Young Writers Society

this is the finished, revised, and handed in version of this story... am scared XD

Tower by the Sea

“A scream of terror rang from the tower. A young girl raced out, her long brown hair flowing free as she ran towards the sea. Her eyes were wild with fear and madness. She leapt into the foamy brine and was never seen again.” This tale is passed around by the villagers to everyone, especially the children, to scare people away from the haunted tower. They tell of a terrible and murderous ghost residing within the Tower, cursing those who venture into such madness, that they take their own lives, usually by drowning. I know this ghost is as terrible as they say. He is haunted by the horrific truth of his evil ways- a heartbreaking and frightful truth about the poor young daughter of the Polmery’s. I too, know the truth, for I have spoken to the ghost of the Tower. It was a long time ago, but the story troubles me still. It is time to tell what happened to the young lady of Polmery, who she was, and what happened to her--and her family…

The Lord and Lady of Polmery were well-known, and well-loved folk. They lived in a mansion by the sea with their twin sons and only daughter. The Lord and Lady were very wealthy, yet kind and everyone loved them. The twins were both tall and lean, with long, brown hair, and sea green eyes; they moved with graceful, yet powerful motions. These two made all the young girl’s heart’s flutter and flit with fanciful dreams. The Polmery’s only daughter was tall and willowy, with skin as pale as ivory, her hair curled and golden as the sun. But her eyes were her most stunning feature: they made people shrink back with fear initially, then drew toward her with curiosity. One eye was an icy blue that seemed to pierce your very soul; the other an emerald green that always seemed to have some hidden joke behind it. She was a sweet, but fragile soul who loved everyone and was always lending a helping hand. You may wonder why this girl? What would she do to bring the Ghost of the Tower to his terrible end? I shall tell you… soon. Allow me to explain the family further.

The family owned many farms, and most of the farmland around the coast. The son’s duties included driving the cattle to the far shore where the best grass was. Most of the time though, due to the boys’ laziness, the cattle escaped, trampling fields of good crops. The villagers disliked them for that, despite the fact that they were the only sons of the beloved Lord and Lady. Not only were they lazy, they hung about with scoundrels and wastrels. They often conversed with a handsome stranger, who kept to himself otherwise. The villagers whispered furtively about this handsome stranger as evil rumor upon evil rumor spread. He was a gambler, a slaver, a paid assassin. No one knew for sure. But they knew he was truly a wicked man. In spite of his good looks, he always wore a scowl and frightened both the children and the young maidens of the village. When the twins were asked about him, they just laughed and said it was best to keep to yourselves.

The daughter though, the villagers loved. Her name was Evelyn, but everyone called her Evy. She was a joy to them, helping out the women with the chores they were assigned on the Lord and Lady’s lands. She loved all the women and admired their hard labors and skills. The women in turn, were astonished at how fast she learned. A girl of 16 picking up skills they had taught their daughters as wee ones who could do as well as their girls! Not only was Evy skillful, but she was also highly intelligent. In her free time, she adored reading books and day-dreaming of far off places.

The Lord and Lady of Polmery themselves, spent most of their days dealing with their own affairs: keeping track of the lands, entertaining their friends, and going to social engagements. They tried to convince their children to join them, but only the boys went, just to get out of their duties. Evy was too busy with helping her friends in the village to go anywhere much.

One day, while Lord and Lady Polmery were gone, the stranger who had been talking to the twins came by and asked to see the young lady Evelyn. The matter was urgent he said, but he refused to say any more to the servants. Evy had just come in from helping the women in the village and was filthy, but she met the strange man in the small library of the mansion as she was. Harsh words were heard from the room, and soft replies, continuing on for nearly an hour. Then the doors slammed open and the man rushed from the house, hatred on his face as he mounted his horse and rode off. Evelyn walked out of the library slowly, fear in her eyes as she ran to her room and locked herself in for the rest on the night. The next morning she was about as usual and ignored all the questioning from her parents once the servants had told them what happened.

