Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Unintentional Assassination Attempts Tend to Make You Friends!!
With every unbearably loud creak, she felt her heart beat faster, to the point she was shocked she didn't have a panic attack. She remembered having her first-ever sleepover with a friend from her hometown, a time before her life fell apart, though she couldn't remember the girl's name.
She remembered the butterflies in her stomach, how she stayed awake staring at the ceiling, afraid of every new and uncertain corner and shadow.
It was normal, her mother had explained. It was her first night away from home, and everyone goes through something similar on their first night away. The only reason her six-year-old self didn't cry, asking to go home, was because she knew that when morning came, she'd be back in her familiar, warm, and comfortable home.
What's different now is that this was her home. At least until she moved in with her aunt Mags, and right now, for all she knows, even that was temporary.
She, anyone, would have thought that with her current predicament, she'd be used to the constant uncertainty that surrounded her life. But honestly, there's no ever 'getting used to uncertainty,' because the very concept of uncertainty was, well… uncertain.
And this house was the embodiment of uncertainty.
She could quite clearly recall Perdita's instructions on how to get to the dining hall, but for some reason, despite taking the exact steps she took last evening, she still couldn't find the damn place.
Walking down the hallway and the stairs, once thought of as something from a princess movie, now looked like it had come from a horror show. Looking to her right, the hallway leading to the dining hall was nowhere in sight. There was nothing but a wall in its place, which wasn't possible!
"This doesn't make any sense," she muttered to herself, confused, as she made her way to where the entrance had seemingly 'disappeared.' Placing a hand on the wall, she applied a meek amount of force, as if to make sure that it was real.
"He heh…"
A childish giggle echoed through the house. Alessia turned around, skin prickling with anxiety. "Who's there?" she questioned, her voice shaky and soft, fearful of making any loud noises.
CLANG…
She gasped in fright, trying to locate the source of the sudden echoing sound of glass on glass in the eerily quiet house.
There was no one behind her, nor was there any form of silverware around… No wait! There was! The expensive vase she'd noticed when she first arrived here. Walking towards it, she began to examine it more closely.
"This is a pretty big house, and it is pretty old."
Its pale indigo color seemed to dim as she looked at it.
"Not to mention it's surrounded by one big forest."
The vase trembled slightly as if sensing her gaze.
"There's bound to be all sorts of little critters sneaking in," she steadied the trembling vase on its cabinet and slowly took a peek inside. Almost immediately…
"MINE!"
A loud, hoarse, and twisted voice crowed out of it as if it were possessed. With a shriek, she abruptly pushed the vase away from her, causing it to fall off the cabinet and roll on the ground into a corner.
"MINE! MINE! MINE!"
It kept repeating in a voice that could be identified as neither man nor woman. Steam began to pour out of the vase like water, steam that began to twist in on itself and form what looked far too similar to a clawed hand, making all too real scratches on the ground, as if the monstrous creature were trying to claw its way out of the vase.
Alessia, in fright, ran as fast as her legs would carry her up the stairs, nearly tripping, and through the hallway leading to her bedroom. Following right behind her was the most inhuman and animalistic howl, as if it were raging in regret.
In near tears, she rushed into her room, slammed the door shut, and locked it. Diving into the bed, she bundled herself in its covers as if the soft, silky material could provide some form of protection against the unnamed and unknown creature.
Fearful of the monster's return, she attempted to force herself to stay awake, but by the time the night sky began to lift, she'd been taken over by exhaustion.
* * * * * *
"RISE AND SHINE, DUCKY."
"FUCK!"
Alessia rolled off her bed on guard. Perdita's mouth opened wide in shock, lasting for a good second before she managed to regain her composure. "Language, my love, and pardon me," she spoke like she was trying to be stern but couldn't keep her amusement out of her tone. "I was certain you'd be awake by now."
Just as dumbstruck, Alessia looked at her grandmother in confusion, "Wh-what… What time is it?" she asked. Perdita grinned teasingly, "It is exactly 8:15… or 8:17 to be precise. Honestly, I thought you'd be up earlier, but you did have quite a long trip, so I suppose it's understandable you'd still be in bed."
Alessia did look quite tired; she looked as if she hadn't slept at all. "Oh," was all she managed to say, the events of last night rushing through her mind like a storm. In a nervous tone, "Um… Grand- I mean, Nana… Perdita, did you… by any chance… hear… anything last night?"
"Hear what exactly?" Perdita asked.
Alessia froze. 'What happened last night was unbelievable, unrealistic. For all I know, I could've just been dreaming,' but she knew it hadn't been a dream. Her true concern was her grandmother's perspective. 'It's barely been a day since we've met; she'd either chalk it up to me wanting attention or something,' she sighed, 'after all, I'm a child, but I'm not her child.'
Shaking her head, she smiled, "No… It's nothing… I was just having a bad dream." Perdita's smile turned sad, "Well then, I suppose we will have to wipe those horrible nights with a good day."
Alessia managed a shaky smile, amused by how cheesy that sounded. "Well then," Perdita clapped her hands with a grin, "why don't you head out to the garden and do a bit of exploring? I'm ashamed to say that even my husband and I have been unable to uncover all the secrets it holds."
"Breakfast has still yet to be made," Perdita muttered with an irritated look on her face, "something I will see to personally."
* * * * * *
Everything looked so different compared to last night. The hallway where her bedroom was didn't look as frightening; it looked rather enchanting.
The sunlight hitting the wooden walls of the narrow hall made her feel a warmth similar to the inviting heat from the campfires during her family camping trips. Still weary after last night, she gently traced the wooden walls as she walked on. The comfortable heat warmed her fingertips as she glided through every crack. The floorboard creaks were not as loud as they were last night.
The staircase was no different. It was back to being something little girls would only ever dream of seeing in princess movies. The cold railings washed away the warmth collected in her fingertips as she took one stair at a time. Her eyes warily dragged from the dining room entrance, which had mysteriously disappeared last night, to the indigo vase, skillfully placed on the cabinet, with not a single crack in place.
Pausing in her step, her brows furrowed in confusion. Had it all been just a dream? She was ready to accept that maybe she had been dreaming. Shaking her head, she took a deep breath, rushed past the vase, and decided to ignore her desperate desire to inspect it.
If only she had not focused solely on the vase, she would have noticed a large red fabric carpet placed near the corner closest to the vase, conveniently covering the large scratches and dents made on the wooden floorboards.
* * * * * *
The green grass and leaves shone like emeralds under the sun. The ornaments, all with the most unique individual designs, made the scene all the more enchanting. The trees, despite how orderly they were kept, held a certain unkempt feel to them. They swayed to the wind with little harmony, making them seem almost alive. The even-cut grass was, unlike ordinary grass, soft and cool to look at.
The stone gargoyles stood tall and proud on top of their perches, side by side as if they were guards. The garden gnomes were placed in the oddest of places. One was halfway inside a rabbit hole holding a toothpick; another was quite literally hanging upside down on a tree branch, no idea how, and another was hanging off one of the stone gargoyles.
Alessia was entranced by all she saw. Her grandparents' intricate designs were certainly something to behold.
Having rushed out of bed with no clear plan in mind, she wore nothing but her yellow boots, a pair of jeans, and a peach sweater. Her ginger hair was tied into a tight bun to keep her hair out of her eyes.
Her walk was aimless; she had no destination in mind. She was simply moving forward, avoiding all obstacles she came across with no thought to them. If she'd come here before, she would have been ecstatic; this place was like a whole new world just waiting to be explored.
But the person she was now was someone that even she knew nothing about. The trees gave her shade from the sun as she walked on, kicking stones as she went. She remembered when she was young, her father would take her to a river close to their town, and they'd collect stones they found particularly odd or simply out of place. Taking them home, they would then paint on them whatever they liked.
Her father would paint all sorts of designs and sceneries, while she'd paint funny faces or, trying to copy her father, replicate his designs. She'd almost forgotten about that memory; it had been a while since she'd done that with her father.
She couldn't understand why, but for some reason, she started to feel hot and angry. One particularly large stone, a warped dull red with jagged edges, made her feel even angrier looking at it.
It stood out among the rest of the stones on the pavement and was hideous to look at. Not knowing what got into her, with all her might, she kicked at it, releasing an angry grunt in the process.
Through the sky, it flew until it was out of sight and— "OW!"
"Shit," Alessia cursed, rushing, cutting through the rows of trees, to where the cry came from. Her grandma Perdita was still in the house, so it couldn't have been her. It didn't sound like her grandfather, so it wasn't him either, so it could only be one of her grandparents' staff.
'Just my luck, what a way to make a first impression,' Alessia thought gloomily. Not too far off, down a rocky slope, was a blonde-haired girl who looked like she was around the same age as Alessia, kneeling on the ground, hand clutching her head.
"Oh my god!" she exclaimed in a mix of concern and nervousness when she noticed a bit of blood on the girl's head. "I am so sorry! I wasn't thinking at all. Are you alright?" Alessia climbed down as fast as she could, doing her best not to slip and trip.
The girl groaned and looked up at Alessia. "Am I alright? What kinda bloody question is that? No! I am not alright," she glared at Alessia, who wavered in her step, accidentally missing her footing and crashing down… right on top of the girl.
"OOF!"
"AI!"
Grunts of pain and groans were released simultaneously for about a minute. Alessia, who was still on top of the girl, pushed herself off and rolled upright onto the ground, while the girl sat up, rubbing her back with a pained expression. "Just curious, but you trynna kill me or somethin'?" she scowled at Alessia, who grinned sheepishly. "Sorry," she muttered.
"For what? The sniper attack or the tackle?" the girl remarked.
"Both?" Alessia asked.
The girl gave her a dead stare, which had Alessia feeling like an idiot. "Really though, I'm sorry, I kicked that rock without thinking."
"And the tackle?"
"That wasn't a tackle! I just tripped."
"So, you're not sorry about the tackle."
"I am sorry!"
"So, it was a tackle!"
"No!"
Letting out a huge sigh, the girl got onto her feet with a huff. "Be careful, your head is bleeding. We should get you to a hospital, fast!" Alessia shot to her feet alongside the girl.
"Bleeding?" the girl raised an eyebrow in question. "Yes! Bleeding! You. Are. Bleeding!" Alessia exclaimed in a panic, pointing at the blood on the girl's head. The girl reached for the back of her head, lightly touching around and bringing it up to her face… "Hahahaha," she laughed, and Alessia looked at her with even more worry. 'Great! I didn't just assault someone who could be related to a staff member; I also knocked a few of her screws loose,' while Alessia was having a vividly concerning fantasy of her life in jail, the girl looked at her in amusement.
"This ain't blood," she said with a smirk.
"…It's not?" Alessia asked in a meek voice. The girl's smirk widened. "It's not," she confirmed. "It's the Red Oaks Paint that got on me when I was in town."
Alessia stared at her. "It is?"
"Aye."
"Really?"
"Yep."
"OH, THANK GOD!" Alessia's entire body relaxed, and she fell flat on her back in relief. "I thought I was gonna have to learn to make a key out of bread!"
"Don't know why you'd think that, but okay," the girl leaned over her. "So… you gotta name?" she smirked, "or am I gonna have to keep callin' ya 'the shit assassin'?"
"IT WASN'T AN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT!" Alessia shot up indignantly. "And my name is Alessia, Alessia Veritas."
The girl reached a hand out. "Though painful, it's nice ta meet ya, Alessia." In a firm but kind hold, she gripped Alessia's hand in a handshake. "The name's Andressa."
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