by Al K. Line
"I told you, I can't leave. Arcene, it is not as simple as you make it out to be. This is my home and I love it. Hate it too if I'm honest, but I want to put things right, stop the twins corrupting more people, change things, allow us to flourish. Is that so bad?"
"No, but good luck with that. You've been here what, almost three hundred years?" Whip nodded. "And what have you done so far? Nothing. If you wanted change then you would have done something already, not wait for some girl you met yesterday to save you. Don't think so. This is too crazy. You are all too far gone. This isn't my fight and even if I wanted it to be there is nothing I can do."
"No, you're wrong. You see our home with fresh eyes, can help to convince people what they do is wrong."
"And the twins?" Arcene knew the answer but wanted to hear it from Whip.
"They have to go."
"Outside for a nice walk in the meadows?" asked Arcene, sarcasm very much in evidence. Whip stared at her, silent. "No chance, I'm not a killer for hire. This is your mess, you deal with it."
"You saw what they did, what they are like. How can you let them carry on?"
"Because what difference would it make if I chopped them up into bits, apart from that everyone had a nice lunch? It would be worse, the people wouldn't have a clue how to run things on their own. The twins may be simple but they are the rulers. Ah, you want to be in charge, don't you?"
"Would that be such a bad thing?" asked Whip. Somehow he was now close to Arcene, as if he'd moved without her noticing, which was not normal.
"I have no idea. I don't know you, you could be crazier than them. At least they seem harmless."
Whip exploded with anger. "Harmless!? You saw that... that sick meal, the pain people inflicted on themselves. How can you call that harmless?"
Arcene shrugged. "Not my fight. It's time for us to leave."
"They won't let you. Don't you understand? This is your home now whether you like it or not. They won't ever let you leave."
"Don't you worry about that. Nobody makes Arcene Robideaux do what she doesn't want to. And what about you?"
"What about me?" asked Whip in confusion.
"Will you make me stay?"
"No, how could I?"
"That isn't what I asked."
"Yes, probably, if I could. It's so lonely Arcene, so very lonely. Please, just a few days. Stay, get to know the place, the people. Me. See if you feel the same way then."
"Fine," said Arcene with a sigh. "Now, if you don't mind, I think I'd like to be alone." She said what he wanted to hear, giving herself time to think, organize.
Whip moved to the door, smiling. "Don't get used to being alone Arcene, I'm sure the twins shall call on you soon. They are rather smitten with you if you hadn't noticed."
"I noticed." Arcene shut the door on Whip before he could say anything more.
Why do I get the feeling I'm going to regret this? Oh, I know, because they eat each other!
Arcene stood next to the fire and tried to figure out how to leave without drawing attention to herself. She concluded that accepting Whip's offer would be the best way of scouting out the castle and finding out how to leave without having to get too "deathy" on the twins and the population in general. She was rather surprised at herself: normally her first thought would be to hack her way out and get away as fast as possible.
"I must be getting soft in my old age."
Leel continued to snore. Arcene sat down, crossed her legs and stared at the flames, enjoying the moment of peace while it lasted.
Minutes later she realized Whip had utterly failed to give her the explanation he'd promised the night before. It seemed pointless now anyway — the only thing she needed to know was already clear: they were all crazy.
Old Man Dance
Whip found himself doing the strangest of things: he was dancing.
He wasn't foolish enough to think it would be pleasant to watch, or that anyone would be jealous of his moves, but he didn't care.
What a delight the girl Arcene was. A breath of fresh air in a world that had stagnated for far too long. She would shake things up, bring change whether she knew it yet or not. For the first time in more years than Whip cared to remember he was actually enjoying the company of another person, and a woman too!
Although, it was hard to think of her as a woman because she still had the appearance and attitude of a girl, but it was evident she was older than she looked, and how beautiful.
Whip had believed such thoughts were left behind long ago, but she had awoken something in him: a newfound wish for company and conversation. He felt invigorated, like his senses, no, the world, had come alive for the first time since he had been a young boy. Even then he couldn't recall ever being happy, that wasn't part of the life he had ever known, but he felt the change she brought, the life, the energy, the hope and experiences that could never be his or anyone else's born behind the terrible walls of Castle Kenyon.
Arcene would alter everything, even if she didn't think she would.
A few days, that was all he needed. Once she got to know him and see for herself what really went on, she would be glad to help, he was sure of it. Wasn't The Feast enough for her to understand she was the one that could make a difference? Apparently not, but he assumed she was merely in shock at such acts of depravity. She would change her mind, she would help him to get rid of the twins and in a way that would not alienate him from the people.
Why they loved the twins he didn't understand, but the populace did, which just went to show how simple they really were, all of them. He would rebuild, change things, draw people in, repopulate, and Arcene would help.
Alone in his quarters, Whip continued to dance. He felt alive, had forgotten what it was like to feel energy coursing through his veins. Could he be happy? Yes, that was it, he was happy.
He fell into his chair, tired from the unusual movement. He couldn't remember the last time he'd done anything but creep through the castle, a man on the periphery, unnoticed, never missed. What would it be like to rule the castle, change the faith, direct the people to a brighter future? Maybe he would feel like this all the time?
