Dawnlyn House

Delilah and I talked all night about whether we thought it was a good idea to trust the strange girl escorting us to Dawnlyn House or not. After a long back and forth, we decided she might be our best chance.

"I'm still unsure about her, Cassandra," Delilah said as she laced up her dirty boots.

I walked to the window in the room we were staying and peered out to see if Dezzy was there. It was almost as if she knew I was looking for her. I saw her hooded head turn and smile directly up at me, she was a little scary.

"I know," I said, "but I have a strange feeling that this is what we are supposed to do."

Delilah and I gathered our things and headed down to meet Dezzy. Outside of the tavern, the city was back to being a bustling society full of people working and trying to live. Dezzy was standing next to a black barouche coach with silver accents. It looked very expensive and by far the nicest carriage I had ever stood next to.

"Are we to ride in this?" I asked and gestured to the coach.

"Would you rather walk?" Dezzy asked.

"No, but... We are dirty from our travels and this is so beautiful," I said.

"If you think this is beautiful, wait until you see the master's carriage," Dezzy said.

Delilah and I climbed into the cart which was upholstered with velveteen seats and beautiful emblems carved into the wood paneling. We sat down and couldn't stop ourselves from touching everything. Dezzy gave us her wicked smirk.

"Home please, Archer," Dezzy called to the coachman.

Somehow, I was too taken in by the coach that I didn't even notice the coachman. The coachman was one of the tallest men I had ever seen. He wore a black hooded cloak similar to the one Dezzy wore. His had a gold trim outlining it. His face was covered but he sat as if he was ancient. He cracked the reins and the 2 large, black horses that headed the coach pulled away as we left the view of the Tavern.

"Dezzy, you said that your master doesn't like the city, but why is that?" I asked.

"As I said, he likes his privacy," she said and looked up at the sky. "The Master isn't as... conventional as those charlatans here in the city. He doesn't hide behind false fronts to distract you from the drama within the walls."

"What do you mean?" Delilah asked.

"There." Dezzy pointed a long bony finger towards the largest building I had ever seen. It was a large, gold and white palace on top of a hill. It looked like something out of a fairytale. My mouth slowly dropped open as we moved further away from it.

"Iverdeen Keep, where his Royal High and Mighty lives with his family and their assortment of assholes," Dezzy said. "Candlemure is very different. It's a safe place for those of us who have been rejected by...them."

"That's where the King lives?" Delilah asked in awe. "I've never seen such a beautiful place. I'd like to see more of it!" She said, excitedly as Dezzy's smirk crept back on her face.

"I'm sure if you manage to get the position at Dawnlyn, you just may." Dezzy's eyes held on Delilah for a moment.

We had been traveling through the forest for a few hours before it started to thin. As the forest started to break, I could see more and more patches of dry grass.

"Was there a fire?" Delilah asked, pointing to a large twisted tree that looked like it had been burned.

"No, nothing really grows here," Dezzy responded.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"There isn't much life out here. Nothing grows," She said and straightened her hood. I had just noticed she hadn't taken it off yet since we had seen her in the tavern. I had also just noticed she had a very pretty ornate cloak pin, it looked like a fruit.

We came to the top of a hill and the carriage stopped. The driver said nothing and Dezzy opened the door and exited.

"Right then, out we go," She said and motioned for us to follow.

"What do you mean? There's nothing here? Is this a joke?" I asked her.

"No, Miss Cassandra. Now we walk. Archer will be taking the carriage back to the house. I have some stops to make in town, you'll accompany me," Dezzy said and started walking over the hill.

"Why do I feel like we are in danger?" Delilah asked as she stood close behind me.

"It'll be fine, you worry too much." I tried to reassure her even though I was nervous myself.

We followed Dezzy to the top of the hill. Once we got up, we saw the small town that laid at the base of it. It was surrounded by a short, stone wall that matched all of the grey stone buildings. This town was not as grand as Iverdeen but it still seemed well off. We walked down the hill, into the town. As Dezzy passed by townspeople they would move far out of her way and avoid looking at her. They either seemed to be in some kind of daze or afraid.

Dezzy turned to look at us.

"I need to pick up a few things. If you can get the wheat, we can head to the house. Make sure to tell the merchant you're picking up for Dawnlyn House," She said. "Meet me here in the square." Dezzy turned and headed up an alleyway.

Delilah and I walked the streets while people stared at us, whispered to themselves and hurried away.

"I'm beginning to think we made a mistake coming here," Delilah said.

"Wasn't this your idea?" I asked. She shrugged her shoulders.

"There!" I pointed over at the wheat merchant. "Let's hurry, after being in the city I want to see the house." Delilah and I walked to the merchant who was chopping wheat into bundles.

