Monday, July 04, 2016

Loveless: Day 1

Word Count: 6,005

Summary of Events:
Le Démon was woken from a terrible nightmare and bemoaned the fact that he couldn't wake up from the horror of his life. Thérèse got up and was pleasantly surprised by discovering her father had returned home slightly earlier than expected; she then learned that she, her father, and her sister had been invited to a ball soon, but she didn't want to attend and her father was willing to let her feign illness. Le Démon settled by the roadside and waited for an opportunity to attack; he got one, and it failed, but he discovered a roadway . . .

Excerpt of the Day:
"Where did that lead?
Quietly he started up it, then thought better of letting himself be out in the open and crawled into the tangled bush, tracking the road to his left and pushing his way forward.
Finally the trees in front of him ended and he was greeted with the sight of a handsome mansion with an elegant white and redbrick façade. Wide, square, and imposing.
He scanned the landscape with keen eyes before slowly making his way out of the trees, toward the doorway, silently; eyes and ears ever alert for any sign of danger.
Mounting the broad stairs, he arrived at the door and reached his fingers around the handle. He pressed the door inward and looked around at the elegant foyer.
A high chandelier dominated the overhead, and all around was sleek tile flooring. Still he could see no one. He listened.
The soft sound of a pianissimo cello reached his ears and he quietly followed it until he found an ajar door into a room full of chairs, some music stands, a piano, and several other instruments, including a cello, held between the knees of a young woman whose back was to him.
In order to get into the room he had to shoulder the door open slightly more, which caused it to make a small creak.
The young woman finished playing her soft passage, set the instrument down, and turned toward him.
Her face exploded into an expression of sheer terror and she screamed repeatedly.
If there were any men nearby he would be trapped. He bounded forward and seized her, one arm around her legs, one around her head and mouth, muting, but not halting her screams.
Turning, he hurried out of the place on his hind legs as quickly as he could and bounded toward the forest, several shrieks ringing out after him as he charged through the forest and toward his own home.
\
Throwing the back door open, he rushed inside. As he rounded the bend in the rear hallway he saw Roselle trembling, balled up in the corner.
He strode forward, seized her arm, and hauled her to her feet. "What was the screaming?"
"Le Démon Monsieur Beaumont," Roselle replied, sobbing.
"Here?" he demanded. "In this house?"
"Non, he's gone," Roselle sobbed. "With Thérèse."
Horror thudded against his chest worse than when he'd been told Nadine was gone.
"Non," he breathed.
"Oui," Roselle wept. "He carried her out, I saw him. He is terrible."
Releasing Roselle, who promptly returned to her place on the floor, he strode toward the front entry; he noticed that there was grit from the forest across the tile, but he hurried over it and searched the grass.
He couldn't see where the creature had gone. He listened, but heard no cries — and he was sure Thérèse would've cried out.
"Thérèse!" he screamed. "Thérèse!"
No response came, not that he'd expected to hear one. Dropping to his knees, he sobbed into his hands."

Pronunciations:
Monsieur: missyoor
Non: noh
Nadine: nahdihn
Oui: whie

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