The Ninth Door

Chapter 18 - Kingdoms

Emmerich

The Dux Maleficarum was a guide for witches. Even after reading about Estella’s life in just two days, she devoured it. It was a needed distraction. After her family left, she had become quieter, more reserved, even though she welcomed my touch whenever I was near.

Christmas was almost here. Two days. It didn’t seem like the right time to open the fourth door, but when was the right time? In my world, we would have already been in the midst of preparing for the twelve days of feasting, which would begin on Christmas Day itself and end on the fifth of January, the Twelfth Night. My mother would be in the kitchen, supervising the checking of the stocks while I badgered her and the cooks.

**

12th century, first year of pagehood

“Cheese, bread, and boar,” I listed the foods I expected the cooks to prepare for the twelve days of Christmas festivities using my tiny fingers. “And, uh, some black pudding, custard, and ale.”

“Prince Emmerich Kaiser of the Meadows,” my mother said, shaking her head in amusement, “you want everything. Don’t fret. Martha will have everything ready.”

Martha was a witch. After her husband and children died, she left her continent to live with us. She said she felt safer here, with my kind, understanding mother. Her herbs gave the meals not just extra flavor, but something else.

“Yes, I’ll make sure you have everything you want to eat today, Your Highness,” she said, with a smile. She was older than my mom, but she had a youthful energy in her that made her seem younger for a few blins. But then again, I would focus on her and see the lines on her leathery face and the fact that she had more silver than dark on her head.

“Thank you, Martha. You can just call me Eric.”

**

Present Day

“Emmerich?”

“Yes?”

“What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing,”I lied.

**

12th century, first year of pagehood

Like most pages, I started at age seven. My brother was already twelve, and thought himself better than everyone else. He thought that he could skip the process and become a squire right away.

“I’d be the king anyway,” he had said with a smirk and a tilt of his chin.

“Of course, you’ll be,” our father, the king, said.

He was still alive then, but he barely interacted with me. He’d remind me to focus on my studies with the Maester and on my training as page, but that was all. It was like I was any other page for him. His world revolved around Luther, just as my mother doted on me more.

“You,” Luther said, seeing me sneak out from the kitchen.

“Yes?”

Luther was older and bigger, and had once pummeled me with his fists. Afterward, he accused another boy his age of doing it, and I was too helpless and too afraid to say anything. He said that he would hurt me again, make the rest of my baby teeth fall out at once.

“Where you skipping training, Emmerich?” he demanded, because that was what he was. He demanded. He ordered.

Father didn’t even correct the way my brother treated me. He looked damn proud with his broad chest out and his hands on his hips, as if Luther was becoming the heir he was meant to be. Meanwhile, Father was getting stout, and his advisors had recommended him to slow down on the boar and custard, but the three of us Kaiser men had the same appetites. I was thin, though, and maybe, I had gotten my mother’s slender genes just as I had her fair hair. It was because of it that my brother thought I was effeminate, and not a threat.

Those were early days.

“I wasn’t, Luther. I just went to ask Mother what we would be getting for the Christmas festivities,” I explained.

“Did you make sure we’d have enough boar?” Father asked, apparently forgetting that I was nothing to him.

“There will be enough boar.”

“While I appreciate you ensuring we’re going to have a fine meal, don’t spend too much time with the ladies,” Father said, not unkindly. “ There will be a time for that.”

He winked at me, then, and I couldn’t help but smile back. I didn’t know what he was insinuating yet because I was all of seven summers.

“What Father means is that you shouldn’t spend too much time in the kitchen with the witches, especially that Martha. She’s a foreigner and shouldn’t have been let in the castle!”

“Now now, Luther. Your mother loves Martha. She’s harmless, and her dishes are the best in the whole kingdom of the Meadows and the Juncture. What can an old woman do to you?”

“We have Fara, don’t we? Another witch,” spat Luther. “The witches like Emmerich too much. He should stay away!”

“You hear that, Emmerich. Your brother’s just concerned about how close you are to the witches. They can be very cunning, you know.”

“I’ll remember that, Father.”

**

Present Day

It was twilight, which meant that the day before Christmas Eve was ending. My feet dragged me to the kitchen, as if I truly belonged here. Even though my mind reminded me that I was in the Junction, not home in the Meadows, I still walked.

Sienna was occupied with the Dux Maleficarum. She was even scribbling on a small notebook. Meanwhile, my feet knew where to go. My nose detected cooking from the Junction’s kitchen.

Wait.

It was strange how the place seemed to smell the same as the kitchen from our castle. Our castle? I wasn’t sure I still belonged to that place. Luther made sure almost everyone hated me. Only the few who knew what he really was like still believed in me.

Fara.

Mary.

Some of their family members knew about what really happened, while others would not want to be associated with me anymore.

Martha would have been one of them, but my brother had her burn to death in a pyre in front of a large crowd as soon as he ascended the throne.

