Juliet Lockwood's Story

Lira was discarded shortly after Drake left the ragtag group, propped up in a door frame so James could find his carcass later. He left his jacket draped over the dead body’s shoulders as well, as it was too bloody to continue wearing, thanks to James. The boy really should learn to not bleed everywhere, but what could a daemon do? He rested the delicate fingers of one hand against his forehead, trying to manage his headache, which was worsening his mood by the moment. He should sleep it off, but that was boring, and there was too much interest to be had in the current going-ons. Hassen had the two new humans, the ones who’d replaced Mister Dominic and Miss Allease, even though she wasn’t dead yet. He needed one to replace Lira as well. He’d scared the living water out of Miss Linnet. Which left one he did not know the whereabouts of. Miss Elizabeth. She was probably hiding; perhaps she’d tucked herself into a room and barricaded the door or some such thing. Well, that was no fun. He’d have to send someone to search for her later. Perhaps he could go find a replacement now. Tormenting humans usually made him feel better, maybe he needed a new one to play with, since all the others had either hidden, or were with the servants. And he couldn’t verily bother Miss Linnet for a while, she was in a fragile state, and it wouldn’t be very fun to shatter her again until she’d made some progress healing. Or died. Whichever came first.

After changing into more appropriate attire, Drake wandered out of manor. He had the only key to the outside world, and he trusted no one else to defend it. James possessed one to the inner gardens, but there was more fencing around them, so even if someone stole his key they’d only become trapped outside. And James only had that key because he seemed so bent on burying the dead, some human tomfoolery. But as long as he did something useful with the bodies, it didn’t bother Drake much. The roses would certainly benefit from a few rotting corpses under the soil.

He’d kept tabs on a young man for a short while now, and now seemed the perfect time to take him, stir things up a bit. Mister Saber probably wouldn’t appreciate the competition, right now he was trapped in a castle full or women. And Hassen. But he needed a motivator to hurry things up. Well he didn’t need it, but he didn’t want the humans living for very long in his manor, because there was a chance they could try to rebel, and Drake rather loathed trying to deal with the stupid creatures when they were trying to attack him. Perhaps he could find a way to store souls for safe keeping instead of gorging himself all the time. Just in case they had to flee again, he’d have sustenance for the journey, instead of having to talk to the reaper again, because that old blighter wasn’t very good company. Gave him chills up his spine, that creature did. One of the few other entities in the world that knew of his special condition, and just where to find his soul. Of course, because it was his job, and he wouldn’t act on it, since he was a separate entity from the upper and lower realms. So Drake was safe from him, for the most part. He was still exceedingly creepy though.

It wasn’t too long after that Drake had his prize and an extra passenger as well. It was nearly the middle of the day, so he had to be careful, but he hadn’t wanted to use drugs on them, then it would take them much too long to wake up, so he’d just given both of them a good wallop over the skull in the end. Disregarding the fact that he’d needed to purchase more food for the humans, he was due to run out in less than a week, he lugged the two of them back home. The boy and his servant. Usually he would have left the woman, but she’d seemed so eager to come! Attacked him and everything. And it was rather fun to have the butlers around, even if this was a female one.

Not wanting to be disturbed by the other humans, he dumped the two in the front receiving room, which none of the humans had wandered into of yet. It was a cozy looking place, perhaps the most well decorated in the manor. Perhaps it was a good thing no one had made it here yet. He really didn’t want to go replacing any of these things. It would be quite a shame. Especially the upholstery. Many of the chairs were quite old, and all of them had been swiped from the same house, after the former occupants had died. He slumped the two of them onto a loveseat and then crossed the room to settle himself in his armchair, resting his chin on his knuckles and waiting for the two to wake up. His headache was starting to abate, or perhaps he was forgetting about it under the light of much more interesting things. The foul mood still lingered though, despite the dissolving of the pain in his skull. Oh, he did hope the humans would hurry up and wake up already. He hadn't hit them that hard, had he?

Andrew White and Juliet Lockwood

Andrew was following a lead he got from his 'sources' pertaining to the location of his father, but he had very little time to investigate and he had to leave as soon as he got the news of the lead. His maid was accompanying him, since she demanded to come along. Andrew was a bit lenient concerning having things be demanded of him, but he didn't follow a command unless it meant his survival. He was making a foolish mistake due to emotions being brought into the situation, so he would have to pay for being naive. He should have investigated the lead before jumping in blindly, since he could have saved himself from the experience that he was soon to be put through. He was wearing a formal suit and Juliet was wearing attire of the same sorts, since he didn't know how to blend in and it would be quite hard to with the mannerisms he had implanted into him by his servants and family. They were both at fault that day, since Andrew was too distracted by emotions to behave normally and Juliet was not prepared for fighting. "Juliet, is what we're doing right?" Andrew asked this simply yet important question. His mind was jumbled by emotion, so he decided that he would need input from someone besides him. He enjoyed having people add to a conversation or plan, since people could usually find holes in his plans and help fix those holes. He didn't really care about the fact that he was rich, but it was convenient to be able to bribe the staff of corporations. "I don't know if it is a good idea to go out without investigating." Juliet was somewhat aware of the dangers of their situation, but she also knew that Andrew could not simply ignore this lead.

