It was almost dusk when Caroline woke up. Her eyes opened to a new design of roofing boards, and there she fixed them, getting herself adapted to the new environment.
A line- two lines, a circle- big circle, a three-side shape- small one at that, a longer line with three branches, shorter two and a half-circle. She stared hard at the stick drawing inscribed on the board, deciphering the manner and reason behind it. A map... two stick men joined in hands... a maiden.... no a woman with veil....a woman without. Her already throbbing head throbbed harder at the now-raising thoughts.
The curtain danced at the rush of wind. The orange hue in the sky showed the onset of the sun. The light on the candle flickered at the expanse of the movement of the curtain that allowed more air in. Now, she saw two more lines, lines she had not seen before. Taking her time, she tried drawing out the forming image. Her hand went to her head.
" Arggh!!! ". Like a nail being hammered into her skull, it came to her, crashing every sense in her body.
Caroline fell off the bed, receiving the sinking feeling of pains oozing out from every part of her body. Her aching hands and back reminded her of the presence of bruises, swollen to look like an incurable skin disease with red marks of whips that may eventually turn to scars if healed. Her body looked ugly. She forced herself to take in air, in order not to poke. Though she had forced herself to not look at the drawing anymore, her eyes drew her to it.
She took her time to assess the drawing, the pains of her encounter with Lady Elvin were little to no effort of stopping her from reaching her goal. She had started at it, grafting the image in her mind, and was now working her way through the supposed gender of the person.
Under the steady lights, she saw it- a stick pictogram of a man. A hat sat on his head, a stick piped out from his lips, a cluster of scratches that resembled that of beards- but those were not what caught attention or made her fall her mouth- certainly not the sketch of a man. The two sticks that came out of his mouth sucked every atom of breath in her. A vampire.
Her head spun. It was getting too much. Now she knew those guys that pursued them back them were not bad boys- not just bad boys- their acts were despicable!. Evil was embedded in them as bloodsucking or compelling people were seen as evil- acts abhorred in human society. They were not humans but creatures of the night. Her head spun again.
" Father, let's go ". She heard the voice of her young mistress across the room, in the room next to her's. Now she knew where she was. In Master's Alfred room, the last son of Lord Elvin.
They were four- four of the children of Lord and Lady Elvin- Master Calhoun, Master Brian, Master Alfred, and young Mistress Primrose. The first son had died in a hurricane somewhere downtown and the youngest son- well they just woke up one day and found out he was missing.
" Father, she can't go with us. She may scare the people ". Caroline found herself crawling to the wall, straining her ears to catch the words. Who were they talking about?.
" Listen to your daughter, Elvin. That girl called Caroline is not good luck. She would send the people running again like last year ". Caroline coughed. Okay, whatever happened last year was the cause of your daughter. She thought to herself.
The incident of last year though was now a forgotten story still stroke a spark in Caroline's mind. Primrose and her friends had lured her into a dark place where no one could see her and poured a full bowl of mud on her. She ran out from there looking like a ghost. The mud had gotten into her eyes and blinded her vision and as she wiped at them while searching for clean water, she reached the center of the market square.
That day she had received a swell of beatings as Lord Elvin was also involved with the discipline, handling her two slaps of the backhand. Certainly, she was not going to the festival. One for her safety, two for her sanity.
She could hear the silence that followed Lady Elvin's words, it was like a moment of decision. a rough one at that. The flicker of the flame, whistling, it was and that of the wind became so audible and comforting in the silence.
The smell of burning woods, canons, and flesh wafted in the air. The festival was starting and the Lord must be there to open it. The beating of drums- the moon was now out as a symbol of nature's acceptance of the celebration.
" Fine, let's go. The festival is starting ". That was the most interesting thing Caroline had ever heard. Freedom. She was being left alone in the manor. Was it real?. The pains in her back restricted her from jumping around the room.
She heard the door slamming shut and a feeling of happiness filled her. Caroline fled the room, and drawing on the ceiling was looking scarier with every passing minute.
The torches in the corridor were now dimmed and almost out. Her hands made way to Primrose's door, a thing she does, out of reflex. The door was shut, no not shut but it looked like it was closed hard. It took her time to break through the lock and opened the door.
The darkness hit her face. The torch gave her light and guide her into the empty room. She had just walked two steps in when the entrance door clicked open. Hastily, she closed the door behind her and went under the bed to hide.
The footsteps became louder in her ears. Heavy, strong and firm.