|
|
|
CHAPTER 5-Through the Mansion
The west wing was decorated with a white marble floor that shined. The lights hanging on the ceiling were lovely as well. Down the west wing were several different rooms. "This is my art room. It’s where I do some of my art." Shane said as he let go of Krystal's paw. Krystal walked in a looked at most of the art. Lots of it were of the platinum vixen that she'd seen on the mural in the main hall.
One painting in the art room interested her. It was a drawing, not a painting. It was a drawing of two foxes holding hands and staring at the sunset. It was beautiful, but it needed color. "Why isn't this one done yet?" Krystal asked.
Shane smiled when he saw the drawing that Krystal was holding. "It'll be done someday. When it is, I'll show you." He took the picture from Krystal and set it back down. He took her to see more parts of the mansion.
They came up to a large bedroom. "What's this?" Krystal asked.
"This is the master bedroom, my room. I have a guest room further down the hall." He said as he took Krystal deeper into the west wing. They passed by the guest room and Shane pointed it out. There were lots of empty bedrooms through the mansion. When they got to the end of the west wing there was a balcony. Along the balcony were stairs that led down. "Shall we? Or would you like to see the east wing now?" Shane spoke softly extending his paw to Krystal.
Krystal giggled a little and took Shane's paw. They were upstairs and she wasn't as interested in the rest of the mansion as she was the art room. They walked down the stairs paw in paw. Krystal's eyes widened once again as she saw the waterfall up close and a lake at the base of a lovely garden in the yard. "It’s beautiful!* She exclaimed.
Shane went over to the garden and pulled up a flower and gave it to Krystal. "All done by me."
The flower smelled wonderful. The lake was perfect and the scent that was surrounding the atmosphere was perfect. It was also a very colorful setting, with lots of green. It was beautiful. There were even fish in the lake. Shane sat down by the lake and dipped his feet in. "It’s nice and cool. Come sit by me." He patted the ground next to him.
Krystal came and sat down next to Shane and dipped her feet in as well. It felt nice and cool. This was relaxing. She closed her eyes and leaned onto Shane's shoulder. Again, this didn't surprise Shane; however, he was confused. 'I thought she belonged to Fox?' he said to himself several times. He let Krystal rest anyway.
"Do you want to see the rest? There isn't that much more to show off anyway. I think you need to see the lower level of the west wing. Then we can explore the east wing."
Krystal sat up straight and nodded. It was actually a very nice mansion. They stood up, and instead took a door that was on the lower level. As soon as they were inside, they were in the dining room. The dining room was pretty long. There was a great big long table, probably enough to seat up to twenty-six people. Twelve on the sides and two at the ends. To Krystal it didn't make much sense to have a great big long table if you lived alone. Perhaps Shane wanted to show that he had some class or something.
Adjacent to the dining room was the kitchen. The kitchen was longer than the dining room with several stoves and cabinets. "Why so much if you live alone?" Krystal questioned curiously.
Shane smiled a bit and responded, "Most of this was here when I got the mansion. I've been alone for four years now. I'd really like to have some guest over sometime. Problem is, like I said, I don't make friends too well."
Krystal tilted her head and urged for Shane to show her more and began to speak again. "Perhaps you don't have any friends because you don't go into the village enough," Shane was silent but Krystal went on. "You should go to the village and make yourself be seen. If you don't try then you won't have any friends."
Shane walked Krystal into the den, still in the west wing, the two of them. The den was HUGE, but then again, on the lower level the three rooms they'd been in were the only ones. There was a fireplace in the den. By the looks of it, dusty and gloomy, it hadn't been used in a long time. There was a chair in the middle of the den. Just right there in the middle. Next to the chair was a small table. On that table was a notebook and a pen. "What's that for?" Krystal asked.
Shane walked over and picked up the notebook and put it under the cushion in the chair, as if Krystal wouldn't see it. "You must never read that book!" He said waving a finger in front of Krystal's face. "Its a private notebook."
Krystal looked around the den a bit more. It was then that she looked above the fireplace. Even though the fireplace looked like something you'd find in a haunted house, the painting above it was completely clean. The only thing that bothered Krystal, was that this was the painting of a human. She wanted to ask about it, but instead kept quiet. The man in the painting was wearing a jacket, possibly made of leather. Only the upper body was painted. The eyes of the man were what struck Krystal the most. The eyes were blue...just like Shane's.
***
It was getting close to evening and Krystal was still no where in sight. Falco didn't know how much longer he could keep Fox in the village. Each time Fox wanted to leave, Falco only said "she'll be back, I promise." By now Fox was starting to disbelieve him. By now Krystal should have been back right?
Fox was coming to a stance now. It was boring in the hut. As he stood up Falco only pushed him down. "Give me until the sun sets Fox. If she isn't back by then, we go looking for her." Fox sighed and nodded anyway.
It was still boring. Bill came by, humming the tune that had come from the woods earlier. "Wasn't that a lovely tune?" He said as he sat down next to Fox. "What's eating you?"
