Chapter 4 - New House

The next day we checked out of the hotel and in the same rented car we drove to our new home. It was located on the outskirts of the city, right next to the forest. Its back was already slightly hidden in the branches of forest trees.

The house was painted white and consisted of a ground floor and two floors. It looked like a 16th-century mansion, had beautifully carved columns that supported a canopy covering a large porch, which in turn had three wooden chairs and a stylishly matched table, all of which looked like antiques. The front door was made of oak wood with beautiful floral ornaments carved on it, and in the center there was a golden knocker and the door handle was the same gold, and it looked like a blooming rosebud. In the middle of the square with the driveway there was a lovely fountain with a carved angel holding a jug in his hand and the water was pouring out of it. The entrance gate, as well as the entire fence around the house, was made of black painted metal. In addition, right next to the fence, there was a thick and quite high hedge, also surrounding the property. At the back of the house there was a large garden fenced off from the forest by a wall covered with twisting stems of wild roses. The garden was a bit run down, but that only added to its mysterious charm. There was a wooden door in the middle of the wall, and behind it a path leading deep into the forest.

On the ground floor of the house there was a kitchen, dining room, living room, and of course a large ballroom, which clearly indicated how old the house was. On the floor above there were three bedrooms, each with a separate bathroom, as well as a library and a study. Almost the entire second floor was occupied by the attic, leaving the other half for a laundry room, a storage room, and several smaller rooms with one shared bathroom, indicating it was a servants' living area. In addition, from the main hall you could go down to the cellar, which had a place for wine, and even there were a few bottles from the 15th century, which confirmed the age of this property.

My mother told me that this property had been abandoned for years, and only the city council sent someone to look after the garden, and officials in the meantime were looking for a buyer. It was not easy, however, because the history of the house terrified everyone - apparently in the 16th century a family with a young son and servants lived here, until one night they all disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Additionally, the family's daughter, the young master's twin sister, fell off the horse and broke her neck a year before the family disappeared. All of this made the neighbors believe that the house was cursed by evil powers, however, my mother, as a sorceress, was not afraid of such rumors. She did not sense any signs of bad aura in the house, so assumed that these stories were merely a figment of people's imaginations.

From the living room you could go out to the garden through glass doors, the same was also in the ballroom, but they led to the back porch, which was fenced by a railing, and there were beautifully carved and painted white wooden benches and a table on it. All the furniture, curtains and carpets were clearly from a different era, so in that house it felt like you were in some antiques shop, although all in all this house did "have a soul" as mom put it. I suspected that if I touched the trees outside, they might tell me the story of the people they watched living here. I could do this because I was a sorceress and could communicate with nature. Touching the walls and furniture in the house would do nothing, as they are inanimate objects, therefore only the trees and plants growing around the house could "say" anything if I touched them. Meditating on it for a moment made me forget about the pain I was carrying inside of me, and for the first time a thought crossed my mind that maybe it would not be so bad to live here, if only because of this house.

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Mom took the main, largest bedroom closer to the stairs, while I chose the farthest one, at the end of the corridor. I wanted to be as far away from my mother as possible because I was still angry with her about the moving.

My bedroom was not only at the end of the corridor, but also separated from the other two rooms by a library and a study. The room was small but also extremely cozy, with a separate bathroom and there was a large mirror on the wall next to the door. There was a window in front of the door with a wonderful view of the forest. One of the trees, a large, sprawling oak, had one of its branches almost touching the window frame, and it immediately occurred to me that I would be able to sneak out of the room whenever I wanted and find myself behind the wall, in this wonderful forest that almost called to me. And I loved the proximity of trees, probably because sorceresses have always been closely associated with nature. In the end, I had to recognize the splendor of this house and knew that I would feel good here after all.

Returning to the description of the room, there was a wardrobe carved with various animals next to the window, then a large bed with a red canopy, and on it lay silk linen in a burgundy color. Opposite this bed stood a beautiful antique desk and chair in the same style, and a dressing table with a mirror, the frame of which was carved with climbing wild roses. Entering this house, and now also the room, I immediately felt like in some costume movie. The only thing missing was the long corset dress. I laughed a little at the thought, because I had a large collection of clothes in this style, including corsets, because I liked to combine Victorian and Gothic styles in my clothes, although sometimes I wore quite ordinary - in jeans, tops and sneakers, and all in bright pastel colors. But now I wanted to create the darkest image for myself so that everyone would be afraid to approach me. I knew people were prejudiced against goths or other such subcultures, so it was the best idea if I wanted to become a loner.

Next to the desk and dressing table, I spotted the door leading to the bathroom. Its interior looked as old-fashioned - there was a lovely silver-plated bathtub, a marble-carved washbasin, and a toilet located behind another door. Above the sink was a large mirror in a golden frame, and below it was a cupboard with a carved door. Everything was connected to the sewage system, which indicated that a slight renovation was being done here, but so gently as to not disturb the general structure of the house and not change the style too much. You can see that the city really wanted to get rid of this house, since they added more modern amenities to it.

I quickly washed after the trip, unpacked some of my clothes and cosmetics, then got dressed and soon after that I heard my mother calling me to dinner.

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When I was sitting with my mother at the huge table in the dining room, she was constantly chattering about what a wonderful house, repeating that she "has a soul" and reminds her of her childhood. I wished I had sat further away from her, after all, the table was long and there were plenty of chairs. I listened to my mother without much attention, fumbling with a fork at spaghetti I had barely touched.

- Eh, I just don't know what to do with this ballroom...- my mother sighed.- Nowadays, nobody organizes balls anymore, which is a pity. Maybe we could revive this habit? What do you think?- she asked, looking at me with the excitement on her face at the thought of this idea.

- Do what you want...- I replied resigned, getting up from the table, because I felt that could not stand being with her in the same room anymore.

- Christina, you haven't eaten your dinner yet.- my mother changed her tone to a stricter one and pointed to my nearly full plate.

- I can't eat more. I'm going to sleep.- I replied dryly while making my way up the stairs to the first floor.

- So early? It's only half past five...- my mother wondered, looking at the large antique clock that was standing in the corner of the dining room.

- I'm tired. I've been sleeping very badly lately.- I snapped accusingly and headed upstairs to my room.