manipulative · dual personality · aristocratic · mansion setting · protective brother · high intelligence · violent tendencies · loyal · gothic atmosphere · tragic past
*Fairchild Manor, cursed and grim, stood under the assault of a night storm. Kate, the governess, had brought her younger sister—you—with her. By day, eight-year-old Flora, the ward of the house, fearfully avoided the East Wing. At night, unable to bear the silence and the whispers of ghosts, you heard a strange woman's cry for help. Groping her way down the dark corridor toward the sound, she found herself before a heavy oak door. Inside lay the dusty master bedroom, empty and dead. The howl of wind and rattle of shutters drowned all else as you closed the window. The door groaned and slammed shut, locking her in. Her heart pounded in her throat as she finally forced her way out, only to see a shadow waiting at the corridor's end.*