Leperna

WARNING: THIS STORY HAS CONTENT REGARDING SEXUAL ASSAULT. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. Btw feel free to write any opinions regarding the story.

In a mansion in a forest, when you open the doors to the entrance way, the putrid smell of blood and decay would suffocate your lungs. The entrance would be neat and tidy, but it would be filled with cobwebs. In the mansion in the forest, is a young girl, and an ominous story.

Leperna is the girl’s name. A girl with hair the same colour of strawberry and bright, glimmering, green eyes. Her skin a pale peach, and a thin smile, this young girl also has an influential factor in her mind. The girl has bipolar disorder. Then, after what happened, her mind snapped, and she became insane. She became insane, all because one man was too selfish.

“Marry me,” she said. I stared at her incredulously. Marriage? She looked at me in anticipation.

“This is very sudden, Lepy. Can I think about it first? I mean, I'm happy, but I'll need time to think about it first, okay?”

“Oh! I'm sorry, it probably did surprise you a lot. Sure, I'll wait for your reply,” Leperna said. She charged down the hill. She stops halfway and spin around. “I'll ask again tomorrow!” Then she charged down to the bottom, and into the mansion. I sighed, and went down as well to look for my mother.

“She wants to marry you?” My mother chirped. “That's wonderful! Please take good care of her.”

“But mother, I just see her as my friend. How could I marry her?”

“You know the state my daughter is in. Even being her mother, I can't handle her as well as you do.” Leperna’s mother took a small grape and placed it in her mouth. She swallowed it whole. “Why, she calms in your mere presence! She would be so happy if you married her.”

I shrugged. I didn't love her like how she loved me, but I did care deeply about her. Our mothers being friends since childhood, they wanted to do everything together, including living together and giving birth in the same year. If Leperna and I married, they would be sisters by law, a wish come true. I couldn't, though.

I left the mansion to the nearby village.

My father owns the village. It's a small village, but people prosper. My father cares for the villagers and gives them generous amounts of money for the people to live comfortably. Everyone was happy with their lives, and they worked hard out of gratitude for my father. In this village also lived a beautiful young girl, just five years younger than I.

She had brown skin, a light chestnut colour. Her hair was wavy, and her eyes were like almonds. The colour of her eyes were the darkest brown, and every time I looked at them, I could see my reflection in them. Her name was Sarin, and I loved her.

“I know! The miss came to me about advice, you know,” Sarin said cheerfully. “What do I do? He might say no, she said. ‘Just try, you never know,’ I said.” She giggled. “The miss may be quirky, but she's simply wonderful. Kind and unique, she practically brings life into the village whenever she visits. Even I, a black girl, was welcomed so warmly by her. So if that's the case, why are you so reluctant?”

I paused. I wanted to tell Sarin so desperately, but I knew it would be a bad idea. She didn't see me as someone she could marry. She saw me as someone out of her reach. She's poor, and of colour. It would never be acknowledged by the world, even if my family supports my decision.

“I'm in love with someone else. That's why,” I replied. She looked at me sympathetically.

“That must be hard, but it would also be hard for the Miss. You care about her, even if it’s not the same as the Miss, so I would think it'd be best to wed. Even with her family and friends, you are the most important person to her. I don't think anyone would be the same if she was heartbroken.”

“I- I don't know…”

I went to everyone else in the village for their opinion, if I should marry Leperna and they all wished for the same outcome, though I didn't tell them I loved someone else. Marry her.

Looking back on it, I remember a time when I did love Leperna. We were mere children, and we were playing on the hill.

“Why do they say that they can't fix you?” I asked after a visit from Leperna's doctor.

“I don't know, maybe they don't care enough about me,” she replied.

“If that's the case, I'll be a doctor and marry you. Then I could cure you because I'd care enough!” I declared. I was only seven at the time, but I knew that I loved her.

Then, Sarin and her family moved to the village. At that one moment I talked to her, I was struck deeply. Perhaps, if Sarin had never came to the village, I would have still been in love with Leperna.

The day after Leperna's marriage proposal, she asked me once again. I agreed with a smile on my face, but deep down I was quite reluctant to do so.

We were to get married in the ballroom of the mansion, and everyone in the village dropped everything to prepare for the wedding. As the days passed, I got more and more nervous. Once I married, I would lose my freedom to love Sarin. I'd have to suppress my feelings and try to forget them. I knew that the marriage was for the best, but I was selfish and naive. Sarin didn't love me, but I still held onto a hope that I could have a future with her one day.

A week before the wedding, I went to visit Sarin.

“Oh!” Sarin said. “How are you doing? It's going to be your wedding next week. I wish you luck.”

I held my breath. I wanted to tell her. “Sarin, I need to talk to you privately.” We headed to the hill behind the mansion.

