Author's Note: Thank you to coolcat 12345 for the review. Thanks to LocoRoco143 for following. Thank you savethemadscientist for the review and for following. And for following and making the story a favourite thank you to AoiHoshi26.
THE CASTLE IN THE SWAMP
Chapter 8
The next day Martin took his oldest daughter Yuliya to the meeting-point. Again Michael was waiting for his new companion to arrive. He already knew that she was definitely not as beautiful as her sisters, and wondered what she would be like. When she looked straight at him, he felt uncomfortable under the scrutiny of her dark eyes; as if she was looking right into the deepest recesses of his mind.
"This is my oldest daughter," Martin said. "She's the last daughter to spend a month with you. At the end of this month my debt to you is paid. Is that correct?"
"It is, and I thank you for your trust in me, Sir," Michael said. Then he addressed Yuliya, "This way, Miss."
Yuliya followed Michael into the swamp. They stopped near the flagstone.
"The stone will take us down. I need you to stand on it and shut your eyes, Miss."
Yuliya did as she was told, and Michael noticed she was not worried that he stood quite close to her. In no time they arrived at the front door of the underground castle.
Yuliya knew she would be taken to a castle, but hadn't realised how beautiful if was, or rather had once been. The doors opened to a circular hall. Three tall, narrow windows on either side of the door would have flooded the place with light. Three mirrors either side of the entrance to the rest of the place completed the circle. Both windows and mirrors were surrounded by intricate stucco work. Though it was totally surrounded by mud, there was still a strange kind of light in the castle. It reminded Yuliya of the day of the solar eclipse. Though only a very partial eclipse, it had affected the daylight. It had not resembled dawn or dusk, perhaps because it hadn't changed in intensity, and that had made it strange and spooky. It was that sort of light that illuminated the castle.
Just like her sisters Yuliya was shown to the bedroom. It would have been a pretty room if it hadn't been so grubby everywhere. Or nearly everywhere as Yuliya found. She noticed that the corner farthest away from the door was clean. The bed and a small table and chair standing in front of some drawn curtains were spotless. Yuliya opened the curtains that covered the entire wall and revealed two windows. They looked out on a wall of mud that had oozed through the window frames here and there judging by the stains of dried up dirt everywhere, even on the back of the curtains. Yuliya had expected it to stink but instead of the putrid smell of a swamp there was the rich earthy smell of springtime, lush and fertile.
Yuliya sat down on the chair and waited. Perhaps the creature would come back. Time ticked away slowly. Boredom was starting to set in when she suddenly heard a knock at the door and a voice said, "The table is set for lunch, Miss. I'll escort you to the dining room."
Yuliya opened the door and there was the creature. She followed it to the dining room, where one half of the large table was set for an extensive lunch. Just like in the bedroom only certain things were clean. The side of the table that had the food on, and the chair at that end were spotless. Michael held out the clean chair and invited her to sit. Yuliya thought it strange that all the food was standing on that side of the table. The creature went to the other end of the table and sat down. There wasn't even a plate in front of him.
"Aren't you going to eat, Sir?" Yuliya asked when she saw the strange arrangement.
"I eat separately, Miss. I hope you'll enjoy the food," Michael answered.
Irina had said the food was barely edible but Yuliya found that there was nothing wrong with it. Perhaps it was not quite as good as what she was used to, but it was certainly satisfactory.
After lunch Michael escorted her back to her room where she was left until dinnertime. Yuliya slept a bit, more out of boredom than tiredness, and then looked in the wardrobe, bedside tables and drawers. These were full of clothes that were not only clean, but new and in her size. Yuliya didn't know what to think of that. Was she supposed to change the dress she wore for one of the new dresses? Were they meant for her? For the time being she decided to leave them.
She opened the door in one of the walls and discovered a bathroom. This too was reasonably clean. When she had looked at everything she had nothing left to do except sit down. That's when Yuliya knew she could not do this for a whole month. She decided she would ask her host if she could at least clean her room.
At dinnertime Michael was back to escort her to the dining room. Again only one side of the table had food on it. Yuliya ate in silence. She looked at her host occasionally and saw he seemed deep in thought.
Unexpectedly he asked her, "Would you mind spending the evening with me, Miss?"
Yuliya looked up.
"That would be nice, Sir. The evening could be rather long and boring otherwise."
He just nodded and looked at her while she finished eating.
"There will be coffee in the parlour, Shall we go now?"
"Yes," she said and got up.
"This way, Miss."
She followed him into a parlour where an open fire was burning merrily. How this could be in a castle deep under a swamp she didn't know and she wasn't going to worry about it. She was at the bottom of a swamp with a creature that had invited her to have a cup of coffee with him. That was strange enough. So why not accept any other strangeness this place had to offer?
Near the fire stood two comfortable chairs and a low table with a coffeepot, sugar bowl and creamer, and one cup and saucer. Here too Yuliya noticed that just that little area was clean while the rest of the room looked grubby. She also noticed that the lights were on. That's when she realised they had come on everywhere in the castle. It was as if at sundown the strange daylight had disappeared and artificial light had been switched on everywhere. The castle had its own daytime and night-time.
Michael poured a cup of coffee for his guest.
"Cream and sugar, Miss," he asked.
"No, thank you," she answered.
She drank her coffee in silence, thinking about her strange host and the state of the underground castle. Why did this creature have a castle and not a hole in the ground? Where did it get the obviously once expensive furniture? Why would a swamp creature need furniture? Why did a creature that looked like some animal, a beast from the swamp, talk and act like a human, a gentleman even?
