This is my first published Story. I am new to the Writing world, only having tried my Hands on a few occasions writing orignal storys and planning fanfictions, but never putting them out there.
As I want to write orignial Works myself in the future, I look at this as an exercise to work on my wiriting skills. My first Language is not English so I welcome any input in wording, sentence structure and spelling.
As you have surely read often enough:
I do not own anything of Harry Potter all of it belongs to J.K. Rowling,
and I am just happy to have a ground work to experiment in my own storytelling.
Chapter 1:
The red train slowly trailed down the mountain pass into the valley below, fields dotted between large patches of forest, blotches of shade from the clouds above, painting a beautiful picture for Richard, as he gazed out the window. Today was his fourteenth birthday, but as always he was not in any festive mood or excited in any way since it also marked the deathday of his mother, whom he never got to know, as she died giving birth to him. Richards's father still tried to celebrate his Birthday, but since Richard found out at six years old, he couldn't join in, even though he knew how much worse it had to be for his father. As the Train took a turn down the wide serpentines, the sun started to light up his compartment, seemingly trying to lift his spirits. But the sudden brightness only had Richards's gaze turn away from the landscape, getting caught on his bracelet, shimmering on his wrist, the only Memento he had from his mother. For all the wealth his family possessed, they never wore anything ostentatious, the bracelet falling in line, consisting of only a rough chain that held a translucent milky white piece of stone.
It looked antique, and his father never knew why, but on her deathbed, his wife told him that Richard was to never take it off. As he watched the light getting caught and playing in the white stone, Richard noticed small streaks of colour drawing jagged lines through it. Changing the angle made them harder to see, but they were still there. Intrigued by this, he closed part of the curtain, giving him some shade, the stone still showing small streaks of colour, shining.
"This looks like..." Richard muttered, trailing off as he was still observing the Heirloom.
A knock on the door dragged him from his thoughts. "Yes?"
The door opened and a middle-aged man stepped into the compartment, a big brown coat around his shoulders making him look tall despite his slim build, an equally brown briefcase held in a thigh grip and a hat hiding most of his hair, though Richard was able to make out some grey between the brown at his temple. His steel grey eyes glowing of intelligence, his movement guardet but also relaxed.
"Herr von Erlach?" The man asked, his German having an Eastern accent.
Richard only knew this man from some of the gatherings his father had him attend during his business trips around Europe.
"Mister Yulichka, if I remember correctly?" Richard said as he stood up to greet the man, his fluent English somewhat surprising the man.
"Ah yes, Sergiy Yulichka. Your father sent me." Segiy stepped into the compartment, as Richard gestured to him to take a seat.
His english seemed more confident though still laced with a strong accent.
"Whatever for? We are only two hours away from ho-"
A painful cough stopped Richard mid sentence, as he took out a handkerchief to finish his cough. Segiy gave him a sympathetic look, Richard was son to one of the most influential and rich Swiss houses, but in the face of his illness the wealth amounted to nothing as no cure was able to be found. Supposedly a secret but everyone could tell from the outside, without really trying that, Richard would not have a long life with his health. He was pale, often slept badly and on many occasions coughed up blood. A short look into his handkerchief confirmed his concerns before he put it away.
"Sorry. But aren't we almost home anyway?"
A sorry smile graced Sergiy's lips. "Your father had to attend a factory in Austria and will only arrive tonight or tomorrow, so he sent me to keep you company and inform you about recent movements in the firm."
Richard rolled his eyes at the man. "So basically to watch over me?"
"Well yes I guess since you read all the letters I can only give you an update on the most recent changes."
Sergiy said as he took a slim stack of paper out of his briefcase.
"I don't remember you being that close to my father. The last time was at the Christmas gala a year ago. What changed?"
Richard was never easy to warm up to new people in his surroundings, in his earliest social event's he learned fast that most people who approach his family were after something and seldom had honest or friendly intentions.
"Well that is one of the changes I can explain. Ah and this Letter from your father will hopefully make you trust me a bit more."
