A Lily for the Earl of Owls

The cool of the dark room floods over Lily. Damp air surrounds her as she stands with her head down and her eyes covered. Her heart is racing anxiously though she’s standing in still silence. After some time passes without a sound, she feels emboldened to attempt removing the blindfold. Reaching up, she unties the fabric around her head, it falls away as Lily opens her eyes. The fabric gently hits the floor drawing her gaze to focus downward. Beneath the blindfold at her feet, she sees hand hewn cobblestone floors covered in a residue of the layers of times gone by.

She lifts her eyes upward, directly in front of her is a large stone fountain, carved into the shape of an owl’s head from whose open mouth spring streams of water into an expansive stone basin. Dangling just above the stone fountain are large tassels of gold thread. Nine tassels are arranged in a ‘v’ shape on a red velvet banner hanging against a stone wall stretching upwards as high as the eye could see. On the tapestry embroidered in fine gold, are artistic illustrations of what could only be considered military conquests. Decorating the base of the banner and centered between the two corners of the top of the ‘v’ an emblem of an owl’s head is also stitched in fine gold. Next to the fountain on the right is a doorway beyond which she cannot see.

Lily looks up at the medieval relics adorning the slimy stone walls of a bygone era. She begins to turn her head to the right, following with her body to complete a 90-degree turn. Now facing her lies an imposing hallway that takes up the entire righthand wall, again stretching upward and onward as far as she can see. She turns to look behind her – a huge set of doors made of solid yellow gold as if they were the entrance to a mythical castle. She proceeds to turn slowly, bypassing the three doors on the fourth wall. Completing the circle, Lily enters the doorway to the right of the fountain.

Upon entering, she notices marble pillars and arches along the span of the room to her left. Beyond the pillars and arches there’s a hallway three steps down spanning the space. Although the ceiling is not without end as in the first room, it’s enormous. The style of this room feels very different from the entry room, which was cold, harsh, brutal and medieval in design. Instead, as she enters this room it’s like walking into a Louis XIV dining hall amplified by a thousand.

The largest table she’d ever laid eyes on sits in the center of the stupendous room atop a smoke-like soft, plush, pink and gold rug. Each of the approximately 500 places are elaborately and meticulously set – gold plates, cutlery; crystal cups with gold beveled trim; and gold gilded name plates. A magnificent crystal chandelier is dangling from a gold chain that must weigh at least 2 tonnes, at the center of the dome ceiling which looks around 30 stories in height above the already enormous height of the room itself. The chandelier hangs from a distance of approximately 10 stories down from the top and its dimensions appear to be equal in width and girth, and half in height resting roughly 10 stories above the table so that the chandelier occupies 1/3 of the space at the center of the dome – a visually fantastical and practically impossible architectural feat. The chandelier is so captivating that as Lily walks through the space, she finds it difficult to take her eyes and mind off of it.

At the head of the table near the other end of the room opposite her stand two men. They catch her attention because their conversation is several decibels above standard dialogue. One is thin and tall and acting in a manner projecting an excess of self-confidence as if he believes he is far more attractive, charming, and handsome than in fact. The most unattractive thing about him isn’t his physical appearance but the depth of self-absorption which emanates from him like a toxic pink haze.

The other man with him, doesn’t seem bothered by the toxicity of the taller man’s atmosphere and instead appears intoxicated by it without the same benefit of the delusions of grandeur offered by arrogance but instead the oppressive hyper self-criticism arrogance demands. He has the disposition of someone who has difficulty connecting causes and effects. Lily is inclined to feel bad for him, and even more so since the taller is behaving forceful and controlling with the shorter, stouter man.

The men are so occupied in conversation they don’t notice Lily walking toward them. Lily observes as the taller places a wooden box a short distance from the head seat at the table. He then, takes an antique double barrel shotgun from his side, begins to load and then cock it as he steps onto the box. He proceeds to position himself and the weapon as if aiming at an imaginary person. Lily: moving closer, could hear they were rehearsing a plan.

The taller says to the shorter, “We have to take someone out to win this thing.” as he closes one eye, sticks his tongue out to the side, and practices shooting. The shorter nods and smiles with the kind of smile of someone who doesn’t know what is going on but doesn’t want to draw attention to himself or be unfriendly. The taller continues, “BANG! BANG!” he laughs confidently. Suddenly, fear consumes his countenance for he feels the weapon fumbling in his hands. Simultaneously, he notices Lilly. She steps around the corner of the table with her hand caressing its smooth rounded edge, approaching close enough to inquire, “Why must you hurt anyone?”

“It’s the only way to win. Someone has to be sacrificed.” the taller sneers back with a scowl of disgust and embarrassment as his hands fumble with the weapon once more.

