Drage Herrogard 3

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella woke up somewhere that was definitely not her new bedroom, looking up to see the ceiling of the library, a vast room that one would get lost in if they didn't know their way around. Indeed, she had been lost for a while, and when she had found a couch on the upper level, she had decided to crash, something that she regretted with the pulsing creak in her neck.

She recalled the night's events, having eaten and then not able to sleep, she wandered around the main levels for a bit, the fortress itself extremely quiet, having few inhabitants that were all apparently sleeping or lax.

Sitting up, she stretched with a yawn, feeling a bit on the gross side as she realized that she had fallen asleep in her house clothing from yesterday. This certainly wouldn't do, and with an empty stomach and frazzled, messed up hair, she decided that it was high time to clean herself up.

Still not able to get over the hugeness of the place, Estrella made her way down the corridor that Valcan had led her down yesterday, humming an unrecognizable tune quite loudly, for it echoed through the corridor and she had no idea that there might be other inhabitants down this wing.

She made her way into her room, quickly bathing and making a change of clothes, a somewhat plain dress shirt and a pair of shorts that probably looked ridiculous on her, at least she thought, deciding to comb through her hair and let it air dry. Slipping on a pair of slippers, she decided not to mess with the jewelery or makeup, pocketing her wand and looking around for Harper. Her cats were nowhere to be seen, and neither was the owl, although Artemis was sleeping peacefully in her box.

She had totally forgotten to call upon a house elf for something to eat, and finding an empty dining room, she decided that Valcan was either busy or had gone to work. Josh was nowhere to be seen, although she was still a bit miffed about the whole situation.

But what could she do? She wasn't exactly imprisoned. Sophia might feel that way, but now, Estrella hadn't experienced anything crazy, Valcan seemed sane, and she was simply staying the summer with family. It was nice for once to have the stability of a wizarding home that she had never had.

Subconsciously, she decided to take a door to the left of the room, wondering if it would lead down to the kitchens. She sure hoped it would, her stomach growling audibly.

 

[Sophia Stark]

Sophia awoke quite early from an uneasy sleep that had been filled with awful dreams. Frowning she sat up and scanned the luxurious room with her golden eyes, not having gotten a good look at it the night before. It was a bit bright for her taste, but she had to admit it was nice.

With a sigh Sophia stood and walked to the closet, inspecting the clothes within it. She found a nice, plain black dress and laid it on her bed. After showering and painstakingly drying her hair with a self-heating brush Sophia put on the dress she had laid out and the same shoes she had worn yesterday.

Not having anything better to do and not in the mood to sit and sulk in her room Sophia left and headed in the direction she had come from last night. Easily finding the Dining Room Sophia happened to spot Estrella as she walked through the door to the left. Not wanting to speak to Estrella Sophia walked to the table and sat down at it.

What was the house elf's name...? Oh yes, "Persephone," Sophia said softly. She was pleased when a house elf apparated at her side with a pop. "I will have scrambled eggs, toast, and pumpkin juice please." Persephone disapparated with another pop and Sophia moved her golden eyes around the room, examining it as she waited.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella had seen Sophia, but quickly turned from her, deciding last minute that she would rather go hungry and find the kitchens by herself instead of talking to Sophia. A sour look on her face, she decided to open the door, figuring that it was her right to be able to explore the old home anyways.

It was immediately dark, and having left the door open, she found her way down the corridor using her hands and the little light she had. As her hands fell on the knob of an old door, she was somewhat surprised that it was not locked, and she grinned maliciously, wondering avidly if it was supposed to be.

She wondered what Valcan would think about her sneaking around, but she shrugged it off. If this was her home now, she would feel no guilt in finding her way around the place.

As she attempted to stroll through the door, however, she tripped over her own two feet, banging her knee against a suit of armor with an audible CRASH, (at least it felt like a suit of armor,) swearing rauciously. She didn't care who heard it as she inspected her knee, which now sported a nice scrape and throbbed painfully.

