Elizabeth Richardson's Story

A small form straddled one of the lower ridges of the roof, green eyes alert. His back rested against on of the many chimneys that seemingly sprouted from the top of the manor. Below he could see a pale form traveling the path to the building, a dark shape in it's arms. Above the shape the sun was just beginning to set, sending unassuming rays down onto the house below to make the windows sparkle and flash in the light. And make the bars that crisscrossed them sparkle as well. The light male pushed the gate open, shifting the body in his arms so he could lock the tall wrought iron gate behind him. As he continued down the cobble-and-brick path the child stirred himself, hastily standing and sliding down the steep incline to the open window.

The only unbarred windows were the ones of the attic, where James lived. Correction. Where the servants lived. Hassan had one half and James had the other. Drake had been smart enough to separate them with a a wall though, and they each had their own flight of stairs down into the main part of the building. James hurried down those steps, feet sliding in his shoes, Drake never bothered to find clothes that would actually fit James, even though he went the extra kilometer for Hassen, as the bloke hadn't been able to walk properly for a long while after his...accident.

When James made it to the wide, door-lined hall, Drake and Hassen where already there. The human looked anxious, but then again, he'd looked like that all day. All the humans and activity seemed to be doing a number on him. in the earlier part of the day he'd haunted the second floor room, acting like a guard dog. Whenever James showed his face around the corner of that hall, Hassen's head would bolt upright and he'd tense into an aggressive pose. James, even though a good fight was what he craved at the moment, always withdrew his head almost immediately. Drake had given him orders, and he couldn't perform any type of detour, even if the same was allowable when Hassen was the transgressor. Damn that human.

--

They waited. No, James waited. Drake wandered off, issuing James an order and Hassen a glance that plainly spoke, do what you like. Hassen promptly followed the light daemon down the hall and away, around the corner. James slid down the wall and rested his forehead on his knees to wait for the carefully administered drugs to wear off. Enough of a dosage that each of them would wake at approximately the same time. They were each in their assigned room, sleeping off the effects of the heavy, anesthesia-like drug. They'd awake groggy and confused but still to sedated to attack anyone or to flee.

--

Suddenly Drake reappeared, his normal grin curving his lips. Hassen trailed a meter or so behind him. James didn't care what Drake had been doing, he was feeling rather irritable, actually. He could guess though. Drake had either strolled over to the kitchen, which was on the other side of the first floor, and prepared food for the poor souls or worked on an illustration of one of his guests. Or Hassen. He'd taken to drawing Hassen much in the same way he'd often drawn James not a year before.

"Stir yourself, James." Drake said, making the boy start with surprise. He was pulled up by his upper arm, and Drake gave him a sharp little push towards one of the doors. He followed up by issuing a similar, but perhaps a touch gentler, push to Hassen.

"Line them up so we can discuss." He said vaguely.

James took the left side of the hall and Hassen took the right. First out was a light haired girl, guided out of her room. Linnet. Then came the also blonde Elizabeth from Hassen's side, from the door facing Linnet's. Then, from the door next to Linnet's came Dom, followed by Lira from the door facing his, and finally Allease was herded by James out of the door at the far end of the hall, right next to the wall. Across from it was the servant stairwell up to the second floor. The hallways was wide enough to fit all five of them shoulder to shoulder with half an arm-span of space between each.

The countenances displayed an assortment of groggy and confused faces, they still didn't seem too aware of what was going on. Drake planned to fix that, however. His red gaze traveled over each face, how different they all looked, and he paused for a moment, his jaw moving slightly as if he was chewing on his words.

"Welcome, my friends." He said warmly. The look in his eye, however, completely juxtaposed the words. "I'm glad that you have woken up. We have much to discuss. But first I feel that I should introduce everyone. It isn't fun to attend a game when you don't know your fellow player's name."

The pale male walked slowly, deliberately. He paused beside the odd-eyed blonde. He didn't meet her eyes though, as his gaze was wandering the rest of the group. "This little one is Linnet Mallory. Say hello, Linnet." He rested his slender had briefly on her shoulder before he continued, stepping behind her to reach the next person, the male who was nearly as tall as him. "This is Dominic Brecht. You may say hello too." He clapped the man on the shoulder as he moved on to the next human in the row. The blue-eyed brunette was next, His hand rested on her shoulder-blade as he introduced her. "This is Allease LaVera, you may follow with the pleasantries."

Three down, two to go.

The next was a tall twig of a man, standing slightly taller than him. Drake caught the male's upper arm briefly in his grip as he spoke. "This one is Lira Devine, Say hello, my fellow." And then to the last one, the other blonde. He paused for a moment with a hand on either shoulder as he announced the name of the last player of his game. "And finally we have Elizabeth Richardson, who may also greet the people."

In a flash he was back in front of them, shooting a glance at Hassen to make sure he was alright. He looked extremely anxious, and had taken to hovering near James when Drake moved among the other humans. James looked mildly uncomfortable with the hand on his shoulder. When the finger started tapping, James shot a glance at the other servant. The blue-green eyes were not on him, however, so he resumed his gazing at the floor. Drake's eyes traveled the pack again, they looked much more alert now.

"You are wondering why you are here at this point, I imagine." He stated, clasping his hands behind his back. "And the reason is, you are going to play a game. it is called Last Man Standing, and as such, I must lay down some rules. Firstly, if you are going to bleed to death, or inflict such an end on someone else, please make sure you don't get blood on the carpet. It takes James a devil of a time to get those stains out. Second, if you dally in the game or try to escape, you lose, and Hassen will make your end swift. Maybe." Drake jerked a thumb at the taller servant as he spoke. "Third, stay out of the room with the closed door on the second floor, or you will certainly die in the most painful way I can devise. Which would most likely result in you being ripped in half."

The daemon paused for a moment, shooting a glance at Hassen to make sure he was still alright. He could feel the poor chap's tension rising quickly. He shooed the taller out of the way, reached out, and looped his arm around James's neck, to make sure they knew that he was serious. "Also, stay out of my room and the library. And the attic. Other than that, you may go where you please. Don't steal food from the kitchens though, I will provide sustenance as you require it. Oh, and don't have sex, don't attempt to harm James or Hassen, and really, don't destroy anything other than each other. Please. And that, I think, is it. Thank you for your time."

Drake smiled winningly. The boy was slowly turning blue, his lips already a macabre purple, and had began to pull at Drake's arm frantically, his lungs complaining with the pain of not receiving oxygen. the chocolate haired servant was released suddenly, and he fell to the ground, gasping, and Drake turned on heel, vanishing around the corner without even a look at Hassen.

Let the games begin.

It was white- everything was white. If it hadn’t been for the red, piercing eyes of the wolf, I would’ve missed it. It stood right in front, eyeing me as if I was a piece of meat; yet, it didn’t attack. The white wolf lowered its head and strayed next to me, coming closer than comfort to me. It licked its muzzle; even I could tell it was very hungry- so why didn’t it attack? I was completely helpless; I couldn’t even move, as much as I tried. Even though it was a scary situation, I couldn’t help but to point out how alluring the white wolf was, how those red eyes seemed to tell a story that was too long for even my own life time. I suddenly could feel myself move- though it was very slightly.

