I stared into the raven haired mans gold-green speckled eyes. They stared right back at my plain brown ones. I looked down at the pale hands neatly folded on my lap. I was nervous meeting this man and scared even as I was staring into his eyes.I glanced back up and through my black bangs I could see he had noticed my uneasiness around him. But it wasn't just him, it was the situation. I looked up and frowned... this man makes me dizzy..I thought.I stared straight ahead and tried to control my expression to show an air of confidence. Instead his smirk just widened and my frown turned into a scowl. I turned to my right, where my father was sitting at our grand dining table. He was sitting calmly and smiling to the Earl in front of me. I turned to my mother on the left and she was grinning stupidly as well. They were happy now that I was actually being used for something by the cardmaster.

They were devoties to an organization called Delilah. This organization was a bit twisted,using unknown meathod's and ways for medical research and personal gain. The cardmaster,the leader, who just so happen to be the father of the Earl sitting in front of me had somehow dragged me into this mess. And my parents told me that it was such an honor to be selected by the master himself. Being part of his major Arcana make them the type to kiss up to him. They introduced me as well a few months ago.... as a new pawn that the cardmaster could use at his will. And thats exactly what the cardmaster did.

I picked up the small teacup in front of me and sipped slowly. Setting it down I said "Father, is it settled that I am going to be living in the Earls home for some time? If so, id like to go ahead and pack my things instead of wasting this time."And without waiting for his answer I got up,pushing my chair back a bit to far with my behind in my anger.I walked briskly to the stairs and snapped my fingers in the air to summon the maids at the foot of the stairs.I walked up, my dark blue dress trailing behind me. The two maids also fell in step behind me as well. I walked faster so I could get out their sight much quicker. I turned the corner and disappeared from their view. I was burning mad now. I walked so fast that the tiny maids had to literally trot behind me. Then remembering them I slowed down and came to a full stop. Lisette and Mary were standing at attention waiting for my orders as I turned around. "As you know i'll be leaving so I want you two to go ahead and pack my things... including all of my books." I turned and started walking away. "Milady!" I heard Mary gasp. "What is it?" I scoffed. "All of them?" she said, eyes wide. It was a stubborn order, but I wanted it done."Have them delivered to the earls home in two days time." I walked away without a second glance........no doubt they were gawking at my disapearing figure.

I kept walking up flights of stairs untill I finally arrived at my tower. Our home was large so there was a small tower located at the back of our mansion. It was unused,thus becoming my personal santuary. I tried my best to cool off and control my temper. It was difficult considering that there was no turning back now. I walked up one last flight and waiting for me at the top was the entrance to my tower room.I slowly entered and shut the door behind and,unfortunatly,there was no lock,other wise I would have done just that-locked the door and stayed up here,but that solution would get me killed by the cardmaster eventually. The small circular room was strewn about with old toys, painting supplies, writing notbooks, and of course,many,many novels. There was also a small window and a cushioned seat underneath which I would often sit on and think,or persue one of my many introvert hobbys. You can guess that im not a very sociable person. I have been spending time here for as long as I can remember,and ive come up here more than I really should. Girls my age would currently be enjoying themselves at parties,and social events,or flirting with young men. I chose to be better off in my hiding place for all these years instead of making a single friend. Thats correct,im what you would call a very lonley person. But I dont mind the least bit.

I sat up there for who knows how long, waiting for the maids to finish packing my things and for the disscussion to be done between the Earl and my father. Untill finally, Lisette comes to my hiding place about two hours later to tell me that the packings done. My rage, of course, comes boiling back. I also havent mentioned how I hate it when my dear Lisette or any other maid comes up here. That also made me very angry. I closed the door behind me after one last look into the place. I really had no idea when I would be able to see my hiding place, maybe never.I made my way down stairs following after Lisette. The Earl was waiting at the door for me. In his hand he had a cane,a sleek black one which he flunted like it was a new fashion statment.I did have to admit that it suited him though. I glanced up at his face. Angel-like I thought. He was smiling and his gold-green eyes reflected off of the lamplight. I brushed by him and went through the large entrance doors, him following me,and my parents following him. They are all so stupid...I thought to myself. The carriages were all waiting out front for us. I was then approched by a young man with startling white hair. He was tall,taller than the I suppose is saying somthing. He stood in front of the sleek black carriage and stepped to open the door. He extended a long pale hand. Gathering up the folds of my dress in both hands I stepped up onto the carriage floor without his help. I almost lost my balence on the way up,but hopfully no one had noticed. Now wasn't the time to worry about my reputation among these people. I was struting with arogance already, so it was probably pretty bad anyways. Oh well.

