Page 6 of Music of the Night
Grim smile on my face and faint hope stirring within, I climbed the stairs to compose a melody for Aria to sing.
5
Aria
“Dead?” I asked Kita, the maid who helped me undress.
When I snuck back inside the castle, after leaving the horse in the stables, Kita had dragged me to my room, bursting with news of what had caused the screams in the theater. A fire roared and my tea was cooling, but Samara was nowhere to be found. My relief at the success of my dangerous adventure transformed into fear, and a thread of unease shivered down my back. Dead. Nay, killed.
“Yes,” Kita whispered, too distraught about the sudden death to notice my torn, muddy costume. “One of the servants was having an affair with Lady Tremain, can you imagine? A lady having an affair with a commoner? She claims it was love, but you know how the ladies are. They’ll do anything for a night of pleasure. Anyway, she went to find him, and he was behind the stage. Not where the dancers stay, mind you, but with the pulley system, still holding the rope, eyes wide open, drained of blood.”
“Blood?” My throat went thick. What kind of creature drank blood?
“Everyone is in an uproar. Some say the creature that killed him is still in the castle. Others swear they saw it slink out one of the back doors, covered in blood and grime, but no one got a good look at it. The lords and ladies think it’s all an elaborate joke, part of the performance to frighten them.”
“What do you think?”
Kita’s voice shook as she replied. “I don’t know what to think. I’ve never been so frightened in my life. What if the creature is still here and comes for one of us? Madame Blu said to bolt your door at night and don’t go anywhere alone.”
I covered my mouth with my hand to keep my next words from bursting out. I intended to travel alone every night, for I needed those lessons. Unless I could persuade Uriah to come to me, but my cozy room with the large fireplace, high window and wide bed was an inappropriate place for lessons and would likely lead to sordid temptations. I shivered, but not from the cold.
Kita soon left me alone with my secret, and after a quick bath, I pulled on my nightgown and burrowed under layers of fur to sleep. High Tower Castle kept odd hours. Since Count Zorik owned the theater, the performers, lords and ladies were often up late. Heavy curtains covered my window to keep the light out, for I slept most of the day. Not that High Tower ever experienced pure, unfiltered sunshine. The grayness left me feeling dull during the daytime, and the entire castle had adapted to nightlife, only creeping to bed during the wee hours before dawn.
Closing my eyes, I sensed the tension of what had happened that night hover over the castle like the fog outside. Dead. Drained of blood. Did Kita speak the truth or had she exaggerated? I needed to speak to someone who wasn’t flighty like Kita or superstitious like Samara. Tomorrow, I’d seek Madame Blu, the woman in charge of the castle and the theater.
Sleep captured me quickly, dragging me down under the weight of dreams. Sometime in the night I became aware of a presence, a hulking, vague shadow in my room. It leaned over the bed and watched me sleep. My heart raced and I struggled to open my eyes, to look my nightmare in the face and render it powerless. But my eyes wouldn’t open and my limbs were heavy, as though I lay in death. I couldn’t wake, wouldn’t wake, no matter how I fought and struggled.
My heart throbbed and my breath turned labored. Why couldn’t I move? The shadow would harm me if I lay still, accepting its intrusion. Would it eat me in my sleep? Drain me of blood? As though sensing my fears, the bed dipped with added weight. My fur blankets were pulled back, sending a wave of cool air over my skin. Despite it, sweat drenched my nightgown, pressing it flat against my body.
A combination of cold and fear made my nipples peak and ache. The nightgown twisted around my thighs while something wild and feral sniffed at me. A body pressed against mine, an arm pushed my shoulders down, holding me still—as if I had the ability to move—while the other hand pulled up my nightgown to reveal that secret spot, that hidden place. A cold hand touched my hip and my body arched, a hiss leaving my lips as the heated breath of that presence whispered.Sing. Lady Aria. Sing for your life.
