Blood Mansion (billion.0)

Nicholas

"Oh trust me, I know. I knew before you took interest in her. She spends her days in my bed while her nights are spent running around for your lot." He snapped. So, it wasn't quite true that they actually had sex all the time, it was actually quite rare because of how tired the two always were and a few other problems.

Alice

The girl nodded slowly at his suggestion, not moving at his touch. She didn't flinch, or even react that he was right next to her. Stories would be good. Stories that werent about her.

Nero

"You talk too much." He sighed softly, rubbing his forehead. "If you keep going on like that, I might change my mind about this garden idea." Her voice annoyed him and started a dull headache at the back of his head.

Elena

I abruptly shut my mouth and dropped my eyes.
"Sorry. I'll be quiet now," I said. "Please don't change your mind."
It would be a rare happy spot in all of this mess. I'd do anything to keep him from taking it away. Okay, maybe not anything, but pretty damn close. Shutting up was the least I could do.

Kane

"Hm... alright, let me think for a second," I began, running my mind through anything that might be of interest. "Ah, I got one. So, me and this friend, we got this real bright idea when we were in high-school. Our principal, well, he wasn't the nicest or brightest guy around, and we were a couple of full of ourselves boys who'd just gotten grounded for getting detention one too many times. That principal got himself this bright red convertible, can you guess where this is going?"


Sebastian

Internally, I was pissed. However, showing that wouldn't do me any good. Instead, I just brightened my smile.
"Oh, if that's the case, I'll just have to keep her around all the time, then. It just wouldn't do to have something that belonged to me be seen with you. It'd just be a bit wrong, don't you think?"

Nero

"Shall we grab a few lanterns and see what is outside for you to work with? You have about an hour tonight before the sun rises." He gestured for her to lead the way out of his room. Hopefully she didn't expect him to carry the lanterns for her. His only job in this was to baby sit her so she wouldn't run off in the middle of the night and make his life difficult. He would watcher her while she worked and read a book.

Alice

She shook her head slowly, her hands dropping from her legs and her shoulders relaxing slowly. Her body was still tense, and she refused to look at him, but she had calmed down some when he started his story.

Nicholas

"sure that is a good plan? She isn't the best to actually share a bed with if you want sleep." He mumbled softly, picking up another book and dusting it off. Oh how he wanted to chuck it at his head.

Kane

"Well, my buddy thought he had this great idea, and being the easy-going, and slightly irritated with the principal, guy I was, I agreed to it. See, with my Dad being the sheriff, about any trouble we got into was written off when it reached him. Sure, we'd get grounded or such, but about nothing more than that. So, with this in mind, my buddy snatched the keys to the principal's car and we both hopped in. The original idea was just to take a ride long enough for the principal to realize it was gone, and then we'd return it.
"However, a problem occurred when first off, it started raining," I continued, chuckling as I remembered the event. "Neither one of us new how to put the top up, so both us and the car got soaked. To top it off, my buddy had just had his hair dyed. My dad just happened to be on patrol at the time and was shocked to find his son and his son's best friend soaked to the bone in a fancy car parked in some lady's barn. My friend, well, he was a sight to see. We were both soaked, but he was soaked and bright cherry red from the dye washing out all over him. It turned out he'd used some real cheap stuff and it came back to bite him in the ass.
"We didn't get in trouble, though, because when my Dad ran the license plate, it'd already been reported stolen before! That damn principal had actually bought a stolen car! Instead of getting arrested, we got thanked by the owner!"

Sebastian

"Perhaps, but I can have other fun besides sleeping. If I really need to sleep, I can always just restrain her, don't you think?" I asked, grinning. "It's not that hard, perhaps I'll even ask for your help."

Nicholas

"Have fun man. Just.... Have fun. She would enjoy that all too well." He chuckled softly, shaking his head. Was he in for a wild ride. But if he thought he could handle Thea and her sleeping patterns, or lack there of, more power to him. He could deal with the crying and screaming and talking in her sleeping. And the lashing and kicking and bruising she might end up doing to him. Nick tried to warn him. "Would love to help, but I'm not sure if I would be of much help to you."
Of course Nicholas was worried about Thea. But he couldn't let that show, not to Sebastian.

Alice

"Must have been fun. Your friend must have been red forever.... I have had a run in with dye problems in the past. It's a bitch to get out." Her voice was still soft and she kept herself folded in, but she sounded calmer. Eventually, she let one leg drop down from the chair so her foot rested on the ground again.

