Music Box

I was a child of nine years old when I first stepped into the forgotten room that was once the private chambers to lady of the Royal Court Dracula, for she had never been named in the modern day life of the court, nor ever appeared at any of the great balls for sabbits through the years that I could remember. The door to her room stood closed but unlocked. We, the children of the gathered Vampire, Lycian and Witches all knew never to go into rooms that were closed, yet unlike the other children my curious nature as a child never let me think of anything but seeing what was inside that one room, no matter how often I was told by others it would be shameful to step into that room and the amount of trouble I would be in would be nothing like normal.

One night I sneaked from the nursery which was on the top floor of the mansion which is were all the children visiting the court were told to remain with one of the elders wives having been picked to keep and eye on us along with maids to make sure that none of us children slipped out of our confined safety nets. But while our parents spent their time discussing with the vampire elders of every clan the acts and events for that up coming year along with the empire of vampires sat in the discussions adding his intake of thoughts to their adult dull conversations, I risked sneaking through the mansion to that doorway that I knew all too well would no doubt cause me trouble, but my curiosity was too great.

I could here the adults in the drawing room of the mansion their meres of chatter rose up through the air to the open gallery hallway were I tip toed across the floor, carefully finding my way in the dim light to the closed door of the lady of the high court's private chambers without a second thought to what I might well be opening myself up to as it was no secret that I was a half breed a vampire clan in my mothers line with witches, and my father was more of the psychic level of witches, both were not that high in the court but my mother had gained high respect over the years and was highly regarded for her still as a witch, I knew that if I was caught out of the nursery at this late hour it would mean trouble, even more so if I was seen outside the Lady of the high courts chambers.

For a moment I stood wondering what I might find inside, as my hand outstretched to the door handle turning it slowly, careful to not make a sound and then with a gentle push the door opened while I slipped inside quickly closing the door quietly behind me. There was no turning back now, my mother always said that my talent for trouble was the cause of my curious nature, there was always something that made me get in to trouble, and the court elders had often trying to steer me away from such behaviours. But there I stood inside a room that I knew if I was caught in not only would I be rather quickly removed from it but also dragged to the Empire, and his tongue when angry was not a tongue anyone argued with.

The room itself was dark, yet the curtains to the windows were open showing the winter snow drifting through the air, this reminded me that Yule was only a few days away and the sharp reminded that if I was caught sneaking about I would no doubt be told to stay in the nursery for the whole duration of the Yule celebrations which no child truly would want to suffer.

Yet still I remain, I can not help notice the room is cold. Clearly no fire has been lit in the room for along time and the heater is only set to a low heat. Most of the furniture is covered in dust sheets, clearly the room has been intended to be forgotten, but there is one dust sheet that is half covering the dressing table as if someone has been in here looking at this on the dressing table.

I can not help but step across the floor in the darkness, hoping that my footsteps were not heard down in the drawing room, as I looked at the half covered dressing table to find it oddly messy.

There was the usual hair brush neatly in its place along with a nail fine and some old make up from what looked like the 1950's, and there was a wooden box. Now anyone else would be disappointed by their current risk to find a room so barren of interest, but me I was drawn to the wooden box that was on the dressing table as it was half open as a small locked seemed to dangle out.

From what I could see on the lid of this box was a picture, it looked like it had been hand drawn and then placed on the wooden lid, the picture itself was of most interested as the women looked like an older version of myself. I've no siblings older or younger, and my family are rather similar in their looks, apart from me. I don't have the bright red hair clearly the mix of Scottish and Irish blood, I have light red hair, its more blonde that red. My family all have strong features, beautiful but strong almost more warrior and masculine, but me even at the age of nine, my features are soft, gentle and more ladylike. To all sense of the word I am the black-sheep of the family, I stand out in every family photo and I have often been teased about being born of another family and just orphaned away.

I carefully open the wooden box fully seeing a china figure of a dancer, clearly this is a music box and as much as I have heard music boxes playing I have never heard any sound coming from this room. I carefully look a little closure to the contents of the box two promise rings with two wedding bands sit neatly in the cushioned holder, clearly these were for both the Empire and his wife at sometime. The Empire during the 1950's was married but no one knows what happened to his wife, everyone knows that the Empire is very much a single man, however much he flirts with his chosen interests, but nothing about this box makes sense or about this room.

I continued looked at the contents of the box as the locket that was half inside the box seemed rather simple in design, yet inside it contained a small picture of the Empire, he clearly hadn't aged but there was a look in his eyes almost a look of pure admiration. I placed the locket back were I had found it and carefully ran my fingers along the underside of the box, finding a small turning key. I knew that if I turned it the music box would start playing, but as always my curious nature took a rather evil grip upon me. Slowly I wound the key up with one small turn, as the music played I could hear movement from downstairs in the drawing room clearly the music had alerted the adults downstairs and they were now making their way to the room that was so clearly out of bounds. Quickly I hide under the dust sheet covered bed, hearing the room to the door way open as the music from the music box stopped. Only one pair of feet seemed to step into the room I could hear them walk to the dressing table and I hoped that who ever it was didn't choose to inspect the room closely as I remained hidden under then bed under the dust cover, which was not fully pulled to the ground as I could see through a small gap from my hiding spot.

The person who had entered the room and was now stood at the dressing table was clearly in deep thought, and who ever he was he had money as the shoes I could see were well polished high end leather classical style black dress shoes and what looked like a well tailored suit. But thankfully to my surprise the person turned back to the door and left with the door once again closed.

