Chapter 20
The following week was miserable for Aria. Aside from the constant sneezing, her cold made her so tired she could barely get out of bed. What little appetite she had was spoiled by Teinaava's cooking.
In spite of her misery, though, she kept up with her training and chores. Five days after her contract, she and Antionetta took their turn in the kitchen. Antionetta tried to take Aria's mind off of her cold by teaching her to cook.
On their second night of kitchen duty, Aria and Antionetta decided to try out a new recipe: a stuffed roast piglet. While Antionetta sliced up potatoes and carrots, Aria tried to clean the young boar they were using.
"Antionetta, am I doing this right?" She asked, pulling out the intestines.
Antionetta put down her knife and walked over. "I think so," she said after a minute. "The directions say to clean out the inner cavity, wash it with boiling water, stuff it, then sew it back up and cook it."
Aria leaned away to cough into her elbow, then went back to cleaning the carcass. "This is gross."
"Be thankful you have a cold and can't smell it," Antionetta said as she went back to the other counter.
The girls spent the rest of the afternoon preparing dinner. Once the boar was roasting, they cleaned up the kitchen and did their other chores. In between Aria's bouts of sneezing, they talked about life in the Sanctuary, their recent contracts, and their fellow family members.
Once they determined the boar was roasted enough, Aria told Antionetta to get the others while she set the table. She had just set the last place when she heard footsteps announcing the arrival of her family. Everyone crowded around the table and sat down while Aria and Antionetta brought out the meal.
Ocheeva said a short blessing and the family was about to start eating when a voice from the hallway spoke. "Is there room for one more?"
They all turned to see a dark-robed figure standing in the doorway. "Lucien!" Ocheeva cried. Aria and Antionetta jumped up to give him a hug while the others stood up to greet him.
"What are you doing here?" Aria asked. She noticed the cloth bundles he held. "What's that?"
Lucien handed the bundles to Ocheeva, who passed one to Vicente. "Contracts and messages." He returned her hug as Antionetta fetched another place setting.
The family sat back down and the conversation centered around Lucien that evening. The meal turned out fairly well, in spite of the girls' misgivings about the recipe. After dinner, the rest of the family moved to the living area, while Antionetta and Aria cleared the table.
Aria gathered the dishes while Antionetta filled a small tub with water to start washing them. Aria piled all of the plates on a tray. She felt a sneeze coming on and barely made it to the tub before she dropped the tray. The dishes fell into the tub, splashing water over the sides as she sneezed violently.
Antionetta stood with one eyebrow raised, watching water drip from the sides of the tub. "You keep that up, and you're going to be sleeping upstairs tonight."
Aria wiped her nose with a rag. "You mean in the abandoned house? Not a chance." She paused, then said with a grin, "On the other hand, if I sleep up there, at least I wouldn't have to listen to you mumbling in your sleep."
"I do not mumble!"
"Yes, you do."
"Well, you snore!"
"Only when I have a cold!"
"What is all this yelling about?" Teinaava asked, coming into the kitchen.
Aria sneezed. "Antionetta's threatening to make me sleep upstairs because of my sneezing." Antionetta stuck her tongue out at her. "Real mature, Netta."
"Tattletale," she shot back.
Teinaava picked up a bottle of wine and a few glasses. "If you were to sleep up there, perhaps you would be visited by the ghosts."
Both girls stared at him. "Ghosts?"
"Indeed. Have you never heard the legend of the Krately house?"
Aria glanced at Antionetta, who shook her head. Teinaava motioned for them to pick up some more glasses. "Leave the dishes. You can finish them later. You should hear the story." He herded the girls to the living area, where he announced, "Our younger Sisters tell me they have never heard the legend of the Krately house."
Vicente was sitting on the couch and moved over to make room for Aria. "Well, that will never do." He looked over at Lucien, who was relaxing in a chair nearby. "Would you care to do the honors, Lucien?"
Lucien raised an eyebrow as Teinaava started passing around glasses of wine. "Dear Brother, I do not tell ghost stories. I make them."
Everyone laughed and Vicente looked across the room. "Ocheeva? Teinaava? Would either of you care to tell it?"
Both Argonians declined, so Vicente stood up. He walked over next to the fireplace and turned to face the others.
"Many, many years ago, there was a family that lived here in Cheydinhal, the Krately family. Silenus and his wife Dominitia, and their two children, a ten-year old girl named Aelva, and an eight-year old boy named Minestes. They were a happy family and were well-esteemed by their neighbors. Silenus worked in a local shop, and Dominitia tended the house and the children. Life was good."
The room was quiet as Vicente continued his story. "But not everything was as perfect as it seemed. Before she met Silenus, Dominitia was a member of a witches' coven. The coven's most important rule was that the sisters were to remain single for life. When Dominitia met Silenus, she broke that rule and left the coven to be with him. She gave up that life in order to be a good wife and mother.
"But that angered her sisters in the coven. For years, they sent messages to her, telling her to leave her family and return to the coven. When begging didn't work, they turned to threats. Still, Dominitia refused. Finally, the coven had had enough. They used all of their magic and summoned a creature that they sent to the Krately house."
