AN: I finally found the time to update. I'm really frustrated about how long it took, but I have two class projects I have to work on. They're not really impossible in difficulty, but it's rather time consuming, and I've only got a limited time to do it in. I'm seriously hoping I get it done in time. Plus, I also need to find a permanant job, a task I haven't had much luck in, and that'll take up even more time once I find one.
Anyway, on with the story. This chapter is where the pieces start coming together, so enjoy. (I even had my mom proofread the diary entry in this chapter, which is written in italics. That's how much I wanted this chapter to be good; my mom isn't a big fan of stories like this. Plus, she's one of the people who missed the whole point of RENT.)
"You've got to be kidding me!" Mimi gaped. "Are you telling me that there's no phone in this place that we can use to call for car service?"
"That's what that Dashiell guy said," Roger confirmed, visibly upset over the fact that they were seemingly stuck here. "Apparently, the idiot who wired up this hotel forgot to add the wires that would allow calls to other places."
"So, what are we supposed to do now?" Mark asked. "If we can't call a mechanic, how are we going to get the minivan started up again?" It was at this moment that Ancelin happened to enter the room where the Bohemians were gathered.
"Forgive me for intruding, but I couldn't help overhearing," she began. "Did you say that you were having car trouble?"
"Yeah, the minivan we were driving won't even start," Penny confirmed. "And since there are no phones that we can use to call someone to come look at it, we really have no idea what we're gonna do now. There aren't any towns nearby that are in walking distance, are they?" Very briefly, a hint of conflicting emotions crossed Ancelin's face, but they subsided before anyone could really notice them.
"Actually, there is a small town that's not to far from here," she lied. "But I don't recommend heading out now. It's a bit of a journey on foot, and even if you get a ride back with the mechanic, it will be dark before you return. You'd have better luck if you spend one more night here and set off in the morning. In fact, I think it would be the best idea to hold off until morning.
"Now, I hope you'll all excuse me now, but if you are going to stay another night, I need to start preparing your dinner now. Until then, please continue to explore the grounds."
"Oh, that's just great," Roger groaned after Ancelin had left, running a hand over his face. "One more night here? Wasn't all the other weird stuff bad enough? Now we're setting ourselves up for something worse."
"I know, Roger," Mimi agreed. "None of us like this very much either. I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this place, too. But complaining about it isn't going to help."
"Besides, none of us are going to be going off alone anymore, anyway," Mark added. "I don't think that much can happen if we're all together, can it?"
"And this way," the Emily Doppelganger smiled, "I can show you the secret passageway Penny was so eager to see."
"Oh, can we?" Penny pleaded, eyes lighting up instantly.
"I guess we don't have much of a choice anymore," Roger sighed heavily. "All right, Penny. I guess you win."
"All right!" Penny cheered.
"Just follow me, then," the Emily Doppelganger offered, hiding her devious smile as she led the Bohemians out of the room and down the hall, off into the direction of the dungeons.
Shortly after they'd all disappeared around a corner, the real Emily slowly stepped out of the place where she had been hiding, waiting until it was safe for her to come out. Letting her family see her now was not the best idea at the moment. Making everyone think that there were two Emilys running around was a good way to cause unnecessary confusion, at best. To be honest with herself, she wasn't entirely sure how she would react to seeing two Rogers in front of her. All things considered, her best option at the moment was to wait for a while before getting her family away from that doppelganger, preferably after she'd gotten a chance to figure things out a little more. After all, if they were going to get out of this alive, they had to know what they were up against.
Slowly, Emily started making her way down the corridor, leaning on an old pole that was serving as an improvised cane, but she'd only taken a few steps when it hit her. She really had no idea where to begin looking to shed some light on the situation, and this place was so large, there was a very good chance that she'd get lost before finding anything, or would be caught by Lorcán again. Before she could come up with some sort of plan, Emily felt something rub up against her leg. Glancing down, she saw it was a battered black tomcat, staring up at her with large amber eyes.
"Hello there," Emily spoke softly, kneeling down to pet the cat's head. The black cat immediately rubbed his head against Emily's open palm, purring very loudly. "You're a friendly cat, aren't you?" The black cat meowed in response before trotting down the hall, but when he was a few feet away, he stopped and looked back at Emily, meowing again.
