Master of the Castle

Gustave watched as Christine galloped away before the wolves closed in again. His horse squealed and reared up, lashing out with it's hooves and hitting two of the wolves in the head and side. The animal then wheeled around and started to gallop back down the misty path. Gustave pulled hard on the reins only to have the horse ignore the bit and plunge forward. The sounds of the wolves slowly disappeared but the horse would not stop.

"Whoa boy!" Gustave exclaimed, "whoa!"

He gave another sharp pull and the horse reared again, throwing him from the saddle and galloping back off down the path. Gustave rubbed his head and looked around. The forest was unfamiliar and he tried to quell the panic that was slowly rising in his breast.

"It will be fine," he said to himself, "I'll just keep walking."


The sun set and the night quickly became cold. Gustave shivered and wrapped his arms around himself. The sounds of distant wolves howling came to his ears and he began to walk faster. The howls came closer and he saw flashes of movement in the trees. With renewed strength he ran forward, sprinting through the woods blindly until he stumbled out and fell at the gates of a castle.

The iron gates blocked the castles that loomed ahead of him. Gustave quickly clamored to his feet and flung himself at the gates. With a groan they opened and he fell into a puddle, kicking the gates closed behind him. Standing up he made his way to the large wooden doors of the castle and entered into the main hallway.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" he called, voice echoing in the seemingly empty building, "I-I was attacked by wolves and lost my horse in the woods. If anyone is there, I need a place to stay for the night!"

He received no answer but the echoing of his own voice. The castle appeared empty, there were no servants and the entire building was dark and dreary. Gustave wondered if it had been abandoned and continued forward into the hall.

"Please, if there is anyone there then answer!"

The silence was becoming even more unnerving when a voice rang out, "Oui Monsieur?"

"Hello? Hello, who is there?" Gustave called again.

"Non, hush, we cannot allow him to stay," a voice hissed, barely audible, "the master."

"Oh shush!" the first voice scolded.

"Who is there?" he demanded again, now irritated that the people would not show themselves.

"Pardon our manners Monsieur," a young blonde woman apologized, "but we haven't' had anyone here at the castle in a very long time."

"He will be greatly displeased," a man objected, "Meg, this is not wise. As the head of the house I cannot condone this"

"Hush, Nadir!" she scolded, "oh poor man, you're soaked and you must be freezing."

"Yes well, I lost my horse and there were wolves…"

"That's horrible," Meg said, "come and follow me, you can get warm by the fire. Let me take your coat."

"Meg, I truly advise against this. If he finds out then you know what will happen," Nadir hissed as she handed him the coat, "and I don't want this!"

"Then we won't let him know," Meg said, "he spends so much time hidden away in that tower. He'll get warm and dry, stay until sunrise then we'll get him out of here."

"This is unwise Meg, mark my words…if he finds out I state yet again that I object. I wash my hands of this deed."

Meg sighed and hung the coat over her arm before leading the man to the fireside and sitting him in the large red velvet armchair. Gustave sat tentavely, unsure of whether he should sit or not. The man had seem hell bent against him staying and now hovered nervously behind the chair.

"Would you like some tea? Or maybe something to eat?" Meg asked, "Don't be shy, we have plenty and you're soaked and probably chilled to the bone."

"Meg, stop this," Nadir insisted.

"Uh, no that's alright."

"Are you sure?" she asked, giving Nadir an angry look, "well if you're sure."

"What is going on in here?" someone asked. Gustave turned to see and older woman walk into the room. She looked similar to the blonde girl and he assumed that she was her mother.

"Antoinette," Nadir began, "your daughter has invited a man into the house."

"I can see that," Antoinette replied, eyeing Gustave.

"Meg, why would you do such a thing?" Antoinette asked.

"He was cold and wet and lost. Please Maman, he will never know, he spends all his time in the West Wing."

"I will never know what?"

The voice drifted in to the room as a mere whisper. Gustave looked around frantically for the source of the voice and saw no one. But he had heard it and so had the others. They were all looking around nervously, almost fearfully and Meg was wringing her hands.

"Master," Meg breathed, "Master I-"

"You have invited a person into my house?" he demanded, anger tingeing his voice, "did I give my permission that he could come?"

"N-no b-but he was cold a-and wet and lost in the woods," she stammered.

"Master allow me this moment to tell you that I was against this," Nadir said hurriedly.

"Silence!"

They obeyed without question and Nadir's eyes darted nervously to Gustave, "Monsieur," he hissed, "raise you hand to the level of your eyes."

He was just about to do so when a whistling noise cut through the air. Within a second he felt the catgut on his neck and felt his airway close. From the shadows stepped a man shrouded in darkness. Dressed all in black with a sweeping cloak he moved forward with all the grace of a cat. Yellow eyes glowed from behind a black mask and Gustave felt panic rise as the man approached.

"Why have you come here?" he demanded angrily, "have you come to mock me? Come to stare at death?"

"D-death, what no?" Gustave choked, "I-I was lost in the woods…there were wolves!"

"You are not welcome here," the man hissed, hidden face coming close enough for Gustave to feel his warm breath.

"I-I didn't mean," he gasped, clawing at his throat, "please Monsieur, I only wanted a-a place to stay."

"This is not the place!" the man snarled wheeling around to face his servants who cowered in his presence.

"Master please," Nadir began, "you don't need to kill him. He is not here to-"

"Silence! I do not want to hear your endless rambling."

"M-monsieur," Gustave choked, "please, I-I'll leave, I'll never tell anyone."

"Of course you won't," the man said, "because you will not leave this castle. It will be your prison and your tomb. But before that, you will get to see your new Master."

Gustave's eyes widened as the man removed the mask. He nearly cried out when he saw the face that should have belonged to death itself. The man looked as if he had been dead for several months, glowing amber eyes set in deep sockets mocked him as a cruel smile formed on his perfect lips. He had no nose and all the veins were visible under the thin, stretched skin.

"Frightened?" he asked, then lurched him up, "good!"

The three servants flinched as their master dragged the poor man off to the tower. Meg's eyes shone brightly with tears and her mother soothed her by gently stroking her hair and murmuring in her ear. Nadir sighed heavily and turned to follow his master's footsteps. He hoped that he could speak with him, maybe talk some sense into him.


Christine was about to turn down the path when Philip galloped past, spooking her own horse. The animal shied and Christine dropped the lamp. It shattered on the ground as she was left with only the light of the moon to guide her. She could feel the panic rise within her chest and turned back towards the cottage.


A/N: Wow, I'm getting a lot of reviews on this story and I love it, I'm glad you are all enjoying it so much. So, I hope you liked this chapter and will leave reviews for it as well.