Andrew had a perfect carefully measured walk and his eyes seemed to be dull, but he was analyzing all clues around him. He was a bit calm, but he wasn't going to risk being kidnapped or anything like that. He has scared many adults by simply making use of his extensive vocabulary. He mostly enjoyed messing with psychologists, since they usually thought that he had a simply god-complex or something textbook. It was the middle of the day, so Andrew thought that it would be a perfect time to initiate his plan to get his father back. He knew that the lead was probably a trap, but he also knew that this person knew quite a bit about his father. Juliet was much more observant and careful, since she was tasked with protecting the young heir to the White fortune. Many people that Andrew was a messed up child and they were right, but he had no trauma as a child unless losing his father counts as trauma. He was simply pessimistic and cynical by nature, yet people always wanted people to have a history for being bad. He didn't enjoy being pitied upon by people who knew of his father not being around, so he usually utterly scared those who angered or bother him enough. He would never let anyone who bothered him know they were bothering him, since he knew that he could come up with a plan to take people out without being caught. Quite frankly, the idea of being jailed didn't appeal to him and he tried to not be caught when on his money making endeavors.

A man attacked the duo, but Juliet wasn't very prepared to fight and she was still busy getting ready to fight to notice that Andrew had already been knocked out. Andrew had a very weak physique, since the idea of exercise didn't appeal to him in the slightest. He could barely run and he usually never needed to directly interfere with his plans, so he barely had any chance to exercise. She dropped the knife that she had in her hand, but she couldn't grab any of the other knives or risk getting killed. She had managed to barely dodge a bit of the hits directed to her, but she was struggling and this was not normal of someone of her lineage. She was a bit fueled by anger, so her attacks were sloppy. She eventually knocked out the same way her master was. Her trainers would be very disappointed in the way she acted, since she had been trained to fight against this very type of situation. Or at least she thought that she had been trained to handle these types of situation. If, it had been anyone else, then she would have probably beat the person. It was pure luck that their capturer decided to bring along Juliet, since Andrew would not be able to fend with himself unless he simply stayed out of the way of others. It was quite embarrassing for rich folk to be knocked out so quickly, but Andrew didn't care about his pride. He would actually enjoy his stay at Drake's manor. That is, if Andrew even survived his days there. Andrew was not afraid of death, since it would happen to everyone and he would be sure to leave his mark on the world before he died. To him life was a board of chess. The players were him and the world, but he only saw this as a challenge and not an unfair game.

The two were dumped into an evening room, but Juliet would be the last to wake up and that would work in their favor. They were both lucky that they would only be waking up with a slight headache and not a serious injury, since it would be quite hard for Andrew to formulate any effective plans while constantly being annoyed by mental pain. Andrew's first response to being awake would be to compliment the room, if he was awake that is. They were both slumped into a loveseat, but Andrew would pay no heed to that fact once he became conscious.

He became conscious, but he was still a bit groggy and he was still processing what recently happened. He had no idea what time it was, but he didn't want to bother looking for a clock. He wondered where or who he was, since he had temporary amnesia and his memory would return once he could work out his thoughts. It didn't take much time before he quickly remembered his name and other essential facts about him. He wondered what he was doing sitting down next to Juliet, since he thought that he was supposed to be doing something. Wait? What was I doing earlier? He thought this simple thought and a flash of recognition was on his face, since he remembered that he had lost consciousness suddenly after being subjected to a hit. He rubbed his head and the spot where he was hit hurt a bit, but not enough to call attention to it. He rubbed his eyes and his vision focused, so he could now see the man in an armchair. He guessed that this was the man that abducted him, but he wondered why he wasn't tied up or anything of the sorts. He quickly thought that the best response would be to stay calm and collected, since he could be killed any second and he didn't have Juliet's protection. He wasn't stupid enough to react chaotically, since he knew that it was better to not show fear in front of a person captors. There doesn't appear to be anyone with him, but there is always the chance that we are being monitored by someone. He appears to have an adequate taste for furnishings, so I'm guessing that he may not need any ransom money. He's probably just a person who is bored and wishes to torture me, so I don't have to worry about imminent death, yet. His thoughts were calm and he was looking over them, until he remembered that he had company. "Excuse me, but may I please be introduced to my kidnapping host?" He had a calmness in his voice and he was sure to address the fact that he knew he was kidnapped with subtlety, but it took him a bit of time to come up with a correct question. He hoped that he could perhaps get a name from this person or a reaction, so he could properly react to this person. The lead for his father was a true lead, but he would never find his father and Drake was not the one to give the lead. Andrew guessed that he had just been unlucky, so he decided to not bother asking about his father. He knew that Juliet would probably instinctively attack Drake, so he decided to warn his 'amiable' host about his maid. "I would be careful of my maid, since she can be quite feisty and you seem to be a dangerous man." He was simply stating facts and he was thinking of ways to escape his prison, but no plans seemed plausible. This man hadn't trapped him with shackles or anything of the sort, so it would be foolish to try escaping without knowledge of the house. He also knew that this man could probably kill Andrew in one hit, since this man seemed to be able to beat one of the world's best martial artists in a couple of blows. The odds were not in his favor, but he could try to make use of his situation. He patiently waited for a response to his simple, yet important question.

