•Ephemeral•

Chapter 6: Haunted

                                                                                              

                                                                                                      ...

  Jessica got up earlier that usual that day, more than eager to finish the work already and relax in her comfortable and most importantly- safe apartment. She didn't even wait for the maid to wake her up with the delicious breakfast she used to bring on that fancy silver tray, the girl got up herself and wasted no time in doing the bed herself and pulling the heavy, crimson curtains aside to allow the gentle light of the morning to engulf her room.

As she expected, it was yet another gloomy day, with grey clouds covering the entire sky, leaving no room for any of the sunrays to perturb the morbid stillness of another winter morning in Oregon. She watched closely, perhaps even more so than the last times, the rose garden covered in a smooth blanket of snow and how thick fog slithered between the nearby trees, thus creating quite the eerie image. Even though the girl knew that she will inevitably miss the luxury and intriguing lifestyle this place provided her, she was glad to finally get out and leave behind the owners of this place forever.

Finally remembering the last task that needed to be completed as soon as possible, she took one last glance at the enormity of the Blackbriar estate, thinking of all the strange memories she acquired and turned on her heels, heading directly for the bathroom.

...

With a pleased smile, she took a few steps back to admire all the hard work she and the other helping hands put into arranging the exquisite cherrywood furniture and couldn't quite believe that after a few days of hard work she was finally done.

Jessica, then, entered every room in which she placed the furniture for a last review, but mostly to admire how well everything complemented each room. "Sure, the Blackbriar's might be some wealthy psychopaths", the girl thought, "But at least they got style".

In total there were 6 rooms which needed renovation and those were only the ones she was allowed in. As her work progressed during the 4 days she was here, the girl wondered many times what was behind the doors she had no access in, or the ones that were forever locked away from curious eyes. The Manor was undeniably huge and old and she wondered about the secrets it held, however, after the last few interactions she had with the inhabitants of this oversized house, Jessica considered that it was best if she never found out. A feeling in her guts made her think it was best if she never interfered with what was actually going under that roof.

After shaking hands with everyone that participated in the shared struggle, she tried to search for the masters of the house since the clock she checked not a minute ago showed that it was already 3 pm. Not only did the girl wanted to make sure everything was to their liking but she also wanted to announce her departure.

After searching the Manor in vain for some time, she concluded that they weren't home. The girl groaned in annoyance and decided to go directly at Beatrice's quarters to try and figure out what to do. Just as Jessica passed the Main Hall to reach the other side, the grand entrance door flung open with a booming sound that utterly startled the poor girl. She immediately turned her head to her right only to see Edward and Meredith hurrying inside, covered in snow and followed by a violent wind that carried worrying amounts of snowflakes and threatened to put out every candle in the hallway. They did not hesitate to close the large door as soon as they could, leaving the room in complete silence once again. Only after they brushed of their long coats and servants came to their attendance, they finally noticed Jessica standing in the middle of the hallway, looking rather confused at the two.