Author's Note: My thanks to M. Diaz F for favouriting this story.


THE CASTLE IN THE SWAMP

Chapter 9

The month had only a week to go. Yuliya hadn't started on the kitchen and servants' quarters or the upper levels with the bedrooms yet, but on the ground floor of the castle there were only two rooms left to do. Yuliya thought they must be big rooms as both had large double doors. The first room was next to the dining room, and was accessible from there as well as from the hall. The second room was next to the parlour where she sat with the creature every evening and had only the entrance to the hallway. She decided to tackle at least one of them in her last week.

First Yuliya wanted to check how much work would be involved. She opened the door of the room next to the parlour, thinking that it would be the smaller of the two. The light came on as she entered. Yuliya looked around. She could not believe her eyes. A library! The creature had a library! And what kind of library! Dotted about the place were comfortable chairs inviting her to curl up with a book. Next to each chair stood a small table. Some had one or more books on them, others had a lamp or an ornament. Every wall was covered in books, floor to ceiling; a ceiling that was a dome in coloured glass, two stories higher. The colours looked rather dull because of the mud on the other side, but even that couldn't hide the majestic splendour of the library. Slowly Yuliya closed the door, not thinking about cleaning anymore. In a dreamlike state she walked past the shelves, here and there reading a title, picking up a book, reading a page and putting it back. Then she saw the book she'd started reading at home. It was lying on a table next to a comfy chair. She settled in the chair, found the place she'd gotten to at home and continued reading, completely forgetting time and place.

At lunchtime Michael had gone to the dining room, expecting to find his guest there when she hadn't answered to his knocking at her bedroom door. He waited for her to appear but when she still wasn't there after an hour he went to her room again, thinking she might have arrived there in the meantime. He knocked at the door but there was no answer. He opened the door carefully but didn't see her on the bed and when he went inside he found she wasn't anywhere in the room.

He went looking in all the other rooms she had been cleaning, getting more and more panicky, fearing she might have attempted to return to the surface. Then he noticed the bucket and mop near the library door. He didn't really expect to find her there but to his immense relief and surprise the girl was sitting in his favourite chair, deeply engrossed in a book. He recognised it as well. It was one he'd been reading.

"You read?"

He had said it before he realised what he had said.

"Of course I do," she answered rather shortly.

Then it struck her; the immaculate library, the bookmark in the book, the light that came on as she entered.

"You read as well?" she asked in amazement.

"It's my favourite pastime," Michael said.

"Mine too. I was reading this at home but I forgot to bring it."

"You can read my copy. I finished it yesterday evening."

"Yesterday eve-? Oh, you come here after you leave me at my bedroom door every evening."

"Yes. I … I find the evenings rather boring."

"Deadly," she answered.

"You only ever talked about cleaning and washing."

"I had no idea what you could be interested in."

A long pause in which neither spoke then Michael said, "So, eh, are you hungry? It is way past lunchtime."

"Actually, yes Sir, I do feel hungry. This happens all the time when I'm reading. My sisters say I would have died of hunger and thirst long ago if it hadn't been for them. I just get too engrossed in any book I read."

Michael laughed. "I do too."

After a slight hesitation he added, "Do you think you could drop the 'Sir'. My name is Michael."

"Of course, Michael, if you stop calling me 'Miss'. I'm Yuliya."

"Yuliya. Pretty name. Unusual. Shall we go then, Yuliya?"

In the dining room, considering the time, an appropriately light lunch was ready for Yuliya. During lunchtime Yuliya and Michael talked about books. She was amazed at how well read he was.

"Did you really read all those books?" she asked.

"I had nothing better to do and I've been here for … a long time."

Yuliya thought there was something strange in the way Michael hesitated before saying 'a long time'. She had the feeling he meant more years than humanly possible, not the few months or years that would be a more normal time frame.

Something suddenly occurred to Yuliya. Could Michael be the creature that was described in the papers she'd read? But if that were true he was ancient. She was wondering how to broach the subject. How do you ask someone if they are hundreds of years old? Would he tell her if she asked outright? Before she could decide what to do Michael got up, saying he still had to eat and left.

Yuliya got up as well and decided to clean the room next to the dining room first. She would resist the temptation of all those books in the library. When she opened the double doors in the dining room she saw from the size that it must be some sort of ballroom. It was enormous. The wall to the left was one row of windows, large French doors really. In a normal house they would lead out onto a terrace. These windows looked out on a wall of mud. Curtains could be closed in front of every window but they were filthy, muddy and damp.