Drake leaned back slightly in his chair when the boy stirred. The young creature moved around a bit, obviously trying to make sense of his location. Drake smiled pleasantly when the blue eyes found him. The boy seemed to contemplate some thought for a few moments before speaking. The daemon tilted his head slightly to once side, resting his chin in the V of his index and middle finger. "Ah, good morning, Mister White, glad to see you've woken." He said pleasantly enough, his eyes flicking to the woman's form briefly to see if she had any notion of stirring as well. Alas, it seemed that he'd afforded the boy a lighter strike than he had the maid, because she was still unconscious. Oh well, she could catch up later if she needed to. "My name is Drake Stuart." he said disinterestedly, gaze wandering across the papered wall and across a cabinet displaying a regiment of china dishware and figurines. So he was a kidnapper now? Well, it was no lie, but Drake preferred more...refined terms for the hobby. Kidnapper sounded so...vulgar. And the boy would learn that it wasn't the proper word to affix to his host soon enough, once he realized he was in much deeper than a simple kidnapping.

When the boy spoke again, Drake couldn't help but smirk. "Oh, I'm not the one you'd best watch out for. I won't hurt you or your maid, lad, and I doubt she'll hurt me very much either." He spoke lazily, voice catlike and meandering. "But I suppose I should get to the point, now shouldn't I?" He mused, eyes sparking with sudden interest. "You do want to know what you're doing here, don't you? I wouldn't advise blundering about like an idiot, and you don't seem like one, lad." he spread his arms again, much more engaged now that he could speak.

"Listen close though, boy, I don't like repeating myself. We're going to play a game of last man standing. But what's a game without rules? There are four, or perhaps five, I'm not sure if Hassen's cleaned up yet, other boys and girls wandering my lovely manor, plus my two servants, James and Hassen, who are under orders to help those who take a liking to dawdling to speed the game up a bit. The last one alive wins the game, to put it simply. But there are a few other rules. You may not under any circumstance enter the library, my quarters, or the closed door on the second floor, or you will lose the game promptly." he flashed his teeth for a moment, but his smile was more feral than amiable by this point.

"Also, please do try not to get blood on the rugs, if you feel the urge to bleed to death, or inflict such an end on another. James isn't very skilled at cleaning the rugs." Drake chuckled briefly to himself. When would James break and decide he needed desperately to eat? It might be a few hours, long enough for the boy to recuperate, but Drake was confident that he ultimately end up hunting Miss Linnet down to stop the pain in his throat. He would need to remind the boy to clean up Dominic. And Lira. And his own blood. And Allease, after Hassen finished with her. Goodness, wasn't James slacking on his job. Drake made a mental note to reprimand the boy later.

Drake pulled himself back to the conversation at hand. "Oh, and if you kill my servants, I will be most displeased, so do try not to do them much damage or I'll have to hunt down replacements again." He shifted in his chair, his eyes moving back to focus on the boy before him again. "I do think that is all. Any questions?" He folded his hands in front of him, the faintest of smiles on his face, as if he'd just made mindless conversation about the weather instead of telling a captive human the rules of a game in which he must kill other humans to win. Win an impossible prize. He wondered if any of the longer staying residents would realize that there was no point to playing the game, they would die eventually, because he never let the population of his fair little home dwindle too far.

But they were humans, blinded by the immediate future, and they likely wouldn't live long enough to see the patterns, with the exception of Linnie, but the girl would die soon enough.

Humans lived such futile lives, didn't they.

Andrew White and Juliet Lockwood

Andrew had noticed his location, but he had found no noticeable weapons or things to help him escape. Juliet was due to shortly wake up, but only after Andrew and Drake finished their conversation. Drake seemed to genuinely be happy that Andrew woke up, but Andrew knew better than to believe first impressions. "My name is Drake Stuart." Drake had just given Andrew a piece of information that would have been valuable, if Andrew had deep enough connections to know who Drake was. Andrew quickly tried seeing if he heard the name before, but nothing noticeable sparked in his memory. Andrew planned to catch Juliet up to speed later, but he would let her sleep for now. Andrew noticed that he had let the word kidnapper slip out, so he mentally slapped himself. He knew that it was stupid to aggravate captors, since it could get him killed earlier than he was supposed to be. He then noticed that he wasn't to be held for ransom, since his maid was brought along with Andrew. Many scenarios played out in Andrew's head, but none of the scenarios seemed plausible.

"Oh, I'm not the one you'd best watch out for. I won't hurt you or your maid, lad, and I doubt she'll hurt me very much either." Drake spoke lazily and as if he wasn't holding Andrew captive. Andrew wanted to kill Drake, but he couldn't simply kill Drake without figuring out what he was doing here and even if he could kill Drake. Andrew saw that Juliet was unconscious as well, so he guessed that Drake must have been extremely powerful or fast to be able to take down a great fighter like Juliet. "You were able to dispose of us easily, so I doubt I should be much of a threat to you." Andrew had a calm and amused tone in his voice, since he wasn't scared at all. "But I suppose I should get to the point, now shouldn't I?" Drake seemed to ask a rhetorical question, so Andrew saw no reason to answer. However, Andrew was interested when he saw that Drake's eyes sparked with interest. "Oh?" He raised a brow, since he would finally be told why he was brought here. "You do want to know what you're doing here, don't you?" Andrew would have replied to Drake's question, but Andrew decided to wait until Drake finished speaking. "I wouldn't advise blundering about like an idiot, and you seem like one, lad." Drake spread his arms as he complimented Andrew, but Andrew guessed that Drake meant this as a fact and not a compliment. Andrew would not make mistakes, since his life could be hanging by a simple thread. He would carefully plan his every word and movement, but he would want to seem like a rich and stupid child to those who haven't spoken to him.

