Monsters and Misfits

• Speckles •

Roxanne leads Elizabeth to a room with a large grand piano and scratched up dance floor. Elizabeth goes to walk in but Roxanne hangs behind "you not coming in ?" She asks gesturing to the door. "I would but Liam and I aren't on the best terms at the moment" Roxanne replies scratching the back of her head whilst laughing nervously. "You go ahead though ! He doesn't bite , I'll meet you two downstairs" Roxanne states walking off. " I guess I'm going in alone then" Elizabeth says to herself walking in.
"Hello ?" She calls out , the room is seemingly empty ... and quite creepy. "Is Liam here ?" She asks again but there's no response. Elizabeth steps forward into the middle of the dance floor and the door slams behind her making her jump. "I swear to god if there's someone here -". Elizabeth feels a hand on her shoulder and grabs it before punching the person it belongs to causing them to fall to the ground and into the shadows .
"What the h- Ouch !!" The boy exclaims , "oh my go- I'm so so sorry ! Are you okay ?" She exclaims extending her hand , " I'm fine .... goddam , remind me to never sneak up on you again" he chuckles getting to his feet. The boy stands up , he's tall ... extremely tall , the sight of him makes Elizabeth slightly uneasy until he comes into the light. He has curly messy brown almost black hair ,  ... pleasant facial features , pale green eyes that almost look white  and mixed skin which is almost impossible to determine since it's scattered with vitiligo.
"It's the skin isn't it ?" He sighs , " what ?! No no no! I-I" She stutters in embarrassment , " hey don't worry I'm messing with you" he says interrupting Elizabeth's apology. " sorry , I I've never seen anyone like you before" Elizabeth sighs , the boy turns red "oh my god ! I just mean ive never met anyone with ..." she continues , "vitiligo" he states slumping down on a dusty sofa. "Yeah ... im normally not this awkward , I promise" she laughs nervously , "it's okay , I get it a lot" he sighs placing his hands behind his head and crossing his legs . "What ? People commenting on your skin ?" She asks sitting down across from him . " No not that .... girls getting tongue tied around me" he sighs cockily , Elizabeth goes to speak but halts mid sentence and stares at Liam in shock " don't worry , I find it cute .... I'm Liam" . And with that Elizabeth regained her confidence "okay okay lover boy slow it down , you're one of them aren't you ?" She groans placing her hand to her brow . "What a smooth talker ?" He laughs in response , "no" Elizabeth stands "you're a flirt" she scoffs . " damn ... and to think I almost had you" he laughs standing up , "trust me Liam you were far from having me , so where's my girl ?" She asks , crossing her arms. "She's in the master's study"  he states gesturing to a painting. "That's a painting" she states bluntly , " quit being no fun" he sighs walking over to the painting and opening it revealing a hidden door , "ladies first" she says bowing and gesturing to the door , " you're starting to piss me off ... you know that right ?" Elizabeth groans , " it's what I do best" he chuckles as they enter the secret room.

The room is dimly lit with candles , the walls are dressed in notes and maps. Elizabeth looks around the room at all the detailed notes and illustrations before spotting a plush leather chair with a basket. She rushes over and sees Leila fast asleep & cleaned up swaddled up in a clean blanket , " thank god" she sighs in relief brushing her head gently
"She's been an angel ,  I fed and washed her for you so you didn't have much to do when you came to" he states , " thank you , I haven't seen her look this comfy in a while" Elizabeth chuckles softly. " you wanna go and meet the others and let her rest ?" He asks opening the door , "I'm  not sure if I'm comfortable leaving her here by herself" Elizabeth states hesitantly . "It's okay , Tessa has been watching her for quite a while now , she'll tell us if anything's wrong" Liam chuckles pointing to a corner of the room shrouded in darkness , "Tessa ?" Elizabeths exclaims looking in the corner. As if out of nowhere a gigantic brown Newfoundland dog stands up and sits by the chair peering into leila's basket endearingly. "She's been a momma before , six times ... she's got it in the bag" Liam says squatting down to her level and rubbing her belly " yes she does ! Yes she does ! Yes yes yes yes !" , Tessa rolls over in her back and slobbers all over Liam. "I'm not sure" Elizabeth sighs with doubt . As Liam goes to speak Leila begins to cry , and by instinct Tessa rushes off and retrieves a bottle and gives it to her and cleans her while she drinks. " wow" Elizabeth scoffs , "I told you , I trust her ... now we gonna meet the others or are you planning on being a stranger ?" Liam sighs in frustration, "fine" Elizabeth crouches down to Tessa's level , "I trust you , okay ?" Elizabeth sighs  , Tessa jumps on Elizabeth and plants a slobbery kiss on her forehead. " aww she likes you" Liam chuckles helping Elizabeth up, " glad , let's go then" Elizabeth sighs in defeat after petting Tessa for the last time.