Morbid Tales Of Macabre Curiosity And Deranged Love: Book 1 – One Dark Night (part 1 of 22)

a Original Fiction fanfiction by Kathryn K Williams

Written by Kathryn K Williams with assistance/editing from Kimberly 
Williams.

Introduction
									
Well, I have not seen you around these parts before. Are you new to 
town?
			
Ahhh, I see... We do not get many travellers around Holland-Greystoke 
much these days, not after the happenings. 
									
What? You have not heard? I thought that was the reason for your 
travelling out to this desolate little nothing of a town. This town 
holds a dismal past and many a traveller used to pass by here, wanting a 
glimpse at the town that death settled upon all those years ago. 

It is true. Death does live in this very hollowed town and I can prove 
it. How do I know you ask? I'm the head examiner at the old death house 
down the road. I'm in charge of all the more gruesome of deaths, the 
only one with the stomach for it. Wait! Where are you off ta? Don't you 
want to hear my tale? I saw you looking over at Castle Greystoke. You do 
have your eye on that I presume. I can see it in your eyes. My dear 
friend, I think you need to join me on this bench here for I have a 
story to tell you about that esteemed Castle. For you may not wish to 
continue up there once you hear what I have to tell you. It is a tale of 
inauspicious incidents, grave consequences and unusual love.

Chapter One - A Cold Autumns Day (Castle Greystoke)

You will not find any evidence of the town of Holland-Greystoke on any 
map or listed in any of the history books, for the world would rather 
forget the events that transpired there long ago on that cold autumn 
week. The town itself was a prosperous little place surrounded by lush 
forests and rolling hills. Many unique and talented figures of the late 
1800's visited the little town in search of inspiration or escaping the 
stresses of city life. There were only a few roads in or out of town, 
which made it relatively easy for the townsfolk to keep track of 
everyone's comings and goings. The town was supported by two powerful 
Lords that built their mansions in the hills to either side of the town. 
The Holland family was to the north and the Greystoke family along the 
watery cliffs to the west. The presence of such high nobility brought 
many people with full purses and because of which the townsfolk found it 
easy to ignore the conflicts that resulted between the two grand 
households. 

The town square was busy that afternoon before the shadows befell the 
land. The sun was full and the winter chill had yet settled upon the 
land. This made for a good day to window shop and to eat at the many 
sidewalk cafes that were plentiful around the town square. Not a soul 
was aware that this would be the last day of sunshine that they would 
ever see. 

This abundance of people brought a smile to a young newspaper boy's face 
as he prepared for another days work. His skin pale against the glow of 
the sun and his oversized brown trousers nearly fell off his nonexistent 
hips; they would have surely dropped to the ground if his suspenders 
were to snap. Already one button had gone missing causing his large 
shirt to constantly come out on one side and no matter how often he 
tried to keep the shirt tucked in it would slip back out along his 
journey. This however did not bother the boy one bit. Not even the fact 
that the bottoms of the pants legs kept dragging upon the ground could 
wipe the smile off of his face. He fixed his newsboys hat upon his head 
and pulled his small vest tighter around himself, then raised a paper 
high in the air and started to shout the headlines in bold clear words. 

"Extra! Extra!" He called out over the crowd in a gentle, yet clear, 
young voice that caused several people to stop and look his way. When he 
was sure he caught a few eyes he continued to call out the top news of 
the day, "Holland Butler Knighted by Nincompoops!!! Has the Queen lost 
her mind!?!" He turned around to let the crowd get a good look at the 
paper that he held up high. Upon the front cover was a picture of a tall 
gangly man of who most knew as the Butler of the Holland Mansion, Victor 
Burnwell. The boy's smile broadened with delight as several of the 
passers by moved in closer.

"Boy, let me have one of those!" A large man in a business suit declared 
as he handed the boy a coin before taking the paper from his hand, "This 
is utter rubbish." He remarked, skimming over the paper, "How could the 
Queen pick such a person." He hit the paper with a free hand in 
frustration. 

A woman with a large hat covered in feathers atop her head also dropped 
some coins into the boy's hand, "They have to be thoughtless to Knight 
that man." She glanced over the paper she was just handed and was 
startled by what she read, "Lord Holland is planning a party to 
celebrate! How atrocious! I will need to buy a new gown if I am to go." 
She started to search the streets to see if there were any fancy clothes 
on display.

