Quinn Jackson ◊
The drive to the manor was long, but the scenery was beautiful. Luke hummed along to random songs that played from his stereo, and it brought some relief to me as I was still contemplating if I did the right thing or not.
Many would think I was mental for even thinking about it, let alone going through with it. Hell, I thought I was mental for doing it.
But there's the hope that if he's true to his word, my mother would receive the treatment she needs and live a longer and better life.
I didn't know anything about him, but there was something that felt familiar when it came to him. A sense of safety, as it were.
"She'll stay alive until I'm done, right? You promise me that?" I asked, nervous and he nodded as he looked at me before his eyes turned back to the road.
He nudged me slightly as we turned into a drive, the scene from my dream now alive and even grander than before.
It was a large two story manor at the end of a long and curved driveway, with giant green pine trees that lined the way to the building.
"I hope this will do for the time being." He said as we both left the car, and I nodded as I breathed out, not capable of using words to describe just how beautiful the place was.
He grabbed the box containing my stuff from the backseat, and walked up the steps, glancing back at me to make sure I was following, and I quickly walked up the steps with him.
"You can wander and explore as much as you want, but for now there are some people I want you to meet." He said, placing the box on a table within the entrance way and I nodded.
He disappeared from the entrance, leaving me alone and I looked around the massive structure, amazed by its beauty. There was a grand marble staircase with steel-iron railing and gold leaf decorations scattered among it.
The two stairs connected above a set of double doors, that connected for the rest of the manor. Luke walked through after a few minutes, followed by another set of people.
Each of them smiled at me as they spread out in a line in front of me, and I blushed as I looked down at my feet and Luke chuckled.
"Everybody, this is Quinn. Quinn, this is, well everybody." He said, gesturing to the others and I nodded as I waved at them, and he kept his gaze on me.
"Everyone is more than willing to help you, whenever you need it. Do you want me to show you around?" He asked, and I smiled as I nodded and watched as he excused the two of us, and we went upstairs.
"There's forty-five rooms. Extensive, I know. Each of these rooms have a purpose though. There's all the necessities though, including a library, a private theater, indoor pool, all the fun stuff that you would enjoy." He said, and I nodded as I didn't know what to say.
"And this will be your room." He said, pushing the doors open and I smiled as I stepped inside, overwhelmed at the room.
There was a massive bed, black pillars with a canopy over it, and black pillows at the head of the bed. The carpet was a dark grey, with white walls and a grey trim at the top.
There was a white desk against the wall, a sleek black laptop with supplies littered on the top of the desk. There was a marble fireplace along the opposite wall, with a couch and chairs surrounding it.
"Wow, this is, um wow." I breathed out, amazed at everything and he smiled as he watched me.
"You also have your own bathroom, as well as a closet." He said, nudging me towards one of the doors that were closed and I walked towards the door, opening it and finding myself at a loss of words once again.
The bathroom decorations had matched the bedrooms, a sleek black tub in the center with white counter top and maroon accents around the room.
"Luke, this is impressive." I said, and he gave me another smile as he went back into the bedroom and went towards the other door.
"And this is your closet." He said, opening the door and standing against it and I frowned as there was a massive walk-in closet with a white chandelier in the center.
Clothes and shoes littered the closet, all styles and all colors around the room. From dresses and skirts, to jeans and lounge wear, there was just so much clothing.
"This is way too much." I mumbled, trailing my hand along the clothing, and he shook his head as he watched me.
"I hope you find it to your liking." He said, my eyes catching a glimpse of sweatpants and athletic pants and I smiled as I turned around.
"Yeah, I do. Now can we talk about this? Like sit down and talk about it all." I said, and he sighed as the corner of his mouth turned down into a frown.
"Quinn, I cannot do that all now. I have to speak with the council about something as well as the dinner tomorrow night." He said, and I crossed my arms as I looked at him.
"Who is all on the council?" I asked, and he clasped his hands behind his back as I walked out of the closet, him echoing my footsteps and he chuckled.
"My family." He said, and I stopped as I turned around, coming face to face with him.
"Family?" I questioned, and he nodded slightly as he watched my face, attempting to gauge my reaction but I just sighed and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Luke, we need to talk." I said, and he nodded. "You cannot just take me here and not explain anything to me. Oh god, why did I even agree to coming?" I breathed out, suddenly realizing what I had just done and he frowned as he walked over to me.
"Quinn, do you regret this?" He murmured, carefully putting his hand on my cheek and I licked my lips as I looked into his eyes, and I knew that I wasn't regretting it, I was just nervous.
"No, not at all. I just want to know, Luke, but you're not telling me anything." I said, and he tugged the lip ring into his mouth as he straightened up, and looked down at me.
"Do you remember what I asked you to do before?" He asked, sitting beside me and I nodded as I played with my hands.
"Yes, you told me to look over some stuff about Hades." I said, and he nodded.
"Tell me about him." Luke said, and I sighed as I thought back to everything I had read.
"He is a Greek god, part of the big three. One of the most important gods, even though others don't see him as one. He controls Death, and decides how the souls will spend their afterlife." I breathed out, and he smiled as he nodded.
