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Sun filtered through the bedroom window, warming her face as her eyes fluttered open. The window shade wasn’t drawn, as she was sure she had left it last night, but Viktor always had the habit of opening them when he woke up, eager to see what was happening outside.
At that thought she paused. Where was Viktor, he always woke her up after he had gotten dressed which was never any later than sunrise. He liked to get an early start on his day, and didn’t like to eat breakfast without her. Judging by the amount of light now shining on her face it was sure to be nearly nine o’clock, far past any sensible hour for Viktor to let her sleep in. Fanny slowly shuffled towards the window, taking the barest glances outside to see if he wasn’t working in the lawn. When she found the front yard devoid of any life, except of course for her prize camellia bushes, she supposed that made sense, he rarely did yard work without her. There was really only one other place for him to be, so after hurriedly tugging on a day dress she scampered to the kitchen.
“Viktor?” she called. The house was eerily still as she waited patiently for a response. She called a few more times but only the ticking of the grandfather clock called back to her.
Where on earth could he be. She thought. She glanced around the kitchen, trying to find any explanation for this strange disappearance, when she spotted a half open cupboard.
Viktor would never have left a cupboard open, it made the kitchen look disorderly to have pantries and things left open, it exposed all the clutter inside.
She peered into the cabinet and took stock of its contents. Mostly just various spices, everything seemed accounted for though she noticed they were out of onions and garlic. She would have to go to the store… Oh! He could have gone to the store for something, yes, that was probably it. Fanny stepped back surveying the rest of the kitchen. When she found everything seemed to be in order she decided to make their usual breakfast while waiting for him to come back. Viktor always had two eggs and a piece of toast for breakfast, sometimes with grape jelly if he was feeling particularly adventurous that day. Cooking up their breakfast didn’t take up nearly as much time as Fanny had hoped, but she patiently waited for him to come back, refusing to touch the food even after it had gone cold. The Grandfather Clock just kept ticking away in the parlor.
Finally it became apparent that something was wrong. Grabbing her shawl Fanny made up her mind, wherever Viktor was, she was going to find him. Obviously he was in some sort of trouble, if he hadn’t even woken her up, nor it seemed, stopped for breakfast as he definitely would have asked her to make it.
The trekk into town also hadn’t taken nearly as long as she would have liked. Fanny had been hoping it would give her time to puzzle together what was happening, but she was startled from any thoughts as she passed Mrs. Violet’s house.
Mrs. Violet’s house sat just a block away from the main street of town. It was a pretty house, emphasis on was, recently though it had fallen into quite major disrepair. When Edward had been there they had kept the place in pristine condition, always hosting some party or social gathering. Fanny remembered Violet then. She had been a lively thing, and positively doted on by her husband. But the house's blue shutters were now cracked, the rose bushes were dead, and the figure she saw in the window was fragile looking. Fanny had always made a point to visit Violet whenever she got the chance, she knew what it was to be lonely, and didn’t wish that kind of pain on anyone. Violet, for her part, had always been kind if not a bit fluttery whenever Fanny would visit. Always doing some mundane craft or another. “I just don’t know what to do with myself now” she would say each time “living for one is quite hard once you forget how to do it.” It always struck Fanny, that that was such an odd way to phrase it. It also struck her that she was glad not to have to think about it, as she got to go back home to Viktor and tend to his needs.
When she saw Violet in the window now though, she saw none of that simple kindness on her face. Instead her eyes were filled with a quiet understanding, and it seemed to Fanny, pity.
She quickened her pace after that. Shaken entirely from her thoughts. She went first to the barber shop.
“Hello!” She called cheerily. Conner Stirling was sitting behind the counter when she walked in but quickly rose to greet her.
“Why hello there Mrs. Anderson.” He said, taking her hand as she offered it.
“You know me and Viktor got married quite a time ago.” She said, shaking her head. The familiarity of their little routine returned her wits to her though.
“And you don’t look a stitch different from before you ever met that man. But if you insist, Hello there Mrs. Wilson.” The exaggeration he put into her name was cut into by his chuckling. “What can I help you with, did Viktor run out of shave cream?”
