The Crown's Obsession

Music Recommendation: Everyone's Gone by Rupert Gregson

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"Do you think Paschar will continue to work in the High House?" questioned Madeline after hearing what Calhoun had told her about what happened in Cossington.

"I doubt so. With the speed he disappeared without staying a second more around you, I doubt he is willing to continue working for the High House," replied Calhoun, and he took her to the basin before pouring water on her hands. The blood that was on her hands washed out to leave as it fell into the basin, "Did he tell you anything more before he left?"

"He gave me a book. I haven't found the time to go through it," answered Madeline.

She stepped away from the basin and turned to look at Beth. Wiping her hands against her skirt, she pulled out the small book that she had placed in her dress pocket and passed it to him.

Calhoun took hold of the small black book, opening it to see words written in there. "This is his handwriting. It has spells that can probably be used to control your ability." He had worked with the man for the last two decades, enough to know that this handwriting belonged to Reginald who was Paschar, "Is everything alright?" he asked, noticing Madeline who had turned quiet with her eyebrows that had pulled close to each other.

"Earlier I saw something in here. A creature and I am not sure if I was dreaming about it," confessed Madeline as her brown eyes started to take a look around the room before it settled on Calhoun.

"How did it look?" inquired Calhoun.

"It had a body of a person, wearing long black coat that reached until its ankles I think. Stag-like face with antlers, but it was all bones," explained Madeline to him with a hint of worry in her voice, remembering how it had stood next to Beth's bed.

Calhoun frowned hearing this, and said, "I think I know what you are speaking about. Let me show you." He took her out of the room, leaving Beth in the care of the maids. They walked through the corridors and reached the gallery room of the castle, before Calhoun started to search the books that had been bound and placed in the cupboards. "If my memory serves right, it should be somewhere here. Found it."

Calhoun pulled out a book from the lot, flipping the pages before he found the page for Madeline to see. "This is the one," whispered Madeline looking at the creatures drawing, "How did your mother draw all of these? Have you met it before?"

"Once," replied Calhoun and Madeline's eyes widened. "It was when my mother's time was near. The creature had arrived during the time when she was in the death bed. I believe my mother has met it too, which is why she drew it down in here. She enjoyed drawing, and she drew everything that probably belonged to the place she had come from."

Madeline traced the old drawing as the dust of the charcoal was spread on the sheets, but she couldn't help but trace them. "Did she ever tell what these creatures were?" she asked, her head lifting to meet his gaze.

"She called it Salvete Mortem," said Calhoun, remembering the last few days of his mother who was bedridden and didn't step out of her bed. Not to eat, drink, not to go anywhere but lay there almost lifeless as the life in her reduced. He had been shocked when he had seen the creature, something he didn't know existed. "Bringer of death who comes to the realm of the living to take the person away."

Madeline felt that today, the bad news kept increasing one after another, "What else did she say?"

"The Salvete Mortem, is nothing less to Whisperers, preparing the person to be ready so that the soul can either go to heaven or hell. She said it was her time to leave and she would need to rest soon," Calhoun's gaze had turned cold once again.

"Her body was rapidly deteriorating, and there was nothing that could be done to help her. Now I think about it...it must be the cursed chain that had affected her, causing her to fall sick. I realized there was no way her health could be fixed, and her body along with her soul turned frail…"

Madeline knew the next part where he had killed his mother, and then preserved his mother in the cemetery. But if the Salvete Mortem was here, did it mean Beth was going to die, and it had started to prepare to take her away?

"Is there no way to prevent it from happening?" asked Madeline.

"Stopping death is not easy. It is like asking time to stop, but you know that even if you have stopped it, the time still continues." With the physician of the village who had been unsympathetic to help his mother, Calhoun had gone to other towns and villages, bringing other physicians to take a look at his mother, but no one could tell what was going on with his mother. Seeing how worried Madeline turned, he placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"I don't want her to die, Calhoun," she whispered.

"I know," he replied, but if death was hanging near Beth, there was little to nothing anyone could do from preventing her death.

Madeline looked back at the creature drawn by his mother, remembering the gesture of death of how it said it was going to take Beth away. Beth was breathing, but the infection she recieved from the bite of the venom, it was spreading.

She then asked, "Do you remember which mountain your mother said where your grandfather lives?"

"Bellmount," and on Calhoun's answer, Madeline couldn't help but look at him with hope.

"Lady Lucy said that she heard about the cure being there around the same mountains. Do you think your grandfather will know about it." Calhoun's lips were set in a thin line, and he saw the desperation in Madeline's eyes.

Madeline knew that if Calhoun had not made any attempt to contact his grandfather, it meant he wasn't interested in the reunion and didn't care about his grandfather, and the same went the other way round. "If he isn't hibernating anymore, we can find answers." At his words, hope-filled her eyes and Madeline felt grateful.

"Thank you, Calhoun," and she felt his hand caress her cheeks.

"Anything for you, my dear wife," he had hoped for a much more peaceful time with her, but her sister had gone ahead and had got herself bitten by the werewolf. Calhoun couldn't help but think that Beth had the worst luck. Because with all the people in the village, she was one of the two people who had got bit by the werewolf and was alive.

"There's also something that I wanted to ask you," said Madeline to have Calhoun nod at her for her to go on. "When the creature appeared in the room, the maids couldn't see it. Do you know why it might be so?"

Calhoun's eyes carefully looked at Madeline's brown eyes. "My mother said it was often seen by people who were about to die." And her heart slipped at this information. "But after all these years, I am still alive. Don't take it into consideration."