Taken | h.s + bey ✔️

17. Josephine and Manon

All morning I've been sitting criss cross in front of the armoire. This time I went through one of the other big boxes.

This one mostly had small items and jewelry inside that I didn't hesitate to try on and model because I'm bored.

Rose didn't really get paid in money for her work here, they just took complete care of her. Almost like they adopted her just so she could raise Harry. So I'm guessing all the pearls and fancy jewelry in here was gifted by them. I don't know her, but she didn't seem like the type to get all dressed up in expensive necklaces and dinner party gowns. She probably just had these because she had to wear them for special occasions.

I picked up the hand mirror I found in the box and turned my head from one side to the other so I could see the pearl earrings. I sucked in my cheeks a little so I could look like one of those snooty rich bitches with high cheekbones.

I blew one of the curls that had fallen in my face out of the way and sat the mirror down. I was scanning around for something else to play with when I spotted the black box again.

I swear every time I try to reach for that thing something bad happens; something always falls over and makes a mess and a bunch of noise. I puckered my lips and stared at it.

I looked away from it and started to take off all the jewelry I had on and put it back in the box.

I really want to know what's in that box, though.

I couldn't help myself. I very carefully reached for the box and when I finally had it in my grasp I snatched it really quick and held it in my lap.

I don't know if it was because I moved too fast or what, but as soon as I picked it up I felt a little weird for a moment. Like, a little dizzy and out of body. I blinked really hard a couple of times and shook my head a little.

The box was heavier than I thought it would be. I observed the exterior. The carvings that I previously saw were actually an illustration of something I didn't recognize.

It took me a minute to figure out how to open it but when I tried, I found that it was locked. I tried getting it open again just because, but it was a fail.

I figured that maybe the key was in the jewelry box. I dug through it but didn't find a key.

Instead, I found some jewelry that I hadn't noticed before. This jewelry was different though. One necklace had a fake skull and bones around the string. Another one had fang looking teeth. I found a silver ring that was of three snakes that would wrap around your finger when you put it on, all three had ruby red eyes. There was some more jewelry at the bottom that I didn't understand but I didn't mess with it.

As I was digging through the bottom of the box, about to give up, I spotted a picture. I wondered why it wasn't put with the rest of the pictures in the other box.

When I picked up the picture I noticed that it was a very old one. If I were to guess I'd say it was taken around 1890? That's just judging from how old it looked and the clothes the two women in the picture had on.

One of the women was light skinned with lighter hair. She had a small dimpled smile. The woman next to her was darker toned with darker hair. She had a menacing smile on her face like she knew something you didn't. I got that weird feeling again.

On the back of the picture, "Josephine and Manon" was written in red ink. I instinctively whispered their names to myself so I would remember. When I looked at the picture closer, I could see the back of this house in the background.