As dawn broke with a gentle wind rustling through the branches, it painted the sky in hues of soft pink and gold as Aiden awoke from his sleep. He blinked away the remnants of tiredness, his mind slowly emerging from the fog of dreams as he pushed himself upright in bed. Before he could fully awake, the door to his room creaked open, and a sharp click of heels echoed throughout the room. Aiden tensed, a sense of dread in the pit of his stomach as his mother swept into the room, but her usually stern expression was softened by an uncharacteristic warmth.
"Aiden, dear…" she murmured, almost as if it hurt her pride to say those words, yet her voice was saccharine to the point of disgust, "…your father wishes to speak with you in the main room. Please don't keep him waiting."
Aiden arched an eyebrow, fighting back the smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he found himself disheveled by his mother's sudden change in behavior. It was a stark contrast to the cold, disdainful woman he was accustomed to, and he couldn't help but feel amused by her sudden, and oh so fake display of affection.
"Of course, mother." he replied, his tone laced with a thinly veiled sarcasm. "Thank you for informing in me in such a kind, and motherly way. Dare I say, occasions like these are far and few between, so I'll make sure to enjoy every second of it." And as Hilda's grin faltered for a fraction of a second, a flicker of irritation flashed in her usually soulless eyes before she quickly masked it with a horrifying grin.
"Please, Aiden." she said through gritted teeth, "Do not keep your father waiting."
With a roll of his eyes and a sigh, Aiden forced himself out of bed, knowing better than to provoke his mother further. She slowly made her way out of the room, as Aiden quickly looked through the plethora of clothes in his closet, and chose what to wear. With one last glance at her retreating figure, he too soon made his way out, readying himself for whatever news awaited him. He swung his door open and proceeded to the grand hallway and to the looming spiral staircase that led down to the main room. Lining the walls were doors to rooms for each one of the children, all with a name plaque on the door itself, as well as paintings, family portraits and photographs, all desperately trying to fill the vast space of the room they were in.
Standing by the door to her room he saw his sister Valarie, and her presence alone felt like a ray of sunshine that could penetrate through the darkest and thickest clouds of despair that could ever trouble you. She was turned with her back towards him, opening the tall, Gothic style windows of the Silvius' almost castle-like home, letting the cold morning breeze in. As the sun shined through, it fell downward only to be absorbed by the dark, red velvet carpet that stretched the whole length of the hallway. But although this morning felt like every other, and nothing stood out to him, Aiden was weirdly perplexed about his surroundings. It all felt so familiar, yet so unknown to him.
"Hey Val, good morning! Slept well?" he said as he hurriedly made his way to the stairs, and before Valarie even got a chance to reply, he was already making his way down. Once more, Aiden gets hit with a wave of confusion. As bone-chilling wind made its way through the vast emptiness of the staircase, it felt to him like it took twice… maybe even three times longer to climb down than usual. He looked down over the guardrail only to realize the staircase had nothing below it besides a thick layer of fog stretching as far as the eye could see. Only after looking up did he realize why the climb down to here felt so long, as there was no top of the staircase to be seen either. In the midst of all this, a gentle voice could be heard echoing, yet Aiden couldn't pinpoint where from exactly.
As the voice kept getting closer and closer to him, he wasn't sure whether he should be confused or petrified by this predicament he found himself in, and he let his fear get the better of him, as he bolted down the stairs as fast as he could. Yet… nothing. The stairs kept going for as long as Aiden had strength to run. If nothing else, it seemed as if he at least got away from the looming voice, and the only sound that could still be heard in this void was the loud thuds of his footsteps hitting the granite steps, echoing. "Wait… granite?" Aiden thought to himself. "Our stairs have always been marble, not granite."
And he kept running, and running, yet to no avail. Until suddenly, like someone whispered in his ear for him to stop, he froze in place. A figure rose from the bottom of the stairs, and started spinning in circles around him until finally coming to a stop in front of him, staring him dead in the eyes. Never did Aiden see something like this. A completely gray figure with a womanly body, yet no facial features other than eyes that shined a deep purple.