Damned useless things, Estrella thought as she looked at the unlit torches of the hallway, rubbing her knee and pushing her way through the door, where light was coming from under the crack.

However, the room held no one in sight, and appeared to be a grand study. This must be Grandfather's, she realized, a chill suddenly running up her spine. Now she was fully aware that he had forgotten to lock it, and that she was not supposed to be here.

I'll lie and say I got lost, she thought frantically, although her curiosity overrode her fear and prevented her from turning back. Not that lying would always get her anywhere.. Shaking her head, she strolled to the center of the room, not able to get over its grandness. Moving to the giant desk, she took a seat on the large chair and feeling very out of place. Tapping her fingers continuously on the polished wood surface, she wondered what she was going to do; there was another door leading off of this room. Either she could try out going through that, or she could stay here and explore the office that she probably shouldn't be in in the first place.

Suddenly, her eyes fell on a large, somewhat frayed piece of parchment, appearing to be an antique sticky note against the backdrop of the office. Clearly, the word above it was DRAGE, written in letters that appeared to be Old English, and removing herself from the comfortable chair, she nearly skipped up to it, her knee still throbbing.

Her mouth gaped open in wonder as she realized that it was indeed a family tree, and looking towards the bottom, she found her own name in lettering that contained a hint of blue, not enough to be recognizable from a distance but enough to figure out if looking at it closely.

She traced her finger from her name and her birthdate, seeing Erik's next to hers, although his name was written in pure black. Her father's, however, contained a hint of the blue color, yet the two women on there with him, both had names of the purest black. As her eyes moved up to Valcan's name, she found that his name contained a red tint, and looking over, so did someone who appeared to be a sibling of his, along with Sammael and Sophia.

What is this supposed to mean? she thought to herself in wonder. Surely there was some meaning to the colors? Her mouth gaped open in wonder as she traced back centuries, it seemed, as the tree appeared to be neverending.

 

[Sophia Stark]

Sophia had gotten her food and was in the process of eating when she heard a rather large crash from the direction in which Estrella had traveled. Despite being on bad terms Sophia did not want to see Estrella hurt and reluctantly decided abandon her breakfast to go check it out to make sure Estrella was at least all right.

Sophia followed the path that Estrella had most likely taken, following toward where she thought she heard the crash. She made her way with no problem, the light from the open study illuminating the corridor. Soon she found herself in the study where Estrella was, and immediately noticed that she was fine. Sophia also noticed that Estrella seemed captivated by something on the wall and walked over to where she was to get a closer look.

Her golden eyes widened slightly when she took in the sight of the Family Tree. She found her name on the bottom, tinted in red, and looked up from it to see her father, also red, and her mother in pure black. Sophia immediately wanted to find the man who had claimed to be her grandfather, but realized she did not know his name. There was only one way to find out at the time. Stubborn as she may be, Sophia needed information.

"Estrella, what is that man's name? The one who claimed to be my grandfather?" Her tone was mostly cordial, but held a hint of coldness to it. Sophia would be polite of course, but she did not feel like being friendly.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella had not noticed Sophia enter the room, jumping slightly. However, her expression turned from surprise to iciness, not having forgotten her anger and spitefulness towards Sophia.

"My grandfather, do you mean?" she stated coldly. "Valcan Drage." She did not mention that Sammael was Valcan's adoptive son, not willing to be on any friendly terms with Sophia for the moment.

She turned back to the tree haughtily, noticing that there were other names tinted in either blue or red all along the tree. Her great grandfather, it appeared, carried the blue tint. She wondered what the colors had to do with anything. It had to be somethign to do with direct lineage, as no one who had married into the family carried colors. She noticed with a smirk that Lief, and someone named Brunhilde, were also colored a dark black, and wondered why.

