Fangs And Fur

19 - Oh look, the chapter has a number

Roman quickly closed the door again, with a red face, that made Brutus raise his eyebrows a bit. Thankfully, he didn't ask about it.

Roman took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down his blush while doing so. "Can I borrow a suit, or something like that?" He decided to ask Brutus, now wanting to dress up.

Again, he didn't know why. He just wanted to. It probably had something to do with how good Virgil looked, though. No one should look that good. It wasn't logical at all!

Brutus chuckled at the question, seeming to know something that Roman didn't. "Of course we have. I believe we have some in your size too. If not, we can fix it with a bit of magic." He said, and stood up, brushing some non existent dust off his clothes.

Roman nodded, glad that they had something, since he didn't want to feel underdressed in his simple white t-shirt, jeans, and red jacket. "Thanks, Brutus." He said, running a hand through his hair, as he leaned his back against the wall.

Brutus nodded, and walked over. He looked down at Roman, who looked back up at him, confused for a moment, before he realised he was blocking the door. He quickly moved away from it, and mumbled a sorry.

Brutus opened the door, and gestured for Roman to follow him. Which he did, closing the door after him.

Roman once more looked around at the things in the mansion. They were certainly interesting, and he wondered about when and where they came from.

Brutus soon stopped in front of a set of stairs, leading higher up into the house. Brutus turned to look at him. "This is the attic. There are ghosts, in this attic. I would appreciate it if you talk to them while I find something for you to wear." He explained, and Roman reluctantly agreed.

What could be so bad about those ghosts?

Well, a lot, it turned out.

Already on the way up, Roman could hear chattering coming from the door leading into the attic. Most were speaking in something else than English, while other were speaking English that sounded Shakespearean.

When the door opened, the voices stopped for a moment, and then they began again, with more intensity now. They were all asking Roman and Brutus questions now.

Roman spotted a young woman, standing tall. She seemed to be from the Roman times, judging by her clothes, and silenced the other ghost by saying a loud word in Latin. Or at least, it sounded like Latin.

Brutus thanked her, or it sounded so, and it sounded Latin too. And he then began looking for some clothes in a box, labeled Alexander.

The young woman turned to face Roman. Even if she was glowing a faint blue, along with being transparent, one was able to see how she looked quite well.

Her hair was long and wavy, in a very light blonde colour. It almost looked white. Her eyes were a dark green, bordering on blue, and she had a few freckles on her fair skin.

She was very beautiful, wearing silver and golden jewelry, and a deep blue tunic, with a lighter purple palla draped over her left shoulder. However, that was where the perfection stopped.

Her tunic and palla were torn in several places, and were bloody, and looked dripping wet. Her hair was ruffled, and her eyes were red and puffy. She had lost a sandal, and blood was dripping out of two deep wounds on her neck, along with scratch marks along her arms, and on what could be seen of her legs.

She stepped towards Roman, who quickly noticed that she was taller than him. "I am Adolpha, currently, the lady of the house, since there if no other. Who art thou, lad?" She asked. Her voice was filled with authority, and she held her head high, peering down at Roman over her nose.

"I-I'm Roman, Miss." Roman said, honestly frightened of the bloody lady, even if she probably wasn't even able to harm him.

Adolpha raised her eyebrows, looking a bit amused at the name. Or maybe it was his fear. "Roman? Is that what they bid children, nowadays? The name of mine civilization?" She said, not sounding rude, just amused, and nothing else.

Roman merely nodded, not wanting to annoy Adolpha, since she seemed to be pretty strong too. Even if ghosts usually weren't able to touch people.

Adolpha let out an amused huff of air. "Interesting." She mused, and then stood up straighter. "I got sidetracked. Now, what are you doing here?" She asked, the authority back in her voice.

"I was invited here by Virgil..." Roman mumbled, and Adolpha took another good look at him, for some reason. "Seems likely. How is mine brother doing anyways?" She asked, clearly more interested in that than Roman, judging by her expression.

Roman opened his mouth to say "good, I think", before he closed it again, when he fully realised what she had said.

She was Virgil's sister. Sister! And she was dead, and in his attic, for some stupid reason. He stared at her for a bit, and began to subconsciously find features that reminded him of Virgil. 

"It is rude to stare, lad." Adolpha said, and she said it like a warning, which made Roman try and stop staring, the best he could. "Sorry." He mumbled, and she nodded.

Roman cleared his throat. "Oh well, anyways, I think Virgil is doing good..?" He said, sounding unsure, but trying to sound confident in his words. Adolpha didn't look impressed. "If you are lying, I can punish you without having to touch you." She said, harshly. Roman nervously nodded.

Brutus soon came back to Roman, with a set of clothes in his hands. Roman bid the ghosts farewell, and quickly exited the attic,with Brutus behind him.

As soon as the door to the attic was closed, Roman turned to Brutus. "Why is Virgil's sister in the attic?" He demanded. Personally, he wouldn't even dare to trap someone in a room forever. And we're they even able to exit it? He hoped so. There wasn't much space in the attic.

Brutus sighed. "Come on, let's try this out on you, and then I'll answer any questions you might have." He said, sounding guilty now.

"It's not might, I have questions. A lot of them actually, and I want the answers now." Roman said, with a demanding tone again. He wasn't going to leave before he knew why Adolpha was in the attic.