Leilah

Leilah

The year is 1638 in a village on the other side of the forest from Versailles France.
The night was unseasonably cold. Even the stars and moon seemed to have hidden from the bitter fingers of the biting wind. "Strange", thought the midwife, "the moon should be full and bright, and there are no clouds covering the sky either." Indeed, it was as though all things had taken leave of their usual places. There were no sounds of nature from the deep forest that bordered the small village so closely. Not a single wolf cry, hoot of owl, nor sound of any other nocturnal creature. Indeed the village itself seemed abuzz with strange energies. Energies that certainly were not good in nature.
Casting a nervous look about, the midwife hurries down the cobblestone road. A cry pierces the thick night air, causing the midwife to quicken her pace even further. "A bad night to bear a child" she though, "and too soon as well."
Coming to a small cottage at the edge of the village, the door flies open almost before she reaches it. A large man stands there with an expression that belies the concern and fear for his wife. "Something's wrong, Eilan, something is very wrong" he says. He stood to aside as she enters, holding her hand up to quiet the concerned husband.
A heart wrenching cry comes from a room at the back of the small home. The old woman follows the sound, closing the door behind her. Seeing the small dark haired woman lying in the bed, she sighs. Looking up at her with a face twisted in pain she cries, "Eilie help me, it's too soon, and the pain is so much more than the others, I'm scared Eilie." She seemed almost childlike in her tears and pain. The midwife shushes her and lays a hand on the swollen belly of the woman. Withdrawing it as though she had been burned, a look of foreboding crosses her face as she turns it away so the mother does not see.
Turning to the girl child of about eight she speaks, "heat water, Katherine and bring clean linen." The girl nods and moves off to do as she is bidden, concern for her mother showing in her fair face. The midwife looks back at the laboring woman. She clasps her hand as another contraction wracks her body and she cries out. "It's a whole moon too soon," thinks the Eilan as she waits to the child to return. The contraction ends and the midwife moves down to the end of the bed preparing to check the mother for how ready she was.
The door opens and the girl brings in a bowl of steaming water setting it on the table beside the bed and moves out again to complete her task. It was obvious she had seen her mother through other births as well. the old midwife moves to the bowl reaching into a pouch hanging from her belt she pulls some herbs forth and mixes them into the hot water as the girl returns this time with a large pot of hot water and some clean linen hanging from her arm.
A soothing scent fills the room relaxing the mother slightly and the girl child as well as she moves to take her mother's hand laying her free hand on her mother's brow. The midwife returns to the foot of the bed and checks the mother finding her more ready than she had anticipated. The body of the laboring woman tenses as her body suffers through another contraction. The scream of pain and fear pierces the night, causing others in the village to become more restless.
More men make their way to the tavern and more women make their way to the little cottage. They were gathering in the main room of the small home of the woman in the throws of childbirth. They were wide eyed, and among the murmured whispers, if one were to listen, were heard things like, "a bad sign", and "nothing good can come of such...%u201D It was perhaps best the mother could not hear these things. She was too close to delivery now. The midwife began massaging the woman to make it easier for the child to come, telling the girl child to dampen some of the linens and leave the rest dry.
The mother cries out her scream louder and more frantic this time as her upper body lifts from the bed in pain. "Whether it is time or not this child will wait no longer" was the thought of the midwife. She was very right, as she looked down from the pain stricken face she saw the dark head crowning. She nods to the girl who gets the warm towels ready. Then she speaks, "Krista, now you must push." Her calm voice hid her concerns. Though the words were spoken they were not needed, as Krista's body had taken over and was doing all it could to expel this child from the womb. Finally, a clear cry of a newborn could be heard throughout the village. It was loud, too loud for a child one would think. As the midwife cleaned the infant she told the girl to care for the tired and worn out mother.
Inspecting the he child as she cleaned her, she notes the headful of dark hair, black as midnight, and eyes, oddly enough that match. Strange she thought, since most children were born with light eyes that changed over time to the color they were destined to be. Her skin was extremely fair, a perfect contrast with the hair and eyes, "black on white" though the midwife. As the infant's eyes meet her own she flinches at the hatred that she convinces herself she imagined in the deep beautiful, yet horrible, intelligent eyes of the baby.
The mother had drifted off into a fitful troubled sleep. Katherine then looks at the midwife a question in her eyes. Eilan nods to the girl who then exits the room taking the soiled linen with her. The child looking exhausted as well as the women all look to her the same question in their eyes.
"It's a girl!" she cries.
The child cries out again and Krista opens her tired eyes holding out her hands for the child. Hesitantly Eilan hands the infant over. Krista looks at the child the beauty of her almost overwhelms the woman as she chokes on the words she will say, "Thank you Eilie, I don't know... what I would have done without you" Eilan raises he hand to stop such talk. Krista speaks again, "I will name her Leilah, it means darkness, and this is the darkest night, and hair, I have seen" Her hand playing in the hair that covers the head of the infant as she finds her mother's breast and begins to feed hungrily.