“Well,” she wasn’t quite sure how to broach this. Whatever she said would likely be repeated to the day's customers and would almost certainly get back to Viktor. She’d hate to see the look on his face if he found out she had gone asking after him only to find him doing some mundane chore or errand. “You haven’t seen Viktor anywhere around have you?”
A look of curiosity passed over his face but in a moment of quick thinking she came upon a reason. “You see he has been so kind to me lately and well I was just thinking that I might do something nice for him and buy him a gift, he said he was going out this morning but didn’t say where and I’m terribly worried he might catch me.”
Mr. Conner stroked his beard as he eyed her over, before dissolving into a fit of laughter. “Oh I don’t know why you women think you’re so sly. Why looking as nervous as you did I knew just what you were about the moment you stepped in here!”
Hardly. Fanny thought, though she was happy her quick lie had diverted his suspicion. “So you haven’t seen him?” she prodded.
“No not today dear. Though I’m glad to have seen you, it’s been quite some time since you’ve come to town on your own.”
“I came into town for christmas.” she protested. Though Christmas had been quite some time ago. Honestly there wasn’t any real need for her to come to town without Viktor so she didn’t really see why Mr. Conner had even commented on it.
“Alright missy” he said, seeming to sense her annoyance, “I was just meaning to say that you ought to come by more often, I miss seeing you.”
Fanny sighed at that and tugged absently at the corner of her shawl. They had been close before Viktor had come to town, but when she and Viktor got together she hadn’t been able to see Conner quite as often. Viktor didn’t like her being so close to another man. It was understandable really, but, looking at him now, she really saw how long it had been since the had properly talked. “Well,” she said, “that was very sweet of you, I suppose I will have to come by more often. Maybe she could show Viktor it was just harmless. He knew she loved him, it ought to be fine.
She said a brisk goodbye, and made her way back onto the street.
If he hadn’t gone to the barbershop, then there weren’t many other places he would have gone. She thought again of the pitying look Violet had given her.
When Edward had left her it had been the talk of the whole town. Mostly because her and Edward had always been the ones people turned to as an example. The perfect couple with the perfect house and the perfect life. At first it had been unthinkable, but, well, the more people thought about it the more they realized he probably ought to have left much sooner. Some held the belief that he left because Violet couldn’t bear children, others attributed it to her supposed boring personality, but most just assumed that he had run off with that harlot Rosalyn Bedell.
Viktor had never liked Rosalyn. She was somewhat of a recluse, and had only been in town a few days before people had branded her a whore. Despite her withdrawn nature she was always at the center of town gossip, and despite her reputation Edward had been seemingly taken by her. So when she disappeared, and then Edward a few days later, it didn’t take long for people to start assuming-
“Excuse you.” A sharp voice cut right through Fanny’s spiral of thoughts as she bumped into somebody.
“Oh, good afternoon Claudia.” she said, trying to regain some dignity. Oh this is why she didn’t like to go out without Viktor, she was always getting into some trouble or another, and he always reminded her to mind where she was walking.
“Mmm, yes, and it’s pronounced Cloud-ia. Not that I expect a simple lady like you to understand the difference.” She said dismissively, and at that the three ladies with Claudia all let out breathy laughs as they all moved past her.
After a quick moment to collect herself she made up her mind. “Wait” she called after them. As the sun grew higher in the sky she felt her chances of finding Viktor dwindling. If anyone had heard anything, it would have been one of these four. “You haven’t seen Viktor around, have you?”
They all stopped at that, turning to face her with almost giddy smiles on their faces.
“You’ve only had your husband for two years and you’ve already lost him?” Laughed the tallest of the three.
“Well you can hardly be surprised I mean look at the way she is dressed, My husband would run away too if he saw me in such dreadful attire.” Said another.
“You know,” said a girl she recognized as Elaine Connoway. “I think I heard Mrs. Harley talking about him this morning.” She said, clearly the only one trying to be of any help.
Claudia would have probably snorted with laughter at that, had she not been such a refined lady. As it was, she simply clutched her stomach, laughing for a moment before calming down enough to say “Oh Ms. Harley was talking about him? What? Between talking to Violet Clarke and talking about the fairies in her garden she had enough time to bother with the Wilson’s business?” she looked sternly at Elaine “You’d have to be daft to ever listen to a word that woman has to say.”