"What is it?" Emily eyed the cat questionably. "You want me to follow you or something?" Once again, the black cat meowed, almost as if he was saying 'yes'. "Well, I always thought that dogs were the ones who'd try to get people to follow them, but after what I've seen in this place, I think I can go on a little faith here." With her mind made up, Emily allowed the cat to lead her through the hotel. The cat eventually stopped at the end of the hallway, in front of a dome top bookshelf. Emily took a moment to glance at the names of the books, recognizing some of the works written by Mark Twain and Edgar Allen Poe, but saw nothing that looked like it could be useful to her in this situation.
Her attention was then drawn by the sound of the cat meowing again. This time, the cat was pawing at the back of the bookcase, making it look like he was trying to push it aside. Thinking the cat had seen a mouse, Emily moved around to try and budge the bookcase over a bit, but was surprised when the bookcase slid aside easily, revealing a hidden room.
"Oh," Emily gaped, looking into the hidden room, which was lit by flickering gas lamps. "You're a smart cat, aren't you?" The cat purred in response, and strolled into the revealed room with Emily following him. Once inside, Emily started looking around. This room was also filled with books, but these books covered subjects such as the runic alphabet and alchemy, along with entire volumes dedicated to magic and spells. Taking one of the books down from the shelf, Emily started to flip through it, seeing that the spells were clearly classified as black magic. It was enough to leave her feeling very uneasy. What exactly did these people do? Not even Nana had books like these.
Once again, the cat caught Emily's attention with another meow. He was now sitting atop an old writer's desk, where an old diary had been left, next to an inkwell and a quill pen.
"What'd you find, kitty?" Emily asked, picking up the diary and opening it up to read. The only entry written in the diary was partially faded by age, and was dated to a time back in the 19th century, but it was still possible to make out the words, which had been written in a smooth, even script.
Years ago, this estate was owned by Desmond Kerrich, a kind and caring master. Under his ownership, the servants sometimes felt that they, too, lived a privileged existence, for Master Kerrich never let his superior status stop him from treating the servants fairly. Even the master's wife, Edlyn, often set her duties as the estate's mistress aside to help tend to the gardens on the grounds.
In those days, I was only an apprentice to the estate's head cook, but I was also treated most kindly, regardless of my position, which should be evident by the fact that I can write these words now. I realize most women of my station may not be educated in literacy, but when Master Kerrich took me in after my mother and father died during the typhus epidemic, he had instructed me in the necessary skills. I suppose, therefore, it would be a poor way to thank him for it if I didn't leave behind some record of what occurred within these cursed walls.
I never spoke of it aloud, knowing it was unwise to overstep the boundaries of my position, but Master Kerrich's young son, Lorcán, always made me feel uneasy, even when he was a small boy. He was a private, aloof child, and no one had ever seen him laugh, or even smile. Whenever family friends of Master Kerrich came to the estate and brought their own children, none of them went anywhere near Lorcán, and when you tried to encourage the young master to play with the visiting children, he'd respond with the most venomous glare you could imagine. Even the estate's dogs kept their distance from Lorcán, and whenever they saw him enter a room, they'd cower in a corner and growl if he came anywhere near them.
His mannerisms got progressively worse as Lorcán grew into a young man. He began to grow more distant, spending more and more time secluded in his room, or off in the nearest town. The only time I ever saw him was when Master Kerrich held dinner parties, and Lorcán was seated next to his father. By the time Lorcán was able to be included in the dinner parties, I had become an active member of the kitchen staff, and was in charge of serving the guests. It was at one of these dinner parties that I overheard Lorcán saying something that disturbed me more than I could ever describe. I was serving the first course, when I caught a small tidbit of conversation between Lorcán and one of the elderly guests. They were discussing the guest's dogs, which she kept for breeding, when Lorcán announced that he needed a dog. In passing, I realize that this seems like a harmless statement made by a young man who missed the estate's dogs, who all disappeared under mysterious circumstances, but there was something in the way he said 'needed' that chilled me to the bone. I regret to say I held my tongue, regardless of how I felt, but no one else seemed to think anything of it, and I was still only a servant.
A month later, Master Kerrich showed he must have overheard his son's wish for a dog, and had a purebred German Shepherd brought to the estate for him. It was with that caring act that everyone met with their downfall.
It began when the master's wife, Edlyn, suddenly grew ill. No doctor could find a reason for the sudden decline in her health. Master Kerrich dearly cherished his wife, and kept a constant vigil at her side, until she succumbed to the mysterious illness late one night. Edlyn had been dearly loved by all, so her death was viewed as a tragedy by everyone who worked and lived on the estate. Lorcán, however, showed no sorrow for his mother's death, only growing even more detached and colder.
