KEYS

Chapter 3: The Mansion on the Hills

Five months and the Victor family's moving day had finally come. The wind was blowing on a cold and misty autumn morning in Stuttgart, Germany. The streets were scattered with brown and orange leafs that flew through the air as a large black Rolls Royce drove past the lake. Far along the road stood a tall hill covered with a blanket of dead autumn grass and sleet. The Rolls Royce came to a halt in front of a large black and silver gate on the end of a paved driveway leading to the top of the hill. On the wall next to the gate was a golden template that read 'Victor Manor'. The gates slowly opened from both sides and the Rolls Royce drove along the pavement to the top of the hill. A few meters along the pavement, the top of an old fortress-looking tower emerged, followed by a more modern building build around it. The Rolls Royce turned left as it approached the top of the hill and came to another halt next to a large fountain at the end of a stone runway leading toward a tall wooden door. A man wearing a dark green velvet suit stepped out of the driver's side of the Rolls Royce and walked to the back of the car to open the door. York got out from the back, followed by Rochelle and Ross.

"So what do you two think of our new home?" asked York, looking at both of them with a twinkle in his eyes.

"It is big, really big. I thought you were only joking when you said that the existing castle would be part of the house," Rochelle said, almost falling backwards as she tilted her head to look at the brown tower in the middle of the house.

"I love it! The old tower and the modern building around it really complement each other in a way," said Ross and walked along the stone runway towards the wooden door.

"Did the architect show you the blueprints, Dad? Or will they show us around the house?" Rochelle asked.

"Yes, I have them in my briefcase. I will show them to you guys later but as you will see, it is not hard to find your rooms. All your things from New York have been brought here already, so just take a look in each room to see if it is yours."

York turned his attention to a man wearing blue overalls who came walking toward them from the left side of the house. Rochelle followed Ross into the house as the man started talking to York and pointed to some parts on the outside of the house.

That must be the architect, Rochelle thought as she came to the front of the large wooden door.

Ross was standing in the middle of a humongous dining room, surrounded by shiny wooden floors. In the middle of the room hung a golden chandelier that nearly blinded him when he looked up. Every object surrounding him was quite elegant and beautiful: a new dining table and chairs, elaborate carpets that nearly covered the entire dining room floor and glass ornaments that stood on top of a marble fire place in the corner. There were cream curtains covering a two meter long window at the far end of the hall. Ross could see the sun reflecting on the lake as he looked out of the window.

He turned into the kitchen and gasped with amusement. Wooden counters stood in the middle of an almost dancing hall-sized kitchen. New electrical appliances stood on every counter corner and a large silver fringe, almost the size of a wardrobe, stood against the wall and the floor was tiled with pearl white tiles. Ross could almost see his reflection in them.

He walked through another door on his left-hand side and stopped in front of two staircases forming an oval as they led up toward a sitting area looking over the bottom living room Ross was standing in when he first entered the house. As he reached the top of the stairs he saw yet another window which was quite larger than the other looking out upon the pavement they drove along when they first arrived.

On both sides of the sitting room were two hallways, each leading opposite directions. He took the right one and stumbled across several doors. Three of them were spa-sized bathrooms and the other a study similar to York's office at work. The very last door at the end of the hall revealed York's bedroom, which was much bigger than the one in New York. His room also had a spa-sized bathroom and a sitting room with a balcony which had a wonderful view of the forest next to the lake.