An Angel’s Curse

“Gallghaid… He dares to sully this mansion with his presence? I can’t let him. He knows something about my father… He knows, and Keillweist too. What are they hiding from me?”

    I can’t bring myself to wait. What if one of them dies before I get the truth? What if both do?

    Hand over the hilt of my sword, I already reach for the door’s knob when her hand grabs my wrist. Ambrillia.

“Don’t!” She whispers. “The truth won’t disappear, it waited for you all these years. I only ask you to hold back a little while longer. Wait for your butler to be done with him.”

    As she pulls me towards her, I don’t even get the time to reply before the door of my room bursts open, a figure whizzing through the corridor until smashing into the opposite wall.

    A loud bang. Mess. A nearby painting falls to the ground with a thud.

    Footsteps from inside the room get closer as Keillweist joins our side, the figure of Gallghaid spread ungracefully against the wall. Half-wrapped in torn sheets, he slowly slides down it to the floor.

“And this was supposed to kill me?” I can’t help but mutter with a wince.

“Should I give him the final blow, my lord?”

    As Keillweist steps forward, holding his sword, I reach out my arm to block his path.

“Before this, there’s something I need to know.” I take a few steps before turning to face him with a frown. “Unless you’re telling me the whole truth about my father yourself.”

    If his face doesn’t betray him, his shoulders do. Stiffening.

“If you persist in keeping that mouth shut, Keillweist, you’ll get fired. And shaved.”

    A shudder runs up his spine. Between us, I raise my fingers holding the black feather.

“…Very well. I’ll tell you everything I know. Though, I hoped this day would never come.”

    Lowering his weapon, Keillweist glances at the grim feather before meeting my gaze.

“Your father has been cursed. Cursed by an angel. And, this feather you hold, is the last remaining proof of that…”

༻❦︎༺

    It all began years before the master’s death.

    To be fair, before I learnt the truth myself, I never suspected what was going on. And, I guess, your father would never have told me if I hadn’t noticed first a curious fact.

    One day when you were playing outside with your father, the latter running in the garden with you upon his shoulders, I entered his bedroom. Supposed to be simply doing a bit of cleaning. Imagine my surprise to find a bunch of angel feathers near the window. One, I could believe that the wind brought it, that it fell from the shelves… but so many?

    I didn’t know what to do with them and simply put them aside. Only late that night, once I put you to sleep, did I join your father in his room.

    He was standing by the window, obviously conflicted about something. What? I was about to find out.

“The young master is asleep, my lord.”

“Ahh, good.” He nervously glanced at me. “Did you want something?”

“Well,.. there is something indeed.” I wasn’t sure where to begin; it all sounded too peculiar. “It just so happens that I cleaned your room earlier this afternoon, and I found a few feathers near the window. Angel feathers. I collected them and put them on my lord’s chest of drawers.”

    At that statement, your father sighed. Reassured. He gestured for me to come closer, thus I closed the door and much obliged. Only later did I realise that he was probably relieved I was the one who found the feathers, and not one of the maids.

“What I’m about to tell you has to stay between us. I only told Edwyn about it. Do you swear to keep it to yourself?”

    Edwyn. Edwyn Gallghaid, your father’s most intimate friend.

“Of course, my lord. I’d rather bury myself into my own grave than betray you.”

    Your father nodded, glancing at the Moon outside before drawing the curtains.

“It shouldn’t have happened…” He whispered, his expression one of concern. “For months now, an angel has been visiting me. More exactly, she finally showed herself after all this time. She has observed me for years since my dear wife’s decease.”

    For a moment, I didn’t know what to say. Almost expecting the master to be joking. For the angels rarely show themselves to us humans. Only once did I hear such a tale, though I couldn’t exactly bring myself to believe it.

“I beg your pardon..? Why would an angel..?”
Your father’s expression, though, was proof that he was telling no lies.

“Intrigued. It was what she said she was, at first. That golden feather I offered Seliandre… It was hers.” He paused, lost in thought. “Their feathers are supposed to bring luck, or at least so say the legends. But, as we all know, Seliandre’s bliss and mine didn’t last long. Finding me pitiful, she decided to watch me herself. Until she wanted to speak to me. I’m a bit ashamed to admit it now, but the first time she showed herself was one night I was crying over the loss of my dear Seliandre.”

