Chapter 14: Madam Stravinski

Steve was sitting in the plane on his way to the capital of Britain. He had formed a plan the minute he had left Rose Red. Before going to the airport, he went to visit Madame Lu. He had asked her where he could find the woman she had talked about some years ago. Madame Lu had told him that Madam Stravinski could be found in London so that was where he was headed now. Rose Red and Ellen Rimbauer had to be stopped for once and for all, and as far as he knew this might be the only way and his only chance to get his wife and children back. After many hours he finally arrived in the city. However, since it was late in the evening, he decided that he would first go and sleep a night at the hotel before visiting the lady the following morning.

When he woke the following morning, he felt like he hadn't slept at all. Whole night it had been haunting him whether he had made the right decision. Perhaps it hadn't been save at all to leave Ellen behind on her own, especially now that she was pregnant. However, there was no returning now and after a quick breakfast he left the hotel. He didn't know exactly where madam Stravinski lived, but Madame Lu had told him where he was most likely to find her and given him an old picture. So he started his search simply walking along the streets, shops and all other places Madame Lu had said back in Seattle. In his hand the old picture and his eyes on everyone that walked by him.

With a little confidence he walked the first few days, for in him was a little hope that soon it would all end. He also asked some people whether they knew her, or knew where she lived or was now. However, as already a week passed without any sign of a woman like the one on the picture, the last hope he had also left him. Still he went out every day from morning till the evening waiting to see her, to find her or to hear from her. After a fortnight of searching, Steve was starting to feel truly desperate and fearful that Rose Red could never be stopped. His searches grew less and he didn't spent whole days walking through London anymore, most of the time he just lay on his hotel bed, staring at the ceiling trying not to think of what still might be to come if he went home alone again. Again more than a week past without a change. Until the telephone rang in his small hotel room.

'Hello?' Steve asked indifferently.

'Good morning, sir Rimbauer. I have someone here who wants to speak with you,' the receptionist told him with a cheerful voice.

'Who is it?' was Steve's short reply.

'It is an old lady, who tells me you were looking for her. Her name is Stravinski.'

At once Steve shot up right on his bed now fully awake and his attention focused. 'Sent her up, please.'

'As you wish, sir,' the receptionist said before hanging up.

Steve bounced out of bed, quickly combed his hair and put on a new shirt. He was just straightening his pants still as good as he could in a few seconds when there was a soft knock on the door. He nearly ran to the door to open it as fast as he could. Before him stood indeed Madam Stravinski, there was no mistaking her for she looked precisely the same as on the old photograph.

'Welc... Uhm, good morning, Madam Stravinski,' Steve stuttered.

'Good morning, Steve,' her voice was soft and pleasant with an accent and didn't seem to fit at all with her age, 'May I come in?'

'Of course, come in, come in,' he said hurrying inside so that she could follow. 'I'm sorry for the small room and the mess in here.'

'Never mind, what we have to talk about is a far greater problem and it doesn't include this room, city or even this country. All we have to worry about is your house back in Seattle.'

Steve looked at her with surprise and somewhat shock in his eyes. 'How do you know all of this about me?'

'Because I am not just any woman and I have seen things in my past you wouldn't even dare to dream of. One of those things is Rose Red and unfortunately I reckon you have by now seen just as much as me there. But some of my information I simply got from one of my friends, whom you questioned about me. As soon as she told me you name, Rimbauer, I knew what I was headed for and decided to find you, for people don't just come to me for a simple reason. And I thought that your problem with your name might just be the house. Am I correct?' she answered.

'Well, yes you are,' was all Steve could say.

'Good, then we are up for a though job. I know Rose Red of course from my time with the old lady Ellen Rimbauer, I encountered its powers in that time and I know that it is haunted in many ways. So it is easy for you, you don't have to convince me of your problem, but you do need to tell me everything that has happened there since you moved in. Because the house might be old by now, but ghosts and spirits never grow old, they can only become stronger. It would therefore be a good idea if I know what we're going to fight against once we enter it, because coming into Rose Red unprepared can be very dangerous as you know very well yourself. Let's travel back to your home at once and not lose any time. During the way you can tell me everything. Get packed here and I will see you at noon in front of your hotel.'

'Okay,' said Steve quietly.

'Until then, Steve,' she ended, walking towards the door already.

'Wait, before you leave, I want to thank you already for your help,' Steve said, standing up as well.

'Don't worry, for I am the only one that can help you.'

'May, may I ask you a question?' Steve asked hesitating.

'Certainly, you may always ask a question, but whether you'll get an answer that is the real question.'

'How old are you?'

The old lady smiled. 'I will not tell you, for if I did, you wouldn't believe me. Keep it to very old, then I have not told a lie either.'

And with this note she left the room and left Steve to pack his stuff together with his heart full of some new sort of hope and his mind buzzing with questions and memories.

Steve did as he was told and informed Madam Stravinski of everything that had happened yet in Rose Red as far as he could remember. Though some parts were hard for him, and until know he had hidden them in a far corner of his mind, he now had to relive it all, like the disappearance of his little daughter Emma. While he talked, miles flew past as they headed towards Seattle.