"Excuse me, sir? We are picking up wheat for Dawnlyn House?" I said.

The merchant slowly turned his hand and looked at us. He had one white eye with a scar going across it. For a long time he stared at us, mostly me, without making a noise. He turned and started grabbing a few bundles of wheat.

"Are you going to that place?" A woman asked from behind us. "The great house?"

"Dawnlyn House, yes," I said.

The woman frantically looked between Delilah, myself and the merchant before she started slowly shaking her head.

"Don't go to that place. It's a bad place," the woman said.

"A bad place? Whatever do you mean?" Delilah asked.

"That place is full of daemons and..." she whispered, "evil."

I could tell Delilah was concerned.

"Evil?" I said.

"Nothing grows here, it's all dead, except for the people who live in that house," she said.

"Well, I would sure hope there are no dead people in the house," I said with a small laugh.

"No!" She shook her head more frantic, "There is no death in that house. They've always been-" She was interrupted by Dezzy clearing her throat.

"-Excuse me, I must have had something caught in my throat," Dezzy said with vicious eyes. "Oh! You found the wheat. Thank you, Samuel," Dezzy said and started picking up the bundles. "Thank you for helping the new maids, Miss."

"New maids?" The woman asked, very surprised. "They're staying at the house?"

"I think that's what the missus said," a male voice said.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, I heard you say new maids and I knew I had to see for myself," the man said.

"Pierre," Dezzy said.

"Dez," He said.

"Destiny, to you," Dezzy said. "Come ladies, let's leave this snake oil salesman."

"Wait!" he said and grabbed my wrist as we passed. I tried to pull away from him, but he held me tight while he made eye contact. "Wait Miss, be careful here, this place is different from others and can be quite scary. Please, make a friend." He released my hand but did not break eye contact. The man nodded and walked away. There was something strange about this place but that man seemed like the warmest thing here. I touched my hand where he grabbed me. Come to think of it, this place was quite cold, at least in comparison to the city.

"We're almost there," Dezzy said as we turned onto a long road. "Now! Here we are." She perked up a bit and picked up her pace as she headed down the road.

There it was at the end of the road, a large, stone mansion with black and silver trim. Even though it was slightly off-putting, it was, in my opinion, just as beautiful as Iverdeen Keep. The road up to the house was long and lined with planters that may have once had beautiful flowers. The closer we got the more beautiful and intricate the grounds were. There were carvings and symbols all over the stones. There was an engraving above the main archway that looked like it may have been Greek.

"It looks like a mausoleum," Delilah said.

"It's beautiful, I just wish there was some greenery," I said.

"So do we, but nothing grows here," Dezzy said.

As we walked up the stone steps towards large, black marble double doors, I heard a low growl. I turned around and saw a huge, black dog was following us up the stairs. Delilah screamed and Dezzy stepped in-between the dog and us. She put her hand out for the dog to smell and he stopped growling. Something inside me told me I needed to do the same.

"Miss-" Dezzy said as I walked towards the dog, he began to growl again. I put my hand out to his muzzle with my palm up. He bared his teeth at me for a moment until we locked eyes. He had large, yellow, predator eyes. He must have been a large, black wolf. His lips pulled back and he stiffened. I tried not to flinch when he snarled. I leaned further towards him against my better judgment. That's when it happened, he sniffed my hand and he stopped. He immediately relaxed and sat down.

"I'm impressed. That old dog doesn't like anyone who comes around, especially newcomers," a man's voice said.

I turned left towards the voice and saw a handsome younger man leaning casually on a black marble pillar. He had a round, black hat sitting on top of thick red curls. His eyes were a very bright shade of green and his face was covered in freckles. He had a very smug smile on his mouth. He wore a black hunting coat with a red scarf pin. He had white breeches and a black waistcoat.

Delilah tried to curtsey and bow her head to the man.

"Oh!" I said as I copied her.

Dezzy snickered.

"What a wonderful greeting!" The man said excitedly and stepped towards us. I noticed he had an expensive looking gold cane shaped like a snake.

"Are you...not the master of the house?" I asked.

The man had a very smooth chuckle.

"Man of the house? Oh please never tell him that, he'll never let me back into his liquor cabinet again." He laughed and stood in front of Delilah and I.

"Who might these two be, Dez?" He said as he examined Delilah and myself.

"New maids," she said shortly.

"If we're lucky," I added.

The man playfully bit his bottom lip.

"Well, I do hope you're lucky, miss, because that means I would be lucky to be in the presence of two very charming looking young ladies." He nodded to us, "My name is Harry, Duke of Auberton."