Meanwhile Charlotte's departure had already caused a drastic change in Alastor. He moved as if he were a spirit, his voice sounded so frail, and his eyes seemed to grow more and more faded. However these changes were barely noticed by the servants for after Charlotte left, Alastor had concealed himself in her former bedroom and he spent many hours there. Many hours missing his beloved Charlotte. Many hours remembering all the time they spent together. Many hours wondering if she truly intended to keep her promise to visit him. However he couldn't bring himself to watch her through the mirror again. The first time he tried it was completely agonizing to him. To see her but to not be with her, it was too painful.
He approached her bed slowly and moved to carefully grab to sheets. He caressed them while imagining that the silken cloth was her delicate skin. Then he brought the sheets to his face and inhaled, her scent was still fresh. Her scent of roses, lavender, and all the flowers in the world. What he wouldn't give for those sheets in his arms to actually be Charlotte.
Suddenly he started to silently sob into the sheets. He couldn't help it, he just missed her so much. So much. The memory of her face, her voice, her touch, haunted him every waking moment. He couldn't eat. He couldn't sleep. He couldn't read or make music. He couldn't even hunt. How could he? His thoughts were plagued by two things; His longing for Charlotte and the guilt he felt over the countless lives he devoured.
Yes that was probably the hardest part in matters of redeeming yourself. Acknowledging all the terrible things you had done and accepting the responsibility for it, which sadly often results in extreme guilt and shame. Alastor's self loathing was now stronger than ever before yet strangely he didn't start hurting himself again. Most likely due to the fact that he had promised Charlotte he wouldn't. But there were other ways he could inflict suffering on to himself.
Without the woman he loved and with the constant memories of his sins, life held no meaning to him anymore. What was the point of living if he had no love and had no goodness? What else is there for him?
...
"How is he?" Husk asked Niffty when she returned with a full set tray in her hands.
"He refused dinner again." She sighed. "It's the sixth meal he's turned down this week. I'm getting very worried."
"Maybe he just needs a stiff drink."
"I'm no expert on depression but I believe that alcohol will only make things worse."
"He hasn't been to the rose garden since Charlotte went home." Cherri said.
"Can't say I'm surprised, it's gone from a reminder of his mother to a reminder of her."
"Yeah but that's not the worse part."
"Well what is?"
"It started yesterday, the roses are wilting."
"Wilting?" Husk said. "What do you mean they're wilting?"
"I mean they're dying which is strange because they're supposed to never wilt. They're magic. When we buried Marie, her remains made the soil enchanted so that the only way the roses could die was if they were plucked from the roots. But one by one, they're petals are dropping and their leaves are turning brittle."
"Why is this happening?" Niffty asked.
"I don't know. I spent all night checking them but I couldn't find anything wrong. The soil is fertile, they get plenty of sunshine and water, there are no pests like insects and gophers, it doesn't make sense. They should be full in bloom."
"How many are still alive?"
"A good amount but I sense that they won't last much longer."
"Should we tell Alastor?" Husk asked.
"Not yet. He's already feeling bad enough as it is. Finding out that the roses are withering will only add salt to the wound." Niffty said. "Let's try to figure out what's going on here first. Cherri go find Anthony and Vagatha, staff meeting right now."
"Gotcha."
She left the kitchen and went to look for the remaining staff members.
"Something's wrong." Niffty said while pacing back and forth. "Very wrong. I can feel it."
She was pacing so very quickly and as she paced, Husk just kept looking and looking at her. Noticing that she appeared much shorter than usual. Well she had always been the shortest of the bunch but recently she seemed to have shrunk a little. Not only shrunk but moving fter, quicker, scurrying. Making it seem like she was challenging him to catch her. The butler suddenly felt a long forgotten urge rise up inside of him. One that made start licking his chops.
Niffty suddenly sensed a predator nearby which confused her due to the fact that she had not felt that sense in years. She stopped in her tracks, and slowly turned to look at the predator who was watching her. She briefly became frozen stiff in fear when she saw Husk's paralyzing gaze.
"Husk." She trembled. "Why are you looking at me that way?"
He held his gaze on her but slowly moved his body into a different position. A position which Niffty recognized despite having not seen it in twenty-three years and absolute terror gripped her heart when she became aware of what Husk had in mind.
"No Husk." She said. "No! Don't you dare! I mean it! Stop! Oh God! Help!"
By the time the other servants arrived in the kitchen, they heard an intense yowling noise and saw that Husk seemed to be trying to eat something. Something that was struggling and squirming around in a panic.
"Husk?" Anthony said. "What are you doing?"
"And where's Niffty?" Cherri asked.
"Hmmm?"
Husk turned to face them and to their horror, they saw that half of Niffty's body was in his mouth.
"Oh dear lord!" Vagatha screamed.
"What the hell?!" Anthony shouted.
"Aww sick!" Cherri gagged.
Immediately they tackled Husk, Anthony grabbed on to him while Vagatha tried to forcibly pull Niffty from his jaws.
"Spit her out! Spit her out! Spit her out!" Vagatha demanded.
"Bad kitty! Bad!" Anthony scolded.
