The Curse

Standing in a vast courtyard of a huge manor house Cassie strained her neck she trying to see everything. The huge house was forbidding, with multiple torrents and parapets, ivy clung to the ancient grey stone walls and terrifying gargoyles were perched throughout. Some had wings others did not.  

She was there to meet up with a man she hadn't seen in a year, they had been dating but it ended when he had to go home. He had just reached out to her after a year of silence, asking if she could come meet with him here for explanation as to why he had disappeared. But this place was nothing like he described, he said it had been in his family for generations. But not that it looked like a haunted castle.  

Shivering, she shouldered her night bag and took a deep breath then started up the mossy staircase to the entrance, there were a pair of old lumber doors with iron chains stood before her making her eyes widen the brass rings were the only way to open them and it looked like they would be hard for her to pull.  So, she reached out and pounded on the door, a loud echo accompanied the rap of her knuckles and the doors swung open with a loud groan making her jump back and titter on the edge of the step behind her.  Fearing she was going to break her neck, she closed her eyes tight waiting for the fall that never came something had a hold of her pack strap. She snapped her eyes open to see a large hand that was attached to a thick muscular tattooed arm. Cade had a hold of her and pulled her into the doorway and into his arms. The doors slammed behind her so hard that it shook the floor. she pulled back from him and took a couple of steps back, so she could look up at his face he was extremely tall and bulky. She narrowed my eyes at him he really thought that she would let him touch her like nothing had happened. 

"Welcome", he clutched jaw and fisted his hands at his sides resisting the urge to reach out and touch her. 

"Okay now that I'm here what's going on?" 

"Follow me we will go somewhere more comfortable", he turned and walked away. 

 Rolling her lips together she followed slowly not wanting to get to close, he was acting strangely. He slowed his pace when he realized she was lagging behind. Giving her time to look around this dusty place, the were a spalling double staircase that looked like it was made of black marble shot silver making it look like spiderwebs, a smooth banister ran along the sides that was in need polishing. In the center of the room there was a large oaken table with vases of dried flowers and covered in cobwebs underneath a crystal tear drop chandler also coated in dust and webs. The floor was swept clean though which was the only thing in here that looked unkept. He led her to a side room, that made her grasp, this room was clean and smelled great. There were two couches in dark velvet with a glass coffee table between them and the sparling windows were cover in crisp velvet drapes the same color of the couches. He indicated for her to sit on one and stood before her with his arms folded behind his back.  She took off her overnight bag and placed it in her lap waiting for him to begin.  He explained how his mother had needed him his father was dying, then went on to explain about a family curse that didn’t allow the men in his family to leave to estate after a certain age and he reached that age a few months after he had arrived. She listened with interest with her chin on her fists, but she really didn’t know if she believed him or not. 

“So, you couldn’t call me or text me or anything about why we had to break up then just didn’t answer me at all?” She asked trying to look into his eyes, but he looked everywhere but at her. 

“I'm sorry.” He flopped down onto the couch beside her and buried his head into his hands. “I didn’t know how to tell you all this.  Father died last year, and I am still trying to pull the pieces together mom can't be alone.  She is so heart broken and fading.  The doctor thinks she given up at living.  I didn’t want to get you evolved in this mess.” 

“Oh, cade why couldn’t you have told me.” Shocked she covered her mouth and wiped the tears from her eyes.  “I could have helped you, instead you decided to shut me out”.  

 “Can you forgive me?” 

“Yes, under one condition do not push me away again”, she cupped his face in her hands.   

“Now show me around this house,” she stood up and said cheerfully trying to cheer him up.   

“Let's get you settles into a room first”, he picked up her bag and she followed him. 

“How long has your family been leaving here”, she tip toed around debris. 

“We just moved into the manor house.  We haven't been able to clean up a lot of this place,” he started up the stairs and down a long corridor there were lots of old painting on the walls with peeling wallpaper.  She jumped it looked like one of the paintings eyes were following her.  She stopped to look at the man in the painting he looked like Cade but older, with longer hair pulled back with a ribbon, he was in a dark purple suit standing beside a woman with her face blanked out.  

Scrunching up her eyes she reached out to caress the man's face, and felt a tingling go up her arm. 

“Thats the one who got the curse put on us”, Cade said from behind her. 

“What happened?” she dropped her hand but when the tinkling didn’t stop, she hugged her arm to her chest.  

“They were in love.  He betrayed her somehow, but there is nothing is his journals about it.  She was a witch, and his family didn’t want her blood tainting their line.  He didn’t care and married her anyway, but something happened, and she was killed but on her last breath she cursed the men in our family line to never leave the estate after the age of thirty. Some of the men died young because they wasted away.” He started to walk back down the corridor with her beside him.  “We haven't lived in this house in 100 years there is a smaller cottage at the back of the property that we have been living in since.  After father's death I opened this place up hoping to find a way to break this curse.” 

