The Rose Chateau

by Rebecca Monaco

  The first room Corinna saw when she walked in was a large sitting room. It held three couches, set up like a horseshoe in the middle and facing a fireplace that was currently vacant of any flames. Everything was a shade of yellow and decorated in reds and browns. It was a quaint and yet dignified appearance that obviously showed money and a knack for decorating. There was a desk in the corner that stretched five feet across and had paper and ink already prepared for use. Corinna highly doubted she’d be allowed to actually write any letters, though. There was a mirror on every wall, and a large painting above the fireplace that depicted a much more beautiful forest than the one just outside. There was a stream running through it and warm sunlight basking the ground. Corinna felt warmer just looking at it.

  There was a chair in every corner of the room save the one with the desk, large and plush and with a small side table beside it. An oil lamp sat on one, ready to be used for a small bit of light. Gothic candlesticks hung on the walls, prepared to be lit in the evening. Two large windows were on the outside wall, one on either side of the fireplace. Unlike the main hall, these weren’t covered. The curtains were pulled back and held by golden yellow tassels. Corinna didn’t walk to them. She could already see everything they had to offer, a comforting view of the large trees of the forest, her unofficial guards. Corinna shivered.

  At first, she wondered if this was some kind of horrible joke, if she was supposed to sleep on these couches. They were long enough and, she discovered upon sitting down in one, very comfortable, but it was still a couch. Were they expecting her to use them as beds? But then she saw the door in the left corner and felt silly. Of course there would be a second room if this was just a sitting room.

  The second room was rather vacant. It was decorated in yellows again, but this time was accented with blues and greens. There was another fireplace, just as large as the one before it and also empty. Two large windows stood, one on either side of the fireplace, just as before. A picture hung above this one as well, depicting the manor, but it was different. The manor’s yard was abundant with bright flowers and carefully sculpted trees. The gargoyles weren’t on the fence and the windows were alight with the glow of candles. It looked much more welcoming and homely, perhaps set to be the home of a decadent duchess or a debutante who would hold parties every other weekend. Yes, much more hospitable. The walls of this second room were lined with several empty display cases, as though it had been set up to display precious artifacts, jewelry, or other such valuables but had been forgotten. They made the room feel lonely, and Corinna hurried across it to the next door.

  The last room, as there was no door leading out on the other side, was the bedroom. A large, king size bed took up a good portion of one side, reaching out to the center of the room. Across from the bed was the fireplace, a bit larger than the previous ones but just as bare. There were two more windows set up just like the other rooms, but there were two more windows on the far wall that looked out to the back yard. Between them sat a dresser with a mirror over it. The mirror was framed in gold that Corinna dared not touch. She didn’t want to ruin something so valuable. There was a bookcase in this room but there weren’t many books on it. There was a large wardrobe by the back corner of the room and a folding wall to change behind situated next to it. A smaller desk than the one in the front room sat in the other back corner, on the same wall as the fireplace. It faced one window and sat perpendicular to another. There was more paper and ink ready on this one. Corinna scoffed and found herself sitting on the couch that sat at the end of the bed, facing the fireplace. She dropped her bag to the floor beside her and took a deep breath.

  This room was colored like the cursed rose Alvar brought home, a succulent red that bled into everything in a prideful manner. Gold accented everything, twisted into magnificent patterns in the rugs and the tapestry of the bed. The lining of the pillows and the blankets and the sheets, it was all yellow gold and elegant. It was the kind of thing Corinna expected from royalty. It was an obnoxious style that Corinna both respected in its beauty and hated for its arrogance. Maybe she really would sleep on the couches.

  She moved back through the rooms, wondering if there was anything about it that seemed familiar. It was all so vastly different than her little wooden cottage in the countryside. Here the walls were made of some kind of smooth stone, polished and painted white instead of red oak boards. There were elegant tapestries and curtains to keep out the light instead of animal hides and wooden shutters. There were windows as tall as the room instead of just big enough to lean on and grand marble fireplaces instead of an old stone one. There were luxurious paintings and display cases instead of children’s drawings and family made stands. Everything was so vastly different.

  Corinna frowned and walked to the window. She stared out at the trees. Lagra was in this direction, somewhere beyond the seemingly endless ocean of dark green trees. Even this high up and only halfway through the forest, she couldn’t see through the branches or to the edge of the trees. She couldn’t see her home. It was like another world, a lonely world cut off from everyone else, where time moved slower.

  Down below, in the yard, Gavin was leading Archimedes around back. They were passing the rose garden, which was as large as uncle Alvar had described. It covered everything below Corinna’s three rooms. In the darker and darker lighting it looked more and more like a despairing rectangular smear of blood from someone who’d taken a dive out the window. The glass roof over the garden provided no comfort, just the idea that she could slice herself in pieces before she hit the ground if she ever decided to follow the creator of the rose garden out the window.

