Merlot 1

"Letta you better not mess with my things you know the consequences right?' Robert screamed at little scarlet.

She was terrified of him, not just him she was terrified of everyone in her family. Scarlet Warner better known by her nickname Letta was a little girl with an innocent gummy smile who captivated the hearts of everyone.

Her mother Gretta  Warner, was a painter who drew magic on her canvas. She was married to Robert Warner at the age of 22. Though the marriage was a failed one which could never be mended she held it with all her might.

*

*

*

she could have given up on her marriage but she realized it was too late.  she found out that she was pregnant with Letta.

Gretta decided to devote her life to the unborn child in her womb. She was in a jovial state after that. but all her happiness soon came to an end.

when she was a child Gretta's grandmother who was a gifted witch foretold that she had stumbled upon the curse of the blood rose.

The curse of blood rose also known as the curse of black blood was a sinister curse cast to destroy the peace in one's life.

Destroying one's life from the moment the person attains eternal peace. It comes off as a dream in the beginning which symbolizes that the curse has begun. the dream might be alluring.

A beautiful full-bloomed red rose bloodied with heart blood trickling down the knife.  Many won't know the warning but Gretta, she knew her time has come, all she could do was hold on. the dream became more and more vivid with each passing month, just like that with each passing month her mental health worsened.

Robert who was busy with his work in the city didn't have any concern for his wife., He was being unfaithful. He slept with another woman during his stay in the city.

*

*

*

Gretta was alone in the huge mansion which was literally in the middle of nowhere coupled with a few servants.

As her dreaded nightmare became more clear she started to portray it in her canvas. Each month she would paint the bloodied rose. Just like her dreams, it became more and more bloody.

the knife she drew beside the rose also became red like its pair. knife and a rose, What an alluring but dangerous pair, she thought. In the 35th week, she gave birth to Scarlet.

Her name was written in the painting she last drew and the ninth painting was named scarlet blood. As thick as blood, As sharp as a knife.

*

*

*

Letta grew up under her mother's shadow. though her days at the mansion were cold and lonely, she had her little puppy Emu with her.

Emu was a gift from her father who never once visited her. though never met she saw her father through the gifts he sent. Letta lived like a princess but her reign was soon coming to an end.

*

*

*

Gretta Warner passed away.

the days of merry were replaced with melancholy. Soon enough Robert, Letta's father married his mistress and brought her back to their mansion.

Gretta's passing was quite a sorrow for some especially her personal maid Clara and her husband Theo who was a driver at the mansion. Theo and Clara were like family to Gretta and her daughter. Before her death, Gretta asked the couple to look after Scarlet who was just a toddler.

The couple weren't blessed with children hence they were extremely happy to accept Scarlet as their daughter. They kept the promise.

*

*

*

Gretta knew she was gonna die soon hence before everything went havoc she prepared the path for her daughter to grow.

But she also knew that her daughter had to face a lot of challenges before getting on the right track she set for her. Scarlet was only six at that time, she was too young to comprehend the things happening around her. "Death!, Aunt Clara said Mother went with the angels to heaven "

little Scarlet said with a huge question mark lurking in her eyes.

"Do you think your mother is with the angels? huh?. well kid you better keep your eyes open because your mother went to hell not heaven, she is a witch who tried to steal my husband away from me ."

Vienna, Robert's mistress and Letta's new stepmother argued.

Scarlet who couldn't understand what this person was saying was dumbfounded. She didn't understand what Vienna meant by saying witch and stealing but one thing she was sure of was that Vienna was cursing her mother.

Letta's eyes brimmed with tears but she didn't utter a word. She bit her lip and ran away in tears. Letta loved her mother so much that she couldn't stand Vienna talking badly about her.

*

*

*

Vienna was Robert's mistress even before his marriage to Gretta. Gretta only knew about this when she saw a letter from Vienna which was supposedly for Robert.

It was sealed with a lipstick smudge on it. the sickly fragrance of Vienna's perfume pricked her nose as she read through the letter. All this happened a month before she knew about her pregnancy.

She had started loving Robert at that time but this seemingly erotic letter from Vienna broke all her expectations.