A few weeks passed and everything was good, until the man returned… while her family was away again. He requested to see Evy again, but was denied. The man demanded to see her again and again but was turned away. He cursed and threatened the house of Polmery. The man leapt upon his horse and thundered away, a deep hatred festering within his soul. The Lord and Lady decided to ignore this encounter: everyone had their enemies they thought. They went on with their lives, not knowing the danger in store for them. One night, while they were asleep, some mysterious men snuck into their great barns and lit them on fire. When the Polmery’s woke up, their barns were in cinders, and all within them was lost. Evelyn thought of the man and suggested it was he, but only a few agreed. Especially after the twins said that it was ridiculous, why would he do such a thing? Lord and Lady Polmery agreed with them, the idea seemed quite absurd, they could not imagine an acquaintance of the twins doing such a thing. the Polmery’s paid dearly for the replacement of most of their stock. Unfortunately this was only the first of their losses: soon their fields were burned, and most of the other farm’s they depended on were destroyed. Everyone wept for the loss of wealth, and prosperous lands; the villagers were in an uproar.

Evelyn knew it was time to seek out the man, and try to set things straight. Evelyn ran to the tower, where the man said to meet him. She could hear the crashing of the waves upon the shore, harsh and cold. She shivered and ran up the spiraling stone staircase of the tower, to the top. Evy climbed up the ladder and onto the flat roof of the tower; she rested against the stone railing and stared across the far sea. A small black cat leapt up next to her on the railing and mewed at her. She started and stared into deep, golden eyes. She trembled in fear at the sight of a black cat, when a hand reached out and grabbed her by her shoulder. Evy let out a shrill scream and passed out into waiting arms.

When Evelyn woke up, the sun was setting, and stars hung high in the sky. She shivered and pulled the blanket around her tighter. She glanced around and noted that she was alone. Standing up she cringed at the pain in her legs. Exploring the tiny niche, she noticed she was still in the tower, although perhaps underground. A deep, mysterious voice echoed through her prison, informing of her condition and what she must do. Evy trembled in fear and started to cry, sitting back down against the cold, hard wall. The voice grew louder and deeper as it demanded from her, but Evy tried to disagree. It was a futile attempt; a cloaked man, shorter and darker than the handsome stranger from the house entered the room. Evy was grabbed roughly by the arm and hauled to her feet. She was dragged from the room and thrown onto the dirt floor in front of the very man she feared most. The man smiled wickedly and picked up the girl by her hair and stood her up straight. He whispered quiet, cruel words into her ear and his smile grew as she paled, and eventually passed out in his arms.

Evelyn shivered, and tried to open her eyes, but all was dark. Her hands were bound by coarse rope; she struggled to release the ropes but they were too tight. A quiet, high-pitched voice asked her questions, but she refused to answer. Soon the blindfold was taken off and she saw she was hanging over an underground cavern by a single rope. The voice questioned her again, but she didn’t give an answer. A slash of a dagger lowered her a bit, only a few threads left of the rope were left. Evy trembled and tried to remain still, the voice continued, growing harsher and more threatening. The poor girl looked down at the dark, murky water. Suddenly her brothers appeared. They stared in horror as the dagger slashed the rope again, and Evy fell. She dropped into the water like a rock, screaming for her life. One of the twins started after her, but his brother grabbed him; it was too late. Evy drowned at the bottom of the murky water, at the hands of the man who now resides forever in the tower…

The twins soon met their fate, in a mysterious boating accident, far out on the shoals. The lighthouse’s light was out, and they didn’t see the coral. Their boat sank into the sea and was found in pieces by the lighthouse.. The man who was asking about Evy was never heard from again- his intentions never discovered. I believe he only meant her harm, even if she agreed to what he demanded of her. I do know that whatever was asked of her, had to do with her mysterious eyes because I have met him – the ghost of the tower. He perished with the twins, as they struggled to throw him overboard in their horror over what he had done to their sister. Eyes of icy blue and warm green. None were like them in this world. He was fascinated by those eyes, and now none like them shall ever be seen again. The ghost of her murderer remains forever bound to the tower where he drowned the light from those wonderful eyes…