1869, London, England
"Nicholas! Can you get Luna out, I want to go for a ride, and bring your horse too", I call out.
I just had a very pleasant conversation with my father, and really need to let out some steam.
"You seem like you need some company, would you like me to join?", a venomous voice, many would have mistaken for sweet, was heard from behind.
"I'm perfectly well with Nicholas, Lady Bridget. Besides, you wouldn't want to interrupt our only time together. Would you Lady Bridget?", I practically, hissed.
"Come on James, shouldn't you be spending more time with Bridget, your betrothed, than some random stable boy".
Of course, if the Queen bitch were here, her side bitch would not be that far off.
"I value Nicholas's time much more than Lady Bridget's time, Olivia. Also, wouldn't you both rather stay inside than ride horses?", I asked, pissed off at Olivia.
Don't misunderstand, I know tons of women who are tons better at riding horses than me, but these two are a completely different breed.
"I thought you guys could take a walk in the woods", my sister suggested.
"This ride is supposed to relieve my stress, not add more stress. And with that I bid you, ladies, goodbye", I say, getting on Luna and riding off, with Nicholas following me.
"You do know that Old master would not appreciate you treating Young Mistress and her friend like that, especially when that 'friend' is the future Matriarch of the Harrington's", Nicholas chided, once we were out of their earshot.
"Ugh, don't remind me. That old man and the witch are really cut out of the same high-end bitchy cloth", I complained, combing my fingers through Luna's mane.
"You will be fine James, you'll just be stuck with her till the day you die", Nicholas teases, steering his horse in a different direction.
"Where are you going? We've never gone that way", I ask, catching up to him.
"It's a new place I found with Margaret on a ride, " he says, leading me through a space between trees.
"You expect me to believe that you got your sister on a horse", I asked incredulously at that prospect.
Margaret is Nico's younger sister and a true daredevil, but the one thing she wouldn't do is get on a horse. Believe me, Nick and I have tried countless times, but she refuses to go with ten feet of any horse.
"Not exactly, it was me riding Oliver while she was walking beside me", he explained, looking proud of his accomplishment.
"How exactly did you both find this mysterious place?", I ask, still surprised by his success.
"Well, a storm frightened Oliver, which made him push me off. I basically rolled into this place! Margaret followed running behind me", he detailed.
"Only you could find a place by literally rolling into it, Nico", I say, shaking my head at him, to which I received a tip of his worn-down hat.
"So, where is this mysterious place, so far there have only been tr-whoa"
Out of nowhere, the shady trees part to reveal an abandoned mansion, with broken windows and climbers on the walls. It looks right out of the horror novels I read.
"This is the place?", I ask, sceptical of the area.
"Well not exactly, this house is creepy as hell, but the area behind...", he drifted off, walking into the house.
"Wait! Don't leave me behind", I shout, running after him.
Whoa
If the outside gave any indication of the inside of the house, it didn't show.
The interior of the house looked right out of a present-day architecture book, with high-ceiling chandeliers to atrocious art pieces on the walls.
By God, What is this place?
I looked back at Nico in shock, to see him a few shades paler and looking as if he saw a ghost.
"What is this place?", I utter, my heart racing at double time.
"This place looked completely different the last time I saw it", he let out, looking dazed.
"How different did it look?", I ask, getting the creeps. I swear I saw the man in the painting look at me.
"It looked abandoned and broken down last time ... like it's supposed to look!", he exclaimed, eyes starting to look wild.
"This place is scaring me, let's go", I say, pulling him towards the door.
"No, not until you see the place I told you about"
He looked like he had calmed down a little bit, so I followed him out the back.
A huge garden was at the heels of the house, and in the middle, a huge ceramic fountain so detailed I would think it belonged to the Morelli's.
It would take me days to describe the intricate details of the fountain. The most breathtaking part of it was the centrepiece, which was a striking statue of a young woman around my age. It was so life-like, I would have thought it was real if it was not made of ceramic.
I've never seen anything more beautiful.
I would have gaped at the statue for a lot longer, had it not been for the thump I heard behind me.
I whirled back to see William with his mouth wide open and the two bitches behind him, sitting on the floor, rubbing their heads.
"What are you doing here?", I exclaim, glaring at them.
"Uhh, They told me you were in danger, so we followed you here", William spoke, hesitating.
"Oh, Am I in danger?", I asked, my voice icy.
Olivia had enough sense to keep her mouth closed, however, Bridget doesn't seem to value her life.
"Of course!", she screeched, face flushed with embarrassment. "You went out unguarded with him"
The way she spits out 'him' as if it was venom irked me more than her existence.
I was ten seconds away from strangling her, and I've vowed to never lay a hand on women no matter how bitchy they are.
"You told me he was attacked, that's why I rushed here. Not for this stupid reason", William explains, seeming alarmed at her accusation. "You cannot talk about people like that, Bridget. Unless you want me to take away your privileges, apologise to Nicholas"
"I just want to get out of here", I muttered, irritated by everything happening.
I looked back at Nicholas to see him looking dazed. To think about it, he has been acting weird ever since he mentioned this place. He hasn't been his talkative self.
Bridget took a step forward to apologise reluctantly when I heard a creak.
I looked back, to see the statue rotated to the left slightly. I looked at the others to see if they noticed to see them looking the same as Nicholas.
Eyes glazed and looking dazed.
"William!"
No response
"Nicholas! Wake up!"
No response
"Olivia?"
Again no response
I heard another creak and saw the statue now fully facing me.
All of a sudden, I felt immensely tired. My legs felt too weak to hold my body up, and slowly my eyes closed.