The streets lay dark and empty, void of their usual clatter and noise. A lone wagon clattered along the cobblestone pathway, the rythmic clopping of horse's hooves echoing through the lone street.
The wagon went around a corner, leaving the street empty once more. A dark flash extinguished one of the lanterns, filling a large part of the street in shadow.
A low growl echoed through the street, dark and deep and threatening. "Back off. Before I kill you, naive child!" A dark voice growled. A man stepped out onto the stoned street, his dark jacket fluttering slightly from the light breeze that blew by.
The remaining light reflected off the silver knife held in the man's hand, flashing dangerously in the little light left. "I don't give up that easily," the man chuckled, darting forward in a blur.
A shrill scream filled the empty air, and there was a sickening crack as the knife plunged into the creature. " Sleep well," the man whispered quietly, his blue eyes flashing in the lantern's light.
Alfred opened his eyes slowly, giving them a moment to adjust to the sunlight only partially blocked by the thin cotton drapes hanging in front of his window. He yawned and sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
The blond man could hear someone approaching his door. Knowing it was most likely his strict housekeeper, he quickly got up out of bed and hurried over to the wardrobe, pulling the doors open and grabbing his clothing for the day.
"Young Master," a voice chided from behind Alfred, the doors opening, "Your parents are waiting. What did I tell you about sleeping so late?" Alfred rolled his eyes. Sure, sometimes the old hag got on his nerves, but she was family, and had been around for as long as Alfred could remember.
And, to be honest, Alfred held a great respect for the old woman, especially since she had practically raised Alfred and his brothers by herself since their birth. The blue-eyed young man quickly dressed, getting a bit of help with buttoning his white dress shirt and buckling the belt on the back of his waist-coat.
In next to no time Alfred was heading out of his room and down the hallway towards the dining room. The house was rather large, filled with expensive paintings and extravagant decorations. A large tapestry hung from a wall near his parent's room, showing the extent of the Jones family tree.
Alfred steeped into the dining room, not surprised to see his entire family sitting, already finished with their breakfast. Alfred yawned, going to sit down at one of the empty seats. " Good morning father, mother," he chirped cheerily with a smile, looking over at his well-dressed parents. They seemed to scowl at him in return, or at least, Alfred's father did.
The dark haired man was well respected in their community. He worked as a doctor, and was often times away from home, answering house calls and the like. Victor had dark brown hair and blue eyes, the same eyes Alfred himself had inherited.
Although he and his brother Matthew shared the same hair color, a nice shade of blond taken from their mother, they both had different eye colors. While Alfred had taken his father's, Matthew was practically a male copy of their mother, having the same curly blond hair and indigo eyes.
"Al, dear," his mother began in a soft tone, and Alfred instantly knew something was going to happen, " We think... It's time you head out on your own. Find a nice young woman to marry and settle down." Yup. Something Huge.
Alfred raised an eyebrow slightly. "I'm sorry? Mother, I don't want to settle down, or marry. Not yet, at least. I want to see what the world has to offer before I decide to stay in one place," Alfred insisted, straightening up and looking at his parents in disbelief.
Alfred's Father growled slightly. " Alfred, you are already 19. You need to grow up, and get these stupid ideas of adventures out of your head!" His father, Victor, practically glared at Alfred, his eyes dark and clearly angry.
"You need to find a wife. The Season is starting soon. You're going to participate. If you don't find a wife by the end of the season," Victor paused, inhaling deeply, " I will no longer consider you my son."
Alfred's eyes widened. " You... You'll disown me?" His father nodded, his face maintaining it's usual stoic expression. Alfred stood up, looking towards the ground and refusing to meet his father's eyes, nor his mother's. "I need time to think about this," he muttered, looking up briefly. His father nodded, looking to his mother.
Alfred clenched his teeth, leaving the room and going outside, into the back garden. He wandered among the rose bushes and stone pathways, his mind focused on the situation.
He heard a rustling in the hedges, but simply passed it off as a squirrel or other small animal, and continued walking. After a few minutes, he heard a sound that shook him to the core. from inside the house rang a blood-curdling scream. One that sounded alike to his mother's.
Alfred dashed inside and looked around, seeing Matthew shaking slightly near the doorway back into the main hall. " Al... She... Sh-she's dead..." he mumbled in his usual soft voice, although it cracked and was filled with grief. " Nan's dead..."
Alfred froze, instantly feeling his chest constrict. The old woman... The woman he had learned to love as a mother, the nurse he, Matthew, and Daniel had come to call 'Nan'... She was dead?
"But... But how?" Alfred managed to choke out, pushing past Matthew into the hallway. He froze, his eyes widening in horror at the sight that lay before him. What he saw wasn't the old woman who had raised him, that had helped him dress just a short time before. what he saw was a horror beyond imagining.
A blackened, unrecognizable figure laid on the wooden flooring, her blood staining the wood around it dark red. There was another roundish, blackened shape laying a few feet away. It was as if... Some one had cut off her head... and burned her to death in the halls of their large home.
Alright. new story guys!
I'm not sure if I'll actually keep posting this one here... but I guess... If you guys like it, I'll keep writing.
Reviews keep me going!
~Britterz