"That is correct." He said, looking as if he was going to continue but there was a knock at the door and he grimaced as he stood and went to the door.
He spoke in hushed tones as he opened the door, standing in the doorway and not revealing who was behind it until he scoffed and looked back at me one last time.
"This is Mira. She's here to help you through everything." Luke mumbled, opening the door wider to reveal a petite blonde with a sour expression on her face.
"Luke doesn't appreciate me." She said, glaring up at him but smiled towards me as she walked towards me, extending her hand out and I smiled back.
"I'm -"
"Quinn, I know. We all know. I'm here to help you with anything, and plus I can be a friend." She said, and I glanced at Luke who had his lips pursed but watched as I shook her hand.
"Okay, well thank you. How many others are there?" I asked, referring to what she meant by saying they all knew who I was.
"You will meet them in time." Luke said, causing Mira to turn around and look at him, but she shook her head as she turned back towards me. She had a maroon skirt and a black sweater on, with black tights and short maroon boots.
"I'll be showing you around for today. We have a schedule that you have to stick to on a daily basis as well." Mira said, tugging my hand slightly and I frowned as we left my room and Luke shut the door behind me, but went in the opposite direction that Mira was pulling me in.
"He has some business to attend to, especially now that you're here." She said, and I frowned as I watched him walk away. She led me down the stairs and we were back in the front room of the manor.
"You're a big deal around here already Quinn. Anyways, there are loads of other people here for you to meet, but for now I'm showing you around." She said, clasping her hands behind her back and smiling at me as she waited for me to finish descending the stairs.
"Alright, so obviously there's the upstairs, but we'll get to that later. So here is Luke's favorite room, I swear he spends all of his time in here." She said, pushing the door open to reveal a massive indoor library and I breathed out at the sight.
Hundreds and hundreds of books littered beautiful shelves that spanned across the entire room, with a massive fireplace in the center, surrounded by some love seats and chairs. There was a ladder on wheels against the wall, designed to go back and forth through the room.
"He's either in here or in the kitchen, usually. I don't blame him, he has a huge collection." She said, mindlessly looking around and I smiled at her as she walked towards the other set of doors in the room.
"This is the den." Mira said, gesturing towards the room and I quickly followed her into it, looking around once again. There was a bar in the corner, with bar stools surrounding it and a massive stereo station next to it.
Other furniture was scattered throughout the room, but I didn't have time to look long as Mira was already walking into the next room.
"A workout room with a pool in the next room, I don't really spend time there, because well, exercise." She said, causing me to smile and we were walking through the house.
"My favorite room of them all, the kitchen." She breathed out, gesturing to the kitchen and I laughed as I followed her inside, looking around the beautifully decorated room.
The kitchen was massive, with an island in the center and appliances surrounding the walls. There were fully stocked cabinets, and many other things that littered the counters.
"There's a dining room through that door." She said, gesturing towards a set of double oak doors, "and the living room through those. I'll take you in to that one, because it's also one of my favorites." She said, pushing off from the counter and heading towards the room she just described.
"So Luke has a living room, a movie theater room, and a gaming room." She explained, and she rolled her eyes as we stopped in the living room. Couches littered the room, with a massive painting against the wall and I stopped to look at it.
It was a dark painting, in a black and white tone and she sighed as she came and stood beside me. The painting was of Luke, him sitting on a single chair in the middle of the room, and it looked as if it were a throne.
"It was a gift, and it's only hung because he felt obligated." She said, turning on her heel and walking out of the room and I was quickly following her.
"Mira, while I enjoy the tour, can we stop now? I'm kind of getting overwhelmed and I learn better exploring anyways." I said, and she stopped in the hall and turned to look back at me.
"I guess. For now, you should get ready for dinner. It starts at six sharp." She said, gesturing for me to go upstairs and I quickly walked upstairs, glancing down only to see that she was already walking away.
I went into my room, if you could even call it that, and frowned as there was already an outfit lying on my bed. It was a black dress with long lace sleeves, and maroon heeled boots sitting beside it. A note with the letter "M" was on top of it, and I sighed as I gathered it into my arms and walked into the bathroom.
I played with the shower controls before quickly discarding my clothes and stepping inside, immediately sighing in pleasure as the water cascaded down my body and the glass became steamy. I remembered that dinner was served sharply at six, and I quickened up in the shower as it was already half after five.
I got out and did my hair, quickly blow drying it before taking two strands and braiding them back to make my hair seem more elegant, before getting dressed and going back into my bedroom.
There was a knock at the door at 5:55, and I frowned as I walked over to it, only to smile as I opened it as Luke was standing on the other side.
"I can walk you down to dinner, if you would like me to." He said, giving me a slight smile and I nodded as I walked out of my room and shut the door behind me, and walked with him down the stairs. He took me into the other side of the house, the one Mira and I had not yet explored and he furrowed his brows as chatter came from the other side of the doors in front of us.
"Are you ready to meet the council?" He asked, his eyes scanning my face and I breathed out once more before I nodded and took his empty hand, and walked into the dining room only to have all pairs of eyes fall on me at once.
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