Yuliya had hoped that the creature would start speaking, but it sat in the other chair, staring in the fire and casting an occasional glance in her direction. With neither of them speaking, the evening was becoming as boring as the whole day had been.
Finally Yuliya asked, "Would you mind if I cleaned up my room, Sir? I can't just stay in it all day without doing something. Besides, I'm sorry to say, it is in dire need of some cleaning."
"If you can find what you need for the job, you can go right ahead. I don't want you to be bored for a whole month."
"Thank you."
Nothing more was said by either of them until Yuliya heard the creature say, "It's late. Time for bed I think. Would you allow me to take you to your room, Miss?"
Yuliya nodded and without touching her, Michael accompanied her to the door of her bedroom.
He bowed to her, said "Good night!" and was gone before she could answer.
ooOOoo
The following morning, after she'd had breakfast and the creature had escorted her back to her room, Yuliya went in search of something to clean her room with. She thought the kitchen would be the best place to start. The entrance was most likely one of a row of doors that were hidden by the elaborate staircase. After opening a few doors to storage rooms and what must have been the servants' dining room, Yuliya found the right door. It opened smoothly and noiselessly.
What she saw then frightened and repulsed her. The creature was tearing a grey-green growth from the walls and gorging itself on it. The tap was running with a thick liquid of the same colour. Occasionally the creature cupped its hands under the liquid and then drank it. The putrid smell that pervaded the kitchen was nearly unbearable.
Yuliya realised she must have made a noise when the creature turned towards her and snarled.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to disturb you. I was just looking for something to clean my room with," she said as calmly as she could.
The eyes of the creature that were purely animal changed. They didn't become suddenly human, neither did they slowly change. To Yuliya it seemed as if there was a battle raging in the creature between the animal and an intelligent being. The eyes changed depending on what part of the creature had the upper hand.
Eventually the intelligence won and a voice that sounded embarrassed said, "I'm sorry you had to see this, but this is the only way I can eat this. Would you … Could I …. Please, don't come into the kitchen immediately after mealtimes. I would prefer if you didn't see me like that."
"Of course, Sir," Yuliya answered.
The creature opened the door to a cupboard.
"I think you'll find everything you need in here."
"Thank you," she said, grabbed brooms, cloths, a bucket and anything else she could think of, and headed back to her room as quickly as possible.
Yuliya started to clean the room immediately. She was only interrupted for lunch and stopped before dinner, thinking the creature might want her to spend the evening together again. That was exactly what happened and like the previous evening they sat together without speaking a word until it was time for bed.
The next day Yuliya finished cleaning her room and bathroom. It had taken longer than expected, but once finished the room looked even better than expected. The day had been very much like the previous days including having coffee in the parlour. Again the creature didn't talk.
One thing's for sure, thought Yuliya. I have to do something or go completely mad. The month has only started and I'm bored to death. I could clean this place, just to keep busy. Will he let me, though? I'm sure he doesn't mind the filth but I hardly dare touch anything.
It didn't take Yuliya long to decide she would ask. After all, she had nothing to lose.
"Sir," Yuliya hesitated, then went ahead and asked, "Would you mind if I did a bit more cleaning. The dining room for instance, or this place."
The creature looked up and stared at her. She started to think she wasn't going to get an answer.
"You don't need to ask me if you want to do something, Miss. If cleaning will keep you busy, fine, go right ahead."
Michael had had such high hopes after saving the merchant. Three girls, three possibilities, three chances of finding a companion. What a disappointment. The first one had been too scared to even look at him. The second one had not been scared, but had obviously found him revolting. This girl was not disgusted by him, but that was probably because she lacked the imagination for it. She never talked except to ask him if she could do some cleaning. She clearly lacked intelligence. He sighed.
"I think it's time for bed," he said even though it was at least an hour earlier than the previous evening.
He escorted the girl to her room and went to the library. He could finish his book. That way the evening would not be a total waste.
ooOOoo
Immediately after breakfast next morning Yuliya started on the dining room. Not that she was all that keen on cleaning, but she had to do something. Besides, you could actually see the result of all the hard work. And it was nicer to be in a clean place; that could not be denied. Just like in her bedroom she found that the furniture was in far better condition than expected. Once clean they looked like expensive antiques in pristine condition. The parlour too looked brighter once she had finished there. After those two rooms she had started on the hallway and had stumbled upon a surprise: a clean room. Actually it was more a walk-in cupboard full of clean linen, curtains, tablecloths; everything was there, all freshly washed. Yuliya didn't ask but changed the curtains in the rooms she had already cleaned, then put the old curtains in the scullery next to the kitchen. She would deal with them later. When she went back to add some more, the first load had disappeared.
That evening, when she was in the now clean parlour with the creature she decided to ask him.
"Something strange happened today, Sir," she started. "A pile of curtains that needed washing disappeared from the scullery where I had put them."
"That's the castle," Michael interrupted. "It must have presumed you wanted them cleaned. They'll turn up in the linen room in time."
"Oh!"
"Yes."
Yuliya wanted to talk some more but what could you talk about with a creature? What was it interested in? What did it do all day?
Michael had similar thoughts. He didn't know what to talk about to his guest. Cleaning? Washing? That was all she seemed interested in. He couldn't imagine spending more than a month with this girl, never mind a lifetime.
ooOOoo