What was first? What needed to be done to convince the strange girl she would help everyone if she took an interest in the future of the castle? Maybe it was best to leave well alone, let her experience daily life for herself, wander the fields, the plazas, the endless rooms of the castle, see how people lived, see the insane things the twins did, watch as they performed one idiotic act after another?
Yes, that's what he would do, what he'd always done: watch and wait.
Feeling generous toward himself, Whip pushed up from the chair, promising for the millionth time he would hunt out a piece of furniture less threadbare, and stepped close to the fire. He frowned at his hoard of wood, knowing it wouldn't last, but built up the fire until it roared anyway, then sank back down into the chair and smiled as he dozed off, happier than he could remember ever being in his life.
"All because of a girl," he mumbled, before he was lost to dreams of empire.
Another Explanation
"I think we need to talk." Arcene wasn't in the mood for wasting time. She couldn't sit still after Whip had left, so she found him easily enough through The Noise and was now stood outside his door, staring at the rather bleary-eyed man.
"Yes, I suppose we do. Please, come in."
Wow, this is warmer than the twins' room.
"You people sure like it hot, don't you?" Arcene felt sweat pricking her skin so lowered her core temperature a little to stay comfortable. Leel, who had reluctantly tagged along, headed straight for the fire to continue her morning doze.
"Sorry, I just cannot seem to get warm these days. It's as if the castle has seeped into my bones, like they are made of stone too."
"I thought wood was scarce? How do you manage?"
"One of the perks of being what I guess we would call the upper classes, not that I am really. It's just the people here think of me as thei
r better, which I suppose I am," mused Whip.
"You're better than them are you?" Arcene peered at Whip, judging him. What kind of man was he? And what on earth was that smell? Arcene sniffed and searched the room, trying to uncover the source. It wasn't anything in particular, it was just age, a mustiness telling of damp and illness, spores floating in stale air that would make you cough and wheeze and settle in your lungs. "Eh? Sorry, I missed that." Arcene turned her attention back to Whip.
"I said I don't think I am better than anyone, except maybe the twins as they should know better. I just use how others see me, which they seldom do, to my advantage. And there is never enough wood, but after last night," Whip almost spat the words, "I took it upon myself to, shall we say, gather excess wood. Haha."
Arcene stared at the high pile by the fire. "Oh, you mean you nicked the tables and chopped them up?"
"Hmm, something like that. Now, shall we sit?" Whip showed Arcene to an elegant pair of chairs and they sat facing each other.
"Okay, spill it. You told me hardly anything yesterday or this morning. What's going on here? Ugh, Wait a minute." Arcene shifted awkwardly then unstrapped her sword. Why did she always forget about it when she went to sit down? Not to worry, it was better to deal with the inconvenience that not to carry it at all. It was one thing she had made her mind up about: no going anywhere without means of protection. The castle was too full of weirdness to be without a weapon.
"Where do I start?" said Whip with a sigh. He glanced at the sword on his thin rug but didn't seem overly concerned.
"How about with why the castle is blue? That would be a good place."
"Okay, I suppose that is as good a place as any."
Arcene leaned forward, keen to hear why on earth anyone would paint a castle blue.
"It all began..."
An hour later Arcene had a much better grasp of not only the madness of the twins — realizing they were more dangerous because of their stupidity than she had ever imagined — but of the way life had gone on for centuries within the walls of Castle Kenyon. Whip gave a brief history of the terrible Feast, going right back to when it had started.
As far as Whip could recall, and he was very young, just a child when it had begun, it seemed to have stemmed from a mixing of religious faith, a symbolic sacrifice to God, and the result of a terrible famine when crops failed, livestock grew sick and died, and people turned to the most despicable of acts by accident.
The story went that one poor soul had caught his arm in a piece of ancient machinery, probably something used in the fields, and it had been sliced off. He was half-starved, his wife and children the same, so rather than leave the amputated limb where it fell he had taken it home and the family had eventually eaten it. The man survived, as back then there were people who knew about medicine and he was cared for — very different to now, where the intervening years meant such skills were lost, replaced with knowledge of herbal treatments to ensure those that continued the tradition of self-sacrifice often survived even the most horrific of wounds.
That first accident led to several others cutting off bits of their own bodies to feed their families over the harshest winter the castle had ever seen, and the people, most of them anyway, survived until spring when crops grew and the livestock multiplied once again. But the sacrifice became tied up forever with the survival of the people, and every winter a few devout souls would give of themselves so the winter would be mild and the harvest would be bountiful enough to see them through the lean times to come.
Year after year it continued. The twins' father, a devoutly religious man, encouraged the sacrifice, built on it, making it a tradition carried out more and more regularly.
Once the twins were in control and running the castle it became even more a part of life, usually occurring at least once a month. Everyone, the twins included, believed that their sacrifice kept the population alive and the crops healthy — it was as natural to them as eating vegetables.