Before she knew she was already under the curse. Vienna was a mother to two children at that time. Silvia her first daughter and Salvina her second one. they couldn't take their father's last name as they were not legally a couple. so they took Vienna's which was" Miller ".

Sienna Miller along with her two daughters lived far from the city for nine years. Only after Gretta's death, they returned.

*

*

*

*

Vienna was a white lotus. everyone pitied her for having such a "tragic" life but little did they know what this poisonous snake was scheming.

She wanted to make Letta's life miserable by every means. on her seventh birthday, Letta was gifted a beautiful pair of slippers by Theo and Clara but Silvia destroyed it by splashing dirt on the snow-white slippers.

the second time was the worse. on the night of Christmas, she was locked inside the attic by Salvina.  They didn't harm her physically but they mentally tortured her.

The third time was on her mother's death anniversary when she saw Vienna destroying her mother's things. She was heartbroken.

Clara tried to console her but all her words were in vain. Letta starved herself for three days without a drop of water. she was found unconscious in her small bedroom the night before the Thanksgiving dinner.

*

*

*

"Thanksgiving " was a meaningless event for her. an event that she should spend with family but all there was left was a beast, a witch and her spawns nothing else.

She felt abandoned even though she had Clara and Theo with her. She missed her mother's sweet kisses and her melodious lullabies. A kitten needs its mother.

without her, it will die. Like a kitten clutching to its mother, Letta held her mother's memories close to her heart.

*

*

*

On the night of Thanksgiving, Vienna coaxed her husband into removing Scarlet's name from the family register.

Robert agreed with her. Scarlet who was tired from all the chaos was sleeping for the past seventeen hours.

She was truly exhausted by all the exasperating events happening around her. On one side there is her stepmother who wants her out of the family and on the other there are her step-sisters who want to wreck her.

Surely she wanted some peace hence she decided to ask her father if she could move with Clara and Theo.

*

*

*

it was two in the morning. Scarlet saw that her father's room was lit and hence decided to confront him.

She walked through the empty corridors which were once filled with joy and laughter. suddenly she had an ominous feeling.

there was a sound of people chuckling and talking. Scarlet saw the light in the room from which the sound was coming.  She peeked through the door, eavesdropping the conversation of the people inside.

*

*

*

"Mistress you did great by sending her the letter at that time. She wouldn't have given up on the master if it weren't for the letter."

"I know Nuen I had to do it. Robert was finally mine and I was pregnant with Silvia, I knew he wouldn't marry me hence I had to wait for the right opportunity. I met Robert when I was working in a brothel.

he was young and was seeking a thrill. he fell in love and slept with me. I thought I could get away from that shitty brothel through him. But he ....just like any man he just wanted me to spread my legs for him.

I heard him talking to his messenger about his marriage. It turned out that he was going to get married to a wealthy woman. she was extremely beautiful and rich.

She was the daughter and the daughter of Mayer. Gretta. That name... the first time I heard that name I wanted to end that person with my own hands"

*

*

Scarlet who was hearing this was shocked. Her breath hitched. she tried to listen to the rest of the conversation.

" I knew Robert was a womanizer and greedy person but I was not going to leave this big fish. I caught it with immense effort, who knows when will I get hold of another big fish. that's why I pretend to be sad and wait for him.

Robert was whipped for me mostly because he pitied me. I took advantage of that and planted some spies in that mansion of his which I was soon going to become the mistress of.

it took quite some time for me to arrive here but it was all worth it. in the end, what once was mine was mine again...."

Vienna stopped suddenly as her smirking face scrunched into a frown.

" but that witch's offspring, that cursed girl she was still left .... each time I see her face it reminds me of how all these luxurious things don't belong to me. I have to destroy her. But that idiot Robert...."

she paused.

"I managed to convince him to kick that jinx's name off the family register but that's not enough. her sole existence haunts me. I need her dead. I need to make sure that my daughters will inherit the titles of legitimate daughters of the Warner family."

*

*

*

Scarlett shivered in fear as she heard the final words of Vienna. Now Vienna and her maid Nuen are planning to kill her. but sadly what can an eight-year-old do in this situation? She ran back home. she stopped her cried while biting her lips. the information she heard shocked her.

*

*

"my mother was killed...s-she was killed by  Vienna? " 

*

*

*

.