((AN: CREDIT TO, OVERTHELOVEOFYOU, SHELBY))
Artemia certainty didn't expect to be here. And most certainty did not expect to be inheriting a century old mansion that stood beautifully in the middle of nowhere. She brushed her auburn hair out of her face. It sure was windy today...
Her hazel eyes stared up at the gates. They were locked. But she had the keys supposedly. Artemia pulled out a old rusted key, before sticking it into the lock.
It turned and clicked. Artemia stared in disbelief. Her father wasn't lying. Her father had supposedly passed away or fled the country, but not before leaving her a will of rights to a plantation and a huge ass mansion.
It made her heart flutter in excitement.
She unwound the chains, before pushing the gate open. It creaked loudly. Signaling the place was old. But oddly...
Artemia began to walk the grounds, her eyes scanning the area. Why did everything look so clean and beautiful? She was expecting things to be run down...In fact...It was like someone was living here. She narrowed her eyes. It seemed nothing ever escaped her notice.
"Fucking beautiful..." She muttered, climbing up the steps carefully, her hands feeling the clean smooth railings. Yeah...this place had been fixed up. It was beautifully done though.
Now was the real moment of truth. The first key worked. Now what about the front door?...
She pulled out yet another key, which was old as well. She slowly pushed it into the keyhole, slowly turning it. She was quickly satisfied as she heard a click. She would finally see the inside of this place...
She turned the handle, slowly pushing the door open, she blinked, her eyes scanning the ginormous room that was now revealed to her. It was the main open area. The meet and greet area so to speak. She was astounded. Everything was clean. Beautiful, bright. Not even the paint was chipping.
But now, her eyes were lowered. There were couches off to the side, and they looked used...Her suspicion was heightened. Perhaps her father had friends who lived here? And left the day before she arrived?
Suddenly, the door she entered from slammed shut with a loud bang. Artemia stood there a few seconds, before her eyes widened. If that wasn't creepy enough...
A male appeared in front of her. He appeared no older then twenty five. He had black hair that went slightly passed his ears. And his eyes were blood red. Contacts maybe? But that didn't concern her. She never felt so spooked.
"And who...Are you?" Asked the male, his voice deep and oozing an english accent. Artemia swallowed, forcing herself to answer. "Artemia. What are you doing in my house?" She asked, tempted to pull out her pepper spray bottle. She would remain calm for now. She would only fight if he started it.
"Yours? What an odd thing to say. This has been our house for over twenty years...Given to us by Artemis Sigma..." He explained with barely any emotion. Artemia perked quickly, eyes wide. "He was my father..." She blurted out.
"I wasn't aware he had a daughter." Came another voice. The male with black hair slightly turned his head. A man with brown hair neatly combed back was sitting on one of the nice couches. Glasses on the bridge of his nose. And bright greenish yellow eyes...
"I have the paperwork here if you want to read it." She offered, pulling out her fathers will. She had to stay calm still. They weren't being threatening...yet.
The man with black hair quickly snatched it from her, his slender fingers opening the mail. He had been quick...His dark eyes scanned the paper quickly. "I Artemis Sigma, here by relinquish all rights to the Sigma estate, to my only daughter, Artemia Sigma." He lowered the paper. "And it's in his handwriting." He said, tossing the parcel to the man with glasses.
He caught it, quickly reading through it. "Indeed. No falsed writing..."
"Well shit, are we getting kicked out?" Asked another voice. Artemia stared in disbelief as another male appeared. He had the same yellow-green eyes and short blond hair, with some black in the back. He was wearing glasses as well. And appeared younger then the two males. Perhaps eighteen.
"Mind your language...You would have to ask her that..." Answered the male with brown hair. Now all eyes were on her. Artemia exhaled loudly. She wasn't cruel. She wasn't heartless. "Y-You can stay. Dad let you stay so I will too." She answered quickly. She didn't want enemies here...
Their expressions seemed to remain the same. "Good. Our family needs a place to stay..." Answered the brown haired male.
Artemia then knew it was about time to introduce themselves. But oddly, they were already answering. "We've forgotten our manners..." Mentioned the black haired male. The brown haired male nodded. "Agreed. I am William T. Spears. And the foul mouth over here is Ronald Knox. My youngest nephew." He said with no emotion. Although Ronald was pouting. He then blew a kiss to Artemia, "Helloooo Sweet cheeks."
Artemia looked sheepish. At least she was feeling a bit better. Her eyes turned to look at the black haired male, who was smiling, mouth closed. "I am Sebastian Michaelis. I am the head of the family." He said, reaching out a hand. Artemia carefully grasped his hand and they both shook. Artemia noticed his skin was cold. But then again, the whole house was cold. Artemia was cold herself.
"I'm glad we got to formalities. You had me all spooked." Artemia looked sheepish, scratching her cheek. Sebastian chuckled softly. "We tend to do that by accident."
"It's alright. I'll get used to it. I just came by today to get a good look at the house. It's beautiful." She commented. Ronald was snickering. "Thats because clean freak over here fixed it up." He said, pointing to Sebastian. He looked sheepish. "I simply restored it to it's former beauty and kept it that way."
Artemia smiled. "Well it's beautiful. I was worried I would see a run down mansion. My dad didn't really explain much in the will."
"Your father came around here time to time. He usually checked up on us once or a twice a month at least. I'm surprised he didn't tell you about this mansion..." He said, rubbing his chin. Artemia sighed, there was no point in hiding secrets. "My father wasn't with the family. Mom kept him away. So I never really saw him much."
"Thats too bad...I can give you a tour of the house if you wish." He offered her. Artemia smiled. "I would love that. Thank you." Now she felt more comfortable.
Sebastian turned on his heels, leading her off. Ronold waved. "See you around, pretty lady~" He smirked. Artemia looked away, suddenly feeling very small.
Once out of earshot, Ronald turned to William. "Do you think she knows?" He asked. William shook his head, eyes closed. He then pushed on the rim of his glasses. "I very much doubt it. This is odd. Artemis never spoke of a daughter. But then again, that man never spoke much of anything." He muttered.
Ronald nodded. "We'll have to hide it then, yah?" He asked. William nodded again. "I thought that part would had been obvious to you. We must keep our identities hidden, as the rule states...We are nothing but shadows. "
"What if she finds out?" He asked.
"Then action that is deemed appropriate will be taken to ensure that our secret does not get out." He said with not emotion. Ronald stared at the empty fire place, wondering about their future at the household now. Their eyes glowed a dark red.
"Humans wouldn't understand us. In todays society...All those foolish media stories...They have no true idea what a vampire is."
The room suddenly grew ever colder...