I stalled at the entrance to the kitchen, although my nose seemed to have taken in more of it before I was even fully immersed. Sienna was the only family member celebrating here, and I was her only guest, but there was definitely a feast waiting for us tomorrow, Christmas Eve. There would be more for us and the servants after that, judging from the various meats being prepared. I could sniff meats being defrosted, and some being marinated. The sweet scent of wine also lingered. A good amount must have been used to soak the fruits that would be baked with the cakes.

“Come inside, Emmerich,” Mrs Winters voice broke through my reverie. Foods had always had this effect on me, but it intensified after I shifted.

“I, uh, am just appreciating the smells.”

“Nostalgia?” she asked, smiling a little. I could swear she was a mind reader.

“Something like that,” I admitted.

“Some smells bring us to our fondest memories.”

“In my case, they do that and more,” I murmured.

“Where are you from, Emmerich?” she asked. “Don’t get me wrong. I can see you care for Sienna, but she has gone through so much. I’ve cared for her mother Shiela and her uncle Stefan. I love this family.”

My ears perked up. I wondered how much she knew about the siblings and how Stefan fathered his own sister’s daughter. It was a sensitive subject. Servants like Mrs. Winters were loyal. They wouldn’t speak ill of the family they cared for. Even my nurse wouldn’t be expected to say anything terrible about Luther, although he terrorized her when he was little.

Loyalty and fear.

They made and broke kingdoms. I had wanted to rule with the former, but Luther was more successful with the latter. The irony was that he was ruling by using the people’s fear of me – the monster in my tale.

Loyalty and fear.

Yes, that was the combination that shackled servants like Mrs. Winters. But every person was different. She might just give a hint or two.

“If you don’t mind, Mrs. Winters, what was Sienna’s mother when she was young? I heard that she looked exactly like Sienna does now.”

“She is. Sienna’s fair-haired like her mother and uncle. They got that from the Montgomery side of the family. The Kelleys were dark-haired. However, they were more like the Kelleys in terms of character.”

“You mean Sienna’s mother and uncle are similar in character?”

“They were like twins, only two years apart. They were very close, especially since they’ve seen their parents die in a robbery. Stefan was only nineteen when he took over the Junction. In the end, he didn’t want it but Shiela was in love with it that it was almost like a real person to her.”

Sienna never told me about that. Did she ever know? Shock filled my system. The family had too much tragedy along its path. Even Lilith’s and Estella’s stories indicated that the bloodline barely got any rest from sorrow.

“Were they ever apart?”

“Their parents sent Stefan to a boarding school where he remained until he was seventeen. He came back, only to leave again, as if he was spooked. He decided to go straight to college, and stayed there. He met Rachel, his wife, and came back when she was pregnant with Silas.”

“Oh, but you said the siblings were close.”

“They were. During the summers, they spent all their time together. But they had different interests. Stefan wanted the light, being with people, while Shiela loved the Junction too much to leave it. Once Stefan started making money with his business, using a bit of his inheritance, he decided to give the Junction to his sister.”

He was trying to run away.

“He got married after Silas was born? I, uh, am sorry. I just want to understand. i care about Sienna a lot, and she’s been sad since her family left.”

“I’ve noticed. Don’t worry, Emmerich. I know you care. Just don’t break her heart. Her mother was a sad soul. Meanwhile, Stefan married Rachel after Sienna was born.”

“After?”

“Yes, after. Rachel was already raging at that time, wondering if Stefan would ever take responsibility.”

“Then?”

“Sheila fell into the wrong crowd. I’m sorry. I think I’ve said too much this time,” she said, as she reached for her eye where a tear threatened to fall.

“I understand. You’ve made me understand Sienna even more.”

“The Junction is like a kingdom falling apart, Emmerich. The only thing that’s holding it together is Sienna. Her mother was about to give up, and she died before she could sell it.”

Mrs. Winters then gave me samples of the dishes that they were preparing. We talked about lighter things, like trips and various holidays. She marveled at my knowledge of history, and I praised her decision to stay with the Kelleys. It was as if we never talked about the darker side of this world.

Kingdoms.

They often displayed the best facades for the world to see. Behind the mask of nobility and the shield that we made for ourselves, sometimes something rotten grew. They grew like -

Maggots.

A fetid breath on my face.

“Emmerich?”

“Mrs. Winter?”

“Are you okay? You look like you remembered something horrifying.”

Horrifying was accurate.

“Can we take a selfie together, Mrs. Winter?” I asked. Sienna gave me a small phone and taught me how to use it. I realized I wanted to hold on to this world before I got pulled away from it.

Mrs. Winter laughed.

“Were you thinking about the repercussions of posting a selfie with me, boy?”

“No.” I chuckled. Mrs. Winter reminded me of Fara, Martha, and my mother combined. I’d want to linger here for her, but I would want to stay here for even longer for Sienna.

“She’s so lonely, Emmerich. Are you going to open the fourth door soon?” The same girlish voice asked.

I intended to solve the mystery of her identity, as well.