AN/ Imagine her room from the side the windows on. Please R&R! And a big 'HAPPY NEW YEAR' to everyone! (Although it's a little late)
Chapter Two
Six mind numbingly boring hours later Ayra lay in her room.
Yet again, thinking.
A gentle breeze sent the light white curtains flying, brushing against the small cobalt blue sofas. She sighed and got up, slowly treading through the arsenic coloured carpet; Ayra closed the glass door that attached the room to the small balcony. Turning around she noticed the long wall lined up with book cases, which were undoubtedly lined with books, from the right of her bed which rested in front of the right wall.
Although no one suspected it, she loved to read. She'd read almost everything, from archaeology to fiction but of course it had to be written well. So, because of this she wandered away from the window and examined the tittles. Most were historical records but what they were doing in this room was beyond her.
Picking up a book at random she began to read as she sat on the end of the white framed bed, the sapphire coloured sheets gently moving as she settled down. A few minutes passed as she read in silence, enjoying the small amount of solitude she had been given, she looked up as she stopped skimming through the thick navy blue book which lay in her hand.
Scanning the room properly for the first time she saw the wide arched fallow coloured door in the left corner, the large wall sized window on the left of it that split into two, one being a door leading to the outside balcony. Almost everything had a fallow coloured frame, and was entirely decorated in different shades of blue. The wall was a plain white with only two mirrors which faced the window. The door in the left front, a thin trail like copper line engraved into it.
The moonlight fell through the window on to the three cobalt blue coloured sofas which were set into a semi-circle, a long, copper table in the middle. The bookcase she had gotten her book from ran along the long wall until it stopped short at the entrance, the shelves were wide and short in height to allow the large amounts of books to fit. The bedside table sat about two metres from the bookcase at the right.
Getting up she went to place the book back where it was. She had turned the lights off and yet as she placed the book she saw the small perfect split in the wood that wasn't supposed to be there. Out of instinct and curiosity she removed the few books from the sides noting that there weren't any more of them. On a second guess she removed a few more books and set them on floor. As she examined the top and bottom shelf she saw the line run down and continue from top to bottom as she took more books out.
Crouching down she saw the thick layers of dust lined up in front of the split despite the books that had been there. Swiping her hand across she spotted the split which ran down from the same point from the back.
Backing away from the bookshelf, she moved across to the end, feeling the sides of the shelves she felt the wood fray from the edges. Pulling gently at the edges a long wooden strip peeled off. As she slowly did the same with each shelf they slowly revealed one long split running down from the very top to the bottom.
Holding her breath, she heard a small rustling from the hallway outside the door. Despite the enormous amount of curiosity running through her system she moved across the room she reached the door, silently and slowly turning the knob, she opened the door. Trying to pass it off as paranoia she closed the door when she saw it was empty and devoid of any life.
Returning and reaching for the bookcase and barely using her strength, she put her hands between the narrow slit and pulled. Dust flew to the ground as the bookshelf was forced apart. As it was separated she realised there was a simple plain white door with no frame. Opening it a small amount of dust flew out, swatting it away with her hand she could clearly see the ancient walls covered with cobwebs.
Why on earth did she let me stay in this room? She probably didn't know. Which seemed incredibly unusual, just by speaking to her you could see she never missed a thing. The bookcase must have been added a long time ago.
As she walked inside she almost stumbled and fell over a small broken part of the ceiling which had fallen off. Deciding that's it's probably not the best idea to be wandering around in the dark she quickly lifted her hand which started to emanate a dark amethyst colour with a black glowing outline, despite its colour it brightly light the room.
Rolling her eyes she thought; God, How old is this place?
Pushing her hand away from herself and lifting it higher, she saw the crumbling stone desk in the middle of the room. It wasn't the desk itself that was interesting or the age of the room, it was the single tiny box which sat in the centre of it. A few papers which were crumbling around the edges and had a tremendous amount of creases were thrown about carelessly around the box. Moving forward she lifted her other hand. Gently picking the lid up with one hand she put it to the side. Inside lay a small black jewel like diamond but, strangely enough, it glowed a bright white.
Before picking up the jewel she observed the old papers. Although they were not yet completely deceased, the writing had almost entirely faded. The only words left visible in the writing were
Infinite Doors.
Quickly leaving the papers, considering they looked like if even dust fell on them they would fall apart, she turned her attention to the jewel. Carefully picking it up she examined the two sharp points and noticed that something had been engraved on each face of the jewel. Though it wasn't clear what was written she could see the small initials but they weren't clear enough.
Deciding to leave the room for the time being she placed the jewel back in the box and left it there considering no one knew about the place. Except her. Even though she was amazed by the small discovery she had made she did not show it. Her face blank, her posture indifferent as she slid the bookcase back into place. Feeling a little tired she changed and laid on her bed, besides, it was well after midnight.
Despite the time she had fallen asleep she woke early in the morning, the sun shining on her face. She inwardly groaned.
Today is going to be really awkward. This whole thing is beyond awkward!
Knowing she couldn't stay in her room forever she clawed her way out of the bed which had wrapped itself around her during the night, trapping her effortlessly.
Walking over to the 'wardrobe' which was conveniently a small room near the bathroom door, she'd placed the few things she had brought along with her inside the room. Taking her time she was eventually, ready. Or, you could say she felt out of place.
Might as well get this over with.
