Disclaimer: I don't own anything. All rights belong to their owners.
Note: This is my first Crimson Peak story and I hope you'll like it. After re-watching the movie on Halloween I thought it might be the right time to publish this little piece of mine. The movie has mesmerized me with its beauty and sadness and I really liked the chemistry between Edith and Thomas.
~Faded dreams ~
Not a sound could be heard but the silent breathing of the house . A thick layer of melancholy mingled in every corner and the walls were dripping in red.
The air was cold, the night was still young and everything inside the house was touched by comforting darkness.
A slim figure stood in this darkness, eyes closed and forever alone. Cavendish listened to the silent breathing, embraced the darkness and welcomed the melancholy with a sly smile on his lips.
Time did not exist anymore, too fast was his mind for the slow process of time . Too heated was his body from his actions, too mesmerized was he from the silence that meant his freedom .
Free-forever, being rid of the entrapping feeling of fear, yet forever tied to grief, no... guilt.
Opening his eyes it were hers that stared back at him -not like he used to know them , not like he had learnt to hate them, but hollow and sad- a reminder that he had destroyed every light in them.
Cavendish was paralyzed by the ugliness of the thing that he had created , still he stared at the ghost of his former wife with a composition of joy and a dreamlike absorption.
Stretching out his hand he wanted to grasp for the desperate figure in the mist but when his fingers only ran through coldness and emptiness he finally awoke with a scream.
O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.
Cavendish
A character that Edith had created even before he met her but who resembled him in so many ways that it brought a frightening coldness to his heart.
Guilt ridden and haunted by a ghost that represented the demons of his past, Cavendish was a miserable man trying to redeem himself by solving the murder of a young girl. Edith's hero was so close to be befallen by madness yet so strong and determined that Thomas could no longer hide his fascination.
"This fellow Cavendish, your hero . There's a darkness to him. I like him. Does he make it all the way through?", he asked while his eyes were still fixed on the pages of his wife's promising first novel.
"It's entirely up to him", Edith replied as Thomas walked closer to her and helped her preparing their bed for the night. Edith's response confused him . He was not familiar with the magic of writing so it seemed strange that a character was responsible for its destiny not the author.
"What do you mean?", he therefore asked hoping that Edith would make sense of it.
"Characters ...talk to you. They transform...They make choices", his wife answered with a warmth and loving tone in her voice that went straight into his heart.
Touched by her words, Thomas looked away from his wife thoughtfully, his mind dwelling on her last words.
"Choices", he murmured softly.
"As to what they become", Edith replied not paying attention to her husband's mental absence.
Could it be that he had the chance of a new beginning as long as he made different choices?
O.O.o.O.O.O.O.O
Long hours after their conversation and the beautiful night that followed, Thomas lay awake in their bed at Allerdale Hall. Edith was lying next to him , her breathing was unsteady and her dreams seemed to be clouded by darkness.
She would die and it was his fault.
Ever since his sister's return from the asylum he knew that he was bringing death to every woman he married , yet he had desired Edith like no other woman ever before-not even his sister.
Finally he had found love that did not require a murderous price but instead of protecting the fragile form of this precious feeling he had led the poor innocent Edith into a world that was far worse than her nightmares.
Not only the house in which they were living was falling apart but his soul seemed to decay quicker than ever before.
'Love makes monsters of us all' , his sister used to say but was he really a monster?
There was one thing about Edith's novel and her hero Cavendish that wouldn't let go of him. Every character -every human being was given the ability to make choices so wasn't this his chance to get free of the encaging love of his sister ?
Something that had started so innocent , something that had filled his body with love and joy had started to rot and become ugly a long time ago.
He was willing to let go of his dark and unforgivable past , but would Lucille understand?
Like a drowning person she hold onto him , onto their love trying to keep it alive although it had died after their third murder.
He who couldn't understand why his sister had to murder everyone who threatened their love, was guilty of the blood on his hands and the sickening smell of death in the air, in every corner of Allerdale Hall.
Like Cavendish he wanted to evolve, he wanted to make choices, good choices and redeem himself , get rid of the horrible memories that haunted his mind at night and even by day.
Lucille however, had always been his guardian angel and he still loved her very much. There was an indescribable beauty that mesmerized and trapped him. She had given him shelter when he was feeling lonely, she had protected him from their brutal and loveless parents, she had been his light and his caretaker , yet he wanted to begin a new life with Edith.
This old house with its creaking windows, its sinking fundament and its missing roof was calling him deeper and deeper into an all forgetting darkness and he was not willing to accept a destiny like that.
He needed saving and the only way to do this was to save his beloved Edith , the woman who gave him hope, who gave him life again.
He needed to convince Lucille that their madness needed to stop and that there was another way for them to be happy -he needed to teach her what Edith had taught him : That life couldn't be found in the past.
O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O
Ghost are real . This much I know .
O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O
Endless black was replaced by blinding white but the coldness stayed .What did happen? He couldn't remember .A fight ...he knew there had been a fight. Lucille had attacked him .Had he lost his sight in the process?
No.
Slowly and cautiously his eyes got used to the brightness and focused at the silent beauty of Allerdale Hall. Snow was falling on the ground , covering up the omnipresent red clay .
Crimson Peak
His home.
His duty.
His curse.
O.O.O.o.o.o.O.O
There are things that tie them to a place very much like they do us.
Some remain tethered to a patch of land . A time and a date. The spilling of blood . A terrible crime .
O.O.O.O.o.O.O.o
He couldn't tell if it was the silence , or the permanent coldness, or maybe the sight of the innocent white on the threatening red but suddenly and without fear , he knew he was dead.
The day he had met Edith M. Cushing. The day he had fallen in love with this beautiful , intelligent very special woman .
That day he had hoped to let go of the past, to break the curse that was swallowing Allerdale Hall and its broken inhabitants. He had hoped to redeem himself from his murderous actions and allow Edith in all her pureness and innocence to wash away the blood from his hands like the snow did with the clay.
In the end he hadn't been able to escape Lucille's grip , her power, her protection , her love and not even the brave Edith had been able to save him .
His curse and their unusual love had murdered them both a long time ago-him and Lucille and so he didn't feel any pain when he watched how Edith put an end to his sister and their horrible past.
He had realized that he was a ghost and that he had to watch the death of his sister because Edith had called for him . It was his last duty to watch over his wife and maybe he was allowed to say a last goodbye.
O.O.o.O.O.o..O.o.o
But there are others. Others that hold onto an emotion. A drive .Loss. Revenge or
Love
O.O.O.O.O.o:o:o:
Indeed his wife got closer as she had collected herself and although he had seen hatred and disgust when he was still alive , he now only saw sadness and love in them .
How beautiful she was and how wonderful their life could have been together. But he had made the wrong choices and she was now safe from him , from Lucille and from Crimson Peak.
Maybe it was right this way and when Edith's warm hand touched his hollow shape , he could feel that she forgave him and that he was finally, and forever
Free.
The End