“You would know daft.” Elaine muttered to herself.
Thankfully Claudia either didn’t hear or didn’t care as she turned to Fanny then, “You’ve taken up quite enough of our time dear, if you’re smart you’ll run home and wait for your husband.”
“Yeah. Just like violet.” the other two girls said to her before walking away with Claudia, who had begun to continue down the street.
Fanny gave a quick smile to Elaine, a silent thank you, and Elaine nodded before running off after the others. A small pang ran through Fanny’s heart as she watched her go, she could never fathom how such a sweet girl as Elaine had fallen in with such a horrid group of crows, but some mysteries are harder to unravel than others, and besides, she had her own problems to deal with.
So, putting any worried thoughts behind her, she headed off towards Ms. Harley’s house.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
The walk to Cassidy Harley’s house was a long one. It was clear through the other side of town, and quite a bit off the beaten path. Why Cassidy would know anything about Viktor was beyond Fanny, but it was the only lead she had, and the old hag had always had a knack for finding her way into other people's business.
Needless to say Fanny had had a lot of time to think on the way over, and a lot to think about. And the more she thought about it the less Viktors actions the past couple days made any sense. He had been staying in at night more. Normally he would grab drinks with a few friends or be working late, but the past few nights he had been sure to be home before sunset. And where he would normally eat two servings of whatever dinner she prepared, he was barely managing half. This was all made doubly weird by the fact that he had not been opening the window shades in the morning. She should have realized that fact sooner, because it having been open this morning means that something must have been different. She couldn’t puzzle out what though, and with the way he had been acting, this may be silly to think but, he almost seemed to be afraid of the dark.
The inaneness of that thought was enough to bring her back to herself, and she looked around the small trail she was headed down. Weeping willows sat quietly along the edges, dotted with tall pine trees between them, looming over her and casting shadows every which way. But it was the stillness of the surrounding forest that almost gave her pause. Even in the coldest of months there were always animals about, and now, in mid April, it should have been almost bursting with squirrels and birds and even deer, but Fanny didn’t even see a single bug.
She quickened her pace and not much longer after that she walked up to an old cottage house. The trellis was covered in creeping ivy, and rows upon rows of different flowers now dotted the path up to the door, and sitting there on the front porch as if waiting for her, was Cassidy Harley.
“Hello Miss!” The old lady called. She was almost 85 if Fanny was remembering correctly. Honestly she didn’t know much about the woman. But the plump cheerful figure in front of her certainly didn’t match up with the stories of a crazy old bat who believed in folk tales.
“Good afternoon Cassidy. I was wondering if I might talk to you for a moment.” a few seconds of silence passed as Cassidy seemed to stare right through her, cut short by her sudden burst of laughter.
“What a funny young thing you are! You are already talking to me honey!” She ushered Fanny inside and immediately started rummaging through her pantry. Fanny had never been inside the house before so while Cassidy’s back was turned she moved to look curiously around the place. There were plants absolutely everywhere, small potted flowers and herbs, even a small tree; And though they were perched precariously on the windowsills or set at odd places throughout the house they were really the only form of clutter. In fact if it weren’t for the plants Fanny would almost say this was a perfectly normal house.
She hadn’t really been listening to the older lady as she had been rambling on about one thing or another, so it took her a second to realize she had stopped talking. Fanny quickly stopped her gawking at the house and turned towards the older lady who was grinning mischievously at her. “You know some people consider it rude to go looking around a person's house like that.”
“I’m so sorry ma’am please forgive me I-”
“It’s a good thing I’m not one of those people.” She stopped Fanny’s frantic apologizing and winked. “Would you like a grand tour!” she asked.
“Well no, you see I actually came on some quite urgent business and-” but the old woman was already pulling her by the arm taking her through the rest of the house.
Each time Fanny tried to start on asking Cassidy about Viktor the old woman would interrupt her with descriptions of one plant or another.
“Ooooh and this one here has just the loveliest smell,” she said, clipping off a few of the flowers. “You know,” she said, turning to Fanny. “They say it wards off evil.” Fanny didn’t see how such a simple thing as a flower could ward off evil, but she didn’t complain when the old woman pinned them to Fanny’s shawl. It seemed there would be no stopping this woman once she had her mind on something so Fanny decided the path of least resistance would be best.
