Note: This short story was written by Kyee as my b'day present. She has given me permission to post it up here.
It must have been the happiest day of Victoria’s life. She had just turned sixteen, and the man of her dreams had voiced out his desire to elope with her. Life surely looks good for a young girl like her at the present time. Her love, Mathias, aye that’s his name, had gotten everything planned out.
Mathias was in fact five years older than she was. However, she believed that age does not stop the power of true love. Their relationship had actually been an underground affair. She was a baron’s daughter while Mathias was merely a blacksmith’s apprentice, therefore chaos would certainly ensue if daddy dearest was to find out this secret. However, everything would be fine after tomorrow. She was sure of that. Mathias had told her of his plan, and they would be out of this town tomorrow before dusk. Unable to contain her excitement, Victoria gathered her many-layered skirt and hurried back home.
“Suzette! Suzette! You wouldn’t believe what I’m going to tell you!” Victoria cried across the mansion as she skipped happily in the hallway back to her room.
Though Suzette was a servant at the mansion, she was her best and only friend. They had spent time giggling together at each other’s secret and shared gossips, and Victoria was certain that Suzette wouldn’t want to miss this big, juicy piece of good news she had brought. Suzette was the only one who knew about her relationship with Mathias, and though Victoria knew that she disapproved of this relationship, she knew she’d still wish her all the best.
Finding her best friend in her room, dusting her table, Victoria threw herself on Suzette and grabbed her for a bear hug. Surprised, Suzette dropped her duster, but returned the hug.
“Happy birthday my lady!” she said as she released Victoria, beaming.
“You wouldn’t believe what I’m about to tell you, Suzette! You wouldn’t!” Victoria repeated again, her face flushed with excitement as she grabbed Suzette’s hands.
“Calm down, my lady. What had you got to tell me?” Suzette queried as she pulled Victoria to the couch and settled both of them down, before staring at her, encouraging her to continue what she wanted to say.
“We’re going to run away. We’re going to run away! He told me to gather some clothes and take as much money as I could and wait for him under the tree at the east gate of the town. I can’t believe it! I’m really going to be with him after all!” Victoria said dreamily as she gazed out of the window, gazing at something that Suzette cannot see.
“Whu-what had you just said?” Suzette quivered as she tried to process the words that had just entered her ears. Had she heard it wrongly? Victoria, running away with-
“I’m eloping with Mathias, Suzette! We’re finally going to be together without- Suzette, are you alright?”
“Huh? Oh…oh, I-I’m alright! Of course I’m alright,” Suzette replied, not liking the news she had just heard. How could he do this to her?!
“Are you really alright? You don’t look that goo-”
“I said I’m alright!” Suzette snapped, and then apologized immediately when she realized what she had done. “Oh dear. I’m so sorry, my lady. I shouldn’t have shouted at you. I’m just not feeling well all of a sudden…”
“It’s alright,” Victoria replied, but Suzette heard a sniff. Victoria wasn’t exactly a strong girl she had portrayed herself to be like. In actual fact, she was sensitive and vulnerable in the inside, and the slightest jokes or comments could have her bursting to tears.
Though wanting to comfort her friend, she found that this wasn’t the right time to do so. She had much more important stuff to deal with, and that was to confront Mathias.
Victoria was quite hurt when Suzette snapped at her. It wasn’t the first time her dear friend had showed sudden displeasure at her, but this was the very first time she heard her talking to her in such a sharp tone. Lying on her four-poster bed, she glanced at the ceiling, thoughts racing through her mind. She and Suzette had used to be the best of friends in the past, before the entry of Mathias into her life. It seemed as if Suzette was angry at her relationship with Mathias…
Hearing light hurried footsteps passing the hallway, Victoria sat up and frowned. She recognized those footsteps as her friend’s. Creeping towards the door, she opened it silently and peered out. Suzette had on her coat, and seemed to be in a hurry. She turned to the stairs and descended down to the main entry of the mansion. After a few moments, she heard the familiar bang of the door.
What was Suzette up to? Thinking to herself, Victoria sprang to the balcony and hid behind the curtains as she watched Suzette watching furtively around, as if afraid to be discovered. Something must have been troubling Suzette… determined to find out what secret Suzette had been hiding, she got dressed and took her coat before creeping out into the dark.
