Prologue Part 9
After their stargazing, they were now fully into the night as the sky was dark and the chandeliers shined their brightest. Isabella and Matteo entered the house where they were immediately surrounded by a few servants. They did not say anything, they just stood around them, following them wherever they went. Isabella tried to ignore it, but Matteo couldn't.
"Why are you following us?" Matteo asked with a giggle. The servants stared at each other awkwardly before one of them answered reluctantly. "W-well…. We just want to make sure that Lady Isabella…. Goes to sleep safely, yeah." Isabeblla looked back at all of them, "What for?" The servant lady, who was on the older side of age, reflexively scratched the back of her head, "Well, Lady Duchess…. It certainly is no secret that you've been rather… unwell today, so we just want to help you and make sure you're alright."
Isabella had a puzzled look on her face before she sighed and turned around, "Okay, whatever." They continued their walk past the living room, up the stairs and finally through the hallway into her bedroom. Matteo and Isabella got into her bed while the servants made a few final preparations. Once they were finished, the servants began exiting the room. "Wait, could you please turn off the lights," asked Isabella.
The servants once again stared at each other nervously. "Um, are you sure, Lady Isabella?" then another one added, "But last night you…. Were not happy when we decided to turn off the lights." Isabella sighed before saying calmly, "Look, I am aware that my actions last night were rather unsettling, and I apologize for worrying you like this. But I can assure you that I am fine now. So will you please turn off the lights so that I may get some rest."
The servants hesitated for a while before they all bowed in unison, "As you wish, Lady Isabella." They turned out the lights, closed the door behind them and left. The room was completely dark now. Isabella sighed again, grabbed Matteo's hand and squeezed it gently. "Okay, let's try this again." Her heart began racing. Matteo wrapped his arms around her, "Don't forget our promise, okay?" His heart was also racing. "Of course, dear." Isabella answered as she wrapped her arms around him. They closed their eyes and began drifting off to sleep. Or at least, they tried to.
Neither of them could sleep, in fact, they couldn't even close their eyes for more than ten seconds. Every time they did, that ghost would re-emerge in their minds, causing them to open them once more. Isabella sneaked glances at the corner of the bedroom from time to time while positioning her arms in a way that made it impossible for Matteo to do the same, but this only heightened his distress. I can't see. Is the ghost back? He desperately wanted to know, but he couldn't check for himself, or ask his mother.
If I ask mama, she might get scared again. I promised mama that everything would be okay, so I can't allow myself to be scared. Let's try thinking about stars.
He thought about the stars in order to relax himself. But the effort it took him to keep this up meant that his mind was too busy to fall asleep, which put him in a frustrating battle of perseverance against his own mind. Mmmh! I can't sleep. I wonder if mama is sleeping.
It had now been an hour since the servants left them alone in the room, and neither one of them could sleep. Isabella tried her hardest to keep her eyes closed, but she just couldn't fight off the temptation to check the corner every couple of seconds. She did the same once again. Come on, Isabella! Stop looking at the corner! You're going to worry Matteo! Have you no shame as a mother?! Your eight year old child had to comfort you like you were some scared little girl when it was supposed to be the other way around! Matteo is managing just fine, so you better pull yourself together as well!
Her heart was beating so fast and so hard, her chest began to hurt. She closed her eyes again and after a few seconds, that burning urge to look at the wall came back. But she shut her eyes even tighter than before. Her mind was playing tricks on her as images of the ghost popped up in her head. She wanted nothing more than to check the corner once again, but she used all the strength in her body to stop herself. The images of the ghost and the smoke popped up more and more. She tried to think of other things, like her brother or Roselle, but the smoky figure would always find its way back in.
She began to whimper and tears began escaping her eyes. She sniffled and a soft moan escaped her mouth. Her heart was beating so fast that it became difficult for her to breathe. She began sobbing softly, and after a short while those sobs got louder until she couldn't control them. She held on tightly to Matteo, who gave her a soft peck on the cheek. He adjusted his position on the bed and wrapped his arms around her head. Feeling this, Isabella stopped trying to control herself and sobbed even louder than before. "Mama," he whispered into her ear. She sniffled for a moment then whispered back, "Matteo."
The silence of the room was so loud and it bothered her ears so much, she asked Matteo, "Why aren't you sleeping?" "I can't sleep," he answered back. She closed her eyes again and tried to stop crying. After an uncountable amount of time, she finally started getting drowsy. Her mind drifted in and out of sleep. Matteo had already fallen asleep. She took a deep breath through her nose and tried to relax herself even more, and after a couple of minutes, she finally fell asleep fully.
***
She was now a young girl of about 10 years of age, sitting on a wooden table. The table had small empty soup bowls with small plates of bread next to them. She was in her old home, which had been dispossessed after her parents' death. Speaking of parents, she looked to her side to the other chairs on the table and saw her father and brother having a joyful conversation. "You see, Matteo… In this day and age, a man needs to be strong and dependable so that he can protect his woman and his children. How are you going to do that if you won't eat?"
Matteo answered back, "Please father, tonight's meal has used up the last of our groceries, and since I am the only person capable of working in this house, I have to go out and earn my monthly salary so we don't starve. It is also a man's duty to take care of his family, no?"
A smile appeared on his father's face. "Well, you got me there. Sorry for being such a useless father. (cough! cough!)You're only 15, yet because I had to go and get myself sick, you're stuck being the man of the house. (cough! Cough! cough!). "You are not useless, father! Stop saying that!" Isabella scolded. "She is right, father. You have done more than enough for us, and now it's our turn to take care of you. It may have come a bit sooner than expected, but it's still quite alright. My hunting job pays well, and Isabella is excelling at school, there is no reason for you to feel bad." (cough! Cough! Cough! cough!)
