The Haunted Mansion

[NotAllThatCreative]

@Syrrus


She was out getting some stuff with her master and she had no one with her currently. That was a bad thing. She was prone to get lost and that was the last thing she wanted at the moment. With a list in her hands, she walked down the dirt road, the mansion where her master lived disappearing behind her as she walked, and hummed a light tune under her breath. Her arms swung at her side as she continued to walk down the dirt path, thinking that she was making her way towards town.


After walking for a little while, Cecilia turned down the wrong path. Being blind, directions were useless to her and even though her master attempted to tell her where to go, it was lost to her. She thought that she was going to right way, that she was making her way to town but she was completely wrong. Town was two hours away from her master's home and so she continued to walk and thought that she was going the right way. An hour later, it started to rain and that made the dirt road slippery for the blind woman.


"How unfair..." Cecilia pouted lightly and crossed her arms to attempt to keep herself warm. Her dress was too thin for her to be out in the rain, especially with it being a little chilly outside. She'd catch her death if she wasn't careful. Rubbing her arms, she continued to walk down the road, unknowingly getting closer to a different mansion that wasn't too far from her master's. Reaching up with one of her hands, she pushed some of her wet hair away and held one of her arms out in front of her, attempting to feel for something in front of her. Her hand brushed across a wood door and a confused look came across her face. Balling up her hand a little bit, she knocked on the door and waited to see if someone would answer.

 

[Syrrus]

The hands upon the door was like a loud thunderous knock to him. He was placed in the drawing room in front of the always roaring fire. Staring at it made him almost believe that he could she a shape forming in the dancing flames, it was hypnotizing and sucked all the energy out of him. The door was what woke him up from his imaginary trance and he quickly jumped out of his seat in the dusty chair. Someone had come to visit them, this wasn't good. He would hear the creaking of stairs, the footsteps from upstairs and the forever running tap water getting turned off.


"I'll get it! I'll get it!" He shouted and hurried along through the deep corridor and as he reached the door, before the growing darkness managed to touch it, it caused the blackness of the corridor to throw itself back in something that could be resembled fear and the footsteps as well as the silence from upstairs died out. The pouring of water could once again be heard.


Jonathan placed a hand upon the door handle after fixing his bowtie and making sure that he looked presentable instead of stressed and paranoid which were big parts of his usual look. He then opened the door, carefully as he could fell something against it. "Yes? How can I help you? Are you lost?" He asked with a deep voice as he peered around the doorframe just to let his eyes fall upon a feminine figure. She indeed had to be lost. Looking around the garden he quickly stepped outside just to shut the door behind him and led the horrors that lurked inside stay there, by themselves as he addressed the young woman.

 

[NotAllThatCreative]

Cecilia looked up as she heard the voice and let out a shaky sigh of relief. She was now shaking, the cold getting to her in the worst way possible. Rubbing her arms, she tried to listen for any sounds around her but nothing came up. That confused her. When she knocked on the door, the sound echoed and that meant the house was large. So why weren't there any servants or any other people around the area? With a home being large, there should've been servants, butlers, cooks, anything of the sorts.


Her sightless eyes turned towards the source of the voice and a sheepish expression came across her face. "Sadly, I am..." She murmured, stuttering on a few of her words, and nodded lightly. "I was going to town for my master and turned down the wrong road." Her hands rubbed up and down on her arms, her frame still shaking ever so slightly. "Forgive me if I am intruding. I can leave if I'm not welcomed here." She didn't want to leave but if it came down to it, she would out of respect. The young woman was obedient and listened to every command or suggestion that was given to her.


Her damp dress was starting to stick to her skin now and she could feel herself getting colder by the second. The rain got heavier since it first started and she hoped that this storm wouldn't last so long. She knew her master would get very angry with her if she was gone for too long. Shuddering at the thought of her punishment, she battled with the idea of leaving or staying. Staying would be a wiser choice being as she'd get sick if she continued on down the path. But if she didn't get back to her master's house within the next three hours, she'd be in some serious trouble. Her mind was trying to figure out what was worse.

 

[Syrrus]

Being kind was hardly going to help the situation, in fact he was certain it would make it worse for the both of them. He peered around, staring though one of the windows beside the door. Things were behaving now but the darkness was sneaking up on them, night time wasn't a good time to be near his home. It sounded rather cliché but it was truth. Of course, creatures like himself could walk around the world in daylight too so he wouldn't call the lighter part of the day much safer than the night. However, at night other people went to bed and the energy would become static which was when he felt energized and he knew the creatures behind him felt the same.


Jonathan looked down upon the young lady, she wasn't looking at him and if he tilted his head slightly he could notice that something wasn't quite right with her eyes. They were creepily white. Of course, he wasn't born under a rock he knew that blindness was, he had seen the cause of it many times. Sighing heavily but trying to stay as quiet as he could he found that the only right thing to do was to let her inside. As long as she stayed close to him everything would be alright, he assumed.


