------- 04.10.07 Culmination
I:
Good Friday: April 6, 2007; Wessex, England - Ancestral
Estate of the Lancastrians of Wessex
"For Christ's sake..."
I place their late night tea outside their door, on the floor. Let it get cold, I don't give a damn.
I give up.
Since his loss, and since that revelation of his attempted...relationship...with Heidi, it's been like this, non-stop, for almost a month.
Nightly arguments. Threats.
Threats of divorce. Threats of retirement.
Threats of violence.
I don't know how much longer I can put up with this bullshit.
"'Destroyer of Worlds?' All you got was your, and importantly, MY dignity destroyed. You're a motherfucking ADULTERER ROBERT."
I seethe inwardly. A certain Paulus, their financial advisor and close "friend" of the Duchess has darted in and out of the house in recent days. She should fucking talk.
Through all of this he says nothing.
I leave their den of hell and escape to the solitude of my own bedroom, to seek some peaceful rest.
"I'll be in the Library reading, I can't fucking sleep."
She crawls off the bed and takes her glass of red wine with her.
"Marissah...I love you."
She slams the door.
There's nothing I can do now but sleep.
It is approximately 3 am. I have entered the grounds of the Estate for the first time in years. I have already broken the law. I walk slowly, my breathing is calm. I am focused on only one thing. That what I must do.
My key still fits. I open the door and shut it with the utmost quiet. I enter the pass code on the alarm system, silencing it. Thank God my former Master never had the mind to change the locks or code otherwise my quest would have ended outside the doors of the Estate.
I am engulfed in near darkness, save for a few lights that remain for the night shift. I reach into my trouser pocket and pull out my electric torch anyway, which illuminates only a small area around me. The pieces of art, the statues, the grand master staircase are enlightened only slightly. I have missed their beauty and have almost forgotten the magnificence which I once called home for near five decades. My aged hands clutch the torch tightly, not wishing to drop it, lest I be discovered.
I know where I must go. I slowly make my way up the stairs to the side, as to avoid contacting some of the creeks I know that are present in certain steps. The oak paneling is in superb condition still, I must congratulate James sometime on his excellent up-keep of the house. A few steps further and I am before the Master Bedroom.
I open the door and I walk forward gingerly. A brief flash of the torch over the bed reveals the heretic, but nobody else. I nod to myself and exit, closing the door.
I maneuver along the corridors and hallways of this masterful building which has stood for centuries. Back down the stairs I go. Moonlight manages to make its way into the building, casting a surreal shadow against some of the pieces.
To the Grand Library. Working my way towards it I notice the room is fully lit. As I approach ever closer I press myself against the wall. Summoning all within me, I peer around the corner quickly. There she sits, in front of the fireplace, in the burgundy leather-backed chair favoured by the heretic's Father, my original Master. I seethe inside all the more but remember to keep my breathing orderly, and paced.
I switch off my torch and slip it into my left trouser pocket. My hand slips inside my inner jacket pocket to retrieve another item, given to me by the heretic's Father, and used by him during the Second World War. He gave it to me only a few weeks before his death as a thank-you for my years of loyal service to him, his wife, and the House of Lancaster and Duchy of Wessex, for whom I have given my life then, and forevermore. It is in that service that has brought me here today. While the world sleeps, I do not. I cannot sleep in peace any longer. After tonight however, I shall. And I shall rejoice.
A few further steps of freedom await me. I close my eyes and utter a prayer...
"...God forgive me for that which I feel I must do..."
I enter the library. She looks up from her book, holding a glass of red wine in her hand. The flames in the fireplace crackle peacefully.
Her eyes stare in surprise and disgust, and then immediately, in horror. She does not have time to express that horror verbally.
I pull the trigger.
The sound of the bullet pierces the silent night air as she drops her glass of wine, spilling it onto the carpet. Blood splatters onto the chair and onto the large gold plated crest of the Duchy of Wessex which has hung over the fire place for generations. She collapses onto the floor, her breathing laboured. A few seconds later she is silent.
She is dead.
It is done.
I have fulfilled my duty to the House of Lancaster one last time.
And for the first time in over three centuries, murder, bloody murder, has stained the soul of the Estate.
"What in the hell was that..."
I am startled wide awake from my uneasy slumber, and quickly throw on my robe, and turning on lights as I go, I head downstairs.
I smell something putrid...
Marissah. I must find her.
I hear foot steps rushing down the stairs. He enters the room and stares wide eyed at me and then his wife. I am expressionless as I bend forward and lay the pistol on the ground. I place my hands behind my back.
"Marissah................................................................."
He pushes past me as he rushes towards his wife. I turn and watch him. He checks for her pulse, and finds none.
His sobbing cannot be muted. It is nearly uncontrollable when I see him look to the Heavens and cry out, "God help me."
I take a step forward. I speak.
"Sir."
He immediately looks up, his hands and his night clothing now covered in her blood, his eyes, red, burning now with tears, his chest heaving violently.
"I await justice."