Jillian Chantal

This week, the writer’s of Tuesday Tales are writing to the word prompt sweet. I am still working on my spooky story. It’s slow going with all the stuff happening in my life so we’re picking up right where we left off last week.

Check out the other tales here.

I finessed my way up the first five stairs as Jacques waited at the landing for me.

On the sixth step, I heard a big crack and leapt to the seventh just in time to watch a big gap crater in where I’d just been standing. “Jiminy Cricket. I almost had a major problem there.” How we were going to get back down without wiping out was going to be my next question but Jacques laughter stopped me from asking it.

“Boy, those were some sweet moves there, Annika. That little jig you did to get yourself off that stair was worthy of a spot on Dancing with the Stars.” He tapped the newel post. “Hurry up and get up here. I want to see if we can find the part of the house where the master’s son, Gilbert, was murdered with the axe.”

“I thought that happened on the first floor?”

“I’ve read a number of accounts of the incident and some say the ground floor, some say the top floor and some even call it as happening in the yard. I thought we’d take a look around and see how easy it would have been for the slaves involved in the revolt to negotiate their way to the top floor and where they might have found the son. Like a bedroom or something.”

“Well, I can attest it would have probably been easier in 1811 to get up those stairs. Surely there weren’t decayed and rotten steps back then.”

“Very funny. Of course, even if the stairs were in pristine condition, they would have had a hard time coming in the house and getting up here. They were field hands and probably didn’t know their way around the plantation house interior very well. One would presume so anyway.”

“I’m sure they had allies in the house slaves who would direct them to the right room since they outnumbered the white owners by a large number.”

“One thing we don’t know is how afraid the house slaves would have been to assist in case it all went wrong. The punishments were severe for sure.”

“I’ve read that many were executed when the revolt was over. What a horrible time period of history. I feel for the people who were so desperate to get out of their circumstances that they took a stand and then lost their lives because of that stand.” I moved carefully up the next few stairs. As I arrived at the landing, another huge boom of thunder echoed through the house, making me jump and let out a squeal. I lost my balance and teetered backward, my hand grasping air instead of the banister.