It was a week after Edlyn's death that I first noticed the change around the grounds. In the past, a day didn't pass in the spring when you couldn't hear the birds singing throughout the grounds, but when I was kneading dough that morning, it struck me how quiet it was outside. When I asked the other servants, everyone also revealed that they hadn't seen any sign of animals on the estate since Edlyn first became ill. But it wouldn't be until that night that I would began to realize that it was far worse than missing birds.
That night, I awoke to the most terrible sounds, and allowed curiosity to overcome my knowledge of the considerable trouble I would be in if found wandering the halls so late. I followed the unearthly sounds to Lorcán's room. The sight that awaited me within will haunt me for eternity. The elaborate paintings that usually adorned Lorcán's walls had been taken down, revealing the symbols that had been drawn behind the golden frames. The symbols looked to be stars within a circle, and at the time, I couldn't understand what they meant, but I could tell that they'd been drawn in blood. That horrific realization could not compare to what was lying in the middle of the floor. The Persian rug that covered the floor in Lorcán's room had also been pushed aside, and burned into the floor was the same symbol that had been drawn on the walls, only much larger. Lying in the center of the symbol was the dog Master Kerrich had given his son. The poor creature had been killed, and it's stomach torn open. Lorcán himself was standing over the slain animal, speaking in a tongue I didn't recognize. As one could understand, I made haste back to the servant's quarters, out of fear of what else I might see.
In the morning, the discovery that was made overshadowed the horror I had witnessed during the night. Master Kerrich was found in his bed with his throat ripped out. It appeared as though some kind of animal had mauled him during the night, though no one could determine what manner of beast had done this. The even greater tragedy occurred when the other servants attempted to head to town to fetch the undertaker. Lorcán forbade anyone to do anything to provide Master Kerrich with the proper burial he deserved. Instead, he announced that with Master Kerrich dead, he was the new master of the estate, and that his first order was to dispose of his father's body in the nearby woods, without any form of ceremony. The valet, whom I'd only known as Gerald, had dearly loved Master Kerrich, and voiced his immense disapproval with these orders, announcing that he would never disrespect Master Kerrich in such a way.
What happened next shocked everyone who witnessed it. With a single spoken command by Lorcán, a terrible beast appeared out of nowhere, and with a single bound, it pinned Gerald to the ground, killing him before he could even scream.
It was then that I knew for sure what I had witnessed that night before. Lorcán had become deeply involved in dark magic, and undoubtedly had played a part in the deaths of Master Kerrich and Edlyn.
After that day, Lorcán took control over the entire estate. Using his dark magic, he placed a curse over everything. The curse prevented anyone from ever leaving the estate. Not even death could release us, trapping us all to the estate, where we must serve Lorcán for all eternity.
I do not know how long it has been since Lorcán's evil curse was cast, for the years soon blended together. For the longest time, my soul was filled with despair, until I chanced across a small glimmer of hope. And that hope is why I must write these words while I can. Even now, I know Lorcán will soon discover what I am doing, and take this diary from me, which doesn't give me much time.
I know it was likely a terrible sin to read Lorcán's books on dark magic, but it was in doing so that I found the curse could be lifted if the Five Elemental Agents come to the estate. Only the Five Elemental Agents can perform the ritual that will end Lorcán's curse and set us all free. It would seem that Lorcán also knows of this ritual, for he has ordered us all to kill any outsiders who chance across these cursed grounds, to ensure that we will remain trapped in this state between life and death forever. But I still cling to the hope, however frail it may be, that the Five Elemental Agents will still one day arrive, and help set us all free from this cursed estate and the oppression of Lorcán.
When the written account came to a close, Emily closed the diary with a sigh. This certainly had explained quite a bit about why Lorcán wanted to kill her and the others. He clearly thought that they were the Five Elemental Agents. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Down in the dungeon, Lorcán had said that he was keeping them here because there were five of them in all, excluding Rodolfo and Zack, and he had then called her the Agent of Water. Even Ancelin had admitted that Lorcán was planning to kill them because of what they could do. All-in-all, it was obvious that they needed to get out of this place as soon as possible.
Tucking the diary under her arm, Emily slowly made her way out of the secret room, pausing to make sure no one was around before stepping back into the hall.
"Come on, kitty," she called back in a loud whisper, smiling at the black tomcat that had helped her. "We gotta find the others. They need to know what's going on here, too." Meowing in response, the black tomcat jumped off the writing desk and proceeded to follow Emily in her task of rejoining her family.
