CHAPTER ONE
Full dark, no stars.
It was dark, cold, the moonbeams passing through the solely little window, lighting the wet ground of the highest room of the manor. A long time ago, it sheltered the most beautiful, the most luxurious and the biggest balls, gathering at the same time the most majestic families from the whole country. Look dear friend, the red lipstick of the hostess goes hand in hand with her dress and, at the same time, with the liquid spread on the floor. The white tile had become vermilion. Even in the death, women want to stay à la mode. The duchess rested peacefully in this blood bath, for eternity. Some people will qualify this of slaughter whereas I'd call it a masterpiece, kind of work of art. However, the young Richard was never able to see again his mother again since this day (or his father, who disappeared shortly before this event), he would not certainly agree with me. At least, he will keep her youth and beautiful on his mind. She won't wither, age, and dye in front of him in the course of the decades.
Loads of investigations were done, no guilty person were never arrested. It will remain in memories as the mystery of York.
The young Richard was left under the watch of his older brother, king Edouard IV, like his other brother, Clarence. For them, nothing had really changed, except the fact that they had moved on an even bigger, even more luxurious palace. But for the young Richard the boneless, it wasn't enough. Like a spoilt child, he always wanted to have more, always more. Yet, the king and his brother had nothing to care about his childish things : they met for securities investments, political alliances, … Richard is unmistakably the most intelligent of the family, it's maybe the reason why he seemed to carry no interest for having more money than he already has. All the gold of the world wouldn't be sufficient to rectify his back, put his vertebral column on the axis, replace his head between his two shoulders and not tilted to one. His own family had already tried everything, shameful that one of his members was deformed. Richard will stay forever the boneless.
In strange circumstances, Clarence was suspected og wanting bring down the king his brother, even if he hadn't shown any sign. It astounded all the court, but king couldn't take the risk of having a conspirator among his closest confidants. Hence, he had a single loyal brother left. Richard leaped from the shadows and became Edouard's counsellor. Even wiser than his elder brother, he doubled the fortune of his family. But it was not because the presumed guilty was put away that the problems stopped. Both children of Clarence were killed, their dead body was found on their respective room. It was then to Clarence's turn to die, poisoned on his own cell. Many will shriek the suicide, but Edouard didn't believe them. He was not the most intelligent of his siblings, but he knew the desire to live of his brother. His doubts shifted to his younger brother. He was the next one in the line of succession of the throne. The son of Edouard is still too young to reign. For his safety, he sent him to a boarding school far from the castle, and made Richard visit a manor, where he could give his opinion, if it was necessary to buy it or not.
Richard crossed the Atlantic to visit this manor. He inquired above. "You know, dear reader, between 1910 and 1961, it was the biggest tuberculosis center of the East coast. Although, I think it's quite strange to buy a center with a grim story like this one, but I believe in my brother, he should have a good reason which he'll give to me when I'll be back home. He trust me, I'll do my best with this Massachusetts' thing." The poor man hadn't understood anything of the trap which was going to close on him.
Arrived in front of the fearsome manor of red bricks, he presented himself to a blond hair none. It was specified nowhere that the manor was administered by the Catholic Church. "Impossible that they bought the building before my family, according to Edouard everything is already concluded, or almost. My brother would never have lied to me." The one who was named Sister Mary Eunice took Richard at the top of the manor house. He would have liked to visit the outside before making a decision, but the young woman did not seem of this opinion. Their sales technique should be seen again, they were not very welcoming. He was also stunned to find so much patients for a center close a month ago. It should have been empty and closed down, instead of that a horrible French music went back up to the staircases of the hall.
Dominique, nique, nique
S'en allait tout simplement,
Routier pauvre et chantant.
En tous chemins, en tous lieux,
Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu,
Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu.
Richard heard it for the first time with recklessness, thinking of leaving the manor that very night. Unfortunately, it went wrong. When Sister Mary Eunice, accompanied by her mentor Sister Jude, took him the owner's tour, they passed in front of an empty cell. Careless, he entered on. The door closed on him. He didn't go out of it during a long, very long time.
His brother had interned him in the quite new psychiatric asylum of Briarcliff.