Post by Izabella Riddle on Jul 9, 2010 21:41:50 GMT -5
Stepping out of the sun onto the half fallen porch I off my hat and sighed. It had taken several hours to drive back to Black Rose Manor where I had spent the best years of my life.
Xandra followed me though she stayed a few steps behind cautioning me to be extremely careful. I looked up for a second at the blackened walls of the manor and took a deep breath.
The stale scent of smoke chocked me even as I stepped over the threshold into the entrance way. I reached out and ran my hand over the rough walls. Xandra gasped lightly when the stone crumbled under my fingers.
It took me several minutes to pick my way down the hall to where I felt I needed to be. It was known as the garden door all those years ago, because it lead to the extensive Rose gardens the Manor is famous for.
My Great Grand-Father had begun the tradition of planting a rose bush for each child every year of their lives. by the year I turned sixteen the garden hosted more than 1,000 rose bushes of every color.
Many people claim that the grounds here are cursed and now that I look back I believe they are right. The roses used to be every color of the rainbow but in the last year I lived here they all slowly turned to black as if the ground had poisoned them.
Xandra put a hand on my shoulder and I turned to look at her. Seeing her here in the Manor brings back so many memories. With her here walking through the Manor it's like I can still feel his presence.
Even after all these years the ghost of him still walks these blackened halls. I can still see him as he was that last day so many years ago.
It was a dark night and the party in the Manor was the grandest ever given there. We played the perfect hosts as we had been taught. We were celebrating the news of our upcoming child that night.
He was everything to me and I never imagined I would see a day without him. It turned out to be such a horrible night that last one. Over a hundred people crowded the ballroom that was decorated in purple. A large banner proclaimed the coming of our daughter, the tables bore white and lavender flowers and dishes and the room flickered in the light of a thousand candles.
Everyone grew silent as the orange light began to grow and spread. Someone had accidentally knocked over one of the many candles lighting the room.
In the rush of people I got separated from my beloved William. It was getting harder to breathe and no one could seem to find the nearest door. I stood rooted to the spot I couldn't believe what was happening.
My childhood home and my Great Grandfather's legacy was beginning to go up in flames. I coughed violently as smoke gathered around me.
Through the smoke I looked for familiar shadows of my friends. I jumped when someone wrapped their arms securely around my waist. I relaxed back against the strong chest of my William as he hugged me for a second.
He turned me so I was facing him and covered my mouth and nose with a semi-thin cloth. He explained to me it would help keep the smoke out. Before I knew what was happening I was swept up into his strong arms.
My dearest husband was determined to get me out of the inferno that had taken over our home. He turned and walked so surely toward where the Garden Door must have been located leading everyone he could find a long with us.
A fire leaped up in front of the door suddenly as we got close and I screamed in fear and panic. My feet were placed back on the floor as he disappeared back into the manor once more. A minute later he returned with what looked to be a mattress from one of the guest rooms upstairs.
He heaved it through the door fast enough for it to not catch on fire and it landed on the ground just outside the doorway.
William then picked me up once more. The wind was all I really felt a second later as he threw me through it in seconds. I landed on the soft mattress and rolled to the side as another body came flying through the door way.
Between William and the other men all women and children were sent through the door and onto the mattress. The fire by that point was too hot for the men to try jumping through it...they were trapped.
My greatest friend Isabel stepped up as close to the fire she could stand to get and yelled at the top of her lungs to the men.
She told them to head for the Master Bedroom on the second floor. I got what she meant for them to do a second later. Moving up next to her I told William they would have to jump.
Thankfully my father had built the pool close enough to the back of the house that the men could jump into it from our bedroom without injury.
William raced off the men followed him as he raced for the stairs. I took a moment to look at the other women before I took off for the back of the house. In my mind I mapped out the route the men would take and as I got to the corner of the back lawn I saw the first body hit the warmed water of the pool.
As more and more figures fell into the pool we saw the lights of the fire brigade as they arrived to try and fight the inferno that was claiming our beloved home.
The men climbed out of the pool hugging their wives and children despite being soaking wet. I watched waiting for William to come to me.
Isabel turned to me and my heart constricted. Her fiance had told her that William had gone back to the first floor. Mr. Matthew's had realized his youngest son Tristan hadn't been with the earlier group of women and children gotten out of the Manor.