"Who are you?" asked Aiden, to which the mysterious figure only responded with "That does not matter now. We will meet again soon. Just know, watch your back, and be careful who you trust. Go now, your have a lot to discover ahead." And before Aiden even had a chance to ask another question, he was suddenly running again, as if he never stopped, and his surroundings slowly started fading back to what felt like the actual staircase of his house. He paused, trying to catch his breath. As he tried to confirm that he wasn't still in that illusion, he looked down at his feet, and indeed, the stairs were marble. Looking around him once more, it seemed like all what happened in this mysterious, alternate version of his house happened almost instantly.
He rushed his way back up the stairs, where he found Valarie standing exactly where she was when he first passed, even though it felt like he was running down that granite stairwell for at least an hour. "What just happened?" Aiden was intensely thinking, dreading on whether any of that was even real or just some sort of a manic episode. All these thoughts kept swirling around his head like a rogue twister, but alas, he had no time to ponder on it now, as his father was waiting.
Continuing his rushed descent down the stairwell of the Silvius' Manor, he entered the main room. Still not being able to shake the sense of dread he was feeling just a few minutes ago, he was frantically analyzing every detail in the room that he could think of. From the long, onyx colored silk curtains spread across the windows, to number of chairs at the dining table, even to the fireplace next to which his father was sitting, trying to find if any detail felt wrong again.
As he was lost in thought, trying to scan every little detail of the room he was in, a calm, somber voice made its way through the vast space of this manor. His father was trying to grab his attention, yet Aiden was so deeply focused, the words had no effect on him. Feeling slightly annoyed by Aiden ignoring his call, Aldegar got up from the armchair he was sitting on, and made his way to him. With a light tap on the shoulder, Aiden's concentration was broken and thus he noticed the tall, looming figure of his father stooping over him. While most would find a situation like this unpleasant, for Aiden, it isn't like that. That is because, despite his overall rough look, deep and slow voice and immense height, Aldegar Silvius was always kind, sweet, and most importantly, always joyful with a smile on his face.
"Were you lost in thought, Aiden?" asked Aldegar, to which Aiden simply responded with "Yes, father. I'm sorry". It seemed that the years of living under his mother Hilda's borderline tyrannical rule affected Aiden's behavior, as his fathers ideals were never in the slightest similar to hers. Under her belt, Aiden was usually punished for even the smallest of mistakes, just like these, because of his mother's opinions about powerless people like Aiden, and their inferiority.
"Sorry? Sorry for what?" asked Aldegar, "Your admiration of our beautiful home caused no one any harm, so there is no need to apologize for it. Now, please, let's make our way to the fireplace, we have much to discuss."
As he sat down on the grand Victorian sofa lined with yellow stitching, to mimic the look of gold, Aiden was with his back turned to the fireplace, and the gentle waft of his father's morning coffee traveled through the air. The Silvius' Manor in its design closely resembled that of late Victorian era buildings and castles, with the rooms all being very open and with high ceilings. As such, the rooms themselves were always full of all sorts of memorabilia along the walls, carpets spread across the floors, looming crystal chandeliers, and all in the effort to make the rooms not seem empty and lifeless.
This is in part due to the age of the Silvius' Manor, as it was passed down for multiple generations, until it fell into the hands of Aldegar. Just like he received this manor that he calls home from his father, for being the strongest child of his, so did his father, grandfather, and anyone before. Truthfully speaking, Aldegar wasn't the strongest of his siblings, but sadly, after Ulrich's untimely passing, the estate fell into his hands.
"Aiden…" Aldegar slowly began speaking, his voice suddenly seeming much more heartfelt, and yet also quite heavy, as if it exuded a tone of sadness. "As much as I don't personally enjoy moments like these, in which I contemplate my own feelings and dilemmas with others, I feel as if I must share this with you before everything else." Aiden suddenly felt every hair on his body stand up, as he was in shock by what his father was saying. Aldegar usually never discussed his feelings with anybody else, not that he had much to talk about in the first place, as he was almost always in a good mood and seemed unbothered by trivial dilemmas, so, this had to be something serious. "Recently, my mind has been filled with thoughts about your uncle, my brother, Ulrich. I've also come to realize that I have never explained his untimely demise to any of you, and what happened after it all. So please, bear with me here as I recall all that took place around his death..."