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Chapter 30
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Serenity House: Ella's Journey Chapter 31
I marked the days off the calendar as one week turned into two, and it was now three weeks since I had wrapped the rag around step-mother's arm. Elizabeth would definitely have changed. I pushed that thought aside for something far more cheerful, as Henry's twentieth birthday arrived and Hazel came for dinner.I liked Hazel. She was a woman who knew what she wanted from life. Henry still didn't talk much, but he smiled and laughed on occasion, and I would be eternally grateful to her for bringing that change to him. Hazel pulled Henry from the nightmare that had consumed him for so long and gave him new dreams.Alice and I decorated our little dining room with strings of tinsel we found in the Christmas decorations box. Father was well enough to sit at the head of the table, and I couldn't imagine a better evening. Well, apart from intimate dinners in libraries. We gave Henry a box of oils and canvases, but Hazel had the best present?an application form for the Royal Academy of Arts
Serenity House: Ella's Journey Chapter 32: Alice dreaming of the future
With Lady Jeffrey and her horrid daughters gone, life returned to a semblance of what it had once been. Not just how it was before the Great War, but before her invasion of our home. A time when I undertook honest labour for my wage and wasn't treated like servant scum.I had only been ten years old when I kissed my mother goodbye and went to work for Sir Jeffrey. Children like Henry and me were expected to go into service young and work our fingers to the bone for our masters. But Sir Jeffrey let us be children first and domestics second.Days exploring the forest and swimming by the old mill after chores cemented the friendship between me, Henry, and Ella. That dormant sense of family returned to the Jeffrey farm in Lady Jeffrey's wake. We pulled together to get the work done. While this would never truly be my home, it was the only family I had known for most of my life.When one is born a servant, that is all one can expect of life?to serve. Friendship with Ella opened my eyes t
Serenity House: Ella's Journey Chapter 33: Ella and a friend in need
I trotted down the drive and headed the mare for home. Dusk would fall soon, and I wanted to be home before the light faded. The surrounding embrace of the trees cut the light back further, and soon I rode through a shadowland, lit only by the occasional brave shaft of receding light that breached the foliage.The weight of the sword at my back lent me comfort, even though we seemed to have greatly reduced our vermin numbers. It still only took one vermin and one scratch to end one's breathing days.Up ahead a figure stumbled along the road. Shoulders hunched over, head bowed, and the odd shudder worked through her body. Who would be out on their own with the approach of dusk and with no obvious means of protection? As I rode closer, the shape became one I well recognised.Alice.I searched my mind, trying to recollect her plans for the day. She and Frank had planned an outing in the motorcar and she had packed a picnic. Had the motorcar broken down? I put my leg to Molly so she tr
Serenity House: Ella's Journey Chapter 34
I froze, my mind numb as though I had thrust it into frigid water during winter. I simply couldn't comprehend a world without Alice. She was my best friend. We had worked, slept, and played next to each other for nearly ten years. What would I do without her big amber eyes flashing as she cajoled me into a hare-brained scheme?Frank raged. He howled at the sky while he dug his fists into the dirt as though he could find Alice under the grass. I understood his need to find her; I had nearly torn the countryside apart in the dark looking, myself. Now I would forever wish I had. While my friend had crazy powers of persuasion, they only worked on the living. No matter how hard she may have batted her eyelashes, I hadn't seen anyone wheedle their way out of a vermin's clutches.I dropped to the ground, trying to comprehend that Alice was gone. We had all wanted her to return safe and sound, but we had to confront the evidence?scuff marks on the ground, a discharged rifle, and a finger.S
Serenity House: Ella's Journey Chapter 35
Someone blew out the candle in my head. One puff and everything went black. I couldn't think, speak, or react. I existed, blind, in a dark void where those five little words repeated in my mind. Over and over, I heard her haughty tone.Come save her if you dare."Bloody Hell," someone muttered.I shook my head to clear Elizabeth's voice. Air returned to my lungs, the coughs and rustles of soldiers rushed over my ears, and my vision returned to normal. Apparently my pigeons had come home to roost. I almost wished Alice were dead rather than in Elizabeth's clutches. Poor girl. I would bet she was chained up and being made to scrub some cave clean."Well, that answers our question about whether or not Elizabeth has established a hive," Seth said."She has Alice. I knew she was alive." Frank's gaze turned hard and he ground his jaw."Is she?" In a quiet tone, Seth gave voice to my nightmare. "What if this is all a cruel trick by Elizabeth? We have no proof that Alice has not been bitten or
Serenity House: Ella's Journey Chapter 36
We planned all afternoon until the light faded at the window, and Warrens snuck in and turned on the new electric lights. We detailed what we would need for our expedition, then we said our goodnights and I rode home. At least I had good news to share this time?Alice was alive. Wasn't she?Dinner was lively; an undercurrent of expectation ran through every comment. Or every glance, in the case of Henry. I loved these people and their unshakable belief that I would rescue Alice. But I feared disappointing them. I struggled to imagine Elizabeth keeping Alice alive, and I steeled myself in case we found only a vermin version of my best friend. I still couldn't sleep, but this time energy bubbled through me as though I were a shaken bottle of champagne. Sleep came in snatches, creeping up on me unaware, but at last morning dawned.Magda forced me to eat breakfast, declaring I couldn't charge off on a rescue mission on an empty stomach. It did no good to tell her of the nausea that gripped