[A few years later]
A child of a small three or four makes her way skipping down a path leading into the village from the forest startling glint in her eyes and a smirk on her face. Who would have thought that a child could smirk? A boy around two or three years older than her runs up to her. "Lei, where were you, you know you aren't supposed to be in those woods... Father said there is something bad in there killing things" At these words the little girl's face changes to one of mock surprise. "Oh no, brother dear, then I think I will go home, where it is safe" With that she takes off running to the house, a giggle escaping her lips.
Her mother seeing her in a dress that is covered in mud calls to her, "Leilah... go change and bring me that soiled dress, I'm doing the wash, you should help." Lei rolls her eyes and moves into the small cottage putting on a different dress and taking the dirty one to her mother sitting next to her complaining that her hands hurt so she couldn't help. As her mother picked up the muddied dress she looks at it shaking her head at the mud and dirt and leaves... and wait, was that... blood? Krista turns her head to look down at her youngest child who simply grins and looks at her with those black and hateful eyes. "Were you hurt Leilah?" "no" is the only thing the child replied before getting up and running into the house, no doubt still looking for mischief as she leaves her mother to wonder what she was doing. Krista knew that Leilah wasn't an angel, but she didn't want to imagine how bad one child could be, especially this one who seemed inclined to anger and sweet hatefulness. She would rather simply not know.
[Four years further]
A young eight year old little girl comes tromping through the streets of the marketplace. A wicked smile upon her red lips and a glint in her eyes that no child should have. She walks through listening to the bustle and looking at the different vendors. Passing the table laden with various fruits and vegetables she takes an apple without losing a beat, she had seen the vendor was busy in an argument with a customer over the prices of his wares.
Soon a boy older than her walks up behind her whispering in her ear, "I'll tell" To this she only grins, "oh will you now brother dear?" She continues walking as if nothing were happening knowing her brother was following her. She ducks into an alleyway she stops and turns to face the boy who is a full head taller than she and fair of hair and eye, they looked as different as night and day, but siblings they were.
"And what will you tell" she asks taking a bite of the apple. The boy replied, "That you are a thief." She laughs that hateful but almost sweet sounding laugh that she has. "oh, but I was sure that it was you I saw pick up that apple off of Mr. Morgan's table.%u201D she says in the sweetest voice she could muster. She laughs again as she takes another bite, and then throws the remainder of the apple at the boy. He lunges at her and she moves to the side quickly sliding her small hands into his light colored hair yanking his head back. "A smart one would mind his own business" she growled shoving his head back away from her and releasing is hair and walking away.
Her brother never told on her that day. He simply resolved to watch her more closely. There was something wrong with her he thought, and she had strength and speed that a girl child should not have even though she was small for her age. He wondered what she did in her time alone that she went about as if she were grown.
[Forward another six years]
The developing fourteen year old beauty, with jet black hair and eyes that seemed as dark as the midnight sky, came walking out of the woods with a smug look on her face. Again there was that annoying brother of hers. "Leilah, you know you aren't supposed to be in there" he says. "Father says there are dangerous things in those woods." She turns full to face him, the hem of her skirts are muddied and if one were to look closely there was blood splattered on the skirts of the dress that was made of a fabric that had red flowers all in it. Her cold dark eyes watch him as he gets an uncomfortable look on his face; he hated the way she could look at him and others with that sweet hatred that could look so enticing yet frightening. "Are you scared then, Christian?" she asks tauntingly, her voice like spun sugar when she wanted it to be. "Does it scare you to go into the forest, to take a drink of the water that is set before you at supper, to fall asleep in your bed at night?" She was tormenting him because she knew the answers to these questions.
She knew that he lay awake many nights unable to fall to sleep for dreams that he had, all of his sister and horrible things she did. Though he wasn't sure if they were true the smugness of her face and the taunts in her voice told him that at the very least she was capable of doing them. He looks around them becoming more uncomfortable as he notes that they are the only two about. That was always the case when she talked to him in such a manner. There were never other ears listening, at least none that cared or were close enough to see them, when she taunted him. Their family thought that she, while being a bit strange, was harmless and left her to her own devices.
He shifts his weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other as she leans in and whispers sweetly, "don't fall asleep brother dear, you never know what you might see or%u2026%u201D and here her smile twisted with a sweetly sadistic turn at the corners, %u201Cperhaps, what you might miss". She laughs lightly as if she had made a joke and turns her skirts swirling about her as she walks away into the small cottage seeing her mother working over the evening meal she walks up behind her silently and leans down whispering in her ear. "Mother, do your joints still ache... perhaps soon they will ache no longer." Krista jumps slightly hearing the voice of her daughter and her words, but she says nothing only continues cooking. She sees her sister still an unmarried maid even at twenty and two years, preferring instead to stay and help her mother take care of the home.
