Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I took a deep breath and shuddered as the olfactory region of my brain detected an unusual scent. Unusual for me, at least. I had spent a large part of my life in a city and had never set foot in an area similar to this before. It was the scent of pine trees and mud. There was nothing but pine on both sides of the pathway that I was now stranded upon. I put my hand above my eyes, trying to see some sign of urbanization. However, I found none. And to top it off, the sun had begun going down for the day. Soon I will lose the little light that I have left. It’s not easy being lost in a country other than your own. This all began about a month ago, when I received my grandmother’s call. She insisted that I visit her. I had just completed my master's in English literature and was working part-time as a waitress in a little restaurant. But all I wanted to do was write a book. Several books. I lost my mother to cancer when I was three. After that, he, brought me up by himself. I used to live with my dad, but when I started college, I moved away from home. I was close to him as it was just me and him for quite some time, but before I moved away for college, he started dating this woman called Susan. He soon got married to her. She was both nice and sweet, and she too had a daughter and a son, both younger than me. So now that he had another family, I decided to take on this offer. Also, my grandmother insisted that she would pay for everything. And there was no better place to write a book than a quiet, peaceful town several thousand miles away. This was a chance I could not miss. Stupid of me for I did not think this through.  My father hugged me tightly at the airport before my flight. He had insisted on driving me to the airport himself. "If there is any problem at all, Ruby, you come back straight home," he said gruffly. "Dad, do not worry; I am going to be fine," I told him. "I know. "But remember, I will always be here for you," he said. I knew felt a little guilty for not spending as much time with me as before because of his new family. "Dad, I love you," I told him. "I love you too, sweetie," he replied a little thickly. "Now before I forget, here is a little parting present for you," he said as he pulled a bright blue box out of his pocket. Inside was a most beautiful gold bracelet adorned with little rubies that were as red as blood. I held my breath as I touched it delicately. "Dad, you shouldn’t have." "This must have cost you a fortune," I whispered. He just shrugged. "It's really lovely, Dad." "Not as lovely as my daughter," he replied, smiling. "Thanks, Dad," I said. "Don’t mention it. Let me see you put it on." He said. I unclasped the bracelet and put it on my right wrist. It was a beautiful, delicate little thing. It was certainly the most beautiful and precious thing that I owned at the moment. "It’s lovely, Dad." I smiled, and so did he. Just then, there was an announcement about my flight. I hurriedly hugged him one last time and moved forward.

Chapter Text

Back to my current crisis

I was now stranded in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but trees for miles. And now I was on the verge of losing the light of the day as well.

How did I get into this mess, you might ask? Well, I’ll tell you how. I wanted to take Uber once I landed, but the service was not available in this area. So among all the other taxi options, I decided to go for a rusty and shabby-looking one. The old driver seemed non-threatening at that time. I dearly regretted this decision when his car broke down a couple of miles outside the town. There was nothing that could be done except to either wait for help or try and walk to the town by myself. The old driver called for backup, but my genius self insisted on making the stupider decision. So instead of waiting for help to arrive like a normal, sane person, I decided to walk. My luggage he will drop later on as he knew my grandmother personally (courtesy of the small size of the town). So I, might I repeat, most regretfully, started my journey on foot. It seemed that I had misheard some of the directions that he gave me and took a wrong turn on one of the forks that I encountered on the road because now I had been walking for nearly two hours and there was no sign of civilization in sight. A couple of miles cannot be this much," I thought angrily as I took deep, calming breaths. Genius move, Ruby. I cursed myself.

I could turn back and walk in the direction that I came from, but I knew from the sun’s position that I have only half an hour before I will be engulfed in total darkness, and the old driver probably won’t be there anymore. He would have been long gone by now with someone towing his rundown taxi. But at least I will reach the main highway. Someone else may give me a lift to the town, maybe. I turned around and started walking back. However, just as I thought, I lost the light in less than half an hour and was engulfed in total darkness.

For someone who had spent all of her life in a city full of lights, where even after midnight the life and lights never ceased, this huge forest of darkness, broken by a mere flashlight from a cell phone, was like the beginning of a horror movie.

For the first time, I realized how the people in those movies made all the stupid decisions that got them killed. I decided to shout out for help.

"Is anybody here?" Hello?" I shouted.

I heard nothing. Cursing myself, I tucked a stray strand of hair back into my Beenie hat and kept myself moving.

"I am lost. Is anyone there?" I shouted again, uselessly. Still nothing. I kept calling out to anyone that might help for some time, but I grew tired of that too after a while. It was of no use anyway. Besides, I was tired of shouting.

The night was ripe and the moon was out; however, thankfully, it was full. So at least there was some light. I travelled the poorly constructed road in the eerie forest. Suddenly, I saw a faint light in the distance. I sighed in relief as I started making my way towards it. Suddenly, I heard a loud snap. I froze and turned around. I saw nothing but darkness. I slowly started moving forward again, but this time I heard the distinct crunch of the foot upon dried-up leaves. Someone was out there, and that someone was following me. I looked around again and saw an odd, dark silhouette against the shining full moon. I then heard a huge growl. I broke into a cold sweat as I decided to throw caution to the wind and started running blindly towards that singular source of light. I heard someone following me crashing around as I ran as fast as I could towards the light. As soon as it became clear, I saw that it was coming off of a bulb outside of a neat little cabin present in a small clearing in the middle of the woods. I stumbled forward, started thundering on the door with both of my hands and was very much out of breath.

For a few seconds, I heard nothing. I turned around to squint into the trees, but there too I saw only darkness. As soon as I turned back towards the door, I heard footsteps on the other side and a noise as if someone was approaching it. I realised that not only was I out of breath, but there were tears mixed in with the sweat that was pouring down from my face.

The door opened. I gasped. In the doorway stood one of the most handsome guys that I had ever laid eyes on. He was dark. His hair was coal black, and his face was covered with light stubble, which did nothing to hide his sharp jawline. and he was huge. Easily way above 6 feet. He towered over my little frame of 5 feet 3 inches. And as I looked up, I realised his icy grey-blue eyes were narrowed into slits. All this impression of his impeccable good looks came to a sudden end when he opened his mouth to speak.

"How the fuck did you people find me here?" he snarled. I flinched back. But then I too remembered that I have a voice and the ability to form syllables.

"Please, you have to help me." "Someone is following me," I told him, trembling.

" Bullshit. There is no one around for miles, as you know very well. How did you manage to track my cabin, may I ask?" He again started angrily. What on earth was he talking about?

"I saw a light in the distance," I told him.

"And you decided that it was okay to follow a light in the middle of the woods?" he asked sarcastically.

"Well, no. I mean, yes. Didn’t you hear? I was being followed. Please, you have to help me," I said to him frantically.

"Oh, please, enough with this drama. Who will come to follow you in this wilderness? I know exactly why you are here," he replied angrily.

"Huh? And why am I here, do you think?" I asked him, confused.

"Your nosy ass just wants information." "A fat, juicy piece of gossip that you can sell to the papers."

He said it, shaking his head.

"What? Why on earth would I do that? Wait, who are you?" I asked him, even more confused.

"Like you don’t know," he snorted. "Now enough. Go away. I came here for peace of mind. I don’t want to be disturbed, or I swear I will sue your ass," he said, closing the door.

"Wait, you don’t understand. I promise I am not lying. I don’t even belong to this town." I told him.

"Oh really? Then what brings you here? " His sarcasm was unending.

"Look, I came here to visit my grandmother. Her name is Judy. She lives in the town of the crescent vale." I gave him the information.

"Liar. If you were her granddaughter, you would know where she lived," he said accusingly. "Nice story, though. He again started to close the door. I jammed my foot in the gap.

"If you don’t let me in right now, I will stay on your doorstep for the entire night. So that when anyone finds my mangled body, you will be the first they capture and question," I shouted in fury. I have had enough of his stupid, stuck-up attitude. Right on cue, there was a howl, presumably from a wolf, in the distance.

He remained silent for a full minute, watching me intently.

"You said you were lost and wanted to go to town, right? Fine. Get ready. That’s exactly what’s going to happen." He said he was exiting the cabin while taking some keys off a hook. I gaped at him.

"What?" I said this as he roughly grabbed my hand and started pulling me around to the other side. "What are you doing?" I asked him in surprise.

"I am going to drive you to town right now. And you know what? We will be going straight to the sheriff's office, where I will make a formal complaint about you trespassing on my private lands. Come on." He said.

I sighed in relief. At least I will be in town, and I will be safe. From there, I will see what to do next.

"Thank you.  "That's all I am asking," I told him in relief.

He paused to look at me, very puzzled.

But then he slightly shook his head and continued on his way, dragging me along. On the other side of the cabin stood a huge black Jeep. Wow!

"Get in," He roughly shoved me into the passenger seat, getting behind the wheel himself and starting the car. He reverently stepped out of the main pathway to the cabin and started driving in disgruntled silence.

"Thank you," I muttered to him.

"Oh, don’t try and get me to talk." I have nothing to say," he said bitterly.

"I don’t get it. Why are you so rude? What did I ever do to you? I just asked for help. "I wouldn’t have done that if I wasn’t in this situation," I told him.

"Don’t think for a minute that I believe your poppycock story. You think you are the first one to try something like that?" He spit it out.

"Try what exactly?" I asked exasperatedly. I honestly had no idea what this guy was raving about.

"This place is miles away from the town and establishment. How did you get stranded here, of all the places? Where exactly did my private cabin stand? And if you arrived the day before in this very town, then why don’t I see any luggage?" he asked me sarcastically.

"I told you I got lost. I was going to the town in a taxi, but it broke down. I know I should have waited for help, but I thought I could walk a couple of miles. You know you want to get to know this area better. But I took a wrong turn. My luggage is still in the taxi." I told him.

He snorted. ", like I said. Your story is too convenient. And I am not stupid," he said.

"Well, somehow I am finding that very hard to believe," I muttered under my breath.

"What’s your deal anyway?" Why were you in the middle of the forest in a cabin that you claim only you know about?" I asked him after a couple of minutes of painful silence.

He just shook his head. "You won’t get a word out of me," he said stubbornly.

"Fine, suit yourself," I said, turning around to look out of the window. Finally, after 20 long, torturous minutes of driving, we were on the outskirts of a sleepy-looking town.

He continued driving, very disgruntled. I stayed quiet, looking at the picturesque little town. Despite the darkness, it was breath-taking. I looked at my cell phone. It was around 10 p.m. The town wasn’t crowded on the outskirts, but as we neared the public square of the town, a few people started showing up here and there.

Suddenly, I saw a huge old castle against the shining moon in the distance. Its many windows were lit, and it looked straight out of a fairy tale.

" Wow! That is huge!" I gasped.

He again snorted but said nothing.

"Do you know who lives there?" I asked him.

"Please stop pretending. You are getting on my nerves," he snapped. I pursed my lips. This guy was so rude that I was better off alone in that stupid forest. I think.

He stopped suddenly right outside of the town's police station.

"James, here is the town sheriff. He is an old friend of mine. Now, are you still going to stick to your nonsense story?" He asked me

"Yes, I will stick to the truth. Come on," I told him, trying to open the locked door. He stared at me hard for a few seconds. He then sighed and bowed his head, rubbing his temples with his fingers.

"You know what?" Forget it. Just get out. I haven’t had time to sort this out today. I was in the middle of something when you interrupted. I need to head back," he said, leaning in and opening my door for me. I inhaled deeply as I took in his clean, masculine scent. This guy was what dreams were made of, only if he weren’t so astonishingly rude. I thought as I got out of his car. I had barely shut the door of his car when he reversed it and sped away.

Chapter Text

"If everyone here is as rude as him, then I am screwed," I thought to myself as I started climbing the stairs into the little police station.

It was sometime after 10. So it wasn’t that late, but the station was empty, safe for a single police officer( he didn’t look older than 19) who was slightly dozing.

I cleared my throat. He jerked awake and yawned.

"How may I help you, ma’am?" He asked me sleepily.

"Hi, I am Ruby." "I came to Crescent Valley to meet my grandmother, but I kind of got lost," I told him.

"Oh. And who is your grandmother, ma’am ma'am?" He asked me politely.

" Her name is Judy. She lives in the green lanes, house no. 208. Only I don’t know where that is. And I don’t have internet, so I cannot locate her on GPS," I told him.

"Didn’t you take a taxi? Madame Judy is well known here. "Who would have taken you to her?" He asked, puzzled.

"I did, but it broke down a couple of miles outside of the town," I told him.

"Not to worry, ma'am; I will take you right to her right now," he replied, getting up.

"Thank you so much, officer...." I waited for him to supply me with a name. He didn’t disappoint.

"Jason, ma’am.  "Officer Jason," he replied as he led me outside to an old but sturdy-looking police vehicle.

He unlocked the door for me, and I got in as he started the car.

"Officer, can I ask you something?" I began as he pulled out of the little driveway.

"Yes, ma'am, and please call me Jason," he said, smiling.

"Thank you, Jason," I said to him smiling, "who lives in the cabin outside of the town?" I asked him.

"What cabin, ma’am?" He asked in surprise.

"The one present in the middle of the forest?" about 20 minutes drive away. I can’t tell in which direction. But I stumbled upon it while I was lost, and someone most unpleased was present there," I told him.

"Sorry, ma'am, I am not aware of any cabins outside of the town. But I started a few months ago. I may not know a lot," he said, shrugging.

"oh! " I sighed and slumped down in my seat. Just then, I remembered the castle.

"And who lives in that giant castle on the other side?" "It looks inhabited," I asked him in interest.

"You are new here, aren’t you, miss?" he smiled.

"That castle is owned by Lord Vargr, Adem Vargr," he said matter-of-factly.

"You say this as if I am supposed to know who it is," I mumbled.

Jason laughed.

"I take it you are not from this country or this continent either," he said to me.

"No, I am not," I muttered.

"No matter, ma'am. You will know soon enough. He is someone women like to gossip about a lot in this town. He is quite famous, actually," he told me.

"Here you are, ma'am. This is Mrs. Judith’s house," he said, pulling outside of a very huge, ancient-looking, but oddly pretty house. All with an attached garden with a little fountain and a bird bath.

"Please stop calling me ma'am. My name is Ruby. And I will be here a while, it seems. Ma'am, you make me feel very old," I told him, getting out of the vehicle.

"As you wish, Ruby," he said, getting out of the vehicle with me.

We both pressed the doorbell. A minute later, the door was thrown open, and there stood my ancient-looking grandmother, beaming from ear to ear. My grandmother was shorter than me( I was 5'3, so that’s saying something). Her hair was so white that it almost looked like snow. She had a huge pair of glasses on with the thickest pair of lenses that I have ever seen. And she was wearing a knee-length floral dress.

" Ruby! My child, I am so glad to see you. I have been worried sick. Ever since Fred came back alone with your luggage. I had been calling you a young man. Now I know why you weren’t picking up the phone," she said, beckoning us both forward towards the sitting room.

"I'm always at your service, ma’am," Jason said with a sweet smile.

"Come in, come in." "Have something to eat," she said to the both of us.

"Ma'am, I will be heading back." I have left the station alone for long enough. Please look after Ms. Ruby. She had been wandering around for quite some time," he said, putting his cap back on. My grandmother saw him to the door as I took in huge gulps of cold water, only realizing after the first sip how thirsty I was.

"Well, let me look at you," said my grandmother, returning to the room a few seconds later.

It had been a few years since she had seen me the last time. She eyed me up and down and hugged me tightly.

"You look very much like your mother. Same red hair, same eyes, same mouth. Only your nose is a little bit different than hers. Anyone here can mistake you for her," she said.

She was right. My mother had long red hair and hazel eyes. She and I were also about the same height. But I inherited my nose from my father. Thankfully, his nose was straight and suited me quite well. My mother was breathtakingly beautiful, and I was called the same.

I detected a hint of tears in her eyes, and as I was in no mood for a crying episode right now, I quickly steered her attention to the fact that I was starving.

"Oh yes, I forgot. So sorry, my dear Ruby. Come and have a seat. I have dinner ready for you," she said, slapping the palm of her hand on her forehead.

"Thanks, Grandma," I told her gratefully as I took off my little hat( it was quite warm inside) and sat down on a dinner table full of covered dishes. My grandmother, as I remembered, was a very good cook.

She had prepared for me a selection that included a cream of mushroom soup, some parmesan fried chicken with a sauce and garlic bread, and an upside-down cherry cake with whipped vanilla cream. I had missed her cooking dearly as I shoveled food into my mouth, forgetting all my manners for a few minutes.

She smiled at me. "It’s good that you eat with an appetite. Most girls avoid food to look thin nowadays." She said it conversationally.

"Yeah, well, thanks to my mom’s genes, I can eat as much as I want and won’t get fat," I told her through a mouthful. She laughed.

"What happened anyway?" Old Fred here was worried sick." She told me. "He came here to drop off your luggage half an hour ago, and when he realized you hadn’t arrived yet... "I wanted to go to the police straight away," she told me.

"Weren’t you worried, Grandma?" I asked her thickly because my mouth was full of chicken.

"I was. I sent Fred home and called the police station. But no one picked up. I then called dear old James directly. He is the sheriff," she replied, and then suddenly stood up.

"I just realized I forgot to call him back and tell him that you have arrived. Better call him now before he shows up," she said, getting up from her chair. Right on cue, the doorbell rang.

Chapter Text

“I guess I am too late,” she said, slightly shaking her head. “Well, I can still offer him dinner for his trouble,” she said, leaving the room.

I continued what I was doing, aka eating. When I heard someone clear their throat, I looked up to see a ginormous man standing a few feet away with a smile on his face. He was even bigger than the rude stranger that I had a run-in with earlier that day. He was easily above 6'5. He had baby blue eyes and golden brown hair, which made him strangely endearing. Right now, he was smiling down at me pleasantly. Some of his teeth were crooked, and his slightly overlarge nose looked like it had been broken and healed a long time ago. He wasn’t wearing a uniform right now. Just some oversize jeans( I was surprised that he had managed to find those even larger than his original size) and a brown tee shirt. He extended out his hand to shake mine. I swear my whole arm can fit into the palm of his hand.

“So you are the lady who has old Judith all riled up,” he said good-naturedly.

“Yeah, that’s me. I am sorry; I was really hungry. I didn’t know Grandma would send you straight in. I could have at least started eating with manners,” I told him sheepishly. He gave a booming laugh.

“Don’t worry, we all gobble Judy’s food the same way. You aren’t the only one,” he replied.

“Come on now, James. Have a seat, dear. The food is getting cold. You can ask questions later,” said the grandmother, returning to the room herself.

We all sat down around the table as Grandma brought in more helpings of food. I again started eating, although in a little more refined manner, while James started shovelling down his food like I was doing a few minutes ago.

“Judy is right about one thing, by the way. You are breathtaking,“ he said through a full mouth.

“ Oh, please. All grandparents think their grandkids are the prettiest ones around,” I told him with a shrug.

“ Yeah. But not all of them are correct. She is,” he said seriously.

I felt myself blush.

“Thank you. I am Ruby,” I introduced myself.

“Perfect name. It suits you,“ he said, smiling even wider.

“And as you already know by now, my name is James. I am the sheriff,“ he said with a slight tilt of his head.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sheriff,“ I replied.

“Oh, please, it’s just James,” he said with a motion of his hand.

“She is the spitting image of Anna, isn’t she?” My grandma said, sitting down herself and sipping coffee out of her mug.

“I have seen Ms. Anna only a couple of times, and that too when I was very young, but I believe you are right. She does look like her,” he replied to her.

I just smiled at him. I loved my mother to bits. Comparison with her always made me happy.

“Where had you disappeared off to, by the way?" Judy sounded terrified when she called me. "You said you were supposed to have arrived hours ago?” he asked, turning back to me. I had finally started in on my desert.

“The taxi broke down a couple of miles outside of the town. I thought a little walk in nature wouldn’t do me any harm, so I decided to enter the town on foot. My GPS wasn’t working. So the driver explained to me the route. But I think I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. I had been wandering for hours in the forest,” I told him.

“That was really, um, not very bright if you wandered off in an unknown country. The cellular services rarely work in the woods, but you get pretty decent signals from both cell phones and WiFi in the town,” he informed me.