 

[Sophia Stark]

"I said claimed," Sophia said angrily to Estrella before turning her attention back to the tree. Locating Valcan's name she noticed that he appeared to be her great uncle, which made she and Estrella second cousins according to the book on lineage she had read.

"So it looks like we are related. Fancy that." Her tone was not at all pleasant, but instead dripping with disdain. She shot Estrella an evil smirk before turning and beginning to walk toward the door.

 

[Estrella Drage]

"Fancy that," Estrella echoed, her voice dripping with venom, "Not that I could really care. From what Valcan and Sammael both seemed to confirm, however, your dad was his adoptive son. Joy joy- And I figured I would be spending my summer in peace."

Turning on her heel, she decided to take one of the other doors in the study, not caring if Sophia would follow or not but instead had her head in the clouds, hoping she could just get lost in the place. Maybe the kitchens were down this way?

To her delight, the corridor she had wandered into lit up with torches as she entered it, revealing an assortment of decorations. She decided to wander down it, her curiosity enveloping her common sense. She would be able to call on the house elf if she got too lost, right?

 

[Valcan Drage]

Valcan, of all people had forgotten some papers that he needed to bring to work, and luckily, he had arrived their immensely early. He didn't want to make a terrible impression, despite the fact that he didn't usually care about what others thought. He hated attending meetings with those that opposed him, as he couldn't just pick them off right then and there.

He frowned as he noticed that the door to the right of the dining room had been left hanging open, and he wondered who had found their way down to his office. His golden eyes glowing, he was there in no time, opening the door to find Sophia in the room, having seen someone else make their way through another door, and he supposed that it was Estrella. He speculated that from the look on Sophia's face that they had gotten into somewhat of a spat, and his golden eyes narrowing, he inquired of Sophia, "What are you doing in my study?" He had forgotten to lock it, and could have kicked himself- He should have thought of it before. He made his way into the room, having every intent to follow Estrella and catch her before she could get too far.

 

[Sophia Stark]

Sophia was slightly surprised to see Valcan but refused to let any emotion other than anger show on her face. "I heard a crash and came to check it out," she said haughtily at him. "Forgive me Great Uncle for intruding upon your space." She turned on her heel, her long black hair whipping around behind her as she began to make her way from the room once more.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella ran down a flight of stairs, her stomach growling audibly and suspecting nothing as she made her way through the corridors, curious to see where they would lead her.

It was considerably colder down here, and she suddenly wished that she had brought a jacket or cloak of some sort. Finding a fork in the underground trail, for she was sure that it was underground, she took the door to the right.

Her jaw hung open in surprise as another long corridor was illuminated, but this one was neither cold nor damp; on the contrary, it was rather comfortably warm and dry. But the environment was not what peaked her interest, as she viewed that the corridor held a line of portraits as far as she could see, all evenly spaced.

To the right, hung a picture of a woman, her expression cold and familiar. She suddenly recognized her as Brunhild, the woman whose picture hung in the corridor of the West Wing. The founder of the Herrogard, according to Valcan.

She looked about her in wonder as she looked to the left, all of the pictures which seemed to be men. As she observed how many pictures there were, she thought to herself with excitement, This must go down the whole family line! She slowly walked, appreciating the works of art with wide eyes. All of them seemed to be quite young, and she started a bit as one of them moved, but said nothing. She could feel the eyes following her as she walked, starting a bit as she observed the rather manic gaze of one. She stopped, however, to look at him, quite intrigued. On the plaque below his portrait, it said that his name was Valbrand, and he had lived centuries ago. He did not look like a very nice person.

 

[Valcan Drage]

Valcan's golden eyes narrowed at Sophia, and then darted to the tree, figuring that both of the girls must have already seen it. "And so you know," he replied curtly, "Larkana was my twin sister. Your true grandfather abandoned her in childbirth and dumped your father on my doorstep when he was born." A feeling of anger and sadness welling up in his heart, he observed Sophia for a moment; she looked a lot like Larkana, despite the few alterations. Unable to say anymore, he let her leave the room, making his way into the corridor that Estrella had found her way down, the lit torches a pathway that he could easily follow.