Sebby

This was less fun than I'd imagine it to be. He wasn't getting irritated, which was actually rather irritating in itself.
"Well, I thought I'd check on the news," I commented, the dismissal clear in my voice. "Which obviously, I can't do from you any longer."
Then, without actually ending the conversation, I turned my back and headed for the door of the library.
This was irritating.


Elena

"Yes, yes, of course," I replied, hurrying to hold the door open for him. I ran through the possibilities of what I could get done in an hour then stopped when I realized I had no clue what the garden would actually look like.
Once we were in the hall I quickly located the closet with the lanterns and pulled two out to light. It was the largest number I could carry so it would have to do. I was bouncing on my heels as turned to face Nero with a smile. To think I'd been wary when going to his room this morning because of the stories I'd heard.
"Here we go," I told him cheerily. "I've got the lanterns."


Kane

When she relaxed I relaxed as well, pulling my hand away and taking a few steps back. It was nerve racking when a girl was upset, I'd been raised right and just couldn't really handle it, vampire girl or not.
"Yeah, he was complaining for months straight. His Mom told him that's what he got for dying it red."

Thea

Normally, Thea was a pretty quick worker, but tonight she had no real reason to rush her chores. Eventually, she finished dusting and folding the clothing, and a few hours later she made her way back down to Sebby's room. She hesitated before opening the door, unsure if he would be there or not. Her life would be so much easier if he wasn't.

Nero

"Wonderful. Now, out to the garden we go." He gestured with his hand for her to follow as he walked down the maze of alls until he lead her to one of the few doors that allowed access to the outside world. With his slender fingers, he grabbed a key from inside his coat pockets and unlocked the door. When he opened it, the courtyard could be seen, a small boxed in area with cobblestone flooring lined with an overgrown garden, the mansion walls looming over the entire area.
"Here we are."

Alice

"Must have been funny for you, to see your friend red like that. I know my friends would have laughed at me after the initial shock. That is, if we could have issues like that when I was your age." Dying hair wasn't much of a problem when she was a human.

Elena

I stopped dead and stared around. How long had it been since I'd actually been outside like this, no matter what time of day it was? I racked my mind for a moment and decided that it'd been long enough that just this little exposure was slightly overwhelming. Within a second, however, I forced myself to take a few steps towards the overgrown garden, having figured out that my just staring probably wouldn't be very productive. I only had an hour.
Studying the garden with my eyes, I couldn't help the pleased smile that spread over my lips.
"It's savable," I declared happily. "There are a lot of pretty flowers here, even if it's not obvious right now."
Forcing myself into further action, I drew closer and tried to decide exactly where to start. My excited mind declared anywhere, but I knew that it would probably be best to start in the worst area first so to save the flowers anymore trouble.


Kane

"It was hilarious," I admitted. "He got called Elmo for weeks. A few of us even got him an orange nose to match."
As I spoke, I moved back to the seat I'd previously been perched in. Now that she was fine, I figured that meant I was free to get comfortable again.

Nero

He took a seat in the corner of the court yard, in the rusted bench, his feet plopped up on an over turned pot. "You have 45 minutes to work," he mused softly, watching her from a far. He would pull out his flask every now and then and take a small sip from it.

Alice
"You guys are horrible! well, were horrible." She laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. "If my friends did that to me, well they would be dead. Not dead dead, but you know what I mean, right?"

Elena

I nodded, deciding on where to start working. Sitting the lanterns down in appropriate positions, I knelt and started to pull away weeds. Gradually I managed to cover a majority of worst parts, a nice sized pile of weeks forming on the edge of the garden. Rocking back on my heels, I swiped the sweat from my forehead and glanced in Nero's direction. It was sorta funny that even without sunlight I could work up a sweat with this sort of work.
"How much time do I have left?" I questioned.
From my estimate, it probably wasn't long.


Kane

I nodded, grinning at the idea, as well as the fact I'd managed to make her laugh.
"Yeah, I getcha. The only reason he didn't kill us was because his mom swore that if he got into trouble one more time she was going to ship him off to a private catholic school one of his family members worked at. He informed us that he didn't doubt she was telling the truth."


Sebby

After attempting to find something to work off my irritation for a few hours, I eventually found my way back to my room. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that for once, Thea had listened to me.
"Couldn't wait to see me again?" I questioned, shutting my door behind me.

Nero

"About five minutes until we have to head in." He warned her, standing from his chair. "We can come back out tomorrow if you behave yourself and get your chores done." This would be a good incentive to keep her in line. Also for her to not annoy him throughout the night.

Alice
"Harsh. Sounds like hell on earth if you ask me. And we live here." She wrapped her arms around her knees and smiled at his grin. It was nice to have a normal conversation with someone.