Trailing Suzette, Victoria had been careful not to be seen. Glancing around the street, she was rather surprised when she found Suzette making a turn towards a broken down blacksmith shop—the place where Mathias lived. Brows knitting together, Victoria watched in confusion as Suzette slipped inside the shop with familiarity. It seemed as if she had been here a number of times.
Tiptoeing stealthily towards the wooden window, Victoria could hear a heated argument that was going on inside.
“That was what you told her?! You told her you’re going to elope with her?! How could you do this to me?! Especially when I’m carrying your child!” came Suzette voice as she yelled.
Shocked, Victoria couldn’t help but stagger backwards. What had Suzette said? She…she was carrying Mathias’s child? How could this be?
“Honey, listen well. I did this for both of us. I didn’t really mean what I’d said to her. When I got the money from her, we’ll be the ones running away together okay? Don’t be so agitated. It’s bad for the baby,” cooed Mathias as he tried to calm Suzette down.
“Hands off! I don’t believe you. You’ve told too many lies, to me and to Victoria.”
“Just trust me this once, honey. I swear we’ll live happily after we got the money. I promise.”
Hands covering her mouth as she tried not to scream in frustration, Victoria wanted to barge into the shop and kill this adulterous pair. How could Suzette, her best friend do such things to her? She had been kind to her, and had told her all her innermost secrets! Hell, she treated her as a sister! Now what had she done? She had been sleeping with her man, and they even got a child! Angry tears blurred her vision as she kicked at the ground, only to find her foot connect with a loose brick on the ground. It made a rather loud crash as it hit against the concrete walls, and had alarmed the couple inside.
“Had anybody followed you here?” came Mathias’s anxious voice.
Hearing scurrying footsteps approaching the door, Victoria hurriedly hid behind a large wooden barrel that was found in front of an ale pub nearby. The door of the blacksmith’s shop opened and Victoria saw Mathias poking his head out, surveying the surroundings. He stayed out for a while before retreating back into the shop, pulling Suzette out and whispered into her ear before she left. From Victoria’s location, she couldn’t hear what Mathias had told Suzette, and it made her rather frustrated.
Should she confront Mathias? She had absolute rights to know what the hell was going on with him and Suzette! Breathing in hardly as she blinked away the tears in her eyes, she stood up from her squatting position and brushed the dirt on her skirt and coat before making her way cautiously to the shop. She would play ignorant, she decided. Let’s see what that bastard had to say.
She waited for a while before knocking on the door with her knuckles, putting on a smile on her face, trying to act as natural as possible. The door opened almost immediately as she came face to face with Mathias, who had his usual ruffled look that somehow made him look cute instead.
“Sweetheart, why are you here? It’s rather late in the night. Aren’t you preparing for our grand escape at home?” Mathias exclaimed as he invited her in.
“I couldn’t sleep without seeing you,” Victoria shushed as she regarded Mathias expression carefully as she continued smiling. “Anyway, I saw Suzette leaving earlier on. Why was she here?”
The air around seemed to be colder by a few degree Celsius as Mathias grin slipped from his face.
“Um…oh…she came to…uh…”
“She didn’t by any chance just come visiting you all of a sudden could she?” Victoria smiled sweetly as she glared at Mathias, whose eyes shifted uneasily.
“She uh-came to forge some-”
“Liar! I’ve heard everything outside just now! Tell me, was it true? Did you really sleep with her? Tell me you cheating bastard!” Victoria shrieked as her smile vanished from her face as she slapped him hard across the face. Mathias had indeed planned to lead her along by the nose, trying to fool her! Damn him!
“Sweetheart, listen to me. What I had done was a mistake. It-” he placed a finger on her lips, “was all a mistake.”
“What about what you’ve told Suzette? You friggin’ lied to me about wanting to elope with me! You-”
Grabbing Victoria hard by the hair, Mathias forced her down onto one of the tables as he hovered on top of her, his lips pressed tightly onto hers as she shrieked with pain and he forced his tongue in her barricade of teeth and fought for dominance. Shoving him away angrily, Victoria tried to escape from his iron grip, but to no avail as he pressed onto her.
