burn my memory, burn my outline
the tears scream to scar your unpierced flesh
shattered mirrors reflecting back your face
'let your defences fall'

                          [ Black Tape for a Blue Girl]

Chapter2: Lodgings
Mandy, Gilles and Dorothy followed the odd and quiet Gavin inside and got a look of the inside of the mansion. The halls were high and wide. Someone had gone through a lot of effort to expose the bare cold stone beneath what had obviously been a layer of white plaster. Dorothy didn't know which one she would have preferred to be honest. She'd always liked cozy houses more. She looked around further and noticed the odd painting and harnas, the usual things one expected to find in a mansion of this size. No doubt they'd been fished out of water-submerged wine-cellars or dried up wells.
"It's cold." she muttered.
Everything about this mansion felt old and distant. Looking away from the walls and following close behind Mandy who even though she had snapped at her was still the only person Dorothy felt remotely safe with, Dorothy got an even more unpleasant surprise. She was unable to stifle her gasp when she noticed the shackles hanging from the stairs.
"Interesting decor." Mandy snided.
Gilles approached the shackles and admired them. The metal was worn and rusted at places, but it still looked so strong. Reaching out his hand to touch, Gilles didn't notice the large presence of Gavin behind him.
"Stop!" Dorothy screamed.
"What the..." Gilles uttered, "Can't you be quiet?"
"She was talking to your stalker." Mandy grinned maliciously. Had it been up to her she would have liked to see Gilles get punished for his disgression.
"Just stop." Dorothy pleaded.
To her relief Gilles took a step back and Gavin too seemed to back down.
"We don't like to have these touched." he muttered as explanation.
Mandy shrugged and followed Gavin when he started walking again. Dorothy followed close behind them, making sure that Gilles too had started moving. She kept her eyes down and her ears ready to capture any signal about danger. She did not feel the least bit calm. She didn't have the energy to go back to the Dorothy who smiled her troubles away. Hadn't she come here in the first place to not be that Dorothy any longer? Hadn't she wanted to put that energy into finding a husband and raising kids?
Gavin interrupted her thoughts when he said, "This is your room sir."
Getting only aglance of the room Dorothy still hoped she'd get a room slightly less gloomy. She'd definitely seen the gleam of steal blades and the darkness of a windowless room.
"Where are our rooms?" Dorothy asked nervously.
"Does it matter?" Mandy asked, "I know I won't be seeing mine a lot."
Gavin remained silent and led them deeper into the mansion. They went up a staircase and round, making it nearly impossible for Dorothy to know where she was exactly.
"Your rooms are next to each other." Gavin suddenly said stopping in front of a door.
"I'll take this one then." Mandy said, opening the door before Dorothy could object.
Frightened she stayed in the hallway. She would be alone with Gavin now. Even if only for a few moments. Gavin walked to the door of the next room. Not knowing what else to do she followed. The door seemed to her like salvation and damnation together. She'd be safe from gavin, but the reality of her decision would be final if she entered it.
"I've prepared some reading for you from my personal library." Gavin said showing a smile which shocked Dorothy even more.
Then he turned around and left, leaving her to open the door alone. Taking a deep breath she pushed the handle down and entered. Her room was surprisingly bright. A large window looked out on the back garden. Vines seemed to wind around her window. Her bed was wide and made with pristine white linnens. There was a desk and a chair and a closet. On the desk were two books. Romance novels like the kind she liked to read.
Tired, Dorothy sat down on the bed and sighed.