People suddenly swarmed the boy, each having something to say about the 
news of the day. Within moments every paper the boy had carried was 
bought up, leaving him once again to stand alone, yet there with still a 
grin upon his small freckled face. He patted his pocket, beaming to 
himself at the sound of the coins, the boss would be proud of him today. 
He skipped down the street with a jingle in his step, proud of a job 
well down. 

"I'm back, sir!" The boy called out as he approached a paper stand run 
by a burly man in a white apron, to keep the ink from rubbing off onto 
his clothes the boy suspected.  

"Why Jamie!" The man smiled down at the boy, "You are finished rather 
quickly. How did my littlest news boy do today?" He asked politely as he 
stepped out from his stand and knelt down to the child's height. 

"Great!" Jamie pulled out a pocket full of coins and showed the man his 
accomplishment, "I sold every last one."

The man took off his hat and smiled down at the pile of coins, "I have 
no idea how you do it my boy, but you have earned the most for me since 
turning up here." He stated slightly amused by the young boy, " I'm glad 
you talked me into letting you work for me." He admitted and presented 
his hat to the boy. 

Jamie gave the man a warm smile, "I'm glad you took me in." He dropped 
the coins into the man's hat, "Thank you for trusting me, sir." 

The man took a few of the coins out of the hat and placed them back in 
the boy's hands, "Here is your pay and..." He stood up and grabbed 
another paper; "I have a special job for you." He handed Jamie the 
newspaper, "You know where to take it." He gave the boy a sly smile and 
ruffled the hat upon his head causing the boy's short hair to become 
even more of a mess.

"Yes sir!" Jamie stuffed the coins in one pocket and the paper in the 
bag around his shoulder, "I'll take care of it right away, sir." He 
turned on his heels and headed west, towards the edge of town and up the 
only road to Castle Greystoke. 

The castle stood ominously over the town and was an impressive sight to 
behold. During the day it's shadow stretching long across the town and 
on nights of a full moon its towering spires could be seen peeking over 
the tree tops, silhouetted against brightly lit skies. The road up to 
the castle was a winding, steep incline; nevertheless Jamie did not mind 
the trip and soon the castle started to come into view, it walls a dark 
outline against the purples and pinks of the dusk sky. 

Most of the townsfolk of Holland-Greystoke feared going near the estate, 
however Jamie was different. He never found anything to fear of the 
castle, which is why he was given the special job of delivering their 
paper. Jamie reached the tall iron gates and looked in upon the towering 
stone structure from afar. The first time Jamie was sent here it was a 
test to get the job. At the time Jamie was willing to do anything for 
money, well, almost anything. He still remembered that first trek up the 
long mud-covered road and spotting the candlelight windows in the 
distance, flickering between the branched of that black forest that 
surrounded from all sides. Instead of fear he was filled with wonderment 
as he became curious as to what kind of person lived beyond those high 
walls. Who would need such an immense home? How many people lived within 
its walls? Was there a Princess somewhere within that was awaiting her 
Prince? Jamie was snapped out of his musing by the sound of someone 
calling out to him. 

"Why Good Evening Jamie!" A guard said with a smile from his post at the 
gates, "You have the Lord's paper, do you?" He asked, eyeing the boy's 
newspaper bag.

Jamie patted the bag at his side and returned the smile, "That I do, 
sir." 

"Come right in then." The guard opened a small wooden door off to the 
right of the gates, used only by servants and people with deliveries, 
like Jamie. "Knowing the Lord he will be glad to see you, as always." 
The guard affirmed with a nod.

"As I am to see him." Jamie admitted as he entered the ground. He 
quickly took off his hat and ran a hand through his matted, sweaty hair 
in an attempt to fix it before placing the hat upon his head once again. 
Back when Jamie first began to bring the papers to Lord Greystoke he 
would simply drop the paper off with the guard and leave. Then one day 
he ran into the Lord himself on his way out. The Lord was so impressed 
with the boy's bravery to approach his home that he started to request 
that the lad hand his paper over to him personally and ever since then 
the Lord would only accept his paper from Jamie and no one else.  

The guard led Jamie through the garden and up to the front door to the 
castle. Jamie always found himself marvelling over the sheer size of the 
main entrance hall; tall windows gave the boy a small glimpse into a 
world that he would never belong to. This would to be closest he would 
ever come to a place like this he thought as they mounted a set of large 
stone stairs that were framed by two large pillars. 