“And to top it off, the woods are supposed to be full of wild animals. How did you get out of them?" he asked.

“Well, I did have help. From a very rude stranger. Someone living off in a secret cabin right in the middle of the woods,” I told him, grimacing.

“A cabin? What cabin?” James said it at the same time as my grandmother.

“And you just went to get help and trusted a stranger you found alone in the woods?” My grandmother asked me, horrified.

“Yeah, I was. It was stupid of me, I know. But I panicked, and I suddenly remembered why I was panicking before I ran to the cabin.

“There was someone following me in the woods,” I announced to the table.

For a moment, both my grandma and James went quiet.

Then James asked. “Followed by whom?“

“I don’t know. Something that wasn’t human, I think. So I panicked. And went to the first thing I saw. I wonder if I could find that cabin again?“ I wondered out loud. He and my grandmother exchanged a glance.

Then my grandmother said, “I am glad you are OK." But the forest isn’t safe. "It's better if you don’t go wandering off to that side again.” I replied to my grandmother, looking both worried and grim.

“Are there any dangerous wild animals in the forest?" I was interested.

“It’s getting late. I better be off, Judy.“ James got up, having finished his plate.

“And you, little red, take care,“ he turned to me, smiling. “I will see you tomorrow morning.”

“Why, what’s tomorrow?" I asked him

“Oh nothing, dear. A regular day. Wait, I will show you. Let me see James to the door,” my grandmother said, getting up from her chair to follow him.

Chapter Text

I finished up every spoonful of my dessert. I licked the spoon clean and leaned back in my chair with a sigh, very much at peace. The weather here was perfect. Neither too hot nor too cold Although it was fall, I thought sheepishly as my grandmother returned.

"Hey, Gramps, what were you going to show me?" I asked her with a slight yawn.

"Just the little thing that I, dear. I think I mentioned it to you. With both Anna and your grandpa gone, I got quite lonely. And as neighbours are all a little far away from each other in this area, I started this little home cafe where I provide brewed teas and coffee along with a selection of freshly baked items; it keeps me busy and connected to everyone," she told me.

"A home cafe? I thought it was a shop," I asked, interested.

"Yes, well, you can consider it that as well. Come on, I will show you," she replied.

I followed her to the other side of the house, opposite the one where the birdbath was. Outside were about 20 little comfortable chairs and tables with little umbrellas, some twenty yards away from a peaceful-looking lake. It was a starry night with a full moon that was perfectly reflected on the lake's water. On its other side was what seemed like a forest. On its right, in some distance, was visible the pretty castle. It was a beautiful scene. Grandma was right; the nearest neighbour's porch light was more than 500 meters away and shining brightly. All of them facing the placid lake. This was a perfect spot to sit around and enjoy the sun, I thought to myself.

"This looks so peaceful, Grandma," I whispered to her, afraid that a louder voice might disturb the serenity of the scene in front of me.

"Yes, it’s both peaceful and beautiful," she said proudly.

"Is that the forest?" The one where I just got lost." I asked her, pointing to the trees in the distance.

"Yes, a part of it. The forest is miles wide. Some parts of it are completely undiscovered by humans," replied the grandmother.

" Fascinating. I have never been near nature before," I told her. "This must be a popular camping town," I asked her.

"Hmmm, the tourists are attracted to this place for its beauty, but no, it’s not a popular camping area. There are rumours of some very wild beasts in these woods," she replied, shaking her head.

"Really??? What type of beasts?" I asked her curiously.

She sighed. "You have just arrived, Ruby. And you are tired and dead on your feet, as I can see. Take rest. You are going to live here for a while. I suppose you will find everything soon enough," she told me, stroking my hair. "You are your mother’s daughter," she said, her eyes full of tears.

"I miss her grandma," I said, turning back towards the house with my head on my grandmother’s shoulder.

"So do I, my dear," she replied quietly as we both walked back in side by side.

The minute my head hit the pillow, I was out. I slept like a log. The bed was so warm and comfortable that when I woke up the next morning to sunlight coming into my room through my little open window in the form of bright beams, I didn’t want to get out of it. I snuggled in deeper and sleepily as I listened to the sound of various birds through my window. The racket they were making was unbelievable. I wonder how I slept through all of that.

I checked my cell phone for the time. It was 9:30 in the morning. I got up, yawned, and stretched as I gingerly got out of bed. I had slept in the braid I had on last night, so my hair wasn’t too out of place, but it needed brushing, so I started to open it. My hair wasn’t curly, but it was wavy and long. Very long and thick. So it took me some time to untangle all of my hair. Even in the sun, my hair wasn’t orange. It was still dark red, unlike my mother's, which had a bit of ginger in it. Hence, she named me Ruby. Which reminded me of my bracelet. I looked at my wrist and realised, to my horror, that it wasn’t there. I lost my father’s present last night. And God knows where. I sat down, depressed. What am I to do? It was the most valuable possession I had. I must go back in the daylight to look for it, I decided. Beasts or no beasts in the forest, I must look for my bracelet.

I took a deep breath, got up, and went to the bathroom to freshen myself up. I then threw on my long-sleeved blue tee and some black tights. I put my extra-long hair in an easy bun and went downstairs to look for my grandmother. I found her in the kitchen, which was full of delicious smells. I sniffed enthusiastically as I entered. My stomach rumbling with hunger, I saw Grandma take a huge batch of chocolate chip cookies out of the oven.

"Wow grandma. These look so good," I moaned as I tried to grab a cookie. It was too hot, and it burned my finger, so I promptly dropped it on the counter.

"Now don’t you start with these. Have a good, healthy breakfast first. I have newly laid eggs. Fry up a couple of those. I baked some bread this morning, and I just made a fresh pot of coffee. Start with those. Then you can help yourself to cookies or anything else. And I have customers. Help me out a little after breakfast, will you? You can meet everyone this way," my grandmother said, saying all this very fast in a single breath.

"You really are a morning person, grandma. I could never drag myself out of bed this early and make all these culinary miracles." I eyed a few croissants and cupcakes that were laying on a tray, beside which she was now putting cookies on a cooling rack.

She just laughed. "You will get used to it, child. "Maybe you too will become a morning person soon." She replied.

"If I wake up to food like this every day, I just might," I said, nodding my head in agreement as I took out a couple of large brown eggs from the pantry. I liked my eggs sunny side up, so I put a knob of butter (the butter was not in a plastic tub but in a glass jar in the fridge, and it too looked homemade) and carefully broke eggs into it one by one. The yolk on the eggs was bright orange-yellow. I left them on the stove to cook for a bit and turned around to cut myself a few slices of bread from the loaf that was laying on the counter. I buttered a couple of those and then poured myself a large, steaming mug of coffee. I added two cubes of sugar, poured in some cream (actually thick dairy cream and not coffee creamer), and sat down near one of the windows to eat. I looked outside to see Grandma already talking and laughing with a few people, all sitting in her backyard on the chairs, soaking up the sunlight. I wonder if any of them have to hurry to their offices. Then I remembered that this was a little place. Anyone working anywhere in the town can take a half-hour break and still be back on time. In fact, I saw some of them sitting in the umbrella shades with laptops as well. Hmmm interesting. One thing was for sure, I thought to myself as I sighed and leaned back in my chair, with the sunlight like a warm, fragrant blanket on my face: I definitely will find time to write a good book here. All I needed now was a good story.

Chapter Text

After I was done with breakfast, I stepped out to help my grandmother after putting on one of her flowery pink aprons. My grandmother was serving her croissants to the few customers that were present. I counted ten people. James was among the nearest ones to where I was standing.

“Hey, look who woke up!” he boomed cheerfully. Today, he was wearing his uniform. I was surprised to see that his uniform was very neat and ironed to perfection. Very proper. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I thought he might be a little easygoing, being a small-town cop and all, but he seemed very proper. At least that’s what I got from his look. Because the uniform wasn’t the only thing that was in perfect place. His hair was gelled to perfection in a neat hairstyle, and he looked as if he had shaved this morning.

I smiled at him cheerfully as I walked up to him.

“Sleepy head. Good morning. How are you today?” he asked.

“I am good. It might take me some time to settle down fully. But I am fresh and awake,“ I told him.

Just then, my grandmother beckoned me to hand me a huge steaming tea pot on a tray.

She told me to pour tea for some of her customers. I then had to serve the freshly baked cookies. After that, I was free to sit down and chat for a while with anyone that struck my fancy.

Grandmother sat down with James as I started roaming around, offering everyone tea and briefly introducing myself to everyone. Most of her customers were young men in suits; three of them had laptops open at their tables. While two were young women. Again, both had computers in front of them, but they were chatting to each other instead of working. I guess they were taking a break. And there were also two very old couples who told me, as I introduced myself, that they came here almost every day as they were now enjoying a peaceful time after their retirement. After delivering most orders, I too went to sit with my grandmother and James.

We were making small talk as a young girl about my age came around the corner. She waved at my grandmother as she made her way to our table. She had medium-length blond hair, and she was taller than me. I noticed through the corner of my eyes that James had turned a little red.

She was really cute. As she arrived at our table, James got up in confusion.

"Hello, Miss Alice. It's nice to see you. What brings you here today?” He asked her, twirling his hat between his fingers.

She looked at him, amused.

“Judy’s food, of course. And the fact that I ran into Jason, who told me she has a granddaughter my age visiting,“ she replied smoothly.

“Ah yes, this is her grand Ruby—I mean, her red daughter,“ he finished, looking flustered. I bit my lips to stop myself from smiling. The woman named Alice turned to me with a bright smile and took out her hand to shake mine.

“Hi, I am Alice,” she told me.

“ Ruby. Pleasure to meet you, Alice.” I shook her hand.

“Likewise,” she said, smiling even wider.

“Judy, can I please have one of your special cupcakes and two of your chocolate chip cookies?" Plus a coffee? Oh, and the company of your granddaughter,“ she finished. I laughed, and so did my grandmother.

“Of course, Ruby would see to all of this,“ grandma asked me. I nodded and got up to go inside. Alice followed me. Chattering non-stop

“It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Ruby. I am glad you are here. There aren’t a lot of girls my age around here,” she said conversationally.

“Really?” I asked her, amazed.

“ Well. At least not interesting ones,” she replied, shrugging.

“And I qualify as interesting?" I asked her in amazement.

“I have a good feeling about you.” She replied, laughing, while I took her tray to another shaded umbrella. Just then, James came walking to us.

“Well Ruby I better be off. Alice! “ He tipped his hat like a gentleman. I waved him off and saw that Alice was now trying not to smile.

“I am getting the impression that he likes you, you know,” I told her while sipping my coffee.

“ Yeah. You and everyone else. James is a dear. I am just waiting for him to pick up the courage to actually ask me out,“ she told me, smiling.

“Why don’t you put him out of his misery?" he asks. I asked her.

“What’s the fun in that?” She laughed with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"So, Ruby, where did you come from, and what do you do?” she asked me. I told her briefly about my previous life. And all I really wanted to do was write a book.

She listened to me ask questions here and there.

“You can write? That’s impressive,“ she said with wide eyes.

“I didn’t say I could write. I said I wanted to. "I don’t know if I will be successful,“ I reminded her.

“Oh, you will get there; don’t worry,“ she said with a wave of her hand.

“And what is it that you do?” I asked her.

She gave a huge sigh. “I do vlogs about home farming and stuff,” she said, shrugging," she said, shrugging. I have a degree in economics, but I do love growing stuff. And nature,” she replied, shrugging.

“Is it any good?“ I asked her.

“Oh yes. It is. You would be surprised at how many people actually like watching this kind of stuff. Growing tomatoes, pumpkins, fresh spinach, and canning, I make enough, and I eat fresh,“ she told me.

“Wait, you are the one that supplies my grandmother with fresh produce?” I asked her

“Some of it, yes. But the dairy part of it comes mostly from my grandfather’s farm,” she replied, picking up a cookie and nibbling on it.

“I have a question. Who is Adem Vargr?” I finally remember the name from last night.

“Oh, you have heard of him already? That’s fast,” she laughed.

“Yeah, I saw the castle. It’s kind of impossible to miss; it’s so gorgeous,” I told her.

“Wait till you see the owner, then,” she smiled.

“That’s Adem Vargr, isn’t it? I was told last night. Is he that good-looking?“ I asked her in amazement.

“Oh yes. Good-looking is an understatement. He is beyond good-looking. Women here are ready to be killed by him, even if they could have him first. And I mean that literally,” she replied seriously.

That’s an odd thing to say, I thought in confusion. Some of it must have shown on my face, for she laughed at my expressions.

“Adem has a unique family history,“ she told me.

“unique? As in how?” I asked her.

“Unique," as in stuff that usually makes up fairy tales Or rather horror stories in Adem's case.” She told me. Awesome . A castle with a horror story This would be a perfect thing to write about.

“Do you know him personally?” I asked her, trying not to show that I was dying to hear more.

“Yes, I do. He is a rude little asshole. But his mother and mine were friends, so we used to hang out when we were little. That was before he developed a thick, swollen head, of course,“ she replied, smirking. Somehow, her explanation made me feel like I had already met this person before. But as far as I can recall, I had hardly seen anyone here other than a few people, and I definitely had not been near enough to the castle to have actually met anyone from there. But it did remind me of the rude person that I found in the woods.

“And do you know of anyone that might live in the woods?” I asked her.

This time, she looked confused. “No one lives in the woods, Ruby. The woods are a part of the Vargr family’s supposed curse. No one is brave enough to live in those, neither alone nor with anyone else,“ she replied, shaking her head.

Chapter Text

Ruby was the third person to tell me that no one could or would live in the woods. Had I imagined the whole cabin and the person in it? Or was it some sort of ghost that I saw earlier? And how did he manage to bring me into the town in a jeep if it was a ghost? My head was swimming with questions.

Just then, my grandmother called my name. I got up, and so did Alice.

"It looks like I have taken enough of your time, Ruby.

"No, not at all. It was lovely meeting you. In fact, why don't we meet somewhere in town? In fact, why don't we meet somewhere in town? I need to unpack today, but I want to see the town tomorrow. Besides, I want to know the story of the curse," I told her. She nodded her head.

"Yes, of course." "Why don’t you and I have dinner in the town square tomorrow?" She asked me I nodded in consent just as grandma called me again.

"Shoot, I gotta run." I told her to wave. She waved back and went out the same way she came in. I went to my grandmother, who had a couple more customers. The morning passed away in a heartbeat, and before lunch, most of the place was empty as we didn’t serve lunch.

My grandmother and I collected the dishes and went inside. For lunch, we both had simple grilled cheese sandwiches and a fresh tomato salad. I then went to my room to unpack my stuff, which was a lot. It almost took me three hours. And then it was time for a few evening customers. This went on till sunset, and after that, we were free for the night. Since I was free, I decided to watch some TV with Grandma, but I fell asleep during her favourite show( as my sleep pattern still hadn’t returned). I was gently woken up by her after some time, reminding me that we still have to eat dinner. Since grandma had made a lot of food yesterday, we had those leftovers for dinner, and I finally staggered off to bed for the night. I was woken up sometime after midnight to an almost full moon and an eerie silence. I was parched. I slowly got out of bed and went to get myself a glass of water. I took a bottle of water out of the fridge and headed back upstairs to my room, making as little noise as possible so as not to wake up my grandmother. I drank the cold water slowly, sip by sip, as I stood by my window, watching the moon shining above the lake and a vast number of trees in the distance swaying slowly to the light and cool breeze. However, there was almost no sound to be heard from anywhere. Suddenly, the silence of the night was broken by a loud shriek. I was so startled that I almost dropped my water bottle.

The shriek was so sudden and brief that I was unable to tell what kind of creature could have made it, although admittedly I have no idea about animal sounds anyway. Maybe it was an owl. It had sounded almost human. Almost! But not quite.

I put down my water bottle and went to lie down on my bed again. But this time, sleep evaded me. To pass the time, I started going through my social media. I searched for Alice’s vlog. It had an amazing number of followers. I also followed her account. After that, as I was randomly browsing through my page, I remembered the name that both Jason and Alice had mentioned. Since they both sounded surprised that I didn’t know about him, I decided to search for him first on social media. To no luck, might I add, for I found no one by that name.

I then decided to search on a search engine. I was not disappointed there. I had multiple hits, but only one of them looked like a suitable website. It had the same castle on it that was supposed to be owned by this mysterious Adem. I clicked on it, and it opened up. It was some sort of page on the historical background of the castle, like when it was built, how long ago, and who built it. It was followed by a long succession of owners. The last name on the list was Adem Vargr. I clicked on that name, and a picture of the guy appeared. I froze upon seeing it. It was the same asshole guy that was present in the cabin that I found in the woods. What on earth?

How ? Didn’t it say that he owned a castle? What the hell was he doing then, in the middle of nowhere, and that too at night? I clicked on the guy's bio.

It is said that he is the current owner of Castle Grey, having inherited it from his father, the late Lord Vargr, after his sudden demise when he was 15 years old. His mother, according to the page, was still alive but had been living in the US for the past 13 years. Adem is now 28 years old. He was currently the only resident of the castle. He was one of the richest people in the country and was quite popular, not only in his own country but all around the world (I guess I didn’t belong to the world then).

Wow. I had no idea the guy was famous. No wonder he didn’t believe me when I told him that I had never heard of him. Well, I honestly didn’t know him; I wasn’t pretending. I hardly remembered the name of the president of my own country, let alone of the one that I had travelled to. Not my best quality, I know, but I was never curious about actual people. If he were someone fictional like Mr. Darcy, then things would have been different. Then I remembered there was some sort of legend—a horror tale Alice had told—attached to his name. (That was what had gotten me interested.) I decided to search for anything with the Vargr name. There were a few mentions of it here and there. Mostly saying that the name and the Vargr bloodline carried some sort of curse. The details, however, were missing. Now that my curiosity was fully piqued, I decided to ask Alice about this the first chance that I got. I stayed awake for an hour, looking up some other random stuff to help myself fall asleep again.

