Translations:

Qui êtes-vous - Who are you

Qu'est-ce que vous voulez - What do you want

Je suis déjà mort - I am already dead

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.

-Edgar Allan Poe

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rose didn't have a plan for where she was going; she just needed to get out of that situation before she started to care. She cared too easily about people, and she had a feeling that it would not bode well for her should she develop any kind feelings towards any residents in this mansion.

Rose quickly found herself in a large garden of roses, red and white blooms spreading out in neat rows for quite a ways. She wrinkled her nose, poking a flower in distaste. She disliked roses, mainly because everyone assumed they were her favorite flower. They also had too many thorns for her liking, and their smell wasn't as pleasing as other flowers. She preferred French lavender and lilac to roses, thank you very much.

Mireille adored them, however, because she once read a story where a fairy had made a knife out of their thorns. Ever since she would wind pieces of grass around twigs and the thorns she broke off from them and leave them out as presents to fairies so they could fight off their enemies. Rose had always helped her, though she was never very good and got injured more often than not, and would sometimes creep outside early in the morning to steal the knives so Mireille wouldn't be disappointed when she woke up.

Mind still locked in nostalgia, Rose reached for a flower, hoping it could help stave off the violent waves of homesickness she was feeling. However, just as her fingers pinched the stem, a voice call out, "What do you think you're doing?" With a start, Rose turned to face the first brother she'd seen upon arrival, Subaru. He was scowling at her, arms crossed aggressively over his chest as he waited for an answer.

"Um, I was just, uh, going to pick this?" Rose stuttered out, her voice going up in a question as she subtly asked for permission. It didn't seem like a good idea to pluck flowers from their garden without asking, now that she thought about it. They were a rather touchy group of individuals.

"Like hell," he snapped, taking a step forward that had her lurching back into a defensive posture. He looked so furious that for a moment another person flickered where he stood, an image of her tormentor taking his place as their rage-filled expressions blurred.

Rose shook her head, trying to clear it. What was wrong with her? Lately, her emotions had been all over the place, and these images... No, she wouldn't let herself think about that now. Especially not when a pissed off vampire was glaring at her like she was his next meal. She forced herself to relax her defensive position and let out a small, utterly fake laugh. "Alright. Jeez, no need to get so touchy. They're just flowers."

His glare deepened. "Then why were you about to pick one?" Subaru spat, and Rose turned back to the flowers, a small smile dancing on her lips as she thought of what Miri's reaction to this situation would be.

"My sister loves roses, and I miss her," she confided, figuring the information was harmless enough. How could he possibly use Miri against her when she was clear across the ocean? In the clutches of Damien, a small voice whispered in the back of her head, but she shoved it away. What could she do about that at the moment? And so, she focused back on the present, the 'here and now' as the multiple mental health books she read had said.

Subaru scoffed. "Is that little sob story supposed to move me?" However, when she glanced at him sideways, she noticed he wasn't glaring any longer, merely looking at the roses. Not as big a tough guy as you want people to think, huh, she thought, fighting to keep the grin from spreading across her face.

"You asked, I answered honestly. What more do you want?" Rose asked, knowing she should probably leave the conversation on an okay note instead of going further, but too tired and bored at the moment to care.

Subaru's face scrunched back up in a frown as he looked at her, hands balling back into fists. Anger seems to be a prominent emotion in this household, she thought as she faced him impassively. "Nothing," he snapped. "I just-"

"Wasn't expecting something honest from such a sarcastic bitch. Yes, I get that a lot," she finished, her mouth tilting up in a small smile. Apparently, her brutal self-deprecation shocked the frown right off Subaru's face, and he shifted uncomfortably. A full smile spread across her face as she took in his social ineptness. "Not used to holding a full conversation with your prey?" Rose pressed, and that frown returned. If he wasn't careful, his face would get stuck that way, but Rose wasn't going to tell him that.

"Your mouth is going to get you in trouble if you aren't careful," Subaru warned, and Rose scoffed, waving a hand as though that couldn't possibly matter. "I'm serious," he said, stepping closer to her. "We're all monsters, and now you're trapped with us."

"It's sweet of you to worry, but don't waste your time. There's no way I can make it out of this situation alive, so I'm going to be as annoying as possible until I'm forced to kick the bucket," she replied and turned to walk away, the conversation becoming too personal for her tastes. Rose didn't want them to care about her. Subaru grabbed her shoulder to try and stop her, and she flinched violently away from him. "Woah, no touchy." Her strained tone somewhat ruined Rose's attempt at a joke, but Subaru was indifferent enough not to press.

He hesitated a moment, then spoke. "At least avoid the smartass routine around Reiji. He's fond of ... creative punishments," Subaru mumbled, and Rose nodded. The prickling feeling returned, her skin covered in goosebumps, and, faster than she could blink, he was gone.

"Well damn, that was a weird exchange," Rose murmured to herself. Rubbing her temples, she turned to head in. It was incredibly late, and she was going to need all the sleep she could get if she was going to sass her way to the grave.

However, as she stepped forward, something seemed to root her in place. Struggling to move towards the mansion, Rose felt as though cold hands were gripping her, tugging at her clothes and urging her away. She was shivering from the chill, goosebumps rising on her arms as she struggled to move.

A sudden breath of cold against her ear made her flinch, and Rose swore she heard a soft voice hiss something, though she was unable to make out the words. "Qui êtes-vous? Qu'est-ce que vous voulez?" Rose whispered, barely able to get the questions past her dry throat, so focused on trying to move she reverted to her native tongue.

The hissing whisper came again, and this time Rose was able to make out a few words. Brothers...bad....death...run. Rose whimpered, her muscles shaking with the effort of trying to break free from the paralyzing cold. She didn't understand what was going on, or why this was happening now. All Rose knew was that she wanted to get away. "Je suis déjà mort," she rasped, and suddenly the frozen touches vanished. Rose lurched forward, stumbling as the effort she had been putting into trying to pull free caught up with her. However, she righted herself quickly and bolted for the mansion.

Rose slammed the front door behind her and, hands braced against her knees, tried to catch her breath. She was still shaking, though she wasn't sure if it was from fear, the cold, or both. The hairs on the back of her neck standing up had Rose jerking upright, hands raised and ready to fight. However, it was only the other redhead, who she thought was called Ayato, though it could have been Pretentious Bighead. Either one would work.

He smirked at her defensive position and came closer, studying her face with mild curiosity. "What's with you, Cardboard? You look like you've seen a ghost," he teased. Rose didn't share in his amusement, his observation only adding to her unease.

"I'm not sure I haven't," she murmured in response and pushed past Ayato before he could question her further. If Rose was sure about anything, it was that she needed to get to sleep. She'd worry about the whispers and the chill later.

However, as she made her way to her room, Rose had the horrible feeling that she was not alone in the maze of hallways, and it wasn't the brothers' eyes that were watching her.

Don't worry dear. You're just going crazy. There's nothing that's threatening you outside of your own mind.

Your attempt at comfort is really counterproductive.

Whelp, after some jerk tried to plagiarize this story, I lost my inspiration a little bit. However, now that the spoopy (<- yes, this is correct, Grammarly) season is upon us, I'm in the writing mood again! And what better way to commemorate Halloween month then to write about crazed vampires and family issues? Anyway, thanks to everyone who reads this because it makes me really happy whenever I see the view number climb!

~ Avie