Daxon Lake

Edie sat in the back seat of the car halfway listening to the driver, Trevor, talking about the history of her destination, Daxon Lake. She was taking in the scenery of the hour long drive. The massive snow covered mountains were ominous and beautiful at the same time. She was thinking to herself how hard it would be to adjust to the snow covered ground, after living her whole life in the warmth of the California sun. She was hoping this would be the perfect change for her, a new start to life, when Trevor turned into the snow covered, tree lined road leading to her new place of employment, and home for the next chapter of her life.

Edie was thirty years and had never been out of California. She had lived a sheltered life, her mom and dad had suffered a devastating auto accident when she was a teenager. Her father had been killed instantly, and her mom had been crippled for the rest of her life. She had passed away two months ago and the life that Edie had known for the last fifteen years had ended. She didn't know how to feel about it, a life in which she had been trapped in for so long, taking care of the mother who she had so dutifully loved. Feeling sadness, fear, loss and freedom all at the same time had been confusing for her, so she decided to take a friends advice and make a fresh start in a different place, and hopefully gain a new life.

Trevor pulled up to the entrance of a beautifully aged mansion, made of stone, with a snow covered mountain as a backdrop. Gothic gargoyles and menacing knights guarded the entrances and towers, intricate carvings of roses encircled the windows and doors. Excitement and a sense of forbidding filled Edie's heart as they walked up the entrance stairs and to the massive rose carved doors. Trevor swung the doors open to a warm and inviting foyer, a grand, but rustic stairway curved to the floor above. This way Trevor said, "I will show you your room".

Edie's room was at the end of a long hallway at the top of the stairs, the same intricate carving of the roses framed a rather large and beautiful mantel above the fireplace in her room. Handmade quilts adorned the bed. The room was cozy and warm, she knew that she would be very comfortable here. Trevor told her to take some time and get settled in, dinner would be served at six, he then exited the room quietly closing the door behind him.

That evening at dinner Trevor introduced the rest of the staff to Edie. Dora handled all the kitchen duties, Jason was in charge of the grounds, and Mattie handled the upkeep of the mansion, her responsibility would be to take care of all the business needs of the Daxon estate, more or less an assistant to Trevor and Mr. Daxon when he arrived after his winter hiatus. Edie would be given a tour of the estate and the grounds tomorrow morning, and be able to familiarize myself with the daily duties she would be responsible for. But, for now though being full from a wonderful dinner of roasted chicken and vegetables and being thoroughly tired from the trip and excitement of her new life it was time to turn in for the night.

Edie awoke bright and early the next morning. The day was sunny, but the air was still cold from the snow covered surroundings. The smell of cinnamon was filling the air from the kitchen below. She dressed and pulled back her hair, as her stomach began growling in anticipation of what was being baked in the kitchen below. She found her way to the kitchen where Dora was plating enormous cinnamon rolls with icing that dripped down their sides. There was coffee, tea, juice and milk. Big bowls overflowing with fruit sat on each end of the table. Dora turned and with a cheerful smile greeted her with a happy "Good morning too you!"

The rest of the day was spent getting to know the layout of the house and the garden. The back grounds were beautiful trees covered with snow, and a small frozen pond lay just to the south of the sprawling mansion. Trevor told her that the pond was off limits, that Mr. Daxon was very strict about anyone going near it while he was away. When it thawed he would arrive and the staff would enjoy the warm seasons unhindered by the treachery of the ice and snow. Apparently there had be a huge lake where the pond stood now, over the years with the streams drying up and water rights in the area, the lake had dwindled to what it is now. Edie followed Trevor back to the house and into the dinning room where everyone was waiting to be served dinner.

Edie fell into a routine quickly, soon the thaw was upon Daxon Lake, the place became a bustle of seasonal workers readying the grounds and mansion for Mr. Daxon's arrival. The woodland animals seemed to come alive overnight, Mountain Bluebirds sung Edie awake every morning, wolves and and owls talked her to sleep late in the night. Edie would walk the grounds after dinner every night. She enjoyed the time she had alone to clear her head of whatever the days challenge had been, also the chance to burn the extra calories from whatever wonderful feast that Dora had made for the evenings dinner, when she noticed something moving over by the newly thawed pond. She knew she didn't have the okay to go near the pond yet, but was worried that whoever or whatever it was needed help.

