Stay...Calm

Chapter 2

The car reached said mansion when the sun was placed right in the middle of the sky. It let whatever light that came through the clouds beam right down on Victorine; just in time for when her face would light up. The house was bigger than any house she'd ever seen. It was the color of sandstone, and had grey etchings and trimming around the windows. It was so tall had the two peaks that reached from the roof pierced the sky. It was like a castle to her, secluded an guarded. A garden lay on one side, and a grand entryway on the other side. She felt like jumping right out of the car and running towards it.

The beaten-up car pulled in right outside that entryway. The passenger's seat door swung open, and Victorine hopped out.

"Hold your horses!"Lee yelled as she left the car. Thelma and Melissa stood next to each other in awe.

"Don't just stare. Let's go," Lee said, impatiently. Victorine almost started running forward, followed by Thelma exclaiming,"Finally!"

Victorine's eyes were darting across the land, spotting any nearby buildings or homes. The mansion seemed to get bigger as she got closer. Once she was on the front porch, she looked up. It made her dizzy just to see how high up it went. By the time the rest of the group made it to her, she felt like she was about to fall down. But her focus was broken by Lee rapping on the front door.

"C'mon, C'mon," Lee mumbled as they waited. In about a minute, the door opened a crack, and a piercing eye looked out.

"Who are you," it snapped. "What do you want?"

"Hey, don't get angry," Lee said, defensively. "We just wanna get in. I'm Lee Golden. I'm

Pretty sure you know my dad."

"Yes I do, but why should I even let you in?"

Lee sighed and held up her hands, palms up. Her eyes looked desperately at the eye, all

the while trying to keep a shy smile. The eye glanced at Lee, then at her palms, then at the rest of them, but locked on Melissa with her baby.

"Fine," it sighed, with a slight British accent. The door opened and revealed the women. She was tall; tall enough for her to be able to look down at all of them. She had her brown hair in a bun and a blank, serious features.

"Enter," she breathed. "But know that now you must live under my rules."

They followed her inside the house, and through a bright hallway. The entrances were too wide for doors. The carpet below them was blood red. Two small chandlers hung overhead, with a small balcony from the second floor next to it. To their right was a dining room with eight chairs, and to their right was a living room with three light peach sofas. The woman explained the place as they walked through the hallway.

"I am Ms.Kion, and this is the Haven Estate," she stated, with her arms folded behind her back. "We run a tight ship here. With the world falling apart in the outside world, we find that a structured schedule of lessons and discussions will benefit us. The residents so far are my nephews and niece, my assistant, and three guests. I feel proud to invite you here as well. Now, we have our rules here to make it all run smoothly. First, and most importantly, no going outside without permission. Second, follow our schedule. Thirdly, obey the elders, for our word is the law around here. I know it's strict, but we want only the best. Now, come to the lounge room, everyone! We have some new guests!"

They stopped right in front of a two-story living room, with three couches surrounding a fireplace and chimney decorated with diamonds. A girl with dirty blonde hair sat on one of the couches, staring out a large window across the room. She turned around at the sound of Ms.Kion's voice, revealing blue, curious eyes that glance at them, then glanced above. There was a balcony in this room, too, they stretched across the whole room. Victorine spotted three heads peeking down (two of which were blonde, too). But the first one of them to approach them was a reddish-brown headed boy with a piece of paper gripped in his hand and a peeved look on his face.