Chapter 1 - The Guests
It was a warm night and Mrs. Lockwood couldn't believe her luck; not only was she a guest at the famous Tudor Mansion, but she was also handpicked to be there having received an envelope in the mail.
"Tonight is going to be truly wonderful"
said Mrs. Lockwood as she applied her expensive perfume. Mrs. Lockwood was a cold fish and took enormous pride in her appearance and how she presented herself to others. She would be seen in all sorts of expensive clothing and fancy jewellery - in fact, many have said they've never seen a day when Mrs. Lockwood didn't look her best.
Some may say that Mrs. Lockwood cared more about herself than anything else, but she'd like to think otherwise. She had a son she liked despite his choice to stay with his father and she didn't quite hate the teenage girl that slept in the room next to hers and was now wasting space in her room.
"It really is"
Caroline Forbes agreed. The blond teenager was sitting on the window seat of the room not quite sure how to feel that she was invited in the Mansion but had no idea as to who had invited her.
She had gotten an envelope in the mail the day after she had chosen to move away from her home town and to pursue her dreams of acting. Ironically the film she had been cast in had her was a vampire romance. Who better than a vampire for the role of one?
Although Mrs.. Lockwood and Caroline Forbes were both hailing from the same picturesque small town, both descendants of the founding families, they were very different and it wasn't because of their species.
Mrs. Lockwood was more driven by wealth and power; Miss Forbes was more interested in fame and men. Yet they both really loved the finer things in life.
"It seems like quite a nice night outside tonight, the summer has certainly gotten here just in time for this holiday"
Caroline said still looking outside the window, pushing a blind tendril away from her eyes.
"Yes...well I think that this vacation came just in time"
Mrs. Lockwood agreed. She had promised Caroline's mother she would keep an eye on her for the duration of this holiday.
"Are we ready?"
Her question, spoken at a barely civil tone elicited a smile of Caroline
"Almost..."
She turned around and scanned for her handbag, the small red purse of hers was always moving when she needed it the most.
"Where's my bag?"
As Miss Forbes looked near the old dressing table near the window where she had left it earlier. Something caught her eye - in fact, since she appeared in the window Miss Forbes felt eyes on her and after her numerous encounters with watchful men, she knew when someone had their eye on her. She looked outside the window, though her view was restricted by the darkness she saw a figure in the far corner of the Mansion yard - "could be a tree?" said Caroline's mind to her...mind.
"There it is..."
Interrupted Mrs. Lockwood with the purse that Miss Forbes had temporarily forgotten she'd lost
"Oh...thank you"
Caroline took the clutch purse from Mr Lockwood's hand and turned back around to have a glance outside the window to see that figure one last time. No one was there...the figure had mysteriously disappeared.
"Well are you coming?"
said an impatient Mrs. Lockwood - although curious, Miss Forbes had to put the figure to the back of her mind, as she had meal to attend and she was certain that it was probably just bad lighting...
Major Jasper Whitlock was a good title. Sure, it wasn't his official name anymore, but he truly did miss it. Adjusting back to civilian life wasn't easy and the thirst that drank his insides every day, all day.
Right now, he was enjoying the vacation whilst he could before putting some thought into how he'd blend with humans again. Jasper scanned the dining room of the Mansion - it was sure something, the room itself was well and the luxury decor just made it all the more magical.
Jasper had heard a lot about Tudor Mansion, but he had never wanted to fully experience it; that being said, he never thought he'd get the chance considering everything. Yet when he saw the white envelope with the golden letters, he was too curious to not accept.
Jasper's thoughts were interrupted by the presence of two well dressed ladies. One of them was older, human and dressed in blue; the other younger, a similar species to him and dressed in a scarlet dress. But there was no denying their beauty.
The older lady walked with a slight strut and seemed a lot more confident than the younger one; she glanced over at Jasper, and glanced away as she was seated alongside the younger girl. The vampire glanced towards Jasper, but seemed to linger towards him for several seconds, their similar species creating a spark that they both felt.
A hungry smile lit his lips, causing her to smile back.
Eventually the young vampire joined the human lady and sat down, but continued to share hungry smiles with Jasper every so often. Luckily the woman didn't smell appetizing at all.
Jasper felt a sudden urge for his food come over him - he had been waiting for almost ten minutes now and he had been saving his hunger for this meal...this late meal.
Jasper got to his feet and walked towards the doorway which he figured would be the kitchen, as the smell of food and the noise of cookery were quite distinctive. He walked through the door and saw... not the kitchen.. but a small kitchenette, which seemed to be pretty small for such a large house. Jasper glanced around, the sound of cookery and the smell of food wasn't coming from this room, it was coming from the stairs in the middle of the room. Of course! The kitchen was down here.