"Listen close though, boy. I don't like repeating myself," Drake just revealed that he may or may not have a short temper, but Andrew kept note of this anyways and added the information to his arsenal. "We're going to play a game of last man standing. But what's a game without rules? There are four or perhaps five, I'm not sure if Hassen's cleaned up yet, other boys and girls wandering my lovely manor, plus my two lovely servants, James and Hassen who are under orders to help this who take a liking to dawdling to speed the game up a bit. Drake seemed like a psychopath, but Andrew wasn't fazed in the slightest. He now knew that he was in a sort of battle with others, and this strangely excited him. He now decided to act stupid and clumsy around the other players, since he wanted to seem as weak as possible. He wouldn't try taking anyone down, yet. He needed to figure out the weaknesses of people before attacking, since people could have nasty skills that could hinder Andrew's plans, "The last one alive wins the game, to put it simply. But there are a few other rules. You may not under any circumstance enter the library, my quarters, or the closed door on the second floor, or you will lose the game promptly." Andrew knew that Drake was possibly twisting the rules to his own advantage, since Andrew would do the same thing if he was in Drake's position. He guessed that he had been a late addition to the game and that he was simply a replacement, but he wasn't sure of Drake's intentions, yet. He didn't plan to enter the rooms he wasn't allowed to, since he guessed that losing meant death or something equal to that. He could try planning a revolt, but that would be boring and it wouldn't entertain him enough. He decided that he would write a journal before he died, since it would be a good idea to allow those who followed in his place have a certain advantage over Drake. He planned on dying, but he also planned on enjoying his life.

I will make this pitiful fool regret ever taking me into his little games. He will not forget my coming to his house, since I will ruin his games before I die. He licked his lips, since he planned on causing quite a bit of damage to Drake's games before he died. He was determined to mess up Drake's plans and cause anarchy to befall Drake's life. He was planning out so many things for the future, but he then remembered that it would be best to not think too much into the future and forget about the present or past.

"Also, please do try not to get blood on the rugs, if you feel the urge to bleed to death, or inflict such an end on another. James isn't very skilled at cleaning the rugs." Drake just told a joke, or at least Andrew thought Drake did. Andrew didn't plan on getting blood on any carpets, since he had seen how annoying it could be to get blood out of carpets. Andrew wondered if he could make any mediocre alliances, since it would be easy to blame someone if he seemed harmless. "I do think that is all. Any questions?" Drake folded his hands in front of him and he had a faint smile, and Andrew had the same sort of devilish smile on his face. Andrew was happy that he had been brought here, since he would finally have a place to put his genius to use. "I have one question. Do you have a notebook I can write in?" Andrew already had a sketch pad that he used to write on, but it was little and he couldn't use it to do much. He wanted a big notebook, so he could write a journal in it. He would write his journal in a code, so only intelligent people could figure out it's meaning and so he could hide it's true meaning from those who suspected him. He wasn't going to ask any questions other than this, since he could easily figure out the questions he had on his own. And, it wouldn't be enjoyable to be given the answers up front, since figuring out things was half of the fun.

Juliet then awoke and she quickly grabbed for her knife, but Andrew stopped her hand from reaching her knife. "Do not show such hostility in front of our host, you're being quite rude." Andrew laughed a bit, since his statement seemed ridiculous. To psychologists he would seem as if he was in denial, but he was simply enjoying the situation. However, Juliet was extremely confused. She had been knocked unconscious by the man in front of her, yet Andrew insisted she not attack the man in front of her. "I'll explain everything later." Andrew whispered this in her ear, but he did this for no reason. It wouldn't matter if Drake heard him, but it would be funny to make Drake strain to listen. Juliet reluctantly calmed down, but she was still prepared to fight at any second. She wasn't going to anger Drake, but she wasn't going to let her guard down. Andrew knew that Drake could kill both Juliet and Andrew, since Drake was able to knock both of the unconscious without trying much. Andrew didn't want to lose his only protection, since he needed Juliet to survive in the mansion's game. Andrew wished that he could play piano and think of plans, but he didn't know if the mansion would have a piano. Andrew was a dangerous person, but he wouldn't let the other tenants know this fact. He wished to hold the advantage of surprise, since he would have to kill the other tenants to survive. He wasn't going to kill Juliet and Drake would not be able to convince him to, since Drake held no leverage against Andrew. Drake could simply kill Juliet himself, but this would only leave Andrew without a reason to play the game. Drake could threaten Andrew with torture, but Andrew would eventually get used to the pain and learn to dull the pain. Andrew didn't want to kill Drake, since he saw a challenge in Drake. Juliet would like to get rid of Drake as soon as she could, since Drake was a threat to Andrew. However, she had to respect Andrew's wish to not kill Drake. Andrew would not interfere if Drake was getting killed, since Drake dying would be of convenience to Andrew.

