The mansion

Yui

Yui

Active Member
For the longest time, there was a small and rather uneventful town that went by the name of Aerogate. Aside from the occasional issues with trade between Aerogate and other countries, there was really nothing special to report about. People just lived their lives free of care or worry.

But there was one certain event that happened and was never forgotten. One day, a huge mansion made out of fine granite and marble was seen outside of town. The strange part was that there was no actually construction of it-instead it just... appeared? That's how it was described in the news at least.

Since then, people tried to visit the mansion, but were instead met with a sign at the front door saying 'CLOSED'. Those people soon came back saying that they saw weird things from inside through the windows. Things like 'a person the size of their hand standing on the windowsill and staring back before leaving.'
 
Robby stood under the shade of a massive tree peering at the weird building. It looked so heavy and domineering among the natural landscape. Where had it come from? Why was it here? Would it leave like it had come? It was such a stupid thing to even be here, really. Who or what plopped a giant hunk of stone in the middle of a lightly wooded field? It wasn't even interesting. It was just stupid. Yet he remained where he was staring at the building.

The sound of voices caught his ear, and Robby turned quickly. A group of three boys walked on the path a short distance away, their aim toward the city, but it they turned, they'd see him. His heart sped up, and his throat clenched. Oh no. A quietly and carefully as he could manage, he inched around the tree. Where to hide? But not hide-hide, no, he was no coward. No, he just wanted to be... unavailable for casual conversation. He glanced back once more and scurried toward the mansion. Buildings had corners. If he could just get around a corner or in the shadows, then surely they wouldn't see him. They wouldn't dare come so close to the mansion. Everyone knew it was haunted. Not that he believed in that stuff. But, just in case, he tried to avoid looking in the windows and ducked below the sills as he went.
 
As he approached, he could see the sign that once said 'CLOSED' had changed to 'OPEN.' in addition, the lights were on. Luckily for Robby, the three kids hadn't noticed it or him and continued on their way.

Inside the house Imperia lay lazily sprawled out on a lavish bed, having dozed off earlier. Unfortunately, she couldn't enjoy the nap much longer, for a small woman, barley the size of her hand, flicked her forehead and groaned impatiently. She had blue butterfly wings growing out of her back and green, pupil less eyes. This woman was a fairy, and also Imperia's assistant.

"Wake up, missy!" The fairy said. "I opened up a long time ago for you. Hurry up, we might get a customer soon!" Yawning, Imperia climbed out of bed, when she suddenly noticed it. Did something pass by the window? It went by too quick. Maybe she imagined because she was still tired, but she had to make sure. It was a new world, so she couldn't be too careful. She got up and opened the door to head outside.
 
Robby watched as the others went on their way. Well, that was easy. It looked like he was free to get away from this creepy place. It wasn't until he turned to walk away that he noticed the open sign, having been distracted with the desire to find a place to hide. He hadn't really looked close. Now he paused, walking backward as he looked the place over. Lights? An open sign? After days of just sitting around like a weirdly shaped mountain? What was going on?

The door opened, and someone started to step out. Instinctively, Robby tried to hide behind the closest thing. Sadly, the closest thing was a tree too skinny to hide his rather padded girth. He tried turning sideways and stood there as quietly as possible. Maybe they - it - wouldn't see him. Cautiously, he tried to peek around the tree. Were his eyes playing tricks, or was he seeing pink hair?
 
Imperia stopped just out of the doorway and looked to the left and to the right. Then, she saw it: to her right was a person trying to hide -and not doing a good job at it- behind and trying. It was a young man. What was he doing, she wondered. "Um...may I help you?" She called out to the man.

Following right behind, the fairy hovered just above her shoulder, arms crossed in annoyance that she wasn't focusing on the shop. "What's wrong now?" She asked, only to be shushed. "Hush, I'll be back in a moment," Imperia replied and then looked back at the man. "You there. What are you doing?"
 
Robby jumped when the voice spoke, and he could help flushing. Of course, he was visible. He inched back and looked frantically for an escape. No escape route presented itself other than the obvious one of just running away like the chicken he was. Looked like he was going to have to try something in the middle.

"Nothing," Robby called back as he backed away. "Nothing! Nothing at all!" he snapped. He started trying to walk backward, eying the strange being fearfully. "I wasn't hurting nothing!"

His heel caught on something, and he landed hard on his backside with a grunt. He winced, groaning at the shock as it shivered up his spine. Ow.
 
Now the fairy looked over after hearing the thud. "Eh? Do we have a customer now?" She asked. She fluttered over to the fallen man, her wings making the sounds of wind chimes as they flapped. However, instead of seeing if he was alright, she gave a friendly smile instead. "Hello, welcome to Pearlhall!" She exclaimed in excitement. "Is there anything you're interested in?" The fairy was either completely oblivious or didn't care that he was probably in pain.
 
What common sense Robby had left him the moment a giant bug started fluttering around his head. Then it started making noises that sounded an awful lot like human speech. Robby let out a howl and started waving his hands frantically, ducking his head low. "Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!" Using his legs to push himself, he started scooting on his butt. It was not an effective mode of transportation, but in his terrified stated, he didn't care.
 
"Huh? Wait where are you going?" The fairy called out. Imperia sighed and approached the two of them. The boy was starting to panic. She held her hands up, hoping to show she wasn't going to harm him. "Please keep calm, ok?" She spoke, trying to diffuse the situation. "We're just wanderers. My name is Imperia, and that is Lenora." She hoped this would calm him down at least.
 
Robby stared at the weird girl/woman/person/thing and panted. "Why is there a bug talking to me? Bugs can't talk!" he blathered. "I didn't mean to cause any harm. I was just walking!"
 
"Hey, I'm not a bug!" Lenora said. "I'm a fairy." Imperia grabbed the young man's hand and pulled him to his feet. "Stand up, ok?" She asked. "I'll explain everything. Like I said, we're just travelers, and I mean you no harm." She pointed to the mansion. "This is Pearlhall, my shop and home. I came here to set up shop. That's it." She probably wasn't making things better, but she also wasn't good at situations like this.
 
Travelers? From where? Did she bring the shop with her? But that didn't make sense. Robby accepted the hand automatically and scrambled up to his feet, but he dropped it like it was on fire the second he could stand on his own. He rubbed his hand on his pants and looked around. "Pearlhall? Really? And why are you dressed like a demented carnie? That is not how a respectable person is supposed to dress, let alone a shopkeeper." He ignored the bug/fairy altogether.
 
"It's a different culture," Imperia replied with a shrug. She'd been to many different worlds, and so far people pointed her outfit out first thing the moment they met her. That probably meant something. "Anywho, the store's open now. It took a while to prepare everything. I'm just waiting for customers." Truth be told, she didn't need them now. She made enough money from past travels now. Still, they were nice to have, even if they were only browsing.
 
Robby eyed her and her "shop" suspiciously, but he couldn't help the niggle of curiosity underlying his fear. What kind of stuff would a moving house have for sale? And a weird colorful person with a talking bug? He pushed back his curiosity and scowled at the person. He'd already forgotten her name. Imperial or something? "This is some kind of trick, isn't it? You're a serial killer or something else twisted and messed up. If you get me inside that house, I'll never be seen again."
 
Lenora groaned. "Oh, where did you that stupid idea from?!" She exclaimed, not caring that she'd probably be ignored again. "In what world would we be like that?" "Calm down, Lenora," Imperia spoke next. She looked back at him. "I never said you had to come in. I was just trying to explain who we are and what we're doing here."
 
"It sounded an awful lot like an invitation to me," Robby muttered, backing up slowly. "And I got the idea from the fact that you're clearly weird and houses don't just pop up out of nowhere. Poof!" He realized he'd inadvertently answered the flying thing and winced, but at least he still hadn't looked at it! "I'm not going anywhere near anything of yours. Most definitely not!" He turned and hurried away.

Nope. No way was he going back there. Never ever! He was not the least bit curious!
 
Imperia sighed. "Well, so much for him," Lenora said, crossing. With a 'hmph!' She fluttered back inside through the front door. Imperia followed. Not the greatest first impression, but that wouldn't matter. There were always others, and this wasn't the first time something like that happened.

A few hours had past since, and nothing seemed to happen. People past by the mansion to stop and look, but that was it. After a moment, they just went on with their day. It was as if they didn't even notice the sign. However, after a while, there was soon a knock at the door. Imperia opened it and was met with a surprise. Three people, a man, a woman, and a little girl. Lenora was the first to greet then, but was interrupted by the child. "See, see? I told you there was a little person!" She said to the parents, jumping and pointing excitedly.
 
Robby was on his way back home from picking up some milk at the grocer for his mother. Unfortunately, the quickest way took him near the weird mansion. He kept his distance, but when he looked toward the building, he saw three people walking inside. What on earth? Why? Why would anyone trust such a spooky building? He hesitated a moment before heading closer. He stayed off the porch and away from the door, instead choosing to watch through the window.
 
After a moment, the family went inside. From the window, he could see quite a bit. The inside was just as grand as the outside. A silk purple carpet covered the floor and there was a decorative chandelier on the ceiling. Speaking of which, the ceiling itself looked like the starry night sky. Looking at it made the place feel oddly comfortable.

The walls were adorned with different landscape paintings, yet something about them felt off. Like there's something missing.
Many shelves aligned the walls also, each one filled with different kinds of bottles filled with colorful liquids, jewelry, books, you name it. However, it's then clear to that this mansion might not even be someone's home. It looked more a pretty store if anything, since many of these items had price tags.
 
Robby stayed low and watched through the window, trying to figure out what was going on. At least this part was a store, but it was a big place. A weird place. He glanced at the jug of milk in his hand. He should get this to his mother, but first he wanted to see if the three people who'd gone in would come out again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top