A Billion Dollar Bequest to A Stranger - An Inheritance Games Fanfic

Chapter 1: The Invitation

"Miss Prairie, there is a letter for you," Ayva, one of the maids, said to me in her small voice as I entered the Prairie Residence.
Yes, it was called the Prairie Residence.
"Please place it in my room for me, Ayva," I asked the woman before she nodded and left for my room.
"Ah, Belladonna, what kept you at school for so long?" came the familiar voice of my older brother,  Mr Carson Hemlock Prairie. "Reading? Mathematics?"
"If you'd ever pay attention to the dear girl, maybe you'd know, Hemlock," came Mr Kirk Oleander Prairie as he strolled down the spiral staircase of the mansion. "She had a meeting with her fellow artists, am I right, Bella?"
"Wrong answers, Hemlock and Oleander," I announced as I placed my bag down on a nearby table and sat on the large rug that adorned the foyer of the section of the building. "If you'd both cared so much as to look around you, maybe then you'd know."
If it wasn't already obvious, my hair was pulled into a tight bun and my face had streaks of a plant coloured green. 
Both of my completely oblivious brothers let their eyes wander everywhere around the room in search of the clue that I had pointed out. 
What complete failures of brothers they were. So much for Lawyer Kirk Prairie and Detective Carson Prairie.
"Oh, come on, boys," I sneered, bringing their attention back to me. "Wouldn't it hurt just to look at my beautiful face?"
Kirk and Carson looked at each other in confusion and mock disgust masked them. 
"Now, just why would we want to do that, Bella," Carson smirked as he and my other brother came closer to me mocking a predator stalking its prey, "when we could just force the answer out of your ugly little face?" 
Suddenly, both of the boys were on top of me, tickling my sides and crushing me under their combined weight. Laughter bubbled from my lips and my brother's dark hair tickled my face.
"Agh! Okay, stop!" I yelped as I hiccuped from laughing. "I'll tell you why I was late if you stop tickling me and get off!" 
"Ahem," came the small call of attention of one of the maids. 
"I had biology, you doofs," I laughed after they pulled their heavy bodies off of mine. "Now let me go and see what they need."
"Yes?" I asked the maid politely as I raked my fingers through my hair to fix it. 
"A message has been asked to be sent to you, Miss," she replied. "It was a request, no, a command that you open the invitation that has been sent to you."
I hummed in response and curiosity. 
"Seems that this person just needs me at this point," I snickered as I left to go to my bedroom. 
Better find out what it was before I was forced into reading a will or something boring document like that.

I walked up the spiral staircase that lead to the North Wing; Belladonna Entity.
Trust me, I didn't choose that name. If I could choose, I would have just left it the North Wing, something as simple and not so 'regal' as Belladonna Entity. 
Honestly, I don't know who chose that name. It was probably either my parents or the old man who really owned the house and gave it to my parents. 
I reached the second level to the North wing and headed straight for the 4th door on the right; my bedroom. Well, if you compared it to a normal bedroom, it would probably be the whole house, but the old man who gave us the house was a billionaire. If he wasn't dead yet, he would probably still be paying the house for us. Unlike Mr and Mrs Prairie. 

My fingers traced the portrait of my whole family on the wall of my room, my parents' former appearances stinging tears to my eyes. My mom's soft brown hair with the occasional blonde highlights that she hated and my dad's blue grey eyes that shone in the sunlight were perfectly mirrored in the portrait and they mirrored directly onto me; a girl with dark brown hair of her mother and the blue grey eyes of her father.
Kirk and Carson had my dad's dark black hair and my mom's brown eyes. Though we didn't have the same eye or hair colour, we were always said to have the same heart, brain and mind. Not saying that my brothers weren't smart, but I'm pretty sure that I was the smartest out of the three of us. 

The thought of that made me replay the past few minutes and I realised why I was here in my room. 
The invitation. 
I walked over to the dresser by my queen-sized bed and saw the envelope enclosed with a wax seal. Whoever had sent this was either old fashioned or a rich and stuck up bitch. I placed my fingers under the letter and brought it up so that I could see it.
The first thing that stuck out to me was the wax seal. A large H adorned the stamp. 
Here in Texas, anything with a wax seal and a large H on it was the best thing that could happen to you. 
Unless you were a Prairie. 
I huffed in annoyance. Why would I be getting an invitation from the big H's with such high command? They might as well come to me and demand that I go there. 
I flipped over the letter only to see 'Malacey Belladonna Prairie' written in frustratingly familiar handwriting. 
This really couldn't be good. 
I huffed again before slipping my finger under the wax seal and broke it, opening the tension-building invitation. Inside was two letters. I took out the first letter that I saw and opened it to read it. 

To Miss Prairie of the Prairie Residence; 

Miss Prairie, your presence is surely required at the reading of the will and I am writing to assure your travel to Hawthorne House tomorrow. I have been instructed as the person to make sure that you make it to the reading and I have also been instructed to be your escort from your Residence to mine. If you would, please free up your day tomorrow around midday so that ease of travel and time can be assured. I will be arriving at your Residence around midday as well to pick you up. 
Thank you, Miss Prairie. 

Kind regards,
Grayson Davenport Hawthorne of Hawthorne House

What the hell? Oh no, this wasn't good. Reading of the will? What will? And Grayson Davenport Hawthorne was coming tomorrow to pick me up to bring me to Hawthorne House? Oh, hell no, was I letting that happen. Oh, and of course it was Mr Grayson Hawthorne who put a wax seal on his letter. Fucking stuck-up rich kid. 
Confused and riddling for answers, I pulled the second letter out and read it. 

To Malacey Belladonna Prairie, 

Miss Prairie, to our dismay and distress, Mr Tobias Tattersall Hawthorne has passed. You have been labelled to be present at the reading of the will and the reading cannot go forward without your presence. Please assure that your presence can be assured at midday tomorrow. 
Thank you. 

Kind Regard, 
McNamara, Ortega and Jones

Holy shit. What was going on? 
Tobias Hawthorne was dead? 

Maybe I shouldn't have read that invitation. Now I had to read a will. 
And it wasn't an invitation. More like a damn 'call to arms.' 

What was I supposed to do? If I didn't go, McNamara, Ortega and Jones would probably order a warrant for me to go to Hawthorne House. Or worse, they would have Grayson Hawthorne drag me out of my residence. Damn him to hell, I would never let myself get dragged down by Grayson Hawthorne. 
Not again. 

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Author's Note:
Hello readers! I hoped that you liked this chapter! A playlist for this will be coming soon. Thank you for reading and I hope you have a great day!
- Reika