February, 2018. Weather Island, England.
After dinner Marlow went up to Kian's room. He hadn't been there and the Werecoyote assumed he was still sulking in his room. She couldn't completely understand why he was so angry with his father. She did understand the feeling of loosing ones mother though.
Marlow knocked on his door. He didn't answer, but since he hadn't done that earlier either she slowly opened the door anyways. But Kian was gone. Suddenly Marlow heard a sigh behind her. She turned around, embarrassed that she'd been caught in Kian's bedroom.
She was already trying to piece together an explanation in her head, when Tina walked into the room with a defeated expression. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snoop or anything." Marlow said.
Tina stood in the room with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Something about her posture and look made her look sad. "Is everything okay?" Marlow asked concerned. Tina raised the corner of her mouth into an unsincere smile before sitting down onto Kian's bed. "He rarely ever sleeps here, you know?" Tina said.
Marlow knitted her eyebrows together. "How do you mean?" she asked, sitting down next to the girl. Marlow crossed one leg over the other. Tina picked at her sleeve. "Mom died before I ever really knew her. And even though Kian was only one he was just majorly attached to her. And when she died Kian wouldn't stop crying and as he grew older he just became mostly silent. At school he keeps to himself, he has no friends. And here - when he decides to actually come home - he stays in his room all day. Dad was barely able to make him join us at dinner and even there they seemed to be held apart by some invisible force." she explained.
"Do you ever get to talk to him? I mean there has to be another reason why he's so angry. My mom died too when I was young, you know, and I know everyone copes differently but I feel like there'd be more to the story." Marlow said.
Tina looked at her, her emerald green eyes now only reflected the sadness of her posture. Marlow was almost convinced the whole friendly welcome earlier was just an act to cover up a completely tortured soul underneath.
"Please don't think badly of Kian. He's not a bad person, really, he loves me and he loves dad. There is just," Tina trailed off. "Just what?" Marlow asked after a few seconds. "You're a Werecoyote, right? Like you and your friends are supernatural?" Tina asked. Marlow nodded. "I know my dad is too. And my mom was. Well, partly. My mom was a Witch, like Riley, but her active powers were bound. She only kept the given ones, like making potions, casting spells and the medium ship. And I think Kian can do just that, but really just that. I've heard of this woman that has this so-called 'Gift', she can communicate with Ghosts and see them and I'm sure that's what Kian has. He's always so...quiet. Not even angry. What you've seen earlier is not nearly what he's like normally. Normally he is just in thought, or sad, or angered but not because of our dad. I think he talks to Ghosts regurlarly and he helps them go into the light and of course all of these unfornate souls have sad stories to tell and surely that would weigh a person down at some point. So I think that's what has him so silent all the time. And that's why he always stays away from us and this house. This place is so old and so many people have died in this house. I think it's getting too much for him." Tina explained.
Marlow nodded again. "That would explain why he isn't here right now." she said. Tina got off the bed and walked over to the window. Marlow followed her shortly after. The view from this room was amazing. The sun had already gone down and the moon now shone over the sea and the beach that was at the foot of the house. Marlow hadn't been outside yet, but she made sure to remember to do that in the morning. This little spot that the Millers made their home was beautiful from everything she could see.
But as soon as she looked over to Tina she found the girl frowning as she looked out onto the beach. "Everything okay?" Marlow asked. Tina now schook her head. "He's not there." she said, worried. "Who? Kian? Not where?" Marlow asked confused.
"Yeah, Kian. And he isn't at the beach. Usually when he wants to get away from dad and the house he'll go to the beach, pick a spot and start drawing or just looking out at the sky to clear his head. But he isn't there right now." she explained.
"Maybe he found another spot. He didn't seem too fond of us being here in the first place. He could have been afraid we'd annoy him out there and found a secret spot we wouldn't find." Marlow suggested. If Kian had been living here is whole life and was out of the house more than in it he'd surely have found some type of secluded spot.