Matteo patted his father on the back as he coughed. Just then, a woman came near the table with a large pot in her hands, it was Isabella's mother. "Alright, dinner is ready." She placed the pot on the table then took off its lid, revealing a steamy, brown, vegetable soup with a few meat pieces mixed in. She took a big spoon and poured some soup into each of their bowls.
When Isabella got her soup, she couldn't help but notice the steam dancing on top of the bowl. She couldn't take her eyes off it, something about it unsettled her. "Let's say grace before we eat." Isabella's mother said as she took her daughter and husband's hands. They all closed their eyes, but a few seconds later, Isabella opened hers again. Her eyes immediately fixed on the steam hovering above her soup bowl once again. The steam danced higher and higher off the bowl, and she watched every second of it. Eventually, everybody finished praying and they all sat down to eat.
"Wow, the soup looks so hot, doesn't it, mother?" Her older brother said, also staring at the steam above his bowl. "I'll say," Agreed her father. Isabella's mother giggled as she also stared at the steam. "You're right, be careful." Suddenly, the steam moved more violently, almost as if it were being blown on. It began making a whooshing noise that grew louder and louder by the second. "Oh dear." Isabella's mother let out. The whooshing steam on each of their bowls then began to travel farther, joining each other at the middle of the table.
Then, the steam began to take over the entire room at a rapid pace. It had no smell, it had no feeling, and soon it became the only thing she could see as it became thicker and thicker. "Mother! Father! Brother!" she screamed out, but no reply. She reached out her hand, but felt nothing. Her heart began racing and she shook her head in all directions trying to figure out what was going on. Then…
"Isabella" She heard a faint, echoing whisper. "Isabella," She heard again. "Yes?! W-who's there?!" She asked, but no reply. "Isabella." She heard once again. She lost control of her breathing and all she could see was white. "Isabella."
"Hello!?" She called out this time. "W-who are you?!" She called out again, but the only reply she got back was, "Isabella" "Isabella" "Isabella"
She sank to her knees, grabbed her head and began to scream.
***
Matteo felt his mother's rapid breathing and heard her soft moaning, and he immediately woke up. He tried stroking the back of her hair but it didn't work. He heard her mumbling something, though he couldn't quite make out what it was. He called out to her, "Mama?" But no reply. She continued mumbling. He decided to get a better look at her. He saw her eyes wide open, and her mouth moving just a tiny little bit. She was still moaning and mumbling under her breath. She turned her head from side to side and her body was trembling. "Mama? Mama?" He decided to shake her lightly but still, no response.
"Mama!" He shook again, this time more violently. Isabella shot up and let out a howling scream. She flailed her body around, her arms moving as if trying to touch something. "mama!" Matteo grabbed both her arms and tried to calm her down, but Isabella used all her strength to push Matteo away and have him crash onto the floor. Ah! The pain was unbearable for him, and he began to cry.
As for Isabella, she saw nothing but white steam and her ears were tormented by the same whispered echo. "Isabella"..... "Isabella" …. "Isabella"
"Stop it! Stop it!" She screamed. She continued searching amidst the blinding steam. Searching for something, anything. Eventually, she finally felt something. And once she did, she grabbed it with all her might. She didn't know what it was, but it felt kind of soft. She scratched and clawed but just couldn't get a firm grasp on it. However unbeknownst to her, what she was actually scratching and clawing at…. Was her face.
She scratched and clawed with all her might, leaving marks on her beautiful face. And pretty quickly, blood started seeping out of those scratch marks. "Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" She scratched harder and faster, digging deeper into her face. Matteo got up despite the pain he was feeling and dragged himself onto the bed. Once he saw what his mother was doing, he immediately stopped in his tracks, terrified at what he was seeing. The tears in his eyes resumed falling and he screamed out higher than the top of his lungs, "Sylvia!!" "Sylvia!!"
At that moment, the door burst open and multiple servants appeared at the door. The minute they laid on Isabella however, their eyes widened and all their bodies froze for a second. "Help! Please! Help mama!" Matteo screamed at them, and Sylvia, as well as another servant, Charlotte, snapped back to reality and rushed to Isabella's side. Seeing the two of them, the other servants came back to their senses as well. Sylvia and Charlotte immediately held back Isabella's hands. She struggled, trying to get her movement back, all while screaming, "Stop it! Stop! Stop it!"
"Lady Isabella!" "Lady Isabella!" "Mama!" They all screamed at her but nothing worked, in fact, it only made things worse. Another servant rushed into the room with a jar of water in her hand and once her presence was noticed, Charlotte screamed, "Quickly! Splash Lady Isabella with the water!" "What?!" The servant was taken aback, but did what she was told, "O-okay!"
She walked towards the bed, then threw out the water that was in the bed. It was cold, and it completely drenched Isabella, Matteo, Sylvia and Charlotte. However, luckily, Isabella stopped moving. Her eyes widened as she tried to process what was happening, then she tried to wipe the water off her face with her hands but felt a terrible sting. She looked at her hands and noticed that they were covered completely in red blood.
She looked at her surroundings and noticed Matteo crying in terror, as well as all the servants with scared looks on their faces. She reached for her face again, then found even more blood on her hand.
Then she let out a scream worse than any sound they had ever heard before.