Here's another chapter! Please, please, please review!
Chapter 12
Oswald carefully tipped the alcohol into the three martini glasses, taking care not to spill any. It would have been so easy, too, given that he'd been working all afternoon. In the space of three hours, he'd run three baths, waxed the table, polished the silver, and washed lunch's dishes. Speaking of lunch, his thanks for cooking his mother's goulash had been extremely negative. Grace had even called her his 'slut mother', and said that she wanted a roast for dinner. It was Sunday, after all. Oswald had never done so much labor in his life, and he was beginning to wonder how Ruby did it all without complaint.
Oswald glanced up as he set the bottle down. Right above him, he knew, was his bedroom. Ruby. Just out of curiousity, he wondered what she was doing now. Was she reading? Napping? Polishing her jewels? It felt strangely wonderful to have her in his room. Like some beautiful little bird he'd collected.
"Don't forget the cherries, Oswald!" Grace's distant voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Oh! Right!" Oswald cursed himself. "Cherries, cherries, cherries..." He began opening and closing drawers, searching through each one. He found no cherry, but he did find a glass container hidden beneath the silverware. Frowning, he pulled it out. Oswald's heart skipped a beat. He recognized it at once. It was the Van Dahl family sherry. He held it up to the light, and felt a chill. Ruby was right. It had changed color. What about the rest? Now thoroughly frightened, he uncapped the bottle and sniffed his contents. With a gagging sound he pulled away, coughing.
"Oswald?" Grace called.
With a gasp Oswald quickly set the bottle down, in front of his feet. Thankfully, the counter concealed it. Grace strolled in, dressed in a fine black dress and a black pearl necklace. Oswald wondered how much Ruby would have liked it. She eyed him with a mocking exasperation. "Where's my drink?"
"Oh..." Oswald quickly handed her the martini glass. "I'm sorry, but there's no cherries." He admitted sheepishly.
Grace quirked a brow. "No cherries?" She eyed him coldly. "The next time I ask for cherries, there had better be cherries." She left at that, not leaving Oswald time to say a word. He simply smiled and nodded. "Yes, Grace...ma'am!" He corrected himself. Once she was out of sight, he quickly reverted his attention to the bottle. Grace's dog eyed him with blank, yet slightly curious eyes. Thinking fast, Oswald took a small saucer from the shelf, filled it with sherry, and set it down for the dog. The hound sniffed it for a minute before lapping it up with interest. Oswald watched with wide eyes as it drank it all to the last drop. He waited, wondering...
Charles and Sasha shambled in. "Mother said to remind you of tonight's dinner." The former said. Oswald turned to them with a dark, hooded expression.
"What's wrong with him?" Sasha asked, scooting closer to her brother.
"Who knows?" Charles asked in return, looking at him with pity. He leaned forward and raised his voice. "Mother wants a roast!" He repeated, speaking as if to a retard.
"And make it good this time." Sasha added. The two walked off, laughing cruelly. Oswald stared after them, his expression unwavering. "Yes, I will."
Below, the dog made a moaning sound before falling on its side. Oswald watched the familiar white foam gather at its muzzle, its blank eyes staring up at him. Seeing nothing.
Oswald broke into laughter. It was a deep, demented cackle that only grew louder as the cage inside his mind shattered.
Night came quietly and gracefully, like a shy maiden. Gentle music played in the background. Healthy orange flames burned in the fireplace, eating hungrily at the wood. The table had been elaborately set. Not one, but two roasts sat in silver platters. Around them were the candied lakes of their own blood, nearly dark as ink.
Oswald glanced once behind Grace's seat. In the shadows, a pair of dark blue eyes met his. Nodded encouragingly. He smiled and nodded in return. Carefully, he cut a generous slab of meat and transferred it to Grace's dish. Without a word or look she instantly began to slice it. Popping the bits in her mouth at a scary rate. Oswald watched her do it, his eyes glinting and his mouth a thin line. "How is it?" He asked. "Not too gamey?"
"Hm." Grace sounded rather unimpressed, considering how quickly she was eating. "Overcooked." Oswald pouted, looking thoughtful, before suddenly brightening. "Try the other joint." Grace watched, bored, as Oswald sliced another slab of flesh from the other roast and brought it to her plate. "It is much more tender."
In the dark, the figure slapped a hand over her mouth to keep the chuckles in. Grace eagerly cut into the meat and stuck it in her mouth. She sighed while still chewing. "It's the same."