A bit of amusement was in the eyes of Sergiy as he handed Richard an unopened letter with his family crest.
The stamp was somewhat unclean and the letter hastily written but undeniably his fathers writing thought Richard as he broke the seal and unfurled the latter.
My Son,
I can't tell you how sorry I am that I won't be able to be there on your birthday but my/our responsibilities caught me in a bind.
Sergiy will tell you more and I will update you when I arrive back home.
I love you, and happy birthday,
Dad
Contradicting Sergyi's earlier words it didn't really explain much, but folding the letter Richard looked over at the other man.
"So what is keeping my father occupied?" Any prior amusement was now missing on Sergyi's face as his features hardened.
"Two of our distilleries in Austria had mishaps where explosions destroyed most of the factories. Though the human casualties are the more pressing matter."
At those words Richard's grip on the Letter grew tighter, crumpling the paper.
"How many fatalities?"
"More than two dozen. The only luck in this whole situation was an unplanned gathering outside of the facilities in the second factory where only one fatality occurred. This could've been way worse, but how much better is this really."
"Do we have any idea who is responsible?"
Sergyi neither confirmed nor denied as he took out a second stack of parchment.
"This is all we could gather in this short time but it seems pretty obvious. Your father is already on site and probably will get this sorted with the authorities."
Taking the stack of documents Sergyi handed him, Richard started to thumb through them.
Their incursion on the Spirit's market in multiple countries wasn't greeted with enthusiasm but never was anyone expecting this.
In the files was the listing of every potential candidate and their motives, as well as the most likely to take action and the reasons of accusation.
"We go through the official channels if I understand correctly?"
"Yes. We thought that would be the most sensible and will earn us some good will with the people as well."
Richard lifted his head to meet Sergyi's gaze.
"We?" That sounded a little too familiar in such a short time frame for Richard's liking.
"Yes. Your father put a lot of trust in me and I will do my best to earn back the credit he gave me."
Sergiy turned to look out the window, not able to meet Richard's eyes.
"I am not ready yet to speak openly to you as well but I respect your father for what he did for me more than anyone. I am truly honoured to be trusted by him and hope I can earn yours as well."
A hum of acknowledgement escaped Richard as he turned back to the documents trying to ignore the tinnitus that was building up.
Turning a page the sunlight on the white parchment seemed uncomfortably bright forcing Richard to shield his eyes, the following headache forcing him to groan slightly.
"We should arrive in half an hour, so please rest a bit."
Said Sergiy standing up in a rather commanding manner.
"I will guard the door. Since the sabotage I wouldn't see it beneath them to stoop low enough to attack you. If you need anything I am at your service."
Richard gave a small chuckle at the no nonsense approach from Sergiy, who gave him a short bow as he closed the door. Richard knew why his father seemed to like him and put such trust in him. He was someone who not only followed but also questioned and even suggested, though this wasn't really a suggestion, not that Richard needed any convincing that he should probably rest.
"Then I will put my life in your hands."
Richard gave Sergiy along his way, raising his voice to reach outside the room, but immediately regretted it. He sounded annoyed though that was only due to the flaring headache, making him press the words out as he squinted his eyes while moving his head.
This was no good sign for Richard as in recent times his condition was rapidly worsening. He was sometimes sleeping almost twelve hours a day and even then he was dead tired and the cough was getting more frequent as well. The headache though was a new addition and he couldn't say it was a welcomed one. Drawing the blinds close completely Richard leaned back and tried to meditate to see if this would somewhat alleviate his headache.
After arriving at the Station they transferred to an unsuspecting Mercedes Benz and drove through Bern towards the Erlach family estate out of the downtown area, at the base of the Gurten hill.
Richard was lost in thought, his headache had lessened somewhat but the pressure he felt in his head still stayed making him feel uncomfortable as he watched the cityscape pass by. He didn't want to accept his condition at this moment. He always knew that he would most likely not have a long, fulfilled life, but he wasn't even fifteen. Richard had hoped to atleast get to his mid thirties.