  Corinna’s body felt weak and despairing. She’d only been here a few moments and she’d already been secluded. She felt alone, so closed off and hidden. She raised her eyes from the garden and the slow moving dot of Gavin and Archimedes to the trees again. How long would she be here before people forgot about her? Her mother and Alvar would no doubt remember her forever, but how long until the villagers assumed she’d died or moved away? How long until they acted as though she had never been there, until she could return to them all and they wouldn’t recognize her? Worse yet, how long until Alastar tired of waiting in a small village with no one to relate to and returned to his graced life, until he gave up on Corinna’s return and put it all in the past to collect dust?

  Corinna ran her hands roughly over her face and then over her short, dark hair. No, she had to stop thinking like that. She’d get back before that could happen. She would get home. She’d promised them all. She had to. There were no if’s, and’s, or but’s about it. She had to. She couldn’t stay locked up in this mansion forever. She would go mad.

  Corinna returned to the bedroom and grabbed her bag. She left that room, unable to bear its bleeding color. She left the second room, not wanting to stare at the emptiness, and moved into the first room. It was summer time, but she found herself wishing for a fire to curl up by. There were no flint rocks or matches to use for a fire though, so she’d have to deal without.

  As if by magic, and it probably was by magic, a fire lit itself in the hearth. It was small, but it would grow. Corinna smiled a little at it. Okay, maybe the deal wasn’t entirely bad. She had fire as she wanted it. Sitting on the main couch, the one facing the fire, she slowly moved to open her bag. She would read until she fell asleep. She wasn’t going to dinner. She didn’t want to talk to the creature that had brought her here.

  She reached her hands into the leather bag and pulled out the first thing she could grab. It was a simple red shirt, but it wasn’t hers. It was her mother’s. Corinna closed her eyes and took a deep breath to hold back the tears that wanted to come. Her mother had packed this, not Corinna. She brought the fabric to her face and took a deep breath of it. It still smelled like her, like the grill wood she cooked on and the bit of perfume she started putting on every day after Corinna’s father bought it for her and said it made her smell like his own brand of heaven. It was a flora scent,
something like carnations and baby’s breath. But it was the wood grill…. That was the smell that made Corinna choke on her own tears and shake.

  She pulled her knees up to her chest and held the shirt close against her skin. It was like slow anguish, the smell of her mother creeping into her heart. Corinna lay down on the couch and used the shirt as a pillow. Her fingers pet the fabric, imagining her mother wearing it and cooking dinner last night. It fit her so well, one of the one’s she’d had tailored for her specifically when Corinna had been young. It was the first new shirt after… after her father died. Corinna wondered if her mother would get a new shirt to symbolize her continuing life after she stopped crying over Corinna leaving too. She could be so strong sometimes. Corinna was sure she’d buy herself a new shirt, or maybe a necklace. Hopefully it was a really pretty one, with a jewel of some sort inside it.

  Corinna closed her eyes and let herself drift off, dreaming of her home and the harvest season. She dreamt of her flowers and placing one in her mother’s hair before she went to market. She laid on the couch in front of the fire and let herself dream. She would just dream and then, maybe, when she awoke it would be reality. The deal with Morgana would be the dream, and she would wake up in her bed at home to find it all had been some silly nightmare. She would be at home, and not in this large cage.

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  Chapter 5 - Dinner

  Sometime later, Corinna was awoken by the distinct sound of knocking on the door. It was soft at first, breaking into her dreams, and then louder, forcing her awake. She started on the couch, sitting up in shock. It took her several long moments to figure out that what she heard was knocking, knuckles on wood. And then it hit her. That was right. She was still at the Rose Chateau. Her momentary haze was replaced with distaste. She was still here, warmed but cold and empty.

  For several moments, she decided not to answer the knocking, but then a voice called out. It was a woman’s and definitely not that of a beast. Perhaps Morgana? But it sound too young and sincere for that.

  “Excuse me? Corinna? That’s your name, isn’t it? I’ve come to fetch you for dinner!” the young woman called out, voice muffled through the wood and only audible because she was yelling.

  “I’m not hungry!” Corinna called back even though her stomach grumbled at her angrily for the lie. She picked her mother’s shirt up off the couch and folded it neatly before replacing it in her bag on the floor. The knock came again. “I said I’m not coming down to eat!”

  That’s when her stomach growled loudly. Corinna pressed a hand to her gut and willed it to stop. Hopefully it had only been loud to her and the girl at the door hadn’t heard it. There was a click and the door swung open. Corinna turned to tell the girl, once again, that she had no interest in dinner, but stopped. The girl in her doorway was nothing like she’d expected.

  In walked a young woman with dark skin like the hunks of milky chocolate a trader had once brought to town. It was a creamy sort of color. Her hair was tight curls, reminding Corinna of the dark wood shavings from her father’s carvings. It hung free about her face. She had eyes the same dark brown of her hair that glinted in the candlelight.

  Hang on. When did someone come in to light the candles?

  When the girl noticed Corinna sitting on the couch, turned to look at her over the back, she smiled knowingly, like she could tell Corinna had been sleeping until just then. She clasped her hands together and took a deep breath.