My arm was stiff, but I managed to reach it out towards the white wolf; now just realizing how cold everything was, how the wind blew violently at me. The further my hand went out towards the wolf, the more I realized my surroundings. When my hand was reached out all the way, the sound of the blowing wind filled my ears. I quickly realized that the white wolf wasn’t alone; I heard a fierce growl and could feel pressure of another wolf along my back. The teeth tore into my neck- it felt so real, it was so scary.

Her icy blue eyes opened slowly as she found herself being pulled out of bed. Her body was heavy and stiff; it felt as if she was just hit by a carriage and decided to sleep it off. Allease’s eyes where heavy as she watched the boy heard her out of the room and into the hallway; her body leaning forward as she stumbled into the hallway, seeing a few others standing shoulder to shoulder. Confusion swept over her as she was placed by a tall boy with brown hair. She looked up at him with groggy eyes before looking straight forward, to see a familiar face.

It was the face of the white wolf that had haunted her dreams, yet just a moment ago; she found it a bit humorous to see how alike he had looked to the wolf in her dreams and couldn’t help but to peer a sleepy smile- looking as if she was drunk. She nearly dozed out of his whole introduction thing with the people, too dumbstruck to pay any attention, but she snapped quickly out of it when she had felt his hand rest on her shoulder- unnoticeably jumping suddenly away from his grasp a little.

Allease resumed her spot when he had moved onto the next person, now listening to whatever he was saying. "You are wondering why you are here at this point, I imagine. And the reason is, you are going to play a game. It is called Last Man Standing, and as such, I must lay down some rules. Firstly, if you are going to bleed to death, or inflict such an end on someone else, please make sure you don't get blood on the carpet. It takes James a devil of a time to get those stains out. Second, if you dally in the game or try to escape, you lose, and Hassen will make your end swift. Maybe." She couldn’t help but to wince at his words. "Third, stay out of the room with the closed door on the second floor, or you will certainly die in the most painful way I can devise. Which would most likely result in you being ripped in half."

Ok, now, he couldn’t just do that! Now that she was alert and listening, Allease started to wonder what he was talking about. Why was it so forbidden to go into the doors that he had closed? Her eyes darting from him to the now glaring Hassen; the boy had reminded her of a feral dog- one that was lost beyond repair. She automatically felt pity for the boy, but quickly tried to refrain her thoughts from progressing; Allease knew the feeling of pity, and she knew very well that she would rather have someone’s cold hatred than their disgusting pity.

Once she had her head cleared, she had realized just how much confusion had token over her; not only that, but compared to others around here, she felt smaller than ever. She swallowed hard as she watched Drake choke James harshly before making his exit swiftly. Now she was growing anxious and fearful as she watched the man fall to the ground, gasping for air. Allease’s chest expanded as she looked down at her clothing; which had only consisted of a light pink dress that reached just below her ankles- slightly showing off her large, brown ankle boots. The dress was ruffled along the square neckline and the ends of the sleeves, it complemented her figure, but made her look very flat chested; her hair was messily pulled back into a low ponytail. She looked like she was dragged out of bed.

"A-are you alright?" Her eyes beaded across the hallway to the girl who had spoken, walking over towards James to help him out. For some odd reason, when Elizabeth had asked the boy for help, it sparked an odd memory of where she was before this had all happened. Her eyes slightly closed as she could remember her walk back- perhaps it wasn’t too smart to walk alone at night.

She could remember it now, how addictive the night was; the cool wind blew gently and it was the perfect night to just walk home. Now, Allease realized how oblivious she had been, though, she didn’t worry much about now- why worry about the past now when she had a much bigger problem on her hands. Her eyes beaded to the dog-boy, who she assumed was Hassan. His glares send shutters down her back; her goal now was to completely avoid the boy.

Allease’s mind tried to make up possibilities to her predicament at hand now, but because she had just recently awoken, her mind became a blank, which in turn had aggravated her much. After what seemed like a moment of thinking, Allease decided that it would be a good idea to flee instead of fight- or at least stay here long enough to hear the others’ opinions. She took a step forward, before turning her head slightly towards the others. “W-Well, I guess I’ll be g-going then…” She gave a weak, innocent smile that easily portrayed her feelings of confusion and fear.

She decided that exploring the place might be able to ease her nerves, but in reality, she had many questions to ask the three men who put her there, but she thought it would be smart for her to calm herself down before asking questions; almost like thinking of a logical answer to explain all of this. Allease gently and quietly stepped around James, her eyes glazed over as she saw him. The boy was absolutely adorable! If she wasn’t in such a predicament, not much would stop her from bending down and picking him up like a kitten to hug him tightly in her arms.

Allease’s eyes did avoid Hassen’s though, not wanting to have much contact until she either had all the answers to her questions, or until she was able to calm down enough to be able to speak properly. Though, the boy was in her thoughts, as well as everyone else in the area. She silently went over the rules in her head before she stopped at the kitchen. Oh how was it big! She walked towards it but quickly stopped and leaned against the wall. Allease tried to hold back everything and bottled it up inside. She figured that she’d be at a small advantage if she had gotten a weapon and hid it somewhere, but the thing was, she had nowhere to hide it.

She started to think about her advantages and disadvantages; Hassen was tall, and would have no problem to take her down. From the looks of Dominic, he could easily crush her as well and knowing that fact scared her a bit. Lira didn’t really seem much of a threat, but she knew looks could be deceiving. He reminded her very much of the snake in the bible- the one who’d convinced Eve to eat the apple, but she couldn’t be for sure since it was only her assumptions.

Linnet was quite beautiful, and in Allease’s opinion, looked much like a small doll; she would hate to see such a pretty girl get hurt, so Allease started to think that she’d avoid the women who were there with her; but under certain circumstances, Allease knew that it would be smart to have more than just yourself to rely on. Elizabeth seemed sweet, and had reminded Allease of Cinderella, a character in a book she had once read.

Allease lightly shook her head and even thumped it against the wall she was leaning on, hating the sour way her thoughts had turned. Her right hand grabbed her left arm as she tried to comfort herself and sort out her annoying thoughts.

Linnet's vision slowly focused on arms, pale arms, wrapped securely around her, carrying her off to some unknown destination. As she turned her eyes upward to look upon the face of the person carrying her, her attention was caught momentarily by a sky streaked with spiraling, vivid colors that, for some reason, felt totally normal. All sensation faded as she felt pulled into the pulsing whirlpool of color. All too soon, the sensation of being carried returned and her head completed its turn. A scream of terror caught in her throat as she recognized the face of her father, filled with drunken rage. His eyes, instead of their usual dark brown, were bright red as a newly blooming rose. Linnet was certain from the rage on his face that he would kill her this time. A screaming voice echoed in her mind, though the man's lips never moved, "It was you! You killed her! You killed my wife!" The sobs followed, soon accompanied by a now quiet, hoarse voice,"Now she is gone and I am stuck with you." Linnet struggled desperately to get out of his grasp, but felt weak as a newborn. The red eyes were as filled with hate as the twisted, spiteful smile. His face began to flicker as his hair turned a startling white, even paler than her own as it grew longer. It wrapped around her neck and mouth, slowly strangling her as she struggled to scream, to breath, to move...

