Lust, Deception and Denial.

Chapter One; Understanding the Clock.

The grandfather clock struck midnight, the pendulum swaying from left to right. It's loud and repeated 'tick tock' seeming to ring throughout the silent, and lonesome mansion, only to become nothing but a mere whisper as the fire in the lounge flinched away from the light. Lucy sat by the fire, her bare legs lighting up as the flames flickered towards her. Silence. Lucy was an intelligent girl, she had long, black hair, tattoos over her rib cage and a model-scenario figure. 

She often sat in front of the fire, alone. She didn't much like contact with the outside world after her parents died. But, then again, who would? Neither you nor I. Lucy was an A level student, she always tried hard in her exams. But, she was never really the same after that. She slowly began to cut off contact with everyone; Mirajane, Levy, Laxus, Gray, Kallen and almost everyone else at the guild. But, no matter how hard everyone tried, they couldn't seem to draw her mind from that lonely, pain-struck shadow. 

Her gaze suddenly shifted from the flickering flames that seemed to glare at her from the fire, to a bookshelf situated in the furthest corner of the room, near the large, door frame. She got up off the floor, and paced over towards the bookshelf. She dropped her gaze onto the lower level of the shelf, hiding a secret compartment. Her heel clashed with the floor, making a significantly loud tap against the hardwood panels. A sudden knock at those doors disrupted her thought pattern, and so she shook her head and moved to the closed doors. Her hand hovered above the handle, shuddering a little. She jerked her hand down, locking the handle in her grasp before pulling it open. Nothing was there. A merely dark, empty hallway. 

"Well.. That was strange.. There shouldn't be anyone else in here, but me." Lucy whispered to herself, closing the door swiftly as she stepped back from it. She trembled at the thought of what could be lurking in the shadows. She felt the remnants of an impulsive and clouded reiatsu. As she was a mage herself, she understood the terms of reiatsu, but instead of spending time thinking about it, she returned to the bookshelf, picking up a book on reiatsu before opening it to the contents page. The stained pages scraping against one-another. 

"Reiatsu - (spiritual energy) Someone capable of manipulating chi (spiritual energy) is also capable of manipulating said ki into something, said 'something' being generally called reiatsu." Lucy whispered to herself. 

"So.. You're back.. After all this time." She whispered again. 

The clock pendulum triggered the numerous clang of bells that soon followed, echoing throughout the lonesome manor hallways, crossing left and right. The internal structure of the manor containing the hallways, was much like a maze. It had the same properties, but there was definitely more to it  than met the eye.

The ghastly presence that lurked around every corner of the maze-like hallways, sent shudders down Lucy's spine, she almost trembled at the figments she conjured up in her mind. It came to a point where she stopped dead in her tracks. 

A sudden knock at the main chambers' door brought her attention back. "Who could that be? At this time of night, everyone should be in bed!" Lucy grumbled as she made her way through the halls, past the lobby and to the entrance door. She sighed a little, and reached towards the black handle. She grasped it firmly before yanking it open. She stared in amazement, a tinge of curiosity imploring her to invite the shady character indoors, and out of the harshly falling rain. "Lady M-Marianne." She stuttered. Lucy glanced at the long, dark leather that hid Lady Marianne's crimson shirt. The leather sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, revealing a highly intricate sleeve of tattoos. 

"How long has it been?" Lady Marianne asked.

"7 years, Marianne." Lucy replied.

Lucy removed the hood that hid Marianne's long, dark hair, and slid the rest of the leather jacket from her body, dropping it to hang on the closest coat stand. "7 years, eh? What happened to visiting me at the Hall of Emporers' and Empresses?" Marianne questioned. Lucy chuckled, shutting the door with her back as she stared ahead at Marianne. "Y'know, we've got a lot to catch up on." Lucy whispered, leaving a lingering chuckle behind.

"Look, I don't mean to be a creep or anything..But, there's something not right about this house. Doors open and close freely, the windows cascade into darkness, frequently. I get the feeling that we're not alone.." Marianne shuddered helplessly, crumbling to her knees. Lucy, then felt her own weight crash against the floor. The clock rang again, And, once more there were several knocks at the double-door-ed entrance. The door then creeping open, leaving the two women in the entrance fear-struck. A tall, male student stood there, his heavy black trench coat covering his build as the rain crashed down around him. His shirt, black and buttoned to the collar, leaving an intimate view of his pectoral muscles. His trousers, once a still black, now a torn grey. Although they were indeed, torn. They still looked surprisingly smart. His boots, heavy, and scuffed. Although only his right eye was visible, and it was a darkened shade of green, as for his hair, it lined his face perfectly, sweeping over his left eye. He looked like the kind of person who didn't really have much to do with the outside world, a loner almost. His stance was almost intimidating. But, even Lucy could see, from just a single gaze into his misguiding eye, she could tell that he'd taken everything in from his childhood, to his adult years. "Uh, I apologize for the intrusion, but as you can see, I'm kind of lost. Would you mind if I stayed the night, because, well..It's kind of cold out here." The male spoke, his voice thundering throughout the entrance, echoing from one room to the next. Lucy nodded, before glancing anxiously at Marianne, who also appeared to nod. He walked in through the gap in the heavy doors, shoving them shut with the heel of his boot. The droplets of rain began to cascade from his hair, and trench-coat, leaving an out of place puddle in the centre of the tiled flooring.

"My name's Karter. Karter Miyogi." Karter then spoke. His voice gave a clouded reassurance to the females. His stance, again, was one of his main features. They then heard a large 'crash' on the floor above. Karter hurried through the corridor, and into the lounge before reaching the staircase located in the far, right-hand corner of the lounge. He launched himself up the stairs, taking almost four steps at a time. Upon reaching the final step of the staircase, he shouted down to the females, 'Where did that come from?!' 

"I-It sounded like it came from the back room.. Take a right when you reach the top of the staircase, and follow the hallway until you reach a single door." Lucy replied. And without a second moment's notice, Karter had followed Lucy's instructions, following the right and launching himself down the hallway. He stood at the door that had obviously been opened, but not shut properly. He chuckled to himself, as a series of footsteps seemed to follow up on him from behind, and there it stopped. "You know, it's rude to sneak up on people, Marilyn." Karter softened his voice after speaking. 

His hand delved past Marilyn's spellbound cloak, and clasped his hand around a part of the fabric, which he fumbled a few times before removing it from atop the female.