Ellie Ravie's Story

“You should be careful with how many guys you put in the same house. We might start grunting at each other and claiming all you cute girls as our own, right Gorilla?” Daemyn said, his joking tone apparent, but Ellie felt her cheeks color anyhow. He was so easy-going, and quick to say a silly comment, like claiming the cute girls. She was intrigued by the thought of nicknames. She already shortened her name to Ellie, what sort of nickname would she get?

David seemed a bit confused at having to answer to her, but she thought that was a given, and he would get used to it. He was by far one of the oldest people in the house now, and quite handsome for an "older man". Ava had a bit of a penchant for boys, so she giggled a little to think of her sister trying to seduce this older man. She took the radio he handed her and nodded, running her fingers over it thoughtfully. He was cautious, which was good, and she felt safe putting the lives of her family and employees in his hands.

Ellie smiled at the two men before her, then turned and glanced down, feeling a prodding at her arm. Charlotte, one of her younger sisters, stood before her, holding up a board game. Ellie grinned and stooped down, kissing her sister on the forehead; Charlotte had begun to stick near her after things had changed in their house, and their parents disappeared somewhat. She adored her sister, of course, and had no complaints about being followed. Charlotte was like a baby chick, following Ellie around like she was her mother.

"I would love to play a game, but can I show Mr Artz around first? He's going to be our new gardener, and I'd like for him to see what he's working with. Is that ok? You can come with us if you'd like," she invited her sister for two reasons; the first being that she adored her sister and didn't want to let her down, and the second being that she was afraid she may turn into a stuttering fool if she was subjected to Daemyn's flirtatious jokes all alone. He was definately a charmer, and she wasn't exactly sure what to do with him.

Daemyn smiled at the big man as he walked off. Then he turned to Ellie and the smaller girl, who appeared to be her younger sister. “Hey there, shorty. What’s your name?” Daemyn thought this girl looked like the shy type, she he tried to make himself look less intimidating by crouching down into the fetal position, making her bigger than him. “I’m Daemyn Artz. Like your sister said, I’m the new gardener,” he said, holding a hand up for her to shake. “Do you like flowers? What kind is your favorite?” Daemyn put a kind and caring smile on his face. He didn’t want to scare her away, though he had a feeling he wouldn’t.

Charlotte looked up at Daemyn for a mere second before turning back to Ellie. "I'll come with you. I don't like having so many..." Her eyes narrowed just slightly. "men in the house." Charlotte was feeling extremely protective of her older sister. She was gorgeous and innocent, the perfect target for the wrong type of men. Charlotte placed the board game on the floor, not much caring if it was in anyone's way. "Let's go."

Daemyn fell back, still in the fetal position. He had been completely ignored … by a little girl. That never happened before to him, all his little sisters friends loved him. He let out a long depressed sigh and stood up. Well, he hadn’t scared her … that was good. He draped his arm around Ellie’s shoulders and sighed. “So Birdie, how about we look around? I’ve already got a ton of magnificent ideas flowing into my gorgeous head,” he said, flipping his hair slightly out of his eyes. “Maybe shorty has a few ideas that she can throw at me too.”

So man endless possibilities, he thought. The yard was so big and the trees were so tall. Not very many animals were hanging around … but maybe that would change once he fixed it up a bit.

Ellie blushed, having Daemyn put his arm around her shoulders. She had never been touched so openly by a boy before, and it made her heart leap up into her throat. She took her sister's hand and smiled sheepishly at her, then whispered, "Charlotte, love, please tell Mr Artz hello. He's going to be helping us out a lot. And I'm sure he'll put in any flower you like."

She wanted everyone to get along, especially her siblings with the employees. Charlotte was so silly, only ten years old and already so strong, and protective of Ellie herself. It was truly sweet, and she couldn't help but love her sister even more for it. A jolt ran through Ellie's body, and she blinked a few times, feeling the rush of energy that always came when Rhodanthe awoke. And yes, she was awake, and watching, as she always did.