Linnie fought her way out of the nightmare, a scream finally escaping as she bolted upright to a sitting position, the sheets tangled around her small form. Where... am I? she wondered, her thoughts seeming to move in slow motion. For a moment, she feared she was going blind, but her vision slowly became more clear, if not totally, as the terror of the dream began to fade, replaced by a steadily growing headache. The room was mostly dark except for a rim of light from under the door that dimly illuminated the room. If her vision was normal, she would have easily been able to make out what was in the room, but all she could see was dark blobs. Where am I? she pondered again. Did I faint on my way to work? Did... did someone bring me in off the street?

However, she soon realized that didn't fit because of a brief remembrance of being grabbed from behind in the empty, or so she thought, street. She struggled, even feeling her elbow jab ribs, but after that, all was fuzzy and blank. And then the nightmare. Linnie shuddered and dropped the train of thought. She untangled the sheets, moving slowly so the room wouldn't spin as badly. After a moment, the messed up sheets were kicked off in a still tangled heap and Linnet slowly scooted to the edge of the bed. As her feet touched the ground, the door opened, and she gave a jump, though somewhat delayed. A boy with dark brown hair, or so she supposed, quickly got her up and hurried her out of the door and into a wide hall. Her headache intensified at the sudden brightness, but as her eyes adjusted, everything was almost entirely clear. Linnie watched with a hand covering her mouth and concern in her dual-color eyes as others were taken out of various rooms and made to stand next to her in various states of confusion and consciousness.

Linnet involuntarily shuddered at the sight of the man with the same white hair and red eyes as were in her dream, unconsciously taking a small step back as his gaze passed over hers, but her eyes never left the man's face as he began speaking. She nearly bolted as the man stepped toward her, but her body didn't respond. She trembled slightly at his touch, her hand lowering to her throat as she endeavored to say something, but her mouth quickly shut and the man moved on. She slowly turned, her eyes never leaving him as he introduced one person after another. Dominic Brecht. Allease LaVera.
Lira Devine. Elizabeth Richardson. She mouthed each name, her eyes glancing to each and just as quickly latching back on the albino's face.

He finished the introductions and began explaining why they were there. Linnie never even noticed the other servant with the disfigured face as she stared, taking in all she could of what the man said about this game they were to play. Her mind still seemed to work in slow motion, but she understood the jist of what he was saying. They were meant to kill each other, and if they took too long or tried to escape, the other servant, Hassan, would kill them. Her eyes nervously flickered to Hassan's disfigured face before looking at the other servant, James, as the man began choking him, still listing the rules as the boy turned blue from lack of oxygen. The man quickly released James, who fell to the floor, and strode away. Linnie's worried eyes followed the man until he was out of sight, and then darted to the poor James and the young woman who was moving to help him, Elizabeth.

We are now in a game of kill or be killed, Linnie thought bleakly, her odd eyes still vaguely frightened and an out of place determination apparent. She slowly backed away from the others, taking them all in until her back touched a wall. She slid down to a sitting position, watching, waiting for what would happen next. She knew then that she would do everything possible to survive.

The room was dark. He had no idea what time of day it was. And where was he, exactly? It wasn't his own room, he was sure of that. As Dom attempted to sit up, his limbs felt heavy and clumsy. It was as if his brain had flipped on the slow motion switch. Everything was taking so long to process, and he didn't even know what he was processing to begin with. "Did I drink so much that I ended up in someone else's house?" Even his words came out slurred. He'd dealt with the effects of alcohol the morning after, but this was something on a whole new level. He realized that he was still laying down, never actually having sat up like he'd planned. His fingers fumbled with the sheets, not even being able to keep a hold on them. He balled his fists in frustration, but his fingers slid and fell limply against the sheets.

The minutes passed slowly, but thankfully he was getting some control back. Then his door burst open, and light flooded into the room. It overloaded his senses, and he shied away from the light. With the light shining, he realized he couldn't see as well as he thought he could. A dark shape hovered over him, grabbing his arms and pulling him up out of bed. The room swam around him, and he felt like he was going to throw up. He was guided towards the light, and brought to stand next to a girl he'd never seen before. At least he assumed she was a girl, his vision was still blurry. When the hand let go of him, he was grateful to find that he could stand on his own, though he felt like he was standing on a boat in the middle of the ocean. He watched as three other people were brought out in the same manner to stand next to him.

Dom finally noticed the figure standing in front of them all, and found it weird that he hadn't noticed the man before. His hair was white, but it most certainly wasn't from old age, and he had piercing blood red eyes. Yet as much as they held hatred, he couldn't make himself look away. He partly registered that there were two other people, who seemed to be doing all of this man's work for him. His vision started to clear, and he felt slightly more in control of his body than before.

"Welcome, my friends. I'm glad that you have woken up. We have much to discuss. But first I feel that I should introduce everyone. It isn't fun to attend a game when you don't know your fellow player's name."

Game? What was this man talking about? And how had he even gotten here in the first place? His memory didn't seem to be functioning properly. Suddenly the man slapped him on the shoulder, and he wavered, almost falling to the ground. He focused on the man's words now, hearing him introduce the three others. He was becoming more confused by the minute. In the blink of an eye, the strange man with the red eyes was standing in front of them once more.

"You are wondering why you are here at this point, I imagine. And the reason is, you are going to play a game. it is called Last Man Standing, and as such, I must lay down some rules. Firstly, if you are going to bleed to death, or inflict such an end on someone else, please make sure you don't get blood on the carpet. It takes James a devil of a time to get those stains out. Second, if you dally in the game or try to escape, you lose, and Hassen will make your end swift. Maybe. Third, stay out of the room with the closed door on the second floor, or you will certainly die in the most painful way I can devise. Which would most likely result in you being ripped in half."

The man's arm shot out in a blur, and came back with a young boy stuck in its grasp. His eyes narrowed, head cocked to the side, staring with pure puzzlement. His eyes then moved left to right, looking at the other's faces, yet none of them seemed to know what was going on either. His eyes returned to the front as the man finished his monologue. "Also, stay out of my room and the library. And the attic. Other than that, you may go where you please. Don't steal food from the kitchens though, I will provide sustenance as you require it. Oh, and don't have sex, don't attempt to harm James or Hassen, and really, don't destroy anything other than each other. Please. And that, I think, is it. Thank you for your time."

The man quickly disappeared after letting go of the boy, who crumpled to the ground in a heap. Immediately the girl at the end of the line rushed towards the fallen boy. Already he'd forgotten her name. Then the girl to his immediate right took off on her own, while the one to his left backed away, a look of horror in her eyes. He looked down to find his left hand shaking violently. He grabbed it with his other hand, forcing it to be steady. The two servants stayed, not saying or doing anything. He spun around in a circle, his hands out palm up, as if saying 'what exactly is going on here?' Suddenly, a memory flashed in his mind. He had just woken up late morning to find the house empty, had gotten dressed, and went outside to walk off headache from the night before. When he had opened the front door, a figure he hadn't seen quickly assaulted him, he felt a poke, and the world around him had slowly faded to black.

