Disclaimer: I don't own Avalon. End of story (no pun intended).
Writer's note: This chapter has been recently updated and hopefully improved. 6/17/10 G.S.F.
Chapter Two: Raising Ravenswood
At the end of the day they had sorted the furniture from what had disintegrated to what could be repaired.
"It's getting late chickadee," said Damia checking her watch. "Let's close up here and get some dinner. We have our apartment till September." Corvina stood and stretched from looking at an old map of Ravenswood.
"I saw a burger shop not to far from here." And with that they were unknowingly eating in the same place where three young girls and their pet ferret shared shakes, long ago.
"Oh new costumer's. We don't get many of those around here," the waiter commented.
"We just bought an apartment in Miller's Point, we're moving in to Ravenswood," her mother explained.
"The Preserve?" gasped the waiter, "Is it ture that place is haunted?"
"Haunted?" laughed Damia, "Well I certainly haven't seen any ghost's, have you Vina?" she asked her daughter, jokingly serious.
"G-host's?" her mind flashed on that weird shadow, "Ah, no of course not! What a silly thing!" she giggled then nervously sipped her soda.
"Well I never believed the rumors of course," he laughed as if trying to get back in their good graces, "It's just silly rumors I heard, childish tales. But the place used to be great, tours of the Manor and everything. My grandfather used to know the girls who ran the place when he was young. Told me stories about petting leopards and wolves and feeding deer."
"Really? What happened?" asked Damia interested.
"That was the strangest story of all. No one knows, sold their houses, gave the preserve to some cousins and disappeared!"
"Well thanks for the information um..." her mom glanced at his tag, "Marcus."
"Call me Marc, Marcus was my grandfather. Now what's your order?" they ordered and Marc left. Once he was gone Corvina's mother turned to her daughter with a huge smile,
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Oh no, no n-n-nooooo," Corvina shook her head defiantly.
Before she knew it, her mom was pulling up files on their lap-top about the Ravenswood Preserve, while in her attic room. Damia had decided if they were going to open up the Preserve and give tours she should leave the old master bedroom open. Corvina sighed, shaking her head at the thought of her mothers 'ideas.' They were crazy and huge but she always managed to pull them off somehow.
"What do you think Maxine?" she asked letting their fat orange tabby out of her cage and into their new room. They wouldn't be sleeping in the Manor for awhile, not till the rooms were properly cleaned and painted. She flopped on her bed (the only thing's of theirs they had moved into their new rooms) and flipped threw a magazine trying to imagine what her new room would be like.
'Should it be modern and sleek? Or old and cozy? Victorian and classy? Country and relaxed? Oh! What about dark and dramatic? Or maybe just light and breezy? I simply can't make up my mind!' With effort Maxine jumped up on the bed and mewed. Corvina absent mindedly stroked her.
"Vina come look!" called her mother from next door. She rushed in to see what was wrong, only to find her mother sitting cross-legged on her bed with the lap top in front of her.
"Ravenswood has a site! It's a little out dated though," she explained as Vina sat next to her, "Dreamer the Mystic Wolf, Ozzie the Wonder Ferret, Lyra the Fantastic Leopard? I haven't seen any such creatures here. Not even miniature dear!"
"Yeaaah, neither have I. I wonder what's with that?" she said suddenly realizing she hadn't seen anything beyond a few birds.
"What's this?" Damia had clicked on a dream catcher in the corner of the page, 'please enter password,' it asked.
"Oh I've seen those before, it must be a second layer for the website. Probably containing exact files of the animals or something."
"Too bad I don't know that password. Well I'll look at their tour lists and see what they used. Why don't you go and explore a bit? Maybe you'll find some deer."
"Sure," Corvina stretched her long legs and then walked down two flights of stairs and out the rickety back door. Pausing for a moment she looked around and noticed a small path among the over grown grass. Seeing no better place to go she followed it and was disappointed when it didn't take her closer to the trees. 'I would've liked to see a miniature deer.' All her qualms were quieted when the path lead her to a decaying cabin with overgrown gardens.
"What's this place?" As Vina went around back an odd feeling settled over her. An eerie feeling, 'like I'm being watched.' Despite her misgivings she opened the door to find everything normal but empty. 'It's as if whoever lived here didn't expect to come back for a long time.' She stepped in on tip-toe wondering why she was being so sneaky. A twig snapped behind her and she turned only to see the woods. Shutting the door against prying eyes, Corvina looked around. She stood in a small kitchen that must have been cheery when the crystals in the windows had no cobwebs and when the table was polished. The doorway lead to a hall that branched off to a living room. Opposite were doors probably leading to two bedrooms and a bathroom. What was really odd was that a carpet was still on the creaking wood floor and pictures on the fire place mantel.
"It's like they just got up and left," whispered Vina.