Chapter Seven: Curse

"You want to tell me a story?" I asked, quirking a brow. What kind of story could this old man possibly want to tell me?

"That is correct; it is about a blossoming land that is one day cursed." Wilson explained.

Was he referring to Elias' kingdom? Did he really trust me enough to tell me the history of this place and how it came to be cursed?

"Sure, if it is okay for you to tell me." I responded quietly.

I most certainly didn't want this old fella to get in trouble with Elias for telling me something that I had no business knowing. However, based on the smile he was giving me, I assumed that it was probably okay.

"Then would you care to take a walk in the garden with me while I tell you?" He asked now, watching me expectantly.

I nodded. "Sure."

The garden outside the castle was grand; many large trees with black and red leaves littered the grounds, while black rosebushes lined the trails. Even though the ground was covered in snow, they grew in abundance, something that I couldn't quite wrap my head around. The contradictions were really throwing me for a loop.

"It is all part of the curse." Wilson explained as I got lost in the plants in front of me. "Where it is forever winter, we still get plants." He continued.  "A grace we were granted by the one that cursed us."

"You said you were going to tell me the story of how you got cursed, correct?" I asked, stopping my steps. "Shall we sit so you can begin?"

My curiosity was beginning to get the better of me, and I just had to know, and it seemed the longer we walked, the longer it would take for Wilson to begin speaking.

Smiling Wilson nodded, leading us to a stone bench in the middle of an apple orchard. "Shall we sit here?"

"Sure," I said, sitting down quickly.

Wilson chuckled and shook his head as he positioned himself beside me, fixing his gaze on the landscape in front of us. If the red glow wasn't covering everything, I had to admit that the area would be absolutely beautiful; even I couldn't help but feel it was enchanting, warts and all.

"It was once quite beautiful here." Wilson spoke, looking around at the garden. "Especially in the summer when all the flowers were in bloom and in the fall when the apples were ripe for the picking."

"I can imagine." I said, examining the area. I couldn't help but try to picture the scene myself.

Many trees with red apples surrounded the area, and black poppies danced in the breeze around them. I could only imagine how it would look with normal flowers and green grass. I'm sure it was a sight to behold.

"How long has it been like this?" I asked, facing Wilson.

"You mean how long has the land been cursed?" He asked, confirming. I nodded. "Over a hundred years now."

One hundred years—that was quite a long time. Did that mean that Elias had been the prince and his father the king for the past one hundred years?

"Such a long time." I murmured, still trying to imagine it.

"It depends on how you look at it." Wilson countered. "For us who have been alive for one hundred years, it seems to be long; however, for those who live much longer, it is short."

"Those who live longer?" I couldn't quite keep up with what this old man was going on about.

"That's not important right now." Wilson continued, "I wanted to tell you the story of this kingdom and how it came to be like this. Maybe then you could understand the master's personality a bit better."

"Right." I sighed, urging him to go on. Granted, I didn't quite understand why it mattered if I understood Elias or not. After all, I was nothing more than a slave to him.

"Once long ago, this kingdom was not one run by vampires, nor was it cast into perpetual night." Wilson said, finally beginning his story. This was a flourishing kingdom run by a mighty king and an honorable prince. "  I didn't miss the look of pride that crossed Wilson's face at the words. "They were well loved and respected amongst their people, as they put their well-being above all else."

"Are they not now?" I couldn't help but ask; with how he was speaking, it sounded like everything was something of the past.

"They are still respected by some; however, many blame them for the way things are now." Wilson answered, beginning to frown. "Even though it was not their fault,"

"What happened?" I wanted to get Wilson back on the right track, as it seemed my question had derailed him.

"There was a great war." Wilson went on. "The war was between the holy knights and the kingdom of Allsbrook. The king no longer wanted to be under the thumb of the church and therefore went to war to break their ties. This, of course, was frowned upon by the holy knights; therefore, they would not easily back down."

"No mutual agreements? Was violence truly the only way?" I didn't know where the thought came from, but it felt like something I was used to. Could it have been something that was normal where I came from?

"The king attempted that first, but the church wouldn't have it." Wilson responded.  "As I was saying," he went on. "The war broke out between Allsbrook and the holy knights; things seemed to be in favor of the Allsbrook kingdom, that is, until the great mage got involved."

"Great mage?" Was this great mage supposed to be some type of all-powerful being?

"The great mage didn't approve of Allsbrook wanting to break from the church." Wilson said as his frown deepened. "After the king refused to agree to back down, the mage cursed the lands to become the monsters they were making themselves out to be by trying to not be part of the church and to live in perpetual night. Not one person in the kingdom of Allsbrook was spared from his wrath."

"Why would the mage take the church's side? Isn't magic against religion as well?" I just couldn't agree with what I was hearing.

"The mage is financially fed by the church." Wilson said, shrugging. "Of course he would take the side of whoever gave him the most reward, and since our king is honest, he would never do such a thing."

"What a piece of..." I stopped myself, realizing that I was about to say something that was unladylike. "What a crappy guy."

"Indeed." Wilson said, smirking. "I'm not sure where he ran off to after that, but he is the key to breaking the curse."

"Has no one attempted to find him?"

I was having a hard time understanding why he hadn't been found in over a hundred years, especially if he was the key to bringing humanity back to the kingdom. It seemed to me that there was more to this story, and I planned on finding out the rest.