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It was a night of unusual gloom between the cities of Washington and Baltimore. A mysterious yet lavish mansion rests forebodingly on a hill, as many expensive vehicles travel on the limestone trail. Guests would casually comment about the estate’s lovely appearance. The exterior of the mansion was designed after a traditional medieval dwelling, but still had a touch of modernism and nature. It was built with a white-colored conglomerate stone and decorated with walnut wood. The combination of the two materials seemed to be odd when imagining it but surprisingly worked well with each other. Small, squared windows let in plenty of light and have been added to the building in an asymmetrical way. The mansion itself was surrounded by a gorgeous garden — various trees, bushes, and flowers.
A cherry-colored hatchback drove up to the front of the mansion. Immediately, a parking valet sauntered towards the vehicle with an unimpressed expression on his face. The window of the driver’s seat rolled down, revealing a young woman. In the passenger seat sits her younger brother, on his phone, texting a friend.
“Hello, we were invited to the masquerade festivity by the owner of this excellent estate, Mr. Miller.” Keira Hussain smiled.
“And who might you two be?” The parking valet questioned in a disgusted tone.
“Keira Hussain, wife of Leo Hussain, and this is my younger brother, Jasper Holmes.”
“You do know this masquerade is a restricted celebration in the state of Maryland. Only the most important and wealthy people are invited. You two are certainly not going to be on the list of people invited by the looks of it.” The parking valet eyed the two unsurely.
Keira nor Jasper looked to be someone of either importance or wealth. Both of them seemed fairly average, though some would comment about Jasper’s rough appearance. Keira appeared to be in her teenage years but is actually in her 20s — precisely 20 years of age as of a few days ago. Her body frame is in the perfect shape of an hourglass, though Jasper has commented that in recent months she has put on some weight. Her skin is a gorgeous beige tone, which is a factor in the reason she appears to be so young. Nothing about her hair stands out since it is simple and the standard shade of brown, her eyes aren’t anything special either as they are hazel-colored. Most would call her appearance fairly average for 2020. She wasn’t wearing anything special — a simple dress with no outrageous designs. It wasn’t an exclusive design like most of the attire at the party, so Keira couldn’t boast about it like the other women would be doing the whole night — she would never do that in the first place.
As for Jasper, most find it difficult to imagine that he is related to Keira since he appears to have the appearance of a thug. At the age of 16, he stands at 5 feet and 10 inches. Some say he’s tall, and others say he is average for 16 years old. His skin tone is a natural shade and littered with various cuts and bruises from his numerous explorations and parkouring. His hair is messy and the color of a black widow spider — compliments his skin. His eyes are striking an amber color, making most people want to trust him as soon as they meet him. The stubble on his chin added to his thuggish appearance. He is wearing a simple suit — it is too tight for him since his muscles show through his outfit.
“Do you have the invitation?” The parking valet questioned.
Keira took her purse from Jasper and pulled out two tickets with a golden color and fancy writing on them. The parking valet took the slips and studied them carefully to make sure they are not forged. Forgery with these tickets happened a lot. Commoners have dreamed of attending the celebration as the events that occurred were some of the finest.
“I need to have the supervisor examine this. Pull to the side.” The parking valet instructed.
“That won’t be needed.” An older man saunters up to the parking valet.
“Sir, what are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be tended to, Mr. Miller?”
“These two have been personally invited to the celebration by Mr. Miller. Park their vehicles.”
The parking valet handed the ticket back to the young lady with an irritated expression. The older gentlemen smiled at Keira, “I apologize for the delay. Let me escort you inside.” Keira smiled with a nod as she tapped Jasper, who seemed to not be paying much attention to his surroundings. The two siblings climbed out of the car, letting the parking valet park it in the recently built parking lot.
“Mr. Miller would like to speak with you, Mrs. Keira.” The older man stated.
“About what, if I may ask?” Keira questioned.
“It would seem that Mr. Miller knew your parents,”
An apparent gloom came over Keira as topics of discussing her parents were sensitive. Ralph and Emmeline Holmes were some of the best-known couples in the state of Maryland. The two were very friendly to everyone and tried to help whenever they could. Unfortunately, their lives were ended during a home invasion. It was a tragic event for the state of Maryland — it was even featured on several new stations. Hundreds of people attended their funeral. At the time of their death, Keira was 8, and Jasper was 4 — he was far too young to remember what happened.
“She clearly doesn’t want to talk about it,” Jasper stated, glancing from his phone.
“I completely understand, but it is not my choice. If you have a problem, please take it up with Mr. Miller. I would gladly accompany the two of you.” The older man nodded.
“Jasper, it’s fine. I will talk to him.” Keira smiled, clearly uncomfortable.
“Sure, you keep lying to yourself,” Jasper muttered.
The older man took the siblings inside the beauty of a mansion. Many of the wealthy in Maryland had always been jealous of Declan Miller as his mansion was something of outrageous classification. Entering the house is a lovely and welcoming foyer, which leads to different sections of the mansion. Going up the grand stairs leads you to the multiple master bedrooms and bathrooms, only occupied by the family and selected servants. The other servants have their own homes outside of the mansion. The well-dressed servant takes Keira and Jasper upstairs towards the bedrooms. Keira was amazed by the interior designs as they reminded her of the house she lived in many years ago. Jasper could care less as he was still texting his friend.
“This is as far as I can go.” The servant explained.
“Is there a reason?” Keira questioned.
“When Mr. Miller talks to a guest, he likes to do so in private.”
“Why?” Jasper asked.
“Again, if you have a problem with it, take it up with Mr. Miller.”
“How about you just tell me, so it saves all of us time?”
“Jasper, stop it,” Keira stated.
Jasper said nothing as he glanced down back at his phone. Ever since Jasper was a child, he never behaved like other people. He was quiet and often observed the people around him. Jasper’s reason for doing so was unclear. Asking questions was something Jasper did when he didn’t understand the things he was observing. Sometimes, his questions could come off as rude. Keira often had to apologize for the things her brother did since he surely wasn’t going to apologize.
“Just head up these stairs and head straight down the hall.” The servant ordered.
“Thank you.” Keira smiled.
“Your welcome. If you need anything, I will be wandering around. You are bound to run into me eventually,” The servant smiled. “Oh, and one more thing, Jasper, Mr. Miller has two sons around your age, if you are willing to become friends with them, then you’ll find them somewhere up here.”
“Friends? I don’t need those,” Jasper said.
“Jasper,” Keira muttered. “I’m sorry. He isn’t good with making friends.” The servant nodded before leaving the two siblings alone. Jasper moved his gaze down to his phone. Keira sighed heavily, not knowing what to do with her brother.
“Jasper, we need to talk,” Keira mumbled.
“I don’t want to talk,” Jasper said, continuing up the stairs.
