Note #1 — Crap, I wrote this after watching Markiplier's walkthrough of Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location. Half the fun of that game is trying to figure out what's going on.
I was tempted to name this chapter "Five Nights At Happy House".
Have a Happy Halloween!
House Of A Thousand Fairy Tales
"That's your house!" Arthur's question sounded more like an exclamation than a question. He closed his mouth once he realized it had fallen open.
Alfred paused, one hand on the gate of the picket fence, and turned back to grin over his shoulder at Arthur. "It's pretty amazing, right? Like something outta a fairy tale."
"Out of," Arthur corrected drolly. He was an English Professor after all.
Wait til' you meet my family!" Alfred laughed. The sound of a door open caused him to whip around and face the part of the house that a tall rose bush obscured. Alfred whipped around and pointed up its winding cobblestone path, through what looked to be a luscious garden, one Arthur would be eager to see in daylight, and said, "That's them! Hey everyone! The hero is here!"
Arthur lifted an eyebrow. Hero?
"C'mon!" Alfred said, grabbing Arthur by the wrists as he threw open the gate. "Don't be a slowpoke!"
"Now wait a —," Arthur was cut off as the strong teenager dragged him toward the fairytale cottage, lit up by warm, golden light in most of its windows. He had to run to not trip.
He still managed to take in more of the three story house, one with a thatch roof and plaster walls. It really looked modeled after an Old English cottage, but bigger and more mansion-like.
"Al, honey, where have you been? We were worried," called a woman very sweetly.
Alfred let go of his wrists as a couple feet before three steps that led up a porch where a man and woman, him dressed in a blue coat with a lace ruffle in the front and her in a white apron and dress, stood on the top step. Two children, a boy who looked almost identical to Alfred, and a very dour-looking girl in a form-fitting dark purple dress with a matching-bow in her hair, stood in front of them. All were smiling.
The mother had long, brown hair clipped up on the left side of her face by a pink flower and the man wore a cumberbone and ruffle at the front of his coat. He had wavy, dark hair and dark eyes.
Arthur couldn't help but feel they had been cut out of a 1950s guide to perfect families. They looked so… picturesque.
"Now Al, you shouldn't stay out til' dark," the mother said, placing a hand on the shoulder of the boy with longer, paler hair than Alfred. Her smile never left her features. Slowly, she turned her eyes on Arthur. "May I ask your name?"
"Arthur Kirkland," he said, holding out his hand to shake. "Pleased to meet you."
"Likewise," she said. "My name is Elizabeta and this is my husband Roderich."
His grip was equally cold and tense.
The little girl with short white-blonde hair giggled.
She took it slowly, her grip strangely tight and cold. He left go, feeling odd.
They introduced the other children, one was a couple years younger than Alfred and almost his twin — his name was Murphy, or what was it? — and then there was Nataliya.
They were all dressed rather old-fashioned and finely. Matthew wore dark red blazer and a pair of matching slacks and held a stuffed white bear. The girl wore a dark purple dress and black stockings and shiny black shoes with polished gold buckles.
The girl held a strange white bunny toy.
"Hello!" they greeted in unison. He swore they almost blinked in unison as well. "Welcome to the our lovely home, Arthur."
"I found Artie here," Alfred declared, grabbing Arthur in a half-hug and pulling him against the lad.
"Arthur," he grumbled, trying to pull out of Alfred's iron grip. Seriously, how could the boy be so happy?
"He was in an accident," Alfred said. "His car flipped over."
"Oh my. I noticed your forehead. Are you injured?" Elizabeta asked in a voice of concern.
Arthur touched his throbbing templed. It wasn't bleeding anymore, but he felt dizzy and a migraine coming on. And there could be internal injuries.
"I…" Arthur said. He felt the world wobbling around him.
"You don't look well. Quick let's get him to a couch.
He waved them off when the Alfred stepped towards him. "I'm sorry to impose on you, but I really need to use your phone. My wife must be so worried." He concentrated on standing. He had been in a rollover accident. It was a miracle he could stand at all.
"I'm very sorry, but our phone is out," the man said. "You'll have to stay here."
"No phone?" Arthur repeated the words in shock.
"I'm afraid not, Mr. Kirkland," Elizabeta said. She smiled, dimples forming in her defined cheeks as she revealed a row of perfect teeth. "But our lovely children will take care of you."
"Yes. We'll treat you like family," the girl said innocently, but there was something inherently dour about her. Her eyes had a deep look, like bottomless well that looked older than they should on so young. "New people are always welcome!"
A strange realization dawned on Arthur. The flowers were all in bloom in the garden despite it being almost winter. It was almost Halloween.
"I…" he felt the ground swaying. He didn't resist when Alfred slung Arthur's arm over his shoulders to steady him.
"Let's get him inside," the mother said in a falsetto full of warmth.
"Yeah, a new friend!" the girl said, her doll-like face staring up at Arthur. Maybe it was a trick of the light, but her eyes seemed to have almost a violet hue.
"I need to call…" Arthur slumped to his knees, held up by Alfred. The world grew dark and the last thing he saw was that dour and lethal looking Natalia smiling up at him as she held her little, purple bunny.
