Chapter 1
'Quickly guys! My hairs wet and I don't fancy getting wet and ill!' Rosie was screaming at the top of her lungs at her three friends, Alex, Bradley and Jenny, who were also trudging in the rain with her, looking for shelter in the middle of nowhere close to home.
'Where do you suggest we go?! We're a good hour and a half away from home because 'someone' forgot to get petrol! I did here a rumour somewhere that cars do run on petrol, brainy!' Alex's blood was also boiling, as he was trying to hint at Bradley that it was his entire fault that they were lost and cold.
'Well it seemed enough when I set of from home! If you just didn't take so long in front of that damn mirror of yours, maybe I wouldn't have to have waited so long!' Bradley yelled back in his defence.
'Yeh, well...'Alex had just about mustered up another argument to throw back at Bradley when Jenny cut in, deciding it was about time that they all calm down.
'Okay guys let's stop this. It ain't gonna get us no where if we argue like this is it? Let's calm down and look for some shelter, okay?' Everyone nodded obediently to Jenny's command, 'I can see a house just on top of that hill.' Jenny pointed towards the house, with the rain pelting down on top of her head. They started their way up the hill, although there was no road leading up to the house. It being on such a hill in the middle of such as baron place, on top of a hill, with no gate, it seemed very suspicious.
Approaching the door of the house, well three mansions put together, it didn't seem to bad or uncomforting to them but when the door opened to reveal a big surprise, their judgements took a whole different turn in the wrong way...
Chapter 2
The exterior of the house was half eaten and very aged. It dated back centuries and seemed to be crumbling at the corners. Being of such an old age, the goblins that guarded the huge, oak doors from high above were also in the process of weathering and writhing with moss. The doors were made of rich, oak doors and had a pair of rose flower, bronze knockers.
'Jen, are you sure that anyone actually lives here? It does seem a little bit abandoned to me,' Alex asked quivering behind Bradley's large figure. He may have seemed a big shot, but he wasn't at all. He was very egotistic and big-headed for his age. All mouth and no action, like every other guy but ten time's worse. Watching his knees quake at an eerie looking house was nothing new on the agenda.
'Do you see anywhere else for us to go?!' Jenny was beginning to lose her cool. She was usually the settler in the group but Alex's fear unbearably irritating.
'Man, I feel sorry for whoever lives in this house. They must get lost every day, or choosing which room to sleep in next after living there for over 30 years!' Even after his attempt to break the ice with a joke, Bradley seemed to just quieten down and crawl back of his jacket.
'Well, they must be rich though. Owning this place mustn't be easy,' Rosie was also trying hard to carry on the conversation to ease the atmosphere, but all failed. While their attempts were failing fast, Jenny was eyeing the doorframe for a doorbell or some way to get the attention of those inside. She noticed the bronze knockers and plucked up all her courage and pulled up one of the knockers to here a deafening echo from the other side. They all watched in surprised silence as of the heavy oak doors creaked open. In place of the door stood a tall, dark figure. It was paler than the dead and was nowhere near 'tall, dark and handsome'. It has a scarred nose and a line for the mouth. The line split and a deep, dreary voice came its dwells.
'Good evening. How may I be of service?' No one dare speak. They all started in amazement at the thing that had welcomed at the door, actually existed ever since the accident that Dr. Frankenstein had made many centuries ago.
'Urm....Uh....'Jenny's mouth had dropped as soon it had opened the door. She wanted to ask, 'what planet are you from?!' But refrained to ask here rude question and piped up the reason to why they were knocking at that stranger's door.
'Well, I am very sorry to be disturbing you at such a time, but we seem to be experiencing some difficulties with our car and were wondering if we could borrow some sort of transport? Or if we could borrow some petrol.' Jenny' used the Queens English and full, proper words, to show that they were serious children and not some hooligans.
'As it is raining and Master does believe in charity, so you better come in.' The tall figure that moved aside giving way for the four friends into the eerie setting that was known as 'Ice Rose Manor'.