'Whining about won't help me. Maybe this is just the last few days catching up to me and this will be over tomorrow.' He thought
He had slept less in the recent days as he was focused on his exam's. Richard blamed his poor condition on that, trying to push his dark thoughts to the side, as a shimmer caught his eyes again. The colourful streaks on his bracelet seemed more pronounced than at noon, looking misplaced in the frosted looking stone. Checking the bracelet further he was also able to make out dark patches on the metal chain securing the stone around his wrist looking like a strange corrosion was taking place, or a strong burn melting part of the metal links.
Stroking over the markings, denied his suspicions he was just seeing things since he obviously wasn't alright at the moment, as he could feel the coarse surface where the metal had turned black. As he had this bracelet since he could think, he knew it inside out. Unsure of what he was expecting he also inspected the stone and checked if he could feel anything where the streaks where, but those seemingly where so thin he wasn't able to feel it, but on his close observation he realised it looked like a prism, splitting light in multiple colours.
Richard got dragged out of this thought as his door opened and Sergyi offered him his hand.
"We arrived please let me handle your luggage and go ahead with Sebatian."
As he was helped out of the car Richard's vision was tunnelling and he could feel himself on the verge of passing out and stumbled out of the car, despite being supported by Sergyi who immediately caught him.
"Are you alright?"
Sincere worry was evident in his tone as he kept Richard steady to take deep breaths and catch himself.
"Just a second."
Richards voice was shaking, he was weak yes but never was his body failing him on so many occasions in just one day. Even this morning he felt almost paralized when he woke up and it took him almost an hour to get out of bed. After a short while he got his bearings back and straightened himself.
"I will go ahead. But please dont tell my father of this, I cannot worry him even more at the moment, this surely will pass in the coming days. The last week was not the kindest to me, those are probably just the repercussions I have to accept now after not treating myself with care."
After giving Sergyi an thankful look, Richard turned towards Sebastian who looked worried at his young master.
The old Butler was serving the Erlach family since Richard's grandmother had married and had become a part of them since his mother was born, for whom he was like an uncle and he saw Richard as his duty to Richard's mother since she entrusted him with Richard's care on her deathbed.
"Don't look at me like that Sebastian, I didn't come home to see you worrying at the first glance at me."
Shooting the aged butler a small grin despite the headache and strain of his body, Richard accepted the offered arm and support as they walked the gravel road towards the main building.
Despite his words, Richard's mind still turned around his momentary state as Sebastian escorted him up to the manor. Again only being brought out of his thoughts by Sebastian's voice.
"Young master, would you like to eat in the dining room or rather in your own quarters?"
"I will pass Sebastian. Please pass on my excuse to the chefs as they probably cooked up a feast for tonight. Tell them to enjoy it themselves."
As Richard's father wasn't at home he would eat alone so there was not much reason to eat in the dining room but Richard frankly had no appetite.
Before Sebastian was able to react Richard was on his way up the stairs, his demeanour discouraging the old Butler to try to sway him from his decision.
Arriving in his room Richard sat down at a large desk, in his little study adjacent to his bedroom.
The sun had completely set and the moon started to creep upwards.
Lost in thought Richard examined his bracelet again.
Even now in almost complete darkness the Stone seemed to shine, making the cracks even more visible. Once again they had seemingly gotten larger, almost spanning the whole surface making the stone look ready to burst or crumble at any moment.
'Just what is going on.'
Richard was at a loss. It felt as if whatever was making his condition worse had some correlation to the bracelet he had around his wrist.
'Why don't I just take it off?'
A seemingly obvious decision was hard for him to grasp, something was trying to steer him away from those thoughts. Looking at the metal band holding the stone Richard noticed for the first time that there was no clasp to open or close the bracelet. Skimming his memories he also realised he never took it off. Not when he showered, slept or even swam. Not that he did that in recent times, but when he was younger and still had enough strength to do so.
