed silent, even to Iris. The air outside held a damp chill, like cold tears. Even with the dining hall perfectly repaired, complete with shining glass windows and an identical table, those who inhabited the place avoided the room. To Iris, it stank of death, but only she seemed to sense that. To Catherine, it simply reminded her weak soul of the monsters that seemed to lurk in the dark. And to Aden, it reminded him not only of the friend he’d lost, but of the enemy that still lurked about. And then, there was of course, the reminder that, no matter how much he despised the man, Brett was now his, Catherine, and Iris’s only way home.
Aden did his best to avoid the man, which was simple enough, but after a few days, he realized how little he’d seen his sister.
“I thought I saw Catherine in the garden this morning.” Said Iris, who stood in her new room, nearly finished braiding her raven hair away from her face. The room was nearly identical to her first, with one key difference. That first night, she’d been unable to sleep under the watch of the wooden horse who’d walked away from Eric’s body. If her new room, a room free of carvings, she felt minutely safer.
“You don’t suppose she’s still down there, do you?” Aden asked, anxious to see his sister.
“I’m not sure.” she replied. “It’s been awhile. It was right after sunrise that I saw her.” Iris finished her braid, which stretched to the middle of her back.
Aden sighed. He waited in the doorway for a few moments, before quietly asking, almost defeatedly, “You’re working with Brett again today?”
Iris nearly chastised Aden. "Yes. I think it's time. He's going to meet me in an hour." She replied instead. She'd had no formal practice yet, only gently guided private sessions, most often among hedge roses in he the garden. But Iris felt a if she'd hit a wall, as if she could no longer drive her talent forward without a mentor.
"Will you be available to share a meal with me midday?" Aden asked.
"I should be. Will we eat in he the dining room?" She asked tentatively.
Aden sighed. "I suppose that's that best place to eat. Is there anything in particular you would like to eat, or should I let the cooks chose?"
A chill ran down Iris's spine at the thought of the mysteriously absent servants whose only evidence of existence were the food on the table and the lack of filth across the castle grounds. "Have them surprise me." She answered, hiding any sign of discomfort.
YOU ARE READING
Something Bigger Part 1
Genç Kurgu"We could run away." He'd suggested. But that was before the offer came. The offer that changed Iris's life and sealed the fate of more than a few. Aden should have pulled her away, he should have broken free of the hold. But maybe this was fate.