Chapter 3
As they walked through the doors, past whatever welcomed them, they entered a grandly, vast hallway. They were staring into a long, dark hallway which leads to an unknown room, well, to them anyway. The hallway ran threw two huge stairwells that lead up to a never ending darkness.
The four friends were lead through the dark hallway in between the two stairwells, which was lit by fire torches hung on the wall in between large mirrors, which reflected their every move. Alex took a quick look at his hair and everything else beneath it, checking that it was alright and not ruined by the rain. What Alex realised when her moved away from the mirrors was that his reflection was following him down the corridor with his friends, smiling at him in an oh so mischievous way.
All were lead through the mirrored corridor to a room full of books, from floor to ceiling, wall to wall. There was a comfortably warm fire going on in the magnificently decorated fireplace with its intricate patterns, carved in marble. The books seemed old but all had been read and thumbed through. The spines of the books were collapsing but some seemed to have been saved by the owner, by the spine being renewed. The bookshelves were covered in colours from royal blue to purple and deep maroon. This seemed very grand to the teens but it must have been an everyday thing for the owners or owners.
'Master,' the butler, as it seemed, was addressing the back of an armchair that faced the fire, 'Four youths came to the door and requested to come in for shelter and for some petrol.'
A calm voice spoke from the armchair, 'Thank you William. I shall take care of them from here. Carry on.' The butler turned and walked in his usual 'army march' manner towards the door and disappeared.
The four friends were clung to one another, with a terrible uncomforting atmosphere around them.
'Won't you sit?' the stranger, known as Master at this stage, rose from the chair and signalled to four chairs beside the fire. The gesture may have seemed warm, as it was close to the fire but it seemed very suspicious to Jenny. The four chairs seemed to have been placed there waiting. As if they knew that they were coming. There was the chance that they saw them coming as they walked up the hill, but then again how could anyone be able to see through all that rain and fog. But even if they had been seen, there wouldn't have been any questions at the door. It was all very confusing. The four friends cautiously, each sat in a seat.
The Master of the fine, but creepy establishment wore a deep purple and seemed very young to be the master of such a place.
'Urm, sorry again, for disturbing you at such an hour. May I ask a question?'Jenny piped up from the first chair in the row of four.
'Please do,' Stanley turned his chair towards Jenny and sat, with one leg over the other, tapping his fingers together awaiting her question. Jenny's tongue was creeping up on to the question of whether the butler was real or not but she pushed the question back.
'Do you have any sort of transport that we could borrow?'
Stanley looked surprised. His eyes widened, his brow furrowed in thought.
'I do apologise but all of the transport that we do posses has gone for servicing after a series of accidents to them all,' he began to go red and coughed a little, 'I was having a bit of teen fun, as you may call it and got a bit carried away.' Jenny was stunned. 'Teen fun?!' she thought. The master of a mansion was having some 'teen fun'. Her interpretations were right that he wasn't of very much age, but she was amazed that he was so young that he was in his teens. They all passed on smiles down and were feeling more comfortable.
'We do have many spare rooms in the mansion, you are very welcome to stay here for the night or until the storm clears away,' Stanley's invitation was so welcoming and it did seem a good idea, though their parents would be worried, but the thought didn't enter any of their minds.
Stanley ordered, as they had soon learned, the butler to get them warm towels and hot beverages. As they sat quietly by the fire Stanley studied Jenny very closely. He was watching them all but his eyes wafted over Jenny often. It seemed unreal but it was like a movie scene. Like a love scene. Such ridiculous thoughts ran through Jenny's mind. She ushered the thoughts out of her mind as silly nothingness and that nothing like that occurred in reality.
They all had shared jokes around the warm fire, all dismissing their conscience which ate at them like rats at rotten food. Bradley knew his mother would have already laid the table for him and her to eat, but now she would have to eat all alone. He hated he thought but was caught up in conversation and it had completely slipped is mind.