"I will see if I can find the Master." The guard stated, pushing a pair 
of large red oak doors opened and gave room for the boy to enter the 
main hall, "You stay right here." He commanded before he hurried across 
the hall and through another door, leaving the boy on his own. The hall 
made the boy feel even smaller then ever. No matter how many times he 
came to stand inside the main hall he could never take in ever sight. A 
large staircase rose up in the middle of the room and breached out in 
two directions, connecting with a long balcony that swept along both 
sides of the hall. Its banisters were made of the most elaborately 
carved red oak and spiralled like a snake all around edge of the stairs 
and balcony. There were more doors than Jamie could count, or imagine 
what could be behind them. Between the doors stood a few hand carved 
tables with an oval mirror above them, which Jamie figured were so they 
could check their hair or clothes before leaving. To either side of the 
tables stood coat racks, several with articles of outdoor wear already 
hanging upon it. An old trunk was pushed up against the wall under a 
window, it always caught Jamie's curiosity but he never dared open the 
thing for fear he would be banished from this place and never again be 
able to enter such a marvellous palace. 

Abruptly one of the doors at the far end of the hall opened and a medium 
sized, well-built man dressed in finest looking red smoker's jacket came 
into the room with his arms spread out in a greeting, a pipe in one hand 
and a book in the other, "Jamie, my lad, is it that time already?" He 
exclaimed dropping the book into one of the large pockets of the jacket 
and pulling out a gold pocket watch to glace upon its face, "How have 
you been?" He inquired returning the watch to his pocket. 

"I am fine, my lord." Jamie replied and gave a slight bow, "Things have 
been hectic in the news business today and there is big news." He pulled 
out the newspaper from his bag and handed it over to the man who 
accepted it gratefully. 

"Big news you say? I was just about to sit down for a read." The Lord 
admitted with a smile and patting the book in his pocket, "So you have 
good timing, my boy." He turned the paper over to read the front 
headline and his smile quickly disappeared.

Jamie's eyes drifted around the hall and glanced up to see a young girl 
about his age standing on the balcony above him. Her long black hair 
shimmered in the light of the chandelier above them. A long gown as 
black as night flowed around the girl as she moved along the balcony. It 
had a high neckline, long sleeve that let only her pale face and hand to 
be seen and there were elegant strips of lace that ran from the 
shoulders down the front of the gown. The girl brushed a lock of her 
hair over her shoulder and smiled down at Jamie in a warm yet playful 
manner, then pointed to the back of the hall before disappearing into 
another room. Jamie watched this with amusement. The Greystoke daughter 
was the real reason for his returns to the castle. Young Lady Maria 
Greystoke was a fair, kind child with the sweetest of smiles and a set 
of emerald eyes that had warmed Jamie's heart the first time they had 
fallen upon him. Jamie found himself lost in the memories of the girl 
when the Lord suddenly burst out.

"The outrage!!" The Lord shouted so loudly that Jamie jumped and spun 
around thinking it was he that the Lord's angry was aimed at. When he 
saw the man shaking the paper, his heart slowed slightly, "How could 
this happen?" He roared in anger, "That man... How..." He seemed to have 
lost all sense of speech all of a sudden as he paced in the hall, his 
eyes never leaving the paper. 

Jamie decided it might be best not to be around while the lord was 
enraged like this and decided to dismiss himself, "I should be on my way 
then, sir." He excused himself with a quick bow. 

The Lord turned to Jamie, his rage quickly replaced by his usual warming 
smile, "Nonsense." He stated in protest of the boy's departure, "You 
look like you have not had a good meal in ages. I am betting we can find 
something in the kitchen for you." The man suddenly turned to the guard 
that still stood by the door they had recently entered through, "I want 
you to take young Jamie here to find something to eat. Tell them that it 
is upon my order." He added a commanding tone to his voice that made the 
guard stand at attention. 

"Yes, my lordship." The guard walked over to Jamie and placed a hand 
upon the boy's shoulder, "Come this way." He said with a smile as he 
began to steer the boy towards one of the many doors out of the hall. 

"Wait!" The Lord called out again causing both guard and boy to stop. He 
dug in his pocket and knelt by the boy, "This is for your services, and 
it is for you to keep." He took the boy's hand, places a large gold coin 
upon his palm and closed his small fingers around it. "And this is for 
the paper." He added another, this time silver, coin to the boy's other 
hand, "I hope to see you with my paper first thing tomorrow." He winked 
at the boy before returning to his full height. 