I remained in my hiding spot for a few moments before carefully climbing out in to the dark room tiptoeing to the door opening it and sneaking my way back to the nursery. All the way back to the nursery I felt like any moment I could be caught, but I made to the nursery and crawled back into my bed.

At that moment my eyes shot open again, I was now a twenty year old women, in my own room having once again dreamed about that night I sneaked in to the forgotten room. No one had ever questioned me about it no one knew, it was a secret I kept very tight to my chest and for along time after that night I had expected to have been caught about sneaking into the room but I never was.

But now with me being in my early twenties it felt weird to think about that mansion, that room, that life. My parents had refused to ever go back to the mansion when I turned fourteen, as my parents had argued with some of the elders in the high court about how I should be raised after I had been found in the Empires private study reading books. The Empire himself didn't care that I was found in his study reading, in fact he had openly said that I wasn't doing anything that was against him or against the court itself, and yes I perhaps should of asked to sit in his private study but I wasn't causing trouble like I normally could. In a way I was the reason my family stopped going to events at the mansion, my mother for weeks scorned me for being unable to control my curious nature but after a while even she had come to agree that certain lords of the royal vampire court had become overly suffocating and square in their traditions and rules. But for all the years that had passed by I had never once forgotten that night I had looked around that forgotten room, and never once forgotten the sound of the music box.

I finally got out of bed and prepared myself for the day. My father had already left for work, all I had in my day was the daily tasks of cleaning the house while my mother had the day filled with doing readings for the local people that all rushed to her because of her magic abilities.

By the time mid afternoon arrived as I was sat in the garden thinking to myself about the mansion and the underground community I remember all to well. In a strange way I craved to return to the mansion to see how it had changed, but in reality part of me wanted to see that box again, preferably in day light.

The mansion was nearly four hours drive away, but I knew my parents were leaving that evening to go to their holiday cottage that was near the welsh coast, and I knew that the empire would be out in the states due to his rather public career, so this weekend would be the perfect time to sneak once again into the mansion and that room, to finally look at that wooden music box that haunted my dreams.

By the time my family left the following morning I too was heading down the motorway but in the opposite direction, the hours and the miles seem to quickly pass by as I now found myself in the car parked on the main entrance drive of the mansion, I could see the empires garden busy tidying some bushes next to the front door as I stepped out the car.

The garden had aged rather a lot from what I remember as I walked over to him smiling and greeting him, he returned my greeting with a weak smile that was rather confused as if I should not be there and in many ways I shouldn't but like always I had a reason and a way round things, this time my excuse to be at the mansion was as simple as saying that I had a letter which must be hand delivered to the Empires private study, to my amazement the garden did not question it and allowed me in the mansion but reminded me that the Empire was currently out in the states and was not like to return to his English home for sometime.

I knew the lay out of the mansion all too well, and the fact that the only real staff of the mansion was two maids that only came to the mansion for a few hours everyday and the gardener who was on the estate every day all day, I knew I had plenty of time to snoop about.

I walked up the staircase and along the corridor, with no fear of being seen, as I opened the door the the lady of the royal high court's private chambers. It was exactly how I remember, but this time all the furniture was completely covered.

I moved slowly over to the dressing table lifting the dust sheet up carefully finding the contents the same, the wooden box was fully closed however. I turned the key on the underside of the box and opened the lid carefully listening to the music play out, it was oddly eerie but beautiful, almost romantic. The rings were still neatly in their place like I remembered but the locket was completely missing, the little dancer stopped dancing as the music fell silent so I closed the lid and recovered the table turning to leave the room.

It was only when I was in the corridor that I thought about how beautiful this mansion really was, it was Gothic but with a modern high end London style, in many way it was theatrical in classic styles but tasteful and in all honestly I was the only person here, so in a foolish heartbeat of a moment I choice to linger and snoop around a little more.

Everything was as I remember it as a child and young teenager, but as I continued to wander round I couldn't help but feel like I was being watched, this was not a feeling I was expecting the mansion was empty the Empire was away in the states so how could I have the feeling of being watched.

I walked to one of the windows of the drawing room wondering is the gardener was keeping a close look at the mansion to make sure I wasn't robbing the place blind, but even the gardener was not close enough to the mansion to really see what was going on, he was too busy now trimming the rose bushes the were near the fountain.

Still I continued walking round finding my way to the old ballroom, but unlike before where it was just a empty hall of wood flooring awaiting the waltz of the adults wishing to show off their romance of their underground community, there now stood a small table in the centre of the room.

The table seemed to have a pentagram drawn in red with candles at the five points, the locket that had been missing from the wooden box was within the centre of the pentagram, and there opened wide was a book of shadows written in French but the page it was opened to was half written and the pen lay without its lid in the crack of the book.

Now I know for sure I'm not alone here, I look round once again looking for any sign of who is there as I spin round hoping someone makes themselves known to me but no one does. I rush to my car feeling that the mansion is far more haunted than a court of the high underground culture.

I drove miles to get away from that mansion, not once looking back, I didn't return home to my parents, I just kept travelling because for some reason I don't truly belong there or anywhere.

Every I now travel reminds me of the fear within that mansion, the fear that I felt should the Empire ever find me for you see he knows I sneaked in that room of his last love, he knows I found his altar in the ballroom. So while I continue running from his ever watching gaze, I always hear that sweet music box that haunts my mind, reminding me where I should truly be but I shall never return again.