“Missus Cassidy I came here to ask you something just of that nature!” and this finally seemed to catch the old ladies attention.
“Well what kind of trouble could a pretty young thing like you be in?”
“It’s not me exactly it’s,” she looked around as if someone else may be listening. “It's my husband. I think he-”
“What, you’re married? You are far too young for that business and besides, you seemed so bright. Why would you want to bother with some crummy old man?”
“I think he must be in some trouble because I haven’t seen him since last night, it seems he just up and left this morning-
“If I were you” Cassidy interrupted, “I would be grateful. You have the whole house to yourself now you are free to do what you please without worrying what anyone may think! You should just-”
“Would you listen!” Fanny cried. “I don’t care what you think of my marriage you don’t know anything about it and anyhow I didn’t come here for life advice from an old croon who lives all by herself and never gets any visitors because the whole town thinks she's gone bonkers!” Fanny stopped and covered her mouth suddenly. Casidy, for her part, seemed entirely undisturbed. “Oh my, I’m, I’m so sorry. I suppose the stress of the situation is sort of getting to me… could you please forgive my rudeness?”
Cassidy just shook her head and patted Fanny on the shoulder. “It’s all right dear, I’ve never cared for what people think of me so you don’t really have to worry about that.” she walked over to an old arm chair and sat down, directing Fanny to follow suit on the couch. Once they were settled she continued. “I suppose I wasn’t quite paying attention to your urgency before, what did you say? Your husband is missing?”
Fanny just nodded, the terror of it all finally sinking in. She didn’t know what she would do without Viktor. If he really was gone, and the more she thought about it the less sure she felt he would come back, then she would be beside herself with grief. He had told her how to live her life, not in the harsh way of any drunkard but in the kindspoken way of a man who knows that he knows better than his wife. And he had truly been the only link between her and society, Girls like Claudia treated her poorly now, but they at least had to tolerate her because she was a proper housewife and homekeeper. Without Viktor she would, well she was worried she would turn into Violet. And who would visit her then? She only realized she had been crying when Cassidy pushed an old kerchief into her hand.
“It’s okay dear.” she said. “I’m sure you’ll find him.”
It was a long while of silence where Fanny cried and was comforted by the old woman, before she finally had the wherewithal to ask “You don’t know anything do you?”
Cassidy paused for a minute and replied “Depends, who is your husband.”
“Viktor. Viktor Wilson.” She said and a look of clarity passed over Cassidy's face.
“I’m afraid I do know something.” she looked down towards her lap, face contorting in worry. “It may be best for you to go home, there’s nothing you can really do about him now I’m afraid.”
“What do you mean.” Fanny almost felt as if she may start crying again.
“Well… There’s still a chance but…” at this point it was clear that the woman was talking more to herself than to Fanny but none of that mattered.
“Do you know where I can find him? What happened to him? Please I… I have to know.”
Cassidy looked up at her, this was the first instance of fear she had seen on her face and something about it shook Fanny to her very core. She got the feeling that this woman wasn’t very afraid of anything. “If you’re determined.” she whispered. “If you have a heart of steel. You may find him in the cemetery.”
For some reason she was less surprised by that answer than she should have been, and a cold icy sense of purpose gripped her. “Alright then.” she said, quickly standing up. “off to the cemetery.”
“Wait!” Cassidy quickly stood up. “You must be careful he, he may not be there, but other things certainly will be.” She walked briskly to the kitchen, returning with some sort of knife. “Take this.” she said, pressing it into Fanny’s hand. “Please. If only for my own sanity.”
Fanny turned the knife in her hand. It was like nothing she had ever seen, a heavy crystal handle with a smooth blade of pure silver. She contemplated its weight for a moment before sliding it into the pocket of her dress. “Okay,” she said “Okay thank you.” she gave Cassidy a quick hug and slipped out of the house without another word between them.
It was strange, she had never visited Cassidy Harley before, a combination of her distance from town and her, let's just say, less than ideal reputation. Now though, she felt silly for letting those things stop her. And whatever happened tonight, she was sure she would return here, back to Ms. Harley.
