Chapter Four

Reclaim Our Place

“St. Agnes…” Victor got out of the carriage and contemplated his old home with conflicted feelings, a mix of nostalgia and hate. “The blind city.”

“Blind, deaf, but certainly not mute.” Ethel joined him, her composure straight with pride, the malice in her eyes hidden behind the lacy layers of her black hat. She looked like a dark widow. “Cursed place, this is.” The small smile drawn in her lips contrasted with the disgust in her tone. “I would bet my body and soul it hasn’t changed a bit.”

“We will soon find out.”

“It looks just the same.” Selina was the last one to step out of the carriage that, with a swift gesture from Victor, promptly left them. She looked around with amazement intertwined with fear. “And yet, so different”

The small city of St. Agnes presented itself in front of them in its full glory. Cold, ancient and eerily beautiful, its constant fog gave it an air of perpetual mystery, of guilt and secrets, its stoned streets were filled with distracted people, its equally stoned buildings looking dark and menacing. St. Agnes felt very unwelcoming, but it also felt like home. It felt familiar while also feeling completely foreign. The three siblings felt like they belonged and, at the same time, completely misplaced.

“It’s a funny thing…” Victor mumbled, “That the place where we were the happiest is also where we were destroyed.”

Ethel rested her hands on her hips and walked a few steps further, a smile wide in her face. “Well, maybe it’s time to return the favor.”

Victor returned her smile, though his was more discreet. “They won’t know what hit them.”

Selina turned around and her breath was stolen away from her for a few seconds. There it stood, as tall, powerful and proud as always – the von Mallesch house,theirhouse. It was rather painful to see it so deteriorated by time, knowing as well as she did how it once stood so royally, but Victor had a completely different perspective of it.

“It’s still standing,” he said, as he put a hand on her shoulder, pride leaking out of his words, “standing like us. Our legacy, waiting for our return. This house wouldn’t let itself disappear.” He looked at her. “It won’t be in vain.” He stepped forward, his sisters following.

Victor spared a few moments to caress the raven carved on their door. He pushed the heavy door open and, slowly, walked inside. They carefully stepped into their once magnificent and grandiose living room. It was unsettling how it looked so abandoned, so dusty and weak. They walked as if entering a sacred place, with reverence and love. Each one of them took different directions, each contemplating different objects – objects that reeked of old memories.

Selina could almost see it happening in front of her, the life they had before, the childish laughter that once filled the now silent building. Victor stood in front of an old, large portrait that was once pinned against the wall, now it lay forgotten on the ground. He slowly ran his fingers through it, carrying layers of dust and dirt with them. He took a deep breath – this portrait meant everything.

It was the portrait of a family, one that was long gone. A tall, slim man stood on his feet – he was William von Mallesch. William looked important and respectable. His skin was tanned, his hair, short beard and eyes were dark brown. He looked kind and caring. One of his hands strongly squeezed the shoulder of a little twelve year old boy, who looked innocent and smiled shyly. His other hand gently rested on a woman’s shoulder.

The woman – Grace von Mallesch - sat in a noble chair, her skin clear and porcelain white, her hair long and dark, her eyes a beautiful shade of green. She was delicate, softly holding on her lap a little girl of eight years of age, who held a doll and looked through the portrait timidly, half hiding her face in her mother’s hair. Grace held another girl’s hand, a fourteen year old who stood dignified and shameless, staring with an almost daring look on her face.

They all looked happy. That was the worst part, though. Victor felt another fit of rage invading him, as he remembered how the portrait was made so close to the day they were ruined. He stared at the picture, angrily thinking how clueless they were of the betrayal they would suffer just a few weeks later. They were happy, but not for long.

“I had almost forgotten how father looked...” Selina whispered next to him and he almost jumped in surprise. He had been so enthralled in the portrait and what it meant, he hadn’t even noticed his sisters standing next to him. Reading his surprise the wrong way, she quickly whispered again,“I’m sorry.” She looked away in shame.

Victor wanted to comfort her, tell her it really wasn’t her fault, but he couldn’t. He tried to, lifting his hand to rest it on her shoulder again, but gave up at the last second. He felt somewhat awful for it, but it just wasn’t in his nature. Ethel rescued the situation, though he suspected not consciously.

“Well,Ihad almost forgotten howuglyVictor looked as a child.” She got closer to the portrait, squinting her eyes. “You had those embarrassing freckles all over your face. Be grateful time erased them.”

“Thank you,” he mumbled, as Selina tried to hide her giggles behind her hands.

