The Eclair mansion

Tannis had been riding in a cab he had paid to take him to Eclair Mansion. The Taxi man had given him a once over. This had only increased his suspicion of the tip he held in his hand. It seemed unlikely but at the same time he need to know and to his horror if it was possible for the children to...He shook his head and stared out the window it couldn't be possible. As the trees rolled by their terrorified faces flashed before his eyes. If he wasn't careful this was what happened. Like reliving it all over."It had been seemly forever since he hailed the cab and now it was storming. "How much farther?" Tannis questioned. "Just over the hill," the balding man replied. Tannis looked up and tried to see his destination he couldn't. The rain was almost overcame the window wipers. The cab parked infront of the entrance and "Here we go Eclair Mansion. That will be 75," Tannis paused then handed him a hundred dollars and stepped out into the rain and wind.

The car wasted no time leaving. Tannis had noticed him shaking he could have just been getting up in age. But that didn't seem likely as the other option. Tannis immediately spotting a car parked by the entrance it seem vacant. He then turned and began to make his way up the Mansion. He was soaked half way there as his combat boots did a good job of making it hard to get to the front door. The mansion was creepy even in daylight it could make a cat's body hair stand on ends. He wondered if the reputation was as good as the makeup. He banged on the door three times and in the mean time tried to wipe off the mud from his boots.
 
Anna kept quiet as they walked threw the corridor, she wasn't the only one that thought the place was creepy. After some walking the maids stopped and turned around towards the young. "The ladies can change clothes in here." She told them as she opened a door to a bedroom. "If the clothes aren't to your liking you can choose something else from the closet, there are dresses in the wardrobe to the right and men clothing in the one at the left. I'll be waiting outside until you're done. If you need help it's just to call me inside." She continued as she put the dresses she had with her on the bed for the three girls.

"There are another room just a bit further down the corridor, Lilith will take you to it and wait outside the door until you're finished changing." She then told Eden. Anna was a bit worried of leaving him alone in the mansion, if it really was the rumored Eclair mansion then being alone would be like asking for trouble.

Knock, knock, knock.

Eclair turned her head when she heard the knocking. She sat in a old sofa at the fireplace. "More guests, what an eventful evening." She mumbled as she took up her newly brewed cup of tea. "William." She said with a nod and he immediately left to open the door.

The doors gave off a screeching sound when the butler opened them. "Welcome in." He said as he bowed and made place for the man to walk in. "Have you also gotten caught up in this horrid weather or are sir here for another reason?" He asked the man once he were inside.
 
Eden nodded, looking back at the girls. They looked a tad bit.. spooked out if he might say that. He only smiled slightly at the others, following the maid called 'Lillith'. The walk was not too long, and he walked beside her, hands still in his pocket. ''Ah, thank you miss.. '' he said, nodding smally as he took the clothes. Once inside the room, having closed the door, he took his soaked jacket off, folding it neatly. Then, he took his t-shirt off as well and folded it with the jacket. The clothes he had got seemed strangely.. modern for the setting of the house. Eden laid his hand around the little Mjollnir on his necklace, taking a breath.

Once dressed he came back out again, looking at the maid with a smile. ''Where do I keep my soaked clothes, miss?'' he asked. Using one hand to slick his hair back. The aura was still a bit spooky, and it was strangely warm here to be this kind of house.
 
Tannis turned around as the front door groaned open. His boots were still plastered with mud, even after he tried to scrap them off using the steps. Water was falling off of him by the gallon. He smiled slightly when he was welcomed in but took off his boots first before taking a step in. His socks were already soaked he didn't want to add with muddy footprints. Stepping inside he replied to the pale butler "The nature of my business is private but I seek answers and I was told this place might have them." Tannis immediately was drawn to the candles and the expansive open room that could have doubled as a basketball court. "You guys hold dances here? This is massive." He replied without looking at the butler.
 
Anna looked at the clothes on the bed, it was just dresses, nothing she would want to wear. So she went to one of the wardrobes instead and looked if she could find any male clothing that fit her. She found a white shirt and a pair of grey/brown pants that fit her. She took off the her wet shirt, pants, shoes and socks and put on the new clothes. Even though there were socks in a drawer she decided not to take any, she could just wait until her own dried up.

Lilith turned to the man as he came out of the room again. "I'll put them in a warm place so they'll dry fast." She told him as she took the clothes from him. "Do you want to wait for the others to finish changing or do you want to go directly to the dining hall and wait for them there?"