In no time, he had found his way into the hall with all of the portraits, feeling a pang of contempt as he observed Estrella, who seemed dumbstruck. "Enjoying yourself?" he stated, clearing his throat, his voice a light growl.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella jumped slightly as she suddenly heard Valcan's reprimanding voice, her dark eyes widening in fear as she observed him, her attention diverted from the portraits. "I was just-" Don't lie, stupid, and don't pause either! she thought to herself avidly. "I was exploring. And looking for the kitchens." Her stomach rumbled audibly, seeming to reinforce her statement.

 

[Bearse Prosinian]

The tall man stood on the doorstep. He wore a cloak and his hands were covered by thin black gloves. He knocked twice and hard on the door.

 

[Sophia Stark]

Sophia took in Valcan's words but refused to stop moving as she did so. She considered them, wondering how true his statement was. Not in the mood to care Sophia made her way back to the dining room to continue eating.

As she sat down at the table Sophia heard two quite loud knocks coming from someone else in the house. Valcan had probably gone after Estrella. Of course, there were house elves to answer the door, but Sophia was surprisingly curious about it.

Standing from her chair Sophia mad her way toward the source of the knocks. Having grown up in a large manor it was easier for her to find her way around than it was for Estrella. Sophia was a bit surprised when she reached the door to find that no one had answered it and no one was in sight. Stepping up to the door she swung it open and was a bit startled to see a man who looked quite familiar. Sophia could not place where she had seen him, but she could not shake the feeling that she had.

[Someone let me know if this is not all right.]

 

[Bearse Prosinian]

"Good morning. Is Mr. Drage in? He is expecting me." The man's smooth voice asked.

 

[Sophia Stark]

"Good morning," Sophia returned, eying the man suspiciously with her golden eyes. "As a matter of fact I believe he is in. Follow me." Sophia was not sure why she was leading the man to Valcan, but she had decided to. Turning on her heel her long black hair whipped around behind her and she began to make her way back to the dining room, trusting that the man was following behind her.

 

[Bearse Prosinian]

Bearse followed the girl. He recognized her from the school. He dismissed her as unimportant and kept up his polite pretense.

 

[Valcan Drage]

Valcan did not hear the knocks from upstairs, as they were so far down in the basement, his golden eyes trained on Estrella. He smirked, and replied, "Well, seeing as trying to get to the kitchens without guidance is useless, and all you have to do is call upon the house elves for breakfast, I don't think exploring through my study is all that necessary." Putting a hand on her shoulder, he led her out of the corridor, the torches extinguishing behind him as he spoke. "Merely pictures of our ancestors, to stem your curiosity. That may be for another day." His brow furrowing, he stopped at the steps that led to his office, and he inquired, "What have you seen?" he asked it as a casual question, although it was necessary. He couldn't afford to have either of the girls go searching through his office.

 

[Bearse Prosinian]

Bearse took everything in on his walk around the house. Valcan had certainly done well for himself. He smirked. Not that he didn't think he wouldn't.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella was quite relieved not to be yelled at, more surprised than affronted as Valcan pretty much dragged her out of the corridor and back up to the steps of the office, her dark eyes wide as she looked back over her shoulder, her curiosity in the corridor with the portraits piqued more than dashed. Standing straight up, as she felt she should, she answered, "What have I seen? More than this gorgeous place," she paused, figuring that adding a little sweetener to the bitter coffee of the situation wouldn't hurt, "I saw that family tree," she took a step up the stairs, "and the corridor of course. What do those colored names mean, anyway?" After a moment, she added, "Oh yeah; and I sat in your desk chair, although if you meant me actually digging through stuff, I didn't touch anything except the quill on the desk." She was talking extremely fast, hoping that would reinforce her innocence.