The shorter echoes the sympathy by repeating the exact same statements, “Yes, it’s the only way to win. Someone has to be sacrificed” He says looking up after each word to the taller for approval. The taller only raises his nose and side-eyes the shorter as if to indicate disapproving approval.

“What if we all worked together? Perhaps whomever you desire to ‘sacrifice’ may have the key to your victory?” Lily appeals out of concern that they might accomplish something stupid and hoping she might get him to relinquish control of the only weapon.

The taller turns his back, sets his hand on the shoulder of the shorter turning him around and stepping down from the box, he begins to guide the shorter in the way men herd cattle, over to the far end of the room. The taller gives a nod and wink to the shorter as he looks back at Lily and says in a tone as if to insinuate ‘something’ to the shorter “Say, how’d you like to go to the barn with us tonight, for ‘The sacrifice’?” Raising his eyebrows and intensifying his eyes, he turns back and whispers in the shorter’s ear.

Although he thinks himself clever; or at least one could discern as much by the content expression on his face, he isn’t fooling Lily – she begins to roll her eyes when, “Haah!” a gasp comes from the other side of the table behind Lily who is still diagonal from the two men at the head of the table. They all look over to see. Back at the far corner diagonal from them all is a third man heading their way.

Though he is still at a distance they can all see something different about him. He has the air of a prince. He looks like a character out of a fairy tale – handsome, all the opposite of the other two. His presence is that of authority and proprietorship. Lily looks back to her left at the two future murderers she is still hoping to dissuade, and they seem even more unattractive by comparison now.

Lily feels the third man looking at her. There is something even more uneasy about the atmosphere as he navigates the room. If one can imagine a greater sense of uneasiness after having just engaged in a debate to encourage two strange men not to murder another whilst alone with them.

The presence of the third man had brought in a wind of entitlement, vanity, and gluttonous rage. Lily feels almost attacked by his gaze as if he were predatorily pursuing her with an ocular intensity almost unbearable. As she moves closer toward the two men the third is staring at her, revolving the room as if he were a lion and she, a gazelle.

The two men begin making their way toward the entry with talk of ‘the barn’ to prepare for their ‘sacrifice’. Lily, not sure what to do, pauses near the center of the table with the pillars behind her. Directly in front of her was a beautiful floral center piece. The third man slowly creeps his head out from behind the centerpiece, staring intently he says nothing. Immediately, she feels that he keenly desires her, but not innocently. His motives reek of ill-intent like those of a ravenous wolf. He didn’t blink once. She notices what clear blue eyes he has, almost like a frozen lake, immediately she feels a chill as if an icy wind blew in from behind her.

Lily slowly backs up until she is pressed against a pillar with steps to her right. The blue-eyed man doesn’t move, he only stares. Without breaking eye contact and taking slow, intentional, deep breaths, Lily feels her way cautiously down the steps backwards. Inhaling sharply, she darts off as fast as she can down the slick marble hallway. Feeling a sense of relief, Lily begins to slow down to catch her breath, when suddenly she hears the hastening pounding of accelerating steps behind her. Adrenaline surges through her body like a sharp bolt provoking her to an untenable momentum. Frantically dashing down the hallway Lily sees a wide opening leading outside. Although it seems worse to run out into an unknown terrain at night, feeling she has no option she presses on.

Her whole body is pulsing with the beat of her heart. Breathing is becoming so difficult she’s near fainting. Lily doesn’t look back but continues uphill with her last bit of strength. Overhead a sound, “Hoo, hoo.” Looking up she sees an owl flying above her in the night sky.

Upon reaching the top of a hill she begins to collapse. The owl swoops past her and downhill toward a barn. Lily can see a light coming from the barn and follows the owl down allowing gravity to lead. She stumbles into the barn, slams the door shut behind her, leans back, slides down, and finally sitting she begins to catch her breath. “Huuuuuhhh-hoooooo” she gasps.

“hmmmm-mmhh” a muffled sound comes from across the barn in front of her. She looks up to see the two men from before tied and hanging upside-down by their feet from the rafters.

The owl lands above the shorter and says, “If you don’t sacrifice them, he’ll sacrifice you.”

Lily notices the antique shotgun at her feet. She picks it and herself up, remembering how the taller loaded and cocked it she does the same. “Sir Owl, move closer to me, my aim isn’t good.” Lily pleads.

The owl flies over. “BANG! BANG!” She shoots. The two men cry out, their bodies swing violently as blood and feathers fill the air. The blue-eyed man falls back against the bales of hay between the two men. Bleeding out he reaches his hand upward and breathes his last, “haah!” he gasps as his hand falls back down.

Lily loosens her grip letting her hands fall limp as the weapon tumbles down falling to the ground.