The Lady Of The House
Sam had been correct in assuming Alex would follow him. He'd been heading to the library after all. He'd assumed Alex was a bookworm just by the way he'd ignored everyone for the small black book downstairs. Alex had followed him all the way up there without so much as a peep and now he'd curled up in a large armchair with a massive, leather bound book. The title had faded with time but whatever it was had to have been interesting after all Alex hadn't put it down in the past half hour. Sam considered asking but thought better of it as he set off to find sheet music in the old office desk at the back of the library.
The library was absolutely huge and even worse it was a maze in itself. There was row after row of imposingly large bookshelves and there were sliding ladders that were connected to the row of bookshelves it belonged to. Each shelf had a multitude of colorful books. Some of the titles were unreadable and dusty covered nearly every inch of the library. Sam made his way through the neat rows of bookshelves and quite a few stacks of random books until he found the office doors.
The office was huge and dust hung in the air making Sam want to cough. Sam eyed the picture on the wall behind the desk. It seemed like an old family portrait. A tall brunette stood emotion in the back next to a man whose face was clear of all emotion. In front of the two were three children. The two girls had wide smiles on their faces while the young boy seemed to be attempting to hide behind his hands.
Sam looked around and began searching for the cabinets. He'd seen unfinished sheet music on the desk leading him to believe that whoever's office it belonged to was a musician or they were at least trying to be. He hoped he was right in thinking there would be old sheet music from people like Mozart or Beethoven. Playing the piano was relaxing for him and it helped him think.
Pov Change
Alex heard Sam's footsteps recede further back into the library but paid it no mind. He didn't feel put off by the strange situation they were in. He had no reason to after all. No one had tried to harm him and aside from being scared out of their wits the others downstairs were relatively okay even though Tracy and Sam had been tossed about the sun room. He preferred solitude so he was beginning to love the library more and more. It was quiet, massive, and filled with books. Not to mention the cozy chairs.
He also had a quiet appreciation for the house.It was old, spacious and yet beautiful. Most of the furniture was antique and it reminded him of his grandma's house in a way. The outside was quiet which meant no one lived nearby. If it weren't for the ghost everyone else claimed to have seen this place was a dream house or at least it was to him.
He wondered if any of their parents had noticed they were gone. It had only been an hour but he knew his parents had noticed the second he'd disappeared. They always kept tabs on him. Whether it was to make sure he was studying or that he was making good choices. They always made for sure they knew where he was so he wouldn't get kidnapped. After all he'd lived in New York and it was easy for someone his size to just disappear in a crowd. His mind began to wander as he turned his focus back to his book.
It took about 5 minutes before he was pulled back from the world of fiction written into those faded words. He noticed a flurry of movement out of the corner of his eye and at first he assumed it was Sam. Suddenly there was a chill in the air and a weight settled next to him. A wise looking old lady had sat down on the arm of the chair peering down at him.
“That was once my favorite,” her voice echoed eerily off the walls and the air around her was absolutely freezing. That would have been enough to drive anyone away and if that didn't then the blood dripping down her shirt and onto the floor should have.
“Really?” Alex looked up, ignoring the fact that she was practically see through.
“Don't worry I won't spoil it for you. My name's Vivian. I'm the lady of the house,” she seemed pleasantly surprised he hadn't reacted like the others had.
“Do you know how we got here?” He asked, toying with one of the ends of the pages between the fingers on his left hand. If she had answers he wanted to know but deep down he guessed she couldn't stay long. Her appearance, however ghostly it had been before, kept flickering. Her face had become distorted before she disappeared altogether.
So that's why no one's lived here in a while, he thought to himself. They were obviously scared of Vivian despite the fact that Alex thought she was nice enough. She hadn't spoiled the old fairy tale he was reading which wasn't necessary. He'd read it many times before because his grandma owned a lot of antique books just like this one. He'd read almost all of them by the time he was twelve. He'd always been big on books and reading but he never considered himself a bookworm although he knew that he was one.