Thea
She had taken a seat on the ground while she waited for him to come back, her ipod resting in her lap and her ear buds tucked into her ears, blasting music loud enough they it filled the room.

When he walked in she paused her music and took her ear buds out, glancing up at him. "Already took my freedom away from me today. Didn't want to push you any further." She mumbled honestly, her usual spirit lacking. Plus, he mentioned that if she kept him happy, she would be happy in return.

Elena

I gave a quick nod, pulling myself up from the dirt and flowers so to gather my weeds into a tidier pile and move it into a spot that the sun would probably hit during the day. Hopefully they would dry out, making it easier to dispose of them.
"Okay," I agreed. "I'll make sure to get everything done!"
I would hate to only get to come out once now that I knew what it was like out here. It was so nice and for once I actually enjoyed the work I'd been given to do. When it came to this it didn't really feel like work.

Kane

"That's what he thought as well," I informed her. "Straightened up quite a bit until he was sure she'd forgotten about the threat."
If she was smiling, that must have meant I was doing a pretty good job at entertaining her with conversation. It was moment's like these that reminded me just how similar the vampires could be to humans sometimes. Then again, all I had to think of was how Thea's death would be "interesting" or something along those lines according to Alice and I could remember that they weren't exactly human.

Sebby

I frowned, leaning against the door and studying her from where I stood.
"How logical of you," I replied, my voice showing slight annoyance.
She could have been at least a little irritated or spirited. It would seem that I was getting nowhere in that department recently.

Nero

"Right. Well, in we go." He walked over and grabbed her arm and a lantern, heading towards the door. "Can't stay out here any longer." He opened the door and nodded for her to walk in a head of him, his grip still on her arm.

Alice

"I would straighten up as well if my attitude if my parents threatened private school with family staff." Alice pointed out, still smiling.

Thea

"I just can't please you, can I? I follow your orders and you are annoyed with me. I wander off and you get pissed." She shook her head and looked away again. "This is a lose lose situation for me, no matter what I do, isn't it?"

Elena

I was surprised to suddenly find myself being steered towards the door, but I didn't protest, there was no reason to. Instead, acutely aware of his hold on my arm, I quickly stepped through the door ahead of him. It wasn't until then that I started to pull it away. No matter how much I reminded myself there was no reason to be uneasy around him, he hadn't shown any temper as of yet, I couldn't help the feeling that stirred in me at the fact a vampire was holding my arm.

Kane

"You have a point," I mused. "I probably would have cleaned up, too, not that when he was clean I actually had anything to clean up."

Sebby

Something about her comment struck me as amusing an I actually laughed.
"Probably," I replied, considering it. "I guess you'll just have to work to see if there's any way to get around that."

Nero

"Now...go do whatever it is you do when the sun starts to rise." He instructed, locking the door and walking off, leaving her alone. "See you at sun down." He took another drink from his flask as he walked off, draining the contents,

Alice

"Everyone has something to clean up, whether they know it at the time or not." That might not have made sense to him, what she said didn't quite make sense to her. What she was hinting at was that everyone one had some dirty part about them.

Thea

Thea scowled when he laughed and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"The sun is about to rise. Can I leave?" She mumbled, glancing down at her iPod that was running out of power.

Elena

"See you..."
After he'd left I stood there for a moment, searching my mind for whether or not there was anything left for me to do. Unable to think of anything, I quickly made my way to my room to sleep. My mind was spinning, pulling together all the plans for what I could do with that garden.

Kane

"That's probably true," I replied thoughtfully, leaning back in my chair.
I'll admit, the attitude I'd held towards my father back then was probably something I could have done well with getting rid of. I'd always been a bit rude towards him and taking advantage of his position in the police.
"We've been talking for some time," I added on. "I wouldn't want to keep you up. Let me know when it's time for you to go rest."

Sebby

I tilted my head, considering the request. To be honest, I'd considered making her stay the night. At the same time, from what I'd gathered by Nick's reaction earlier, I'd probably be best off not having her here if I wanted to sleep.
"You may. Be back before I wake up."

Nero

Nero walked back to his room and flopped down on his bed, dragging his pillow over his face. What was he doing, entertaining this girl with these notions that she could have this garden? The others might not stand for it. Sebby might not stand for it. Well, that would be her problem if he didn't. Not like Nero would get in trouble for entertainment.

Alice
"Doesn't matter how late I stay up. You are the one who has a list of chores to finish tomorrow." She shrugged and stood up, passing him her glass. "But I am getting rather sleepy, so I think I will relieve myself from this conversation. Thank you for the entertainment."