Jamie nodded gleefully, "Anything, my lord." He pocketed the coins then 
followed the guard out of the hall. In all of Jamie's life he could 
never imagine anything like this would happen to him. He ran his thumb 
over the gold coin's cold surface, the feeling of which made his grin 
broaden and he found he needed to force back a giggle of glee. The guard 
swiftly lead Jamie through the many halls of the castle. Even more door 
passed by as Jamie tried to imagine what rooms could be hidden behind 
them. They passed a row of paintings that Jamie suspected we of former 
Lords of Greystoke Castle, their eyes followed the boy as he treaded 
along behind the guard. He felt he did not belong in such a beautiful 
place, he was nothing more then a lowly paperboy, and bowed his head 
against the gaze from those paintings. This had to be all a dream, but 
if it was he did not wish to awaken anytime soon. Suddenly Young Lady 
Maria stepped out from the shadows to block their passage. Jamie was not 
even aware of her presence until she was standing directly in front of 
them. 

"I will take him from here." Maria strictly ordered the guard.

"But, Lady Maria, your father ordered me to-" The guard started to 
protest when Maria stepped forward. There was unyieldingness in those 
green eyes that made the guard back down. She may have been small, but 
she knew she held authority in this household like everyone else. 

"Should you not be watching the front gates?" Maria set her eyes sternly 
upon the man, "I think there would be more trouble if someone were to 
arrive and no one was there to let them in." She stated with a soft 
smile. 

The guard suddenly seemed nervous against the girl's baring gaze, 
"Unquestionably, my ladyship. I will see to it now." The guard turned 
and looked down at Jamie, "You follow Young Lady Greystoke and do not 
pester her too much, you hear." The guard warned and waited for Jamie to 
nod in agreement before disappearing back down the hall.

The moment the man was gone Maria begun to giggle, "That was easier then 
I thought." She admitted with another snicker and bright smile. 

"You had me worried there, my lady." Jamie shook his head in dismay, 
"What if your parents find out?" He glanced around the hall making 
certain that they were alone. 

"You worry too much." Maria leaned close to Jamie and whispered in his 
ear, "They have yet to discover you are not a boy," She said with a sly 
smile and a twinkle in her eyes that made Jamie both nervous and fall 
more in love with the girl, "so they will not discover about us." She 
continued with a twirl and leaned against the far wall.

"I guess, my lady." Jamie mumbled rubbing the back of her head. Maria 
spoke the truth. In the past year no one had really caught onto Jamie's 
little secret. In actuality Jamie was a young female writer who was 
struggling to make her way until she could write a book worthy of 
publishing, which was turning out to take longer then she expected. When 
Jamie first ran away from her parent's home to Holland-Greystoke at age 
thirteen, she quickly found that she could not get a job as a girl. She 
soon discovered that by simply cropping her hair very short and wearing 
baggy cloths she could conceal her gender very easily and passed as a 
boy for many years. Lord Greystoke was the true test. Jamie was 
terrified at first that the man would discover her ruse, however he did 
not seem to suspect a thing. Yet, Maria, on the other had been something 
different. She was one of the few that had seen through her disguise. 
Usually Jamie would simply tell the person they were mistaken, however 
in the case of Maria, Jamie found it hard to lie to the girl when she 
set those big eyes on her. 

Maria took Jamie by the hand, "Come to my room." She urged gleefully, 
"I'll have my maid bring some food for you." She pulled the girl towards 
a set of stairs that lead into the residential part of the house. This 
would not be the first time Jamie had been in the presence of Marie, yet 
it still made her stomach twist in knots with fear that the girl's 
parents would find her with the girl. 

On Maria's thirteenth birthday her mother allowed her to select from any 
of the rooms in the castle. Her choice slightly startled the woman for 
Maria chose one of the rooms that were meant to be guest apartments. It 
was in the far back end of the castle, one of the less travelled areas 
of the castle so Maria felt more freedom to be herself. The main room 
had a large lounge with a fireplace; a set of red velvet furniture was 
set neatly in the middle of the room around a brass table with a glass 
centre, her maid having already set out a silver tea set for Maria only 
a few moments before. Off to the right was a door that leads to a large 
bathroom with an ebony bathtub and porcelain-washing basin. To the left 
of the lounge was Maria's bedroom. In which the girl had filled with all 
the most illustrious dolls and teddy bears from around the world. Her 
collection surrounded a large white canopy bed with long draping white 
curtain that could to draw closed to block out the world whenever Maria 
felt like it. Against the far wall from the foot of the bed stood a tall 
white vanity with oval mirror. A matching wardrobe and dresser took up 
the rest of the room; each covered with even more dolls and stuffed 
animals.

