It was raining on the day I appeared before the Grey manor. The sky was black and it seemed to mourn just as I mourned for the memories that had been lost. My clothes were tattered and wet, I was chilled to the bone. I stood before the dark palace; its gothic architecture casted a shadow over the surrounding forest. A forest so dark and thick if one entered they may never their way out. As I stood there staring at the stone gargoyles guarding the entrance I could not recall how I came to be here. Lightning cracked and instigated a loud crash just as I reached up to knock on the mahogany door.
It swung open. Revealing a older gentleman in a tailcoat. He looked very old and his eyes looked empty and black.
"Welcome Miss, the Masters are eagerly awaiting your audience." His voice was as empty as his eyes and gave away no emotion "Please right this way." He continued as I cautiously stepped over the threshold. He gestured for me to follow him.
The inside of the manor was just as magnificent as the out. It looked like museum, everything pristine and archaic. The entryway was lit by candlelight stemming from a large chandelier that hung in the middle of the room. A large staircase that lead upstairs was directly underneath , and as my eyes skimmed across the top my heart skipped a beat as I noticed a pair of red gleaming eyes staring at me. I couldn't stop looking into them, they had me in a sort of trance. A sense of peace washed over me, my knees felt weak and I started to feel faint, the world around me started to go black and I felt myself moving slowly toward those eyes.
A gust of wind blew as the man shut the door behind me and the candles flickered, and those beautiful eyes were gone. My eyes lingered on the spot a moment longer before the man spoke again. Somehow I could sense his voice was a little more urgent this time, but still gave way to no emotion.
"Miss, this way please" as he gestured for me to follow him.
As we walked my hands were clenched together on my chest as I tried to make myself as small as possible so as not to accidently touch anything. I followed closely behind the man, as we walked through several rooms all lit by candles and all adorned with impressive portraits of people from long ago. Every one of them looked so regal, and elegant. I felt as though they were all looking down on me as I walked through the rooms, their golden eyes bore into my soul reading everything about me. Things that I no longer knew about myself.
The doorman walked with a slight limp. He seemed to favor his right side, his right arm gripped his thigh as he walked. I could not see his face but from his groans every few steps I could only assume he was in some sort of pain.
We stopped at a pair of double doors. "The Masters are waiting beyond these doors Miss. I will leave you here." I nodded as the man turned and began walking back the way we came.
I quickly turned around "Excuse me sir but…" but before I could finish my sentence the man had already disappeared.
I stared at the door, aside from the handles which appeared to be golden horses reared on their hind legs the door was very plain. I wondered who these so called Masters were, what they were like. But most of all, why were they waiting for me?
I closed my eyes, inhaled deeply and opened the door.
I opened my eyes to an impressive dining hall. A long table that would have sat ten stretched down the middle. The room was brightly lit by yet another chandelier and the walls adorned with portraits of people who had no rivals in the ways of beauty. Tapestries hung in the empty spaces between portraits all embroidered with different crests which were foreign to me.
"Please, take a seat." A voice said from out of nowhere. The voice that spoke was a woman's, it sounded quite seductive. But it had an icy undertone that gave way to an ulterior motive attached to it.
I had been too busy gawking at everything to notice that there were several people already seated at the table.
At the head of the table sat a woman. Aside from myself she was the only female. Her hair was long and draped down over her breasts. It was a dark red, more like a crimson and her eyes were gold just like the ones from the portraits. She had a powerful aura about her, she stood up to reveal a long silver gown and she gestured to an empty seat opposite her and the other end of the table.
Slowly I made my way over to the table all the while still trying to make myself as small as possible. I pulled the chair out and sat.
The room was eerily silent I would have sworn I was the only who was breathing, I could hear my heartbeat in my head and without saying anything I knew they could hear it too.
The woman sat back down and began to speak.
"Good evening, most of you already know me. However, for those of you who don't I am Annabelle Grey, former ruler of the Forsaken. You have all been gathered here because my time as ruler is up. Each one of you a prince sent to represent one of our race's five clans. But only one of you will be crowned ruler of all Forsaken."
As she said these last words she stood up and slowly strode over to where I was seated. All eyes were on her as she rounded the back of my chair, her hands reached down securing my wrists to the arms. Her hands were icy and her grip only tightened as I attempted to struggle against her.
"The rules are simple, you have one year to bind the Amplifier to you. During this time if you attempt to leave the grounds for any reason you will be disqualified, If you attempt to kill a competitor you will suffer punishment far greater then disqualification. At the end of the year whomever the Amplifier has chosen will be the new ruler of the Forsaken."
She leaned down close to my ear. My heart was pounding so loud I almost didn't hear what she said next.
"Choose well lady Amplifier" I could hear the grin on her lips as she said it.
Just then everything went black.