Chapter Text

I woke up the next day very refreshed. Today was a little cloudy, but it wasn’t raining. I repeated yesterday's routine and went downstairs dressed in jeans and a long-sleeve v-neck purple shirt. My hair was tied back in a long braid. I greeted my grandmother, who today was making a kunafa (of Middle Eastern origin). Today I whipped up some pancake batter and made those along with some golden syrup and fresh fruit.
I asked my grandmother if she wanted to eat with me. She and I enjoyed a few minutes of peace with our breakfast before we started the day. Today wasn’t as busy as yesterday, so I had some time to myself that I spent sitting down beneath a shade with writing materials. However, I couldn’t think of a plot to begin my writing. I kept thinking about the mysterious castle and its legend. I really wanted to go and see it for some inspiration. But Adem was an asshole. He will never let me see it. I brooded over this for some time. After lunch, I decided to head to town for a little sight-seeing. Grandmother wasn’t busy today, so she let me go early.
I put on a cropped sweater (it was starting to get cold) and a fluffy red hat, and I got in the little car that I borrowed from my grandmother to make my way towards the town square. After I reached it, I parked the car and got out of it because I wanted to roam around on foot. It was full of little shops that sold every kind of thing possible. The shops were mostly local: little fruit sellers, street foods, little jewellery shops, shops for pieces of clothing, scarves, and shawls—every kind of interesting stuff. Huge brand names, however, were missing. I was quite overwhelmed. This was kind of a perfect tourist spot where one could shop for hours and not get bored. I stopped at the little store that sold scarves and shawls. I had spotted something so pretty that I desperately wanted to own it. It was a woollen shawl. Dark red in colour (the colour of blood), light as a feather, and just as soft. It was embroidered beautifully around the corners in delicate silver and black patterns. And the size of it was perfect. It would go with anything. Any formal dress, or even with jeans and a shirt. I asked for it. Being a pashmina, I knew it would be expensive, but after a little bargaining, I think I got a pretty good deal. This might be one of the prettiest things that I now own. Across it, someone was selling beautiful stone jewellery. I decided to check them out. My eyes landed on a beautiful little locket set. Silvery white moonstones are set in an oval of silver with a delicate chain and simple but elegant moonstone earrings. It was gorgeous to look at. I asked for the price, and it too was a bit expensive, but I got it anyway because I had some savings( thanks to my grandmother, who paid for my flight). I then started roaming around. I got some food (little skewers with tender, spicy meat cubes on them), but not a lot, as I had plans for dinner with Alice some time later. I roamed around the entire town square and got acquainted with almost all the roads. The sun had gone down sometime ago, but the town was still as busy and full of lights as it could be. I decided to check the time and saw that Alice had texted me the place where I was to meet her.
I turned around and made my way to the little restaurant that she had mentioned in her text. She was already there, sitting on a little table for two outside of the restaurant.
She got up to greet me, and we both settled down.
She passed me a menu. I asked her for recommendations, and she said that the butter-aged steak and potato mash were to die for. So we both ordered that with gravy and some sautéed mushrooms. It would take some time to prepare the steaks, which I thought were perfect. Now I had time to talk to her in detail. I first decided to show her what I bought. I first showed her the moonstone necklace. She was awed by it.
"So delicate," she said, touching the stones, looking thoughtful.
And the shawl she absolutely loved.
"It’s so beautiful.  like your hair. It looks like it was made just for you." She said this in a hushed voice, touching the soft shawl lightly, the tips of her fingers brushing delicately against the silver embroidery. "What’s on it?" she asked, looking at the patterns closely.
"It looks like there is a howling wolf in between the pattern of little trees," she commented.
"I know, and it has little moons in its different phases embroidered in silver. It’s so perfect, isn’t it?" I asked her. She nodded her head, but she looked a little troubled.
"Why, what’s wrong?" I asked her.
"Nothing's wrong. This is just somewhat related to the story that I was about to tell you. You know about the curse." She told me.
"Yeah, I am dying to hear about it." I told her.
"Hmm, I will tell you exactly how my grandmother told it to me.
A long, long time ago, close to the time when the Vargr family moved to Crescent Vale for a quiet life and Lord Vargr had this castle built, he had two children. A son and a daughter. The lord Vargr’s son at that time was a strapping young man, fond of riding and hunting as per the traditions of that time. One day, Lord Vargr’s young daughter ventured deep into the forest for a peaceful time with a couple of maids. She was, however, never seen again. But a frantic and very injured maid returned to the castle, telling of a ferocious wolf that had dragged the lady away, injuring her and killing the other maid in the process. The young lad was beyond angry upon hearing the fate of his younger sister, so he mounted his horse, and despite his father’s premonition, he rode into the forest alone. The lord frantically sent as many men as he could after his son, but they were unable to catch up with him because the young lord Vargr was one of the best riders of his time. By the time they caught up with him, he was standing on the dead body of a giant wolf. The biggest they had ever seen. With his arrow in its neck and blood flowing profusely from it. Some distance away, the female wolf stood in a protective stance over her little pups, helplessly watching the scene. She gave a howl as she saw her mate lose his life, looked at the young lord once, and ran away, taking her pups with her. The girl's body was never recovered; however, after that, it is said that the female wolf cursed the young lord. He would turn into a beast himself once every full moon and roam the forests himself, praying mostly for helpless young girls. A few had seen the beast, but it was never proven that it was the young lord. but during that time there were records found of an usual number of young deaths, the bodies of whom were found primarily around the forest with their throats ripped open, and young Lords were often found in the vicinity of those bodies. Generation after generation passed, and the curse was said to pass along to the blood relatives, but it got weaker and weaker because the beast sightings had become rare. But it is said that it is still fairly strong among the direct descendants. For a time, it was all forgotten due to the lack of any dead bodies, but during this century, due to accuracy in record keeping, it was found out that an usual amount of young people do go missing around these areas, and for no reason, never to be seen again. Of course, nothing has ever been directly linked to any of the Lord Vargrs, but some people, mostly women, think that every current lord turns into a hunting beast on the full moon. Not every moon, for the curse has definitely weakened, and most of the lords are seen in public on all of the full moons on purpose. It’s a tradition to hold all the balls and parties in the castle on full moons so everyone can see that the lord is present. But once in a while, a full moon is missed. We have named those full moons ‘the blood moons'. For whenever there is a blood moon, someone somewhere around here goes missing, never to be seen again. That’s all that my grandmother told me," she finished the story as I sat there with my mouth hung open, too stunned to say a single word.
"Does the current lord Vargr, I mean Adem, follow this custom of being seen on the full moon?" I asked her. Because I had seen Adem on the full moon but not in public.
"No, actually, Adem hates this tradition. He hasn’t been following it. He says he has nothing to prove. But that only makes people more nosy about his life, and I hate that too. He is a private person," she replied.
No wonder he seemed so angry that I stumbled upon his hidden abode. It also explained his atrocious behaviour, but he still had no right to be this rude.
"Do people actually go missing in these areas?" I asked Alice just as our steaks arrived.
"They used to. In old times, crooks and murderers used to take advantage of this legend. Plus, the forest really is thick and vast. There are a lot of wild animals in there, including several packs of wolves, wild cats, including mountain lions, and even grizzly bears. So it's really no surprise that anyone who goes missing here is rarely found," she said, taking a bite out of her potatoes.
"And this number has increased in the past few years, you said?" I said it with my mouth full.
"Only because it’s easier to keep records of people travelling now." She replied with a shrug. "I am not sure whether they have increased abnormally or not. No bodies have ever been found, though," she replied.
"And most of these disappearances are foreign?" I inquired.
"Usually the people that go missing are not from the nearby cities or towns because we know not to wander off into the wilderness. But you know, every now and then you get foreign adventurers that like to go deeper for thrills. They are usually the ones that don’t return. " She said this as we both started on a chocolate soufflé for dessert.
"No wonder Grandma was so worried when I showed up later than expected." I told her to put thick cream in the middle of the soufflé after poking a hole in it.
"Why were you late?" she asked, interested.
"I got lost. In the same forest," I told her with a small smile.
"You did what?" she asked, shocked.
I told her what happened to me, including the part about meeting the current Lord Adem.
"You saw Adem in the forest? What was he doing there?" She asked me in amazement.
"I have no idea. He has a cabin in there. Quite a modern-looking one from the outside, at least. He didn’t let me inside, so I don’t know what that’s like." I told her.
"Are you sure it was him?" Maybe it was someone else.
"I am sure it was him. I saw his picture on the Internet. At first I thought it was some ghost or a hallucination brought on by stress; the way everyone acted surprised me at my revelation about the cabin," I replied, shrugging.
"That’s a little extreme. He was hiding out in the woods for the full moon. And what did he say to you when he saw you?" She asked me
"He was rude as hell. He didn’t believe me when I told him I was lost. In the end, he forced me into his jeep and dropped me off in the town square so he wouldn’t have to let me stay at his cabin. "I said I was snooping around for some gossip." I replied.
She snorted. "He did have a girl friend once, and she sold him out to the press. She told them about his habits, routine, and whatnot. In exchange for a lot of money. He went batshit crazy after that. I don’t think he has formally even dated anyone after her." She replied, smiling.
"It was horrendous of her," I said, shaking my head slightly.
"Yes, it was. Still, women are crazy after him here. Many try to approach him, but he has not been in any serious relationship since then," she said as the waiter came in with the bill. She wanted to pay me, being new and all, but I wouldn’t hear of it. So in the end, we both split the bill evenly. It was a lovely evening. So we both decided to take a walk around the town square. She told me about her life, and I told her about mine. After an hour, we both decided to call in for the night. I had fun, and I really liked Alice. She seems to be someone that I can see myself being friends with.

Chapter Text

I bid her farewell and got in my car to go back. The drive was peaceful, and the night was slightly cool with a mild breeze. I reached my grandmother’s without incident. I told her about my day as I showed her my shopping. She adored the necklace. And she looked closely at the shawl. She seemed to like that too. I told her about the beast story. She just smiled and shook her head.

“I am not saying this forest isn’t full of wild and dangerous beasts, but the Vargrs aren’t among them. They are a very decent family,“ she told me.

“Have you met them?” I asked

"Why yes, I have. Jane Vargr was a good friend of your late mother’s. Her son still cares for me on occasion. He is a very decent boy,“ she replied.

“You mean Adem Vargr? My mom was friends with his mother?" I asked her.

“Both of them were best friends in high school,“ said Grandma.

“Mum never mentioned her once,“ I told her.

“Would you have remembered what she did?” she asked me, smiling.

“That’s true; I wouldn't,” I mumbled back. “You were too young to remember much. If you two had had a little more time, I am sure she would have told you a lot about this place. Adem's mother was at your mom’s funeral. "Maybe you will remember her if you see her,” she further told me.

“Yeah, maybe.” I shrugged.

I soon went to bed afterward, as did my grandmother.

I fell quickly into a peaceful routine of helping my grandmother daily with her customers and roaming around the town with Alice. She and I had become close. But I still hadn’t started on my book. Things were peaceful here. I talked to my dad quite often, and he said he missed me dearly, but he too was happy with his new life. I was glad. It had been so long since I had last seen him happy.

One day after breakfast, as I was helping my grandmother, I saw James enter with the one person with that I had the worst interaction within this town. Adem was finally here. He and James settled down on one of the tables under the umbrella. Not wanting to miss the chance to annoy him, I told my grandmother that I got this one as I made my way to their table.

“ Hi. What can I get you?" I said this to James in my most professional voice.

“Hey, Red. How are you? Long time no see,” he said, playing fully. Adem was busy on his cell phone.

“Well, you haven’t been around lately,“ I told him, smiling.

“Been busy,” he mumbled. ”What’s fresh today?” he asked.

“I just brewed a pot of coffee, and grandma made croissants, sugar cookies, and mini pizzas today. That and scones with some fresh cream.” I told him.

“Great, I will have some of everything along with a coffee. Sugared and creamed as always.” He said.

“ Ok. And what will you be having?" I turned to Adem, who finally looked up.

“I will have—oh.” He looked confused for a minute.

“What are you doing here? Did you follow me?” he asked, looking perplexed.

“Yes, of course. I did follow you here. To my own home!” I replied sarcastically.

He looked blank for a minute.

“Wait, you live here.” He asked in confusion.

“I told you I did,” I replied. To my pleasure, I saw that his face had turned a little red.

“You two know each other?” asked James in confusion. “How can you know each other?" Ruby just arrived a few days ago. And you haven’t been here since,” he said, turning to Adem.

Adem’s face turned even redder at this.

“You are Judy’s granddaughter?” he mumbled.

“Yes, I am. Do you want me to call over my grandmother for confirmation?" I asked him, raising one eyebrow. I turned around to call my grandmother, who at the moment was a little busy with the piping bag she was holding to put cherry cream icing onto sugar cookies.

“No, that won’t be necessary. I believe you now,” he said hastily. I got the impression that he didn’t want to be embarrassed in front of my grandmother.

“What am I missing?” Asked James.

“ Umm, nothing. So yes, I will—um, I will be having a black coffee with no sugar.” He replied, not meeting my eyes.

“Ok,” I said, making an excessive show of writing that down.

“You said you haven’t had any breakfast. And that you were going to eat here?” James interrupted.

“Uh yes. "Uh, I will have what he is having as well,” he replied uncomfortably.

I was enjoying all this so much. I smirked.

“And that would be?" I asked him with an evil smile.

He narrowed his eyes. But helpfully, James repeated his order, saving him the trouble of speaking this time.

“I will be right back,“ I replied sweetly to James while giving Adem a little glare before heading back. Before I went too far, I heard James ask him. ”What the hell was that all about”. He mumbled a reply that I couldn’t hear.

At least now the asshole knows I wasn’t lying, I thought to myself triumphantly while I prepared their orders. While I was preparing, I heard James give a booming laugh. It looks like Adem has finally told him details about our previous interaction. I prepared their orders and placed them in a huge tray to deliver. I took it to their table.

“Did you put anything questionable in these? Just asking for my paranoid boy here,” said James fully.

“Yes, I did. Watch out for the food on the left side of the tray,” I pretend to whisper to him. He laughed. Adem had the nerve to look guilty.

“Honestly, what was I supposed to think? No one knew about the cabin. Not even you,” he said defensively to James.

“You were supposed to believe my story and help me. Not everyone in the world is obsessed with your existence, you know,” I said as I put his coffee in front of him. Dark, hot, brewed, heavenly-smelling liquid, but tart and bitter without sugar and cream. Just like him. I thought to myself.

“I did help you,” he protested.

“Because I was insistent. "Otherwise, you would have left me out there by myself with whatever it was, that was following me,” I said.

“You really were followed?” He now looked horrified.

“Yeah, I'm sure I was,” I told him. Both he and James exchanged glances, looking grim.

“Did you see anyone or anything?” asked James.

“I didn’t. All I heard were footsteps and someone growling,“ I replied as I picked up the tray.

“It might be an animal or something. These woods do have every sort of wild beast,” said Adem.

Yeah, I thought that too. Only why didn’t any animal attack me? Why did it make so much noise as though it wanted me to be terrified? I know I was running, but an animal can easily outrun a human in its natural habitat, can’t it? So I just nodded my head and said nothing. I went back to my grandmother and sat down with her. I took out my old copy of Great Expectations to kill some time. I had read this a hundred times, but it was still one of my favourites. The rush of customers started thinning as lunchtime approached.

James and Adem, who sat for about an hour, also took leave. Adem still looked a little guilty as he said his goodbye. I went to collect the empty dishes from all the tables. We then, as usual, went inside to have lunch. Today we made a seafood stir fry with the fresh ingredients (the sea was two towns away, but it was close enough for a daily supply of fresh shrimp and squid) and some boiled spaghetti. I continued my reading of the book into the evening, right before the start of evening service. That, too, went without incident. Like always. I looked up and saw that the new moon had risen. It was crescent-shaped and very thin. There were a few clouds here and there, but in the distance I could hear the thunder rumbling. I knew it would rain that night.

Chapter Text

We both finished our work before dinner. As we were making dinner( a chicken and chickpea salad, as neither of us wanted heavy food tonight), I heard the first drop of rain fall. Soon the thundering clouds were right above us, and it was raining so hard that when I looked out the window, I saw nothing. After dinner, I felt so at peace. It was so soothing and warm to sit by the window, sipping your hot chocolate full of whipped cream and marshmallows, with a book in hand. I read late into the night, talking to my grandmother every now and then. She went to bed soon, but I kept sitting on my couch till late. After midnight, the rain slightly slowed down as I got up to go to my room upstairs. I put the book on the table and turned around to look out the window one last time.

It was pitch black. I saw two spots shining in the distance. I froze. Who could that be? Rather, what could that be? Nothing could be out there in this rain. And it looked like it was outside the woods because the spots seemed closer. I squinted into the darkness, trying to decipher what I was actually looking at. A minute later, there was a slight flash of flame, and something lit up with a dim flame. I was sure it was either a cigarette or a cigar. I couldn’t tell which. I realized that I was drenched in a cold sweat as I continued to watch the, now orange, glow in horror. It was someone's  eyes! Who on earth would be out and about at this time of night. I couldn’t move from my place at all. After a few minutes, the glow was put out after being thrown on the ground, and the eyes vanished. I took a deep, shuddering breath as I quietly got up to check the doors( stupid of me, really, for it should have been the first thing I should have done upon seeing some mysterious being out there). Thankfully, they were all locked, as Grandma, who had been living alone for quite some time, really did take her security seriously. She has never failed to lock herself up before bed. I then went upstairs to sleep off my worries.

I swirled my coffee around in my cup, adding some cream and sugar, and took a sip as Alice in front of me sipped her herbal tea. Alice did not like drinking a lot of coffee. She said it kept her awake all night, so despite liking the taste, she rarely drank it. I told her about my interaction with Adem. She laughed loudly after hearing everything.

"How I wish I could have seen all this," she said, shaking her head and nibbling a focaccia slice topped with mozzarella cheese.

Mine was topped with some chopped fresh tomatoes.

" He turned red. It was so satisfying," I said with a smirk.

"I have never seen him be embarrassed," she told me.

" Really? You grew up here; there must be something. What was he like in high school? Was he the cliche golden boy?" I said I was asking too many questions all at once.

"Aaah, the high school. Adem was quiet. Fat and quiet. He didn’t look like that in high school. He and James were a pair. Inseparable,"  she told me.

"Really? Fat? " I asked her, laughing.

. " Oh yes. So fat. He wasn’t popular in high school. But when he came back from college, it was a different story. It was then that he became wildly popular. He also got himself  a hot new girl friend. And everyone just started pinning over him,"  she said.

"So he Neville longbottomed? " I asked.

Alice laughed "Exactly," she said.

"Was it the same girlfriend that ratted him out?" I asked.

"The very same one. She got a lot of money for it as well. That was five years ago. Adem has been paranoid since then." She replied.

"Hmmm." I was quiet for a bit. It was a peaceful day. I made plans with Alice to go out again tonight. She left, and I carried on with my day. I had decided to name my main character Aanya. I still had no idea what I would  write about, but I wanted to start soon. I tried to think of a good plot while clearing the tables, but nothing interesting came to mind. Maybe a walk around the town tonight again might provide me with prospective

Alice and I had the chicken tagine that night with some couscous salad. She and I walked all around the market, just chatting and window shopping. I slept like a log that night and the next morning as I was grinding fresh coffee. To brew, I saw James and Adem come in. James again in his uniform, and Adem in his impeccable suit. He looked so fit that it was hard to imagine him being fat. I went to take their orders. James, as usual, greeted me like he normally does. However, Adem barely gave me a curt nod. I sighed and went back to what I was doing. I loaded up their tray and was almost at their table with it when James phone rang. He picked up the call. I saw his facial expression change from relaxed to stony as he got up. Adem, too, looked up at his friend in surprise.

"Sorry, red. Have to run. See you," he said, throwing Adem a look, and brushing past me, squeezing my hand, looking extremely worried.

I looked after him, worried. I turned around to put the tray on the table and saw that Adem too was looking worried as he watched his friend retreat, his brow furrowed.

"I hope everything is fine." It was he who voiced his concern.

" Yeah. James looked really worried." I replied to him.

"Well, he is the sheriff. Any bad news for him won’t be good news for anyone else here," he said slowly.

Just then, I saw Alice enter. She looked grim.

She made a beeline for me.

"Hey Ruby," she said. "Adem," she said, nodding at him, who nodded back politely.

"I have to talk to you," she told me, turning around to look for an empty table. There are actually none at the moment.

"Please join me if you too don’t mind. I will be out soon anyway." Adem said politely, noticing the lack of empty space as well. I looked at Alice questioningly.

"Yeah,  why not. I suppose you will hear about everything soon anyway" she sighed and sat down. Adem looked at her in confusion

"What can I get you?" I asked her.

"Coffee with sugar and cream. Have one yourself. And we will talk," she said. Alice was ordering coffee. Something was definitely up.

I went back to get what she wanted. I soon returned to the table. Adem was looking through his phone, and Alice was sitting as if deep in thought, chewing her lower lip.

"So what’s up?" I placed her coffee down in front of her and took a huge sip of mine.

"A body has been found," she replied. I almost spit out my scalding sip.

"What??" I said it loudly. Adem sat up straight. "What did you just say?" he asked, confused.

"I was coming here when I ran into my grandfather. He had been called because there was a dead body found somewhere in the forest. I don’t know the details myself. But he looked really serious," she said.

"Where exactly was the body found?" "The forest is huge." Adem asked her.

" Apparently somewhere near the hiking track. "Otherwise, it might not have been located," she replied.

"Hang on. Why was your grandfather called? Am I missing something?" I asked her.

"He is an expert on the forest grounds. No one knows more than him. About this entire area," she replied.

"I heard he had even camped in the forest alone," replied Adem.

"Don’t you have a habit of living in the forest alone?" I asked him skeptically.

"I was hoping this would never come up again. It was my secret," he said sullenly.

"A secret fort in the woods? What are you, 7?" I asked sarcastically.

"It’s a cabin, not a fort, and I don’t like to be disturbed," he replied.

"And a huge, gigantic castle fails to serve that purpose, I suppose?"" I asked him, smirking.