Rhodanthe was only six, and already so smart, so sweet, so independent, that it sometimes made Ellie sad. Ellie had nursed all of her siblings through fevers and nightmares, and kissed each one goodnight before bed, but Rhodanthe--Dannie for short--always seemed as though she were pulling away. She hid in the shadows and spoke to her kitten, which Ellie had no problem with. She just wished she could do more and make Dannie smile a bit more.

Good morning, Dannie. I hope you slept well. I'll get you some breakfast as soon as I can, alright? I love you, dove.

Ellie thought strongly, fully confident that Dannie would hear it and know it was from her. She believed that her sister was special, and powerful; the whole family was, in one way or another, but Dannie was certainly one of the strongest. She blinked, then rubbed Charlotte's hands lovingly, and smiled again. There was a lot going on, especially for the new head of the Ravie household, but she could handle it. She'd handled worse things in the past few months, and she could handle this now.

Daemyn smiles at Charlotte. “So that’s your name, Charlotte. That’s a pretty name … and if I remember correctly, it means Free. Like a bird! So I think from now on, I’ll call you Birdie.” He turned his attention to Ellie. “And Ellena … it’s a form of Helen, which means Light. That’s a hard one. How about Sunshine for now. I’ll think of something cuter later, alright,” he said, putting on a charming smile. “Now, how about we take a tour of your lovely yard.” Daemyn bowed and held a hand out for either of them to take. “Oh, and if you have any ideas, tell me. And tell me what your favorite flowers are, so I can plant many of your choosing.” Daemyn grabs both their hands and takes them out towards the back, where he hadn’t seen yet. “I’ll make sure to plant tons of roses. What girl doesn’t like roses,” he thought out loud.

Charlotte grows extremely stiff at the touch of Daemyn's hand. She glares, ready to jerk her hand away, but then remembers her sister's wishes and decides to put up with it until they get outside. At least then she can wander off to get some peace and quiet. Then she too feels the jolt from when when Dannie wakes up. Dannie... there are annoying men all over the house that sister hired to help around the house. Be careful. Dannie would be able to tell which sister Charlotte meant. The only sibling she ever called 'sister' was Ellie; the others she always called by their names.
Charlotte casts a sideways glance at Daemyn. He was trying too hard. It ticked her off, but of course she wouldn't let it show. She bites her lip and keeps walking, glaring at the floor.

"Behind the house, there's a large garden plot. We used to grow fruits and vegetables, but I don't have much of a green thumb." Ellie was trying hard not to stutter, her hand warm trapped in Daemyn's. Charlotte wasn't happy, which was obvious, so Ellie sent her a reassuring smile, then blew her a kiss. She hoped her little sister wouldn't hold a grudge, she just wanted everyone to get along.

She heard Dannie's response in her head and tried not to sigh. It always seemed like Rhodanthe was pulling away from her, and she hadn't said that she loved Ellie back. Silly as it was, Ellie functioned off the feelings of her family. She wanted them to be happy because she took good care of them, and love her. She tightened her grip on Daemyn's hand and stared at a large cherry blossom tree, eyes travelling over the familiar knots and bends in its trunk and branches. It was her favorite tree, and she wanted so badly to be scaling it now, throwing her worries away as she clambered to the highest branches.

David chuckled at the Belle's nervousness as he put his hand on her shoulder reasuringly hoping to calm her nerves. He was here to put people at ease not freak them out.

"She's not in the house. I just sweeped the whole building. She must be outside."

He said as he reached his hand to his belt and unclipped his walkie right next to his gun holtser.

"Ellie, its David. We've got someone at the front door looking for a job. Do you want me to bring him out to you or should I have him wait for you?"

He asked speaking into the walkie knowing the Ellies would spring to life with his voice pouring out where ever she was. First test of the walkies. Lets hope she didn't sit it down. He thought to himself as he waited her reply over the radio. He gave the boy a smile hoping to put the nervous teen at ease.

"Just be a minute pal. Gotta hear what the boss wants to do with you. Shouldn't be long."

Just as David opened his mouth the kid near had a panic attack and fell down the steps.

"Woah hey!"