The human looked interested, but was it genuine of just a mask over inner fear? Drake didn't know, and he didn't particularly care. If the boy was interested, well, that was good for the game, and if he was internally scared stiff then, well, he'd die and that was good for the game too, wasn't it. The question about a notebook caused the daemon to lift his eyebrow for a moment. What would he want that for? Drake contemplated refusing, but then decided against it. Perhaps it would interesting to see what the human child wanted it for. "You'll have to ask James or Hassen about that, they're in charge of the supplies and such." He said, for he really didn't want to deal with searching something suitable out, he was too busy a man for such trivial things. And perhaps it would get the boy locked further inside the game, since at the moment he was completely separated from it, as there had been no other humans to collect, no one to create any sense of tension. But speaking of humans, Drake realized that he'd almost completely forgotten about the two less recent arrivals, the quiet woman, Miss, no, Mrs. Valentine, and Mister Cantin. He'd left them to Hassen, but the man couldn't verily explain to them the nuances nor the rules of the game.

At that moment, the female started, moving towards a weapon with her first conscious movement. Drake tensed, preparing to counter whatever attack she had in store, though it wouldn't bother him much to take any wound she had to offer, it would let them see just how powerful he was, perhaps instill a bit more fear into them. The boy stopped her, however, and Drake smirked. Of course. It was a shame though, it would have been rather fun to deal with that. the woman seemed bewildered at the boy's calm demeanor, and Drake spectated disinterestedly, resting his chin on one hand as he waited for them to be done with whatever trivial human things they were doing so he could get on with things. He whispered something to her, perhaps he was planning something? That would be entertaining. Young mister White seemed an intelligent boy, it he had something up his sleeve it would be most amusing to watch it unfold, whether it succeeded or failed was beside the point. So long as the boy didn't disappoint him like Lira had, flailing his knife around like an idiot and ultimately finding his end by the hand of a frightened little girl. The only worrisome thing was the woman, who seemed to be the boy's protector, as Hassen had looked over his master, as the stupid, sweet little servant still did. Such servitude was unthinking, and it would be very difficult to tear apart. But that was part of the fun, wasn't it?

When he deemed the child was done conferencing with the woman, Drake stood, stretching his spine and folding his hands behind him. "Well, come along then, boy, I'm sure the others are most anxious to meet you." he said dryly glancing at the human before moving towards the nearer exit to the front parlor, the one that passed through the main hall. He'd check the kitchen, first, though he wasn't sure if the humans would still be there. It was worth a shot though, and he could explain to them where their quarters were at the same time.

As they passed the hall that ultimately led to the humans' quarters, Drake paused for a moment, pointing down the hall. "Your quarters are down that hall and to the left from here, if you so wish to use them." He informed the humans, then continued on down the hall. They'd be able to find their way back from the kitchen if they wished, it was a nearly straight forward path.

The two humans he'd been looking for were indeed in the kitchen still, Drake was delighted to discover. He beckoned to the boy before stepping through the doorway to the kitchen, examining the two. They seemed to be making aimless small talk and the male had scrounged up some food. He smiled slightly, turning to see if the two humans he'd been escorting had made it inside.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Valentine, Mister Cantin." He said pleasantly to the two humans, offering a shark tooth smile.

Andrew White and Juliet Lockwood

Andrew would have allowed his maid to fight, if he didn't care about her or his safety. He knew that she would probably have died if she fought Drake, so he decided to not waste her life. He knew that it was possible for her to betray him, but he simply didn't care about his death as long as he got a chance to have some fun before he died. If his plans failed, then so be it.

"Well, come along then, boy, I'm sure the others are most anxious to meet you." Drake just sparked a question in Andrew's mind. Had the other house guests been alerted to his presence? If so, did they know anything about him? Andrew thought this to himself. He knew that he couldn't rely on every word that came out of Drake's mouth to be true, but it would be inconvenient if the other party already knew who he was. He would prefer to be seen as a good little child, so he would not be targeted when someone was killed. Andrew looked at the direction that Drake went, then Andrew followed Drake. Juliet followed behind Andrew, awaiting danger. Andrew noticed the abrupt pause in a hallway, but he didn't know what to make of the pause. "Your quarters are down that hall and to the left from here, if you so wish to use them." Drake informed. Andrew highly doubted that the others would pass up the opportunity to kill him in his sleep, but he knew that sleep was important. Juliet wondered how she could isolate the dangers present. Andrew would explore the house later on, so he could make a map. The map would be included in his sketch pad. He planned on getting a notebook from either James or Hassen, whoever they were. He would use the notebook to store false information, so he wouldn't be suspected of anything by Drake. He would try to figure out as much as he could about Drake and his servants, so the sketch pad could be filled to the brim with information.

Andrew and Juliet followed Drake through the kitchen door. Andrew closely examined the two in the kitchen, but he didn't see anything of interest. He would have to speak with the later, under the alias of an innocent and lost child. He knew that a kitchen could be a dangerous place, so he stayed away from any storage device that could hold a knife. Of course he didn't know that there were barely and sharp knives in the kitchen, so he would have to be cautious. He knew that the two people originally in the kitchen could be as sick and twisted as he was, since he could easily hide behind a facade of innocence. Fooling Drake would be a futile and stupid effort, since Drake had already seen the intelligence Andrew had. However, the two in the kitchen hadn't, and he planned on keeping the situation that way. Juliet felt no reason to be tense, since Andrew seemed to be calm and collected. He seemed to not even acknowledge the fact that he could be killed any second. She could easily counter any knives thrown in her direction, unless her glasses were removed. Her glasses were her Achilles heel, and mostly anybody who was sensible could tell that. Andrew frowned a bit due to him noticing that his business would probably plummet, but he quickly regained his fake good appearance. "Hello, how are you?" He directed this question towards the two that were originally in the kitchen. He had a calm and friendly tone to his voice, but a calculating and cold mind was behind that voice. Anyone who had seen what Andrew had done would know that the voice would never belong to him, but anyone who hasn't seen through his facade would probably think that he was a good person. He could barely fight, but he let Juliet do all the fighting for him. He would be vulnerable for a short time if Juliet were to suddenly die, but he could simply employ someone to do his dirty work by messing with their mind. He wondered what the two were truly like. He would soon find out, that is, if he survived long enough to. Juliet didn't smile and she didn't even speak to the two in the kitchen. She had no need to speak to them, and she didn't know what Andrew was planning to do. She couldn't exactly ask him what he planned to do, while in front of people probably involved in the plan.

