Ivy could tell the boy was a hippie. It wasn't the round vintage sunglasses or the beanie with a fricken black peace sign, his shaggy blonde bangs falling in his eyes. No; Ivy could tell by the pale boy's aura. He felt like a hippie.
"So," the boy said, breaking the silence. "You listen to music?"
Ivy considered the question. "It's cool, I guess."
The boy, Theo, nodded. "Yeah mate. I love Fleetwood Mac. You hear any of their songs?"
Of course he likes Fleetwood Mac, Ivy thought, smiling. "I guess so. None really come to mind though."
The taxi cab hit a speed bump, causing the two to bounce a little in their condiment-stained seats. Theo adjusted his sunglasses.
"I hope this party isn't all fancy and shit. That's so boring," Ivy said.
"That's definitely not my scene," Theo agreed.
Ivy laughed. "Ten bucks says everyone there's going to be snobby, conceited rich kids. This party is going to be great."
Theo shrugged. "I just go with the flow. If you don't let the little things get to you, you'll have a lot more fun," he said in his light British accent.
"I like you, kid," Ivy smirked. "Oh wow. Look at that," she said, pointing out her window. Ahead, through the trees, was Trinity Heights, gothic tower and all, illuminated by yellow spotlights.
"We're just about there, kiddos," the cab driver called back.
It took all of two minutes to reach the huge wrought iron gates of the hotel. The entire campus of the once-asylum was enclosed by seven foot walls, which, Ivy noticed, were plaster smooth. It'd be virtually impossible to climb those.
As Ivy and Theo unloaded their luggage from the back of the cab, another car pulled up to the hotel. Ivy looked up from the trunk to see two people pile out, a girl and a boy.
Theo closed the trunk of the cab and the two went to meet the newcomers. Up close, Ivy could notice that both the boy and girl were similarly attractive, both dainty and graceful.
"Hey," Ivy said. "I'm Ivy, and this is Theo."
The girl looked at Ivy and Theo from under an elaborate sunhat decorated with roses.
"Enchanté," the girl said, although her polite tone seemed almost...forced. "My name is Rosalind."
She really was beautiful, Ivy noticed. All curly brunette ringlets bound in ribbon, plump pink lips, light blue eyes. Rosalind even wore a gorgeous vintage dress in lilac. She looked like a living doll.
"I am Casimir," the boy said. He too was beautiful in a nonconventional way. His pale skin seemed almost iridescent in the falling snow, and white flakes caught in his tousle of wavy black hair. His features were sharp, his body slender, and his face beyond handsome; in fact, it was more beautiful in the way a girl might be beautiful. "It is so good to meet you."
With that, Casimir enveloped Ivy in a warm hug, wrapping lean arms around her shoulders. Taken aback, Ivy debated recoiling or just letting the boy finish.
After a few seconds, to Ivy's relief, Casimir let go and moved on to Theo. The poor hippie boy looked shocked at first, but then he shrugged, and hugged back.
"Uh... We should go inside," Ivy said, still slightly in shock.
"Indeed. It is quite chilly out here," Rosalind agreed. Ivy could feel the properness in Rosalind's voice; years of poised elegance, shallow judgements, and lots of pampering.
It took the crew all of twenty minutes to finally trek to the front doors of the Graham Building, although Ivy had to admit they were moving really slow. Of course, this was mostly due to Rosalind relaying, in detail, her entire trip, including the plane ride and the airport. True to her nature, Ivy had taken every opportunity to interject snarky remarks, which had earned their fair share of nasty looks from Rosalind.
Ivy was honestly surprised she'd been let off the hook so easily. Given what she knew of Rosalind, which admittedly wasn't much, she would have expected the prissy girl to throw a tantrum.
Theo was the first one to climb the granite stairs of the Graham Building. He opened one of the the great oaken doors, holding it politely for the girls and Casimir.
Ivy gawked at the sight of the inside of the building. Grand marble columns supported the roof. Yellow walls lit by matching warm lights gave a comforting feeling to the entrance hall. A large statue of some robed Saint dominated the center of the atrium, illuminated with special care by floodlights.
"What decor! This place is gorgeous," Rosalind gasped. For once, Ivy didn't say anything.
Theo found the directory before anyone else. It seemed the boy had a penchant for being absolutely oblivious to his surroundings, which is why Ivy found it so ironic that he would be the one to find the way to the party.
"This place is abandoned," Theo said, taking the lead. Ivy nodded.
"They don't seem to have much in the way of staff. Like seriously, not even a bellhop?" She said.
"Bellhop? Who says bellhop anymore?" Theo asked.
"I think the word bellhop has an air of nostalgic whimsy," Rosalind remarked.
"Well. Not using that word anymore," Ivy muttered, just out of earshot.
The four youths walked down a hallway lit by sickly fluorescent lights. Theo claimed this was the way to the staircase, which in turn led to the party.
In this light, Ivy noticed Casimir's skin looked very... Strange. "You feeling okay bro?" She asked. "You look kind of green."
"It is the lighting. My skin is prone to such random changes," Casimir explained with ease, as if he'd been asked the question at least a thousand times.
"Oh, by the way, whatever deodorant you use, it's smells really good. Kinda perfumey, but not bad," Ivy commented, not afraid to be blunt.
"I don't wear deodorant."
"Oh. Are you sure?" Ivy asked, more than a little confused. The boy definitely smelled rosy, and she'd be damned if she were wrong.
"Quite positive," Casimir confirmed.
Maybe it's just Rosalind's froofy stink, Ivy thought, shaking her head. She smells like a French whorehouse.
"There are terrible stories about Trinity Heights in its heyday. Did you know that?" Rosalind asked proudly. "I've heard that during the Second World War, one of the patients filched a trowel from the greenhouse. He went on a murder spree, killing orderlies and other patients indiscriminately. They shot the murderer, of course. Isn't that just ghastly?" Rosalind shook her head, her curled brown locks bouncing. "They called the killer 'The Gardener'."
"Why would you tell us that? This place is already friggen creepy enough!" Ivy exclaimed, even though she wasn't really scared. Was she?
Rosalind whipped around to look at Ivy face-to-face, stopping in her tracks. "It's just a story, ma chére. No need to get flustered." While Rosalind's words were light and delicate, her eyes betrayed her inner rage, cold and unforgiving. Ivy stared straight back, defiantly.
"Oy! Why don't we all just settle down and head to the party?" Theo interjected.
And so they went.
XxXxX
Another intro chapter down! Looks like there's already some drama, huh? Well expect much more in chapter two... And after that?
Hell will break loose
Anywho, submissions are still open, so if you are new to this story, hurry and send your application in 'cause there's only a few spots left!
Thank you all for reading, and please critique/comment in the reviews!