David said as he rushed down after him just missing grabbing a handful of the kids jacket before he smacked his head on the floor. Lifting the teen to his feet he chuckled as he spoke.

"You alright man?"

Daemyn looked at the tree Ellie was looking at when he felt her grip tighten. “That’s a beautiful tree.” He walked up to the tree, after letting go of both the girls hands, and brushed his hand over the trunk of the tree. It was one of the coolest trees he had ever seen. Daemyn grabbed one the lower branches and pulled himself up onto it. It was sturdy, which was good, so he decided to go a little higher. But before he got a good grip on the next branch, Ellie’s walkie talkie blasted Gorilla’s voice through the speaker, startling Daemyn. He lost what little grip he had and fell, landing on his back. “Oof!” All the air rushed out of his lungs.

After finding his breath again, he coughed and sat up. “Damn … that hurt.” He began laughing, thinking about how funny it probably looked.

Ellie was laughing too hard, she couldn't speak back into the walkie-talkie correctly. Seeing Daemyn fall was just too silly, and the slick ease with which he admitted it.

"I'm sorry," she gasped for breath between fits of laughter, "I'm so sorry, but you...and then you...off of the..." She couldn't staunch the laughter and finally, out of breath and still snickering, she pressed the button and answered, panting slightly.

"I'm here, sorry, Daemyn he...climbing my...I couldn't...and then he..." she couldn't seem to put the sentence together correctly, and shook her head, tears forming in her eyes from laughter, "Hang on just a-a minute."

She placed the walkie-talkie into her sister's hands then hitched up her dress an inch or two and strode towards the tree, smiling brightly. "You have to do it like this," she said simply, then swung herself up into the tree with ease, climbing from branch to branch before settling herself of a limb near the top. She picked off a small bunch of blossoms and tucked them into her hair, then smirked down at Daemyn.

"That's how you climb my tree, see?"

"I'm here, sorry, Daemyn he...climbing my...I couldn't...and then he...Hang on just a-a minute."

Ellie's voice came through the walkie out of breath as she battled with fits of laughter. David chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck while he rubbed his head wondering what Daemyn had did that gotten this kind of response. This was honestly starting out to be one of the most easy going assignments he'd ever had.

Charlotte looked at her beautiful sister, hitching up her dress, and climbing up the tree. She almost smiled, but stopped herself. Instead, she turned around and wandered down one of the garden paths. There were probably just as many weeds as there were flowers in the garden. No one had bothered taking care of it since her parents disappearance. No doubt Ellie probably tried, but the garden was so gigantic, and there were so many plants that it would have been too much work for one person. As Charlotte looked around, one flower caught her eye. It was a bright red amaryllis. There were two growing up from the ground, so she gently picked one and placed it next to the white peony she already had in her hair. Charlotte only ever picked the flowers that she liked.

Ellie flew threw the front door, having sprinted straight to the house. Something was screaming in her head, to get back to the house, NOW. Throwing herself from the tree and crashing onto the stiff ground hadn't even slowed her, though now her ankle was throbbing. Someone had touched something, and the house--the entire house--was very upset. Everything inside felt wrong, the wood looked warped, the air darker, with no little dust motes floating through the spills of sunlight.

She stormed towards the kitchen, every hallway seeming to lead her exactly where she needed to go. The kitchen doors were thrown open with a bang, and she stared at them all, panting, eyes wild with fear. It felt like something was slowly choking her, draining the life from her; she had betrayed the house by letting these people touch something that wasn't theirs.

"What did you touch," she gasped, legs suddenly jelly as she took a few shaky steps forward, then again, colder, "WHAT did you TOUCH."

She didn't sound like Ellie anymore. She was afraid, and angry, and hurting, her face slowly tinting red. Blood curled its way down her leg from a group of scrapes that must have happened after vaulting herself from the tree. Her blue eyes looked pale gray, and her lips almost blue, as though she were suffocating. The gun in David's hand seemed to be screaming to her, and she staggered to him, touched it with a trembling finger, then fainted.

Her limp body crashed onto the kitchen floor, hurt, but alive; the house had punished her enough for now.