He was strangely worried about the business transactions and meetings that he would not be able to supervise. He shouldn't have worried about that, but he was too used to his plans always working. However, he had never experienced anything like his current situation, so he would have to adapt and learn quickly. He had thought about lurking and gaining information slowly, but that would make him seem mysterious and a plausible suspect. He wouldn't want to be the first person suspected of a murder in the house, since that would severely hinder his plans. He could easily frame anyone of anything, but it would be an annoyance to setup someone. He didn't have the materials he usually had, so that would prove another problem. Quite frankly, he relied too much on having power all the time.

He would want to die in the most painful way imaginable, so his existence would always be remembered. He wasn't afraid of Drake, but he wasn't stupid enough to say the wrong thing and get killed. He didn't want to quite yet. Andrew's strongest fear was not being able to complete his plans, and this fear could be used as an advantage if a person knew this was Andrew's fear and knew what Andrew's plans were. Andrew wished to know where Hassen and James were, but he decided that meeting the two people already in the kitchen would be a much more important task.

There was clearly something wrong with him. Well, by others’ definitions of sane and not, there was something wrong with him. However, Saber thought he was going about this quite logically. After all, there was no reason for him to be frightened or quite as disturbed as the woman looked. If they wanted him dead, he would be dead already. Clearly, this was going to be some sort of entertainment. And this was definitely a kind of entertainment that he could get onboard with.

“Well, then again, young men in such positions as mine should rarely need to know such a thing. We have other things to be concerning ourselves with and other things that occupy our thoughts. Young men such as myself leave such knowledge to those who do not have to concern themselves with the greater questions in life,” Saber said with a smile once more. He was quite well educated in the great philosophers and the great thinkers of the world. Much of his time, when not spent learning how to run the family business despite his wishes, was spent pondering the meaning of life and the like. Of course, he tested various theories and thoughts in cruel ways, but beneath his layers of debauchery and demented nature, Saber liked to believe he was truly a thinking man.

And then their host arrived. Saber looked up from his snack and returned the creature’s shark toothed grin with one of his own. Finally, they would get to officially meet the mastermind of this game, if it were truly a game. There “meeting” a few minutes ago had not been particularly informative. As much as Saber enjoyed the puzzle of trying to figure out the game’s rules, he would also appreciate some guidance. At the very least, he would like to know the easiest way to win this, because he very much intended to win. If he ultimately lost, well, he would make sure to have fun along the way. Saber of course realized that losing the game probably meant losing his life along with it. But what was his life worth, truly? While he believed it was worth a great deal more than most people’s lives, he had often viewed it as something he was more than happy to lose in the pursuit of entertainment. If he was a proper Christian, then he probably should have feared the afterlife.

Thankfully, he had no such spiritual qualms. If he had a soul originally, Saber was fairly confident he had already lost it along the way. Who knew though? It was not worth Saber’s time to truly contemplate. Why should he work so hard in this life for a reward that he only received when he was dead? That would make this life awfully boring.

“Well, then again, young men in such positions as mine should rarely need to know such a thing. We have other things to be concerning ourselves with and other things that occupy our thoughts. Young men such as myself leave such knowledge to those who do not have to concern themselves with the greater questions in life,” The young man said after her comment, and she merely looked at him, completely inexpressive as she’d taken to being after arriving in this place. She wasn’t quite sure what to think of him. He didn’t seem stupid, but then, children stemming from families with money rarely were; after all, there was the matter of education. But although she did not consider him unintelligent, she had a slight feeling that his arrogance would get him into trouble at some point. Arrogant people had this tendency to think they could do more than they actually could.

She tilted her head slightly to the side as she observed his every expression, the silence stretching between them. She really didn’t like him. There. That was the sad fact. She was captured in a house with some odd, red-eyed creature, a servant who could barely talk because the entire one side of his face seemed to have been cut in two at some point, a scared little girl who’d sat shaking in the corner, a hollowed out corpse, a boy who was probably dead from blood loss by now, and in the kitchen with her was another bloody corpse on the counter, and a spoiled rich kid who ate without a single concern. Honestly, what was her life coming to?

She did not speak to him again. For one, because she did not wish to, but honestly it was mostly because their apparent host entered the kitchen just then. She turned slightly in her seat to face him silently. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Valentine, Mister Cantin." He greeted them, his voice friendly in a way, yet the smile he offered along with it, made Dante’s skin crawl. He was no man. She was sure of it. She had never been one to believe in the supernatural. In fact, she had only ever considered it superstitions. Yet this… creature… could not possibly be human. He just couldn’t. Still, her distress did not show. In spite of how confusing this situation was, Dante knew that showing emotions was never going to help her with anything. So she stood, completely expressionless as she curtsied politely.