"Mm." Oswald seemed only vaguley disappointed as he leaned in. "Still. Beats my slut mother's goulash, no?"
Grace swallowed. Stuffed another large, juicy piece in her mouth. What was it? Pork? Beef? That was all the proof that she needed to know that Oswald had prepared this meal, not Ruby. Ruby was a vegetarian, and was digusted by meat in general. Whenever meat was on the menu, she got so squeamish that someone else had to handle it. But at least she could cook decently.
Oh, well.
"Where are the children?" She asked through a mouthful. "Ring the bell again."
Oswald winced, but his eyes were smiling. "I doubt they'll hear it."
Grace stopped eating. She'd been around Oswald long enough to trace out his personality in a few strokes. He was friendly, docile, and above all weak. He wouldn't have dared to disobey even the slightest order. She glanced up at him and saw something in an instant. "You look different." She commented.
Oswald smiled, looking strangely touched. "You noticed!" He held his arms out in a 'ta-daa' gesture, smirking all the way. Indeed, he was dressed in a very refined manner: black velvet coat, perfectly ironed white shirt underneath, and an ebony tie. In his breast pocket was a white rose striped with red. His inky hair, rather than being combed back like a good little schoolboy's, was gelled into elaborate, messy spikes. "Yes. I'm doing my hair a different way. It suits me rather well, don't you think?"
"Charles?" Grace called. "Sasha?" She turned back to Oswald. "Where are they?"
Oswald didn't answer right away. He stared at her with fierce, icy-blue eyes. His mouth was like a thin cut. His face was as hard as marble, his posture stiff. Towering over her, he seemed almost scary. "I found the sherry in the kitchen, Grace." He said quietly, but firmly. Grace's hands, in the midst of cutting meat, slowed to a halt. Oswald didn't look away from her gaze. He seemed...stronger than before. "The one Ruby accused you of poisoning to kill my father. It turns out that she was nothing less than honest, unlike my current company."
The silverware clanged on the plate. Grace straightened in her seat. Trying to ignore how nervous she was getting. She cleared her throat. If Oswald saw the fear in her eyes, then she would be lost. What she didn't know was that he'd already seen it.
"What on earth are you talking about?" She demanded. "Are you really going to believe that whore instead of me?"
Oswald giggled then leaned in close. "I'd watch my tongue if I were you!" He said mockingly. "If not, I might just cut it off, dry it, and give it to her to wear as a necklace. I wonder if all the lies you've ever told would drip from it. Like the poison you're too cruel to throw away."
Grace tried to get up. Two things happened in the following three seconds. Oswald tore the knife out of the roast and held it towards Grace. In that same instant, some kind of rubbery robes twisted around Grace's middle. Effectively tying her to her chair. When she looked down, Grace saw the strangest bonds that she could have imagined: they were soft, boneless, and of a faint peach tone. At the ends of them...were hands covered in rings. Grace screamed and turned her head. Ruby's face appeared inches from her own. It had utterly transformed without changing a detail. It was wicked and malevolent, with dark blue eyes thirsting for blood. Her blood.
"Hello, Mistress Grace." Ruby said sweetly. "I see you've integrated well in your status as empress of the household. Ah..." One of the hands stretched out, fingers reaching towards Grace's neck. The woman whimpered and whined until the fingers found their target: the black pearl necklace. In one swift motion the hand removed it. "That belonged to the Master's mother." Ruby informed her. "And it's too fine a collar for a lying bitch like you."
"It's yours now." Oswald said gently, still aiming the knife at Grace's throat. Ruby looked touched. "Really?"
Oswald smiled. It was the only thing left of his weaker self. "I can think of no one more worthy of wearing it."
Ruby blushed and looked away, keeping a death grip on Grace.
"CHARLES!" Grace screamed, fighting against Ruby's boneless arms. "SASHA! HELP!"
"They won't come!" Oswald sneered, all kindness leaving his face.
"Where are they?" Grace was on the brink of crying now. Oswald chuckled, loving the desperate look on her face. Memorizing it. Until finally, he let the bomb fall. "You thought they tasted the same!" He laughed at her confused face. "But Sasha?" He slammed a finger into the smaller roast, and then popped the greasy digit into his mouth. He made a moan of gratification. Ruby stuck her tongue out in disgust. Grace stared down at the plate. At first, with confusion. Then, horror. "No." She whispered.
