Chapter 2

We had past the cemetery and all its winter trees. Beneath the snow was a grass covered field, hiding all the decaying bodies in the ground. We drove past the snow coated Fossie Street, and past the city hall when Grandmama rolled her eyes, showing her disrespect towards society. Fossie Street was the main road in the city, passing the town high-school, mall, and grocery store. A lot of teenagers walked around it.

I recognized some people sitting around Fossie Street, but none of them mattered to me, or were important in any way that mattered, but in a way, I envied them. Their lives was so simple: high school, love, drugs, alcohol. I never was into any of those things like the rest of the teenage population, and I found them so pathetic, complaining about breaking a nail, or losing their drugs. I, on the other hand, had to deal with real problems. I had Grandmama.

Once we left the main city we drove down an old road lined with trees, leaving tracks behind us on the snow covered road. We past an old burnt down farm house, but after that it was all trees once again. Several minutes later, there was a turn off of the road, and I realized it was the entrance to a huge, imposing mansion - my new home.

There was a huge gray cloud over the mansion, covering it in shade. I knew the weather was just a coincidence, but it definitely wasn't a good sign. As the limo drove around the huge angelic-looking fountain in front, it stopped, and one of her servants opened the door. I got out of the limo first, cutting her off on purpose, just to piss her off. It felt kind of childish, seeing as I was seventeen, but so what! She was a horrible person. She pushed me out when I did, but I managed to stay my feet, after stumbling slightly. She got out and we walked into the mansion.

It was dark and everything was black. Behind the main double door entrance was a grand hall. It was a giant room with stairs on both sides leading up to six different floors; each had their own doors with halls most likely leading to more doors. There was a large, crest shaped window above the door, but it was made of black stained glass. There was a huge candle-bearing chandelier hanging from the ceiling, illuminating the room just barely enough to be visible. The actual chandelier left a large shadow on most of the large open space.

The mansion had an awful feel. Just being inside it gave me a horrible feeling inside, but I couldn't pinpoint why I had it. It was like something dreadfully morbid was happening, but it was the mansion of a woman over fifty years old. She couldn't kill someone if she tried, right? She was too old to, although the strength she showed when she slapped me made me question that notion.

"Where is everyone?" she asked angrily, rhetorically.

"How the hell would I know?" I said, like a smart-ass. She glared at me and I decided to stop talking. Something about the way she looked at me, something deep inside her eyes, screamed at me, warning me to stay away. I never knew a look could affect me so much.

"I said, where is everyone?!" she shouted as people began to fill the room. Easily over a hundred people came in, forming a semicircle around me and Grandmama. They seemed to stand in clusters, most likely their families. They all stood perfectly upright, their arms by their side, and they didn't move. They ranged in uniforms (I counted three), age, and gender. I saw children and soon-to-be-dead people, showing Grandmama never let them retire, and she completely ignored Child Labor Laws.

"This is most of the daytime staff. The rest is waiting to be punished. The nighttime staff should never meet you. You will always be asleep when they work, and they all work outside. If you do meet them, you will not like the consequences." I nodded, and she approached the left most group, although, she only made me want to meet the nighttime staff even more.

"This is the Siegfried family." she said.

A tall, brunette woman and a strong, muscular man stood there. The woman was dressed as a maid, along with all the other women, and the man was wearing a black chef uniform, like half of the men. They both looked at me with eyes of pity, but they seemed to warn me of Grandmama. I smiled at them, and they briefly smiled back, but then returned their gaze to Grandmama. For some reason, they looked worried.

"Where is that child of yours!?" She said, aggravated.

"Madame Amelia, please forgive him, he is waiting for you in the back as you told him too," the man said. I felt awful for them, and their child. I mean, I knew Grandmama wouldn't admit she was wrong in front of everyone, even if it was unfair. I could tell they weren't lying, and I could tell by the spreading embarrassment on Grandmama's face that she knew they were right.

"Lies! All three of you shall get no dinner," she said, scornfully.

"Thank you for your kindness," they all said in unison, hanging their heads in disappointment and sadness.

Shifting to the right, she continued, "This is Mr. Oaksworth." He was tall but his butler uniform was covered in dirt, and his hair looked matted. I again smiled, but he didn't take his eyes off of Grandmama. What did Grandmama do to him?

She shifted again. "The Lillian's." It was a family with two small little girls. They looked to be twins, somewhere around 6 years old. The two girls, along with their mother, were dressed in maid uniforms, the father a butler. The girls had their auburn hair in pigtails, tied with ribbon. Their faces were bruised, and I wanted to grab them and run away. But did I? Definitely not.

Grandmama continued introducing me to the forty-two families, and twenty-four single people. They were all bruised, battered, or dirty. I only remembered the first few families' names, the others all meshed together as I was realizing how long the introduction was going to take as more and more people showed. Every time they would, Grandmama would inform them that they didn't get dinner and they would "thank her for her kindness," which I found insane. I would thank her for her abuse, but I knew she had probably broken all of their spirits.

It angered me to think with all the money Grandmama had, she couldn't afford to take care of them. It's not like it would be that hard when you have billions of dollars. Not only did they look abused, but the way she treated them outraged me. She showed them no respect, and yet they had to practically kiss her feet. And to think that there were more servants. How many servants did Grandmama need?

"What are you all doing here still?" she asked, "I am obviously done with you. Get out of my sight!" Within seconds, the crowd scattered, some exiting through doors in the back of the room, but most of them scurrying up the stairs.