As we waited water began to rain down on us as the firefighters began trying to douse the rising flames. It seemed hours passed before two figures leaped from our window seconds before an explosion rocked the manor on it's foundations.
Mr. Matthews jumped back into the pool and grabbed William and Tristan when they seemed to not move. With Isabel's fiance Ambrose helping them they pulled William and Tristan from the water.
I rushed toward my love and gasped at the sight of him. He was unconscious, probably from the explosion, he also had bad burns on his face, neck, arms and hands.
A hand on my shoulder pulled me from my remembrance as Xandra softly called to me. I turned to face my daughter and pulled her into my arms. She held me tight as I felt my tears begin to fall.
He should be here with us but he is not. After that fateful night it was never the same. William was hospitalized and for a while he was better. We moved several hours away from Black Rose and began a new life.
William was there when Xandra was born and his little girl looks just like him with beautiful raven black locks and brilliant emerald green eyes.
It happened in the winter shortly before Christmas a year and half after the fire. We got caught in a rain storm and William fell sick.
At first the Doctor's all said it was just a cold and that he would be over it in a few days. It only got worse though as the days went on.
Soon the doctor's were telling us he had a sickness of the lungs. The fire had made his lungs weak and the sickness made it worse many times over.
It was two weeks later when he left this world and left us on our own. Being back here at Black Rose Manor brings some of my best and some of my worst memories.
Xandra sighed softly as she took my hand and lead me back through the halls of the Manor and out onto the front lawn.
Looking back at the Manor I closed my eyes. A second later I opened them and for a moment it seemed as though Black Rose Manor was returned to it's former glory.
My daughter laughed a second later as two sets of arms were thrown around my legs. Xandra smiled and pulled her twin children from my legs. Her son William and his twin sister Cassandra are almost three now. This is their and their Mother's first time seeing Black Rose.
Gathering my family we climbed back into the car and Xandra started the engine. I looked back once more at my old home and sighed. The car began down the drive taking us away from the manor and my memories faded back to the place were they had hid for so many years.
Black Rose Manor vanished behind us in the sun set as we drove off. The Gates close behind us and as I looked back I whispered a final goodbye to my dear William who's spirit still remains at Black Rose Manor.
Xandra followed me though she stayed a few steps behind cautioning me to be extremely careful. I looked up for a second at the blackened walls of the manor and took a deep breath.
The stale scent of smoke chocked me even as I stepped over the threshold into the entrance way. I reached out and ran my hand over the rough walls. Xandra gasped lightly when the stone crumbled under my fingers.
It took me several minutes to pick my way down the hall to where I felt I needed to be. It was known as the garden door all those years ago, because it lead to the extensive Rose gardens the Manor is famous for.
My Great Grand-Father had begun the tradition of planting a rose bush for each child every year of their lives. by the year I turned sixteen the garden hosted more than 1,000 rose bushes of every color.
Many people claim that the grounds here are cursed and now that I look back I believe they are right. The roses used to be every color of the rainbow but in the last year I lived here they all slowly turned to black as if the ground had poisoned them.
Xandra put a hand on my shoulder and I turned to look at her. Seeing her here in the Manor brings back so many memories. With her here walking through the Manor it's like I can still feel his presence.
Even after all these years the ghost of him still walks these blackened halls. I can still see him as he was that last day so many years ago.
It was a dark night and the party in the Manor was the grandest ever given there. We played the perfect hosts as we had been taught. We were celebrating the news of our upcoming child that night.
He was everything to me and I never imagined I would see a day without him. It turned out to be such a horrible night that last one. Over a hundred people crowded the ballroom that was decorated in purple. A large banner proclaimed the coming of our daughter, the tables bore white and lavender flowers and dishes and the room flickered in the light of a thousand candles.
Everyone grew silent as the orange light began to grow and spread. Someone had accidentally knocked over one of the many candles lighting the room.
In the rush of people I got separated from my beloved William. It was getting harder to breathe and no one could seem to find the nearest door. I stood rooted to the spot I couldn't believe what was happening.
My childhood home and my Great Grandfather's legacy was beginning to go up in flames. I coughed violently as smoke gathered around me.