“Victoria, it was all a ploy. Really, believe me. It was a misfortune that I got her pregnant, but I couldn’t have the child! Not when I have such a sweet lady like you! I only want to spend my life with you. Only you. However, I had to ditch Suzette off me first; therefore there had been a change of plans. We will leave at first light tomorrow,” Mathias cooed into her right ear as he nibbled it slightly, liking the way how Victoria had trembled beneath him.
“But she had your child! You’d done it with her! Although I’m angry, that’s still your own blood and flesh! You should take up the responsibility,” Victoria moaned back as Mathias’s lips moved over to her neck, slowly massaging their way to her chest.
“Ah…I hear jealousy in your tone. You want that too? I can give it to you, my dear. I can give it all to you,” Mathias whispered as his hands moved over to unzip the dress that Victoria had been wearing, exposing her perfectly fair shoulders.
“Stu-stop!”
“You wanted it, Victoria. I know you wanted it. Don’t resist,” Mathias smiled as his head dipped forward into the clef of Victoria’s breast, his hands clasping her thigh, pushing the many layered skirts away and touched her in between the legs. “Ah... I knew it. You’re all wet and ready.”
“No! Don’t do it…ngh… I don’t want it…Suzet-”
“Suzette may have my blood and flesh, but you, Victoria, only you, will have my heart,” Mathias gripped onto Victoria’s hand as he forced it onto his chest. “See, my heart thumps, only for you.”
Without another word, he led Victoria to his room, and that very evening, she lost her virginity to the guy that had loved her, or so she thought.
Rubbing her arms, Victoria sneezed a few times as she crept towards their meeting place. The sky was still dark, and everyone in town seemed to be still sleeping. Drawing her cloak closer to her, she reached the tree and stood underneath it, waiting quietly and patiently.
Her union with Mathias last night had left her body sore and painful, but the experience was wonderful. Had every woman endured such pain in exchange for this? She had felt so sated and whole for the first time that she reckons that it is worth the pain. Looking at the baggage she had with her, Victoria couldn’t help but feel guilty that she had stolen the money from her father’s drawer in the study room. She had also left a note telling her father not to track her down, and that she’ll live happily. She could only hope that her father won’t have a seizure after learning that she had eloped.
Glancing up at the sky, she couldn’t help but be excited about going out of town. She wished Mathias could be here soon. Due to her stuck in her own fantasy land whereby Prince Mathias would come and sweep her off her feet in full bridal style, she failed to notice the soft footsteps from behind. She failed to notice the dark shadow that loomed over her from behind, and she failed to even make a sound when the shovel came smashing down right onto her skull.
Like a puppet with its strings cut off, she fell limply to the ground, unable to move. She could only watch with her eyes filled with terror as Mathias, her supposedly lover, dug the soil and made a shallow grave. She could only watch him with eyes filled with hatred and disbelief as he threw her down the grave and started shoving the mud onto her, burying her.
They say when you die, the last senses to go was your sense of hearing. Victoria guessed it was right after all. Her eyes were lolled back into her skull as she felt warm sticky liquid pouring out, then suddenly she was numb. She couldn’t feel a thing. She could only hear Mathias chuckling in a low voice, telling her how stupid she was, and how thankful he is to have the money that was meant for their escape.
The mud was covering her mouth, then her nose, and she felt suffocated. She could breathe no more. But she still heard the shovel making contact with the earth as more soil covered her body. She was going to be buried alive, with no one looking for her. She’ll soon be devoured by maggots, and nothing would be left of her, except her bones. She had never believed that she’d die right after her sixteenth birthday. Her whole life started flashing before her eyes as she tried anxiously to move, but she could find no strength. She wanted to scream bloody murder at Mathias, that son of a bitch. She wanted to live! For goddamn sake, she wanted to live! She had such a bright future ahead, and now she could only consign to fate as her eyes made contact for the last time with the Mathias’s dark eyes before everything turned dark.
It was unfair.
Money, money, and more money! This was the first time he had seen and touched so much money in his whole twenty-one summers! The very first time!
“Thank you, Victoria dear. Even in death, you brought me so much happiness,” he chuckled to himself as counted the money in the baggage of Victoria’s. She had also brought a few pieces of jewellery, and Mathias was sure, he would be rich after selling them. Laughing, he grabbed the baggage and headed back to the shop. Victoria was nothing but naïve in believing that he’d actually want to run away with her!