The wall opposite the windows, to the right from where she stood had a row of mirrors. The frames of the mirrors were exact copies of the window frames. They even had curtains, though these were still in a better condition. There was no solid door in the mirror wall, so Yuliya presumed she had been mistaken about the room having doors to the hallway. Perhaps the doors in the hallway were fakes, put there across from the library doors for the sake of symmetry.

A couple of steps led from the dining room into the ballroom. On the opposite side was a stage for the musicians. When Yuliya turned to close the doors to the dining room, she saw that the inside of the doors had mirrored panels on them as well. When closed it would be an exact copy of the wall on the other side of the room, behind the stage. She had another, more careful look at the long mirror wall and eventually found the door to the hallway.

It took her all afternoon to clean one wall of mirrors. She started there so that the kitchen would be free to get rid of the curtains by the time she was ready for that job. Just before it was time to change for dinner she took the dirty curtains to the scullery. When Michael knocked at her bedroom door, Yuliya had changed into one of the dresses from the wardrobe and looked as if she'd never so much as picked up a duster in all her life.

After the meal Michael and Yuliya went to the parlour as usual, only this time they had an inexhaustible topic of conversation. They talked about and argued the merits of different books they'd read. But Yuliya's curiosity about the creature returned and eventually she asked hesitantly.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but … how old are you actually? It's been hundreds of years since the first creature was spotted. Was that you or an ancestor?"

He hesitated and then told the truth, "That was me. I am that old. I can't die."

"You're more than two hundred years old?"

"Actually, I'm more than three hundred years old."

"You've lived here all that time, in this castle under the swamp?"

"Yes, I have lived here all that time, and before you ask, on my own."

"No wonder you read all those books. It must have been so lonely."

He thought about the time he'd been there, the creature, not aware of time, just of fear. Thankfully the memory of that time was fading. After that there had been the constant battles to remain human to some extent, inwardly if not outwardly, and the increasing disgust at what he had to eat and drink to stay alive. He couldn't tell her, couldn't face the look of disgust that would surely come in her eyes.

"I … I'd rather not talk about all that."

He was silent. Yuliya thought his eyes looked haunted and wondered if he was remembering the worst of the years he had spent there all alone. She wished she hadn't mentioned it.

The rest of the evening wasted away in silence until he got up. She followed him out of the parlour.

At the door to her bedroom he said, "Good night, Yuliya."

He went away so quickly that she wasn't sure he had heard her answer, "Good night, Michael."

Yuliya went to bed, but her mind was too occupied with the things Michael had said. Three hundred years. She couldn't imagine what three hundred years of solitude would feel like. Not surprising really that he wanted a companion. She recalled the haunted look in his eyes, and wondered what memories had plagued him. She wanted to go to sleep, so she tried to empty her thoughts, think of something else, a field full of flowers, the rustling of trees in the wind. Nothing helped. Her thoughts kept returning to Michael, the creature that lived in a castle under the swamp.

After an hour tossing and turning she got out of bed and went to the library. Michael wasn't there as she had secretly hoped. Going back to bed was no use, so she took the book she'd been reading, sat in the comfortable chair and wrapped up warm in a blanket she had found lying on another chair.

Eventually she fell asleep. She woke up to a knock at the door and Michael entered the library.

"I wondered if you were here," he said, relief audible in his voice.

"I couldn't sleep and came here to read. I must have nodded off after all."

"I'm sorry about yesterday. I spoiled the evening."

"It wasn't your fault. I shouldn't have been so nosey about things you don't want to talk about. I won't ask anymore until you're ready to tell me."

He nodded. "Thank you. Do you want to change first or have breakfast first?"

"Breakfast!"

Yuliya got up, folded the blanket and put it on the sofa. She closed the dressing gown properly over the somewhat revealing nightgown and walked to the dining room. Michael looked at her sitting at the other end of the table. Her dark brown hair was cascading over the pistachio green dressing gown. It was a colour that suited her and even if she wasn't as beautiful as her sisters, she was definitely a lot prettier than he had thought.

After breakfast Yuliya washed and dressed and went to the ballroom, to continue cleaning it. She knew her month was nearly up and she wanted to finish that job at least. She did what she'd set out to do. One hour before dinner on the last day Yuliya looked at a clean ballroom. The new curtains hid the wall of mud outside, the golden chandeliers reflected the candlelight, the polished floor had a warm glow, and everything was multiplied endlessly by the mirrors.

ooOOoo

That evening Yuliya couldn't quite tell what her feelings were, knowing it was the last evening she would spend with Michael. She was elated that she would see her family again the following day, but she was also sad when she thought of Michael's loneliness. He was not just a mindless beast but a man with a keen mind that surely suffered. Neither of them said much, not at the table and not afterwards in the little parlour. They would try and talk about books – normally a subject they couldn't stop discussing – but every conversation they started soon petered out. They just sat together, not wanting to end the evening but eventually it did.

