Chapter One: The End Of The Ordinary Ding, Ding, Ding... The soft chime of the bell rang slowly through the streets of Hollows Eve, New York. Amelia Mozart walked down the street, her eyes looking around the place cautiously, making sure she was not followed, her pale face filled with worry. Voices kept echoing in her mind, oh, how she wished she could erase all of them away. "She's crazy, I heard her mom's a nutcase too," Amelia stopped suddenly, breathless from the running. She stopped in front of the shabby apartment her mother and her moved in after her father died a year ago. Amelia took out the key from her pocket and unlocked the door. "Mother, I'm home," she said in a pleasant voice, although her mood was just the opposite. "Amy, is that you? Oh, your father's home, and he's going to take us to the theaters tonight, isn't that such a nice treat for both of us?" came her mother's voice from her bedroom. Amelia felt a lump in her throat, and took a deep breath. "Yes, mama. That's simply fantastic," she answered as enthusiastically as she could. She looked at her mother, who was frail and pale, went to sleep again. Amelia went out of the room and closed the door behind her. She then walked to her own room, which was quite small. She sat on the bed, and looked into the mirror in front of her. A 16 year old girl with long black hair that reached passed her shoulder stared back at her, with honey brown eyes. Amelia lay on her bed, wondering what she could do for her mother. She remembered what happened a couple of days ago... those men with black suits... how suspicious they look... "Mrs. Mozart, we need to talk to you about your old family's will." one of them said in a French accent. "Have you carried them out?" asked another one. "My... will?" her mother asked, puzzled. "Yes, your will." he said, looking at her dangerously. Amelia, who was standing behind the door quietly, felt frightened for her mother. "My husband's upstairs. Would you like to have a cup of tea?" her mother said, her illness taking over. "Apparently, this woman is a freak." Amelia heard one of them whispered, and she felt very angry. "Well, I hope you can understand what we're saying. We want you and your daughter to attend the Golden Horses Hotel next week on the 25th to have a formal dinner with your other family members." the man said. He had a kinder voice, and he looked much younger than the others, and he wasn't wearing a black suit. "The dinner will be held at Hall 2. We hope you will be there." with that, they left, the man who insulted her mother behind her back spitting on the floor. After they had left, Amelia ran from her hiding place and hugged her mother. "Mama, are you all right?" she asked worryingly. Her mother turned to look at her, the dazed look on her face was still there. "I'm fine, Amy. It's a pity they cant stay for tea. Papa was very excited." * * * Amelia wore a simple white dress and tied her hair into a ponytail before setting off to the Golden Horses Hotel. She felt excited to see her aunts, uncles and probably cousins for the first time. She wondered what were they like, and whether they were nice or not. She decided not to bring her mother since she was not... well enough. She worried that she would look like a drab in front of her family. They're probably too nice to notice, she thought, re-assuring herself. She touched the barrette that was pinned on the pocket of her dress, the golden barrette that her father gave her, and tried to get more self assurance. So Amelia went, and when she arrived, she felt slightly afraid. The hotel was so big, she couldn't believe she was actually going to set foot in it! When she did, she went towards the receptionist and asked her where Hall 2 was. When the receptionist told her, Amelia quickly went, hoping against hope that her family would be happy to see her. She took a deep breath, touched the doorknob, and opened the big door. To her surprise, her family was seated, looking serious and intense. None of her little cousins were there and she saw many men with black suits. Amelia smiled nervously and walked in. They turned to look at her, analysing her from head to toe. She wondered what was going on through the back of their heads. "You must be Amelia," said the old man at the head of the table, getting up. He smiled at her warmly and hugged her. "We're very happy to see you here." "Who... who are you?" Amelia asked awkwardly. "I suppose your parents had never told you about your own family," the old man said. "I am your grandfather, child. Please, take a sit." Amelia smiled and slowly walked towards her seat, feeling light-headed. Everyone was so quiet, so serious, and they all seemed depressed... or something like that. Amelia sat, looking at her lap, wondering what was going to happen. A couple of minutes later, dinner was served, and everyone ate quietly. Amelia