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"Why did you open the window?" Words as cold as the blade pressed against my neck spoke slowly into my ear, making every fiber in my being forget how to function. " Answer me."

          My tongue became unstuck as I caught piercing red orbs eyeing me through the reflection of the rattling window before me. Its hinges let out painful creaks as it swung back and forth, more and more aggressive with each thrust, until the man dropped the blade and hurried shut it up using his whole body and strength to pull the frames together, just before a raven  crashed against the glazed glass panels, splattering bits of bloodied feathers and making the windows shake against the force, before pulling back and flapping it's oddly angled wings away like a broken toy. "T-that um . . . Was uh, unexpected?" I arched a brow and took slow steps away from the man in black, whom for some reason did not move for a few seconds and remained hunched against the windows with flaming red eyes staring into nothingness. "How was that bird still able to fly like that?"

             The man's shoulders rised and fell for a few minutes, before he finally pulled himself together and picked up to dagger he had dropped and which I should have probably grabbed while he was distracted. "It's better for a fool to know nothing rather to know something he or she should not," he fixed me with a glare, before talking slow and light steps towards me without making a sound. " A word of advice, don't trust anyone outside this house if you want to stay alive ," his voice was deep, and his tall and buffed figure loomed over me as if he were seven foot grizzly ready to swat me away like a rag doll with one hit. "An even better opinion would be leaving while you still can and leave Bennett here with me."

           " And what type of crack have you been sniffing?" I subconsciously spat back feeling his whole fancy talk was bound to turn into an endless monologue. " Like why would I even take your bloody advice after you threatened me twice! In like two minutes?!"

                He scoffed at my rampage and glanced at my baggage," Wouldn't expect less from your foolish tongue."

             With that, he straightened the wrinkles of the cuffs of his black coat and brushed past me without another comment with that cold poker face itched into his face once again.

"Brother . . ."

"Did you hear that?" I called out to him, wondering if he would stop denying how creepy this house was starting to appear.

            He feet stopped just as he reached the stairs, but he did not look back. " No . . ." The words sounded sticky and strained on his tongue  when they parted from his plae lips.

           " You must be already going insane, " he added mockingly, before walking down the stairs without sparing me a glance, tucking the silver blade into the darkness bneath his coat.

         Outside the window, the world has grown darker, grape vines had the green color of it's leaves sucked away into a nearly grey shade, trees that stood long and tall were swaying now violently with the storm brewing in the sky.

"They are here. . . " The small voice cried, words fading in and out to the point it almost sounded dreamlike. " They're hungry . . ."

       A  shiver pulsed through me and my chest tightened in pure discomfort as the cold crept up my neck like a violent rash.  This place was hella weird with weird weather and weird people who actually carry daggers around like it's still the Victorian era. It did not feel like home at all, probably because I had no idea who this fancy looking rich dude was, or why the weather looked like we were in the middle of winter when it was June, or maybe because of the weird guy I saw outside the window. Yup, totally normal shinanigians. Maybe the town aged in a weird way. Nevertheless, I just hoped my childhood did not change much as my mom had previously mentioned. Hopefully a new fresh day with a fresh morning would make up for my first day's craziness. I glanced back at the blood getting washed away from the window by the rain. Hopefully.