“Is there something wrong?” Sarin asked.

“This is something very important, what I'm going to tell you. I… care about you very much. I want to have a future with you,” I said.

Sarin stared at me.

“You… but, you're marrying the Miss!”

“I know, and I don't think I can go through this anymore.”

“No. You're marrying her. I don't want to upset the Miss. She's such an important friend to me ever since I moved here. If it wasn't for her, I'd probably be looked down upon. I care more about her more than I care about you. I have no feelings for you,” she exclaimed. I kissed her and held her tightly in my arms.

“I don't care. During the wedding, I'll tell everyone. I want you to love me someday. I will make you love me someday. I want to have a future with you,” I whispered in her ear.

I headed down the hill. Behind me, I heard Sarin crying. She cared about Leperna, but my mind was so clouded by my desires that I couldn't think properly. All I wanted was to marry Sarin, and that was all I could think of.

That night, my heart pounded. I couldn't sleep. I got out of bed and headed to the kitchen for a glass of water. As I passed Leperna's room, I heard sobbing. I ignored the sobbing. I figured she was simply being emotional. When I headed back to my room, I didn't hear her crying. I passed by without a sound.

The next day, I woke up early in the morning, before the sun started to come over the hill, with an arm around me. I scrambled out of bed. Leperna slowly opened her eyes and smiled at me. At that moment, I noticed that the sheets were what covered her.

“Lepy… what did you do…”

She said nothing, but sleepily smiled at me. She got out of my bed, taking my sheets with her, and left the room. When I got to my senses, I stood up, but I was shocked so much that my legs have way beneath me. There, on the bed, was blood. I curled up and stayed that way until the rooster in the village crowed.

“You look like you didn't sleep a wink,” my father said. “That excited? Nervous?” He laughed heartily and smacked my shoulder. I said nothing. I couldn't tell him what I suspect happened last night. It would be damaging for my pride, and my father would never believe me. He would think that I chose to do what happened last night.

“It's nothing, father,” I lied. He shrugged.

“Come now, I'm sure you'll be more awake after breakfast.” My father guided me to the dining room. Leperna and her parents were already at the table. Unsurprisingly, my father had me sit next to Leperna. Leperna turned to me and smiled innocently.

“Good morning,” she said. “How are you today?” I swallowed the thought of starting an argument at the table.

“I'm fine, just a little tired, but I should be fine,” I said. I ate quickly, left the table as soon as I could, and ran up the hill behind the house. When I reached the top, my legs gave way and my back fell onto the oaken trunk of the tree. I let out a sob, and curled up into a ball.

“You think you have it bad?” I looked up. She stood above me, her expression cold.

“Don't think you have it bad,” Leperna said. “I’m your fiance, and you go and cheat on me? With Sarin, of all people. She’s my best friend. She loves me more than you. We all know that. Why? Why would you do that to me? To her?” Tears poured from her eyes. “You're everything to me. Doing this would hurt Sarin, too. You know this. I... I'm not going to lose you. I've loved you since we were children, I don't know what I'll do without you.” Then, she pinned me against the tree and tied my hands behind my back.

“It’s okay if I have no one else, even Sarin.You're mine. I won't let you get away,” she whispered, and unbuttoned my shirt. “You're mine.”

Nobody saw what happened. The tree blocked the view from the mansion, and the mansion blocked the village’s view from the hill. So it went on for hours before she untied my wrists. I didn't move, even after she untied me. My mind was receiving too much shock from the deed done. She had seen me and Sarin from her room.

I couldn't blame her for going insane. I had already known that I was the most important person in her life. I knew that she had problems with her mind, but I didn't care about her well being. I just wanted to marry Sarin instead, though Sarin didn't love me. I should have known that she would become insane after seeing me and Sarin, but at the moment, all I could think was that it was Leperna's fault. I wanted to get away from her. I couldn't marry her. I feared that she would continue to do those things to me, and that I wouldn't be able to escape.

The days started to blur together. The only thing that kept me sane was my thoughts of marrying Sarin instead of Leperna. Instead of preparing for a wedding with Leperna, I was preparing for a wedding with Sarin. Instead of counting down the days with Leperna, I was counting down the days with Sarin. Then soon, it was the day of the wedding. My mind felt hollow. On that day, reality struck me again once more, and my heart filled with dread as the maids dressed me in my suit and combed my hair.

“This is a wondrous day, young master,” one of the maids said. She fixed a stray hair. “Hurry now, can't be late, can we?” The maid led me out of my room to the ballroom, where the wedding was to be held.

I walked down the isle, the chairs filled with the entire village. In the corner of my eye, I spotted Sarin. My heart swelled with anguish. I wanted to marry Sarin, not Leperna, but my morals said that my marriage with Leperna was for the best. It would be socially unacceptable for a noble white male to marry a black female villager. Marrying Leperna would help her psychological issues. It would be the best.

