Secrets Intertwined

Chapter 11: Part 2

Aislyn arrived at the entrance of the mansion moments before Galen. Stepping out of the tree, she brushed off a few stray leaves and spotted a dark, strangely-shaped stone laying close to the tree. She stooped over to pick it up and placed it in her pocket for Kaighen, before craning her neck back to observe the impressive building before her.

Despite the riches that Aislyn knew Serilda possessed, the mansion was plain and, if it were not for its sheer size, not very note-worthy. Made from beige stone, the four-story building stood tall and proud in the middle of a large clearing in a forest. Perfectly symmetrical, the building was built in a rectangular shape and the front was lined with windows, on each floor, that stretched feet long. The only embellishment was the deep brown front doors, that held plain but beautiful designs with a brass knocker and handles.

"Home sweet home."

Aislyn turned around to face Galen and crinkled her nose.

"In and out as fast as we can, yeah?"

"Yeah."

Aislyn once again reached up and brushed his hair to the side and straightened his shirt before linking her arm through his.

The began slowly walking to the front door but Aislyn stopped just as they reached the threshold. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"One. Two. Three."

When she opened her eyes again, Raven saw that she was no longer Aislyn. She was Azure.

Without knocking, Aislyn, threw open the door, the slam against the wall announcing their arrival. A servant quickly appeared from an adjoining room and with a noticeable tremble in her voice, she said, "Welcome home, Azure, Raven."

Aislyn released Raven's arm and strode forward, barely glancing at the young servant girl who had her head bowed with her hands tightly clasped in front of her.

"Serilda called for us."

"Ye-yes she's in-in he- "

"Spit it out," she snapped at the girl.

"In her study."

Without so much as a second glance, Aisyln walked off down the corridor, head held high, in a confident stride.

"Thank you," she heard Raven say to the servant before he followed after her.

The corridor was long and if it were not for the candles every second step, it would be completely dark. There was a deep red carpet that rolled the length of the hallway and Aislyn knew that the creaks that sounded every time she took a step were strategically placed so that Serilda was always aware that someone was approaching her study. The walls were lined with hundreds of portraits of Serilda's students but most of them had a red line painted across a face that never had a smile. Those were the ones that had died.

Walking down the corridor, Aislyn glanced at the photos. Not to see who was up there. She had every part of this house memorised; from the portraits on the walls down to which bedroom belonged to whom. No, instead her eyes were scanning those portraits with the red line, to see which of her fellow students had died.

Never being the most sociable person, Aislyn had rarely socialized with anyone other than Raven and Serilda in that place, most people stayed clear of her and sat afar, giving her a wary look.

Towards the end of the corridor, she came across a portrait of Maxwell and stopped before it. Glaring at his sadistic face, she stuck her tongue out at him and reached into her pocket to withdraw the stone she had picked up earlier. Bracing one hand on the wall, she stood up on the tips her toes and stretched up to draw a pig's nose and ears onto his face.