Trinity (II)

Still a part of the first Trinity...

Since Amelia and Brianna both had rooms in the uppermost floor, they had to go down a long winding staircase in order to reach the main floor again. When Amelia lived here as a girl she had always said that it reminded her of the old tale of Repunzel-the princess who was stuck in the tall tower. She had always imagined that that princess’ castle stairs looked just like those in her uncle’s mansion.

“Don’t go so fast, Brianna, one of these days you’re going to fall or—“

Even as the words escaped her lips, Amelia saw a flash of black and a thud followed by a muffled whimper from Brianna. Just as Amelia had predicted would happen, Brianna had run into something, but not just anything—she ran into the man that came to see Uncle. Now, picking Brianna up and setting her back down lightly on the stairs, Marcus smiled at the young girl.

“You almost took a nasty spill, there, better be more careful next time.”

“Oh… OH! You’re the man that Amelia was talking about aren’t you?” Brianna said in somewhat of a shocked reply before turning back to Amelia and exclaiming excitedly, “He’s so handsome, Mili!”

Amelia blushed fiercely and shot Brianna a look that made her giggle nervously.

“Hello again, Marcus, thank you for helping my niece.”

“Niece?” Marcus repeated. “Your uncle said he was an only child.”

“He is, but I’ve always been like an aunt to little Brianna. I’ve been with her since she was an infant.”

“Ahh yes, he told me all about the little… mishap with your parents.”

“Oh… yes, it was very tragic but I’ve learned to move on past the tragedies and think only of the good things to come in the future.” I said, even though most of what I had just stated was false.

“That’s good, but try not to forget about the things of your past.” Marcus said with a far off look in his eyes… oh, those eyes, I could get lost in them, I swear. “The things from your past will always affect the person you are all the way up until the day you die.”

A thought occurred to me. “May I inquire as to why my uncle has hired you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… It’s just that… what is your profession?”

“Ahh, yes, I play the cello and other instruments.” He smiled at me.

“Oh!” I was excited at that, I’d been wanting the opportunity to have someone play here at the mansion, but Uncle had always dismissed the idea. “That’s marvelous! I have always been such a fan of music…”

“So I’ve heard; your uncle tells me you have quite the singing voice.”

I blushed. “Well… I can sing but it’s nothing to brag about, surely.”

“Bah! You just need to be optimistic and proud! I’m sure your voice is as lovely and fair as you are.”

I felt my cheeks flame a bright red and I blushed brightly again and cursed myself silently in my head at the ridiculous actions of my body.

“Yes, well, thank you.”

“No worries, m’dear, now if you may point me in the direction of your Uncle’s study? The cook gave me directions but this place is so big I think I’ve already lost myself!” He chuckled, a wonderful sound that echoed through the large hallway.

“Oh.” I said dismayed. “Um, yes, it’s straight down this hallway – it’s the only door with two suits of armor on either side of it.”

“Thank you. I hope I shall have the pleasure of speaking with you at another time.” He bowed before me slightly, taking one of my hands in his own and kissing the back of it before he headed off down the hall with a bit of a bounce in his step.

“My…”

“My what? My what!” Brianna demanded from my elbow, I hard forgotten all about her.

“Oh… uh – My what luck it is to finally have someone to play music for us whenever we wish!” I lied.

“Oh… sure.”

“Aren’t you excited, Brianna?”

“You’re more excited than I am.”

“Well… yes, but you know how I love music.” I explained, even though she looked at me in a disbelieving manner and practically shrugged off the lies I had given her.

“Let’s go play out in the garden, Milli!” Brianna demanded, moving the topic to newer and less suspicious things.

“Alright, let’s.” She took my hand and led me down the final steps to the main floor. We stood in the grand hallway for a moment, admiring the large windows at the ceiling and along the walls where we could see the forest outside. The lush forest never ceased to intrigue us with it’s mysterious ways. We lived far out from Winchester and it was so very beautiful up here… I was happy that I had the chance to enjoy such a place.

Our shoes clicked through the halls as we ran through them, giggling along the way as we usually did when we had our moments of joyous free time together. We ran out onto the patio and down the patio stairs onto the emerald grass of the back yard. It was a very large stretch of land, which was edged by the trees from the forest and filled with thousands of beautiful flowers and hedges, fountains and statues, even a bench where you could sit and enjoy the sunny day. For me, this place was heaven on earth. I had long since loved to be close to nature and this was the one place where I found myself able to enjoy it fully.