Fairly Wicked Tales by Armand Rosamilia, Hal Bodner, Laura Snapp, Vekah McKeown, Gary W. Olsen, Eric Bakutis, Wilson Geiger, Eugenia Rose
Authors: Armand Rosamilia, Hal Bodner, Laura Snapp, Vekah McKeown, Gary W. Olsen, Eric Bakutis, Wilson Geiger, Eugenia Rose
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unseen things I have heard rumored. Do you know what it told me?”
He shook his head. He felt the color leaving his cheeks.
“It said, ‘Turn back, turn back, thou pretty bride, for within this house thou must not bide, for here do evil things betide.’“
Viveka rose from her chair as she spoke, her eyes never leaving Armin.
“Or perhaps it said something else,” she said. “Perhaps it only repeated some doggerel I spoke on a whim. What do you think, my love?”
Armin managed a tiny shake of his head.
“Finally I found the cellar,” she continued. “There, I met an old woman. So I asked her if my bridegroom lived in the house. She replied, ‘Ah, my child, if he is the carpenter who pays me to cook and clean, then yes.’“
Armin realized the silence outside her voice was no longer an illusion. The entire betrothal gathering, even Eb, had gone silent. They watched as Viveka leaned closer to Armin.
“I answered, ‘Grete, you are wrong. This is a house of cut-throats. My bridegroom does live here, but he invited me to his home for the sole purpose of killing, slicing, cooking, and eating me.’”
Armin started to protest, but stopped when Viveka placed a fingertip on his lips.
“Sweetheart,” she said, her voice taking the tone of a warning, “the dream is not ended.”
He tried to answer, or even nod, but failed.
“Grete was deeply distressed when I told her these things,” Viveka said, “She wanted to flee right away, but I told her it was folly. You and your cruel gang would be home soon. They would have her set a kettle of water on the cooking fire, and have me for their stew right then and there. I told her these things, and as I spoke, she came to know they were true.”
Armin regarded her other hand, still tightly clenched, and wondered what she held. Again, he struggled to speak, and failed.
“Grete had me hide behind the great cask. ‘When the robbers are asleep,’ she said, ‘we will escape. I have been waiting a long time for an opportunity.’ ”
Armin understood then that Viveka had made Grete believe it was so, changing far-reaching memories with her hypnotic power. For as she spoke, he stared even deeper into the wide green pools of her eyes, and thought, somehow, he saw that night there. Only it was not the inside of the house he saw, but the outside door, growing close.
“Then you came in,” said Viveka. “You, Eberhard, Otto, and that bitch Heidi. So full of wine you couldn’t stand without swaying. I crouched behind the cask and watched.”
In his mind’s eye, Armin entered the house, nearly tripping as Eb shoved him over the threshold. Heidi laughed loud, while Otto let the wine bottles land in the straw. Armin watched, vision lurching, as Heidi kissed Otto hard. Eb slapped the lad on his back before pulling Armin up into a roughly vertical position.
“Sweetheart,” Viveka said, her voice floating somewhere above the phantasmal sights that now consumed him, “the dream is not ended.”
Armin had the ill sensation of being a rider in his own body. Every move he made struck him as a move he willed and one that would have happened regardless of his will. He tried to stop when Heidi leaned back to him and offered her lips. He didn’t, and found Heidi tasted of ale, wine, and something else he found intoxicating.
“So I rose,” said Viveka, “and whispered words beneath your loud carousing. Though I persuaded my father you were of our kind, I later doubted. So, I had to learn for myself.”
The four drunkenly reeled through the room, barely avoiding upsetting the kettle. Armin heard whispers beneath everything. His senses further blurred into an ecstasy that threatened not only to unravel his thoughts but also his body.
“It is said strong drink loosens one’s judgment … but as regards some things, even a loosened judgment can be too strong. I whispered that night because I had to know … if yours could be overcome.”
Armin’s blurry vision
He shook his head. He felt the color leaving his cheeks.
“It said, ‘Turn back, turn back, thou pretty bride, for within this house thou must not bide, for here do evil things betide.’“
Viveka rose from her chair as she spoke, her eyes never leaving Armin.
“Or perhaps it said something else,” she said. “Perhaps it only repeated some doggerel I spoke on a whim. What do you think, my love?”
Armin managed a tiny shake of his head.
“Finally I found the cellar,” she continued. “There, I met an old woman. So I asked her if my bridegroom lived in the house. She replied, ‘Ah, my child, if he is the carpenter who pays me to cook and clean, then yes.’“
Armin realized the silence outside her voice was no longer an illusion. The entire betrothal gathering, even Eb, had gone silent. They watched as Viveka leaned closer to Armin.
“I answered, ‘Grete, you are wrong. This is a house of cut-throats. My bridegroom does live here, but he invited me to his home for the sole purpose of killing, slicing, cooking, and eating me.’”
Armin started to protest, but stopped when Viveka placed a fingertip on his lips.
“Sweetheart,” she said, her voice taking the tone of a warning, “the dream is not ended.”
He tried to answer, or even nod, but failed.
“Grete was deeply distressed when I told her these things,” Viveka said, “She wanted to flee right away, but I told her it was folly. You and your cruel gang would be home soon. They would have her set a kettle of water on the cooking fire, and have me for their stew right then and there. I told her these things, and as I spoke, she came to know they were true.”
Armin regarded her other hand, still tightly clenched, and wondered what she held. Again, he struggled to speak, and failed.
“Grete had me hide behind the great cask. ‘When the robbers are asleep,’ she said, ‘we will escape. I have been waiting a long time for an opportunity.’ ”
Armin understood then that Viveka had made Grete believe it was so, changing far-reaching memories with her hypnotic power. For as she spoke, he stared even deeper into the wide green pools of her eyes, and thought, somehow, he saw that night there. Only it was not the inside of the house he saw, but the outside door, growing close.
“Then you came in,” said Viveka. “You, Eberhard, Otto, and that bitch Heidi. So full of wine you couldn’t stand without swaying. I crouched behind the cask and watched.”
In his mind’s eye, Armin entered the house, nearly tripping as Eb shoved him over the threshold. Heidi laughed loud, while Otto let the wine bottles land in the straw. Armin watched, vision lurching, as Heidi kissed Otto hard. Eb slapped the lad on his back before pulling Armin up into a roughly vertical position.
“Sweetheart,” Viveka said, her voice floating somewhere above the phantasmal sights that now consumed him, “the dream is not ended.”
Armin had the ill sensation of being a rider in his own body. Every move he made struck him as a move he willed and one that would have happened regardless of his will. He tried to stop when Heidi leaned back to him and offered her lips. He didn’t, and found Heidi tasted of ale, wine, and something else he found intoxicating.
“So I rose,” said Viveka, “and whispered words beneath your loud carousing. Though I persuaded my father you were of our kind, I later doubted. So, I had to learn for myself.”
The four drunkenly reeled through the room, barely avoiding upsetting the kettle. Armin heard whispers beneath everything. His senses further blurred into an ecstasy that threatened not only to unravel his thoughts but also his body.
“It is said strong drink loosens one’s judgment … but as regards some things, even a loosened judgment can be too strong. I whispered that night because I had to know … if yours could be overcome.”
Armin’s blurry vision
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