The fire popped and crackled in the fireplace as Cora lay reclined in bed, book abandoned in her lap. More tired than she had initially realized, she had drifted off to sleep after only reading a few lines in her novel. But her sleep was not peaceful. It was plagued by grisly images of blood soaked bedding and knife blades flashing in the moonlight.
With a sudden jolt, Cora jerked awake, her eyes flying open. Softly panting, her gaze quickly surveyed the room, relief flooding her when she realized she was alone. Pushing the sweaty hair out of her face with the back of her hand, she reached over and picked up the clock on her bedside table. Only fifteen minutes had elapsed since she had dismissed her maid and climbed into bed. Internally cursing James, she adjusted her pillows and picked up her book, burying herself in the pages. But the violent details from the whodunit did nothing to relax her and she quickly lost interest.
Letting out a sigh, she placed her book on the bedside table and blew out her candle, blanketing the room in darkness. She lay unmoving, listening to the soft sound of the crackling fire and tapping of the rain against her windows. It soothed her, lulled her, and soon she felt her eyelids becoming heavy. Adjusting ever so slightly, she snuggled down into the mattress, curling around her spare pillow.
Just as she was about to completely succumb to the warm embrace of sleep, a bloodcurdling scream pierced the still night. Heart thumping erratically in her chest, Cora bolted upright. Gasping for air, she was halfway to relighting her candle when she heard the sound again— a strong breath of wind whipping around the castle.
Cora flopped back against the pillows and closed her eyes, focussing her attention of calming her rapid heart beat. Her breathing had just about returned to normal when she heard noises in the corridor. Telling herself it was merely a servant finishing a late night task, she pulled the blankets up to her chin and tried to fall back asleep.
The faint creaking and popping continued to sound, moving to right outside her door, but she ignored it. Servant or not, she had been scared enough for one night. She would not venture out into the hall to see what was making noises. But her resolve crumbled when she heard something sharply crack followed by a shrieking wail of 'Die!'.
James.
Rage boiled in her veins as she flicked back the covers and jumped out of bed. She threw on her dressing gown and marched over to the door. He had gone too far. It was one thing to tell stories in the drawing room, but it was something else entirely to lurk outside her bedroom and taunt her.
"James!" she hissed, flinging her door open.
The only response she received was the sound of footfalls scampering away. Cora stepped the rest of the way into the hall and looked up and down the corridor. It was much darker than she had anticipated and she found it difficult to see.
'Die!'
This time the cry came from near the top of the stairs and Cora followed after it.
"This isn't funny, James," she scolded in a whisper.
Reaching the top of the stairs, she found the gallery empty. Cora looked up and down the hall, but saw no one. Indecision settled in her abdomen. The house was silent and, since there was no sign of James, she was inclined to return to bed. But a intuitive feeling that there was something there gnawed at her, prickling her skin and sending shivers down her spine.
Her shaking hands stilled as the realization slowly dawned on her. She had done it. A large, glinting grin split across her face. Vengeance. Oh, how sweet it was.
Cora felt it then, surrounding her, beckoning to her, enticing her, the feeling utterly intoxicating. Vengeance. She deserved it, deserved to have her revenge. Her lips stretched into a large grin, her eyes glazing over at the many ideas running through her mind. What fun it would be to wipe that permanently smug expression from his face, to slip into his room shrieking and wailing chants of 'Die, Die, Die'. How terrified she could make him!
Unconsciously, she took several steps in the direction of James' room. Beside her, the arched columns appeared to grow, their height towering over her to an impossible size. They cast dark shadows along the floor, their imposing shapes merging together snuffing out any light. Before her, the hallway extended into a monstrous length, the darkness somehow becoming blacker and more intense as she walked. Her earlier notions of finding the source of the sounds had abandoned her. Her mind was utterly consumed by one thought…
Vengeance.
Nearer and nearer she drew to her target, the mantra of 'Death, Death, Death' chiming in her ears with each beat of her heart.
It glowed against the blackness as Cora came to stand before the door, a gentle humming emanating from the wood. Carefully, she placed her hand on the knob. The coolness of the glass against her palm sent a jolt through her and she stumbled backwards, breathing heavily with beads of sweat dotting across her forehead. Her vision cleared and she blinked in confusion, startled to find herself right outside James' bedroom door with no recollection of getting there.
Slowly, she backed away from the door, her breaths still coming in gasps, her heart thundering in her ears. Her eyes scanned the hallway, taking in the abnormal darkness of her surroundings. She could feel whatever it was that had brought her there, still watching her intently and she wanted to be far away from it. Spinning on her heel, Cora ran, winding her way back through the many corridors she didn't remember walking through, until she was back at the top of the stairs.
Cora collapsed against one of the columns and tried to slow her rapid breathing. The gallery was still shrouded in darkness and she shrank back against the cool marble, smallness and vulnerability welling within her. She hadn't felt so helpless since she had been a young child, venturing into the night in search of her parents after a nightmare. Only now she was grown and neither her mother nor her father were waiting for her with soothing words and comforting embraces.
Clamping her eyes shut, she forced deep breaths of air to fill her lungs. There was no need to allow her imagination run wild. It was only an inane story, she told herself, an inane and senseless story not based in reality. After several minutes, her heart rate had returned to normal and, when she finally had the courage to open her eyes again, she saw the gallery was no longer completely black. The earlier rain storm had passed, allowing moonlight to flitter in through the windows above the staircase and adding some much needed light.
A short series or shrieks and wails sounded from down below in the Great Hall, the cries reverberating off of the walls. Cora's heart lurched as she startled, her shoulder painfully slamming into the stone column. As suddenly as the sounds began, they ceased, the silence almost more unnerving than the noise. Cautiously, Cora stepped away from her sheltered spot. She stopped and listened for a moment, the hair on her arms beginning to stand on end. But the house remained silent. With a steadying breath, she continued down the gallery to her room.
Right as she placed her hand on the doorknob, she felt someone grip her shoulder. Without thinking, she spun and lashed out, landing a blow directly below their left eye. Hearing a groan of pain, she looked up and gasped, a boulder's weight of guilt sinking into her stomach.
"Oh, Robert, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed. Hesitantly, she reached up and pulled his hand away from his face, attempting to appraise the damage. But it was too dark to see. "I didn't mean to, I-I'm afraid I didn't think before reacting."
"Who did you think it was?" he grumbled.
Cora averted her eyes and bit her lower lip. She had truthfully reacted without thinking, but there had been a half second where she could have stopped herself and she hadn't, something deep within her hoping it was James. Robert wasn't particularly close to his cousin, but she wasn't sure how he would react to her striking him, even if it was accidental.
"James," she answered, her voice unsure. "He's been making strange noises outside my room."
"Is that what those noises were then?" He chuckled softly. "Too bad it was me instead of him, I would have liked to see the look on his face. You throw a good punch."
Cora's gaze fell to her feet, her cheeks burning. She had allowed herself to lose control of her thoughts and now Robert had gotten hurt.
"Robert, don't joke. I feel terrible," she murmured. "It doesn't hurt too much does it?"
"Nothing a cold compress won't help," he replied. Tucking his hand under her chin, he lifted her head so that she met his gaze. "Don't worry about it, Cora."
"At least let me get something cold from the kitchen to put on your eye," she said. "A wet cloth won't be enough."
Robert opened his mouth as if to say something, but then stopped and nodded his head. "Alright, but I'm coming with you."
A small smile twitched at the corners of Cora's lips as she led the way down the hall to the servants' stairs.
