The Black Carriage

I stared blankly at the woman trying to decide if she was a figment of my imagination or if I was seeing some sort of specter. She moved away from the window and glided over to me. She came very close to my body and circled around me.

"Just as I thought," she said.

"Wh-um-Excuse me?" I said with a shaky voice.

"Are you afraid?" she asked.

"Are-Are you a spirit?" I asked.

"No, I'm no spirit, no lost soul."

"Then wh-who are you?" I asked.

"I am many things, but you may call me the Dowager Countess," She said and walked back to the window.

"Oh!" I Immediately curtseyed and lowered my head.

"Now who are you, except for walking trouble?" she asked.

"I mean no trouble, your ladyship!" I said nervously.

"You don't mean trouble intentionally but I can spot chaos miles away. You're definitely prone to causing trouble," she said with a smile in her voice.

"I don't think I understand," I said.

"I saw you open the door. I felt the curiosity in your soul and the temptation to unleash the chaos within," she said as she looked up towards the moon.

"What do you mean? What was in the room? I'll never go back in there again, I-" She put a hand up under her veil to stop me from speaking.

"Do you know about the moon?" she asked.

"The...moon?" I said.

"The moon and the sun, they both see all that happens within their realm. The moon at night and the sun during the day. When the moon is gone, the world has a chance to hide its secrets from her." She spoke as if she were writing a poem.

"I suppose I do not know the moon as well as you do, your ladyship," I said and moved closer to the staircase.

"I know the moon very well. She tells me what she sees and shows me where to look. Come here, look! She is showing me her secret now," she said and pointed a finger towards the window.

I walked up beside her and looked down across the courtyard. I saw Yana running outside into the opening. She fell to her knees and threw her arms out to the sides. I saw strange white lights moving across the ground, it must have been dust in the moonlight. I turned and looked at the Dowager Countess and saw her staring at me, very close to my face. I could see large, wide, ice blue eyes focusing on me through the veil. I was frozen still, stuck in her gaze.

"You do not know the chaos that lies ahead, my child," she said.

"Mother." I heard a soft call from behind her. It broke the Dowager Countess's focus.

"Mother, that's enough." I looked and saw the triplets standing outside of the countess's room with the door open.

"Come back in now, It's time for Miss Cassandra to return to her bed," Faith said.

The Dowager Countess reached up to touch my cheek from under her veil but she stopped before she made contact.

"Goodnight, sweet flower," she said and turned to her room. I watched her get walked into her room with Faith and Hope flanking her. Destiny stayed outside of the door for a long moment, staring at me with the same stare the Dowager Countess had. Did they call her mother? This night had terrified me. After Destiny went into the room and the door shut, I ran as fast as I could back down the stairs and to my room. I went inside, locked the door, crawled under my blankets and I began to cry. That boy Pierre was right. This place was scary and full of secrets. Destiny was right, I should not have left my room at night, and I won't ever again.

The next morning I woke up to the bedroom slamming.

"Get up! Cassandra, get up!" she said as she stormed in and slammed the door.

"What's going on, is everything alright?" I asked as I stirred.

"Something's happened!" she said as she ran to the small desk and began brushing through her dark curls.

"What's happened?" I asked.

"I'm not sure but it must have happened last night, the whole house is in a state of chaos," she said.

Chaos. My throat dropped into the pit of my stomach. Was this something I had done? Did what happened last night get out?

"Wh-What do you mean chaos?" I asked, sitting up, searching for my work clothes.

Just then the door swung open and Destiny entered the room.

"Clean yourselves up and report to the servants hall for debriefing on what will be happening today. Here, put these on. You'll wear these everyday moving forward to allow everyone to know you represent the House Dawnlyn. Hurry, get ready." She paused and looked at me for a long moment before exiting the room and closing the door.

Destiny had set down two very beautiful brooches. They looked like some sort of fruit or plant. We dressed ourselves and added our new pins to our maid's dresses. When we got to the servants hall, the whole staff was sitting at the table except for Yana who stood alone in a corner.

"Ahem," Destiny said as she cleared her throat. "Attention everyone. We received notice late in the night that the house will not only be receiving guests this evening, but the Master will be returning home." Delilah and I looked at each other excitedly.

"There will be a lot that needs to be done in preparation for the arrival so please work hard and fast today," Faith said.

"I will be tending to the upstairs with my sisters, " Hope said, "Your superiors will direct each of you as necessary. Supper will be late tonight. Please be ready to be presented when you hear the chimes."

When the triplets finished speaking, they hurried out of the room. Madam Pytha walked forward next.