Walking downstairs, into the kitchen, which she had no trouble finding due to the small silent tour Lara had given her. Silently walking in she saw Zip in the kitchen. He casually greeted her with a 'hey'.
"Hello" She replied. He seemed comfortable with her being there so she stayed where she was, taking a seat at the small table which was set in the middle of the kitchen. Resting her elbows on the table she clasped her hands together. Too preoccupied with her thoughts yesterday when she saw the manor for the first time, she took another look around. The floor had glass looking tiles, reflecting everything that rested upon it and its surroundings, the walls a bare white cream colour. Two of the walls had two large wide windows resting in them, one opened for the time being to let the air through and for once the sun shone down into the room.
The tall but slim counters were lined up on the same walls as the windows, all were coloured a very light sepia. A few small cooking appliances rested on some of them, to the right she saw a white coloured door which she guessed led into a walk in refrigerator. The table, where she currently sat, was light wash of beige with small plain chairs of the same colour.
"Want something?" Zip asked interrupting her thoughts as he pointed with his eyes to the frying pan he was currently holding.
Not sure what to say she shrugged.
At this he replied "I'll take that as a yes" Turning he rummaged around for plates and placed one in front of her. Glancing at the food, it seemed appetizing but she couldn't help feeling overwhelmed with a sudden wave of discomfort.
Seeing the look on her face he added jokingly "It's not poisoned you know"
Looking up she saw that he had sat on the chair diagonal from her position. Trying to let the feeling slide she reached for a fork slowly and took a bite. As she had thought it was as good as it had looked, she continued to eat slowly. Finishing she got up and washed everything herself, something to which Zip did not complain. The sudden rush of discomfort had come back. She looked at the time and saw it was only around eight am in the morning. Saying a quick 'bye' to Zip while thanking him, she went and got her coat which she put on over the black jeans and grey shirt she wore.
Heading for the door she figured no one would have anything against her leaving, with that thought she closed the door behind her knowing she wouldn't be back until a few hours had passed.
Quickly performing an impressive backward double flip Lara landed on the thin narrow beam at the top of the gymnasium. She had escaped here to avoid Zip and Alister they wouldn't stop asking questions, Winston had been better in that prospect, he hardly asked anything at all.
She had gone to all the local hospitals and asked almost every receptionist in hopes that they had seen Ayra. After searching for at least a few hours she had ended up to one of the most abandoned looking hospital on the outskirts of London, which was inevitably the very place where Ayra had been born. After she had found the doctor himself she was surprised he still worked there considering his age. Once given the chance to let her eyes wander she saw that the hospital was crowded and full of life. She had been surprised but not as much as she had thought she would be.
After getting a little impatient she had finally and bluntly asked for the proof which would have proven her wrong anyway. To say the least she had been shocked, to find herself almost completely believing that the woman at her house right now was in fact indeed her sister. Despite the overwhelming evidence she still didn't trust her. And at this she was still thinking
Why didn't mother and father ever tell me?
Also feeling a little disturbed, she abruptly thanked the doctor and headed home, deciding that if there was something else she was missing she would find out herself sooner or later.
Bringing herself out of her thoughts she quickly walked along the beam keeping her balance, seeing the small ledge that was still large enough to stand on, she jumped. Landing on it she quickly hugged the wall to prevent herself from falling.
An hour had passed since she had come in here and she decided it was enough for now and so, she found a route back down. Half jogging, half running she made her way to her own room. Showered and changed she later left and went downstairs to the main hall.
Finding Alister already sitting there she took her chances and joined him.
The questions should start flowing a few seconds.
"So, what do you think of the guest?" He asked showing his curiosity clearly.
"What do you want to know?" Answering as she secretly tried to avoid the subject.
"Surely you're not used to the fact that she's here and that she just so did turn out to be your biological sister?"
She consciously sighed. Not having the answer to that one she let herself dwell on the subject a little longer. Whenever someone came up to her and questioned her she almost imagined herself shooting the person. Almost imagined.
This is going to take some getting used to.
Feeling the frustration building up in her again she sat listening to Alister and Zip who came to join them later on, questioning her again. All of which she chose to ignore and proceeded with wandering in her thoughts.
Standing statuesquely Ayra moved her gaze up, after standing for hours on end, staring at the holes in the building which had once been windows. The door had cracked in the middle but was still standing. The building was two stories tall; there was a small but noticeable dent in the bricks, some of which had fallen out. It almost looked like a dent made by someone being knocked into it. Which was exactly what had happened. Shoving the small amount of rocks in the way she made her way inside the house almost pulling the door off its hinges.
Although it had only been about four weeks since this place was abandoned there was an incredibly thick layer of dust on every visible surface. Walking in she felt a horrid scent travel up to her face. It almost smelt like blood. Her blood. It was one of the reasons she hadn't wanted to come but she had to see if the inhabitant of the house had left. She didn't even consider calling the person human.
He doesn't have the right to be called human. I am what I am today because of him.
At this thought she felt a stab of anger.
Though I guess I should be thanking him. It helped me escape after all. I wonder where you are right now.
Feeling sickened by the scent the longer she stayed in the room, she left. Walking the long distance from here to Croft Manor certainly would help clear her mind.
AN/ I tried keeping the characters in character but I don't really know... so it's up to you to tell me! Constructive criticism is very welcome.
