Prudence Richard´s car came to a stop in front of the iron gates just before dusk. Prudence can faintly make out the rise of the gravel road as it begins it ascent into the woods. Prudence got out of her car and approched the gate, she finds the key for the lock, inserted it, and twisted. It unlock with a matallic clank.
A woman´s voice spoke almost immediately." Back away from the gate, this is private property."
Prudence spin around with her hands raised." I´m sorry, I used to live here." She told the woman.
"You´re Lilian´s granddaughter?"
"Yes, Prudence."
The woman approached her with her hand extended." I´m the caretaker" She said." My name is Elisabeth Landon, and you probably don´t remember me." She said..
Prudence shook her head before speaking." No."
"It´s all right. You haven´t seen me since you were this big." Elisabeth said, putting her hand at her waist to show her how short she used to be.
"Really?" Prudence asked.
"Yeah. i knew your momma as well." She mumbled as she moved past Prudence to assist her in prying the gate open. Prudence pushed against her side while Elisabeth pushed the other.
"I´m very sorry about your grandmother´s death. I know that the people living in the Franch quaters took her death pretty hard." She added." Her wake was held at st. Anna´s Catholic Church."
"My grandmother was Cathholic?" Prudence ashed, her expression puzzled.
"God no." Elisabeth laughed before continuing." But she and father Kiearn were good friends."
"What?" Prudence asked as she noticed Elisabeth´s sad expression.
"After the massacre, they became very close."
Prudence let go of her side of the gate, allowing it to close behind her."Massacre?" She asked stunned.
"While studying to become a priest, Kieran´s nephew murdered nine of his fellow sudents before taken his own life. I´m surprised you don´t know about this, especially since your momma returned to New Orleans to suport Father Kiearn in his loss.
"My mom, came here?" She asked. Because her mom had always stated that she would never return to New Orleans, and when Prudence and her sister had asked as to why, She had stated that nothing good ever survived long in New Orleans.
Is not safe there, especially for you girls.
But why did her mom believe it was safe for her to return but not them.
Elisabeth gave her a mourful experssion. Part curious, part concern. Prudence managed to cut through her shock long enought to ask another question."How many times have my mom returned to New Orleans?"
"When your grandmother had a heart attack five years ago, she returned for the first time, and..." Elisabeth paused as she noticed the puzzled expression on Prudence´s face." Really, you didn´t know any of this?"
Prudence shook her head." No, but it dose explain all the traveling she did over the years."
"Are you all right, Prudence?"
"It´s a lot to take in." She responded.
"I´m aware, and i apologize." She told her because she truly was. The poor girl had no idea what she had gotten herself into by coming to New Orleans." I have to ask. Do you intend to stay here long?"
"God no. I´m here to look over the house and sell it."
"The house is in good condition." Elisabeth said before adding." The foundation is strong, as it is the structure. It´s got good bones, as the say."
"Do you think the house can sell?" Prudence asked.
"A place like this, oh it will sell. However, you might want to be careful about who you sell it to." She sated as she leaned against the patch of stone wall next to the gate, her arms crossed.
"meaning?" Prudence asked rasing an eyebrow.
Elisabeth quickly tilted her head in the direction of the mansion." Are you not afraid of sleeping alone in that big house?" She asked.
Prudence noted how she didn´t answer her question, but she answered her anyways." You´ve spend more time inside than i have. Should i?"
"Only if you´re afraid of dust bonnies."Elisabeth said as she pushed herself away from the stone wall." I think i should let you get up there."
Prudence got into her car and drow away from the gate and towards the mansion, leaving Elisabeth behind to watch her car disappear into the wood. She sighed as she took out her cell phone, she dialed a number, and held it up to her ear, waiting for the person on the other end to respond, she didn´t have to wait long befor a gruff voice answered her call.
"We´ve got a problem."
"What?" The man asked.
"I just met Liliana´s granddaughter." She told him.
"Where?"
" As we speak, she is heading towards the mansion. But there´s something else."
The man sighed. " What?"
"I don´t think Karen revealed to the girls as to what they are."
" Of course, she didn´t. Why do you think she left New Orleans in the first place."
"She shouldn´t be here. It´s to risky for her, especially when she´s powreless." Elisabeth paused as she turned around and looked in the direction of the house." She doesn´t stand a chance against them."
"You´re referring to the originals, Aren´t you ?"
"The streets of New Orleans were covered in blood the last time an original and a Richard witch met." Elisabeth told him.
"Liliana informed me that the original and her great-great-grandmother reached an agreement and that no more blood was shed."
"But do you know at what cost!"
"Elisabeth..."
"The Richards had to relinquish their power in order to protect the Franch quaters and..." Elisabeth took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself as her thoughts when back to the night Sarah cast the binding spell, preventing future generations of shadow witchs from performing magic." I was there, Kirean, when Sarah cast the binding spell that took her life."
"I forget how old you´re at times." Kieran said
"Nicklaus may have changed me, but the Richard family saved me, and for that i will always be greatful, and i will make certain she is able to defend herself against them.
"What you´re referring to is the same reason..."
"They´re shadow witches, and they should rule the quaters rather than a phony king." She spat.
"I´m warning you..."
"goodbye, father." Elisabeth ended the call as she turned around and walked down the road." She understood what she needed to do, she just hoped she was doing the right thing.
The drive from the gate to the mansion is merely a peacefull drive through the woods, with the twilight softening the surrounding forest. Prudence´s stopped the car in front of the mansion, she sat inside her car for a few minutes before getting out, taking her suitcase from behind the passenger seat, and making her way to the mansion´s front door. After she fiddled with the key for a bit, the door unlocked and opened. She peered inside, where she discovered an unlit space painted gray by Twilight.
Prudence entered the, dropped her suitcase, and flipped the switch beside the door. The light fixture above her head shines brightly. She wasn´t sure what she expect to see as she moved deeper into the mansion. She entered a room and paused in front of the fireplace, a painting hand above it. The painting depicted a gorgeous woman dressed in an 1800s-style grown. She looked around the room and noticed the room is filled with bookcases, with a couch in the center. If she had lived her while she was a teen, she would have spend most of her time inside the room.
The next room she entered was a parlor room with furniture that looked like they belonged in a museum. She sees a desk standing near the curved wall of the window in front of the room, and she moved towards the desk, where she noticed some old flyers and some unpaid bills. A gold picture frame is next to them. She picked it up and sees it is a photograph of herself and her sister. They were both sporting pigtails, and her sister was missing her front tooth. She placed the frame back on the desk before she turned around and walked out of the room. She´d been looking through so many room, and they where all the same, filled with really old furniture.
Prudence made her way up the stairs to the second floor of the mansion and began walking down the hallway in search of a room to stay in. She came to a halt as the end of the of the hallway and opened the door to the right and entered the room. She hit the light switch by the door, and the light brightened up the room, and she saw a desk sitting by the far end of the wall close to the window, and in the middle of the room stood a very huge bed up against the wall, and on the wall farther away stood a wardrobe. Prudence shut the door behind her and began to unpacking her belongings, which she placed inside the wardrobe.
She took off her jeans and shirt and replaced them with flannel shorts and a top before climbing into the bed and pulled the cover close against her body. She sighed and shut her eyes. The sound of twigs being snapped reached her ears. Her eyes opened wide, and she got out of the bed and walked over to the window, opening it, and looked around the backyard, she sees a figure standing beneath a big tree. She massaged her eyes, and when she removed her hands to look at the figure, it was gone. She shakes her head before leaning back in, closing the window, and walked back to the bed, not noticing that the figure had returned under the tree, staring up at the window.