Dom's eyes made contact with every face still in the room. He posed a question to the eerily silent room. "This is some kind of joke, right?"

What was this? Lira's dark, blank eyes widened in panic and shock as strong hands grabbed him from behind. He had been right. Why did he choose this day, this moment to go for a damn walk? People were after him! They always had been and he had evaded all attacks... Why did he fail now? The urge for a breath of fresh air was gone and Lira cursed himself as he striggled against the hands holding him captive. If only he were stronger... If only he hadn't sent his body guards home for the rest of the day... then this wouldn't have happened. Lira was finally about to yell for help, but the attacker must have read his mind, as Lira's mouth was quickly covered. The grip was tight and the tall, pale man could feel himself straining for oxygen. Which competitor was this one? Lira tried to get a glimpse of the face, turning his neck as much as he could.

All he saw were a pair of gleaming red eyes, leering at him as Lira faded out of conciousness.

When the wealthy heir opened his eyes, Lira automatically squinted. The light.. was kind of bright. Where was he? Then his head started throbbing and everything came back to him. Ignoring the pain, his dark eyes darted from left to right and was upset to see so many people near him. The urge to run and flee were the first thoughts in his mind. However, his upbringing wouldn't allow him to shrink into himself the way he wished to. No. Lira was trained to stand up straight with his posture rigid and his eyes cold. So that's exactly what he did. Let no one see the fear. He quickly tried to see who he was with. However, there was no need as the pale man with the red eyes started introducing everyone there. Everyone seemed different and unusual in their own way. There were three women besides him and the other man called Dominic. Obviously, this was a fight to the death. Drake Stewart confirmed his thoughts. The smooth voice was not lost upon Lira's ears and the skinny young man made up his mind. Lira knew how the poweful men worked. Everything was just a game. Lira had taken part of many before... though not one that was as violent as this. They had all been mostly mental games.. but how much harder could this be?

He was going to kill everyone there. Besides Drake Stewert and his slaves, of course. Then he would live and go home and live the way he was used to. Weaknesses were something he was used to spotting. It would be quick and maybe even easy. Then Lira felt someone's gaze upon him and immediately tensed. Eyes were things he became used to.. but hated. People were always looking at him be it with hate, fear, or disdain. It repulsed him. With one look at him, they all drew their own conclusions.

Lira hated people. He had always hated everything about them. It might be... fun to kill them. He glanced back at the women and then back at Dominic. Lira decided he would save the guy for last. He seemed like the biggest threat. In appearance, Lira was much weaker looking but he had faith in his intelligence. Lira was sure he would be able to do this.

Dominic Brecht. Allease LaVera. Linnet Mallory. Elizabeth Richardson. No matter. Names were meaningless now.

Then Drake put an arm around James' neck and the servant started turning blue, thrashing weakly. Lira just looked around calmly. He caught sight of the other servant, Hassen. The one that was to kill them if they did anything Drake did not like. He made a mental note to stay away from him. It wouldn't do to panic, though part of his mind was wanting to scream and beg to be released from this game. That was the stupid cowardly side of him and Lira ignored it.

Despite... his problems, Lira always, always managed to get on top. To win. There was no way he was going to lose now.

The child rolled over onto his back, his throat pulsing as he coughed, his body trying to draw in his next breath much too fast. His face was returning to its normal color, and the blood ticked his veins as it refilled them, leaving little prickles all over his face. He couldn't say that he hadn't expected that. As James struggled to sit up he heard a tentative voice speak. It inquired after his health. The boy went limp for a second. Had he really just heard what he thought he just heard? Did he look alright? The chocolate haired boy didn't make a sound though, even as he felt a form move past him, stirring air that kissed his face gently. The clunk of the human's boots paused near his head for a moment, but then continued on.

There was a brief paused, in which James continued his struggle to sit up, and then a male spoke. From the sound of the tenor it seemed that it was the broader one, Dominic. He questioned the authenticity of the going-ons. from the floor James let out a soft huff of laughter, finally managing to sit up. He kept his eyes closed, a hand moving to his forehead to steady his mind. Oxygen restoration to his noggin always took a long, uncomfortable time. It left him dizzy for a long while after the fact. Worse than broken bones, even more than broken spine, because his body reacted so negatively to it. It would fight to the end to just catch another breath struggling violently, and it would wear itself out, leaving him weak and throbbing with pain.

James drew the back of his jacket sleeve across his mouth, making a quiet grumble form in the back of his throat. One could say that he'd learned to growl properly from Hassen and the half sound was his signature warning. It was partly directed at the taller servant, telling him to stay put, for he was only a few meters behind and to the side of the boy. The other part was directed at the young blonde woman who'd taken a few hesitant steps towards him. For one thing, he didn't particularly want her near him, he didn't want any human near him, not now, not never. For the other, he didn't want her near Hassen either. He could feel anxiety radiating from the male in waves. There was really no way James knew to ease the other's nerves. He could understand why the other was ill at ease. Well, after what had happened, James couldn't blame him. At least it wasn't aimed directly at him at the moment.

Pulling himself to his feet, James wobbled like a colt for a moment before finding his center of balance. He shot a glance at Hassen, adding a couplet of grunts, his eyebrows lifting slightly. A warning. This was his element, he was in charge. Well, it wasn't exactly his element, but he did know what he was doing. He'd done it before after all.

The bright green gaze traveled the rag-tag group, a small hand rubbing his abused neck. One, two, three, four. Two males, two females. One female was missing. The girl, Allease. The one with the boots, the last one Drake had brought last. James had long since realized that he didn't have to worry about keeping them all under his watch, they did their best work when they were scattered about the building. Drake seemed less annoyed about them wandering around now than he was at first as well. Of course, he would probably insist that everyone join for 'supper' which would be around midnight, as time didn't particularly matter any more. The mansion, Drake himself, was timeless. Life and Death were timeless as well.

James blinked a couple times, his gaze landing on Dominic in particular. The one who'd asked the question. With a solemn look on his little round face, he shook his had slowly at the man. How could it be a joke? A trick? This was no laughing matter.

Never a laughing matter. Unless you were Drake. Then it was hilarious.

No one voiced an answer to Dom's question, but the answer was clear enough as he watched the boy slowly shake his head back and forth. His brain was immediately overloaded with questions, complaints, worries, and too many other things to process. Honestly, he wanted to collapse to the ground and cry. But that would look weak in the other's eyes. His hand began to shake once more, and he had to steady it. The second servant suddenly started forward, bumping into him, and then to the man next to him, before stalking off. He watched the servant go, more confused than angry about the entire situation. One by one, the other 'contestants' left the hallway, all heading in different directions. He was going to follow, when his other hand began to violently shake as well. Frowning, he quickly slipped back into the room he'd been sleeping in moments before.