They stopped in front of a door that had flowers and swirls carved into it, completely out of place with a gothic décor.  He pulled out a key ring and unlocked the door, it opened with a squeak.  He stood back and waited for her to walk into the spacious bedchamber.  It was dust free and smelled sweet the huge four poster bed was covered in black silk and velvet, with matching bedcurtains and drapes the wine colored plush carpet gave it a cozy feel but it was still a little dark for her taste. 

“The room was restored to its original style, I got it ready just for you it was HER room. I have the adjoining one through there.  they are one of the best rooms here,” he placed her bag on the bed. 

“Now I want you to prove to me that you can't leave the property”, she walked to the door swaying his hips. It was time for her to torture him.  Growling he followed after her then took the lead, they walked down the back stairs and out into the tangled, abandoned gardens.  He tried to grab her hand, and she kept dancing away from his attempts.  

 They went down winding paths full of statues in various states of decay, finally they came to a wooded area that had a white stone line in front of it.  In the distance there was a small cabin that was falling down the only thing that was completely intact was the fireplace. 

“I'm going to need your help getting back over the line when this happens or I will die,” he took a deep breath and stepped over the white stone boundary.  He walked out a few feet and at first it seemed like nothing was happening then he dropped to his knees writhing.  She quickly ran to his side dropping down beside him, then pulled back as she saw his body start to shrivel like he was growing old rapidly.  As his eyes started to get sunken and turn white, she grabbed under his arms and pulled him over the line crying.  She fell back as they passed the line, curling into a ball he rocked for a minute, then sprang up gasping.  Watching through her tears, she saw him fill out reverting to his normal self on his hands and knees dry heaving.   

“Cade!” She whimpered trying to help him up, brushing her hands away he sat back on his knees with his hands braced on his thighs panting. 

“Don't let me do that again please”, he said between breaths. 

“My God are you okay”, she came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him.  “Does that happen every time”. 

“Yes, the first time I passed out and my father had to drag me to the house,” he twined his fingers though hers.  She was hugging his shaking body, trying to sooth him during his recovery, the cabin in the distance was calling to her, the urge to get up and go was getting overwhelming.   

“So, what's the story with the cabin?”  

“I don’t know. I didn't notice it till I couldn’t go there”, she let go of her and stood bringing her with him.  “Rumor is the men get a compulsion to go there after the curse settles, there is something there that wants us dead.” 

“I'll go look then”, she skipped over the path.  

“No don’t I can't protect you!” he shouted over the line. 

“Protect me from what?” she asked over her shoulder as she walked towards the cabin. 

“The ghosts that want us dead”, he clutched his jaw and started pacing along the line. 

“Ghosts my ass”, she murmured as she kept going, the rotted remains of the came were scattered around the small clearing.  “Why hasn’t anyone checked this place out?” she yelled over her shoulder, but it seemed that he couldn’t hear her.  

 Shrugging, she strolled around kicking at branches, dirt and grass until she kicked something that made her trip.  Landing on her butt, she got to her hands and knees crawling to the spot that made her trip it was a stone box.  She snatched the dirty lid off angerly, stupid thing made her stub her toe.  

“What's this?” peering inside she saw a brown bag.  lifting it out cautiously in case there was something venomous in there.  It was an oil skin, something that needed to be protected.  Sitting back, she crossed her legs and placed it in her lap and unfolded the skins.  It was a journal the Lord Stephens name scribbled across it in faded gold. Clutching it to her chest she jumped to her feet and limped to Cade. 

“Didn't you hear me calling your name?” he stood there with his arms crossed over his chest glaring at her. Why are you limping?” 

“No, I didn’t. I tripped on a stone box with this in it”, she held out the journal. 

“The lost journal”, he gasped and scooped her up into his arms.  

He took her to the ancient restored study with a huge library and set her in a plushy overstuffed chair. Then plopped down behind the desk, opening the journal carefully. He read through it speed reading. 

“Well. What does it say?” she got up and limped over to him looking over his shoulder the writing was in cursive, so it was hard for her it read.  

“It's the missing journal that has her name in it”, he talked as he kept thumbing through the pages. 

“No one knew her name for 100 years?” she asked a little too loudly. 

“Yes, it was marked out of the other books, but this one is untouched.  Stephen must have had it hidden after the curse.  Her name is Lily.” he said in awe as he got to the last of the written pages and the rest was blank. “That can't be all”, he picked it up and shook it a yellowed paper fluttered down onto the desk.  

“What's this?” He placed the book down and smoothed the paper out of the paper. 

 “It's a letter.” He read through it. It was from Stephen identical twin brother Ian to Stephan he didn’t like that lily and Stephen had gotten married against the family wishes. Ian had found out that she was pregnant and pretended to be Stephen and killed her the letter was a confusion to his brother and his apologizes for causing the curse.  

Cade pulled Cassie down into his lap and explained this to her.  Suddenly they heard laughing and looked up Stephan stood there in leather pants and a white billowing shirt with the neck open with the woman from the painting in his arms they were smiling and laughing. 

“Thank you”, they whispered together as they faded away.  

 Then they was a whoosh it is was like an explosion of air then blew and twirled around the estate vanishing the white stone line. The curse had been lifted.  Cade grabbed the back of her head and kissed her.