A Beautiful Curse

Chapter 15 - Exploration and Learning

Anne's P.O.V

  I sat with him at the midday meal. We were both quiet. In fact, he ate quite fast and then left, excusing himself over some duty to his estate.

This is what being a wife felt like. And I did not like the prospect.

As soon as I was home, I would refuse the betrothal. I would protect my old vows and refuse marriage. I am not a 'wifely' woman. No, just as my mother used to say, I am too wild. Come to think of it, nearly everyone I encountered said that about me. Mother, I suppose, was just more positive about it.

I also believed I would not suit being a mother. I hated my brother and sister as babes. So needy and greedy. Sophia had said all children were supposed to be that way, as they are very dependent on adults to survive. I did not want a needy and greedy child. I vowed I would not risk it.

Sitting around with nothing to do, I decided to explore.

Everything in this house was grand. Furniture and ornaments from all over the world adorned every room and corridor.

Vases from China. Ottomans from Persia. Animal skins from Africa. Intricate threaded rugs from India. Bear skin rugs from Russia. Carved chairs from Egypt. Love seats from France. Embroidered curtain drapes from Greece and Spain. Stained glass windows from Italy. And tapestries depicting scenes from every world one could dream of.

The West wing of the house held the dining room I ventured from, where a long table stood before a magnificent, wide fireplace. There were but two chairs on this long table, one on either end. And 'twas no wonder we did not speak to each other while we ate, I imagine we could barely hear one another across the vast distance between us if we tried.

The rock surface surrounding a large mirror above the fireplace held carvings of creatures I had never seen before, the bizarre kind one might see in a grand cathedral, if one looked closely. Demons and pagan creatures... though why anyone would carve demons into the walls of a house of God is beyond me. The pastor once told me, with an air of conceited reluctance, that they were put there to remind us that no one is safe from sin and only God could absolve you. That did not explain why they were inside the house of God rather than outside it where one might say you would be more susceptible to the lure of sin and demons. Or maybe that was it; the demons looking in on us from where they could not reach us.

That was not how I felt now, looking up at the glaring eyes of fiery demonic sculptures. The more I stared, the closer they became, escaping their stony placements to reach out to me with abnormal claws.

My skin prickled as I carefully made my way out of the room, keeping a wary eye on the all too real sculptures. Itouched the flower necklace at my neck, hoping it would be of some use as aprotective charm. I crossed the entrance hall, noting a large oak door that stood out of place against the white marble of the staircase it sat under. I made a note in my mind to explore it later.

The chamber that sat across from the dining room could only be described as a ballroom. The polished black marble floor gave a reflection of the three giant onyx chandeliers that hung from the ceiling. I craned my neck to analyse the intricate artwork that covered the ceiling, the depiction spanning several worlds over several centuries. The scenes depicted romance, exploration and war. The walls were a natural green, the kind one would see on grass and fresh leaves. The South wall, looking out over the gardens, was entirely made of thick glass and strong, tall marble poles.

Portraits and scenic paintings scattered the North wall, the most important and largest placed at the centre. A full body portrait of none other than Lord Draco Mandrake, dressed in his finest knight's armor, tucked into his left arm a shining helmet with red plumage and his right hand clutching the tallest, most lethal looking sword I had ever seen, standing almost as tall as him. His shield, large and shined to perfection, bore the crest I had seen so much of recently. That of the black dragon standing in a golden background, spewing green fire from its open mouth. I had to give credit to the artist; he had captured the Lord's handsomeness, strength and power so well, all in one magnificent painting.