Whip couldn't stand it though, he was old enough to remember the stories told to him by his mother of what it was like before The Lethargy, and knew that what was happening was very wrong, not what truly religious people would do to themselves or their neighbors. But he was one man, and by the time he was of an age to voice his opinion the practice was so much a fact of life that when he objected he suffered terrible punishment from Finn for his blasphemy.
Ever since that day he had faded more and more into the background, keeping himself away from the daily nonsense of the castle, interacting less and less, not knowing what to do, feeling helpless.
But over the years there also came a growing sense of the need for change. Things stagnated and he knew life couldn't go on like that — the population dwindled, the twins got crazier by the day, and The Feast became ever more extreme.
He needed to take control, to turn things slowly around so such terrible traditions faded and the people would thrive, forget the old ways. The problem was he didn't know how. Whip had plotted and planned, but he was one man, locked in a fog of uncertainty and indecision over how best to proceed.
"Why didn't you slit their throats?" Arcene had asked, but Whip explained that it wasn't that easy. The twins may appear stupid, and in many ways they were, but they were also Awoken, had power and knowledge, and most of that was directed at their own personal safety and maintaining their youth. And besides, he couldn't assassinate them like that, it would lead to uproar. The castle would be in anarchy without the twins or a very good reason why they had been murdered. No, they had to be replaced in a way that meant the populace would accept the change as something for the better. That, or they had to be turned and stop the madness.
Maybe Arcene could do that? Could she convince them what they did was wrong? Even as he asked, Arcene knew he didn't want that, knew he was asking as a means of getting her to stay, hiding his true intentions. She told him no, she wasn't staying long and that kind of thing would take years.
Would she find a way to help him though? Again Arcene had said no, she would leave soon, but if she could do something while she was there then she would, but her main priority was to leave.
Whip explained that it wasn't that simple, the twins would not let her go, there was no way. Had she not seen the guards now posted at every access point to the castle? The guards at the gates and the tunnels, even the wells?
Arcene admitted she had taken little notice the night before. The Feast had been the main preoccupation then, and she hadn't been out this morning yet.
The conversation went on, both sides understanding where the other stood, but Arcene knew Whip was holding a lot back from her. There was something off about him, something he wasn't telling her, or it could be a million things, the castle was certainly an odd place and there were no doubt plenty of weird traditions she would uncover if she stayed.
Not that she would. After her conversation with Whip, Arcene was sure of one thing: she was going home as soon as she could without causing too much trouble. But if it came to it, then trouble there would be.
Arcene left a little wiser and went to see exactly what the twins had been up to while she had been sleeping and talking to Whip.
A Gentle Stroll
"Ooh, you're a strong looking one, aren't you?" Arcene tried not to smirk as the guard at the castle entrance puffed out his chest and stood a little taller — in this case taller being all of four foot ten.
"Morning ma'am." The guard saluted and knocked his helmet with his hand, resulting in a clunk followed by an "Ow!"
"First day on the job is it?" asked Arcene as she stopped and stared down at the man. Leel stood next to her, sniffing the top of his head. For some reason it seemed to make him feel uncomfortable, judging by the way he took a step to the side and put his hand on the hilt of a rusty looking short sword at his side.
"Nah, been doin' it for years. Normally me and the boys are in the fields, keeping an eye on things, but the masters said we was to keep watch of the castle for a bit."
"Any particular reason?"
"Oh, you know," said the guard looking uncomfortable, "just in case there is any bother, stuff like that."
"Oh, okay. Well, be seeing you." Arcene saluted sharply; the guard knocked his helmet again. "Come on Leel, leave the man to do his guarding." Leel gave him one last sniff then chased after Arcene.
Similar scenes had been repeated as she made her way around the castle. There had been a man stationed outside the door to her room when she'd returned, and a few others as she got closer to the large doors that led to the open plaza where most of the daily business was conducted and The Feast was held.
As Arcene moved away from the main building she sniffed in disgust at the lingering odors of the cooked flesh of the night before. The fire still smoldered and charred flesh could be seen in the pit alongside piles of bone crumbling in the still-intense heat.
The festivities, and screams, had gone on until early morning; Arcene woke a few times to the sound of the party still in full swing.
What a nightmare.
Still, Arcene whistled as she made her way onto the plaza. It seemed that business was back to normal, and much to her surprise her stomach rumbled. Margaret had brought breakfast when she'd returned from her visit with Whip, surprisingly still as intact as she'd been the previous day. She was glad she hadn't asked before how the maid had lost her arm — now it was obvious. She'd shooed her away, refusing food, which Arcene believed was the first time in her life she had done such a thing.
Now she wished she'd eaten, although she was sure she could get something if she wanted. First she should get her bearings — she had seen next to nothing of the castle exterior apart from the rush across the small courtyard after they were dragged from the well.
If she was going to leave then it was best to know the place so she had as many options as possible.
Arcene turned and gave the guard a wave, who waved back and smiled before realizing what he'd done and frowned. Arcene saw no point to the guards, did the twins think it would make any difference? And anyway, it wasn't like they were following her around so why bother? She assumed they had their reasons, probably something rather silly, so she put it all out of her mind and went for a nice stroll.