Cain followed close behind,and I had a rotten feeling that if I had fallen right then someone like him wouldn't have caught me. Thats just the kind of person I suspected him to minute I looked at the man, id sworn I saw the most playful look in his eye. He would have probably laughed if I had fallen. I could be wrong about him though,but I highly doubt it. I let the folds of my skirt go and sat down on one of the soft red plush seats in the carriage. Cain stepped in and sat on the opposite side of me...smiling. I felt like I was trapped from both ends. On one side was the devil Cardmaster and on the other side was his nefarious son. Imagine them closing in on me...the father wants to treat me like pawn,and the son like some new toy. It's more devious than it it's not something to joke about.

My parents stood outside the carriage's open door and said goodbye to me. What did they care if anything happen to me, it was likely that they were sending me out to my own death. I disregarded my mother's teary goodbye and my fathers cries to be safe. What a joke-they dont really care,they were stupid enough to get involved in Delilah in the first place..I thought. "Goodbye",I said. It came out of my mouth rather dryly. There was no feeling or emotion in my words and by now I had realized that all these parents really wanted was to be of service to the Cardmaster. It's hard to love someone after they try to send you to your own demise. I could take care of myself but I couldn't take care of the predicament that I was placed in.

I turned away and stared directly ahead as the carriage door the Earl was the thing I stared directly ahead at."Is that all you have to say to your mother and father?" he asked in a silky smooth voice as the carriage's pulled away frommy home. I turned and looked out the back window and glanced up to see my tower. I didn't look once at the woman and man standing there waving as if they would really miss their daugther. I didn't care. I turned back to the devil in front of me. I didn't answer and I didn't want to. Hopefully he'd take the hint. He didn't."Id think a girl like you would have started to cry by now." he took his cane and rested it on his lap. He leaned back and looked at me. His wide eyes narrowed a bit. It was like he was observing me from head to toe. I felt a bit defenceless against his stare. He was staring at me very intensely. I could only describe it as strange. Dispite the hard look I had pasted on my face, I couldn't help but feel the heat rise to my cheaks. Please stop....I thought. The senstation was like being penetrated by some strong force-I felt as if I wouldn't be able to move unless his gaze lifted. Then I saw that his gaze did lift off and he had looked away. I had stayed frozen a whole 20 seconds afterwards and he looked out the window. His expression wasn't one that I could read. So I let him be and didn't press on when he didn't say anything about it. I decided to speak up. "I dont care about them,you,or anyone else. The only one I care about is me. Im solely doing this for myself.......because i'm bored." Thats when I saw his mouth twist up in a smirk. I couldn't tell if he was impressed or just mocking me. It didn't matter. Besides, what I said was the truth. Partially.

We stayed quiet the rest of the trip which lasted about another hour and a half or so. Sometimes he would look away from the window and at me and when he did that,just to be safe,I never made any eye contact and looked away quickly. He sat as if he were a god on a pedostal. Its so difficult for me describe his angel-like face everytime he turned toward me. But i'll try my best. Which wont even be close to enough. This last hour and a half or so was my good chance to look at him,or at least his profile,since he was turned away most of the time.I guess I could say that when you looked at him a certain way he had a playful and childish look,and in another his face would look thin and innocent,like his body, and in another he would look like a(very) good looking young man,and nowhere near innocent. Thats when his eyes are narrowed. His hair is jet black like mine and falls straight down in front of his gold-green eyes which are thick with black lashes. His eyes seemed to always refect light wherever he was, like now. His eyes were wide now giving him a childish look. His nose was long and pointed and his pale lips looked soft and were slightly tilted in a playfull smile the entire way. Either way you look at him,your faced with a devilishly handsome face. I cant help thinking that about him and its the only pleasent thought about him so far.

We arrived at the Hargreaves estate eventually. It was vast and I wasn't surprised. The man in front of me inherited a whole lot more than I thought was nessesary. The carriage finally came to a full stop. The carriage door opened and again it was the white haired man I saw that I had bluntly ignored before. Ignoring him once more I gathered up the folds of my dress and hopped out of the carriage. I was surprised at my smooth land and stood up letting go of my dress. I looked up,mostly because it was hard not you she it in front of you it's a whole different story. The size of the mansion home was larger than mine by at least three times. Thats definitly saying somthing. Evening was approching so the front of the mansion was lit up;every single room in view. I gasped at the sheer size of the home. It was magnificent. I actually expected no less, but I was still very surprised. Cain stepped out and around me. "I suppose you'll like it here, but then again you might not care," he said nonchealantly. All I could do was stare and it wasn't helping. "Please follow me," said the white haired man. I averted my gaze from the house and focused on the man servant. "Go on" said Cain softly from behind. I started to follow the tall man and he lead me towards the front doors where two other servants were holding open the door. Cain walked behind me-more like loomed over me, I should say. I felt as if he were trying to make sure I didn't run away. Like father, like son...I thought I felt his had on the small of my back. Then sensation was almost tingly. Strange as was gently leading me through the large front doors and into a vast living room. Its was far more grand than anything I had every seen. I gazed around the high arc ceiling and made my was downwards to the ornate tables and my eyes fell upon a blond haired beauty. Mary Weather.

