Seeker extract

This is something that I wrote while I was on holiday. Hope you like it :)
xx

 

 

 

“We’re almost there now, you two,” Owen said which brought me back to the present.

In front of us was a magnificent castellated mansion of golden stone. Open lawns stretched out front and up ahead I could see a brick-paved turning circle and a central fountain, built of the same stone as the house. Two staircases led up opposite each other to an enormous oak door with a golden knocker, shaped like a dragon’s head. The door looked ancient, but very strong and beautiful. A conservatory on the side of the house opened out onto more stone steps, which led down to a small stream, over which a little bridge had been constructed. The path continued on into stunning dense woodland of larch, fir and hardwood trees which was bathed invitingly in the sunshine. The fresh smell of cut grass drifted across on the breeze and I breathed in deeply. Despite the obvious grandeur of the mansion, I didn’t feel intimidated. On the contrary, the atmosphere outside was safe and homely and I felt my muscles relax. Glancing up, I saw Ben was watching me and he smiled warmly. He too looked at peace and happy, no longer tensed and on guard.

However, Owen seemed on edge as we walked up to the huge house. His hands kept clenching and unclenching and there was a light sheen of sweat on his upper lip. As I tapped into his aura, he seemed to be pulsing with excitement and nervousness and I could tell that he was restraining himself from bouncing up and down on his toes like a little kid.

“Owen, are you ok?” I asked, fighting the smile that was threatening on the edge of my lips. Owen turned to me with a jump and fought his grin too.

“Fine! Absolutely fine. Just nervous, that’s all.” He smiled again and strode ahead towards the grand sweeping staircase.

“Well something’s got his knickers in a twist,” Ben commented drily as he slipped his hand into mine. I let the grin spread freely across my face and pulled him closer to me with a chuckle.

Owen had already beaten us to the top of the steps and he was beckoning us forward enthusiastically. I laughed as he attempted to push his unruly hair off of his face, with little success. That one pesky curl kept falling back over his eyes and he hissed in frustration.

“Right, are you ready?” Owen asked, his hand twitching over the huge golden knocker.

“Ready when you are,” I replied with an encouraging smile and Owen nodded. The knocker was shaped like the head of Dracnoes, Owen’s family titan. It was enormous, about 40cm across and over half a metre long, with the ring coming in under the dragon’s nose. As Owen lifted the ring, the golden eyes glowed red and steam poured out of the dragon’s nostrils like it was alive. I jumped backwards in surprise, crashing into Ben’s chest and he held me up securely. The whole knocker had come to life under Owen’s touch and the golden scales turned red as the eyes lit up. While Owen still held onto the ring, the head swivelled until the red eyes met Owen’s, glaring threateningly.

Suddenly, the dragon’s head grinned and it let out an eager puff of smoke. The scales changed colour like a chameleon’s from red to green like some kind of traffic light.

“Mr Wilson! It has been a while since I last saw you! What a pleasant surprise!” The knocker said and my mouth dropped open. Had I imagined it?

Owen half turned and laughed as he saw my expression. Dropping the ring down carefully, he patted the dragon’s head affectionately. “It’s great to see you too, Alfy. It has been far too long, my old friend.” Extending one hand backwards, he indicated Ben and I. “These are my friends Ben Carter and Lauren Hayden. They’re my apprentices in training and great companions.” The dragon head nodded to us in greeting and I smiled warily back, still unsure.

“Ben, Lauren, this is my old friend Alfred Casterwill, faithful guardian of the Wilson household for the last hundred years.” The dragon head grinned in greeting and despite myself, I found my smile becoming more genuine.

“I can’t believe I’ve just been introduced to a door-knocker,” I smiled shyly and both Owen and Alfred laughed loudly, smoke puffing out in clouds from the dragon’s nostrils.

“Well there’s a first time for everything, my dear,” Alfred said affectionately and I nodded. “My spirit is present all around the house, as I don’t just reside in the door. If you ever need anything, all you need do is call and I can be there in an instant. Any friend of Owen’s is a friend of mine.”

“Thank you,” Ben and I said in unison and Alfred nodded.

“Now, would you like to come in?” And with a click, the door swung open.

 

Owen’s house was like nothing I had ever seen before. The scale was enormous and I felt very small and insignificant as I stepped into the grand entrance hall. It was how I imagined Mr Darcy’s house at Pemberley in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ – all polished stone, grand staircases and huge bright rooms full of paintings and furniture. The entrance hall opened out into a reception area with red sofas bordered in gold and a beautiful mahogany coffee table, on which was perched a vase of fresh flowers. The smell of freshly baked bread and some kind of casserole drifted through from the kitchen somewhere else in the house and I breathed in the scent with a smile. Even though the place was huge, it felt cosy and homely.

