The Red Wing Mansion

Chapter Twenty-Five

Or I was delusional.

Best to see what he looked like. I turn on my heel.

Behind me, not four feet away from me, Claudius stands in his black suit, grey scarf loose on his neck – gloves off... hands at his sides... looking totally normal.

Except that one hand is holding an... object.

Not a piece of fire wood, but the handle of a large axe.

I don't stare at the weapon for a second too long before my eyes move up to his.

"I have no memory of why I left you, all I know is..." I glance down at that axe one more time, "I wanted to be here," and was I about to get murdered for it?

"Aha, that's nothing new to my ears. They all wanted to be here," Claudius speaks coldly back, no muscles twitch in his arm holding the weapon. I take miniscule comfort in knowing he isn't planning on... swinging it up... for any particular reason... at the moment.

I swallow spit down my dry throat as I ask, "What rules do I need to follow, again?"

Claudius hesitates, his cheek twitching as his eyes scan over my face.

He slowly lifts up the axe and passes it to his other hand, dropping the head to the floor so it bangs into the wood, blunt side down, leaning on it as he slowly shakes his head and looks away from me, down the dusty corridor, "...you were meant to run... when I appeared holding an axe," he looks back at me slowly. Is that sarcasm? Is it? I... um? I start to back up in the room, speechless. I don't even know what to say, "Hang on. Did you think we'd be lovers and that I'd make love to you?" Fontaine asks, seeing my silent wide-eyed stare, "I don't care for warmth anymore... I stopped caring a long time ago. The rules are simple. Stay still. Don't move. Be a good girl, okay, it can't be that hard to follow that instruction, yes? Are you daft? No? Then sh, stay," he sounds rather exasperated by my confusion.

Conflicted, my feet shuffle to a stop.

I feel the breeze at my back and I know I can jump out of a broken window if I have to, risking a cut, I could run back to the car, where he left the keys.

I follow along with him because Claudius turns away from me, swings up the axe and smashes it into the wall behind him.

Wood splinters and he pulls back to swing again.

I watch as some kind of artificial opening in the wall, shows itself. An old box, hidden within.

Claudius drops the axe and reaches in.

He opens the time capsule and pulls out a long white glove.

"You wore this at your wedding," Fontaine shows it to me, holding it out, although he doesn't tell me to approach, so I just stand there, terrified at this change in his demeanour, "Well?"

"You said to s-stay still," I stutter.

"So you wouldn't get hit with shrapnel," Claudius explains, seriously, "Come on, take it."

"The glove?" I ask.

He continues to hold it out to me, trying to read my expression – not understanding why I am so pale.

"...what?" he asks me, slowly.

"I thought... you were trying to kill me," I whisper, looking to the axe now on the floor.

"With this?" Fontaine eyes the axe again quickly, and leans down and scoops up the axe again, walking toward me and quickly behind me, he passes me the glove, and the blunt end of the axe touches my elbow, simply because he is holding it near me. I freeze again. I gulp as I hold the glove in one hand, and he stands right behind me, talking over my head, "I don't care for love anymore – that's what I meant by warmth. I don't care for your warmth. I don't care for making love. I only care about my needs being met. Your purity is what I need. When I take it, you'll enjoy it but it's not going to be what you think. I will fuck you. I won't kill you. Now, I made you a promise. You want to remember. Put on the glove, I made my second wife curse it with your memory. You'll remember everything. Just put it on. When you take it off, you'll forget... that's the only catch."