I should probably mention what I was doing in Cains home anyways. Well, Cain had actually requested me to be here. There were two jobs and one of them was to beside Cain during what I call his "cursed adventures". After his very brief summery on his "curse" I came to this conclusion. My job was to be alongside him whenever these should occur. I should be able to help him out if I can or at least take care of the issue myself. The cardmaster did indeed say he was cursed so that whereever he went a mystery followed him. I didn't belive it. but Cain had said it so himself. I have yet to find out what they really mean. Why I was chosen by Cain, I do not know. Wits, perhaps? That was my job but Cain specifically reqested that I pose as a tutor for Mary Weather so I was stuck tutoring children as well. So I had two jobs here as well. Along with a third for the cardmaster. I was stationed as a simple spy among Cain. This was only decided after the Cardmaster found out Cain was requesting me. My parents were overjoyed and immediatly rushed to tell the Cardmaster thier new. The Cardmaster was particularilly pleased with me. I didn't care. My objective is to survive. I couln't care less what happend to anyone but myself.

Servants started to come through the doors with my bags and boxes. I watched as they hefted them up some spiral stairs when Mary Weather skipped up to me. I was instantly struck by how pretty and cute she was up close. Cain bent down so his head was slighty lower than Mary's. "This is the new tutor I mentioned to you earlier Mary." he said to her. "She stepped forward to me and smiled big. Adorable...I thought. Now was my time to act like a teacher. But before I could say anything she spoke. Her voice was like small bells ringing. " You wont be boring will you...like all of the others?" she chimmed innocently. " Of course not, Mary ," I said. Bending down closer to her ear so Cain wouldn't hear and said "if we have my way, you wont have to study at all...you can do almost anything when your with me." I leaned away and saw that her smile had grown larger. Then she quickly turned around her long blond hair hit me as she turned around and she skipped a bit farther away. Then she cranned her neck, beaming she said "I like you" and skipped away until she was no longer in site. Cain chuckled and stood up. The servants were done with the moving,and it had happened pretty quickly so I hadn't noticed when they finished. "Well I suppose i'll be able to talk to you now. Let's go." He started to walk towards a room with double doors in the back. I hesitantly followed him...I just wanted to be shown to a room and gone to sleep. But instead I was stuck listening to him. I entered the room and the doors closed behind me with two soft clicks. He turned and faced me, his expression unreadable. "It actually saddens me to give you a present like this." he said walking deeper into the room. He came to a a small door built into the wall. "Present?" I asked. I stood my ground and waited for whatever it was. He had started to fish through the storage area and took out a shining black pistol.

I quickly put my hands behind my back. I wouldn't accept it. I wasn't going to take it from him. He walked towards me with the gun in hand. He held it towards himself so I knew he wouldn't have hurt me, but despite that I found myself backing away from him. His strides were longer and mine were shuffled and clumsy so it didn't take him long to get in front of me, the pistol in between us. "I understand why you wouldn't want to take it." he said softly. "But it is for your own safety. I cant garantee that there wont be a chance that you could die while your with me. So take it. Please." I backed away farther shaking my head no. I would take it. I couldn't bring myself to accept the weapon. He seemed to realize that and sighed. He reached one pale hand slowly around my back and placed his fingers gently on my shaking hand. He grabbed it and tugged it around, palm up. I was too shocked to stop him. He was forcing the gun into my hand. The cold of the metal sent shivers down my spine. He closed my fingers around it. "You dont have a choice when it comes to your safety." he whispered. "Deal with it." I looked up and stared hard at him. My eyes were blazing. How dare he tell me to deal with it. I would have shot him right then and there if I wasn't still so shaken. His expression remained indifferent. "Goodnight" he said backing away. I took that as my signal to leave. I actually tightened my grip around the gun as I stompped out. I didn't even give Cain a second glance. This was already far too much for me to deal with....and I knew that it would get far worse than this for me.