After a restless night with little sleep for both of them the morning came, the last morning, the last hour of the month. Yuliya just came out of her bedroom as Michael approached. He noticed she was wearing the dress she had arrived in.

"You're looking forward to seeing your family." It was a statement, not a question.

"I haven't seen them all month. They are probably worried about me."

"Yes, of course."

Together they went down to the dining room where breakfast was waiting for Yuliya as usual. The silence of the previous day still held them. They didn't speak until the moment Michael noticed that Yuliya hadn't eaten anything.

"Don't you want breakfast this morning?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, not really."

"You are ready to go back to your family."

"Yes, I'm looking forward to seeing them again."

"Let's go then," he said and preceded her towards the entrance hall and the front doors.

Michael opened the door and stepped into the cubicle. Yuliya followed without hesitation.

"It's best if you close your eyes, otherwise the ride could make you feel dizzy and even sick."

Without questioning him, Yuliya closed her eyes. She heard him give the command 'UP!' and then she felt the sudden rush of movement. They were going upwards at a very fast rate. To steady herself Yuliya held on to Michael which surprised him. Suddenly they stopped. Yuliya could smell the dampness of the swamp, mixed with the scent of fresh, healthy vegetation.

"You can open your eyes," Michael said and Yuliya recognised where she was and where the road started that would take her home.

"Thank you for spending this month with me. As a reward you can have a wish. Any wish will be granted, whatever it is you wish for," he added.

To his surprise Yuliya said, "I thought this month was in payment for what you did for my father. You saved his life. How can I ask for anything else?"

He smiled. "You are the first one who remembers what I did for your father. Nevertheless, you are allowed one wish."

Yuliya didn't need to think. She knew what she wanted.

"I don't know if this wish can be granted," she said, "but what I wish for is for my father and Anna to have a child together. The baby boy they've been longing for, an heir for my father."

"The wish shall be granted. I too have a wish. Would you … Could you …" He sighed, it was probably a useless question but he said it anyway. "I would love you to spend another month with me. Would you?"

Yuliya studied the creature in front of her. It was an intelligent being that could talk, read, and reason, but what was Michael really like. Her strange dark eyes looked deeper to the real personality within. Was Michael man or beast?

What she saw were two sad eyes staring out of a dense fog. Deep inside it she could discern the faintest hint of a body. Whether man or beast she could not tell. Most of all she felt Michael's loneliness like a physical pain.

"I'm going home now because my family will be waiting for me."

A slight movement in the fog and a dimming of the eyes told Yuliya that Michael had lost hope, so she quickly continued, "But tomorrow morning I will be here again, for another month."

"Thank you," he whispered and turned to go. Then he remembered he hadn't shown her the safe passage to the road. He turned back and saw her well on her way home. Had she found the way out of the swamp by sheer accident?

ooOOoo

Yuliya walked home slowly. She had a lot to think about and that she could do best when alone. She realised it would not be easy to convince her father and Anna that she should go back into the swamp to the creature. There were so many arguments against it, and only her promise to counter them. What other reason could she give for what she knew she had to do?

Before she had found an answer to that question she arrived at the house. She went round the back and straight to the morning room. She stopped in the doorway, looking at her family. Her father, Anna, her sisters, she had missed them and would miss them if she returned to Michael.

They were still having breakfast. The smells wafted towards her: eggs and bacon, her father's favourite; toasted bread for Anna and Irina; coffee for the three of them; sweet pastries and hot chocolate for Annushka. There was another smell. Yuliya smiled.

"Could I have a cup of the delicious tea I smell?" she asked.

Everyone jumped up shouting her name.

"Yuliya, you're back!"

"We've missed you!"

"Thank God it's over now!"

Yuliya was embraced and kissed by everyone. Her sisters pulled her inside and to the table where a place was set for her. They poured tea in her cup, and Annushka put one of the pastries on her sister's plate.

"We thought you would be back today," said Anna.

"I'm so glad you're back, Yuliya," said her father. "Now we can forget all this nonsense and continue our lives as normal."

Yuliya decided it was best to tell her family straight away.