Serenity House: Ella's Journey Chapter 37
Frank let out a low hiss from between his teeth that mingled with the eerie noise coming from the tunnel. "Cunning bastards. They were right under our noses."It seemed the rock formation was more than it appeared. We grabbed our machetes and hacked at the overhanging trees and shrubs obscuring the entranceway. We gained a clear view of the light-sucking hole, and a shudder worked down my spine. I couldn't see more than two or three feet, and then the world disappeared into inky nothing."Alice is in there, somewhere." Frank pointed at the pitch black. His finger jabbed at the air and his body started to follow."Nobody goes anywhere until we are fully prepared. We are walking into a trap, after all. Elizabeth knows we are coming. Her creature has probably already told her we are knocking at the front door." Seth grabbed his half-brother by the back of his collar before he disappeared into the dark."It's been too long already. I need to find her." Frank fisted his hands and ground
Serenity House: Ella's Journey Chapter 38
Louise's lips curled in a smirk. "At last, the tardy scullery maid reports for work. We do need someone to clean up around here. It's terribly dirty and I could just kill for a cup of tea."For the thousandth time, I cursed the tired action that turned Louise from a thorn in my side to an undead thorn shoved under my fingernail. Or was she? Garden variety vermin weren?t usually chatty.Ignoring her dangling insult, I narrowed my gaze. "What are you, exactly? You don't look like one of Elizabeth's mindless minions."Had she Turned from Elizabeth's bite, or had one of the vermin subsequently scratched her? It was hard to tell if her heart had stopped beating when I wasn't so sure she had one to being with. She seemed too ?well, alive.There were obvious changes from the Louise of old. This version was no longer groomed and coiffured. She wore a black shirt underneath the strange coat that looked like it once belonged to a man. Her legs were clad in trousers with stripes made of dirt
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Serenity House: Ella's Journey Chapter 90
Hazel followed my line of sight and glanced down at her mother's leg. Then she looked up to meet my horrified gaze. She shook her head, silencing me, not that there was anything to say, assuming I could say anything. My vocal cords had managed only two words in the past two years, and that rusty sound was only for Hazel's ears.I gestured to the trapped creatures and drew a line across my throat and then mimed lifting the head off. The vermin would keep struggling to free themselves and we needed to deal with them while they were still trapped."Father, Henry says you must remove the heads of these things to silence them forever." Hazel placed the fallen walking stick in her mother's hand, but kept an arm around the woman's shoulders.Mr Morris' eyes widened as he looked from the vermin stuck in a tree, one pinned to the roots through the side, and another back by the front door. That one was still trying to swim across the grass. I had a strong urge to go check on Phelps; with my l
Serenity House: Ella's Journey Chapter 89
I reached out and grasped Hazel by the shoulders. I gave a gentle shake to break the staring contest but she tried to swat me away. There were some advantages to being taller, and spending all day engaged in manual farm chores had finally put some muscle on my frame. I turned her and pointed out the window.At that point Mr Morris remembered why he had ran up the stairs. "You don't understand, love. Those things are outside the gate."Hazel and I kneeled on the window ledge and looked out. Below, in the approaching dusk, shuffled at least four of them. They stared at the thick door as though trying to remember how they worked. Push or pull?If they figured it out, they would swarm into the enclosure. We all stared at each other, realising there was one other person down there who didn't know what waited outside. Someone who couldn't ascend the steep tower stairs or run.Mrs Morris."Rachel!" Mr Morris screamed and ran for the door at the same time. His heavy boots and weight shook
Serenity House: Ella's Journey Chapter 88
March 22nd, 1919 was an important date in my mental diary. Things happened on this day far more than the signs of new life pushing up through frigid ground as the earth threw off winter and embraced spring. It was Hazel's eighteenth birthday. Not even the threat of Mr Morris tearing me limb from limb could make me miss her birthday.Sadness and regret formed a swamp in my gut. That day she would leave her tower forever, having agreed to stay only until she reached this milestone. This would most likely be our last day together. I had promised to take her to the village, where she would be safe from roving vermin, until she decided on her course of action.It was early afternoon by the time I had finished my chores and then penned a note to Magda asking for hot water to wash. All the while, Ella and Alice twittered and laughed. Honestly, what was wrong with a fellow wanting to wash the sweat and dirt off before he visited a girl on her birthday?As I rode out, the other women stood b
Serenity House: Ella's Journey Chapter 87
