WnW 2.a – Memory 3

Women in beautiful dresses swirled about the opulent room. I marveled at their grace and precision. This was clearly something that had been taught from a young age, mastered over many years of practice. Dancers often changed partners, yet they all moved with the same timing and speed. It reminded me of the inner workings of a timepiece; synchronized movement, everything part of a larger whole.

I stood next to the piano that vibrated with my brother’s light, airy playing. It sounded strange, after hearing him play with his altered fingers for so long. Those haunting melodies had permeated the Marquess’ residence. I’d become accustomed to the weight of those notes.

“The keys feel strange,” James murmured to me, mirroring my thoughts. I’d grown used to how they felt under my new fingers.” His hands flew across the keys as gracefully as any dancer here. The Marquess had changed his hands back so as to not draw any attention from the attendees of the ball. So easily he toys with our bodies.

“Hey. You have to smile. The plan requires it.”

I forced myself to relax my brow and raise the corners of my mouth. “How can you be so okay with this?” I murmured back through tight lips.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“I’m not okay with this!”

James gave me a sidelong glance. He was dressed in expensive clothes and looked comfortable in them, like he had worn them his whole life. I couldn’t deny that he looked like a prince, with his dark coat and ruffled sleeves. “What’s so bad about this, Cecily? We eat delicious food, sleep in luxurious beds. I have ample time to pursue my talents to the fullest.”

“Have you already forgotten that he is the reason our father is dead?”

“Our father would have gladly sacrificed his life if he knew it would give us this one.”

The smile was lost. I turned to the piano and leaned on it to hide my face from any onlookers. “He’s using you, James. He doesn’t care about us. We’re tools to him. He will discard us the moment we lose our usefulness.”

James’ tempo sped up ever so slightly. “And that’s why you married him?” He said lightly, knowing his words were cutting.

My face grew hot. The ring on my finger clung there, even as I tried to move it with my thumb. A symbol of the Marquess’ constant presence. “I need him to trust me, so he’ll let down his guard.”

“If you truly believe that then I wish dearly that you are more clever than the Marquess. Otherwise I cannot fathom you being able to touch him.”

“He’s just a man.”

“Is he?” My brother kept his voice low, barely audible over the music, even to me who stood right next to him. “Last I checked, a man cannot bend flesh with his mind. I’m not going to claim what side of heaven he is on, but either way he is above even these people.”

I curled my lip. “No. He isn’t all-powerful, otherwise he wouldn’t need us to help him.”

James glanced behind me and absorbed himself in his performance. I took a moment to compose myself and put on a smile. When I turned, I was met with a large man in a deep blue shirt and petticoat breeches. His cheeks were reddened with wine and he smiled cheerfully as he bowed.

 “Most honourable Marchioness.” He extended a hand and I placed my fingers into it. He bent and I felt his lips brush my knuckles. “I am Baron Johann. Welcome to my estate. I am delighted to finally have the chance to meet the beauty Marquess Wright has been speaking of.”

I smiled thinly. “Baron Johann, you need not flatter me. I hear you are much more beautiful in your own way.”

The man was taken aback. “And what way is that, Marchioness?”

I leaned in. “Beauty of the mind, Baron Johann. I hear that you have more scholars housed in your estate than any university.”

The Baron shook his head in amazement. “Not only a beauty but an intellect as well? Where on earth did Marquess Wright find you?”

I waved a hand dismissively. “Another time, Johann. I am much more interested in hearing what you have been studying.”

The Baron looked gleeful, rocking on his heels with excitement. “Of course, Lady Wright, of course. Now, no doubt you have heard of the Black Death?”

I cocked my head and looked wondrously at the Baron. He puffed out his chest. “Well, it was a terrible sickness that nearly annihilated humanity. Surely a curse from God to punish the sinners. However, it remains today, lingering as a miasma. My scholars have been attempting to capture and tame the Black Death. With it, we may indeed be able to send all the infidels to hell in a resolute blow.”

I gasped. “Is such a thing possible?”

The Baron proved that his chest could puff out even further. “Of course. I’ve hired the best. It is only a matter of time.”

James ended the piece with a striking high note. The dancers finished and began to socialize. I took the Baron’s hand in mine. With practiced ease, I lowered myself slightly so I could look up at him. I bit my lip, looking hesitant. “Perhaps, would it be possible to see the scholars at work?”

