Day 1:

What a tiresome journey it has been. Long have I traveled to find such a place as I stand in now.

'Tis supposed to be my exile, but I will make it my Kingdom.

I will come back with a Vengeance none have seen before.

Mystic Falls.

The name of this quaint town hid behind it many a secret, many a story left untold, or skewed by humankind. Many strange and haunting tales reach me on the wind, and as The taxi rolled to a stop at my drop off, I couldn't help but squeeze my hands around the diary in my lap.

The words inside it haunted me and called to me, an overlapping fear of its contents, and adrenaline from the excitement it brought with it.

I exited the vehicle as the driver began to unload my things, and looked up to see the complex I would now call my home, so long as I decided to stay here. The building was clearly older, perhaps at the turn of the century, and yet it was well kept. There was no signs of chipping on the exterior, which was deep green in color, and white shutters to offset its darkness.

It was nearly blinding to look at.

There was only two stories, with what looked like six rooms, counting by windows, on each side. The main lobby, which I promptly assessed as we meandered inside with my things, was quite small, only fitting the stairwell, a small area for where the mail was delivered, and a little corner office, containing the chaotic organization of one newly acquired Landlord.

She scrambled to get up to greet us when she noticed we had entered, papers falling to the floor from her desk, and pushing her glasses up high. I gave my best smile as she came close, noting that she was wearing far too much perfume, and trying not to breathe it in too heavily.

"Hello, deary! You must be Oleander!" She mused, reaching out and taking my wrist in her hands. I noted how her hair was mostly brown, with the grays decorating it in places to give away her age. The laugh lines had also begun to set in, and it was confirmed with the big grin she gave me. "Your prettier than I realized! And your eyes are so... Unique!" She mused.

She was referring to the fact that they were a dulled orange color, almost passable as brown if you weren't looking closely.

"Yes, hello. You are Nancy, correct?" I greeted as warmly as I could muster through the groggy aftermath of a three hour car ride.

"Right you are! My, an accent! Are you foreign?" She tilted her head before flicking her eyes behind her, my driver likely still hauling in my things from the trunk. "Oh, I do apologize. I'm sure you want to let this nice man get back to... wherever he's from." She dipped into the office, pulling out a set of keys. "I'll get your room open so we can get your things in. We can address formalities later."

I nodded my appreciation before following her, eyeing the man behind me, who only nodded with a smile. Nancy fumbled with the keys as we moved past the set of stairs to the first doorway on the right, exclaiming quietly when she found the right one and wiggled it into the lock.

"This way, dear." She said as she pushed in and I followed in suit.

The apartment was quaint, with a kitchen that was separated from the living room by a simple bar, and another door to the far right that I presumed was the bedroom. I could only hope there was a bathroom connected to the bedroom.

Everything was a lovely wood furnish, and the kitchen was a white marble with the same wood coloring for the cabinets and flooring.

It really needed some color.

Stepping in, I noticed there was a fireplace on the left, as it was the only non-wood feature, close to where the window was, and I smiled.

"Is that functional?" I pointed to the corner and Nancy smiled in my direction.

"Very much, dear! I had it inspected before your arrival."

"Lovely." I mused, taking another quick look around. "It's quaint. I love that it's cozy." In other words, it was very small, but it would work for now.

"I'm glad you are satisfied!" She grinned before moving towards the man behind me. "Let me help you with these, sir. Are there much more?" They're voices faded, signalling that they had moved to outside the room, presumably to retrieve more belongings.

I pushed myself to explore, opening the door to the bedroom and sighing a relief when there was another door leading into a bathroom. The color schemes were the same as the rest of the house: Wood, and marble in the bathroom.

I heard the voices returning and decided to meet them there. They dropped several boxes and bags into the living room, creating a neat pile of all my things that could fit in the car.

"The driver tells me the rest of your furnishings will be here tomorrow, deary." Nancy nodded at me. "If you like, I have a spare bed you can use for tonight."

"Please, that would be most appreciative." I approached the driver as he set the last few bags against the pile, pulling out my wallet. I dished out several hundred dollars and handed it to him with a grin.

"Miss," The older gentleman smiled, "This is far too much."

"That's for helping me as well. Take care driving home, please." He looked like he wanted to hug me, but only nodded with a smile plastered to his face before excusing himself.

"I'll get my boys to move that bed in for you." Nancy said distractedly as she watched the driver leave. "In the mean time, I'd like to discuss-"

"There's someone I have to call." I interrupted before she could finish, causing her to turn to me sharply in surprise. "Is there a phone I could use? It's quite urgent."

"Oh... Sure." She said with an unsure smile, but left to retrieve said object, and I took that moment to ward my new complex with a spell that would work as an alarm, in case anyone I was unaware of entering should be anything but human.

I wiggled my fingers at my side, glancing at all the walls as I did. As the magic weaved and worked through the place, I felt nothing out of the ordinary, and sighed a relief.

Being what I am, I didn't want to immediately draw unnecessary attention to myself. Especially Witches.

They proved to be the most annoying, interestingly.

When Nancy returned with the phone I grabbed her wrist and looked deep into her eyes, feeling my pupils dilate as I silently commanded her. "Tell me your full name."

"Nancy Peloski." She complied dazedly.

"And your occupation?"

"I'm a Landlady."

"Your boys' names?"

"Danny, and Patrick." She was good and dazed, well under the compulsion I pushed onto her.

"Do you know anything about the supernatural residents in this town?" I pressed, watching her eyes flux along with mine.

"Supernatural?" She questioned. "I don't believe I understand." I blinked slightly before nodding. She was an innocent, so she was safe to use in necessary precautions. A secondary alarm, give or take.

"Forget this conversation took place." I willed before letting go of her wrist. She blinked, and I gave my best smile as I took the phone from her.

"Someone important, I wager?" She said, as if she hadn't just been under a trance. I grinned.

"Very much." I chuckled gently. "To answer your earlier question, yes. I was born in England many years ago, but I've since grown accustomed to the ways of America."

"How long have you been here?"

"Long enough that I don't really remember what home was like." I shrugged. That, in itself, was true. How many years in actuality, however, was a different story entirely.

Far, far too many.

"Well, take your time, deary. Come find me when you're ready to talk about semantics." She waved her hand around before excusing herself. I let my facade down immediately, throwing the phone to the counter.

Playing overly nice was exhausting.

But I would have to remain under the radar if I wanted to lay my roots into the town.

Mystic Falls was full of dangerous people, after all.

Not quite as much as me, though.