12.
~ It was before dawn when she finally woke up. She had somehow slept all day and night without further incident. Her mind still felt tired, and too much had happened.
She pulled herself out of the bed and stumbled into her shoes. Arthur must have given her something to help her sleep and put her to bed with her clothes still on. The vision of Eames commuting suicide in front of her, still flashed before her each time she closed her eyes. It had been real and Arthur could never convince her it was just a dream.
She had a plan. A way to prove that something was wrong with what Arthur was telling her.
On soundless feet, she went downstairs. The castle feeling full of ghosts who were silent and hiding from her.
Night time crickets and morning birds were singing in perfect harmony as she hurried over to the stables.
Perseus was waiting for her. His tail flicking as he trotted to her.
"You just take it slow and steady." Ariadne warned him as she stood on a chair and climbed on his back. Perseus seemed to understand and allowed her to climber on his back without a saddle. She lightly rested her hands on his neck and he began a slow, steady trot to the trail she and Arthur had gone down.
The woods were eerie in the predawn night. An owl hooted over them as Perseus' white coat seem to glow magically. She almost missed the faint trail that led to the cemetery and shivered from the sight of the old gates.
Perseus waited patiently as she fell off his back and onto the soft grass. The cemetery was unlocked and it's gates standing open and waiting for her. She slipped inside and could barely make out the head stones as the dawn poked through the trees.
"Rose Blunt." She whispered as her hands passed over a weathered headstone. The dates showing she died in 1845. There were others who died in 1845 as well. The family that died during the storm. There were plenty of stones before that. The oldest ones so weathered and worn she couldn't make out the names.
"Andrew Blunt." Ariadne whispered. Looking over the stones. "Andrew Blunt." She said again. Something was wrong. There was no Andrew Blunt. The Civil War solider had surely returned to Blackwood Castle. His uniform still hung in a close on the second floor.
She put her hand on Drews Blunt's head stone. The poor artist was only 17 when she threw herself off the tower.
She spotted a shinny new head stone. One that had been readied for Grace. Prepared for her death and burial at the Blunt Family Cemetery. The date of her death not yet carved into the stone. Her grave freshly dug and the old woman laid to rest.
Grace Eames
Cherished Daughter
A quick, funeral while Ariadne had been sleeping.
"Cherished daughter?" She repeated running a hand over the stone. She spotted a stone next to Grace's. Her mother's. A woman named Annabel Eames. A woman who died in 1925.
Where was Grace's father? Why wasn't he buried next to her?
She shook her head. She had to keep her mind focused.
"Archibald." Ariadne whispered. "Where's Archibald?"
If he was still alive, and so old, surely he would have a stone ready like Grace had done. Arthur had said that all of the Blunt family was buried here. Where was Archibald's stone?
She spied another newer stone close to Grace's. Hoping it was Archibald's she was shocked to see another name.
Malory Cobb.
Beloved wife and mother.
Her date of birth was almost seventy years ago but her death date had not yet been fixed to the stone. The ground where she was to rest was hard and undisturbed.
"Dom called her Mal." Ariadne whispered. Feeling her heart race.
Malory was a beloved wife, where was her husband's stone?
She noticed there was a strange gap. There was only a smattering of relatives after 1845. A few men and women who died at the turn of the century. Mostly from old age. Annabel Eames being the most recent before Grace.
Where were Arthur's parents? Grace said they died a long time ago. They had to have died after 1925. Where was James and Phillipa's father? If their mother was that old already, sure their father was already dead and buried here. Where was he? Where was Eames' parents? Where was Grace's husband? Where was Andrew? Where was Archibald?
The sound of hoof beats made her heat stop. She could sense that someone was coming for her.
~ Quicker then she thought possible, she ducked down behind Grace's stone and scrambled out of the cemetery. Hiding behind a tree as she watched Arthur and Dom ride up to the gray. Perseus snorting rudely at Arthur as the man dismounted and stalked angrily into the cemetery.
Ariadne tried not to breath too heavy as she was so close to her pursuers. She was afraid of them as Dom looked over the green trees and tricky light.
"She's not here!" Arthur growled as he stormed out of the cemetery.
"Maybe the horse threw her." Dom offered. "She didn't saddle him. Maybe she fell somewhere."
"We would have spotted her." Arthur said. His voice cold and angry. Ariadne trembled behind the tree and she dared not peek out at them.
She crouched lower as Arthur started shouting her name.
"Ariadne!" He shouted. His voice making even the birds stop their singing in fear.
"Arthur, she must have gone back to the house." Dom said shifting in his saddle. The two men giving a halfhearted search of the woods. Ariadne creeping low in the tall bushes. Only Perseus watching her with interest.
"She rode him here, Dom." Arthur said.
"Arthur, she's not here." Dom said. "She's back at the house. Let's go." Dom said pulling his horse around and cantering out of the forest. Arthur stayed to a little longer. His eyes searching for Ariadne. She stayed perfectly still. Laying on the moss floor. Praying he wouldn't spot her.
She heard a slap and a horse whinnied. Thundering hooves beating on the ground as the animal ran back towards the castle.
An inner voice told her to stay still. Don't move an inch. That Arthur was still there, waiting for her. Waiting for her to jump out of the bushes and give herself away. She listened to the birds singing and finally she heard Arthur mounting the bay. It's hooves making a distinct noise as it trotted away.
She waited for a long time before daring to peek out of her hiding place.
Arthur and the horses were gone. She was alone.
~ 'He must have slapped Perseus and sent him back home riderless.' She mused as she walked slowly back tot he castle. 'He thought that would trick me.'
She intended to make a roundabout way to her car and leave. Not say a word to James and Phillipa. Not ask after Eames or thank these strange people for their kindness. She wondered if they would let her leave. If the women on the fifth floor had seen too much to and was forced to stay there. How many people had seen too much for this place? How many where tainted by the curse of the Blunt Family?
No one stopped her as she approached her car. She was glad to see it. The old beat up thing that her mother had bought used ten years ago. She unlocked the door and slid the key in the ignition.
Nothing. The engine didn't even turn over. Her car was dead.
She heard a knock on her window and screamed.
The face of a dead man was staring back at her.
~ I'm a little torn. I'm almost done with this story but the ending I have in mind is a little dark, not a happy A&A ending at all. So I would like some opinions on how I should end this. ~