Family Secrets of the Castle Corpse Mansion

The four story tan brick mansion nearly glowed in the sunlight, or at least what was left of the sunlight on that clear October evening. Ivy grew wildly up the walls up toward the magnificent white windows decorated in red shutters. On the second and third stories stood three balconies, railed in black iron and trimmed with white starry tiles and red shingles to shield it from the winds and the rain.

On the second story balcony sat two teenage boys lazily relaxing in the cool autumn air and leaning against one another in a large lawn chair that sat awfully close to the railing. The two boys were about a year or two apart and one was slightly taller than the other, with dark blond hair. The shorter boy who happened to have black hair and heavily darkened eyes draped his legs thoughtlessly over the railing and kicked them gently in the breeze. His blond friend sipped from a small blue can and every now and then would offer a sip to his smaller companion, running his fingers through the midnight locks that ran almost to his shoulders.

“My cousin Billy James and his boyfriend Matt Nichols.” A soft feminine voice whispered from beside Avery Simmons. “Billy, the one with the black hair, well he’s fifteen and Matt will be seventeen in November. You’d get along well with Matt, both his parents died too.” The raven haired girl’s name was Kaitlyn Gamier.

Avery had met Kay in Driver’s Education just this past year and the two had become amazing friends. She was only fifteen, but Avery didn’t care about the age difference. Besides fifteen and seventeen were the same age difference as her cousin and his boyfriend were and the two of them were living together. She was the only person who had room to spare for him after the terrible accident that had killed his parents. Avery knew very little about her home life only that she had one brother and a couple of relatives living in the same house.

A beautiful garden grew against the front of the mansion, brightening up the yard with the light colors that the October rain had brought. White, violet, yellow, pink and red roses lined the forward wall near an extremely large fish pond that shimmered with the coming colors of the sunset. The pond was well decorated with rocks and an arrangement of plants Avery couldn’t even describe to himself. A large waterfall poured from a lion’s mouth twelve feet high on the mansion wall and fell to a pot, trickling water down over a cascade of assorted colored stones and into the pond. Fish of all shapes and colors swam beneath the clear water, almost looking as if they were swimming under a shinny piece of glass with elegant water lilies dancing upon the otherwise calmer water.

The extensive front porch on either side of the large pond was paved with dark red brick and gold pillars, complementing the white of the house. A small stone bridge formed the path between the two porches and was railed in laminated oak. Tables and rocking chairs were the chosen décor of the right side of the porch and a small porch swing and coffee table occupied the left. Two elderly women sat side beside observing the birds and scenery and drinking hot chocolate and brandy between themselves. The older of the two women looked up at the white Pontiac and smiled as it pulled into the driveway. She wore a deep lavender dress and corset with a matching gold and purple cane beside her.

“That’s my Great Aunt Jeremiah Lynn. She’s about ninety-four and it still doesn’t look like she’s going to die anytime soon.” Kay’s words echoed in his mind as they pulled toward the long cobblestone paved driveway leading to an underground garage. He smiled at the older woman and laughed to himself at how funny the two ladies looked sitting outside in their rockers.

Four thick branched oak trees grew merrily, randomly adding height to the otherwise flat surface of the land, branching out over the thick green grass of the yard. In the oak tree closest to the driveway sat two young boys up in the crook of the tree. One was a vibrant red-head with light blue eyes and very adventurous from the way he was hanging upside down on the tree. Both boys looked like they were having a lot of fun and one grinned shyly as he saw his cousin wave from the car window.

Three small children played happily on a tire swing hanging from the adjacent tree, being pushed by a man who looked about in his mid twenties. He had short black hair and a small mustache to accompany his dark skin. Under the farthest tree, a young Hispanic couple sat together feeding each other from a small picnic basket they had placed beside the, kissing every so often in the happiness of the season. The scene was almost too happy for Avery to bear, especially with all the pain his family had caused.

“Shoran and Sean are the two boys in the tree. Sean is the red-head. Tyler, Pablo and Margarita are on the tire swing, and that’s my cousin Lorenzo pushing them. The happy couple is my cousin Tosca and his girlfriend Mimi Sanchez. They have been together for the longest time. Mimi moved in with us while both of them went to rehab and she just never left.” Kay was solemn for a moment as she looked at the torn up look on Avery. He looked back at her and smiled slightly.

She was beautiful with her light blue eyes and raven black hair, slightly showing her brown roots. Her skin was extremely pale and her curves accentuated her amazing figure, along with that silly smile that made him feel all warm inside. His sudden an immense look of happiness made Kay laugh. She leaned up against him and gave him a large hug, laughing as he smiled at her action. It wasn't just the sooting gesture that calmed Avery, especially when he felt her brests against him. The Chauffer pulled into the parking garage and drove down about a floor or two and parked in a space labeled Gamier eight.

“OK Avery…I’m going to have to warn you now that what you’re about to walk into is not a normal family home…so you know ok.” Kay’s sudden outburst shocked him as she looked him right in the eyes. Her gaze was extremely intense as he watched her.

“What’s there to know, you just have a few extra people in your house…right.” Avery said looking into Kay’s eyes. Her gaze was piercing as she stared at him, knowing this was an answer he did not want to know.

“There are eight families, sixty-six direct family members, ten people non-related to us at all, twenty-six gardeners, butlers and maids, thirty-two nurses, chefs, nannies and professors and twenty-seven pets only counting the cats and dogs. Do you think you can handle all that?” Kay’s expression was solemn as she watched the effect of her words. Not only had Avery just come from being an only child, he had only lived with his mom on most days. His head spun with the knowledge he had just received and how he was expected to fit in at this place.

Kay was upset at his sudden look of discontent and she handed him a stack of twelve folded sheets of paper, five of these were a map of the house and the others said the names of one hundred and thirty four humans that he was about to encounter when her walked through that door.

“Ready?” The girl inquired at his side, leading her to his very first trip up the stairs. He smiled at her and clutched her hand gently, somewhat laughing at the predicament he had found himself in.

“Yeah, I’m ready.