  “Look, I know you’ve had a rough day. You’re nerves must be shot. A good meal will do you a world of good. Please come down,” she requested, hands folded neatly in front of her.

  “I’d really prefer not to. Thank you,” Corinna replied, facing forward again. She fiddled with the strap on her bag, imagining starving herself to death on accident this way.

  “My Lord won’t be joining us. I mean, if that’s what you’re anxious about. He’s busy and taking meal in his chambers. But we’d all really enjoy your company, if you’re willing to share a table with three servants,” she tried. Corinna could hear the hopeful expression on the woman’s face. She pressed her lips together.

  “Well…,” she began. If the prince wouldn’t be there, then maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. “Alright. I guess I am rather hungry.”

  “Brilliant,” the servant said, her smile becoming a beam. She came around to the couch and held out her hand to help Corinna stand. When she was on her feet, the dark girl bowed her head and curtsied. “My name is Isabelle, but my friends call me Belle.”

  “It’s very nice to meet you, Belle,” Corinna said. She curtsied as well and Isabelle giggled. Corinna followed her out into the hall, expecting her bag would be safe where it was. “Will Gavin be eating with us?”

  “Oh? Yes. Of course he would. I-I mean, not that you would know that. I don’t think you’re psychic or stupid or anything. I mean…. I mean, yes. Yes. It’ll be just us, Gavin, and Veronica. Just you and the servants,” Belle explained, shaking her head at her own foolishness. Corinna couldn’t help but laugh.

  “That sounds like a good time,” she said to make Isabelle feel better. The younger girl gave her a thankful smile and then they walked in silence back to the large dining hall Corinna had been in with Gavin.

  The long main table was set up for dinner, with a red tablecloth and gold candlestick holder, but the plate sitting at the head of the table was completely empty. The smaller table at the back was set up with four plates and glasses, all with food set on them and drink poured in them already. It looked and smelled like pork and corn to eat. The drink was clear and odorless, so Corinna deemed it to be water. Sitting at the table already was Gavin, dressed in the same work clothes he’d been in earlier, but his hair seemed to be more combed and he’d washed his face and hands before showing up. Belle sat down beside him, standing out in her simple yellow dress. Beside Belle was another girl. This must be Veronica. Corinna took note of her as she took a seat.

  She had long, dark hair that was straight but damaged. Her eyes were a beautiful blue, like an open sea. She had a simplicity about her face that made her endearing to look at. She held herself close and avoided eye contact while she turned her cup in her fingers. Corinna thought that to be admirable; she was shy. She wore a slightly bedraggled red work dress.

  “Hello. My name’s Corinna,” she greeted her upon sitting. She held her hand out and Veronica looked at it in surprise. After enough time had elapsed that Corinna felt silly for still offering the hand, she finally reached out and shook it.

  “I’m Veronica,” she said. Corinna smiled. She knew it.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” she said and then looked at everyone around the table. Gavin brought his gaze away from Belle to meet Corinna’s eyes.

  “I am glad you decided to join us,” he said. “You sounded so sure of avoiding dinner when I mentioned it earlier.”

  “Yeah, well, Belle was convincing,” Corinna allowed. All she’d had to say was that the prince wouldn’t be down to eat. The servants all seemed nice enough, but Corinna didn’t want to even look at the prince.

  “Ha, yes, she does have a charm, doesn’t she?” Gavin asked, looking back at the dark skinned beauty. She blushed and shook her head.

  “She was just nervous. I was only being nice,” she said.

  Corinna smiled. Gavin was interesting. The looks he was giving Belle were sweet and nervous, like a schoolboy in love. Belle was like an innocent woman, with an interest in a man but no idea he was also interested in her. It was an old story, one everyone could relate to, the most common. Belle and Gavin were two oblivious kindred spirits. And if Corinna could see it, she had no doubts that Veronica could as well. However, when Corinna looked at the shy girl, she was staring at her plate and beginning to pull her meat apart into smaller pieces, completely ignoring everyone at the table. She seemed to feel Corinna’s gaze because she glanced up at her and then went back to her food.

  “Well, if it will make you feel more welcome, I can sh
ow you to the stables sometime. Your horse has taken rather well to it,” Gavin said, cutting into his own food. “It is out back.”

  “Sure. I’d like that, but only if you let me take care of my horse myself,” Corinna said.

  “Um, I suppose you can, but that is part of my duty if you would like me to do it,” the other male said, looking uneasily at his food.

  “Duty? What exactly are your duties? You mentioned them earlier too.” Corinna looked about the table, wondering what they all did during the day and if she’d be left to her own devices most of the time. Three servants for a large house like this?

  “Oh,” Belle spoke up. She smiled easily. “Well I’m in charge of the kitchens. I cooked the dinner we’re all eating. I also do the laundry, though there’s hardly any to do most of the time. Sometimes I let it build up just so I can feel more important with the amount of clothing. I also help out with the dusting. It can get pretty dusty in here, especially what with Alexander shedding and whatnot- oh! That was rude. I shouldn’t have said that.”