"Definitely more tender!" Oswald grinned. "In my opinion." He listened to the chorus of increasingly desperate 'no's emanate from Grace's back before raising the knife. "Ruby, hold her tight!"
"With pleasure!" Ruby replied.
"NOOOO!" Grace shrieked. The knife came down in a silver arch that ended in crimson. Her screams were silenced.
Half an hour later, all evidence was erased. Ruby dumped the roasts in the garbage bag, which she left outside to be collected at dawn. Oswald wanted to leave Grace's body there, at the table. But Ruby drew the line. The longer they waited, the riskier it would get. That was why they wrapped her body in sheets of poor quality. Lifting the carcass over her head, Ruby walked out of the house. Out of the garden. Out of the property. She kept walking, guided by memory. At last, she found a large hole in the middle of the sidewalk. Right where she'd seen it a few days earlier. She unceremoniously dumped the body down the hole. She didn't hear the sickly crash until she'd counted to ten. Smiling, Ruby knelt down in front of the hole. She knew that Grace couldn't hear her. But she still had to get this off her chest.
"Tomorrow morning," she said, "the construction workers will come back here and fill this hole with cement. Your body will never be found. You will disappear. Your name will disappear. Your body will disappear. All memory of you will disappear." She smiled. "And good riddance, I say."
Ruby was stretching, hoping to high heaven that the dim lights had concealed her power, as she walked in. "It's all taken care of!" She called, adjusting her hair. "By this time tomorrow, she'll be resting under nine feet of cement-" She stopped once she reached the dining hall's entrance. Stared.
A banquet had been set up. Lillies and white roses sat in the center of the table, glowing like ghosts in the candlelight. Fresh platters and silverware had been set out. For two. Every other inch of space was occupied by food. Everything in the fridge, Ruby gathered, except for the meat. Starry-eyed Ruby moved closer to the table, admiring the feast before her. Avocado salad. Ratatouille. Spaghetti pie. Meat-free chili. Grilled eggplants. Hummus with pita bread. Asparagus. All there, ready to be served. Ruby covered her mouth with her hands, trying to keep it all in. But even as she tried, tears leaked from her wide eyes.
"Do you like it?"
Ruby spun around. Oswald was standing there, holding a bottle of red wine and two chalices. He watched her hopefully. "I made a bit of a mess with the kitchen, trying to cook all this before you returned. I apologize for that, but-"
He was interrupted by a tight hug. Oswald gasped against Ruby's shoulder, trying to control his heart rate, while the maid embraced him. She buried her face in his neck. "I thought I'd lost you today. All this...it's wonderful." She whispered. Oswald blinked. His expression softened. After carefully setting the bottle down, he returned her hug. She smelt of fresh sweat and earth, but he didn't mind. She was here, now, hugging him and everything he represented. And that meant more than words could ever express. That was why he'd tried to do so with cooking. Finally, he pulled away with some regret. He cupped Ruby's cheek. "Thank you. From the bottom of my cold, black heart. If you hadn't warned me-"
"You would have figured it out, eventually." Ruby interrupted.
"Maybe. Maybe not." Oswald's thumb stroked Ruby's cheekbone, causing her whole face to blush. "The point is...this is whom I am. Who I will always be. I am deeply grateful for your help. But if you want to back out, know that I will not blame you. It is a great burden to carry, and it shouldn't be thrust upon anyone unwilling."
"But I am." Ruby replied. Her hand rested over Oswad's wrist. "I want this. And it's not just because you're my Master's son." Her eyes grew large, bashful, but she continued anyway. "You...are the only friend I've ever had. To me, you are wonderful no matter who you kill. It's a dog eat dog world, after all. And I don't care if you've committed crimes, and that you'll return to that path. I want to walk down that path with you. I want to help you." She paused. "Protect you." She swallowed. "If you'll have me."
Oswald had to bite his lip to keep the tears in. He nodded rapidly. "Of course." He pulled Ruby forth in another tight embrace, which Ruby gladly returned. They stood like that for a long, endless moment, rejoicing at what they'd almost lost and excited at what lay ahead. Oswald pulled back grinning like a fool. "Come, Ruby." He took her hand and guided her to the table. "We have a meal to eat and plans to make."
Ruby grinned. "I wouldn't have it any other way."