Leilah smirks at her but says nothing as they sit down all of them for their evening meal. Her father the strong burly man, her sister looking much like her brother, her brother of course, that meddlesome annoyance, and her mother, weak of will and heart since her birth. She takes stock of them eating little as usual then excuses herself smiling as her brother talks of the trip he will be leaving for that evening with the neighbor. He was going to be paid to go along and help on the hunting trip they had planned. The only flaw in her plan. Ah but such things could not be helped she could stand this no longer. Moving to her bed she lies down and pretends to go to sleep listening to the movements and noises of the home until she was sure that her brother was long gone and the others were asleep.
She rises and stokes the fire putting water on to boil then moves to her sister's bed picking the pillow up from her own bed she moves on top of the woman putting the pillow over her face as her sister's eyes fly open but the scream she intended to utter was stifled by the fluffy pillow. Leilah leans down and whispers into her sister's ear, "fighting me is not what you want to do right now sister dear... now be a good girl and go to sleep you half witted twit." The voice was sickly sweet like poison laden with sugar. She then moves her pillow from her face after she was sure that the struggle for life had ended. She arranges he sister to make her look as though she were simply sleeping, closing the woman's eyes and smoothing out all signs of the struggle.
She moves back to the stove and checks the water it was boiling and she takes a few dried leaves from her pocket and steeps them into the water making a tea of sorts then she pulls out three mugs and sets them out she goes into her parents' room waking them with her face looking as though she were worried over something. Her father asks her what the matter is and she sighs, "It's Christian, I am worried for him, off on this hunting trip and all, would you and mother please have some tea with me.... It would help ease my nerves." her parents had never denied her anything, and weren't starting now. They rose and joined her in the kitchen she poured two of the cups full and the other she poured only to the halfway mark. Setting the full cups in front of then she holds the other bringing it to her lips to look as though she were drinking she was careful not to have any of the liquid touch her lips. The mixture of foxglove and belladonna would kill them fairly quickly, stopping their hearts.
She watches her parents drink the liquid as they make idle talk of her brother and what a good hunter he was and how he would be fine and return home as soon as he could finally both of her parents fell where they sat. Calmly she sat her cup down checking both for signs of life. Her mother was dead. Her father was still breathing though it was shallow she knew that she had only to wait and his life would end too.
She was right it only took a half an hour. She cleared away the cups and the kettle and all. Ensuring that no trace remained of their cause of death. Then tears began streaming down her face as she walked out of the house. She made her way down the cobblestone road stopping at the lit up tavern she pushed open the door and with the tears in her eyes the men stopped their drinking and carousing and looked at her. It was amazing even at fourteen not fully developed she commanded the attention from the men; though none would touch her there was something horrifyingly frightening about her beauty. But now they were concerned as they saw the tears stream down her pale cheeks. One of them rose, "What is it child, what is wrong?"
She stifles a smirk as this was working just as she had planned, instead she lets the tears bursts forth in bigger faster streams, "They just stopped... I think... I think they are dead... and I cannot wake Katherine" Her cries conceal the laughter she wishes she could spill forth. She would make no mistake as silly as that. The men stood and a few of them set off for her home and she followed. A few of the women came out of their homes watching as the men led the girl back to the cottage where all but her brother lies dead.
A few of the women follow seeing the tears coursing rivers down her face. One places an arm around her shoulders in an attempt to comfort the "poor child". They see the people dead in the home of the girl and seeing no other cause they first think plague and rush everyone out and set the cottage on fire. Burning whatever evidence that the girl may have left.
Leilah turned her face away covering it with her hands to hide the smirk that spread across that wicked face.
[Four years later]
A beauty with dark hair and dark eyes and pale almost white skin enters Paris in a carriage. She had heard tales of this place. Her skirts were no longer dirty; in fact she was dressed as nicely as a Lady. As the carriage makes its way rolling through the city it stops in front of the nicest Inn. The driver moves to the door and opens it. As she emerges placing a hand upon his for stability she steps down from the carriage and moves into the Inn.
Seeing the innkeeper she flashes the sweetest smile she knew how to make without looking fake. "I would like a room for a few nights please." Her voice spins with sweetness but there is something about it that much like her looks is beautifully horrible. She places several gold coins on the counter and the innkeeper nods moving from behind the counter and toward the stairs motioning for her to follow. She does as does the driver carrying a trunk that is filled with her belongings. As he lets her into the room she smiles in satisfaction pressing another coin into his hand and then turns showing the driver where to set her things she then pays him and closes the door on them both. She moves about her room studying it carefully. Then she settles at the desk pulling out parchment and quill, she pens a short note. Folding it she moves back down to the common area and finds the innkeeper handing him the note with another coin she says, "Could you ensure that this is delivered directly to Marie Mancini?" He looks up, his face a strange mingle of confusion, respect, and wonder as the woman as asked to have a letter delivered to the daughter of the chief minister of the Regent and yet she was staying in an inn and not in some great home or palace. Recovering at a flash of a dark look from the young lady he nods and calls to one of his runners paying him the coin he sends him to the castle to deliver the note as directed.