[Sorry about the not posting forever. I was kept a little more than busy by my room mate.]

Daemyn looked confused at Ellie as she vaulted herself from the tree. He carefully went down a little ways before dropping, landing firmly on his feet. Running after Ellie seemed like running after a cheetah, she was going to fast. “Ellie!” He followed her through all the hallways, winding all around until they finally came to a stop, him almost crashing into her. “Ellie, what’s wrong?”

It was like she couldn’t hear him. She was speaking, but it didn’t feel like the sweet Ellie, he’d just meet, that he was just climbing a hugely beautiful tree with. He grabbed her arm, but she walked forward, touched a gun … then fainted. “Ellie!” Daemyn ran over to her and set her head on his lap. “Are you alright,” he said, then turning his attention to David and the other two. “What the hell happened? What did you guys do?”

Bells looked back at Jack and reached a hand out to him. But something felt weird, someone was running through the hall, and fast. Her and Jack were in the middle of the hallway, which was going to end bad if they didn’t move. She rushed over to Jack and pushed him against a wall, right as Miss Ellie and Daemyn passed. They were going top speed … maybe they were playing a game of tag? She moved away from Jack, knowing he had personal space and coughed. The dust had gotten stirred up quite a bit, so Bells went into a sneezing fit.
After the dust settled, so did Bells’ sneezing, and she turned to Jack. “It’s not your fault … I was scared that David was going to be angry that I didn’t do as he said. But are you alright?” She probably saved them both from major injury, but there might have been a nail in the wall or a piece of wood sticking out that jabbed him. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”


Dannie could feel something going wrong, and Josephine could obviously feel it too. They both jumped up, glided out the door and through the halls, staying in the shadows. They both reached the kitchen, where many others were gathered around her older sisters body. Looks like introductions are going to have to wait, Josephine said, staying in the shadows. Dannie emerged, standing over Ellie’s body. She kneeled down next to her and put a hand on her head. “Everyone leave the room, now,” the young girl said. Dannie was a scary little girl no matter how you looked at her, so she was hoping that her looks would be enough to get the humans to listen to her. If she had to, she would use force. “No one must be in here … I need to help here.”

[[EDIT]]

David stared in awe as the little girl seemingly appeared out of no where, standing protectively over Ellie's body. A part of him wanted to pull his gun, thankfully he refrained from doing that. Something in him told him she was here to help, well help Ellie if no one else. He had to make sure Ellie would be ok and if this girl could do that then he'd do whatever he could to make sure that would happen.

"Everyone outside now! Let's move!"

David barked. The Navy Seal coming to the surface for a few moments. All business and action, no jokes, no smiles. The crowd jumped to his orders and he herded everyone out of the kitchen in seconds. The big man then bent over and scooped the lithe young woman in his arms with ease before taking her upstairs with her sister close behind. He put her down in the first empty bedroom he found. He set her down gently and covered her up with a blanket before heading for the door to giving the sisters some privacy. He paused before closing the big double wooden doors to the kitchen and cast a quick glance at the mysterious girl.

"Help her... please."

Once outside David took a quick minute to regain himself. Something was very different about this family, something very wrong. The newly appointed guardian of the Ravie household hated the idea that what ever was going on these poor girls were caught in the middle of it. This was quickly becoming more than just some job. David was beginning to feel the need to protect these girls more than just his natural protective instincts over a client. They needed him and he'd be there. As he stood there in silence his mind drifted to Ellie. The impromptu matriarch of the house. She knew more than she was letting on or willing to confide in David about. He'd have to earn her trust if he was going to help her. He pulled the gun out of his belt and stared at it for a moment.

"Why did she want this so bad? Why was it in that room just lying around in the first place?"

He murmured to himself. He returned it into his belt until Ellie woke, he would return it when she did and find out just why it was so important.

Everything went to hell really fast. Before Salem had a chance to answer Davids question Ellie came sprinting in, screaming, asking what they had touched. He was about to reply when she suddenly collapsed. Salem was uncharacteristically worried. What the hell was that about? David scooped the girl up and told them to sit tight. Salem racked his brain quietly for any way to help. This was partly his fault.

