Subj: Moonstruck - Chapter 12
Date: 2/23/01 10:18:03 AM Central Standard Time
From: Scarlett
“Mother, you don’t believe in all this insanity do you?”
“Good heavens, no! I certainly don’t. Edith on the other hand has even killed for this madness around us, I learned the hard way never to cross her.”
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1876
Isabella sat in the drawing room reading her book. It was almost teatime and she always enjoyed a nice quiet moment with a good book and a warm cup of tea.
Edith walked into the drawing room interrupting Isabella right in the middle of an important part of her book carrying the tea tray, which was quite unusual. Edith was one to use the servants at every moment possible. “We pay them enough don’t we?” She used to say to Isabella. “My dear Isabella, why don’t we share a nice pot of tea. Would you like one lump or two?” Edith asked sweetly. A little to sweetly Isabella thought.
“It’s really not necessary for you to spend time with me Edith. You know very well that I despise you and I know you do me. You even know the reason so why are you being so nice all of a sudden?”
“Can’t a mother-in-law be friendly once in a while without everyone suspecting every move that she makes?” Edith asked innocently.
“No.”
“Don’t you want a cup of tea?”
“Oh, very well. If it will get you to leave me alone so I can finish my book.” Isabella said mildly, looking down at her book continuing to read.
“You know you should really work on your manners Isabella.” Edith said looking over her shoulder at Isabella who was reading her book. Keeping an eye on her Edith took out a small bottle of light brown liquid. Making sure Isabella wasn’t looking she emptied the bottle into one of the cups and filled the rest of the cup up with tea adding 1 lump of sugar.
Walking over to Isabella Edith handed her the cup of tea and went back over to fix herself her own cup.
“Isabella, I heard that you have been feeling poor lately, I hope you are feeling better now.”
“Yes, it was just a little virus Edith. Nothing to be worried about.” Isabella told her sipping her tea.
“Well I am happy to hear that.”
“I am sure you are Edith, you need Quentin and I for your plans. It wouldn’t do to have one of us die on you now would it?”
“I don’t think it would really matter.” Edith said in an odd tone, making Isabella give her a glance.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Just what I said.”
Finishing her tea Isabella got up to fix herself another cup. “Why are you looking at me like that Edith?” Isabella asked, noting the bizarre expression on her face. Suddenly, Isabella started to feel dizzy placing her hand on the tea tray to steady herself she looked up at Edith just in time to see her cruel smirk.
“What have you done Edith? Why?” Isabella whispered as pain shot up through her chest.
Gasping she fell to the floor. Edith slowly walked up to her feigning a disinterested look and said to her calmly, “I told you Quentin was mine. I know what’s best for him, he will not be weak. I will teach him the black arts and the ways of the world so he will be ready to give himself to Hequit’s cause when the time comes. There will be no more ‘comforting’ him when he is frightened or upset. Quentin will learn the hard way like a man should, you would have ruined him Isabella and I couldn’t have that.”
Looking up at Edith from the cold floor she realized what had happened. She had poisoned the tea, Edith wanted to kill her so that she could shape Quentin anyway she wanted. He was nothing more to her than her pawn, to do with as she wished. She was truly evil and no one knew it. The last thing she heard before the darkness overwhelmed her was Edith’s voice whispering in her ear, “I told you it could be arranged my dear.” Followed by her cruel laughter until Isabella could hear no more.
Edith watched Isabella lay there until she was sure she was dead then prepared herself for the act of her life. Edith immediately went to her son, Isabella’s husband Joseph and told him that Isabella had fainted suddenly.
Taking Joseph to the drawing room Edith acted the concerned mother-in-law, quite proud of her performance.
Kneeling down Joseph checked for a pulse but could find none.
“No…” he said quietly as he held her for the last time. His head was down as he fought for control.
“What’s the matter with her Joseph, will she be all right?” Edith asked innocently.
“She’s dead.” Joseph said, fighting back tears. “What happened?”
“Oh no! I can’t believe it! We were just sitting here having tea when she suddenly seemed to have some kind of attack. She fainted and I ran to get you.”
“I just don’t understand it…”
“She told me she had been feeling a little ill but I had no idea she was this sick or I would have told someone about it.”
“We had better tell the family.” Joseph said staring down at his wife. “I loved her so much.”
He was filled with so much grief, he never even saw the wicked grin that had formed on Edith’s face as she thought about the dead Isabella. She would never interfere with Edith again.
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“Oh my God! I had no idea, they told me you died from Scarlet Fever….” Quentin said shocked. He knew his grandmother was cruel and at times suspected that she was much more dangerous then she seemed but to be this cruel to her own daughter-in-law and even to her own son. Making Joseph mourn for his lost wife the last few months of his life.
“Yes, even I didn’t know she could be that cruel.” Isabella said to him.
Hugging her tightly Quentin thought about what they were going to do, how they were going to escape and what exactly they should do with Edith.
“Mother, what exactly are they going to do to us?”
“They will perform a ritual that will take your ability to transform from wolf to man and place the gift in the leader of the cult but not the leader of the cult now. They will put it in the 1st cult leader, the man who created the cult.”
“But he must be dead by now…” Quentin said to her.
“Oh yes, for thousands of years. That is what they need Edith and I for. You see Quentin, Edith will take the ‘curse’ into her body separating it from the ability to transform. The cult will then sacrifice me and give my life-force to Arinubis, their dead cult leader thus bringing him to life, separating the curse from the ability to transform and giving Arinubis the gift…or at least they think it’s a gift.”
“We have to stop this.” Quentin told her seriously. If they did this there was no telling how far it could go, could they really succeed in creating a new race?
“They cannot perform the ritual without you, you must leave before it is to late Quentin.”
“I’m afraid it is far later than you thought my dear Isabella.” A voice said from the doorway. Quentin and Isabella both turned towards the doorway only to be greeted by the smirking face of Edith Collins.
“We will perform the ritual immediately. I knew you two would find each other, you were both always so close.” Edith said, Quentin could swear he heard a trace of jealousy in her voice.