Finally after many hours, their trip was to an end and Steve was nearly hoarse from talking as they stood together in front of the gates through which they could already see Rose Red.

'Rose Red has grown much with Ellen at its side,' Madam Stravinski said quietly.

'Yes, we had some new things built over the time,' Steve answered, thinking she meant the new wing.

'I didn't just mean the work of men,' she whispered mysteriously. 'Your other children are not at home at this time?'

'No, they are both at boarding school and will stay there until the holidays,' Steve replied taken aback a little.

'Good, that's good. Now take me inside.'

Steve nodded and they walked slowly towards the house's waiting front door. Steve was slightly afraid of what he might find on the inside and in what mood Ellen would be in if he suddenly came home a few weeks after he left so quick. With lead in his shoes, he opened the door and entered the dark house. For a moment he even thought he could hear the house laughing at his return, but he shook his head and told himself it was his imagination. Madam Stravinski stood quietly behind him in the hall as the door closed with a loud blow in the total silence. Steve took a deep sigh.

'Ellen? Ellen, are you at home?' he called into the house.

At first there was not a sound that answered him, but then he heard a door slam somewhere on the first floor and footsteps running towards the staircase.

'Steve, is that you?' her voice asked with doubt before she had even reached the stairs. Then she came around the corner at the top of it. She was wearing some old clothes, and her eyes were red. Her belly had grown since he had left, even under the wide shirt he could see the small rounding. When she saw him, tears welled up in her eyes and she flew down the stairs.

'I was so scared here all alone,' she sobbed as she threw her arms around him.

'I'm glad you are fine,' Steve said shocked with this welcome, which he had least of all expected.

'Oh I am so sorry. And I see you brought someone with you. Who is your friend?' Ellen asked smiling through her tears.

Madam Stravinski hadn't moved a muscle since she had entered the house, not even with the scene in front of her, and she hadn't made a sound. Steve had for a moment nearly forgotten that she was there from shock of Ellen's greeting.

'Ellen, I would like you to meet Madam Stravinski. She is ... an old friend of my mother and is here to ... to visit some old friends and help us in the house,' Steve invented quickly.

'Well everyone is welcome here in Rose Red,' Ellen said smiling and extending her arm to shake hands with the woman.

'I thank you for your hospitality,' Madam Stravinski said, but she kept both of her hands firmly together on her suitcase.

Ellen stood there for a few seconds, looked at her with curiosity and then took her hand back offended.

'Let me show you your room,' she said turning away and her voice slightly colder now.

Steve gave her a little nod, and Madam Stravinski followed Ellen up the stairs with Steve bringing up the rear.

Once they were all settled in, Ellen excused herself and went to the kitchen to cook something warm for them. Steve hadn't yet decided what he was going to do, when Madam Stravinski came to ask for him.

'Will you please come with me into the garden for a moment?'

'Sure, that's fine. This way,' he answered and as he was leading the way, he wondered why she wanted to go there.

Once they were by a fountain somewhere in the garden, Madam Stravinski stopped walking and sat down at the stone edge. Steve turned around towards her and looked into her eyes.

'Steve, we have somewhat of a problem. Please don't interrupt me,' she said as Steve started to open his mouth, 'I know your wife seems all friendly again and normal, but she is far from this. Ellen is not herself at this time, she is being possessed by the ghost of old lady Rimbauer. The only reason that she was acting this friendly, is because she felt my presence, she knows me and what I can do, so she is careful to act. You have to pretend like you don't know my true intentions here just like you did before, because otherwise you will get a ghost as your enemy and trust me this ghost is not one that you want haunting you. To be even clearer, she will murder you if she has to. However, I noticed something rather important, she is pregnant. You didn't tell me this.'

As she stopped talking and looked sternly at him, Steve knew it was his time to talk now. 'It completely slipped my mind to tell you this. Is this a problem? And what do we do now? Can you save us? Will you save us? How long will it take? I don't know for how long I can lie to her without her knowing my true intentions, perhaps she already knows I was lying to her. And is it just Ellen Rimbauer's ghost that is our problem, or is there more going on here?'

'First, yes Ellen's pregnancy makes it more difficult, because I'm sure you don't want to lose the baby. However, this might be difficult even though I'll do my best to save it. As for what we do know, for now we will wait and I will observe first before I act. I don't know how long it will take yet, but not just a day, because Rose Red has grown stronger than ever before. It might be that Ellen already knows that both of us have returned here to bring her down, but for now we should appear ignorant to that. And let's say that Ellen Rimbauer's ghost is our greatest problem since she has most influence through your living wife and as long as she stands strong, there are more things we should be cautious about then just Ellen. Because Rose Red is only a house, but it is a house with many spirits that it has captured to strengthen it. Both of us must be careful, but at the same time act normal. As soon as I know enough, we will go into action. Don't talk to me about any of this inside the house, because the walls of this house truly have ears and hear everything to pass on to Ellen, so only here in the garden we speak of this.'

Chapter 15: Dark encounters