Upon entering the lounge Maria dragged Jamie over to one of the sofa and 
gestured for the girl to sit. Jamie plopped down and immediately began 
to admire the carvings along the wooden armrest. She traced a finger 
along the lines marvelling over the craftsmanship. Yesterday she would 
never thought she would be sitting upon such a luxurious piece of 
furniture and yet here she was, with a girl so beautiful it was like she 
stepped out of a dream. Maria crossed the room to a small corner table 
with a white and gold phone upon it. The phone was only connected to the 
Castle and could not make out going calls. Her mother claimed to have 
found out about the invention from one of her colleagues so no one else 
in town other then the Greystoke's even had one. She picked up the 
receiver and waited, "This is Maria." She spoke into the device, "Would 
Anita be there perchance?" She paused for a moment then glanced up at 
Jamie, "Jamie, what would you like to eat?" She asked with a loving tone 
while she twirled the phone cord around her finger. 

Jamie turned around to face the girl, "Anything, my lady. I'm not 
picky." She admitted sheepishly. It is hard to be picky when you usually 
only have enough money for a loaf of bread. 

"Okay then." Maria turned back to the phone, "Oh Hello Anita. I'd like a 
meal to be brought up to my room for my guest. Whatever is ready will 
do... Thank you." She lightly hung up the phone, then returned to 
Jamie's side and examined her, "You know you can drop the formalities 
while in my room." 

"I'm sorry." Jamie apologized, "I sometimes forget." 

"Well you do not have to worry in here. Only my personal maid ever 
enters." Maria explained then took Jamie's hand in her's, "Why don't you 
take a bath while we wait?" She invited.

Jamie blushed at the idea of using the same tub as such an elegant young 
lady, "I couldn't really." She protested profusely. 

"Now there is no need to be modest." Maria crawled across the sofa and 
over Jamie, "You do not have anything I have not seen before." She 
grinned mischievously.

Jamie back into the corner of the couch, "What if your parents do show 
up?" She asked slightly concerned. For the most part the two of them 
would only meet in the back garden or out by the lake where they would 
not be caught together. It was not only the fact that they were both 
girls that worried Jamie. It was also the fact was that Maria was a 
noble and Jamie would always be poor failing writer, a paperboy no less. 
No matter how she looked at it, she could not help to think that things 
would end in disaster. She shook the evil thoughts from her head. She 
loved Maria and was not going to let her go easily.

"Now Jamie..." Maria set those deep green eyes on Jamie; "You are not 
going to make me take off your clothes myself, now are you?" Her grin 
broadened as she slipped a hand under the untucked portion of Jamie's 
shirt and along her side. 

Jamie found she could not resist once she was entrapped by those eyes, 
she was even weaker when it come to the girl's gentle touch, "N... 
no..." She let out a sigh of defeat and quickly got to her feet, "I'll 
go wash up. You wait here, alright?"

"Awww..." Maria pouted sitting up on the couch with her arms crossed, 
"What fun is that?"

Jamie shook her head, "What am I going to do with you?" She leaned over 
and kissed the girl ever so lightly on the forehead then again upon the 
lips. Before she knew what she was doing Maria was unbuttoning Jamie's 
shirt and pulling the girl back onto the couch with her. 

Maria parted from the kiss and grinned up at the girl, "Are you sure you 
do not wish for my help?" Her hand slipped down the front of Jamie's 
pants causing the girl turn crimson. Maria got to her feet and pulled 
Jamie to the bathroom by the pants, "I will make sure you are thoroughly 
cleaned up." She said mischievously as she closed the bathroom door 
behind them. 

****

To be continued...

****

All characters and situations in this tale are copyright of Kathryn 
Williams (2006) All rights reserved.

If you wish to view art from this series please visit my deviant arts 
site at: http://shinigami-shimai.deviantart.com/ 

For more of my stories visit my deviant hearts site.

Also if you spot any typos or other errors please contact me.

Onwards to Part 2


Back to Morbid Tales Of Macabre Curiosity And Deranged Love: Book 1 – One Dark Night Index - Back to Original Fiction Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction