The Crown's Obsession (WN)

Music Recommendation: The Crawling by Kensuke Ushio

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When Madeline opened her eyes, she stood in the middle of the narrow alley and the walls on either side looked muddy because of the rain that had splattered the mud that was on the ground to the walls. The sky was dark and cloudy, and it was drizzling. The alley was quiet, and she raised her hand to catch the water droplets, when was she noticed how small her hand was.

Bringing it closer, she found it strange as it seemed like her hand had shrunk in size. Realization hit her that she wasn't just looking into memories, she was living it.

"Madeline?" she heard her mother calling her.

She looked down at the ground that had created a puddle. When she looked at her reflection, she saw a small girl who looked back at her. When Raphael had spoken about looking into the memories, Madeline had believed that she was going to stand by the sidelines and watch people speak, not that she would be part of the conversation.

Madeline heard a sound come from behind her. Turning around, she looked at the empty alley but in time caught sight of someone's long coat who walked behind the wall. Was someone there?

"Madeline?" her mother called again, "There you are!" exclaimed her mother.

Turning, she saw her mother who looked far younger than the current time she belonged to. It made Madeline question how old her mother was. Her hair was black in colour, a trait that Beth had acquired from their mother. The question was if Beth existed in this timeline.

Madeline didn't react, and she stared at her mother.

"Look at you here in the alley. You shouldn't wander too far away, especially not in the alley's where there are strangers who can harm you. Don't leave mama's side, okay?" Her mother bent down to pat her head, gentleness in her voice that warmed Madeline's heart.

"Okay," answered Madeline, her voice small like a child and it sounded strange in her own ears. Her mother gave her a smile.

"Look at your face. There's mud. Where's your kerchief?" asked her mother, rubbing her cheek with her thumb to get rid of the dirt, "Hm? Where is that cloverleaf you found?" she asked looking at her hand, "Nevermind. Come, your grandparents must be waiting for us."

Her mother caught hold of her hand and pulled her from there.

On her way, away from the alley as she followed her mother, Madeline looked around to see where they were. With the houses that were old, and bare lands, it finally dawned on her that this was the village where her grandparents lived in. A lot of things had changed in a span of few years after her parents moved away from this place to live in the village of East Carswell.

Reaching the house which she was used to visiting with her sister, she saw her grandmother come into view who was standing outside with her grandfather.

"Where was she?" asked her grandmother, "Always giving the family a slip. You should keep an eye on her, dear," said her grandmother to Madeline's mother.

If Madeline didn't know about her past, she would have taken it to be a normal concern from her grandmother, but now she knew the underlying meaning behind it.

"She is small, you need to take better care of her," said her grandfather. His eyes looked down at Madeline and she quickly darted her eyes away from him. She had to make sure not to make it too obvious for people to know that she came from the future. At the same time, Madeline couldn't help but wonder, if her actions would cause a change in the direction of her and others life.

"You found her!" came another voice, and Madeline turned around to see it was her father, "Thank heavens!"

Her father bent down to hug her. She was taken aback by this action. She knew her parents cared for her, enough to not kill her or put her back in the coffin like her grandparents who had done it in the past. But this little gesture told her how much her parents cared for her.

"Don't disappear like that," her father scolded her lightly.

"How did she even leave your side?" asked her grandfather, his tone had a hint of suspicion as if he felt something was up.

Madeline was released from the hug, and she heard her father explain, "We were in the market, in front of the crowded shop. We were standing at the front, when we noticed her absence.

"Well, it's good that she's safe. Let's get inside. I prepared lunch for everyone," said her grandmother and everyone got inside. While having the meal at the table, Madeline's eyes wandered around to see if there was anything she could find that was hidden away now in the present.

She caught sight of bottles that were placed behind the shelves in the kitchen. There were plenty of books that were stacked in the living room, and while she was still looking around, she felt someone's gaze on her at the table. Madeline wondered how suspicious it would be if she were to look at her grandfather now suddenly. In the present, her grandfather was already dead thanks to Calhoun.