She had to at least return the knife, after all.
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The walk back towards town was just as silent as it had been on the way to Ms. Harley’s, but it felt twice as long. The sun was fast sinking in the sky and she knew with some sort of certainty that if she didn’t get to viktor before sundown she probably wouldn’t get to him at all. So she walked through the town as briskly as possible.
“Mrs. Wilson!” Conner Stirling called out to her as she made her way past his shop. There was a crease of worry upon his brow that Fanny didn’t even notice. “Did you find what you were looking for?”
She stopped walking and turned slightly to face him. “Yes I think so.”
“Ah, splendid!” he said, though his smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Say, this morning you said Viktor was coming to town?”
She didn’t have time for this. The cemetery was all the way down by the church and every moment she stood here was another moment the sun crept closer to the horizon. She had to go.
“Mrs. Wilson?” Mr. Conner said again.
“Yes.” she replied, collecting herself. “Yes he did say he was coming to town today, Why? Is there some sort of problem?”
“Not a problem exactly ma’am it’s just, I was talking to some of the men today and they were saying about how weird Viktor has been acting. You know he’s normally such a sensible guy, but lately they say he’s been quite short with people. And kept mumbling about a “her” always wanting more.” That didn’t make any sense. Fanny never asked Viktor for anything. She knew how he felt about spending money, and he was fairly good at sensing when she needed something anyhow, and if anything she had been very giving lately. “The way he was talking well, the men at the shop certainly didn’t seem to think it was about you. Then I remarked upon how you said he would be in town today, and how I would give him an earful if he was stepping out on you, but I never even saw him. He always stops by the shop to chat if he comes to town, but I never even saw him…” Conner Sterling was a kind man. In any other circumstance she would likely have told him about her day, or even asked him to come with her. She knew he wouldn’t hesitate, and she had always liked that about him, he always seemed willing to help.
But she couldn’t. If she went to the cemetery and her husband really was off with some tramp, she couldn’t bear to have anyone else witness that.
“I have to go.” she said, and didn’t wait for a response. She wouldn’t have heard one either, for the roar of emotions brewing within her was too loud for her to hear anything. It wasn’t until she was a few steps away that she realized he had called her Mrs. Wilson. As if it took her husband cheating on her for him to acknowledge she had one at all.
Oh god. Her husband cheated on her. She was sure of that now, honestly how stupid was she? Scared of the dark? Ridiculous. Obviously those nights with friends or work hadn’t been noble at all, he had probably been with her. Whoever ‘her’ was. And he had called it off, she was grateful at least for that, that he had seemingly tried to call it off as he had been home early. Or maybe he had been planning to run away, trying to cover his plans by staying home for a few days. She had to admit it had put her at ease a little, it had been nice to have her husband at home for early dinner. Oh she had been such a fool. What kind of woman can’t tell when her husband is cheating on her? She hurried her pace. If he was planning to leave maybe she could stop him. Convince him to come back to her.
She was trying to think of the right words to speak to him when someone barreled into her side, knocking her down.
“DON’T” screamed Violet, now practically sitting on top of her. “Don’t go there please!” she was crying, but there was more passion in her eyes and voice than Fanny had seen since Edward left.
“Violet what are you-”
“You can’t Fanny you just can’t! They’ll kill you please!”
“Violet this is preposterous what are you even talking about.”
The frail girl was full on wailing now. Clutching both of Fanny’s shoulders, she just kept screaming don’t go.
It was a few long moments of horrid screeching before she was finally able to wrench Violet off of her and stand up. The poor girl just laid there on the ground weeping.
“Oh violet…” Fanny whispered. As scary as that moment had been she felt she understood a little better now. She understood what it was like to be left. “They are just people,” she reassured. “And Viktor loves me, or, he used to, he won’t hurt me.”
Violet simply cried louder, but she allowed herself to be pulled to her feet.
“Please,” she whimpered.
Fanny just looked at her with a deep sadness. “I have to.”
That look of pity passed over Violets face again and she pushed away from Fanny, running back into the house and slamming the door.
