Emerging | Thursday morning at dawn

[Aria]

Room of Lord Langdon

 

The chamber is small, but comfortable, a large oak bed resting against the west wall. The bed is hung with rose-colored damask, the fabric trimmed with same-color tassels. Across from the bed is a stone hearth whose crackling fire keeps the chill at bay. Small porcelain doves have been affixed to the edges of the mantel with silver satin bows and to the tie backs of the drapes and bed curtains. A window is set into the south wall, overlooking the Long Walk and Castle Hill. A small carved oak table and chair set rests to the right of the window while a small door, hidden behind a rose-colored curtain with thick tassels, beside the fireplace opens into a little closet. Candelabras rest on the table and mantel, casting long shadows over the polished wood of the floor.

 

 

Right before the sky began to lighten, Sam sat up in bed and looked over at Charles sleeping peacefully beside her. She cocked her head as if curious and then stood up. Not bothering to put on any clothes, she walked over to the window and looked out. As the first colors of dawn flashed across the sky, she smiled.

[Charles Whitehurst]

Charles slept soundly because the two of them had been at it all evening and night.  There was no need for other entertainment for the couple.  The sins of the flesh consumed all their waking thought.  For Charles, he had been making up for many months of abstinence.  For Sam, she had been making up for years of dreams.

It was because their naked bodies were in a tangle that Charles could note the departure of Sam.  A sleepy eye opened to regard her odd behavior.  This was not the first time she had gone to the window and smiled.  When he queried her before, she had confessed a penchant for sleep walking.  He had not known anyone that truly wandered while asleep, so this was something to be studied.  Quietly, he arose and moved behind her and whispered "what do you see?"  If she answered him while asleep, he might glean what was calling to her and making her smile.

[Aria]

Sam did not jump or otherwise appear startled when Charles approached her from behind. Nor did she turn around. “Can you not see it too?” Her voice sounded strange, It was higher than usual and had an odd accent. “It has been so very long since I have watched the sun rise. I have missed it.”

 

[Charles Whitehurst]

Charles was a believer in spirits.  How could he not, given his encounter with the spirit in the bowels of Whitehall?

She is possessed!  What else could explain the odd voice and accent?  Sam would not be pranking him on this.  The only spirit that might possess her would be the Lion.  But why did he not possess Susan?  Perhaps Sam was more susceptible to spirits.  He had heard of mediums that could welcome spirits into their body temporaily.

He needed to take a chance that it was their old familiar spirit.  "Yes, I can only imagine what a century of being imprisoned in dank dungeons would do for the appetite to see the sun.  How long can you stay with her?"  That might tell him much.

[Aria]

Sam turned around. There was a glazed look in her vivid green eyes. “I know not of whom you speak,” she said. “But I am not surprised there are others. When the veil is lowered, it is possible to escape for a little while. I am not sure how long I can stay, but it will not be long enough. If I could find peace, I would not long for the sun at all.”

 

She turned back around. There was something clutched in her hand. Diamonds sparkled in the pale light of the rising sun.

[Charles Whitehurst]

This was a surprise.  It was a new spirit!

"Apologies, I thought you were the spirit we encountered in the depths of Whitehall," Charles replied softly, not wanting to wake Sam.  "I am helping this other spirit find peace.  Perhaps I can aid you as well.  Who are you, and how can I help you?"

The diamonds were another surprise.  Sam was not wealthy, nor the type to be wearing diamonds.  Could the spirit be linked to the diamonds like the Lion was to the golden dagger?  That would make sense.  When Sam awakened later, he would be sure to query her about the origin of the diamonds.

[Aria]

Now that the sun was up, Sam stepped away from the window. “Draw the curtains,” she said. “Direct sunlight can harm my host while I inhabit her body.” She ran her fingers through her cropped curls. “Her hair has been cut, so she must have been ill recently.”

 

Her gaze turned again to Charles. “I cannot remember my name. All I know is that I must be reunited with my true love before I can move on. I have been looking for him for more than a hundred years, but he …”

 

Sam’s body began to shake. “I must go now or she will not survive. As long as the connection between us is maintained, I may be able to speak through her again.” Sam’s eyes rolled back in her head and fainted.  The piece of jewelry she was holding ... a diamond brooch ...  clattered to the floor.

