Music Recommendation: Erase the Past- Joseph Trapanese
The next evening after dropping Marceline at her new place, Vincent and Eve finally reached the town of Holy Oak, where the said Moriarty family's old mansion stood. Though the entire town was covered in snow, streaks of sun rays passed through the clouds' gaps and fell on certain parts of the land.
"We are near to the mansion," Vincent stated, and Eve quickly pushed the curtain away from the window to take a look outside as the carriage continued to move.
Her eyes widened when she noticed the enormous Moriarty mansion standing tall and prouder than anything she had ever seen. It put the mansion in Skellington to shame, such was its size. She muttered, "This is not a mansion… It looks like a castle."
As many years had passed since the place had been built, the colour of the walls had faded, but it still stood strong against the varying weather. The place was built amid the mountains and the forest that abundantly surrounded it.
Eve's blue eyes quickly looked around and noticed a minimum of nine towers, some higher and some lower in length. The tops of the tower were made of evident black stones. The closer they got, the bigger the place appeared, and she noticed the carved statues placed at the gates with such fine details.
"The Moriarty family is very wealthy," Eve remarked with a gobsmacking expression plastered on her face.
"We are," Vincent reminded her because what belonged to him belonged to her. He asked, "Did you think women and parents were pinning on me just for my handsome looks and my position in the Council?"
"I knew your family was prosperous because you live in a wealthy town like Skellington, but I never knew there was this too," Eve couldn't take her eyes off it. She turned and asked him, "Does anybody live here?"
"There are some old souls who have existed since they appeared here. You will meet them once we step in," Vincent answered with a crooked smile.
Like a curious child, Eve moved her face closer to the window, and her eyes followed the bridge that the carriage came to pass under it. She had seen the royal family's castle at a distance, but never had she been fortunate enough to take a closer look. Commoners were not allowed to seek, question or wander near the royal family.
In the driver's seat sat Mr. Briggs, and on the other carriage sat Marceline's coachman, Adam. The latter had never been here before, and he held a worried look on his face as they got closer to the castle-like place, as he could sense the spookiness on seeing the shadows being held there, and it only magnified as the sun moved lower.
When the carriages came to a stop, Mr. Briggs and Adam jumped on the ground. While Mr. Briggs opened the carriage for the couple, the latter went to pull down the trunks filled with Vincent and Eve's clothes during their stay here.
Once Vincent climbed down, he turned around and gave Eve his hand for her as support before she placed her feet on the ground. The place looked deserted, and if it weren't for the gardens still full, she would have believed that no one was there to look after it.
Soon enough, Eve's eyes fell on a woman who stepped out of the castle's main entrance, making her way to where they stood. The woman appeared to be in her early eighties with the number of wrinkles that were on her face. She wore a black high-collared dress, which had full-sleeves. The woman's hair was combed back with a partition before tied into a bun. Her eyes were red, which seemed to have dulled over the years.
"Good evening and welcome back, Master Vincent," the old woman greeted, offering her deepest bow.
"Good evening, Carla," Vincent greeted the woman. "Did you receive my letter?"
"I did, young master. Both yours and Lady Marceline's letters," the woman replied to him. Her eyes briefly moved to look behind him, and her eyes fell on Eve, and then returned to look at the ground. "It seems like she couldn't make it here," came the old woman's dull voice.
"Sadly, no. She needed to re-learn something that she didn't pick when we had a governess," Vincent remarked nonchalantly. He turned to Eve and said, "Eve, this is Carla Guerra. The housekeeper of this place. She's been looking after this place since the last two generations."
Eve offered a slight bow to the housekeeper.
"This is Genevieve, Carla. My wife, and the apple of my eyes and the blood to my heart," Vincent introduced Eve to the woman, who returned the bow by giving the same deep bow to the woman.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, milady. Congratulations on your wedding, Master Vincent and Lady Genevieve," Carla congratulated them.
And though the housekeeper offered a deep bow and congratulated them, Eve could tell that the housekeeper wasn't happy knowing Vincent didn't marry a pureblooded vampire or even a regular vampire.
"The rooms have been prepared, and the water is hot and waiting for your arrival," the old woman informed Vincent and then asked him, "Shall I have the table set in the dining room for supper?"
"Yes. Have the supper ready," Vincent nodded.
