Burial of hearts the black widow's malice (2 page)

I unwillingly raised myself from
the bath; the frozen touch from the air which swept from under the door quickly
snapped me out of my tranquil state. Draining the water, I thoroughly dried
myself using the provided cotton towels; then placing on my robe I opened the
door and stepped back into the hallway. Walking over to my room, I almost lost
my balance as Snitzel fought me for further affection.

Steadily poising myself, I opened my
wardrobe. It was time to decide upon my general attire for today; as such this
would usually be an envisioned nightmare, but troubles leapt through my mind,
like arrows would shoot from castle tops, so I quickly chose a dreary, grey
coloured, full length dress, with faded gold embroidered décor; I adjusted the
tightness of the dress with one of my fabric belts, which also helped to keep
the cold from seeping through.

Alexander had just recently given me a
necklace for my birthday celebrations, so I saw it fitting that I wore this; in
essence, this fragile gift gave me a connection with him, no matter
where
he may be.

Makeup was quite uncalled for
today, so gracefully placing Snitzel in my arms, I left my room making my way
through the dimly lit hallway, down the stairs, to see Doris from afar flirting
with her fancy man Mr Fenbuck, as he liked to be called. He was a large,
muscular blacksmith with a fiery temper, but in all honesty underneath he was a
tender man, as long as you did not cross him you would be perfectly safe.

I continued through the various
rooms, watching my step as I made my way past a selection of barrelled ales and
wine for the ladies, eventually reaching the pantry. I placed my hands within a
spare barrel, reserved for the salting of fish; reaching in, I lifted out a
small silver- finned fish and hastily took it to the kitchen for a little
preparation.

The fish had already had the guts
removed, so
thankfully
I did not have to undertake that unsavoury task.
Retrieving a knife from the sharpening block, I sliced through the fish,
completely removing the oily skin, as Snitzel was not too keen on it. After the
skin was fully removed, I flaked the fish into a small wooden bowl and placed
it on the stone floor, avoiding Snitzel as she came running up from behind me,
eager to eat.

 Wondering out of the kitchen I
came upon Doris, whom was now stood alone.

“Doris, can we talk? It is very
important”.

We chose to be seated in the
private dining quarters; as with the kitchen, it had a stone floor; large
tables governed this room, covered in lace cloths and a single candle holder on
each of the four tables. Moving my eyes around the room, it was not the best
maintained in the building, webs spread by spiders were skewed in almost all
directions, some of which seemed to defy the laws of physics; red drapes hung,
loop holed around large, metal nails were the specialty feature.

Speaking to Doris, I told her of
the occurrence the night before, all that had happened to me and all that had
been spoken of. She was a wise lady, though very loose worded, which more often
than not, caused her unnecessary regrets; so I felt she would be able to help
me per se. Doris turned to me and spoke in a voice of unbiased sympathy.

“Avis, Alexander will always be a
great man to you and to many others, though do you not think he was a little
loose ended in his mysterious magickal workings?”.

“And
what
do you mean by
loose ended?
”.
I said promptly, in a forceful tone.

“Well… he, would not always bring
closure darling; he was adventurous and would take risks, you know like me with
the men; but as far as I could make out from talking to him, he was searching
for the amulets that you just spoke of”.

“
Perhaps
you are right; I
will need to find out more information on these amulets”.

“I heard the librarium has
knowledge on the amulets, I would go with you, but urgent matters call, my
eyebrows are looking rather sluggish, if I do say so myself; I do not want to
put off the men now do I?”.

These words causing me a sudden
rush of thought, I decided the librarium would be an appropriate place to start
my search for answers. I rose up, thanking Doris for her kind advice and giving
her a rationed hug before I left.

CHAPTER 2

My stride quickening, I ventured out
through the cobblestone street. This area ‘Miltontree Lane’ was somewhat of a
devil’s dream; the houses and shops seemed only to be held up by the will of
the owners, some even tilted at jagged, unsightly angles; windows were somewhat
of a rare commodity here, as the local children have become quite accustomed to
rock- throwing instead of the usual games, played in more desirable locations
of town. The rat infestation was as such, an amusement to myself, they had
grown so large from strewn leftovers that they had reversed the role of nature;
rats chasing cats, I ask you, God’s law has been
forgotten
here.

At the top of our street was the
poor man’s water fountain, surrounded at all times by a varied selection of
drunken individuals, full time comedians if you will.  Following the
meandering path to the right, I quickly came to ‘The Malkaretz Librarium’; a
gracious building, built from the finest custom-made marble blocks, with
sculptures of old, lovingly maintained; the building itself rose up in a mere five
years, two hundred and thirty four days and sixteen hours; as noted by the
age-old historian whom plagued the townsfolk with unwanted facts.

Step by step I came closer
towards the entrance. Guards stood stern at the doors in case any troublesome
acts were to occur. After entering, I came to the registration table; it was
large and made of walnut. A gold pen was the sole commodity. A small dwarf-like
man leant forward towards me, his eyes beady and piercing, with combed back,
frizzy grey hair revealing a noticeable scar; he also suited a moustache of
divine
proportions, which tips curled perfectly. I wondered for a moment's sake if he
could at all read my thoughts, surely not? But before I could think further he
spoke to me, spitting with almost every word he gave.

“Can I take your name
please
?
”.

“Avis Aldebourne”.