As Edie rounded the curve in the path near the pond she could make out a figure of the man, in the water, he wasn't moving, she began to run towards the water, yelling for help. At that point Trevor stepped from the woods yelling at her to "get back", and told her "she shouldn't be here." Trevor's anger took her by surprise, he began to wade into the pond. "Go back to the mansion", he said. Edie couldn't imagine who the man in the pond could be and why Trevor wouldn't let her help him. All sorts of scenarios started playing in her mind. She decided to hide out of site, to make sure Trevor did the right thing, or she would come to aide him, even if it got her fired. She wouldn't be able to live with herself otherwise.

Edie watched with fascination as Trevor pulled the man from the pond, he pulled a small bottle of something from his pocket and poured it into the lifeless mans mouth. A blue glow enveloped the man and he began to cough. Trevor helped him to a sitting position, then sat next to him. She could see them talking, but couldn't hear them. Trevor pointed to the woods where she was hidden, and the man turned to look her way, he had the most intense blue eyes she had ever seen. She ducked further down into the brush, and slowly began to ease away. That night Edie's dreams were filled with images of those blue eyes, the eyes that she would never forget as long as she lived.

The next morning Edie was awakened by a knock at her door. She opened it to find Trevor on the other side. "Sorry to wake you", he said, "Mr. Daxon is here and would like you to meet with him as soon as you are ready." Edie closed the door and hustled to get ready, she was still a little apprehensive from last nights events, but would try not to let it affect the first meeting with her new boss. She went downstairs to the kitchen, as usual the fresh aroma of Dora's master pieces permeated the room, but no one was there this morning. She could hear talking coming from outside on the patio, as she opened the door, she saw a dozen tables sitting filled with every type of Danish, toast, jelly, and cream. The smell of coffee and freshly made juice joined into the aroma, and her mouth began to water. But before she could take a seat, her eyes locked on the man sitting at the head table, his eye's were the same blue ones she saw last night.

"You must be Edie", Mr. Daxon said, I have heard a lot about you, from Trevor and the rest of the staff. I am, "Tristen, Tristen Daxon, please take a seat." Dora came into the room a few minutes later and sat next to Edie, she noticed that Edie was staring at Mr. Dixon as he spoke to the other member of the staff. "Oh, I see you have the classic reaction that most of the women do, they can't take their eye's of him", she said. Edie snapped out of it, "What?", she said. "He's gorgeous", Mattie chimed in. Edie flushed a little, "His eyes are so blue, like ice."

For the rest of the day Edie and Mr. Daxon went over paper work, and schedules of the seasonal workers. She had to remind herself not to stare on occasion, she felt drawn to him in a way she had never felt for anyone before. As dinner time neared the smell of Dora's cooking drifted into the office, Eddies stomach began to rumble, with embarrassment she looked up to see if Mr. Daxon had noticed and caught him staring at her. She smiled and said, "What?" in a joking manner, he returned the smile and said, "Lets go get some dinner."

Dinner consisted of a delicious roast, potatoes and carrots. Dora seemed to be able to make even the simplest foods taste like gourmet. They all joked, told stories about childhood events. She would catch Mr. Daxon staring again at her, every once in awhile. When they all finished and started to excuse themselves to their rooms, Mr. Daxon asked Edie to take a walk, he wished to speak to her. Edie graciously accepted.

As they walked the grounds, Mr. Daxon stopped at one point and looked her in the eyes, "I know you saw last night", gaging her reaction and hesitation, he continued, "I have been expecting you to ask about it all day, I just want you to understand, Daxon Lake is a different place, there are secrets that nobody can know, that nobody will understand." Edie took the que and said, "You looked like you were dead, then the glow, what was that?"

Mr. Daxon replied, "There is a legend from long ago about Daxon Lake, one of a mothers loss, and love. But, the legend became a curse that has lasted through time." They began to walk a little further as Edie went over what he was saying in her mind. She wondered if she should just leave it there, but decided to ask him to tell her more. "Only my closest friends, and staff know the legends, know the truth." He went on, "When Trevor hired you he knew that you had no living family left, and if I tell you this you must promise to take it to the grave, no one can know." He stopped walking and looked deep into her eyes. Edie stared back and felt a longing, a connection to him. She also felt fear, fear of knowing something so secret, but she knew she couldn't say no. "With your permission then, I will continue", Mr. Daxon said.

