The Rosier Manor rested on a large estate. Evan didn’t know the exact size off the top of his head, but he knew it was not an understatement to call it expansive. Evan suspected magic was involved; it certainly felt bigger than it looked.
Evan guided Eilwen and Ernie through the small village. It was the nearest village to the Manor, but they didn’t technically border each other. At least, Evan didn’t think they bordered each other. He could have sworn there was a buffer zone of some sort between the two. There was a possibility that they owned the land in the buffer zone despite it being somewhat separated from the Manor’s grounds. On that note, Evan wasn’t exactly sure what the precise border of the grounds were, either. He really ought to have been sure on both accounts, but Eilwen had always been better than him at physical geography. The subject of Geography, however, was a toss up. They were fairly evenly skilled when it came to human geography. The social sciences had served both of them well in adulthood.
The village streets were relatively quiet. The quietness suited Evan just fine. While the charms on the passage’s entrance rendered it impossible for muggle to see it, Evan wasn’t in the mood to carefully time their entrance into the entrance.
A leafy tree grew in small patch of manicured dirt in front of a stone church. The stone was warm in color, tan rather than cool khaki. Vines grew along the side of the church behind the tree. All one had to do to enter the passage was walk through the vines. As long as no one tripped on the small step up into the passage, there was really nothing to it.
The passage was dark and, like most old things in England, a bit damp. Evan warned Ernie as much before they entered. Luckily, light from inside the passage couldn’t travel outside the passage, which allowed for lumos to be cast without attracting unwanted attention.
“It might be easier to carry Ernie,” Evan said.
The passage took them below the village and into the anor grounds. Evan always knew when they were crossing over because the border was marked in the passage by a rather grotesque statue. Evan always flicked its nose as he passed. It was a habit he had picked up as a teenager. Back then, he had used this passage when sneaking friends into the manor. Evidence of his teenage adventures were hidden behind loose stones at the foot of the staircase in the passage. The stairs lead up to the manor. Wooden boxes hidden within hollowed out stones contained all sorts of paraphernalia from Evan’s youth.
While entering the passage was easy, getting out was hard. It required something just about as ‘Rosier’ as the very stones upon which they stood. Using his free hand to flip open his pocket knife, Evan pricked the index finger of his wand hand and pressed it up against the stone, wand still being held in that hand by his other four fingers. His free hand still held the knife. Wands were less dangerous to clutch haphazardly than knives, after all. He didn’t dare put the pocket knife away until his hand fell through the stones. The amount of blood needed to unlock the barrier varied.
Fortunately, the barrier decided to cooperate. Not wanting to push his luck, he told Eilwen and Ernie to go through first.
“You have to go one at a time, but send Ernie through first.”
Eilwen followed along the familiar trek, silent but for the occasional reassuring comment to the wide eyed boy clutching her hand. When they arrived at the end of the darkened passage,she waited patiently as her brother secured their entry. She nodded at his request, kneeling down beside her son to speak with him eye to eye.
“Just step right through there, all right? And wait for me on the other side,” she said, brushing his hair back from his face. It had been a long day for him and he was tired from the walk. Ernie nodded, turning to look at the wall. He didn’t move, looking back to Eilwen. “It’s alright, sweetheart. Mumma will be right behind you, promise.” It was enough to convince him, blonde hair disappearing through the wall. She rose, glancing toward Evan before following suit.
On the other side of the wall, one of the dozens of unnecessary rooms of the manor opened before her. Ernie was glued to his place, but his eyes wandered quickly, taking it all in. “Do you remember it, love?” she asked, scooping him up into her arms as Evan crossed into the room behind her. She met his eyes before looking back to Ernie. “You stayed here with Grandmother when you were a baby.”
Ernie was unusually quiet today, but she couldn’t bring herself to press further. She turned to Evan, running her hand down Ernie’s back as he nestled closer to her. He was getting so big, now; it was growing more difficult for her to carry him for very long.
“I’m taking him to the blue room across the courtyard,” she said, surprising even herself that she could remember her brother’s wing of the estate well enough to recall such a thing. “I’ll meet you in the parlor.”
Eilwen took Ernie straight to the bath, and then to bed. He hadn’t put up much of a fight, and fell asleep quickly. She watched him for a moment, running her fingers through the sandy blond hair he’d stolen from his father.
Duke had always been a selfish man, and for that she could never fault him. She didn’t blame him, couldn’t bring herself to be angry. She’d asked for it, after all. She’d opened the door. She knew that she did not have the right to be surprised that he’d walked through it.
She knew these things to be true, but it did little to fill the cavern his departure had created.
By the time Eilwen returned, her armor was faltering. She knew she looked like hell, and now, standing before her brother, she couldn’t bring herself to care.
"I don’t want to see her.” There was a silence, and though she knew that Evan understood and would not find her self-deprecation charming, she couldn’t stop the words from coming. “I can’t yet bear to hear what a disappointment I’ve been.”
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