With a Cry of Madness

The castle watched the hills roll down into the meadow at the edge of the forest. It urged

the biting wind on, crashing waves through the tall grass. Dark storm clouds slunk across the

horizon. The castle looked with uncaring eyes at the young couple picnicking in the meadow.

Her hair was made of sun, as was her demeanor, while her husband was more stoic, he still

brightened a room with his laugh. Having been married for only a few months, they still reveled

in each other’s presence and made the most of each moment spent together. Her smile belonged

to him alone, and his gentle touch only graced her skin. They were making the most of this

moment, as he would be travelling to the next town over for some business, and it would be their

first night apart since their marriage.

“Say, darling, should I pick something up from town for you? Any new ribbons for your

hair, or sweets?” He smiles at her clever fingers weaving spring flowers into a crown. She looks

up, startled from her task, then grins.

“Oh, I wouldn’t mind some strawberries. They should be in season by now. It has been a

warm spring after all.”

“You do love your strawberries. I swear London almost ran out of them, when we courted

there last spring. I do wonder if you will love them just as much when you’re with child?” He

laughs deeply, his dark eyes sparkle with joy as he places his hands on her bent knees. She smiles

small and looks back at her half completed crown.

“Who knows, dear. I might just love them more. But we won’t have to worry about that

for a little while.”

 “Ah, but you know Mother. She expects an heir and someone to spoil before the next year

is over. We might as well start soon.” His voice drops low and he leans in close. She squirms a

little under his heavy gaze, then kisses him gently.

“How about when you get back from your trip? We can plan our family then.” She shifts

away from him, putting enough distance between them so that she could meet his eyes again.

“Alright, dearest, when I return then. But we must be getting back now, those storm

clouds are moving quickly. Can’t have you getting sick, now can we?” He stood up and held his

hand out to help her stand. They packed the picnic quickly and set off toward the castle. There

was no conversation to be had as they walked up the hill, the somber mood of parting felt too

heavy to break. Upon reaching the front door, a carriage pulled up and the footman jumped out

ready to help his master get on the road. The mistress sighed heavily, and looked at her husband

moving his luggage into the carriage. With the two working together, it took no time at all before

her husband was set to go. He placed one last kiss on her forehead, lips just grazing the skin,

before he was in the carriage and rolling off to the next town.

Her heart slumped in her chest, and she entered the castle. She wandered down corridor

after corridor, no end destination in sight. She had only lived here in the castle for a short while,

and had not yet had the chance to explore every room in detail. Each corner seemed more

unfamiliar than the last as she went deeper into the castle. She began to feel turned about and

lost. She entered the first door she could to see if the room was in any way familiar.

Books on shelves lined the walls, knowledge of the unknown seeping from every nook

and cranny. She wandered the rows of books looking at the titles, all seemingly written in

another language. Her confusion and curiosity led her deeper into the strange library, her soft

footfalls echoing in the silence.

 “Mistress? What are you doing here? We thought you had left with your husband.” The

voice of Cook startled her and her heart caught in her chest. The older woman looked worried.

“Oh my, you gave me a fright, Cook. I stayed behind,” she said clutching her hand to her

chest.

“Well, I let the rest of the staff go for the weekend, as we thought the castle would be

empty. Let me just run down to the market and get a meal ready for you. Won’t be gone for more

than a moment!” With that statement, Cook turned abruptly and was out the door. The mistress

ran after her, only in hopes of getting somewhere familiar. She followed Cook to the kitchens,

and watched as she left out the back door. She caught sight of the blackening clouds looming

over the landscape, and a shiver ran down her spine.

With nothing to do, she turned and walked into the familiar. Her sitting room was just a

few doors away from the kitchen. She walked inside and sighed in relief at the comfort of the

room. The delicate blue flowers that decorated the furniture smiled on her as she sat down on the

lounge chair. Relief spread through her veins like warm water and she relaxed into the

cushioning. Her eyelids grew heavy and sleep fogged her mind.

She heard the distant roar of thunder, setting a dark mood onto her dreams, and the pitter

patter of the rain lulled her deeper into slumber, a cold chill causing her to shiver. Her dreams

grew restless and fearsome. With a strong booming clap of thunder, she sat up, torn from sleep.

Her heart raced and pounded against her ribs. She looked around the darkened room, hardly able

to see a thing in the shadow. She stood up carefully and reached around for a lantern. It lighted

upon the cold metal and glass and she calmed slightly. With just a little light she should be safe.

Thunder continued shaking the house as it creaked and groaned, as if awakening. She

made her way out of the sitting room and into the chilled corridor. She must see if Cook returned,
hunger gnawing away at her. She tiptoed to the kitchen and found it just as empty as before.

Cook must have gotten trapped when the storm hit, unable to return safely. She sighed, and

decided to just wait until morning, as it would do no good for her to wander out into the rain and

storm.

