Chapter 4
Racing through the forest, Celine now understood how Father had become so easily wounded in his race back to the manor. Low hung branches scraped her delicate skin at every turn, no matter how evenly she rode in the middle of the pathway she was taking. She knew that the map made perfectly clear that there was a more oft used, but taking shortcuts would get her to wherever Father had just been much quicker. She found herself imagining being followed, so great was her fright. She feared that there were wolves on her trail and bats above her. The latter happened to be true, and she was thankful they would not hurt her.
Unless they were vampire bats… When animal life sometimes grew scarce in the summer from lack over restraint amongst Avilbane's hunters, vampire bats would retreat to the city's outskirts and feast upon the blood of the peasants there.
Luckily , as the moon had been full just last night, most of the shimmering light it had to offer guided the way. Still, the ambiance of this night was sick with cold, and no amount of equally chilling luminosity could cure it.
She leaned forward and pet her horses neck, thankful that the animal had not been for a run in so long. He was doing well, and seemed not at all afraid, but rather liberated at the freedom of cantering again. Celine kissed his neck and told him he was doing well.
Finally having had enough of the pain of taking this little path, Celine made her way back to the main trail, thought it took more than a few minutes. She felt blood dripping down her temple from a particularly deep cut there. Frantic and still frightened of bats, she wiped the blood away on the back of her hand.
She had not felt this terrified in so long… Father was a silly man, but he was brave. No simple man or woman could petrify him this deeply. Something strange had happened at this place she was racing to, whatever place that might be.
Suddenly she second guessed herself. What if Father had never even made it to this Aunt Fiona's? What if there was something in this forest that had shocked him so?
This new realization made Celine rush forth all the faster towards her goal. She squeezed the horse's sides with her knees and ankles and prayed she would arrive soon, and that her ridiculous sort cuts had not led her astray.
Just as she was beginning to lose hope, she saw it: the manor.
No. The castle.
Her eyes widened as she took in the grandeur of it. First, only a few spires were visible. Then, as Celine slowed the horse to a slow walked, the entirety of the building came into view. The moon shone brightly just behind it, granting full sight of every one of the castle's front spires. She brought the horse to a complete halt. The bricks of the castle were a dark purplish gray. That much was clear even with the lack of sunlight. The tallest spire was at least seven stories high. It was a miracle the trees of this forest were tall enough to cover it.
She slid down from the horse and walked him over to the castle's front steps. She tied him near as possible to the door, finding comfort in his company.
Before she could so much as move the gargoyle knocker on the left door, the towering doors to the entrance of the castle opened smoothly.
Celine lowered her hand slowly, afraid that any sudden movements would evoke another part of the castle to move on its own; For there were no Huisshers to have opened the doors.
Eery, this place was, despite its majesty.
Celine balled her small white hands into fists and called inside, unwilling to enter without a proper invitation.
"Hello?" she cried softly.
No one answered.
There was a local fairy tale concerning a little girl and a monstrous wolf, who tried to eat her when she mistook it for her grandmother. She shuddered at the thought of an animal being so clever as to disguise itself so well, and feared there was a creature similar to it hiding within these walls. Waiting for her to enter. Begging her to let it taste her flesh.
Celine was a lover of the night. She felt it was a magical time, as full of mystery as it was of solace.
But the sight of her Father, a man she loved so much, the only head of her household, being so… alarmed… it was more than she hoped to bare.
Fighting back tears that were trying their best to form in her jade eyes, she stepped forth, into the castle.
Nothing came to greet her. She peered behind the doors, to see if there were any bewitched servants ready to pounce on her. There was no such thing. This did nothing to ease her distress, however.
Taking a few more steps forward, Celine immediately regretted the decision. Her doors behind her closed, and the sound they made as the thumped shut seemed to mark her impending doom.
"O God" she whispered to herself. A teardrop slid down her cheek. She was too petrified to wipe it away.
She cursed her uneven breathing and looked around. The entry hall was decked with marble pillars and tapestries tall as the ceiling itself. The pillars were shiny white, and shot with silver and gold alike. And the tapestries, they depicted various creatures, from elves and faeries to dragons and witches. The air itself seemed to glitter with life.
Before her there was a grand staircase, carpeted with a blood red rug. And above, she saw as she carefully looked up, were vaulted ceilings, adorned with crystal chandeliers wide as the average man was long.
Amazed, Celine gathered the courage to draw forth the owner again. "Hello!" she yelled, desperately.
"Hello to you too" said a voice. Celine gasped, startled that she had finally been acknowledged.
Her eyes shot to the top of the stairs, where a man stood where he had surely not been a short moment ago. He began to descend the stairs, and his walk emitted a regal air.
He was a beautiful man, and not at all like the monster Celine was expecting. Surely this was not the man Father claimed wanted her. He was tall, at least a head more so than herself. His eyes were a silver grey, and shone even at this distance. His hair was pale as the moonlight that had guided Celine's path to him.
"If you do not already, in moments you will think me a villain. However, my darling Celine, I hold knowledge of those that you love, and yourself, beyond your wildest dreams. Soon, very soon, you will thank me for this." He spoke with confidence and prestige. His voice was commanding, deep, and soft.
He looked behind her, as if cueing someone do to an aforementioned task. All at once, hands gripped her arms and half dragged her forward, past this dark prince and up the steps behind him. Celine screamed. She looked to her left and to her right and saw no one. Nothing was touching her, and yet this unstoppable force pulled her forth.
The moment the shock of it all subsided, which took but a few moments, Celine parted her dark pink lips and screamed with all the breath she had left in her.
"You cannot do this, my lord! Make it stop! YOU CANNOT DO THIS!" She screamed until her voice became wispy and her words became forced, and still, the man only stared at her, looking lovely and in control.
The invisible hands took her past several hallways and doors. They traveled for so long that Celine eventually silenced herself to whimpers and hiccoughs, hung her head, and let herself be drug along.
The last door at the left end of a particularly beautiful hallway opened, again without any visible assistance. The unseen hands set her softly down on the ground, and left her there. The door closed behind her and Celine, too mentally exhausted to do anything but sob, curled into a ball on the floor and laid there.
Nothing made sense. What spirits resided here that were so apt to haunt her upon the request of that man downstairs? Father.. o Father.. he must have been so afraid.
She damned herself for having let him ever come here. She had the choice to prevent him from going or not, and she had selfishly let him go. Selfish, selfish, selfish.
She whispered the words to herself in a chant, still crying uncontrollably. She hit the carpet a few times with the side of her fist in frustration.
"You cannot keep me here! Please, sir, let me out! Let me go!". She beat softly upon the doo, which was locked.
"Please child, you will make yourself sick". A voice spoke to her. It would have been soothing if it had belonged to a body Celine could see. She saw no one.
"Oh, show yourself, I beg of you" Celine whispered through her tears.
The voice laughed. "O, I wish I could child, now more than ever. I cannot, but I am just as human as you are.. at least, I hope I am". The voice sounded as if it belonged to an older woman, perhaps in her fifties.
Celine covered her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to calm herself. She sniffled and blushed when she did so. She was acting like a child.
But who would not, if put in these circumstances?
"Come here child, on the bed" urged the voice softly. The bed covers, silken and plum in colour, sunk a few times as if being patted by a hand.
"What are you?" asked Celine, bewildered.
"Like I said, human. Now come, sit where it is comfortable" replied the invisible woman.
"What is your name?" asked Celine, refusing to move.
"Amara" came the reply.
"Why can I not see you, Amara?". Celine breathed deeply, calming herself the best she could. She felt insane speaking to something that was not there, but she had no choice, and the voice, this Amara, seemed gentle enough.
Amara sighed. "I did not expect you to ask so soon. Clever girl. So many people would still be screaming."
This information did little to comfort Celine, but she kept quiet as she awaited her answer.
"Zuriel is the name of the man downstairs. Ten years ago he made a deal with a witch. She, for a price, agreed to make all of his servants, and any that were to come, invisible, until the day.." Amara paused.
Celine, still unsure of whether she was dreaming a nightmare or not, urged Amara to continue.
"Until the day.. what?".
"Until the day you fell in love with him".
Celine gasped. How absurdly romantic, and how horrifying all at once. She felt her eyebrows knit in worry. This man was not sane. But then neither was she, speaking to invisible people.
She scarcely believed the fantasy she had just been told, but because she had no other information at the moment, she let Amara's words burn into her memory
She had heard of witches and magic, but such things were known to be unreal. Still, it was better than thinking Amara was a ghost.
"Alright" replied Celine. She had nothing else to say. She felt dazed.
She looked around the room she was in. It was a bedroom, and was every bit as luxurious as the little bit of this castle that she had seen thus far. Above the bed, which was in itself big enough for a king, was a canopy. It was pink, and adorned with lace at the bottom, which only just grazed the floor. The bed itself was covered in a multitude of pillows made of velvet and satin.
There was a wardrobe just across from the bed, though getting there would be at least a ten seconds walk due to the vastness of the room. The wardrobe was made of the same dark wood that the rest of the furniture in the bedroom was crafted from. Roses were carved in breath-taking designs around its edges.
She walked forward towards the bed and sat on it, but inches from where she knew Amara to be standing.
Amara took Celine's hand and guided it towards her face. Celine thought for a moment that the woman was going to bite her finger of, but pushed aside the morbid notion. Her fingers met soft flesh, but Celine found this so eery that she could not relax. Amara let go of Celine's hand, so that Celine could continue convincing herself the woman was human without being forced to.
Celine let her fingers travel over Amara's face. She found her lips and pushed against them slightly to ease her mind that there were no fangs hiding behind them. Amara's cheekbones were high and her eyebrows were prettily thing, and Celine imagined she must be a pretty woman.
She felt her hair, which was long and silky as could be but obviously gray. It felt slightly course, as aged hair does.
"Convinced, dear?" asked Amara. Celine swallowed, unsure of what to think. Another tear rolled down her cheek, and Celine knew she was too exhausted to think anymore.
Just this morning she was in her own bed…
"You are too tired. Rest" said Amara authoritatively. It was only because she was half sure that she was dreaming anyway that Celine let herself drift off to sleep. She did not pull back the covers, nor did she undress. Nonetheless, she was asleep within moments.
Sunlight awoke her the next morning. Celine found that opening her eyes was difficult. Tears, possibly shed through the night, had sealed them shut. She rubbed them open and peered around the room. The sunlight was pouring through three connected windows to the right of the bed. Heavy, royal purple velvet curtains graced the window's edges, and were tied back with silver tassels with perfect precision.
Her heart beat faster for a moment as she remembered last night's events. She had quite forgotten, until she had managed to open her eyes, that she was in a room that was not her own.
More surprising than waking up in a different room than she was used to, was finding herself under the covers she had fallen asleep on top of last night. She pulled them back to reveal her own body clothed in a pretty pale green night gown. The fabric it was made of was luxurious on her skin, soft and tantalizing as it was.
Remembering that she could not see the "people", if so they truly were, that resided here, Celine spoke.
"Is anyone here?"
No reply came. She was not sure if this was a relief or more cause for panic. Sighing warily, Celine stepped daintily down from the bed. She hoped that there were no monsters beneath it.
She shook her head. Her nerves must be wholly frazzled from this place if she believed in the terrors she feared when she was a little girl again.
There was a jewel green lace robe laid carefully on the end of the bed. The bed was so large that even at Celine's average female height, her feet had obviously not disturbed the garment as she had slept.
She guessed it was meant for her, but she decided not to don the thing. She felt that it was somehow rude, putting it on without asking.
She looked around for her dress. It was uncomfortable, being in a place with little of her questions answered, and not even having her own clothing on.
But then, she remembered, the dress was from Roland, and was not hers to begin with. She felt slightly frustrated. Besides, the gown was too extravagant to wear so early in the morning.
She wondered if her host-if that was what he was to be called- would be available today to speak with.
There was a bathroom to the right of the wardrobe. Its entryway was a large arch that was made of the same marble as the pillars in the palace's entry hall were made of. The floor, she saw, was a continuing of the same shimmering cold stone.
Awed, Celine stepped into the bathroom. There was a bathroom big enough to fit three of her comfortably in the middle of the room. Ruched curtains, glittering gold, were hanging, strung up, above the tub. There was a golden, tasselled rope hanging from these curtains, ready to pull them up or down for privacy's sake. A luxurious marble sink was located on the far left of the room, and a vanity was just to the right. Celine made her way over to the basin and washed her face, which was surprisingly clean and blood free despite last night's escapade.
She was both shocked and mystified that someone had been able to clean, dress, undress, and move her beneath the covers without waking her last night. Even her hair was now down and cascading down to her hips in a smooth fashion, whereas last night it had been twisted up elaborately for the ball.
She wished to see Roland now, and cursed herself for thinking such a thought. It was just… cruel as the man was.. he was at least slightly familiar. Nothing in this grandiose, fanciful castle was.
Looking in the mirror above the sink, she found that she was satisfactory to face anyone that she may see. Her confidence about her mental strength was not so great, sadly.
She went back through the bathroom archway and quietly opened the only door in the bedroom, which unsurprisingly led to a hallway. She found herself relieved that the handle had actually turned, given the doors locked state prior to this.
She stepped forth carefully, finding that compared to the plush carpeted floor of the bedroom she was just in, the marble floors of this hallway were freezing.
"Hello?" she called, before realizing perhaps this was not a wise thing to do. Stupid girl! Provided she could find her way out, she could escape from this strange place and tend to Father.
She ran then, down three different halls before she knew she was lost. This place was simply too large. She found herself in something of a knight's hall. This was strange. Such things had gone out of fashion a few centuries ago. She found it more fascinating than dated, though. There were at least twenty armour stands, and this hall was darker than the rest she has entered thus far. Wary of anything more bizarre than what she had already encountered, what with being held hostage and finding her father raving like a lunatic, she felt she could handle no more.
She spun around, looking for the right way. It was then that she spotted the robe from the bedroom, floating towards her as if it was draped over two arms. Arms that were not visible.
A scream escaped her lips before Celine could stop it. She backed away slowly, afraid that any sudden movements would cause the thing to attack her. Silly notion, she knew, but given that it was moving on its own, anything seemed currently possible.
"Hush, child! It is only me". The voice was Amara's. It brought a little comfort. Celine still felt out of her mind.
"I laid this out for you last night. Here, put it on. You will catch cold!". The robe was then held out to Celine, ready for her to put her arms into its sleeves. Swallowing hard, Celine followed the order. She saw no reason not to.
"Now then, come along. Breakfast is waiting for you. I grew worried when I did not find you in your bedroom, you know, dear" said Amara. Her voice was lively, as if kidnapping girls was a common routine here. Bewildered, Celine let the woman grab her hand and lead her along. The small burst of energy she had just put into screaming had already sapped her of her strength.
Celine stared at the ground as they walked along, not bothering to take in her surroundings. She had seen enough to know the castle's owner (whom she imagined was the man from last night) was wealthier than the king of Abilvane himself.
After only a minute's walk, an intoxicating aroma enveloped Celine. Startled, she inhaled deeply, and felt entranced at the scent. It was heavenly, like all the sweet spices in the world discovered thus far had suddenly found reason to harmonize. Hints of lavender and sugar were among the smells. The rest was unknown to her.
As they drew nearer to what must be the origin of the fragrance, as it was growing stronger, the presence of other foods became apparent. Stronger, zestier seasonings could be detected.
The double doors that Celine and Amara had been walking towards opened of their own accord. Thankfully, this was not so surprising, as Celine had seen it done already.
Behind the doors was a dining hall. Though grand in size, it was warm and inviting. Light graced the walls opposite the five or so windows that lined the wall to the left. The two chandeliers above the table were, unlike the other chandeliers Celine had seen thus far, made completely of crystal. Though the others had been dripping with the semi-precious stone, their sparkling demeanours were nothing compared to these fixtures, who cast rainbows about the room as the light struck them.
Amara paused to let Celine collect herself, and then pulled her inside the dining hall.
Zuriel was the name of the man standing beside the head of the table. Celine remembered this bit of information from last night, when Amara had told her so.
"Good morning" were Zuriel's first words. He looked dark somehow, even in a room bathed in so much light. His hair was different from last night's pony tail; it was loosely braided today. He wore a silky black coat and breaches, and though under normal circumstances Celine would feel embarrassed that she was underdressed in comparison, she thought nothing of it. Right now, she only wanted to go home, and the plethora of food that laden the table behind Zuriel was suddenly not so interesting now that her captor was in view.
"I want to go home" she said, not replying to his greeting. She had planned for her voice to come out strong. Instead, she practically whispered, and came immediately close to crying again. She covered her mouth to hide herself and turned away from him. She expected him to yell at her for her rudeness. Instead, she felt warm around encircling her waist before she would work up a proper sob.
"Oh, Celine" was all he said, and kissed her cheek.
She was so confused… She could not even push him away. He was her only comfort right now, and she would accept it for the time being.
"I want my Father" she said. "I do not know if he is alright. Please. Please. Let me go. I do not understand…. I do not-"
Zuriel cut her off quietly. "Soon you will understand. William-" he spoke the name with spite, which frightened Celine, "is just fine
"Now, I know you are hurting, but you need your strength. You will faint soon if you do not eat. Now go sit".
Celine swallowed the impending tears and did as she was told, hating that she was so apt to follow the orders of these people that she did not know.