A/N: Welcome to my story. This is my first attempt at writing anything longer than the little one-shots I do on tumblr. It may start off a little bumpy, but I think I'll get better as I go. Multi-chapter fics are way out of my comfort zone but I want to learn. Advice is always welcomed.

I have probably watched Downton a thousand times (especially seasons 1-3). Matthew is my absolute favorite character and I've been thinking up alternative stories in my head from the very beginning. I love Mary and Matthew but I honestly felt that their relationship was too predictable and I hoped for a twist: Like Matthew would fall in love with someone they did not expect and Mary would come back from America with her cowboy to shake thing up like Robert suggested. I also love the supernatural, so this story delves into magic a lot. Enjoy!

My original character's name is Eilis, pronounced AYE-LISH.

I

Lilac Eyes

It was mid-morning when Eilis finally stirred awake. The sun was beaming through her open window, the curtains fluttering against the gentle breeze. She blinked, her eyes attempting to adjust to the light but as soon as her gaze caught sight of dust particles floating in the stream of light, her eyes automatically went shut.

"Eilis, Eilis, Elis!" screeched a little voice, She heard small footsteps pattering across the wood floor. The steps grew louder and came to a stop just as they reached her bed, "Get up!" the child shouted, her hands shook her shoulders. Eilis opened her eyes again, snatching a pillow from her side and flopping it right on top of her head. Hands grasped the pillow and pried it from her face, "Elis, please!" The child persisted.

Eilis sighed, turning over onto her back and finally opening her eyes, allowing them to eventually adjust to the sunlight. She pulled herself up into a sitting position and looked at her little sister, "Alright, Carissa, you win," She smiled, running her fingers through her hair and grabbing her shawl from the chair beside her bed. She slipped from her covers and wrapped the material around her nightgown.

"We have new neighbors," Carissa said gleefully, bouncing on her toes as she followed Eilis across the room, "They arrived earlier. If you didn't stay up all night, you could have seen them."

"Oh?" Eilis queried just as her maid sauntered in. She was the same height as Eilis, except with a smaller, ganglier frame. Eilis was slim but a bit fuller in curves.

"Good morning, Ma'am." Her maid, Ruth said as she swept over to Eilis' wardrobe and began to skim through her clothes.

"Yes, Mrs. Crawley and her son. Relatives to Lord Grantham," Carissa told her as she dug around Eilis' vanity.

"They live in Downton Village then?"

"Yes," Carissa replied, her hands moving to adjust the blue ribbon in her hair.

"Then they're not really our neighbors," Eilis said with a chuckle, "And what were you doing in Downton Village this morning?"

"The village shop of course and it's close enough. You know what I meant, Eilis." Carissa complained. Their house sat on the edge of the village, between the railway station and the rest of the village. Some people considered their house to be a part of the village because the station was a part of it, but their house sat right on the border, near a green grove where Eilis spent a lot of her time.

Eilis stood next to Ruth, contemplating her wardrobe for the day and settled on a dark green frock with plum trim and a matching coat. After she freshened up and dressed, she moved to her vanity and allowed Ruth to make quick work of her long brown hair. She gazed at her reflection in the mirror, not sure if she liked what she saw. Eilis was considered to be the mysterious beauty within the village, but she always felt her ethereal appearance was frightening, which made her unapproachable. Her thoughts drifted to their neighbors, wondering what they would be like. She knew Lord Grantham had dreadful news about his cousin. The titanic was a tragedy of course, but Eilis didn't find it as astonishing as most in the village.

"I'd prefer if you didn't play with my things, Carissa," Eilis scolded her gently before grabbing her hat and placing it upon her head.

Carissa ignored her sister's words and followed her out of the room, "Where are you going?"

"What makes you think I'm going anywhere?" Eilis asked as she made her way downstairs, slipping her leather gloves on as she did so.

"You put on your hat and gloves, and you never do that unless you're leaving. Can I come?" Carissa skipped behind her sister, her brown curls bouncing around her shoulders.

Eilis chuckled, looking upon her sister with amusement, "If it pleases you, then yes you may come along. I'm just going out for a walk, nothing too exciting."

"Aren't you hungry?"

"Not particularly, I'll just eat an apple on my way out." She strolled into the kitchen, plucking an apple from the pantry and earning an amused gaze from their cook. Eilis gave her a wink before headed out, taking a large bite of her apple as she did so. Carissa walked along side her, rattling on about whatever nonsense interested her and Eilis only half listened as she mulled over her own affairs. A large black cat followed behind them, his vivid green eyes scanned the area, looking more sentient than other animals. They made their way into Downton Village, walking casually past the church and shops.