"If you must know, people like to come and disturb my life during certain times, even in my castle. I built an abode to escape that," he mumbled.

"What do you do alone in the woods in any way? Witchcraft?" I continued my teasing.

He opened his mouth to reply, but just turned a little red and shook his head as Alice gave a little laugh.

"Never mind. Any way. Looks like James went off to the crime scene," he said, changing the topic.

"Yeah, probably," I mused. "Could it be an animal attack?" I asked them both.

"There is a huge chance that it might be. But animals don’t live this close to the population. And a body was found near the habitable area." She replied.

"Sometimes large cats can wander close.  No one has died of those before, though. Mostly injuries," replied Adem.

"And whose body is it?" I asked.

"I suppose we will find that out soon enough," replied Alice grimly.

We all sat there for a few more minutes before breaking off.

I cleared the table and went to my grandmother. She still had not heard about the incident.

The morning passed away in a haze. Slowly, the news of a body reached every single person in the little town. Someone even told my grandmother. Today for lunch, my grandmother made French onion soup and some cupcakes. It was delicious, as usual. The beef broth was hearty, the cheese was hot and melty, and the cupcakes were warm and topped with thick chocolate frosting.

Grandmother was rather quiet as she ate.

"I think you have heard about today’s incident," she began.

"Yes, I know grandma," I replied.

"Be careful and never wander off in the forest again, Ruby." I shudder to think what would have happened to you had you not run into Adem that day," she said.

"He almost closed the door on me, grandma," I told her, sceptical.

" But he didn’t. And you are safe," she replied slowly.

Chapter Text

That evening was unusually crowded at Grandma's. It looked like a lot of people wanted to discuss what had happened, but no one knew for sure about anything.

One version of the story I heard was that the body of a woman was found dangling upside down with the head missing. According to another version that I heard, the body belonged to a young man who looked like he had fought off a grizzly bear. And yet another one was saying that the body found was very badly mangled and in pieces, as if a pack of wolves had eaten most of it. None of these explanations were pleasant to hear.

But Alice came around for dinner when everyone was gone. Instead of going to town, we decided to hang around and watch movies for the night. So we both ordered some pizza from the town's only pizza shop and some soda. Grandma didn’t like pizza, so she gladly ate the lunch’s leftovers and decided to turn in early because she was feeling a little cold.

I and Alice put our mattresses and pillows in the lounge and brought warm, thick blankets to watch the movie there. Before the arrival of the pizza, she and I both settled down in the warm and cozy blankets.

"Grandfather came back quite shaken," she informed me. "He says he has never seen anything like this before."

"Was it that bad?" I asked her curiously.

"Yes, it was. The body was a little old. It belonged to a young woman. No one from this area," she replied.

"The neck had been viciously slashed. As if an animal had chewed it, taking out pieces of meat. Even drinking some of the blood. And huge chunks of flesh are missing from all over the body." She replied, shaking her head.

"What an unpleasant way to go!" I shuddered. "What attacked her? Can he tell?" I asked her in a hushed tone.

"That’s the unusual part. It’s not a "what," it’s a "who. Every single bite mark on her was human. No animal touched her," she replied slowly.

Whoa!!! A human tore open her throat with his or her mouth! Now that’s messed up.

"You mean someone cannibalized her?" I asked in a whisper.

"That’s exactly what I mean," she replied.

"How long ago did this happen?" I asked.

"I have no idea about that, but I suppose a few details will be released to the public sooner or later," she replied, chewing her fingers and nails.

Right then, the doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of our dinner. although, truthfully, I had lost my appetite. Alice wasn’t hungry either, so we both only ate a piece of garlic bread each and drank the cold soda that came with our order, putting most of the pizza away in the fridge for later.

We decided to watch a chick flick to lighten the mood. It was a good movie, but I could feel my concentration slip through some parts of it. My imagination Kept wandering off to the poor dead girl. Alice was fast asleep before the end of the movie. I, however, needed to use the bathroom badly (I had not one but two cold sodas instead of dinner), so I got up to go to the bathroom.

I glanced outside the window and saw a full moon. I had been here for almost a month. Everything was quiet, but now and then I could hear wolves howling in the distance.

The rest was all peaceful. I could see no one outside, like the previous time.

I soon returned to the lounge to sleep with Alice.

I was mixing a batch of golden eggs. I added a touch of sour cream to it, and I put in some salt and some freshly ground pepper. Alice was toasting bread, and her grandmother was whipping cream into fresh butter.

We breakfasted in peace. We had only just finished when there was a knock on the door. Odd! It was a little early for the customers. I opened it to see a grim-looking James standing there with Jason.

"Hello, Ruby! There is something we need to talk to you about," he said.

"Of course, come in," I told them, standing aside to let them enter.

"Alice. Judy." He and Jason both greeted my grandmother and Alice with a bow of their heads.

He sat down at the table. "A bit early, James. I am afraid I haven’t started my cooking yet. But we have coffee."

She started bustling around.

"No Judy. Not today. I am afraid I am here on serious business," he told her.

"Hmm, how about just coffee?" She asked him

"Yes, that would be great," he replied. My grandmother filled two mugs with hot coffee and passed those to James and Jason, along with a sugar pot and a little cream jug.

James stirred his coffee thoughtfully.

"As you all know, we found a body yesterday. Nothing stays hidden in this small town," he sighed.

"Yeah, we do." Alice also nodded. And so did my grandmother.

"Was it someone from around here, James?" asked my grandmother.

" She was from a couple of towns away. I came here to visit some friends. Her name was Kate." He replied.

I nodded. "Why did you need to talk to me?" I asked him

He hesitated.

"Because of the time of her death. According to forensics, her time of death was around the same day you arrived. The time was after midnight, however. And her body was found near the area you described. And you mentioned running away from someone who was following you that day." I felt myself turning cold.

"There is a possibility that I think you escaped the killer that night, who then got this poor girl," he finished.

I sat there, frozen, as my grandmother gasped.

"Do you remember anything about the person who was following you? Anything at all," he began gently.

I took a deep, calming breath, as my heart was still beating very fast.

"I heard growling. I thought that whoever was following me wasn't, you know, human,"  I replied.

"The killer was human." He said

"Yeah, but I thought about it later and realized that it’s odd. No animal makes any noise while hunting or stalking prey, but that thing that was following me wanted me to be terrified. Like it wanted its presence to be known. So that can’t be an animal, right?" I finished.

Alice nodded. "Yeah, animals don’t do that."

"And whatever it was that was running after me made a lot of noise." I finished.

"Where exactly was her body found?" I asked him.

"It was within a mile of Adem’s cabin." He replied.

"He finally showed it to me. His cabin," he said with a hint of his old smile.

"Maybe he saw something or someone? He wants me back after dropping me off. "He said he has some unfinished business?" I asked him.

" He probably would have. Only after leaving you at the station did he not return to the cabin that night. He went to his castle. He received a call from his business partner overseas and had to attend to an urgent matter," he replied.

"Who found the body?" Alice asked him

"Some hikers. The only thing is that they went hiking on the same route seven days ago as well. But the path was empty then. The body was placed there by the killer later," he replied.

"Why would he do that? I mean, what’s the point of moving a dead body?" I asked in confusion.

James looked thoughtful.

"As you said, you were followed but not attacked quietly. It seemed someone wanted to scare you badly before attacking. We think the body was left there to be found because the killer wants to terrify people. He wants them to be scared. He finished.

"Was this the only body ever found here?" I asked him.

" With these specifics, yes. And  I hope it’s the last too. I wish to catch the bastard before anything more can happen". He replied

"How are you so sure that it wasn’t some random jealous boyfriend out to get revenge on his girlfriend?" Asked Alice.

"Because I am afraid I have seen similar cases before. Not here, but when I was training in the capital. A couple of similar murders happened there as well. No one was ever caught," he finished grimly.

"And how did she end up in the forest? I got lost, but how could she be lost? She was from this vicinity?" I asked him.

"Your guess is as good as ours, Red. We are still searching for answers to that," he said, rubbing his temples.

I saw my grandmother, looking terrified, standing near the counter.

I got up and went to her to hug her. I realized that she was shaking.

"I called you here, Ruby. What if it was you who had died?" She said it in a shaky voice.

"Hey, I am fine. Don’t worry about it. Nothing happened to me," I told her in a soothing voice, rubbing her back.

"That killer murdered the poor girls so mercilessly. People are saying she would have an easier death if it was an animal," she whispered.

"Now, Judy, you know better than to believe every single rumor that you hear in this place," James said as he tried to calm her down as well.

She just nodded, but she still looked scared.

Just then, thankfully, the first of her customers began to arrive. She dabbed her eyes with a tissue, plastered a smile on her face, and went out to greet them.

Alice turned to James.

"Granddad told me about her bite marks. That’s not a rumor," she said to him.

"Yeah, well, I asked him not to talk to anyone about it, but I suppose his only grandchild doesn’t count as ' anyone," "he said grumpily.

"Is it true then?" Was she killed as he says?" Alice asked him.

He sighed.

"There is a lot more to it than that. But yeah, she did die of blood loss that happened because her throat had been ripped open. With teeth," he replied.

"And it was human teeth marks, right?" she asked.

"Yes, it was," he said shortly.

"Was she raped as well?" I asked him. He looked at me.

"According to forensics, yes. She was both raped and sodomized brutally," he whispered.

"And you couldn’t find out who it was from any semen sample?" I asked him. Yeah, I know I have seen too many crime shows.

"They did, but it’s not that simple. We first need a suspect to match those samples to. We can’t go around randomly testing everyone for their DNA," he replied shortly.

"I just hope it’s not that sicko from the capital. He never got caught," said James, standing up and putting on his hat.

"Do you want something to eat? Grandma is done baking, I think?" I asked him.

"Not right now. I will drop in later," he said.

"I have a lot of paperwork. A team is coming from the capital to have a look at the body, and I have to look for an actual crime scene." He said it sadly.

I nodded, and so did Alice. "See you both around. And Red," he stopped on the way out. "Be careful around here. If it was him, he must have seen your face. Don’t wander off alone!" he told me.

"Don’t worry, James, I won’t," I told him with a small smile.

He went out. I and Alice sat there for a few minutes, discussing the current turn of events.

"I am so glad you are safe, Ruby," she said, slowly sipping her coffee.

"Poor Kate, though. I wish this animal slash human gets caught as soon as possible," I said.

"So do I." Alice nodded in agreement.

"Who could do something like that, though?" I added thoughtfully.

"I don’t know who could, but I do know one thing. It was very fortunate that you found Adem, and he brought you to town. Not just for you but for him as well. You are safe, and now he has an alibi." Otherwise, no one would have believed him to be innocent," she said.

"I am lucky I caught him earlier. Wouldn’t he have still received the call and left the cabin?" I said to her:

"You said you couldn’t get any signals. How could he have then?" She reminded me. Oh yeah, I had forgotten about that.

"With the story, you have told me about his family history, I don’t doubt that," I muttered.

" Yeah. Even then, you will see a lot of people suspect him," she replied.

We both stayed quiet for some time. She then took her leave, for she had some errands to run as well. I went out to help my grandmother. Today, it wasn’t as crowded.

The day passed quickly, and I kept myself busy to stop myself from thinking too much.

As we closed for the day, me and my grandmother were both physically and mentally exhausted. We had been listening to gossip all day, and the theories were getting wilder. I caught mention of Adem’s name a couple of times as well.

Grandma and I took some lavender tea. I prepared her a warm bath in her tub. And left the room when she had fallen asleep. I, too, decided to soak in a bath. The tea had a very soothing effect, and I was feeling sleepy. I got out of my tub with difficulty and put on my pajamas. I staggered to bed and fell asleep as soon as I hit the bed.

Chapter Text

The next day, Adem came alone to have coffee. Grandma took his order while I was busy with other customers. As soon as he settled down, I noticed a few of our customers starting to whisper among themselves. He ignored everyone. He just ordered his coffee and a donut.

When his order was ready, I took it to him.

“ Hello. How are you?” he started the conversation as I was setting down his little tray.

“I am good. How about you?” I asked him to be polite.

“Been better,“ he muttered. ”Join me, please, if you are free,” he said suddenly. I was shocked. I had already turned around. I told him that I would get my coffee and join him for a bit.

After a few minutes, I was free, so I took my own cup and sat down across from him.

Is James still busy?” I asked him

“Yes, unfortunately. It will be sometime before he can be free,” he said, shaking his head.

“And I am truly sorry for my behavior that night. You definitely were not lying,” he said with his head slightly bowed.

“That’s fine. No harm done.” I smiled at him sincerely for the very first time.

“You also kind of saved me that day. You know what would have happened had I been found in the vicinity of the accident?” He said.

“Yeah, I know. Alice explained.” I told him.

“ Great. So you have already heard the legend in my family history,“ he grimaced.

I laughed. ”Yeah, Alice mentioned that too."

He just snorted.

“You would think people would get bored and move on to newer topics, but no. Apparently Mythical Monster stories never get old," he said.

“Whatever killed Kate was no mythical creature." I told him

“Yeah, I am aware. James told me a few details. He replied absently. I was tired of hearing about this gruesome murder.

“I have heard you have a huge Library in your castle. Is that true?" I asked him about changing the topic.

“Yeah, I do,“ he replied.

How huge is it?” I asked him.

The biggest one in the country. It contains about a hundred thousand books. A lot of them are centuries old, and many include the first additions and rare volumes. I have been offered huge amounts of money for certain volumes, but it’s my family library,“ he replied, shrugging.

I opened my mouth to ask him, but I shut it. Why would he show me that? We weren’t exactly friends.

“Would you like to see it? “he asked, smiling slightly.

“ Yes. I would love to see it,” I said in a rush.

"Give me your cell,“ he said, holding out his hand. I unlocked it and gave it to him.

“That’s my personal number. Give me a call and drop by anytime you can,” he said, handing it back.

I felt like I could kiss him at that moment. Although, truthfully, my happiness about the Library had very little to do with it. I mean.....

I nodded my head, smiling.

“Can I bring Alice with me?" I asked him

“Yes, of course. Alice is welcome any time as well,” he replied, taking a sip of his coffee.

“What are you doing tonight?” he asked.

“Nothing special. I might go to the town for dinner with Alice.” I told him.

“Come to my castle afterwards. I will give you a tour,” he said.

A tour of the whole place. How did he know I was dying to see not only the Library but the entire castle as well? This opportunity was too good to be missed.

"Shall I be there at 9 o'clock?" I asked him

“Yes, 9 sounds fine,” he replied.

Just then, I heard my grandmother call me. There were a bunch of new customers, so I got up to do my job. By the time I was free, Adem was gone. But I was over the moon. I have no idea what it was that compelled him to invite me into his home, but I was so happy that he had. Truth be told, I was dying to see the old castle.

I spent the rest of the day clearing out tables. I called Alice after noon, asking her to come along. She was as surprised as me, but she agreed. We decided to meet after an early dinner at the bazaar. I didn’t want to go empty-handed, so I wanted to shop for something.

After a quick meal with Grandma, I took her little car to town.

I hunted around in different shops for something that was both elegant and affordable.

It was difficult to find something within my budget, but I had trust in this market. It had not disappointed me before.

I was roaming around when I found something perfect. It was a large vase. It was a mixture of red and black in color and very shiny. And not too expensive. Just right.

I bought that and got it wrapped. I then went to wait for Alice, who showed up after a few minutes of waiting. She and I both got into my car, and I started driving while Alice guided me through the directions.

The castle was visible from a distance. Against the moon. It looked breath-taking, as always.

dark, with Little lights visible in many of its windows.

When we reached it, the grounds were deserted, and we saw no one near the gates, but before I could do anything, the gates opened of their own accord. It was inside, near the main gateway, that I saw a little cabin for the watchman. It was he who had opened the gates with some mechanism. He waved us forward.

“Miss Ruby and Miss Alice?” he said inquisitively.

We nodded.

“Right this way."

He bowed his head and directed us to the main entrance.

“That’s bash. He is the groundkeeper,” Alice informed me. I nodded as I parked my car near the front door. It was a huge carved wooden door, almost 25 feet in size. And it has a huge iron knocker in the middle. I so wanted to hear what it sounded like, so I hurried forward, but I could barely lift it; it was so heavy. Alice rolled her eyes and pointed out to me a modern doorbell. I sighed, slightly disappointed, and Alice smiled. I pressed the doorbell. I heard a tingling sound like wind chimes in the distance. After about 30 seconds of waiting, I heard footsteps behind the door.

Someone was making their way towards the door using a wooden staff, I think. The door was opened by an old man. He was wearing a butler’s uniform. He looked quite old. His long, snow-white hair and a large moustache hid most of his face. And he was not very tall, but I think he was stooping a little. In his hand, he was holding a walking stick. His shiny black eyes twinkled as he looked at me and Alice.

“Hey Gilbert How are you?” Alice asked him with a smile.

“Good, miss Alice. It's so nice to see you after such a long time. And you must be Miss Ruby?" He turned to me inquiringly.

“Yes, that’s me. It’s nice to meet you,“ I replied to him with a smile, holding out my hand to shake his. He eyed me closely, his eyes full of curiosity. It was like I was being x-rayed.

“I welcome you to the Vargr castle, miss. My name is Gilbert, as Miss Alice already mentioned,“ he told me after talking with my hand only for a second.

“If you ladies follow me," He said he was turning around. He led us both through the entrance hall to what I assumed was a room used as a modern parlor. It was lavishly furnished. Nothing in the room was old or antique. It was all modern furniture. The room was painted a soft white, with one gray wall in the middle and a floor made of dark, hard wood. There was a huge L-shaped sofa in the middle, also light gray in color. The rug present in the middle was white and fluffy, and the coffee table in the middle was a dark, rich brown. On one side, there was a huge television that took up almost half the wall. And on one side was a fireplace with an electric fire, while another side was completely covered in curtains covering a window, I think. Not what I expected to find in an old castle, but definitely classy. I thought with a slight shake of my head.

Gilbert told us to wait there while he went to get the master of the castle.

Chapter Text

Alice and I settled down. I put the vase on the coffee table.

We started making small talk. After a few minutes, I heard footsteps outside the room. The door opened, and Adem entered. He was dressed in jeans and a casual t-shirt. Odd. Somehow I had trouble picturing him in regular attire. I had only ever seen him in crisp suits. And the first time I saw him in the forest, I couldn’t recall at all what he was wearing at that time. I was so panicky, although I doubt he was wearing a suit at that time. I do remember his face, though. Which was pretty much the same. Dark and alluring.

He smiled as he saw us both.

"Welcome to my humble abode," he said, his eyes twinkling.

Humble my ass I thought.

"How are you liking it so far?" he asked, turning to me.

"Honestly, unexpected so far," I replied.

" unexpected? How so?." He asked.

"It’s quite modern." I told him.

He laughed, saying, "Yeah, I renovated the parts I use all the time. A few bed rooms, this lounge, parts of the kitchen, and some parts of the patio The rest of it is ancient, untouched, and well preserved. Including the ball rooms and library." He replied.

"Shall we start?" he asked me. I nodded enthusiastically.

Come on, he said.

Alice and I followed him out of the lounge.

He started with the ballroom, continuing into the dining room and kitchen( parts of which were modern and parts of which were very old), including the fireplace with a cauldron. (I very much doubted it was in use for cooking these days.) He then took us upstairs to the rooms—the ones he had renovated and the ones that hadn’t. The renovated ones all had modern furniture with rugs, proper heating systems, and TVs, while the old ones had grand four-poster beds with silk sheets and magnificent curtains. Why on earth would one want to sleep in a simple bed when one can sleep in these? I thought to myself as I looked around in awe. There were about 30 rooms in total. All of which I couldn’t see, for it would take far too much time. It was then time to see the infamous Library.

Adem led the way towards one of the grand doors and threw them both open. Me and Alice entered behind him.

The library was grand. My mouth flew open. It was this huge thing with books in every corner that actually had multiple stories. I felt just as giddy as Belle would have Felt when she entered the beast's Library for the first time. My mouth was Still open when I realized that Adem was smirking at me.

"Trust a nerdy girl to be seduced by a library," he muttered under his breath. I raised a single eyebrow at him, but he just laughed.