My own scream woke me and I tumbled out of the bed, shaking away the tangled covers as I crawled toward the window. In one movement I flung the curtains open, sending a stream of steady gray light into the room. I spun, eyes watering. But there was no one. Nothing. I was alone, frightened by nothing more than a nightmare. I pressed one hand to my racing heart and shook my head, forcing a laugh from my lips. How silly of me, to be cowed by only a dream. Still, the haunted phrase stuck with me.Sing, Lady Aria. Sing for your life.
It was just after mid-day and hours before the evening performance, but I couldn’t bring myself to stay in my room, tainted by my dark dream. I dressed quickly, peeking out the window now and then, hoping for another glimpse of the tower to remind me last night hadn’t been my imagination. Sure enough, the mist cleared enough to offer me another glimpse. In the light, the tower appeared more threatening than I recalled, and my curious thoughts drifted to Uriah. Where had he come from, and why did he dwell alone—I assumed—in the tower? What was his work? Why did he play that sorrowful music each evening?
Tonight, if pressed, would he reveal more of the mystery of himself to me? Or would he stick to lessons? I wondered how long it would take until I was able to coax the flowers to bloom with the power of my voice. I imagined Count Zorik’s reaction and the lords and ladies riveted in awe as I created life with my song.
Walking the cold halls of the castle and shivering at the thought of a monster hiding in the shadows, I went in search of Madame Blu. Gas lights lit the halls and a rosy aura glowed, an aura that left me thinking of blood. High Tower Castle was an old building with many wings and rooms and hidden passageways I’d yet to explore. Plenty of places for monsters to hide, to lie in wait for those who walked the halls alone.
I found Madame Blu in the chambers where the performers gathered. The chorus practiced their song; the musicians warmed up their instruments and the dancers stretched and wrapped their ankles in cloth to keep them from turning. I rarely joined them, for I cared not for the merriment and Samara provided all the gossip. Now that my initial curtain of grief had faded to a dull ache, I decided I should join them more often. Voices died away when I entered, and they shot curious glances in my direction.
I waved a hand in embarrassment. “Carry on and please, ignore me,” I begged.
Madame Blu bustled toward me, her round face and rosy cheeks lit up in a smile. Her stature was generous, and she often lamented about how much she loved the sweets from the kitchen, yet they did nothing to flatter her figure. She was the kindest person in the castle, at least toward me. When she reached me, she wrapped me in a gentle hug. She smelled like cinnamon.
I took a deep breath and returned the smile, but she was already talking in her low, raspy voice. “Aria, look at you, you poor thing. You must be worried sick over what happened after last night’s performance. I should have sent for you immediately, but we were overwhelmed. Where is dear Samara? I sent her to your room not two minutes ago, I’ll have someone call her back.” She turned and waved frantically at another maid. “Kita, be a dear and go fetch Samara, tell her Lady Aria has honored us by joining us backstage.” She steered me across the room and planted me on a stool in front of a mirror. “You look so thin, Aria,” she pinched my arm and wagged her head. “You need to eat more, and your eyes look so large and sad. Are you getting enough sleep? I know it’s hard with the chaos here, but I’ll have Maria prepare a sleeping draught. That ought to help.”
“Madame Blu,” I protested as she began to arrange my hair. “It is quite unnecessary. I only wanted to ask if there will be different arrangements in the castle. Because of what happened? Do you think it was a creature of the night?”
Madame Blu scoffed. “Creature of the night. Who told you that? I’ll have you know the castle has been searched high and low, and additional guards will be stationed around the entryways at night. What happened last night will never happen again, so don’t you fret.”
Fret? I couldn’t help but fret. With additional guards around the entryways, how would I get in and out unseen?
“No, don’t furrow your brow, that’s how you get wrinkles.” She finished my hair, a mass of waves pulled back from my face and sweeping down my back. “Samara will be along shortly, we’ve had a bit of a costume change. I was against it from the start, but you know how the Count feels about my opinions.” She gave my shoulder a motherly squeeze.
I grabbed her hand before she could walk away. “Can you keep a secret?”
“A secret?” her eyes sparkled, and she leaned closer. “Whatever is the matter, dear?”