He didn't even go to the bed. He just slid his back down the door, ending up sprawled on the floor right there. He couldn't stop the shaking, and it was beginning to frustrate him. He clenched his fists, doing his best to stop the trembling. He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his nerves. If what was said was indeed true, he would be dead soon. As well as everyone else that had stood beside him. And the worst part was that they were supposed to take each other out. He slammed his fist against the floor a few times, trying to let his anger out. This wasn't the time to be emotional... he needed to have a clear head.

Dom's thoughts returned to the four other beings who had been thrown into this as he had. Three females and one other male. He didn't know if he should try to go it alone, or attempt to pair up with someone. Two minds were better than one. But eventually he would be turned against his partner. He most likely could charm any of the females into working with him. But the way they had looked at him. Had they been sizing him up, or working out their plans to kill him off first? Maybe he should just easily get all the females killed first. The other man was his biggest opponent, though. He wasn't physically intimidating, but one look at his eyes and Dom had known he would be difficult.

Were they all plotting together to kill him first? He was easily the most physically intimidating. Maybe he should just try to avoid them all and let them attack each other. Suddenly, his eyes filled with tears as a wave of sadness passed over him. He would never see anyone else again: his father, best friend, any other women. He wiped the tears away forcefully, angry that he'd let himself become so fragile. He needed to focus and get it together fast, or he didn't have the slightest chance against the others. He finally relaxed his fists, letting his fingers fall against the floor, and he was relieved to find that the trembling had stopped.

It was time to come up with a solid plan... and fast.

After a moment, Allease left the room. Linnet had to wonder just where she was going. She looked like the kind of girl that attracted guys and could wrap them around her finger. Linnie figured she would likely team up with someone during what was to come.

As Linnet watched, she immediately noticed Dominic's trembling hand. She wondered what exactly was wrong with the man as he steadied it. Was he having some sort of panic attack? Or was it something worse? Normally, Linnie would have greatly desired to assist him, but now in this twisted game of death, her mind could only focus on her own survival. She immediately stored this information about Dominic away to see if she could figure out more, and maybe use it to her advantage. If she could figure out exactly what triggered this, maybe she could keep him from harming her. After all, it is difficult to choke or stab someone with such a shakey hand, she thought hopefully, nervously looking as James got up again. She couldn't help but feel a slight tinge of gladness at this, if ever so slight. As Dominic asked his question and looked at her, her eyes quickly dropped to the floor, but his gaze, thankfully, soon moved to another person. She noticed James's nod and couldn't help but think just how obvious it was that this was serious.

One of the servants, Hassen, quickly left, bumping into Dominic. Hassen seemed completely off balance. Physically, yes, but also mentally. He was like someone on the edge of a cliff, just waiting for the right thing, whether it be a push or even a slight breeze, to send them over the edge. Linnie was determined that she could not be there if that happened.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, seemed like she might have a good head on her shoulders. Might. On the other hand, she could be almost as off kilter as Hassen was, with just a little push neccessary to break her. She also soon left, her heels clacking obnoxiously. I hope she doesn't have the sense to take those off. They will make it easy to know right where she is, Linnie thought, a tinge of remorse at the necessity to think in this manner.However, she never liked people behind her without her knowledge. It always caused her to jump and set her heart fluttering and racing.

The last to think about was Lira. Lira was the one she was most interested in, and consequently, most wary of out of the group. There was something in his manner, whether the confidence apparent in his body language, or the calculating shifts and absolute coldness of his eyes as he observed, that gave Linnet only one thought about the man. Snake. She had been on the streets far to long to not know a Snake by sight. They were the ones, though usually not physically strong, that were cunning as foxes and deadly as snakes. They were the fast talking salesmen that offered you the "perfect" product or a "once-in-a-lifetime" offer. It was only later that you realized that this product was covered in hooks and now you were trapped. Linnie gave a small shudder just thinking about it. She would trust that man as far as she could through the mansion they were now trapped in. She knew she didn't want to be alone with him for long, as she now seemed to be.

Though it probably crossed others minds, the thought of teaming up with someone else was never something that Linnie considered. She learned long ago that as soon as you lost your usefulness or there was someone better than you, no one would hesitate to drop you, or, in this case, kill you. She watched him carefully until he left, just barely peeking over her knees. She was careful to not look like she was paying attention through this whole time. When he did leave, she decided that she would find the kitchen and find a serviceable knife, or anything sharp that she could use. She wouldn't attack unless attacked, but it was good to be prepared.

Humans dispersed quickly. Allease was already far gone to where ever it was that caught her fancy, and Elizabeth followed soon after, her shoes clip-clopping like a little horse. She'd left him with a lingering look. She'd die quickly, James decided. She was jumpy looking, and perhaps slightly paranoid from the look in her eye. Or maybe she was just frightened, which was twice as bad. A troubled look entered the boy's face for a moment. There wasn't anything he could do about it. It was better for him if they died as 'painlessly' as possible anyway. And with the smallest amount of mess. Strangulation or asphyxiation or something. No blood.

Next to skitter off was Lira. He caught the end of the male's decay into a lesser state before the body flattened itself to the wall and slid away. That one reminded James of Hassen in a chilling way. Speaking of Hassen, James's eyes flicked to the human the servant had bumped into in his passing. James was pleased that he'd won the standoff, but it was a lackluster victory. Hassen was obviously tired and in no mood to put up a proper fight, so the clashing wasn't interesting enough. Dominic seemed to be contending with the shaking his hands were currently enduring, and shortly after James's green eyes landed on him he scooted back to his room, a deep frown on his face.

That left Linnet. She was as good a target as any, and James needed something 'productive' to do. He'd keep an eye on her for a while. she seemed shrewd enough, but at the same time perhaps a bit cowed. But that was humans in general. James hadn't really expected anything different. Green eyes flicked over her, and he meandered his way in her direction. She looked about ready to leave. before he made it to her he paused by Dom's door, resting the flat of his hand on the door for a second as if that alone could tell him if the male was alright. Then he continued. His face was creased by slight trepidation, mostly for her sake. A shy boy would seem less of a threat than a cold servant.

Upon a closer examination, James noted that her eyes were different colors. It was a curious looking ailment. Unearthly in an all to human way. As he neared further, James slowly reached into his jacket, his other gloved hand facing up to show that he meant no threat. From his interior pocket he withdrew a hand sized knife, holding it pinched by the blade between his first finger and thumb. It was a simple weapon, slender but blocky, with a finger length blade with rudimentary steel working and a squarish handle wrapped in a sort of canvass. There was no fuller; the dull sides of the blade were completely smooth. A poor but efficient and strong weapon. He offered it to her handle first, a little flicker of a smile curving one side of his mouth. The look echoed in the surface of his eyes, but the depths were blank as anything.

Business as usual. Drake had instructed him to arm the humans as he found necessary to move the game, and James decided that this young woman had quite the amount of potential for the game from the way she sat calmly, examining the others. And perhaps a little part of her reminded him of another human in a...sparrowish way. His throat bobbed as if he was about to say something, but of course he couldn't. And didn't. He shouldn't go making friends with the humans anyway. He knew how well that had turned out last time he'd done something so foolish as becoming curious and growing close to one of those little blood-spatters.