Reaching the shop, he threw the shovel aside and hid the baggage under his small make-shift bed. After tonight, he’d be rich! Heh. In actual fact, he hadn’t been lying about running away from this accursed town. However, the plan just didn’t involve Victoria in it. It had only been him that’s going to run away. Stripping off his blood-stained garments, he went for a short bath to wash off the sweat.
After tonight, he’ll be skipping away, out of this town. Tonight.
A sudden thunder storm broke out near the evening. Dark clouds filled the sky, as the wind started howling. Still packing his clothes and other valuables, Mathias was quite annoyed by the storm, as it made his shop dark, and the occasional lightning made his head painful. Lighting up a candle, he resumed to his packing. He had taken out the small baggage and had carefully put it in between his bundle of clothes. A sudden gust of cold wind slashed into the room mercilessly, and blew out the candle, making the whole room dark.
The door to his room started banging against the hinge, due to the strong wind.
“What the hell?” Mathias cursed as he groped his way in the dark to find the matches to relight the blown-out candle, only to knock himself against the leg of the table, causing him to yelp in pain.
The lightning strike again, lighting the room up momentarily, and something made Mathias froze. There, right at his doorway, was a familiar figure, soiled and wet, long dark hair hanging down her face. Giving an unarticulated yell, Mathias staggered back and landed on the floor, pushing himself against the wall.
“Wh-who are you?! Get out immediately!” he screeched as his eyes searched frantically for a weapon that could be used.
A faint gurgling was heard as the figure crawled to him on all fours, movements slow and clumsily. A sudden flash of lightning allowed him to see his shovel which was near his bedside. Shifting towards it, he kept his eyes on the silhouette on the ground as his hands groped for the shovel. This seemed to have agitated whatever that thing was as it pounced on him suddenly, hissing.
From the parted hair of that thing, Mathias couldn’t help but felt a scream that was slowly rising from his lungs, but died in his throat. Though her face was caked with dried blood and mud, Mathias recognized it to be Victoria’s face. Eyes shining a bright crimson, Victoria’s normally wide and warm eyes were replaced with eyes that were burning with hell’s fire inside them. Her mouth was split into a hideous, leering grin and her breath stank with death.
“Mathias dear, we’re reunited again,” she grinned as her long nails raked Mathias’s face, causing blood to ooze out from the wounds.
“G-get away from me!” Mathias screamed as he thrashed violently to throw Victoria off him.
“I had expected a much warmer welcoming, dearest.”
Alarm bells rang in Mathias’s head as his hands made contact with the shovel finally. Seeing as his only chance to escape, he grabbed it and thrust it hard to the side of Victoria’s head, and to his utmost horror, a loud crunching sound was heard as her head flew to the other side of the room, leaving her body still beside him.
“You’re already dead! Stay dead!” he yelled incoherently as he watched the body rose and crept towards the head.
Hands reaching out for her head, she held it tight and placed it on her bloody neck as she turned a complete round before another crunch was heard when her head was intact. Eyes dilated with fear, Mathias felt his stomach gave a lurch as bile reached his throat.
“I’ve come to fetch you, my dear. It’s so cold alone.” Victoria’s voice vibrated through the whole room, and it made him chilled to the bones. He felt himself unable to move suddenly, stoned to the ground as Victoria advanced towards him once again.
“I’ve loved you so dearly. I gave you my heart, my body and my everything! This was how you repaid me? By killing me off?” Victoria chided as her hands moved towards his chest. “But all will end soon, and you shall be with me for eternity my dear. Just a little more and you’ll be mine,” she said sinisterly as she tore the fabric away, revealing his smooth chest.
“Wha-what do you want?” was all he could managed as he felt his pants turning wet.
“You said so yourself. Your heart thumps, only for me.”
“No! Don-” was the last thing he managed to say before he saw with his very own eyes how Victoria tore his heart out from his chest before he was drowned with his own screaming. He could only watch as Victoria squeezed the still-beating heart and watched as the blood erupts from it, a pleased expression plastered on her face.
“We shall be happy for an eternity, dearest.” was the last thing he heard.
