Midnight Manner Part 1

The sun shone in the evening breeze. ‘What are you doing out here Kate’ Uncle Tom asked awkwardly for Katie was standing, looking solemn. The sun was blinding Tom but Katie was perfectly fine glaring at it. ‘Just … just wondering’ she murmured. Tom looked uncomfortable being with Katie and decided to leave and say ‘Good, have a great time … wondering’ Kate was new to the house, she had been at a orphanage for most of her life and had moved to this home that was willing to take her. It was Midnight Manner, well they lived on the grounds of Midnight Manner in a large house with lots of servants and their child Rufus. Katie loved this home but she despised Uncle Tom as he always was annoying her and made her feel upset. Catherine Marquette was also staying with them, she looked identical to Katie as they had the same hair, eyes and face. She liked Katie and they always was joking about being twins and racking Rufus up.

They loved being cheeky and spied on Rufus. Although they did this, they were quiet, sensible and hardworking girls that helped with chores and loved bird watching. They had a favourite sparrow they would always feed bread to. He would soar and dive elegantly like a little eagle. Anyway at this particular moment Katie was still standing in the sun waiting patiently for Tom to go away. Katie was heartbroken, Catherine had to go. Go away, far from here and never come back. Her lifetime long friend was only an old friend now. She watched the carriage drive away with two white horses leading the way on the cobbled road. Catherine put her hand up to her cheek to wipe away a tear that was cascading down her face. Katie gave a cry of sadness ‘Bye Cathy, I wish you didn’t leave, STAY! NO!’ The carriage vanished out of sight and Kate wept. That was the last she ever saw of Cathy. Little did she know about an even worse fate; for her. One day, five months after this event, Katie was eating breakfast. Auntie Emma exclaimed ‘we’re moving into midnight manner, with the Votri family, I spoke to them yesterday, aren’t they nice.’ 

‘I don’t like them … they’re all mysterious and … weren’t they the ones that sent Catherine away?’ Kate replied harshly. Get over it, Catherine’s gone, you better except that, pack your stuff and we are going!’ Tom shouted. ‘No we are not!!!’ Katie yelled back. ‘I beg you’re pardon, we should’ve sent you away, it was Emma who chose you , if you can’t be good and if you be rude I will send you away to a more horrible orphanage than the last one!’ That sent a shudder down Katie’s spine. Katie raced upstairs and started packing. It seemed Emma and Tom were having an argument. ‘SHE IS A IRRESPONSIBLE GIRL WHO I HATE!!!’ Tom shouted so loud Katie could hear.

Katie felt upset though and started listening. ‘don’t shout at her! You know she doesn’t know it’ Emma told Tom. ‘Okay but … but … she’ ‘She deserves care and she may not know that we are … you know and don’t send her to that terrible orphanage, I hate it!’ ‘Okay fine but what are we doing with the Catherine problem, she is getting so upset and angry with me about it. What can we do?’Tom asked. ‘I’ll find a way, I know it.’ she winked. ‘Catherine is not coming back, she never will, she was a friend, she is not now, like I said she will never ever come back Katie just needs to think about it and except the fact.’ Cathy us a friend Katie thought and her feelings gave a massive drop. Not because of Catherine because of the secret. 

They all met up at noon to have a chat about rules and stuff but they all found it extremely boring so they quickly travelled to midnight manner. As they walked along the wonkey, cobble stoned path, the sky got darker and the plants got more over grown. Finally they reached a gate, it was pointy and imperfect but preferably new. The sky was now a rusty blue with some tiny, white clouds - not really, a dusty white. They opened a gate and a great building stood among them. Midnight manner had tall windows and was all black it was about two mansions and it had a huge garden. Two wicked looking people dressed in long, dark green cloaks came towards them. They spoke sensitively and mysteriously ‘you will stay in the west quarter. I have sealed everything else so you don’t spy on us. West side. Stay there. You don’t see us. Key …’ He held out a long, spidery, pale hand and there lay a golden key. They opened a door that led them to a passageway with a storeroom, two lounges, a conservatory, two offices, one huge kitchen and a spare bedroom.

Then there were steep, spiralling stairs leading to five bedrooms, two playing rooms, one upstairs living room and a small extra room. The west side also had a total of six bathrooms. It was huge! Katie got led to her bedroom. It had a tall ceiling and a long window which you could see the east side of the border through. She had a colossal, comfy bed, a desk and finally some drawers. She placed all her stuff down, including a new fluffy mat on the floor. Katie walked downstairs to have a explore of the place. She opened the back door and walked into the garden. It was autumn and the ground was wet from the rain. She turned a corner and saw a bed full of bright, orange pumpkins. The garden was so small though.

They had barely any garden. Some patio, grass and vegetable patch filled with pumpkins. Soon, Katie reached a towering fence. This was the border. Katie saw the bordering walls too inside but it wasn’t as tall as this. It leaned over anyone. No one could get past. No one could see. Katie crawled into a ball to see under it but nothing was to be seen except black, black and more blackness. She then went inside again and with the good key opened the front door, this is where they met them. She saw the gate angina and gazed at the house. For some bizarre reason it looked different. Then Katie thought because of the border now she could only see the west side of the house as another towering fence stood between her. Katie went back to her room and tore a page from her book she dabbed her feather in black, glossy ink and wrote 

> Mysterious house - fenced off - what secret is this house holding and what secret are Tom and Emma hiding from me?

Katie looked at her notes and smiled she shiver it in her pocket and fell onto her bed. What an exciting day it had been. First knowing about a secret and then moving to midnight manners that was all fenced off. This was mysterious and Katie had to find out about everything. She needed someone else though someone like Catherine who could help her. It couldn’t be Rufus could it. No no no! Rufus would never do it, he is a wimp Katie thought. Kate decided to look through her window at the east wing, she guessed this would be the only time she could be able to see it. There was a slanted building with small windows this time but huge doors. She saw them in there rooms sometimes but no one was to be seen. She saw a snake on the ground slithering up her wall so she instantly shut it. She didn’t want to be a sneaked dinner … it vanished. Red sparks came from the air … and then it just vanished. She knew this place was magical and she needed to see the lake. The lake was said to be the source of all magic in midnight manner. Of corse no one believed it as no one believed in magic.

Anyway, it was said the great king of Sweden, that live ten thousand years ago, travelled here to find his true love. He found a princess with beautiful, blue hair that he married. The girl was quiet and never talked and one day vanished to a lake. The king was so distraught he died of sadness in the lake, his magical flames awoke the girl who was actually a mermaid. And buried him in the lake. With that amount of kindness the water god was annoyed so he through magic in the lake killing her too so they could die together. It was said the lake was later on blessed by the water god as a place of magic and mysteries and the water was half emptied and magically made midnight manner creating a magic manner. How cool that was Lucy thought and instantly asked Auntie Emma about its whereabouts. ‘Don’t worry … it’s only a legend a myth a little, fairy tale. And no one knows only the goddess of eagles know, I think it’s because she married the water god … hmm’ ‘thanks Auntie Emma’ Lucy walked into the woods searching. Surely she could find something in here.