They were standing in front of a big house. From wood. Dark wood. And glass. Dark glass. It was all screaming gothic and Robert of Luzarches. The details made it look like a wooden gothic cathedral. The façade was a tangle from spirals, circles and unknown for Luffy symbols and it all just looked like some part of scene in an ancient myth.

Ace entered the imposing house, which was more an estate rather than a house, and so did Luffy. On the inside the house was as impressive as on the outside, but in a modern way. Ace put Luffy's luggage in the hall, and after taking off his shoes he said, ''I'm going to show you your room and after this, and the rest of the house.''

Luffy nodded and they headed to his bedroom. It was on the third floor, so they had to go up the stairs, which, how Luffy discovered, were made of thick dark glass. The beginning of the third floor consisted of a fairly long corridor, with a few doors from black wood on both of its sides, and five or six big paintings with silver frames. Ace went to open the door in the back of the corridor.

From what Luffy could see from Ace's broad shoulders, the room was pretty big and the wall opposite the door was entirely made of glass, dark glass of course. Luffy actually had always liked the feeling when being inside a building with such walls or windows, because he could just see everything, happening outside, without anyone noticing him. Maybe I'm actually a creep. The boy wrinkled his nose at the thought.

Luffy noticed Ace watching him intently from inside the room.

''It's really nice'', quietly pointed out the boy. Ace looked at him a few more seconds and then replied, ''If you want, we can change the furniture or the color of the room.''

''No it's perfect. I really like it,'' the boy added, hoping that Ace wasn't thinking he didn't like the room.

Ace shrugged and said that if he changes his mind, to just tell him. Luffy nodded and after going inside the room, to actually take a good look at it, his brother showed him the rest of the house.

When the house-tour had finished and he was ready unpacking, the boy decided to grab a pillow and sit on the floor, in front of the glass wall. His room was facing the wood. It was from enormous pine-trees. They looked ancient. Luffy really liked them, because of this. The atmosphere they were making, was very comfortable and calming.

The boy had almost forgotten about the odd and sinister feeling from before. He preferred to think about the house instead.

Practically everything in it was made of dark wood and glass, it was a really magnificent creation of the modern architecture. Most of the furniture consisted of black leather and expensive gadgets. The walls which weren't wooden or glass, were painted in white. The house was made of three floors and a loft, which was a small room, situated over his bedroom. Ace had his personal fitness room, workplace and bedroom on the second floor. One of the rooms on his floor appeared to be Luffy's personal bathroom, which he pretty much enjoyed. Aside of this, there was an enormous garden on the other side of the house, at the back there was a pool and a basketball court, at the front, opposite of its façade was one of the two garages, and the other was situated across the street with their personal parking lot.

Luffy sighed and rested his forehead on the glass. I just don't want to think how much all of this has cost. He looked at the sky through his jet-black bangs.

Dark clouds were being rapidly carried by the wind to a some unknown destination. The weather was cold and it was probably going to start raining very soon. It was gloomy and oppressive, but somehow Luffy found it suiting to his mood and everything here. The boy was just about to close his eyes when he saw a movement between two of the pines. Luffy instantly straightened up his back, narrowing his eyes.

There was a silhouette. Of a woman. She was standing, almost hidden behind the lower branches and their many deep-green needles. She wasn't looking at him. Luffy got slightly nearer to the glass, focusing his gaze on her, trying to examine her appearance. She was probably in her mid-thirties. Her hair was brown and messy. She had extremely pale skin, as if she hadn't been under the sun from a long time. She was wearing a dirty white robe, just under her knees, and she was bear-footed.

As if sensing his gaze, she turned her head and fastened her eyes on the glass wall. No, not on the glass wall. On him. They locked eyes. The boy's heart skipped a beat. Even when he knew it wasn't possible, he knew she was seeing him. Luffy looked her intently in the eyes, trying to find something in them. Just something.

Nothing.

Her eyes were dull and glassy, but at the same time there was something unhuman, animalistic, peeking through them. Her gaze was roaming, searching, examining his face, his eyes, with a rapid speed, as if having the attempt to see what was hiding within him.

It started raining. The rain was falling in torrents.

With a blink of an eye, the woman disappeared. Luffy blinked, his brain trying to assimilate she wasn't there anymore. The boy was getting nearer and nearer to the glass, almost touching it with the tip of his nose. All at once, her face was right in front of him, the glass being the only barrier between them. She stared at him with lunatic eyes. Luffy stopped breathing. Seeing the horror in his eyes, her lips started spreading in a maniacal and ominous smile, almost reaching her ears, nearly splitting her face in half.

And how suddenly she appeared, she was gone. Luffy stood there, unable to move.


Please review what do you think ^^. I'd really appreciate it and I'll be really happy to reply to all of your comments. ^^ Oh, and sometimes, when I see a mistake, or I've written something horrible, I may return to chapters to fix it, change a word or so, or remove a word, just letting you know. I'll probably update on 07/04/2018.