felt disturbed--why was everyone acting strange? Wasn't this her family? Was this some kind of foul play? Amelia picked up the fork, and when she did, everyone looked at her abruptly. "Um, the food's tasty," she said lamely, twisting her fork on her meat loaf. She had no appetite, and she had a strange feeling--a feeling that something strange was going on. It's probably nothing, Amelia thought, carving the meat and slowly picking it up using her fork. She was about to bit it, when the big oak door burst opened and her mother came in, her face white with fury. "Don't kill my daughter!" she screamed. "Mother! What are you doing here?" Amelia asked, dropping her fork and running up towards her mother. She looked mad and angry, and she pointed at Amelia's grandfather. " You. you murderer! Richard told me about you!" she spluttered. Her grand father stood up, looking calmly at the woman who was at the edge of insanity, and smiled. It wasn't a kind smile. "Richard was a fool." He whispered dangerously. He took out a gun, and shot Amelia's mother. "MOTHER!" Amelia cried. She stared at her mother, whose blood was all over the floor. She stared at the pale face, knowing that she would never get to see her mother smile and hug her again. Amelia sat on the floor suddenly. It was all too sudden--all too fast--what was going on? Amelia was confused. questions kept popping up in her head. Why did her mother come? How did she know? This has got to be a dream, she thought, looking at her grand father, whose expression had no mercy in it. "You. you killed my mother!" Amelia yelled, tears filling her eyes as it began to roll down her cheeks. "It wasn't a part of the plan, but she had to die anyway," her grand father said coldly. Amelia stood up, and her uncles came to her, grasping her arms tightly, while the old man pointed the gun at her. the gun that killed her mother. "Help!" she screamed. "Someone help me!" "No one is going to help you Amelia." her grand father said. "You're not my grand father! You're not my family! If you were, you wouldn't have done this!" Amelia shouted. "Shut your mouth, little girl," her uncle said, tightening his grip on her.

"You're about to die, Amelia. Haven't you got anything to say?" her grand father asked. "Yes." Amelia said defiantly. "Go to Hell." The old man was about to pull the trigger, but to her surprise, he slumped on the floor, and so did the others. Some kind of gas was floating around the hall, making Amelia herself blurry. She felt her body go limp, and as she dropped to the floor, someone caught her, but she could not tell who it was, for she was falling asleep. * * * "It took me a long time to get her out of that hotel," Amelia heard voices. but who was it? She was about to open her eyes. but she didn't want to. She wanted to sleep -- she wanted everything to be just a dream. she didn't want to open her eyes and see her grandfather's horrible face again. "Amelia, are you awake?" there was that voice again. But it was so much comforting than the other voices she heard. Amelia decided to open her eyes and when she did, she saw a young man bending down, staring at her. Amelia jumped up suddenly, gasped, and cried, "Who are you?" The young man's face was familiar--had she seen him before? He looked at her and handed her a glass of hot chocolate. "Here. You need to drink this. We've got a long trip to attend tomorrow," he said. She did not take the cup away from him, although she felt extremely thirsty. "Who are you?" she asked again. "If you want to know everything, wait until we reach New Jersey. Right now, all I have to tell you is that my name is Maxwell Lorene. We've met before, at your house." He replied. "Oh, and you can call me Max if you want to." "Why do we have to go to New Jersey?" Amelia questioned him. "To find out more about this Count affair." He answered shortly. "This is hopeless. You won't tell me anything at all. I am going home!" she cried, frustrated. She got up, but Max pulled her down again. "Let me go." She said slowly. "Let me go or you will be sorry." "Really? What are you planning to do? Hit me? Kick me?" Max asked. Amelia realized how powerless and useless she was and gave in. "You don't understand anything. my mom was killed in front of me." She cried, tears beginning to fill her eyes. "I know, Amy." Max said kindly. "But you have to stay here--if you go back home, they will find you and kill you." How did he know my nickname? Amelia wondered. "Rest now. You will need all the energy you can get. I'm afraid I cannot be of any help right now, but I'll make sure I will try harder," he said softly. He got up, looked at her briefly, and said, "Good night, Amelia." He was about to go, when Amelia said, "Thank you." He stopped. But he didn't look back. * * * Author's Notes: I hope you enjoyed chapter one. I'll be sure to update chapter 2 soon. See ya!