The Book of Monsters.

Nico.

Imagine...

Moving into a new house.

It's big and beautiful and you're not the only one living there, having seven roommates in total. It's a fairly large house, but rather old so some of the rooms need a little work done. Which of course means squabbling over the remaining rooms and arguing over one little issue:

That someone was getting the attic.

That certain someone ended up being you, on the condition that they got rid of the dust and bugs themselves and helped you move your stuff up there.

It took a while of course but in the end...it wasn't so bad. The attic was large, with two massive windows and even a tiny balcony over looking the rolling hills behind the house. There was more then enough room for your bed and bookshelves and everything and you settled in quite nicely.

But...you noticed some other things.

Things that had been left behind, forgotten by previous owners and tucked away into the attic.

A large double door wardrobe with ornate carvings(that one of your roommates had claimed); a little vanity table covered in tiny glass bottles, delicate dusty figurines, and an old jewelry box; some strange paintings (another roommate claimed those for her room) that had been left stacked away in a corner; and a single, leather book.

You all talked about these strange objects to one another, wondering who had left them behind and why.

But the owner of the house happily gave them away to you all, not caring about them at all. And though there was something strange about all of it (did the wardrobe door creak open on it's own? Who had opened the jewelry box suddenly?), you forgot about it all very quickly.

That night, as you got ready for bed, you could have sworn you heard something so very strange:

Creaking floorboards behind you.

Your heart stopped in your chest as you turned around, only to see...nothing.

Nothing but the shadows on the far side of the attic...and the little door. When you helped your roommate move the old wardrobe, you had discovered the door, dusty and forgotten behind the furniture. Everyone had agreed that it probably lead to the crawl space and you had promptly forgot about it as you unpacked. But now that you were alone in the attic...the door didn't leave your mind as easily as it had before.

The idea of some strange door leading so some dark, creepy place seemed scary. After all, how many horror stories had you read that started just like this? A girl moves into a new house, finds something creepy, and then-

"Oh, stop it!" You told yourself. "Don't be so scared."

Crawling into bed, you closed your eyes and drifted off to sleep quickly. So quickly, in fact, that you didn't hear the creaking begin again...or see the little door open. You didn't notice a thing as something tall and dark creep around the room curiously...carefully...quietly.

Bright eyes glowed from the darkness of the attic, gazing curiously at your sleeping form as it slowly crept a little bit closer.

It had been alone for so long...and it was excited to have such a pretty little friend...

~

You woke up the next morning to...music.

Sitting ups slowly, your tired eyes looked towards the old vanity and you found the jewelry open, a tiny couple dancing to a slow tinkling tune. Your heart stopped in your chest, your eyes growing wide at the sight before you.