Blackwood

Chapter 1

It had been a little over three weeks since the Crystal Lake party, and I was finding myself feeling dissapointed that Caspian had vanished off the face of the earth. The feelings I had felt on that night were so overwhelming, I was afraid that I wouldn't ever feel the same about any other guy. Tessa was spending the day with Jesse, leaving me alone for the remainder of the afternoon. After considerable thought, I decided to go for a scenic drive to the Blackwood Manor trailhead. It was a fairly old trail, and hard to find to the plain eye. Thankfully, I had taken the path up to the old Manor plenty of times, and decided it would be a nice place to sit and write down my thoughts. Keeping a memory journal was important to me, and I wanted to be able to go over every detail of the Night I met Caspian. I didn't want to forget a single moment of the evening, and what better place to write than the Manor Gardens. The house was a historical site, and visitors were welcome to spend time near the estate as long as they didn't trespass through the gardens into the courtyard itself. My favorite place in the gardens was the small gazebo tucked in the corner, surrounded by a blanket of pink blossoms. The house was something I loved as well, but since the owner had moved out long ago, it was shut off from the outside world. I grabbed my keys and wrote a note to Tess in case she got home before I did, and headed out the door.

It didn't take long for me to make it to the trail head, but I felt a sense of unease as dark ominous storm clouds hovered in the distance. "I'll be quick, I've hiked the trail a thousand times, and there is no way I'll be here long enough for the storm to blow in." I muttered to myself as I began walking through the trees towards the Manor. A strange eerie silence blanketed the woods, causing each footstep to ring out as I walked towards the gardens. The wind barely breezed through the trees, sweeping the smell of fresh rain over my being. I stepped out from the tree line just as storm covered the sun, and walked quickly toward the gazebo. As I stepped into its glass confines, a sheet of rain opened up from the heavens and soon drenched the world outside of my glass shelter. I began to take out my journal and pen when I saw a being walk out from the woods and start running towards the gazebo. I froze in fear hoping that it was my imagination when I realized it was Caspian. He looked worn, his five o clock shadow accentuated his facial features, making it apparent that he hadn't shaved in a week or two.  The door swung open and quickly shut as Caspian slid down the door and rested himself on the floor. His shirt had a dark stain on the bottom hem, and his body was drenched with water. I got up and saw him startle as I moved from the shadows.

"Caspian? Are you alright?" I cautiously asked as he looked up at me with surprise. "Saphyre? What are you doing all the way out here?! This storm was predicted to be pretty severe, and the trail gets flooded so bad that the only shelter is the Gazebo and the house!" He replied over the roar of the rain. "I know I misjudged the distance, but what are you doing out here?!" I replied, saying my thoughts aloud. He ignored my question, continued to look at me then he looked towards the main house. "The back is unlocked, and we'll weather out the storm a lot more comfortably in the house, are you willing to tough the elements for a few hundred feet?" He asked. I nodded my head and in an instant we were making a mad dash to the house. The door was indeed unlocked like he said, and we tumbled into the mess kitchen completely drenched. After locking the door behind him and turning on the light, Caspian led me down the winding hallways into the main living room, where a roaring fire was blazing in the hearth.

"I went for a walk when I got caught in the storm. I felt that I needed to head back and check the Gazebo when I walked in on you." He muttered as he stripped off his soaking wet shirt and stood by the fire. I took off my jacket and was relieved to find that my two layers had kept my journal from being drenched. After placong my belongings on a console table I joined Caspian by the fire and prayed that I would dry out fast before I caught hypothermia. "I'm glad I was able to meet up with you, I wasn't aware the storm was going to be so bad." I managed to say as my body began to tremble with the cold." I felt Caspian's gaze on me as I looked into the flames and did my best to hide my tremors. "I'm glad that I left the fire going, for being an old house it does a decent job of keeping the heat of the fire contained. The sooner we can get you warmed up the better you'll feel I promise." He told me as he moved to grab a fluffy throw blanket off one of the leather couches. "You live here? But I thought the owner had boarded up the place awhile ago." I asked him as he gently set the blanket around my shoulders. The soft fabric did little to soothe me, but my focus was drawn to the fact that Cas was the mysterious Tennant of the Blackwood Manor. "My grandfather passed away about four weeks ago, and he deeded me the estate since I was his only Grandson. I've been back and forth between living here and barely got fully settled on the house around yesterday morning." He replied as he looked at me with a smile. It was a lot for me to take in, and my shivering only seemed to get worse. As if Caspian had read my mind he easily scooped me up in his arms and began carrying me toward a grand staircase. "Hey!" I exclaimed, but I felt myself starting to become weak. "You were soaked through worse than I thought, we need to get you out of those clothes and warm you up before shock sets in." He told me calmly as we entered into the master bedroom. He pulled out an oversized t-shirt, and pajama bottoms, then left me to change. Once I was modest he entered the room with a blanket and a cup of chamomile lavender tea. I slowly began warming up and with each sip my shivering seemed to slow until it stopped completely. Cas and I made small talk, but I soon found myself too exhausted to carry any sort of conversation. "I'll let you sleep here tonight, since the storm is still pretty bad, but I did notify your friend Tessa of what happened, so there's no need to worry." Cas told me getting up from the bed. I nodded my head since words seemed to tiring to say, and found myself dozing off.