Still, Tina schook her head once more. "Believe it or not, he was actually quite excited about you guys coming here. I think he was even ready to make friends with you." she said with that type of jolliness in her voice Marlow had noticed earlier. Marlow snorted. Tina laughed. "I swear. I know he seems cold at first but he was always excited to meet friends of Coop's. His motto used to be: 'If Coop likes you, so will I.'. As silly as that sounds, he really admired Coop even though he was younger than him. Coop, uch, he was always able to make friends so easily. But since aunt Sadie and uncle Roman moved so much we barely ever got to meet his friends more than once. But Kian knew that Coop's parents wouldn't leave Beacon Hills so soon and he knew Coop wouldn't just leave you behind. The way he always talks about you all, especially Riley, he knew you'd stay and so Kian was confused as to why he had to go on vacation with us." she explained.
Marlow nodded. "Maybe he really is just hiding somewhere where it's quiet. I'm sure he will be back by morning. You guys are leaving in the morning anyways, right? Then he has to be back." she said.
Tina nodded as she stared ahead, a faint smile graced her face. "So, about Nolan..." she said. Marlow laughed under her breath. "He's single. And he clearly has his eye on you. So make sure to get his number before you leave." she said. Tina smiled as she turned around. Her blonde hair fell back on her shoulders effortlessly. "I think I'm gonna go do that." she said, striding out the door confidently. Marlow looked after her, shaking her head amused.
The blonde walked out of Kian's room, making sure to close the door back up before she walked back into hers. Liam was standing by the window, he didn't turn around when Marlow walked in. "Hey." the girl said as she closed the door. Liam's gaze was still fixed on the outside so Marlow made her way over to the window.
She put a hand on Liam's shoulder. The boy jerked up a little before turning back around. He breathed out a little amused. "Sorry. I was just...actually I'm not sure what I was doing." he said confused.
Marlow laughed lightly. "Almost like you were under a spell." she noted. "Yeah, kind of." he said, furrowing his eyebrows together. He quickly schoock his head as he noticed Marlow staring. "Sorry." he said once more.
"It's alright." Marlow said, walking past him to look out the window. Liam walked up next to Marlow. "It does look pretty mesmerizing." she went on. Liam nodded staring on ahead. "Like seriously mesmerizing." she said. "Like I feel like we should get out of there." she said, looking back at him.
A knock came from the door before Liam could answer. "Come in." Marlow said. Mason opened the door, Corey standing behind him. "Hey guys." Mason greeted. "Hey." Marlow said, smiling at him. "We wanna go out to the beach and do a little night walk. The others are downstairs already. Wanna tag along?" Corey asked. Marlow looked at Liam. "Wanna go?" she asked. He shrugged. "Sure." he said. "Let's go then."
Marlow rubbed her hands together, watching her smoky breath disperse in the cold air. She looked around smiling. Coop, Kira and Oz were sitting by the fire that the group had made, swapping stories and laughing. She watched Bear and Tilly amused as they splashed each other with water. Even though it was freezing cold the two insisted on having a water fight. Mason and Corey had huddled up together nearby and Liam and Nixie snuck up behind Oz to scare him.
Nolan and Tina walked along the beach as they got to know each other better. Marlow gave Tina a hidden thumbs-up as she smiled over to her. Just then someone walked up behind her. The blonde-haired girl turned around and spotted a young woman who looked to be in her twentys by the door. She was a latin beauty with raven hair and brown eyes. The girl smiled down at Marlow.
"May I sit?" she asked. Marlow nodded, gesturing for the empty spot on her blanket next to her. The woman sat down. "I'm Leigh." she introduced herself. "Oh, nice to meet you. Domenic already mentioned you." Marlow said, pulling her knees up to her chest. "I'm Marlow, by the way." she said.
"Well Marlow, welcome to the house of hell." Leigh said, raising her underarms up over-dramatically. Marlow knitted her eyebrows together, slightly amused at how similar Leigh and Kian were.
She leaned up onto her knees. "So why are you and Kian downgrading this place so much?" she asked. Leigh snorted. "You'd know if you would have lived here long enough." she said, shaking her head.
