Tales from Ravenhearst: Home, Sweet Home

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst series. This is an AU of that universe. This was inspired by The Basement Chronicles by SilveRanger on AO3. I highly recommend you read that as well, even though it is not related to this story.

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Charles Dalimar is who you would call a traditional man. Having earned his fortune through his investment in mechanical advances, making a name for himself was something of an achieved goal for him. His rather unpleasant upbringing had contributed to that. But this was no longer about that. No, it was about something more.

At first, he did not find comfort in the thought of marrying. He just did it because it was expected of him. But as he walked down that aisle, to forever be bonded in holy matrimony to the woman of his dreams, he felt as if he found something he didn't know he needed, a piece to a puzzle that he didn't realize had to be completed. After so long of feeling like he belonged to someone else, he finally had someone who belonged to him, and only him. He would cherish this gift he had received. He would not repeat the mistakes his mother had made.

Rose was an inherently striking woman, and he considered himself lucky that she even crossed his path at all. He had grown up being labeled a freak, and he hadn't imagined he would be worthy of something like this. Naturally, he charmed her, meticulously pining for her affection. The young girl, having just passed the ripe age of sixteen, became equally infatuated. It was almost a year into their courtship that he realized that they were meant for each other, they fit together like a key fitting into a lock. She had certainly unlocked his heart. Even though he was twenty-eight at the time, he was able to convince her for them to be wed, playing it out like a passionate love story. It was their love story, and Rose couldn't think of any reason why this wasn't the right thing to do.

Of course, it was the right thing to do. Why wouldn't it be?

The children she bore for him were another blessing. He had a family. His family, one that he created. He would give them the care and attention he never really had from his own absent father. They were all connected by blood. Precious blood. Those ties could never be severed, no matter how far away they were. That is why he had done what he did, hiding them away from the harsh cruelties of the world, so that their blood could never be tainted by outside influence. They all belonged together. One day, he knew they would come to see that, and they would be grateful. They had to be.

As the years passed, and he got older and his body grew weaker, he realized that he could not let death separate them. He had to find a way so that all of them could live eternally together. For awhile, he had survived off of their essences, but he soon found that it would eventually lead to their souls fading. He had to look elsewhere for more... available resources.

No one questioned his family's disappearance. He had conjured up elaborate scenarios of how they all died in tragic accidents, setting himself up as the lonely, grief-stricken man wandering aimlessly through his empty manor, wallowing in his sorrow. But he knew better. This façade worked to acquire his other subjects, no one the wiser when some random individual disappeared off the streets. He tried not to take too much in rapid succession, either. A young, healthy person could keep him alive for at least a decade, if not more. Eventually, he heard that his status had turned to presumed dead, but no one bothered to check. His once proud abode, that he had built himself, slowly decayed into ruin. He didn't mind, however. It was better that way. He had moved their home to a more... permanent location. And it was located only twenty feet underground.

He had to make his appearances scarce, assuring that there would be no witnesses to observe his activities. He found it rather amusing to see the authorities floundering over the mysteries of these missing people. It was hilarious to observe them flailing around like chickens with their heads cut off.