Ethel sighed loudly and dramatically and walked around the room, hands on her waist again, taking in every detail of it, including the walls and ceiling. “Well, it sure needs a few… renovations.”

“We shall do them as we go along. For now it will do,” Victor answered.

“Are you sure?” Ethel insisted, as she grabbed a piece of old, dirty cloth that protected some of the furniture, with just the tips of her fingers, a look of disgust plain on her features and voice.

“Unless you would like the honors…” he casually said as he turned his back on her. Ethel quickly dropped the fabric, clearly declining his offer.

“Should we even be here, though?” Selina asked. Immediately, both Victor and Ethel gazed at her with surprise and a little hint of outrage, as if she was asking a mad question. “I mean,” she quickly added, “doesn’t this belong to the… the Skeffingtons, now?” Her tone was of fright as she pronounced the name, whether it was fear of their reactions towards it, or fear towards the name itself, they did not know. Surprisingly, Victor grinned at the name mentioned, while Ethel had the more predictable reaction of flinching, as if the name was painful to her.

“Don’t worry about it.” He waved his hand absent-mindedly. “It’s all taken care of.”

“Do explain,” Ethel requested, as she faintly washed the dust out of a chair and sat down at its corner in a very un-lady like position.

“It’s quite simple, really,” he answered, his arms open with delight, “I bought it from them.”

“Youboughtit. How?”

“With money.”

Ethel scorned, “Would you care to elaborate?”

“You mean, they know we’re here?” Selina asked in full surprise.

“Obviously not,” he explained, “that would completely ruin our plans.”

“Then, how-“

“I bought it under a different name, one that I have adopted as my own for quite a long time.” He nodded, smiling wide. “And you will follow my lead. We are to live here under different identities. No one is to know the von Mallesch have returned. No one is to know we are even alive,” he added, his tone getting darker, “for all intents and purposes, the von Mallesch are no more.”

Ethel shrugged. “For all intents and purposes, the von Mallesch reallyarefinished, for years now.”

“Don’t say that!” Victor snapped, “We’re here, aren’t we? And we’re here to stay.”

Ethel stood up again. “Then why not let everyone know about it? Let them know, let them fear. Let them remember, let them feel the guilt.”

“But my sister, that would be no fun, would it?” He grinned maliciously. “No, we will do things in a darker way. Patience is a virtue.”

“What is it that you plan to do?” she asked, the same grin on her face.

“We will start by targeting those who were closest to our father’s demise,” Victor started, pacing around the room, “Musgrave, Graham, Black…” then he paused, “The Skeffingtons, above all.”

“What will you do to them?” Selina asked, clearly scared about the route the conversation was taking.

“Why, kill them, of course.”

Selina gasped and her hands flew to her mouth. She had to sit in the closest chair to prevent herself from falling. It wasn’t just the shocking revelation that frightened her, it was the nonchalant, brutally calm way in which he said it. That was what truly scared her.

Ethel laughed. “I love this plan of yours.”

“Ofours,” he corrected, before proceeding with his explanation, “We will hunt each and every one of them down and make them regret the day they harmed us. The Skeffingtons will suffer the most. They committed the ultimate betrayal, so we’ll give them the ultimate punishment in return.”

“How?”

Victor turned to Ethel. “With your help.”

Ethel understood and nodded, her features seemed serious and thoughtful, but her eyes shined with excitement and grim anticipation.

“What do you mean?” Selina was confused.

“Do you remember what the peoples of this city used to call our late grandmother?”

Selina nodded. “She was said to be a witch.”

“Do you know why?” he asked her.

“She had knowledge. She made potions... Healing potions.”

“Not only healing.” He grinned. “Her specialty was of another nature. Yes, our grandmother was a talented woman, adored and feared by many. She was a master at making poisons.”

“Poisons?”

“Deadly poisons,” he added, “and she taught everything she knew to her first daughter.”

“Our mother…”

Victor nodded. “Our mother shared the same wisdom.”

“But mother was a nurse. She helped people! She healed. She didn’t poison them!” Selina sounded almost pleading.

“She chose that path, yes.” Victor now stared at Ethel with admiration. “But that didn’t stop her from sharingallher knowledge with her first daughter, nonetheless. Even the darkest one.”

Selina looked at Ethel, searching for the tenebrous confirmation. The oldest woman smiled and Selina got her answer. Ethel knew how to poison people, she knew how to hurt them, how tokill them. She couldn’t quite tell why, but it made her sad.

“I understand that you can brew a poison so deadly, it can kill a man in mere minutes.”

“Indeed.” Ethel’s eyes shone again.