Fanny stood there for a long time staring at the wood door. Wondering if it might not be better to go inside and stay with Violet instead of going after a man determined to leave. But a crow call shook her from her trance. She had dedicated so much of her life to this man during the past few years. She couldn’t just let him go.
So she turned to walk towards the cemetery, not knowing any other choice.
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Dusk had mostly fallen by the time she walked through the iron gates of the cemetery. Tall weeds grew in patches and scraped at her ankles. There were a million places he could be, but for some reason her eyes were drawn to a marble mausoleum standing in the center of the field of graves. She’s not quite sure what drew her to it, but of all the buildings in the graveyard, it seemed completely untouched by time and degradation.
“Hello?” she called out as she tramped over grave sites towards the building. “Viktor are you out here?” Nothing but her own voice echoed back to her.
She felt the heavy weight of the knife within the folds of her dress and was suddenly glad to have it. Though it wasn’t quite dark yet she got the sense that once darkness fell this wouldn’t be the safest place. She strode towards the mausoleum. The sooner she got things sorted out with Viktor the better.
She had to circle the stone building twice before she found the door. It was slightly ajar, but she managed to pry it open enough to stumble inside. At first the sight that greeted her was gorgeous. The fading sunlight from outside danced around the tomb, glinting off the pale white marble and coloring everything a rosy kind of orange. Then she saw him. There, silhouetted within it all, was Viktor. Her Viktor. She could have cried with relief.
“Darling,” she said, moving towards him. “I’ve heard the most awful things about you today but I’m not mad, if we could just go home I would-” As soon as she moved to face him she could see that something was wrong, his face looked drawn and pale, and he seemed as if he hardly even noticed her. Eyes fixed lovingly on the figure she now saw lying on the slab of marble in the middle of the room. “Viktor…” she said, beginning to understand there was something very wrong.
The light was fast fading as the sun dipped down below the horizon and, in one desperate attempt to shake him from his trance, she tugged violently at his arm “We have to go Viktor we have to leave now. I don’t know what’s happened to you but I don’t care we need to-”
He flung her away from him. “I have to be here when she wakes up.” he said simply. Fanny could still see the body from where she was lying on the floor. And that is what it was, a body. She could see no rise and fall of the chest and no sign of life on her pale cheeks. As she looked on though she realized something else, she looked exactly like Rosalyn Bedell. The same midnight black hair, pale skin, and gorgeous face adorned this corpse, none of this was making any sense. If this was Rosalyn where was Edward? Hadn’t they run off together? And why was she here? Surely Fanny would’ve heard if she had been buried in this cemetery. She just kept staring at Rosalyn, she was dead, she had to be, there still had not been a single sign of breath beneath her breasts, but she seemed utterly untouched by rot, if anything she seemed almost prettier in this stillness, the worries and frets of life no longer staining her face.
It was as she had that thought, as she remarked on the fact of her beauty, that the last of the light trickled out of the mausoleum, and Rosalyn woke up.
Fanny tried to scream but no sound came out. She was frozen in her place on the ground as she watched this corpse rise and kiss her husband.
“You know I almost didn’t expect you to wait for me.” Rosalyn said, her voice a sickly sweet cadence. Viktor only nodded and leaned into her. This all had to be some terrible sort of dream. Rosalyn had been dead just a moment ago, she was sure of that. And Viktor had always despised Rosalyn, he would never allow that whore anywhere near him she was sure of that. This couldn’t be her Viktor this couldn’t be real. Fanny couldn’t bring herself to do anything. So taken aback by what was happening that when Rosalyn opened her mouth to reveal a row of razor sharp teeth, Fanny wasn’t even sure if she had screamed or not. She must have though, because Rosalyn's mouth snapped shut and Viktor turned abruptly to her, staring at her with the same, deep blue eyes she had stared into on her wedding day. Only now they were devoid of all the love he had shown for her then.
A deep scowl set across Rosalyn's face, and it almost seemed as if she was snarling at Fanny.
“Oh” Viktor said, and for a moment it almost seemed he had returned to his senses. “Don’t worry about her love, I’ll take care of it.”
Fanny didn’t even wait to be sure he had been talking to Rosalyn, she didn’t really need to honestly. It’s funny, back before they were married she had mentioned her love of pet names to Viktor, but he had never so much as called her “dear”.
