Belladonna

6

As we pull into the long winding driveway, the Hallow mansion comes into view.

Forgive me if you believe this to be an exaggeration, but when I see the elegant building standing tall against the backdrop of a perfectly blue sky, my jaw unhinges. To say that I'm amazed by it's grey, flat, sloping roof stretching out towards us and the large window glinting in the sunlight would be quite the understatement. The creamy exterior of the house gives it a warmer sort of feel—at least it isn't grey. Why, that would have been horribly depressing.

And that is only the house itself—the lawn has been manicured with such meticulous precision that I'm starting to believe it was fashioned by God himself. Geometric hedges framing the entrance, and flowers! This, all of this just seems like some impossible sort of dream. Perhaps the shopping, everything prior to this was an unlucky start. I can picture myself having tea with Katherine on the terrace or staring at the sunset on the balcony. Or maybe waiting, with my arms wrapped around the tall pillars as I hang off them excitedly, near enough to the door but still outdoors. Waiting for what, I don't know. Perhaps waiting for Katherine to return home from whatever daily errands she runs.

As all these heartwarming images play in my mind like a slideshow, all I can do is stare, wide-eyed with wonder. "It all looks rather enticing, doesn't it?" Katherine says to me, her lips curving upwards in a small, prideful smile. I nod stupidly, my mind blank.

This is my home?

This luxury is the place that Katherine described to me—the place where only those with a thick outer shell can reside?

I simply don't believe it.

The door is opened for me again—something I still can't quite get my head around since the doors are perfectly capable of being opened from the inside—but I don't question it, simply giving the chauffeur a polite smile, bobbing down slightly in a curtsy. She smiles at me as though that's never happened before.

Perhaps it hasn't.

"See to it that Arabella's clothes are brought straight to her bedroom," Katherine orders, not even looking in the woman's direction. I frown up at her, but she doesn't notice, already making her way towards the door. I hang back a little—I mean, I'm hardly going to skip up to the front door and knock on it till my knuckles are sore from rapping on it's heavy dark wood. After, it is basically the house full of strangers. Of course, that'll change with time.

Won't it?

As we continue to approach the door, Katherine hardly glances back at me. Once we finally reach it, it swings open effortlessly, and for a moment it looks as though it opened by magic—but then I see a man by the door, and I walk slightly faster; my curiosity piqued. As I get a closer look at the man—who has dark hair, combed back and gelled—I realise that something must be wrong. His otherwise casual appearance—an olive green polo shirt, the top button undone; his thumbs resting on the pockets of his khaki trousers—would give away nothing, if not for the tight, pinched expression he wears on his face. "Katherine," he says, his voice low as we reach the door.

Unsure how to react when Katherine merely flounces by with addressing him, I bob down slowly into a curtsy, identical to the one I did about half a minute before. "Uhm... good day, sir." I say awkwardly, fingering the lace at the hem of my dress. The man stares at me, the muscles in his jaw relaxing slightly in what looks like relief. "Good day to you too, miss." He replies courteously, a small, barely there smile playing around his lips. That's when Katherine appears once again. "Arabella, stand up straight at once!" Blinking with confusion, I let out a small yelp of alarm as she seizes my wrists, dragging her through the front door after her and into the hallway, leaving the stiff-framed man alone by the door. "Miss Katherine, whatever is the matter?" I ask her, practically breathless with nerves. Katherine lets go of me quickly, fanning her face with an odd fluttering motion of her hands as if to calm herself. "Arabella, darling, whatever were you doing curtsying to my—my husband?"