Scent Notes: Powdery violets, myrrh smoke drifting through a crumbling cathedral, red musk, candle wax, black roses.

John was thrilled to be getting married to Elizabeth. True, they had only known each other for a short time, less than a month, after he had moved to the country to hopefully avoid the cholera epidemic that had been breaking out so suddenly and violently in the city. It had taken only two dances for him to fall in love with her. And it was also true that she had a bit of a strange reputation around her small town, but as an outsider, he assumed that his own reputation around town would be less than kind. She was incredibly beautiful, with pale skin, long black curls, and eyes that lit up with such sparkle when she was excited, you could’ve sworn they would pop out of her skull.

But her life also contained such tragedy, John’s heart broke for her. After a recent trip to the city, her whole family had come down with cholera, and were in the long, slow process of dying at their large manor estate. Luckily, their wealth had afforded them the best in-home care possible, and while nobody in town had seen anyone but Elizabeth for several months, nobody wanted to become infected with cholera, either. Since two people in their town had been accidentally buried alive, poles had been installed in the graveyard. Bells were attached to the poles, and lines of string from the bell’s clappers down into freshly-dug graves could be seen scattered throughout the cemetery.... Click here to read the rest of the story!