She ran through the graveyard, hoping against all hope that she might make it to the gate, sure that if she got there she may have a chance at true escape. But with only the moon lighting her path Fanny was sure she was going the wrong way. She didn’t have a chance to orient herself as she could feel Viktor right behind her.
Her foot caught on a piece of crumbling gravestone and she was sent sprawling into the soft ground below her. And not a moment later Viktor was upon her.
“Please!” she screamed “Think of what you are doing, I am your wife!” his hands were around her throat as soon as she finished her sentence, and one look in his eyes told her she would find no sympathy there.
She let out a few sputtering cries for help but quickly had to focus all her efforts on pushing Viktor off of her. Viktor had always been much stronger than her, and she could feel the energy being sapped from her. Wet tears ran down her face and she thought, at the very least, her last moments were spent with Viktor.
“Pathetic.” a voice cried, and Rosalyn moved into her view. “Did you think a common bitch like you could break my hold on him? Obviously you had no clue what you were getting into.”
“Please my sweet, don’t even bother with her she will soon be dealt with.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Fanny felt a cold crystalline handle within her palm, she had forgotten it was there, perhaps purposefully, but now she knew. She knew she had a choice to make. She thought of Violet, who had chosen to stay home and wait, and she used her all her fury from the image of poor, dumb Violet all alone to give her energy as she stabbed upward with the knife. Instantly she was released and she took in a few shaky breaths, coughing and struggling to regain her senses. Once she finally got hold of herself she hear the long howling screech of Rosalyn, who had fallen to the ground next to Viktor.
“You are weak!” Rosalyn screamed. “How dare you, I had him, he was mine, all this time you thought he loved you but as soon as I wanted him he came to me it’s not fair.” There was murder in her eyes as she stared at Viktors corpse on the ground. “This won’t stop me.” she said barely a whisper.
Fanny was shaking but she stood strong, leveling her knife at the creature. “Leave.” the conviction in her voice surprised even her. But she just stood where she was.
“You. Won’t. Stop me.” Rosalyn growled. “I will have what I want.” With that she lunged towards Fanny. Expertly knocking the knife out of her hand and gripping her by the shoulders.
There was a moment when Fanny thought she might be bitten, she didn’t know what Rosalyn's goal was, to feed or to turn, but she now had now doubt about what she was, and no doubt that she was doomed. But the Vampire just stood there. Gripping her shoulders, a look of pure hatred on her face.
When Fanny looked she saw Rosalyn's hand brushing the flower, somehow still pinned to her shawl. She hadn’t been paying attention to Old Misses Harley when she had stuck the blossom on her, but as she looked at it she realized what it was. A garlic blossom.
The vampire howled in pain and anger and before fanny could react she was gone. Apparently deciding to take the loss.
Several long moments of silence, in which crickets started chirping. She hadn’t noticed before but the cemetery had been completely silent. Now that the crickets had returned though, she couldn’t help but laugh. Completely hysterical at what just happened. That didn’t last long though as her neck began to throb. She was sure there would be bruises from Viktor's attempt on her life. She quietly walked over to where her knife had been thrown and picked it up, wiping the blood off onto her dress. She looked over to where Viktor lay and was surprised to find she hardly pitied him, nor felt any great pang at his loss.
For the longest time she had relied on him to show her the proper way to live. She supposed now she would have to find it for herself. She certainly wouldn’t be looking towards any men anytime soon.
She thought of quiet Violet, alone in her shabby house, but surrounded by neighbors to care for her. Then she thought of eccentric Ms. Cassidy. Happy and alone but for her plants. She knew that neither of those lives were for her. She tested the knife's weight in her hand and she swung it in a wide arc. She supposed Cassidy wouldn’t need it right away, what with all the garlic she was growing.
As Fanny walked gracefully out of the cemetery she wondered if there might be a train first thing in the morning. It would be best to get away before anyone found Viktors body, she would have to go back to her maiden name for the time being, but there was something freeing in knowing that she now had an excuse to go by Fanny Anderson.
She quietly closed the iron gates of the graveyard behind her as she walked out. Making up her mind as she did so. There was talk of strange disappearances in West Virginia, and she had always wanted to see the mountains for herself.