Wicked II

Wicked II is the second part of the main "Wicked" trilogy - set a year after the events of "Wicked" this continues the themes of horror and fantasy by expanding upon the concepts introduced in the first story.

Prologue
It was approaching a year to the day that Edward's life changed in a blink of an eye, once a lonely boy seemingly destined to a life of uncertainity following the deaths of his parents and his return to the haunting Bigsby Manor.

Yet now, at the age of ten, Edward was a more confident boy and had grown to enjoy his new home thanks to the company of a girl known as Violet - herself a survivor of horrors beyond her years and although being labelled a "vampire" she was accepted into Edward's new family thanks in part to a divine pact made in their most desperate moment.

Through Violet he had learned to stop fearing the darkness, learning that although often strange the world was not without hope - she in turn began to have a sense of family so long denied to her by the shadows that haunted her, Edward's new family had even provided her with a room of her own and treated her as they would any child under their care.

Even Edward's somewhat rude and aggressive Cousin, Sara, was not much of a problem - her presence was far more desirable than the nightmares they had both endured in the past.

Unfortunately, light can not exist without darkness and both Edward and Violet would soon find that Bigsby Manor was not finished with them - a new harvest was fast approaching and from the dark corners of the abyss an alien presence sat quietly, wating for the time to manifest once more and show them both the hidden world that lay within that mysterious Manor..

Chapter 1
It was a sunny afternoon and Edward had taken to exploring the gardens surrounding the Bigsby Manor, as he had done several times over the last few months - creating a treehouse and swings as well as several "hiding spots", at long last starting to act like most ten-year old boys.

Though being of the "modern age" Edward also developed a fondness of video-games, v-net culture and gadgets - which his clothing started to reflect, as well as his tendency to carry his v-phone around with himself, even in the outdoors, checking it every now and then for new v-mails or funny v-clips to share with friends.

Indeed, Edward didn't have too many friends - his uncle prefered home schooling and the Manor itself was rather isolated, yet one of his closest friends over the year had been Violet, who he owed much of his current happiness to, for despite being a "vampire" Violet had been his companion during a darker chapter he tried to forget.

A chapter of demonic intrusion and horror, a nightmare that ended with what he and Violet could only assume was divine intervention (a word he'd heard from his aunt) - they had often discussed it but made an agreement with one another not to explore too deep into the Manor or ask too many questions of what happened that night, lest they awaken anything they shouldn't.

Other than a few minor ups and downs caused by the inevitable changes caused by living with a young "vampire" Edward's life was definitely improving and he even afforded himself a smile as he sat on one of the swings and looked around.

Nearby, Violet sat in the shade of a tree, poking at the buttons on Edward's V-Boy Advance. "Hey Edward," she asked, "I'm playing that Nemesis RPG game, and it said I found an 'emberblade'. What do I do with an 'emberblade'?"

Over the past year, Violet had grown more and more accustomed to living in a stable home, and had grown to love her adoptive family. Despite Sara's less-than-desirable attitude, she had a steadfast ally in Edward, whom she began to regard as the brother she never had. And although she found herself bewildered with Edward's V-Net related hobbies- having come from a world of magic- she enjoyed them with him all the same.

She was content to live in a confusing world with a loving family, but that did not stop the nightmares.

When she slept, the Shadow was awake, and it tormented her relentlessly. On some nights, she woke sitting bolt upright, screaming- on others, she was twisted into the bedsheets, having thrashed about in a cold sweat. The terror was a price she was willing to pay, however, and she was grateful to be able to confide in Edward, though she would not tell him about the whispers she heard and the things they said.

"Okay," said Violet, continuing to prod at the gaming device, "It's gone now- that means it's in the menu, right? How do I open the menu?"

"Have you got holo-options on? or are you still using the old system? holo-option makes it much easier to access stuff.. you can ask it questions and it responds like a person.." Edward replied, continuing to look around as he glanced over at the old hedge maze near the back of the Manor. "..Hey.. Violet.. uncle told me something about that maze yesterday.." he begins, as if deciding to finally confide something with her again.

"Okay? What?" asked Violet warily, the events of that night almost a year ago still fresh in her mind.

"The maze was built over an old Kitchen Yard, the Manor was a plantation in the past.. kind of sad.. uncle says it was common in those days, I wonder if that's why this place had all those monsters? I.. I guess we shouldn't really talk about it.. just starts to make more sense now.. why things got so bad here.." Edward says, swinging a little as he speaks.

"Makes it sound like a curse," said Violet. "You think maybe a curse did...did that to the house?"

"I don't know.. you said you could see ghosts? Ever saw anything after.. well.. you know, that night?" Edward began, looking to Violet as he stops swinging.

"No," said Violet, "though it's not like I've been looking for ghosts, or anything."

"Yeah.. you're right.." Edward replied, then heard his uncle calling from the Manor "..hey, I guess it's time for us to go inside.. you know how uncle is with routines and stuff..".

Violet nodded, following Edward into the house. "You haven't seen anything, have you?" she asked, in a whisper.

"No.. I just thought about that weird ghost we saw in that room.. at least I think it was a ghost.. seemed more like a man than a monster.. maybe I shouldn't think on it.. just seemed weird, after what uncle told me.." Edward replied as he entered the house and went towards a room to the right of the hall, as the pair often did - his uncle was a man of habit (some would even dare say obsessive) when it came to routines, though it was pleasant enough.. neither child experiencing any harm from it, save perhaps the occassional scolding if they disrupted the somewhat strict schedule.

"Yeah, maybe we should just forget about it," said Violet. "Don't want to look too deeply into these ghosts, or demons, whatever they are. Don't want them coming after us."

+++++

The rest of the afternoon went by rather peacefully as Violet and Edward performed their usual duties around the house and the sun began to set, although he had been good at keeping quiet on the topic of ghosts as requested Edward's curiosity finally gave in.

"..listen, Violet? ..do you think ghosts sleep like we do?.." it was an odd question, to be certain.

"I doubt it," said Violet. "I mean, they've got no reason to, right? They could be hiding in the walls, listening to our conversation at this very moment..."