Mckayla took a deep breath before continuing. "I heard this one from a book when I was younger. I don't remember where, but I think it's a good example of what I mean when I said that even creepy ones are okay."
"Is it one I would know?" Tina asked. "I used to read a lot of collections of scary stories when I was a kid."
"Probably not," Mckayla replied honestly. "I don't think it's particularly famous. I've actually looked for it over the year to see if it was based on a true story, but I never found anything. Not even a mention of it online."
"What's it called?" Tina asked, now even more curious.
*****
Now Father's with Mother
The horse came back alone.
I saw him trotting loudly in front of the fence, his head flailing upwards as he turned his body from side-to-side. He called insistently for someone to let him through the gates, but I couldn't move.
One of the stable boys, Daniel, rushed towards the gate, scolding me for standing around as he passed. Father had scolded Daniel before for speaking to me like that, telling him that it was no way to act towards nobility. I wasn't really nobility, though. Father was the only one that treated me that way. He said that even if I wasn't his legitimate child, his blood was the blood that mattered.
Lady Justine disagreed, however. Father said that he gave me some property in his will as well as the flower shop Mother worked at when they met. He gave me an education and told me that even if I couldn't find someone to marry that was of nobility, I could at least attract men of a higher class. I think he wanted me to be happy since he made Mother a mess on the day he left us and married Lady Justine. He probably felt responsible for Mother throwing herself into the river.
A few nights ago, however, I heard Lady Justine speaking to Father in the study about his will. She thought it was unfair that her son, Lord Brentley, would lose property to "The Other One". That is how Lady Justine chose to refer to me. Father told her it was perfectly fair, but she kept insisting. I didn't stay around to listen to the argument further, however, as it seemed to be dragging on and it was well past my bedtime. I don't know if Father gave in to her claims, but I hope not.
The flower store was where Mother and Father raised me together until I was six, and where Mother took care of me alone until I was eight. The past six years since then, Father, upon Lady Justine's request, placed me in a school for girls; so I only spent summers and holidays at the estate.
Holidays passed too quickly to really enjoy, but it was times like now, during the summer, when I tried to make up for lost time with Father. He was almost always busy, but he'd take me with to meetings on occasion and show me around town. He would buy me lunch at places he used to take Mother and he'd ask me about how I was doing. I was still a little bitter that he left us, but I could see that Father didn't enjoy having to leave Mother and I.
Father was a kind man at heart. He came home with a giant smile on his face this morning, handing me a large, flat box. Inside was a white dress, covered with lace and fabric flowers. There was an intricate sapphire necklace inside, as well as a matching tiara. He told me that it was Mother's old wedding dress, but he had it taken in to fit me. He said it was and early wedding present as a Count's son had asked for my hand. I don't remember which Count or which son, though. I had met so many men in the past few weeks that they all started to look and sound the same. I would prefer to marry someone I know better, but Father's happy face convinced me to accept. And I was fairly certain that the Count was another business partner for Father, so it would be beneficial for everyone.
I didn't like the idea of leaving Father, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited to not have to see Lady Justine every day. Plus, Lord Brentley was going on four and his mother had taught him some... interesting phrases that he enjoys saying to me. I don't think he knows what they mean, but it's still uncomfortable.
Father told me that he would take me to the Count's estate tomorrow and his son and I could chat while Father and the Count discussed other matters. I was a little excited, but the room quickly broke into a frenzy when one of the guards burst into the room, saying that someone had snuck out of the mansion with Lady Justine's jewelry. It was one of the men that Lady Justine had recently hired to help with the cooking.
Father called some of the men together and they left to go find the man, only knowing the vague direction of where the thief went. Most of the men returned a few hours later, saying that they had lost him and that they had all split up to cover more ground. A few more guards came back soon after that, the rest returning before nightfall. But Father was still gone. We thought he had lost his way and was waiting until the sun rose, but...
...the horse came back alone.
Daniel petted and soothed the stallion, grabbing his reigns and guiding the horse back to the stables. Lady Justine and some of the maids ran out of the mansion, stopping Daniel and asking him what had happened. Daniel tried to explain that all he knew is that the horse returned without Father, but one of the maids interrupted him as she pointed to the saddle, which shone red in the lantern she carried.
Blood.
There was lots and lots of blood.
The maids cried and wailed, but Lady Justine just stood there. It was hard to tell in the darkness, but I thought I saw a smile.
***
Tina sighed. "I hadn't heard that one before. I'm not even sure if that would make it into one of the books I read when I was little. It was pretty... not scary?"
"Like I was saying before, it was more of an example," Mckayla said as she stood up. "I would say that's the very minimum level it can be and still qualify. It's practically safe enough for a children's Halloween special." She leaned over to one of the white tea candles and blew it out. "You can of course make it scarier than that. I'm making it a rule that no one can stop your story once you start. And none of us can leave, either. So if any of you feel like forcing people to listen to your body horror fantasies, now's the time." She stopped in front of the mirror, fixing her hair quickly before grabbing one of the bags of pretzels and rejoining the circle.
"Wait, are you serious?" Peter asked, a devilish grin creeping over his face.
Luca groaned. "For the love of God, please don't."
"Don't what?" Peter asked sheepishly.
"I can already tell you're going to tell a story that's as gross as you can make it." Luca leaned over to his own backpack and pulled out a can of beer he had stashed away earlier. "At least let me get drunk before you make me want to throw up."
"I'm insulted, Luca," Peter crossed on leg over the other and leaned back in his chair. "I wouldn't just make a story that was gross. I'd at least make it good."