After she had gotten ready for the day, Charlotte took a moment to wait and see if anyone else would come by her room like perhaps another servant but after awhile she became bored and decided to explore her new surroundings.
She quietly and slowly stepped out of her room and started walk about the castle, taking in the sights of estate. Everything was so different from her bedroom, it was all so dark, dismal, and twisted. Black tree walls all disfigured, dead leaves up top, spider webs in corners, rooms that were so eerie. She wondered why her room contrasted from the dominant style of the castle? Furthermore why was everything here so dark to begin with? Then again the master was pretty much a killer so it probably made sense that this place so creepy.
She didn't really like this castle very much. Now she would admit that it was impressive because of the design and the rich furniture but there was no light, no color, no warmth. How could anyone live like this? How could someone thrive on the dark and the cold? She knew for certain that she couldn't. At least not for long.
Then she found one room that peeked her interest. It was an art gallery, one full of oil paintings and marble sculptures. The paintings were elegant and very expressive, Charlotte found them to be very lovely anyway. One painting was of the face of black cat with it's golden eyes gleaming in the night, another was a moth fluttering it's wings in the moonlight, and a third was of a spider weaving it's way through a web of dew drops. All of them either depicted the night or something dark, all except one painting and it greatly contrasted with all the others.
This painting was very bright, colorful, and it was portrait. A portrait of a woman sitting in a garden of roses with the sun shinning down on her. Her hair was long and brown with silver braided in it, her eyes were a deep violet, her lips curled into a gentle smile, and she was wearing a silken gown that matched the silver in her hair. She was a very beautiful woman. Probably one of the loveliest Charlotte had ever seen although she couldn't help but notice how funny the woman's ears looked. They were pointed and curled, she had never seen anyone with ears like that before. Either way, Charlotte decided right that painting would be her favorite.
She turned attention to the sculptures, all them brilliantly crafted to resemble animals or humans. She smiled at them because they reminded her of how her father back when they were wealthy would purchase a sculpture to show off in their house. When she was little her father would often be much too busy to attend to her and her sister never wanted to play with her so she invented a game where she would pretend that sculptures and statues were actually living.
"Good morning." She said curtsying to them as if they were alive. "My name is Charlotte I am very pleased to meet you all."
She pretended that she was at one of her father's parties and that the sculptures were their guests. She grabbed the billows of her gown and began to dance while humming a melody to herself, imagining that one sculpture of a young man had come to life and was serving as her partner. She thought that she was alone so she didn't care if she looked silly by doing this. However she wasn't alone.
From the shadows Alastor was watching her intently, observing her behavior and actions to everything around her. He listened her to hum and muse out a few la, la, la's as she became more wrapped up in her fantasy. Her voice was as beautiful as she was and the same could be said for her graceful steps.
"Such beauty." He thought as he watched her. "Even those pretty yet vile she devils known as fair folk cannot compare to her."
"You could have had her. That lovely brow, eyelids like two white rose petals. A body trembling with tender disquiet. What if those rose blossom lids and her eyes rest upon you?"
"She must never see me. She would die of terror."
"She should be dead by now. What are you waiting for?"
"I have become bored with this routine. Wake up, hunt, kill, eat, it's all I've done for the past thirteen years. I'm lacking inspiration for life. I want to see what this little belle has to offer. If she can keep me entertained for awhile."
"And what then? You let her go once you become bored with her? If you do that then you will lose both your respect and control over everything here. The creatures of the forest will see as their equal instead of their ruler, men will challenge you and attempt to steal your riches. You will have nothing if you let her live. Devour her before you lose your nerve."
"Don't speak nonsense. I have no intention of just letting her go. When she ceases to amuse me I shall merely consume her just as I had planned to do in the beginning. Although I have never partaken of a woman's flesh before."
"Lack the stomach for it?"
"Of course not. It's just that I've never had the opportunity to hunt a woman before. Most human females are too frightened to enter my domain. Probably because unlike men, they lack that foolish desire to do dangerous things to prove themselves when they don't have to."
"Take care that you don't let this woman influence you. Remember that she is no different than a doe just waiting to be carved up."
Alastor hushed the inner voice and discreetly slipped away.
"Oh do you really have to go?" Charlotte asked the sculpture that she was pretending to dance with. "Alright I understand. But you are a wonderful dancer. I hope to see you again soon."
"Do you always talk to an inanimate objects?"
Charlotte jumped back startled when she realized that someone had seen her. Her entire face turned red with embarrassment but that quickly faded when she turned around to see who had spoken to her. It was a female humanoid with long mangled white hair, a skin tone made up of various darker tones between grey, brown, and black, her fingernails were like the clinging claws of an insect, and on her back were a large yet pretty pair of gold and silver colored wings like a moth. She was dressed very proper like in a muted purple frock that was quite simple and she stood with perfect stillness.
"I...I...I" Charlotte tried not to stare. "I apologize if I caused any disturbance."
"There was no disturbance. I just wondered why you were speaking to a statue?"
"It's...It's a game I played with myself as a child. I didn't have anyone to play with in my childhood so I had to make pretend friends."
"In that case I am quite relieved."
"Why is that?"
"Because for a moment I feared that your circumstances had driven you mad."
"Oh..."
"But I am being very rude aren't I? Forgive me. I am Vagatha the steward."
"Pleased to make your acquaintance. I beg your pardon but you said that you were the steward of the house hold?"
"Yes."
"Huh..."
"What?"
"I'm dreadfully sorry if I offend you by saying this but I've never heard of a woman being the head of a household."
"I am not offended. I am well aware of how your species have certain reservations when it comes to gender roles. But out of all the staff here I am the only one who can manage everything and still somehow keep my head. Therefore I am the only one qualified for the position of steward."
"How interesting."
"I would like to apologize for the ruckus made last night. I know that it couldn't have possibly gone unnoticed by you."
"You mean that howling and screeching noise? What was that?"
A distressed look crossed Vagatha's face. One that told Charlotte that she wanted to give her the answer but was restricted from doing so.
"I am not allowed to say but I can assure you that the source of that noise will never pose any threat to you."
"I suppose that is comforting." Charlotte looked back at the gallery of paintings. "The artwork here is truly marvelous. Who is the painter?"
"That would be me." Vagatha answered.
"You painted all of these?" Charlotte asked in astonishment.
"Yes. It's nothing really. Just a hobby I dabble in to lower my stress."
"How can you say that what you do is nothing? These are magnificent."
"Do you really think so?"
"Of course. I don't even think the most expensive painter in the city could create pictures as expressive as these."
"Oh...Well thank you."
Charlotte looked at the portrait of the lovely violet eyed and pointy eared woman.
"This one is my favorite and I think it's the loveliest of them all. Why is it so different from the others?"
A brief sliver of sadness moved across Vagatha's face before she answered.
"It was my first painting and I had yet to decide what my style was."
"May I ask who this woman was?"
The steward made that look again. The one that said that she was hiding something and would get into serious trouble if she revealed what that something was.
"I am not allowed to say." She said. "Please excuse me but I have things that I must see to now."
"Wait a minute-"
But she was already out of there as quick as the flap of a moth's wing. Charlotte turned back to gaze at the portrait and she wondered about who the woman depicted in it was.