That was how she had been raised. Plain and simple. And hey, she figured it could not harm to do so. She drew in a deep breath, remaining standing as her eyes fell on the two he’d brought with him. More people who he had kidnapped? No matter, she would soon find out. He had addressed them, so perhaps he would at last diverge what the purpose was to all of this. Shaking that thought off for the time being, Dante analyzed the two newcomers, her eyes completely void of any emotion. She had not missed the way the young male’s eyes had watched both her and Saber, but just then his expression had changed from coldly calculating to innocent and friendly. The change made her wary. Especially as he then seemed to frown before remembering to revert back to the innocent front.

Hmm. So young, he seemed, yet his eyes, as much as he tried to hide it, were older than they should be. The female next to him had a stiff air to her. She didn’t seem all that tense, yet something about her reminded Dante of a predator about to strike. Her eyes flickered seemingly disinterestedly to the dead body on the counter to the newcomers again, only to land finally on Drake. Then, however, the boy spoke, asking her and Saber how they were. Green eyes slowly made their way to him. How was she? She watched him closely then. Not too good, honestly, but then… he didn’t really care about that, did he? His facial expression had ever so briefly flickered to something a lot less innocent, and Dante couldn’t help feeling like he was trying to be someone he was not. People did not shift like that if they were not trying to put up some front. His seemed very conscious, as opposed to her own odd façade, which came naturally and therefore did not flicker as such. She didn’t like it, and she certainly did not trust it. She had been around way too many people just like that.

But then, she supposed she could brush it off as though she had perceived the question only to be directed at Saber. After all, she wasn’t really too used to being addressed directly that way. As such, Dante said nothing, but instead redirected her gaze once more to land on Drake. The pale, tall figure was the only person whose words held any importance in this moment.

The air in the room was tense, hushed. Everyone was trying to put on a show, it seemed. Mister Cantin was grinning, apparently eager to be initiated properly into the game. He had no idea what waited in store for him. Oh, but wouldn't it be amusing if he died with that selfsame smile on his face? The girl, Mrs. Valentine, was staring at him, her face inscrutable. She truly was a lady, wasn't she. How much longer would she be able to keep it up though? They'd had a calm first hour, he'd have to do his best to fix that. Little Mister White had adopted a polite, innocent voice, inquiring to the health of the others. No one responded. And there was another in the room, someone who Drake had no anticipated. Someone delightfully dead. He crossed the room, gathering her in his arms. Allease. Hassen had done a lovely bit of work on her skull with his weapon of choice, a thin bar of iron.

Her face was still contorted with surprise, apparently she'd thought herself safe hiding in her room. He pulled her off the table where she'd rested, and her feet slid down to brush the floor as he held her upper torso so he could examine her. The back of her dress was still torn, and bandaging could still be seen. The wound had begun to heal without a hitch, but it seemed that skin would never be whole again. satisfied with his servant's work, he folded her over his arm as if she was washing, her arms hanging down limply. She dripped blood from her wounds onto the floor. Yet another thing James would have to clean later. My, he really was getting behind. Silly boy. He'd been so busy playing with his little friend that he'd not done any of his chores at all. Oh well. Drake did not mind living in a bloody manor, though his guests might find it a bit disquieting. Finding corpses laying about really wasn't a pleasant experience for one who didn't regularly deal with them. Especially Lira's corpse, who'd had quite a number dealt to his chest.

After the short sidetrack, Drake brought his attention back to his guests. "Mister White has already heard the rules, so he may find himself something to eat if he wishes," he said, waving the young man towards the table the other two were standing around. "But I shall assume that Hasssen hasn't told the two of you anything, yes?" His eyes turned back to the man and woman, landing on Dante for an extended moment before flicking to Saber. "He's not much for rules, but he is very good at punishing those who break them." His voice was off-handed as he bounced Allease's corpse in his arm a few times.

"As you've likely already surmised, since you've met Lira's corpse, this is a game of last man standing. Or woman, of course." His eyes flicked back to Dante for a moment, skating over her features before returning to Saber's face once again. "Last person alive wins." That was technically not a lie, considering he would still be alive at the end of it all, and he'd win the opportunity to eat their souls. Probably not the kind of prize they had in mind though. "But if you dawdle your friend Hassen will make short work of you. He also won't like it much if you enter the library, or my quarters, or the closed door on the second floor. He's a lot faster than he looks. Which reminds me, don't kill my servants please, that isn't polite." Was that it? Yes, that seemed like everything.

"And I'll guess that you'd like some introductions, yes?" He pointed at Andrew and his servant. "That is Mister Andrew White and Miss Juliet Lockwook. You've already seen Miss Linnet Mallory, though she won't be around for much longer, the little spitfire, and Miss Elizabeth Richardson is probably hiding somewhere about here. And you've met both Hassen and James, the little scrap." Where had the two of them run off to anyway? Hassen had been accompanying these two, and James had been bleeding out on the floor. Maybe the lad took his little friend off somewhere? They played a bit rough, but was rather cute watching them hiss and scratch at each other. Silly little servants. Someone was going to loose an eye or a limb eventually, but for now Drake was ever so happy to spur their spats. Hassen was such a sweet little creature, but he was ever so mortal. James knew better than to hurt him badly or he himself would suffer the consequences.