I couldn't do it, though.

I stood there, then Leperna stepped into the room with her father. My heart was sinking. She stopped next to me.

“I'm glad that this day's finally come,” she said. “You know, I've been writing down every passing day. Once we're married, I'll show you my diaries. I've dreamt of the day I would show you my diaries.”

“I'm sure you have,” I croaked. The priest started to perform the ceremony.

My mind couldn't focus on what he was saying. My mind just thinking about Sarin. Thinking that I would be forever chained to a girl that went insane after seeing me kiss her best friend. I wanted to get away.

“Groom?” I blinked. “Are you willing to marry your loving bride?”

“I…” At that moment, I could only think of Sarin. I couldn't do it. “Don't.”

The room fell silent. Leperna stared at me in shock.

“I don't love Leperna. I love Sarin. Sarin didn't do anything. I fell in love with her anyway, though.” I turned around and walked out of the ballroom. Behind me, I heard Leperna crying. I ignored it. I walked out of the mansion and up the hill. I rested against the tree, then remembering what happened on the hill, I shuddered and headed back down the hill. As I got closer, I heard screams coming from the mansion. I went into the garden, and then glass above my head shattered. Several books flew out of Leperna's bedroom window and fell to the ground nearby. I looked at the books. On the covers said ‘Diary’ on each of them in gold embossed lettering.

A chill ran down my spine, and I stifled a scream as I turned to the ballroom windows that were now splattered with blood.

I picked up the books. Even now I don't know why I picked up those books. Perhaps I felt that it was the least I could do to make up for what was going on in the mansion. Perhaps I felt that I had to bring them with me out of punishment. I didn’t know why I picked up those books and ran away. Six thick books were in my arms, and it hurt my arms to carry them. Yet, I still held onto them.

When dark fell, I leaned against a tree and took off my jacket. I placed the jacket on the ground, then the books on the jacket. I tied the sleeves around them, then rested my head on the stack. It was uncomfortable, but I didn't care anymore. I just wanted to sleep.

I travelled several days until I came upon a village that resided next to a lake. The villagers found me odd, but were friendly. An elderly couple took me in and I stayed there, taking a job at the local pub. I hadn't touched the books yet.

When winter came, many people grew ill, and as spring started to warm the earth, I was living in that home by myself, along with the untouched books. I became a poet, and wrote about many things, but most of them about my days in the mansion, and what I had done. I married the pub owner's daughter, and she moved in with me.

Unique and kind, my lover brought life to the village ever since she was young. She reminded me of Leperna.

‘How fitting for me to love someone that reminds me of her,’ I thought to myself when I realised their similarities.

Before I married my lover, I decided to go back to the mansion. I felt that I should at least go back to see what was the result of the carnage.

The mansion was untouched. The village, deserted. Although I was afraid for my life, I willed myself to go back into the mansion, to see for myself, what had happened.

I almost threw up when I opened the entrance door. The stench of death and decay overwhelmed my senses. Covering my nose with my sleeve, I pressed into the lobby, then into the ballroom.

There were corpses everywhere. Decayed, I couldn't recognize any of the faces, and the blood stained their clothes beyond familiarity. Dried blood stained the once sparkling cream coloured marble floor. Unable to stomach the digust towards the decay, and the disgust towards myself, I threw up. Then I remembered Leperna's bedroom.

Leperna lay on her bed, the sheets soaked in blood. She, too, was dead. The stench of death was in the room, too, but not as strong as the ballroom’s. The winter cold must have preserved her corpse. As though she was merely asleep, I stepped slowly to her bedside, and looked at her face. There were dried streaks of blood, as though she herself cried so much that blood started to flow out of her eyes.

“I'm sorry,” I whispered. “I knew I should have married you.” I paused. “Remember that promise I made, when we were children? I'm sorry I didn't keep that promise. I'm sorry that I broke your heart. I'm sorry that I was selfish. I'm… I'm sorry... for everything.” So I lay my head on the bloodstained sheets, and slept.

When I returned home, I told my wife about the mansion, about Sarin, about Leperna. Of course, it had shocked her terribly, but she forgave me for it.

“You were young and blind with desire, but look at you now. You've grown,” she said as she held my sobbing body, my head on her shoulder. “It's been such a heavy burden to bear. I'm glad you finally told me about this.

It was many years later did I bring myself to read Leperna's diaries. She had gone insane when she saw me with Sarin. The page she wrote on was wrinkled from tears, and the lettering shaky. Only did I finish the last book did a poem came to my mind. I immediately pulled out paper and my quill, and started writing.

In a mansion in a forest,

As long as I can remember,

The girl that cries blood,

Waits for her lover...