He placed his foot on one step, the creaking noise seemed louder than ever as he didn't intend on just barging into the kitchen, so he thought he'd take it slow down the stairs. The stone floor seemed miles away from where Jasper was stood, but he could only count several steps. he proceeded to walk down the stairs.
The large Kitchen smelt amazing, the stench of different foods made Jasper's stomach groan all the more. And so did the large pot where the most appetizing smell of them all came
"We're having a delay on dinner... It will be ready in a short while..."
explained Bella Swan. She was a little flustered, sure she'd made countless dinners and meals for guests of the Mansion, but she'd never had to do it without a sharp knife before. She still had no idea where that knife had gone, but she knew that she'd have to get another if she wanted meals to be prepared properly.
The well groomed young man left the kitchen and returned to the Dining room - thank God! Bella Swan wasn't just feeling flustered about the missing knife, she was also facing the prospect that she couldn't do things as quick as she used to. Besides this was the first time she was in the Mansion without the older servants. The elusive Mr. Boddy had fired them all except the Butler and had given the posts to the "young blood" as he had put it
She had worked for Mr. Boddy at the Tudor Mansion practically all of her life. she was the Nanny's daughter and had grown up in the mansion helping the Cook and the maids. now she had decided to work there till it was time for college
She continued to stir the pot of stew on the stove and began adding different ingredients to get that extra nice flavor to it. As she began making her stew to perfection by adding a single drop of her blood, Bella felt a cold chill suddenly flow over her from the right - it was the wind. The door upstairs must have been opened, Bella Swan was sure it was the well-groomed... thing. Red eyes spelled no human, a simple browse of the library told her as much despite having met only humans in her life.
She left her stew for the moment and headed upstairs to see what had happened. As Mrs. Swan arrived at the small kitchen area, she noticed the backdoor was swinging open as though someone had just run through the Mansion at the speed of light.
"That's odd..."
She murmured. She walked over to the door and looked outside, before quietly saying
"Hello?"
Bella had no idea why she said it so quietly, maybe she was nervous about what the response may be? She wasn't scared of many things but with the dawn of the dead at the Mansion she thought she'd better keep a hold to her mortality.
she slammed the door shut and locked it tightly, she took one last glance into the Tudor Mansion yard before returning to the kitchen to continue her stew.
The Dining room looked pretty full now, there were the two glamorous women sat in one corner, the young soldier type had returned to his seat and Reverend Cullen, who was quite popular for his hard, charity work was seated in the center of the room.
How could Dr Klaus forget his friend...or...his adopted friend who was sitting right beside him Professor Masen.
The good Professor was babbling on and on about his ex-employer's and how unfair it was being able to be him and having his gifts and Klaus would gladly drive a white oak stake into his own chest if it meant shutting the idiot up.
Klaus wasn't really listening. He had important business to attend to... Namely a good relaxing hour in the bath after this meal. Maybe a bite out of the lady in blue for dessert.
"I just think life is so hard..."
Said Professor Masen. Klaus had regretted asking him if he was okay and if he was enjoying his stay...he was just being polite. Klaus looked at Edward Masen and said
"I agree with you, my friend...now I must dash, I won't be long..."
He got to his feet and left the roof doing his best to maintain a human pace, hoping the Professor wasn't offended. Not that he really cared but avoiding enemies wasn't easier said than done. Klaus really wanted to relax...he had a job to do; he had prepared for this visit for too long to let an emo angsty sorry excuse of a vampire to ruin it for him.
As Klaus arrived at his room, he opened the door and slipped inside his room like a shadow in the night - he loved his room, it was relaxing and gave him time to think. He headed towards the bathroom on the landing of his room and began washing his face in the luxury, crystal sink.
This visit had to be prefect, he had his heart set on it for some time and he was sick to death of his distractions.
After wiping his face he felt a sudden uncomfortable feel, like a thousand eyes were looking at him at once and not in a lusty way. He glanced around the small bathroom and saw... nothing, nothing alarming anyway. As he left the bathroom to return to his comfortable room, he started looking around - why did he feel so uncomfortable?
The silence filled the room and contributed to the uncomfortable atmosphere that had overcome Klaus just now. If that wasn't enough, a small creek was heard from the oversized closet which contained most of his expensive belongings.
Klaus' whole body froze, he didn't know whether to run towards the closet, or whether to leave the room and call for help, or whether to just stand completely still...
He was a freaking original vampire, changed over a thousand years ago, and here he was about to scream like an extra in a bad slasher flick.
He flung the closet doors open and was greeted by...
"Oh my god..."
