The wind howled relentlessly outside, making the room seem rather lonely as it was the only thing making a sound. You looked around in the dark room. Wood panels spread across the floor and walls. A large, elegant red rug was sprawled across the floor and many small pictures of sunflowers were hanging on the walls. The pictures of the flowers were pretty, but not enough to block out the horrible storm going on out the window. It's good you were able to find this manor, you're not sure how much longer you would have lasted out there. Luckily, the nice man had welcomed you in when he saw you standing out there. You looked over to find him behind a small desk flipping through papers furiously. His long brown hair swishing from side to side as he looked at the documents. "I'm so sorry ma'am. I'm just having a bit of trouble figuring out a suitable room for you. It's just that we hardly ever have guests!" He spoke very quietly and was very shy, "My name is Toris (Lithuania) and over there is Eduard and Ravis." beckoning to the two boys that had entered the room. One was tall with blonde hair and glasses while the other was much shorter and had grayish blonde hair. "We'll try our best to serve you until our master comes back in a little bit." Comes back? In this weather? You gaze out the window, take a glance at the raging blizzard and then back at the men, "Your master couldn't possibly be coming back in this weather!" Toris quickly replied, "Oh you'd be quite surprised. He could find anything out there. No one knows the snow like him. He'll be back any minute now." After he spoke you could have sworn one of them muttered 'sadly', but you weren't quite sure who. Didn't they like their master? Just then a large pounding sound came from outside. Knocking? It sounded way too powerful and loud to be knocking. Toris shuttered and shook so much it was amazing that the man was capable of reaching the door. He quickly patted invisible dust from his uniform and opened the door trying his best to look out with a smile, "Good evening, Ivan." His voice stuttered and rattled. It was amazing that you were able to comprehend it! A large man walked through the doorway, beaming down at him, "Why hello, Toris!" The man's voice was so deep and coated in such a thick Russian accent. He towered over him, making Toris look quite small. 'Goodness he's so tall!', you couldn't help but think. Even sitting down you still had to slightly tilt your head up to see him. He wore a long, beige coat that overlapped his knee-high boots. A scarf as white as snow wrapped loosely around his neck, the two ends running down freely. It was quite a long scarf. He had semi-long grayish blonde hair that glistened from specks of snow trapped in his locks. "We have a guest sir!" piped up Ravis. The man quickly looked in your direction, "Oh how lovely! It's about time we had someone visit!" A distinct happiness lurked in his voice and his eyes closed happily. 'Boy, everyone seems so happy to have a guest...' you thought. "Unfortunately I was having trouble deciding where to have her lodge for the night." spoke Toris. "What do you mean? Have her stay in the room a few doors down from mine!" said the man and smacked Toris on the back, which appeared as though it had nearly sent him down to the ground. You now kind of understood why the three serving men were a little uneasy about him. His large appearance did have quite an intimidating factor about it and added doubts about staying here, but you really didn't have much choice. "I know it's a little cold and it looks gloomy outside, but I'll make sure your stay is the most comfortable it can be. By the way, my name is Ivan Braginski and I'll be your host while you lodge here."
The blonde named Ravis led you down a corridor with a lit candle into your room. He turned an elegant door knob and a small creak was released as the door was opened. "This will be your room miss. My master had this room originally made for one of his sisters, but she didn't like it. I think you'll find it rather nice though!" And nice it was. It was a small, cozy room with a Victorian style. A queen size bed was set in the corner with a large mirror on the opposing wall. There was a small dresser and a charming powder blue rug spread across the floor. However, the window that sat in the center of the wall was boarded shut. Wooden planks ran down the window with many nails protruding out of it. You looked down at Ravis and raised an eyebrow. His cheeks grew pink. "I'm sorry, but a lot of the bedroom windows are like that. Believe me, I really don't know why. Master Ivan just prefers not having a whole lot of windows." A hatred of windows? That seemed rather bizarre. "We don't have a ton of lights either. Only in the kitchen and dining area. So you could go there if you wish." The boy walked towards the doorway. "Is there anything else I could do for you before I bid you good night?" You nod," Yes, could I get one of those candles?" His face flushed and he looked rather flustered. "Oh my, I can't believe I didn't bring one for you! Please forgive me ma'am! I'm such a terrible servant!" Ravis scurried out of the room before you could even say anything, which was rather unfortunate. You meant to ask for more blankets on your bed. By the time you got dressed and went to the bathroom, the candle was already there. Served without Ravis in sight. Darn, it's going to be one chilly night. The thought of asking for blankets crossed your mind, but you really weren't sure how much you wanted to run into Ivan or not.
