The Crown's Obsession

Music Recommendation: Mysterious Sighting · Halloween Music

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"I don't think it's a good idea," Madeline responded to Calhoun's suggestion on going to visit her grandparents at this hour of the night. They had appeared to be far from wanting a vampire in the village, much less in their house. They wouldn't take it too kindly, and Madeline was worried for herself also because she didn't know what she was or what they were.

"Nothing will happen. I won't let them put you in the coffin box again," Calhoun promised her.

The thought itself terrified her. In her dream, her grandfather said he would be taking care of the situation and her, sleeping in the coffin was the last thing that had crossed her mind. A shiver ran down her spine by thinking she once slept in here.

Madeline could only decipher that maybe this was why her sister Beth didn't remember about their childhood together. How long had she slept in the coffin, locked and alone, leaving her with the dead? She gulped.

"I am confused, Calhoun. Beth told me that a vampire killed our friend. The one we last visited when we were here, and the girl in my dream was the same girl," she said to Calhoun.

Madeline knelt in front of the grave which didn't belong to her but the person's grave which her family had opened in her dream. Pulling out her handkerchief, she wiped the mud which was on the name. The name on the grave read 'In loving memory of Anne Jane. Beloved daughter and sister'.

"Her name is not Jennine. Do you think it is possible for two people to share the same face?" questioned Madeline to Calhoun who stood behind her.

"Possible. Most of the people have the same build with minor changes. To have the same features of those who exist or who have passed away. The probability is higher if it is in the same family," Calhoun answered her, "Your grandparents have the answers. It would only make it easy to go and ask them instead of spending our time in here."

Madeline turned her head from where she was sitting, "But they hate vampires. And maybe me too. I am the black sheep in the family, possibly in their kind," she sighed. Thinking about going back to the coffin increased her anxiousness, and she shuddered. How could they put her there?

Getting up, Madeline decided to walk with Calhoun to her grandparent's house. When they reached the house, Madeline wondered how her grandparents would react to them, who were standing in front of their porch in the middle of the night. As much as her grandparents looked like they wanted to get rid of her in her dream, in reality, they had always been kind to her. She bit her bottom lip to see Calhoun raise his hand and knock on the door.

On the third knock, where the door didn't open, both Madeline and Calhoun shared looks with each other.

"They must be in a deep sleep," said Madeline, rubbing the palms of her hands together as the night here was cold.

"Rubbish. Older people sleep even less than a vampire. Either they don't want to invite us in or," Calhoun paused, placing his hand on the knob of the door and turning it around to open the lock. Madeline's eyes widened. "Have I mentioned before how much I enjoy stepping into houses and rooms."

"You mean breaking into the house like a thief?" Madeline raised her eyebrows to receive a chuckle from Calhoun.

"What a crude way to put it. We are only making sure your grandparents are doing alright. I am sure you wouldn't like any ill harm to befall upon them now, would you?" Calhoun whispered to Madeline while making their way inside the quiet and dark house. The fireplace looked like it had exhausted itself, and Madeline wondered if her grandparents were fast asleep.

If there was something she believed in right now, it was that Calhoun didn't want her dead or in the coffin and she was well aware where he wanted her.

Going to the kitchen and looking around, Madeline returned to meet Calhoun who was sitting in front of the fireplace which was cold, "They aren't here," she whispered. The house felt deserted because her grandparents weren't there.

"I am aware of that. It looks like the woods in here haven't been lit for almost two days now," stated Calhoun who held the dusty ashes to let them fall from his hand which for a second turned red before joining back with the rest of the ashes. "I wonder if they decided to come to visit the castle. But then both you and I are aware that it doesn't take two days to travel. Unless now they were eaten by a werewolf or decided to take a detour."

"A possible detour," murmured Madeline. Turning away, she looked at the objects in the living room. She doubted her grandparents were dead. Only if she knew what they were, she would know what she was. Wondering if she could find something in the house, she started to go through various things by pulling out drawers and cupboards.

When Madeline came to stand in the room which was locked in her dream, she couldn't make herself move from there. The scene repeated in front of her eyes where her father left the house, and her grandmother locked the door.

Calhoun touched her arm, bringing her back to the present and to the darkness of the room, "Do you think you will be able to recollect anything of the time before you were put in the coffin?"

Madeline had tried it yesterday, but she couldn't recollect any of her memories. Lately, after the suspicious behaviour of her parents, she came to wonder if her family had suppressed her memories and thoughts.

"I think there's a way to remember it," Madeline proposed to have Calhoun tilt his head.

"I am listening," Calhoun's eyes didn't look away from Madeline.

"Long time ago, during one of Beth and my stay here with my grandparents, my grandmother used to tell us a few things. Beth called it to be a madwoman's words."

"Your sister doesn't like them?" questioned Calhoun. He gave her a look before going to take a look at the plates that had been placed out as if to decorate the upper side of the fireplace.

"I think it is because my grandparents showered more attention on me than her. I thought it was because I was more polite," she gave him an awkward smile, "But now that I think about it, it must be because of what I am. Grandmother used to say these strangest things. Sometimes they were things that was nothing less than a night of Hallow. She spoke about fairies and witches. Claudron."

Madeline remembered Beth's words about how she was stealing things away from her.

She also questioned if Beth knew what she was. It had turned out so hard to trust anybody now. Coming back to the present, she said, "One of the things grandma said was to walk over the memory if you felt you lost something and you were looking for it. Do you think if I go back in the coffin, I would remember things?"

"Would you be able to handle it?" questioned Calhoun.

It wasn't that he hadn't thought about it, but not having any light of who she was, he didn't know what kind of reaction the coffin would produce. Her grandparents had gone far enough to place her in there, and it was possible that Madeline's very soul was volatile.

"I think it's an easier way to get an answer from than torturing and threatening people," she replied, giving Calhoun a look because she knew it was possible that he would do anything to get to the bottom of it. Even if they did something to her, her grandparents and her parents were still her family.

"Alright. Let's see if you get an answer. If you don't, we take my way. Deal?" Calhoun asked her.

Madeline pursed her lips. Not that she wasn't scared, but it was still worth giving it a shot. Looking at the house one more time, they stepped out and went back to the graveyard where her grave waited for her.

Calhoun pushed the lid of the cemented grave so that Madeline would be able to get inside there and lay down. She had never thought to lie in a coffin, not at least before the time of her death, and it felt strange. Taking a deep breath, she removed her shoes and got inside it. Adjusting herself and laying down where the open coffin was able to accommodate her.

Madeline heard Calhoun say, "I will give you ten minutes, but that is all. We don't know what's happening with you, as you still appear to be a human. The lack of air might suffocate and kill you. Ten minutes, Madeline," he warned her, and she gave him a nod.

She didn't know if she would be able to last more than two minutes in there. She was nervous, and her palms felt clammy, "I am ready," she said, and Calhoun gave a look before pushing the lid back to its place.

The light reduced as the lid was pushed back until Madeline could not see anything. Surrounded by darkness, she could hear her breathing, and the closed space made her anxious.

Calhoun pulled out the pocket watch from his vest, looking at the time and waiting for Madeline to find out what she could.