Chapter 2: Welcome to the Manor

The sound of the roaring thunder can be heard as the rain starts to fall heavily along with a strong gust of wind. A storm has struck the calm city of New Orleans, people crossing the road all with black umbrellas, and cars running at low speed. The young, peculiar boy awoken from his deep slumber, his mouth was dry and his throat was parch. The moment his eyes were fully opened, he could see a large pitcher of water along with a fancy-looking empty glass. He immediately jolted from where he was and poured water on the glass before gulping it all down his throat, after the fourth glass he let out a deep breath before gazing at his surroundings. The interior of the room he was in was spacious and white, complete with everything a teenager can ask for but he was still a child so his response was not exactly like what teens would be after seeing a perfect room such as this. Ryan exited the room before closing the door behind him, placing his hands on the railings and looking down to see that he was on the third floor of a large house or to be accurate, Mansion. He trailed his right hand on the railings as he slowly walked down the large stairway. He could hear multiple voices inside the large hallway, he followed the voices but every step he took reminded him at the time at his house, walking towards the pit of despair where he saw the corpse of his parents. He kept asking himself why them? Why of all people would he and his parents be the ones to suffer tragedy on the next level? He stopped at the end of the hallway, in front of him was a large door with the light on the other side, he opened the large door to see himself somewhere that had a lot of ancient or sacred artifacts and or Relics of the past, similar to a Museum.

"I see you're awake," Said a distant voice to his right. The boy saw a tall white-haired male walking down the stairs with a friendly smile. "I hope you are feeling alright, it has been 3 days since you were asleep"

"Where am I?" Ryan asked, feeling confused and a bit unwell.

"You are in Kenway Manor. We picked you up lying unconscious on the road before we almost ran you over. What is your name if I may ask?" Said the man who was now standing in front of the lost boy.

"My name is Ryan... Ryan Cunningham"

"Such a peculiar name you have there, are you born with this appearance?" The man asked, gazing at his hair and eyes.

"Yes, the other kids call me a weirdo but my parents-...." He immediately remembered the traumatic incident, his legs started to shiver making the man in front of him concerned. His head overflowed with the image of the large frightening wolf as his right eye started to get filled with tears that flowed down his right cheek. The man pulled out a white clean handkerchief and wiped the tears away from his cheek, gently.

"Calm down Ryan, relax... tell me what happened to your parents," Said the man with a reassuring tone and smile, crouching down to reach his face level.

"They always told me that my appearance is the most beautiful thing they ever see and I shouldn't look down on myself... but... they are gone... a wolf attacked us and... And..." Ryan wanted to continue but his feet were shaking along with his voice and body.

"I see... it's alright, I will take care of you Ryan Cunningham... Do you have any other relatives?" The man asked with a calm voice as Ryan shook his head sideways, gesturing that he has no other relatives. "Then you can live here if you want, I find you very peculiar, especially your eyes. Let me formally introduce myself, my name is William Arthur Kenway Jr the third. Welcome to Kenway Manor Ryan" Ryan wiped his continuous tears away and gazed over at the man in front of him with a warm smile on his soft bearded chin.

"Are you sure I can live here?" Will your wife be alright Mr. William?" Ryan Asked. William smiled as part of a response, letting out a soft sigh before standing up from where he was and gazing over at the large beautiful chandelier on the ceiling above them.

"Unfortunately, I do not have a love interest of sorts" William replied.

"But... people always say that a person as rich as you always gets the women in the end" William laughed softly from what the boy said, gazing down at Ryan with Curiosity in the boy's eyes, something that very much resembled of himself in the past.

"It is true that when you have money that is beyond other's temptation, you can get anything you ever want, easily find someone to spend your life with or even bend the laws of justice... But I am not like that. Finding the right person in this world that will love you not for money, not by looks, and not by what you have achieved, is very hard to come by... I have been searching but failed nonetheless, so I decided to live my life with only my loyal maid and butler by my side. There are times where I wished that I was not gifted by my ancestor's riches and just be someone average, because if you haven't achieved anything, haven't got the necessary looks, and haven't got a tidal wave of money, yet a person still wants to be with you till the end then you know that they love you for who you are on the inside... But... That person doesn't exist... maybe in my ancestor's time but here... not so much... Do you understand?"

".... not so much... but I understand some of it Sir William" William laughed softly once more before patting the boy's hard.

"I see, alright then. You can call me William. I am fine with just that. Welcome to the Manor, Ryan Cunningham." The man announced as Ryan gazed over at the artifacts displayed in the room that they are in, covered by reinforced Bulletproof glass for safekeeping.

"Thank you for having me... may I ask, what are these objects inside the glass?" Asked Ryan with a curious look upon his eyes that was bedazzled by a pair of two golden handled daggers with sharp steel blades, just by looking at it can tell the unique sharpness it had.

"Oh, these belonged to my ancestors. They were Pirates" Ryan was surprised when he said the word pirates. The look on his eyes was pure amazement.

"Pirates?! Do you mean the scourge of the seas? They were your Ancestors?" Asked Ryan with a trilled look that made the man laugh in awe.

"Yes they were, I see you are fascinated with Pirates. But they are not what you think, My ancestors were no scourge, they were outlaws but for a good cause. He fought the corrupted navy armies called the Aqua Marines with the help of his fellow Pirate comrades along with the aid of the small Navy fleet called the Sangre Marines. Leading those entire fleet of ships was the ship that struck the hearts of all known men, the Sailing Season was the name of the ship and the one behind the wheel was Captain Autumn Kenway, who led them all to glory."

"Whoa, He sounds cool."

"Hahaha, that was the same reaction I gave to my father when he told me this. Believe it or not all of them held weapons that said to contain magical powers from their Gods, and the dagger right here is Autumn's, they are named daggers of the tempest, able to control the wind and tides" Ryan gazed at the daggers once more in shock before William walked slowly towards the Dining hall.

"Come, Ryan, we must eat dinner"

"Wait, is there magic in these items?"

"They are called Sacred Relics and No, it's just a story" William replied with a laugh. After a while, Ryan sat on an empty chair as Ronald, the butler arrived to fix his utensils politely.

"Let me assist you with your preparation," Said the butler as he poured a glass of cold water.

"Alright, my name is Ryan by the way," Said the cheerful boy.

"Nice to meet you, Master Ryan, I am Ronald your butler"

"Personal... butler?" Asked Ryan.

"Oh I forgot to tell you, You are a member of this family now, meaning Ronal will be your personal butler from time to time, if you need anything just politely ask him." Ryan nodded as a response and looked over at Ronald with a welcoming smile and aura from the butler. Soon the maid appeared with a tray of a large bowl of soup, her dark yellow hair glistened across the room, her beauty was elegant and captivating for the eyes of any man.

"Ahh Sasha, what is the menu for tonight?" Asked William with a small laugh before she replied.

"The first dish is Mushroom soup the appetizer for you Master William will be Kale Salad and for the boy will be my famous curry"

"Greens again? But I want some of your curry as well" William stated as Sasha glared towards him and sent a stream of nerves around his body while Ryan just watched.

"No, you are on a diet," Sasha replied firmly.

"But~"

"No buts! Question my Dinner recommendations again and I will make you eat Salad for a month"

"Alright... my apologies" Sasha nodded and smiled cheerfully towards Ryan before filling his soup bowl with mushroom soup. Ryan was confused about why a maid was scolding her master but decided to go with it and smiled back at her.

"How are you feeling, young Master? You must be cold" Sasha asked with a warm and soothing voice like an angel from heaven. Alluring and Pure.

"I feel alright... Although I do feel a bit cold..."

"Oh my, wait there I'll get you a scarf," Said Sasha before leaving the dining hall while Ronald was in the kitchen watching the curry.

"William... Why did Ms. Sasha scold you? I thought maid was supposed to follow their master's orders"

"Well, I don't treat Sasha and Ronald as just servants, I treat them as my family. So whatever they suggest I can choose to follow or not, but I can't somehow decline any of what Sasha ask, she is scary like that" William laughed at the end of his sentence while Ryan stared at him with a small smile as Sasha arrived with his scarf, she gently wrapped it around his neck for warmth.

"How do you feel, young Master?" Asked Sasha with her usual beautiful smile.

"I feel warmer now, thank you, Ms. Sasha"

"You're welcome, Young Master. Now please try the soup before it gets cold" Ryan quickly nodded and grabbed the spoon on his right before scooping a small portion of the soup. As the warm creamy mushroom soup washed his taste buds away, a stream of delight and joy came to his mouth. The soup was the best thing he ever tasted in his whole life yet made him remember his mother's cooking.

"As delicious as always Sasha" William complimented from the soup.

"Thank you, Master William." Soon both of them noticed tears falling down Ryan's right eye.

"Young Master is something wrong? Was it too hot?!" Asked Sasha in distress as she zoomed forwards to Ryan to get a closer look but the shaking of his head sideways was a clear response that it was something else.

"No... it just... really reminded me of my mom... it's so delicious and creamy" Ryan complimented her as he sobbed. Sasha smiled at the boy and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close to her soft, warm chest.

"There, there... I bet your mom was a very nice person, I can tell that she raised you with love and care. I promise to do my best and take care of you, Young Master" Ryan became quiet and just cried on her chest, gripping her maid outfit by the shoulders as he cried heavily with a warm and caring smile on the residents of Kenway Manner. This may not be what Ryan wanted, but he can tell that this is what he needs right now, a normal happy family.