Thea
"I'll try." She made no promises about when she would be back. Maybe she would sleep in. Maybe she would find a dark corner of the library to cry in.
With a sigh, she stood up and tucked her iPod into her back pocket. She glanced over at him before heading over to the door.

Kane

"No need to thank me," I replied as I took her glass. "You're the one who gave me something to do besides work. It was nice talking to you."
Standing, I stretched, careful not to drop the glass. I was satisfied to feel a few things pop and lowered my hands. It was strange to be sitting like that, although I wouldn't say it was an enjoyable strange.
"Sleep well."

Sebby

When she started for the door, I highly considered staying in the way. It was pretty tempting to see what she would do if I didn't move. Actually, it was just a little too tempting.
"You'll try?" I questioned, leaving my back against the door. "What sort of answer is that?"
I'll admit that the irritated tone my voice had held had completely disappeared. It would have been disappointing if she'd agreed.

Alice
"You as well, Kane." She smiled at him before leaving, her skirt twirling around her as she turned. Her walk to the door was quick, but she still had a little jump to her step. While she wasn't exactly tired, she knew that she should at least head back towards her room.

Thea
She huffed when he stopped her from leaving, her eyes narrowing slightly and the smallest sliver of her spirit showing. "It's an honest answer." She mumbled to him. "I'll try to wake before you do, but I can't control when you wake in comparison to me. It would be silly of me to make a promise I couldn't keep." She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him, curious to what he would say in response to that.

Kane

After she left I quickly took the glass back down to the kitchen to rinse out. As soon as I'd taken care of that, I quickly covered the more important of the chores I'd left undone due to our conversation. It didn't take very long, I'd done them enough that even a hurried job was better than nothing. When I'd finished I made my way to my room, hoping that I wouldn't oversleep again. One day had been enough. I doubted even Alice would stand it if I did it several days in a row.


Sebby

I cocked my head, a thoughtful look appearing on my face. That was true enough. I didn't bother to stick to a schedule with when I got up. It was more amusing to have whoever was waiting on me a the time have to guess and get punished when they got it wrong.
"Just get up early," I informed her instead of agreeing she had a point. "Then you don't have to worry about it, do you?"
I hadn't budged an inch from the position I'd been in the entire time I'd been in the room. I was still waiting to see how she'd manage to get me to move. It was an amusing thought.

Thea
Why wasn't he moving away from the door? "To wake up early I would actually be to be able to leave this room to sleep." She pointed out, her arms dropping to her sides. Tonight was way too long for her tastes and all she wanted to do was crawl in bed next to Nicholas and get some sleep. "But I'm too tired to try and get you to move. Do I'm just going to sleep on your bed." With a cold stare, she turned away from him and went over to his bed, kicking off her shoes. If he wasn't making her stay in the room while he slept, he probably didn't want her in his bed, or at lest that is what she assumed.

Sebastian

I stared at my bed for a moment, pursing my lips thoughtfully. A second later I shrugged, pushing away from the door and moving towards my own bed.
"Does that mean you're volunteering to be my snack if I wake up cranky and parched?" I questioned, reaching to pull my shirt over my head. I normally slept in pajama pants at the most.

Thea

"Do I really have a choice there?" She asked him, glancing at the door then back at him. If she went for the door, he might go after her and that wouldn't end well for her. Or he could be disappointed in her that she tried to leave. She was really too exhausted from working to try and figure him out. "Can I borrow a shirt to sleep in?"
If she did stay, Nick would know. And he would get pissed. And he would be the one to bring blood the next morning to Seb just to make sure that she was alright. While Sebby might find that entertaining, it would be dangerous.

Sebastian

I paused, glancing at the shirt in my hands before shrugging and tossing it at her.
"You can have that one," I informed her. "As for the other, not really. Even if you left there's the chance you'd be the snack anyways. Since you're mine now I don't have to be considerate to others about your being able to do chores."
Not that I had ever been considerate. Turning my back to the bed I went to grab a pair of pants out of one of my drawers.

Thea
Great, a freshly used shirt. Thea sighed and took it from him, turning her back towards him so she could change. While she changed, she knew that he could see the scarring along her back, but he could have seen that earlier. If he had questions about it, she would answer them when she woke up. But she was far to tired to even think about telling the story of her burn marks that took up most of her back.
When she finished changing she wore only his shirt and her underwear. Her other clothing was folded neatly in a pile on top of her shoes. Nothing about this situation felt right and anxiety seemed to seep into her mind as she considered what she was doing. Spending the day with Sebastian was not a smart idea. Not with her sleeping habits. Not if she could wake him and make upset.