Drake smiled fondly as he thought of the two servants before bringing his attention back to the matter at hand. "Do we have any questions, Mrs. Valentine, Mister Cantin? Don't hesitate to ask, I won't bite." The shark grin that had curled back up on his face said otherwise, and James's throat still held the evidence of just how sharp those teeth really were. He'd rested his other hand on the corpse's abdomen, which was bloated and pushed outwards since that part of her damaged spine rested right on his arm, and now he leaned against the bloodied table he'd found her on, examining the faces of the two humans like they were the most interesting creatures he'd ever met.

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Following her reluctant curtsy, Dante straightened, looking up at the red-eyed creature before her. He made her nervous, even the hairs on her arms were standing alert, as though they too could sense that this male wasn’t telling her everything. He wasn’t telling any of them nearly enough. In fact, he had still yet to say anything of any use, and she was too well-behaved to speak out of turn and outright ask him. Dante had been raised strictly, until the point at which she could no longer consider herself a normal girl. And then of course, she’d married her husband, who hadn’t particularly helped things. He was very adamant about her knowing her place and for her not to ever step out of line.

The redhead took a step back, lips parting slightly when the demon man turned and picked up the corpse which had so far been lying uselessly on the table. Her eyes never lost the matte expression, but still, it was a slight slip, and she slowly closed her mouth entirely again, staring at Drake. Was he going to say anything now? Because if he wasn’t, he might as well leave. Or better yet, she might as well leave. True, she knew that wasn’t going to happen. She probably wasn’t even getting out of her alive, no matter what she did, because no matter what, she now knew too much for them to let her go, and they weren’t going to trust her no matter how much she pleaded. Which meant that she might as well already be dead.

"Mister White has already heard the rules, so he may find himself something to eat if he wishes, but I shall assume that Hasssen hasn't told the two of you anything, yes?" Drake began after a little while, and Dante’s gaze cut briefly to the newcomers he’d brought with him. That had to be Mister White. Inwardly, Dante took note of everything, every single word he spoke, and every reaction on the faces of her fellow kidnappees. As her green gaze turned back to Drake, he was looking at her too, and that same chill took another dance up her spine. She drew in a deep breath, donning her indifferent mask more firmly.

"He's not much for rules, but he is very good at punishing those who break them." Drake then explained to them, causing Dante to take a few more steps back until she had a chair, which she sank down upon carefully. To anyone else, this would appear controlled and intentional, but to Dante herself, it was anything but. It was simple really; her legs shook too much to hold her up. Luckily, her long dress covered that perfectly.

He bounced the corpse on his arm a few times before he continued, casually explaining the sick, perverted game to them: "As you've likely already surmised, since you've met Lira's corpse, this is a game of last man standing. Or woman, of course. Last person alive wins." Her worst fears had just been confirmed, and Dante sank slowly, focusing on that simple, subtle action, because she couldn’t even make herself look around. She had enough of an idea about these boys, to suspect that their eyes were probably alight with predatory glee, or something of the like, right now.

With that, Drake began explaining the rules of this… deathtrap. "But if you dawdle your friend Hassen will make short work of you. He also won't like it much if you enter the library, or my quarters, or the closed door on the second floor. He's a lot faster than he looks. Which reminds me, don't kill my servants please, that isn't polite." Slowly, Dante’s mind became more focused, and she closed her eyes briefly, probably for the last time of her life, before she looked around, inwardly recoiling at the expression on Saber’s face. Oh yes, he was indeed the psychopath she’d assumed him to be. His eyes were alight, his entire face bright with excitement. A brief shudder shook her body then, filled with disgust and revulsion. Instantly, she moved her green eyes to watch the dead body, looking at the wide, surprised eyes.

The demon made introductions and Dante reluctantly took note of everything, but she couldn’t stop watching those eyes, no because she was excited or happy, but because she knew she was going to end up the exact same way. Her days were numbered. Even if she did “win”, Drake had spoken of no actual price, and she doubted very much that he was about to just let whoever killed everyone else go. Besides, it was obvious to Dante that this Lira, and the young Miss Mallory, had both been here longer than Dante and the three others. Two dead corpses today alone and they were the substitutes. How many more had already died and been replaced? Was there an end to this “game”? Or were they all to die in this house, little pieces in a game intended to amuse some insane, red-eyed demon-man?

Dante was drawn from her minor personal panic-attack, when Drake rounded off his speech by asking them whether they had any questions… followed by him telling them that he didn’t bite, which was no doubt a blatant lie. His sharp teeth told that, even if the way he smiled hadn’t. He wasn’t human, but he obviously enjoyed playing with the race. Perhaps he lived off of humans like… like a vampyr? Regardless, she had questions, but she did not think he would answer them, and she honestly didn’t dare anger him.

Then Mister Cantin spoke up and Dante almost cursed just then. Why did he have to be so… stupid? “Are we to be equipped with weapons, or do we simply have to improvise?” He simply said, as though that was the most normal thing in the world. Before the demon-man got to reply, however, Dante noticed Mister White and Miss Lockwood leaving the room, the male sending a lazy wave in their direction. Should she go too? Leave this imbecile with the demon-man? No, probably not. It could be that staying would earn her just a bit more knowledge, but she no longer felt comfortable sitting down, so she go to her feet slowly, on legs which she had managed to get back under control. For the briefest of moments, she wondered what her husband must be thinking of her absence.