Seymour couldn't begin to describe how eager he felt to leave the plant behind. It wouldn't be long now, and soon he and Audrey could be free from the web it had tried to trap him in. He'd packed up enough coin for them to start a comfortable life elsewhere, and planned to leave the rest to Audrey's house. Even if they would be leaving, he knew that she still cared about not letting the place fall into ruin, and she was also certain that the ones she'd chosen to take her place would put their titles and resources to good use helping those under their care.
In the meantime, he'd done his best to avoid the Audrey II as much as possible, while also not getting too far away in order to ensure it couldn't get up to anything while left alone. It was growing much too big to be easily lugged around, but since the household staff were hoping to get it to perk up again, they'd made the effort to bring it out to the estate's entryway and left the doors open in the hopes that some sunlight might help. By the time they left, he figured he would have to insist that it be brought back to his room, where he could then lock it up out of harm's way.
The plant's preferred method of getting a meal was certainly finding ways to force his hand into bringing it food, and it continued demanding to be fed anytime it did manage to get Seymour alone. It was clear that it was getting more and more irritated every time its demands weren't met. And since Seymour was still staunchly refusing to comply, he wouldn't put it past the plant to resort to grabbing an unsuspecting passerby. But in the meantime, it seemed unable to do much so long as he hovered in the area and kept an eye out to ensure no one got too close.
Audrey, quite unaware of the troubles Seymour was keeping under wraps, felt that she couldn't believe how lucky she was now that everything was falling nicely into place. She'd already managed to sneak away for a quick trip down to the village where she'd once lived, and confirmed that her friends would be more than happy to take up her role. And with those arrangements in place, she'd carefully practiced copying her father's penmanship until she could write a convincing couple of letters that would make it sound as if her father had once had a relationship with a different woman from her mother after all. One more letter in her own hand would explain that she had considered it best to slip away quietly after finding such news, and all that would be left was for her and Seymour to ride off together.
At long last, it seemed as if she would be able to have the sort of life she'd always dreamed of. The two of them would be joined in a quiet, simple wedding, and then start a life together somewhere far away from the unsavory part of the kingdom where they'd grown up. Seymour could work with plants the way he'd always wanted, this time as the master of his own shop and not as a downtrodden apprentice. And she could work beside him just as before, rather than needing to steal moments here and there. She would no longer have to be Lady Fulquard, and instead could be Mrs. Krelborn. The two of them could have a home, and a family, and a life full of the comfort and security she had never known.
On the evening before they planned to leave, Seymour had gone down towards the nearest road to carry their trunk to the small carriage she'd arranged for them. Audrey was still in her room, packing up a few last things in a small bag of her own. She felt butterflies flutter in her stomach as she took a last glance in the mirror, seeing herself prepared for the wedding she had spent so long worrying could never occur. Given that an unwed young man and young lady could hardly go traveling around unaccompanied without arousing suspicion, the two of them planned to be married as quickly as possible. But even aside from any necessity, it was easy to tell that both of them could hardly wait.
Her gown had been chosen back when she still expected it to be an elaborate occasion that much of the nobility would be attending, and it was fancier than what might be expected for the ceremony they would now be having. But while she was perfectly happy to avoid all of the trappings of court, and in truth only really cared about having Seymour standing beside her, she couldn't quite help being giddy at having a such lovely wedding gown to wear.
She knew that she could wait for Seymour to come back so they could walk to the carriage together. But the first few drops of rain that threatened to turn into a downpour were begging to patter against the window, and she could hear the sound of thunder starting to rumble in the distance. It seemed much better to walk out and meet him so he wouldn't have to get caught in a storm.
The estate was very quiet as she crept through the dark hallways, and she tried to keep her steps light so as not to wake anyone. She started to get a funny feeling the closer she drew towards the main doors, almost as if someone could hear her thoughts, and she felt an impulse to whisper even within her own head. Though she supposed it was a foolish thought, as surely no one was around.
"Good morrow, dear lady."
Her hand hovering over the doorway that would take her outside, Audrey jumped as a deep voice unexpectedly rang out through the entry hall.
"Hello?" She turned around, but could see nothing aside from Seymour's plant sitting quietly in its pot. The excitement of the night must have been getting to her. She took a deep breath, and turned back towards the door.
"Well, aren't you just a vision."
Perhaps it wasn't her imagination, as there came the voice again. It had an odd effect, one that made her feel an anxious desire to run away, and yet made her feel a strange sensation that it was drawing her in. But where was it coming from?
As much as it didn't sound like him, she knew of only one who spoke to her with such kind words, and she decided that he must be using a false voice to amuse her.
"Seymour!"
She reached for the door again, fully expecting to throw it open and find him standing there. But before she could, the voice spoke up once more, clearly coming from behind her.
"No, not Seymour. 'Tis I."
Spinning around sharply, she saw that the plant had moved from its stationary position. She gasped at the sight of it, its stem and pod now bent into the shape of a head and a neck. The pod opened as a laugh sounded through the room, showing off a mouth with a full set of teeth. This was no mere plant, but some sort of creature.
"I-I don't believe it…'
"Believe it, dear lady. It speaks."
She took a deep breath, trying hard to collect herself. She felt positively terrified, but a tendril of its voice still seemed to reach into her head, beckoning 'Come closer, come closer.'
"Something is quite wrong here."
The plant seemed to ignore her concern, turning an almost pitiful expression towards her. "My dear lady, I'm in desperate need of water. Certainly you must see how dry my branches are?"
Audrey's sense of compassion had always been something that could overcome her nerves, and though she felt a strong desire to flee as a vine started to reach towards her, she forced herself to stay put.
"Your leaves are dry…" She hesitantly responded.
The plant was reaching out with more and more vines, a few of them tugging at her gown in an almost curious sort of way, and she tried her best to politely push them away from her skirts.
"I'm nearly wasted away. Wont you bring me a drink?" The plant's voice crooned.
"I-I don't know if I should."
The plants vines were growing more insistent, and she couldn't quite manage to nudge all of them away.
"Come now, can you not give me this small act of kindness?" The plant insisted.
Audrey was finding her head filled with more and more worries. Was Seymour aware his plant spoke this way? And if it were something harmless, he would have told her, would he not? She should keep her distance, wait until he could tell her more before trusting this creature. But even as the worries arose in her mind, the plant's voice began to drown them out. She supposed she didn't have any reason to think the plant had bad intentions, and she would hate to think that an innocent being had gone thirsty because she refused to help it. Surely bringing it a drink couldn't hurt…
"Of course, I will gladly fetch you some water." She stated, and the plant finally allowed her to step away from the searching vines.
It didn't take long to locate the pail kept nearby for the plant, and it still happened to be half-filled. She picked it up, and started to carry it back over.
"Here you are." She tried to keep her voice cheerful, trying to tell herself that despite the worries in the back of her mind, it was just a simple favor, nothing to be fearful about.
A vine shot out to grab her wrist, and several more followed to wrap around her. The plant soon held her in a strong, unrelenting grip, and it began pulling her in. It stared with an eager, hungry grin, and Audrey was suddenly left with no doubt of what it intended. Absolutely petrified, all she could do was silently pray that Seymour would come back and rescue her before it was too late.
The plant laughed triumphantly, dragging her closer and closer to its giant maw. "And now it's suppertime!"