The Baron caved instantly. “Of course. And perhaps in exchange, you can convince the Marquess to lend me some of his sway with the Church.”

I nodded and allowed myself to be led by the Baron away from the ballroom. From across the room I met the eyes of the Marquess. He watched me leave, a smile playing across his lips. A servant opened a side door for us and the Baron led me through and down a hallway. We traveled down a flight of stairs and into a darker passage. Doors with barred windows lined the walls. Moans of pain emanated from within and I was met with the stench of rotting flesh.

“Never fear, Lady Wright. I am keeping a firm hold on my captives.”

I struggled to hide my disdain. “Are you?”

The Baron didn’t notice, too caught up in his own boasting. “Of course. What with the recent surge in demonic activity from the commoners, one can’t be too careful. Surely you heard how Viscount Markley met his untimely end to a werwulf?”

I kept my face blank and shook my head.

“Well, lycanthrope, as us higher intellects call them, are men cursed by a witch. I have been thorough in my investigation into any possible witches.”

A man rushed by, carrying a stack of papers. He bowed to us as he passed. The Baron chuckled. “I’ve been killling two birds with one stone, by allowing my prisoners to be subjected to the Black Death. We’re close to discovering its essence and in the meantime, I have discovered that the Death was certainly sent by God. The witches suffer and perish to it, even with their demonic ties.”

Anger surged. I was done listening to this toad talk. Glancing around, I made sure that no one was approaching. Then I grabbed the Baron by the arm, dragging him into a side passage. This might be a little tight… Oh well. I shoved the Baron further down and he stumbled and fell with indignant, spluttering protest.

I began to undress, pulling each layer of the complex dress off and setting it to one side neatly, taking great care not to tear or dirty any of it as I wanted to be presentable after.

The Baron watched me with fascination. He thinks he is in for a treat.

I gave him a playful smile and placed the pile of clothes at what I judged was a safe distance.

Then I let my anger loose. My hair began to grow, lengthening down my back and spilling across my shoulders like an untamed river. I snarled and it sounded like James had run his hand across the piano, high notes tumbling into deep lows. The Baron shrieked as I began to grow taller and more muscular. Nails shrunk away and were replaced by thick claws; they weren’t very sharp, but they didn’t have to be. The force that was behind them would do the job. My hair began to wrap around my body, covering it and growing thicker and denser, like a bear’s hide.

I didn’t wait for the full transformation to finish, I was too hungry for this man’s destruction. With powerful limbs, I lunged at the Baron, sinking fangs into his large belly. Warm blood spilled forth. I silenced the Baron’s cries with the second bite.

Soon he lay in a pool of blood that touched each wall of the small passage. I was nearly done putting my clothes back on when I heard footsteps coming towards me. Should I scream? Pretend I saw a monster?

I prayed I wouldn’t have to rip the dress to attack a guard. I really didn’t want to deal with the Marquess’ mocking gaze as he picked me up outside of the event. The Marquess of my imagination was replaced with the real one as he turned the corner. He observed my handiwork with wide eyes, nodding his head. “And the scholars?”

I gestured down the hallway. “Somewhere down there. I was done entertaining this fool.”

The Marquess smiled wide. “No need to justify yourself to me, Cecily. I understand your hatred. It drives me as well. It shapes our bond.”

I didn’t say anything as I followed behind him. He walked down the hallway of cells housing the diseased prisoners. With each one he passed, their cries of pain were silenced within. I heard the scurrying of vermin and didn’t dare look through the bars to see what the Marquess was doing to the poor souls.

We entered a room that was full of tables, with books stacked high on some. Men sat quietly conversing with each other, sometimes leaning over parchment to scribble madly with a quill. The Marquess moved around the tables, occasionally opening a book to read a few lines.

Be patient Cecily, I told myself. The day will come when you will tear into his throat and taste his blood. I entertained these fantasies as the Marquess searched for something.

“Oh my.”

The Marquess had stopped and placed a finger inside of an open book. My blood ran cold at his expression. His eyes bulged ravenously as they took in whatever it was he was reading. I approached and looked at the page. 

There was an illustration that depicted a starless black sky. I attempted to make sense of what I was seeing. Two shapes hung in that swath of darkness. One was clearly the moon, crescent shaped. The other was a strange, imperfectly round thing. Not pale as the moon, but dark, like I was staring at the bottom of a pit.

The Marquess spoke in reverent tones, “We are not the first of our kind, Cecily.”