The Memory of Darkness (on hold until October)

37 - Victim of Curiosity

Sleep evaded Arianna entirely that night. She sat in the chapel, unable to find the words to offer as prayers. The statues in their alcoves stared back at her, their serene smiles seeming to mock her torment. A knock at the chapel door startled her, sending an unpleasant chill throughout her body.

Please be Gretchen. "Yes?" she called out.

Her heart sank at the muffled sound of a male voice behind the door. Her attempt to let him think that all was well between them was proving rather difficult today. Was it not obvious that she didn't want to talk to him?

"What do you want?" she asked.

His voice was indecipherable through the heavy wood of the door. With a weary sigh she stood up, crossed the room and pulled open the door. "Yes?" she repeated.

"You didn't come to bed," he said, appearing oblivious to her displeasure.

"Actually I did," she replied. "Though it wasn't your bed, and I couldn't sleep, so I came here."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I spent twelve years in a convent and I still find comfort in such places. Or, just maybe, because you have the unusual hobby of removing people's souls, and I needed some time to come to terms with that."

"Four instances is hardly a hobby," he said.

"It's four times too many!" she snapped.

He rolled his eyes. "This is what I get for leaving a door unlocked! Would you rather I'd lied to you about what was in there? Or ordered you from the room without an explanation?"

"I honestly don't know which I'd have preferred," she said.

"You'd have seen through a lie, and would no doubt have refused to leave if I'd told you to."

Perhaps that was true, but it didn't seem important. "I could hear them screaming," she said.

"I didn't know that would happen," he said. "I didn't know you'd ever go in there, for one thing."

"That doesn't make it any better," she hissed. "I did go, I saw them. I know they're there, and I can't just overlook that fact."

"You can," he insisted. "And you will. You've already managed to overlook worse than that." He held out his hand. "Come out of there. There are much nicer rooms for you to sit around in and look outraged."

Arianna couldn't tell if he was unable to appreciate why she was upset, or if he simply didn't care. Either way, his response irritated her beyond measure. "No," she replied. "This room is quite sufficient." She backed away into the chapel, the sense of defiance bolstering her spirits a little.

Lorcan's demeanour changed from calm bemusement to suppressed anger. "That's enough!" he snarled, stepping into the chapel and taking hold of her arm before she could react.

"How?" she gasped. "This is holy ground, this is-,"

"This is nothing," he insisted, his voice still dripping with menace. "I've told you on several occasions that the Gods aren't here. There are only statues and wall paintings of low artistic merit. I've left you here in the past because you needed time to adjust, but I won't tolerate it any longer."

Arianna felt as though he had slapped her across the face. If she was honest, a slap would have been easier to cope with. The place she had thought of as her sanctuary, as the one room he couldn't reach her, was as ordinary as any other in the castle. She stared at him in silence, fighting the urge to claw his pretty blue eyes out of their sockets. No doubt it would only be a temporary setback for him.