The house was unusual, even by the standards of someone like me who ran a bar specifically catering to supernaturals. As Annie towed me along, I occasionally felt a touch, like the buzzy bees behind my eyes had made a momentary return. It would only last a moment, usually when Annie stopped to show me a new room, before she whisked me off again and the feeling disappeared.
It was big, for starters. Somehow, it seemed far bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside. The kitchen was large, and warm and presented my first true surprise of the residence when I realised the woman washing pots with her hair gathered up in a messy bun was fey. I had never seen a fey do anything even close to work, and here was one of the most gloriously beautiful, otherworldly examples of the race I had seen to date, up to her elbow in suds, wearing an apron of all things. I could count the number of feyfolk I knew that would wear anything less than dewdrops suspended in silk on one hand, because there weren’t any. They were, by the very definition of their being and in every fibre of their very soul, a vain and appearance-centric people.
Tefis was her name. She greeted us warmly before going back to her dishes.
The next room along was a large dining room, with two tables long enough to fix at least two dozen occupants. The one next to that was a large and cozily appointed lounge room, full of plush rugs, well-stuffed seats and a roaring fire to combat the chill outside. We walked down a hallway that seemed longer than the house was wide, with a set of stairs at one end leading up to a second floor.
“There are bathrooms on both floors,” Annie chattered, no longer filled with angst and worry, and instead seeming very much in her element, “And an infirmary on the second. We won’t go in there, Connie and Beth will be preparing no doubt for the worst if it comes to pass,” Her cheer disappeared for a moment, as her thoughts must have turned to the Witchfinders and the raid that seemed to be brewing.
But then she shook it off, and smiled at me.
“There is a beautiful garden at the rear of the house, you can get out to it through most ground floor rooms. In summer you can throw open the patio doors in your room and let the sun in. It’s Six’s favourite part of the house and I know why. She’s the one that maintains the garden, its chock full of vegetables, and we have a wonderful orchard.”
She came to a stop at the second last door on the ground floor, hands clasped loosely behind her back.
“This is your room, I think. This door wasn’t here before so it must be.” She said it in such an offhand tone that it took me a moment to process her words. Before I could question though, she breezed onwards, “You are lucky, right next to a Warden room. You see the bells up there,” she pointed, to a little silver bell that sat snugly above the door of the room next to mine. “You’ll see bells in most of the general rooms, but the only bedrooms with it belong to the wardens. They sound when someone new comes through the door for the first time, so that we know to go check. There is a warden on each floor, one at this end, and the other at the opposite end of the top floor. So you are always close to one or the other if you need help.”
“What do the wardens do?” I asked, still looking up at the shiny little bell. For a moment, it felt like my eyes were buzzing again.
“They look after the house, and everyone in it. She chose them, a long time ago. There’s always two, one who does the day shift, and one at night. You generally only see both at the same time if there is an emergency, and there’s always one inside the house somewhere.” Annie shrugged a shoulder, “They can’t both leave at the same time, apparently. No idea what would happen if they tried it, for all I know the house would fall down around our ears if they both popped out at once.”
It seemed mystifying to me, and I wonder who she was that made these arbitrary sounding rules.
“You’ll likely meet Tall later. He’s on the upper floor, and does the day shift so chances are you’ll see him most. He’ll be out tonight though, he’s swapping Six to go let folks know what is coming.”
The door to the room Annie claimed was mine swung open at the touch of the blonde’s fingers. She didn’t even attempt the knob, just touched fingertips to the wood and whatever it was that made this place tick did the rest. I wondered for a moment if maybe there was a ghost here, but it seemed silly to think of a sort of spectral butler following us about opening doors to satisfy our every whim and fancy. Then there was the matter of the fact that this room had apparently not existed this morning - that couldn’t be explained away by an ectoplasmic jeeves. It was a nice room too, with just the sort of furniture I was partial to, with a bed quite similar, in fact, to the one I had at home.
It was a very strange house indeed.
“I know this may seem like a bit forward, Annie,” I began, as the blonde bounced around the room, opening dressers to show me clean fluffy towels, extra sheets for the bed and the like. “But why was I brought here? And what is this place, exactly? Gunnr...or Six? She mentioned something about sanctuary. Is that what this is?”
Annie beamed at me, smoothing down the front of her dress as she rose from pulling a duvet from under the bed.
“This is the House.” She said simply, with a smile and a tilt of her head. It sounded like the “h” should have a capital, like it was a name, rather than a description. “It was built way back when, even before the Witchfinders, to provide a place of sanctuary for Others in need. If you are running from something, even if that something is yourself, the House is the place for you. We have all sorts here, from time to time. Witchfinder marks, refugees from communities that have been ostracised or are in danger of being killed, supernaturals too dangerous to themselves and others to exist outside this bubble. If the House accepts you as someone who will not knowingly cause harm to the occupants within, you can stay for as long as you need. It even accepted me.”
Supernaturals generally had a “don’t ask” policy surrounding enquiring into someone else’s flavour of monster. But Annie - and Gunnr for that matter as well - were just so damn ordinary I could not help myself.
“Why would that be strange? Isn’t it open to all, like you said?”
Annie positively sparkled with delight, and clapped her hands together.
“Oh, but I’m nothing special. That’s why. I’m just plain old me. But I nearly ended up as someone else’s dinner one night, and I was lucky enough to choose this particular house’s doorway to hide in when they were chasing me. I was hunkered down against the door behind the little brick railing, the door swung open, I fell in and here I am six months later.”
She was normal. That in itself was mystifying.
“But don’t you find it frightening? Living in a house for supernaturals? I know Tefis isn’t all that scary, but there are other supernaturals that would be,” Like me. Not that I was about to say that. It was not a bubble that I wished to burst for her. But Annie just giggled. Giggled.
“Oh we have all our burden to bear. It was a little daunting at first. But it’s rude to judge someone on appearances. And everyone here is so wonderful. I mean, Six can be a little standoffish and Connie is prone to temper tantrums. Allie is a plain old grumpy Gus. But that’s just who they are. And the House wanted them here, so it would be looking a gift horse in the mouth for me to turn around and question Her judgement.” She just shrugged, and I was awed by just how little it all seemed to bother her. The plainfolk knew we existed, yes, but the Witchfinders had gone a long, long way to make sure they feared us, absolutely and without question. To be treated without revulsion was bizarre. I wondered for a moment what Annie must have been like before she came to this place, and if this mindset was something she had before she had met all the things that went bump in the night.
“As for ‘why you’, that’s something you’d really have to ask Six. I know she’s been keeping an eye on you since you came to Aquis.” Another shrug. “She was worried about you, I think. It’s sort of her job anyway, hers and Allie’s. They keep the peace, until the peace can’t be kept anymore. Then they do something about it.”
“When you say Six we’re talking about the same person right? The little one from the bar?”
Annie nodded. So, what was “it”? What could someone who would struggle to reach things on tall shelves, a human to boot, do about keeping anything involving supernaturals in check?
“In any case, I will let you rest. It’s late, and things will probably get a bit mad after Tall and Allie get back. If you have any questions, or need anything, my door is always open” she pointed across the hall, “I’m the blue door over there. Or talk to one of the wardens, when they are up and about. Tall is a sweetie, and Six isn’t so bad once you get to know her. She’ll keep to herself if you let her, but she gets chattier over time.”
Flashing a final smile, Annie bounced out. And so began my time at the House.
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