A gleeful laugh startled her out of her thoughts. It sounded like one of Cook’s children.

She wondered if they had been here the whole time. She followed the high giggles of the

children farther into the castle.

“Do you want to play hide and seek with us?” The voice came from behind her and she

whirled around to catch sight of the dark nothingness filling the corridor.

“If you can find us, you’ll win.” Another voice from the opposite direction. She spun

again to catch more of the dark and not a glimpse of one of the children.

“Alright, I will play your silly game, but then we must get you to bed, as it is quite late”

She spoke to the now quiet shadows. She continued on and listened for the small footsteps and

small giggles. Deeper and deeper she wound into the castle, becoming hopelessly lost. She

turned every which way following the children. She kept thinking she was seeing them move out

of the corner of her eyes, always just barely brushing against the light, never fully coming into it.

The longer it continued, the more frustrated and unnerved she became.

“I’m done playing now. You aren’t being fair by constantly moving around. It’s time to

come out and go to bed.” Her voice was stern and held the authority of a mother. Yet, nothing

happened. She heard no more giggles, and saw no movement. She walked a little further and

came upon a staircase leading down, most likely into the catacombs below the castle. She took a

small step back, fear creeping into the edges of the light. With a sudden push, she flew forward

and down the stairs, rolling to the bottom. The children’s giggles echoed down the long staircase,
setting her nerves aflame. Terror began to flood her system and her breaths became harder to

take. Her hands shook as she stood up, her lantern shattered by the fall gave no comfort of light.

She heard again a laugh, but this one deeper and not at all childlike, but with the same amount of

glee and madness. She followed the sound carefully stepping on the cold stone floor, curious to

see who was in her house.

She came to another room, the arch illuminated by the torches inside. The light glinted

off the tombs and rebounded on the high ceiling. She wandered farther in and found the source of

the laughter, an old skeleton, sitting against a tomb, cackling with abandon. Her heart seized in

her chest and she stumbled away from it.

“Well, well, well, I see the mistress of the house has wandered down to see me. Why

don’t you come introduce yourself?” It turned it’s skull with a crack and fixed its gaze upon her.

She trembled and stepped closer, heart jumping and attempting to escape her chest.

“What do you want with me?” Her voice shook and came out soft. Her fear ever rising

held her glued to the spot.

“Why to warn you of course,” it cackled loudly and she flinched. “You had better leave

here or else madness will take you. Now run, it’s coming!” With the last shouted phrase, she was

freed of her stillness and took flight back the way she came, stumbling into walls and finally up

the stairs, the loud laugh following her all the way. She climbed the stairs with an urgency and

little regard for the children left at the top, and continued running through corridor after corridor,

hoping to find the front door.

At last she spied it, cracked open with just the barest hint to light to shine through. The

storm must have moved on, but it didn’t reassure her in the slightest. The laugh did not decrease

in volume and she feared the skeleton had followed her through the castle. She flung open the
door and ran out, barefoot into the night air. She ran toward the road that would lead to the

market, where she assumed Cook had been stuck for the night. Her breath was frantic, as were

her footfalls as she ran along the dirt road, winding its way down the hill to the base of the forest.

Before she could continue toward the market, a dark looming figure of monstrous size

stepped into the road. A scream fled her lips and she turned into the forest. With any hope she

would be able to lose it in the trees. She dodged and weaved her way through the forest, the

small sticks and rocks digging into the soft skin of her feet, shooting pain up her legs. She

ignored it for the moment, her life in being in danger outweighed the pain. The father she ran

into the forest, the more alarmed she grew. The trees appeared to leap out at her and clutch her

arms and face with their branches, leaving behind small scratches. The roots rose up from the

ground and were set to wind about her ankles, slowing her down. In a final attempt to take her

down, the roots lunged and knocked her feet out from under her. She fell hard, arms bracing her

fall lit up with pain. She heaved big breaths and listened to the forest around her. She could hear

no pursuer and relaxed marginally. In all hope, she lad lost whatever was after her.

She stood up, and brushed herself off, and looked around. She was absolutely lost now,

but she was not followed into the forest. She calmed her breathing and her racing heart. She was

safe for the moment. She decided to continue walking, in a new direction, toward where she

hoped would be a break in the trees. She limped her way past tree after tree, no sense of where

she was really headed, only hoping to get out of the woods.

As she walked further, a strange cry set the terror ablaze once more. She stopped for a

moment and listened to see what it was. The cry rang out again and her memory jumped into

recognition. It was a baby. What on earth was an infant doing in these woods. She shouldn’t have
been in them in the first place, and most certainly not a baby. She followed the cry deeper, intent

on rescuing the little one.