Marlow slapped her hands onto her thighs before turning over to Leigh. "Alright," she said. She wiggled her eyebrows quickly before tilting her head to the side. "Tell me." she demanded. Leigh chuckled. "Where do I start?" she asked. "I'd say at the beginning would be good." Marlow replied.
Leigh sighed, crossing her legs. "I came here at eighteen. Fresh out of highschool, no clue of what to do in the future. I needed a job and taking care of the house and, well more or less, the kids seemed easy. I liked the Millers as soon as I met them. They're extremely nice and seriously trusting and Alvin and Sheldon are awesome to work with. But this house," she said, shaking her head as she let out a frustrated sigh.
"It's pure evil. It has been since Esther Hill was born in 1892." she went on. "Who is Esther Hill?" Marlow asked curiously. "She was this rich teenage widdow that had outlived her husband and her entire family in this house. On the outside she seemed like this sweet young girl but on the inside she was rotten to the core. All of her staff hated her with a passion. The only person she seemed to cherish was her personal maid-turned-assistant, Clara. Nobody truly knew what went down in that house behind closed doors, but everyone knew it was something purely evil. She attracted so many spirits into this house." Leigh explained.
Marlow thought hard if she should really ask what she was thinking. "So, do you-" she began before Leigh cut her off. "Know that Domenic is a Werewolf and Coop too? And that you're all something supernatural as well?" she asked. She chuckled then looked back up at Marlow. "Yeah, we all know. I know Domenic told you most of the staff was on 'vacation', but that's a lie. Alvin, Sheldon and I are the only ones working here still. Nobody else dares to go near this place. He wants to keep the illusion up that everything is still peachy, although it hasn't been like that for years." she added.
"I guess he just doesn't want his kids to be unhappy." Marlow said. Leigh snorted. "Open your eyes, girl, they are unhappy. They've been unhappy for years. Tina is still hiding it in front of her dad and Kian has just completely given up on trying." she said. She schoock her head. "I'm sorry. I just really care about those two and I would give anything to get them out of this house. It's not safe here for them, especially for Kian. He's beginning to loose it." she went on.
"This house is cursed. And you all are part of the legend somehow." Leigh said after a few seconds of silence. Marlow narrowed her eyes. "How do you mean?" she asked confused. "I can't tell you exactly what it is but these two other people, Matt and Ana, they have something to do with it." Leigh explained. Marlow looked back up at the house in schock. Matt and Ana seemed genuinly nice and welcoming the second they met. She couldn't imagine them having anything to do with what was going on in the house. More importantly, she still didn't completely understand what was happening in the house.
Matt and Ana stood by the window of their room. "They look so young. So innocent." Ana said, watching the group as they had their fun on the beach. Matt sighed empathetically, looking over at her. "And if we do this right, they won't get hurt." he said.
"And if we don't they'll die. I can't have more blood on my hand, not after what happened to Monty." Ana said, shaking her head. "What happened to Monty was not our fault. It's the house. But look, look!" Matt demanded, pointing out to the beach as Ana turned away. The Valkyrie turned back, a stubborn expression on her face.
"These people out there, they're gonna be the ones to stop this. And trust me, I've seen their futures," he said, a light gleaming in his eyes. "And they're so wonderful and happy and you know my visions rarely change." he went on, cupping her face with his hands.
Ana sighed but eventually nodded. Suddenly the two spotted a shadow quickly moving past the closed door. "What was that?" Ana asked in hushed voice as she rushed over to the door. Matt looked out at the beach. As far as he could tell everone was still there. "Alvin?" Matt asked.
Ana shoock her head. "Already left. So did Mr. James." she said. "Domenic." Matt said. "Why would he sneak around like that? He knows the plan." Ana said dismissevly. "What about the boy. What's his name?" Matt asked, as he snapped his fingers trying to remember it.
"Kian. And he hasn't been here in hours." Ana explained. "Well then who?" Matt asked. Ana turned to him, letting herself fall against the door. "I think it has already begun." she said. Matt sighed, looking out at the beach. "Then I guess it's up to them to stop this now." he said.