Vainglory

Chapter Twenty Five: Something Wicked

"What do you think it could mean?" Annabelle asked Hans as he sat across the table from her.

"I am not sure. But there is a part of me that feels like there is more of a significance than just decoration...."

"Do you want to return?"

He nodded. Taking a piece of the chicken between his fingers, he placed it in his mouth as she took a sip of the wine.

"Why not now? We are supposedly in our beds asleep by now...It is the perfect time to go."

"The only way through are the passages that are now being watched more closely than before..."

"We can make it. If we do not go now, we will not be able to." She said as she dusted off her dress for crumbs before pushing in her chair.

"Are you sure? It could be dangerous...."

"I see it in a way that my very existence is dangerous...I will go with or without you, but without will take longer..."

"One of the many reasons I love you so." He paused as he took her in his embrace; placing his hands upon her waist. "You are so bloody stubborn." He smirked as their lips touched. When the kiss ended, Hans placed himself over the candle and blew it out before moving towards the door. Moving from the garden, they walked until the moon was the brightest in the sky and they reached the stones. Using the light from a lantern taken just before leaving, they searched the stones. Annabelle traced her hand on each one of the inscriptions before asking to see the lantern.

"What is it?"

"This one...it lacks dust..."

"What do you mean?"

She used the lantern and walked by each of the stones and saw how they were caked in dust. It was almost impossible to read the engravings as they had been so dirty. The one with the initials: AB also had fresh flowers lingering behind the stone, in an attempt to both mourn yet hide the evidence.

"What do you think it means?"

"I have no clue...My first guess would be someone close to her who had died..." As she walked over the ground, she also found it odd how it was loud. The other graves were tough due to the earth which hardened due to the time it had been resting there. The AB stone was hollow almost as if it was harboring something under the surface.

Hans stood beside her as she moved her boot along the outline of the grave.

"My father used to tell my of mystery stories with trap doors. Usually triggered by a switch-" Before she could finish the word, she plummeted before she had been caught by Hans. He pulled her from the pit before taking the lantern from the ground which was beside the tombstone.

"What if it is a trap?"

"I would rather die this moment with you than alone in that torture chamber." Annabelle said as she kissed him quickly before moving down the darkened way. Moving half way down, the trapped door had been closed and they continued their way down.

"It is too late now..." He said as they continued their journey. For what seemed like a lifetime, they arrived at a thick wooden door that appeared private. No window to show any indication of what was on the other side, only a doorknob and the wood that kept them from discovering the deep secret. Hans looked to her as he protected her by moving forward first. Moving deeper into the room, expecting more of a torture chamber, it was a surprise that it was a small library. The size of Annabelle's chambers only filled with books and shelves and a small desk. Hans entered the room before seeing a photograph upon the table that startled him. He blocked it from Annabelle's view subtly as she took the books from the shelves and read how they were diaries of Bathory's.

"Listen to this..." She read from an entry. "Ferenc and I have finally bonded over a mutual interest; torture. I used to think my mind was riddled by the demons from my nightmares, but I now know that I can make the marriage with him truly work. Even if all we ever do is talk about the torture. His methods open my eyes to new methods which make me excited for what the future holds. I used to think I was alone in this world, but I found someone who wants the same thing I do...Just for a different reason."

Hans nodded as he took the latest diary and read it to himself as she scanned other documents which were tied and bound. To himself in a low voice, he read aloud. Annabelle was unable to hear him.

"The last entry..." he began. "The last entry in this journal as my year is coming to an end. Christmas has come and past as well as her birthday. I seem to forget the names of my servant...but never hers....Guilt riddles my body and aches my bones as I wonder how she is presently. Is she thinking of me or does she not know of my giving her up? I wish I could meet her...just once..."

Tearing this page from the book, he stuck it in his pocket as Annabelle found a locket in a small box on the edge of one of the shelves. Opening it, it was a name written poorly with blood smeared on the gold and writing within the necklace. It was impossible to read.

"Why would she hide this away? Everything here seems important to her..."

"I am unsure. It appears to me as if she was frequently here but hid the documents almost the instant she placed them. There are no markings to show they were moved many times. The diaries dated as of late were the ones without any dust..."

"And the locket?" She paused. "What significance do you think it has?"

"Maybe this place is her life before the bloodshed...Maybe we are standing in Elizabeth Bathory's innocence..."