She came to a small break in the trees, an open area, surrounded by more forest, but there

was no child there. In the place where the babe should lay crying stood a monster. It stood almost

as tall as some of the trees, covered in black fur, sharp teeth dripping drool onto the leaves. She

seized in fright, frozen to the core. It set its sight upon her and let out one more cry, mimicking

an infant. Terror replaced the blood in her veins and she couldn’t look away or run to safety.

The monster shambled closer, a sinister grin set into its horrific mouth. It began to make a

different sound, this one much like a cough. Then it transformed into something she knew.

“Madness. Madness,” it coughed loudly, creeping ever closer. It wasn’t an affliction of

the mind the skeleton was warning her about, oh no, it was this creature, getting closer to her.

She didn’t want to know what it wanted with her and she wouldn’t stick around to find out. With

one last cough of its name, the creature increased its speed toward her, and she jumped back into

action. She turned and fled back into the trees, only this time, she could hear the monster

snapping branches and thudding against the forest floor. She ran, somehow finding the energy to

continue the chase.

Bobbing and weaving through the trees, the creature followed her. Its heart stopping

cough echoing loudly in her ears. She could swear that the monster was gaining on her, and she

pushed her body into going faster. The skirts of her dress wound around her legs, slowing her

down. She tried her best to hike them up to free her legs, but then the trees would try to stop her,

reaching to her with sharp branches that she would have to bat away. Hopelessness built up in

her and she found herself wishing to give up. There was no way she could win this battle, she

was too slow and nature seemed to work against her.

 Still, she continued on with her escape, praying to God that he would do something to

save her. She began to weep as she ran, overcome with fear and the knowledge that she might not

ever make it out of the forest alive. She hoped her husband would come to save her. She

imagined he missed her too much and came home early, riding as fast as he could in his carriage,

just to spend the night with her. He would take her in his arms, and kiss away the fear. He would

fight off whatever monster pursued her. He would be her savior. Yet, she continued to run, her

body growing more weak, the hunt wearing her body down. She wouldn’t make it out of the

forest. Her tears clouded her vision, and seeing where she was running to became harder. She

could only hope that if she ran long enough, the monster would give up and find an easier prey to

pursue.

Step after step, tear after tear, she ran. Her feet screamed in agony and her muscles

burned. The gloom of the forest pressed heavily on her and the coughs of the beast followed her.

With a final breath, she broke through the line of trees. It appeared as if she made one big loop

around the forest through the night. Daybreak began to rise in the distance, coloring the hills with

a soft pink. Her castle stood unforgivingly dark against the backdrop of the sunrise. Hope

renewed, she continued to push her body toward safety, even as the beast crashed through the

trees, and finally though the break in the tree line.

Further and further she ran up the hill, the grass softly carrying her up the hillside to

safety. At the peak of the hill she saw at the front of the castle, a carriage, and her husband

stepping out. She called out to him, voice hoarse and scratchy. He turned around, alarmed at her

appearance.

“Darling, what happened?” She ran into his open arms, safe at last. He pushed her out

from his chest and looked her over, from the ruined and torn dress, the scratches maring her face
and arms, and the tear streaks over her cheeks. He pulled her back to the warmth of chest and

leaned his head upon hers as she sobbed into his shirt.

“It was just awful. The children pushed me down the stairs, and the skeleton talked. Oh

my, and the forest! There is a monster in the forest. It pretended to be a baby to lure me into its

trap.” Her frantic speech was almost incomprehensible, with a sob breaking through every other

word. Her husband, confused as ever, brushed the tears from her eyes and shushed her gently.

“Whatever are you talking about, dear? What children? What skeleton? What monster?

You aren’t making any sense,” he smoothed her hair, cluttered with the flora of the forest from

her chase.

“Cook’s children. I am sure they were in the house. They asked me to play with them, but

when I got to the stairs leading to the catacombs, they pushed me down them. And there was a

skeleton that was laughing and it told me to run so I did. But then when I tried to get to the

market, the monster came out of nowhere and chased me all around the forest. Then it tricked me

into thinking it was a baby so that I would come to it so it could hurt me.” She finally took a

breath, still panicked from her night of terror. In all reality her story sounded nonsensical, but in

her heart she knew it was true.

“Alright, dear, alright. Just calm down. I am sure everything will be alright. We will

figure out why you must have had such a bad dream, to wander out into the forest that late at

night,” he spoke gently to her, trying to not stir her up. He didn't believe a word of what she said.

There were no catacombs, and so there surely must not be a monster.

“What do you mean dream? I am telling the truth!” Her voice rose into hysteria. Her

husband just tucked her closer and shushed her more. If he wouldn’t believe her, then who

would. She felt just as lost as she was in the castle, not a person around to help her. She pulled
away from her husband and turned to go into the house. Her husband caught up with her and

placed his hand around her waist. His hand wrapped around her body and came to rest gently

upon her stomach, in a promise.