"That knowledge was meant to help people!" Selina desperately tried to make them listen, but it was clear that they weren't willing to.

Victor got closer to Ethel, speaking with urgency, “I need you to make it, but not as powerful. I need you to make a poison that kills slowly, that sickens the victim more and more as time passes by. The more he drinks, the more he suffers, the closest he gets to his end. It must be without a scent, without a taste, without a color. Can you do that?”

“Certainly.” She smiled. “What I don’t understand is why. Why would we spare someone’s time? Why would we go to all that trouble? We could easily just kill him with one glass.”

“But I want him to die like our father.” Victor’s tone was dark. “Amos Skeffington must die slowly and painfully. And while his death approaches, I shall steal everything he owns, everything his family owns. Everything they stole from us, I will get it all back. In the end, Amos Skeffington will be dead and his family left in misery. Just like they did to us.”

Ethel laughed again and clapped her hands once, bringing them closer to her mouth, trying to contain her enthusiasm. “This will be truly fun!”

Selina stared at both of them in a terrified trance. What happened to her brother and sister? She couldn’t think rationally, she couldn’t speak. All she could do was watch in utter shock. They were completely mad. Something was terribly, scarily wrong with them.

“But how will you get our riches back? How will we give the poison to Amos?”

“I will gain his trust,”Victor answered, “As a matter of fact, Ialreadyhave it.” Noticing the look of confusion on Ethel’s face, he explained, “I’ve been negotiating with him for as long as a year now, under my new name. In fact, that’s how I bought us back our house.” He frowned, as if the thought of buying their mansion back from Amos was disgusting. “We’ve been communicating and arranging a lot of business for the past year, always at a distance. I have actually managed to become something of a business partner, an associate.” He smiled devilishly. “It will be easy.”

Victor then turned to Selina and proceeded, “Regarding the poison, I am counting on you, sweet Selina.”

“Me?” she asked, startled.

“Lenora Skeffington is in need of a personal servant. Seems like she has very high standards. I believe you will fit perfectly into what she is searching for.”

“But I…”

“All you would have to do is answer to her every need. In addition, you would pour the poison Ethel gives you into Amos’s drinks.”

“I really don’t want to-“

“Selina…” His gaze penetrated her eyes and his hands lightly grabbed her shoulders. “Please. I need you to do this. Do it for me.” He looked at the portrait and back at her, a look of despair on his features. “Do it forthem.”

“I really don’t think this is the right thing to do,” she told him, “I don’t think mother and father would want us to-“

“Unfortunately, we will never be sure of that, will we?” He stood up again, his eyes still burning into hers. “They are toodeadfor us to ask.”

Selina looked to the ground, still uneasy. “I-I’m sorry.”

“Selina…” He grabbed her chin and forced her to look up. “They killed them. They threw our father in jail to rot! Our mother was left in a prison not unlike his! They didn’t care, they didn’t worry. They never spared any regret for it! We were thrown into the streets, separated, abandoned. Selina…” he took a deep breath and slowly continued, “They made my life hell.” His grip on her shoulders tightened. “They deserve this.”

Still not receiving an answer, Victor sighed defeated and let go of her. He turned away and massaged his eyes, looking frustrated and more tired than ever. Selina felt horrible, like a traitor. She didn’t want to disappoint her siblings. Ethel approached her and gently caressed her cheek, grabbed her arm and smiled with sweetness, whispering, “It’s alright.”

Finally, Victor spoke again, “I understand, Selina. You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.” He faced her again, a faint but sad smile on his lips. “I would never force you to do anything against your will. It’s quite alright, we will find another way.”

Before he could turn away from his sisters completely though, a weak voice could be heard, “I’ll do it.”

Selina never saw the wicked grin that slowly spread across Victor’s face, for when he turned back to face her, it was replaced by a look of pleased surprise. “Are you sure?”

The youngest girl looked him in the eyes, determination in her features and nodded, speaking louder, “I will do it.”

Victor smiled triumphantly and Ethel hugged her sister. Selina returned none of those.

Beside them, the image of William and Grace stared lovingly at their children, their eyes forever imprinted on the portrait. What they didn’t know though, was that those were not the only eyes set upon them. The three siblings didn’t notice the black and white stuffed dog that sat on the stairs.

It wasn’t supposed to be there.

Author's Notes - Hope you like it, guys. Next chapter, like... stuff... will happen. Eheh. This chapter was supposed to be bigger, there were more things and... stuff... supposed to be here, but then it would be too big. I know it feels like this chapter didn't add much, but it was necessary. Keep in touch ;)