Through the smoke I looked for familiar shadows of my friends. I jumped when someone wrapped their arms securely around my waist. I relaxed back against the strong chest of my William as he hugged me for a second.
He turned me so I was facing him and covered my mouth and nose with a semi-thin cloth. He explained to me it would help keep the smoke out. Before I knew what was happening I was swept up into his strong arms.
My dearest husband was determined to get me out of the inferno that had taken over our home. He turned and walked so surely toward where the Garden Door must have been located leading everyone he could find a long with us.
A fire leaped up in front of the door suddenly as we got close and I screamed in fear and panic. My feet were placed back on the floor as he disappeared back into the manor once more. A minute later he returned with what looked to be a mattress from one of the guest rooms upstairs.
He heaved it through the door fast enough for it to not catch on fire and it landed on the ground just outside the doorway.
William then picked me up once more. The wind was all I really felt a second later as he threw me through it in seconds. I landed on the soft mattress and rolled to the side as another body came flying through the door way.
Between William and the other men all women and children were sent through the door and onto the mattress. The fire by that point was too hot for the men to try jumping through it...they were trapped.
My greatest friend Isabel stepped up as close to the fire she could stand to get and yelled at the top of her lungs to the men.
She told them to head for the Master Bedroom on the second floor. I got what she meant for them to do a second later. Moving up next to her I told William they would have to jump.
Thankfully my father had built the pool close enough to the back of the house that the men could jump into it from our bedroom without injury.
William raced off the men followed him as he raced for the stairs. I took a moment to look at the other women before I took off for the back of the house. In my mind I mapped out the route the men would take and as I got to the corner of the back lawn I saw the first body hit the warmed water of the pool.
As more and more figures fell into the pool we saw the lights of the fire brigade as they arrived to try and fight the inferno that was claiming our beloved home.
The men climbed out of the pool hugging their wives and children despite being soaking wet. I watched waiting for William to come to me.
Isabel turned to me and my heart constricted. Her fiance had told her that William had gone back to the first floor. Mr. Matthew's had realized his youngest son Tristan hadn't been with the earlier group of women and children gotten out of the Manor.
As we waited water began to rain down on us as the firefighters began trying to douse the rising flames. It seemed hours passed before two figures leaped from our window seconds before an explosion rocked the manor on it's foundations.
Mr. Matthews jumped back into the pool and grabbed William and Tristan when they seemed to not move. With Isabel's fiance Ambrose helping them they pulled William and Tristan from the water.
I rushed toward my love and gasped at the sight of him. He was unconscious, probably from the explosion, he also had bad burns on his face, neck, arms and hands.
A hand on my shoulder pulled me from my remembrance as Xandra softly called to me. I turned to face my daughter and pulled her into my arms. She held me tight as I felt my tears begin to fall.
He should be here with us but he is not. After that fateful night it was never the same. William was hospitalized and for a while he was better. We moved several hours away from Black Rose and began a new life.
William was there when Xandra was born and his little girl looks just like him with beautiful raven black locks and brilliant emerald green eyes.
It happened in the winter shortly before Christmas a year and half after the fire. We got caught in a rain storm and William fell sick.
At first the Doctor's all said it was just a cold and that he would be over it in a few days. It only got worse though as the days went on.
Soon the doctor's were telling us he had a sickness of the lungs. The fire had made his lungs weak and the sickness made it worse many times over.
It was two weeks later when he left this world and left us on our own. Being back here at Black Rose Manor brings some of my best and some of my worst memories.
Xandra sighed softly as she took my hand and lead me back through the halls of the Manor and out onto the front lawn.
Looking back at the Manor I closed my eyes. A second later I opened them and for a moment it seemed as though Black Rose Manor was returned to it's former glory.
My daughter laughed a second later as two sets of arms were thrown around my legs. Xandra smiled and pulled her twin children from my legs. Her son William and his twin sister Cassandra are almost three now. This is their and their Mother's first time seeing Black Rose.
Gathering my family we climbed back into the car and Xandra started the engine. I looked back once more at my old home and sighed. The car began down the drive taking us away from the manor and my memories faded back to the place were they had hid for so many years.
Black Rose Manor vanished behind us in the sun set as we drove off. The Gates close behind us and as I looked back I whispered a final goodbye to my dear William who's spirit still remains at Black Rose Manor.