He looked at the faces around the kitchen. Luna was paralyzed once more, how much more excitement could she take? A new boy had entered. A dark haired, solemn looking boy around Salems age. He seemed upset, and wasnt giving a very nice look to Salem. He thought nothing of it. Behind him a dark haired younger girl was standing in the shadows. She had been the first to act on Ellie when she fainted. Could this be a sister? The girl was now menacingly standing alone. She gave Salem the creeps. What the hell was going on?

Salem stood straight and silently opened the pantry. He retrieved a number of various vegetables and some fettucini noodles and placed them on the counter. He then moved to the freezer and pulled out a chicken breast. He figured he might as well do something useful. He began washing his hands in the sink. Hopefully some chicken noodle soup would make Ellie feel better. Once his hands were clean he pulled an apron from the hooks on the wall and went to work.

Dreams of drowning, struggling to push to the surface of the ink waters, but something was holding her down. Arms and fingers tangled in her hair, shoving her down into the depths. Someone once called a sweet name was now a monster, there only to hurt her, to press her into the gloom and pull her away from her family, her sisters, those that she loved and cared for.

Oxygen bubbled from her lips, her vision growing increasingly dim, disappearing as quickly as sand through fingers. Her face was being pushed into the silt at the bottom of the water, filling her nose and mouth, clouding her vision, choking her. She would die here, with no one to mourn her, no body to bury.

But she could not die, not here, she couldn't leave her family alone in that house. They were able to function by themselves, live quite well without her, it wasn't that. No, it was a purely selfish reason that she couldn't die here; she was afraid that they would forget her, all about her. They would begin to depend on Ava, and any memory of Ellie would disappear from their minds.

It was not Ellie that had held Charlotte through many fevers, but Ava pressing the cold rag to her burning forehead. Not Ellie, but Ava, who held Dannie's hair when she was four as she emptied her stomach contents into the bowl at her bedside. Ava reading bedtime stories. Ava burning the breakfast and taking them all out. Ava assuring them things would be alright, that she would take care of them, now that Mommy and Daddy were gone.

And Ava herself...she would forget her own twin sister, forget the secrets they had shared, the nights they had clambered onto the roof and sung songs to the moon, the tears spilled after stupid quarrels. Ellie would be wiped away from the face of the earth, with no one to guide her to the Afterworld, to Hell, where she would ultimately go. She had no choice.

Fear gripped Ellena's heart, and she let out a scream, years of pain, anguish, and fear put into a single guttural yell. Rhodanthe, Charlotte, Ava, Mommy, Daddy, and all the others...she screamed for them, for the love that she needed. And then the hands holding her down were gone. And she wasn't drowning anymore.

Ellie sat up in bed with a start, pulling the sweat-soaked sheets away from her body. She whipped her head around wildly, desperate to feel her baby sisters in her arms again, to feel their hearts beating beside her own. As she began to sob, she croaked her sister's names, reaching her arms out to feel them as soon as they came into the room. She didn't exactly remember what had happened, why she was in this room, where everyone had gone. But she knew she was alive.

For the moment.

Bells looked around, frantically trying to locate a bathroom. "Um ... um ...," she said. Then she heard David yell for everyone to get out. Bell grabbed Jacks hand and ran outside, stopping near a bush. "I'm sorry Jack, but David said we had to get out ... so ... if you have to get sick, she said, covering her eyes with her hands, "you'll have to use the bush." Bells hated making Jack be outside when he wasn't feeling good but they really didn't have a choice. She walked a few feet away before bumping into something large and stationary. Bells looked up and saw David. "What happened David?"

Dannie closed her eyes as she placed her hand on Ellie's head. What happened, Josephine asked. Dannie sighed and motioned for Josephine to go. Josephine knew to do ... she needed to get the gun and put it back. She padded out to the front and spotted the gun almost immideatly. Its dark aura was huge. Give me the gun, Josephine said to the man holding the gun. Hopefully the man listened to her. Even though she was a cat.