My Light in the Dark

Grey Manor

This is my first story so be kind but constructive criticism is welcome. Dedicated to Emmy_Kat who helped inspire the story plot and got me to finally post something. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 1: Grey Manor

I stood on the stone steps biting my lower lip. The home loomed over me resembling a haunted mansion. I'm sure the vines that wrapped around it looked nice in the spring, but the dead vegetation made the place look even less inviting. The porch could use a fresh paint job and maybe a few plants in the pots during the summer could brighten up the place.

I glanced back at the address Mrs. Katherine hastily scribbled down before shoving me out the front door of the orphanage. No name or number, just an address. For all I know, she could have sent me to a live with a serial killer. People aren't that evil, right?

I raised my hand to the brass knocker when the door suddenly swung open. A pink, plump woman stood in the doorway wearing a maid uniform. Her dark locks were pulled into a messy bun with a few curls framing her heart shaped face. Suddenly her green eyes lit up with excitement.

"You must be Danielle," she said sweetly.

"It's uh..um... Dani," I said playing with the ends of my hair.

"Well, Dani, we've been wondering when you were going to get here. Have you been out here the whole time, love? Come inside and warm up."

She grabbed my suitcase and I followed her in. I expected something similar to Dracula's castle, but was surprised by the warm, modern touch. The peach colored walls were covered in antique paintings. Each depicted an old man or woman. Family perhaps? The dark hardwood floor was polished to perfection. A large chandelier hung above the double staircase brightening up the room.

"This place is beautiful," I whispered.

"Mr. Grey prides himself in antique prizes," the maid replied. "I'm Harriet by the way, the housekeeper. You'll meet the other staff members as the day goes on. Follow me to your room, love." She led me up the center staircase and to the right. "Your room is in the east wing. All the guests stay in the left wing. The library and offices are upstairs. The kitchen, lounge, and foyer are downstairs. And this, this is your room." She set my suitcase down in front of a cherry wood door. My head was still spinning as I tried to remember where everything was. "I believe that's everything for now. Everything is free to explore except for the third door which is Mr. Grey's room and the second door on the third floor. They are marked and locked in case you forget."

"What's in the second room on the third floor?" I asked genuinely curious.

"Nothing dear, it's just Mr. Grey's private office. I'll leave you to freshen up before I fetch you for dinner. Is there anything you're allergic to?"

"Strawberries, and I'm a vegetarian."

Harriett gave me a strange look before nodding and going down the stairs. I opened my door expecting a small room with the basic necessities. Instead I got more than what I bargained for.

The walls were teal. My blue and green bed was on the back wall on a small dais in between two balcony windows with white curtains. A shelf stretched between them. On the right adjacent wall were a green door and a set of green doors. I'm guessing it was a bathroom and closet. It was probably just as big as the bedroom. On the other adjacent wall was a cherry wood desk with tall cupboards and three shelves in between them over my desk. A new laptop and small lamp were the only things that decorated it.

I admired my room in awe. I appreciated this, but a lot of this was unnecessary. I still had two more years till I could get out of the system. Even then, I doubt I will remain here for long. The longest foster family I had kept me for six months before they were tired of my antisocial behavior.

A knock on my door drew me from my large walk-in closet. My clothes didn't even fill up one side. I opened the door expecting Harriet, but instead was met by an older man. He was covered in wrinkles, but he had a full head of grey hair. He was tall, lean, and stood erect. In his hands was a silver tray with a platter and glass on top.

"Dinner, Miss. Scott," he said in a raspy voice.

"Oh, thank you," I said taking the tray. "Harriet said I was going to eat in the dining hall."

"Master Gray is unavailable to dine tonight. He didn't want you to eat alone and thought you'd prefer to dine in the comforts of your room."

"Oh, well, that was kind of him."

"When you finish, leave it outside the door, and Elizabeth will come and collect it." He bowed and left.

I took my meal into the room. Taking off the lid, I saw that I had a salad with chicken and mandarin oranges with water on the side. I picked out the pieces of chicken. I became a vegetarian when I was 10. My foster parents at the time were crazy vegetarians. They beat vegetarianism into me, literally. If I was caught with anything from animals, I got the belt to my backside.

After dinner, I took a shower. The bathroom was just as elegant as I expected. It was white and navy blue tile. The tiles were made of granite and the tub was huge. It even had jets.

I crawled under the thick comforter lying on my back. My eyes traced shaped on the popcorn ceiling. It was a tendency of mine to do when I felt overwhelmed. Tomorrow was my first day of school, prep school. I wasn't looking forward to it, considering I wasn't very social, and I didn't come from a rich background. Maybe tomorrow wouldn't be so bad or maybe I'll make a complete fool of myself in front of everyone. The latter seems more like it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you guys liked it. Let me know what you think!

Vote and Comment!