It always fit perfectly since he could remember seemingly adjusting with time.
Again his thoughts were tried to steer away from the topic. It was a weird feeling, it was hard to think into the direction you were trying to focus on and at the same time your own mind seemed to tell you to think of something else like what the chain was made of or which mineral the stone was.
Though he wanted to keep digging into this mystery the headache at this point was feeling as if his skull was being split from the top bit by bit, forcing Richard to rest his thoughts.
As he got up he noticed the room was now flooded by the silvery light of the moon.
He had mulled about his bracelet longer than he expected and the moon now stood high up, illuminating the gardens in front of the window.
Even though he was tired, Richard knew he wouldn't get a wink of sleep, if he couldn't calm his thoughts, which was unlikely as he had no way to find a solution to his problem, or even a foothold to form any course of action. He was powerless and at a loss. Two feelings he disliked the most, as he felt them a few times too much when it concerned himself.
As it was after midnight, most of the staff was likely asleep, so Richard got out of his room to take a walk in the gardens and calm his nerves.
Trying to move his mind to other things even if he knew it was a pointless endeavour.
As he moved through the manor the silence was not his friend, like many of the other nights, he calmed his thoughts with nightly strolls, but seemed stifling, almost suffocating, enforcing his feeling of helplessness. Reaching the door to the gardens he felt a lump form in his throat. He knew exactly when he started his night walks.
It started around his fourth birthday, when his health took a turn for the worse.
The stress and anxiety that was caused by the sudden bursts of pain he experienced, the randomly broken bones when he woke up, the coughing of blood, it almost broke him.
Without his father being there for him at that time helped him get through all the emotional and physical trauma, but at the moment the memories flooded back with a vengeance. Tears trickled down Richard's cheeks as he walked further out into the gardens.
Silent sobs shook him as he felt his chest twist from worry and fear of what was happening and what had happened.
His body's reaction made it hard for Richard to breath as he stumbled down the cobbled path towards a wooden bench that overlooked a small orchard in their garden.
As he was about to reach the bench his leg failed him as he fell to his knees, his vision blurry, still gasping for air as his chest was clamping down harder and harder, as if twisting in on itself like a vortex.
At this moment Richard felt a wave of heat surge through his body, but not in a comforting way, it felt like a severe fever had grasped him in a split second pulsing through his body, making him feel every heartbeat pulsing, the blood rushing through his veins, bringing with them a dull headache.
Taking in small gasps of air Richard grasped his chest.
But was overcome with horror as he truly felt his chest twisting and turning under his palm.
Before he could catch himself his arm was twisted in the same manner and started to force itself out of his shoulder making him cry out in pain and fall on the side.
His cry made no sound as he now couldn't breath in any way and in panic he tried to grab his twisted arm with the other just to be met with the same fate as he crumbled in pain around the grass in front of the bench, having an unheard struggle for his life.
Richard's cheeks were damp with Tears from pain, fear and sadness. He felt his life slip from him as he noticed the bracelet being ripped from his hand towards his chest, where the vortex seemed to stem from, leaving a deep cut on his wrist and over the back of his hand.
Blood flowing from his hand and dripping towards the bracelet, disregarding gravity as Richard was still twisting, turning and shaking in pain, the stone in the bracelet started to pulse and glow stronger and stronger while the chain disintegrated into dust, ripping holes into his shirt and sinking into his skin, showing a sight of horror as he could see the twisted flesh where his sternum was.
The waves of heat rolled over him, as with every pulse of the stone, he felt his insides scream out in pain being crushed and twisted, the pain making his vision darken before a blinding light exploded from his chest that threw him down the hill, tumbling through the orchard as he passed out.
Author's Note:
I hope you enjoyed my first Chapter. As I am still struggeling with wording and how I want to express my Vision into words, I can't really give you an Upload Schedule.
Any constructive feedback would be gratefully recieved. Have a nice day o7
