I cannot truly remember another time when I have been more frightened for my life. I stayed awake as long as I could, staring at that door. But no one came and at some point, I drifted off to sleep.

I was woken the next morning by Miss Mori knocking on my door and asking why it was locked. I did not know what to tell her and by the time I had thought up words, she had gone for help.

Fortunately, she returned with Mr Lin. At that time, I did not think Mr Lin could know, it was only later I considered that possibility.

I let them in and shut the door behind them. I paced up and down until I had caught my breath enough to speak. I told them of what happened and…

And they did not believe me.


"Lady Astley, I understand you were most frightened by this nightmare, but I can promise you that Lord Pembridge is not a… What did you call it? A vampire?" Mr Lin said in his deep calming voice. "The last few days have been very difficult for you, so I can understand why you might have had this sort of terrible dream."

"It was not a dream, Mr Lin, it was real and I saw him. Now if you do not intend to believe me then that is your business, but I cannot stand by while he might hurt more people!"

"Lady Astley," Madoka tried. "These creatures in your book, they're not real. Please, you know this in your heart." She turned to Lin. "Can we tour that part of the house? Can we show her that there is no blood or anything else macabre?"

"He will not show me for the lack of damage. There is nothing wrong with that part of the house," Mai declared.

Lin regarded her for a moment.

"Get dressed and I will show you both."

Mai's mouth dropped open, but she nodded. Lin waited outside as Mai dressed and then the three of them left for the West Wing.

Lin unlocked the doors and opened one to allow them access.

"I will lead the way, if I ask you to move or avoid a certain place, please do so, it is for your own safety. I do not want to carry another body from this place."

Mai and Madoka followed after him. He opened the first door and showed them inside.

"This was the late Lord Pembridge's office. It is now disused."

The next door held a bedchamber. The next, a small drawing room. And so on and so forth until they reached the final room. The one Mai had seen the previous night…

"And this was Lord Pembridge's brother's room. As you can see, there is some canvas on the ceiling to catch any debris from the room. That chunk of plaster there on the floor, is what fell and killed that maid. As you can see, that is the only place there is any blood, because I have not allowed anyone to clean in here." He turned to face them. "Are you satisfied, Lady Astley?"

Mai looked at the canvas. She had not seen this far into the room the previous night so she could not be sure it had been there before or not. But Lin was not lying. The only blood she could see was on the chunk of plaster.

"Yes," she said finally.

She did not wait for an escort, but left the West Wing with Madoka and Lin following in her wake. As she exited, she almost walked straight into Lord Pembridge.

"What are you doing? Lin? Why were you all in there? What have I told you?"

"I am sorry, my Lord, but Lady Astley had a nightmare about some creature in the West Wing. I sought only to put her fears at rest."

"A creature in the West Wing? How fantastical… Did it have sharp teeth and claws, Lady Astley?" he asked with a sneer. "Perhaps you should drink less wine."

"Miss Mori," Mai said, "Would you accompany me back to my quarters please? I would very much like to go for a walk and I need to change my shoes."

"Of course, my Lady."

Mai did not look back at Lord Pembridge and hid the sting of his words by walking faster and faster until Madoka could barely keep pace.

"Lady Astley, please, we do not need to run."

Mai slowed.

"I'm sorry. That man is so aggravating."

Madoka chose not to speak. Mai changed into more suitable footwear and once she collected a coat, both women left the house for the fresh air of the park. It was not snowing, but the ground was still white.

"Did seeing the West Wing quiet your fears?" Madoka asked.

Mai did not answer for a moment. It had not in the slightest helped her fears. But telling Madoka that was not necessarily the best course of action.

"A little," she lied.

Who else knew, that was the real question… It seemed obvious now that Lin knew. He had helped his master cover it up. But the maids seemingly not, as they were not allowed to clean the West Wing. This made sense to Mai, the maids were frightful gossips, they would not be able to keep silent.

So whatever plan she came up with now would have to consider that she could not trust the butler or the master of the house.

Or Madoka.

Madoka was in love with Lin. Even if nothing came of that relationship, she would not do anything against him, nor would Mai want to ask her to.

Unless Lin too was turned into one of these foul creatures…? Mai had no clue how she could catch him off guard at night to see if he had a vampyric form. That would be a problem for a later date.

"...Lady?"

"Hmm?" Mai turned her head.

"My boots are soaked through, may we return to the house?"

Mai looked at the walk ahead of her.

"You go back," she said. "I am meditating upon an idea. I will not be long. Perhaps you could prepare tea for my return."

"Of course, my Lady."

Mai continued.

She would have to stake Lord Pembridge. She did not know if she had the strength or the determination to do such a thing. But she could not allow him to hurt anyone else.

A cold shiver ran down her arms and back, and she continued through the snow.


I was not the brave type you would find in a novel. I was no adventurer. True, my mother had called me fearless as a child. But that had more to do with my naivety for the world than true bravery.

I had no idea what would happen to me after I did it.

To the outside world, to those that had no clue of his true nature, they would think me a murderer. And the punishment for murder was hanging.

Hanging.

The rope around my neck.

The thought alone, even now, makes me gag.