Alice, too, gave a little laugh. And I closed my mouth. "Now you may want to take your time here," he started, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Gilbert entered, his metallic cane making a scraping noise on the floor.

"Sorry to interrupt. Mr. Adem, there is an important phone call for you," he said. Adem looked puzzled at him.

"Can’t it wait?" he asked.

"I am afraid not. It’s your lawyer," he said shortly, looking at him.

" Ah. Alright Gilbert. Can you continue the tour from here? Show Miss Ruby and Miss Alice all the sections. Apologies ladies. I will try to join you as soon as I can," he said, turning around. He walked out of the room at a brisk pace.

Gilbert smiled and started.

"The section here contains some of the books that were brought in by the travelers from the Middle East. almost 600 years old. And handwritten." He started. I touched on the volumes he mentioned. Bound in leather. I pulled one out to ruffle through it. It was made of some old sort of parchment, and the language was definitely not English. Or any other that I had ever seen before. And it was a bit dusty. I put it back.

Gilbert continued to talk, telling us about different volumes. It was all too huge to finish today, and it was already nearing 11 at night. Adem returned after half an hour. I asked him if I could continue this sometime later, as it was getting late and Grandma would be waiting for me. He agreed, asking Gilbert to let me see it when I had free time. Even if he isn’t there. I smiled at him. Alice and I bid him and Gilbert good night and went outside to our car.

"Wow, I have never seen Adem talk so much," she said as soon as we were out of the gates.

" Really? He was so polite today. He was very rude To me before," I told her.

"Yeah, he only talks like this to James." She replied with a small smile.

"Maybe he was feeling guilty for his earlier treatment of me," I suggested.

"Or maybe he likes you," she suggested with a smirk.

"Yeah right! As if!! " I snorted. She just kept smiling and didn’t answer.

I dropped her off at her car before making my own way towards my home. Thankfully, I had the key to the front door. Grandma was fast asleep in her chair, waiting for me in the lounge. I gently woke her up. She relaxed when she saw me, breathing a sigh of relief, and allowed herself to be guided out of the chair to her bedroom. I think she had started to worry more after the murder of that poor girl.

I put her to bed and made my way to my own room. I put on my pajamas and got into bed. I picked up my cell phone to check for messages and saw that Adem had texted me.

My heart gave a summersault. I opened it.

I hope you had a good time today, Ruby," said the text.

"I did; thank you very much for showing me everything," I replied.

"It was my pleasure. After all, It’s not every day that a woman shows more interest in my library than me," he replied.

"Maybe that’s because you don’t offer to show any of them the library." I suggested a touch of smile on my face.

"Yeah, maybe. I'm glad to have someone different in this town, Ruby. I hope to see you around," he replied.

"Yeah, see you. Good night," I replied.

"Good night," he replied back as I turned off my cell phone and laid back on my pillow.

He was the most breath-taking being that I had ever set my eyes upon. I sighed. If I am not careful, I might develop an unhealthy infatuation, I thought to myself.

For the next few days, I saw Adem regularly, for he showed up almost daily at our shop.

Alice was teasing me nonstop, suggesting that she had never seen Adem be so taken by anyone before. Not even his former ex. I was still refusing to believe her. As he never asked me out. Not once. I think he was more happy being my friend. Maybe it was just me who wanted to be more. It was dumb of me to fall for a guy who just wanted to be friends.

Also, it turned out that Adem and I had a lot in common. And we both always had something to talk about. James, too, started appearing occasionally again, but he was still busy with the case. No culprit was caught. But there was a slight development in the case. The dental pattern from the killer Of the capital matched the ones found on Kate. So it was now officially a serial killer case. Who was still at large and had no signs anywhere to be found.

Alice had a date last night with some guy. According to her, it went horrible. The guy was an old schoolmate who had just returned from abroad. He asked her out at the supermarket when she was shopping for groceries. As James was still too nervous to ask her out, Alice accepted. The guy was kind of cute. Nonetheless, the date was disastrous.

He took her to a Chinese food place. All he did during the date was talk about himself and his achievements. He never asked Alice a single thing. And after dinner, he started making innuendos that he wanted to go to her house for the night. It turned out he only wanted a few nights to spend. Alice shook him off with quite a bit of difficulty. I sighed. She and James were made for each other.

If she and James were too idiotic to do anything about that, I might have to do something about it. It may just give them a nudge in the right direction. Nothing drastic, you know. And for that, I needed Adem's help. I couldn’t do this without him. Or at least, this was what I told myself.

Chapter Text

One day, when I was having coffee with Adem, I decided to bring it up.

"Don’t you think it is finally time that James and Alice should accept their attraction towards each other?"  I Asked him.

He snorted. "I have been trying to get James to do something about it for about," he counted on his fingers dramatically, "8 years now."

"And to no success," I said, raising my eyebrows.

"Well, James has always been extremely shy. And Alice doesn’t make things easy either," he shrugged.

"How about we both put our heads together and make them both see sense?" I asked him slyly.

"What? Make them go out with each other forcefully. And most importantly, how? Because I am down for it. This has been going on for far too long," he said, combed back a stray strand of hair with his hand, the sun light falling on his dazzling face making his eyes appear almost silver gray. For a minute, I lost track of what I was saying.

"No, not force them, but," I bit my lips to stop myself from smiling, "how about the four of us meet up for dinner in the town and then you and I sort of disappear from the view?" I suggested.

"One by one or together?" he asked, smirking. "

"What difference does that make?" I stuttered.

"If we disappear together, then won’t it be our date as well?" His smirk grew bigger.

"Fine, One by one if you wish," I finished lamely.

"I am just teasing you, Ruby. And let’s do it together. We will keep ourselves out of sight but still near if things get out of hand. I mean for James. " He finished with a laugh.

"What could possibly go so wrong?" I asked him

"I once convinced James to ask Alice for a dance. You know, for one of the castle balls. And the guy got so nervous that he tripped on his own feet on his way towards her, right into the gravy boat that was lying on a table 20 feet away. He did not dance with anyone that night " He finished as I shouted with laughter.

" He almost lost his infamous hat to gravy that day. But somehow he managed to get it revived." He finished shaking his head. "His courage, however, never recovered."

"What infamous hat?" I asked him.

"What, you haven’t seen the hat? Wait till you see it. It’s this very old, huge thing that has been Passed on for generations. Father to son, He is quite proud of it. Considers it a family heirloom. Do ask him for the history of it. He will be most happy to share it with you," suggested Adem with a last swig of his coffee.

"You have piqued my curiosity. Now I really want to see this thing." I told him.

"You probably will. He might wear it to dinner," Adem said.

"The dinner that we haven’t decided the time of yet When do you think we should do it?" I asked him.

"How about Friday?" he asked.

"Yeah, that would be perfect," I agreed. "And where to meet for dinner?"

"How about the haveli? You have to try their lamb karahi with garlic naan," he suggested.

"Yeah, but we won’t be eating there. We have to leave, remember." I reminded him.

"Hmm, how about we meet at the Turkish sweet house? It’s near the Haveli. We will make our escape to it, and it’s near enough to keep an eye on things." He suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," I said excitedly.

"How will we both get up from the table? I mean, under what pretext? " He asked me.

" Oh, easy. I will get up to use the rest room, and you get up to pick up a call," I suggested.

"How will I pick up a call without my phone ringing?"" he said.

"I will call you, genius." I shook my head. "Oh yeah. And we will meet outside. Right around the corner. Done?" I asked.

Yeah, done," he said. I could tell he was looking forward to it. He left soon afterwards, and I went to help Grandma with lunch as it was already afternoon.

I asked Alice that night if she would join me for dinner on Friday. She obviously agreed.

As I lay in bed watching Netflix, I remembered my ruby bracelet. I haven’t gotten around to going and looking for it; however, given the current situation, I doubt I will have any time to trek to the forest to look for it. I decided I would talk to James and Alice about it. Maybe they will go and look for it with me.

I ran into Jason the next day in the supermarket. Grandma had sent me to buy flour and sugar( two ingredients without which her kitchen was incomplete).

He was out of uniform and shopping. I stopped to chat with him for a bit. He was quite flirty, however. He kept hinting that he wanted to take me out. Only my thoughts were totally and absolutely occupied by someone very different. Someone dark and rude I just smiled and feigned innocence toward his tactics. He left looking a little disappointed.

He wasn’t bad-looking. He was very cute. In fact, had I run into him somewhere else, I might have actually been attracted to him. But He was just not who I wanted right now. This Adem thing was seriously becoming an obsession, I thought to myself grimly and sighed.

I quickly unloaded the groceries and put the rest of them away while handing my grandmother the flour. She immediately started on her dough for the day, while I hummed to myself as I combed my long hair.

Friday morning dawned bright and beautiful. I was super excited About tonight, even though I knew it wouldn’t be my night. I planned to make it Alice's, but I was still a little too excited. Gracious woman, get a grip on yourself. You see, almost every day I reprimand myself strictly.

Actually, he hadn’t been to my house since we made the plan. He had been a bit busy. So it's been three whole days since I last saw and talked to him. I dressed myself with extra care. I put on a pearl-colored knee-length soft silk dress and let my hair down. It reached almost to my knees. I tied some of it back from my face using a pair of golden clips. I then lightly did my makeup, but I put on a dark red lipstick to match the color of my hair. Then, after some thought, I decided to put on my moonstone necklace set as well. It was not a heavy affair, so I knew it would work nicely. Finally satisfied with my appearance, I made my way downstairs.

My grandma looked up and blinked; her face broke into a smile.

"Dinner with Alice?" She suggested shrewdly counting the stitches, for she was crocheting something.

"Um, no, Gramps James might join us," I told her, turning around so she couldn’t see my face.

"Just James?" she promoted.

I sighed and blushed.

"Fine, it’s James and Adem, Gran," I said in response to her interrogation, "but it’s strictly not about us. We are kind of setting up Alice and James." I quickly filled her in.

"If you say so," she kept smiling as she worked on her crochet. I had no idea what it was that she was making, as it was too soon to tell, and I Didn’t really have any knowledge about crochet either.

I Kissed her cheek And went out to my car.

I had volunteered to pick Alice up from her house. I made it there on time. She was a little surprised to see me out of my usual attire of jeans and a shirt. I made her wear one of her pretty dresses as well. I told her we would go to a fancy place for dinner this time. After looking puzzled for a bit, She obliged. I made her wear a light pink dress and did her makeup.

We both then got into our cars. She asked me where we were headed, and I told her about the Turkish food. It was different, but fancy and a little expensive. Besides, we need to try something new.

So far, she hasn’t suspected anything.

As we entered and sat down, I texted Adem to hurry up. Before we could order our appetizers, I saw them both enter. James was wearing a super-long, shiny black and maroon hat. He was already like 6 feet 5, and with the hat, he just towered over everyone. He made Adem look small in comparison, even though Adem was tall as well. Both of them were wearing crisp-back suits. Adem saw me and made his way toward our table determinedly.

I fancy running into you two here," he started. I could see the look of surprise on James face.

"Hey, how are you?" I got up to greet them before Alice could say anything. After a second, she got up too. I felt Adem linger a bit as he kissed my cheek. My heart gave a little summersault.

"I have an idea. Since we are all here, why don’t you two join us?" I said so as soon as we were done greeting.

"That's an excellent idea, right, James," promoted Adem.

"Um, I uh, yess sure." He stammered. Alice didn’t say anything; she just smiled. I knew she thought I was doing this to get Adem to spend time with myself.

Adem quickly called the waiter to put two more seats at our table. We all settled down, and we were deciding on the kind of salad that we wanted to have when I got up to go to the restroom. Instead of the restroom, I quietly slipped outside and hit the call button. It rang only once before he picked it up.

"Sorry, I have to take this." I heard him mutter on the other side. "Hello," he said once he was out of earshot.

"I am on the other side of the fountain,"  I told him.

"Yeah, I am coming," he said, and hung up.

A minute later, he appeared in person.

I was fairly hidden, but I could see both Alice and James seated through the window.

I sensed rather than heard Adem join me quietly as I kept my eyes on the now panicked couple

Chapter Text

James was looking around, and Alice had taken out her cell. I knew what was about to happen, so I quickly whipped out my phone to put it on airplane mode. Alice looked confused. Adem saw what I was doing.

“Good thinking. I will shut mine off too,” he said as he turned off his cell.

“Now what?” he asked.

“Now we wait,” I replied. The waiter came right then, asking for their orders. James looked around in panic, but he saw neither of us coming. He reluctantly gave him an order. Alice, however, looked like she had caught on to what had just happened. She just gave a small smile and shook her head slightly before ordering for herself as well. She didn’t bother to look around for me.

“It looks like they are nicely settled. Well, not nicely, maybe, but they are ordering food. How about you and I get something to eat? I am starving,” whispered Adem beside me, forgetting that we were far enough that we couldn’t be heard.

“Yeah, let’s go. What was the place you suggested?” I asked him, turning.

“Right! This way,” he started leading the way towards a restaurant nearby. I followed him. It was a nice place. The panicky couple was not visible from there, but we were not so far away.

“By the way, you look different,” he said conversationally.

"Thanks for noticing all the extra effort," I thought to myself as I just rolled my eyes.

“Good different or bad different?” I asked him.

“Good different,” he smirked.

We both sat down, and he motioned for the waiter to take our orders. I had no experience with this type of food, so I let him order for me as well. I did not regret my decision as I tucked into a truly delicious meal.

“You were right. This is pure heaven,” I moaned through a mouthful.

“Wow. You are actually eating. I have never seen a woman eat proper food before,” he said with a laugh.

“What? How come?” I asked him curiously.

“Mostly just salads. And by eating, I mean barely nibble. My ex lives off literal air. It's good that you have a proper appetite,” he concluded.

“Excuse me, are you calling me fat?” I asked him, indignant with my mouth full, a failed effort I knew.

“Did you hear me use the word?” he laughed.

“No, but are you implying that I am fat?” I persisted.

“Hey, woman, just enjoy the food,” he said, shaking his head.

“So, your ex ate nothing? She must have a killer body,” I asked slyly. I had never heard him speak about his past life and was curious to know a bit more.

“Well, she was a model so... apparently not eating was a part of her job,” he shrugged through another mouthful.

“A model? Wow. She must have been quite famous,” I said.

“She became more famous after she started dating me. That’s when she started getting huge modeling deals. The rest, I'm sure you know about,” he finished off quickly without looking up.

“Great! I can’t compete against a model.” It looked like he no longer wanted to talk about it, so I changed the topic.

“What do you suppose the happy couple would be doing right now?” I asked him after a second.

“Knowing James, definitely panicking,” he snickered.

“We did right, didn’t we?” I bit my lower lip.

“Hey now, no guilt trip. We did very well. It had to be done, trust me. I am glad that I had you with me. I wouldn’t have been able to do anything alone. And trust me on that, for I have been trying for so long,” he finished.

“You were right about the hat. It was both unique and a little ridiculous,” I told him.

He snorted again. “The guy loves it,” he told me, “like it’s his first child,” he said.

“Ah well, each to his own,” I said as he called for dessert.

“Looks like we will be finishing early. Let’s take a walk afterward. James brought his own car so you will have to drop me off,” he told me.

“Yeah, no problem.”

“Why didn’t you come to my library again?” he asked casually.

“Oh, I haven’t forgotten about that. I will. Maybe day after tomorrow. Was just a little busy,” I told him.

“Doing what?” he asked.

“Helping my grandma mostly. Oh yeah, and dodging date innuendos.”

“Wait what?” he looked up startled. “By whom?” he said, struggling to sound normal.

I laughed.

“Jason,” I told him.

“And why did you say no?” he asked me intently.

“I did not say no. I avoided the question. I might say yes eventually.” This was interesting.

“You will say yes? Last time I saw him, he could barely come up to my shoulders. He is a kid compared to... I mean, why didn’t you say yes there and then?” he prompted without looking away.

“No reason. I just thought he was a little young. Do you want me to say yes to him?” I asked him slowly.

“I, uh... it’s not my call. I mean, like you said, he was young so...” he stammered.

“I am not as old as you,” I told him with an eyebrow raised.

“And how old are you exactly?” he asked me.

“I turn 23 this year,” I told him.

“So you are legal, right?” his signature smirk was back.

“Obviously duh! And how old would you be?” I asked him.

“28,” he said shortly. We had just finished up. So like a gentleman, he paid the bill (I tried to split, but he wouldn’t hear of it), and we both went outside.

“You suppose we can sneak a peek at those two?” I asked him.

He nodded, and we went back to the fountain.

James and Alice, it seemed, were having a very good time. James was talking earnestly, and Alice was laughing. Thank God that went fine.

I heard him sigh with relief as we saw them having a good time.

“All seems good here. Come on, let’s walk,” he suggested.

We made our way away from the crowded streets towards the main square. It had a beautiful cobbled pathway perfect for a late-night stroll. The full moon above was in all its glory, and the sky was dotted with just a few clouds but not enough to cover the moon.

We had most of our meetings and talks sitting down, but now that I was walking with him, I noticed that Adem towered over me. He was quite broad-shouldered as well.

“I must look tiny next to him,” I mused to myself.

“Your hair is beautiful,” he suddenly said.

“You are perfectly named Ruby. It matches you. Bright and shiny. Beautiful. And red,” he added slowly.

“My mother thought so too. But I think she was much prettier than me,” I told him. My heart was beating erratically.
“I remember seeing your mom once. And I would have to say that I disagree. You are just as beautiful as her,” he stopped walking and turned to look at me.

“Wait, you saw my mom? When?” I too stopped.

“I remember going with my mother to see someone in a hospital when I was visiting your country with her. I actually even remember seeing you. You were so tiny. A tiny little redhead with huge green eyes, sitting on your father’s lap as you yawned. You had no idea about the diagnosis of your mom. All you wanted to do was to go home and sleep with your little doll that my mom had gotten for you that day,” I was rooted to the spot as he continued.

“It was actually the day your mother got her diagnosis. She hadn’t started her chemo yet because I remember seeing her hair. She and my mom were very close friends, you know.”

He finished. I noticed he was a lot closer to me. I unfortunately had tears in my eyes.

“I remember seeing you at her funeral as well. You were crying so much that your eyes had gone red. My mom hugged you tightly, but you wouldn’t let go of that same doll that you got from her. You even asked my mom if she could sneak you into the coffin with your mother to sleep. You were quite angry when she refused,” he put his hand below my chin.

“Of course, I had no idea I would see you on the doorstep of my cabin after all those years,” he said.

“I thought you said you didn’t know if my grandmother had any grandchildren,” I asked him in a choked voice, barely keeping my tears from spilling out.

“It’s because you were wearing a hat and all your hair was hidden. And I knew her granddaughter to be not in the country,” he finished.

But before he could continue, I heard a loud shriek.

He and I jumped apart startled. And I saw a stunning golden-headed girl advancing with her fists raised.

“So, this is what you were doing when you said you were too busy to talk,” she shouted as she came near us. She started hitting him on the chest with her fists. She was so...

“Leah?” said Adem in surprise.

“You!” she sneered as she turned to me. “What is it that you think you are doing, hitting on someone else’s boyfriend?” she continued.

“Boyfriend?? I thought you broke up.... I---” I

“Oh darling, we didn’t break up. We are just going through a tough patch. You dare lust over my man,” she said, seething as she raised her fist to hit me.

“That is enough, Leah. It has been months since we last talked. You and I were done a long time ago. We were finished the minute you ratted me out to the press,” he finished angrily as he stopped her hand from hitting me.

“But Adem, I didn’t say anything voluntarily. He forced it out of me,” she said beseechingly.

“And he forced you into his bed as well?” said Adem with dead calm.

“He got me drunk on purpose. He must have done something. Please Adem. Give me one more chance,” she pleaded with him. I was standing on one side awkwardly. All I wanted to do was to disappear from the scene, but Adem was blocking the way.

“You and I both know that’s a lie. You had been cheating on me with that pap for ages. And even if you weren’t, you were the most selfish person to begin with. All you thought about was yourself. Now stay out of my life,” he seethed.

“Look, if we can just talk....” she began.

“If a person keeps avoiding your calls, that means he is no longer interested in talking,” finished Adem.

