A cold wind blew through the dark woods, shaking the twisted branches of the trees and creating warped and eerie shadows that accented the overall feel of hopelessness Ryou felt. He had been wandering through the woods for hours now, and what little light the stars cast had been hidden by tree branches as he came to the thicker part of the woods. He should have just turned back when he had the chance. The small, faded letter he had been asked to deliver couldn't have been that important.

Ryou shivered and pulled his cloak tighter around himself, wishing desperately that he had worn warmer clothes.

Of course, I never expected to be lost like this he thought to himself.

Several times he had been tempted to open the letter, but something told him that it wasn't his business.

Ryou was ready to just give up and sit in the freezing darkness until morning, when he saw the faint glow of light. He hurried forward to inspect it, and found the source of the faint light to be coming from the windows of an old, decrepit, mansion.

At any other time, Ryou would have left whoever it was living there alone, but the weather was only growing colder.

They have a big enough house, I'm sure they won't mind if I stay just one night.

Ryou approached the mansion slowly, and knocked on the ominous, damaged door.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" he called into the darkness.

The mansion door swung open, reviling a man with long blond hair.

"My, do you need some help?" he stepped aside and gestured for Ryou to come in, holding the door wide open.

Ryou dipped his head in thanks and entered, the warmth of the mansion a nice contrast to the frigid weather outside.

"Welcome…"
"…To our wondrous mansion!"

Ryou jumped back in surprise as the pair of twins jumped up in front of him. Both had wild, spiky hair that was decorated with 3 colors.

"Let me serve you some tea!"

Ryou spun around to face a brown-haired maid with sparkling blue eyes. She smiled warmly at him, pouring the tea into a pretty china cup as she spoke.

Ryou accepted the cup from her, and the twins lead him into the next room, followed by the maid and butler.

The next room was a large living room, filled with comfortable and ornate furniture. Ryou noted the beautiful grand-father clock in the back of the room, its golden hands glittering in the light from the chandelier.

The master of the house (a tall brown-haired man with narrow blue eyes) and the lady of the house (a pretty white-haired woman with deep blue eyes) were waiting. A young mistress of the house (a blond woman with purple eyes) came running into the room to meet the guest as well.

The master put his hands on Ryou's shoulders and looked him over.

"A meeting such as this, you know, must be fate" he smiled.

The twins ran up to Ryou, each one taking him by a hand.

"Then we will party! Party!" they chanted in chorus, responding to their masters appraisal.

"Let us welcome you!"

Ryou blushed at the idea of a party just for him. All I wanted was to get out of the cold.

"Hurry! Hurry!" chanted one of the twins as the household went about busying themselves, setting up a large banquet.

"Pour the wine!" the blond butler called, bringing out a bottle of fine champagne

Really, this isn't necessary, is it? Ryou thought to himself as a glass of wine was shoved into his hand.

"Be merry, be festive!" the maid smiled, noticing the worried look on Ryou's face.

"Let us give a toast!" The white-haired lady sang out, clinking her glass against Ryou's as she passed.

"Are you ready?" The other twin asked, playfully skipping throughout the room.

"Are we indeed?" The mistress responded, glancing sideways at Ryou.

"Then let us Begin!" The accompaniment called out.

Its only one night, and they look so happy…What's the worst that can happen? Ryou thought cheerfully to himself, and he raised the glass to his lips

The party continued late into the night, and Ryou was glad when his hosts decided it time to retire. He was shown to a large guest bedroom, and left for the night. The room was grand, and well decorated, with a large window looking out to the night sky.

Ryou laughed to himself. I only wanted to come in for the night, not party and get drunk.

Smiling, he lay down on the soft bed and went to sleep.

When Ryou awoke, he was surprised to find that it was still dark out.

I must have just woken up really early… He reassured himself.

He sat up in his bed, and looked around the room for a clock. He found none. Remembering the grand-father clock in the living room, he got up and was about to go look when the twins dashed into his room and grabbed him by the wrists, pulling him down the hall.

When they reached the living room, they stopped, and gestured towards the clock.

"Shall we…"
"…Tell you a secret?"