Linnie was somewhat taken aback by James's yawn, or more exactly, what was missing from it. He had no tongue, just a stump. Linnie kept the pity she felt from her eyes, however. She knew how horrible it felt to be pitied, no matter what the circumstance. Though her countenance didn't change, it was still obvious that she had noticed. At James's nod, Linnet gave a little sigh, looking down slightly and crossing her arms. Her eyes went back to his face as she gave a smile. It was a small, half-hearted sort of smile, but a smile none the less. "Well, I'll be off then, Sur James." She gave a little nod before stepping around him, noticing Allease now standing in the hall talking to Hassen. Allease glanced over at James and Linnie and Linnet noticed James stiffen beside her. Did Allease make him stiffen, or was it just the feeling of being watched?

Linnie hesitantly took a step toward the Hall. She had to find the kitchen somehow, but she really didn't want to go past Allease, Hassen, and especially, the dog. She determinedly kept walking, keeping her head down as she past the dog as far as she could be from him and the same for Hassen and Allease. She meant to calmly walk, but as she went around the corner, she found herself to be nearly runnning, though still at what could be called a walk. As soon as she was out of their sight she did begin running, stopping and peering around each corner before continuing. After running through a few halls and sneaking past the other woman, Elizabeth, whose back was turned, Linnie found the kitchen. She hesitated, making sure there was no one in either the hall or the kitchen before she continued in. She quickly rummaged through all the drawers and even the cabinets, and took out every knife, and even a few other sharp objects, and stuck them in the deep front pocket of her apron. She layered and alternated the blades, hoping they wouldn't make as much noise that way.

She poked her head out of the door to the hallway, and, not seeing anyone, hurried off to find a staircase. She only walked now, not wanting it to be obvious that she had things in her apron. She soon found the stairs and went up to the second level to hide the knives. She wondered where exactly the room they were supposed to avoid was. She calmly wandered about, hiding a couple knives in a vase, a few under a mattress in an unoccupied bedroom, some stuffed under a heavy wardrobe in a different room. Soon she had hidden them all and felt a bit better as she sat in a random corner on a thick carpet. Even though it was likely she wouldn't be the only one James supplied a knife to, they at least weren't so readily available now. She wondered if there was another kitchen somewhere and began wandering again.

She found the hall with the closed door and decided it would be better to not even go down it. After walking through a few more halls, Linnie began feeling a bit tired. She stopped in what seemed to be a sort of parlor that was near some narrow stairs leading to the attic. She slowly entered the dark room and looked around. There were a couple sofas, a little table, and some art on the walls, but not much else. She took the knife James gave her out and squeezed between one of the couches and the wall, hidden from anyone looking in from the door. I just want to sit and rest for a minute out of everyone's way, she thought. She began trying to process all that happened, tears streaming silently down her pale cheeks, the knife in her lap.

Dom's mind was drawing a blank... he couldn't come up with a plan that would get him out of the mansion alive. There were too many unknown factors, mainly the four other players besides himself. Not to mention the two servants who both seemed to be not right in the head. They were completely unpredictable. It was then that he felt pressure to his back. He whipped his head around. Someone was attempting to open the door. Quickly, he pressed his back against the door harder, making sure whoever was out there stayed out there. The pressure stopped, and he exhaled with relief, relaxing slightly.

A sudden, loud roar startled him, making him jump, while a hand banged against the door. He kept himself pressed against the door, refusing to let anyone in. He needed to only rely on himself, trusting others would only get him killed. Thankfully, the pounding stopped, and everything was quiet once more. This time he didn't relax, ready for the next attempted forceful entry, or another shout. But none came.

He heard muffled voices through the door, but couldn't understand what they were saying. One thing was clear to him, however. Whoever had been trying to get in his room was no longer doing so. He had a chance to escape. He enjoyed the darkness of his room, but he was cornered here, with only one exit. He needed to get out, keep moving, not be predictable. There was nothing in his room that would serve as a weapon anyway. So as quietly as he could, he stood up, still keeping a hand pressed to the door, in case the stranger attempted to get in once more. He cracked the door open slightly, grateful it didn't creak.

There was no one standing immediately outside his door, so he took his chance and darted out of the room and across to the other wall. His eyes moved sideways, registering that the servant Hassen now had a puppy - where had that come from? - and a girl, Allease he thought, was kneeling down and playing with it. He froze for a split second, fear entering his mind. Was this girl attempting to get close to the servant, to increase her chances of surviving against the rest? He didn't like what he was seeing at all. He refused to let her win, using the method of helpless girl who charms a man to help her. He was strong, and he could out power her easily.

He unfroze, darting through the doorway, wandering aimlessly, not knowing his destination. It was then that he passed by the kitchen and stopped. There had to be something sharp and pointy in the kitchen somewhere. Hell, even a butter knife would be better than nothing. He didn't see anyone else around, of course the place was huge. He began opening drawers and cupboards, looking for any kind of utensil that could potentially serve as a weapon.

As he searched, he thought. Where was the second servant? Was another girl trying to charm him as well? Perhaps he underestimated them at first. The women may not have great physical shape, but their cunning and charm was unmatched. Well... almost. He considered himself quite charming, but that talent felt useless. He couldn't charm another man such as himself, and charming the women wouldn't get him anywhere, seeing as they were 'contestants' just like himself. He balled his fists, wanting to punch something, but he didn't want to give away his location. As long as he was alone, he was safe.

He continued his search, not finding anything particularly useful. How could there be a kitchen with no knives? They had to be hidden somewhere, seeing as they were necessary for cooking. But try as he might, he couldn't find them. "Damnit," he whispered to himself, giving up and leaving the kitchen. As he turned a corner, he came upon a lone girl, with her back to him. He quickly returned around the corner, trying to stay out of sight. As he peered around, he saw it had been the girl with the annoying shoes. However, it seemed she had removed them. Well, that was useful information. He backed away a few paces, hoping she continued on her way and didn't see him.

Damnit, the woman had seen him. Dom stepped around the corner, not seeing the need to hide from her any longer. He casually leaned against the wall, crossing his arms and smirking. Since she had seen him, his best bet was to make her feel uneasy, possibly even frightened. Just the sight of him seemed to be working. She looked positively terrified. He raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you doing?" he asked simply. It quickly passed though his mind that even this frightened girl could have a weapon, but he pushed it aside. Even if she did, he could easily overpower her before she did him any real harm.

His hands started to become really sweaty, and he rubbed them on his pants to dry them. Now that he thought about it, his skin was starting to become clammy all over his body. He frowned slightly, wondering what in the hell was wrong with him. Secretly, it was really starting to freak him out. This so called game was controlling his life, and now was not the time to be having some kind of weird sickness that could incapacitate him. He needed to win to keep his life, and he couldn't do that if something was wrong with him. He seriously needed to get in control of himself.

He studied the girl in front of him, Elizabeth, a little closer. He had extremely long blonde hair that curled at the bottom, and a rather pretty face, with greenish eyes. He might have liked her outside of this mansion and sadistic game. Those days were over now, however. He took a step towards her, before an overwhelming sense of fatigue came over him. He literally almost collapsed, his legs giving out. But he leaned his weight against the wall, and was luckily able to stay upright. When he closed his eyes, he could barely force himself to open them again. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to cry or scream. All he knew was something was seriously wrong.