"I made another chain, Frances," said her grandfather once he tore his gaze away from the small girl who sat next to him.

"That is very kind of you," responded her mother.

"This is a special one, and not any ordinary chain." Her grandfather pulled out something from his pocket and handed it to her mother. Madeline noticed it was a thin chain with a round pendant hanging in it. "The pendant and the chain has special elements added to it. Something I have made it myself. Make sure you have the next child wear it just like you have Madeline wear it. It will keep her safe and wade off from evil eyes of the other creatures."

"Yes, father," her mother obliged, taking the chain in her hand.

Madeline was about to frown on what they were speaking because she didn't remember having this chain with her, though Beth did have a chain.

"Don't you like the food today, Maddie?" asked her grandmother, her voice sweet unlike the one now where she despised her existence, "You have barely touched it." Madeline cursed herself for not being more attentive to her current body and the people around her.

"Did something happen when you were lost in the village?" questioned her grandfather straight to the point, "Did someone talk to you?"

Madeline shook her head. It wasn't like she had met or seen someone back in the alley. She had suddenly started her time of the past by standing in the middle of the alley. After the meal, Madeline couldn't help but wander around inside the house, her small feet walking and her hands trying to reach for things while no one was looking at her. Unfortunately, she didn't find anything useful in the house, not to mention it was difficult to look for things with her grandparents hovering around her.

She was going through the shelves when she placed her hand on the glass to hear it crack. Before she knew it, she was surrounded by shattered glass pieces on the ground.

"What happened here?!" asked her grandmother, wide-eyed, "Did you do this, Madeline?"

Madeline opened her mouth and then closed. At the same moment, her mother who was in the kitchen arrived at the scene.

"Don't walk, Maddie!" her mother was quick to come to her by pushing the pieces of glasses away from her and picking her up in her arms, "Are you alright?" asked her mother worried.

One side was her mother, who was worried about her. And another side was her grandmother who didn't look pleased that Madeline had broken the glass case, "I am sorry," said Madeline to her grandmother but that didn't lower the displeased look on the older woman's face.

Madeline spent her time next to her mother. She wondered how long she would be able to stay in this time of the past. How long would it take to uncover the truth?

The next day, Madeline had a visitor who was someone she was looking forward to, the girl named Jennine.

"Let's play!" said the girl, pulling Madeline to her house, which was three houses away from her grandparent's house. While in Jennine's house, Madeline knew something bad was going to happen. It was because she had heard that Jennine and her parents had died by her hands. The moment of truth was here, and it turned her nervous.

When the door opened, Madeline heard a crash in the living room.

"What is that?" asked Madeline to Jennine who appeared as if she hadn't heard the crash nor Madeline's words. On hearing another crash with an argument that broke in the house, Madeline stood up and was ready to go to the other side of the house, when the little girl whom she was playing with caught hold of her hand.

Frowning, Madeline turned to look at Jennine.

"Where do you think you are going? We aren't done playing," said the little girl. Jennine was still sitting with her legs folded on the ground, when she had caught Madeline's hand without looking at her.

Madeline could sense the change in the air around Jennine, like something had snapped, "Your parents are fighting," she said. She knew it wasn't something a little girl would understand or want to hear, but hearing the woman cry she wanted to go see or help.

"That's okay," said Jennine, "Papa likes to suck mama's soul out. He needs to eat. She will be fine."

Madeline tried to pull her hand from Jennine, but the little girl was not willing to let her go. When their eyes finally met, Madeline saw the pitch black eyes of the girl like she was possessed.

"Just the way I want to have your soul," smiled Jennine.

The little girl no more looked like a human. It wasn't because of her eyes but also the way she smiled, making her look much older to her age.

"Little girls are supposed to be tastier," said Jennine, opening her mouth to show the jagged teeth.

Madeline tried to get away by placing her own hands on the girl and fight her off. The next moment, Madeline's hand touched the girl's chest and Jennine started to cough blood profusely from her mouth.