Fox turned to look at Bill. Fox wished he could be more like him. Bill was more calm, cool, and collected. Of course, Bill also didn't have to protect the village. He was just there to support Fox whenever he needed it. Fox was always uptight. He could joke and be settled at times though. But with Krystal gone, Fox was more worried. "Krystal is gone and I don't know where." Fox worried.
"She'll be fine. As long as she didn't go into the woods, that is." Bill teased, but Fox didn't find that funny.
"You know guys. What if this so-called 'Dark Fox' isn't looking for an enemy, but more of a friend?" Falco said. Amazingly enough, he'd taken in what Krystal had said and thought about it. He began to realize that they couldn't just jump to any conclusion.
Bill didn't say anything to that. He gave Falco that 'Think what you want, but I'm right,' look that he was good at giving people. And he was indeed good at it. Falco didn't say anything to reply. Instead he took a book and opened it up shaking his head.
Fox just watched the two. Bill was kind and all, but was a little self- centered and egotistical at times. Fox laid back and watched the two argue. He looked out the window of the hut and saw the sun start to set. The part that worried him was that Krystal was still not back yet.
***
Shane was taking Krystal back to the main hall now. When they got there, Shane pointed across the lower level to the eastern doors. "You must never go in those doors if you ever come."
"Why?"
"Its forbidden to any guest." Shane said and almost made it sound harsh. Krystal backed away from Shane a bit. She was now sensing that something was wrong with him.
Krystal looked Shane in the eye. "What are you hiding behind those doors?" She asked contently. She never took her gaze off Shane. Instead, her gaze deepened on him.
"There are some things that you just shouldn't know about others." Shane replied and signaled for Krystal to follow him upstairs.
As they walked. Krystal sensed a bad vibe in Shane's aura. No wonder he had no friends. He came off as kind and gentle, but he never let anybody know anything about him. Shane was a bit more secretive than most other furs she'd met before. She wanted to know why. Shane was so different. He was very secretive, and thought very low of himself. Yet here she was, in his home. 'I'm the first to ever visit...' she kept telling herself in her mind.
They walked into the hall of the east wing. This marble floor was red. Along the walls were statues of....humans? 'Why humans and not brave furs?' Krystal thought. She continued to walk. They passed a dressing room, and several other empty bedrooms. "Look at this. If you thought the art room was nice...wait until you see the art gallery!" Shane smiled and opened a door.
Inside the room the walls were covered with painting after painting and drawing after drawing. But the paintings she'd seen were somehow different. As a child she was taught that there could never be a bondage between humans and furs. In the paintings that Shane had all over the room though, humans and furs were bonding with each other. It was amazing to see! In one painting a human was giving a fur an apple, in another a feast in which humans and furs were standing side-by-side. "Did you really do all these?"
Shane nodded. "Every last one of them. I've been doing these kinds of paintings for three years now." He wasn't sure what Krystal would think about it all.
Another painting struck Krystal's interest once more. It was a large painting of an old women. Her body was covered and her clothes raggedy. She looked like a homeless women. "What's that a painting of?" She said pointing to the one of the old women.
Shane looked up at it and lowered his ears. Krystal noticed this and suddenly lowered hers as well. Perhaps Shane didn't want to explain it. But he started to talk anyway. "This old women symbolizes all that I live for now." Was all he said. Then he turned and walked away.
Krystal turned and followed. Before she shut the door behind her she took one last look at the painting of the old women. 'What did he mean by that?'
They passed by a dressing room. It dawned on Krystal that there was also one in the west wing as well. They came to the balcony on the east wing. "I'm sorry...there really isn't much to see aside from the art."
"What about the lower level of the east wing?"
"I told you....its forbidden."
Krystal didn't like that. Shane sat down on the rail of the balcony and looked up. The sun was slowly slipping behind the mountains to the west. Krystal sat down beside him and placed her paw on his. "What are you trying to hold back from me?"
Shane blinked at her and then sighed. "I can't tell you."
"Why not?" Krystal tilted her head and gave Shane a look of confusion.
"I just don't think you'd understand."
Krystal sighed heavily and shook her head. She patted his paw gently. "You can trust me."
Shane looked up at Krystal. Shane blushed a little.
"What is it?" Krystal said almost smiling.
"What is 'trust'?" Shane asked a little embarrassed. He even reached to scratch behind his head.
"Trust is when you feel like you can tell others things and you feel as though you can depend on them to be there for you." Krystal had told Shane. That was how she defined it anyway.
Shane held his head down and lowered his ears again. "I don't know if I trust anyone. I've never had anyone to trust."
"Then why don't you start by putting your trust in me?"
Shane looked up. He felt as if now he was getting somewhere. Then he noticed that it was closer and closer to the dark than before. The sky was now a golden yellow. But they sat and watched the sunset anyway. Before long Shane kissed Krystal on her cheek. "You should go now."
Krystal stood up and agreed with Shane. She started to walk off and stopped suddenly. She looked back at Shane. "If it isn't too much to ask...would you walk me back to the village?"
Shane looked a little surprised by the question. "Of course." He said standing up. He didn't really have much of a choice did he?
 Darkfox Soldier · Fri Feb 23, 2007 @ 10:08pm · 0 Comments |
|
|
|
|
|