After a few moments, he recovered, and felt somewhat normal again. He growled out of frustration, slamming his fist against the wall. His eyes found the girl again, and they narrowed, filled with anger. He watched her for a few more seconds, before turning around and fleeing. He didn't keep track of where he went, but found an empty hallway and collapsed onto the floor.

Elizabeth stood there, frozen like a statue. Not daring herself to move as Dominic leaned against the wall, having a relaxed expression plastered on his face. "What are you doing?" That would be a simple question in any other circumstance. But right now it didn't mean anything. She didn't answer him, but he did seem to be getting nervous himself. Why? She would be the one at a disadvantage here. She looked at him more thoroughly, she was right at her previous inspection. He would be able to over power most. 

Dominic took a step towards her, she was about to dart out of of the room but a slight thud stopped her. He was leaning against the wall like before, only this time it seemed he depended on it to stay upright. Was this a hoax? By the way Dominic was looking, it seemed he has to either be a very well actor or in serious pain. She was about to take a step to him but immediately stopped herself. And what of the off chance he was trying to fool her? She would've just signed her death warrant. After a few more moments Dominic slightly opened his eyes and the probability if him able to fake the anger in his eyes was near to impossible. He hit his fist hard against the wall, making Elizabeth flinch. 

Dominic made a slight growl like noise and gave her another nasty glare as though it were her fault for him to be in such a state. It almost looked as though he were about to pounce on her but though better of it, turned and fled. A few moments later a light thud came from where Dominic had ran. Elizabeth stood there dazed for a moment, debating whether she had just imagined all of that or it was true. Another minute passed before she started to actually think of what she should do. If she were to just run off she would risk running into him or another contestant. If she were to see if he were alright he might kill her. She had nothing to kill him with. None of these options appealed to her. Perhaps she could follow him for awhile, it would deny him running into her again. She would know if he had a weapon on him and what exactly just happened to him. 

Elizabeth stood there for another moment, forcing herself to move in the direction Dominic went. It wasn't exactly hard to find him, in his blur he made a few rugs get rumpled and flipped over. Elizabeth, not wanting anyone else to follow the little trail, reput them back to where it looked as though no one had set foot on it. She found him laying on the floor in a hallway. He appeared unconscious but she didn't exactly want to risk anything. Instead she found a shadowed corner that overlooked the hallway. Most would just glance over the corner.

Hassen watched as Allease turned and left without a fuss. Her eyes betrayed her desire to help him, but he ignored them. He had no need for her help and would only have turned her down at this point. It was unfair, but that was how he had been trained; as long as he could remain upright and move, he required no asistance. His eyes continued to track the girl despite his shoulders relaxing, and his mask slipped for a moment, exposing a confused/meloncholy expression. The poor boy was so confused. Why did she want to help him so badly? Was she trying to use him as a shield from everyone else? Well, it wouldn't work! He had his puppy and-

Wait. Where did his puppy go? Darn, he must have left it where he had collapsed. He had to go find it before the kitten incident was repeated with the puppy. A sad glance was turned to the stairs where the locked room was calling to him. Well, he would go back later. There were plenty of hours in the day, he would eventually be back where he belonged.

Setting off in search of the puppy, Hassen moved stiffly but surprisingly quickly, and wasted no time in crossing the room to disappear around a corner. The search was thorough, with no corner left unchecked and no door left shut. The dog remained hidden, however, and Hassen was about ready to give up when he stumbled over something heavy, causing his face to become aquainted with the carpet.

It would have been fine if he could just pick himself up, except a schock of pain had run down his spine and now he couldn't feel his legs or anything below his elbows. The shock must have put them to sleep temporarily. Well, he was now completely at the mercy of whomever decided to stumble across him until he could regain feeling in his extremities (which wouldn't take long; he'd tripped often until he'd learned to walk the way he did, so he was more than accostumed to losing feeling in his hands and feet on a regular basis).

James tugged on Drake's sleeve when he spotted Hassen at the mouth of the hall, looking slightly hesitant, as if taken aback by the number of people in the hall. Drake had already noticed him though, and gave James a slight push away as he moved to intercept the servant and his...companion. James's fellow servant was looking at the ground, so the green-eyed boy decided that a glare would be a waste of effort, especially with Drake so near. Then Lira emerged from his room. James didn't need his words, he'd already received that order, but whatever the man wanted. He still seemed a bit hollow, like his attack had made him realize something. James frowned at that. This was going no where fast. He started off down the hall, beckoning to Linnet as well, but sure to keep an arms length away from the two of them. Not that they could hurt him or anything, but seeing Alease lying mostly unconscious on the ground put him in the mind of different, more potent humans.

As the boy departed, he could hear Drake speaking to Hassen.

Upon evaluation of the situation, Hassen really didn't look like he wanted to be bothered, Drake noted. He wasn't going to argue about supper on that front, especially since the victim in the situation looked to be unconscious. "Do make sure you get something to eat after you finish...whatever it is that you're planning to do. And fetch me if you break him, please." Drake smiled, not lingering with the servant. That left one human left to find. Miss Richardson. It wouldn't be too difficult. He could make a game of it, but no, he'd make no bones about it. He was starting to feel antsy, first blood had been let, but no one was dead yet. That reminded him of how hungry he was.

It had been a good week ago that he'd found a dead human to sate himself with. It was too much trouble to do more than wander around, hoping for something or looking off scraps of the list he'd bartered vigorously for for someone slated to die soon that was close enough for him to get to. And for James it had been even longer than a week, more on two and a half or three weeks; he was nearing his expiration date if the humans didn't hurry themselves up. It didn't trouble Drake very much though, he often let James go until the very last second possible.

Drake let his senses guide him to the remaining human without thinking much on it. When he spotted her, a grin curled his face. Her back was to him, so he called out, "Miss Richardson, I've been looking for you." he paused for a beat, drawing nearer to the young woman. "Where have you been off to? You missed all the fun. But I've got food on, and I thought you might like to join us."

James led his little group of two to the kitchen uneventfully, without even looking back at them to make sure they'd followed. Admittedly, Hassen had him a bit riled up. Drake let the man do whatever he pleased, but James was not allowed to harm the humans at all unless it was an extreme emergency. he could just give them weapons, and his plan hadn't even worked out properly, because Lira had failed to rise to expectations. But he couldn't blame the human, he was just a mortal after all. It had taken decades for James to reach this constitution. Turn a hard heart to death, learn how to live for himself, And Drake. Mostly Drake, less himself, actually. But that was what being a servant was about. Because Drake was the only one who could kill him by knowledgeable choice, and James had been reminded that on many an occasion.

Taking the serving upon himself, James passed a bow of soup and a spoon to each of the humans. There was a low table in the corner of the room, if they wished to sit, but as their numbers were depleted at the moment James figured that Drake wouldn't want him to take them to the dining hall, which was much too large for the company.

