2 The Manor

"Here," Edward chirped as the carriage lurched to a stop. We had arrived at the gates of the manor. The guards opened the metal barrier topped with sharp black spears. The horses however whined, refusing to move onwards. Their eyes seemed to be filled with uneasiness. "Forward," I commanded, whipping their behinds. They acquiesced and began to gallop. That was quite bizarre. Before I had time to think about it Cordellia glared at me.

"Father," Cordellia began, "don't whip them, there are other ways to get them to cooperate." She always gave me a hard time.

"Don't talk to me like that," I retorted. She crossed her arms pouting as the horses skittered down the lane.

Life-like gargoyles the size of mountain lions loomed over the manor. "Those look quite.. real," I said admiring Nathaniel's exotic tastes.

"Exactly what I was thinking," Ellayne said. The manor was a graceful two stories that seemed to consist of a West, North, and East wing. The fleeting sun shimmered on the pineapple decorative windows.

"Seems like he didn't change," I thought. He's still the same old goof. A class oak double-door sat on top of a wondrous deck with marble pillars. His house might be even better than my own. Where did he find the money for this? Speaking of the devil, Nathaniel came into view. It appeared he had been notified of our arrival

Nathaniel wore a dark tail coat and trousers. His blond hair was slicked back and blue eyes were complimented by barely noticeable smile lines. Nathaniel had smile lines and he was only approaching his thirties. What type of life did he lead after his service? His lips curled into a smile.

"Algathon, come over here you old geezer!" Nathaniel teased. "It has been way too long." His eyes looked Ellayne up and down. He gave a stupid grin and jokingly gave a thumbs up. Ellayne figured out what was going on and laughed.

"Small talk for such a small fry," Ellayne gestures at Nathaniel. "My name's Ellayne, a pleasure to meet you," she smiled. Nathaniel started to chuckle.

"I love you already!" Nathaniel dramatically looked back at me; "He must be loaded to have caught a catch like yourself." Ellayne and Edward began to chuckle. I punched Nathaniel in the arm.

"It seems even with all this time you still haven't matured," I said, trying to hold back the smile. "It has been way too long."

"Now that I can agree with," Nathaniel said, appearing glad to see me. I'm not even going to try to lie, I was happy to see him too. "So, are these your two beautiful children?" Cordellia rolled her eyes so hard I'm pretty sure she just saw her brain.

"I don't like charmers," Cordellia declared. I ignored her comment and turned to Nathaniel.

"This is Cordellia. She has a fiery attitude as you can tell," I said.

"Whew! She's already throwing me into the fire," Nathaniel fanned himself with his hand. Cordellia scoffed, crossing her arms and looking into the distance. "Anyway, what is your name young chap?"

"Eddie"

"It's Edward," I corrected.

"It's nice to meet you, Eddie. I love your nickname!" Nathaniel exclaimed.

"Tank," Edward said simply. Nathaniel raised one eyebrow but said nothing about Edward's broken English.

"Well, Algathon you have a--"

"Look!" Cordellia shouted, cutting of Nathaniel. I looked over at her. Cordellia was as stiff as a board. Her breathing were very sharp. I glanced at the tree line. A silhouette of a person appeared there. It was standing as still as a statue. In the split-second which I had looked he disappeared into thin air.

"Did anyone else see that?" I said in a voice that sounded much more confident than I felt.

"See what?" Ellayne asked.

"A person in the forest. It was there one second and gone the next."

"That person tried to get me to follow him," Cordellia said, sounding panicky. "His hand was beckoning me."

"My dearest guests!" Nathaniel began. "It was probably just some wildlife. The journey has been long has it not? Let's get your rooms arranged and partake in refreshments. The other guests are waiting." I must have just seen an animal. Nathaniel's right, the journey has been long. Cordellia looked like she was about to protest Nathaniel's reasoning but kept her mouth shut. "My maid Mary will see to your things," Nathaniel said. Mary grabbed our things with the help of other maids. As she bent down Nathaniel took her all in. It seemed there was something more there. Before I could finish that thought we stepped into the manor. It was even more extraordinary on the inside. We walked in, Nathaniel shutting the door behind us.