Thick Blood

:: CHAPTER TWO ::

Many years past, though seemed to take their time. The wind was forever howling, and the rain was forever thundering against the glass window of Lizzy's room. Her mind remained dormant, waiting for the right time, though her body grew; her once flat lined chest grew more womanly curves, as her body bade farewell to the child she had been.

The time trudged by; weary, slow, depressing. Changes to the hall and the surrounding land were made, though Lizzy saw little of it from her sealed prison.

Her small room had gained few objects over the years that she had grown fond of. There was a small table that sloped slightly and wobbled when you leant on it. There were three books; one about love, the bible, and one about superstition, folk lore, daemons...

A bathroom had been built adjoining her room, making it even easier for her to be left alone and forgotten. She'd spend most days and nights sitting on the wide windowsill staring through the clear glass watching the rain fall so close, and yet so far to where she sat.

She couldn't count the number of nights she had sat there, staring out across the fields towards the forest. Time would only remind her of its presence as the morning sunlight would creep over the apple orchard trees at the far end of the garden.

That night, she had done just that; drifted out of time and space as her mind took her miles away. As she climbed between the cold sheets, she closed her eyes, wishing herself far away, beyond the sunrise and further. Her mind ached with longing as she tried to block it out and sleep. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, just as sleep enveloped her.

"Wake up!" Said one of the servants, briskly, as she entered the room bringing breakfast. She let out a turgid breath. "You sleep ten times as much as us and don't work half as hard, so the least you can do is be awake when I come in. How many times do I have to tell you!" The bread and warm milk wobbled on the tray as she dropped it onto Lizzy's bed. "Stupid girl!" She spat, cruelly, before storming off, locking the door behind her.

"Someone didn't get any last night!" Lizzy whispered to herself, humoured by her own words. Rubbing her eyes she sat up and yawned. "She needs a man, I need a key!" She said, decidedly. "It's a bizarre mix…" She began to pick at the food; hunger spurred her on, but depression held her back.

The rain started falling again, against her window, filling the room with thuds. Lizzy put down her food and picked up her romance novel, walking over to the window and sitting down. She opened it at random and began to read, resting her head against the glass so that she could almost feel the rain, falling cool against her face.

"…then, suddenly, like a vision of all that was true and good in the world, he appeared, over the horizon, on horseback, riding towards that terrible place, freeing her from all evil." Lizzy read out loud in a mocking voice. She then laughed and threw the book onto the bed.

Suddenly, she gasped and jumped up, backing away from the window. Walking from the orchard appeared a man. His hair was short, though his body tanned and strong. He wore gloves, though no shirt, and carried two large planks of wood over one shoulder. He seemed tall, though Lizzy could not be sure from where she was, as she had nothing to compare him with. She felt strangely compelled to watch as his muscles tensed to hold the wood.

The rain fell about him, drenching his hair. His long fingers pulled it back, out of his face, and wiped the water off his brow. Lizzy took a deep breath and walking towards the window, shaking her head. "Too much romance."

Of what few clothes he was wearing Lizzy could tell that he was a servant of some sorts to the 'mighty' household; a gardener, probably. She leaned her head against the glass, again, and watched him walk across the garden, towards the house.

"Who are you?" she said to herself. "You don't seem to be wearing black, like all the other servants around her. They'll get to you soon, though, or they'll fire you."

When he reached the end of the garden he stopped and dropped the wood onto the ground, rubbing his shoulder where it had rested. Lizzy watched him as he picked up the wood, and carried it to a wheelbarrow, not far away, where he dropped it once more. The he reached inside the wheelbarrow and took out a tattered and worn grey shirt. He pulled it on, though its protection lessened as it grew wet with the rainwater.

Lizzy watched him as he looked up at the sky and the clouds, to see when the rain would stop. He blinked as it splashed against him. Shaking his head, he began to trace his eyes down the rest of the building. His motion stopped when his eyes met Lizzy's through the pain. His face relaxed and he bowed his head slightly to her.

Lizzy suddenly realised what she was doing and moved away from the window, back into her room. A few moments later, when she returned, he was gone.

::

"I thought I told you not to traipse mud in here, gardener." Said one of the kitchen staff as Will entered from the rain.

"I have a name, you know." Said Will, staring at the woman, blankly, rubbing his wet hands over his wet face.

"Ooh, really. Maybe I ought to talk to the master about you. Then we'll see if you've got a name." She replied, holding a potato in her hand and a knife in the other. She got back to peeling it.

"Tell me, Mrs Makeen, what is your station in this house?" he asked, walking in to the kitchen, opposite where she was across the table. She stared at him, shocked at his audacity to speak back to her.

"I'm the cook, and you're the gardener. Now clean up that mess you've just brought in."

"Well, yes, precisely." Will continued, "I'm the gardener and I tend to the garden. You're the cook, and you do the cooking."

"Stop messing about and clean that mess up or…"

"Or what, Mrs Makeen?" asked Will, provocatively, "Or you'll tell?" The cook began to get flustered.

"Don't cheek me, boy. I'm twice your age, and intelligence."

"And yet you're just a cook," he replied with a sarcastic tilt of the head, "so cook!"

At this, her eyes bulged in fury as she scoffed and stomped out of the kitchen, leaving her understudies to their duties. Will stopped for a moment and smiled, before turning to leave.

"No one's ever shut her up like that before." Will turned to see a young woman with wide grey eyes, a wide grin forming at the side of his mouth.

"Thanks." He said, winking at her.

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