Destiny's Deal

She was silent as the carriage rode over the uneven road, tossing her body back and forth like a bag in the wind. Her hazel eyes stared at her clasped hands, almost afraid to look at anything else; especially the woman in front of her.  She kept her mind busy of things other than their destination.

Her cream coloured dress was rather plain, and it seemed it was a bit shorter in the back than the front. Maybe it was her behind, though, that made it that way. It had a ruffled lace at the bottom with every third one wrinkled an odd direction contrary to the rest. She noticed it ended at her mid-calf, which confused her as it ended at her knees whenever she stood in it.

Her hands tightened nervously as the carriage rounded a bend, and the woman in front of her came into view, however briefly. She tried to ignore her further.

Her shoes were very plain, being only white flats that clung to her feet but did not hurt or blister them. They weren't much of a distraction seeing as she could see everything about them. With a disgruntled, silent sigh, she lifted her dulled eyes to stare at the woman's clothing.

She looked to be in a dignified dress. The rather lengthy dress was dark in colour, but mostly black and forest green showed. It looked to be made of velvet and a satin combination, much different than her own cotton dress. The woman's velvety gloved hands where resting in her lap comfortably, holding onto what looked to be a lace umbrella. It wouldn't be much use in a rainstorm, but it didn't hinder the dress in any way. If anything, it complimented it greatly. She wondered what it looked like when it was open.

She lowered her head to avoid looking at the woman any further, and some of her auburn hair cascaded into her lap. She wore curls like a tree would wear its leaves, and her fingers gently played with her hair. It was always clean and kept from tangling. Generally, with the curls as tight as they were on her hair, it's be harder to keep them from tangling, but they were rather large curls, and she was happy about them at any given moment.

With another sharp turn, she closed her eyes, her hands moving away from her soft hair to grip at the faux velvet seats they sat upon.  It was then she noticed the outside had stopped moving. They must've arrived at their destination. Upon receiving this knowledge, her heart sank as she kept her head bowed.

The door opened before her and the woman got out of the carriage, her heeled boots making a small thunk on the metal step just outside the door before she stood on the dirt road before them. Umbrella in hand, she lifted her rather expensive looking dress before sharply barking at her, "Get out here, you little wretch. We're here at your new home."

She stood up and quickly got out of the carriage, her eyes never leaving the ground. The dull hazel refused to look up into the dreary gray that was the air, nor the steel gray and ivy green of the dilapidated building before her. The ground was made of several small, round pebbles and rocks, with twigs and dead leaves scattered all around them. The trees that lined the roadside looked to be dead in this thick air; their branches sharp and jagged out into the road itself. Almost as if the nature here threatened to kill anyone around the building.

By the road and the plants beside the building, she judged that it was either abandoned, or not very well taken care of. Her heart prayed for the former. The woman nudged her with the sharp end of the umbrella and she made a silent noise of pain, her body lurching forward. She slowly began walking toward the rather large building. As she got closer, her gaze lifted from the ground to the sky, slowly. She noticed every detail of the building.

The bricks were a slate gray colour to begin with, but several cracks revealed the inside to be lighter than the outside. Were the bricks painted at some point? Well, they aren't now. The ivy grew up the walls in a lush green, and it made the house look far younger than the bricks made them to be. Cracked pillars held the entrance dry from rain or snow, letting guests be safe from such weather hazards. With so many cracks and missing pieces, however, she was sure it was next to useless, and could possibly kill anyone coming in.

With her gaze searching everything, she continued walking, but something stopped her. There was another girl, younger than she by the height, watching her from beyond the wall. The steel gray eyes looked curious but frightened, and so very much contrasted her frazzled black hair. When their eyes met, the girl beyond the wall looked like she gasped and quickly hid. She stood there a moment curious as to whom it was, until another sharp jab from the woman caused her to stand in front of the door.

It didn't take long for it to open, as if they were expected. Nobody stood on the other side of the door, but it led into what looked to be a rather clean living space. What she could see from the doorway was solid pine flooring and rails to a staircase made of the same pine. With the staircase on the left side of the doorway, the right led to a smaller space of gathering called a parlor. Through to the back is a rather long hallway with what looks to be a table and chairs before the view ended in a wall. What was strange was it didn't look like any dust had formed at all, which contradicts the outside of the building. What was the point of having a good inside if the outside is bad?