Conversation between Antigone and the head of the house, making a deal which allowed the mortician to do her own researches. In exchange, she promised to serve the house without questions about the secret services and orders she would have to follow.

TOPICS FROM CLASS THAT FIT ON THIS STORY:

• Character: Protagonist (Beatrice), Antagonist (Head of the House), Character Development… kinda
  • Setting: In a dark corner of the funerary home, late at night. There`s a dark atmosphere in this scene due to the need for secrecy
• Plot setting: Since this is a short story, I dont know if Ill be able to include every step of the usual plot setting, but it will certainly have a climax and a resolution.
• Conflict: Character vs Character, Character vs Society, Character vs Supernatural
• Theme: The human condition

PLANNING:

Setup - A 14 year old Beatrice, working until late once again because her mother disappeared into her personal library halfway through the authopsy of their latest client.

Rising Action - Halfway through knocking on the door of her mother`s library, something inside the room stops the action bruscly. The sound of another voice husing alongside Antigone’s. Late night visitors were more than common in the Belladonas’ line of work, but there were still two disturbing details which clearly set these circumstances apart from the usual. The fact that her mother allowed another person to visit a secret family room was odd enough, but far from being the real predicament. No, the real issue was that the voice belonged to the owner of the most influential house in England - the Hargraves.

Climax - The argument between Antigone and Lady Hargraves. Antigone wants more freedom to study the bodies sent to the funerary home, a feat only someone powerful could accomplish - it wasn’t easy to hide information from the villagers.

Resolution - They reach an agreement which binds the two families together, setting Beatrice’s future in stone.

STORY:

While quite a few windows decorated the Belladonna Funeral Parlor, the room where the two mortuaries worked in was always dark. Antigone said it would help keep the bodies as fresh as possible. The darkness wasn’t easy on the eyes at first but, after learning and working with her mother for years, 14 year old Beatrice Belladonna found comfort in the dim light emanated by the candles.

She had been working alone on their latest client for hours on end - her mother, an avid perfectionist, often got frustrated with the process of waking before the autopsy. Such frustrations would lead her to take a break for God knows how long, seeking solacec in her own personal library, which no one had access to. Not even Beatrice.

It was fine, though. That morbid dance happened almost religiously between them, so the younger mortuary no longer minded the oftentimes dull work.

The clock rung loudly behind Beatrice, striking one, two… twelve times. Time did not mean much to either of the Belladonnas, but she worried for her mother's well being. Despite being a fierce woman, Antigone did not care for her basic human needs. Her daughter took it upon herself to find something they both could eat each night, a fible attempt at avoiding the death of another parent at such a young age.

Silence filled the room as the body got covered by a dark cloth to prevent rotting before the next waking session. The only sound that filled the room was of the equipments being cleaned and organized neatly in each drawer, perhaps the most therapeutical part of the initial process of preparing the body. Her mother hated having to wait for days to make sure the client truly was deceased - “useless”, she called it.