"You!" she said, pointing to me, "You will clean the library and the ballroom and then you will clean the terrace. Now!" she barked.

I stood and exited the room as Madam Morgan was surely about to bark orders at Delilah. On my way out, I heard the door to the outside open and a quiet "Psst!" noise. I looked behind me and saw Lord Harry standing with the door cracked.

"Miss Cassandra, psst!" he whispered. I looked at him and smiled and shook my head.

"I'm working, the Master's coming home," I whispered back and walked away.

"Well, let me join you!" he said and hurried in behind me.

"Lord Harry, you must be trying to get me in trouble," I said as I walked into the library.

"I would never try to get you in trouble," he said as he closed the library doors, "you seem to do that just fine on your own."

"Why do people in this house seem to think I am a troublemaker?" I said, setting down my cleaning supplies.

"Who said that to you?" he asked as he moved close behind me. I paused for a moment to consider my answer.

"N-No one. I just seem to be the one everyone is afraid of making a mess of things," I said, moving away from him.

"Is that because chaos favors you?" he asked. I stood still in shock that he had said that. Was it coincidence or did he know about the night before?

"I'm sorry, what do you mean?" I asked and slowly turned towards him. I gasped when I realized his face was inches from mine.

"M-My L-Lord?" I asked. I looked into his eyes and saw something new. They were different than the last time I saw him, they seemed to be brighter, more vibrant.

"Miss Cassandra," he said in a breathy voice, "tonight will be strange and new for all of us. The Master has not returned for a long time, don't let it intimidate you." He took my hand in his and examined it close to his face. My heart started to beat fast and I started to blush.

"Will you join me on the terrace tonight? I want to dance with you in the moonlight."

"My Lord...I-" I started.

"-Please say yes," he said as he kissed my hand.

"Yes," I blurted out in a strange excitement. He looked at me and gave me an evil grin.

"Until then, I cannot imagine anything more enjoyable," he said and kissed my hand again. I nodded.

"I'll see you tonight," he said and left the library with me standing at the desk in utter awe. What was Delilah going to say?

It was almost sundown by the time I had finished cleaning the terrace. I was exhausted. I never worked so fast or hard in my life. I stood up and dusted myself off as I heard the chimes ring inside the house. I made my way to the servants hall to meet with everyone and prepare to be presented to the Master and our guests. On the table, there were many white boxes with black ribbons on them laid out.

"Our Master and his guests will be here shortly. Everyone, take the box that has your name on it and make sure you wear these tonight for our event. These have been personally chosen for each of you. Now, everyone hurry and make your way outside to the front entryway for presentation," Destiny said. Delilah and I grabbed our boxes and headed to our room.

"Are you alright?" she asked me as I put my box on my bed.

"Yes, just nervous for the Master's return," I said as she put hers down.

"Me too, but it's very exciting. It's been so quiet here and a little boring," she said and squeezed my hand. We walked outside to meet the others together.

Outside, we stood at the end of the line of servants. Across from us was Lord Harry standing with the Dowager Countess' son, Hans. Hans was wearing a very disheveled looking, faded dress coat with messy hair. We all stood in silence looking down the road at the gateway. Lord Harry looked over at me and gave me a reassuring smile. After almost half an hour we heard the stomps of hooves down the road. First, a small, black carriage pulled up being pulled by 4 black horses. When it stopped in front of us, I could not take my eyes off the door. When it opened I saw a gentleman in a grey waistcoat and matching top hat exit. He had very defined facial features. He had high cheekbones and a very sharp nose. He had very white blond hair sticking out from under his hat.

"Theo!" Harry called. The man turned to Harry and smiled. He ran over to him and they embraced.

"Brother!" The man said, shaking Hans' hand. I knew this was Theo, the Dowager Countess' other son.

Next came another man from the carriage. He was quite large and built like a soldier. He had long, blond hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. The man said nothing to anyone but walked straight to the side of Theo who stood next to Harry. The last person out of the carriage was a small boy, maybe 10 years old. He wore a black coat and white shorts. He walked silently towards the steps up to the great house, past Theo and the new stern looking man. He stood under the shade of the awning looking down the road. After a few moments, their carriage pulled away and we heard the horses of another one coming.

As soon as it came around the corner, I knew this was the carriage that carried the Master of the House. It was a huge, black carriage with gold accents and pulled by 8 of the largest, black horses I had ever seen. The horses slowed as they turned to face the carriage in front of the house. It had red velvet window curtains that were closed. I heard a whimpering noise and saw the big, black dog come down the steps of the house and sit patiently in front of the carriage doors, waiting for them to open.