So this is chapter one of something that had been in develepment for four years now.. I am not sure where it is going next though I do have several plot points and possible endings. Enjoy

 

Chapter 1

Blinking open were a large pair of pale blue eyes that sparkled in the lowered faded sunlight from behind the bland curtains.

The day was just beginning and the sun was peeking over the distant hills. The girl smiled slightly, rolling over hoping to catch some more of her slumber before she was summoned as she was every morning by her governess. She closed her eyes once more and let her long auburn locks fall covering her face, draping off her mattress and towards the floor. Slowly she began to drift once more. Happily and calmly into her dreams. She felt her form melting into the surface below her as she stole a few more precious moments of welcomed sleep. All the while keeping one ear open for her Governesses soft tones.

Her eyes opened again, the sun had not moved, it was still peeking over the hilltops in the distance, the girl stretched and got up from her bed, it was chilly. She wrapped her blanket around her shoulders and left her tiny chambers. There were no sounds to be heard, she couldn’t understand why. She chewed on her lower lip as she approached her governess’ chamber door. It was clos

ed, she had never been granted permission to enter when the door was closed, sometimes if she had been sick or her governess had been ill, or in special or extreme circumstances, but usually she was forbidden from entering. She spun on her heels and turned away, as she walked the passage she smoothed out her unkempt mound of red hair, trying to control it. She began to hum a little as she lightly padded her way through the small shack she shared with her governess, upon reaching the kitchen she looked over to the small stove as she dumped her blanket on the small table, she noticed that there were still warm embers in it. It had been lit recently.

“That’s not right, no one has been up to light this yet”

She said to herself. She then wondered again why she could hear no sound, why hadn’t she been roused by her governess that morning. She wandered back through the shack to the living space, it all looked normal, no furniture was out of place no one had been in, and there were no broken windows or abnormalities to speak of. All of their belongings remained as far as she could see. She walked back towards her governess chamber door once more, she convinced herself that this resulted in an emergency so knocked lightly on the door then waited…

No answer came, she knocked again and this time softly spoke into the grains of the wooden door

“Governess?”

Again, no reply. She raised an eyebrow and turned away with her back to the door and slid down it to the floor and sat down cuddling her knees to her chin, she sat there for a long time, listening to the deafening silence that surrounded her. She hated it, she missed the voices, the laughter, the love and life that came from them both each and every day. She had been staring out the window ahead for a while. With each passing minute the dusk was falling faster, thicker.

“How long have I slept?” She asked herself.

With that she sprung to her feet and pounded on the governess’ door once more.

“Governess!”

She shouted, she turned the door knob frantically and entered inside the darkened room. Her eyes dropped as wide as her gobsmacked expression.

The room was full of all her belongings, not a thing had been touched, and the bed was perfectly made. She lay a hand over the smoothed blankets and ran it along as she walked slowly by.

“This bed hasn’t been slept in”

She whispered, almost as though she was trying to be quiet so not to get caught. She looked over to the arm chair that faced the window, it was where her governess liked to sit in the evenings and in the mornings before her day ended and began, to collect her thoughts. The girl slowly tiptoed over behind it, she waited a few seconds before she popped her head round the back of the chair and said…

“Governe…”

Her words faded as her eyes laid only on the fabric of the chair, her governess had gone. She ran back out the room and towards the heart of the house. There was nothing to suggest where she had gone. It was getting darker now and it was clear to her that she had been allowed to sleep all day, but why?

She sat down at the small table and put her head in her hands staring at the wood and all its notches and imperfections, under the strewn blanket, peering out was the corner of a crisp white envelope. She brushed the blanket away and laid her gaze on it. On it the words “Little One” read across the front in the governess’ perfected cursive handwriting. She picked up the envelope and ran a finger along the lettering. The envelope was weighty, there was more in there than just a letter. She flipped it over, it was sealed. She wasted no time and tore it open. Out she pulled a folded piece of paper and along with it came a dull key, it fell onto the table with a clatter which pierced the silence and echoed round the room. She looked at it in bewilderment then at the letter, she had never seen that key before and had no idea what it opened. She darted her attention back to the letter and unfolded it, allowing her eyes to fall upon the cursive words and she read.

“My treasured Little One,

By the time you read this I will be long gone, I didn’t know how to say goodbye to you, and I knew that I couldn’t ever do it without it breaking either of our hearts, so I felt by leaving like this was the best way.

You cannot know just how much this pains me and my only saving grace is that I am not there to see just how much pain there is in your eyes and inside your heart. My regret is that I am not there to kiss away those tears which are forming in those gorgeous round eyes of yours. But I am there little one, even if you can’t see me, feel for me. My lips are soaking up your tears and the pain that you feel.

Right now you don’t know why I had to leave, but in time you will. I know that you chose not to believe me all the times I told you I would not be around forever, and after a while I stopped pushing the issue because I could see just how hurtful I was being. That was wrong of me. But I was only trying to prepare you for this day. I have fulfilled my destiny little one. It is now time for you to fulfil yours. I have taught you the skills you will need on your journey and what you don’t know, are things I could not teach. But you will learn them in time and in another place.

In your possession I leave you a small key, I can’t tell you what it opens and I can’t tell you when you will need it, but know this my darling, it is imperative that you hold onto that key like it is your last breath. You must never ever allow that key to be separated from you until you know what you must do with it.

Sadly, you will not see me again though it pains me to write these words, I know it saddens you more to read them, all will be explained to you my sweet one in time, you must have patience. I know that it is easy to say, but you must trust me now more than you have ever done in your life.

I would never hurt you intentionally, my disappearance was a lesser evil. You will understand everything fully soon darling, just not at this moment. My time is rapidly fading and I must depart this letter and leave you with these final words.

Stay strong, you may not feel it right now but you are stronger than you realise, you must remember that always, never give in and make good choices, I know you are the sweetest, kindest girl I know and you will prevail in everything that lay ahead of you, and most of all, my dear I love you just as much today as I did yesterday and as I will tomorrow. I will always be with you, I will always live on inside your heart and soul.

Make me proud little one.

Always yours

Governess”

She read the words over and over until they were just squiggles on a page, her heavy tears blotted the ink as they tumbled down her puffed cheeks. Inside her heart was shattering into a thousand pieces, she was speechless. She physically ached for her governess, her mind was racing as she tried to remember her image, her soft voice. But for the moment she could remember nothing but the black abyss of where her heart once lay. She re-read the passage of the key, what was so special about this key? Right now she would trade this seemingly important key for just one more glance at her governess. She put the letter down on the table and wrapped her finger round the blanket, it was pitch black outside now apart from the moon that was beaming down on her harshly, she didn’t want to see the light, she wanted to surround herself with darkness that filled her heart, she took the letter, key and blanket and trailed back to her governess chambers. Where she lay on her bed, inhaling the last fragments of her scent. She covered herself up tightly and remained there, cradling the governess final words and symbol of love to her and wept.