“But Adem, please—” she whined.

“It's over. Leave. Now!” he said firmly.

She kept standing there and turned to me.

“It’s so pathetic the way you have colored your hair red to get his attention, knowing his weakness.”

“Leah, I am warning you—”

“You aren’t even pretty. He absolutely begged me to dye mine—” she began again scathingly as she took a fistful of my hair into her bony hand.

“I said, leave. Now!” This time Adem thundered. I jumped. I am pretty sure everyone within earshot must have heard him. A few people in the distance stopped to look at us.

Adem was breathing heavily, and he looked mad.

The girl called Leah turned around and walked away in fake tears, sniffling as her heels clinked loudly on the stone pathway. I stood there with my mouth half open. So much had unfolded in the last half hour that I didn’t know what to process first.

Adem’s breathing slowed down slowly as he turned to me.

“I am sorry, Ruby, for all this you had to see,” he muttered, looking down, making sure not to look into my eyes.

“I, uh, it’s f-fine. Let’s just call it a night,” I stammered.

“Yeah. Let’s go,” he began walking towards where the cars were parked as he took out his phone and started clicking on it. After a few of the longest, quietest minutes of my life, we reached my car, and he opened the door for me.

“Aren’t you coming? I was to give you a lift,” I asked him.

“That’s okay, Ruby. Gilbert is in town for something. He has a car. I will just go with him,” he told me.

“It’s no trouble, really—” I began.

“No, it’s okay, Ruby. I just need a little time to myself,” he said. I looked at him. He looked so broken. I sighed as I gave him a hug. He froze, but then he put his hands around me and squeezed tightly.

“I am here for you. Call me if you need anything,” I told him.

“I will,” he kissed my forehead, turned around, and walked away.

Chapter Text

When I reached my home i saw that the lights were still turned on in the lounge and my grandmother was sitting in her usual chair.
Wow. This was way past her bedtime.
Naturally she wanted to know everything.
I told her all about how we set both Alice and James up and how they seemed comfortable after sometime. She however was a little more interested in where I spent the rest of my time with Adem. So I sighed and told her about the dinner and the eventful walk.
Her expressions of delight turned to utter disgust. After I finished she clicked her tongue sympathetically.
“ she was always trouble that one. I was glad when Adem got rid of her” she told me.
“i don’t know gramps. She looked like she really loved Adem.” I said to her.
“oh She loved his money more likely. Trust me , the kid is far better of without her” she said brandishing her hands.
“ and she was so pretty “ I said sadly.
“ Not every shiny thing is gold sweet heart” she said gently
“ Well gramps it wasn’t pleasant . I hope he is fine” I said .
“ He will be back to his old self in a few days don’t worry” she told me. “ now I am really tired. Walk me to my bedroom will you ”she said getting up.
Laughing I accompanied her to her bed room and I tucked her in my self.
“ You don’t take anything she said to heart dear “ she said as I kissed her forehead.
“ I know she may seem like gold but you are a gem ,my Ruby. Beautiful Both inside and outside” she finished sleepily.

“ You little devil....... What on earth were you-----” it was Alice. She had just entered the cafe.
She started spluttering as she made her way towards me.
I just laughed. I had pulled a rather dirty trick on her. Her indignation was well deserved.
“ Come on. let’s sit down ” I told her pulling out a chair at an empty table. “ oh are you sure it’s for me. you haven’t been hiding James into the milk jug you are carrying are you? So you can dump him into my tea and disappear the first chance you get” she said as I shouted with laughter
“ Oh come on you and I, both know he is too big to be hidden in a milk jug” I told her.
“ Is that so. And you sneaked off with Adem you clever little fox . The time you two must have had chatting about your two lost friends that you two dumped in a ---------” she stared hotly.
“ But you fun didn’t you? Now don’t lie” I asked her interrupting her monologue.
“you little sneak. Fine . I had fun. Happy” she said trying to control her smile and failing.
“ That makes one of us” I sighed as I sat down.
“ Wait what? Did Adem say something? Was he rude to you again? I am going to kick him where it really hurts if he had done anything again---” she again began heatedly and a couple of people looked around at our table in interest.
“ wow slow down. It’s nothing like that. It’s just , we ran into his ex” I told her quickly and mouth flew open.
“ uh well that took an unexpected turn “ she said after a few seconds of gaping
“ tell me everything. Right from the beginning “ she said. I put her tea in front of her and splayed of chocolate fudge cookies.
I started right after we both met outside near the fountain. I told her about where we ate, where we walked to and what happened after.
Her face started with a smile was soon in a deep frown.
“Yeah Leah was a complete bitch when she was here. There break up was messy. Not to mention famous. It was talk of the town. Adem had stopped leaving his house at all during that time” she informed me.
“ He mentioned something about her cheating as well. “ I said.
“ yes. Apparently she had been cheating on him with the journalist who later published a piece on Adem’s detailed family history “ Alice sipped her tea.
“ She also said about red hair being Adem’s preference .Is this why he is interested in me? Just my hair?” I wondered out loud about what was really bothering me for the past night.
Alice snorted.
“look I am not gonna lie that he dated two red heads in high school . And both of them he started dating after they had coloured their hair. So maybe there is some truth to it. But you my dear come with not just red hair but a wonderful personality “she finished elaborately.
“ Oh hahaha like my personality will be match for his super-hot ex.” I said bitterly.
“ Oh you are hot too. Don’t underestimate your self. That chick was nothing but bones and flesh.” Finished Alice. “ I wonder why she came running back to him after all this time . She knew she had no chance with him again.” Said Alice thoughtfully.
“ was Adem angry that she had showed up/?” she asked.
“ Oh yes Adem was beside himself. Told her to leave. And she wouldn’t listen he shouted pretty loudly . I think people for a mile around must have heard” I told her.
“ poor guy. Just when things were going fine the evil witch had to show her face” said Alice sadly.

Alice left soon after . In the recent turn of events she had totally forgotten that she was angry with me. I on the other hand was regretting not asking her about what her date went like. Some friend I was . But I had been wrapped up around my own thoughts so much that I forgot till she was gone. Adem was nowhere to be seen and he hadn’t replied to the text I sent him in the morning. It was with a gloomy mood that I ended my day.
Next morning I had barely gotten up when there was knock on my bed room door. I was surprised . I opened it to see my gramps standing there looking grim.
“ James is here to see you dear. He says its urgent” she told me.
James? At seven in the morning?
“ right gramps. I will be out in 5 minutes.” I replied. I went to the bathroom and quickly dressed my self afterwards. I went downstairs to and extremely agitated James pacing around the lounge.
“ Hey James you wanted to see ---" I started as he jumped startled.
He had dark circles under his eyes.
“ another one was found. This morning. Around 4” he began hoarsely.
“another what was found?” I asked him puzzled.
“ another body was found ruby. In the same condition as before” he said looking extremely worried.
I felt myself go cold.
“ I am so sorry to hear that James”
I began slowly as he continued his pacing
“ But can I ask How am I connected this time? I didn’t wander into the forest again” I told him
His next words made my breathing stop
“ it Leah ruby. They found Leah’s body” I sat down my legs shaking
“ and the doctors are putting the time of death sometime after midnight’s yesterday”
“ you aren’t connected to this . But Adem is” he finished grimly.

Chapter Text

The entire morning passed in a haze. James questioned me about the fight that Adem and Leah had that night and came straight to me in panic for confirmation. I did tell him every single little detail but he I both knew that Adem will have to face the rough waters for the time being
Him without any Albi being the main one.
“ I was so hoping he could have been with you at the time of death “ he had said.
“ have you notified him? “ I had asked
“ had to as he was listed as her emergency contact. But right now as he is the main suspect due to his verbal fight. Where did he go from there??” he asked
“ he said he was going home. Said that Gilbert would pick him up.”
“ and you came straight home? “ he had asked.
“ yeah . I even spent some time talking to my grandma about it all” I had told him
“ have you talked to Adem about this All at all?” I had asked.
“ no I haven’t . I wanted to get your story first” he told me. “ and besides Jason will be the one to talk to him. I am his friend. No one will believe if tried to prove his innocence “ he had I formed me. After a few minutes he was gone.

“ why did she have to come back. None of this would have happened . Poor Adem” Alice ranted off while I paced around her room. I had arrived half an hour earlier to her house in panic . Thankfully I didn’t have to explain to her about what happened. She already knew. Words travelled fast in a town this small.
“ Poor her Alice. She is dead” I told her.
“ yeah that too” she said distracted
“ let go and see him” I suggested.
“ Not so soon . He might be at the station still.” She replied.
“ call and ask James” I told her.
“ I did. He said he is taken off the interrogation team that was to question Adem” she replied
“ what team ? I thought he was the sheriff?” I asked her
“ due to these being serial Killings ,a team from the capital has arrived. And they all know that Adem and James are inseparable “ she replied now chewing her finger nails.
“ what’s going to happen now? “
“ I honestly have no idea” replied Alice shaking her head.
“ he said I might have to go for To give statement as well” i said.
“ are you sure Adem didn’t threaten her ruby? I mean may be in anger...” she began.
“ of course he didn’t threaten her Alice. How could you even suggest that. I was there. All he did was to tell her to leave . And yeah he did shout that but that’s it” I turned on her.
“ Ok relax. I was just wondering...” she stopped talking to chew some more of her nails but I grabbed her hand to make her stop. Her anxious state was making me worried too.

The next day as expected they came to see me at our shop. I was serving coffee to the elderly couple when my grandmother called for me she was standing with two men dressed in suits, that I had never seen before , and they both looked very grim.
One was dark and stocky in stature with broad shoulders with a thick mop of black hair and beard while the other was slightly taller and pale looking. The dark guy looked to be younger , may be 35 while the pale guy was definitely older. I guessed his age to be near 50. And they both looked grim. She beckoned to me and seated those two at one of our tables rather far away from the normal crowd.
“These gentlemen are here to see you ruby” she said to me with her eyes full of worry.
“I got two more customers to serve grandma ………” I tried to walk past the table but she was hearing none of it.
“I will get those my dear. You come sit here and see what these gentlemen have to say” she snatched the tray from my hand and sauntered off before I could say another word. I sighed and sat down at the only remaining empty chair.
“if we could hurry things up , I have got work to do” I folded my arms across my chest.
“your grandmother said she will cover you and you are free to talk” one of them spoke up.
“, of course she said she will cover me but my grandmother is an old woman. I cannot let her do all the hard work, she gets joint pains” this was the lamest ever, my grandmother was old but she was fit as a horse but I didn’t know how else to get this finished as early as possible.
“fine lets get down to the business. are you miss ruby?” one of the guys asked?
“yes I am “ I replied without any elaboration.
“I am detective Boucher and this is my partner Omer” the pale guy gestured to himself first and then to the darker stockier guy.
“ ok detectives. To what do I owe this pleasure.”
“I suppose you know why we called you in today mademoiselle “ the pale looking detective started to say in a slow voice as he picked up pen began to twist it around between his finger as a way of habit I presumed.
“I am sorry I must say that I am unaware as to the purpose of your visit. Enlighten me please.” I said trying to appear as indifferent as possible and they both glanced at each other.
“ there is a serial killer on the loose miss I am sure you know …?” the dark one looked at me raising his eye brows as a way of enquiry.
“and what has that got to do with me?” I fired back.
“Mademoiselle girls with your ……….i mean girls similar to your appearance are being targeted” the pale guy called Boucher said. He had a very thick accent.
“And its your job to catch that killer. Why are you here again??” Scepticism had made its way into my tone. He started to speak again but…….
“lets cut to the chase ,miss you were seen in the company of our suspect the very same day just before the murder” the bearded guy bluntly cut his colleague off. Well at least he was direct.
“just because you suspect him does not mean that he is a murderer and last time I checked it was no crime to be in company of anyone” I replied trying to be offhand but deep down I was starting to get nervous.
“what happened that day miss ruby? Witnesses saw you two together arguing with the latest victim just a few hours short of her murder” he prompted.
I stayed quiet for a minute trying to think of an answer that would be an honest one but may not be harmful to Adem in any way.
“ me and Alice went to dinner. James and Adem were already there. They both decided to join us and after some time me and Adem left to give James and Alice to talk among themselves. The have been into each other for quite some time. Adem and I had the dinner at a restaurant nearby, and after that we took a walk” I reeled of the events leaving out the part that me and Adem had planned the entire thing previously.
“and that’s when you ran into the victim?” they both were hanging onto every single word that I said.
“ yes, she came onto us while we were walking”
“and what did she say?” encouraged pale one.
“ she accused Adem of cheating on her with me . only they had broken up almost a year ago”
“ that’s all that happened? “ the pale one asked me for the third time.
“ yes that’s all that happened “ I told him exasperated tired of the repeated questions.
“ What is your relationship to Mr Adem” asked the dark shorter one.
“ He and I are good friends” I told him shortly.
“just friends and nothing else?” he mused raising a single eyebrow.
“you have no right to come to my place and ask me such nosy questions. Now if you will excuse me I have customers to attend to………..” I tried to stand up but the dark guy caught my hand in his firm grasp.
“sit down miss , its our job to be nosy, and its for your own good.” He whispered narrowing his eyes as a few people nearest to us turned to look at me in surprise. I sat back down glowering at him.
“what else?” I pulled my hand out of his harsh grip but He seemed reluctant to let go as if I might try and leave again.
“ Did you or did you not previously made any formal complaints about being followed in the forest? “ he continued as if haven’t been interrupted while continuing to observe me closely.
“ umm yes I did. I told James about it” I muttered.
“ And that day you met Mr Adem as well?” he enquired.
“ Yes. I was lost so He dropped me in the town.” I told him.
“ And did he drop you at your grandmother’s ? “ he prompted
“ no the---- police station actually” I added the pause for dramatic effect, an actual killer would never drop his victim right at the door of law enforcement.
“and why didn’t he drop you to your home? I believe Mrs Judy knows him personally” Mr Boucher leaned back in his chair starting to look slightly bored.
“he didn’t believe I was telling the truth. He thought I was a reporter snooping around for gossip on him” like that was news to him, I could tell he already knew most of it. He was just confirming I think.
“ well mademoiselle , that will be all for now, be careful because I am afraid this will not end here and if you remember anything crucial later that you may want to report or if you wanted to talk these are our cards..” He handed me two cards with each of their names and a cell phone number written on it.
“ so you have established it that this is a serial Killing??” I asked in despair.
“ Yes Miss ruby I am afraid so “ detective Omer nodded
Thankfully that left after that and I was free once again to mull in my own thoughts as I served the rest of the customers . Grandma kept glancing at me with her eyes full of concern my side but I really didn’t want to discuss anything with her at the moment. Even they haven’t accused him directly but it was clear that but it seemed that they definitely suspected Adem .She would be too worried .
When I was done with the service I told grandma that I will head to town for a few things and that I would be back before dinner. She didn’t ask any question but dipped her head in assent .

Chapter Text

I didn’t even change but threw on my long red jacket and got the keys from the stand and almost ran to my car. As I backed out my car from the drive way I had only one thing on my mind that I wanted to see Adem once so I put my car on the route to Castle.
Upon my arrival the gates opened up automatically as usual. I parked the car and got out slipping a little on the wet pavement. I could see Bash working in the distance ,carrying potted plants on a tray. He gave me a wave that I returned.
I walked you to the main doors and Ignoring the huge knocker I rang the doorbell .
After a couple of minutes I heard the clasp of the door being opened and from the crack of door peered Albert’s face.
“ Miss ruby. What a pleasure. Come in.” He said d opening the door.
“ Hey Gilbert , where is Adem.? “ I asked him shrugging out of my jacket.
“ he went somewhere an hour ago I am afraid “ he told me taking my jacket
“ Did he say when will he be back?” I asked him.
“ I am afraid not. Would you like to wait for him in the lounge? And Some coffee perhaps??” He asked me.
“ yes I will wait . But not in the lounge. How about the library. He said I was free to use it. And coffee sounds wonderful” I replied shrugging.
“ Yes. Right this way. “ he led the way to the library”
It was dark. As I switched on the lights The electric fire started on Its own engulfing the entire room with it’s warmth. I started looking at different volumes. There were A lot of books to go through. Many as Adem had told me previously ,were ages old. Books on history of the town ,on the history of the castle, many recent additions including the latest hard back covers, biographies, novels. I picked up a random hard back and settled down near the fire place.
After reading for a few minutes I heard a sound. I looked up. No one was there. I returned to my book. However I heard it again. It was kind of s scratching sound. I got up to investigate. I saw nothing of significance. However the scratching didn’t stop. I listened closely and started walking towards a book case. The scratching was now starting to fade slowly.
But it was unmistakably coming from behind the book case labelled botanical section. I looked at it in appraisingly. It was huge. It took up and entire wall and it did look quite old but very sturdy. As I searched for the sound I heard a scurrying of something little feet trying to get away. It was definitely a rat. I sighed in relief as I turned around. Something however caught my attention. It was a huge old volume that was slightly crooked and looked a little less dusty then its companions. I picked it up curiously.
“ common weeds and their medicinal uses”
It read. Nothing of significance. I sighed and decided to return the volume.
But before I could put it back another thing caught my attention. The reason that book was crooked was that there was a little handle on the backside of the book case . Curious ,I took out three more huge volumes to see a little hidden vault. I snorted . A vault. in a book case . How original. I must ask Adem about it. Or may be not. May be this was the reason I was asked not to explore this section. He still may have something important in it.
Curiosity got better of me and Without thinking I pulled on the handle expecting it to be locked. But to my immense surprise the little door swung open.
May be it is old and not in use I though as I looked at the almost empty old vault. It had nothing but an old Diary in it. I pulled it out . It was handsome little thing clad in what looked like black leather bound by a crest. I recognized the crest to be Adem’s family crest. I was definitely very curious now.
I flipped through it to reveal thick parchment type old yellowing paper full of an unusual hand writing. Wanting to investigate it more closely I returned the rest of the books to the case and took that diary to my seat. I opened the book to it’s first page.
It stated the year the diary was made. 1467.
Wow !this was so very old.
The pages were rough but strong and thick. I opened the first page.
It belonged to someone named , as I deciphered with a little difficulty, Aarman Vargr .
Interested I opened the first entry.
It was the personal diary of this person in which he had recorded his day to activities. I wanted to read all of it. But for some reason I knew I won’t be allowed if I were to ask Adem. There was a reason it was hidden away. As I started on the first page I heard the clanking of a wooden stick. I hurriedly put the book in my bag and turned around just as the door opened And in came Alfred bearing a little tray with a cup of coffee.
“ Mr Adem is home. Would you like to see him? “ he asked.
“ yes of course.” I muttered distracted.
“ He is in the lounge. Follow me please.” He said as he handed me the mug
He then took me to the lounge where me and Alice were first entertained .
Adem was sitting down his head propped back on his chair and he was Slightly rubbing his temples with his fingers. His clothes were wrinkled as if he went to bed with them on. And his beard was no longer a stubble but looked to be many days old now.
“ Adem” I said gently.
He sat up startled.
“ Ruby? What are you doing here? “ he looked surprised. He had dark circles under his eyes.
“ I came to see you but you weren’t home. I decided to wait for you here and explore your Library “ I told him as I went to sit with him
“ Mr Adem coffee for you as well? “ Albert cleared his throat and asked.
“ No thank you Albert I am fine” he replied. Albert gave a slight bow and left the room.
“ funny Albert carries on with all the old courtesies, bowing and all” I said to Adem who sat up a little straighter.
“ yeah Albert strictly follows the old protocols. I have asked him not to a million times. I am his employer not his master. But old habits die hard I suppose” he told me slowly shaking his head a little.
“ how are you?” I asked him simply
“ honestly. I have been better “ he replied in a slightly hoarse voice.
“ hey don’t worry. Things will get better soon” I told him comfortingly
“ I am surprised you are here. Fraternizing with a suspected serial killer” he said with a slight smile.
“ I don’t believe that” I told him
“ even though my presence had been proven in the vicinity of all the crime scenes ? “ he asked me.
“ yes even then . It has to be a coincidence. Or may be someone’s framing you” I told him
“ Who will go to this extent just to frame me ruby. It’s has to be a coincidence “ he shook his head.
“ you don’t have any enemies? “ I prompted him.
“ None that I know off “ he replied.
I sighed.” Let’s get you out of the house. How about we all go for a walk in the afternoon?” I asked him.
“ I am having trouble getting my own groceries ruby. People have been avoiding me lately. I don’t think me roaming around the town is a good idea right now” he said.
“ Ok then come to mine and grandma’s tomorrow . I will call in James and Alice as well. Beside Gran is dying to see you” I told him.
He sighed. “ you sure?”
“ of course “ I replied
“ sounds like a plan. I will see you then.” He said with a hint of his old smile.
I thanked him for the coffee and got up to leave. He accompanied me to my car. He suddenly put his hands around me and turned me back to face him. He lowered his head into my shoulder.
“ this all means a lot to me ruby . Thank you so much” he whispered in my ear, hugging me tightly.
I was unable to speak as I got engulfed in his clean masculine scent . He gently kissed my forehead. His lips linger there. I heard him inhale deeply. His finger stroked my hair . We both stood still for a few minutes. Or may be it was a decade . I couldn’t tell. He then broke off the hug and strode back inside with out looking back. Shaken I got into my car and drove straight home

Chapter Text

Adem vargr was confusing. One minute he acted like he really wanted me but next second he would pull back like I didn’t matter to him at all. I turned and tossed in my bed till midnight. But no sleep. I finally gave up the idea of sleep and opened my eyes. The room was dark with a little light coming off the fairy lights that I had decorated my room with .
I suddenly remembered the diary . I sat up straight and switched on my lamp.
I pulled out the leather bound book from my Bag and opened it up. It was the personal diary of someone named Aarman .the named vargr suggested that he may have been an ancestor of Adem. I started reading the contents.
It was the personal diary of the person who’s father had this castle built.
In it he had written everything. How his father the son of the of the kings daughter, had been rewarded with this vast stretch of fertile land upon winning the war. How long it took to built it(15 years. It started the year he was born) How he travelled from a far away land with his mother and little sister to settle in their new home. And that he had masters to train him but his father liked to train him for swordsmanship himself.
It was so interesting that I lost track of time. According To it When he was 23 the events took a tragic turn. His sister was nearing her 16th birthday ( at which she was to be betrothed to son of a local merchant) . The day before her birthday she went into the forest with a few of her maids to collect unique flowers for her hair. She did not return.

