evermore || sebastian sallow

chapter 4 - house of gaunt

chapter 4 - house of gaunt

Sebastian's Perspective

I stood there in silence, with Ominis beside me. We haven't taken a single step forward through the gates of House Gaunt since getting off the carriage. I was just waiting for Ominis to take the first step because I didn't want to force him.

"Does it look as miserable as ever, Sebastian?" asked Ominis, suddenly.

"Uh, well," I scratched the back of my neck, studying the scene before me.

The manor had a dark exterior, with silver doors like the gate we just entered. It's quite the contrast to the setting sun before us, the pinks and oranges of the sky darkening the manor in a haunting way.

"I suppose, yes," I responded to Ominis.

Scanning my eyes across the green front yard, trees lining the pebbled path to the manor's entrance, I can't help but recall how Anne, Ominis, and I used to laugh as we chased each other around these grounds many moons ago.

10 Years Ago

"Ominis, wait up! I'm tired," called Anne, chasing after our friend through the hedges.

We'd been playing for a few hours now, and my forehead was soaked in sweat. Ominis loved teasing Anne, always pretending to leave her behind while we went and did our own thing. We always teased her that because she was a girl, she can't always be playing with us, boys.

Ominis had his cane out, using it to expertly navigate around, swerving left and right among the hedges. This was our favourite part of the manor, the backyard where everything was green and clean-cut, with a lot of space to run around and hide.

"I'm only giving it back once you catch me, Anne! I told you, that was the deal," yelled Ominis, still running. "Too bad, keep running! You're going to have to catch me if you want to be reunited with your doll again."

I ran after my sister, catching her shoulder. I was starting to feel bad about this prank. We hid one of her favourite dolls somewhere in the manor, but this place was so big she had a hard time finding it and now she was getting frustrated.

She made a deal with Ominis that if she could catch up to him, he'd reveal the secret location of her favourite doll. But now, it seemed she was also getting frustrated not being able to catch up to him.

He was always a fast runner. It didn't help either that he knew this place like the back of his hand, unlike me and Anne, since we only visit here a few times a week. Our parents warned us about coming here too often, even though we only lived somewhere down the road, beyond the forest.

"I'll run the other way, and you go the other, okay?" I told Anne, smirking. I knew I could just tell her where we hid it, but that was no fun. "We'll corner him." She nodded and ran as fast as her little legs could let her.

I caught up to Ominis on the other side of the hedge. He turned away from me, hoping to flee the other route, but just as quickly, Anne blocked his path.

"That's not fair, Sebastian! You helped, Anne. The deal was that she was going to catch me." Ominis pouted.

I laughed. "And she did. You were going to run away but she blocked you just in time."