 

[Valcan Drage]

Valcan stared at Estrella, the glow of his golden eyes dimming as his gaze bored into hers; he was able to speculate that she wasn't lying, although she would have to watch. He would not have her detained, of course, he would just have to be more careful about the rooms he walked and strict about the punishments for forcing entry.

He kept a smile from his face, motioning to her to continue walking up the stone staircase, ascending back into his office. "I must stress to you that my study is off limits unless I give you special permission, as are all other locked rooms. Do you understand?" He stared at her for a moment before continuing fully into the office, snatching the papers he needed off of his desk.

Strolling over to the piece of parchment and still waiting upon her answer, he replied to her other question, "I was actually going to get to that with you and Sophia tonight; but it seems that you have beaten me to it." Placing a large finger on his own name, he explained, "The family has been gifted over the years with two abilities; one of the pyrokinetic, and the other of the knall."

His golden eyes brought back over to Estrella, he stated, "I am a pyrokinetic, as is Sophia and Sammael. And so was my sister." A flash of sadness ran through his eyes and soon disappeared as he brought his finger to his father's name. "The names, in effect, tinted in blue are knall," he replied, "Which would be my father, your father and yourself, of course."

Stepping back from the tree, he added, "And those in black exhibit none of these abilities at all. Sometimes, the power will skip a select child or generation, and show up later. As was with my own grandfather."

 

[Estrella Drage]

The color drained from Estrella's face as she could hear the warning tone in Valcan's voice, nodding and replying, "I understand." However, this did not dash her curiosity, which always had been a most troubling thing for her. She hoped that she would be back there soon- Although she would probably avoid this area of the fortress from now on.

She moved over to the tree, extremely interested as Valcan explained the colors on the tree, replying, "Oh." She wondered why the powers would be as such- Shouldn't they be passed along to every child? She had a lot of questions running through her mind but was unable to bring them forth at this point in time. Pointing to Erik, and two other children, Anders and Annette, it looked like, she asked, "So does this mean my brother and these kids aren't going to have anything at all?"

 

[Valcan Drage]

Valcan started to walk toward the door, motioning for Estrella to follow out so that he could lock it, explaining, "Only time will tell. The power, if they have any, will hit around the time of puberty, so it is usually a long wait before the power is exhibited. Once it is, the tree will update itself, as it updates itself whenever another child is born." He had had the unpleasant surprise of finding out about both Estrella and Erik the hard way, on the very tree, and hoped that those events wouldn't repeat themselves. He motioned for her to get out of the room, and he added, "I promise that I shall explain later, but at the moment, the time is not of the essence."

And I'd rather not have you sneaking around in there, he thought sinisterly. He didn't want her getting her nose into anything that was kept from pretty much anyone else. He figured that he had better move his pensieve soon, too, even though he had forbade her from entering the office again.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella was quick to move out of the room so that Valcan could lock it, nodding her head. "I see," she said, watching as the study door was shut, suddenly wishing that she could go back in there and start exploring again, despite her stomach which was protesting her going somewhere any further without a bite to eat.

The time is never of the essence for anybody, she thought grumpily to herself as she waited for Valcan, still feeling tiny and insignificant as she stood next to him. Why couldn't I be that tall? She seemed to have been blessed with shortness instead of the giant gene that Valcan, Lief and her father possessed.

 

[Valcan Drage]

With a nod, Valcan locked the door with a silent Colloportus, promising to himself that he would put a more reinforced spell on the door one of these days. He did not trust Estrella not to go back into his office, although she had been very well behaved for someone of her reputation.

He led the way back into the dining room, where he observed Sophia and a man he had not seen for years. Keeping his composure, his golden eyes were the only thing that reflected surprise. "Bearse?" he said, his voice a low but semi-friendly growl, "What brings you all the way to the Herrogard?"

He had gone to Durmstrang with the man in question and they had been friends and in the same circle, although they had not seen each other for years.