It was nearing day fall. The sun was hanging low in the sky. There was no sign of Mailla or any of her associates. For too long she had been gone. If she didn’t come out soon the darkness of the night will surround her. And all will be pitch black for ,even though it was the full moon according to the lunar cycle ,the sky was thunderous.
It was at the dawn that she went. I had tried to stop her . There were enough of beautiful flowers in her garden ,and the forest was full of not just plant life but it was host to many creatures that Mailla was unaware of. But she had begged and cried in front of father, promising that she won’t go far enough to loose sight of her home and that she will be back in just an hour. Father had caved in . He always had a soft spot for his only daughter.
He was very worried now.
He called me and told me to go after my sister. It was late and the whole castle had been decorated for tomorrow’s event. Mist servants were busy with the preparations . Also Not everyone knew about Mailla’s absence. Disappearance of the vargr’ s only daughter right before he betrothal was bound to give rise to useless gossips.
I took my horse out of the stables and taking along two of my closest friend we entered the huge forest. I searched for any sign of her or any of her lady maids but to no success. It was with heavy heart that I told my comrades to return near midnight to there homes.
I however took the longer pathway. I had just crossed the little stream on my way back when I heard a ferocious howl at some distance. It was accompanied by a most terrible scream of a what I presumed to be, a women. I madly followed it to a little clearing . I was met with an extremely unwelcome sight . A huge wolf the size of a small horse was tearing at what might have been a human. I madly took out my bow and struck the beast with an arrow. It howled in pain and turned around to look at me. I t gave a loud howl. I quickly prepared the other arrow to shoot but the beast was gone , swallowed by the darkness. I got off my horse and ran madly towards the corpse. It was not of my sister but it was one our maids. She was still bleeding profusely from neck . The beast had chewed of chunks of flesh from her neck. there was nothing that could be done . She breathes her last in my arms. I got up and looked around. The clearing was full of human remains. All female.I had no idea if any of them was my sister or not but I was too overwhelmed to check my self.
The commotion was heard by one of my friends who had followed the noise . He found me in tears unable to think properly. It was he checked all of what was left of the dead bodies. Non of them were my sister. But they accounted for every single female that she had left with that morning. They were five in number but only four bodies were present.
We gathered up every thing we could and started our journey back.
My father and mother were devastated. The whole castle that was ready for celebration was now in mourning.
My father however was still full of hope.
The next morning I left with my father and my sisters betrothed to look for her again. After searching for nearly four hours we came across a cave. There was nothing unusual about it except for the fact that it was surrounded by a large number of bones. Most of them I recognized to be of animals. But quite a few of them were human. Before we could enter the cave ourselves we heard a sound as if someone was walking on dried up bone. Out came a slightly smaller wolf it’s teeth bared Snarling . Behind it I counted 3 pups. I raised my bow. So did my father. But before we could strike her there was a rustle of leaves and out came the ginormous beast from last night. It was coal black in colour. It’s teeth bared and mouth foaming. Blood dripped from it’s fangs. It attacked me pulling me off of my horse in one jump.
I eagerly turned the page to see that a few pages have been torn off completely. Crap.
What did happen after all this I was dying to know but someone had removed these pages . The diary however continued after these pages.
The wound inflicted by the beast were too many to heal in just a few days even by the best of healers. And my father approached many for me. There medicine was however effective and my painfully wounds began to heal.
I was now called the beast slayer. From what was found in it’s abode the beast was responsible for the lives of at least 25 humans. No remains of my sister were ever found but I knew for sure that she was dead. Her betrothed stricken with grief and resentment had started the rumour that I did slay the beast but I let the female live ,Condemning her to a mateless life. I was cursed by her to live a killers life.
It was a surprise to me that how many people choose to believe that . Many began to avoid me.
There was nothing I could do about these lies. I began to loose friends. My father started wandering off as well. And to make matter worse women of the village started disappearing. Almost every month. There bodies were never found. Just like my sister’s.
I healed completely but my reputation never recovered. I became an outcast in my own town. Another thing that happened to me after all this was that I began to sleep. More then usual. At least I think it was sleep. I would wake up or come to my senses after some hours and had no recollection of that time.
Every new moon a new body appeared . Always the same. Throat ripped. Bite marks on all body ,heart ripped out from chest and always of a young woman. Every single morning of the full moon. To stop young girls from disappearing my father proposed the idea of an all night ball on every full moon. So all young ones could spend the night stay safely at the Castle . The disappearances slowed down but never stopped . The girls stopped vanishing on the full moon but every now and then a girl was taken any time of the day . Also this started to involve near by villages as well. The body was always found somewhere in the forest. Same as always the next day of the moon.
Few were convinced of my family’s innocence but many still thought it to be a cover up for my blood cravings.
What bothered me was the fact that during nighs there were at least a few hours that I couldn’t recall no matter how much I strained my memory. Even if I stayed up all night I couldn’t account for at least two hours . I had no idea where those went . But now I was beginning to get scared of my self. What if everyone was right. May be I did transform into a beast after all .so to put this all to rest and mainly to clear my own guilty conscience I started wandering at nights looking for some clue. I found nothing. But many a times i found my self on the forest floor covered in leaves sleeping. My father worried for my health started to look for new healers. My medicines increased. But to no avail. I still had black out episodes. The attacks in the mean time started increasing again.
It was one of those days that villagers came to my father to demand justice for my killing spree that I had enough m I decided that I needed some alone time . Without telling anyone without contacting my father or my healer , without even telling my mother I quietly packed up some supplies, dried and preserved food and and some weapon. I left my home. I had no where else to go so I decided to camp out deep in the forest. I built a little temporary abide near a clear stream and started my days alone away from prying eyes of everyone. I hunted for food in the morning ( mostly rabbit but occasionally deer ) and at night I slept in a circle I made of fire wood keep the wood beasts at bay . I encountered many during those days. Few were hunted by me, while the others changed pathway never to cross me again. I However was better in health and spirit both. My black out episodes were now almost gone.

One day I was collecting wild fruit when I can across a piece of torn cloth. It had our family crest. Scattered around it were dried bones. But what confused me was that it had foot prints near . And those were human.
I eagerly turned to next page but a whole section of pages was missing . There was a loud bang . I sat up straight startled.
“ Ruby dear? Are you awake?” I heard my grandmother.
What? I checked my clock and realized it was nine o clock in the morning . I hadn’t slept all night.

Chapter Text

I yawned wide as I sipped my coffee. Black and strong with no cream an just a bit of sugar .I know it won’t be my last one today either. I needed caffeine to stay awake the whole day . It was noon. Alice had arrived as planned and Adem and James were expected to be here soon .
I took extra care with my makeup. Reason being I wanted to hide my dark circles. Alice thought I looked unusually fresh and pretty today. She couldn’t however understand why I kept yawning after every few minutes. She ordered her usual drink of herbal tea and sat down to wait for the guys. I hurriedly finished the chores my grandmother gave me so I can be free when they arrive.
It was a Peaceful day. Not as hectic as every day. With only a few customers. I had just finished the last of the orders when I heard my name being called . I turned around to see Adem and James both already sitting down with Alice.
I waved and hurriedly prepared there drinks( I know what they liked to drink by now) and took out some slices of my grandmothers chocolate pie , some cream and a little Basket of fresh raspberries.
My grandmother added a plate of peeled boiled eggs with salt and pepper and a few slices of her vanilla sponge cake to my tray as well.
James and Adem both got up to greet me, James with a rib cracking hug while Adem kissed my head like always. The guy avoided touching my skin like it burned, I had noticed. It wasn’t a happy observation on my part . He avoided looking me in the eye and quickly sat down.
It was a sunny day. I noticed most of the people around us kept glancing at Adem from time to time, a fact he wasn’t entirely unaware of, apparent by the stiff posture of his shoulders.
I rolled my eyes at and leaned back in my chair as we all made small talk.
“ any luck with the killer James?” I asked all three of them stopped talking.
“ not yet no” he replied shortly
“ And no new leads?” asked Alice.
“ I am not allowed to say. But even if there were I Wouldn’t be informed “ he said . I detected a note of resentment in his voice . Adem sighed.
“ But you are the towns sheriff . They can’t keep crucial information from you” I said.
“ well they are currently doing so . I have been assigned a really old unsolved case. And I am to make weekly reports on that. It’s Mason who fully involved. The git “ he told us.
“ He is getting arrogant” replied Alice.
“ Yeah I saw him at the supermarket yesterday. He really got in my nerves” I told them
“ they think you will be biased if involved “ said Adem shortly.
“ don’t get me wrong pal. If you were the actual killer I would have shown you no favours ,no mercy. But I know you are not. I think you are being framed. No one is letting me prove it though “ said James moodily.
“ Yeah thanks man” replied Adem with a slight smile.” Ruby thinks so too by the way” he continued.
“ that you are being framed? Can you think of anyone who would want to harm you? Who knows your entire family history? “ asked Alice.
“ Right now, how about the entire town? “ He laughed.
“ Not funny Adem” I said sternly.
“ Seriously I don’t know ruby. I have never hurt anyone. And If anyone wants to do me in because of my ancestors then I can’t be so sure as to who can it be” he shook his head.
I shifted in my seat feeling guilty. I haven’t mentioned the journal to him yet. But I was curious. I wanted to read the entire thing before I can reach any conclusions.
I did however had another idea.
“ hey how about you host a ball on the next full moon? I suggested. “ it will keep all the women in the Castle keeping everyone safe. You can even invite those two clowns to keep an eye on things as well . And it won’t be against the law either as you will stay in the town “ I finished.
He sipped his coffee thoughtfully Upon my suggestion.
“ You know that’s not a bad idea” James agreed.
“ it will be something else to look forward to. you need it. We all need it.” Finished Alice enthusiastically.” And me and ruby will help with all the arrangements right ruby? “
“ Of course I will. It’s my idea after all. We promise you won’t have to do everything alone” I replied not meeting his eyes. It wasn’t my idea. It was his ancestor’s idea.
I gave a huge yawn.
“ why do you keep yawning. some thing kept you up last night.” Asked Adem raising a single eyebrow.
“ nothing “ I spoke at once. “ I mean don’t change the topic” I said.
“ Hmmm yeah alright. What harm will it do. I will alert Gilbert. He will help you all prepare” he sighed again.
“ Awesome. We have twenty days to go. I will make the invitations. You know. Old style. And I will invite very body .Ruby you and judy start with the menu. The night has to be unforgettable.” Alice spoke excitedly as She jumped up from her seat . “ do you mind if I send the invitations the old style?” she asked.
“Old style? “ asked James in surprise.
“Yeah . Written on a scroll delivered on horse back” she replied in a matter of fact manner .
“Horse back? How are you going to manage that?” asked James in amazement.
“Grand father has a little stable of horses so you leave it to me. Now come on we have so much to do” she pulled him up with his hand.
“Now wait a second . What am I to do with all this? “ he spoke up panicked as she dragged him with her.
“ I will find a use for you” she replied. I will give you a call in the evening ruby” she shouted looking back.
Adem blinked looking amused. I can see he had no way to back off from this now .
“ I guess I better alert Gilbert. Before Alice catches him unaware. “ he took out his phone.
He gave Gilbert a short call detailing him on everything.
I just sat there deep in my own thoughts. It will do everyone good. Keep them distracted. And safe I hope.
Adem cleared his throat loudly. I came to my sense with jolt.
“ what are you thinking? “ he asked me quietly leaning towards me a little.
“ nothing in particular. Just What do you exactly do at a ball?” I asked him
“ I thought you would know. It being your idea and all.” He smiled.
“ Unless you want yours to be from the previous century showed in the movies , I suggest you guide me what actually happens in this time period “ I told him shaking my head.
“ Don’t worry it will be exactly like that. Trust Alice on that one. She is extremely keen on the old fashioned ways.” He replied.
“ So pretty much ruffled ball gowns ,tight corsets , tail coats, musical orchestra and crackling fireplaces.” I asked him
“ Well I can guarantee central heating so no fireplaces. “ he laughed. “ and I doubt anyone will turn up wearing corsets or tail coats ” I snorted.
“ thanks. That so helpful” I replied sarcastically
“ Always at your service” he smirked.

Chapter Text

Alice really was a passionate party planner. That night she invited me to see the invitation letters. She had bought rolls of paper and with James help she dipped them in Black tea to give them and old parchment look, For old style invitations. After drying those in her garden she folded them neatly and in the front she wrote ‘ the blood moon ball’ with a thick paint brush dipped in red paint , putting in a few splashes of red here and there to make it seem that the whole page was covered in blood spatter. She then dipped another thinner ones of her brush in black ink and wrote on the backside’ you are cordially invited to witness the next gruesome murder at the castle. Be on time for the beast waits for none’ in large spider like letters.
“Alice we are not in high school. Don’t you think its too much” I asked her as she sprayed the invitations with red and silver glitter.
“Oh shush! I know people will love it . “she said nonchalantly with a wink.
“I bet Adem wont” I muttered but she just laughed
She was also quite anxious about our clothes( we had made plans go shopping for dresses on the weekend) . I was still sleepy so I went back early.
The next day I again went to Alice’ s farm to help her with the completed invitations. She had hand crafted leathery looking envelops for them. She made us a fresh tomato, cheese salad and fried up some mushrooms In butter served on toast, for lunch. She told me that some of the mushrooms were unique to this area and we’re abundant in this season and can be easily foraged. On the first weekend we went to meet Gilbert.
Adem was not home so Gilbert took us to the kitchens to introduce us to the rest of the staff.
There was a cook and five maids. The staff was managed by Gilbert himself. We sat down in the kitchen to discuss everything. I gave them the menu. Me and Alice will manage the decor. Grandma will provide all the deserts . Savoury dishes were to be made by the cook( she was to hire extra help , the menu was very extensive ) while we’re discussing Bash came through the back door looking cold and slightly shabby . The cook asked him if he could forage mushrooms and wild flowers for some dishes. He nodded as he sipped his tea. I took a close look at him for the first time . The man looked slightly wild. A thick mop of long dirt coloured hair that he had tied back in a pony tail, wild beard and overgrown moustache same color as his hair and shockingly blue eyes. He was roughly as tall as Adem and even more broad then James. He was wearing a thick jacket and worn shabby pair of pants.
He finished the tea soon and left the kitchen. Alice and I got up to leave. We had to shop for dresses and shoes. Alice also wanted to buy some ribbons for the invitations.
We both went to the town. Alice choose a dress after visiting three shops. Her was a sky blue shimmery figure hugging gown. For shoes she bought silver flats.
There was nothing that I liked . I decided to search a little longer. We split , she went for ribbons , while I started roaming around trying to find something that I liked.
Again I saw something on a stall rather then a shop that I loved instantly. It was a mint green colour off shoulder floor length gown ending in a fish tail, made of light silk. It was very simple but elegant.
I checked for my size in a changing at the nearby shop and it was a perfect fit. I bought it. I knew I have shoes to match it already so I went to look for Alice. She was done buying ribbons and was at a stall getting a snack for us to eat. We both walked to our car chewing on dough sticks dipped in chocolate. I then dropped her home.
My grandmother was just done with her day when I arrived. We both made dinner frying up some fish and potatoes. I showed her my dress.
“ It really brings out your eyes. But it looks rather simple for a ball “ she said.
“ Wait . I will show what I have paired it with” I ran upstairs to get my shawl. Something caught my attention. It was the arrangement of my closet. This was not how I arranged my clothes. Odd.
I shook my head and took out the shawl and my moonstone jewellery.
Grandma ,like me loved the complete final look.
I barely saw Adem during the following days despite visiting the castle every day for preparations. He was busy with his business. But we talked on the cell phone regularly.
The time flew . Soon it was the day of the ball. Almost Everyone in the town was invited.
Alice was already at my house as we had both decided to get ready together. James was to pick us both and grandma later for the ball and Adem was to meet us there as he was the host .
Alice did her make own makeup and mine too. I made both of our hair . I put Alice’s hair In an elegant bun with a shimmery blue bow . I neatly straightened mine and left them alone. I then put on my jewellery and lastly I put on my shawl. I had a pair of matching red heels to match with them.
James was downstairs already and was talking to grandmother When we both went down to greet him. He blinked when he looked at Alice his mouth open, his infamous hat clutched in his hands.
Alice smiled and blushed as James shook his head as though to clear his thoughts and gave me a toothy smile.
We all got into his car . The whole town was heading there so it took us some time to reach the gates , the traffic line moving very slowly.
Bash was on duty as he opened the doors greeted everyone looking rather dashing in a suit. Cleaned up properly he was almost as handsome as his employer.
On the castle door stood Gilbert with his usual smile and cane. It was crowded . Everyone chatted with everyone as waiters roamed around offering beverages and little mushroom appetizers on toothpicks to everyone. My grandmother was immediately greeted by a gaggle of old ladies . She introduced me to them in delight and there was a general discussion among themselves on how pretty I was and how much I resembled my late mother.
I left my grandmother with her friends . Adem was no where to be seen so I told Alice and James that I meant to find him. I asked Gilbert and he told me to check in his room. He was busy with the guests . He asked me if I would be kind enough to bring Adem downstairs as soon as possible. As I was making way towards the stairwell I spotted one of the two detectives from the capital . he was standing in a corner observing everyone closely but when he spotted me, he gave me a curt nod before turning away.
Adem’s room was upstairs. Knocked on it twice. No answer. I slowly opened the door to see an apparently empty room.” Adem ?” I called out. No response.
I entered . “ Adem “ I called out again. Then I heard the shower. I sighed in relief.
I turned around to leave. But something on his dresser caught my eye. Something shinny was poking out of a drawer. Something red. I was curious and I went to investigate. I pulled the piece of jewellery out of his drawer only to let out a huge gasp. It was my ruby bracelet. The one that my father gave to me. It had my initials carved into it.
I examined it closely .it still had a little strands of grass attached to it. Meaning it was found in the Forest.
“ Ruby” a voice called out.
I gasped startled as the bracelet fell slipped from my hand onto the carpet bellow.
I whipped around to see Adem standing there wearing only a towel. He looked surprised.
“ I am so sorry. Gilbert asked me to come look for you. The guests are here. You are needed downstairs. I am just gonna go now” I blabbered. I know my face was tomato red.
“ Relax. Sit. “ he said with half a smile gesturing to a chair.
“ No no I must go. You need to change. I can’t stay here for that ” I continued to prattle.
“ Actually you can. “ he said with a smirk.
“ What?”
“ I have a walk in closet . I can change there. Wait for me here will you. We will go downstairs together “ he said with a laugh.” But if you have anything else in mind that would be fine with me too” he winked and he was gone.
I let out a breath that I didn’t know I was holding. I was pretty sure my face was still on fire.
i quickly picked the bracelet up and put it on.