"I understand sir." William said as the man wouldn't tell him his business in the mansion. "There haven't been any events here since the first master of the house past away threehundred years ago. It is said that the spirits in the house won't allow it, and all the descendants of the first master have accepted the spirits wish." He told the man but then had to think a bit about it. "Although, it was a dance here once after the first master passed away, sadly it didn't end well and that made the descendants of the master certain that it was a bad idea to anger the spirits." All the people that had inherited the mansion when another had died had believed in the ghost tales surrounding the mansion, some had tried to use the spirits while others had lived side by side with them and tried not to disturb them.
 
The butler was lieing, Tannis had done his homework he had read the accounts of this mansion. People have disappeared after telling friends and family they would be going to the Eclair Mansion. He highly doubted this man knew nothing about them. You can't be out of the loop when you live here. Tannis smiled under desprite his current thoughts. "Well I will make sure I'm not too much of a nuance," He replied turning towards the butler. "Hey does it rain often here?"
 
''Ah, thank you so much.'' he said, before shaking his head. ''If you could show me the way that would be nice,'' he murmurred lowly, adjusting the tie he had been given. His outfit consisted of a white shirt, dark grey vest, a black jacket along with black pants and slick shoes. He had also gotten a light blue tie. It didn't really feel any different from the usual attire he was to wear at home, as his dad prefered everything to be formal.

Even though he should wait for the others, something in him told him to just go along with going alone. He did enjoy a good adventure and.. maybe he would get to know if these rumours were true? Even though he actually had moved here last summer, he still had done his research, and heard the stories about this place by his friends. People dissapearing and.. yeah. With a small nod he glanced at the door where the girls had went, wondering if they also felt this, spooked feeling that seemingly came from the place.
 
Tori looked over the dresses laid out for the girls with a bit of disdain in her eyes. She would never be caught dead in a dress, unless it was something closer to gothic lolita and she was at a rather formal event. Not that she ever attended much of those anyway; not only did she lack the money, but they didn't hold her interest very well. Too much socializing for her taste.

Noticing the outfit that Anna had chosen, she decided that looking into the men's clothing might be worth a shot. After some haphazard digging through the wardrobe, she grudgingly decided on a black shirt and gray slacks that seemed to be around her size. She undressed quickly but casually, feeling little discomfort around the others, and put on the new outfit, grateful for the chance to get some dry clothes on. They were a little big for her, but they'd do. She also switched out her socks for fresh ones, but stuck with her sneakers; she could deal with damp shoes.

Tori peeked out of the room and looked around, a bit relieved to see Eden was still alright. "Hey, uh," she called out with mock confidence, "I'm ready to go, how about you?"
 
"Not more than the rest of the state, actually this kind of weather mostly occurs during the autumn. It's very rare that we get such a storm while it's still summer." William told the guest. "We have spare clothes if you would want to change." He continued, remembering how rude it was that he hadn't asked earlier since the guest was half drenched from the rain.

When Tori went out of the room Anna decided to wait for Victoria so that she wouldn't have to go to the others alone in this scary place. She didn't get how Eden dared to be in a room all alone. But Eclair had seemed like such a nice person, she wouldn't make people disappear would she? On the other hand she was so mysterious in some ways so who knew what kind of skeletons she were hiding in her closet. Her staff seemed a beet creepy even though they behaved nicely, all of them was so pale. First she thought it was because of the butlers age but when the two maids came then it became a bit more suspicious. Was there a sickness going around?

Lilith nodded at the request and started to lead the way. Just a little bit from the room the girls were changing in one of the girls came out. "I'll lead them to the dining hall, wait for the others." The older maid told Lilith as they had come a bit closer to the girls changing room. Lilith nodded and Henriette made a small bow. "This way please." She said and started to walk. "I hope she didn't do or said anything wrong. She's still very new here and not fully learned." Henriette told them, mostly to Eden whom she had been with alone, in case something had happened.
 
Tannis nodded under his calm expression his mind was filtering though scenes of what could happen while he was here. He didn't like being offered clothing but walking around someones home with muddy shoes and wet clothes meant more work for him and whoever else was here. If they didn't want to hurt now disrespect could provoke it. "well butler if you could point out those dry clothes I'll go change while these dry." He replied still holding his muddy boots.
 
Eden looked at the girls with a mischievous smile, adjusting his tie. The clothes were nice and dry. Still, something irked him. Ever since he had come here it felt as if someone, or something was watching him. Especially when he was changing he swore he saw a glimpse of someone standing in front of the window. He glanced at the other girls, eyebrow raised as they walked.

''There's something.. wrong here.'' he whispered to the girls, looking ahead to make sure the maids did not hear him.
 