February 1919 and work never stopped, despite the solid ground that showed no sign of spring. An unexpected cold snap saw a light snowfall blanket the ground. It meant we either bundled up and continued on regardless, or undertook one of the endless inside jobs. Due to the weather, I decided to clean tack and dragged a chair to the end of the barn aisle. With the doors open to the frigid air, I sat with a pile of bridles in a box next to me. On my other side, a bucket of warm water and a cloth for working in the saddle soap and cleaning off sweat and dirt.The horses were quiet in their stalls and a sense of peace suffused the world. As though the drop in temperature had frozen time itself and allowed us all a chance to draw a deep breath and recover from events of the last few weeks.I should be cleaning the leather, but my mind couldn't concentrate in the quiet. I picked at my worries, pushed to the front by the voice that whispered from the back of my skull. Muttering about sins
Serenity House: Ella's Journey Chapter 86
The dawning of 1919 was a subdued affair, with little to celebrate as the new horror unfolded across the country. Father Mason's deceased wife turned up in his kitchen one night and the encounter shattered the last of his fragile confidence. Over at Serenity House, the former duke escaped the mausoleum and was dispatched by the capable butler, Warrens.Winter deepened and created a frozen tableau, which bought us some time. It's much harder to climb from your grave when the topsoil is frozen solid. We all wondered if the victims would sprout up with the warmer temperatures like daffodils.As January unfurled, Lady Jeffrey grew tired of us all peeking around the parlour door and moved the wireless to the kitchen. She deemed news of the Turned, as they were now called, far too unsavoury for her girls anyway and only suitable for our lowborn ears. That included Ella.The square wooden box crackled and chirped all day long. It seemed the horror would never end, as reports emerged that t
Serenity House: Ella's Journey Chapter 85
All through November and December, at every opportunity, I braved the frigid night time temperatures and waited in sight of the tower for Hazel to drop the ladder. I would spend an hour or two in her company. She would read and I would sketch her profile as the moonlight caressed the planes of her face.Christmas 1918 arrived and I was determined to be with the girl who held my heart. In double layers and with a wool cap shoved down hard on my head, Cossimo and I rode out to our familiar lookout point. I carried a bribe to console the gelding while we stood the lonely watch, a feedbag with oats. His eyes lit up as I carried it over to him and he dropped his nose into the canvas. That made it easier to slip the strap over his head. Quiet munching came from behind as I leaned against a barren tree and stared at the tower.A puff of smoke spiralled skyward from her tower chimney. At least she would be warm as the fire threw out a good heat in the circular room. To pass the time, I imagi
Serenity House: Ella's Journey Chapter 84
The household bombarded Ella with questions as soon as we returned. The poor girl barely made it over the threshold into the kitchen. Alice squealed and hugged her friend so tight it looked like she might never let go."I was so worried," she said. "What happened?""They let me go." Ella's gaze met mine. How much would she tell the others? Would she mention the price of her freedom?decapitating four other people?"I'd love a cup of tea and a bath. I don't think I will ever be warm again." Ella turned to me. "Thank you, Henry."I?d done nothing. How did she stand tall and brave when so many grown men showed themselves to be cowards? But then I shouldn't be surprised. I served under Sir Jeffrey, and his daughter had the same iron backbone.I left her to the care of Alice and Magda and busied myself with the farm chores. My next rescue mission wouldn't be so public. I waited until the approach of dusk before saddling up Cossimo. The horse looked at me and I swear gave a low snort and
Serenity House: Ella's Journey Chapter 83
As though Lady Jeffrey read my mind, she discovered a job that had to be done immediately and kept me from riding to see Ella the next day. Instead Stewart and I had to dig out a ditch by the end of the driveway. She wanted it deeper in case of winter rain. I swear she wanted a moat. By evening we both had blisters on top of our callouses and to my shame, I was too tired to spare much of a thought for either Ella or Hazel.Three days had passed since Alice ran home screaming and Ella was arrested. Dawn still hadn't made the horizon as I sat in the kitchen, warming myself in the chair closest to the coal range while I chewed my toast. My gaze fixed at a point on the far wall, but my vision turned inward as I sorted through my plans.Firstly there was the issue of Ella, no doubt freezing in the cold cell. Then there was the girl trapped in another type of gaol. Mr Morris would skin me for gaiters if he caught me around the tower, but I?d risk it for Hazel. My chances of sneaking over t
Serenity House: Ella's Journey Chapter 82
I screamed until my voice gave out and still I ran. My vocal cords might not have stamina, but my legs did. Blindly, I didn't care what direction or what obstacle stood before me, I ran away. I would surmount anything to leave the horror behind me. But no matter how fast I moved my feet or how hard my lungs worked, it stayed at my back. Death was stitched to me; it formed part of my fabric and rippled over my skin.And it laughed.The black shadow chuckled and mocked my feeble attempts to slip its clutches until, exhausted, I fell to the ground. Then I curled up in a ball, clasped my hands over my head, and sobbed. Why didn't the Grim Reaper cut me down? Then, at least the nightmare would end. An eternity in Hell would not be any worse than living.In the secret room in my mind, I pulled the blanket up and everything went dark.***August 1914. I had turned fifteen a few days earlier when I crept down the barn stairs early one morning. I slipped a bridle over Cossimo's head, jumpe