“Have you used the librarium
before? I presume not so”. He said in demeaning tone.

“No, I have not”.

“Indeed, my presumptions correct
as always. Wise are my ways wicked my actions. Now if you would be as noble as
to fill out this form; am I correct this time to presume you can write?
”.

Not giving an answer, I took the
form, dabbing the quill in the ink as needed.

Name:                 
 Mrs Avis Aldebourne

Occupation:        
Housekeeper

Address:            
The Groantrin Inn,

                          
Miltontree Lane, Malkarertz   

Ref ID
:                
…..

Pausing, I looked back up to the
assistant.

“Excuse me, what does the Ref ID
refer to?
”.

“Reading is not a strong point of
yours either is it Avis?
Note
to the right, which is opposite to the left that it says ‘for librarium use
only’”.

After correctly writing out my
details upon the form, I placed it before the librarium assistant, then I
swiftly walked into the large gathering area, so as to avoid any further
nauseating conversation.

To my front was the general
section, covering works of fiction by countless authors. To my right, was the
nonfiction section and to my left was reserved for the religious and ancient
manuscripts.

The room was large and airy,
echoes followed you wherever you would decide to venture; from the smallest of
pins dropped, the sound magnified for all to hear. Lit by sunlight through the
magnificent chalice windows, it radiated beaming light to almost every corner.
The librarium is only available during the day as not to risk the use of fire
to lighten the rooms, so I hurried along to find what I came for.

Scurrying to the left, I strolled
down the long chamber, the walls of which were lined with perfected oil
paintings of all the mayors of the city, which were ever to take office. The
ceiling domed with large oak supports carved artistically to add to the
dramatic effects placed before me. Mosaics were precisely embedded before my
feet, donned in a transparent varnish, so as not to allow the artwork to walk
away on the soles of the visitors.

After a timely 400 yards, I came
to where the books were stored. As I entered, a sign hung before a table,
advising any person(s) present to use the provided literary books, to find the
required
item(s).

Seating myself, I opened the
first book. Aged charmingly, crisp to the touch and sorted alphanumerically; I
carefully turned the pages, raising my head in thought; but to no avail, I
could not think of any possible names.

Shrugging off the set back, I saw
another assistant moving a large wooden trolley, on an outlandish rope
structure, stacked high with books, ready to be placed back in their specific
homes. Speaking to her, she promptly directed me over into a barely lit corner
of the room and pointed with her scrawny finger to “the amulets of ancients”.
Thanking her, she continued with her daily tasks.

I gazed for a moment at the
leather covering, etched with archaic floral designs, loosing myself as I
weaved throughout; my eyes jolting furiously as though becoming unbalanced by
madness; I shook my head, managing to regain a state of normality and removed
the book from the shelve.

 I directed myself towards a
vacant seating area. The cover black, like charcoal unlit, it portrayed an
amulet affront, with eight curved edges and a gem centred within. I began to
read. The words described ancient myths of rarely told of places:

“Far be it the land
of
Malkarertz has but seven gates, the first unlocked only by one's desire
within; a world awaits those who are found worthy to venture there. The amulets
do wait before thee, each with the power to unlock another; be it you find the
sixth, the seventh will follow”.

Mentioned loosely inside of the
grimoire was the location of where these gates were to be found:

“Within the
woodland of the north, lay a cave marked by trees of eternal growth; they
circle and entomb so that only the worthy shall see”.

After writing down adequate
details upon the folded parchment, I exited the librarium; my last breath
exhaled with a disapproving tone to the assistant at the entrance, which was
met with similar visual hostilities.

I wandered back to Miltontree
Lane, seeing Doris at the market, I increased my pace so as to catch her.

“Doris, I need a quick word please”.

“Why hello darling, how can… I help you?
Darling you have a cut on your face”.

Touching my face, I felt the slight
trickling of blood, how strange; picking up a shard of glass I watched my
reflection appear distorted, between the smeared
mud
.

“
No
more”. I said in an eager
tone.

“I have had enough strange events for a
lifetime
.
Now Doris, I have been to the librarium, I need to ask for your permission for
time off my duties, if I may?
”.

“Yes my dear that is fine; perhaps
Snitzel can clean the rooms instead; I heard paw prints are the new
must
have
. Do not forget that I am here if you ever do need me my darling”.

With that I needed to prepare; looping
between people spending their coin in the market, I nearly ended up like a fish
in a net. I eventually managed to make my way back to the inn. Upon returning,
I collected my coin, placing it within a strong leather pouch for if at all I
may need it; I did not know what to expect from where I was going, or if I even
could arrive at all, so searching my room I gathered several varieties of food,
a small silver dagger that was given to me by my father (embossed with ancient
symbols and a fragment of a dragon's claw) as well as other smaller useful
items.

Well prepared, I headed north
afoot to “Malkarertz Forest”. A large flower, the Raven Orchid, marked the
opening to the forest; the darkened petals bellowed words of death, granted to
journeys long forgotten. Wildlife trickled through my gaze, quivering as I
raised their attention. The trees stood self-righteous before the undergrowth
below, reaching heights not touched by man, their roots seizing the ground
below. The sun blazed gloriously upon the forest; the trickles of darkness
forbidden upon the tops of the trees, a love given above from the mighty,
stripped of splendour as it ventured to the forest floor below.