"You don't say," Tori hissed back at Eden, her voice dripping with bitter sarcasm but still quiet enough to maintain a reasonable amount of secrecy. "This is the motherfucking Eclair mansion, or did you miss that? We're all gonna get murdered, you know that? Ugh..." She rolled her eyes, hoping that Eden's wealthy life didn't make him too out-of-touch with rumors and conspiracy theories. Despite her defensive front of anger, she was really just as scared as the rest of them on the inside, if not more; this was not how she expected to go down and the idea of disappearing in the middle of nowhere with no family or friends to mourn for her was absolutely terrifying.

She didn't move from her spot in the hallway even as the maid led them towards the dining hall. Oh, how she hoped someone would suggest they all leave...the last thing she wanted was for them to think she was a coward. And besides, she could handle whatever the mansion could throw at her...right?
 
William nodded and made a gesture with his hand towards the corridor "This way please." He told the guest and started to walk. It didn't take long before they passed the older maid Henriette and the two guests that were done changing clothes, Eden and Tori. The butler and the maid nodded at each other but didn't say a word.
"You will find clothes in the wardrobe." He told the man as he opened the door to the room Eden had been changing clothes in just moments earlier.

The maid, Henriette led the way until they reached the dining hall, Eclair heard the steps so she stood up from the sofa and turned around to face the people that were coming. The dining hall had one part with round tables placed out and at the end of the room the floor was a bit higher than in the rest of the room, it could have been taken for a small stage if the fireplace and the couches stood up on it. Maybe it was a stage once upon a time, but not anymore.
 
Tannis noticed the maids first they were stark white just like the butler this didn't help him as he noticed the others. They were....wait could that have been their vehicle out front. Surely they weren't here to have a good time. It didn't matter he didn't look back as they walked by and the butler led him to a large room. He poked his head in hestitated before stepped inside. "Those were other guests? He asked." turning to face the butler.
 
''I am aware of that,'' he hissed back. Oh no, he was not going out as weak in front of the oh so tough looking girl. The blonde bit his lip as he glanced over his shoulder at her, raising an eyebrow. His face said something among the lines of 'Coming?' Honestly he would rather not go alone. The whole place gave him the chills, and he did not trust the owner. Even how much she fascinated him, he would not break.

As they approached the dining hall, he gave the lady of the house a polite bow. He had quite frankly gone used to these kind of dinner parties over at his father's friends' houses. Icey blue irises scanned the room, for anything, anything at all that would give him clues for what was going on.

''Good evening.''
 
Tori's shoulders fell somewhat as Eden headed for the dining hall without suggesting that they get the hell out of the mansion as quickly as possible. He seemed pretty on-edge; was he just trying to look tough like she was? It came across as more of a nervous stress type thing, but whatever, Tori thought. She wouldn't be getting out that easily, it seemed.

She followed Eden and Eclair with her hands shoved in the pockets of her jeans, looking around just a little bit nervously as they made their way to the dining room. She'd never really been to a fancy dinner party before, much less one at a haunted and/or cursed mansion, and she had no idea what to expect. She adjusted her glasses, remaining silent.
 
William nodded a bit "Yes, they got caught in the storm and arrived just minutes before you sir." He told the man. "When you're finished I will show you to the dining hall, my lady wants to meet all visitors. We will have dinner prepared for all guests later this evening, if there is something you prefer eating or prefer not to eat then I'll tell the cook for you."

"Good evening, the other two are still getting dressed I assume." Eclair said as she noticed that there was only two of them. "Please, come sit at the fireplace, it will warm you up." She gave them a gentle smile. "Henriette, tell the chef to start with dinner." Eclair told the maid before turning back to the other two. "Is there something you don't like eating? We wouldn't want to shame ourselves by serving you food you can't eat."

Anna looked at the walls in the room. At some point it seemed like they were moving, or breathing, but she told herself that it was only her imagination. "We should hurry up, I want to get back to the others." She told Victoria whom still was changing. The place was scaring the shit out of here. Suddenly she heard a screeching sound, it sounded like if someone drew their nails at a blackboard and at some points it was like a scream. The sound echoed threw the whole building for around twenty seconds before it died out.
 
Tannis nodded and closed the door behind him and took off his wet clothes laying his boots on top of them. He then proceeded to sift through the drawers and the closest. He spotted another pair of wet clothes and left them be. A few minutes later he had picked out a cotton short sleeved shirt and gray slacks. Minutes later he was walking back down the hallway with the butler. He hadn't thought about what to eat. He really didn't want to he didn't want to be poisoned.
 
Eden nodded and found himself a seat. It was cozy, here, almost like home. His gaze went across the room, studying everything. ''Something like that, yes.'' he replied, giving a small nod in response. Now, it didn't seem like this was too bad. Still he wondered what took so long with the other girls. Maybe the rumors were true? Still, the lady of the house did seem nice enough.

''Oh, no, anything is fine.''