Early that morning after the mirror incident, I heard a strange sound coming from the attic. I sat up from my bed and drowsily pulled off the covers. As my feet touched the cool floor, the sound echoed again throughout the house.
What is that noise?
I walked as quietly to my door and opened it, lazily shutting it behind me. I walked through the den to hear the sound coming from the kitchen now. I turned from the staircase and began to walk towards the kitchen door, I grabbed a poker from the fire as always and made ready for what I feared most. I peered from the doorway to see Father Pritchard standing awkwardly at the door.
"Oh my." He said, chuckling as he saw the hot poker in my hands, "just as always, you are ready for anything. Aren't you Madame Demira?"
"Oh yes as always. Good morning Father Pritchard, what brings you so early? Lessons?" I inquired, yawning as I went to put the poker back in the fire.
"Oh forgive me Madame, but I'm afraid I am not here for lessons." He said, his voice wavering a bit as he dabbed his brow with his handkerchief.
"Then why are you here? What has happened?" I asked, feeling an odd sense of worry flood into my heart.
"It's... It's Nicole." He stammered, dabbing his brow once more.
"Nicole? What has she done?!" I exclaimed as I stared intensely into Father Pritchard's worried eyes.
"She has done nothing wrong, truly. Last night though, someone was in the church, playing one of the pianos, frightening one of the prayers that had come in. Madame Cassandra, I believe. She ran from the church screaming something about a ghost. Crazy fool." He replied, chuckling a bit.
Ghost...
"Thank you Father, it won't happen again. I assure." I said as I turned to go up the stairs.
"Madame," he called, "Don't be too hard on her. She is only a child."
"Child or no she knows the rules. I've told her so many times to not leave this house unless she went to the garden," I replied, walking up the stairs. "I shall be back in a moment."
I climbed to the top of the stairs to hear stirring within.
"Nicole?" I asked as I knocked on her door, "I must speak with you. Open the door."
No reply.
"Nicole, open the door." I ordered, knocking harder on her door.
Still no reply. After a moment or so of frustrated waiting, I took the key from my dress and unlocked her door.
"Nicole?" I inquired as I opened her door.
I peered inside to see her lying in the corner of her room, cradling something in her bloody arms, as she slept.
"What in God's name!" I cried, waking her from her slumber.
"What happened?" I asked rushing to Nicole's side.
"They tried to kill it." She replied wearily, as she revealed a young fox pup in her arms, "I wasn't going to let them hurt it. They saw me and started throwing rocks at me."
"Who? Who was throwing rocks at you?" I inquired, anger rushed through my veins.
"The girls. The... The one's at the church." She replied, her eyes beginning to close, "Can it stay?"
I felt my heart break as her eyes closed and the young fox pup curled up in her lap.
"Of course." I breathed as I stormed out the door, running into Father Pritchard who was waiting at the door.
"What has happened?" he inquired confused.
"Tend to her wounds. There are things I must do." I replied as I stormed down the stairs.
"What has happened?" he asked again as he followed behind me.
"Tend to her wounds! If you don't I shall!" I cried as I went down the stairs.
"Madame, please!" he exclaimed as he came down after me.
"You knew and you didn't tell me?!" I growled as I turned abruptly to face him.
"Knew what?!" he replied, shocked at my tone.
"You let them do this to her didn't you?!" I growled even louder, grabbing a poker from the fire and holding it near his face.
"Madame, please. What are you talking about?" he stammered, falling back into the wall as I walked towards him, the gleaming red poker in hand.
"You let them hurt her didn't you?!" I screamed as I thrust the poker at him, stopping an inch from his face.
He began to sweat profusely and he only began to speak when I withdrew the poker.
"Madame... I didn't think they would..."
"YOU BASTARD!!! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!!!" I cried as I grabbed his collar and threw him into the kitchen.
"Madame! I was only trying too..." he exclaimed as he fell to the floor.
"Trying to WHAT?! Torment her just to amuse the children? You sick man. You call yourself a man of God?! You are worse than the townspeople that plague this land. GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" I growled as I went for the poker again.
He got up quickly and dashed out the door, trying to call back to me. I shut the door on his words...
The bastard...
He made me sick... As I shut and locked the door, I heard his cries die out. After I made sure he was gone, I went upstairs to tend to Nicole.
I entered her room in a haste, bandages and disinfectant in hand.
"Nicole?" I whispered, waking the young fox pup, "Nicole?" I asked again, gently shaking her shoulder, that's when I noticed the small pool of blood lying at her side.
Her breath was shallow and fast as I began to search for the wound. I lifted her cool arm gently to reveal a gash in her side, along with a cut on her forehead and a few bruises on her pale arms. The side of her dress was soaked in blood from the wound on her side.
Damn children... Why did he let them do this?
The young fox sat and watched intensely and I treated my daughter's wounds. As I finished and laid my daughter in her bed, covering her with a quilt, the young fox crawled up on her bed and slept next to her.
My heart fell to pieces as it scooted closer to her. I heard her sigh as she gently laid her arm over the young fox and drifted off into a painful sleep, only to be comforted by the young foxes soft hair; I sat and watched for a while as Nicole slept. When she would begin to have a nightmare, as she mostly did, or the pain would become intense, the young fox would lick her hand and scoot ever closer to her...
Comfort... Now she won't be alone...
Before I shut the attic door and went to bed, I noticed something peculiar about the young fox.
A blue eye? It is unique, like Nicole... Now she won't be alone...
