R/R – The Terrapin – Oh…no I didn't know that it was Burroughs who gave them their names…slight oversight on my part…bugger. Oh well, thank you for the tip and of course thank you so much for your review! Funny I've read a few of your fics…but I kinda forgot to review them…Your Eddy fic was great!!! Luv x
Graphic violence contained herein, you have been warned!
Chapter 2 – So it Begins
Lord Burroughs took the twins in. He took them back to his castle where they were received as family. The castle was truly unique. It was practically divided in two, both sides a mirror image of eachother, in layout at least. The left side of the castle housed the lesser chambers, whereas the right held the library, the main chambers, the chambers of Lord Burroughs and his family included. But the piece de resistance came in the form of the breathtaking clocktower that lay in the centre of the mansion's entrance hall and worked it's way up. Upon their entry, both twins ran to the foot of the staircase and looked up, feeling giddy and light-headed from the sheer height and magnificence.
Both Ralph and Jemima were in awe of the lord and his mansion. Their happiness increased when they found they were to stay in the castle with their new lord and his family; his beautiful wife Natalya and his lovely daughter Annabel.
When Annabel was introduced to them, there was an immediate connection. She was slightly younger than the twins, she had bushy, brown hair that fell around her porcelain face. She wore only the finest garments, usually of light colours that contrasted perfectly with her emerald eyes. She was a lively child and so generous and kind. When they first met she felt no resentment toward them or her father for taking more children in, jealousy had no place within the selfless and pure child, and Ralph and Jemima loved her all the more for it.
The castle was never empty, the house was frequented with various guests, visitors and of course the mansion was full of servants. It was quite a change for the twins to one day be begging upon peoples' doorsteps, trying to survive on whatever scraps they could find to being waited on hand and foot the next. If they wanted or needed anything then a servant would always be there to grant their every wish. At first it was quite an experience and quite a change, living in the mansion of the lord of the area, but after a few days with Burroughs and his family, Ralph and Jemima felt as though they had been there their whole lives. It was clear that Burroughs expected and wanted nothing in return for his gracious hospitality, but after just a few moments in the castle in the care of their lord, both Ralph and Jemima made it perfectly clear that they would willingly do absolutely anything for their lord. Of course lady Natalya insisted that they would never have to do anything in return, though she didn't really know why her husband should suddenly decide to bring two beggars into their castle. She assumed it was because of their age and children should be enjoying their childhood, not struggling to survive. It didn't bother her, though, the not knowing. She grew to love Ralph and Jemima as her own and she was happy for her daughter to have friends her own age to play with.
It was a few months after Ralph and Jemima had been brought in when Burroughs came to them. He took the twins down into the castle dungeons, after they swore not to reveal what they saw to anyone, not even Lady Natalya and Annabel.
Ralph held his sister's hand tightly as they descended a staircase into a large, stone chamber. Men were chained up, a dozen or more all chained to the wall, bloody and bruised. They wore what looked like the remnants of purple tunics, no doubt the survivors of Burrough's opposition from the battle months before. The twins recognised the prisoners' attire that of the man that Ralph had killed in defence of his beloved sister.
Burroughs ushered the children in front of him so that they may see the chamber better. A servant whom the twins had seen infrequently about the mansion, appeared to be waiting for them. He sat casually on the stone table in the centre of the chamber, seemingly undisturbed by the mass of blood stains that streaked the table and indeed the rest of the chamber.
Burroughs gave the servant a nod and the man began untying one of the prisoners, harshly dragging him to the centre and forcing him to lie upon the stone tablet. Once the prisoner had been tied down, Burroughs urged the twins forward. They stepped to the side of the table, their hands still locked in eachothers as they watched, enthralled at the display before them.
"This is what happens to those who disrupt our peaceful land. To those who dare to rise up against me," Burroughs snarled as the servant revealed an impressive array of weapons and tools, most of which, like the chamber were smeared in blood.
The servant selected a blade, a small dagger and with a slight smile on his face, he sliced through the skin of the victim's arm. The man screamed in pain and under it, a distinct chuckle from the lord could be heard. The servant took his time, cutting and slicing the flesh, randomly yet with a distinct art to it, revelling in the screams that came from the unfortunate prisoner.
Ralph and Jemima watched, enthralled. Their eyes wide and excited and their mouths slightly parted as they watched this scene of torture and violence play out. They were hypnotised by the way the knife sliced so easily through the skin, like it were paper, and the way the blood sprayed out after it, like a fountain. The screams of the victim and the shouts of protest from his comrades rang through the chamber making the scene all the more exhilarating to watch.
Burroughs held up a hand, pausing the servant, as he sunk to one knee, his face coming between the twins. "Would you like a go, Ralph?" he asked, sweetly and encouragingly. Ralph hesitated, looking up at his sister before looking back at the poor man stretched out on the table. Without looking at her, Ralph released his sister's hand and stepped up to the table. The victim looked up at him, his eyes wide and begging to be released. The same eyes that the man on the battlefield had looked at him with. The man who had grabbed his sister…Ralph took the dagger without even being offered it and set to work cutting through the skin, feeling the blood spray lightly onto his face with each stroke of the blade. The man had grabbed his sister, the man had frightened her, he had to protect Jemima. The thoughts ran through the boy's mind as he once again felt the exhilaration that came with the flick of the knife.
He was lost in his work. He was felt utterly caught in the moment, not caring for the events or occurrences around him. The voices and screams faded to background noise as Ralph began his art of killing. He raised the knife to cut again, when a hand stopped him. Ralph looked up to see his sister holding his hand, stopping him from doing anymore damage, though the victim lay, almost dead. His skin looked pale and gaunt, as he lay on the stone with his blood splashing into puddles on the floor, seeping across the stone, staining Ralph and Jemima's slippers. Ralph, stopped, expecting his sister to be disturbed by what she had just witnessed, waiting for her to scream at him and abhor him as a monster. But the shouts never came.
Instead Jemima took the dagger from her brother's hands and muttered, softly, "I want a go."
TBC