August DWC-Day 1-Beginnings/Endings
Santana had been gone for some time. The house seemed almost strange to her as she walked into the foyer. Shadows seemed to creep from the corners toward her. She wasn't afraid they were curious as to where she had been.
She closes her eyes and lets the magic of the walls and floors come to life at her entrance. The strangeness gave way to familiarity as lights slowly lit upon her steps, welcoming her home. The air began to hum as the manor came to life in her presence.
She opened her hand's palm up and let the magic of the manor move through her commanding it to come alive once more. Her butler crept toward her. The house, of course, had been supervised in her absence. It had just become magically dormant, missing its mistress.
"Welcome home, Lady Ravenwood. I have prepared your chambers, and the library is also available should you wish to read your mail or catch up on all that has happened in your absence."
He had been with her for a long time. He knew her well and knew that something had gone amiss when she went missing. Before she left, she had gone mad with the loss of her sister, even changing her name to Demonica, calling up demons of all sorts, and making deals that he had been afraid might destroy her.
He could only surmise it was to get her sister back in some form. When she disappeared, he feared the worst, but since the manor had remained, he kept hope she remained somewhere.
Santana nods at the man and gives him a warm dark smile. "Thank you. I will take some wine in my library and catch up on what I have missed. Let everyone know their mistress, Santana Ravenwood, is back, and I plan to throw the biggest ball of the season."
He rarely smiled, but the corner of his mouth would curl slightly. Santana was back. Back to her old self, the woman he knew. He thought to ask where she had been but knew that would be overstepping a boundary. If she wished him to know, she would tell him.
Instead, he led her to the library and poured her her usual glass of wine. She took it and walked toward the balcony doors flinging them wide and inhaling the sea night air. One could hear the waves crash upon the rocks below.
She turns toward him and nods, and he takes it as his signal that he is dismissed. She walks to her desk; the mail and other missives lay on the table. She picked up an envelope and grabbed a letter opener to break the seal. She takes a deep breath before she begins to read the contents within.
Hours and many letters later, she rubs her eyes. The day was ending, yet this was just the beginning of things. She had so much more to do. But tomorrow is a new day, and tonight she needed rest.
@daily-writing-challenge