They asked and Ryou looked from the clock to them several times, not seeing anything wrong, before he nodded.

"Take a look at the clock…" The twins said. The fact that they often spoke in unison was beginning to scare Ryou.

He turned back to the old clock, inspecting the hands carefully.

There's nothing wrong with it…It's just an old, dusty, broken clock- wait…Broken? It was working last night…

Ryou didn't know a lot about clocks, but he did know that old ones didn't just stop. They had no batteries; they ran via swinging pendulum.

Ryou began to feel afraid as the others in the house came to gather around and see what all the fuss was about. This all was just too weird. It must have been way past 2 when he had gone to bed, and he didn't feel tired, as he would have if he had woken up before sunrise. Then he realized that the people around him weren't staring at the clock. They were staring at him.

Noticing a door in the wall he hadn't noticed before, he turned and fled from the accusing stares of his hosts. He ran down the cracked, stone stairs until he reached another door. This one much heavier than the last, and more ominous looking. Ryou could hear the sound of footsteps on the stairs now, and he had no choice but to force open the door.

What he saw on the other side was the most horrific thing he had ever seen. He stared, to scared for words, at the contents of the room for a long time before he snapped back to his scenes.

"Jesus! Jesus!"

The pile of coffins was laid out before him, but he refused to accept what he was seeing. The others caught up with him, and stood beside him, looking around the room as well.

"Oh dear…" The mistress gasped.

"So you saw it…" The master sighed sadly.

"Danger! Danger!" One of the twins shouted teasingly.

"Don't be scared, please?" The maid asked, resting a hand on Ryou's shoulder.

Ryou tore away from her and fled up the stairs, crying.

"Where are you going?" The other twin cried as he turned to follow.

"Where indeed?" The butler muttered to himself.

"Please, wait!"

Ryou ran as fast as he could, turning into the living room and hiding in the corner. He wept silently, realizing how foolish he'd been.

What, then, of tonight?

Ryou jumped and looked around, but saw no one but the twins emerging from the passage, and the voice was unfamiliar at any rate.

What ending?

Ryou had definitely heard a voice that time.

It's all up to you, you know…

Ryou wanted to scream. A place full of murderers, where morning never came, and now he was hearing voices. Then it occurred to him that no one was searching for him. Slowly he stood, and walked into the next room. Everyone was gathered around a book of some kind…a script.

This was too much. Where these people acting from a script?! Ryou ran down the stairs again, to the room full of coffins. Carefully, he opened one, and closed it just as quickly.

That was defiantly not a prop… he told himself.

He collapsed to the floor, hopeless and scared.

"What can I do to get back home?" He murmured to himself.

"When the play is over…"

"…Then you shall return."

Ryou jumped, and turned to find the master and mistress standing behind him. Filled with fear, he turned and ran back up the stairs again.

"The key to the happy ending…" Ryou mumbled "where has it ended up?" He was half hoping that the voice he heard earlier would answer, but h got nothing in response.

He walked up the remainder of the stairs, feeling hopeless. "That coldly-glinting key…"

Ryou turned to see the clock next to him, golden hands coldly- glinting…

"…I found it"

As his 'hosts' entered the room, he hid the hands of the clock behind his back, waiting for a moment to strike. When they were all gathered, he let out a insane giggle, before plunging the knife sharp clock hand into the maid's head. He gave the others no time to react, covering himself in blood as one by one the people fell around him.

Run! Run! Run for your life!

The strange voice cautioned in a sing-song tone.

The twins were last to fall at the bloodied and scared teens hands, and the maddening voice continued

The cast and the stage are all gone…

Ryou slumped to the floor, shivering cold, and realizing what he had just done.
What's wrong with me…why do I feel so cold and weak?!

…and with the story over now, shall we all leave, together?

The cold voice laughed as Ryou collapsed to the ground and faded into blackness, along with the other corpses.

A shadow dressed in cloaks black as night entered the now silent room.

"That was a good show you put on tonight…" the ruff voice said, cracking.

Then he bent over to pick up the letter, left forgotten in the chaos. And he began to weep.