No one had stepped over these grounds for a long time. The snow that blanketed the garden was untouched and crisp white. As one would walk down the invisible path, they would be greeted with a large metal gate, black coils of iron weaving through the air, blocking the mysterious yet beautiful mansion within its bars. The building ahead stood tall, the dark concrete sculpture of brick towering a shadow over the snow covered lawn.

Suddenly, a sound broke the cold and silent air, a car engine cutting through the soft mist and pulling up to the gates. The shiny black Chevrolet’s driver door opened, and an equally black and shiny pair of shoes stepped out on the crisp snow. In seconds, the tall and dark figure opened the back door, reaching in to pull at the panicked individual sat in the back. He pulled you by the arm with such force that you flew out on to the cold ground.

The snow was numbing your hands and your face scrunched up. You tried to get up but the driver got back into the car and put his foot down on the pedal.

‘Hey… Hey!!’ you cried pulling yourself off the ground and began to chase the vehicle but it disappeared into the mist all too fast.

You turned your body back towards where you had been dumped, approaching the big black gate and wrapping your fingers around one of the bars, your eyes widening as they fell on the building contained inside.

What am I doing here?

It was too bitterly cold, after a while of deliberation, it seemed the only thing you could do was to get to that house and get some answers… if there was anyone inside. You loosened the latch and pulled the gate open with all the strength you had. The soles of her boots crunched across the white carpet that settled on the ground as with a heavily beating heart you marched towards the building.

Your thick fur collar tickled your cold cheeks as you trod cautiously and at last your feet were met no longer with snow, but the hard, black slate of the steps leading up to the mansion. You stared up at the gold lion’s head door knocker and biting down on your lip and taking a deep breath, knocked three times.

You waited and waited. No sound came from inside, no signs of anyone coming to answer the door. All you could hear was the faint sound of a crow that sat amidst its ebony feathers on the nearby branch of a dying tree. There was now a decision for you to make, did you turn and run away now or try and find out what you was ever meant to be doing here?

Did you risk going inside?

Who would be there waiting, what did they want? 

You placed your fingers on the rusting letter box and pushed at the hinge and peered inside. It was quite dark, a long corridor with a grand staircase at the end. There was still nothing to be heard.

Slowly, you fixed your hand around the doorknob. The decision was made. As terrified as you was, there was an overruling sense of curiosity to go inside, to see what awaited her, good or, more likely, bad. The cold air followed in as you pushed the heavy door open and stepped inside. It slammed shut, yet no one seemed to be rushing to see what was going on. Even though the house seemed empty, you still stepped as quietly as you could down the corridor, your footsteps echoing off the walls.

You contemplated calling out to see if anyone would answer you, but no sound would come out of . The only sound you made came from the slight chattering of your teeth and the occasionally sharp inhale for breath as you passed a mirror or window that reflected your face and sent you into a state of panic.

This mansion was too lavish to be neglected. There was a thin layer of dust on some of the varnished oak surfaces to cabinets, a slightly musty smell to the curtains as you looked into the sitting room. Back in the main corridor, the floor was black and white checked tiles that glistened and clicked under your feet. But there was something about the big staircase at the far end that was drawing you in.