"What kind of creature?" Antionetta asked.
"No one knows. But it was something horrible, straight out of a nightmare." Vicente looked around at his spellbound audience. "Late one night, Aelva heard something from her room on the third floor. There was a faint noise coming from one of the lower floors. The girl woke her brother, then lit a lamp as the two children crept to the top of the stairs.
"Aelva called down softly, but there was no answer from the second floor. 'Should I wake up Father?' Minestes asked. Aelva said no, maybe she had imagined the noise. She started down the stairs.
"Minestes called after her, 'What are you doing?' Aelva said she was just going to make certain and told him to go back to bed. She left her brother at the top of the stairs and went to the second floor."
Aria listened with rapt attention. Vicente's enthusiasm for the story had darkened his eyes and his soft voice brought the story to life. She unconsciously quieted her breathing as he went on.
"A couple of minutes went by, and Minestes asked his sister if she'd found anything. Aelva said no. It was probably just her imagination. She had just turned toward the fireplace to stir up the fire when suddenly...a noise made her jump. It had come from the first floor.
"'Hello?' She called down the stairs. There was no answer. She held her lantern out in front of her and slowly, cautiously made her way down the stairs. Minestes waited at the top of the stairs. When Aelva didn't come back for a few minutes, he crept down to the second floor. The boy stirred the fire and nervously watched the shadows dance on the walls. When he didn't hear from Aelva, he went to the top of the stairs. 'Hey!' He called."
Vicente's shout made everyone in the room jump. Aria gasped and grabbed one of the pillows cushioning the couch. Antionetta grabbed the head of the bearskin she was sitting on and clutched it to her chest. Vicente went on.
"Downstairs, Aelva's heart was racing. Her brother's shout had scared her. 'Why aren't you in bed?' She called softly. 'I'm waiting for you,' he answered. Aelva made sure the front door was locked, then decided to check the cellar. Upstairs, Minestes hummed to himself, trying to steady his nerves. Several more minutes passed, but Aelva didn't come back upstairs. Minestes stirred the fire again, then went back to the top of the stairs. 'Aelva?' He called. 'Aelva, what's taking so long?'
"There was no answer from downstairs. Minestes called again, louder this time. Footsteps sounded overhead and Silenus called down the stairs. 'What's going on down there, boy? Stop playing around and go to sleep!' Minestes was thrilled to hear his father's voice and ran upstairs. He told his parents about the noises and that Aelva hadn't come back upstairs yet. Silenus told his wife and son to stay upstairs while he investigated. He cautiously went down the stairs, determined to find out what had happened to his daughter.
"Dominitia didn't want to be left alone upstairs. She and Minestes followed Silenus downstairs. Silenus paused long enough to light a torch, then went to the stairs to the first floor. 'Aelva?' he called. 'Say something, Aelva.' There was still no response from the girl. Silenus led the way downstairs, and the family looked around. There was no sign of Aelva on the first floor. Finally, they turned toward the cellar door.
"Wood creaked from somewhere on the other side of the door. Silenus hesitated, then opened the door and held the torch out. Suddenly, the torch was extinguished. The family screamed as the room was plunged into darkness. From below them, something roared.
"The next morning, neighbors discovered the bodies. Silenus, Dominitia, and Minestes were on the first floor. Aelva was in the cellar. The bodies were in bad shape, nearly torn to pieces. The doors and windows were all locked. There was blood everywhere. And around the bodies were massive bloody footprints, the prints of a gigantic beast, unlike anything anyone had ever seen."
Vicente lowered his voice as he finished the tale. "But they say the ghosts of the Krately family appear from time to time in the house above us, reenacting the night they were killed. And on the darkest of nights, just like tonight, they say the creature returns as well, looking for it's next victim."
Vicente clapped his hands, making everyone jump again. "On that note, I believe it's time we all got some rest. It's late."
"What?!" Aria protested. "You expect us to sleep after that?"
"That's not fair, Vicente," Antionetta agreed. "You scare us silly, then tell us to go to bed?"
"Now, girls," Ocheeva chided. "There's nothing to be scared of. Besides, that's not even how it actually happened."
"What do you mean?" The girls asked in unison.
Lucien answered. "The witches hired the Dark Brotherhood to eliminate the family. Once he was finished, the assassin went to the nearest tavern and pretended that he had just found the bodies. He planted the seeds that became the story Vicente just shared."
"Oh," Antionetta said. "It's still a scary story, though."
"But it is just that," Ocheeva said firmly, "a story. Now, Vicente is right. It's getting late. You girls go finish up in the kitchen, then get ready for bed. Lucien, will you be taking the couch again?"
Lucien nodded, and everyone got up and started getting ready for bed. Vicente followed Aria and Antionetta into the kitchen and helped them finish cleaning up. By the time they were finished, the living quarters were quiet and dark. Vicente gave Aria a quick kiss, then slipped away to his own room. Aria and Antionetta quietly dressed, then climbed into bed.