The sunlight filtered in through the window and made me think of the curtains that I still had yet to unpack. It’s been two days since we arrived here and I still have to get used to my surroundings, I must’ve been awake for hours by now. Getting bored of laying around, I shuffled out of my bed and into the attached bathroom. That was another thing I had to get used to. This place was huge- much bigger than our old home. The first floor had high ceilings and grand chandeliers, and everything was neat and polished. The second floor has all the bedrooms, (several had attached bathrooms and walk in closets) and long corridors that give chills in the night time. I still hadn’t been able to explore the basement and third floor, I didn’t have the time. All my time yesterday and the evening before was spent either unpacking or resting before unpacking some more. Maybe today if I can finish decorating my room I’ll get the okay to investigate the rest of the mansion.

I observed myself in the mirror while I combed my curly hair. I had fair skin, blonde hair, and a strong jaw. I mostly took after my mother looks-wise, and so did Sophie-Rose. Paisley however got a good mix of both parents, brown hair that is wavy but not unruly like mine, and kind eyes that could rival Sophie’s. Deciding I looked good enough face-wise I went back into my room and sifted through my suitcase to find something acceptable for the day. One of the few things I excel at more than Paisley and Sophie is my sense of fashion, along with history and charisma. Paisley, has great looks, a charming personality, and overall talent for most things. Sophie however, definitely has both of us beat in empathy, and flower classification; she can name the common and scientific name of probably any flower at this point, be it a common wild flower or a rarity in its habitat. Fitting myself in my navy blue sweater and olive green chinos for the day, I grabbed my phone and started heading downstairs to see if anyone was awake, shutting the door behind me.

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs I was greeted by a familiar black mass bolting towards me, before she slowed to a stop at my feet. I offered a quick pat on the head and a smile, then headed in the direction she came from. She was at the kitchen if I had to guess. Upon getting closer to said destination I heard some quiet music coming from the crack in the door, recognizing the voice to be Goldy Daun (an old timey singer/songwriter my dad likes), I quickly deduced that it was my father shuffling about in the kitchen. Which was unsurprising, he was the biggest morning person in the family. Pushing the door aside I quietly walked in and sat in a stool at the island as he hummed and chopped away at the fruit in front of him. I silently watched as he set the knife down and picked up what he deemed unfit and threw them away. He turned around to grab at the container of flour he set on the island and jumped upon seeing me.

“Shhhhh- Shoot kiddo, you scared me.” He paused, with a hand on his chest. “How long you been there? It’s a little early for you don’t you think?” I shrugged.

“Just got here. Been awake for a while.” I stated, eyebrow raised. Dad just blinked at me for a moment.

“Well alrighty then, wanna help make waffles?” He changed the topic with a grin, as he turned off his radio.

“You bet I do.” I returned the grin, and suddenly the two of us were side by side trying to remember how to make waffles from scratch without looking it up, because we are stubborn like that. After a failed first attempt and a short but intense flour fight we agreed on a truce, and clapped our hands in a hand shake to seal it, sending another puff of flour into the air.

“What are you guys even doing?” A shocked, amused voice rang out from the doorway. Dad and I both whipped our heads to see Paisley in the threshold of the room and hallway.

“Uh, waffles?” Dad tried. Paisley laughed.

“Let me see that.” She walked past the two of us and peered into the bowl, then at the ingredients on the counter. Then shook her head.

“Is this… Baking soda?..” She said in disbelief “...and syrup? You put syrup into the batter?”

“Uh… maybe? Is that bad?” I can’t bake anything for the life of me most occasions.

“I mean it does the same thing but you need to put some sort of acid into the batter with it if you want it to taste good. Baking powder is better because it already has the acid mixed in. Unless you’re using buttermilk, which-” she gestured to our set-up “you’re not. And you need more syrup if you’re trying to make maple waffles”

“Well… can you do it then? We will help you wherever you’ll need it!” My dad offered.

“Yes I can.” She agreed “Dad, you can help me with the batter and plating. Owen, you can get the tableware, and can you make that sweet tea again? It’s my favorite.” She finished with a smile. I saluted and we moved around the spacious kitchen, trying to remember where everything was and gathering things we’d need for the waffles and tea. After digging around one of the boxes for a while I managed to get a hold of a white table cloth, and I used it to cover the large table in the next room. I also grabbed Sophie’s vase of flowers that she picked from the garden yesterday to put in the middle. Going back into the kitchen I saw that they almost had the fresh batter completely put together, so I got started on the tea. It’s an herbal tea, with a bit of vanilla, and some blueberry extract (and a few secret ingredients to tie it all together). By the time the concoction was put into boiling water they had already started setting waffles onto plates, and dad was going the extra mile, covering them with whipped cream and the fruit he chopped earlier and powdered sugar. Luckily this process took a while, so that left enough time for me to set the utensils and get the tea cups and napkins onto the table. It was around then that I could hear Sophie-Rose’s tired, but excited voice chanting through the halls that she smelt food. I smiled as I went back into the kitchen. Paisley finished with the last of the waffles and was now helping dad decorate them, while I quickly grabbed a broom and dustpan to take care of some of the flour all over the floor. As I dumped the powder into the garbage, mom walked in looking tired.

“Well, well. Look at you early birds. Making breakfast?” She rubbed her eyes, mom was never big on mornings. As any completely sane person should be if you ask me.

“Waffles! The boys are great at this, they hardly needed any help at all...” Paisley teased, I responded by jutting out my tongue at her, and she giggled. Mom rolled her eyes.

“Oh trust me, I already heard they were incredibly skilled from Alice.” The sarcasm basically dripped out her mouth. While the grinning dog wagged her tail behind her, now grey and white on the top of her body.

“I’ll clean her up after breakfast.” I said behind a grin. She looked ridiculous. I moved back to the stove where the tea was cooling in the teapot and poured it into a pitcher filled with ice.

“Do you wanna get Sophie, momma? Foods all done” Paisley said as she and dad were grabbing plates and heading to the dining room, Alice at their heels. I followed shortly after alongside mom, who turned down the hall to get the little one. We placed mom’s seat at the head of the table, with dad to her right and Paisley to her left. I took my seat next to Paisley, and Sophie usually sat beside me or dad, we let her decide once she came into the room with mom. Breakfast tasted great, Paisley’s waffles and my tea went together really nicely, as different as we are we collaborate really well.

“So, your father starts his new job tomorrow. I won’t have to work for a little longer to help finish getting settled here.” Mom started “And as you know this place is very big and very old, there’s a lot that needs to be explored still. All I ask is that you stay out of the tower for now, until we can have someone find out if its stable. The rest of the property is open to you.”

“Can I go in the tower? I’m very small, there’s no way I could make it fall!” Sophie practically begged.

“No can-do kiddo. But momma and I were talking last night, and since we have way too many rooms to really know what to do with, we thought you could do with your own spaces just for you to do what you want with. You can pick any empty room that isn’t already claimed and keep it, and clean it and do whatever you want with it.” Dad advertised happily before mom interrupted.

“-As long as you let us check it out and give you permission first.” she gave us a look that said ‘don’t try to pull anything that will get you in trouble or there will be consequences’.

“Cool!” I was ready for this, I’ll explore the basement and pick one of those rooms and it’s gonna be cool. I was already planning what I might do with my own extra room in my head. A look at my sisters showed they had similar expressions on their faces.

“Once you completely finish unpacking your bedrooms then we will give you the go ahead to start looking.” Mom finished, and each child silently agreed to a race using nothing but eye contact. Aside from the normal excitement and conversation, breakfast ended uneventfully; and all three of us were rushing to our rooms to get everything put together.