"Leeonith, from now on, you are nothing more than a servant to me. Do you understand? You will not get any special treatment. In fact, you shall be treated worse. Do you understand?" What! Treated worse them those poor people? I see she wasn't lying when she said I had seen nothing. I was scared to look at her and I desperately wanted to get away from her. My headstrong bravery I had fell as the cruel reality of Grandmama hit me.

Grandmama started up the stairs to the left and I followed. She walked up to the fifth floor gradually, with her black dress dragging along the stairs behind her. All the doors were wooden with golden handles, and the walls were made of plaster. The ground was made by wooden floor boards, and the ceiling was made of some black material. I could tell she was wearing high heels from the "clunks" they made every time she stepped. The hallways were long and had many turns. It could almost be considered a maze.

Finally, she stopped by a door, unlocked it, and entered. Inside the room was a twin sized bed and a door to the left. There was a closet against the back wall, and candelabra on each side of the door, with smaller ones on the dressers, one on each side of the bed. At the foot of my bed was my suitcase. The bed had dark red sheets and a black pillow. It was quite typical, except that the color scheme of black and red just made it unsettling.

"This is your room. You shall stay here until tomorrow. Today shall be the only day you will ever be exempt from your chores. But, because of your juvenile delinquency, you shall not eat until tomorrow morning." Are you kidding! She wasn't bluffing. She left the room, locking the door behind her, and she closed the door so fast, it blew out a candle, making it even darker.

The door to the left led to a small bathroom with a toilet, sink, and bathtub. The floor was covered in black and red tiles, the wall and ceiling being red. There was another candelabra in the corner near the tub.

The closet had dark, wooden doors and it opened a foot and a half deep with a clothing rod and a shelf at the top. I closed the closet doors and walked to my suitcase, dropping to my knees and opening it. Using the hangers that were on the rod, I hung my shirts and pants, and put my underwear in the drawers of the dresser to the left of the bed.

Then, I saw my mother's locket. I picked it up by its gold chain, its small heart dangling at the bottom, and opened the elaborate golden heart to see a picture of my mom on the left and my dad on the right. As the tears slid down my face, hugging my cheek, I closed the locket and lifted the chain over my head and around my neck.

When I was seven-years old, I remember Mom telling me, "When we're gone, and you're sad, or angry, or alone, hold my locket tight, and remember we love you. And know that we're always here for you, no matter what. We love you."

"I love you, too," I whispered into my fisted palm. I wiped my tears off my cheek and finished unpacking.

I walked into the bathroom and saw myself in the mirror. My eyes were dry from crying, and my nose was red from sniffling. I hated how sad I looked. To me it looked pathetic. I never wanted to be emotional like I had been that day ever again. I didn't realize it then, but I made a decision to never let my emotions move me into such a sad state ever again. I planned to never cry again, but I truly had no real control over it. My promise made, I left the bathroom.

Laying on my bed and looking up at the black ceiling, I reached my hands up and made shadows for a while, the best form of entertainment I had. I had no clue what the time was, and I didn't know how Grandmama expected me to follow the strict schedule without a clock or something. I was bored out of my mind, with nothing to do.

Then, I heard a click on the door and watched it swing open, a boy walking through. He was about my age, wearing a suit, and he looked just like a butler. He had short black hair, his bangs long, but swept to the side behind his ear. His skin was light, but he had a tan as if he was forced to work outside a lot. Only his head had the darker color. His hands were very pale. Oddly, I didn't remember meeting him earlier that day.

He quickly closed the door behind him. I sat up as he reached in his pocket and handed me two cookies.

"Here's some food. I felt bad for you, not having food." He took a breath, and continued, "I'm Lance." He was very bubbly, but seemed to be quieter than he normally would, like he wasn't supposed to be there.

"Thank you, I'm Leeon. Where were you earlier today?" I asked.

"I was in the back waiting for her instructions," he said. So he had to be the Siegfried's son, right?

"Who do you live with here?" I asked. I figured I could figure it out faster asking a non-direct question, although now I don't see the logic in it.

"Both my parents work here. My dad's a chef and my mom's a maid. I'm a butler, but they're many others." He said." I have to go, but I'll be back. I'll help you with your chores and I'm assigned to keeping you on schedule. Oh, and one more thing. Be careful. Unnatural things happen at this mansion. Whatever you do, don't blow out your candles 'til you have matches, and don't go out at night."

"Wait, before you go, tell me why? She's an old lady, what can she do that's so horrible, or is this place haunted?" I asked. I wasn't patient enough to wait until tomorrow to know. It not like he just said, "goodnight," he totally set me up for nightmares, and I wouldn't have it. And he had to be the Siegfried's child. He just had to be, unless he was with a nighttime servant.

"No, it's not haunted," he laughed, "Just be careful is all I'm saying. You'd be surprised by what happens." He seemed like he was rushing.

"What does that mean?" I asked, my tone turning into pleading. I really wanted to know what he meant. I don't know if it was my curiosity or my fear, or most likely a combination of both.

"I'm really sorry, I have to leave," he said sadly.

He walked out and I took a bite of my cookie as I heard the door lock. They were sugar cookies, but they were cold and hard.

Throughout my seventeen years of life, I never experienced anything paranormal, but I had heard stories. I did know that my mom seemed to protect me from them. I couldn't figure out why though. I never knew why, but, I had a feeling I would soon find out.