“I apologise for it being so ostentatious, but this is where my family has lived for the last hundred years or so. My father passed it onto myself and my sister when he died, so this is my official residence. I don’t visit here very often, being away on missions and all. But it’s always nice to come back to somewhere so safe and familiar. Make yourselves at home – what’s mine is yours, as they say!”

I looked around, open mouthed at the beauty and grandeur, afraid of making the spotless floors dirty with my muddy boots. Ben seemed equally unsure and Owen smiled reassuringly. “Come on you two, take your shoes and jackets off make yourselves at home. You can put your things in the cloakroom just there and leave your bags out here. They’ll get taken to your rooms and you can freshen yourselves up.”

Obediently, Ben and I went to the cupboard to hang up our jackets and slip into cleaner shoes. Catching each other’s eye, we mouthed ‘Wow’ and grinned.

“Was your family house like this?” I asked and Ben shook his head with a playful smile.

“I wish,” he murmured. “Only the oldest families in the Seeker world still have money on such a large scale. I did live in a large place, but nothing as grand as this.”

“I wonder what it would have been like growing up here,” I said softly. “You know, surrounded by all this. You can just feel the history and magic seeping out of the walls as if you are always living under the influence of your ancestors. It must have been very intimidating and a lot of pressure growing up.”

“I guess. I always tried to be like my father as I was growing up, but that didn’t feel like an inhibition. It was a goal that I strove to and enjoyed with his help.” He smiled sadly and I reached out to squeeze his arm in comfort. It was still hard for him to talk about his father, over a year later.

Walking back out into the hall, we saw that Owen was waiting for us and we hurried over to his side. “I thought that you’d both like something to eat and drink after our long journey, so we can head over to the kitchen now. Or you can go to your rooms and freshen up first if you’d prefer?”

Before we had a chance to answer, we heard a squeal and the pattering of little feet running across the marble floor. Startled, we looked towards a corridor at the end of the hall and saw a small figure skid around the corner and charge towards Owen. With another squeal of delight, the figure launched itself at Owen, who bent down and caught with outstretched arms.

A little girl about five years old had wrapped herself tightly around Owen’s neck and torso and was squeezing tightly. Her hair fell in beautiful golden ringlets down her back and was half-tied up with a pink ribbon. Identical, wide grins had spread across Owen’s and the girl’s faces as they laughed and hugged each other in greeting. Ben and I stood slightly bemused, unsure what to do. As I caught Ben’s eye, I asked if he knew who the little girl was, but he shrugged. He knew no more than I did.

After they had finished exchanging hugs and laughter, Owen shifted the little girl onto his hip and turned to us.

“Ben and Lauren, this is my daughter Katie.”

 

“Y-you have a daughter?” I choked. “How come you never told us?”

“Hardly anybody outside my family knows about Katie, and that is purely for her own protection. She has a great deal of power and as the only heir so far, it is safer for her to be kept in relative secrecy here.” As I met the guarded look in Owen’s eye, I knew that the conversation wasn’t finished and that he would explain later.

“Kitty, this is Ben and Lauren, who I’ve been with while I was away. They’re my friends and I’ve been teaching them about titans and magic,” Owen explained as an introduction and the little girl giggled. As she took her head out from Owen’s neck, I could see the family resemblance clearly. Katie had inherited her father’s clear blue eyes and they sparkled with life and vitality. She had a cute button nose and pretty pink lips that were stretched into a smile over her pearly white teeth.

“Pleased to meet you,” she smiled prettily and held out her hand. With a smile I reached up and shook it, feeling her fingers squeeze mine. After she had shook mine, I moved out of the way and let Ben introduce himself. Ben took her hand and shook it, then bent down and kissed it softly like a gentleman. Katie burst into giggles that tinkled like little bells and I couldn’t help but grin in response.

“Very pleased to meet you, my lady,” Ben said formally as he rose again. His smile lit up his whole face and his eyes sparkled with fun. 

“Pleased to meet you too,” Katie replied, still grinning.

“She’s gorgeous Owen,” I smiled up at the two of them as Katie wrapped her arms around her father’s neck again.

“I know,” Owen kissed her head and set her down on the ground, still gripping her hand. “Can you take us through to the kitchen, please Katie?”