And yet at the time, I thought it would be worth it. I had no family left. No husband, no children, no parents. No one to suffer from the consequences of my actions but me. I had no friends that would shield me from the fate that would befall me, but I did not think I would deserve that kindness.

And so I began to make preparations.


Mai finished her walk with a visit to the greenhouse. It was empty when she entered. This allowed her to pull one of the little wooden markers from the edge of one of the beds. It was square and pointed at one end to help it stick into the ground better.

But it was quite large in her hand. Too large, she could not wield it easily.

Mai pushed it back into the soil.

"My Lady?"

"Mr Takigawa!" Mai straightened and hid her slightly muddy hands behind her back. "I was just admiring your plants."

"Thank you. Would you like to see the pineapple? I do not think it will be ready for Christmas now, but perhaps New Year's Eve."

"I would love to."

Mai allowed Takigawa to show her his pineapple, he pointed to various parts of the plant, talking about something to do with ripeness that Mai did not fully take in.

When he finished, Mai excused herself and continued around the edge of the house to the front door. She changed out of her damp clothes and met Madoka in the drawing room for tea and some light refreshments.

The two women sat by the fire for some time, enjoying the warmth.

"Miss Mori?"

"Yes?"

"What do workmen use to shape wood?"

The blank look on Madoka's face said it all.

"I do not know. Some sort of tools I presume. I do not know a carpenter."

"Do we have a carpenter at Harker Hall?"

"Not exactly. I think we have a man who has some carpentry and masonry skills, but only for minor things. It is not his profession."

"And he would have these tools?"

"Most likely some of them. Probably in one of the sheds near the stables. I am sure Takigawa would know more, or at least who to ask."

"Hmm."

"Why are you interested in such things?" Miss Mori asked.

"I was merely thinking about construction on the walk. How workmen take something shapeless and turn it into something of beauty and strength. I have often admired seamstresses and tailors, but never considered carpenters and the like. It is fortunate we have people who dedicate their lives to their craft, is it not?"

"Very much so. I could not imagine trying to do it all myself," Madoka said, laughing at the thought.


The following day, Christmas Eve, Mai went out for another walk. She had not slept well, again refusing to stay in her bed, but keeping to the floor farthest from the door.

She made her usual path until the very end, when she diverted to the stables. The stableboys mostly ignored her, as they were busy playing some sort of dice game.

Mai soon spotted the sheds and began her investigation. The first had equipment for the horses. The second had gardening items. The third had various tools that Mai recognised as being the sort of thing she would expect a carpenter or a mason to use. She ran her gloved hands over some of them, trying to determine what would be best.

She needed something she could use to fashion a stake out of a piece of wood. Her hands settled on a thin tool about the length of her forearm. It had a nice wooden handle and a squarish prong that tapered at the end to a flat edge; a chisel. Next to it lay a small wooden mallet.

"Perfect… I can use this… I do not need a stake."

Mai stowed the tools away in a pocket and hurried from the shed. She returned to the house and to her quarters. She hid the tools under her pillow, retrieved her book and went to the drawing room to read.

But she was distracted. How could she focus on the words before her?

Before long she was on her feet again, pacing up and down. Madoka came in, regarded the lady with some concern, and left again. Mai ignored her. She did not want to talk to Madoka. She did not want to risk admitting what she planned to do. And she felt that if she stayed too long near anyone that she might burst with the secret of it all.

In the end, she abandoned staying indoors entirely, but booted up and went for another walk.


Night came all too slowly on Christmas Eve, but eventually it came. Mai bid her goodnights and waited in her room. She waited until the house was quiet. And then she waited some more.

She tied up her hair out of her face and secured her dressing gown. She held the tools, one in each hand, and was about to leave the safety of her room when she spotted something on the table. A letter opener.

She slipped the letter opener in her dressing gown pocket. It was sharp and could be a potential backup option if the chisel failed.

Mai's heart hammered in a way that she was sure would give her away to someone. How could they not hear it drumming? Yet as she crept along the corridor, she saw no one.

Taking steadying breaths as she walked, Mai arranged the tools in her hands. In her left, the chisel, in her right — the stronger arm — the mallet. She would place the chisel over his heart, then whack it with the mallet. One quick hit and it would be done.

She had not thought about what came immediately after that.

Mai reached Lord Pembridge's room. The door handle turned with no resistance. She crept inside. His four poster had the curtains drawn. She thought back to when he had been ill; he had kept to the left side as she faced it now.

After closing the door behind her, she moved around the far side of the bed. Like the door, the curtains had no resistance to them. She pushed them open to see Lord Pembridge deeply asleep.

In the limited light, Mai thought he appeared peaceful. Almost more handsome in sleep than when awake, as if sleep allowed him freedom from his waking woes.

Enough of his chest protruded from the blankets he slept under for Mai to locate the approximate location of his heart.

Her own heart hammered in her chest as she positioned the chisel over him. He did not stir from the slight contact.

"Please forgive me," Mai whispered as she raised the mallet high over her head. "Please God, forgive me."

And she swung.


Author's note: Would it really be one of my stories if I did not (threaten to) kill off one major character...? Wait, I already have several dead... Oops!