"Would you like to step inside until the rain stops? I can take you to the village later, if you wish." Kindness was an easy task, it made him seem less suspicious. Though there had never been any rumors of him that he disliked so he took it for granted that the people in the sleepy village liked him a fair deal, which was good for his condition.


Jonathan opened the door carefully, listening to the wood creak as it opened before them. He wasn't certain how this would work, would she be able to follow him by the sound of his voice? He then remembered the never ending footsteps from the top floor of the house, if she thought that light tapping were his she'd be in great trouble and he wouldn't help her. He couldn't much say that he enjoyed laying eyes upon the creatures of the house either.


"Just stay close to me, alright? This house isn't safe - it needs renovating." Great save, genius. He sighed heavily at his own sentence and the tiny voice in the back of his head which kept telling him what to do, he couldn't stop listening to it either which was why even he could be dangerous for the young lady.


Jonathan gently placed a hand on her shoulder as he walked inside, guiding her that way to make sure she wouldn't take the wrong turn. The drawing room was probably the best place to me, right now.

 

[NotAllThatCreative]

Gratefulness filled her eyes and she nodded in appreciation. "Yes, please." She could tell that the rain wouldn't stop any time soon and having a place to sleep for the night would be nice, very nice in fact. Moving her hand off to the side, she attempted to figure out where the doorway was and stepped inside after figuring out if there was a step up or not. The smell of dust filled her nose and her face scrunched up a little bit from the smell.


"You don't clean very much, do you?" Cecilia asked curiously and turned her head towards him, seeming a bit curious. She then paused and frowned lightly, realizing what she had just said. "Forgive me, that was rude." Her master would've smacked her for that. "I will try not to speak out of line again." She brought her arms back around her and rubbed the top of her arms, listening to what was around her.


She had this odd feeling that this man wasn't the only one here but she couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary. This place was strange to her and made her feel very unsettled. Her milky eyes darted around as if looking for something despite how she couldn't actually see it. A frown came across her lips and she shuddered at the cold feeling she was getting. "Is it only you here?" She asked after a quiet minute and tried to keep her mind off of the house and the odd feelings she was getting.

 

[Syrrus]

"No I- The greater part of this mansion is out of use, the stairs aren't safe so I can't access the main part of the house." He didn't smile. He would have done if she actually could see it but seeing as she had no way of vision he figured he could drop the act and let himself look as uneasy as she felt, as long as his posture didn't give anything away. He led her into the drawing room where the fire were still burning. He could see a body dance in the moving flames and swallowed heavily before glaring at it, causing it to go away. Bastard child.


"And don't worry, I am not your master and I'm not going to punish you for using freedom of speech." That was very modern of him. Though people were allowed to spout any crazy antic they wished to spout, as long as it didn't insult the Queen, he assumed for he had never heard anyone blurt something bad about Queen Victoria. He gently let go of her as they reached the fireplace. "You may stay in here, it's the only safe room in the house." True that. He peered towards the door and spotted a hunched figure with piercing yellow orbs and long claws, draped in shadows. The creature looked at him and opened its mouth showing sharp teeth and dripping saliva before it simply vanished in a blink of an eye.


Jonathan quickly looked back at the young lady and nodded. "Yes, it's just me here. I will admit that I think there's an animal upstairs, maybe a raccoon or something like it, the footsteps drives one insane." He laughed heartily and then peered towards the door again, to face with nothing.

 

[NotAllThatCreative]

(Forgive the late reply...)


Cecilia nodded in understanding and let out a long sigh as she welcomed the warmth when they entered the drawing room. She could tell that this room was more welcoming than the others. It held more life to her. "What is this room?" She asked curiously tilted her head lightly to the side, frowning lightly as she attempted to find something in front of her with her hand. Her unease was still there but not as much as before and it was easier to control this time around.


Despite his words about him not being her master, she was still hesitant to speak to him. Her hand brushed against the brick of the fireplace and she carefully lowered herself to the floor. She brought her body close together to keep herself warm and rubbed her arms. This place... It was odd and rather frightening. She felt bad that the man behind her had to stay here. And then she seemed to remember that she forgot to tell him her name.


"Forgive me for my rudeness. I forgot to tell you my name." A sheepish smile came across her face and she shifted lightly where she was sitting, her movements showing her embarrassment. "My name is Cecilia Blackwood." She introduced herself and nodded lightly. "I work for the man down the road." She didn't want to work for him but she had to if she wanted to keep living. Shuddering lightly, she had this odd feeling that there was something else within the room with them but couldn't figure out what it could be although she could tell it wasn't alive.