After providing soup to the mortals, James paused for a beat. Drake still wasn't back yet. What should he do? The boy shifted on his feet. Hunger pangs were plaguing him now, Allease had had a similar effect on him, and that made him antsy and uncomfortable. Well, he could always, but that had the potential to annoy Drake because human food was for the humans. It would sate him for a little while, not anything like it would sate a human, but it would do. Such thoughts left the servant eying the pot of soup, which was still more than halfway filled.

Giving in to the urge was easier than James would have liked. There were plenty of extra bowls on the counter, what had Drake been thinking when he got all of them out? But it served James's purpose and he took one, looking around as if he was doing something bad, and dipped the ladle back into the soup, careful to only pour broth into the bowl because he wasn't very good at chewing thanks to his lack of tongue, and chocking would not be fun.

James watched the others over the rim of his bowl. Linnie was uncomplaining, she downed her soup quickly, but Lira seemed to be more of the skeptic. It was actually kind of amusing to watch the human's face as he stuck his little finger into the broth and moved it to his mouth. His face was squinched as if he expected to burst into flames. James rolled his eyes and tipped his bowl back. Drake still hadn't arrived with the last human, and it was probably best if he didn't catch James, just in case. Sometimes it was hard to tell how he'd react, even after all this time.

The scream that rose in the air made him jump slightly. He couldn't say that he was surprised though. Hassen didn't mess around when it came to such things. James had been the object of Hassen's...well, it was hard to describe whatever it was, but James could say that he'd been stalked and tackled and punched and scratched, and a number of things. Of course, he usually tried to give as good as he got, but it seemed that Drake was much more forgiving of Hassen's...faults than James's. Because Hassen was breakable, of course. Hassan was a mortal. Like that was an excuse. 'Oh James, he's a mortal, he doesn't know better. But you can't kill him cause he'll die for good. Not like you.'

Not too far away, Drake and Elizabeth could hear those very same screams. The woman had seemed pleasant enough before, a smile on her face and demure, polite words spouting from her lips. Strong girl. Drake was silent as he led her back towards the kitchen. The blonde woman looked slightly frightened at the sound of the wails, but kept up a brave face. Drake ignored her. He was busy thinking about Hassen and Dominic. What could the lad possibly doing to the human to make him scream like that? And speaking of that, the screams were now seeming to grow nearer. And then suddenly, they stopped. The daemon paused for a moment, seemingly startled by the stop in agonized sound.

Still quiet, Drake continued on. He was listening hard to see if he could discern what had happen to Dominic. Then he heard frantic footsteps. He grabbed Elizabeth's wrist and pulled her backwards, into a side hall, as the sound grew nearer. Dominic ran past, pulling doors in the hall open, looking frantic and fearful. Well, he wasn't dead. Yet.

Drake made a small tching noise. "Someone needs more writing lessons." He murmured to himself with a grin. "the s's were backwards. I need to talk to James about that." Then he heard more footsteps, in hot pursuance of the first pair, and he pulled Elizabeth further down the hall. He didn't want a run in with Hassen right now. It might distract the lad from his activity. He shot the blonde woman a look, telling her to stay quiet, even thought she probably wouldn't dream of making a sound.

After the man was past, off to yowl at a door farther down the hall, Drake pulled Lizzie to the mouth of the hall again so he could look around the corner at his servant. He was in front of the door to the little dining room, trying to get inside. Dominic had hidden himself on the other side, Drake supposed. Curiosity got the better of Elizabeth, and she peeked around the corner as well.

Within the room, James stared at Dominic. The only thing he could think were that the s's were backwards. And then Hassen's voice sounded outside the door. Loudly. He sounded quite annoyed. The chocolate haired servant sighed and set his empty bowl on the table. Then he moved to Lira and Linnet, taking their bowls from them nonchalantly, as if nothign out of the ordinary was happening. He didn't particularly want to have to clean up more than he already would have to from Hassen's lovely little escapade with torturing the human, broken dishware wouldn't not be pleasant to clean up either. He didn't spare another glance for Dominic, the burned flesh on his chest, which spelled out Hassen's name in rudimentary, jagged figures, was quite revolting to look at. And James didn't want to think about what Dominic would look like after Hassen was finished with his...game.

Once he'd stacked the bowls in a safe location, he retreated to the far corner of the room to watch. He was quite sure that Drake would appear soon, somehow, as he always did in these sort of occasions. The prospect of food was quite nice. The boy's face brightened incrementally at that thought. At least Hassen would be serving some beneficial purpose. He was catching supper.

Linnet was intrigued watching Lira's bizarre eating habits. He acted like it was poisoned. Her gaze went down to the empty white bowl she held, wondering if she was allowed to get more. Who knew when they would be able to eat next? One thing she had learned as a London street rat was never to turn down a meal, and eat as much as you can. You never knew where your next meal would come from, or when it would come.

But here, it wasn't just eating that was important, but also surviving. Though she had been in some challenging, and even life threatening situations, there had never been anything remotely like this before. At least on the streets, everyone she saw wasn't trying to kill her. It was easy for her to just go unnoticed in life, but here, it felt like all she could do to keep a target off her head. She wondered if she should just get out of there, glancing sharply at Lira before her gaze went down again just as quickly. Understandably, Lira made her nervous. Linnie glanced at the open door across the room when Dominic's screaming abruptly stopped. She wondered if that meant Hassen had succeeded in killing the man. With that, Linnie decided to leave instead of getting seconds.

Just as she took a step toward the kitchen door, Dominic abruptly appeared through the open door across from her and slammed it shut. Linnie's eyes widened in horror, noting the scrawling figures burned across the man's bare chest. "Wot 'appened?" she asked the man, getting no response. Suddenly, there was a loud banging at the door. After a few heavy bumps, Linnie could hear Hassen screeching for Dominic to open the door. James calmly took the bowl from her heavily shaking hand, just before she would have dropped it.

With dismay, she noted the near happiness on the boy's calm face. This time when she reached back, she grabbed the handle of her knife instead of just feeling it through the fabric. Slowly sidestepping so as not to attract attention, she turned and slipped out the door into the kitchen, as quiet and pale as a ghost. She had no desire to be in that room when Hassen did finally break in the door. In the kitchen, she took her knife out from her sash and held its reassuring weight in her hand.

She cracked the kitchen door and peeked out, seeing Drake and Elizabeth down the hall peeking out from one of the corridors at Hassen. She immediately drew her head back in, not wanting them to see her either. She stood hesitantly for a moment, unnerved by the noise coming from the next room. Her eyes went to the large cabinet Drake had pointed out earlier. She wasn't sure if she would rather stuff herself in the cabinet and hide, or attempt to flee through the hall where Drake, Elizabeth, and especially Hassen were.

She decided against the cabinet, where she would be confined and unable to flee. Immediately, as silently as she was able, she burst out of the kitchen and gingerly hastened down the hall. She didn't want to attract any attention to herself whatsoever. As she walked, it became more and more silent until she could no longer hear Hassen or anyone. She opened a random door, revealing a sitting room of sorts, and flopped down in a chair, trembling violently with the knife still gripped tightly in her fingers. Linnet was likely to lunge at anyone who dared to come through that door, so great was her dread and paranoia.