[Charles Whitehurst]

Another tortured spirit was seeking peace by finding her true love.  It caused Charles to wonder how common this was.  Were there hundreds of spirits looking for true loves?  Did her true love also search for her, or was his spirit already at rest?

He was quick to pull the curtain closed once warned that sunlight might harm Sam.  It made Charles wonder how sunlight could be harmful.  "Who is he?" Charles asked quickly.  A name would be critical.  As expected, the spirit needed to depart.

Sam fainted, so he moved to catch her.  The diamond jewelry was noteworthy.  The spirit mentioned a connection with Sam.  It was becoming obvious to Charles that this connection would likely be with the jewelry.  Was this connection a good thing, or bad?  First, he needed to make sure that Sam was fine.

"Sam, are you well?" he whispered.  He cradled her in his arms and hugged her.

 

[Aria]

Sam’s eyes flew open. Confusion crossed her features when she saw Charles’ worried face and realized that they were no longer in bed but close to a window. “I think I am all right, just a bit dizzy.” Her voice was back to normal, as were her eyes. She clung to him tightly. “What happened? Did I walk in my sleep again?”

 

[Charles Whitehurst]

"You were not sleep walking," Charles assured her.  He was convincing himself that he had solved the great mystery.

"You are possessed by a spirit that spoke to me with your lips," he began.  "She takes your body and walks to the window to see the sunrise, yet she claims that direct sunlight hurts your body when she possesses you."  Frankly, Charles considered that only evil spirits would fear sunlight.  "She does not remember her name, so she has been dead for ages I think.  She is looking for her true love, much as the Lion seeks his Swan."  Sam had been allowed to see the Lion speak through lantern light and knew of this search, and the role of the golden dagger.  

"She can control you through a connection. I believe that connection is that diamond jewelry in your hand.  Where did you find it and why are you keeping it near?  I would wager that your sleep walking began shortly afterwards," he surmised.

[Aria]

Sam was not prone to weakness, and the feeling of vulnerability she was currently experiencing was not at all pleasant. A spirit  had possessed her body? Before she had seen proof that ghosts existed with her own eyes, she might have believed Charles was losing his mind. That thought had occurred to her when he took her down to the dungeons that night. Knowing what she did now, his explanation made perfect sense. Now she knew why she walked in her sleep and woke up by the window while the sun was coming up.

 

She didn’t like it at all. Was she not in control of herself anymore? Would it happen again? Pulling away from Charles, she picked up the brooch from the floor and then returned to him as he told her that he believed that the piece of jewelry was the connection between herself and the spirit.

 

Her eyes widened. If that was true …

 

“You don’t remember?” Sam asked him, moving back into the circle of his arms. She felt safe in his embrace. She was a confident woman, but learning that a spirit could communicate through you was enough to make anybody insecure. “You found it under the skeleton’s shoe and gave it to me."  She had been drawn to it in a way she didn't understand until now.   "I believe you're right and the sleepwalking began when I started carrying it with me."

[Charles Whitehurst]

As Sam struggled to cope with the fact that she had been possessed, Charles was attempting to decide whether to cast away the jewelry so that Sam would be possessed no more.  It was the origin of the brooch that caused him to react strongly.

"Blazing cannons" he muttered more loudly than intended.  Sam would know that this was his standard way of cursing politely.  "She is the Swan!  Of course, our ghost had a brooch that belonged to her.  All this time Lady Susan was looking for a way to find her and we had the key all along.  She thought she may have located the burial spot of the Swan near to Windsor."  He grew silent as he pondered the next move and tried to recall the names of the Lion and Swan.  "We need a way to unite the spirits, but this does not sound easy," he offered.  "Her spirit was in the secret room all along, with the golden dagger and the spirit of the Lion.  Why did they not communicate with one another?  Bringing back the brooch to the secret room is not enough.  Maybe she needs to possess you for a time while you are in the secret room so that she can speak to the Lion," he suggested.

"I cannot visit Lady Susan to tell her, but you can.  As an officer in the Life Guard, you could speak with her alone.  I am forbidden.  You could get the names and the burial place.  Maybe we can use that.  Lady Susan also has a pearl ring that belonged to a lady.  I had assumed it belonged to the Swan.  Now I wonder if she is walking in her sleep as well.  She could be in danger," he muttered in a concerned voice.  Looking at the brooch, he added "we should put this in a box and hide it until we want to speak with the spirit again."