"It's not that simple, Father. I'm only here for a day. Tomorrow morning I'm going back."

"What? Why would you want to go back to that awful creature?" Irina shouted.

"It's just too horrid," Annushka cried.

Anna put her arm around the youngest girl to comfort her.

"Why would you do a thing like that? We've done what that beast asked. We owe it nothing," her father said.

"He's lonely, and I promised I would go back to him for another month."

They all started talking at the same time. They were angry, worried, upset, afraid, troubled but whatever they said, whether they begged, cajoled or threatened, Yuliya remained determined.

"I promised," she kept repeating. "I promised."

When words didn't change Yuliya's mind they tried to convince her in a different way. The whole day she was treated as if she was precious porcelain. They did everything to show her how much they appreciated her, hoping she would change her mind. She didn't.

Shortly before the evening meal the family sat together in the parlour. Martin was reading his newspaper, Anna and Annushka were busy with their favourite embroidery, and Irina was reading a book on accountancy. Yuliya felt the warmth of the family and their togetherness keenly. She remembered two sad, lonely eyes and she wished she could take some of the feeling back to Michael.

Annushka put her work in her sewing basket and joined Yuliya on the sofa.

"Yuliya, I'm in love," she whispered, and she told Yuliya about the wonderful man she had met.

"He's everything I hoped he'd be. He's so tall and handsome. And his eyes, he's got such beautiful eyes, as green as emeralds."

Yuliya smiled and listened patiently. She could tell her sister was really taken with this man.

"It wasn't because of his looks I first noticed him, you know," Annushka continued. "I heard him recite poetry, and it was absolutely perfect. He has such a rich deep voice. He writes his own poetry as well, such lovely poems. And every day he brings a new bunch of roses."

"Is he a well-known published poet then?" Yuliya asked.

"No, he writes his poems just for me. Isn't that so sweet?"

"And what does he do for a living? Is he a merchant like Father?"

"I don't know what he does," answered Annushka. "It doesn't matter anyway. I love him and he loves me."

"And you two are going to live on love and sunshine?"

"Don't mock me, Yuliya. Irina does that all the time. Everything will be fine, you'll see. We love each other. That's all that matters, surely."

"If he can take care of you, then it is indeed all that matters."

Not long after Annushka's sweetheart arrived.

"Yuliya, you won't … you know … 'look' at him, will you?" Annushka quickly whispered.

"If you don't want me to I won't," Yuliya replied.

The elegantly dressed man came towards them. Yuliya found him very handsome, with a genuine smile. She could see why her sister had fallen for him, and really had to stop herself from 'looking' as Annushka had called it.

Annushka introduced them.

"Yuliya, this is Felix. Felix, this is my sister Yuliya."

Felix proved to be a pleasant young man but he seemed as much an airhead as Annushka. He was very noncommittal about what he did for a living, and Yuliya could not get him to give his opinion on anything serious. Could Felix be a good husband for Annushka? True, her sister would have a sizable dowry but that wouldn't last forever especially as both Annushka and Felix seemed to like a certain style of life. Yuliya was sure that the two were deeply in love, but nothing disappears quite as quickly as love when the debt collector keeps knocking at the door.

After dinner they returned to the parlour and Annushka asked Felix to recite some of his poetry. Yuliya had to admit it was not only a lot better than she had expected, but actually very good.

The evening went by pleasantly without further badgering for Yuliya, mainly thanks to the presence of Felix who kept the family entertained. Yuliya thought about Michael, the creature, all alone in his underground palace, with nobody to talk to. Somehow, all the efforts of her family to create a warm, wonderful evening, made her more determined to go back.

Next morning she came down for breakfast, ready to leave immediately afterwards.

"Oh, no!" cried Annushka. "You're going back to that horrible place."

"You're absolutely mad. It's only an animal," was Irina's opinion.

"You know a lot of animals that read books, do you?" asked Yuliya. "Whatever he looks like, he's an intelligent being and the loneliness is really tough on him."

"You feel very strongly about this, don't you?" Martin asked.

Yuliya nodded. "Yes, father, I do."

"Then you must go, especially since you promised."

"Thank you, father." She kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you. You won't worry about me, won't you? I'll be fine, I promise."

"Of course we'll worry!" Annushka cried.

"You're going back to a beast," Irina said.

"Annushka, I 'looked' at him. Irina, I 'pried' as you call it. There is nothing to be afraid of."

Her sisters weren't totally convinced yet that she should go back, but they no longer tried to stop her.

ooOOoo