Chapter Text

My head was swimming. How could Adem have this bracelet? I lost it the day I came here. He said he never went back that night. But may be he found it around his cabin when he did go back later. And if he had then why didn’t he tell me? But then How was he supposed to know that I lost the bracelet. Maybe he just picked it up. But Why didn’t he report it to James and put it in the lost and found. He knew my name. He knew my initials . He could have at least asked me about it. Right?
Or may be everyone is right about him.
“ Ruby?” He again startled me out of my thoughts
“ Shall we” he offered me his hand. I took it as I looked deep into his eyes.
All the facts pointed towards him being a psycho serial killer. And I was in love with him. I was so screwed!

Adem’s suit did have a tail coat but it didn’t look old fashioned. It looked like it was designed by a modern designer . It looked exquisite on him. But then what wouldn’t look good on this guy, I though to my self. He marched me out of the room and down the corridor right to the head of stairs. He and I descended downstairs arm in arm as Gilbert announced our arrival like the ancient ball’s style , greeting people here and there. Then we spotted Alice and James (courtesy his huge ridiculous hat ) around a starters table. Both of them seemed to be busy eating a grilled mushroom speared on a wooden skewer with some cheese and a basil leaf.
“These are good “ she said thickly turning around with piece for me.” Yeah definitely try these. I haven’t had this type of mushroom before “ James agreed through a mouth full.
“What type are they ? “ Adem inquired curiously picking up a tooth pick and sniffing it .
“Not t sure “ shrugged James picking up another.
“Ruby” I turned around to find my grandmother mother beaming from ear to ear.
“Hey grandma” I hugged her tightly. “Having fun?”
“Oh yes. Your grandfather and I used to love balls. We were fond of dancing. I do wish he was here today” she said wishfully.
“it looks like I found my first dancing partner .would you mind if I open the dance with this lovely lady? “ Adem put down the tooth pick skewer and asked me with a smirk raising one of his eye brow and gesturing to my grandmother. I laughed and nodded. How adorable. Like a perfect gentleman he escorted my grandmother to the dance floor alerting the Dj to start playing. To a huge round of applause they started dancing a slow dance. Soon many people joined them including Alice and James. When the song ended everyone clapped loudly and Adem bowed to my grandmother. As soon as another song began to play I saw Adem check his cell phone. He gave me a quick wave and a motion of his hand gesturing to his phone that i assumed meant that he needed to make a call. He was gone a second later. When the next song ended Adem still hadn’t returned. The song being played right now as even slower. I walked around the dance floor admiring the beauty, the mushroom toothpick still clutched in my hand for I felt a little queasy to eat anything. Just as I had discarded the thing on a stray plate I got tapped on the shoulder. I turned around to see a handsome looking Mason smiling down at me. He was wearing a tuxedo with a bow tie .
“Would you care for a dance?” he asked . Well there was no reason to refuse him as Adem was still away and it was just a dance so I nodded politely.
He grabbed my hand and steered me to the dance floor. Putting his hand on my waist and pulling me closer then necessary ,we started to waltz slowly.
“You look exceptionally beautiful today.” He whispered leaning forward.
“You don’t look half bad yourself.” I told him leaning back a little from his tilted head.
“Your hair is long. I have never seen hair this long on anyone before. And the colour is just so alluring “ he continued. His voice was a little slurred. That was odd. I was sure we weren’t serving beverages strong enough for that.
“uh huh” I didn’t know what to say. His stare was getting intense. God if Adem was staring like that my legs would have turned to jelly by now but in his case it was just making me self conscious. Also his hand started to wander closer to my butt. I caught it in time but then he held my hand with it and twirled me around.
“So tell me ruby, does the carpet match the drapes?” he casually said out. What an absurd question? Was he drink or something ?
Before I could answer this question Adem was there.
”I would personally check that my self and let you know” he said interrupting our uncomfortable dance.” Or maybe not” I swear if humans had the ability to melt I would have been a wet spot on the floor right now.” Can I steal her for a dance?” he smoothly pulled me away from the startled looking Mason. He nodded jerking his head like he was trying to ward of a fly sitting on his nose but said nothing.
“I leave you alone for one second and you start dancing with a rascal” he muttered pulling me closer to him, with a possessive edge in his voice. He didn’t look happy.
“He is not a rascal, he is just .... immature” I finished lamely.
Why on earth was I defending Mason when Adem was clearly being jealous of him.
“So that was an appropriate question by him? “ he raised an eyebrow. “ no it was not” I sighed. “i don’t know what’s gotten into him. I know he likes me but that was weird of him”
“I hate that guy” he muttered.
“What has his ever done to you?” I asked him amused” I mean besides trying to frame you for a murder of course”
“he is trying to take what’s mine” he growled. I am pretty sure my eyes widened. Just then I heard a cackle. It sounded familiar. I looked around . It was My grandmother that was laughing unusually loudly with a bunch of her old friends. I was happy to see her like this for she rarely ever laughed loudly. But then I caught a fragment of what she was saying.
‘”i definitely thought she was a goner with the beast running around the forest but then she turned up alright.....And here was worried what would I say to her father” she gave an enormous giggle. Most unlike herself. I frowned. But Adem was oblivious to everyone around us. He was observing me closely.
“Ruby. I never thought I would feel what I am feeling right now but you have absolutely enthralled my heart. After a long time I now wake up excited for the new day for I know I would get to see your face,. But ruby! That is no longer enough. I want more” he whispered. My heart thundered loudly in my chest. I was sure her could hear it. But I needed to clear a few things first. My bracelet in his drawer being the top one.
“Adem I need to ask you about something?” I began. But as soon as words left mouth i was again distracted this time by James and Alice. They were dancing tango to a slow tune. They too were laughing rather loudly. This was unlike them.
“Where did you find the bracelet?” I continued.
“What bracelet?” he asked in a confused tone. He looked crestfallen that I had interrupted the confession of his feelings.
“My ruby bracelet. The one that I lost in the forest the day I arrived. I just found it in your room.” I told him brandishing my fist to show him the piece of jewelry.
“This is the first time that I am seeing it” his confusion was even more apparent now.
“Adem I just retrieved it from your room. Why are you lying?” this was not making any sense.
“Why would I lie to you ruby?” he was starting to look a little hurt.
“Adem it’s just a bracelet. Why won’t you accept it that you picked it from the forest?” why was he lying to me about this.
“Ruby think about it. I left the forest that day with you. I drove you here and didn’t drive back that day” he reasoned with me. Dang it he was right. But then how did it ended up in his drawer.
“Maybe you brought it in later. “ I began weakly
“When ruby? I surely would remember if I picked something as significant as a piece of precious jewelry . Beside I have never been back in there since......” we were interrupted right then by Mason. He looked flushed .

Chapter Text

“you think you can use the ball to hide your beast on a blood moon” he snarled and with a jerking motion he pushed Adem hard. Adem stumbled very much startled but he didn’t fall to the ground.
“What in the name of God...” he exclaimed.
“I just saw it. I saw the moon. It’s red. And it’s huge. You plan to unleash your beast today don’t you” he shouted . His speech was definitely slurred. I realized my mouth was hanging open.
“Mason what has gotten Into you?” I tried to take his hand. But he jerked it away.
“ruby he will kill you too just like he finished all the others. He is an animal” he shouted
I looked around for help. To my surprise i saw no one was paying attention to us.
“James!” shouted Adem. “James please put a stop to Mason.” He gestured to James .
“What” James had arrived at the scene along with Alice . He was stumbling a little.
“Something is wrong with Mason .” I pointed to Mason’s face.
“He looks fine to me doesn’t he Alice. He looks fit. “ he boomed in a loud voice.
“So fit . So very fit” Alice slurred. And they both burst into fits of laughter clutching their sides.
“”don’t you dare laugh at me . it’s the red moon night” Mason hollered. Through an open window I spied the moon ,that was perfectly white .
“Adem something is very wrong here” I whispered to a shocked Adem who was still looking at his two laughing friends.
“did they drink too much?” I asked him urgently.
“ You and Alice set up the menu , what did you approve for the drinks?” he asked me a look of panic coming into his eyes.
“nothing strong. I was very careful about it. I took a few bottles out of your cellar you said i could use ” I wringed my fingers.
“nothing in my cellar could cause this” he muttered looking around.
“There is something outside on the terrace that you have to see Mr Adem “ the detective had suddenly appeared at Adem’s elbow as if out of nowhere .
“What?” Adem and I said together.
“make sure no one accompanies you“ his voice was so slow that it was barely legible.” May be you should stay here Miss Ruby” he suggested. I looked at Adem and gave him a slight shake of my head. No way was i staying back. He nodded and linked his hand firmly with mine, interlocking our fingers together. The sheer contact of his skin on mine brought a shock so strong that it almost knocked the breath out of me and i realized that i had never actually been touched by this man before. His skin felt like warm ,smooth satin. The officer looked at our hands and sighed but said nothing , and began to walk with me and Adem just behind him , trying to make polite excuses from anyone who tried to engage us in conversation. It was with difficulty that we both reached the empty corridor that opened up to a huge terrace. The detective pulled back the curtain that blocking our view and beckoned us forward.
There was something laying near the railing at the end of the terrace. With a thundering heart Adem and I both stumbled on to the terrace.
It was a girl. Or rather what was left of her. A thick wave of Nausea hit me and I rushed away from the scene to empty the contents of my stomach on one side Leaving a stunned Adem staring at the girl speechless. When i was done i turned around to look at the poor creature. To my surprise i actually recognized her .She was the girl that had served me and Alice the first time we went into the town. I wiped my mouth on the back of my shaking hand. She was completely naked. In addition to her head her throat had been ripped open to an extent that it almost looked like she was decapitated .The blood soaked her ginger hair and chest . The chest cavity was opened up and upon closer inspection it was quite clear that she was missing a heart . Her body was placed in a manner that her legs were wide open giving us a clear view of her mangled vagina , the bruises of finger and hands apparent on her inner thighs. In addition parts of her body was bitten with chunks of flesh missing. Her cheeks, her forearms , her thighs . Her mouth was gaping open in a silent scream of horror and her lifeless eyes had rolled back into her .
“I told you to stay back mademoiselle” the detective tutted looking at my state.
“I am fine its just....” i didnt know how to finish the sentence but it seemed he never actually required an answer.
“What do you have to say about that Monsieur Adem.” he scrutinized Adem with eyes narrowed to little slits.
“I have no idea what happened here” Adem said turning to look at him. His voice was devoid of any emotions.
“A corpse is lying on your terrace , during your blood moon party monsieur. How would you explain that. “ his voice had increased about two folds but Adem stood his ground
“You really think if i was the killer i would be stupid enough to murder someone in my home and leave the body lying around right when i know i am about to have some company”
“ there is something unnaturally wrong with you monsieur and i will prove it “ he drew himself to his full height but he was still unable to up to Adem’s shoulder.
“ Feel free to officer. In the mean time i need to call my lawyer. “ Adem was bristling with anger.
Right then i felt someone stumble beside me. It was Alice.
“wow this prop looks so real” she whispered. “ Best Halloween decoration ever “ she turned to look at me” wait is it Halloween?” she asked me her tone full of surprise.
“No Alice it is not and I assure you it’s real.” I hate that my voice shook.
Suddenly Adem hand was at my back ,rubbing a comforting pattern. “ I need to call James” he muttered into my ear.

Chapter Text

“What’s going on? “ we all heard a booming voice. James had finally pushed through the curtains
“ What’s Leah’s body doing here? “ he began In a confused voice. “ wasn’t it at the lab? Wait. It’s a different body” he began to laugh uncontrollably. “ it’s a different body. I though it was the same get it but it’s different. This is not Leah. See. “
“ That is a Halloween decoration James” Alice told him “Look it’s so red” she suddenly bent down and wiped the blood of the body’s chest.
“see it’s tomato paste” she announced triumphantly brandishing her bloodied finger and gave an impulsive giggle. I grabbed her hand and tried to drag her back but she was strong.
“Oooh how clever. Nice one Adem. Theme of your party” James slurred also trying to move forward to touch the corpse.” No James don’t “ i shouted.
“You two are not in your senses. Ruby i need to take these two inside before they mess up the crime scene.” Adem said in a tense voice for now the both of them had began to move in on the body trying to touch and see if it was real and Adem was restraining James with difficulty.
“You are not to leave the premises without my permission mademoiselle” called out detective.” And you monsieur . I have my eyes on you . Do not try to escape” he wagged a finger towards Adems retreating figure that was leading both his friends away from the terrace. I ran forward to help him . James was too big for me to handle but i grabbed Alice’s hand in mine and began to pull her inside.
“I am only going to take them away from here . And i need to call my lawyer” Adem panted beside me.
I tugged I firmly marched Alice to the corridor where as Adem a,most hoisted James up his shoulder to the same area.
“ i am going to call for backup. He is no fit state to help” I heard the detective call out. And he whipped out his phone. The last thing i saw before the curtain closed down was him holding up his cell phone to get a better reception.
“Ruby i will handle these two. You go and look for Gilbert. You and him try and attend to our guests. And by that i mean try and make sure no one does anything stupid.” He said to me pushing a guffawing James towards his room. Alice thankfully followed them both on her own.
“Look a rainbow “ she cheerfully pointed towards the floor. “ its all so full of colour” she said in a sing song voice, pirouetting on her foot and walking behind James.
With difficulty I managed to turn away from all this and ran downstairs. All the guests were either walking unsteadily or else sitting down on the dance floor. Some talking obscenities loudly while others either talking rubbish to themselves or having fits of laughter like James and Alice. My grandmother was sitting in a corner with her old lady friends. she seemed to be crying about my mother.
“Anna “ she shouted loudly when she saw me. Anna was my mother’s name.
“where had you run off to? I was looking for you? Where have you been??” she shouted. It looked like whatever was affecting everyone else had gotten her too.
“Grandma just stay here. Don’t try to get up. I will go get some help for you” I told her firmly pushing her back to the floor as she tried to get up on her wobbly legs.
“Grandma? I am your mother silly” she called out behind me.
I began to search frantically for Gilbert but He was nowhere to be seen. I took of my affronting heals and began to run properly looking through the masses of inebriated people. Suddenly I spotted him. He was looking around with a confused expression on his face. But he did not look intoxicated.
I rushed to him.
“Gilbert. Something is wrong “ I grasped his cold knobbly hand.
“What is going on miss ruby?” he asked me , shock apparent in his voice.
“I don’t know Gilbert but something is going on. I don’t know what these people have ingested but it can’t have the wine. I purposefully picked out the mild type. Maybe someone spiked it “ i blabbered.
“Miss ruby every bottle was opened in here live . Besides a lot of people do not drink but everyone here is effected” he reasoned

“I don’t know Gilbert? We need to keep everyone occupied somehow . “ i told him.
“ I am already on it miss” he said.
“make sure no one goes to the terrace. There is a dead body there and.....”
“ A dead body?” he gasped cutting me off.
“yes , of a girl. Please help settle down everyone . I will explain everything later. “
“Miss ruby please don’t mention anything of a dead body to the maids or any one else until necessary. They “ he hesitated for a second” will talk ill of my master” he said bowing his head. I looked at him for a minute. The old mans expressions were full of nothing but concern for his master.
“of course Gilbert I understand” I told him gently squeezing his arm.
He nodded and started calling for the maids mean while I returned to the main hall. I almost wish I hadn’t for I almost gagged again. The main hall presented something of a scene from an Orgy. Couples were either laying in varying stages of undress engaged in numerous acts of ,shall we say love making or else were engaged in activities so stupid that I was at a complete loss as to how to handle them. Atleast the love makers were harming and no one I suppose so I decided to leave those ones to there devices however there were quite a few that needed to be stopped . I averted my eyes from the couple nearest to me that were locked in an awkward position and was panting due to exertion, to a couple of lads who had taken off the armours that were previously displayed near the main entrance. Those armours unfortunately included a real set of swords and the two lads were violently engaged in a duel. They have so far not managed to take each others heads off but there swinging swords were posing a serious threat to the by standers who were egging them on and I winced as I saw the sword landed a blow to the knee of a pretty young girl that was cheerfully clapping and her hands , and sliced it open. She gave a startled cry but it didn’t seem to have any effect on those two idiots
“oh shit” I swore loudly and strode forward to try and put an end to this madness.
“excuse me .”I interrupted before any of them could swing a sword.
“get away from here woman. How dare you come between us ” one of them shouted.
“yes lady ,a woman is not allowed to interrupt the knights duel” the other agreed again raising his ow sword.
“but kind sirs what are you fighting for?” I refused to budge from between them. Those swords were dangerous but they were the ones inebriated, not me. I could easily dodge if they tried again.
“we are fighting for the hand in marriage of this fair maiden” one of them pointed to the girl with a bleeding wound.
“you have injured the lady in question during your parring sirs so I am discontinuing the duel” I tried to be firm with them.
“a woman cant discontinue a duel ,lady. You will be hanged for that crime” one often shouted.
“In this century, a lady can do whatever she wants. Now why don’t you try and help the injured girl and whoever she fancies off the two of you will get to be with her” I snatched the sword away from one of the lads who stumbled back in surprise and fell down. The other one yelped and swung the sword but i easily knocked his one out of his hand using the one had just snatched. They were as uncoordinated as a bunch of toddlers so it wasn’t difficult. I picked up the fallen sword and walked away as the crowd gathered around them now cheered for me.
But that was not the end of it. As I safely locked away the swords I spotted an odd looking couple who were trying to pry an antique painting of the wall.
“what do you think you two are doing?” I shouted moving towards them.
“can she see us?” whispered the women who looked like she had slathered vanilla pudding all over herself.
“Naah she must be talking to someone else” her equally slathered companion answered barely glancing at me. I sighed .this was going to be a long night.
“I am talking to you two and yes I can see that you are trying to steal a painting” i enunciated each syllable slowly and clearly. The two stopped short.
“I thought you said this cream turned us invisible” half whispered the woman.
“It does. No one else can see us. May be she is a witch” he replied and the woman gasped dramatically.
“Witch “she shouted pointing at me and I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes.
“I am not a witch and vanilla pudding does not make anyone invisible” I told them trying to shoo them away from the painting. “ no you must be a witch. You must be magic. Be gone you abomination” the guy conjured up a cross of his fingers trying to ward me off. This time I resisted the urge to laugh but I knew it would be useless to argue with these two.
“you know what .you got me .i am a witch. Now leave before I burn you both to crisps” I said trying to imitate the way i have seen witches speak on one of my favourite web series.
To my amazement they both bought the ruse and scampered away as fast as they could. I was still staring after them when I was tapped on the shoulder. I turned around to see that it was one of the maids who had had just entered through the front door. She looked as haggard as I felt at that moment.
“miss ruby there are guests who are bathing into the fountain on the front lawns claiming that it’s the sea. It is very cold out there and They are not listening to anything i say” she said desperately.
“ just tell them it’s the shark infested part of the sea. They will come right out” I told her tiredly. She nodded her head and the same way she came from. Soon enough there was sound of chaos and ten or so ,soaking wet people entered through the hall screaming their heads off.
“make sure they are dried up properly or they will catch cold” I told the maid who had entered after them. She nodded and herded them away towards the kitchen.