"I agree the whole thing is a complete joke," came a woman's voice and Eilis looked up to see Lady Mary upon her horse. However, she could not see whom she was speaking to. She watched as Mary's horse plodded off. Once Mary was out of site a young man was left standing there, looking off at the retreating form of Lady Mary Crawley with a look of regret writ across his face. His gaze shifted from the road to Eilis who was standing there with raised brows. That must have been the new neighbor her sister spoke of. She lowered the apple and ambled across the road and over to where the young man was standing.

"Hello?" he said, glancing down at her, his gaze meeting her violet eyes that glimmered like amethyst against the sun. He thought it was a trick of light because it was it was impossible to have purple eyes, yet her eyes were as purple as the lilacs in the garden.

She proffered her hand to him, and he reached out to encase her smaller hand in his, "My name is Eilis Ravenwood, my family lives in a home just on the outskirts of the village."

"Matthew Crawley," He responded as he gave the woman a once over. Judging by her and the child's clothes they were probably upper middle class like he and his mother. He took notice to the cat sitting next to her feet with its tail swaying from side to side and regarding him with a look that almost appeared judgmental. Matthew felt unsettled in the cat's presence and his eyes drifted to the child standing next to Eilis. She too had brown hair, except her eyes were a deeper shade of purple. She appeared about eleven or twelve and was smirking at him as if she knew all his secrets.

"This is my sister, Carissa," Eilis introduced and Matthew took the young girl's hand and smiled.

"You're very cute," Carissa told him with a wide grin, dimples forming across her cheeks.

The girl was outspoken, throwing Matthew off for a fleeting moment. However, he recovered from the shock and grinned back, "You are too." He said, appeasing her. She giggled, her dress swished around as she swayed from side to side.

Eilis glanced down at her smitten little sister and looked up to meet Matthew's gaze once again, "We should be going, but it was a pleasure meeting you Mr. Crawley." Eilis told him before taking her sister's hand and leading her away. Carissa turned as she was toted away by her sister and waved at him, "Bye! I hope we see you again soon!" She said.

"You will, I'm certain," Matthew said as he took a few steps back to turn back toward the house. His eyes drifted down to the cat, and a chill ran down his spine. That cat was still sitting there, staring at him with narrowed eyes. He's never seen such behavior in a cat before. The cat then shook its fur and stood on all fours before following after its owner.

The incident was soon forgotten as he entered his home to prepare for his evening at Downton.

"Matthew met our neighbors earlier, they live just outside of the village, An Eilis Ravenwood and her younger sister," Isobel said at the dinner table, hoping to have some enlightenment regarding the peculiar girl Matthew spoke of.

"Oh, the Ravenwoods," Edith began, a small smile on her face, "Eilis Ravenwood and her family aren't originally from here. She's my age I believe."

"No, they moved from Norway when Eilis was a baby. Her family usually keeps to themselves." Cora added.

"We invited them for supper a few times, but they've rejected every time. Their father was a squire of some sort in Norway. I'm not entirely sure of their history, but they are generous and help out a lot in the village despite their mysterious circumstances." Robert began, "I've met their father several times, he seems to be a kind man."

"I don't know," Violet began, "The man and his wife haven't aged a bit since their arrival." She said with an accusatory tone.

"Granny's right. There was a rumor once that they were vampires." Mary said.

Matthew raised a brow, a chuckle emerging from his throat, "Vampires? That's a little far fetched don't you think?"

"You saw her," Mary said, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips, "Her eyes are purple, it's strange."

"I did notice that," Matthew admitted from behind his glass of wine, "And her cat was giving me the strangest looks."

"Her cat?" Isobel asked, tilting her head, "you didn't mention a cat."

"Yes, it was a black cat, quite large with green eyes. He kept a very vigilant eye on me, and I found it odd. Almost as if he was sizing me up."

"That's rather silly. You speak as if the cat was a person." Said Mary before taking a small bite of her food and chewing silently as she awaited Matthew's response.

"That's just the thing," Matthew looked at Mary, "His behavior was oddly human." Mary kept her gaze on him a moment longer, the gears turning in her brain as she mulled over his words.

The subject was soon changed and they all began conversing about hunting again, something Matthew had little to no experience with. His mind drifted as he thought about Eilis Ravenwood and her peculiarities. She was a strikingly beautiful girl with her lilac eyes. Matthew hadn't seen such a rare person before. His gaze shifted to Lady Mary, she too was a beautiful girl despite the fact that she seemed to loathe him.