"Years ago, when this estate was first born, a child was born to a loving family. The mother had known he would be her only child, and lavished him with affection and love. The pond was a lake, that filled most of the valley then, and the boy, now twelve, loved to fish the lake when it started to freeze over. Ice fishing was a passion and even his mother couldn't stop him from doing it. It was early winter, and his mother told him to stay off the lake, it wasn't frozen enough to walk out on. Being stubborn though, the boy defied her, and walked out as far as he could go. The ice began to creak, giving him a warning to stop, he did not listen, it soon began to crack and he fell to the deepest depth of the lake. He could feel the freezing water filling his lungs, cold and burning. Soon all was dark."

Edie listened, and took in everything he was saying. He continued, "The boys mother, realizing he had not come home began to search for him. She could not find him though, and after days the towns people and friends claimed him dead. The mother would not accept it, she prayed and begged for a miracle to bring him back. A water witch hearing her plea appeared, she told the mother that she could bring him back, but there would be a consequence, a toll to pay. The mother not caring about anything but her son coming back, begged the witch to do whatever she needed to. The witch agreed, and began chanting and dancing near the lake."

Mr. Daxon stopped and looked at Edie, asking if she wanted him to continue. Then went on, "Soon the ground began to rumble, the ice cracked, and the boys lifeless body emerged. A blue glow encircled her son. The water witch said a few words and he came to life. The mother overfilled with joy, didn't pay much attention to what the witch said next, "You will have one year to love your son, and then he will give me five. He will be drawn to the lake in a year and be taken frozen waters, where he will stay to serve me for five years before he returns. If you do not keep this promise, you will loose him to me forever."

"The boy and his mother spent that year doing all they could do enjoying life, when the anniversary drew near, the mother began to plan ways to stop the inevitable from happening. But when the day came, the boy went to the lake, enchanted by the strange blue glow. The mother followed him, begging him to stop. The ice cracked and he fell into the lakes depth, suffering the same fate as the year before." The mother inconsolable felt the same pain of lose as before." She promised when the next five years was over she would have found a solution, to change this horrible fate."

"Five years later, the ground rumbled and the boy arose from the lake, the same potion was fed to him with, the blue light appeared and the boy returned, looking as he did the time his mother had last saw him. The water witch left and promised to return in a year, and reminded the mother that she had a promise to keep also. immediately the mother set her plan into action."

"She put all the men of the town to work damming the river that fed the lake, and changing the flow to the lands far below the town. The project took most of the summer, and her son grew strong helping to divert the water and in hopes of changing his fate. The trees turned brown, and the grounds died from lack of water, but they were willing to lose that in order to save the boy. As the air began to chill that winter, the mother was convinced with no water the witch would not come, but soon a small fountain of water sprouted up from the ground. She ordered the men to plug the fountain, which they did, but the next morning she awoke to a small puddle forming where the lake had once been."

"The men filled the puddle, but it kept reappearing, growing larger each time. Soon the men told her there was nothing they could do, they had not seen their families for over a year and they were going home. The next day all but one of the men left, he told her and the boy that he would stay and fight the water witch with them. Soon the ground began to rumble, and again the boy was enchanted with the blue glow. The man and his mother followed and when the pond opened to take the boy the man went after him, pulling with all his might trying to bring the boy to the surface. Soon the ice closed the small pond of water before he could get them out and they both drowned."

"As the pond froze the water witch appeared to the mother and told her that her son and the man would now suffer in a drowning state, the freezing water enveloping their lungs over and over again for all eternity. The mother so burdened by this took her own life, unable to live with what she had done. The witch realizing that she couldn't extract pain and fear from her any longer, revived the boy and the man, offering them a similar deal. The boy would return to the lake as before, and serve her. The man would keep the grounds beautiful and take care of the boy when he returned. The man would continue to do this until the day came when the boy was grown, and married, the the boys wife would take his place. The boy agreed, the man had a family that he loved and they needed him. So life had continued like this as long as he could remember. The boy would age one year for every year he was out of the water. The man wouldn't age until a replacement was found, then he would die peacefully in his sleep, finally being relieved of his curse. "

At that point Mr. Daxon ended the story, and Edie looked at him and said, "What was the boys name?" He responded, "Tristen."