They managed to free Niffty but Husk was enraged by this and he responded by snarling and jumping on to Anthony. Scratching and biting at his face, sinking his claws and teeth in to his skin, as if he were rabid.
"Ah! Get him off! Get him off!"
Vagatha jerked on Husk's tail but it was Cherri who was able to save Anthony from having his face mauled off by throwing a vase of water into the cat man's face which brought him back to his senses.
"Huh." He said blinking in a confused manner. "What's going on? Why am I all wet? And...Bleh! Why does my mouth taste like flour and dust?"
He looked down at his paw-like hands to see his claws were stained with blood.
"And why is there blood on my hands?"
"My face!" Anthony wailed while clutching it in pain. "My beautiful face! You cut up my face!"
"And you tried to eat me!" Niffty squealed in fear. "You actually put me in your unsanitary mouth! Oh the horror! It was slimy and germ-filled, and it reeked of tuna and booze! Oh you animal!"
"I didn't do that! Did I?"
"What do you call these?" Anthony said pointing to the scratches and bite marks on his face.
Husk couldn't deny that they were a perfect match to his claws and teeth. He was mortified.
"Husk just what in the world got into you?" Vagatha said.
"I...I...I don't know." He said sincerely having no memory of what he had done. "I...I really don't know. The last thing I remember was watching Niffty go back and back and forth, she was moving so fast like and she looked so small and helpless, suddenly I...I just wasn't there anymore."
"Husk if this is your idea of a joke I'm going to personally skin you alive and make your hide into a coat!"
"I'm serious Vagatha! I don't know what happened to me! But lately I have been feeling really weird."
"What do you mean? How weird?"
"I keep having these moments where it feels like I'm blacking out but at the same time I'm awake, and I can't remember anything I did during those moments. I thought they were dizzy spells at first. I'm also getting urges to do things I haven't done in years. The urge to pounce and stalk and...And eat Niffty."
"What?!" The mouse woman shrieked.
"I'm sorry! I can't help it! Especially now that you're starting to look more and more mouse-like."
"What are you talking about?"
"You know he's right." Cherri said. "You do look smaller and your eyes are beginning to look a little beady."
"Huh?!"
Niffty hastily looked for the nearest mirror and studied her reflection carefully. She had become smaller and her eyes were growing more beady.
"What in heaven's name?! What is this?! What's happening to me?!"
"And me?!" Husk added. "I mean I know I can be a total jackass but I wouldn't try to seriously hurt you guys. Despite temptation to do so to Anthony occasionally."
"I'm sorry what?" Anthony said.
"Oh no." Vagatha's face turned white like a ghost as her mind proceeded to put two and two together. "Oh no, no, no, no. This can't happening. Dear God, tell me this is not happening. Not now. Please not now."
"What? What's wrong?" Cherri asked.
"I think we're reverting back."
"Why do you say that?"
"Well look at what's just happened. Husk turned feral and tried to eat Niffty who by the way is shrinking and getting rodent eyes. They're old instincts and appearances are coming back."
"No!" Anthony said. "No we can't be reverting! There has to be another reason for why this happening. After all you, Cherri, and myself haven't changed or started acting strangely."
"Not yet."
"Don't say that!" He panicked. "It wouldn't make sense for us to revert back now! It doesn't make sense! Why would we be changing back now? Alastor is still alive! We're not suppose to become regular animals again until he dies!"
"Well I thought the roses in the garden weren't supposed to ever die of natural causes but now they're withering." Cherri said.
"But we just can't be turning back! We just can't!"
"Anthony calm down." Vagatha said.
"Calm down?! How can I calm down at a moment like this?!"
"Panic will not solve anything. It never has. We have to keep our heads and think clearly while still can. Try to figure out why this is happening and how to stop it."
"Well what are we supposed to do exactly? None of us here know magic!"
"But we know someone who does."
"What do you mean by that?"
Vagatha took a deep breath and waited before answering because she knew none of the servants were going to like the idea she was about to propse.
"I think we need to contact Rosie."
"Are you out of your mind?!" Anthony screeched as he and everyone else looked at her in disapproval. "That witch is the whole reason we're in this mess!"
"I know how we all feel about her and our feelings are not unjustified but desperate times call for desperate measures. Remember, that Rosie told Marie how to break the spell. She created this castle, she showed her how to create us, and Marie always said that despite her faults, Rosie did love her."
"And?"
"And maybe that love made her change. Maybe Rosie is sorry for what she did and would help us."
"Or maybe she would turn us all into snails and step on us! We can't risk contacting her!"
"What choice do we have? Fairy magic did this to us which means only a fairy can help us and so far we only know of two living fairies. Now it's obvious that Katie has no heart but Rosie might."
"I don't trust her."
"Neither do I." Husk said. "And Alastor hates her guts! He would be furious if she came here!"
"Alright then, do you have any better ideas? If so I'd love to hear them!"
Ten minutes passed before anyone spoke again and eventually the servants realized that they had no other option than to agree with Vagatha's idea.
"I don't like this." Niffty had said. "But we are desperate, so let's contact her."
"How do we do that anyway?" Cherri asked.
"Leave it to me." Vagatha said and she was off to prepare a message.