The Ebony Manor

"It was a dark and stormy night..."

"Louise!" The voices called as her feet stamped the ground. She would run forever if it meant getting away from them.

"L-Louise! Please come back..." It changed now and all it wanted was her but the rain drained out all of those regrets. She had to leave them behind no matter what.

"Hey! Louise!"

"Louise."

"Lou...ise.."

"..."

The rain poured now harder and harder as she ran through the forest, pulling up her hood to cover her head, well it would be hard hiding a head like her's anyways. Blue hair isn't exactly a natural color for people but that was irrelevant at a time like this. Turning at a random tree, she stumbled upon a strange house.

Old and dark, the manor was huge with strange detailing all over the exterior. A large metal fence with an equally as intricate gate design stood around the property. Louise jumped and climbed over the fence, she didn't really care if anyone caught her during the act. The voices faded away as she caught four forms out of the corner of her eye. They stared as she walked to the door to try and open it and as she turned back, they sulked away. "Finally..."

The door was old and wooden, it didn't take too much to open the thing, even a young girl like her could push open the door. Quickly kicking the door open she rushed inside and closed the door behind her, leaning on it while she locked the door with her left hand. Heavy breathes escaped her lips as she finally opened her eyes.

"T-They're gone..." She pulled down her hood, as her blue hair lay in a heap on her shoulders. She looked around the strange house as the candles suddenly burst into flames! White, red, orange, blue and white again the flames danced around until the calmed down and lit the candle sticks placed on the wall. Louise wanted to run, run away far from here but she knew that wasn't a choice at the moment. She composed herself and walked onwards into the manor, but before she took three steps, the fire began to speak to her.

"BEWARE!" Their voices boomed in the dark hallway as Louise stood there, shaking. "BEWARE FOR IF YOU TAKE ONE MORE STEP, YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO LEAVE THIS PLACE!" The last words echoed off of the walls, leaving Louise unsure about trusting the flames.

"Excuse me." Louise asked, fidgeting with her dress. "I r-really need a place to stay, just for the night." The flames seemed perplexed by this answer.

"The night?" Then they all began to giggle amongst themselves which then turned into chuckles and finally into roaring laughter.

"BWAHAHAHA! YOU? STAY THE NIGHT HERE? HAHAHA!" One yelled, it's flames turning pink and then blue.

"NO WAY MISS! S-SHE'LL KILL YOU HAHAHAHA!" Another guffawed. They all laughed for what felt like hours until they all had their fill of laughter.

"Alright. That's fine, just don't die!" The flame, which Louise assumed to be a sort of leader for these blazes. Louise bowed her head and began her trek once more. The strange little fires gossiped among themselves and bits of conversation reached Louise's ears.

"She's a...can't."                     "Just...killed.....like"

                           "Killed.....witch.....dolls"

       "Strange......girl.....like her childhood...."

                                                                "Wonder...... visitor.....perfect"

Louise finally made it through the hall and pushed open the large wooden doors, stepping into a dark room. She fumbled for her flashlight from her bag but luckily the flames came back and lit the room for her.