Carla turned and raised her hand, and in less than a second, a lean man who almost looked like a skeleton appeared. She ordered the servant, "Have the luggage placed in the master room. Lead the servants inside and have Horace ready the meal."
"Yes, Miss Carla," the servant replied in a feeble voice.
Soon Vincent and Eve stepped inside the castle, where the hallways were wide and spacious. The pale walls were brightened with the help of the torches that burned brightly, along with several candle stands placed as they walked further inside the place. The housekeeper led them towards their room.
Eve could now understand how disheartened Marceline was at the thought that the vampiress believed she would be the sole mistress in this place, only to end up in a small room in the House of Purgatory.
Eve was in awe at the architecture, which was nothing like she had seen before. There were portraits of the Moriarty family, and the last portrait in the corridor was of the current Viscount and his family. Upon reaching the bedroom, the housekeeper pushed open the door and said,
"If you need anything, please pull the bell, Master Vincent."
"Mhm," Vincent responded, and the housekeeper left the room, closing the door behind her.
"I don't think she likes me," Eve murmured, while Vincent wrapped his arms around her.
"Don't mind her. Carla was born with that face, and it just keeps getting worse every time I see her," Vincent replied as he hugged Eve from behind. He said, "She wasn't too fond of us when we first came here. Marceline and me, because of who our birth mother was. A human. But you don't have to worry about it. The only person you should think of liking is me," he kissed the back of her ear, bringing a smile to her lips.
After an hour, the sun in the sky had completely set. The dining table was prepared, filled with fresh and warm food for the couple. The long dining room held a rectangle dining table, which could hold a minimum of twenty people in it.
When Vincent and Eve entered the dining room, the head of the table chair was pulled. The housekeeper, on noticing her young master tug his wife's hand as they walked, she informed,
"Lady Genevieve, a married couple, doesn't sit together at the dining table. You will be sitting on the opposite end."
"That would be when we have many people in the room. There's no point in having my wife sit so far from me, unless you want me to keep a distance with her," Vincent stated, looking right into the housekeeper's eyes.
"It wasn't my intention, Master Vincent. It is just that the traditions—"
"The Moriartys are the last ones to follow anything and you should know that. By the way, where is our wedding gift? I was very much looking forward to it," Vincent stated with a grin, and the housekeeper replied with a serious face,
"I will give it to you tomorrow, Sire," Carla responded with a bow.
Vincent and Eve sat next to each other at the dining table. All the dishes prepared by the cook were delicious, and Eve licked her lips, savouring every bite she took.
Once they finished eating, Vincent took Eve for a stroll inside the castle. They walked in one of the many deserted corridors, their footsteps quiet against the marble floor.
"This must have been a good vacation place when you were small," Eve commented as they crossed another room, she had lost count of it.
"We did. Our family was whole back then, and there was little to nothing to worry or to be scarred with. My mother, Marceline and I used to play hide and seek. It used to be the longest game because of the space that is there, to hide oneself," Vincent said as he recollected the memories. "The innocence was later cursed and inked with darkness."
Vincent and Eve's footsteps paused when they came in front of the family portrait, which was made when Lady Katherina was still alive. In the portrait, Vincent and Marceline were young children.
Eve turned to look at Vincent, noticing him staring at his family. She asked him, "Are you okay?"
With a faint smile on his lips, Vincent turned to look at her and asked, "What makes you think I am not?"
"I mean about Marceline," Eve replied. It was because Vincent had been quiet since they had left Marceline behind.
Vincent offered Eve a bright smile, "I wouldn't lie that it is unfortunate, how things turned out to be. But I did what I think was best for her, at least for now, until she realises that she can't misuse the privilege she was born into. That there are unspoken limits and rules to it." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "You are next to me, everything is more than fine. Come, I will show you something interesting."
They left the corridor, and walked to the other side, while not too far from them stood the housekeeper with a grave expression on her face as if she had never smiled even once in her life. Her eyes had turned downward, and one of the older working servants whispered,
"Did Master Vincent marry a human? Seems like just the same kind as the Viscount married."
Carla murmured, "History might repeat itself again. It always repeats in a worse way."
"Huh?" Asked the servant.
The housekeeper turned and questioned in a sullen voice, "Who told you could stand here and talk?"
"My apologies, Miss Clara!" The servant apologised and quickly walked away from there.