    Of course, I was aware of your father’s tenderness for your mother. He didn’t show it in front of anyone, even you, but even years after her death, he missed her. I wasn’t even surprised by his admission.

“She wanted to comfort me. And it quickly became obvious that she wanted to do so in the manner of a woman, not of an angel.”

    As I processed his words, I remembered the feathers, lying messily next to the window. A thought, fleeting, crossed my mind.

“Ohh my, were these feathers the remnants of a-”

“No!” Your father interrupted me before I could finish, reaching out his palms before him. “There’s nothing between us. …And that’s exactly why the situation is so dire at the moment.”

“What… do you mean?”

    He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“When her ‘intents’ became too forward, I refused her advances. She keeps trying again, but I can’t bring myself to betray Seliandre. Ahh… Her name is Aekiel. The feathers you found are all hers. She left them last night after we had an argument.” He paused, before uttering words which ended up sealing his fate. “I will never be hers. I can’t be. Can you… These feathers, can you get rid of them for me, Keillweist?”

    As he gestured at the chest of drawers, I approached to take them.

    That’s when they all blackened. The golden hues over the white filaments, the pristine stem, all turned black.

    That night, Aekiel the angel cursed your father.

   The feather you hold is the only one which remains. Once wholly golden, it blackened as well. Though, this one, your father could never bring himself to get rid of. To his eyes, it was still a dear memory.

    And it was after this night that things escalated. The angel’s curse caused all of your father’s misfortune. Hatred, doubts, accusations. It began clinging to my master for no reason. Every woe the commoners suffered was his fault, everyone was convinced of it, although he never did anything wrong.

    Telling the truth? This was no use. Who would’ve believed that the master met an angel? And even if they did… an angel’s curse. Of course they would’ve all thought that whoever managed to be cursed by such a creature must be a terrible person.

    If I did my best to support your father, the Baron Gallghaid didn’t. It wasn’t even because he was influenced by the curse, though. No, he didn’t have this sort of excuse.

    Cowardice.

    After learning this angel cursed my master, he feared to be a victim of the malediction as well, were he to help him. Hence he joined the accusations, pointing a finger at your father.

    His closest friend, siding with the haters? It only gave them more credit.

    From then on, you know as much as I.

    Your father truly did his best to deal with the situation, but he knew that he couldn’t hope to cast the spell off. An angel’s power? It even goes beyond the banshees’ magic.

    He tried… But there’s only so much a man can take.

    When Iagan let out that horrid scream twelve years ago, I knew it was too late for him. The curse had broken him.

༻❦︎༺

    Speechless. I can’t, at first, think of anything to say. How could I?..

    None of that makes sense, and yet it perfectly does. How else than by the means of a curse would my father have suffered from such misfortune? It had been all too twisted.

    But…

“Why did you hide it from me? My father told you to keep the secret, but I had the right to know.”

    My butler slowly shakes his head.

“At first, I planned to tell you everything when you’d be old enough.” He replies. “But, then, you became Emphrellaig’s most feared evil noble. I just feared what you’d attempt to do if you learnt that an angel doomed your father. Besides… I thought that, as an evil mastermind, you wouldn’t risk being the target of an angel’s whims. I just wanted you to be-”

“AHHHH DIE DIE DIE!!”

    We all widen our eyes the moment Gallghaid surges forward in a regain of consciousness. Or was he simulating all along?

“Young master!!”

    I don’t even have time to turn around before I feel the handle of Ambrillia’s umbrella hook at my elbow, pulling me to the side.

    An atrocious scream follows.

    Keillweist has rushed forward to impale Gallghaid.

“Are you alright?!” Ambrillia’s voice reaches my side.

“Perfectly fine…” I mutter, yet I feel a burning pain in my side.

    Lowering my head, I barely have time to glance at my sullied glove before my vision blurs.

“Rowan!”

“Young master!!”